Chapter 167: Direct Confrontation

Sun Yaoqi’s cheeks flushed slightly as she playfully tapped Ye Fei on the shoulder. “I have no intention of marrying into your family.”

Hearing this, Bai Yaoyao, standing nearby, instantly caught the drift. She took Sun Yaoqi’s hand and urged her with the air of an overbearing matriarch, “Miss Sun, my junior brother is lacking in many aspects. It is already a blessing that you can take a fancy to him. Why don’t we pick an auspicious day and get engaged?”

Bai Yaoyao always had a way of creating utterly awkward situations out of thin air. Things that hadn’t even taken their first step were spoken of by her as if they were already accomplished.

Jiang Yuning fiercely pinched Bai Yaoyao from behind and whispered through gritted teeth, “Shut your mouth! If you say another word, I’ll deal with you.”

Clueless and feeling aggrieved that her kind intentions were being reprimanded by Jiang Yuning, Bai Yaoyao was just about to retort when Ye Fei flicked his left hand slightly, instantly sealing her mute acupoint.

“Fifth Senior Sister, please take Third Senior Sister back first. I’ll be back shortly. Since today’s music video shoot didn’t work out, I’ll find another director for you later.”

Jiang Yuning hastily dragged the speechless Bai Yaoyao away.

Left facing each other, Ye Fei and Sun Yaoqi felt a considerable degree of awkwardness.

To break the tension, Sun Yaoqi gave a light cough and tried to steer the conversation away from the embarrassment. “Um… which director were you planning to ask for help later?”

Ye Fei sighed inwardly. He had only wanted to get rid of his senior sisters, and indeed, he didn’t actually know any directors. “Since Miss Sun has connections in your family, why don’t you enlighten me? Introduce someone to me, won’t you?”

Sun Yaoqi nodded. Noting the noisy and chaotic surroundings, she decided to lead Ye Fei to the Royal Hotel in Hangzhou.

“Whoa, our young lady certainly knows how to splurge on high-end places,” Ye Fei praised, unable to resist. He suddenly leaned close to Sun Yaoqi, fluttering his peach-blossom eyes playfully.

Sun Yaoqi’s entire body tensed up instantly, her heart beating so loudly she could hear it in her ears.

“What… what is it?” she stammered, her voice trembling as her gaze instinctively darted away.

With a completely straight face, Ye Fei asked, “Can I pack the leftovers to go?”

……

Sun Yaoqi’s enthusiasm instantly plummeted. She had thought Ye Fei was finally showing some emotional intelligence and romance, but it turned out this guy was a blockhead who completely missed her intentional and unintentional hints.

“Yes, you can!” she snapped angrily, stomping her feet as she marched into the hotel.

***

Seated in an exquisite and elegant private dining room, they could overlook the night view of the entire city from the window. The location was peerless.

After eating her fill, Sun Yaoqi glanced at Ye Fei beside her and casually probed, “You must have dated a lot of girlfriends, right? At least a truckload!”

Stuffing his face happily, Ye Fei mumbled, “Not at all. For the past twenty-something years, I’ve been entirely occupied with passing my master’s trials.”

Having never dated? Sun Yaoqi was shocked by the statement. Ye Fei was handsome and possessed an extremely high level of personal charm; even walking down the street would attract heads turning and people hitting on him. How could he have never been in a relationship?

“Really or not?” Sun Yaoqi doubted.

Ye Fei swallowed a piece of meat, just about to explain, when someone at the doorway interrupted them!

“Well, if it isn’t the illustrious head of security—Captain Ye, Captain Ye! What brings you dining at a place like this?” Situ Feng sneered sarcastically. Upon spotting Sun Yaoqi beside him, he suddenly covered his mouth in exaggerated astonishment. “Did you quit being the security captain and plan to change professions to become a gigolo instead?”

Coldly eyeing Situ Feng, who was acting like a mere buffoon, Ye Fei slowly stood up, walked right up to him, and asked softly, “I heard your ancestors made their fortune by running nightclubs?”

Situ Feng had come today to discuss a business partnership. Passing by the private room, he happened to spot Ye Fei wolfing down his food inside and couldn’t resist coming over to mock him.

More than two decades ago, Hangzhou was not as prosperous as it was today. Back then, the Chen family was merely a humble household of fishermen, while the Situ family had reaped massive profits precisely through the nightclub business.

Over the subsequent decade, having amassed considerable wealth, the Situ family washed their hands of the underworld and started striving to transform into a scholarly gentry family. Since very few people back then knew the masterminds behind those nightclubs were actually the Situ family, they soon relocated to Zhushi, a city not far from Hangzhou.

Naturally, no one in Zhushi knew about this dark history, let alone people in Hangzhou!

Hearing Ye Fei’s words, Situ Feng froze on the spot, completely forgetting to continue his mockery.

“President Situ, what is the matter with you?” whispered the CEO who had accompanied him for the partnership talks, offering a gentle reminder. The punk had just hurled such ugly insults, yet Situ Feng was standing there dumbfounded. What was going on?

Violently snapping back to his senses, Situ Feng grabbed the collar of Ye Fei’s shirt. Come to think of it, this was already the second time Ye Fei had been grabbed by the collar by him!

“You dare slander our family? You’ve got a lot of nerve!”

Suddenly, Ye Fei chuckled. “Slander? Situ Feng, put your hand on your conscience and ask yourself—did I, your mother’s son, slander your family?”

***

Quite a few Hangzhou entrepreneurs who had come to discuss partnerships were standing behind Situ Feng. Eager to successfully break into the Hangzhou market, Situ Feng had long since begun cozying up to these third-rate minor families.

“What kind of punk are you? How dare you slander President Situ? Do you not want to live in Hangzhou anymore?”

“Before long, the title of Hangzhou’s top first-rate elite family will belong to the Situ family. I advise you to know what’s good for you, get on your knees, and apologize to President Situ.”

“The Situ family is a centuries-old clan from Zhushi. An unknown nobody like you running your mouth with nonsense—aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

With a sharp flick of his hand, Ye Fei tore Situ Feng’s grip away from his collar. He glanced sideways at the businessmen behind him and sneered, “You gentlemen are all members of Hangzhou’s third-rate families. You’re hoping to elevate yourselves to second-rate status, which is why you’ve come to latch onto Situ Feng!”

He suddenly fixed his gaze unblinkingly on Situ Feng, pronouncing each word with chilling clarity: “However! Let me tell you all—Situ Feng only intends to use you as stepping stones to climb to the position of a top-tier family. He will never give you even the slightest chance to rise. The Gao family is a living, breathing example of this right now!”

Situ Feng was taken aback. The affair regarding the Gao family had been kept strictly confidential. How on earth did this punk find out about it?

“Brat, I warned you! Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business, or I swear I will crush you to death. Since you dare to slander the Situ family, don’t blame me for protecting my family’s pristine reputation.”

“Your family has a pristine reputation? Situ Feng, you really know how to crack a joke,” Ye Fei burst out laughing. If it came to putting on a fake facade, if Situ Feng claimed to be number one, no one else would dare to claim second place!

For some inexplicable reason, Situ Feng refrained from retorting. Instead, he offered a chilling sneer and led his entourage out of the hotel.

In a certain secluded corner of Hangzhou, a man whose face was marred by knife scars received a phone call. “Have you arrived in Hangzhou? It’s been a while since you last took on a job, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. What are your orders?”

“Help me take care of someone. Make it clean and efficient.”

“Who?”

“Ye Fei, head of the security team at Vanguard Group!”

“Rest assured, I won’t let him see tomorrow’s sun!”