Cai Long was berated so severely by his son that his head hung low in shame. It was true that for the past half a year, he had been deeply wary of the Brotherhood Alliance. Although no conflict had ever broken out between the two factions, he constantly feared that the Brotherhood Alliance would eventually swallow the Huá Lóng Society he had painstakingly built. Only now did he realize the Alliance’s ambitions lay far beyond the capital, and their financial might was immeasurable; a mere billion felt as trivial as a few hundred yuan.

“Mr. Zhao, Cai Long apologizes to you,” Cai Long suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to me, startling me so much I jumped aside and simultaneously kicked Cai Bao’er.

“Have some respect! How dare you speak to your father like that.”

Cai Bao’er rubbed his backside. “I just couldn’t stand the way he used to act. I like how you and Commander Zhu operate—you say one thing and do it; you get things done quickly.”

Everyone settled back down, the atmosphere significantly warmer than before. I turned to Zhu Da. “I have military training tomorrow. You take Jingjing over to Huá Qīngqīng’s place. Call me if anything comes up.”

“No problem,” Zhu Da thumped his chest. “If I show up, President Huá will have to give me some face. Besides, my athlete’s foot is acting up again; I’ll have her take a look at it.”

Cai Bao’er punched Zhu Da directly. “Get lost! Who doesn’t know Doctor Huá is a stunning beauty? You want her to look at your fungus? I’ll be the first one to slap you.”

“Ai!” Zhu Da and Cai Long sighed in unison. They exchanged a glance, and both smiled as they watched Zhu Da and Cai Bao’er argue fiercely.

The rest of the meal involved many topics, summarized best by saying the hosts and guests enjoyed themselves immensely. At 9:50 PM, Chen Chao suddenly called with an urgent wire message, weeping slightly. “Little White Dragon, something terrible has happened! Two fierce-looking brutes say they are going to burn down our dorm at exactly ten o’clock! Get back here quickly! Xu Hu and I are rushing to grab our things; when disaster strikes, everyone flees for themselves!”

“What’s going on?” Zhu Da asked.

I waved my hand. I couldn't involve Zhu Da in the mess between me and Li Qi; otherwise, what difference would there be between their actions and mine? I would handle it myself. It seemed she was asking for a beating again. I quickly bid farewell to Cai Long and stepped out onto the street alone. I dialed the number Li Qi had left me.

“Two minutes left; right on time. Tell me your location, and I’ll send the driver to pick you up.” Li Qi’s voice was very level.

“Fine. I’ll settle the score with you when we meet. You better clean your backside, because if I don’t beat you until your skin splits and you cry buckets, my name isn’t Zhao.”

Li Qi chuckled. “So you actually know how to curse. We’ll talk when you get here.”

Shortly after, a car arrived to pick me up. The driver handed me a black blindfold. I didn’t ask questions and put it on. These people just loved their mysterious theatrics.

When I removed the blindfold, I found myself in a living room grander than Zhu Da’s own home. Li Qi was curled up on the sofa watching television. Everyone else had withdrawn. Li Qi said calmly, “Sit down first and have a cup of tea.”

I said angrily, “No thanks. Just wrap things up quickly so I can leave.”

Li Qi replied, “I’ll go change first. You wait for me in the gym.”

“I’m not going. I don’t even know where the gym is.”

Li Qi was surprisingly milder than she had been at school. “Second room from the east on the second floor. It’s written on the door plaque.”

I went upstairs, pushed open the door to the gym, and swore internally—it was ridiculously luxurious. Every conceivable piece of equipment was in there, all sorts of novel contraptions whose names I couldn't even recall. Of course, I didn't know how to use any of them. Thankfully, there was a set of dumbbells on the floor that I was familiar with, so I picked them up and managed a few reps.

Hush! A baseball bat swooped down over my head. I sidestepped the blow and casually shoved the person behind me to the ground. This woman was vicious; she tried to murder me without even a word of warning.

“Zhao Qian! I’m going to kill you right now! Who told you to bully me everywhere? This time, on my turf, you won’t escape! I’ll kill you!”

Yelling, Li Qi scrambled back up, waving the bat, and charged at me again. She absolutely needed to see a psychiatrist. Downstairs she was graceful and elegant; now, in an instant, she had turned into a maniac.

What should I do? While I had come here intending to fight, those were just angry words. If I truly went at her, ten of me wouldn't be enough to take her down. But if I didn't fight back, she would keep pressing her attack. And if I let this slide, what about next time?

I snatched the baseball bat from her hand. “Enough! Tomorrow, have your father take you to see a psychiatrist. You need treatment.”

“I’m not sick! If I am sick, it’s because you made me sick! I’ll bite you to death!” Li Qi lunged at me, opening her mouth to bite, having lost her weapon.

“Calm down! Believe it or not, I will truly beat you!”

Li Qi shouted, “You wouldn’t dare! I see right through you. To tell you the truth, I already had your dog kennel burned down. If you don’t believe me, I can video call to show you the situation over there.”

I let go of Li Qi’s hand. “Spit your dog breath out! I don’t believe you dared to set a fire in the university apartments.”

Li Qi’s tight training suit had no pockets, but she had placed her phone by the doorway. She rushed over, grabbed the phone, connected the live video feed, and handed it to me.

When I looked, Damn it, the lunatic really was setting a fire. Thick smoke billowed everywhere, and Xu Hu was yelling on the ground nearby, “My clothes! My textbooks!”

Li Qi sneered, “What wouldn't I dare to do? I’d even dare to kill someone, let alone start a small fire. Zhao Qian, you can’t beat me. Even if I can’t kill you, I can make the people around you suffer. What good is all your ability if you can’t protect every single one of them? I’ve already sent people to grab those two vixens. I’ll ruin their looks first so they can never tempt men again, and then I’ll send them to the dance halls as hostesses…”

I couldn't stand it anymore. This woman was a match for the venomous Nie Juan. Rage burned fiercely in my chest. If I didn't subdue this malicious woman today, my name wasn't Zhao!

I grabbed the collar of Li Qi’s training suit and lifted her up. “You like slapping people, don’t you? Today, I’ll slap some sense into you so you can taste what it’s like to be struck across the face.”

Ignoring Li Qi’s stunned expression, slap, slap—I delivered seven or eight resounding slaps in quick succession. Li Qi burst into tears. “You dare hit me, you filthy Zhao! You’re dead! I’ll choke you! I’ll bite you to death!”

When Li Qi went mad, her strength was considerable. I loosened my grip to facilitate slapping her, and swish, swish—I delivered another ten-plus hard smacks. Li Qi took advantage of my momentary release and slammed her head into my chest. I pushed her hard outwards, unfortunately right onto her tailbone. The force must have been too great, as she cried out in pain and collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Even on the ground, she refused to admit defeat. She grabbed my leg and tried to flip me over, even attempting to bite my thigh with her teeth, tearing a hole in my new trousers!

I kicked her hard in the lower abdomen, sending her tumbling into the corner of the room. Li Qi cried out again in pain. Conveniently, there was a dumbbell by the wall. She grabbed one, pulled herself up, and charged at me once more.

This was truly a desperate brawl. I saw blood trickling from the corner of Li Qi’s mouth, yet she kept lunging at me recklessly. I wrenched the dumbbell from her hands and proceeded to hit and kick her for a full five minutes. Of course, I held back my strength; killing someone wasn't a trivial matter.

Li Qi finally collapsed on the floor, silent. I cautiously went over to check her breathing—thankfully, everything was normal. Thump—I sat down heavily on the floor. What the hell was this? A dignified B-class superman fighting tooth and nail with a woman, and in such a shrewish manner too. If this got out, people would laugh themselves sick.