Chapter 16

Wang Tengkui's face looked extremely ugly, and he blurted out, "We're all classmates, there's no need for you to kick someone when they are down right now?"

"Kick someone when they are down?" Ye Chen said with a smile, "You started this yourself. We are just urging you to fulfill your promise. How did it turn into kicking someone when they are down?"

Wang Tengkui knew he couldn't get out of this today. He could only suppress his anger and say in a muffled voice, "I was impulsive just now. I failed to recognize (a person of consequence). I apologize to Ye Chen and to everyone. I hope you can all forgive me."

Everyone was very surprised when he suddenly backed down. Was this still Wang Tengkui? When had he ever admitted defeat before?

However, Wang Tengkui had no other choice. What else could he do? If he didn't back down, he would have to eat the table. That was simply impossible to eat! If he went back on his word, he would definitely incur the wrath of the crowd, and who knew how they would mock him. Therefore, the only way out now was to admit defeat. Only by admitting defeat could he get past this hurdle.

As expected, as soon as he admitted defeat, a classmate said, "Oh my, it's not easy for Wang Tengkui to admit his mistake and apologize. Besides, we're not actually going to force him to eat the table. So let's just forget it!"

"Exactly, let's forget it! Eating the table is impossible. We haven't eaten yet. Let's start the feast quickly!"

Ye Chen also knew that Wang Tengkui would not eat the table, but now that he had admitted defeat, his goal was achieved. You wanted to show off, and showing off deserved to be punished. However, with such arrogance, this little punishment was definitely not enough. This was just the beginning, and much worse awaited him later. So he said, "Since classmate Wang Tengkui has admitted his mistake and apologized, let's forget about eating the table. Today is the grand opening of Daokun Restaurant. Let's not steal their thunder!"

Wang Tengkui breathed a sigh of relief. But in his heart, he wished he could kill Ye Chen to vent his hatred. Ye Chen did not plan to let him off. He sent a text message to Wang Dongxue: "Is there any vice president in the company with the surname Wang whose son is named Wang Tengkui? Help me check." Wang Dongxue quickly replied, "There is a vice president named Wang Donghai, and his son is Wang Tengkui. What is it, Chairman? Do you have any instructions?" Ye Chen replied, "Fire him. Let him leave now." "Okay!" ...... Wang Tengkui did not know that his father had already been fired by Dìháo Jítuán and was going through the dismissal process at Dìháo Jítuán. Finally getting past the ordeal of the bet, he breathed a sigh of relief, but in his heart, he was thinking that he must find an opportunity to get revenge on Ye Chen! Chapter 62 More importantly, he had to find a way to regain his dignity in front of his classmates. Otherwise, after being slapped in the face by Ye Chen twice in a row, how could he continue to show off in front of his classmates? Just as he was wondering how to save face, a commotion suddenly came from the entrance of the restaurant. Everyone looked. A group of ferocious hoodlums/thugs barged in. They were all tattooed and carried baseball bats, galvanized pipes, and other similar items. They looked very difficult to deal with. Seeing such a group rush in, everyone's expression changed, especially Wang Daokun and Liu Lili, whose eyes were filled with fear. The scar-faced man at the head scanned the hall after entering and then pointed at Wang Daokun, grinning sinisterly, "Boss, you didn't even give us a heads-up about such a big event as opening? Are you looking down on us brothers?" Liu Lili's face was pale, and she forced a smile, saying, "What... what are you doing?" Before the opening, Liu Lili had heard that this place had criminal elements extorting protection money. The previous owner of this restaurant was said to have been ruined by these local ruffians and hooligans, forcing them to transfer the shop. But Liu Lili thought that in broad daylight, would these underworld figures dare to rob money openly? That's why she bought the place at a low price and prepared to run it well. Unexpectedly, these underworld figures showed up right after the opening! The scar-faced man grinned, "If you want to do business here, you naturally have to pay your respects to our Brother Biao. We don't ask for much. Give us 20% of the dry shares of this restaurant, and we'll cover you if anything happens here in the future." Saying that, the scar-faced man added coldly, "If you don't give it, then don't blame me for being impolite. You'll have to close down today!" Hearing this price, Wang Daokun and Liu Lili gasped. Asking for 20% of the dry shares right off the bat! This was blatant robbery! "You have one minute to consider." Wang Tengkui suddenly felt that his chance to step forward had come! So he immediately stepped out and asked, "Who do you guys work for?" The scar-faced man sneered and asked, "Who do you think you are? Do I need to report my identity to you?" Wang Tengkui chuckled, "Let me tell you, my father has connections in both the underworld and the legal circles in Jinling! I'll call the leaders of the Development Zone and ask them!" The scar-faced man looked at him with some apprehension and tentatively asked, "You know leaders in the Development Zone?" "Of course!" Wang Tengkui said coldly, "If you don't want to die, get lost quickly!" The scar-faced man frowned, "Fine. If you can find someone who can speak up, I won't come to this place anymore. But if you can't, then don't blame me for being impolite!" Liu Lili said nervously, "Brother Tengfei, please help us contact them!" Wang Tengkui smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, I'll call the leaders of the Development Zone right now!" The Dìháo Jítuán also had projects in the Development Zone, and it was Wang Tengkui's father who was in charge. Therefore, the leaders of the Development Zone had a lot of contact with his father and also knew Wang Tengkui. Wang Tengkui directly called the top leader and deliberately raised his voice, saying, "Uncle Li, why is there a group of thugs extorting protection money in the Development Zone? They've even come to my classmate's restaurant!" The other end paused for a moment and said, "Tengkui, what's going on?" Wang Tengkui said, "A friend of mine's restaurant is opening and encountered troublemakers extorting protection money, so I wanted to ask District Chief Li to see if he can manage it or not." The other end pondered for a moment and said, with some difficulty, "I'm sorry, Tengkui, these matters you're talking about are not under my jurisdiction. I'm in a meeting now. I'll hang up first." Before Wang Tengkui could speak, the other party hung up the phone. Wang Tengkui was stunned. What was going on? Didn't District Chief Li always curry favor with his father, hoping to attract more investment from Dìháo Jítuán? Why wasn't he giving him any face now? How could Wang Tengkui know that the news of his father being fired by Dìháo Jítuán had already spread throughout the entire Jinling leadership team! Chapter 63 Wang Tengkui was very angry because he didn't know the reason. With so many classmates watching, he could only grit his teeth and try other connections. Wang Tengkui then called the person in charge of the district public security sub-bureau. This person also had a good relationship with his father. As soon as the phone was connected, Wang Tengkui immediately said, "Director Chen, it's me, Wang Tengkui. I've encountered some trouble in the Development Zone..." Wang Tengkui explained the situation. The other party said awkwardly, "Tengkui, the other party is Brother Biao's subordinate. Brother Biao is one of Hóng Wǔyé's men. You'd better not get involved in this matter." Wang Tengkui asked, "Aren't you going to do anything about it?" The other party said, "You should know Hóng Wǔyé's status." Wang Tengkui also started to panic and said, "Then you can at least give some face and help me say a few good words to the other party, right?" The other party chuckled awkwardly, "I really can't give this face. I'm sorry." Wang Tengkui got angry and said, "Director Chen, I remember you wanted Dìháo Jítuán to donate a batch of police cars to your bureau, right? Don't you want that anymore?" The other party simply stopped being polite and said coldly, "Wang Tengkui, your father has already been fired by Dìháo Jítuán. Don't you know?" "Fired!? When did that happen?" "Half an hour ago!" The other party then said, "Figure things out for yourself first." After saying that, he hung up! The scar-faced man looked at his dumbfounded appearance and sneered, "What? Couldn't find anyone?" Just as Wang Tengkui was about to speak, the scar-faced man slapped him across the face, causing Wang Tengkui to stumble and knock over chairs and tables! The whole place erupted! Everyone's face turned pale, but no one dared to step forward to stop the scar-faced man. "You dare to hit me?" Wang Tengkui covered his face, deep anger showing on his fair face. "What's wrong with me hitting you?" The scar-faced man chuckled, then kicked Wang Tengkui in the stomach, knocking him to the ground, and started beating him savagely! Wang Tengkui cried out in pain, but at this moment, no one could help him. After a while, Wang Tengkui was beaten into a pulp, his face covered in blood, looking terrifying. Wang Tengkui became scared and begged tearfully, "Big brother, big brother, I was wrong! Please don't hit me anymore!" "Wrong?" The scar-faced man snorted coldly, "Is being wrong enough? You dared to show off to me, and if I don't beat you to death, how can I get by in the future?" Saying that, he signaled to the others, "Damn it, beat him hard!" A group of people immediately rushed forward and kicked and punched Wang Tengkui! Some of them even smashed him with baseball bats, and the scene was horrific. Seeing Wang Tengkui beaten half to death, the scar-faced man walked up to Wang Daokun and coldly threatened, "Your friend showed off to me. The original 20% is now 40%! If you don't agree, his fate will be your example!" Wang Daokun was very panicked, but asking for 40% of the dry shares at once would mean he would be working for these hoodlums/thugs? So he mustered his courage and said, "If you want 40%, you might as well kill me!" The scar-faced man frowned and said coldly, "Fine! Then I'll fulfill your wish!" Saying that, he immediately pulled out a shining sharp knife from his pocket. Everyone was scared, and the female classmates even screamed. Seeing that the scar-faced man was about to attack Wang Daokun, Ye Chen immediately blurted out, "Put the knife down!" The scar-faced man turned his head and cursed, "Who the hell wants to die?" Chapter 64 As soon as he turned, he saw Ye Chen, his eyes showing confusion at first, then turning into deep terror. He knelt on the ground with a plop! Before everyone could react, the scar-faced man dropped the sharp knife, slapped himself on both sides, and said remorsefully, "Mr. Ye, I'm sorry! I failed to recognize (a person of consequence) and didn't see you here!" Ye Chen was slightly taken aback and looked at the scar-faced man, saying, "You recognize me?" The scar-faced man nodded repeatedly and said, "Mr. Ye, I am Brother Biao's subordinate. I saw you at Tianxiang Mansion..." Ye Chen suddenly realized. So that's how it was. The one who caused trouble for Wang Yunfei and Xiao Hailong at Tianxiang Mansion that day was a subordinate of Hóng Wǔyé's subordinate named Biaozi. This person was Biaozi's subordinate. No wonder he was so scared when he saw him. Hóng Wǔyé himself was weak-kneed when he saw him, let alone Hóng Wǔyé's subordinate's subordinate... His classmates were all stunned! Liu Lili was also in a daze. No one understood why such a fierce underworld boss, who even dared to beat Wang Tengkui, would kneel before Ye Chen, the son-in-law living with his wife's family? And act so fearfully towards Ye Chen? Xiao Churan was also dumbfounded and asked Ye Chen, "What's going on? Do you know him?" Ye Chen was afraid she would misunderstand his connection with the underworld, so he quickly said, "I don't know him!" The scar-faced man also hurriedly said, "I don't know him, I don't know him! I don't know Mr. Ye, and Mr. Ye doesn't know me. I've only heard of Mr. Ye's great name and admire him from afar..." What flattery... Admire Ye Chen from afar? Everyone found it hard to accept this reality. It was truly magical! The scar-faced man hurriedly said to Wang Daokun, "You are Mr. Ye's friend, so from now on, I'll cover your restaurant. We won't charge you a single penny in protection fees! I'll sort out any problems for you!" This statement shocked everyone! Liu Lili was so overjoyed that she almost cried. What a dramatic turn of events in one day! Because of Ye Chen's face, she saved 40% of the dry shares. More importantly, this scar-faced man, in order to curry favor with Ye Chen, was willing to cover her family's hotel free of charge! This way, she could do business with peace of mind! Ye Chen was simply saving her life! Wang Daokun was also extremely grateful and said sincerely, "Ye Chen, thank you so much for this." Ye Chen smiled, "Thanking me? You're being too formal." The scar-faced man looked at Wang Tengkui, who had already been beaten unconscious, and said with a horrified and worried expression, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ye, I beat your friend..." Ye Chen said lightly, "It doesn't matter. He's not my friend, just an acquaintance, and we don't have much of a relationship." Then, he added, "Take him to the hospital. Don't let him disrupt the opening ceremony here." The scar-faced man immediately nodded, "Then we'll take him to the hospital! Mr. Ye, please continue. We won't disturb you any further!" Saying that, he hurriedly signaled his brothers, carried the unconscious Wang Tengkui, and fled in a hurry. Everyone looked at Ye Chen with eyes that changed from disdain to surprise, and from surprise to awe. No one knew why Ye Chen had such great influence. This son-in-law living with his wife's family seemed to have become a completely different person! At the banquet, many people came to curry favor with Ye Chen, including Liu Lili, who had looked down on Ye Chen the most. Liu Lili now treated Ye Chen like a deity, constantly thanking him and even offering him permanent free meals. Ye Chen was indifferent to this. He was just giving Wang Daokun face and helping him solve a minor problem. But in the eyes of others, his actions today had taken on a touch of the miraculous! Everyone wanted to know what had happened to this son-in-law living with his wife's family who was eating their money? Chapter 65 Xiao Churan was also very curious about what happened today. First, why was Ye Chen's BMW 520 twice as fast as Wang Tengkui's BMW 540? Then, that antique painting worth hundreds of thousands that Ye Chen had? Also, why did Ye Chen know people from the underworld, and why did they give him so much face? On the way back, Ye Chen explained it to her. He told Xiao Churan that the BMW 520 was a demonstrator car modified by the 4S shop. To make users mistakenly believe that the car had strong power, it was modified a bit. Xiao Churan didn't understand cars well and vaguely believed him. As for the antique painting, it had been explained before: someone sold it to him at a low price out of friendship; he, also out of friendship, gave it to Wang Daokun. However, the matter with the scar-faced man was a bit tricky. After all, he kept addressing Ye Chen as "Mr. Ye" so enthusiastically, it was difficult for Ye Chen to explain. In the end, he could only say that the scar-faced man's boss was a relative of a friend of his. He had met him at a friend's gathering before, and they showed him some respect out of his friend's face. Xiao Churan felt something was not quite right, but seeing Ye Chen's confident tone, she knew that pressing further would be useless, so she didn't ask any more questions. Dong Ruolin had been observing Ye Chen and increasingly felt that this person was not simple, so she decided to pay more attention to him in the future to see what secrets he had! ...... It was said that Wang Tengkui had a miserable end. He was unconscious when he was sent to the hospital. His father was fired by Dìháo Jítuán, and it was discovered that he had taken advantage of his position for personal gain. He was sued by the legal department of Dìháo Jítuán and immediately arrested by the public security organs. It could be said that Wang Tengkui's family was completely ruined. However, Wang Tengkui's family had no reputation in Jinling, so people didn't pay attention to their fate. What truly attracted everyone's attention was the super-rich man on Douyin and the mysterious big figure who was about to book out the Shangri-La Sky Garden. Everyone was eager to know who they were! Were they the same person! Soon, the wedding anniversary arrived. Because he had told Xiao Churan he would give her a surprise, Ye Chen forced Xiao Churan to change into a noble and elegant white evening gown before leaving. Xiao Churan reluctantly agreed, muttering, "We're just going out for a meal. Why do you insist on me wearing such formal clothes? Even though it's our wedding anniversary today, it doesn't need to be so grand, does it?" Ye Chen smiled and said, "Today is our third wedding anniversary, so it should be formal. I've already booked the place for dinner, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied with tonight's arrangements." His secrecy work over the past few days had been impeccable, and his wife had no doubts about it. Xiao Churan smiled softly, feeling very touched. For the past two wedding anniversaries, they had celebrated casually at home. Although ordinary, even when Ye Chen was penniless, he would prepare some thoughtful small gifts to please her. However, this year, Ye Chen was acting out of character, remaining mysterious, making her unable to guess what new tricks her live-in husband would come up with. A moment later, after changing their clothes, they took a taxi and arrived at the Shangri-La Hotel. Ye Chen stepped out of the car and looked at Xiao Churan standing beside him with a tender gaze. "Churan, tonight, we'll celebrate our third wedding anniversary here. What do you think?" Chapter 66 Xiao Churan's expression suddenly became strange. Ye Chen booked the restaurant here tonight? She subconsciously asked, "You're not lying to me, are you?" Ye Chen smiled and said, "Of course not!" Saying that, Ye Chen explained, "A few days ago, I booked a table here. If you don't believe me, we can go in and check the information." Xiao Churan shook her head. They had been married for three years, and Ye Chen had never lied to her, let alone on such an important day. Then she said, "No need, I believe you." Saying that, she asked again, "You didn't book a table in the Sky Garden, did you? Isn't a big shot renting the entire place out today?"