Huang Chen and his two companions walked past Xu Zhengyang. When they reached Xu Zhengyang from behind, Huang Chen patted him on the shoulder and said with a sneer, "Brother, how have you been? I've been thinking about you every day these past few days."
As he spoke, he walked past Xu Zhengyang and sat down opposite him, while the two muscular men sat down next to him, both staring at Xu Zhengyang with fierce expressions.
Xu Rouyue and Ouyang Ying felt uneasy.
Xu Zhengyang tilted his head slightly, looked at Huang Chen sideways, and said, "Brother, you're exaggerating a bit. I haven't caught a cold or had a fever, and I haven't even sneezed once while I've been at home these past few days."
Everyone in the room was stunned, not understanding what Xu Zhengyang was talking about.
After a while, they realized what was happening and started laughing, but the expressions in their smiles were all different.
Yu Xuan gestured for Xia Dan to pour the wine, and said, "To be honest, I've never been a middleman before. Today is probably my first time. Well, since we're all sitting together, let's all put our minds at ease. Give me face, and give Xia Dan and Ouyang Ying face too. If we had any conflicts before, we can talk them out over drinks. As the saying goes, 'No fight, no friendship.' After this meal, we'll be friends, right?"
"Heh." Huang Chen sneered, looking at Xu Zhengyang with disdain, and said, "Brother, should I admire you, or call you stupid? You actually dare to come and negotiate with me!"
"Well, I'm not bad at being brave, am I?" Xu Zhengyang smiled neither humbly nor arrogantly, and asked with feigned doubt, "Do I have to be accompanied by a group of bodyguards every time I go out for a drink? ...Sorry, I'm not that cowardly."
"You..." Huang Chen's face immediately turned red. He snorted and was about to say something when Yu Xuan stopped him: "Alright, why are you so impulsive from the start? You have to give me some face. Let's have a meal together and talk things out. Come on, let's have a drink first."
Yu Xuan picked up his wine cup.
The girls stared at them with curious eyes.
Xu Zhengyang picked up his wine glass, tapped it lightly on the table, and then drank a glass of baijiu by himself. He then tilted his head and looked at his sister, gesturing for her to bring him the bottle.
Xu Rouyue paused for a moment, then hurriedly reached out and took the opened bottle of Moutai. Xu Zhengyang took it and filled his own glass, while glancing at Huang Chen out of the corner of his eye.
Huang Chen sneered as he raised his wine glass and clinked it against Yu Xuan's, without even glancing at Xu Zhengyang.
"Yu Xuan, it's not that I'm not giving you face!" Huang Chen took a sip of wine, and probably because it was a bit spicy, he smacked his lips and exhaled twice, shaking his head as he said, "I've never been so humiliated in my life. Heh, I got beaten up, my face is all bruised and swollen... Who the hell dares to hit me like that? In the end, they even gave me five hundred yuan to pay for my injuries. Ugh, this is even more unpleasant than being slapped in the face!"
"Brother, you flatter me." Yu Xuan frowned, as if sensing something was wrong.
Huang Chen snorted coldly, tilted his head and stared at Xu Zhengyang, saying, "I heard you're going to spend several thousand yuan to break one of my arms and one of my legs?"
"No, just one of them." Xu Zhengyang squinted and smiled, "Of course, the premise is that you dare to harass my sister again. I've always had a good temper, but I can't stand anyone messing with my sister."
"So, do I have to spend a few thousand dollars, no, a lot more, tens of thousands of dollars to break one of your arms or legs?" Huang Chen's face suddenly turned malicious.
"You?" Xu Zhengyang shook his head and said, "No."
Huang Chen slammed his hand on the table, about to speak, when he heard a commotion coming from outside the open private room door.
"Damn it, do you think you're negotiating like gangsters? Move aside, move aside, damn it, do you recognize me? Look closely!" A young man dressed in extremely avant-garde clothes was gesturing arrogantly at the door, pointing at his face and saying to several young men with similar hairstyles and clothes, "Diao Yishi, do you see clearly? I am Diao Yishi!"
The young men who came with Huang Chen outside the door were all confused, not understanding who this arrogant young man was.
Diao Yishi? The man with the rooster-like hair seemed to know who he was, and frowned as he stepped forward and said, "Are you the Diao Ye who raced Thirteen Lang on the Third Ring Road?"
Inside the private room, Ouyang Ying called out, "Xiao Diao, come in!"
"Cousin, are you alright?" The young man swaggered in, even more arrogant than when Huang Chen came in. He deliberately bumped his rooster-like head, then walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat down as if no one else was there. After scanning everyone around, he asked, "Cousin, who's your friend?"
“Brother Zhengyang, Rouyue, this is my cousin Diao Yishi. You can just call him Xiao Diao,” Ouyang Ying said with a smile.
"Hello." Xu Zhengyang nodded with a smile. This guy's pretty cocky!
Xu Rouyue forced a smile and nodded at Diao Yishi.
When Diao Yishi looked at Xu Rouyue, his eyes lit up. Then he noticed his cousin's warning look and quickly turned his gaze to Xu Zhengyang's face, saying with a disdainful expression, "Damn, you? You country bumpkin... It's okay, don't be afraid. With me here, no one can bully you."
As he spoke, Diao Yishi turned to stare at Huang Chen, whose face was gloomy, and the two muscular men who looked fierce but were now somewhat puzzled. Diao Yishi said aggressively, "Hey, these are my cousin's friends. Give them some face. After we finish this meal today, we'll let bygones be bygones!"
"Hehe, little brother, who do you think you are?" Huang Chen seemed to find Diao Yishi very funny.
"Damn it, didn't you hear me just say that I'm Diao Yishi?!"
Yu Xuan coughed softly and said with a smile, "So it's Master Diao. I've heard so much about you. I'm Yu Xuan. Let's get acquainted."
"Huh?" Diao Yishi was taken aback.
"My name is Huang Chen," Huang Chen said with a smile.
"Holy crap, no way?" Diao Yishi turned to look at Xu Zhengyang. "How did you get involved with those two?" He then looked at Ouyang Ying. "Cousin, you didn't tell me you got involved with them. Oh, it's my fault for not asking." Diao Yishi looked distressed, as if he was having a real headache getting involved in this.
Xu Zhengyang smiled and shook his head. He could tell from Diao Yishi's expression that the kid was clearly feeling guilty and lacking courage. Sigh, just as he expected!
Unexpectedly, Diao Yishi paused for a moment, then stood up, picked up a glass of wine, drank it down in one gulp, and slammed the glass on the table. He said arrogantly, "Brothers, you two are supposed to be somewhat famous, so why are you bullying a country bumpkin from out of town? I can't stand by and watch."
"You want to interfere?" Huang Chen looked at Diao Yishi with disdain.
“That’s right.” Diao Yishi showed no fear.
"Can you afford to interfere?" Huang Chen glanced at him disdainfully, then ignored Diao Yishi and turned to Xu Zhengyang, saying, "I accepted the five hundred yuan you asked someone to give me last time. Today I brought fifty thousand yuan to break your leg... How about that? Fair enough? You got a great deal."
Xu Zhengyang showed no surprise or fear, and said expressionlessly, "Hmm, the price is fair, but you have to call your sister over first, so I can see how you're going to flirt with her!"
"Damn it!" Diao Yishi interrupted, cursing, "You don't take me seriously, do you?"
A muscular man next to Huang Chen stood up and walked up to Diao Yishi. He didn't make a move, but arrogantly and coldly pushed Diao Yishi with his body, as if warning him not to be ungrateful and ask for a beating.
Diao Yishi's cheek muscles twitched with anger, but he ultimately remained silent under pressure.
"Enough with the nonsense, grab him, break his legs, and I'll take responsibility if anything happens," Huang Chen said coldly, waving his hand.
Then another muscular man stood up and walked towards Xu Zhengyang together with the muscular man in front of Diao Yishi. The thugs standing at the door blocked the entrance, and the man with the rooster-like haircut looked inside with a sinister smile, seemingly looking forward to Xu Zhengyang's miserable end and pitiful appearance of being twisted and having his legs broken.
Ouyang Ying stood up: "What are you trying to do?"
Xia Dan pulled Ouyang Ying back.
Xu Rouyue looked terrified and tried to stand up, but her brother grabbed her arm.
Xu Zhengyang remained calm, squinting at Huang Chen, whose face was arrogant and ruthless, and said softly, "Don't break his leg. Go easy on him and let him suffer a little."
Everyone in the room was stunned, not understanding why Xu Zhengyang would say something so nonsensical at this point.
Yu Xuan stared coldly at Xu Zhengyang. He seemed to have noticed something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
Just then, the two muscular men who were about to reach Xu Zhengyang suddenly stopped, turned around with blank expressions to look at Huang Chen, and then... walked towards Huang Chen with numb expressions.
"What the hell are you looking at me for?" Huang Chen roared, then realized something was off about their gazes—a bit stiff, a bit like…the expressions of zombies in a movie. A cold sweat broke out on his back, and he stammered in terror, "What are you doing? What are you going to do…"
The two muscular men paused for a moment, seemingly considering something, before quickly lunging at Huang Chen with expressionless faces.
They exchanged blows and kicks, and the chair was swung up and slammed down.
Inside the private room, Huang Chen's scream and the screams of several girls rang out simultaneously.
Then, the girls covered their mouths, staring wide-eyed in horror as two muscular men beat Huang Chen. The problem was, those two muscular men were clearly Huang Chen's men.
Huang Chen, meanwhile, lay on the ground, clutching his head, taking a beating while cursing, screaming in pain, and trembling with fear.
Xu Zhengyang appeared calm and unperturbed, but inside he was both excited and exhausted. It was truly mentally draining! His hands, which were clenched tightly under the table, were covered in sweat.
"Brother Zhengyang, that's about enough!" Yu Xuan said almost subconsciously, then wondered why he had said that to Xu Zhengyang.
Xu Zhengyang squinted and smiled at Yu Xuan, then turned to look at the two muscular men.
The two muscular men suddenly stopped, then looked at each other with eyes full of terror, their bodies trembling. They waved their hands and shook their heads as they looked at Huang Chen, who was slowly getting to his feet and still cursing, saying, "Young Master Huang, Young Master Huang, no, we didn't mean to..."
"Damn it, you guys..." Huang Chen had just stood up and was about to curse when he suddenly froze on the spot before he could finish his sentence. His eyes became lifeless, and he looked at Xu Zhengyang before turning to look at Yu Xuan.
Yu Xuan felt a chill run down his spine under the gaze of those lifeless eyes, and said tremblingly, "Huang Chen, what are you looking at?"
Slap! Slap!
Huang Chen stepped forward and slapped Yu Xuan twice across the face, then grabbed a wine bottle and raised it as if to smash it down.
"Ah!" Xia Dan screamed.
Yu Xuan instinctively dodged backward, and with a crash, the chair tipped over, and Yu Xuan fell to the ground.
Huang Chen stood there dumbfounded, holding the bottle, and stammered, "No, Yu Xuan, I didn't mean to, really, this, this is fucking... what the hell..."
"Dude, learn your lesson. Not everyone in this world is someone you can mess with." Xu Zhengyang stood up, leaving behind these words calmly. Then, holding his sister's hand, he walked out of the private room as if nothing had happened, saying, "Let's go to Laifu Dumpling Restaurant and eat dumplings. We can't even enjoy a proper meal..."
Xu Rouyue was involuntarily pulled by her brother to walk outside.
Everyone inside the room stared in disbelief as the two left.
The thugs blocking the doorway quickly moved aside, looking at Xu Zhengyang as if they had seen a ghost.
Ouyang Ying was the first to react. She grabbed her bag and chased after him, turning back at the door to call out, "Xiao Diao, let's go!"
"Huh?" Diao Yishi realized what was happening and quickly followed, his heart filled with elation. He had met a reclusive master! Damn it, who said online novels were all just made-up fantasies? This, this is the legendary master!
The people in the private room looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion but even more so with terror.
A few tens of seconds later...
"Damn it, what are you all standing there for? Chase after them!" Huang Chen suddenly roared in anger and chased after them, grabbing a bottle.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly chased after them.
Outside the Honglong Hotel, Xu Zhengyang and his group of four had just walked up to Ouyang Ying's BMW without saying a word.
Suddenly, Huang Chen's angry shouts rang out from behind: "Damn it, you stop right there, you son of a bitch!"
The four people turned around. Xu Zhengyang did not step forward to block his sister. He simply held his sister's hand calmly and looked contemptuously at Huang Chen leading a group of people who were rushing over aggressively.
Several security guards from the Honglong Hotel rushed over upon seeing this, with one of them even using a walkie-talkie to call for backup.
When Huang Chen was still four or five meters away from Xu Zhengyang, he suddenly stopped as if he was a little scared, pointed at Xu Zhengyang and cursed: "You, you, what kind of tricks are you using! Have guts, have guts..." but he couldn't say the words "one-on-one fight".
The others stopped and stood behind Huang Chen, looking at him with suspicion, waiting for him to rush forward. Occasionally, they would glance at Xu Zhengyang with a hint of fear in their eyes.
“Huang Chen!” Xu Zhengyang suddenly spoke.
The surroundings seemed to fall silent the moment he spoke, and even the noise from the cars speeding by on the road not far away seemed to disappear.
Xu Zhengyang said coldly, "If you still don't learn your lesson, I don't mind letting you kill your father or mother... Oh, and you'd better burn incense and pray to the gods every day to bless my sister so that she can study in the capital safely."
Huang Chen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned his head without warning and smashed the bottle on the head of the rooster-haired man behind him.
"Ah!" With a scream, the man with the rooster-like hair covered his head and squatted down, blood seeping from between his fingers.
Xu Zhengyang sneered, then turned his head and casually reminded him, "Let's go, let's go eat dumplings."
"Huh? Okay, okay." Ouyang Ying snapped out of her daze, quickly opened the car door, and got in.
Xu Zhengyang opened the car door, pushed his still dazed sister into the car, and then looked back at Diao Yishi.
"I... I drove here, big brother, big brother, can I go eat dumplings with you... please?" Diao Yishi said with an admiring look and a pleading tone.
Xu Zhengyang smiled and nodded, then got into the car and closed the door.
"Yay!" Diao Yishi jumped two feet high and ran excitedly towards where he had parked his car.