From Wage Slave to Tycoon

"It’s alright, bro. I get you," Arthur said comfortingly to Su Chen, a look of complete understanding on his face. "When we get back to Manhattan, I’ll set something up for you!"

Su Chen felt a little creeped out by his gaze and promptly stood up from the sofa. "You go on and have your fun. I’m going to take a walk. Call me when you’re done."

With that, he strode quickly toward the main entrance. Arthur hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Su Chen. He shrugged, shook his head, and muttered softly, ’Sigh... looks like I’ll have to put in a little more effort.’

After sitting on the sofa and thinking for a moment, Arthur also stood up and headed upstairs. After all, more thrilling entertainment awaited him up there.

When Su Chen came out of the villa, he saw Chen Fei and Raymond leaning against a distant tree, smoking. The two would occasionally point up at the villa, muttering to each other and breaking into that knowing smile all men share.

"Well, well. What are you two looking at so intently?"

Raymond and Chen Fei were so engrossed they didn’t notice Su Chen slip around the nearby fence and come up behind them. The sudden voice made them both jump.

"Boss! You’re going to give someone a heart attack!" Raymond said, a faint note of complaint in his voice. It was like being all geared up and ready for action, only for someone to barge in and scare you so bad you lose all your nerve.

Chen Fei, standing beside him, wore the exact same expression.

Su Chen shot them a look, then followed their gaze toward the villa. When he saw the silhouettes pressed against the brightly lit floor-to-ceiling windows, he finally understood why they were acting like this.

He glared at them irritably and muttered, "Pathetic. When we get back to Manhattan, I’ll give you a day off to go have your own fun."

He had expected Raymond and Chen Fei to be overjoyed, but to his surprise, Raymond looked almost hurt.

"Boss, how can those common girls compare to these socialites? They’re not even in the same league!"

Su Chen, of course, understood. The wealthy back in Huaxia had similar tastes, after all. Fly-in models, internet celebrities, movie stars—they were all tiered, and the experience with each tier was completely different.

"If you’re that interested, I could have a word with Arthur," Su Chen said, teasing Raymond. "Your status as the head of IPS is more than enough to get you into an event like this!"

"Ah! Boss, you’d really do something that—" Raymond didn’t get to finish his sentence. He saw a sharp glint in Su Chen’s eyes and quickly changed the subject.

"Boss, am I the kind of man to be seduced by mere beauty? Besides, I’m a married man. Please refrain from making such jokes in the future!" Raymond said with a completely straight face.

’If I didn’t see his eyes occasionally drifting up toward the villa’s second, third, and fourth floors, I might have actually believed his bullshit,’ Su Chen thought.

"Alright, that’s enough. Let’s go for a walk. It’s boring just standing here." Not wanting to continue the topic, Su Chen started walking toward the main road beside the villa.

The villa was situated at the very tip of Long Island, surrounded by other top-tier seaside estates, which meant the area was sparsely populated.

After wandering aimlessly for over an hour, they started to get tired. The three of them found a place to sit and admire the ocean view, falling into casual conversation.

"Raymond, what’s your take on Arthur?" Su Chen asked out of the blue, his eyes fixed on the sea.

"Arthur?" Raymond paused for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Su Chen didn’t press him, patiently waiting for him to think.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Su Chen’s question, however, completely bewildered Chen Fei. ’From the way the boss is talking,’ he thought, ’it seems like this Arthur guy is up to no good.’

’But from their few interactions, Arthur had seemed like a decent guy.’

Chen Fei turned his gaze to Raymond, curious to hear his thoughts as well.

After a minute or two, Raymond finally spoke. "Arthur... he feels like an eagle to me. When it’s soaring high in the sky, you can’t tell if it’s a threat or not. But for all you know, it’s already searching for prey."

Su Chen couldn’t help but give Raymond a second look. ’This man may look like a brute, but his mind is as clear as a mirror.’

"I didn’t expect you to see things so clearly." Raymond’s words perfectly matched Su Chen’s own assessment of Arthur.

Hearing their conversation, Chen Fei fell into contemplation at the side. He carefully reflected on his own perceptions. ’I can’t let my subconscious biases affect my judgment.’

Su Chen connected the dots between Arthur’s purpose for bringing him to New York and some information he’d picked up while chatting with John. He realized that he was now likely the prey in the eyes of Arthur, and perhaps even the entire Morgan family.

In recent years, Huaxia had risen rapidly, firmly establishing itself as the world’s second-largest economy. This, coupled with the internal financial crises and mounting debts of the United States, had caused the world’s top financial magnates to turn their gaze toward the East.

Everyone knew the East was the most profitable place in the world right now. Unfortunately for them, their influence couldn’t penetrate its borders. Any tentacles they had tried to extend in the past had been thoroughly severed.

’Naturally, they’d hit upon the idea of using an investment proxy. With my background, Su Chen had become a hot commodity in their eyes. It was just a shame that Arthur’s methods were so superficial. He couldn’t even execute a simple honey trap properly.’

’Having figured a few things out, I’ve made up my mind,’ Su Chen decided. ’I’ll head back to Huaxia in the next day or two. It’s not just boring here, but having to be on guard all the time... it’s exhausting.’

’System,’ Su Chen called out softly in his mind.