In the Name of the People: A Political Rampage from the Bottom, Outplaying Heaven

On the grounds of Handong University in 1998, beneath the gaze of the crowd, the daughter of the top leader tossed a diamond ring at Xu Yi’s feet, then knelt before him in a condescending pose and proposed. “My father can guarantee you a smooth rise to success.” In his previous life, Xu Yi swallowed the humiliation, thinking he could change his fate. In the end, at Guying Ridge, he was driven to put a gun in his mouth and kill himself by the discarded pawn. Reborn, he looked at this shoddy operation riddled with loopholes and laughed. He kicked the dog-collar-like diamond ring away, then turned and walked off under the stunned gazes of students and faculty. He was given a prefab life full of twists and turns, but he was determined to overturn this absurd chessboard. If he had no connections, he would build them himself. With one hand, he exploited people’s weaknesses; with the other, he seized every opportunity the times had to offer. From a low-level clerk in a remote town to the uncrowned king wielding power over the entire court. Years later, the crown prince and tycoons trembled before him. Xu Yi brushed the ash from his cigarette, his gaze calm. “If you can’t give me dignity, I’ll make sure you learn to act with dignity.”