Chapter 39: A Spectacular Show

"No... impossible, you can't possibly..."
Lin Zhenting was so frightened that he couldn't even finish a sentence.
Zhao Kai looked at Lin Zhenting's pitiful state and shook his head. "Why not? They say a dog can't change its ways, and you really do prove that saying over and over again."
Actually, calling Lin Zhenting a dog was an insult to such lovable creatures.
Zhao Yan'er, seeing Zhao Kai unscathed, felt a rush of emotion in her eyes and flung herself forward, hugging his waist.
"Brother."
Warmth filled Zhao Kai’s heart as he patted her hand. "I’m fine."
"But before..."
"Earlier, I was just putting on a show for Lin Zhenting."
"How could that be!" Lin Zhenting refused to believe it. "The people I sent clearly made their move against you. They told me they had succeeded."
"You did send people, but it was pointless."
Those amateurs weren't even good enough to be his punching bags.
Zhao Kai showed no mercy in mocking him. "I already dealt with those people."
"Dealt with?"
"Yes," Zhao Kai sat down leisurely. "I noticed your little tricks long ago. Why else would I have gone to that remote western garden that night? I wanted to lure you out and give you a chance to make your move."
At these words, Zhou Chengwang looked over at him as well.
Zhao Kai smiled at him, without a hint of blame in his expression. "You were the one who threw the stones that night, weren’t you?"
Zhou Chengwang blushed and lowered his head. "Brother Zhao, you knew everything from the start?"
"Yes."
Zhou Chengwang was a straightforward young man; whatever weighed on his mind always showed on his face.
He might try to hide things, but it was futile before Zhao Kai.
After discovering his collusion with Lin Zhenting, Zhao Kai knew something was amiss.
Zhou Chengwang wasn’t the type to side with villains—unless he had been misled and used.
At first, Zhao Kai wanted to talk with Zhou Chengwang, but for a boy so unsure and unable to tell right from wrong, he decided it was better to give him a chance to grow and come to his own realizations.

So Zhao Kai pretended to know nothing. On the night Lin Zhenting sent assassins after him, Zhao had already sent his own men to intercept and deal with them, then posed as the killers sent by Lin Zhenting to stage an attack on himself.
That night’s performance had been exhausting. Originally, Zhao Kai wanted Fei’er to leave so she wouldn’t be frightened or accidentally hurt.
Unexpectedly, Fei’er refused to leave and insisted on staying by his side, come what may.
People often say that after a devastating blow, those around you will drift away. Having lived a lifetime, Zhao Kai had seen enough fickleness in the world. Fei’er’s gentle concern filled him with happiness—such precious affection was all the more valuable in a changing world.
But during all this, an unexpected event occurred... Zhao Kai’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward Zhao Yan’er...
"Haha..." Lin Zhenting, hearing the truth, burst into crazed laughter. "So that’s how it is, Zhao Kai, you’re something else."
"Flattered."
"But even so, you’ve lost."
Lin Zhenting waved the share contract in his hand threateningly. "If I burn these, you’ll still be reviled by everyone."
Zhao Kai raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead, burn them."
He wasn’t worried at all; in fact, he seemed to encourage Lin Zhenting to hurry up.
Lin Zhenting, who had been full of confidence, now felt a pang of doubt.
The contracts were real—so why wasn’t Zhao Kai anxious?
Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Kai clicked his tongue impatiently. "Are you going to do it or not? I’m still waiting to go home and sleep."
Faced with this Zhao Kai, Lin Zhenting’s confidence collapsed. "What’s your scheme?!"
A scheme? Zhao Kai laughed aloud. Wasn’t Lin Zhenting the instigator of all this? What scheme did he have?
Zhao Kai walked toward him step by step. Lin Zhenting, though supposedly in control, was forced to retreat until he had nowhere left to go.
Zhao Kai easily took the contract from his hand, shook it, and said, "You’ve gone to all this trouble over a few sheets of paper—let me help you tear them up."
With that, fragments of paper floated down like snowflakes, and Lin Zhenting fell to his knees in utter defeat.
"If trust between myself and the other bosses rests solely on these contracts, then it’s far too cheap."
He had already arranged with the other bosses that should anything happen to the Zhao family casino in the future, they would not be implicated—on the condition that they help him stage a play.
Though the bosses were surprised, Zhao Kai’s reason of rooting out a traitor in the Zhao family was enough for them to agree.
"So that’s how it is. Brother, you’re truly remarkable," Zhao Yan’er couldn’t help but praise.
Zhao Kai nodded modestly. "Just a little trick."

"What is there to be proud of? Even if this was your plan, someone still fell for my scheme. Zhao Kai, your beloved Lin Fei’er was betrayed by Zhao Yan’er. Lin Fei’er isn’t here today, but can you really say Zhao Yan’er never had such intentions?"
When physical attacks failed, Lin Zhenting resorted to psychological ones.
Zhao Kai looked at Zhao Yan’er, who was now nervously twisting her dress hem, not daring to meet his gaze.
Knowing her heart, Zhao Kai felt a complicated mix of emotions. In truth, he was just an ordinary man; to receive wholehearted love was his good fortune.
"Even if she did, Yan’er would never do something like that," he said.
Zhao Yan’er looked up suddenly.
"The medicine you gave her—she did give it to Fei’er, but..." Zhao Kai gazed at her with infinite gentleness. "If I hadn’t come today, there would have been no one in that trunk, right?"
Yan’er wasn’t the kind to harm those close to her out of jealousy. On the contrary, she was deeply affectionate.
Though she might be jealous of Fei’er and want her place, she would never do such a thing, nor would she ever side with someone as despicable as Lin Zhenting.
On the way here, she had already come up with a contingency plan. If she couldn’t get what she wanted, she was prepared to risk everything to take Lin Zhenting down.
Zhao Kai had never doubted her—not even after Fei’er ate the bird’s nest and fell unconscious.
He had secretly followed, watching as Yan’er took Fei’er out and placed her somewhere safe, then put a sandbag in the trunk instead.
Looking at this brave and resilient woman, Zhao Kai couldn’t help but admire her.
It’s not shameful for people to have a dark side; what is shameful is letting it rule them forever.
Zhao Yan’er, seeing the tenderness in his eyes, was moved to tears. "Brother, I... I’m sorry, I’m sorry to Fei’er."
"Don’t say that. I know you’d never hurt Fei’er."
He patted her head as if comforting a child. "Even if Fei’er finds out, she won’t mind."
Zhao Yan’er could no longer hold back her tears. Though she hadn’t gone through with it, the feeling of touching the limits of morality was hard to bear.
Zhou Chengwang, watching her, finally understood the meaning of regret.
He dropped to his knees and confessed to Zhao Kai with deep remorse. "Brother Zhao, I’ve wronged you. If you hadn’t given me a chance, I fear... I’d have no face to go on living."