He stretched his neck and joked, "Baby, you're so amazing? Let me give it a try?"
However, the next second he was hit by a big shovel and rolled off the bed!
Li Shuangchi stared in disbelief, clutching his neck as he looked at his precious darling: Shang Cui looked at his hand with pity and said in a gentle tone what was nothing short of terrifying: "If it were your previous body, you would have broken your bones by now."
2.
Shang Cui, who debuted as a child star but gave up his acting career to return to a normal life, appeared on a variety show.
Other guests asked him, "Do you have any special talents?"
Shang Cui pondered for a long time: "Does boxing count?"
Haters mocked him relentlessly: "Practicing boxing? Is he some kind of online boxer?"
Then everyone found Shang Cui's name on the list of national martial arts elite athletes: Shang Cui later became a kung fu superstar.
Haters: 3 • Mini-drama • Third-person perspective;
I have an enemy. I thought he was just a businessman, but it turns out he came from a background of thugs and gangsters. I can't beat him at all.
But it's not a big problem. I heard that my enemy's lover is a minor celebrity. He looks delicate and frail, and seems easy to manipulate.
As for me, I've been a school bully since I was a child, a Sanda champion, and I've also been involved in some shady organizations. I could definitely beat ten of him.
I found it hilarious to hear that he could box.
And then I found out, sure enough;
In just half a minute, he'd have to kneel down and beg me—
Beg me not to die.
★My upcoming historical romance novel, "After Transmigrating into a Book, I Decided to Kill the Male Lead," and my supernatural crime novel, "My Job Leads to the Underworld," are available by clicking on my author page!
Chapter 22
Five years ago, Chen Xingting absolutely hated it when people touched his actors inappropriately at the dinner table.
Back then, he even personally broke the hand of a rich second-generation who was touching an actress's leg. When Chen Xingting, with a cigarette in his mouth, wanted to kick her a couple more times, he was stopped by the director and others.
The surroundings were incredibly noisy. His eyes were red as he cursed and shouted, "I hate those fucking idiots who don't treat me, an actor, like human beings!"
Five years later, life took its revenge and broke his pride. This time, no one stopped him; he stopped himself and forced a smile at the white steamed bun-like man surnamed He: "Let's talk this out. Mr. Zhang will be here soon. You can talk to Mr. Zhang. I don't dare to make this decision."
He could only futilely use his body to block the man surnamed He, enduring the other's chaotic punches and kicks while subtly signaling to Cheng Jixue with his eyes—he didn't know if Director Zhang was willing to offend his friend for a minor actor, but as a director, he truly cherished him.
The young man stood coldly behind him, leaning on the table. The crystal chandelier above cast a shimmering patch of light in the shadow of his face, and his taut jawline was sharp as if cut by a knife.
His beautiful eyes burned with intense anger, yet a hint of mocking pity played at the corners of his lips.
So beautiful. Chen Xingting was lost in thought. He seemed to see Chang Xiaoyue standing there, alive, across the river of history. It was a kind of exquisite and awe-inspiring beauty. The opera and the sound of the jinghu gave him a resolute and beautiful spirit, but not a pair of hands that could lift a gun to protect himself.
He lived his entire life dependent on the powerful; in times of prosperity, he was a flourishing flower, in times of chaos, he was a rootless duckweed.
A loud bang suddenly interrupted Chen Xingting's reverie. The three people in the room looked up at the door at the same time. They saw the man at the door of the private room casually loosening his tie—the silver leopard embroidered on the tie was still gleaming.
"I heard I have a distinguished guest?"
Zhang Chaohe was like a leopard enraged by fury. His tone was gentle and warm, but his eyes were cold and deep, as if they were filled with ice, as he slowly carved into the man surnamed He.
The man surnamed He stood stiffly and didn't dare to reply.
This is the most primal, powerful male's warning and suppression of invaders who intend to invade his territory; he is instinctively intimidated and dares not act rashly.
Zhang Chaohe then subtly turned his gaze to Cheng Jixue—Cheng Jixue was unharmed, though the corners of his eyes were red with anger, and his phoenix eyes held a shimmering, subtle fury. He was unconsciously clutching a porcelain cup in his hand, the veins on the back of his fair and beautiful hand bulging, both fragile and tenacious.
What had this idiot driven him to? Zhang Chaohe grew increasingly fearful as he thought about it. What would have happened to Cheng Jixue if he hadn't arrived in time? He was a weak and unassuming man who only knew how to sing opera. If Chen Xingting couldn't stop him, would he have to use this tiny cup to protect himself?
Zhang Chaohe suddenly approached, his custom-made shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-proportioned and muscular forearms. He gently shoved Chen Xingting aside—Chen Xingting immediately slipped away nimbly like a fish, making room for Zhang Chaohe, who wore a sinister smile.
"May I have your name?"
He almost gently lifted the man surnamed He by the collar, cupped his face, and examined him closely against the crystal chandelier. The man had a soft, round face like a rice cake, and his lips were a light apricot color.
It's hard to imagine that the two crazy things he just overheard came from such a mouth.
The chubby boy's lips moved: "Congratulations...congratulations on your time."
Chen Xingting slipped to the side and backed away, afraid that Cheng Jixue would be blind and interfere. But when he looked up, he found that Cheng Jixue was still standing there unharmed, without a trace of schadenfreude or gratitude on her face.
He simply watched indifferently and mockingly, as if he were an uninvolved bystander.
Chen Xingting was taken aback for a moment, then quietly stood next to him.
How did you know I was here?
Zhang Chaohe's appearance was already so fierce and intimidating that when he showed that ambiguous smile, he looked even less like a good person, as if he could take off He Guangyin's arm at any moment.
He Guangyin, still in this awkward position, stammered, "I...I saw it."
"Bullshit." Zhang Chaohe yanked his hand, and before he could continue threatening, He Guangyin had already shrank back and shouted, "This place is my family's property! I saw it backstage! Are you satisfied now!"
Zhang Chaohe raised his hand expressionlessly.
"Bang!"
⚹
Zhang Fulin is 57 years old this year. He has a successful career, a harmonious family, and an excellent social image. He has always been the center of attention when the neighbors take a walk.
But the 57-year-old successful man never dreamed that his youngest son would regress to the age of 14, like a 14-year-old high school student, and casually beat someone into the hospital!
When Ms. Zhao and Zhang Fulin rushed into the ward, the only son of the He family was lying on the hospital bed pretending to be dead, with Mr. He and Mrs. He sitting by the bedside, angry but unable to say anything.
Zhang Chaohe sat alone by the window, head down, seemingly lost in thought.
He deliberately let Cheng Jixue and Chen Xingting leave first—anyway, with Lao Zhang around, the He family would definitely not dare to touch him, but if the two of them stayed here, they would inevitably be retaliated against.
The Zhang and He families have been long-time business partners, and neither set of parents expected to meet in such an unusual way outside of business. They both wore awkward but polite smiles.
However, He Guangyin only took two punches; it was entirely because the He family wanted to strike first that they forcibly pinned their son to the hospital bed. Just as Zhang Chaohe was about to say something, he heard Ms. Zhao let out an exaggerated yet genuinely emotional scream!
She pounced on Zhang Chaohe like a flamboyant butterfly, her hands trembling as she took his lightly bandaged hand in hers: "Dian Dian, Dian Dian, how did you get hurt! Are you badly hurt? Auntie's heart aches for you—"
Zhang Chaohe was shocked. If Xu Shen had such acting skills, he wouldn't have been ridiculed like that!
Mrs. He choked up. She had never thought much of Zhao Jinying, thinking that she was just a second wife and that the Zhang family would probably ostracize her. But after all these years, Zhao Jinying was still standing strong, dressing up and bothering people every day. The original wives' allies were almost driven crazy with anger.
Sure enough, Mrs. He was successfully angered today.
Ms. Zhao looked up, startling Zhang Chaohe. Tears streamed down her face, her long, beautiful eyelashes clumped together, and she hiccuped between sobs: "Are you alright? What could possibly make you hit someone yourself? If you're angry, talk to your father—"
The man Ms. Zhao named, "your father," coughed repeatedly.
Mrs. He was terrified. Even her own son hadn't cried this much after being beaten. This stepmother was really going to extremes! She quickly comforted Zhao Jinying, "Don't worry, Xiao He only got a minor scrape, it's nothing serious. You—"
Wait a minute, my son is the one who got beaten up!
Mrs. He was tricked and her face turned green.
Zhang Chaohe was instantly overwhelmed by guilt and remorse. He regretted his impulsive actions. Even though he knew that Ms. Zhao was just acting out of a whim and using the situation as an excuse, a small sweet feeling still welled up in his heart.
He shook his head slightly to indicate that he was fine, but in a flash of inspiration, a brilliant idea struck him!
Zhang Chaohe, mimicking the way he remembered, lowered his brows and eyes with a hint of sadness, trying to portray himself as meek and pitiful. President He, a seasoned veteran of many storms, couldn't help but feel a jolt of unease.
“I was so impulsive,” Zhang Chaohe said, sniffing dramatically, looking like a wronged yet stubborn high school student. “Although Mr. He used his position to spy on my schedule, tried to sexually harass my company’s artists, and forced customers to go to hotels, I shouldn’t have impulsively hit him a couple of times and caused trouble for Uncle He’s family…”
President He: There are six pairs of eyes watching in the ward. President He's face was numb. He raised his hand and punched the big white bun curled up on the back of the bed: "You little bastard, is this all true?"
He Guangyin shrank back fearfully: "Mm."
But... he really wanted to explain, but he also knew that if he really explained, it would probably be like adding fuel to the fire, so he could only reluctantly choose to admit it.
President He immediately delivered a performance that rivaled Ms. Zhao's: "I'll beat you to death—"
Mrs. He and Chairman Zhang quickly rushed forward, blocking the children and pulling on their arms. Both sides felt guilty and wanted to settle things peacefully, so for a moment they strangely reached a balance of reluctance and acceptance.
The two mischievous children watched obediently as their parents tore at each other's hair. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Zhang Chaohe glanced coldly at He Guangyin, only to find that the other was also spying on him. When their eyes met, He Guangyin's dark eyes trembled slightly, and he quickly pulled the blanket up even higher.
Zhang Chaohe was very confused. He Guangyin didn't seem to fit the image of those overindulgent, kidney-deficient war gods at all. At most, he might have a few dark circles under his eyes from staying up late often. Why was he suddenly going to such lengths to keep an eye on him?
Unless he was actually staring at the other people in the private room.
But Cheng Jixue only appeared on a variety show. Even if he is the main character, he doesn't have the special talent to make people swoon and chase after him for miles through the screen, right?
Zhang Chaohe was completely baffled, but he subconsciously felt that this matter was very important—what if someone surnamed He came today, and someone surnamed Jia or Bei came tomorrow, and he happened not to be with Cheng Jixue?
So he condescended to walk to He Guangyin's bedside, and put on a friendly and cordial smile: "Young Mr. He, we've become acquainted through a misunderstanding, how about exchanging WeChat contacts?"
Zhang Chaohe smiled, revealing his gleaming white teeth. He Guangyin, unable to control himself, recalled those two punches and felt so wronged he was about to cry: "No, please, let it go..."
Zhang Chaohe's expression changed abruptly, and he looked at President He with a worried and aggrieved expression: "Uncle He, Brother Guang probably still has some reservations, but I just want his contact information so we can talk again later..."
President He's expression changed drastically. He had just finished playing coy with Old Zhang to get away with his son's despicable act, and both families had tacitly agreed to let it go. How could it be his turn to ruin friendly relations with this unfilial son?
He Guangyin, with his eyes closed, heard the "ding" sound from his phone when Zhang Chaohe scanned the QR code. He immediately felt that his WeChat list had been tainted by a virus, and a wave of sadness washed over him.
⚹
With her brilliant stroke of genius, Ms. Zhao managed to rescue Zhang Chaohe unharmed. He left with a swagger, infuriating Mrs. He, who was furious but helpless. In her anger, she could only beat He Guangyin in secret to vent her frustration.
Chairman Zhang initially intended to discipline his youngest son, but he wasn't an unreasonable person. After Zhang Chaohe truthfully described the situation, Chairman Zhang didn't scold him. Instead, he encouraged him to bring up Zhang Yinshan if he encountered a similar situation again—after all, all the kids in the industry were afraid of him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yinshan, who was away on a business trip across the ocean, called to offer his condolences. Zhang Yinshan always felt that his younger brother might not have gotten over his rebellious phase yet—although there was a reason for it, how could he hit someone? He thought that he could just find someone to put a sack over his head later.
Upon hearing this, Chairman Zhang flew into a rage and immediately shifted his focus, earnestly trying to persuade Zhang Yinshan of his dangerous ideas.
Ms. Zhao patted his hand: "Xiao Cheng, are you alright?"
Zhang Chaohe shook his head. He was angry today because He Guangyin was audacious and lacked any sense of martial ethics.
Fortunately, the other party hasn't gone so far as to actually turn his ideal into reality, otherwise he would have felt right at home in the ICU tonight.
Ms. Zhao sighed: "The older generation used to say that actors have lowly lives, but I never thought that even in this new era, there would still be people who look down on them. Oh, husband, I never thought the He family were this kind of people. We should avoid getting too close to them in the future."
Chairman Zhang wholeheartedly agreed. Recalling the He family's shameful act of feigning injury and then playing the victim—though he selectively ignored his youngest son's heroic act of punching the other party twice—he still felt utterly disgusted, as if he'd been fed a fly.
Ms. Zhao then said, "Oh dear, poor Cheng, why don't we invite him over for dinner sometime?"
Chairman Zhang immediately pounded the armrest box and shouted, "Don't even think about it!!"
His slight disappointment at being outmaneuvered by his old business partner vanished instantly during his bickering with Ms. Zhao. At this moment, Chairman Zhang transformed into a kindergarten child, not only recounting in detail which young celebrities Ms. Zhao had recently been pursuing, but also insisting on having Zhang Chaohe judge whether he was handsome in his youth.