Chapter 157: King of Single Combat

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A sense of loss welled up in Xia Yu’s heart. She opened the text message Xia Changhai had sent.

“Xiaoyu, the hospital is very busy. Go over there and keep an eye on things. Dad has to go on a business trip to Hainan for a medical conference.”

Heh.

Reading this, Xia Yu gave a cold laugh and muttered, “Going off to enjoy the sea breeze with that little vixen, are you? A conference? You’re quite the storyteller.”

Xia Yu knew that her father had bought a splendid seaside apartment in Sanya. Whenever he had even a little free time, he loved flying down there, treating it like a neighborly visit and completely ignoring the thousand-plus kilometers between the Bohai coast and Sanya.

Staring at the phone screen, Xia Yu unexpectedly shed bitter tears. With difficulty, she typed a few words in reply:

“Try not to strain your back.”

“What is Zhang Rui doing?”

Xia Yu rose, supporting the aching back of her head, and went into the bedroom. She needed to change and wash up before going out. As for where she would go, she had not yet decided.

Xia Yu felt like a homeless child. Where was the person she could rely on? Where was the warmth and fragrance that belonged to her? Where could she place her heart?

Nowhere.

“What good would it do to find him? If he could forget last night’s tenderness so quickly, why should I go looking for him and invite more ridicule?”

Holding her phone, Xia Yu sat on the bed. Several times she wanted to call Zhang Rui, but each time her fingertip stopped. She had her pride, too. If things had come to this and Zhang Rui could still behave as though nothing had happened, then it could only mean that, in his heart, she truly carried no weight.

She might as well go and do whatever needed doing.

With that thought, Xia Yu left behind the ivory coat hanging in her wardrobe—the one she loved most, specially brought back from Paris by an acquaintance—and instead pulled on an utterly ordinary pair of jeans and a T-shirt before going to wash her face.

When a woman’s heart had been emptied, she no longer felt like dressing for anyone’s pleasure. Xia Yu felt that it made no difference what she wore, just as it no longer mattered how other people looked at her.

After a long while, the phone beside her rang incessantly.

It was Wang Bin.

“Hello?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Yu answered.

“Xia Yu, I’m sorry about last night. I drank too much. You’re not angry with me, are you?”

Wang Bin spoke hurriedly, his tone gentle. His voice was slightly hoarse, as though his throat was bothering him.

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“Heh. What is it?”

For some reason, Xia Yu was not as irritated by Wang Bin as she usually was.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I called your father, and he said he was in Hainan. I thought you might be having trouble on your own, so I wanted to come help.”

Wang Bin was still young, and alcohol had not ruined his mind. Unless he had been completely insensible, he could usually remember what had happened the night before.

He knew that he had called Xia Yu and said all sorts of nonsensical things, even threatened her, using an extremely unpleasant tone. The sober Wang Bin would never have allowed himself to behave that way.

Xia Yu was such a wonderful girl. He had frightened her.

“Oh? Then come pick me up.”

Xia Yu looked at herself in the vanity mirror. Her complexion was not very good, but that did not diminish her desire to go out and have some fun.

She would think of nothing at all, let her spirits run free, and search for a state of mind that belonged only to her.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll be there right away!”

Over the phone, Wang Bin sounded as though he could hardly believe his ears. How had Xia Yu suddenly become so agreeable?

Had she finally been moved by his relentless pursuit?

!!!

Whew!

At the Municipal People’s Hospital, in Blackie’s room, Xie Tianhua, Zou Dian, and several others barged in without even knocking.

The nurse at the door thought a gang fight was about to break out and hurried to the nurses’ station to report it to the head nurse.

After entering the room, Zou Dian paid no attention to Blackie’s injuries. Instead, he pointed at Tian Xing, who was feeding Blackie rice porridge, and shouted, “You shameless bastard, Tian Xing! You still have the nerve to stay here?”

Tian Xing jolted violently. Sitting beside the bed, he looked up at the seven or eight men who had stormed into the room. Apart from Brother Hua, nearly all of them were Zou Dian’s lackeys.

Among them was the fat man Tian Xing had beaten before. He stood smugly in the crowd, picking his nose.

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“Brother Hua, you’re here.”

Tian Xing did not even spare Zou Dian a glance. He set down the porridge and rose to his feet.

“Blackie is recovering very well.”

Blackie struggled to sit up in bed, but Xie Tianhua quickly stepped forward and stopped him.

“All right, lie still. Don’t move around.”

At that moment, Zou Dian piped up again.

“Not that I’m criticizing you, Blackie, but why didn’t you call us when something happened? Why insist on showing off and handling it yourself? Now that you’re injured, you know how much it hurts, don’t you? Some people simply can’t be relied on. If they don’t stab you in the back, you should consider yourself lucky.”

“Dian!”

The moment Zou Dian finished speaking, Xie Tianhua stopped him.

Anyone could tell that Zou Dian was condemning Tian Xing indirectly, driving a nail into his reputation. Yet in the circumstances, there was a certain rough logic to his words. If Tian Xing did not defend himself, he would effectively be admitting that he had failed to help Blackie and had stood by while Blackie was beaten.

If that were the truth, Tian Xing’s days at Tianhua Industries would become extremely difficult.

Even if Brother Hua did not punish him, the younger men’s muttering behind his back alone would be enough to make him restless and miserable.

“Tian Xing, you tell me. What exactly happened?”

Even Brother Hua could not suppress his curiosity. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked at Tian Xing across from the hospital bed, then glanced at Blackie.

“Tell me everything from beginning to end.”

Blackie could not help interrupting him.

“This has nothing to do with Brother Xing. If anyone is to blame, blame me. Wang Kewei, the secretary of the city’s Vice Mayor Yang Tianhe, often comes to our Money Cabinet club. He’s the same guy who fought with Brother Shuangfei last time. He found me and asked me to deal with someone who kept pestering Yang Tianhe’s daughter. That was also what Yang Tianhe wanted.”

Blackie had twisted Wang Kewei’s meaning, but he had no choice. He needed to protect Brother Xing—and conceal the thoughts he himself had never revealed.

“When I heard it was the vice mayor’s order, I took some men over immediately. I never expected those people to be so strong. Brother Xing only arrived halfway through the fight. He had no idea there was going to be a fight beforehand. The leader on the other side, Zhang Rui, didn’t know me either. Brother Xing had been invited there by Zhang Rui for a meal. After all, Zhang Rui had been awarded the earthwork contract for our plaza, so the two of them had business to discuss.

“After Brother Xing arrived, he tried to break up the fight at first, but everything was chaotic and no one listened. Later, I insisted on fighting Zhang Rui one-on-one and wouldn’t let Brother Xing interfere. That’s how things ended up like this. I can only blame myself for being inferior and overconfident.”

Blackie had known for a long time that the despicable Zou Dian would report the matter to Brother Hua and add his own distortions along the way. He had prepared his answer well in advance.

After hearing him out, Xie Tianhua looked at Blackie, then at Tian Xing, who had remained silent beside him.

“Is that how it happened, Xing?”

“Yes.”

Tian Xing and Blackie had already discussed their story beforehand, and he was very satisfied with how calmly Blackie had handled himself.

“Hmm. As for one-on-one fights, try to avoid them in the future. That sort of rule disappeared from the underworld long ago. Still, from the sound of it, this Zhang Rui seems to be quite capable.”