Chapter 283: Calling Her That Affectionately?

Chapter 283: Calling Her That Affectionately?

Crooked Zhao and Qiao Chenghu both watched Li Ruotai get out. They traded a glance and started toward the alley mouth together.

Crooked Zhao had not expected Li Ruotai to come in person. On the way over, after turning it all through again and again, he had called Li Ruotai and laid out what had happened—taking the attitude of admitting fault first, making sure to apologize and explain before Wu Chen could speak to him.

This was plainly not something an apology could settle. Crooked Zhao had only wanted to establish his position.

And Li Ruotai had come straight over. Did he really take this brother-in-law of his that seriously?

It was worth noting that Crooked Zhao and Qiao Chenghu had both come from the south. Crooked Zhao had pulled Qiao Chenghu aside to talk on the south side of the street. Li Ruotai had arrived from the north.

So as Li Ruotai walked toward the alley mouth, Crooked Zhao and Qiao Chenghu came at it from the opposite direction.

Li Ruotai kept glancing sideways at the blue Lamborghini as he went.

He had seen Zhuang Xiaodie, and he was already guessing, uneasily, who she might be.

A beautiful young woman whose face could rival any glamorous celebrity on camera, dressed to draw every eye.

How could Li Ruotai not start imagining things?

Set everything else aside. His brother-in-law simply having another young woman in his car would be an enormous problem if his sister found out. And as her younger brother, Li Ruotai naturally stood on her side.

His thoughts grew impossibly tangled.

He even wondered whether he had it wrong. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding. Could she be his brother-in-law’s younger sister? Even a friend would not necessarily mean that kind of relationship.

He kept thinking as he walked, passing in front of the Lamborghini.

At that moment Wu Chen came out of the alley. He had heard another car arrive and stepped out to see who it was.

“Brother-in-law!” Li Ruotai waved at once and quickened his pace. “Brother-in-law, you’re all right?”

He reached the alley mouth as he spoke.

“What could possibly happen to me?” Wu Chen smiled. He laid a hand on Li Ruotai’s shoulder and leaned in slightly, and Li Ruotai tipped his head to listen.

“The two who got beaten are…” Wu Chen explained briefly.

While Wu Chen and Li Ruotai spoke quietly at the alley mouth, Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi saw from inside that someone new had arrived.

“Hm?” Guo Qiqi seemed to recognize him. Surprised, she turned and whispered to Tang Xinbao, “Brother Bao, look. Isn’t that Young Master Li?”

Tang Xinbao had thought the man looked familiar too. At her words he looked closer.

It really was.

Neither he nor Guo Qiqi was close to Li Ruotai. They had barely any dealings with him, mainly because they were both still students. They all belonged to the third generation, but their circles were different.

They had certainly met before, though.

They would cross paths at the great families’ banquets and functions—someone’s wedding, the funeral of a family elder, that sort of thing.

The Li family and the Tang family had no direct relationship and were not close. But families close to the Lis might also be close to the Tangs. Relations inside those circles were complicated.

Even two hostile families could end up at the same banquet.

“It really does look like him…”

At the alley mouth, Wu Chen was still speaking low into Li Ruotai’s ear.

Li Ruotai’s face kept shifting in surprise. He had come because of Wu Chen. He had heard Wu Chen clashed with Crooked Zhao’s men and was surrounded and attacked. Then he had arrived, seen someone in Wu Chen’s car, and his thoughts had gone off in another direction.

Now they were more tangled still.

Everyone on the outside knew Donghai was Li Ruotai’s ground and that the people of the underworld were his people. If Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi had really been crippled by underworld men, then—

Li Ruotai himself could not have been held responsible. He had known nothing beforehand.

But from where he stood, smoothing the matter over would have been extraordinarily difficult. If it had grown serious enough he might even have needed his father to step in and negotiate.

And even then it would have been hard to settle.

The ideal solution would have been to sacrifice Crooked Zhao’s entire branch and play the neutral mediator.

Yet if it had come to that, then although Li Ruotai would have taken no direct damage himself, the years of painstaking work he had put into his position in Donghai would have suffered a severe blow.

It might even have handed the Wei family an opening to stir up trouble.

Listening to Wu Chen, Li Ruotai understood at once.

That had been close. Far too close.

Thank heaven his brother-in-law had happened to pass by and stepped in before things went to the extreme.

And Wu Chen’s words made clear that he knew who Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi were. Obviously he had stayed on purpose to smooth the thing over.

Otherwise he could simply have left after saving them. Why would he still be standing here waiting?

“Um… Young Master Li?” Tang Xinbao called suddenly from inside the alley.

Wu Chen raised his head and turned.

Li Ruotai looked up as well.

Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi were coming toward them. He had called out in the tone of a man unsure whether he had the right person.

“Tang Xinbao?” Li Ruotai called back, looking at him.

“It’s me. So it really is you, Young Master Li.” Tang Xinbao looked surprised—and not only at Li Ruotai’s arrival. He was surprised by Li Ruotai’s relationship with Wu Chen.

A moment ago, hadn’t Li Ruotai called Wu Chen brother-in-law?

He had not misheard, had he?

“Hahahaha! Look at the mess this has become. Young Master Tang, Miss Guo!” Li Ruotai burst out laughing, hearty and easy, and stepped forward. “This is family failing to recognize family! Ah, fuck—who the hell did this? Motherfucker…”

His emotions turned naturally. The instant he took in the shoeprints on Tang Xinbao’s face and how bruised and swollen it was, he seemed to lose his grip and start swearing.

Crooked Zhao and Qiao Chenghu had already come over. Since Wu Chen had been speaking privately with Li Ruotai, they had stood off to one side.

Now, watching Li Ruotai greet Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi with such familiarity, both their hearts lurched. Hearing him lose his temper, they lurched again.

“What, someone laid hands on Miss Guo too?” Li Ruotai had noticed the footprint on Guo Qiqi’s clothes.

She had been kicked once. She was not injured, but to strike even a young woman—

And Guo Qiqi had lost her high heels running earlier. She stood barefoot now, her feet filthy, and the soles could not be in good condition.

“Fuck! What kind of people are you running? Motherfucker!” Li Ruotai exploded, spun, and kicked.

Thud!

Crooked Zhao went down again.

But Crooked Zhao understood what was happening now. He almost wished Li Ruotai would kick him a few more times. Better yet, hard enough to put him in the hospital. That would make the self-injury ruse truly convincing.

When Li Ruotai kicked him, not one of Crooked Zhao’s men around them dared move. They only looked at one another.

Qiao Chenghu moved instead.

He strode into the alley, shouting, “Qiao Yang! Qiao Yang, get over here!”

More than twenty meters in, Qiao Yang, still kneeling at the wall, heard his father and scrambled up.

“D-Dad! I’m here!”

“Get your ass over here!” Qiao Chenghu shouted again. He walked a few steps farther in and swept his gaze over the men on the ground.

Qiao Yang hurried over and called again, “Dad.”

“You called these men?” Qiao Chenghu asked, looking furious.

“Y-yes… I…” Qiao Yang was bewildered. He had thought his father had come to save him. Qiao Chenghu’s manner frightened him.

“Look at you. Learned how to bully people, have you? Impressive!” Qiao Chenghu took two steps toward his son and swung his hand.

Smack!

A ringing slap.

Qiao Yang went sprawling toward the wall and crashed to the ground, dazed.

Qiao Chenghu picked up a baseball bat from the ground and began beating him with it.

“Bullying people, is it? Fuck! You blind little bastard! Causing trouble every damn day! I’ll beat you to death!” He rained blows down on his own son.

He was really hitting him.

He was not trying to kill him, of course. He struck his arms, back, and legs.

Qiao Yang screamed again and again.

The screams were not faked.

Wu Chen, Li Ruotai, Tang Xinbao, and Guo Qiqi all stood at the alley mouth, watching.

Crooked Zhao had gotten up again and stood to one side.

“Xiaodie, come here a moment,” Wu Chen called suddenly toward the Lamborghini.

Li Ruotai’s eyes narrowed sharply. He glanced at Wu Chen, then toward the Lamborghini.

Xiaodie?

Calling her that affectionately?