“Hey, someone gives you a couple of compliments, and you get cocky, huh?”
“How thick-skinned are you to compare yourself to Young Master Bai?”
“Just get lost once you’re done playing!”
Derisive laughter erupted all around.
No matter how thick-skinned Chen Lin was, he couldn’t withstand round after round of mockery.
His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands.
And he naturally placed the blame for all this mockery squarely on Bai Jinghong.
When he looked towards Bai Jinghong, he nearly choked on his own fury.
Because at that moment, Bai Jinghong wasn’t paying any attention to any of the voices.
He was beside Shen Yaoyao, seemingly saying something.
But what was most infuriating was that from time to time, he would reach his hand out to Shen Yaoyao’s beautiful hair and gently ruffle it.
The head pat!
Chen Lin simply couldn’t understand how the cold and merciless Enchantress could turn into a meek lamb in front of Bai Jinghong.
Could it really be as she said, just cooperating for some act?
Even though his blood was boiling, he still couldn’t question her at this occasion.
So, Chen Lin shifted his gaze to Fan Ning’er, his tone softening slightly.
“Ning’er, I came today simply to celebrate Uncle Fan’s birthday, nothing more.”
“They might not know, but you should understand me, right?”
Fan Ning’er’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, but seeing how Chen Lin had been bullied just now, she couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy.
After all, he was her first love!
So she looked towards Fan Xiangming.
This gesture utterly infuriated Fan Xiangming.
As expected, this Unfilial Daughter was still pitying this Soldier Ruffian!
Even Zhang Xiaoya beside her helplessly covered her forehead.
Absolutely hopeless. She really couldn’t carry this dead weight.
Even if she were a Challenger-tier player, she couldn’t carry this Bronze.
Fan Xiangming couldn’t care less anymore.
Every second Chen Lin was present was a second detrimental to the Fan family.
With a wave of his hand, the Fan family security approached.
“You leave the Fan residence immediately. Either walk out yourself, or be escorted out.”
“Young Master Bai gave you a chance just now, letting you play a piece. The opportunity was given, don’t push your luck!”
“Dad…” Fan Ning’er couldn’t help but call out.
Fan Xiangming glared fiercely, and Fan Ning’er immediately stopped.
This daughter, clever in every other aspect, why could she not distinguish what truly mattered when it came to relationships?
On one hand wanting to win back Bai Jinghong, on the other entangled with this Soldier Ruffian.
As a father, Fan Xiangming felt his daughter wanted to have it both ways.
Zhang Xiaoya also quickly tugged Fan Ning’er: “Ning’er, are you really stupid?”
“Young Master Bai’s piece just now was very likely played for you, a great sign, and now you want to speak up for that Soldier Ruffian?”
Hearing this, Fan Ning’er paused, subconsciously looking towards Bai Jinghong.
Just as Zhang Xiaoya said, Bai Jinghong had most likely played that piece for her.
This was clearly a very good sign. If she let him misunderstand again now, wouldn’t all the previous progress be for nothing?
Thus, Fan Ning’er immediately spoke up: “Chen Lin, I did not invite you to my father’s birthday banquet.”
“Showing up uninvited like this, isn’t that a bit rude?”
“With all these uncles and elders watching now, I don’t want to make things ugly. Please leave on your own.”
Compared to Fan Xiangming, who was about to have Chen Lin forcibly thrown out, Fan Ning’er was much kinder, giving Chen Lin a way to save face.
Chen Lin was completely dumbfounded.
He looked at Fan Ning’er in disbelief.
“Ning’er, I came to celebrate, and Uncle Fan just happily accepted my gift, too.”
A Fan family member pointed at Chen Lin: “I’m warning you, don’t make false accusations! He’s slandering my uncle, he’s slandering my uncle!”
Chen Lin felt utterly aggrieved.
Yet he deeply understood one principle: a true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall.
He glanced over at Bai Jinghong, but seemed to notice Bai Jinghong couldn’t care less about him.
It was as if he wasn’t even worth acknowledging, too lazy to even speak from start to finish.
He then swept his gaze around, memorizing the faces of these people.
One day, he would repay this a hundredfold.
Today, he had lost face.
Chen Lin snorted coldly, about to leave.
“What are you snorting for? Hurry up and go, you waiting for a dinner invitation?”
Some rich second-generation kids trying to curry favor with Bai Jinghong weren’t polite at all when attacking someone.
“Yo, am I late to the party? Someone’s bullying my brother?”
Just then, a somewhat domineering voice sounded.
Everyone looked over.
From the distance walked a man with a cold smirk on his face.
Everyone recognized the newcomer instantly.
Dragon Sea City, the scion of the Heavenly Dragon Hall.
The Heavenly Dragon Hall was a bona fide underworld force. The venues North of the City were basically all under the Heavenly Dragon Hall’s control.
As the son of the Heavenly Dragon Hall, Cheng Qiang was a notoriously infamous second-generation thug.
But hadn’t this second-generation thug been sent by his father to Su Province? Why was he back?
And he knew Chen Lin? Calling him brother?
The reason the two knew each other was from last night.
Cheng Qiang, just back in Dragon Sea City from Su Province, was drinking at a bar when he saw Chen Lin teach a few thugs a lesson and noticed his skills were excellent.
That’s why he had enthusiastically approached him to make friends.
The two hit it off, becoming sworn brothers.
The Jade Buddha that Chen Lin had given as a gift was even something Cheng Qiang had helped him find.
“Brother Chen Lin, these people are kicking you out?” Cheng Qiang’s voice was loud, and he looked incredibly arrogant.
A thuggish aura permeated his entire being.
Chen Lin simply curled his lip: “It doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter? How can it not? We’re brothers now. Offending you is offending me. Who’s got no eyes here?”
Cheng Qiang bellowed.
The business people present mostly didn’t want to provoke such a menace, so they simply didn’t engage.
“Where’s all that big talk from just now when you were bullying my brother? Now, all of you, cat got your tongues?”
Cheng Qiang threatened again.
Chen Lin felt a bit vindicated.
He’d decided to build his own business empire in Dragon Sea.
So he couldn’t afford to destroy his image and reputation publicly.
But now, having someone backing him up—it couldn’t be better.
The invisible showing off was always the deadliest.
“Little Qiang, have you been sentenced yet?”
Just then, Bai Jinghong, his back still turned to this side, slowly spoke.
“?” Cheng Qiang was taken aback: “The fuck? Who’s calling me ‘Little Qiang’?”
Bai Jinghong slowly stood up, turned around, and looked at him.
The moment he saw Bai Jinghong, Cheng Qiang’s pupils constricted, and his expression instantly crumbled.
His legs began trembling inexplicably.
“Bai… Young Master Bai…”
The just-now fierce and arrogant Cheng Qiang, upon seeing Bai Jinghong, transformed from a ferocious grizzly bear into a toy poodle.
Everyone present had been expecting this.
So what if he was from the Heavenly Dragon Hall? Before supreme authority, underworld forces are nothing but shit.
A single word could dismantle them.
Even without dismantling them, endless investigations into their venues would finish them all off before long.
Bai Jinghong’s status was at the very peak. If he wished it, the Heavenly Dragon Hall would vanish from Dragon Sea tomorrow.
“I asked you, have you been sentenced?”
“Sen… sentenced, sentenced to my father’s custody,” Cheng Qiang said, half-bowing with a rather ingratiating tone.
“Oh, that’s alright then. You can still inherit your old man’s assets.”
Bai Jinghong said flatly.
In the original plot, this Cheng Qiang was an early supporter of Chen Lin, often helping him show off and assisting with information gathering.
But because Bai Jinghong had altered the storyline, they’d met earlier.
And now he’d come to stand up for him; this was something Bai Jinghong hadn’t anticipated.
But minor characters like Cheng Qiang weren’t figures like Yuan Daoqi.
Bai Jinghong never took him seriously to begin with, let alone considered befriending or recruiting him.
As for befriending, this Cheng Qiang had applied multiple times to join the Autumn Club and become part of that Prodigal Son circle, but was rejected every time.
