“Uncle Chen, you want to be my father-in-law, and I want to be your son-in-law. I like Yunyun, but life is unpredictable. Isn’t it better to make our relationship a done deal as soon as possible? We get along wonderfully, and this would just prevent her from feeling awkward or anxious. What’s wrong with that? Besides, we’re supposed to be talking about your daughter. I was seriously injured because of her. You come here lecturing me instead of giving me a satisfactory explanation?”

Xi Fanhao spoke with dead seriousness, but by the end, his expression had turned violent.

“You little bastard!” Rage filled Chen Heng’s chest. His fists cracked as he clenched them, his teeth gritted and veins bulging on his temples.

Little bastard? Chen Heng’s attitude was like someone had stepped on Xi Fanhao’s tail. The hypocritical, refined elegance he’d worn earlier vanished without a trace.

He raised his palm and slapped Chen Heng across the face with furious strength. “Chen Heng, let me tell you something,” he roared. “I’m being generous, so don’t be a fool. It’s your daughter’s great fortune that I’d even bother with her, and you should feel lucky! Lucky that I’m willing to play with her! Don’t forget your situation. You’re the one begging the Xi Family for a partnership! Don’t think you can lecture me just because you have some history with the old man. In my eyes, you’re nothing but a tail-wagging lapdog, understand? Piss me off, and this whole damn partnership can go straight to hell!”

SLAP!

The moment Xi Fanhao finished his tirade, Chen Heng’s hand shot out and slapped him back.

“Bastard! You’re a fucking scumbag! I’m going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your father, you piece of trash! To hell with your damn partnership, is that what you want? Then let it go to hell! I don’t need it! If you have the guts, then destroy me! Destroy my company! Xi Fanhao, I was truly blind! My greatest sin, besides causing Yunyun to lose her mother when she was nine, was misjudging a scumbag like you and letting her go on a date with you! Thank God it didn’t end in tragedy. Otherwise, I, Chen Heng, would have sacrificed everything—even my life—to make sure a piece of filth like you died a miserable death!”

With each slap, Chen Heng grew more agitated, his face flushing a deeper red. Spittle flew as he spoke, the bulging veins on his neck the very picture of a fiercely protective parent. For his daughter, he would stop at nothing, even if it meant throwing himself into the fire. He had thought he could help her secure a happy marriage, but instead, he had unknowingly pushed her to the edge of a fiery pit.

That she hadn’t fallen in was a true silver lining.

Xi Fanhao was completely stunned by the slaps. He never would have imagined that the usually kind and gentle Chen Heng would erupt with such violence. It wasn’t until Chen Heng finished speaking that he finally snapped out of his daze.

And then, his own boundless rage erupted like a wildfire.

“Your master has been hit! What are you all standing there for? Get them! Take them all down, and don’t let a single one get away!” Xi Fanhao screamed hysterically, his face a mask of scarlet as he pointed toward Qin Fan and the others.

CRASH!

Before Xi Fanhao’s men could even move, the sound of a shattering bottle ripped through the air.

At the entrance of the club, a middle-aged man holding the jagged neck of a wine bottle smashed it on the floor again.

CRASH!

Glass sprayed across the floor. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably; whether from rage or agitation, it was hard to tell.

“In my club, Wei Qingnian’s club, I’d like to see who dares to make a move! Xi Fanhao, is it? Couldn’t strut your stuff in Xiangjiang so you came running back to your hometown to act like a tyrant? Who the hell taught you to behave like this? Was it your spice-merchant father? You bastard! Guards, surround them! If anyone so much as twitches, send them to the hospital!” Wei Qingnian bellowed, pointing at Xi Fanhao from across the room.

At his command, a large group of young men in matching black T-shirts rushed out from inside the club, puffing out their muscular chests.

“Old Chen, I’m sorry. I can’t believe your daughter almost got hurt in my club!” After shouting his orders, Wei Qingnian turned and said to Chen Heng in a low voice.

“It’s a silver lining in a dark cloud,” Chen Heng said, his emotions finally steadying at the sight of Wei Qingnian. He then added, “Weren’t you in Europe with your wife and kids?”

“We just got back tonight. I heard there was trouble at the club and rushed straight over,” Wei Qingnian replied, clapping Chen Heng on the shoulder.

“Uncle Wei, this club is yours?” Chen Yunyun exclaimed from the side, completely shocked.

She knew her father’s old classmate well, but she never imagined that the quiet, low-profile Uncle Wei was the owner of this establishment.

“Haha, Yunyun, my apologies for not telling you sooner!” Wei Qingnian said, turning to look in her direction.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes bulged wide. His face flooded with utter disbelief and shock. He shook his head instinctively, a completely undignified gesture, and stared again, his eyes fixed.

“Uncle Wei, what’s wrong?” Chen Yunyun asked, frowning at his sudden, drastic change in demeanor.

But the completely stunned Wei Qingnian seemed not to have heard her. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

Then, his voice trembling, he cried out in alarm, “Lord Jizu!”

Lord Jizu?

At those two words, a violent tremor ran through Chen Heng.

Across the entire Lingnan region, from the biggest city to the smallest county, was there anyone with connections to high society who hadn’t heard the name of Lord Jizu? And who else but Ye Jizu, whose name was feared throughout both the underworld and legitimate circles of Lingnan, could provoke such an uncharacteristic, panicked reaction from Wei Qingnian?

But how could Lord Jizu possibly be here, in a third-tier city? And of all the places, how could he be in Wei Qingnian’s club?

“You know me?” Ye Jizu asked, standing up from the sofa. He faced Wei Qingnian with a contemptuous laugh.

“Lord Jizu, Director Li Yuankui is a distant relative of my wife’s family. I was fortunate enough to be invited to his son’s hundred-day celebration, where I had the honor of seeing you. I never forgot your face! Lord Jizu, what… what are you doing here? When did you arrive?” Wei Qingnian stammered, his entire body trembling with nervousness.

He might call the shots on his own turf and even dare to curse out Xi Fanhao, but in front of Lord Jizu, he knew he was nothing. Less than nothing.

“Oh, so that’s it,” Ye Jizu nodded, gesturing toward the young men Xi Fanhao had brought with him. “Tie up that trash and throw them out on the street. They’re an eyesore.”

“Yes, yes! As you command, Lord Jizu!” Wei Qingnian replied hastily. He spun around and shouted to his security team, “Follow Lord Jizu’s instructions! Tie this trash up and throw them on the curb! Make the knots tight!”

“Yes, Mr. Wei!” came the unified reply.

Immediately, howls of pain echoed throughout the club. The prelude to being thrown out was a savage beating—that was standard procedure.

“Lord Jizu, what should be done with this little bastard?” Wei Qingnian asked, his tension gradually subsiding, not even waiting for Ye Jizu to speak.

“Lord Jizu, spare me! It’s my fault! I was blind not to recognize true power! I was a blind fool, a worthless bastard! Lord Jizu, I beg you, please be merciful and let me go!”

Ye Jizu’s fame wasn’t just confined to Lingnan; it extended to the neighboring city of Jiangzhou and all across Xiangjiang. Anyone in the circles of power with ties to the mainland knew of Lingnan’s Lord Jizu.

The moment he confirmed the man’s identity, Xi Fanhao’s knees buckled and he dropped to the floor. His face went deathly pale as he trembled in terror. As his panicked pleas died down, he began to slap himself across the face, again and again.

The entire club fell deathly silent, the silence punctuated only by the crisp, sharp sound of Xi Fanhao’s palms striking his own cheeks.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep