Yang Yi's eyes hurt, his face hurt, and even his stomach ached.
But Yang Yi decided to give up on revenge because he was a man, and a man should not quibble too much with a woman, especially when the woman was John Jones's daughter, and also a beauty.
Therefore, Yang Yi magnanimously forgave Kate Jones, before he was capable of defeating Kate Jones he was definitely not going to make too much of a fuss.
"Put your things in the room, we're going downstairs now, you'll meet a few people today, you have to learn from them."
"Are they people from your core team?"
"Yes."
Speaking made Yang Yi realize how painfully sore his cheeks were; thus he rubbed his face and made a significant note in his mental notebook. The first learning objective had been confirmed: combat.
Back downstairs, John Jones poured Yang Yi a glass of whiskey and smiled, "Have a drink, you'll feel better."
"Thank you."
Taking the glass, Yang Yi took a sip, and then he started to scrutinize John Jones's living room with an evaluative gaze.
The first impression was tidiness, it was very, very clean everywhere, John Jones's house appeared to be in good sanitary condition.
Yang Yi picked up the glass again and took another sip, and when he looked at John Jones, he noticed a subtle peculiarity.
John Jones's glass had a round mouth and a square bottom, while the glass Yang Yi was using had a square mouth and a round bottom. At first glance, there did not seem to be any difference, but upon closer observation, the distinction between the two glasses was discernible.
Yang Yi swept another glance around the living room and nonchalantly drained the rest of his drink.
"Would you like some more?"
"No, thank you."
Yang Yi did not have the habit of drinking alcohol in the early morning, and just like him, John Jones also drained the rest of his drink, before taking Yang Yi's glass, went to the open kitchen, meticulously cleaned both glasses, and placed them on the rack.
While John Jones was engaged in these trivial tasks, the doorbell rang. John Jones gestured to Yang Yi and then went to answer the door himself.
"Hello, Mr. Jones."
"Hello, Ryan."
A man in his thirties was welcomed in. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with John Jones, Ryan saw Yang Yi stand up and obviously paused, but then simply nodded to Yang Yi and took a seat on the opposite sofa.
John Jones showed no intention of introducing the two to each other, and after a few minutes, the doorbell rang again. This time, when John opened the door, a woman who appeared to be in her forties or fifties came in.
"Hello, John."
"Hello, Jenny."
The two hugged briefly, but Yang Yi felt there was something peculiar about the relationship between John and the newly arrived Jenny – more intimate than that of just friends or colleagues, yet they both maintained a respectful distance from each other.
The door was still open when another person arrived.
"Hello, Mr. Jones, long time no see."
"Hello, Wells."
Another person came in, this one a man in his forties, dressed very sharply, exuding an air of gentility and grace. Upon seeing Yang Yi, a clear hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he still politely nodded to Yang Yi and took a seat.
Just then, another person entered without greeting John Jones; he simply waved at John Jones and walked into the living room, silent.
The new arrival, in his twenties with pale complexion, was dressed in a sports pullover and had a black backpack on his back.
Indifferently glancing at Yang Yi, the pullover man took a seat on the couch.
An Indian subcontinent man walked in.
"Good day, Mr. Jones."
"Hello, Kadipur."
As Kadipur walked to the semicircular arrangement of sofas, Yang Yi caught a strong scent of perfume.
John Jones closed the door, then turned to the group seated in a circle with a smile, "Let me introduce a newcomer, Ross."
John Jones gestured towards Yang Yi, and that was how Yang Yi learned he had just been renamed.
"Hi everyone, I'm Ross."
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"This is Ryan, Wells, Jenny, Daniel, Kadipur."
John Jones casually introduced each arriving person to Yang Yi, but he merely mentioned their names without giving any further introductions.
After simply stating their names, John Jones indifferently said, "From today on, Ross will be operating with us as our new partner."
Kadipur stood up, smiled at Yang Yi, and said, "Welcome."
"Thank you."
Yang Yi still couldn't quite grasp the situation, while that Ryan, with a puzzled face that hinted at dissatisfaction, said, "Mr. Jones, who is he, and why can he join us directly? What skills does he have?"
John Jones smiled and replied, "He is Ross, he can drive, and I've decided to let him join us. Any more questions?"
Ryan spread his hands and said no more.
The woman named Jenny then asked, "What about Kate? Isn't she here?"
John Jones pointed towards the staircase and said, "Upstairs."
After that, John Jones clapped his hands together and smiled, "Today, I've taken on a task worth one point six million British Pounds. Our target is Eagletoni Investment Company."
Ryan frowned and said, "I've never heard of that company."
John Jones smiled and explained, "It's an investment company newly established not long ago, quite ambitious, with very impressive performance. The employer hopes to obtain their financial condition, investment and financing plans, and most importantly, Aigertoni Company's acquisition plans for ARM Company."
The middle-aged man named Wells asked in a calm voice, "Do we know the background of this company?"
John Jones shook his head, then reached out to the man in the sweater, Daniel, and said, "Check out the public information on this company."
Daniel took off the backpack behind him, pulled out a laptop, booted it up, and quickly reported, "Eagletoni Investment Company, founded in 2006, with a registered capital of ten million British Pounds, chairman Wayne Rushford. Since its establishment, it has had very strong performance, completing a series of acquisitions and investments in emerging technology companies during the financial crisis that began in '08, that's all."
John Jones nodded and addressed everyone, "Eagletoni Investment Company hasn't gone public, but the company has completed acquisitions totalling about two billion US Dollars, and has made investments summing up to approximately three point two billion US Dollars. It's a big company; though not famous, it's like a huge crocodile hidden beneath the water."
Ryan said gravely, "But acquiring ARM still seems impossible, right? ARM Company's market value must be at least several tens of billions of US Dollars. I doubt whether Eagletoni Investment Company really has a plan to acquire ARM."
Wells laughed and said, "Maybe Aigertoni Company has an even bigger behemoth supporting it from behind. We don't need to concern ourselves with that; we just need to know we can make one point six million British Pounds from this job."
Just then, Kate Jones came down from upstairs, still with some anger on her face, but after seeing everyone downstairs, she listlessly said, "Hi, everyone."
Kate Jones took a seat next to Jenny and whispered, "Mom."
Jenny looked at Kate with a furrowed brow and asked, "You don't seem too happy, what's the matter?"
Kate glared at Yang Yi and then shook her head in irritation, "It's nothing, it's over."
Ryan, Wells, and Daniel all focused their gazes on Yang Yi's face, and noticing the dark circle under his left eye, the three men quickly exchanged knowing smiles.
Yang Yi was equally confused; he wondered what the relationship between Kate, John Jones, and Jenny really was.
John Jones said somewhat helplessly, "Alright, let's not talk about this. Ryan, go and investigate Eagletoni Company, see how we can get inside to obtain the necessary information. Wells, get ready for the entry. Daniel, try hacking directly into Aigertoni Company's internal network; maybe we can settle it that way. Kadipur, observe the exterior of Aigertoni Company's headquarters for the next few days. The employer wants the intelligence within two months, but I hope to finish within a month. If we can get the information within a month, there's an additional bonus of five hundred thousand British Pounds."
Ryan whistled and said excitedly, "Let's get it done quick! Two point one million British Pounds! Guys, aren't you excited?"
Yang Yi had been an observer and listener all this time; as a rookie who understood nothing but to listen, he had nothing else to say. However, not having received any task from John Jones until now, he finally could not help but ask.
"Mr. Jones, what should I do?"
John Jones looked at Yang Yi, thought for a moment with a frown, and finally nodded, "When everyone moves out, you drive the car."
Kate looked at Yang Yi with contempt and then proudly said, "Me too, I want to be on the team. I can definitely get into Aigertoni Company and steal the information."
The look on John Jones' face instantly turned sour, and he immediately said, "No way!"
Kate turned to Jenny beside her, but after Jenny sighed helplessly, she whispered to John Jones, "John, I've already promised her she can be part of it."
John Jones angrily replied, "No!"
Kate immediately stood up, pointed at Yang Yi, and shouted, "This idiot doesn't know anything and can run! I know everything, but you won't let me in? Dad, your word means nothing!"
John Jones exclaimed furiously, "As long as I call the shots here, you can forget about it! Stop dreaming, clean up your room, and stay put in this house—you are not allowed to go anywhere!"
Jenny's face also soured as she suddenly stood up, took Kate's hand, and said coldly, "If Kate can't join, then I'm out too. I hope you find someone to replace me soon."
Kate huffed and said, "And I won't ever come here again, never! I'm going to form a new team with Mom!"
Yang Yi, who was referred to as the fool, realized this wasn't just infighting among the gang, this was a family conflict.
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