Chapter 053: If You Refuse to Give Me Face, I Will Take My Own Life

Song Kai rolled the documents into a paper tube and, with a loud smack, struck the first man on the head. The man collapsed to the ground in a daze. Then Song Kai lifted his foot and sent the second man sprawling. Now that Song Kai had reached the level of Nine Thunder Internal Qi, First Thunder Meridian Opening, dealing with these petty thugs was child's play. In his hands, even a paper tube became as formidable as the Golden-hooped Staff. Soon, all the lackeys Liu Hu had brought with him were lying on the ground, too afraid to move.

At this moment, inside the Blue Mood Restaurant, all the guests had retreated to a distance, and neither the owner nor the waiters dared to approach. The owner, well aware of Liu Hu's reputation, wouldn't dream of provoking him. Seeing Song Kai act so fiercely, the guests outside gasped in amazement.

Liu Hu stood there in shock, clutching one side of his face and glaring at Song Kai. "You… you… do you even know who I am?"

"I don't give a damn who you are! Idiot, don't you see I'm in the middle of an important business discussion?" Song Kai retorted, taking Xu Ling's hand and leading her to a nearby table. "Come, my dear wife, please sit."

Xu Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "Song Kai, maybe we should leave now."

"No need. There are so many empty seats—let's just talk here. And later, I'll take you to a movie," Song Kai replied with a smile.

Xu Ling rolled her eyes.

Song Kai waved toward the distance. "Waiter, bring us something to drink! Are you still in business or not? Hurry up!"

"Yes, yes, right away!" the owner replied with a forced smile. "Please wait a moment."

Seeing her chance, Zhao Xiaozi hurried over to Song Kai's table, her legs still trembling with fear. Wiping the blood from her forehead, she pleaded, "Please help me, Xu Ling, Song Kai! Please, you can't just leave me—save me, please."

"I'm not paying for your meal," Song Kai replied.

"I'll pay! I'll pay!" Zhao Xiaozi said quickly.

Xu Ling sighed and glanced at Song Kai. Since Song Kai didn't think staying here was dangerous, she settled in as well. Turning to Zhao Xiaozi, she asked, "How did you end up offending those people?"

Zhao Xiaozi's eyes were red as she said, "I… I didn't want to. After we graduated high school, you went abroad for university and I went to a technical college. When I graduated, my dad lost all his money investing in real estate, and his business went bankrupt."

"Then just sell the property. Prices are sky high now," Song Kai said.

"They won't let us sell!" Zhao Xiaozi cried, "It's all my dad's fault for being greedy—he bought so many apartments we can't rent out. The law says you can't sell within five years, so even with high prices, it's all just a pile of cement. I had no choice—after graduation, I became a sales rep. But I wasn't a good student, and I'm too proud to beg for deals. The company was about to fire me. In desperation, I… I tried to use my looks on Liu Dagen, the boss of Hongshan Group—Liu Hu's brother…"

"Used your looks?" Song Kai glanced at her. Though Zhao Xiaozi's face was ordinary, her figure was decent, and with youth and fashion on her side, some makeup could make her pass for a beauty.

Zhao Xiaozi whispered, "I seduced Liu Dagen, promised I'd be his girlfriend if he signed the contract, and let him take advantage of me. After closing a twenty-million deal, I got a two-hundred-thousand bonus and quit, then blocked him. I spent the money on a membership at an exclusive club, met Zhao Bin, and started dating him… I never thought Zhao Bin was such a coward—he just ran off and left me… sob sob."

Song Kai, exasperated, said, "Just shut up! You still have the nerve to blame others? Get out of here. I need to talk business with my wife."

"Don’t call me that," Xu Ling said, tapping Song Kai’s head with her finger. "I've read the documents—getting the factory for ten million is really not expensive. In fact, it's a bargain. But running it is another issue. If you want your traditional medicine factory to survive, you need products. It’s hard to get drug licenses these days, and even if it wasn’t, you’d still need the know-how to make products that sell."

"I've got that covered," Song Kai said, patting his chest. "Don’t forget, I’m… well, never mind—you’ll see. Trust me, I can whip up a few products that are guaranteed to be hits."

"If you’re that confident, then fine. I’ll have Finance transfer the ten million today," Xu Ling replied. "But you’ll need to sign a collateral agreement. If you can’t pay it back, the factory becomes mine."

"Deal! That’s a promise. Heh… So, what movie do you want to see later?" Song Kai asked.

"I never agreed to go to the movies with you. I have things to do this afternoon," Xu Ling replied, sipping her coffee.

Meanwhile, Song Kai and Xu Ling carried on their business discussion as if nothing had happened. Liu Hu and his men staggered to their feet. With a wave, Liu Hu had his seven men sit at another table.

"Waiter, serve the food! Damn it, what are you dawdling for? Are you here to laugh at me?" Liu Hu banged on the table.

The waiter hurried to serve them. Seeing that nothing more was happening, the other patrons returned to their seats.

As Liu Hu ate, he kept checking his phone, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

Zhao Xiaozi remained quietly at the side, watching Xu Ling and Song Kai chat idly. Suddenly, she realized that what really mattered between a couple was being able to talk, to share life’s ups and downs together. Money and status were just ornaments.

Just as everyone thought the storm had passed, suddenly—bang!—the restaurant door was kicked open.

More than twenty men in black suits strode in. Each wore sunglasses and walked in perfect unison.

Liu Hu sprang up, exclaiming excitedly, "Here they come! Big B’s number one enforcer is finally here!"

The twenty-some men marched to the hallway, clicked their heels, and stood at attention. Then they split into two lines, facing each other, and raised their hands in salute.

Everyone in the restaurant was dumbfounded—even Song Kai was bewildered. What was going on? Was this a bunch of gangsters causing trouble, or was it some over-the-top gangster film entrance?

Click, click, click—the sound of leather shoes echoed. A man appeared, wearing a trench coat, a round hat, a long scarf, sunglasses, and a cigar clamped between his teeth.

With a dramatic flourish, the man flicked his coat behind him as he walked, like a man of the wind, making his entrance amid the salutes of his twenty followers.

"Brother Xiang!" Liu Hu’s eyes filled with tears as he saw Chi Xiang at last. "Brother Xiang, you’re finally here! Your brothers have been bullied terribly!"

This ostentatious man was none other than Chi Xiang.

Chi Xiang removed his cigar with a gloved hand. "Who dares lay a hand on my little brother? In Tengyun City, anyone under my protection is untouchable!" He exhaled a showy ring of smoke.

Song Kai was speechless at the spectacle.

Zhao Xiaozi had already crawled under the table in terror, and Xu Ling stood frozen in shock, her phone already dialing the police.

The entire restaurant fell into a hushed silence.

Song Kai sighed and gave Chi Xiang a cupped-fist salute. "Brother Chi, what a coincidence to meet again. Can I ask you something—how much do you get paid for each of these grand entrances? This is quite the production!"

Chi Xiang jumped, took off his sunglasses, and looked at Song Kai.

Liu Hu immediately pointed at Song Kai. "How dare you insult Brother Xiang! You’re dead! Brother Xiang is Big B’s top enforcer—the very wind itself! You’re finished!"

"Idiot!" Chi Xiang slapped the back of Liu Hu’s head. "He’s the one you provoked?"

"Yes, him! He knocked out two of my teeth, Brother Xiang," Liu Hu replied.

Chi Xiang grew angry and kicked Liu Hu in the stomach. "Get out and wait for me outside! Damn it."

Not understanding Chi Xiang’s intentions, Liu Hu scurried out.

Chi Xiang approached Song Kai’s table, pointing at him. "Did you just call me ‘eat shit brother’? That’s a serious accusation, you know."

"Is that so? Then let’s see what you’ve got," Song Kai replied with a calm smile.

Chi Xiang clenched his fists.

Everyone in the restaurant watched intently.

Chi Xiang glanced around, then bent over, lowered his voice, and whispered, "Listen, brother, can you do me a favor? I brought all these guys, and there are so many people watching. Just apologize to me, and I’ll owe you one."

Xu Ling, who had been terrified, was stunned by this sudden plea for mercy.

Song Kai hadn’t expected Chi Xiang to take this approach either. He scratched his head and said, "I could give you this favor, but I’ve got some bad blood with Big B. You work for him. If I let you off, who’s going to give me face? That moron Big B will just strut around even more arrogantly."

Chi Xiang quickly explained, "I’m only working for Big B temporarily—I need his help finding someone, that’s all. I’m thin-skinned, you know. If you embarrass me here today, I might just go home and kill myself. Seriously, I’m not kidding."

Song Kai was at a loss for words. Was this a threat?

Jia Dongming used to threaten him with suicide, and now this fool Chi Xiang was doing the same!

Song Kai sighed, stood up, and said, "Alright, Brother Xiang, my apologies. I didn’t know Liu Hu was your man. Had I known, I wouldn’t have gone so hard on him. Please forgive me."

"No problem! I, Brother Xiang, am magnanimous and always repay kindness with kindness!" Chi Xiang straightened up, cigar back in his mouth, resuming his ostentatious demeanor. "You’re a good-looking kid. I don’t like hitting handsome people. Let’s call it even, but don’t touch my men again! Brothers, let’s go!"

"Yes, sir!"

More than twenty men turned in unison, marching out in step, escorting the ever-pretentious man from the restaurant.

Song Kai sighed. It seemed there was no shortage of fools in the world.

Zhao Xiaozi crawled out from under the table and thanked Song Kai and Xu Ling profusely, wiping away her tears. "Xu Ling, I’m so envious of you. You’re so lucky to have such a good match. I really envy you."

Song Kai shot her a look. "You’d better get going and stop being a third wheel. Can’t you see we’re on a date? Oh, and make sure you pay for the meal before you leave…"