Ye Qiu left.
Zhang Qingyao remained standing in place, watching the car depart, motionless for a long time.
“Brother, how could you let that bastard go? If you just called Grandpa’s bodyguards, we could definitely kill him.”
Slap!
Zhang Qingyao turned and slapped Zhang Shao across the face, cursing, “From the first day you returned to the capital, I warned you not to cause trouble.”
“The capital is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Don’t think that just because our Zhang family is one of the four great families, you can act arrogant and overbearing.”
“If I hadn’t come today, you’d be dead.”
Zhang Shao held his face, looking aggrieved. “Brother, even if you hadn’t come, that punk wouldn’t have dared to kill me.”
“I don’t believe he’d dare to kill recklessly in the capital.”
“Could he afford to provoke our Zhang family?”
Zhang Qingyao roared in anger.
“You idiot! If he couldn’t provoke the Zhang family, would he have hit you?”
“Knowing my identity, he still forced me to cripple my own hand?”
“Do you even know who he is?”
“Who is he?” Zhang Shao asked.
“He’s Ye Qiu.” When Zhang Qingyao said Ye Qiu’s name, a deep fear flashed in his eyes.
“Ye Qiu?” Zhang Shao scoffed. “Never heard of him. Must be some nobody.”
“You’re right, he is a nobody, but he’s a nobody you can’t afford to mess with.”
“Not just you—even I wouldn’t dare provoke him.”
Zhang Qingyao continued, “You’ve heard about Bai Yujing getting beaten, right?”
“Of course I have,” Zhang Shao said regretfully. “Such a pity I had something else that day and couldn’t go to the Bai family. Otherwise, I could’ve seen Bai Yujing get thrashed in person.”
“I also heard that Xiao Qingdi got beaten that day too.”
“What? Bai Yujing getting beaten has something to do with that guy just now?”
Zhang Qingyao said, “Bai Yujing and Xiao Qingdi were beaten by him.”
What?
Zhang Shao was dumbfounded.
“He doesn’t even care about Bai Yujing or Xiao Qingdi—would he be afraid of you? Would he fear our Zhang family?”
“Do you know what people in the capital call Ye Qiu now? They call him Madman Ye.”
“His way of doing things is indeed no different from a lunatic.”
“Ever since he beat up Bai Yujing and Xiao Qingdi, a saying has been circulating in the capital’s high society: ‘Better to provoke King Yama than Madman Ye.’”
“If I hadn’t done what he said just now, both of us would’ve died here.”
Hearing this, Zhang Shao felt a chill run through his body.
After a moment, Zhang Shao seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, “Brother, that guy’s a lunatic! He took Duoduo— you’ve got to save him. Duoduo’s my best brother.”
“Don’t worry, Qian Duoduo won’t die,” Zhang Qingyao said. “If Ye Qiu wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t have taken him away. He’d have killed him right then and there.”
“Then why did he take Duoduo?” Zhang Shao asked, puzzled.
“I’m not a worm in Ye Qiu’s stomach—how would I know?” Still annoyed, Zhang Qingyao slapped Zhang Shao across the face again.
“Remember this: from now on, keep a low profile in the capital. If you cause trouble again, I’ll kill you myself before anyone else gets the chance.”
Zhang Shao lowered his head, not daring to breathe loudly.
He might strut around in front of outsiders, but in front of Zhang Qingyao, he didn’t have the slightest bit of defiance.
Zhang Qingyao was more handsome, more capable, and richer than him. Most importantly, he was the old man’s chosen successor as the next family head.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that in the Zhang family, Zhang Qingyao’s status was second only to the patriarch.
Zhang Shao whimpered, “Brother, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault today. If it weren’t for me, your hand wouldn’t…”
“No crying! A real man can bleed but never shed tears,” Zhang Qingyao sternly reprimanded, then softened his tone. “Does it hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Zhang Shao shook his head. In truth, he was covered in injuries—how could it not hurt?
But in front of Zhang Qingyao, he didn’t dare show it, or his brother would think him useless.
“You’re hurt this badly—how could it not hurt? Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Brother, your hand…”
“It’s fine. A minor surgery at the hospital will fix it.”
Zhang Shao, still unwilling to let it go, asked, “Brother, Ye Qiu’s so arrogant. When are we going to get revenge?”
“Revenge on him? Are you trying to die?” Zhang Qingyao said. “Pretend today never happened.”
Zhang Shao’s eyes widened. “Brother, you’re not planning to just let it slide, are you?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? He dared to beat Bai Yujing and Xiao Qingdi. You want revenge? Are you looking to die?”
Zhang Qingyao said coldly, “Remember this: from now on, if you see him, stay as far away as possible.”
…
Half an hour later.
The car stopped at a food street.
“If you dare run off, don’t expect me to show mercy.”
Ye Qiu tossed out a harsh warning before jumping out of the car and walking into a roadside snack shop.
Qian Duoduo, with a bitter expression, looked up at the sky and sighed. “God, why am I so unlucky?”
“I’m not even a beauty—what does he want with me?”
“If there’s a debt to settle, he should go after Zhang Shao. What’s the point of grabbing an honest, kind guy like me?”
Sitting alone in the car was boring.
Qian Duoduo got out and followed Ye Qiu into the snack shop.
Upon entering, he saw Ye Qiu’s table covered with snacks.
Stewed offal, fried tripe, spring rolls, pea pudding, sticky rice cakes…
Qian Duoduo swallowed hard. He hadn’t been hungry before, but seeing all these snacks, he suddenly felt famished.
“Sit!”
Ye Qiu pointed to the seat across from him.
Qian Duoduo sat down.
Ye Qiu pushed a bowl of fermented bean juice toward Qian Duoduo and said, “This is yours. Drink it.”
Qian Duoduo’s face twisted into a grimace. “I can’t get used to this stuff…”
“Can’t handle it? Then I’ll break one of your hands.”
Whoosh!
Qian Duoduo grabbed the bowl with both hands and downed the bean juice in one go.
“Now can you handle it?” Ye Qiu asked.
“I can…”
“Then have another bowl. Boss, one more bowl of bean juice.”
Qian Duoduo: “…”
After Qian Duoduo finished the second bowl, Ye Qiu finally asked, “Weren’t you in Suhang? What are you doing in the capital?”
“Well, isn’t it almost Grandpa Zhang’s seventieth birthday? So my grandfather sent me to the capital to wish him well,” Qian Duoduo said.
Ye Qiu sneered. “Didn’t your grandfather always pride himself on his integrity? Why’s he suddenly changed his tune and wants to cozy up to the Zhang family?”
Qian Duoduo didn’t hide anything and replied, “Grandpa’s probably looking for a backer for the Qian family.”
“Doesn’t your grandfather have students all over the country? He still needs a backer?” Ye Qiu glanced at him. “Go on.”
Qian Duoduo said, “Ever since my little aunt left home over twenty years ago, Grandpa’s health has been declining.”
“Especially in recent years, he’s basically been living in the hospital. In May this year, the hospital even issued a critical condition notice—he almost didn’t make it.”
“Maybe he knows his time is running out, so he’s changed his ways and sent me to the capital to celebrate Grandpa Zhang’s birthday.”
“My grandfather taught Grandpa Zhang back in the day. Grandpa Zhang was one of his students.”
So that’s how it was.
Ye Qiu’s heart remained unmoved.
Though he’d learned from Qian Duoduo that Old Man Qian was in poor health and could die any day, Ye Qiu felt no sympathy.
If Old Man Qian hadn’t cast his mother out of the family back then, she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
Beep beep beep!
Just then, Ye Qiu’s phone rang. He pulled it out and saw an unfamiliar number on the screen.
He pressed the answer button.
Ye Qiu said, “Hello, this is Ye Qiu…”
“You little brat, come save me quick!”
