Hearing Mi Xue’s words, Hu Tao looked at Mi Xue and Zhang Yang with gratitude, his eyes slightly moist. If Mi Xue hadn't stood up for him, he wouldn't have known how to handle the situation. It didn't matter if he suffered some grievances, but he was afraid that Xiao Xiao would be implicated along with him. Hu Tao knew Xia Ting’s temper all too well.
As for Xia Ting, Hu Tao didn't actually hate her. He knew that she truly liked him in the beginning, but because he was too poor back then and always relied on her, he tolerated her in every way, which gradually nurtured Xia Ting’s later spoiled, willful, and unreasonable personality.
So, even after they broke up and met again, when Xia Ting unreasonably slapped him, Hu Tao didn't even think to dodge.
Mi Xue’s words also silenced Xia Lan. She couldn't say anything, as she was the one who had instigated Xia Ting to break up with Hu Tao. After hearing that Hu Tao had later joined an internet company and even become a manager, her sister Xia Ting had complained about her quite a bit.
Xia Lan knew her sister still wanted to be with Hu Tao. Since breaking up with him, Xia Ting had dated two other boyfriends, but neither of them was as obedient, hardworking, and willing to accept criticism without retaliation as Hu Tao. It was just that Xia Ting was unwilling to lower herself to beg Hu Tao for reconciliation, which was why she hadn't sought him out.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Hu Tao in such a coincidental setting today, and there was a girl beside him chatting intimately as if they were inseparable.
Xia Lan’s earlier words had led the surrounding crowd to believe that Hu Tao was a kept man who shamelessly abandoned someone only to hook up with another girl. However, Mi Xue’s stand inadvertently told everyone that it was these two sisters who had looked down on him and left, and now that he was successful, they wanted to rekindle things.
Seeing the speechless expressions of the sisters Xia Ting and Xia Lan, the surrounding people immediately believed Mi Xue’s words. The way they looked at Xia Lan and Xia Ting carried a strange glint, and sounds of murmuring occasionally drifted from the crowd.
The attitude of the bystanders made Xia Lan and Xia Ting extremely uncomfortable. They hadn’t expected Mi Xue’s single sentence to render them speechless.
“Hu Tao, what exactly is going on?”
Su Zhantao saw Zhang Yang and Mi Xue emerge from the crowd, and unwilling to be left behind, he followed them out.
“Boss Su.”
Hu Tao naturally knew that Zhang Yang and Su Zhantao were nearby. Meeting Xia Ting and having such an unpleasant encounter, he felt awkward and didn’t know what to say to Su Zhantao.
It was Wang Chen, following Li Ya out of the crowd, who patted Hu Tao’s shoulder sympathetically, then consoled him, “Brother Hu, I didn’t expect that you and I would ever share a moment of shared misery.”
As he spoke, Wang Chen couldn't help but glance at Xiao Xiao and Xia Ting. He was reminded of the times when he was playing around and his ex-girlfriends ran into his current ones; he remembered being caught in a fiery predicament in the middle.
“Young Master Su!”
When Xia Lan saw Su Zhantao appear, she paused, and the retort she was about to aim at Mi Xue died in her throat. Instead, a smile appeared on her face.
Su Zhantao was the young master of Su Shaohua, and her father, Xia Changgui, was a long-time senior manager at Su Shaohua’s company. Naturally, her attitude towards Su Zhantao was exceedingly pleasant.
But for some inexplicable reason, after that incident, her father had returned home sighing constantly. Not only had he lost a promotion opportunity that was practically within his grasp, but he had later been transferred to a sinecure position, essentially set up for retirement.
Meeting Su Zhantao this time, she dared not bring up the matter concerning Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao again, fearing she might offend this ‘crown prince’ for some unforeseen reason.
“Nothing much is going on; some people are just looking for trouble,” Zhang Yang said, naturally supporting Hu Tao. Seeing that Xia Lan and Xia Ting were unable to utter another word, he offered Hu Tao his hand and said, “Alright, let’s go!”
“Who are you calling a troublemaker? Who are you calling a troublemaker!”
Hearing Zhang Yang’s words, Xia Ting completely disregarded the subtle pinching motion from Xia Lan and instantly flared up. She rushed over, grabbed Hu Tao’s shirt, pointed at Xiao Xiao, and said domineeringly, “Hu Tao, tell them, tell me, you are my man! It was this little slut who seduced you and made you leave me!”
“That’s enough!”
Hearing Xia Ting’s words, a surge of anger shot straight to Hu Tao’s head.
Slap!
Xiao Xiao, who had been hiding behind Mi Xue, suddenly stepped forward and slapped Xia Ting hard. This slap forced Xia Ting to stumble back several steps, loosening her grip on Hu Tao’s shirt.
“You!”
Stunned by the slap, Xia Ting staggered back, collapsing into Xia Lan’s arms. Seeing that Xiao Xiao dared to strike her sister, Xia Lan was about to lash out at Xiao Xiao, but then she noticed Su Zhantao and Zhang Yang standing together, and her resolve instantly deflated.
She absolutely could not afford to offend Su Zhantao, and Zhang Yang and Mi Xue had an extraordinarily close relationship with Su Zhantao. Mi Xue had just mentioned that Xiao Xiao was her sister; given these factors, Xia Lan hesitated to act rashly, considering many things.
“Who are you calling a slut?”
Xiao Xiao shed her usual delicate demeanor, glared at Xia Ting, and casually looped her arm through Hu Tao’s, pulling him close. She frowned and said, “Please stop bothering my boyfriend in the future. That slap was me paying you back on my boyfriend’s behalf!”
When she was hiding behind Mi Xue, seeing Hu Tao and Mi Xue shielding her, Xiao Xiao felt a surge of emotion. She had been attracted to Zhang Yang the moment she first saw him, but Zhang Yang already had a fiancée as beautiful and lovely as Mi Xue, and Mi Xue treated her so well, that Xiao Xiao had long since abandoned any feelings for Zhang Yang.
Initially, Xiao Xiao only wanted to keep the little white lie she told hidden in front of Zhang Yang, so she had implicitly agreed that Hu Tao was her boyfriend. But now, subconsciously, she truly considered Hu Tao her own boyfriend. Even a clay Buddha gets angry when provoked—Xiao Xiao could no longer endure being pointed at and cursed by Xia Ting!
“Xiao Xiao!”
Xiao Xiao’s words were like a bolt from the blue to Hu Tao. He had actually been pursuing Xiao Xiao, but she had never agreed. He never expected her to publicly declare in front of everyone that he was her boyfriend, especially in front of Xia Ting.
Hu Tao excitedly gripped the arm Xiao Xiao had looped around him, rendered speechless.
Xia Ting stood frozen, clutching half of her face. Suddenly, tears streamed down her face. She then buried herself in Xia Lan’s embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
Beep beep!
Just then, someone drove Zhang Yang and Su Zhantao’s cars over. It turned out that Zheng Qimo, worried they might not be able to drive after sobering up, had arranged for a few police officers to drive their vehicles back—an arrangement ordinary people would never receive.
“Alright, let’s go,” Su Zhantao said. He had little impression of the Xia sisters, but he thought the outcome for Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao was quite good. However, they were currently blocking the entrance to the Public Security Bureau, surrounded by so many onlookers; staying there made a scene. Seeing their cars arrive, he spoke up immediately.
Hu Tao was still excited about Xiao Xiao’s recent declaration, having completely forgotten about Xia Ting. Hearing Su Zhantao’s suggestion, he nodded repeatedly.
The group completely ignored the sisters Xia Ting and Xia Lan, got into the cars, and sped away.
Suffering such disregard, Xia Ting could not tolerate it any longer. She collapsed onto the ground, bursting into renewed, wailing sobs.
“Wuwu… Hu Tao, wuwu… Hu Tao…”
However, by then, the surrounding crowd had dispersed. No one spared a thought for the two sisters.
At Changjing Airport, at that exact moment, an airplane was slowly touching down. It was a flight route between Huaxia and Korea. Once the plane landed safely, a long line quickly formed at the exit gate.
A man in a long trench coat, about forty years old, brimming with energy, with a lean face and a stern expression, his hair meticulously combed—if Zhang Yang were there, he would find this man strikingly familiar, as he bore a strong resemblance to that Park Young-joon.
Wearing sunglasses, he bypassed the long queue through the VIP exclusive channel and left the airport hall first.
Outside, a BMW had already been waiting for him.
After this man walked out of the airport terminal carrying a large suitcase, two bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses immediately got out of the BMW. The two bodyguards respectfully stood before the man, reaching out to take the suitcase from his hands.
However, the man did not hand over his suitcase; instead, he squatted down and opened the large suitcase in his hands.
When the suitcase was opened, a dark shadow suddenly darted out and burrowed inside the man’s long trench coat. The two bodyguards didn't even see what the object was, only noticing when their eyes fell inside the man’s suitcase that it was completely empty.
The man stood up, casually tossed the suitcase aside, and then said to the two bodyguards, “Let’s go.”
“Yes, Master Park!”
Although the two bodyguards were filled with doubt, they dared not question him or make any sound. After the man got into the car, the two bodyguards followed closely behind.
Ignition, acceleration—the BMW instantly transformed into a gust of wind, vanishing from the airport hall.
As the BMW pulled away, a taxi quickly started up behind them, trailing the BMW from a distance.
Inside the taxi, Qiao Yihong was seated in the last row. He frowned deeply, instructing the driver to absolutely not lose the tail, while simultaneously reaching out to take out his phone. With a swift movement, he dialed a number.
“Hello, is this Mr. Zhang?”
“Qiao Yihong?”
“It’s me, Mr. Zhang. Those people, they’ve arrived!”