1 CHAPTER 1: Satan's Circle

(Edited)

A very handsome man was sitting inside the VIP Lounge of a famous bar in Beijing. He was wearing his tailor-made grey suit and silver cufflinks.

He had a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist and a pair of black loafers on his feet.

Women who wanted to get her attention were sitting on his lap. They tried to entertain him, yet he maintained that stone-cold facial expression.

Everyone wanted to have a piece of this man. He was the perfect dream guy of all women.

Saying that he's handsome was such an insult to his face. He had these godly features!

He had deep soul-sucking bluish-green eyes. His eyelashes were long. He had perfectly drawn eyebrows. He had a high-bridged nose and thin red lips, which he inherited from his father. His hair was also neatly combed to the right.

Though he mostly had Western facial features, his facial structure was less masculine because of his softer jawline.

But this does not discredit him. His face was smaller than the average men's facial size.

This man looked like a woman should he grow his hair long. He looked more attractive than a woman.

His name was Nathaniel Johnson. However, he changed his name to Nathaniel Bai.

Two other attractive men were sitting on the couch beside him.

The first was also charming and handsome. Girls liked his strong sense of humor.

His name was Hua Zhang Wei. He was the first son and heir of the Hua Family and Hua Corp.

The other one was Kim Jeong Ho. He was the descendant of the Kim Family in South Korea. He was also Nathan's best friend since college.

He seldom talked during gatherings and get-together parties. He was more approachable than Nathan despite his reserved personality.

These three were young masters of their respective households.

"Master Bai, are you okay?" The woman sitting on his lap asked. However, he did not say anything and remained quiet.

He could feel the cigarette burning his fingers. However, he neglected the pain.

"Why are you so serious, Nate?" Kim Jeong Ho asked him.

"Are you accepting your father's name now?"

Kim Jeong Ho was only testing the waters.

He knew that the topic concerning his father was his sore spot.

Nathan and his father's relationship was close to strangers.

So he was shocked to learn that his good friend had accepted his father's name.

'Did he have a change of heart?' Even Young Master Hua Zhang Wei's thoughts were complicated.

"How ironic it is? He ruined your mother's reputation. He pushed her to the edge. Now that he was on the brink of losing everything-- Hah! I bet he never expected that the son he abandoned for thirty years would be the only person to save him." Young Master Hua Zhang Wei added in sarcasm.

"Should I ask Master Hua to train you harder these days?" Nathan warned. Hence, Hua Zhang Wei was rendered speechless.

"..."

Oh no! Please! This subordinate already recognized his mistake. Please spare this Young Master's life, King Yama!" He pleaded with puppy eyes after everything sunk in.

His father was such a tyrant boss. So, raining with him was hellish.

He never dreamed of being in a nine-to-five office job for the rest of his life. Aside from his hobby and interest in IT, he loved to travel and discover the world together with his camera.

He would never want to be his father's successor if he had a choice. Company politics was not his cup of tea. He loathed it.

However, he had no choice but to play his part while being a good brother to his twin younger siblings.

He wanted them to enjoy their youth and not be affected by company matters.

They were still 16 years old while he was already 28 years old.

Nathan's lips twitched the moment he heard Zhang Wei.

On the other hand, even though he was pleading, Hua Zhang Wei was boiling with anger deep inside.

'Damn you, Nathan! You don't even spare your best friend. Such a heartless man!' He inwardly cursed. Of course, he would never dare to voice it out because he still loved his life. Who knows what this tyrant would do if triggered?

The movement on the door got their attention. Before they could react, the door opened, and another handsome man walked in.

He had a chilling aura like Nathan.

However, he frowned when he saw a lot of women in the room.

"Nate, could you dismiss them?" He spoke with disgust.

Nathan obeyed and waved his hand in the air. As they saw his signal, the ladies left immediately. They knew Mo Jing-sheng didn't like to be in the same room with other women. It freaked the hell out of him.

They then phoned a waiter to sanitize the room.

The waiter knocked on their booth and entered after a minute. Then, he started cleaning the couch right away.

Mo Jing-sheng was satisfied with the waiter's efficiency.

He walked near the couch and sat on it. He occupied the main seat.

The Mo Jing-sheng asked, "What did you do this time to anger Satan?"

"First Brother Mo! I did not do anything to anger him." Hua Zhang Wei denied that he had done wrong.

Mo Jing-sheng then turned his attention toward Kim Jeong Ho, "Cousin?"

"What else?" Jeong Ho replied with a shrug.

Mo Jing-sheng then learned what happened.

"*Sigh!* Can you not ask sensitive questions in public, Zhang Wei?"

"Eh?" Question marks popped out in Hua Zhang Wei's head.

"Use your common sense!" Jeong Ho snorted due to his slow comprehension.

"Would you like other people to know your dirty laundry?" Mo Jing-sheng explained to him.

"Oh." Hua Zhang Wei finally understood what they meant.

The topic of his relationship with his father was still taboo for Nathan. However, it did not hurt that much now compared to the past.

Why? Simply because he didn't care anymore.

He acted that way because it was improper to talk about it. Although they were in a VIP room, it was unsafe to discuss it.

Nathan hated to hear gossip about him.

Though he was known for being a playboy, he did not care about that. What he cared about was his family, especially his mother. Just like everyone, his family was his bottom line.

Mo Jing-sheng sighed as soon as he saw Zhang Wei's reaction.

The bartender appeared behind the bar to start refilling their drinks.

The best feature of this bar was the private bar in every VIP room.

Nathaniel Bai acquired this bar after he came back.

The bartender then disappeared behind the bartender station after he served their drinks.

"Second Brother. I'm sorry. I was just carried away by my emotions earlier. Hence, I failed to keep myself in check," he seriously uttered his apology.

He understood that he had overstepped the boundaries.

"Mm." Nathan just hummed in response. Hua Zhang Wei received forgiveness immediately.

"I was also stunned when you accepted his name. We knew how deeply you hated him. You did go to extremes to topple a huge empire that had been in business for nearly two centuries. And now you're helping them?"

Mo Jing-sheng thought Nathaniel Bai's actions were illogical.

"What's wrong with that? I came from his sperm. Without it, I won't be here. Therefore, I have every right to have his name." Nathan explained as he took a sip of his liquor.

They could not refute his explanation.

The resentment that he felt for his father never vanished in his heart. He was helping him not because he had a change of heart but because of personal reasons.

He only agreed to change his name to Bai from Johnson because he wanted to anger the second person on his most hated list- his stepmother.

His stepmother would never be happy about this.

He wanted to see her reaction when his 'father' introduced him to the public.

Call him petty, but he did not care. They wronged his mother in the past.

They only had themselves to blame for this.

The corners of his mouth curled up. He revealed a devilish smile. His three best friends saw his creepy smile. Hence they sighed inwardly and felt the shivers down their spines. The trio was thankful that they were on his good side and not one of his enemies.

"So, what are your plans?" Zhang Wei asked. He felt the three of them needed to have a heads-up in advance. They didn't want to have another bout of heart attacks.

"Nothing major will happen yet." Nathan wanted his father to loosen up before he made his big move.

The quartet chatted for about an hour before they realized that something was off with Mo Jing-sheng.

"Oie, First Brother Mo Jing-sheng! Why do you keep on looking at your phone?"

Zhang Wei, being the busybody that he was, saw Mo Jing-sheng keep checking on his phone. So, he could not help not to be curious.

Mo Jing-sheng did not mind his query and dialed someone's phone number instead.

He frowned when no one answered his call. He tried again. This time, he smiled after the other party finally picked up.

The three were stunned by his smile.

His smile was soft and genuine. Not everyone could earn that smile from him.

A soft voice of a woman then echoed in the room. Her voice was like music in their ears.

"..."

'Is the world about to end?' Zhang Wei thought.

However, Mo Jing-sheng did not mind him and continued with his call.

"Darling!" The woman on the other line said. Mo Jing-sheng answered back, "Darling."

The three other men were speechless.

Hua Zhang Wei was overwhelmed and wanted to puke.

Mo Jing-sheng never interacted with women in the past except for family members! Now he was smiling like a fool just because of a phone call. What more? It's from a d*mn woman!

"What's going on?" Zhang Wei asked Kim Jeong Ho. However, the latter shrugged his shoulder in response.

He had no idea what was going on, too.

Then, Hua Zhang Wei looked at Nathan, who was sporting a smug face now.

Zhang Wei's voice was so loud. The woman on the other line heard him.

"Are you all my husband's close friends?"

This time the three could not utter a word.

"Greet your sister-in-law!" Mo Jing-sheng told them.

***