The situation immediately changed. And Chinese people love a good spectacle, especially since the place was already quite lively. So, seeing so many people gathering, a larger crowd quickly formed around the perimeter. Several heavily made-up women, patting their ample chests, exclaimed, "I'm so scared! I'm so scared! What if they start fighting?" Then they turned to the others and said, "Who do you think will win?"
The driver of the Mercedes SLK next to him was a tall, thin guy. He was sitting there happily, having ordered a beer and some barbecue. As he ate, he laughed and said to the stall owner, "I told you, you can't be so arrogant. Just because you drive a nice car doesn't mean you're all that. You're doomed when you run into the main character. So keep a low profile, keep a low profile."
Seeing so many people in black suits, he was a little intimidated, but he still stubbornly shouted, "What do you want? What are you trying to do by forming a circle around me? Let me tell you, you bunch of poor students! If I lose a single hair, I'll report you to your principal and have you all expelled!"
At that moment, the man in the black suit suddenly appeared before Chen Xu, who stepped forward and stood beside him. The man in the black suit immediately became intimidated and asked, "What, what do you want?"
Chen Xu shook his finger to signal him to calm down, then reached out, pinched a strand of his hair between his thumb and forefinger, and pulled it out forcefully!
Chen Xu held the strand of hair and pulled it between his hands: "I've plucked a hair from you now, so go and ask the principal to expel me."
The man in the black suit was furious; this was blatant provocation!
But what could he do? Half of his teeth had been knocked out by Chen Xu, so what did one more hair matter?
At this point, Xu Jiang felt he had no choice but to step forward. He had his reasons for doing so... because his side was clearly at a disadvantage, and it wouldn't be shameful for him to step forward now.
Xu Jiang stepped forward and said, "It's a misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding. Let's just let it go." Seeing that the man in the black suit was about to speak, Xu Jiang stomped on his foot hard before turning to Chen Xu: "Chen Xu, we were in the wrong this time, but you've already taught him a lesson, so let it go. After all, you're students too, it's not good to make things worse."
Chen Xu's principle has always been to not hit someone who's smiling at you; since the other party has backed down, there's no need for him to push them to the brink. But before he could speak, the man in the black suit shouted, "Let it go? How could it go?! My designer suit! And my car! And my teeth! How can it just be let go like that?! Damn it, it's my Audi A! Look, the hood's all dented!"
Xu Jiang slapped his head. Damn it, how come this guy has no sense at all!
Sure enough, Chen Xu's face hardened: "An A8, right? How much is your A8? I'll pay you back!"
Chapter 214 Sincerity
Chen Xu also wanted to occasionally experience the pleasures of being rich.
This doesn't mean Chen Xu's personality changed, but rather that there's nothing more satisfying than taking down some self-important people in this way.
But at that moment, Xu Jiang suddenly shouted, "Tian Fang, shut up!"
Then he grabbed the man in the black suit, pulled him up by the collar, and yelled, "What the hell are you still acting so arrogant about! Shut up! You were in the wrong today, and you deserved to be taught a lesson! If you say another word, I'll make you regret it!"
While Tian Fang was still wondering what was going on, Xu Jiang quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Damn it, we can't afford to mess with this guy. Stop yelling and apologize right now!"
That phrase, "I can't afford to offend him," made Tian Fang's intentions crystal clear. Frankly, Xu Jiang's status was far superior to his; he had painstakingly climbed onto Xu Jiang's coattails simply to curry favor. If even Xu Jiang said he couldn't afford to offend this student, then Tian Fang was even less likely to do so.
Tian Fang's expression immediately changed, and he fell silent, standing obediently to the side. Xu Jiang stepped forward and said, "Chen Xu, how about we just let this matter go?"
Chen Xu was now somewhat puzzled. Why was Xu Jiang being so polite to him? Even now, he was still avoiding him? It didn't make sense. He knew he had SMMH as his backer. But Xu Jiang could easily think he wasn't valued enough by SMMH. Sigh. A perfectly good opportunity to show his power. He hadn't expected it to slip away like this.
But what Chen Xu didn't know was that since the Yi Shuihan incident, everyone with a modicum of ambition had researched SMMH, as well as those connected to it. Especially with the appearance of the liquid body armor... why would SMMH bring out body armor? It's to protect Yi Shuihan and Chen Xu!
He casually pulled out this treasure. This means they must have already researched it! Why didn't they sell such a valuable item? They only brought it out when Chen Xu and his group were in danger. This shows how much SMMH values them! And SMMH must have something even better!
In that case, who would dare to provoke Yi Shuihan and Chen Xu?
Offending them is tantamount to offending SMMH, a behemoth that ordinary people simply cannot afford to provoke! SMMH now has the military and the Ministry of Public Security backing it. It's even on the radar of the highest leadership… Looking across China, very few people can afford to mess with it. Never mess with someone you can't afford to offend. This is a belief instilled in Xu Jiang since he was old enough to understand things.
Xu Jiang said with a forced smile, "Classmate Chen Xu, I don't dare ask you to give me face this time. But it's a small matter after all. You've already reprimanded me. Let's just let it go. I'll host a banquet later to apologize to you all, okay?"
Since Xu Jiang had already said that, Chen Xu didn't know what to say. He was about to suggest that the apology be waived, but seeing that some of the men behind him were still holding several steamed buns and looked extremely hungry, Chen Xu said, "Alright. But with so many of us going, will there be enough seats?"
"So many people..." Xu Jiang's expression was somewhat blank. He had only intended to invite Chen Xu and that little loli Wang Mingmei, and maybe Zhong Ziyu at most, but Chen Xu had directly brought everyone along... Oh well, now that's the boss, and besides, so many people won't cost much. So Xu Jiang quickly smiled obsequiously: "Sure, sure, Tian Fang, why don't you hurry up and call and book a hotel, book the whole floor?"
Xu Jiang had already said that, and Tian Fang, though still somewhat confused, knew better. Although he was too embarrassed to apologize, he quickly made a phone call and booked the Tiandu Hotel, which was a fairly good hotel.
Given the chance to eat for free, no one would want to pass up such an opportunity. Besides, few of the poor students present had ever eaten at Tiandu before, so they hailed more than a dozen taxis and headed straight for Tiandu.
Xu Jiang had originally invited Chen Xu to get into the Audi A, but Chen Xu smiled at the hood, making Xu Jiang feel awkward. Chen Xu and Mingmei took a taxi to Tiandu. Xu Jiang and the others followed behind in their car.
In the car, Tian Fang finally had a chance to speak to Xu Jiang, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Xu Jiang angrily cursed, "Shut up! You idiot, you almost got me killed today!"
Tian Fang's mouth was in excruciating pain; even after washing it with several bottles of mineral water, there was still blood. He was furious; when had he ever suffered like this? But Xu Jiang's next words completely stunned him.
Xu Jiang said, "That guy, let alone you, even I can't afford to mess with him! Don't believe me! Don't underestimate him just because he's a student. And don't let his dad's success with that rabies killer fool you. None of that matters, let me tell you! The real power lies with the person behind him, the legendary internet god SMMH! Let me tell you! SMMH protects only a handful of people in all of China—a very small number! And they're all in the central government! Last time in Shanghai, a ministerial-level official was dismissed for offending someone protected by SMMH! And his power doesn't stop there! Now the entire military and the entire public security system are supporting him! Can you afford to mess with him?!"
After he said that, Tian Fang became frightened.
Offending someone you can't afford to offend is the biggest taboo. Luckily, Xu Jiang was there.
"What should I do then?" Tian Fang said breathlessly. "I've already offended him. Should I apologize to him properly at the dinner table later?"
"Show some sincerity!" Xu Jiang looked at him, sighed, and then added, "He's not short of money. Let me tell you, if I hadn't stopped you just now, he really could have smashed your A8 and given you 1.8 million in compensation. Don't disbelieve me, this guy is capable of doing something like that... Also, women aside, the girls around him are all stunning beauties. If you don't want to cause trouble for yourself, forget about this method."
Money and beauty won't do... Power? Please, Tian Fang doesn't think he's qualified to give power to anyone, and besides, can he even afford to?
Tian Fang looked like he was about to cry: "Then what does he like?"
Xu Jiang shrugged and said, "You'll have to see this for yourself. Show me whatever you think demonstrates your sincerity. But the most important thing is your attitude. Especially regarding today's incident, you absolutely must apologize and explain!"
Tian Fang nodded gratefully, got out of the car, hailed a taxi, and went home first... He needed to heal the injury in his mouth first!
Meanwhile, Chen Xu and his group were having a great time at the Tiandu Hotel, after all, it was a very upscale hotel. There was even a minimum charge of 1,500 yuan per table!
Since we're here to eat at their restaurant, and they're being so sincere, we should naturally enjoy a good meal. So Chen Xu waved his hand and said, "One serving of every dish priced above eighty yuan on the menu!" Then Chen Xu put the menu aside and smiled at Xu Jiang, saying, "Hmm. That's very sincere."
Xu Jiang was both amused and exasperated. This money had bought him off? If he'd known it would be so easy, Tian Fang wouldn't have gone to all that trouble. He said he wanted to bring out something nice to show his "sincerity," but why all the fuss?
However, this meal wasn't exactly cheap. All the dishes were high-quality, and with so many people, it would probably cost around 70,000 to 80,000 yuan... But Chen Xu was letting him off the hook. Otherwise, the menu also included 1983 and 1984 Lafite wines, which would cost 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a bottle!
The food at the fancy hotel was really good! Following the principle that sharing is worse than enjoying alone, Chen Xu called Guan Yi, Zhan Jing, and Gao Xiaojie. But Guan Yi said she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be coming; Gao Xiaojie also said she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be coming. Before Chen Xu could even call Zhan Jing, Gao Xiaojie called to say that Zhan Jing wasn't feeling well either and wouldn't be coming… This made Chen Xu very strange. Could it be that all three of them were on their periods today?
But the date is wrong!
To put it bluntly, Chen Xu now understands the menstrual cycles of all three of them. Because almost every time the four of them go out together, one of them can't eat ice cream!
So Chen Xu, in a rather mischievous way, bought a bag of red dates for that person who couldn't eat ice cream... to replenish blood.
Well, if they don't come, so be it. This high-class hotel is just different. The beautiful waitresses in cheongsams are like a garden in springtime, and they're all very enthusiastic and generous, even willing to sit down and drink with you... cough cough, Chen Xu saw Boss Wang Dong shamelessly flirting with a girl, but she didn't seem to mind. They get a commission for ordering more drinks.
Xu Jiang kept urging Chen Xu to drink, smiling broadly, which made Chen Xu feel very uncomfortable.
Because I've offended him twice, and it's not like we've completely forgiven each other yet. If it were me, and someone offended him like that, even if that person was someone I couldn't afford to offend, I'd simply cut ties completely... "If I can't afford to mess with you, can't I at least avoid you?"
He couldn't act like Xu Jiang, pretending nothing had happened and smiling as if they were old acquaintances.
So, this person is too fake; to use a popular phrase, he's like a fake tooth. Chen Xu usually treats people with sincerity, and he doesn't like people who are pretentious like this. So, Chen Xu usually only takes a sip when drinking, but it's different when he drinks with Wang Dong and the others; he drinks a whole glass in one go, very generously.
At this moment, Tian Fang finally returned, his mouth wrapped in a large bandage. But upon seeing Chen Xu, he immediately forced a smile, walked over, picked up the wine on the table, looked at it, and called out, "Manager, bring me a bottle of Moutai."
Tian Fang looked at Chen Xu and said with a forced smile, "Well, Chen Xu, I was wrong today. I didn't recognize your worth. So I apologize to you here. But there's something I still want to say, the truth, from the bottom of my heart. Please don't be angry when I say it." Seeing Chen Xu nod to signal him to continue, Tian Fang said, "I offended this young lady today because I lost my temper. To be honest, I do like younger girls, but I've never forced anyone. Some girls don't know how to respect themselves; it's consensual. As long as she's over fourteen years old, I'm open to it. So I picked the wrong person today; I was blind. Consider this bottle of baijiu my apology."
Then he took the bottle of liquor that the manager handed him, raised his head, and was about to gulp down the whole bottle.
This left Chen Xu in a rather awkward and exasperated state.
How should I put it? I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless.
But Chen Xu found the guy's straightforwardness rather endearing. No one had ever spoken of such a shameless act so openly before.
However, he's not wrong. Some girls don't know how to value themselves, and that's just how it is. It can't be said that they don't know how to value themselves because someone tempts them. There are too many temptations in this world, but some people can resist them, while others can't... Why?
It's my own problem!
Mingmei had told Chen Xu that there was a girl in her dorm, about her age, who was being kept by a sugar daddy at such a young age. What could anyone say about that? It was because the girl's family didn't give her enough money to buy new clothes and snacks every month… So, although Tian Fang's words were shameless, Chen Xu could actually find them somewhat acceptable. It was only because he had offended his sister today; otherwise, since the national law states that having sexual relations with girls over 14 is not illegal… if the country doesn't care, why should he?
So Chen Xu felt that although this person was a bit shameless, he wasn't really that bad. At least in Chen Xu's opinion, he was much more pleasant to look at than Xu Jiang, who had a fake smile on his face.
So Chen Xu reached out and stopped him, letting him take a sip and that was it.
This bottle of liquor weighs a pound; if he drank it straight down, he would definitely pass out.
Seeing Chen Xu reach out his hand, Xu Jiang quickly stood up to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, alright, Chen Xu, I forgive you. Old Tian, you should be more careful in the future."
Tian Fang glanced gratefully at Chen Xu, and only gave Xu Jiang a perfunctory "hmm." To be honest, he was also annoyed with Xu Jiang, but the problem was that he couldn't afford to offend Xu Jiang, so he could only give a perfunctory reply.
At this moment, Tian Fang took out something, a small box, and handed it to Chen Xu with both hands, saying, "I'm sorry for offending you today, this little thing is just a token of my respect."
Chen Xu took it curiously and asked, "What is this?"
Tian Fang said, "This is a nice thing my dad bought when he traveled abroad. He said it was a treasure from the Ottoman Empire, and it would be too embarrassing to bring out other common things. This is just a small token of his appreciation."
Since the other party had already apologized, Chen Xu wasn't going to covet anything from them. However, after hearing what they said, Chen Xu became a little interested and said, "Take a look."
The box was opened, revealing a black stone that reflected a smooth, lustrous sheen...
Chapter 215 Stone...
From the surface, this stone is plain and unremarkable; it's just a dark, unremarkable rock. At most, its surface is smooth and somewhat attractive. But as for what kind of gemstone it might be… Chen Xu, while completely ignorant of gemstones, wouldn't consider this piece of stone to be a treasure.
But seeing Tian Fang's serious expression, Chen Xu was a little confused. Just as he was about to reach for it, Tian Fang quickly handed him a handkerchief and said, "Use this, don't use your hands."
Chen Xu glanced at it and laughed, saying, "Then I won't take it. How could I accept something so valuable?" He thought to himself, "Damn it! I just praised you for being honest, and you're trying to fool me with something like this? Do you think I'm a sucker?"
Seeing the somewhat perfunctory expression on Chen Xu's face, Tian Fang quickly said, "No, this thing is really a good thing. It's a very rare black mineral crystal, what we commonly call a gemstone. This thing was a token given by Ur Khan, the son of the Ottoman Emperor, to his wife Sofia, and it's known as the Heart of Darkness. If you don't believe me, look, Sofia's name is engraved on the bottom of this gemstone..."
Chen Xu saw him pick up the stone, looked at it, and indeed there were several strange, scribbled things on it, but he couldn't recognize them.
Looking at Tian Fang's expression, Chen Xu was certain he wasn't lying. Either it really was a good thing, or he himself had been deceived and mistakenly thought it was. Chen Xu was now somewhat fond of the guy; slapping him that afternoon and smearing his teeth made him feel a little guilty. Since the other party was so sincere, the sentiment was enough. If he brought something too valuable, Chen Xu couldn't accept it. So Chen Xu smiled and said, "Okay. I'll accept it. Let's consider today's incident a misunderstanding. Some girls don't even take responsibility for themselves, so expecting others to take responsibility for them is unrealistic. But this is my sister, and she's not that kind of person. Just be more careful next time."
Hearing this, Tian Fang breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Xu then said, "I was too rough today. Since it was a misunderstanding, let's just forget about it. This dinner is on me tonight. I'm very sorry for damaging your car."
Tian Fang wouldn't listen to that, and quickly waved his hand. Seeing his insistence, and regretting his earlier words upon seeing the table full of food, Chen Xu readily agreed. It was mainly to express his stance!
Chen Xu had no idea how frustrated Tian Fang was at that moment!
That Audi A8 is one thing, but even if the entire hood were smashed, it wouldn't be worth as much as this inconspicuous little rock. His father acquired it through a very fortuitous encounter in Dubai. At the time, he thought it was junk, but it turned out to be a valuable item. If this were auctioned off, it would fetch at least five million!
It's a pity that it was given away like that... Of course, Tian Fang didn't want to give away this good stuff, but could he not? He had offended someone he shouldn't have, and if he didn't show some sincerity, it wouldn't just be a matter of five million.
Besides, it's just a rock. It's like a credit card transaction; you can't see the money decreasing, so out of sight, out of mind.
The atmosphere then became quite harmonious, and both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves.
However, there was an unexpected incident during the meal. Nangong Lan rushed over immediately after receiving Chen Xu's call, only to find no one at the door. She called again and learned Chen Xu was in Tiandu. Just then, Director Wang's son arrived in his Teana. After some questioning, they learned that a fight had broken out. Director Wang's son, Wang Xiang, had been called by Tian Fang. Upon hearing that it was Tian Fang who had fought with Chen Xu, he nearly cursed Tian Fang to death over the phone. Then he drove over with Nangong Lan.
As a new friend, Chen Xu naturally wanted to introduce him to Boss Wang Dong. For Chen Xu, his brother's brother was his own brother. He was happy to promote this relationship.
In Gao Xiaojie's words, Wang Dong was "almost a Xiao Feng, except for his slightly lacking martial arts skills." Therefore, Wang Dong was extremely generous and had the highest alcohol tolerance in the entire brothel. His record, it's said, was drinking two tables' worth of baijiu (Chinese liquor) by himself – that's the legendary "two jin" (1 kg)!
Nangong Lan was a refined and polite person, but she had a high alcohol tolerance. After Chen Xu's introduction, the two immediately became friendly. When Wang Dong heard that Nangong Lan was a martial arts expert, he got a little tipsy and demanded that Nangong Lan demonstrate something for everyone. Nangong Lan simply smiled, pinched the tin can containing ice, and five clear finger imprints immediately appeared inside the tin!
This scared Tian Fang half to death, because he now knew that Nangong Lan was someone Chen Xu had brought in to help him. If a fight really broke out, he alone could take care of all of them!
Tian Fang's family is considered to have some status and wealth in Hexie City. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford such a nice car.
Therefore, Tian Fang also knew Director Wang's son. As for Wang Xiang, although he was older than Chen Xu, he had always admired Chen Xu and his group immensely.