Chapter Thirty: Storms Gather

Stepping out of the stir-fry shop, Xue Xi was still beaming with joy. It seemed that being able to stand side by side with Chen Hongxu was the happiest thing for her—even if “side by side” was a bit of an exaggeration, she was simply delighted. Held tightly by Chen Hongxu, she felt both safe and at ease. Tilting her head to gaze at him, she said, “Just now, that red glow around your body—was that the inner strength they show on TV? It’s the first time I’ve seen you fight like that. So cool.”

Chen Hongxu gave a wry smile, helplessly replying, “Your boyfriend is being hunted all over the world right now, and you’re not even worried about my safety. Instead, you’re thinking about all these random things. Though I know who’s behind it, I still can’t quite figure out why he’s making it all so complicated.”

“I have faith in you! Those small fry—take one down as they come, take two down if there are two.” Xue Xi laughed heartily, squeezing his hand tighter. “We only crossed paths with Scarface for one day, and of all the people we clashed with that day, there were only two. Xiaofei can be ruled out—she might not be too bright, but as a high school girl, she couldn’t possibly command that many people. That leaves only that overconfident Wang Bingcai.”

Chen Hongxu kept walking, leading Xue Xi along the street.

Xue Xi shook her head, putting on the airs of a crafty advisor. “As for why he’s making things so complicated, it’s actually simple. One reason might be fear of reprisal from the powers backing me. Another might be that he wants me to know it’s him, but leave me with no way to retaliate. After all, he’s gone through so many twists and turns just to avoid leaving any evidence, and perhaps he even had others carry out the whole thing.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she let out a cold, disdainful laugh. “If my dad pulling out his investment last time hadn’t affected him, I might still be wary of him. But now, after all this, I see his strength is nothing special. If he really had overwhelming power, why bother with all these tricks? He’d just crush us outright.”

Chen Hongxu nodded. If Xue Xi said so, he believed her. But for now, he was on the defensive. After all, he was still a student, with few connections on the surface, and finding Wang Bingcai would be troublesome.

He stopped with Xue Xi in front of a KFC and said, “Alright, little strategist, you didn’t get to eat just now. Want to go in and grab something?”

“How dare you!” Xue Xi instantly shook off his hand, glaring at him. “I told you to get me half a bowl of rice, and you had to pull a fast one. Take this!”

Laughing and joking, the two of them walked into KFC, seemingly without a care for the troubles that lay ahead.

Meanwhile, outside the stir-fry shop where Chen Hongxu had just fought, a group of Xue family bodyguards in black suits appeared to clear the area. After driving away Li Tao and his four thugs, they waited for the owner to return and handed him a stack of cash for damages. The gesture moved the owner, who found himself marveling at how even gangsters nowadays had become so civilized.

As for Li Tao, tonight had been nothing short of a nightmare. He had tried to bully others, only to be beaten like a dead dog himself.

Li Tao hadn’t risen in the ranks for nothing—he was shrewd and knew how to gauge the seriousness of a situation. He dared not delay any of the tasks Chen Hongxu had handed down. But he also didn’t want to get involved any further. Even if one ignored Chen Hongxu’s terrifying skills, just seeing the black-clad men who came to clear the scene made it clear that the underworld in HJ was about to undergo a major shakeup.

Li Tao was sure that, once back with his men, his thugs would embellish the story, boasting of their supposed bravery and blaming the outcome on being outnumbered, hoping to dodge responsibility. If the boss, in a moment of hot-headedness, ordered him to lead a group to hunt down Chen Hongxu, he’d be caught between a rock and a hard place.

After all, he was just a small fry in the gang. Following orders now would be suicidal. He knew that once martial arts reached a certain level, sheer numbers meant nothing. If he hadn’t seen the deathly look in Chen Hongxu’s eyes, he might still have taken his chances. But having faced Chen Hongxu directly, he now understood not only was Chen Hongxu’s fighting ability abnormal, but his methods were likely exceptionally ruthless as well.

The eyes are the window to the soul. From Chen Hongxu’s gaze, Li Tao guessed that his hands were far from clean—he was surely someone who had killed before.

Given all this, only a fool would go looking for trouble with Chen Hongxu again. But if he refused the boss’s orders, he’d be finished in the underworld—no one respected a cowardly thug.

After much deliberation, Li Tao decided he’d better lay low for a while. Turning to the battered four behind him, he said gravely, “You all heard what that young man said just now. I’m sure you know what to say when you go back.”

The four tank-top wearing men nodded in understanding.

Li Tao continued, “After such a humiliating defeat, we’ll need the boss to stand up for us. You go back and report. I’m heading to the hospital. That bastard hit too hard—half my face is probably paralyzed.”

Judging by appearances, Li Tao had indeed taken the worst beating. The five red fingerprints swollen on his cheek looked like a tattoo, making anyone who saw them wince. In truth, though, Li Tao had suffered only superficial wounds, and with his martial arts background, it wasn’t much. In contrast, the four strong men had all suffered internal injuries under Chen Hongxu’s strikes, which could ruin them for life if not treated promptly.

Li Tao, of course, wasn’t about to warn them. He didn’t want to get involved, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see things unfold. In his heart, the more both sides fought, the more inevitable a reshuffling of HJ’s underworld would become. He needed an opportunity—a chance to climb higher, to reach a position second only to the boss.

Successfully using his injuries as an excuse to avoid being escorted to the hospital, Li Tao quietly made his way to the train station, bought the earliest ticket out, and, with a cold smirk and a hint of anticipation, left the soon-to-be-chaotic city of HJ behind.

In a private club in HJ, chaos reigned in a large suite marked “888.” Inside, men and women were evenly mixed, and the empty bottles on the table suggested the party had reached its latter stages.

In one corner of the suite, a young man watched the others play a vulgar game involving passing toothpicks. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he pulled over the woman who had been standing beside him, not joining in, and forced her head down...

Among the group playing the game, a scholarly-looking man waited for the woman’s head to rise before fondling his companion’s chest and slowly walking over with a glass of liquor.

“Hu Shao, why aren’t you joining the fun? All these people come from powerful families.”

Hu Tianmiao, head bowed, smiled. “Wang Bingcai, even if you added all their family backgrounds together, could they compare to the Xue family?”

Wang Bingcai gave an awkward laugh and shook his head.

“The groundwork is just about done,” Hu Tianmiao said, clinking glasses with Wang Bingcai. “Remember, don’t make any moves at the school gate. The consequences would be too great. If something really happens, I won’t be able to get you out.”

“Of course,” Wang Bingcai answered respectfully, watching as Hu Tianmiao took a small sip and hastily downing his own drink.

“Alright, enjoy yourselves. I need to head home early—have to keep a good image with the old man.” With that, Hu Tianmiao left, not sparing a glance for either the still-rowdy crowd or the resentful woman who had just finished helping him.

Wang Bingcai escorted Hu Tianmiao to the club entrance, watching as his car disappeared into the night. He couldn’t help but think how, because of a single offhand remark from Xue Xi, he had ruined his once-promising career, and how much pain his family had gone through to clear his name. He clenched his fists, a glint of venom occasionally flickering in his eyes.