Chapter 24: Calling the Four Little Ones

Just as Xue Manman was about to further comfort Lin Le, whom she considered a “poor boy traumatized by the underworld,” a sudden knock sounded on the interrogation room door.

“Captain Xue, we’ve pulled the surveillance footage from Night Banquet Club. I… I think you should take a look,” the officer said, casting a wary glance at Lin Le.

Xue Manman took the tablet from the officer’s hand. The moment she glanced at the screen, her eyes widened to the size of copper bells.

The more she watched, the greater the shock on her face grew.

The footage showed Lin Le single-handedly sweeping through the entire Tianxiong Gang, a truly spectacular scene. The dense crowd surrounded Lin Le’s slender figure, but no one could approach him. In the end, every one of them was taken down by Lin Le and left sprawled on the floor.

By the end of the video, Xue Manman could no longer contain herself. She slammed the tablet down and stormed over to Lin Le.

“You brat! You dare play me for a fool!” Xue Manman pressed both arms on the table before Lin Le, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger.

“Uh…” At that moment, Xue Manman’s chest was right before his eyes, and Lin Le couldn’t help but feel the pressure of her impressive endowments. His gaze was drawn there, unable to look away.

“I didn’t fool you. I was telling the truth,” Lin Le replied innocently.

“You still dare say that! You were clearly the one who beat up the members of the Tianxiong Gang!” Xue Manman accused.

“Yes, that’s why I said they forced me…”

“Then why did you say you wouldn’t press charges?”

“Well, after seeing the state I left them in, I felt embarrassed to press charges…”

“And when I asked if you were afraid of retaliation?”

“I said I wasn’t afraid. I just want to focus on my studies…”

“…”

Only now did Xue Manman realize that he had indeed been answering her questions seriously from the very start. It was her own assumptions that had led her astray.

“Damn!” Upon realizing this, Xue Manman felt her intelligence had been thoroughly insulted.

“Get back to your cell! I don’t want to deal with you!” she snapped, stomping her foot in frustration.

“All right,” Lin Le replied obediently.

“Wait…” Lin Le had barely taken two steps when he turned back around.

“What is it now?” Xue Manman said irritably.

“I’m not sure if I should say this…”

“Out with it, and make it quick!” Xue Manman was growing ever more exasperated with this seemingly guileless high schooler.

“Well, miss… your shirt button… it popped off…” With that, Lin Le quietly returned to his cell.

Xue Manman was left staring blankly after him.

“My button?” It took her a moment to process.

When she finally looked down at her shirt, she was stunned. The main button at the front was missing, and her black undergarment was exposed for all to see.

She immediately realized it must have happened when she had leaned over, pressing her hands on Lin Le’s table.

So that brat had gotten a clear view just now!

“Ah! Bastard!” Xue Manman let out an infuriated cry.

At this moment, she truly hated Lin Le to the core.

He looked so harmless, but he was actually so sly and cunning…

“Shameless scoundrel!” The thought of Lin Le having gotten such a close look at her figure made Xue Manman’s cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“You’d better hope you never fall into my hands again, or I’ll make sure you pay!” she fumed.

“But according to the file, there’s no mention of him having any martial arts training. How is his fighting ability so terrifying?” The memory of the surveillance footage resurfaced in Xue Manman’s mind, filling her with awe.

To single-handedly sweep through the entire Tianxiong Gang—what kind of monstrous strength did that require?

How could a high school student possess such overwhelming power?

Xue Manman was now certain—there was something deeply unusual about Lin Le.

Lin Le and the Tianxiong Gang members were held in the detention room for nearly twenty-four hours. Ultimately, since no serious incident occurred and neither side wished to pursue the matter, they each paid a fine and were released the next morning.

As they walked out the main doors, Huoniu pointed excitedly at a figure near the entrance. “Boss Xiong, look! Reinforcements have arrived!”

When Guan Tianxiong saw the man standing by the roadside, he was elated.

Damn it, with such an expert backing us up, that brat Lin Le is finished!

With that, Guan Tianxiong hurried over to greet him.

But to Guan Tianxiong’s surprise, Master Zhao—Guo Zhao—acted as if he hadn’t seen him and walked straight past, heading toward the group behind him.

“Mr. Lin, are you all right? Who dared offend you? I’ll settle it for you right away.” Guo Zhao had just gone to Lin Le’s house to escort him to the Gu family for Gu Huaishan’s acupuncture treatment, but when he arrived, he found the family shop had been burned down.

Lin Tenghui told Guan Tianxiong that the police had called—Lin Le was being held for fighting. Guo Zhao rushed over to bail him out, only to discover Lin Le was just being released.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s been resolved,” Lin Le said casually, his gaze landing on Guan Tianxiong and his men.

When Guo Zhao turned and saw Guan Tianxiong, he was momentarily stunned. “A-Xiong?”

“M-Master Zhao…” Guan Tianxiong was dumbfounded.

He had no idea what was going on.

“You two know each other?” Lin Le asked, puzzled.

“Well…” Guo Zhao hesitated. “A-Xiong works under Fourth Master Gu. Did one of his men offend you, Mr. Lin?”

“Uh, just a small misunderstanding…”

“Master Zhao, you know this kid?” Guan Tianxiong interjected.

“Kid? Are you blind?! This is Old Master Gu’s friend!” Guo Zhao barked.

While Guo Zhao might be deferential in front of Gu Huaishan, he was absolute authority to Guan Tianxiong and his men; his word was law.

“What? Old Master Gu’s friend?!” Guan Tianxiong was shocked.

He was well known as the underworld kingpin of South Haizhou, but his position relied on backing—specifically, support from Fourth Master Gu, Gu Hanliang, in the capital.

As for Old Master Gu—Gu Hanliang’s father—his status was such that just a stomp of his foot would send tremors through all Haizhou. Every one of his friends was a major figure; when had he ever befriended a mere high school student like Lin Le?

The goons who had expected Guo Zhao to pummel Lin Le were left slack-jawed, completely at a loss.

“What are you waiting for? Apologize to Mr. Lin now!” Guo Zhao commanded.

Though Guan Tianxiong still didn’t fully understand, Guo Zhao’s deferential attitude toward Lin Le told him this was someone he absolutely could not afford to cross.

“Mr. Lin, I’m truly sorry. I was blind and foolish to offend you. Please forgive me!” Guan Tianxiong said meekly.

“Since you know Guo Zhao, let’s let this matter rest. However… Luo Kui injured my father with extreme violence. I don’t want to see him in Haizhou again,” Lin Le said coldly.

“Absolutely! I’ll make sure he leaves Haizhou today,” Guan Tianxiong promised, not daring to protest.

“And one more thing!” Guo Zhao suddenly remembered. “Mr. Lin’s house and shop were burned to the ground by your people, and his father was hurt. I don’t need to tell you what to do next, do I?” Guo Zhao’s voice grew icy.

“Yes, yes! Today, we’ll wire Mr. Lin three million—no, five million—as compensation for our mistake. I hope Mr. Lin will be magnanimous and forgive us just this once!” By now, all the swagger had vanished from Guan Tianxiong, and his men dared not even breathe loudly.

Just a few hours ago, this high schooler had been a nobody in their eyes. Now, he had transformed into Old Master Gu’s friend—a change so drastic it was hard to process.

“Mr. Lin, what do you think?” Guo Zhao asked.

“In that case, consider the matter settled,” Lin Le replied coolly.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Thank Mr. Lin!” Guo Zhao barked.

“Thank you, Mr. Lin!” Guan Tianxiong and his men chorused their gratitude.

After leaving the station, Lin Le asked Guo Zhao to take him home first.

Although the firefighters had arrived promptly, the entire shop had been destroyed by the flames. Thankfully, there wasn’t much of value inside. The most valuable thing—a check for twenty million—had been carried out by Lin Tenghui himself, so the loss was not too great.

As for Lin Tenghui’s injuries, they were superficial.

Lin Tenghui had originally planned to look at a new shop in Hongqiao Plaza anyway; now, with the old place gone, he had no choice but to go ahead with his plans. Besides, with the five million compensation from Guan Tianxiong, they weren’t really at a loss.

“By the way, Le…” Lin Tenghui suddenly recalled something.

“What is it, Dad?”

“Um… Ningchen called today. She heard about the fire, though I don’t know how…”

Lin Le paused, then gave a wry smile. “Really? That woman actually cares whether I’m dead or alive.”

The Tang family’s repeated attempts to break off the engagement were, in truth, all about inheritance. Tang Ningchen’s grandfather had set strict stipulations on the family will to prevent his descendants from disobeying him.

The Tang family’s estate could only be inherited jointly by a descendant of the Lin family and a descendant of the Tang family through marriage. If the engagement was to be dissolved, it required the Lin family’s descendant’s consent and signature.

In Lin Le’s eyes, that woman—whose beauty could inspire desire in any man—would probably be happiest if he had died in that fire.

“Ningchen asked me for your phone number. I gave it to her…” Lin Tenghui said carefully, knowing how much Lin Le disliked talking about Tang Ningchen.

“I see,” Lin Le replied simply.

With that, he followed Guo Zhao to the Gu family estate.

Today, Gu Ya was noticeably cold toward him, clearly still upset about Ji Xiaorui calling Lin Le her “husband.” Only after Lin Le’s explanation did her attitude improve slightly.

“Uncle Guo, what took you so long? Grandpa’s been waiting impatiently,” Gu Ya said.

Gu Huaishan followed Lin Le’s instructions to the letter. Since the previous night, he’d been soaking in medicinal baths, only emerging when Guo Zhao went to fetch Lin Le.

“Don’t mention it. Mr. Lin’s house… someone set it on fire…” Guo Zhao said helplessly.

“What?” Gu Ya exclaimed, shocked.

Just then, Gu Huaishan emerged from the house, and upon hearing the news, his expression turned grave.

“Who dared lay a hand on Mr. Lin!” Gu Huaishan thundered, startling even Guo Zhao.

Though Gu Huaishan usually appeared kindly, when angered, he was truly formidable.

“It—it was A-Xiong…” Guo Zhao admitted, feeling uneasy.

“What! Uncle Guan?!” Gu Ya gasped.

In fact, Guan Tianxiong had already crossed paths with Lin Le before. When Gu Ya had previously asked her fourth uncle, Gu Hanliang, to check a license plate, it was Guan Tianxiong who had handled the inquiry. However, he only uncovered Chen Qiang’s information and never realized Gu Ya’s real target was Lin Le. Had he known, not even eight lives would have given him the courage to provoke Lin Le.

“Call him. Call that fourth rascal right now and ask him how he manages his men! If he can’t handle them, I’ll do it myself!” Gu Huaishan was so furious he nearly jumped up and down.

All his efforts had been spent trying to win Lin Le’s favor, yet Gu Hanliang’s subordinate had the nerve to set fire to Lin Le’s house. How could this be tolerated?