Chapter Fifty-Four: Flirting with the Wrong Person

He was just about to teach He Kui and his crew a lesson when suddenly another group of people approached. The man at the front walked with a peculiar gait and sneered, “Quite the bold words! I’d like to see how just a few of you think you can take us on.”

He Kui’s face lit up with delight at the sound of the newcomer’s voice. “Ah? Brother Hai, you’re here? Why didn’t you let me know? I would’ve come to greet you at the door.”

The newcomer laughed heartily. “If I didn’t come in myself, how would I get to witness such an entertaining scene? Have I been in the hospital so long that any random riff-raff dares to jump out now? What’s going on here?”

He Kui replied obsequiously, “Don’t worry, it’s just a bunch of clueless country bumpkins. They think they’re something just because they have a bit of money, but we won’t let them embarrass Big Boss Zhai. Brother Hai, there’s a pretty girl among them—I saved her for you.”

As soon as he spoke, a chubby man with a bandage around his head stepped forward. “He Kui, what do you mean? That little tramp Li Xiaoqing is reserved for me! She cracked my head—does she think she can walk away unscathed? I’ll make her pay!”

He Kui hurried to explain, “Chao, you misunderstood! The one I’ve kept for Brother Hai is another girl—there, the one sitting on the sofa. Brother Hai, I promise she’s just your type!”

“Oh? Then I have to take a look!” Brother Hai grinned wickedly and glanced over at the boss card.

In truth, the moment he appeared, Long Teng, who had been about to rise, simply pulled Hu Erleng and Qi Kun back down with him. With studied indifference, he fished a cigar from his pocket and lit it—he didn’t smoke cigarettes, only cigars, since cigars aren’t inhaled into the lungs.

Brother Hai first noticed Long Xixiang, and his eyes lit up. Damn, she’s beautiful. Great figure, lovely face—only her chest is a bit small… But who cares about that, with those amazing long legs, he could have fun for a year!

“Hey, girl, you’re just my type,” Brother Hai said with a smirk. “Why don’t you come with me? I, Zhao Hai, guarantee you’ll enjoy the good life.”

This man was none other than Zhao Hai—the same one Yang Meng had sent flying to the hospital like a sack of potatoes.

His luck had been dismal: not only had Yang Meng sent him to the hospital, but his BMW X5 was still parked outside Longyun Fitness Club and he didn’t even dare go claim it. Just when he was feeling down on his luck, he ran into the incident of Deng Chao being hospitalized. He figured he’d recoup his losses elsewhere—he couldn’t take on Long Teng or Yang Meng, but surely he could handle Zhang Qiang? Tonight, he planned to use this as a pretext to seize more shares in the nightclub.

He had confidence because he knew Boss Zhai would back him up. Everyone knew Deng Chao was Zhai Dacheng’s nephew, but as one of the few who knew the inside story, Zhao Hai was aware their relationship was far from simple—after Zhai Dacheng was thrown out by his parents, his sister married and, just over seven months later, gave birth to a “premature” seven-and-a-half-pound baby, Deng Chao. Who would believe that was normal?

Long Xixiang hadn’t yet spoken when Yang Meng drawled from the side, “People always say lust is a blade—if this idiot had seen us first, would he still be talking like that?”

“You son of a…” Brother Hai began to curse, but when he got a good look at the two men sitting there, the words caught in his throat.

Long Teng glared angrily. “Go on, keep cursing. I’d like to hear what you’d say to me.”

Yang Meng only grinned. “Tsk tsk, medical care really has advanced—you got out of the hospital so fast! Which hospital is so good? Introduce me, will you?”

“How dare you talk to my big brother like that?” He Kui, hearing them, immediately started to curse—eager to show off for Zhao Hai.

But Zhao Hai, upon hearing He Kui, abruptly turned to face him. He Kui thought he was being praised and was about to continue, when Zhao Hai swung his arm and slapped He Kui hard across the face.

Zhao Hai hadn’t held back. He Kui’s cheek turned red before their eyes, while Zhao Hai himself grimaced in pain—after all, Yang Meng had broken four of his ribs, and several more were cracked. They say tendon and bone injuries take a hundred days to heal, and he wasn’t close to recovered. If not for his need to cut his losses, he’d still be in the hospital.

When he’d first been admitted, Zhao Hai couldn’t sleep well—every time he closed his eyes, he saw Yang Meng’s face: pure nightmare fuel. He’d been doing everything he could to avoid Yang Meng, so how had he ended up running into this harbinger of disaster again?

“Are you blind?” Zhao Hai swore at He Kui. “Do you know who this is? This is Brother Yang! Why aren’t you all calling him ‘Big Brother’?”

He Kui stood there in shock, staring at Zhao Hai. Brother Yang? He looked ten years younger than Zhao Hai—how could there be such a figure in the underworld?

Zhao Hai forced a smile. “So Young Master Long is here as well.”

He had spotted Long Teng, but in the face-off between Yang Meng and Long Teng, he’d chosen to greet Yang Meng first. After all, Long Teng’s status demanded respect and decorum—whereas Yang Meng would send him straight back to the hospital at the slightest provocation.

Long Teng snorted coldly and said nothing.

Zhao Hai hurried on, “This is just a misunderstanding, Brother Yang. I had no idea you were here. And this must be your lady? My loose tongue, I’ll punish myself!” With that, he slapped himself across the face several times.

He was quick to do so because he’d rather hit himself than let Yang Meng lay a hand on him.

The others were dumbfounded. Zhao Hai was Zhai Dacheng’s right-hand man, representing his authority and reputation. How had he ended up like this?

Yang Meng still wore a smile. “Brother Hai, why hit yourself? There must be some misunderstanding. This lady really has nothing to do with me. As for what you said to her earlier, I won’t hold it against you.”

Zhao Hai exhaled in relief and was about to clarify when Yang Meng continued, “This young lady has a beautiful name—Xixiang. Most importantly, her surname is Long. As for her relationship with Long Teng, I’ll let you figure that out yourself.”

Zhao Hai’s face froze. “Brother Yang, are you saying…”

Yang Meng’s words hit Zhao Hai like a hammer to the head.

In Handong City, plenty of people hadn’t heard of Long Teng, but very few hadn’t heard of Long Xixiang—especially among the city’s men.

Everyone knew the head of the Long family had three children. The eldest refused to take over the family business, so the company had long been managed by the Second Miss Long.

She had always been the talk of the town among Handong’s men—whoever married her would never need to strive for anything again. Zhao Hai had never expected his careless words would land him in trouble with Long Xixiang.

This was not going to end well!

Nearby, Ah Le whispered to Li Xiaoqing, “Qing, your rival is really something!”

Li Xiaoqing’s eyes widened in shock. Moments before, she’d been so frightened by the arrival of Brother Hai and his crew that her legs had gone weak.

To people who frequented nightclubs like her, men like Zhao Hai were the stuff of legend. Even if she’d heard Yang Meng had some kind of background, or that the Long siblings were wealthy, she’d never imagined their true identities. She simply didn’t believe anyone she knew could outclass Zhao Hai.

She’d thought she was doomed, but now the situation had taken a sudden turn—was Zhao Hai the one who’d hit an iron wall?

Still, what Ah Le had said struck a chord. This rival was indeed formidable. But a woman like that competing for the same man as her? Just who was Brother Yang, really?

Meanwhile, Long Xixiang’s face grew even darker.

Part of it was because Zhao Hai had dared to proposition her; the other part was Yang Meng’s offhanded claim that there was nothing between them—she was sitting right next to him!

Was Long Xixiang interested in Yang Meng? That was nonsense. Their backgrounds were worlds apart; if not for Yang Meng saving her sister and her father’s orders, she wouldn’t be associating with him at all. She’d been spending time with Yang Meng and his friends simply out of curiosity—their lives were utterly foreign to her. That was all.

But women are women: she could ignore him, but he wasn’t allowed to ignore her.

Hearing Yang Meng declare she had nothing to do with him made Long Xixiang even angrier. She shot Zhao Hai a venomous glare—as if to say, you’re dead meat!

Unaware of Long Xixiang’s inner turmoil, Yang Meng began clapping. “Brother Hai, you’re truly something—winning over the Second Miss of the Long family. You’re way more impressive than me!”

Zhao Hai’s face darkened. Wasn’t this just kicking him while he was down? He looked at Long Teng in panic, “Young Master Long, I…”

Long Teng, cigar between his lips, stared at Zhao Hai for a long moment before finally speaking. “Zhao Hai, just now this Mr. He Kui said he’d break one of our legs, make us kneel, and kowtow three times to each of you before letting us go. I don’t want to be unfair—how about you all break one of your own legs, kneel, and kowtow three times to us, and we’ll call it even.”

“What?” Zhao Hai was stunned, then forced a laugh. “Young Master Long, surely you’re joking?”

“Joking?” Long Teng took a deep drag on his cigar. “When you realize you just propositioned my sister, you’ll see I’m not joking.”

Zhao Hai managed a bitter smile. This was bad—really bad.

“Young Master Long, must we make things so tense? We’re all men under Brother Zhai. For his sake, could you let us go?” Zhao Hai lowered himself as much as possible.

Long Teng responded with a cold smile, “For Brother Zhai’s sake? Fine. Call Zhai Dacheng here now! I’d like to see how he’ll handle this!”