Published at 20th of January 2023 3:24 pm

Chapter 328: To Each Their Own

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

What Ji Bonong had said actually matched Lin Jie’s explanation to a tee!

Fitch and Yedda were both sharp enough to notice one other thing. According to Ji Bonong, the weather phenomenon aptly named ‘reverse lightning’ was a ‘rare phenomenon never before recorded and had only been named a moment ago.’ This was practically something that had just received its name because it hadn’t yet been seen till now.

That raised the question—

How did Boss Lin know to call it ‘reverse lightning’ before Ji Bonong had even announced it?

Rolle Resource Development’s monopolistic position in Norzin’s market came across as no surprise to anybody. As a behemoth with jurisdiction over almost the entirety of the city’s main industries, they definitely had limitless resources to spare, information included.

So many rich and powerful individuals were present, yet none had bothered to send their own men to investigate the situation and instead just decided to wait.

This was because everyone knew that their speed of acquiring information would never be on par with Rolle Resource Development.

In the eyes of the ordinary folk, Ji Bonong was by their truest description of someone with hands and eyes everywhere.

But even such a person who could only determine the new phenomenon via professional analysis had actually been beaten to it by a bookstore owner.

Wait, no, this doesn’t make any sense, Yedda felt she should calm down and think.

Perhaps the bookstore owner before us had some secret contacts and had someone collecting this information back when Ji Bonong was discussing with the meteorologists? This would explain how he managed to receive the information then and there, allowing him to spill the beans before Ji Bonong showed up.

But Lin Jie was previously engaged in conversation with them, and there was no way he could have conversed with anyone else. Which meant, the plausibility of this hypothesis was null.

Unless… Lin Jie already had contextual knowledge and managed to predict the deductions of the meteorologists. Or, maybe he was the first who actually spoke of the phenomenon which later on became an established fact…?

At this point, Yedda’s eyes narrowed as a chill came over her.

Yedda, who was qualified to represent her clan at this banquet, naturally had a sharp mind. One that could think critically and judge the current situation.

Her thoughts were coming thick and fast, but she made an effort to conceal the strange expression on her face. Swiftly, she picked up a wine glass on the long table next to her, taking a sip and licking her parched lips.

She realized that she had been tricked by this ‘ordinary’ bookstore owner.

The three possibilities all seemed to suggest that this alleged ‘reverse lightning’ wasn’t a weather phenomenon at all, but it definitely held some secrets.

If it were the first possibility, then Lin Jie… this self-proclaimed ordinary owner of a bookstore had an extraordinary power behind him—this ‘reverse lightning’ and those meteorologists were surely all being arranged by him. But if this did theoretically happen, this would mean he had managed to deceive Rolle Resource Development!

This was a hypothesis so incredible it could even be considered terrifying…

If it were the second or third possibility, then it would mean that Lin Jie’s words were all a bunch of hogwash. He would very likely be one of those super-powered beings that could create ‘whoosh’ sounds in battle. As for the ‘lightning’… Yedda’s intuition reckoned that it was very likely a sword light.

But regardless of whichever possibility it was, the identity and power of this young man standing before her was definitely more than met the eye!

There’s absolutely no way he’s an ordinary bookstore owner!

Yedda’s heart was pounding madly. Perhaps she was close to seeing the other side that others in the banquet couldn’t see.

Glancing around, she could see that those guests had already calmed down and were engaged in conversations and finding a dance partner for the first segment of the banquet.

Rolle Resource Development had drawn wool over the eyes of the majority, and only a select few knew of the truth.

And she was one of them.

What is the motive of this mysterious and well-dressed Mr. Lin, and what is his relation to Rolle Resource Development? These were the queries Yedda had.

On the other hand, despite having already anticipated this, Fitch still found himself utterly stunned.

As a ‘person in the know,’ he had obviously known that Lin Jie’s words had been just a load of nonsense. However, he never imagined that this nonsense would actually be ‘officially certified’ by Ji Bonong.

To him, there was no other possibility but that Lin Jie had used his own power. As for what sort of power it was, Fitch didn’t know for the time being.

However, Fitch himself had firsthand experienced being completely seen through by this bookstore owner. Hence, he was leaning toward the possibility of Lin Jie manipulating the thoughts of those unknown meteorologists and using them to convey the aforementioned details to Ji Bonong.

There was one other possibility that Fitch didn’t dare think about—that reverse-lightning had been ‘decreed’ by the bookstore owner.

While Fitch was shallow, he also knew that probably only transcendent beings of peak Destructive-ranks, or those close to Supreme-rank, wielded such power.

If it’s really the latter, the book I have now… Fitch gulped, suddenly finding his inner coat pocket to be extra heavy.

There was a lively atmosphere in the air and the crowd was bustling. The only exception was at a tiny corner of the hall where a brunette in a red gown stared dazedly at her wine, while a skinny violinist appeared to be full of unease.

As for the ‘culprit,’ Lin Jie, who had filled their heads with these thoughts…

He was completely shocked when Ji Bonong made his appearance.

As the host made his way down the stairs, Lin Jie, while keeping the smile on his face and acting as naturally as possible, had backed away two steps and turned around, proceeding to blend himself perfectly with the crowd as quickly as he could.

He proceeded to swiftly pick up a wine glass to obscure his face and only after he made sure Ji Bonong wasn’t looking at him, or just in his direction, did Lin Jie wipe off the cold beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.

While Boss Lin seemed to have his usual calm and composed disposition, deep down, he was panicking.

What the heck…

The middle-aged chauffeur who had accompanied Ji Zhixiu to the bookstore was actually her father and the head of Rolle Resource Development, Ji Bonong!

Lin Jie stared at the wine in his glass as he recalled how he had basically made a fool out of Ji Zhixiu right in front of her father—accepting the box of expensive gifts, discussing partnership details, agreeing to attend the birthday banquet, judging Ji Bonong himself, as well as… tactfully rejecting Ji Zhixiu’s feelings. Lin Jie’s lips started twitching involuntarily as he remembered all of it.

Do all big shots have such a twisted sense of humor?!

How could he pretend to be Ji Zhixiu’s chauffeur and servant? Unless it was a case of a father protecting his naive daughter and ensuring she isn’t deceived by others again?!

Just picturing this scenario again only made Lin Jie feel even more awkward. In a sense… wouldn’t accepting a gift and rejecting her feelings in front of her father make him out to be a scumbag cheating on her feelings and riches?

But what was more awkward was that Lin Jie was already present… Mr. Ji wouldn’t have set me up with no escape, would he?

While these thoughts were running through Lin Jie’s mind, he subconsciously looked toward Ji Bonong only to inadvertently meet the latter’s gaze.

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