A Rather "Sinister" Form of Revenge, a Cross-Spacetime Elbow Strike Someone's About to Have Bad Luck...

“Clang!”

The instant the brick came flying, Chen Youliang reacted first and narrowly dodged it. His expression turned ugly.

Everyone present focused their attention on Chen Youliang—a benevolent, kindly-looking old man who had already reached his sixties.

A mountain-like pressure surged over him like a tidal wave. Unlike the middle-aged woman with the fleshy face earlier, Chen Youliang did not show much fear.

Instead, he made himself look innocent and weak.

It was camouflage—the kind of camouflage one needed to survive in society.

Say what people wanted to hear, whether they were human or ghost. In the face of these major figures who had come with Lin Tianxiong, he had no power to fight back. At a time like this, he needed to hide the darkness and fangs that represented his true nature and put on an appearance of weakness and innocence.

He had to remember that he belonged to the vulnerable group…

“Boss Lin, this… is there some kind of misunderstanding?” Chen Youliang asked, his aged, wrinkled face filled with panic and fear.

“Misunderstanding your ass!” Lin Baizhi cursed.

Before the frowning Lin Tianxiong could say anything, the furious Lin Baizhi had already charged in front of Chen Youliang and begun punching and kicking him.

Chen Youliang crouched on the ground, curled into a ball, and screamed incessantly.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a large group of people bullying a frail old man… Yet the onlookers remained unmoved. Not a single one stepped forward to stop them or help. Without orders from their own boss, none of them would act.

As for Chen Youliang’s only ally standing nearby, the fleshy-faced middle-aged woman had already been scared senseless. She trembled like a quail and looked as if she were about to wet herself.

When had she ever witnessed a scene like this?

The entire power structure surrounding Chen Youliang had originally grown out of him. In the eyes of all those who revolved around him, Chen Youliang was the most powerful person—their leader.

But now… their mighty leader was being beaten and kicked on the ground like a dog. Not only did he not dare fight back, he did not even dare utter a single retort.

The sky had fallen.

If even the mighty Chen Youliang was in such a state, one could imagine what would happen to the others. The fact that the fleshy-faced middle-aged woman had not fled already could be considered an act of loyalty.

Of course, it was also possible that her legs had gone weak and she simply could not run. Her loyalty had been forced upon her.

Lin Tianxiong saw all of this. He deliberately waited for a while, timing it carefully. He wanted to let his daughter vent some of the resentment in her heart by landing a few hard blows, so she would not explode from bottling it all up. Otherwise, keeping it buried inside might cause problems.

Lin Tianxiong had not earned the title of the Schemer for nothing. He was a fox among foxes.

The moment he heard his daughter start cursing, he had already thought through what to do next…

Wait a little longer. Just a little longer. Let her land a few more blows. Then…

Huh?

“Hey, hey, hey, Baizhi, don’t be impulsive!”

Lin Tianxiong had originally intended to wait a little longer, but then he saw his daughter pick up a brick and prepare to smash it into Chen Youliang’s head. He shuddered in fright, and his eyes suddenly became much clearer.

He knew his daughter might do something irrational, but he had not expected her to be this irrational. She was actually planning to crack someone’s skull in front of all these people?

Lin Tianxiong reacted swiftly. He was the first to rush over, wrap his arms around Lin Baizhi, wrest the brick from her hand, and toss it aside.

“Sweetheart, calm down. Calm down…”

“Let go of me, you old bastard! It’s all his fault! His brother is the reason Xiao Cheng disappeared!” Lin Baizhi struggled like a pig being held down before New Year’s, thrashing about violently. She was no longer calling him “Dad”; she was simply calling him an old bastard.

Lin Tianxiong fell silent.

Daughter, we’re outside. Could you at least show your father a little respect? Sigh.

But there was no time to worry about that now.

Lin Tianxiong dragged the deranged Lin Baizhi to a safe distance. The father and daughter went into a small, deserted grove to have a heart-to-heart talk. As for everything else, he could not say for sure, but Lin Baizhi certainly cursed up a storm.

Shen Ming: “…”

It looked like Brother Lin did not have an easy time at home. And this little girl was actually that fierce?

Shen Ming felt somewhat embarrassed. He had dealt with Lin Baizhi in the past, and she had always been an extremely composed young woman. But now she was acting like a madwoman. The contrast was simply too great, leaving Shen Ming’s mind struggling to process it.

It was difficult to imagine that the chairwoman of a trillion-yuan corporation would behave like a shrew, punching and kicking someone and even attempting to crack open their skull with a stone.

Bullying a… well, a man over sixty?

Was he really an old man?

Shen Ming looked uncertainly at Chen Youliang lying on the ground in the distance, his face already scratched to pieces. Once Lin Baizhi had been forcibly restrained and taken aside to cool down, Dongfang Zhixia and Shen Qinghan took over.

Most of the people brought along this time were from the Dongfang family. The Du family and the Shen family’s people were still in Sea City, conducting a thorough, carpet-style search for Ye Cheng.

Oh, right. Madam and Big Yellow were there too.

Not only had Ye Cheng disappeared—the family head had also vanished. Anyone who was not frantic about it would have to be a ghost!

At Dongfang Zhixia’s signal, the Dongfang family’s bodyguards surged forward like a tide. A dark, overwhelming mass surrounded Chen Youliang, who was lying on the ground half-dead and twitching, and hauled him upright.

“What is your relationship with Ye Cheng?” Dongfang Zhixia asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the frightened Chen Youliang.

Chen Youliang began to question his entire existence.

Even now, he still had no idea what he had done. At first, he had assumed Ye Cheng had sent people to beat him up. But judging from the situation now… that did not seem to be the case.

The good news was that Ye Cheng had not sent these people to beat him.

The bad news was that this was even worse.

He was not an idiot. While being beaten, he had heard enough to understand that the two young women in front of him, who were about the same age as Lin Baizhi, were equally distinguished—if anything, their statuses were even higher.

And they were connected to Ye Cheng…

The sky collapsed for Chen Youliang.

Dealing with just Lin Baizhi had already been more than enough to nearly kill him. Now there were two more?

Why had Chen Youliang never dared to openly fall out with Ye Cheng?

A large part of the reason was Lin Baizhi. The Lin family represented by her was simply too powerful. Crushing him would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Lin Baizhi had grown up in an orphanage, so she knew all too well about the dark “unspoken rules” inside such institutions.

A special case like hers had only occurred once in all these years. Who could have known that this sickly, money-losing girl was the long-lost only daughter of the Lin family?

What kind of nonsense was that? Was this some television drama?

It was enough to give anyone a headache.

Fortunately, Lin Baizhi had not died in their orphanage. Otherwise, once Lin Tianxiong came looking for answers, Chen Youliang’s life would have been over.

The good news was that Lin Baizhi was alive—and doing quite well. She had been raised at the orphanage to be fair and healthy.

The bad news was that her healthy appearance had little to do with the orphanage. Lin Baizhi herself felt no gratitude toward the institution. She was grateful only to Ye Cheng…

And the even worse news was that Ye Cheng had wanted to destroy him for more than a day or two.

Chen Youliang: “…”

Fortunately, he still had all those “special” children at the orphanage as bargaining chips. Over the years, everything had remained relatively peaceful. But recently, it seemed that Ye Cheng had returned and was preparing to make his move against him.

He had been cautious—more than cautious… Yet he never would have imagined that Ye Cheng could be this ruthless.

He knew Ye Cheng had been holding back something big, but he never expected it to be this big. And he had no idea where he had managed to find two immortals…

Faced with Dongfang Zhixia’s questioning, Chen Youliang first glanced at the aloof young lady standing nearby. She was exuding an air of nobility, with a strange, ruthless edge about her. She clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

He then shifted his gaze back to the imperious Dongfang Zhixia standing in front of him… She, too, practically radiated wealth and status. Clearly, she was a precious young lady from an influential family.

Chen Youliang: “…”

Where the hell had that brat managed to trick two high-society heiresses into coming here?

Chen Youliang was practically on the verge of tears. He had thought Ye Cheng would use some more underhanded method to ambush him or stab him in the back, just like when he had blown up the toilets before.

But… he knew Ye Cheng was shameless. He just hadn’t expected him to be this shameless.

Who had he brought here?

“Let’s just say I’m Xiao Cheng’s adoptive father…” Chen Youliang forced out an honest-looking, bitter smile.

Adoptive father?

Upon hearing this, the expression on Dongfang Zhixia’s face softened slightly. She gestured with her eyes for the person restraining Chen Youliang to let him go.

Once released, Chen Youliang breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had guessed correctly. These two wealthy young ladies standing before him should have extraordinary relationships with Ye Cheng.

But… why were there two of them?

No, wait. If Lin Baizhi was included, that made three…

Three?

Chen Youliang: “???”

Chen Youliang sucked in a sharp breath. Although he had amassed quite a bit of money over the years through his own management and careful planning, he had never truly entered high society.

At most, he had only caught a glimpse of its threshold. The most frustrating part was that he couldn’t show it… After all, his identity was merely that of an orphanage director, and he had to maintain an image of poverty and integrity.

Yet even the little glimpse he had gained into that world was enough to let him understand certain things about high society.

For example… the social scene was a mess.

Now that all three of Dongfang Zhixia’s group had appeared together, with the clear goal of finding Ye Cheng, Chen Youliang finally believed the saying was true.

The social scene really was a mess.

So… this was the way that brat had found to finish him off?

He had to admit, it really did look like he was about to be ruined. If he couldn’t satisfy the people standing before him, he probably wouldn’t have a good ending…

“May I ask how I should address the two of you?”

Chen Youliang put on a kind yet obsequious smile and asked in a low voice.

Shen Qinghan said nothing. Her tranquil eyes remained fixed on Chen Youliang, as though she were still pondering his claim of being an “adoptive father.”

Dongfang Zhixia frowned, impatience evident in her tone as she said, “How we’re addressed isn’t important. Answer my question.”

“I’ve never heard him mention anything about having an adoptive father.”

Dongfang Zhixia remembered… That bastard seemed to take the most pride in being motherless and an orphan. He often brought it up. So when had this supposed adoptive father appeared?

Chen Youliang wore an awkward expression and kept smiling apologetically. At the same time, he began cursing Ye Cheng in his heart again… What a filthy method of revenge. Truly sinister.

Ye Cheng alone had indeed been powerless, but… now that capital had entered the picture, it had brought with it a force capable of sweeping everything away.

A crushing, one-sided blow!

“The children at the orphanage are in rather special circumstances. They’re all incomplete little angels. I, Chen Youliang, have shamelessly taken the liberty of considering myself their adoptive father. After some more time passes, the children who come in later will probably be calling me Grandpa instead. Hahaha…”

Chen Youliang gave an awkward laugh.

Dongfang Zhixia frowned. There really wasn’t anything wrong with that explanation…

“You’re lying,” Shen Qinghan said calmly.

Chen Youliang: “???”

The nerves Chen Youliang had gradually relaxed tensed up once more. Terror and shock appeared in his eyes.