Chapter 014: Sis… Brother-in-Law?!

Chapter 014: Sis… Brother-in-Law?!

Crooked Zhao, Wang Zhuangyuan, and the rest all rose.

The bodyguards outside opened the door. Li Ruobing waved off her own men, telling them not to follow, and walked in with only Wu Chen beside her. At the sight of her, Crooked Zhao and Wang Zhuangyuan both bowed. “Miss Li!”

In truth, they’d barely crossed paths with Li Ruobing before.

What they knew of her was thin at best.

But they knew she was the standout of the Li family’s third generation, sharper and more ruthless in her dealings than some seasoned old foxes. It was only because she’d been born a woman—and because her temperament ran too forceful—that her standing within the family had suffered.

Whatever friction existed between Li Ruobing and her family, of course, had nothing to do with thugs on Crooked Zhao and Wang Zhuangyuan’s level.

What they did know was that Young Master Li feared his sister. Which meant they feared her even more.

Crossing Li Ruobing was more frightening than crossing Young Master Li himself.

“Sis, what’s so urgent you had to come yourself?” Li Ruotai said with a smile, though he looked oddly nervous. His hand kept fanning at the air—there was still smoke in the room.

Even as he spoke, Crooked Zhao and the others were filing toward the door.

Suddenly—

Bearded Liu let out a howl.

“That’s him!” He jabbed a finger at the young man in the blue suit beside Li Ruobing, shouting, eyes darting wildly, the flesh of his face trembling with excitement. “Boss! Young Master Li—that’s him! That’s the one from last night!”

Bearded Liu’s hatred ran bone-deep.

The night before, he’d truly been afraid—he’d known he’d crossed someone he couldn’t afford to cross. Even with his finger gone, he’d felt no real hatred, only a strange gratitude that a man of such stature had let the matter drop.

But the moment he learned he’d been played, that gratitude curdled into rage a thousand times fiercer.

Most people were like that.

Slapped down in public by someone powerful, they didn’t dare resent it—might even take it as a lesson learned.

But to be made a fool of by some nobody kid—

Compared to the pain of a severed finger, the sting of humiliation cut far deeper.

He’d watched Young Master Li’s fury build just moments ago, and he’d already made up his mind: the instant they caught last night’s kid, he’d hack off both his hands before handing him over. Young Master Li had said alive—he hadn’t said intact.

But no sooner had he settled on that plan than Wu Chen appeared right before his eyes.

When the door first opened, he hadn’t even recognized him. Wu Chen had changed clothes—before coming here, Li Ruobing had taken him shopping for an extravagant suit, along with a watch and cufflinks to match.

He looked nothing like the man from last night.

Bearded Liu, too worked up to contain himself, had shouted the moment recognition hit him, leaving the whole room briefly stunned.

Wang Zhuangyuan frowned and studied Wu Chen more closely.

He’d brushed past him the night before without paying much mind, but afterward, reviewing the bar’s security footage, he’d gotten a decent look at the man’s face. This was indeed the one from last night.

Still, neither he nor Crooked Zhao dared make a move. This was Young Master Li’s territory. It wasn’t their place to act rashly.

And besides—this kid had walked in beside Young Master Li’s own sister.

“That’s him?” Li Ruotai glanced at Bearded Liu, then turned to study Wu Chen.

“Yes, yes, that’s him, that’s the one from last night!” Bearded Liu shouted—then caught his boss Crooked Zhao’s warning glare and let his voice trail off.

“Well, look at this. Everyone’s here.” Wu Chen spoke up at last, an easy, unbothered smile on his face. Every eye in the room turned to him.

Crooked Zhao had never laid eyes on him before—but across his countless past loops, Wu Chen had seen Crooked Zhao more times than he could count.

A room full of old acquaintances.

“Oh, right—borrowed your car for a spin yesterday. Here’s the key.” Wu Chen produced the Lamborghini’s key and tossed it toward Wang Zhuangyuan. “It’s parked in the underground lot at Tower Seven, CBD.”

Wang Zhuangyuan caught it reflexively, at a total loss for words.

Wu Chen’s easy familiarity in a room like this left him unable to place who this man was at all.

“Sis, who is this—” Li Ruotai finally asked.

“Who is this? What do you mean, who is this?” Li Ruobing frowned. “This is your brother-in-law. Say hello.”

“Sis… brother-in-law?” Li Ruotai looked as though he’d choked on something and nearly gone under for good. His first thought was that his sister was pulling the fake-boyfriend act again—except she’d never once made him call any of the others “brother-in-law.”

“Say hello,” Li Ruobing repeated, shooting him a sharp look.

“Sis—brother-in-law, hello!” Li Ruotai snapped to attention at once, greeting him with perfect propriety.

He wasn’t afraid of Wu Chen, of course. He was afraid of his sister.

If he didn’t play along, she might come over and smack him right there—and with this many people watching, that would be mortifying beyond words.

“Hiss…”

Wang Zhuangyuan, Crooked Zhao, and Bearded Liu all sucked in sharp breaths.

This kid, barely past twenty, was Young Master Li’s brother-in-law? Li Ruobing’s man?

It was over. This had gotten very, very serious.

They’d assumed they’d simply been played by some con artist—only to find the truth circling back around to something even worse. He really was somebody important, the kind of somebody even Young Master Li wouldn’t dare provoke.

They couldn’t fathom why Young Master Li hadn’t recognized his own brother-in-law on sight, but they could guess: the two of them likely hadn’t been together long.

Still, the fact that Li Ruobing had made her brother greet him as brother-in-law, in front of everyone, said enough. The two of them were clearly close.

Which made him family to Young Master Li.

And left the rest of them standing firmly on the outside.

Crooked Zhao kept sliding glances at Bearded Liu.

Bearded Liu had already broken into a cold sweat. He could feel, with total certainty, that he was finished.

The room’s atmosphere turned strange.

“You can all go now,” Li Ruotai said, breaking the silence.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Crooked Zhao and the others answered hurriedly, not daring to so much as glance too long at Li Ruobing or Wu Chen as they filed out. Li Ruobing and Wu Chen walked deeper into the room together, her arm looped through his with easy familiarity.

Suddenly—

Li Ruobing pressed a hand to her mouth, looking unwell, and retched twice. Then, as if she could no longer hold it back, she pushed Wu Chen away and bolted for the private bathroom tucked into the far side of the room, slamming the door behind her. The sound of retching followed.

Crooked Zhao and the others, who’d just reached the doorway, froze. Shock followed. Then bewilderment.

At their age, they were all men of experience. They knew exactly what could make a woman retch like that.

Li Ruotai understood too.

Even Wu Chen looked briefly caught off guard.

This hadn’t been part of the plan. It was Li Ruobing’s decision, made on the spot. Wu Chen understood the implication well enough—but wasn’t this taking the performance a bit far? Putting it on right when Li Ruotai’s key men happened to be in the room?

Was she trying to let everyone draw the wrong conclusion on purpose?

Wu Chen had no time to dwell on it. He hurried over, tried the bathroom door, and found it locked.

He knocked. “Ruobing, are you all right?”

“I’m fine… ugh… fine… just a second…”

By the time Li Ruobing emerged, the room had emptied of everyone but Li Ruotai by the sofa and Wu Chen by the bathroom door.

Wu Chen steadied her with a hand. “You okay?”

“Never better.” She smiled.

Li Ruotai’s jaw dropped again. His sister had smiled. His own sister had actually smiled—at a man.

“You really do whatever pops into your head,” Wu Chen murmured, leaning in close to her ear.

“Scared, are you? Scared Ding Ruilong will hear about this and have you killed?” she whispered back, barely audible.

“You think I’d be scared of that?” he answered.

Li Ruotai couldn’t make out a word of their exchange. To him, it looked like nothing more than his sister and her “brother-in-law” murmuring sweetly to each other, both of them smiling.

The room still smelled faintly of smoke.

Li Ruotai strode to the window and threw it open to clear the air.

Back at the coffee table, he snatched up the ashtray and dumped the whole thing, ash and all, straight into the trash.

“Enough fussing. Sit,” Li Ruobing said, pulling Wu Chen down beside her.

“Sis, you’re not—” Li Ruotai lifted a hand as if to gesture, then thought better of it—clearly aiming at her stomach.

“Just feeling a little off,” Li Ruobing said, deliberately vague, her words sounding almost like a denial. But the more she denied it, the more convinced Li Ruotai became.

Could his sister really be pregnant?

With this man’s child?

Was she actually serious about him this time?