How large could this wound be? The total area amounted to roughly the size of Wang Zhuo's thumbnail, only the top layer of skin lost, plus a few lost sweat...

Often in novels or TV dramas, one hears lines like, "What if one less..." or similar. In reality, such a small injury on the outer part of a man's leg would basically be ignorable.

Seeing it was just such a minor wound, Ning Yao finally relaxed. She looked up, pursed her lips, and smiled, "I really didn't expect Tao Haitong and Tao Qian to actually dare to fight back against you."

"Tell me about it, because they had guns," Wang Zhuo chuckled, unable to resist showing off a bit. "If you had a gun in your hand, you would dare too."

"They used guns?" Ning Yao jumped, and Ruan Mingqing, who was driving, tensed up and shook the wheel slightly, immediately shifting from third gear straight to fifth.

The car jolted, and Wang Zhuo laughed, "Don't worry, this injury was caused by a ricochet."

"Ri-chet?" Ning Yao made a connection to a prop often seen in Japanese adult films and looked at Wang Zhuo in surprise, genuinely unable to imagine how such an item could injure someone.

Wang Zhuo caught the thought in her gaze and burst out laughing, bending forward and back, overcome with mirth.

Ning Yao was bewildered by his laughter, but Ruan Mingqing, with a more active mind, smiled wryly and explained to Ning Yao through the rearview mirror, "He means the bullet's ricochet. It should be called a stray bullet, you misunderstood."

Ning Yao was instantly speechless—it turned out to be a mix-up, mistaking tiào dàn (ricochet) for tiào.dàn (a slang term for a sex toy)!

"Should we go to the hospital to get a tetanus shot?" she diverted the awkward topic and suggested.

Wang Zhuo waved his hand dismissively, "No need. My white blood cells can kill all pathogens."

"That's just being self-willed," Ning Yao argued, unconvinced.

Wang Zhuo smiled proudly, "I studied medicine. Do you know more than I do?"

In China, the disease of "tetanus" is hyped up to be incredibly serious; even a small scratch on the hand requires a tetanus shot forced upon you by the doctor during bandaging. But in reality, the infection rate for this disease is negligible, about the same chance as a primary school student choking to death on jelly.

"If he won't get the shot, that's fine. I have band-aids in my bag. Sister Ning, can you put one on him?" Ruan Mingqing passed her purse from the front seat.

"I'm not putting on a band-aid; it slows down the wound's healing speed," Wang Zhuo stopped her with a wave, adding with a smile, "Just remember to stick a waterproof patch on before you shower."

Hmph, Ruan Mingqing said, "If you won't get the shot, you won't even let us put on a band-aid? Are you not giving us face at all?"

"Fine then," Wang Zhuo shrugged helplessly. He couldn't possibly argue with women over such a small thing; if he lectured them now about the harm band-aids cause or the academic issues affecting wound recovery, he would lose!

"Hey? What are you doing?" Ning Yao suddenly asked in alarm.

"Taking off my pants, how else can you apply it?" Wang Zhuo declared righteously, undoing his belt and sticking out his hip to pull his trousers down.

Ruan Mingqing, driving, secretly suppressed a giggle. Ning Yao glanced at Wang Zhuo with some worry, genuinely afraid the young man might do something more outrageous. It was already nighttime, and her Jeep Liberty had reflective film, making it impossible to see inside from the outside. Moreover, Ruan Mingqing, driving, had an ambiguous relationship and an ambiguous attitude; if Wang Zhuo tried anything, it really would be difficult to handle.

Finding a band-aid, she tore open the package, made up her mind to finish quickly, and swiftly pressed it onto Wang Zhuo's leg.

Actually, Ruan Mingqing, driving, felt even more awkward than Ning Yao, and she still had control of the steering wheel, which concerned the safety of all three of them. So, before Wang Zhuo could make any move, Ruan Mingqing broke the tension by interjecting a different topic.

"Wang Zhuo, tell us what happened between you and Tao Haitong and the others after we left the bar?"

Wang Zhuo was just about to do that. His earlier banter was just to ease their emotions; the goal was achieved now, and it was time to talk about the matter and analyze how to deal with what came next.

Although he felt he had the Tao brothers completely cornered, wasn't there a saying? In strategy, you can look down on your opponent, but in tactics, you must take them seriously!

After he vaguely recounted the events, Ruan Mingqing and Ning Yao exchanged glances, both surprised at how perilous the situation had been—Tao Haitong actually used a handgun and actually fired at Wang Zhuo!

In truth, Wang Zhuo’s account was not entirely accurate. Tao Haitong was indeed about to shoot, but the one who pulled the trigger was Wang Zhuo. Even if Tao Haitong had fired, Wang Zhuo was fifty-fifty sure he could dodge it, but Wang Zhuo dared not take that risk.

Of course, "dodging" here didn't mean dodging the bullet—no human born yet could dodge a bullet—but rather, Wang Zhuo moved away from the line of sight of Tao Haitong's gun muzzle the instant he started to fire.

"I heard Tao Haitong is the type who always seeks revenge; I've never heard of him taking a major loss over the years," Ruan Mingqing stated gravely. "What do you plan to do next?"

"Give him time to let the excitement of tonight pass, then I'll find someone to inquire about him," Wang Zhuo said calmly. "I prefer to be open. As long as he doesn't play dirty tricks with me, he can use whatever means he has; I’ll play along."

"All over a toast, sigh," Ning Yao laughed bitterly. "It’s another battle of honor. You men really are..."

Ruan Mingqing sighed expressively, "Men, aren't they just living for their pride?"

"That's not entirely correct. I'm not just living for pride; I’m also living to enjoy beautiful women like you," Wang Zhuo said shamelessly, grinning wickedly.

"Vulgar!" "Sleazy!"

"Am I wrong?" Wang Zhuo's eyes darted, and suddenly he snapped his fingers: "I get it! It should be we enjoy you. You're both older than me; two old cows grazing on my tender grass!"

The car instantly filled with playful curses and banter, and the awkwardness between Ning Yao and Ruan Mingqing dissolved subtly and quietly, bringing their relationship another step closer.

...

Bai Shuang's performance had long ended. Tao Haitong had been busy for nearly three hours and finally managed to settle the chaos.

Although the several hundred thousand he compensated to Century Tianyin was a small sum to him, it left him extremely furious. In the past, the second boss of Century Tianyin would have to bow and scrape when seeing him, but now, holding leverage over him, this person could haggle over the compensation!

The dignified Second Young Master Tao, who went to teach a nobody a lesson, ended up beaten into a pulp by his opponent, and afterwards, he even learned he had targeted the wrong person. This score might be impossible to settle. Tao Haitong was filled with raging anger that had nowhere to vent; he was furious to the point his eyes were practically splitting!

What happened in the restroom could be overlooked; at least he hadn't drunk the toilet water. But being slapped across the face by a young man in front of hundreds of people beside the stage was gossip that could rock the capital. The frustration Tao Haitong felt was indescribable; he had truly lost face!

Originally, he could have just left, dumping the messy aftermath onto his third brother, Tao Qian. But that boy was useless, actually scared so badly he lost control of his bladder and bowels. What a twist of fate: Tao Qian ended up benefiting from the disaster, while Tao Haitong had to deal with the aftermath, his face swollen, pulling favors, bribing connections to smooth things over with the police—damn it all!

Actually, for Century Tianyin, the several hundred thousand repair fee wasn't worth it either. Think about it: all the male guests that night had to use the restrooms in the private VIP rooms on the second floor. Not only were the rooms out of service, but many guests complained and left due to the inconvenience. How do you calculate the lost beverage sales? The loss of popularity? The bad reputation that would spread? Business would surely suffer until the restrooms were renovated—how do you calculate all that?

In short, it was all sorts of trouble, leaving him completely frazzled.

It was already midnight when he finished treating the wound and getting the stitches at the hospital. The doctor had shaved a large patch of hair from the top of Third Young Master Tao's head. It was said that unless he underwent cosmetic surgery to pull the scalp together, he would forever sport a natural 'three-seven' side parting hairstyle.

Wang Daming's jaw was swollen as if a fruit had been stuffed inside. Wang Zhuo’s punch hadn't just knocked out his buck teeth; it had shattered his jawbone. The doctor had sewn over twenty stitches from the inside, causing the swelling.

As for his nose bridge, the man naturally had a flat nose to begin with. Although it was swollen sky-high from the beating, it hadn't fractured—a stroke of luck.

The two other bodyguards were unimportant. Only the top fighter, Big Dragon, suffered a swollen eye socket and mild concussion that temporarily immobilized him, but he had already recovered by then.

Tao Haitong nursed a burning evil temper. The more he inquired about Wang Zhuo’s character and "deeds," the more he felt he had been a complete fool tonight, and the possibility of retaliation seemed slim.

He gritted his teeth in hatred. Regardless of whether he could pay Wang Zhuo back in kind, he absolutely had to punish that idiot Wang Daming severely, making this fool who caused him such a huge loss pay the price!

As for family ties—to hell with them! From now on, the entire Wang family should get lost far away from him. Still want to buy a Ferrari? He should drive a taxi on the street!

...

Wang Zhuo just considered beating Wang Daming to be settling the old grudge from middle school, never imagining the cruel fate awaiting Wang Daming was yet to come. This dog-who-relies-on-power scoundrel was finally facing tragedy; his stage in life was destined to be a large dining table [a Chinese pun suggesting inevitable doom].

In a villa at the foot of Miaofeng Mountain in the suburbs of Beijing, Wang Zhuo, Ning Yao, and Ruan Mingqing sat in a cozy home bar, casually chatting while sipping mellow red wine.

The conversation ranged far and wide; all three were topics, and tonight, there was no single protagonist.

Meanwhile, the news of the "Little Tyrant of Jiangzhou" appearing in the capital was spreading like wildfire that night. Beijing's most characteristic feature was its intricate web of circles, and the fastest thing to spread was gossip and rumors. The news of Tao Haitong getting beaten up spread like wind catching wings, and stories of Wang Zhuo's fierce might were embellished and passed on again and again.

In Beijing, while Tao Haitong wasn't an ultimate powerhouse, he was a well-known figure among the young elite due to his frequent scandals with female celebrities. Even though he was thirty-nine, in this era of late marriage, he was in his prime.

On one side, a celebrity of the capital; on the other, a prominent figure from Jiangzhou. How could the sparks created by their clash not attract the attention of the idle rich kids?

This was originally a struggle between the two parties involved, but when the news reached certain ears, it stirred up their ulterior motives...