Chapter 51: The Injured Woman

Ye Chen wore a faint smile, clearly satisfied with Feng Zhixiao’s cautious response. At least Feng Zhixiao hadn’t agreed right away; if it had been someone else, they’d probably have nodded eagerly already. Who wouldn’t want such a juicy opportunity handed to them? Only a fool would refuse. Yet Feng Zhixiao hesitated, weighing all the possibilities. People like him had both strengths and weaknesses; without a risk-taking spirit, it’s almost impossible to get rich. It seemed he’d need to give this fellow more encouragement in the future.

“Don’t worry. Since I said it’s yours, it’s yours. It won’t slip away!” Ye Chen’s smile deepened.

“Alright then, since you said so, I’ll just listen to you this time!” Feng Zhixiao nodded, excitement lighting his eyes. He looked at Ye Chen and asked, “So when can we take over that hotpot restaurant? It’ll probably cost a lot, right?”

“I’ll help you,” Ye Chen replied with a chuckle. “Once I’m discharged in a couple of days, we’ll go and settle this!”

…

Tianya Group.

After returning to the company, Li Ruo immediately shut her door to visitors, instructing Lin Ziwen not to let anything disturb her. She closed the office door behind her and collapsed onto the sofa, tears streaming down her face. Why couldn’t she shake off the shadow that haunted her mind? Why did Ye Chen’s appearance so closely resemble his?

Accidentally brushing against that old wound within her heart, she realized with horror that these two people, who should have been unrelated and dissimilar, actually shared such a striking similarity.

“Why is this happening?!” Li Ruo curled up on the sofa, her exquisite face streaked with tears, a sight to break any heart. They say women who’ve been hurt develop an aversion to men—how true that was for her. After being abandoned by that man, she’d lost all trust in men, believing their honeyed words were nothing but a means to coax women into bed.

But hadn’t her psychological wounds already healed? Why, then, had Ye Chen’s simple words shattered her defenses? She began to reflect: after being abandoned, she’d developed severe social anxiety, only regaining herself after extensive treatment with a top American therapist. Since returning home, she’d never relapsed. Yet now, because of one man, that old scar had been ruthlessly torn open.

From the very beginning, lying there and recalling every interaction with Ye Chen, from their first glance to the present, Li Ruo was appalled to realize she’d never once felt resistance or disgust toward him. The notion stunned her—could she have fallen for him? No! Absolutely impossible! She mustn’t! There wasn’t a single decent man in this world; men were creatures who only thought with their lower halves.

They might speak of etiquette and virtue, appear as refined gentlemen or act with elegant manners, but it was all a façade, a sly ploy to lure women into their beds.

“No!” Li Ruo tumbled from the sofa, scrambling to her feet in panic. “No, I don’t like him, not one bit! I hate him, I despise him!”

…

Within a few days, Ye Chen was discharged from the hospital. On the day he returned home, Liu Momo and Feng Zhixiao came to pick him up. Although there were no luxury cars like the ones Li Ruo might use, what mattered was the sincerity in Feng Zhixiao’s and Liu Momo’s hearts. Without realizing it, Ye Chen had come to see Feng Zhixiao as a younger brother; as for Liu Momo, she was dearer to him than any blood sister.

“Let’s go drink, Brother Chen, let’s celebrate!” Feng Zhixiao grinned.

“Let’s go!” Ye Chen, dressed in a loose tracksuit, waved his hand, and the group quickly piled into several taxis, heading straight for Xinhai Community. Outside Xinhai, they picked a random Hunan restaurant, gathered around a table, and the atmosphere was lively.

“Brother Chen, why not go to a big hotel for a proper meal? You’ve just gotten out of the hospital; we should give you a proper welcome!” Feng Zhixiao shook his head. He’d been trying to drag Ye Chen to a fancy restaurant, but Ye Chen refused, saying it didn’t matter where they ate. Nonsense—of course it mattered! At a big hotel, you paid for service; from the moment you entered, you were greeted with “Welcome” and escorted by hostesses. At the table, they poured your drinks and served your dishes. Here, the servers just lounged around, cracking sunflower seeds and ignoring the customers as if they were the lords of the place.

After a crate of beer and two plates of peanuts were delivered, no other dishes appeared. That was just the way of small places like this; at a big hotel, they’d have been reported already.

“Hey, you bring us the beer—aren’t you going to open it for us?” Feng Zhixiao was puzzled, turning to the chubby waitress.

“How am I supposed to open it for you? Can’t you do it yourself?” she replied in a thick Sichuan accent.

“Come on, if you don’t give me a tool, how am I supposed to open it?” Feng Zhixiao snapped, annoyed.

“Hmph, don’t you have teeth?” The waitress couldn’t be bothered, tapping away on her phone, engrossed in her QQ chat and still munching seeds. By chance, Ye Chen glanced at her screen and nearly choked.

A guy named “Little Love Brother” messaged: “Hey, are you pretty? I’ll come to Jianghuai City to see you, okay?”

The waitress smiled to herself and typed back: “Sure, but I’m not that kind of girl, so don’t get any ideas!”

The exchange nearly made Ye Chen spit out his drink.

“Brother Chen, what’s wrong?” Liu Momo asked, worried by Ye Chen’s strange expression. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no!” Ye Chen barely suppressed his laughter. Then he saw Feng Zhixiao gnawing desperately at a beer cap with his teeth. He turned to Daxia. “Daxia, you open it.”

“Alright!” Daxia nodded, grinning at Feng Zhixiao. “Watch this!”

Feng Zhixiao paused, watching as Daxia grabbed three bottles out of the crate. Holding them in one hand, he hooked a thumb under one cap and said, “Watch carefully!”

Pop!

The sturdy cap, which had hurt Feng Zhixiao’s teeth without budging, was flicked off with a single move of Daxia’s thumb. Not just one—he popped all three caps in a single breath, as if opening ordinary canned drinks. The group stared, dumbfounded.

“Brother Chen, this guy’s amazing!” Feng Zhixiao exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“For him, that’s nothing,” Ye Chen replied with a chuckle, raising his glass. “Let’s drink!”

Everyone raised their glasses. Feng Zhixiao’s respect for Ye Chen only grew; to have such formidable men as subordinates, Ye Chen must have some hidden background. Feng Zhixiao wasn’t stupid—just looking at Haizi and Daxia’s skills, it was obvious they were no ordinary bodyguards.

As the drinks flowed, evening began to fall. The group was in high spirits when suddenly, a gang of men carrying machetes and axes burst in. The restaurant’s servers stood up, but having seen this sort of thing before, they didn’t appear too rattled.

“Boss, bring us a few crates of beer!” The leader, bare-chested, slapped the table.

“Coming, coming! Right away!” The same waitress who’d been so dismissive of Feng Zhixiao now hurried inside and soon struggled out with two crates of beer, opening each bottle for the newcomers. The sight infuriated Feng Zhixiao—those guys were waited on hand and foot, but he had to use his teeth!

“Cheers, boss!” one of the young men in a floral shirt toasted.

“Come on, everyone, drink up!” the leader rolled up his sleeves, exposing a patch of black hair on his chest, and raised a large bowl. “Once we’ve drunk up, let’s give it our all tonight—everyone’s got their eye on that plot by University Town. Now that Zhang Bold’s down, the rest are circling like wolves!”

“Right! If we can get a piece of land by University Town, we’ll be set for life!”

“That’s right, we’ll be living the good life soon!”

The underlings’ eyes shone with excitement, as if they were about to take over University Town, not fight for it. Since Zhang Bold had fallen, all the city’s underworld factions were circling, waiting for the signal to pounce.

“Brother Chen, those guys…” Feng Zhixiao looked at the group in bewilderment. Had Jianghuai really become so chaotic?

“Ignore them,” Ye Chen said with a wave, glancing at Liu Momo. “Eat up, Momo.”

“Thank you, Brother Chen!” Liu Momo nodded. The tables nearby were intimidating; the men were covered in tattoos, their faces pierced with various rings, and their hair dyed all colors. Ordinary people would be frightened just looking at them. As Liu Momo glanced over, the bare-chested man noticed her as well. The moment he saw her pure and lovely face, he stared, mouth watering.

“Damn, what a beauty!” he blurted, dazed.

“Ah!” Liu Momo gasped, quickly turning away, her heart pounding in fright.

“Ha, Feng Zhixiao?!” The man stood up, grinning at Feng Zhixiao. “What’s this, got rich today? Treating your little brothers to a meal?”

Feng Zhixiao was startled—he didn’t recognize the guy, but when someone greets you with a smile, it’s only polite to respond. He hurriedly stood, fished out a cigarette, and handed it over with a friendly grin. “Sorry, brother, I didn’t catch your name?”