The car drove away from the airport. Snow weighed heavily on branches of the pine trees along the road. The branches occasionally rustled, and the snow fell to the ground before soon melting without a trace.
Fu Chen glanced at Fu Zhongliâs phone. It had already vibrated a few times. The caller ID was [Sun Gongda]. âYouâre not answering?â
âI donât want to.â Fu Zhongli pinched the space between his eyebrows.
âThe Sun family is staying at your place now. Youâll still have to meet them when you go back.â Fu Chenâs fingertips were holding the Buddhist prayer bead bracelet. âWhen Sun Rui got into trouble, didnât the Sun family look for you?â
âThey have the cheek to look for me?â Fu Zhongli reached out to take off his glasses, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and casually brushed away the white mist on it.
âI know Sun Ruiâs personality very well. In this matter, she might have really gone too far while playing. Otherwise, she just wanted to set someone up but got herself involved instead.
âIf weâre talking about who called those reporters who rushed over in time, Iâm not sure. But she usually incurs a lot of grudges, so itâs not surprising that someone returned the favor.â
Fu Chen raised his eyebrows. He had to admit that his second brother was still very clear about gauging things.
âShe likes to play in the first place. This isnât the first time sheâs gotten into trouble. In the past, it was her parents who cleaned up her mess in time. This time, the media exposed her in advance, so they couldnât contain it.
âI really canât agree with the way the Sun family educates their children.â
Fu Chen raised his eyebrows and turned his head to look at him. âWhat about Yuxiuâs education?â
âYour second sister-in-law and I have quarreled about this matter many times. She dotes on him too much, but thereâs no need to pamper a boy. She feels that since the family has the means, she canât let him suffer. She gives him the best of everything and chooses every step for him.â
Fu Zhongli chuckled lightly. âIâm also responsible for this. When I arrived in Yuncheng back then, I was busy with my career and neglected my childâs education. Once his personality developed, it was difficult to turn it around again.
âLast time, he broke the engagement with the Song family without permission. I wanted to beat him up, but she refused and even threw a tantrum with meâ¦â
Fu Chen pressed the tip of his tongue against his cheek. âWhat did you like about Second Sister-in-Law back then?â
âDating and getting married are different. Youâll understand these things when you get married.â Fu Zhongli put on his glasses and tilted his head to size him up. âAre you in a relationship?â
Fu Chen smiled without saying anything.
He had mentioned to his mother that he would bring someone back this year, so it was normal to have a target already. He didnât hide this fact.
âNowadays, society is open. Before getting married, you two should spend more time with each other. You should go on vacations or try to cohabit for a period of time to work it out well. When you discover conflicts and differences, itâs best if you can resolve them before marriage.â
âOkay.â Fu Chen nodded.
Shi Fang shook his head as he drove.?Second Master is also worried for Third Master. How could he know that they already cohabited long ago?
Fu Chen put away his prayer bead bracelet and said seriously, âSecond Brother, I want to tell you somethingâ¦â
âEvery time you show this expression, something bad will definitely happen.â
Fu Chen smiled and briefly told him what had happenedâ¦
âOur family is a little indebted to Wanwan in the first place. This isnât a big deal. But why are you so concerned about another familyâs matters?â His younger brother wasnât a busybody.
âShe stayed at my house for a few months. Weâre on relatively good terms,â Fu Chen said self-righteously.
âThis child has a good personality. She doesnât fight for anything nor likes to be in the limelight. Sheâs very low-key. Itâs a pity that Yuxiu canât see her good side.â Fu Zhongli was very good at judging people indeed.
Fu Chen didnât say anythingâ¦
Shi Fang was speechless.?Third Master really dared to say that?
You two are just on good terms?
Youâve already climbed into the young ladyâs bed. Are you still pretending? Continue pretending.
***
Inside a hospital in Yunchengâ¦
After dinner, Qian Jiang sent Song Fengwan back to school, while Qiao Aiyun, Yan Wangchuan, and Geng Ying went to the hospital to check on the situation.
When they arrived at the inpatient department and reached the floor where the injured person was, they saw Geng Yingâs assistant, Little Liang, surrounded by a group of people. His clothes were torn, and his hair was messy. He was squashed in the middle and in great pain. There were also obvious red marks on his face and neck.
âYou canât leave. You hit him with a car, yet you still want to run?â
âExactly. If you donât give us an answer today, donât even think about leaving.â
Little Liang couldnât win against these unruly and unreasonable people at all. The buttons on his suit had already been ripped off. âIâm just going down to pick up someone. You all know my number, and the police havenât dealt with it either. Where can I run to?â
âYou just want to run! You hit someone with a car and donât want to pay, huh?â
âIâm really not running away!â No matter how Little Liang explained, these people refused to listen. He had received a call from Geng Ying and only wanted to pick them up, but these people had stopped him.
âLittle Liang.â Geng Ying hurriedly ran over and reached out to save him from the crowd.
âSister Geng, youâre finally here.â Little Liang had just graduated for more than a year and had not come into contact with many lawsuits. He had never met these kinds of people before, so he had no idea how to deal with them.
Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan also rushed over. âIâm the person involved. Talk to me if you have anything to say.â
âYouâre the one who ran into my husband?â A married woman jumped out. Her face was flushed red from agitation, and she bared her fangs and brandished her claws as if she wanted to swallow Qiao Aiyun alive.
âHey, Sister-in-Law, donât be agitated.â The person beside her pulled her back.
âHow can I not be agitated?! Look at what has become of your big brother after she ran into him!â The womanâs emotions were at a high.
Qiao Aiyun was speechless. She observed her surroundings.?He sure is precious for staying in the VIP ward after getting some scratches.?âIf you want to discuss, weâll go in and talk. If you want to fight, Iâll go examine the injuries later. Weâll waste each otherâs time, and Iâm afraid you wonât get a single cent!â
When the woman heard the mention of money, she immediately stopped acting up.
The group finally entered the ward.
â¦
After all, it was a VIP room. The ward was spacious, and there were many people sitting in it. Cheng Hu, the leader of the troublemakers, was also here. A group of people was gathered around playing cards and smoking. They clearly didnât treat this place as a hospital.
The man lying on the bed, who had just been eating with his legs crossed, restrained himself at this moment and started groaning.
Yan Wangchuanâs fingers tightened slightly.
Encountering such a scoundrel, he really wanted to go up and punch him.
âThis is the current medical expenses. Take a lookâ¦â The woman handed a receipt to Qiao Aiyun. âThereâs also some nutritional costs and compensation for emotional damage. Iâll slowly calculate it with you later.â
âWhat else do you want to calculate?â Qiao Aiyun glanced at the receipt. They had only been in the hospital for half a day, but they had already spent more than ten thousand yuan. This was daylight robbery.
âThereâs also the cost of lost labor. My husband wonât be able to go to work for some time, and his brothers didnât go to work today either because of him. We have to include everything.â
Qiao Aiyun nodded. âWhat else?â?This is really shameless.
âDonât think that he looks normal now. If thereâs anything wrong with him later, you people have to take responsibility too! Itâs hard to guarantee that there wonât be any aftereffects. You have to pay for all of this!â
Qiao Aiyun could tell that these people were planning to cling to her for the rest of their lives. Could it be that they wanted her to support him in his retirement?
âRoughly how much do you need?â
The woman looked at Cheng Hu and coughed twice. âJust give us three million first.â
âThis is blackmail!â Geng Ying couldnât stand it anymore.?What kind of people are these? Theyâre simply shameless.
âLittle girl, donât spout nonsense. After hitting someone with a car, shouldnât you give him some money?â The woman sneered coldly.
âThatâs right! Pay up! Or is it that the richer you are, the stingier you are?â
âItâs only right and proper to pay when you run into someone. We are in the right wherever we go.â
â¦
These people started raising a hue and a cry.
Qiao Aiyun gritted her teeth. They knew that they wouldnât be able to get the debt back, so they came up with such an idea and wanted to eat her up bit by bit. They were extremely shameless.
She took a deep breath and suppressed her fury.
But Yan Wangchuan really couldnât restrain himself anymore.
His fingers tightened. Just as he moved, Qiao Aiyun stopped him. âCalm down.â
Yan Wangchuanâs expression was ugly. Perhaps to deal with these kinds of local ruffians, one had to use violence to curb violence.
âWhat? You still want to fight?â The few people playing cards threw away the poker cards and crowded around them. They even started to pull and push them.
One of them reached out to grab Qiao Aiyunâs arm.
How could Yan Wangchuan tolerate this? He clenched his fists tightly, raised his arm, and punched him immediately. âTry touching her again.â
âF*ck, there are so many of us! How can we still let you bully us? Brothers, go!â
The entire ward instantly became chaotic. The nurse on duty had been observing the situation outside the whole time. When she saw this situation, she immediately prepared to call the police and security guards. As soon as she turned her, she saw four or five people walking over quickly.
Everyone in Yuncheng recognized the man in the lead.
âSe-Second Master.â The young nurse hurriedly retreated to the side.
Fu Zhongli had followed the tides of reformation and opened up to the outside world. He had been the first batch of people to go to sea and establish a company in Yuncheng, which was a leading enterprise even in the entire country. Every year, the government would commend him for paying his taxes as a member of a rich and influential family. Who didnât know him?
He was wearing an extremely simple and capable-looking suit. The white lights of the hospital cast a shadow on his face. He was aloof while walking, bearing a cold expression and styled hair. Because he was wearing glasses, he looked calm and easy-going, but his charisma was irresistible.
He exuded a veneer of refinement, but because he had been in the business world for a long time, he had forged a sharp and fierce aura.
â¦
Just as they were arguing endlessly in the ward, the door was kicked open and slammed against the back wall.
The sound was deafening.
Only then did everyone stop fighting.
Fu Chen raised his eyebrows slightly and didnât say anything. Shi Fang, on the other hand, was stunned.?My god. Second Master is usually refined and scholarly. Iâve never seen him be so aggressive.
Shi Fang couldnât be blamed for this either. Fu Zhongli was overseas all year round, so he could only see him at the old residence. In front of the two elders of the Fu family, everyone would restrain their temperament.
When Fu Chen heard the commotion inside, he knew that he was a little late. He had even thought that Qiao Aiyun would be at a disadvantage. He was completely wrong. With Yan Wangchuan around, these hooligans were almost beaten black and blue.
When these people saw that Yan Wangchuan was dressed neatly in a suit, they had thought that he was simply for show. But they hadnât expected him to be so fast and ruthless when he fought. They werenât his match at all. Anyone who rushed forward was knocked down one by one.
He had the considerable valiance of âa single man holding back ten thousand enemiesâ.
âSecond Master?â Cheng Hu, who had been watching the show, hurriedly threw away his cigarette and ran over fawningly.
âWhy arenât you continuing?â Fu Zhongli glanced at him. âIn the past, I didnât realize that you had such authority to act like a tyrant in Yuncheng.â
âSecond Master, you must be joking. Isnât this because my brother was hit? There was a small conflict.â Fu Zhongli was the local snake[1] in Yuncheng. Lowly thugs like Cheng Hu couldnât afford to offend him at all.
Normally, he wouldnât even be worthy of serving him tea.
âSmall conflict?â Fu Zhongli looked around the room. âI am in charge of this matter now. How badly injured is he? How much money do I have to pay? Come and calculate it with me.â
âArenât you making things difficult for us?â Everyone knew very well that this wasnât a scam or car accident at all. They were here to collect a debt.
âWhy didnât you say that when you made things difficult for the mother and child? I heard that you blocked them at the gates of their community and didnât let them leave. Wasnât there a child in the car too? I think you people didnât even want to let the child go.â
Fu Zhongli spoke slowly, neither fast nor slow, but his words were arrogant and overbearing.
How could Cheng Hu withstand such a powerful sense of oppression?
âThis is all an accident.â He gave a hollow laugh, feeling a little flustered inside.?Where did this master come from?
âWhether itâs an accident or a deliberate act, we know very well in our hearts. Ms. Qiao and I used to be in-laws. If you touch her now, doesnât that mean you are dissatisfied with me too? Orâ¦â Fu Zhongli chuckled. âYou want to slap my face?â
âI wouldnât dare!â Cheng Hu smiled fawningly.
âI think youâre very courageous. Thereâs nothing you donât dare to do. I heard that itâs Song Jingren who owes you money. You also know very well that itâs not their place to repay this debt. If you insist on finding trouble with her, youâre deliberately going against me then.â
âSecond Master, this matterâ¦â Cheng Hu scratched his head and leaned over slightly.
Carefully and obsequiously, he walked over to Fu Zhongliâs side and said in a low voice, âIt wasnât of my own volition that I did this matter. Itâs⦠Iâm also working for others. Besides, with your relationship, I only did this for your sakeâ¦â
Fu Zhongliâs face instantly turned frosty.
âIâll take responsibility for this. Go back and tell him that if heâs dissatisfied, come find me directly! No one can use my name to do evil! How arrogant.â
Fu Chen was standing right beside Fu Zhongli. When Cheng Hu said that there was someone behind him, Fu Chen also raised his eyebrows.
This family is really damned persistent with their evil intentions.
They used Second Brotherâs power and status in Yuncheng to do evil. This time, they probably pissed Second Brother off completelyâ¦
[1] å°å¤´è is a Chinese term for an influential bigwig/gangster in a place.