“Sis, we’re over here! That bastard Lu Xu sent people to jump us!”
“There’s a whole bunch of them! Sis, help! Come save us!”
He Bin and Ye Jiawu were practically competing to see who could shout louder, all while keeping up the fight. They worked together seamlessly, each handling the thugs in front of them while pressing their backs tightly together, leaving no opening for anyone to attack from behind.
Nearby, Ye Zhiqiu and Lu Shuangshuang had been watching. The moment Lu Xu showed up, they’d split up—one going to call the police, the other running back to the art troupe to fetch the security guards.
Their goal this time was to blow this thing wide open. They wanted it big enough that even Lu Guangrong couldn’t save Lu Xu, big enough that Lu Xu would never dare act out again, and big enough that Sun Lanzi would have to come begging to Lu Shuangshuang.
Ye Zhiqiu had brought Lu Shuangshuang here beforehand to scope things out. They knew exactly how long it would take to get help back to this spot. The key was for Ye Jiawu and He Bin to stall for time.
With over a dozen guys against the two of them, getting hurt was almost unavoidable.
Ye Zhiqiu had thought of that too. She’d gotten some advice from Yue Mingli—have Ye Jiawu and He Bin strap steel plates under their clothes.
Back when Yue Mingli went after the Liu Da and Liu Gui brothers, he’d heard through Yaya’s thoughts that he’d get stabbed, so he’d gone to a steel mill and asked an old classmate for a batch of plates.
That day, it wasn’t just him—everyone on his team had plates strapped to their chests and backs.
Sure, it slowed them down a bit, but during that operation, only the youngest team member ended up with a minor scratch.
Ever since, Yue Mingli made sure to have plates ready before every mission, just in case. His life wasn’t just his own anymore; it belonged to his wife too. Now that they had a child, he had to be even more careful.
“Ah, that hurts so much!”
Even though the steel plates meant He Bin and Ye Jiawu weren’t really getting hurt, they made sure to yell like they were in agony.
“Lu Xu, you’re trying to have me killed! How can you be so vicious!”
He Bin kept hurling insults. “Lu Xu, you cowardly, spineless bastard! You just wait—even if I die, I’ll come back to haunt you!”
Lu Xu had never been cursed out like this. Furious, he grabbed a weapon from one of his guys and went after He Bin himself.
“You little punk, so what if I kill you today? Let me tell you something—I can burn down a house and get away with it! My dad is Lu Guangrong!”
“Stop right there!”
Ye Zhiqiu had tipped off Yue Mingli beforehand. He was supposed to be at the police station today looking into evidence for another case. When he happened upon a mob beating, he rushed over with the local officers.
Yue Mingli yelled at Lu Xu to stop, but Lu Xu had no idea who he was. Since Yue Mingli was from the criminal investigation unit, he wore plain clothes when working in the field. Lu Xu dismissed him entirely and even started threatening him.
“Get lost! Who asked you to butt in? Some stray dog off the street?”
“Mess with me and you’re asking for trouble!”
Lu Xu didn’t know Yue Mingli’s identity, but the thugs he’d brought certainly did. The moment they spotted him, they tried to scatter, but Yue Mingli’s people and the police officers quickly subdued them.
Yue Mingli strode forward, kicked Lu Xu to the ground in one motion, pinned him with a knee to the lower back, and slapped on the handcuffs.
Lu Xu thrashed wildly, still spewing threats. “Do you have any idea who I am? My dad is Lu Guangrong! You arrest me, and he’ll make you pay!”
Yue Mingli wasn’t about to indulge Lu Xu’s tantrum. He shoved him forward and handed him off to his apprentice, Xiao Li. “From now on, write down every single word he says. When his father gets here, let him have a good look at what his son is really like.”
On their way to the Public Security Bureau, Lu Shuangshuang stopped at a roadside phone booth and called Feng Wan. She’d already filled her in on the plan, and Feng Wan had promised to come straight to the station as soon as she got the call.
When dealing with the Lu family, the Yue family couldn’t get directly involved. Ye Zhiqiu could only act on her own behalf, not under the Yue name—He Bin wasn’t her real brother, and Ye Jiawu was just a cousin. But Feng Wan was different. As Lu Shuangshuang’s aunt, she had every right to be there.
And just because Feng Wan usually kept to herself didn’t mean she couldn’t handle something like this. Lu Guangrong might dare to pull the “I’m her father” card, but he wouldn’t dare go head-to-head with Feng Wan.
He knew perfectly well that if Feng Wan really decided to get involved, even if he was in the right, he’d still come out the loser. Feng Wan was an old revolutionary, just like Yue Guohuai, Wan Jiayin, and Huo Yingnian. Even Yue Guohuai and Huo Yingnian called her “Sister Feng.” Lu Guangrong didn’t stand a chance.
Feng Wan stood with Lu Shuangshuang outside the room where they were holding Lu Xu, listening to him raving inside like a mad dog.
Lu Guangrong was still at his unit and wouldn’t be back until tonight. Sun Lanzi got the news first and rushed over.
As bold as she was about whispering in Lu Guangrong’s ear and badmouthing Feng Wan, she didn’t dare lift her head in Feng Wan’s actual presence.
“Sister Feng.”
“Lu Guangrong sure knows how to raise a child, doesn’t he? What a fine son you two have produced!”
Feng Wan gave a cold laugh. “I had no idea he dared to do such a thing to Shuangshuang. And instead of dealing with it, you two protected him.”
“Now look—he’s only gotten worse.”
“Sister Feng, it’s all a misunderstanding. Don’t just listen to Shuangshuang’s side of the story. Xiaoxu is her own brother—how could he ever have thoughts like that about her?”
Sun Lanzi couldn’t possibly admit to anything, especially not with Feng Wan standing right there.
“Shuangshuang, if you didn’t want to go on that blind date, you didn’t have to. I already promised I wouldn’t meddle in your love life anymore. What more do you want?”
“Just tell me what it’ll take. If you’ll stop falsely accusing Xiaoxu, I’ll do anything.”
“Falsely accuse him?!”
Lu Shuangshuang pointed at the room where Lu Xu was being held. “If he hadn’t done what he did, how could I possibly make something like that up?”
“But these things take two to tango. Xiaoxu is young, full of hormones. You must have given him the wrong idea—that’s why he did what he did.”
“And he’s just a child! What does he really understand?”
SMACK!
Feng Wan stepped forward and slapped Sun Lanzi hard across the face. “See? One hand can make a sound.”
“Whether last time was real or not doesn’t matter. This time, it’s real.”
“Take your time thinking about how you’re going to talk your way out of this one.”
“This time it’s assault. Next time it might be murder. Then you can figure out another excuse for him.”
“Of course, that’s if there is a next time.”
“No, let me rephrase: that’s if there is a next time for him.”
Feng Wan always spoke slowly and gently, which had led Sun Lanzi to mistakenly believe she was easygoing. But today’s words sent chills running up her spine from the soles of her feet.
Xiao Li was doing his job diligently, just as instructed. Every single thing Lu Xu said, he wrote down.
When Lu Guangrong finally arrived from his unit and read through that stack of papers, he was so furious he passed out on the spot.
