"It seems that after Yang Qingqing assumed Jiang Dongchen had triad connections, she decided to keep her distance from him!"
Neither Jiang Dongchen nor Li Ruolin pressed the matter further. After tidying up, they headed to the barbecue stall Li Ruolin had mentioned.
Business at the barbecue stall was booming.
After waiting for five minutes, Jiang Dongchen and Li Ruolin finally managed to get an empty table.
Once they sat down, Jiang Dongchen ordered some grilled meat and other items, reminding the owner, "My friend has an injury, so she can't have anything spicy. Please keep the seasoning as mild as possible!"
Li Ruolin protested immediately, "If it's too mild, can you even call it barbecue?"
"Boss, just season it the normal way!"
"I'll be fine!"
The owner hesitated, unsure what to do.
A flash of tenderness crossed Jiang Dongchen's eyes. "Just listen to my friend."
Li Ruolin really couldn't eat anything spicy. But as she had said, it had been a long time since she last had this place's barbecue, and her cravings were hard to resist! So, they would just satisfy Li Ruolin's cravings! Fortunately, he was a doctor; after she finished eating the barbecue, he could just give her a little treatment to set things right!
As the owner went off to prepare the food, Jiang Dongchen and Li Ruolin chatted idly.
At that moment, an arrogant voice rang out, "Ruoxue, isn't that your loser of a former brother-in-law?"
Jiang Dongchen frowned and slowly turned around to see Li Ruoxue arriving at the barbecue stall with a few of her classmates.
Li Ruoxue clearly hadn't expected to run into Jiang Dongchen here, and she wore an expression of utter disgust. "Don't say things like that!"
"My sister is already divorced from this loser!"
"He has nothing to do with me anymore!"
Her classmates laughed.
"Good thing you're divorced!"
"Ruoxue, if anyone ever brings up you having a loser brother-in-law again, I'll deal with them!"
"This loser must have gotten a pretty penny in the divorce settlement! Otherwise, how could he afford to come here and feast like this?"
Jiang Dongchen frowned.
Meanwhile, Li Ruoxue swaggered right up to Jiang Dongchen. "Loser, we want this table. Hurry up and clear out!"
The barbecue stall was already packed. Waiting for a table would take at least ten or twenty minutes. Naturally, Li Ruoxue didn't want to wait. Remembering that Zhan Feng had left Tianhai and believing she could finally push Jiang Dongchen around, she had come over to throw her weight around in front of him!
At that moment, Li Ruolin abruptly stood up. "Do you people have any decency at all?"
"And Jiang Dongchen is not a loser! He... he's a hero!"
As she spoke, the skin beneath Li Ruolin's bandages flushed bright red. Even though she had always kept a proper distance from Jiang Dongchen because she believed herself to be a jinx, she couldn't possibly remain unaffected after being cared for so meticulously by him over the past two days! Now, seeing Li Ruoxue act so aggressively, Li Ruolin refused to stand for it.
Li Ruoxue looked at Li Ruolin as if she were a complete idiot. "You ugly freak, how dare you talk to me like that?"
The group of classmates behind her also began to jeer and shout.
"Wearing bandages on her face—she must be completely disfigured!"
"What an absolute idiot, sticking her neck out for this loser?"
"Hey, ugly freak, take off those bandages so we can see just how hideous you really are!"
Amidst the jeers of the crowd, Jiang Dongchen moved with lightning speed.
*Slap!*
A crisp, sharp sound rang out as five bright red fingerprint marks appeared on Li Ruoxue's face.
Li Ruoxue clutched her cheek, staring at Jiang Dongchen in sheer disbelief.
Jiang Dongchen's gaze was as sharp as lightning. "Apologize!"
Li Ruoxue shrieked hysterically, "You loser, you're telling me to apologize to this ugly freak?!"
Jiang Dongchen's gaze grew colder and colder. "If you don't apologize, bear the consequences."
Li Ruoxue breathed heavily, heaving with rage as she thrust her chin out defiantly. "What can you possibly do to me?!"
Jiang Dongchen shook his head and delivered another backhanded slap.
Li Ruoxue's face swelled up instantly.
A chilling glint appeared in Jiang Dongchen's eyes. "If you don't apologize, I wouldn't mind carving up your face."
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and try."
Suddenly, Li Ruoxue felt as though she had been locked in the sights of a ferocious wolf, a wave of biting cold surging from the top of her head down to her feet!
"Holy crap, this loser suddenly grew a spine!"
"Talking about carving up Li Ruoxue's face—if you've got the guts, go on and try!"
"Apologize to Li Ruoxue right now, or I'll beat you until your teeth are scattered all over the floor!"
The classmates behind Li Ruoxue began shouting aggressively, and a few of them, eager to impress her, even rolled up their sleeves.
A ruthless look flashed through Jiang Dongchen's eyes. Li Ruolin had been humiliated only because she was standing up for him. He rarely hit women, but despicable people like Li Ruoxue were the exception! And now these pathetic, ant-like existences dared to chirp and chatter right in front of him... It seemed that if he didn't show some force, they really took him for a sick cat!
Right at that moment, a booming voice rang out, "Who the hell dares to cause trouble on my turf?"
Seeing Long Ada approaching, the onlookers quickly cleared a path!
Leading his subordinates into the barbecue stall with a swagger, Long Ada caught sight of Jiang Dongchen, and his vision spun instantly.
*Why the hell did I run into this plague god again?!*
Jiang Dongchen simply said coolly, "Handle this."
"Just don't ruin my meal."
Seeing Jiang Dongchen speak to Long Ada in such an unquestionable tone, Li Ruoxue's classmates all wore mocking expressions.
This was the boss of the Four Dragons of Guojiang Hall!
Acting all high and mighty in front of Brother Da—weren't they afraid Brother Da would skin them alive?
Long Ada, however, felt as though he had been granted a full pardon. With a wave of his hand, he barked, "Take this bunch of idiots away!"
"Remember, make it quick! Don't disturb Mr. Jiang's meal!"
Li Ruoxue and her companions completely short-circuited on the spot! Especially when they saw Long Ada's men aggressively surrounding them, their legs turned to jelly.
Li Ruoxue swallowed hard. "S-Sorry!"
Long Ada was utterly merciless! And she happened to be pretty! If she were actually dragged off by Long Ada and his men, the consequences would be unthinkable! It was precisely because she realized this that Li Ruoxue had no choice but to bow her head!
Since Li Ruoxue had caved, the others naturally had no choice either, and they hurried over to apologize to Li Ruolin.
Only then did Jiang Dongchen say indifferently, "Forget it. Let them get lost."
Long Ada's gaze sharpened. "Didn't you hear Mr. Jiang?"
"Get the hell out of here!"
Li Ruoxue and her group fled the barbecue stall in utter disgrace!
Once they were out of Jiang Dongchen's sight, Li Ruoxue stamped her foot in fury. "How did that loser turn into a completely different person?!"
A male classmate whispered cautiously, "He was probably just riding on Long Ada's coattails."
Li Ruoxue rolled her eyes. "Didn't you see how Long Ada was terrified of him as if he were a tiger?"
"How could it possibly be the loser riding on Long Ada's coattails?"
Before the male classmate could retort, a venomous look flashed in Li Ruoxue's eyes. "Let that loser be arrogant for a little longer."
"Tomorrow is my sister's engagement banquet with Zhao Ming!"
"As long as that loser dares to show up, my sister and Zhao Ming will definitely teach him a proper lesson!"
After finishing dinner with Li Ruolin, Jiang Dongchen escorted her back home.
Along the way, Jiang Dongchen opened his mouth to speak several times, only to stop each time. He had originally intended to tell Li Ruolin about her true origins. But realizing that such news would cause her emotions to experience drastic highs and lows, he ultimately held his tongue.
When they reached Li Ruolin's dormitory door, she looked at him and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Jiang Dongchen shook his head. "It's nothing."
Li Ruolin gave him a deep, searching look. "Well, I have something to tell you!"
"Those people are no good. Try to stay away from them as much as possible!"
Jiang Dongchen naturally knew who she meant by "those people," and he smiled. "Got it!"
Parting ways with Li Ruolin, Jiang Dongchen snapped his fingers in satisfaction. Li Ruolin was actually starting to care about him—that was a very good sign!
Returning home, Jiang Dongchen enjoyed a wonderful night's sleep.
The next morning, Jiang Dongchen headed over to Miaoyi Hall. Li Ruolin's body was extremely weak and needed proper nourishment. He wanted to buy some traditional Chinese medicine to help restore her health.
Just as he finished purchasing the herbs, Jiang Dongchen received a phone call from Lin Feifei. "Loser, Young Master Zhao and I are holding our engagement ceremony at the Tianhai Hotel!"
"I am formally inviting you to attend our engagement ceremony."
"Do you dare to come?"
A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Dongchen's eyes. "I'll be there."
"By then, you'll realize that you and I belong to two entirely different worlds."
At the entrance of the Tianhai Hotel, listening to the resounding voice of Jiang Dongchen through the phone, Lin Feifei's mockery was so thick it practically overflowed!
Last night, upon hearing that Li Ruoxue had been disciplined by Jiang Dongchen, Lin Feifei had been so angry she smashed a cup. But she hadn't come away empty-handed. From Li Ruoxue's account, Lin Feifei learned that Jiang Dongchen had been kicked out of Yuntian Villa by Zhan Feng! He was now renting a place in the slums!
This meant that Zhan Feng was already bored of Jiang Dongchen and was gradually distancing herself from him! Without Zhan Feng's protection, Jiang Dongchen was nothing more than someone who could throw a punch!
It was precisely because of this conclusion that Lin Feifei had called to provoke him!
Hearing Jiang Dongchen's affirmative reply now, Lin Feifei let out a chilling sneer. "Jiang Dongchen, I was actually afraid you wouldn't come!"
"Otherwise, the carefully prepared package we put together for you would go to waste!"
After ending the call with Lin Feifei, Jiang Dongchen's gaze turned cold. He had originally planned to leave Lin Feifei and the Li Family alone for a little while longer. After all, the ones who had bullied Li Ruolin were the Li Family; he wanted to keep them and Lin Feifei around so that Li Ruolin could exact her revenge with her own hands!
However, since Lin Feifei was in such a rush to throw her life away, Jiang Dongchen felt it would be letting her down if he didn't grant her wish!
At twelve o'clock noon, Lin Feifei and Zhao Ming stood at the entrance of the Tianhai Hotel's banquet hall, smiling and welcoming guests from all directions!
Seeing that the vast majority of the arrivals were influential figures in Tianhai, Lin Feifei smiled beamingly! This was her network of connections! It was the network the Zhao Family had spent decades building up in Tianhai! This kind of network was incomparable to the one Jiang Dongchen had built by trading on his looks with Zhan Feng!
The relationship between Jiang Dongchen and Zhan Feng was as fragile as thin ice—one touch and it would shatter. But the connections built by the Zhao Family were unbreakable!
This was the difference between Jiang Dongchen and Zhao Ming. Compared to Zhao Ming, Jiang Dongchen was absolute trash! Fortunately, she hadn't let herself be blinded by Jiang Dongchen!
With these thoughts, a trace of anticipation flashed in Lin Feifei's eyes. *Jiang Dongchen, you better not act like a turtle hiding in its shell!*
Inside the hotel, the Matriarch was grinning from ear to ear! Today was the day of Zhao Ming and Lin Feifei's engagement. Once the ceremony was completed, the Li Family would be considered to have officially latched onto the Zhao Family's coattails. The Li Family's rise to immense wealth and prosperity was just around the corner!
On the other side, Zhao Zhenhua looked at Zhao Ming with a look of gratification. "Xiaoming, you handled this matter well."
Zhao Ming replied respectfully, "It's all thanks to Father's guidance!"
Marrying Lin Feifei was, after all, merely a stepping stone toward swallowing up the Li Group! With today's engagement between Zhao Ming and Lin Feifei, this plan had taken a crucial step forward! How could Zhao Zhenhua not be overjoyed?
Giving Zhao Ming a heavy pat on the shoulder, Zhao Zhenhua said, "I'm getting old. This world will eventually belong to you young people!"
"Once we swallow up the Li Group, I'll consider handing over more responsibilities to you!"
Zhao Ming was so delighted he almost laughed out loud. His father was finally willing to delegate power to him! He would definitely make a grand display of his abilities so his father could witness his true talent!
At that moment, Jiang Dongchen rounded a corner, looking at the distant sign for the Tianhai Hotel, a playful glint flashing in his eyes.
Quickening his pace, he arrived at the entrance of the Tianhai Hotel. Before he even had a chance to step inside, a voice full of disgust rang out, "Fraud, why are you here?!"
Jiang Dongchen turned his head and saw Long Ruolan.
Frowning slightly, Jiang Dongchen replied indifferently, "I'm certainly not following you."
"I'm merely here to attend the engagement ceremony of the Zhao and Li families."
Long Ruolan looked at Jiang Dongchen as if he were a complete idiot. "You've been dumped by Lin Feifei, yet you're still bringing your warm face to press against their cold buttocks?"
Before Jiang Dongchen could retort, realization dawned on Long Ruolan. "I get it. You're here to cause trouble, hoping to squeeze out the maximum benefit for yourself, right?"
Thinking that Jiang Dongchen would stop at nothing for personal gain, the disgust in Long Ruolan's heart deepened, and she subconsciously stepped a little further away from him.
Knowing that explaining anything to Long Ruolan was a waste of breath, Jiang Dongchen smiled. "You're overthinking it."
Seeing Jiang Dongchen leisurely walk toward the banquet hall, Long Ruolan gritted her teeth and quietly followed behind him.
Today, Long Wuya was hosting an important guest and had asked Long Ruolan to come early to make arrangements. She never expected to run into Jiang Dongchen here! Remembering that she had already spoken with the hotel manager to ensure everything was handled, and especially thinking that Long Wuya and Hua Tianfeng would be arriving shortly, Long Ruolan naturally wanted to expose Jiang Dongchen's ugly face once and for all!
At that moment, Long Ruolan made up her mind to tell Long Wuya everything that was about to happen! Once Long Wuya saw how shamelessly Jiang Dongchen tried to shake down the Li Family, he surely wouldn't believe Jiang Dongchen's ghost stories anymore!
Just as she reached the entrance, Long Ruolan suddenly felt a wave of chilliness rising from her abdomen. Knowing her uterine cold condition was acting up, she hurriedly dug a warming pill out of her bag and popped it into her mouth!
At the entrance of the banquet hall, watching Jiang Dongchen approach at a leisurely pace, Zhao Ming and Lin Feifei both let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
The loser had finally shown up! Their painstaking preparations could finally be put to use! In less than ten minutes, this loser would be reduced to a stray dog!
With these thoughts, Zhao Ming walked up to meet Jiang Dongchen. "I was actually worried you wouldn't come!"
Jiang Dongchen shrugged. "After all, I played with her for three years. Now that someone else is taking over the leftovers, I naturally had to come and witness it in person!"
A violent aura emanated from Lin Feifei. This loser was actually bringing that up again!
Zhao Ming's expression darkened somewhat. "You didn't even touch a single hair on Feifei's hand, yet you claim you played with her for three years! You're just delusional!"
Before Jiang Dongchen could say anything, Zhao Ming raised his voice by an octave. "Sometimes, I really feel sorry for you!"
"Guarding a living, breathing beauty and yet never sleeping with her!"
"Are you even a man?!"
Jiang Dongchen narrowed his eyes. "What do you think of Lin Feifei's technique?"
Zhao Ming froze! If Lin Feifei really hadn't been touched by Jiang Dongchen, she should have still been a virgin! Why was there no blood on his and Lin Feifei's first time, and why had Lin Feifei acted so experienced?
Thinking that he had likely been tricked by Lin Feifei, Zhao Ming glared at her!
Panicking, Lin Feifei blurted out, "Jiang Dongchen never touched me!"
"I had a boyfriend before I was ever with Jiang Dongchen!"
Jiang Dongchen smiled playfully. After giving Lin Feifei a deep, meaningful look, he walked straight into the banquet hall!
Before marrying Lin Feifei, Jiang Dongchen had already discovered this fact. But at the time, out of a sense of gratitude, he hadn't exposed the truth.
Only then did Lin Feifei realize she had slipped up, and she looked at Zhao Ming in sheer terror.
A greenish tint flashed across Zhao Ming's face! But remembering that he needed to marry Lin Feifei in order to take over the Li Group, he forcefully suppressed the fury raging inside him. *Lin Feifei didn't even know me back then, so it doesn't count!*
Though he stated his position outwardly, deep down in Zhao Ming's eyes, a dark look flickered. *This bitch actually lied to me! Once I take down the Li Group, see how I torture you!*
Lin Feifei never expected that Zhao Ming had already plotted his revenge against her. Seeing that he wasn't pressing the issue, she let out a long breath of relief. Then, a murderous intent flashed in her eyes. *Loser, you've humiliated and insulted me like this—just you wait!*
At twelve o'clock, the engagement ceremony officially began.
The host took the microphone onto the stage, hyped up the atmosphere, and then invited Zhao Ming and Lin Feifei up.
Lin Feifei and Zhao Ming walked onto the stage. Amidst the congratulations of the crowd, Lin Feifei took the microphone. "To be able to be with Young Master Zhao Ming, I want to thank many people..."
After rattling off a lengthy speech, Lin Feifei's gaze finally landed on Jiang Dongchen, who was sitting in the corner. "The person I should thank the most is my ex-husband, Jiang Dongchen!"
"Because if he hadn't allowed himself to be kept as a sugar baby, he never would have agreed to divorce me!"
"After all, for three years of marriage, he didn't even touch my hand!"
"Any real man would find such humiliation unbearable!"
"Not only did he endure it, but he even had the energy to go be a wealthy woman's kept man!"
The venue erupted into an uproar of discussion!
"Jiang Dongchen is truly shameless! Even though his girlfriend got stolen, he still has the nerve to come here and grab a free meal!"
"If I were Jiang Dongchen, I'd find a brick and smash my head against it!"
"Three years without touching Lin Feifei—could it be that Jiang Dongchen isn't even a man?!"
In the crowd, listening to everyone's mockery, the disdain in Long Ruolan's eyes grew so thick it could be sliced! Shameless to this degree—this man was truly one of a kind in this world!
Jiang Dongchen slowly stood up. "There are some things I originally didn't want to say!"
"Since my ex-wife is thanking me, I really don't deserve such credit."
"After all, the reason I didn't touch my ex-wife for three years was simply because she had a severe gynecological condition!"
"How could I possibly touch her and risk bringing trouble upon myself?"
A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples!
Hit with such a bombshell from Jiang Dongchen, the venue once again erupted into a frenzy of gossip.
Zhao Ming glared fiercely at Lin Feifei. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Lin Feifei turned as pale as a sheet. "I... I..."
Seeing this, even the most foolish person would know that Jiang Dongchen's words were true. Murderous intent surged uncontrollably within Zhao Ming! *This bitch! How many other things has she been hiding from me?!*
Yet Zhao Ming also knew that if he flew into a rage and beat Lin Feifei here, it would only make the Zhao Family the laughingstock of Tianhai.