Chapter 24

"Brother Peng?" A soft voice called out, snapping Su Peng back to his senses.

Looking up, he saw Su Weiwei approaching.

Su Peng nodded, took a deep breath, and walked forward. The black snake was no longer wriggling much. Su Peng walked over, pulled out the fruit knife that had pinned the snake's head, then picked up the dead snake and threw it into a nearby trash can. He folded the fruit knife and tossed it as well.

"It's fine, just a small accident. Everyone can continue," Su Peng said with a smile, turning to the Su family relatives. They murmured for a moment, but seeing that everything seemed under control, they all sat down.

"This is Su Can's doing. He's in trouble now, even his father can't save him," Su Weiwei said. He didn't intend to hide it. Seeing his father looking puzzled, Su Weiwei walked over and whispered the general situation to him.

Su Peng was still in a strange state of mind, the feeling of throwing that knife still lingering in his hand. It felt like using a skill in a game, as if some system was assisting him. However, Su Peng felt that if he tried again, he might not be able to throw such a precise knife.

"Could it really be an accident?" Su Peng thought, but he had a hunch that things weren't that simple.

Su Peng slowly returned to his seat. Su Weiwei had already betrayed Su Can, who was now hanging his head, clearly uneasy under his father's disapproving gaze.

"It's all right, it's just a kid's prank. We all went through that when we were young," Su Peng's second grandfather said with a smile. Su Can's grandfather didn't plan to take it seriously with his grandson, but Su Peng's third uncle looked at Su Peng and said, "Su Peng, when did you learn to throw knives so well? That was impressive. Hitting such a small target from six or seven meters away, even those who have trained in military knife skills in special forces might not be as accurate or strong as you."

"Ha... Just something I did out of boredom," Su Peng replied, still unsure of what had happened, trying to cover it up with a laugh.

"Alright, Su Peng, you and the others go back to your table," Uncle Su Mingli said to Su Peng.

Su Peng nodded and left the table with Su Weiwei and Su Can.

As Su Peng walked, he was still savoring the feeling of throwing the knife.

After a somewhat tasteless meal, the elderly Su family members went upstairs, and the other relatives gradually said their goodbyes after the banquet. Su Weiwei returned his phone to Su Peng and left.

The small building gradually emptied, leaving only a few adults with unfinished business. Just as Su Peng was getting bored, he saw his third uncle waving at him from the doorway of a room, beckoning him over.

...

Su Mingli called Su Peng to a study on the second floor, closed the door, and said, "Su Peng, this is your chance. You should have noticed that because of certain events, the old man's attitude toward you has changed. You can try to mend the relationship between you and your grandfather."

"Ha... A chance, huh..." Su Peng laughed, shaking his head. "Uncle, I'm curious. How did Grandfather's attitude change so much? Even Second Grandfather's attitude toward me has changed. Did you do this? Compared to seizing this opportunity, I'd rather know how you did it."

"You little rascal..." Su Mingfa also laughed. "I've recently grasped the old man's mindset and found an opportunity to have a deep talk with him, helping him overcome his mental knot. That's how things are now."

"Oh? How did you do it? I'm very curious," Su Peng said, making a face as if he was all ears.

"It's not much, just a psychological analysis. You know, your grandfather is a very traditional old man who values the bloodline of his descendants. However, his attitude toward you has always been strange. He doesn't allow the family to interfere with your life plans or use their abilities to help you, but he's not really against you. He always asks for you to come back for birthdays and New Year's, which is clearly contradictory to his otherwise cold attitude."

"I started from this point, delving into a deep emotional and psychological analysis. The old man definitely values you, otherwise he wouldn't have specifically asked for you to come back. However, the coldness in other aspects, after my analysis, is not because of you, but because of your father."

"I've known for a long time that in the old man's mind, my status and Second Brother's are far below First Brother's. Even though Second Brother is now a colonel... However, First Brother's marriage brought the old man a great sense of failure, which he has never admitted. In this aspect, he failed in front of First Brother, and even First Brother's departure made the old man doubt his own correctness."

"The old man would never admit this. He is too competitive, which led to a cold war for several years after First Brother brought you and your mother back. However, the old man's expectations for First Brother haven't changed. First Brother understands this, so he isn't worried... But First Brother's accident was beyond the old man's expectations, causing him a major emotional and psychological blow with no outlet for his frustration... Regret, guilt, disappointment, and sorrow formed a strange complex in the old man."

"His expectations, disappointment, and sorrow for First Brother, due to the traditional sense of inheritance, were transferred to you. He treated you, a child, as a substitute for First Brother. Not allowing the family to interfere with your life wasn't because he was cold or disliked you, but an extreme reverse reaction. He tried to control First Brother but failed, suffering a backlash and the pain of the accident. Subconsciously, he formed two extremes in his treatment of you: giving you absolute freedom and no planning. It wasn't that he had given up on you, but that he subconsciously believed: control = destroying another First Brother, and subconsciously resisted giving you any planning."

"When I explained this to the old man, he was initially furious, but soon seemed to understand... The old man is a very self-aware person. He knew I was right. Psychologically, when a complex moves from the subconscious to the conscious, the surface symptoms disappear. So, he has accepted you again."

Su Mingfa slowly explained to Su Peng.

Su Peng listened in silence for a long time before finally saying, "Uncle, you don't seem like the type who can figure these things out."

"Come on, you underestimate me too much. Your uncle has many skills," Su Mingfa said.

"Ha... Uncle, don't flatter yourself. Be honest, did Aunt Zengna teach you all this?" Su Peng smiled and asked Su Mingfa.

"You little rascal!" Su Mingfa couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Su Mingfa's wife, Su Peng's third aunt Zengna, was a returned overseas student who had earned a dual Ph.D. in psychology and law in the United States. After returning to China, she married Su Mingfa and became a renowned psychologist. According to Su Peng, her consultation fee in China was about 5,000 RMB per hour.

Su Mingfa couldn't figure out these complexities himself, and it was highly likely that Zengna had taught him.

In the Su family, Zengna was a very independent woman, gentle but shrewd. Even the somewhat sexist grandfather treated her with respect.

Today, Aunt Zengna wasn't there. It was said that she had recently gone to the United States for an important psychology conference.

"Uncle, no matter what, thank you," Su Peng finally took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to Uncle Su Mingfa.

"Ha, we're family. You should go see the old man. Since he understood, he has been asking about you. He even asked about the scar on your forehead from last year several times. I told him it was from a thug, and immediately your grandfather informed Second Grandfather to protect you," Su Mingfa laughed.

Su Peng finally understood what had happened at the banquet.

At that moment, Su Peng felt a warm current flow through his body, as if he had regained a source of motivation.

"Alright, I'll go see Grandfather... By the way, Uncle, I remember Aunt Zengna's mentor at Harvard is the vice president of the American Psychological Association, right?" Su Peng suddenly remembered something and asked Su Mingfa.

"Yes, I remember she mentioned it," Su Mingfa nodded. "What's the matter?"

"Uncle, I need Aunt Zengna's help. Can you ask her mentor to find out if the American Psychological Association has ever been involved in the development of a technique called 'reverse hypnosis'? It's very important to me," Su Peng said to Su Mingfa.

"Alright, I'll call her tonight," Su Mingfa nodded.

Su Peng felt relieved and then walked out of the study with Su Mingfa, intending to go to the third floor to see the old man. However, the old man's life secretary informed him that the old man had drunk too much and was already asleep.

"Alright... Uncle, I have some business at the company, so I'll leave first," Su Peng sighed.

"Okay, I'll have the driver take you," Su Mingfa said. Su Peng nodded, went downstairs, and got into the car. The driver, a former military reconnaissance soldier, was highly alert and would quickly notice if anyone was following them.

However, Su Peng didn't notice that as he left, an elderly man in military uniform, standing by the window on the third floor, watched the car with a loving gaze...

...

Su Peng didn't go directly to the company but asked the driver to take him to the office building of "Youjian Affairs Office."

He wasn't afraid of being followed. The driver was a former military reconnaissance soldier with high vigilance. If anyone was following, they would be noticed quickly.

Entering the office building and reaching the thirteenth floor, it was only a little past five in the afternoon. Su Peng opened the Sudoku lock and stretched in the office.

"Alright... I seem to have absorbed a lot of positive energy at home today... I can't lose," Su Peng muttered to himself. He then took out a set of tools from a toolbox and placed the company-issued phone on the desk.

After fiddling with it for over twenty minutes, the company-issued phone was disassembled into several parts.

"Sure enough, it's here... They really went all out," Su Peng said with a cold smile, looking at a small black device he had removed from the phone.

It was a sixth-generation eavesdropping device with a tracker. When he was a private detective, Su Peng had obtained many controlled electronic components from the special forces unit managed by Su Mingfa. He had seen this device before. It was a German military-grade product, stable, small, and powerful, and it cost 50,000 RMB on the black market.

"The phone's core is the same... Even if it's not turned on or completely out of power, the weak electrical device in the phone's core can track my location within two hours."

Su Peng thought, but the tracker in the phone's core was less precise than the small device he had removed. It could only roughly determine his location in the office building, not the specific floor or exact position.

"Fortunately, I've handled this before. I'll add some modifications..." Su Peng thought.

...

About half an hour later, Su Peng finally completed the phone's modifications.

He added an electronic component to the small eavesdropping and tracking device, which would temporarily disconnect it when a button on the phone was pressed.

The weak electrical device in the phone's core was covered with an insulating film, which would lose its sensitivity when a specific code was entered.

After completing the modifications, Su Peng reassembled the phone to its original state.

"For now, this will do... But since they've resorted to such means, this company isn't a good one," Su Peng felt satisfied, put the phone away, and went downstairs to take a taxi to the company.

Returning to Tianpeng Property, it was already 8:30 PM. Su Peng went to the seventh floor, used his key card to enter the office, and then took the dedicated elevator to the eighteenth floor. He reported to Shi Qianjun and retrieved his game ring.

Since it was still early for Su Peng, he went to the tea room on the left to see if there was anything interesting. As soon as he entered, he saw Ji Ming, who was sitting dejectedly on the sofa. Several empty beer bottles were already on the coffee table next to him.

"You're back early," Su Peng walked over and sat on the other side of the coffee table.

Ji Ming didn't say anything, opened a can of beer, and pushed it to Su Peng, then drank the one in his hand in one go.

"Unhappy?" Su Peng asked, taking the beer.

"Su Peng, I have a question. If you could make a million a year, and I asked you to lend me 400,000, would you lend it to me?" Ji Ming suddenly looked up, his eyes flickering, seemingly very serious...