Chapter 5: Come Over Here!

“You, hand over your phone!” A sharp-eyed thug spotted the phone in the girl’s hand. The girl froze and instinctively hid behind Xie Ting’an.

Seeing that the other party wasn’t cooperating, the thug quickly walked towards the girl. Xie Ting’an’s gaze remained calm, meeting the thug’s fierce eyes with an indifferent expression.

The thug raised his hand, intending to grab the collar of the person in front of him, but was blocked by another person.

The thug paused, looking at the woman in the jacket in front of him, and sneered disdainfully. He reached out to slap the woman’s face, but before he could finish saying “Get lost,” his wrist was instantly seized by the woman, who swiftly delivered a punch, hitting the thug’s nose hard, causing blood to splatter instantly.

Xie Ting’an’s father had sponsored many students in the past, and Manager Liu was one of them.

Manager Liu attended a sports school in her youth, specializing in boxing, with various honors filling her room, including several world-class ones.

Later, after retiring due to age, Xie’s father helped her set up a bodyguard company. Xie Ting’an had seen her training methods, and anyone who could withstand her training was definitely formidable. She herself was outstanding.

The thug was dazed by the punch, stumbling back a few steps, barely able to stand. President Sun glanced at the newcomer, then at Gu Mingchen and the old butler, and instantly realized.

“Well, well, young master of the Gu family, you even know how to call for reinforcements!”

President Sun looked Xie Ting’an up and down, vaguely recalling the woman calling him “President Xie,” and squinted his eyes.

“What is your relationship with the Xie family in Rong City?”

Upon hearing this, Xie Ting’an raised his eyes and smiled slightly.

“If I say I’m the head of the Xie family, would you believe me?”

President Sun almost burst out laughing at these words.

“What, bullying an outsider like me, thinking I don’t know the relationship between the Gu family and the Xie family? The head of the Xie family, do you know how many people in Rong City are lining up to meet him? And you, an eavesdropper, trying to scare me?”

The old butler glanced at Xie Ting’an, then at President Sun, standing innocently to the side with his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t care if you’re President Xie or President Wang, have your people hand over the phone, and I’ll let you off.” President Sun stared at Xie Ting’an, his tone carrying a hint of threat.

“Otherwise, don’t blame us for being heavy-handed and ruining your pretty face, leaving you unable to even live off someone else!”

Xie Ting’an had just returned from studying in Germany and had heard a lot of foul language when he took over the Xie family. At that time, he could endure any anger and even manage to smile in front of everyone.

Now, over a decade later, Xie Ting’an found that his temper was not as good as it was back then.

He raised his hand to touch the face that President Sun said could “live off someone else,” and his lips curled slightly as he held down the girl’s trembling hand, which was about to hand over the phone.

“What if I don’t hand it over?”

“Don’t hand it over?” President Sun sneered, glancing at the bodyguards behind Xie Ting’an, and took out his phone.

“You think I only have this many people?”

“You think I don’t have friends in Rong City?”

With that, President Sun dialed a number, glancing at Xie Ting’an with a voice that suddenly became much louder.

“Hello, Brother Zhang, it’s me.”

“I’m talking to the Gu family kid about breaking off the engagement, and he even brought help to record outside.” President Sun looked provocatively at Xie Ting’an.

“What, you’re coming right away, okay, okay, thank you, Brother Zhang, I’ll treat you to a meal after this!”

Xie Ting’an’s expression remained gentle, quietly watching President Sun hang up the phone.

“Young man, see, you have to be prepared for everything.” President Sun waved his phone, his face full of arrogance, “Make more friends, and you’ll have more paths in the future. Your vision is too narrow, you know?”

Xie Ting’an didn’t react, and the bodyguards behind him remained motionless with professional composure. Manager Liu pursed her lips, watching the man in front of her continue to lecture.

“You young people don’t understand what it means to assess the situation. The Gu family is bankrupt, the assets under the Gu couple’s name have been used to pay off debts, and the Gu family’s relatives are not easy to deal with. If Gu Mingchen can afford you now, he’s definitely spent the last bit of his money!”

After saying this, President Sun turned to look at Gu Mingchen, spitting on the ground.

“Useless brat!”

Xie Ting’an raised his eyes, his gaze passing over the old butler watching the show, only to see Gu Mingchen seemingly unaware of President Sun’s insult. His deep blue eyes focused on this side, and when he noticed Xie Ting’an looking at him, his body instinctively paused, quickly turning his face to poke at the small coal stove with tongs.

“My friend is nearby and will be here soon. If you have any sense, hand over the phone.” President Sun glanced at the time, “Unless you have the confidence to fight three against one, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

The girl became increasingly nervous upon hearing this, recalling her mother’s usual advice not to provoke others. She cautiously looked at the middle-aged man, trying to pick up the phone.

“I-I’ll delete the video in front of you, and you let us go.”

“Delete it, and you naturally have ways to recover it. Don’t think I’m a fool!” President Sun quickly took two steps forward, trying to snatch the phone from the girl’s hand. Before he could get close, Manager Liu swiftly blocked President Sun, not giving an inch.

Seeing his subordinate with a nosebleed, President Sun didn’t dare to confront the woman in front of him head-on. He pointed at the girl.

“Do you know what it means to infringe on portrait rights? Be careful, I’ll sue you and put you in jail! Delete the video and smash the phone to pieces, and I’ll let you go!”

The girl hesitated, looking down at the second-hand phone she had begged her mother for a long time to get. It contained not only photos with friends, but also a playlist she had collected for a long time, a half-played offline game, downloaded novels… and photos of her grandparents.

“If I remember correctly.” A gentle voice came from above, and the girl looked up to see the gentle gaze of the person in front of her.

“Filming someone else’s illegal behavior doesn’t count as infringing on portrait rights.”

The girl was stunned for a moment, suddenly hearing the sound of car engines, seemingly more than one, stopping nearby.

Knowing that the people he called for had arrived, President Sun couldn’t help but smile, “Little girl, hurry up, or you’ll miss this opportunity!”

Glancing at the surrounding bodyguards and the man in front of her, the girl gritted her teeth and raised her phone.

Xie Ting’an raised his hand, gently holding the girl’s wrist through his sleeve.

“Trust me, don’t be afraid of him.”

“Trust you, my foot!” President Sun couldn’t help but laugh, looking up to see his friends entering the rundown park.

Brother Zhang had brought quite a few people, a large group in a grand procession.

“Still trusting you, I’m telling you, if I don’t peel your skin today, don’t even think about leaving here!” President Sun’s attitude became increasingly arrogant, pointing at Xie Ting’an with one hand, “I gave you a chance, you didn’t cherish it, now it’s too late, even if you kneel and beg me, I won’t let you go!”

After saying this, President Sun raised his hand, waving excitedly at the approaching Brother Zhang, his face flushed with excitement, “Brother Zhang, here!”

Xie Ting’an turned around, casually glancing at the large group of people, seeing Brother Zhang’s familiar face, and turned back to face the so-called “Brother Zhang” and the thugs behind him.

President Sun continued to wave excitedly, wishing he could jump up to let the other party see him.

“Brother Zhang, over here!”

President Sun clearly saw the other party’s face turn a few shades darker, his gaze evasive, shaking his hand desperately, but his eyes were clearly not on him.

Many thugs followed Brother Zhang’s gaze, seeing the refined man facing the group.

Dozens of people, upon seeing this person, looked as if they had seen a ghost, wanting to run but not daring to, unable to escape, lacking even the courage to take another step forward.

President Sun sensed something was wrong, his gaze slowly shifting to Xie Ting’an, only to see the other party slightly turn his face, lightly curling his lips at him.

The other party said nothing, but President Sun could vaguely see a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Is this the person you called?

President Sun’s heart raced, seeing the man turn back to look at the group, raising his hand slightly. Brother Zhang, seeing Xie Ting’an’s gesture, immediately looked grateful, retreating while clasping his hands together in a bow from a distance, then quickly turning around and running away as if his pants were on fire.

“Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang!” President Sun still wanted to call out, but could no longer see the other party’s back, taking out his phone to dial Brother Zhang’s number, only to have it hang up, and then a busy signal on the next call.

President Sun’s hand trembled, almost unable to hold the phone.

“President Sun, do you have anyone else you can call?”

Xie Ting’an’s gaze was gentle as he looked over, his demeanor refined to the extreme.

Most of the forces in Rong City had dealings with the Xie family over the years. That group of people with the surname Zhang ran a shell company, a group of thugs not worth mentioning, but they were somewhat clever.

President Sun’s breathing was rapid, clutching his phone as a bold yet unbelievable thought slowly emerged in his mind.

This man, his surname is Xie.

He had mentioned the term “head of the Xie family” earlier.

“Are you really President Xie?” President Sun cautiously raised his head, swallowing a large gulp of saliva.

When the engagement with the Gu family was arranged, Gu Qiu had mentioned this person, saying he was not only ugly but also vindictive, with a small-minded nature and ruthless methods.

What else was there…

Anyone who offended him almost never had a good ending, except for the Gu family.

Cold sweat dripped from President Sun’s forehead.

Now, even the Gu family is not an exception!

The girl watched as the crowd retreated, then looked at the middle-aged man in front of her, who seemed to have lost his backbone, his whole body almost collapsing.

“Just now, you said you wanted to ruin my face so I couldn’t live off someone else?”

Xie Ting’an smiled, bending down to look at the trembling President Sun.

“No, no, it’s all Gu Qiu’s fault!” President Sun was almost in tears, “He said you were ugly, I didn’t recognize you…”

“Oh, so you can’t even live off someone else.” Xie Ting’an raised an eyebrow.

“No, no!” President Sun stammered, trembling like a sieve, and the thug behind him couldn’t stand it, stepping forward boldly.

“President Sun, what are you afraid of? Even if Brother Zhang’s people don’t come, we might not lose to them!”

“Shut up!” President Sun turned around with a sob, covering the thug’s mouth. Xie Ting’an recalled for a moment, looking at Manager Liu.

“Manager Liu, did someone just hit your face?”

Manager Liu’s eyebrows relaxed, revealing a smile, “If President Xie hadn’t mentioned it, I almost forgot. You know, my face does hurt a bit.”

Manager Liu smiled as she stepped forward, pulling President Sun aside and delivering a punch to the thug’s face. The other thugs and bodyguards saw this and stepped forward, the thugs showing off their biceps, while the bodyguards kicked them without a word.

Xie Ting’an turned the girl around, basking in the sun and continuing to crack sunflower seeds. By the time the last seed in his hand was cracked open, the battle behind him had already concluded.

The bodyguards controlled the entire courtyard, tying up the bruised and battered thugs. Manager Liu called for a chair to be brought to the center of the courtyard, and as soon as Xie Ting’an sat down, Manager Liu kicked President Sun to kneel in front of him.

President Sun was on the verge of tears, his eyes black and blue, his nose bleeding. Xie Ting’an raised his hand, summoning a female bodyguard, handing her a card, and whispering a few instructions. The female bodyguard nodded, leading the girl out of the courtyard with a smile.

“Little girl, President Xie said he’ll reward you with a new phone and anything else you want. Shall I take you to buy them?”

The girl looked back at Xie Ting’an, still a bit dazed, and as the bodyguard led her out, she obediently waved goodbye to Xie Ting’an. Xie Ting’an smiled gently, waving back at her.

Seeing the girl and the bodyguard disappear, Xie Ting’an glanced at the old butler and Gu Mingchen opposite him, his smile fading slightly. He raised his leg and kicked President Sun in the chest, causing him to fall over, then quickly crawl back with a tearful face.

Xie Ting’an put on his black leather gloves again, looking at President Sun with a smile in his eyes.

“Want to peel my skin?”

“No, no!” President Sun’s eyes were full of tears, not daring to recall what he had just said. His chest received another kick, and he crawled back, immediately using his sleeve to clean the dust off the other party’s shoe.

Manager Liu found the marriage contract and agreement that President Sun had taken earlier, handing them to Xie Ting’an. Xie Ting’an only glanced at them to see that the contract to break off the engagement was not very friendly.

“You’re here to break off the engagement with the Gu family?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” President Sun nodded repeatedly, raising his hand to touch Xie Ting’an’s pant leg, only to be kicked away again by Xie Ting’an.

“It’s like a flood washing over the Dragon King’s temple, all my fault for not visiting you in advance!” President Sun crawled back, crying, his whole body exuding grievance, “I realized long ago that the Gu family is a pit of fire. I came today to break off the engagement with the Gu family, and my eyes were blind, mistaking you for someone the Gu family called to back them up. It’s all my fault!”

Xie Ting’an looked at the two people opposite him, Gu Mingchen’s health value had already recovered to a green 91. This person still seemed to retain the noble demeanor of a family scion. When he saw Xie Ting’an enter the courtyard, he hid the tongs behind the small coal stove, turned sideways, and wiped his face several times.

The old butler of the Gu family, Xie Ting’an had only seen him in a tailcoat or suit, looking elegant, polite, and rigid. Seeing him in a cotton-padded jacket with his hands in his pockets was a first, yet even so, his sharp aura was not diminished in the slightest.

Xie Ting’an raised his eyes, only to see the old butler’s health value, the same as his own, in the thirties, but the color of his number was a deep red.