“What, you’re not convinced?”
Lin Yixin looked provocatively at Li Ziqing, lifting her chin like a proud swan.
“Brother Ming said he would marry me. It won’t be long before I officially marry into the Zhao family and become their daughter-in-law. And you? You’re nothing but a rat chased by the five great families!”
Hearing this, Chen Xiao realized that the man before him was from the Zhao family.
He wondered what his relationship was with Zhao Hongyuan. Thinking of this, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Zhao Hongyuan of the Zhao family, Li Cun and Li Xun of the Li family, and Song Anbang of the Song family had all died by his hand.
Yet, these three families hadn’t even bothered to seek revenge.
What imperial city’s five great families? They were merely paper tigers, all name and no substance.
“Lin Yixin, don’t get too smug too soon. Believe it or not, if I so much as beckon, your Brother Ming will be head over heels for me again?”
Li Ziqing said with a playful smirk.
Lin Yixin froze. She knew this was not impossible.
After all, the moment Brother Ming entered, his gaze had been fixed on Li Ziqing, not shifting for a second, clearly still harboring feelings for her.
“You slut…”
Lin Yixin’s teeth itched with anger. Usually, this was a curse directed at others.
But in front of Li Ziqing, she felt her own standing was a notch lower.
“Hmph, Li Ziqing, don’t be so overconfident!”
The young man surnamed Zhao grunted, “I, Zhao Hongming, have long seen through your venomous nature and will never be fooled a second time!”
So, this young man’s name was Zhao Hongming.
Upon hearing Zhao Hongming’s words, Lin Yixin immediately felt relieved.
Her eyes welled up with emotion, her voice dry, “Brother Ming…”
Li Ziqing, of course, was unbothered. She had only intended to tease Lin Yixin.
Besides, if she were really asked to seduce Zhao Hongming, she wouldn’t be able to do it…
That job belonged to Susu!
“Look at how scared you are. I was just teasing you. Who would care about a lunatic? Only you treat him like a treasure!”
Li Ziqing said with disdain.
Lunatic?
Chen Xiao was slightly taken aback by her words. Could it be that this Zhao Hongming was the “lunatic” from the incident where one was mad, one died, and one was severely injured?
Indeed, as soon as Li Ziqing mentioned the word ‘lunatic,’ Zhao Hongming’s expression changed drastically.
“Li Ziqing, I warn you, don’t spout nonsense!”
Zhao Hongming roared, pointing at Li Ziqing, his bravado laced with guilt.
“Hmph, Li Ziqing, Brother Ming is perfectly fine. Don’t slander him. I won’t believe a word you say… They say Brother Ming loved you so much he went mad back then. If you ask me, I think you’re the one who spread this rumor to make yourself look good!”
Lin Yixin said, rolling her eyes. Her expression showed she genuinely believed this.
But she failed to notice Zhao Hongming’s fingers beginning to tremble slightly, as if he were terrified of something.
“Hmm, at least half of what you said is correct. Zhao Hongming doesn’t seem truly mad either.”
Li Ziqing actually agreed with Lin Yixin’s statement, something even Lin Yixin hadn’t expected.
“However, your statement is only half true. The news of Zhao Hongming’s madness wasn’t spread by me. The one who widely publicized it was precisely Zhao Hongming’s family.”
“What? How is that possible?”
Lin Yixin frowned deeply, retorting, “Li Ziqing, do you expect me to believe such a thing? Why would the Zhao family do that?”
As the saying goes, family shame should not be aired outside. If Zhao Hongming had gone mad, the Zhao family would surely try to conceal it, not publicize it widely.
Moreover, Zhao Hongming wasn’t mad at all!
“That’s because…”
Li Ziqing paused, then looked at Zhao Hongming with a playful expression, “Can I say this?”
“Li Ziqing, shut your mouth. If you dare say a single word, I will kill you today!”
Zhao Hongming’s eyes flashed with hidden killing intent.
His threat to Li Ziqing clearly indicated that Li Ziqing possessed some dirt on him, and he desperately wanted to prevent her from revealing it.
Even Chen Xiao was becoming curious about what kind of scandal Li Ziqing had on Zhao Hongming.
“Fine, I promise. I won’t say a word.”
Upon hearing Li Ziqing’s words, Zhao Hongming breathed a sigh of relief.
But before he could fully relax, he heard Li Ziqing continue, “Because what I want to say is everything!”
Zhao Hongming’s expression changed dramatically again, and Li Ziqing quickly revealed the truth.
“Because Zhao Hongming got involved with his own mother. The Zhao family, to cover up the truth, claimed that I drove him mad.”
A very brief sentence, yet it struck like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone in the coffee shop stunned.
Lin Yixin blinked dazedly, as if she hadn’t fully processed the meaning of the statement.
In fact, her reaction was nothing compared to what Zhao Hongming cared about…
What Zhao Hongming cared about was that the people he brought with him had heard these words.
Once they knew, it was as if the whole world knew.
Unless he killed them all, it would become fodder for their gossip and bragging.
Zhao Hongming clearly lacked the ability to kill them all; he still needed their strength to deal with Li Ziqing!
“Li Ziqing, I’ll kill you today!”
Zhao Hongming, his face dark with rage, strode towards Li Ziqing.
At this moment, Chen Xiao stood up, cracking his neck and stretching his wrists.
“If you don’t want to die, then don’t…”
Zhao Hongming was still threatening Chen Xiao when Chen Xiao slapped him, sending him flying.
Bang—
Zhao Hongming flew backward, crashing into the coffee table, shattering its solid wood base.
“What are you waiting for? Go, kill them!”
Zhao Hongming, ignoring the pain, loudly ordered the thugs he had brought.
Only then did the thugs snap back to reality, still reeling from the bombshell Li Ziqing had just dropped.
Gossip aside, work was work. They still had to obey their boss’s orders.
Over a dozen thugs menacingly surrounded Chen Xiao and Li Ziqing, exuding a palpable pressure.
Lin Yixin’s face finally broke into a triumphant smile, as if the dust had settled.
Although Zhao Hongming’s actions were somewhat… questionable, for someone like Lin Yixin, whose moral compass was already weak, it wasn’t a major issue.
As long as she successfully married into the Zhao family, she could simply pretend it never happened.
Furthermore, if Zhao Hongming reneged on his promise to marry her, she could use this matter to blackmail him.
Lin Yixin’s calculations were running smoothly in her mind, but when she looked up, her eyes widened in shock…