In the Cheng family residence in Beijingâ¦
Cheng Tianyi pinched his chopsticks and casually fiddled with the nutrition meal in front of him. âWhy am I eating this again?â
âItâs good for your armâs recovery. Hurry and eat.â Cheng Lan smiled kindly.
âIâve been eating this every day! Iâm sick and tired of it!â He raised his hand and threw his chopsticks away, scaring the servant who cooked so much that her face turned pale. âRedo it.â
âYoung Master, this menu was given by Master. Iâ¦â She was just a servant who cooks. How could she have the right to decide what the young master ate?
âI told you to redo it. Make me something spicy. The spicier, the better. What kind of thing is this? Itâs so bland.â Cheng Tianyi snorted coldly.
The servant looked at Cheng Lan. Cheng Lan was eating with her head lowered and didnât say anything.
So the servant could only go to the kitchen to redo it.?With his body recovering, how can he eat stimulating food? Eldest Miss still lets him do as he wants, but spoiling him isnât a good thing.
Soon, the servant served a plate of spicy diced chicken. Cheng Tianyi smiled and was about to pick up his chopsticks when he heard the roar of an engine. Not long later, there was a knock on the door.
Cheng Lan raised her eyebrows. âWhoâs here?â
âItâs probably those people looking for me. Why are you still standing here? Go open the door.â Cheng Tianyi looked at the standing female servant with a look of disdain. âWhy arenât you tactful at all?â
The Cheng family was not as prestigious as the Fu family. There was only one female servant in charge of cooking and cleaning at home, so there was no one to inform them who was here.
The few people Cheng Tianyi was close to all liked to play with cars. When he heard the engine roar, he subconsciously thought that his friend was here. Little did he know thatâ¦
It was a demon here for his life.
The servant just opened the door by a small crack when the person outside kicked the door open hard.
The gate and the metal door slammed against the wall, making a deafening sound.
The servant dodged in time and stood aside, scared out of her wits, her face pale.
âWho is it?! How dare you f*cking kick open our door. Do you have a death wish?!â Cheng Tianyi hurriedly jumped up.
âItâs your dad!â Duan Linbai strode in, not caring a single bit that this wasnât his territory at all.
When Cheng Tianyi saw Duan Linbai, his face stiffened slightly.
He was famous in the capital for being profligate and not being afraid of trouble. But compared to Duan Linbai, he was more than a level lower. Duan Linbai was arrogant, evil, and unrestrained.
His arrogance and flamboyance were not only because of his family background but also because of his own capital. Duan Linbai was completely different from someone like him who only relied on his family and sat around waiting for death.
âYoung⦠Young Master Duan?â Cheng Tianyiâs lips trembled.
âWerenât you very arrogant just now? Continue scolding. Iâm listening.â Duan Linbai was full of anger, but now that he was in the Cheng family, he was instead calm.
âWhat are you doing here?â Cheng Tianyi had done something bad, so he was guilty and had no confidence in his words.
âWhy do you think Iâm here?â Duan Linbai pressed closer step by step.
He was only wearing pajamas, and his clothes were all dark gray. He was lean, fair, and thin. He looked beyond mundane affairs, like spring water and peach blossoms. His facial features were so fine that they seemed to have been exquisitely sculpted.
If not for his bewitching face, how could he have millions of fans?
Most people became his fan for his looks at the beginning. He had studied classical music, so when ordinary people thought about it, they definitely thought that he was a graceful and elegant scion. But after becoming his fan, they realized thatâ¦
He was a f*cking joker.
In todayâs society, there were too few interesting souls. It was difficult for everyone not to like him after becoming his fan, and his fanbase grew larger and larger.
Duan Linbai walked up to Cheng Tianyi and sized him up. They had met a few times in the Fu family residence. Duan Linbai made friends based on feeling when he saw them. The Cheng family had wanted to use the Fu family to get close to him, but Duan Linbai looked down on them.
âAre you mute? Donât you know what youâve done?â Duan Linbai snorted.
âWhat did I do?â Cheng Tianyi revealed a timid expression. Duan Linbai didnât explicitly mention it, so he wouldnât foolishly admit to it because Duan Linbai might just be trying to get information out of his mouth.
âHah, are you pretending to be stupid?â
âI donât think itâs very good for you to be so arrogant in someone elseâs house.â Cheng Tianyi was so nervous that he gulped. His breathing was rapid, and his forehead was covered in sweat.
âYou donât want to admit it? Do I need to bring them here to confront you?â
Cheng Tianyiâs heart was pounding wildly. âI donât know what youâre talking aboutâ¦â
âYou donât know?â Duan Linbai smiled at him.
His smile was like a soft wave in spring water, clean and refreshing.
But the next second, he raised his hand and punched Cheng Tianyi in the face. He hadnât practiced martial arts before, so his power wasnât strong, but it was still painful as hell for Cheng Tianyi.
He staggered and almost fell.
âDuan Linbai, what are you doing?!â Only then did Cheng Lan jump out to stop him.
Duan Linbai rubbed his wrist and looked at her, unable to hide the disgust in his eyes. âStand still and donât move. When Iâm done with him, itâs your turn.â
âItâs already wrong of you to barge into a private residence, yet you still dare to hurt someone. Arenât you being too much? Arenât you afraid that Iâll call the police?â Cheng Lan was afraid of him. During the filiation banquet in Yuncheng, he had cursed her at full blast in front of everyone.
Hearing that he would deal with her later, she felt inexplicably flustered.?Could the matter have been exposed?
âCall the police. Please go ahead.â Duan Linbai spread his hands, looking as if he would be at their disposal, appearing arrogant and rampant.
âBig Sis!â He didnât care, but Cheng Tianyi was anxious.
A thief was most afraid of the police.
Cheng Lan gripped her phone tightly. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.
âCheng Tianyi, do you remember now?â Duan Linbai smiled at him.
âI think there must be some misunderstandingâ¦â
When Duan Linbai heard that he was still being stubborn even at the brink of death, he was exasperated.
Duan Linbai grabbed Cheng Tianyiâs collar. Cheng Tianyi tried to resist, but his hand was fractured and had yet to recover, so he couldnât even grasp Duan Linbaiâs wrist.
He could only watch as Duan Linbai raised his fist.
Bang!
?The punch made half of his head buzz. The left side of his face instantly went numb, and blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.
âHow dare you f*cking send people to mess with me?! And you still dare to say that itâs a misunderstanding?!â
âWhen did I send someone to mess with you?!â Cheng Tianyi was used to being pampered and spoiled, so he couldnât withstand being hit. He was already clenching his teeth in pain.
âYouâre still being stubborn. Didnât you send those hooligans? Behaving atrociously in my territory, do you think Iâm dead?!â
âI didnât.â
âYou still dare to say no?! Do you need me to drag a few people over to confront you face to face?!â Duan Linbai continued to raise his voice.
âThat group of people has already admitted that theyâre your people. Youâre quite capable, arenât you? You want to mess with me? Come on. When I was mingling outside back then, you were still f*cking wearing diapers!
âItâs not enough for you to offend the Fu family. Do you want to offend everyone in the capital now?â
Duan Linbai pressed forward step by step. Every word he said was on-point, shattering Cheng Tianyiâs already weak psychological defense.
Cheng Tianyi was driven into a corner and blurted out, âI was targeting Song Fengwan, not you!â
Cheng Lan clenched her fists and cursed in her head.?Idiot!
After shouting, Cheng Tianyi knew that he had blundered. He had clearly fallen for Duan Linbaiâs psychological prodding.
The corners of Duan Linbaiâs lips moved slightly as he wiped the saliva splashed on his clothes. âF*ck, so dirty.â
The entire Cheng family fell into an indescribable silence.
***
Until the sound of a car came from outsideâ¦
âWhy is the door open? Isnât it cold in the middle of winter?â Cheng Guofu entered the house with his briefcase. It was already past 1 p.m. He had just finished socializing with others and was exhausted mentally and physically.
Everyone kicked a man who was down, and now the Cheng family was being besieged on all sides. In the past, when they relied on the Fu family, other people had to give them some face. But now, they could only rely on themselves to ask others for help.
It was very hard.
You nod and bow, drink and flatter others. Yet they still laugh at you, saying youâre like a dog behind your back.
The friendship of his father and Old Master Fu was why he had a big tree backing him up when he was born. Now that he had to work alone, he was already mentally and physically exhausted and on the verge of breaking down.
âMaster.â The female servant stood at the door and pointed timidly at the people standing in the room.
Cheng Guofu burped. His face was flushed red, and his breath had the pungent stench of alcohol.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at Duan Linbai. â⦠Young Master Duan, why are you here?â
He wiped his face and walked over fawningly. He bent over and said, âPlease have a seat.â
He had wanted to curry favor with the Duan family for the past twenty-odd years. At this moment, the Cheng family was in a predicament, and Duan Linbai had delivered himself to his doorstep. Cheng Guofuâs attitude was as though he wished he could kneel down and help Duan Linbai carry his shoes.
âI donât dare to sit on your houseâs sofa. Iâm afraid that your son will find someone to beat me up later.â
âWhat are you saying? How could Tianyi dare to?â Cheng Guofu had drunk alcohol. Although his footsteps were unsteady, he still had his rationality.
Duan Linbai smiled harmlessly. âHe sent people to my familyâs mall today and had ill intentions toward my customers.â
âHow is that possible? Heâs always been at home and has been behaving himself. There must be some misunderstanding.â Cheng Guofu glared at his son and pulled him in front of Duan Linbai. âTell him. Is this a misunderstanding or not?â
âMisunderstanding my ass! He already admitted it himself just now.â Duan Linbai smiled scornfully.
âHe found around six men to mess with that little girl, but he just had to do it in my familyâs territory. If something happenedâ¦â Duan Linbai chuckled. âIs your Cheng family deliberately trying to sow discord between our two families?â
âThat Song Fengwan?â Once Cheng Guofu heard that it was her, he turned his head to look at Cheng Tianyi.
He knew his son very well. He would take revenge for the slightest matter, and seeking revenge on Song Fengwan was something he definitely could do.
âDad, I didnât want to provoke him. Itâs really not that. I justâ¦â
Cheng Guofu didnât listen to his explanation and raised his hand to slap him hard across his face. âYoung Master Duan has already come all the way here, so the evidence must be conclusive, yet youâre still quibbling!
âI told you long ago not to touch her or provoke her! Did my words go in one ear and out the other?!â
âDad!â For the first time in his life, Cheng Tianyi was hit by his father, and he was dumbfounded.
âApologize to him!â Cheng Guofu had been pent up with anger for days because of the familyâs matters. After experiencing the previous incident, Cheng Tianyi still hadnât learned his lesson. Cheng Guofu was furious.
Cheng Tianyi gritted his teeth, seemingly protesting.
âIâve raised you for so long, but youâve never made me proud! All you know is to cause trouble! Are you only resigned if you bury the entire Cheng family with you?! Apologize to him and beg for his forgiveness!â
Cheng Guofu was really anxious. Their relationship with the Fu family was already in bad shape. Perhaps out of consideration for their past friendship, the Fu family didnât kick them when they were down, but they didnât help them either. If the Duan family interfered, their Cheng family would really be finished.
âDonât. I canât withstand your sonâs apology.â Duan Linbai chuckled. âI came here today to ask Miss Cheng something.â
Cheng Lan originally thought that this had nothing to do with her, so she just stood quietly at the side. Little did she know that Duan Linbai didnât act according to common sense, changing the topic and aiming at her.
She was utterly shocked.
âLittle Lan?â Cheng Guofuâs head hurt terribly right now.
âCheng Lan, say, how vicious can a personâs heart be to be able to do such despicable and dirty things time and time again?!â Duan Linbai couldnât bear to see anyone using such underhanded methods, so he spoke very bluntly.
âHavenât you learned your lesson back in Yuncheng?
âPeople all say that itâs hard for a tree to live without its bark, and itâs hard for people to survive without shame. I think youâre really shameless.â
âYoung Master Duan, be more polite with your words!â Cheng Lanâs breathing was rapid, but she was clearly much calmer than Cheng Tianyi. âYou trespassed into a private residence, hit my younger brother, and now youâre even speaking ill of me. Donât think that just because your family has some money that you can do whatever you want!â
Despite being scolded by her, Duan Linbai smiled. âGo on.â
âIâm in the news industry. Arenât you afraid that Iâll immediately find someone to expose you?
âIf you have the ability, then bring the evidence out and go to the police station to talk. Let the police arbitrate. Just because you have a strong background, and we canât afford to offend you, you came to our house and are being so arrogant. What kind of ability is it to bully my brother?!â
Sheâs still trying to defend herself in this situation??Duan Linbai really wanted to slap her.
âDad, heâs here to cause trouble on purpose! This is our house, not a place for him to behave atrociously! Youâre also considered his elder!â Cheng Lan started brainwashing Cheng Guofu.
Cheng Guofu was originally someone who cared a lot about his dignity. When he heard this, in addition to having drunk some alcohol, his mind wavered.
âMy daughter is right. Everything depends on evidence. Nothing can depend just on your mouth.â Cheng Guofu sighed.
With his son being reprimanded by someone else in his own house, his dignity had completely disappeared.
Duan Linbai was caught between laughter and tears.?This family is brainless. Are they planning to kick me out?
Just as he spoke, a voice came from outside the doorâ¦
âMr. Chengâs words are so imposing.â
Duan Linbai turned around and ran straight to Fu Chen. âThird Fu, this family of three ganged up to bully me!â
The mall manager following closely behind almost fell down.?My god, who has the ability to bully you?