"I understand. I will take care of it," Duan Chongfeng said coldly.

His expression revealed neither joy nor anger.

However, in Li Lang's eyes, Duan Chongfeng's demeanor suggested he was so furious he had to forcefully suppress his emotions to appear neutral.

"Yes, I'll have to trouble you then, Boss Duan." Li Lang bowed.

Though he tried to restrain himself, the overwhelming joy in Li Lang's eyes was on the verge of bursting out, impossible to conceal.

Xu Ke. Do you think your martial arts are so impressive? How arrogant, to be so brazen on Dapeng's territory. You are truly overconfident. Now that Boss Duan is personally intervening, you'll die without a proper burial. The Wang Family can't protect you either!

"You've been wronged," Duan Chongfeng said, extending his hand to pat Li Lang on the shoulder like an elder showing concern for a junior. "To uphold my rules, you endured pain and humiliation for the sake of the bigger picture, all without fighting back."

HISS.

Li Lang immediately grimaced in pain. The spot Duan Chongfeng had patted was precisely where he had slammed into the cabinet in the private room.

"Did that hurt?" Duan Chongfeng retracted his hand. "Sorry about that."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Li Lang said with a strained smile.

"You're Li Lang, right?" Duan Chongfeng asked.

"Yes!" Li Lang nodded eagerly.

"Alright, I'll remember you. I'll handle this matter strictly and will notify you of the outcome," Duan Chongfeng nodded. "Not bad. With a promising young man like you, the Li Family is sure to reach new heights."

"Yes, thank you, Boss Duan!" Li Lang was ecstatic.

He felt unexpectedly flattered, not having expected to receive praise from Duan Chongfeng.

Afterward, Duan Chongfeng took his leave.

Watching Duan Chongfeng's retreating figure, Li Lang's mouth curled into a sinister smile.

Excellent. That's exactly the effect I wanted!

「A short while later」

After Duan Chongfeng had left, one of his confidants stood behind him. "Boss, should we teach Mister Xu a lesson?"

"Indeed," the other added, his face showing his resentment. "He's gone too far, acting so outrageously even though he knows perfectly well that the Jincheng Hotel is your territory..."

The two confidants were indignant. Xu Ke had been an ordinary person, but he had suddenly entered a circle he had never been part of before and had even established a deep friendship with the boss just yesterday. It was only natural for a commoner's mentality to warp after a sudden rise in status. But assaulting someone was far too audacious. Besides, from Duan Chongfeng's conversation with Li Lang, they could tell Xu Ke's actions had infuriated the boss!

So, they decided to act on what they thought were the boss's wishes and teach Xu Ke a good lesson on his behalf. Some rules, after all, had to be followed.

But just then, Duan Chongfeng suddenly turned around. "Who are you planning to teach a lesson?" he asked, his tone chilling.

"Xu, Xu..." Seeing Duan Chongfeng's dark expression, one of the confidants felt his brain short-circuit.

The other sensed big trouble and didn't dare to speak.

"A lesson for Xu? Are you out of your mind?" Duan Chongfeng raged. "Duan Jia, you've got some nerve!"

Duan Jia's face turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "Boss, I wouldn't dare."

"Duan Jia, Duan Yi, let me ask you," Duan Chongfeng scoffed. "Isn't Brother Xu my brother?"

"Yes," they muttered, utterly confused.

Wasn't the boss furious when he was talking to Li Lang just now? Why the sudden change of heart?!

"My brother runs into an enemy on my turf and takes action, and you think he needs to be reprimanded?" Duan Chongfeng was so furious he laughed. "You two certainly have creative imaginations."

"Boss, we didn't mean that!" The two were scared witless, a chill running down their spines.

So the boss's conversation with Li Lang was all an act. He never intended to punish Xu Ke at all.

Duan Chongfeng snorted. Seeing they were so nervous they looked ready to piss their pants, he decided not to pursue the matter.

After a moment of silence, Duan Jia plucked up his courage. "But, boss, why did you say those things to Li Lang? You even patted his shoulder. We thought you were on good terms with him..."

Duan Yi was wondering the same thing. The affectionate way Duan Chongfeng had patted Li Lang's shoulder, like a caring elder, had thoroughly deceived them.

"If I hadn't put on an act, did you really want me to make enemies of both the Li Family and the Ye Family?" Duan Chongfeng was livid. "And another thing. That Li Lang is blind, but are you two blind as well? Couldn't you see the man's shoulder was injured? How else was I supposed to get some payback for Brother Xu without deliberately hitting that exact spot?"

Duan Chongfeng was seething. His two trusted aides really had no notable strengths other than being completely trustworthy.

Hearing this, Duan Jia and Duan Yi were so ashamed they nearly buried their heads in their chests.

Seeing that the two finally looked thoroughly dejected, Duan Chongfeng turned and stepped into the elevator.

As the elevator began to ascend, Duan Jia mustered his courage again. "So, Boss, what do you plan to do now?"

"Do?"

"Yes! Mister Xu hit someone. We have to give the Li Family and Li Lang an explanation, right?"

"Hmm, you're right." Duan Chongfeng nodded thoughtfully. "I heard Li Shichuan's eldest son died at Brother Xu's hands. It seems the Li Family and Brother Xu are truly sworn enemies, a feud to the death. Since that's the case, we'll just have that Li Lang from the Li Family be wronged one more time for Brother Xu's sake. He's already been wronged once for my rules, anyway."

Just as Duan Chongfeng finished speaking, the elevator arrived.

He strode out, leaving Duan Jia and Duan Yi to stare at each other in dismay.

So the boss had planned to toy with Li Lang from the very beginning?!

「Back in Xu Ke's private room」

After everyone had finished lunch, they began to get up and say their goodbyes.

"Alright, Old Xu, I'm off. I have work this afternoon."

"So do we."

Xu Ke nodded with a smile. "Okay!"

"So, Old Xu, you're not leaving?" Qiang Zi and Lin Chu asked as they stood up.

"You guys go ahead. I still have something to take care of."

"Alright!"

Qiang Zi and Lin Chu exchanged a worried glance. Xu Ke hadn't said anything, but they could guess what was going on.

After all, who lingers in a hotel after a meal for no reason?

He was definitely staying at the Jincheng Hotel to resolve the conflict with Li Lang before he left. They felt a pang of guilt.

If it hadn't been for our impulsive words, Xu Ke wouldn't have been put in this position.

Xu Ke was completely unaware of what they were thinking.

Just after everyone had left, Duan Chongfeng's call came through.

"Little brother, I'm at the Jincheng already. You're still at the hotel, right?" Duan Chongfeng laughed.

"Yeah," Xu Ke smiled.

"Then let's meet up. Should I come to your room, or will you come to mine for some tea?"

"Of course, I have to come over and bum some of your fine tea," Xu Ke chuckled as he stood up.

"Then I'll be waiting, brother!"

「Inside the office」

"Here, try some," Duan Chongfeng said, placing a dragon-carved teacup in front of Xu Ke.

Xu Ke picked it up, blew on it twice, then took a sip. "Good tea."

"What's good about it?" Duan Chongfeng chuckled.

"It cuts through the grease," Xu Ke replied seriously.

"HAHAHA!" Duan Chongfeng burst into laughter. "Brother Xu, your way of appreciating tea is the same as last time!"

Xu Ke just smiled without a word.

"But, little brother," Duan Chongfeng's tone suddenly shifted, "what you did this time wasn't very proper."

Seeing Duan Chongfeng's accusatory expression, Xu Ke's own face remained unchanged. "How so?"

"I know the whole story now," Duan Chongfeng said. "That Li Lang... you shouldn't have been so lenient with him."

Standing to the side, Duan Jia and Duan Yi tensed. They exchanged a glance, both utterly confused.

Why does the boss say one thing to our faces and another behind our backs? He changes his tune faster than you can flip a book!

But Xu Ke remained unruffled. "Then, in your opinion, big brother, how should I have handled it?"

"In my opinion..." Duan Chongfeng said with a straight face, "you should have beaten him within an inch of his life."

With that, he broke into a hearty laugh. "HAHAHA! So? Were you scared by my quick change of face? Feeling tense? Surprised?"

Duan Jia: "..."

Duan Yi: "..."

Xu Ke's hand, holding the teacup, shook so much the tea nearly spilled. "Yes, yes..." He felt a headache coming on.

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