Imprisoning the Black Moonlight

The monsoon winds of the Indochina Peninsula, oblivious to the changing seasons, have been blowing for most of the year, yet they still fail to turn the leaves yellow or bring down the leaves, nor do they chill the evening breeze...

In the dense forests of Doukou Mountain, on the top-floor observation deck of a luxurious manor heavily guarded by soldiers, a man in a white shirt and black trousers stood motionless. When his cousin, dressed in military uniform, entered, a thin layer of moisture had already settled on the top of his head.

Mrs. Mo said that when he wasn't busy, he would sit there for a long time, gazing in the north direction, stroking the rose-patterned rubber band on his arm, his eyes withered, like a broken tree stump that had died in a lush forest.

Half a year had passed since that dramatic military coup. Even the grandfather never expected that at the critical moment, it would be this excessively young eldest grandson who, with a squad of mercenaries, killed the two sons of the deputy commander of the military police, tied up his eldest son and two grandsons, and brought them to the negotiating table.

Prince Hagnau only has the right to inherit the throne, but he has no real power. The deputy commander of the military police is getting old and has been undermined. Without an heir, everything he fought so hard for is nothing but a mirage. Hong Jin's calculations were ruthless, accurate, and fatal.

The negotiations were a foregone conclusion. The deputy commander of the military police was sent to a military prison for treason. Since there was no position available to settle Hong Jie, the Hong family benefited from the misfortune and were able to take back the military power they had given away in a reasonable manner.

The only thing Hong Jin didn't expect was that her father would spare Hagenu's life.

His gun was pressed against Hagenu's forehead, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury as he roared at his father, "Father, keep him alive! The Hong family will always be a threat!"

Hong Sangneng's wolf-like eyes were tightly closed. He stood there for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Ah Jin, I promised that I would never fire a shot at Hagnu in this lifetime!"

The young eldest son couldn't understand why his father would disregard the rise and fall of the family and the safety of the country for a promise he made to a woman when he was young. "Father! No man is without ruthlessness. You cannot put the family in danger because of a promise to a dead person."

“Ah Jin, Hagnu has no military power. This defeat means he'll never have a chance to recover. Deport him permanently, spare his life. This is the only request your Aunt Baina has ever made of me. I…”

The usually calm and aloof father only showed a hint of emotion when mentioning the woman named Bai Na.

"No!" The young eldest son tightened his grip on the gun, his teeth almost grinding to powder. "Father, such womanly compassion will lead to endless trouble!"

"Ah Jin!" Hong Sangneng gripped his son's gun-wielding arm tightly and pressed it down, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "I said, release, him!"

Ultimately, the son had to uphold the family's dignity and his father's prestige in front of everyone. He put away his gun, spared Hagnu's life, but left in a huff, went to the mountain estate, and never returned to the official residence.

"Ah Jin, you really know how to enjoy life. You left such a huge mess in Phnom Penh to me all by yourself. It's really unfair!" The younger cousin, despite his high position, still acted like a thug and complained to his older cousin.

Hong Jin glanced at him, gave a cold snort, and threw a pile of documents into his cousin's arms. "Enjoying life? Look at this stuff. Why don't you enjoy this blessing?"

As long as he was still breathing, he had to work hard for his family. Even after leaving in a huff, the emails from the Prime Minister's Secretariat continued to pour in every day. His team of twenty secretaries had already moved into the outer office area the day after his private plane arrived at the estate. Every day, massive amounts of documents piled up in front of him. He had no place to hide from the responsibilities that came with his birth.

Hong Jie's head throbbed at the sight of the densely packed documents. He quickly tossed them back onto the table, shaking his head repeatedly. "I'm good at fighting and killing, but this kind of stuff is best left to you smart people! I don't have the brains for it!"

“No one is born to do anything!” Hong Jin took off his frameless glasses and frowned. “Ah Jie, we were all forced into it! If I could, I would rather be born on a fishing boat and spend my whole life fishing at sea. At least I could live for myself!”

Although Hong Jie is rough around the edges, he can empathize with his pain. Born into a top family, they are already numb to money and power and don't have such a strong obsession with it. However, they have to sacrifice their souls for the hard work of their ancestors, the glory of their family, and the future of their descendants. Having come this far, who is still the same as before, and who is still the real self?

"Ah Jin, in this life, we had no choice, but looking back, what we have is something ordinary people could never get in their entire lives, isn't it!" The thuggish man crossed his legs, took out a cigarette, lit it, and continued...

"Take our third uncle for example. After being stripped of his position as commander-in-chief of the military police by my grandfather and eldest uncle, he went to Thailand to recuperate. Guess what? He's almost fifty years old and he's hooking up with a teenage starlet. He's living the high life. I even heard my grandfather on the phone cursing him the other day!"

Hong Jie's resolute eyes flashed with mockery as he snorted, "If he had no money and smelled like an old man, what would a young girl want from him? She probably wouldn't last three minutes." The arrogant man raised an eyebrow, "When a man has money and power, sometimes he can do whatever he wants. Thinking about it that way, it's not so bad, is it?"

What was said in jest was taken to heart by the listener. A fleeting glint of light flashed in the withered, dark eyes of the aloof man opposite him as he murmured those four words, "Do whatever you want?"

Do whatever you want

Do whatever you want

……

Until Hong Jie left, until the moon rose high above the building, until the first rays of the setting sun shone, these four words lingered in the man's mind.

****

A high-end coffee shop in Beijing!

A girl with long, flowing hair and a flamboyant red dress rushed in, carrying a bag, and sat down opposite a well-dressed, refined man. "I'm so sorry, Brother Xu, I'm late again!"

Ouyang Xu smiled indulgently as he put down his phone, "It's okay, I'm used to it!"

Ever since Yao Gongyue returned to Beijing, he would unconsciously find various excuses to ask the girl out. Men are not dull and cold-hearted; he knew that he had fallen for this girl.

However, as the heir to the Shengshi Group, everything about him, including his marriage, was already up for sale and was beyond his control.

He struggled and hesitated, but in the dead of night, when he thought of her smiling face and her repeated calls of "Brother Xu," he could not convince himself to give up.

"Brother Xu, I'm not late every time, okay?" the little girl pouted unhappily.

The man smiled faintly and changed the subject, "I ordered you a cappuccino again, is that alright?"

"Mmm-hmm!" The beautiful girl nodded, then took out an exquisite lunchbox from her bag. "These are pastries my mom made herself. They're so delicious. I brought them over especially for you to try."

She received her graduation certificate a few days ago. Once the overseas student certification center approves it, she can take the official exam for public institutions. All of this is thanks to Ouyang Xu. She is very grateful, but he is so rich and has nothing to lack. She doesn't know what to give him. Every time they meet, she brings something homemade to express her gratitude.

"Thank you!" Ouyang Xu happily accepted it, hesitated for a few seconds, then cleared his throat, "Little Chang'e, I have something I want to tell you."