Chapter 6: Are You Jealous?

Bang!

The expected pain didn’t come. A strong hand wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. Cha Kexing fell to the ground, avoiding the swinging bat.

A figure leaped over his head, landing a heavy punch on the assailant’s face, causing blood to spurt from his nose. Then, grabbing the assailant’s head, he slammed it against the wall. With his other hand, he twisted the arm holding the bat, making the burly man scream like a pig being slaughtered.

Brilliant fireworks continued to bloom in the sky, with sparks falling like stars. Some landed on the newcomer, who was still dressed lightly. His medium-length hair was tousled by the wind, and his handsome face was full of a murderous aura.

“Zheng Yao… you…”

“Run already—” Zheng Yao turned and kicked another assailant who was attacking him.

“My brother—”

“Take care of yourself first, damn it—”

Before he could finish, a howl came from the alley entrance. Cha Kexing’s heart tightened, but he quickly realized it wasn’t Cha Kenuo’s voice.

It was Miss Yi who had arrived. The remaining three assailants were swiftly dealt with by her. Then, like a goddess of death, she walked towards the last standing assailant, who was being restrained by Zheng Yao.

Her slender hand shot out like lightning, gripping the assailant’s throat. In less than half a second, the assailant foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Even Zheng Yao was taken aback by her swift moves.

Miss Yi’s eyes were icy, her face full of regret. “Mr. Cha, this was my mistake.”

Cha Kexing picked up his glasses and put them on. “I was too careless…”

“One mistake, one carelessness, are you two going to bow to each other and say ‘Sorry for the trouble’ next?” Zheng Yao walked over to Cha Kexing, who was still sitting on the ground, and extended his hand. “How are you, any injuries?”

Cha Kexing raised his hand to grasp his, but a voice full of grievance cried out from the alley entrance, “Brother Zheng!”

“Qiqi?!”

Zheng Yao turned his head. The girl, like a lost kitten finding its owner, threw herself into his arms. Zheng Yao’s body tilted slightly from the impact, his fingertips brushing against Cha Kexing’s.

Cha Kexing withdrew his hand, declined Miss Yi’s help, and stood up with one hand against the wall, walking past Zheng Yao and the girl to Cha Kenuo.

Little Pervert Cha was kneeling on the ground, dry heaving, his thin shoulders hunched like a puppy with its tail stepped on.

Cha Kexing thought for a moment and said, “Don’t tell Mom and Dad about the bad guys.”

“Okay…” Little Pervert Cha nodded, shivering.

…This doesn’t feel good either. Why does everyone like to say that to him?

Cha Kexing thought again. Maybe it’s because when he says it, he has to deal with the remaining trouble himself, while when others say it, it means they’ve dumped the trouble on him!

“What the hell happened?” Zheng Yao, carrying the girl, came over. He draped his thin jacket over her, now only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt.

The afterglow of the fireworks hadn’t faded, and the cold wind made the bare branches sway. The tall, handsome man warmed the shivering girl with his body heat. This moment, with its touch of redemptive romance, made Cha Kexing want to call the producers and directors under Cha Media to show them what kind of scene could truly move the audience.

Cha Kexing knew he wasn’t asking about his own attack but the girl’s ordeal, so he said, “I haven’t figured it out yet. I’ll tell you when I do. You should take Miss Song Tiantian… ah, it’s Song Qiqi, right? Take her to the hospital!”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital!” The girl clung to Zheng Yao’s neck, burying her head in his broad shoulder, sobbing, “I’m fine, Brother Zheng, take me home!”

“Okay.” Zheng Yao glanced at the assailants lying on the ground.

Cha Kexing said, “I’ll handle it myself.”

Zheng Yao looked into his eyes again. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Cha Kexing said worriedly, “Go quickly, the little girl might catch a cold.”

“Thanks for the concern!” Zheng Yao shrugged and laughed, just once, a low sound like a stone dropped into a well. He turned and carried the girl into the dark alley.

A Cullinan was parked at the alley entrance. Zheng Yao settled the girl in the back seat. She was truly exhausted and frightened, already asleep by the time he got in.

Once in the car, Zheng Yao sent a message to someone on WeChat named “Iron Blooded Heart.”

“Thanks, brother.”

A voice call came through immediately, a hearty male voice saying, “Brother Zheng, why are you being polite with me? Did you make it in time?”

“I did.” Zheng Yao wanted to light a cigarette, but realized the pack was in the jacket covering the girl, so he gave up.

He had been notified by Yang Dan while at a birthday party, just at a bar nearby converted from an abandoned train engine, very close… luckily very close.

“That’s good. You asked me to keep an eye out, so I told my friends on the street, but Brother Zheng, you know, passing on a message is one thing, interfering in someone else’s business is another, and I was indeed far away—”

“I know your intentions. After the New Year, let’s find time to have a meal.”

“Sure, bring A Xing along.”

“Okay.”

Ending the call, Zheng Yao started the car, but after a few seconds, he hit the brakes. He had asked Cha Kexing if he was hurt, but did he answer?

But seeing that bastard could stand, walk, and still be annoying, he was probably fine, so he stepped on the gas again.

#

There were six assailants in total, five who got out of the car and one lookout driver. The driver was the first to be dealt with by Miss Yi. All six piles of trash were tied up by Miss Yi and thrown into the van they came in. Cha Kexing drove his Bentley, speeding behind them.

Near the old train station, there were many abandoned unfinished buildings. Miss Yi found a hidden warehouse, locked them inside, and said to Cha Kexing, “Mr. Cha, give me thirty minutes.”

“Take your time.”

Cha Kexing smiled, calming Miss Yi’s emotions, afraid she might get too excited and send these assailants, who almost shamed her career, to meet their ancestors.

Half an hour later, Miss Yi came out, having recorded videos of the six assailants confessing to Feng Ji’s hired assault, and obtained the bank account for the transfer and the WeChat screenshots of their communication.

Feng Ji, that idiot, actually registered a new WeChat account to directly give orders to the assailants. Such self-incriminating behavior made Cha Kexing feel that dealing with him was an insult to his intelligence.

Of course, he sorted out all the criminal evidence and went directly to negotiate terms with Feng Ji’s father, Feng Qixiang.

Feng Qixiang was furious, cursing Feng Ji as a scoundrel who deserved to die. At his age, he only had this one child. If he had a second, he would have beaten Feng Ji to death long ago. He also said that no matter what, he had to give Cha Kexing an explanation, only asking Cha Kexing not to make the matter public for the sake of his long-standing friendship with Cha Tianque.

In fact, Feng Qixiang and Cha Tianque were not very familiar, probably just having played a few rounds of golf together.

“Uncle, what are you saying? Feng Ji and I have known each other since we were kids. He’s a few years older than me, and I used to call him brother when I was little!” Cha Kexing said sincerely, “Not for your sake, but for our ‘childhood friendship,’ I can’t send him in!”

“Kexing… Kexing… why don’t I have a sensible child like you…” Feng Qixiang was almost in tears, partly acting, but probably also genuinely frustrated at having a foolish, wasteful son.

In recent years, the real estate industry had shrunk, and many projects had gone bust. The Feng family had kept a low profile, but a camel, even when thin, is still bigger than a horse. Really reporting Feng Ji would mean Cha Media and Feng Real Estate tearing each other apart, which wasn’t a good situation.

Cha Kexing simply took a big bite out of the Feng family, signed a lucrative contract, and happily destroyed all the evidence in front of Feng Qixiang, promising never to mention it again.

But these were all later matters. The negotiations with the Feng family dragged on for over a month. That day, after returning, the first thing he dealt with was the QQ group Cha Kenuo had joined.

Little Pervert Cha developed a high fever after returning home. Cha Kexing told Zeng Mei he caught a cold playing the drop tower ride at night, then took his laptop, instructing a trusted person in the company’s electronic information department to retrieve all of Cha Kenuo’s web browsing history, group joining records, and chat logs.

He didn’t believe a few kids dared to play such a “game” without someone instigating them.

The electronic information department was efficient, organizing the relevant materials and delivering them that afternoon. Cha Kexing felt his head spinning, almost vomiting his lunch.

Little Pervert Cha was truly a pervert, spending all day online looking at human corpse illustrations and discussing the rate of decay in different environments… But fortunately, he only looked and talked, never participating in any outrageous offline activities.

The QQ group was also found. Cha Kenuo had only been in the group for a few days, assigned a task for the first time. He even casually looked up what od佐美 was, frowning in confusion when he found it was a cough suppressant he had also taken.

He couldn’t understand these kids’ thoughts… Luckily, it wasn’t drugs.

The electronic information department’s expert asked when delivering the materials, “Do you need the actual locations of the QQ group’s owner and administrators?”

Cha Kexing pondered for a moment and nodded, “How long?”

The expert, young and proud, couldn’t hide his smile, “Already found.” He handed Cha Kexing another document.

Cha Kexing emailed the investigation results to Zheng Yao, then contacted the cyber police.

Naturally, a media company often interacts with the network security supervision department. Cha Kexing personally called the person in charge to explain the situation. They were indeed attentive, and with the clear and comprehensive information provided by Cha Kexing—excluding the content of the last document—the cyber police located the instigator before the New Year.

On the 27th of the lunar month, the official arrest took place.

The weather was nice that day. Cha Kexing found a low-key Phaeton, parked the car on the side of the building. He wanted to take some photos for Cha Kenuo, to show him what kind of trash instigated kids to self-harm. He certainly wouldn’t visit them in prison.

Shortly after the police entered the building, someone climbed out of a fifth-floor window, nimbly jumping to the fourth-floor balcony, then from the fourth to the third, and finally leaping down from the third floor. He wore a beige trench coat, the hem flying as he landed, like a nimble little squirrel.

As soon as the person landed, the Phaeton slid over, and the door opened.

Zheng Yao was momentarily stunned, then quickly got in, smiling as he asked, “Did you call the police? Next time, give me a heads up. I almost got stuck inside.”

“What were you doing there?” At first, Cha Kexing thought it was the instigator trying to escape, but in a second, he recognized Zheng Yao.

After all, Zheng Yao’s legs were that long.

“What do you think?” Zheng Yao flexed his wrist.

No need to ask, he went to administer some private justice.

“Does scum like that need someone of your stature to personally take action?” Cha Kexing handed him a few wet wipes to clean his hands, thinking, perhaps true love was hurt, and only personally taking action could slightly ease the anger in his heart!

Zheng Yao laughed, “What stature am I? Just doing some small business to make a living. If I don’t do it myself, who can I find?”

The national context is different. Zheng Yao had some influence in New York, but in the country, he indeed conducted business honestly. As they spoke, the police “assisted” a few people out of the building. They were all dressed like typical homebodies, now with faces full of blood, arms and legs seemingly broken, and one was carried out on a stretcher.

Zheng Yao was clearly dissatisfied that he hadn’t managed to put all the instigators on stretchers, snorting coldly, “How long can scum like this be sentenced for, a year maybe?”

“This case involves minors, it won’t be lightly sentenced. Moreover, inside, there’s a lot of room for maneuver.”

Zheng Yao felt a bit more at ease, then asked, “These scumbags reported it, why didn’t Feng Ji’s hired assault?”

“I didn’t break a leg. Like you said, how long can he be sentenced for if reported? Besides, he’s abroad, can’t catch him for a while. With time and space, the Feng family can settle it… Reporting doesn’t align with the principle of maximizing benefits.”

“So you’re just going to take it quietly?”

“No rush.” Cha Kexing said slowly, “Plan slowly.”

Zheng Yao stared at him for a few seconds, then sneered, “Heh, I say, after you started wearing glasses, why do you have a kind of refined scoundrel vibe?”

Cha Kexing instinctively raised his hand, pushing up his glasses frame, “I haven’t thanked you for that day. I’ve been troubling you a lot lately, I feel a bit guilty.”

“Oh, you can feel guilty… What’s wrong with your wrist?” Zheng Yao was about to tease him, but seeing the bandage peeking from Cha Kexing’s cuff, he immediately grabbed his arm.

“Just a sprain.” In terms of speed, Cha Kexing couldn’t dodge, and by strength, he couldn’t pull away, so he let Zheng Yao unbutton his cuff, gently pinching his wrist, carefully examining it.

No blood, no splint, just a few layers of gauze and some kinesiology tape, and it could move, indeed not a major injury. In fact, it wasn’t a major injury, just a minor fracture from the bat, and so far, no one but Zheng Yao had noticed.

After the examination, Zheng Yao didn’t let go, just loosely holding his wrist, his palm warm.

Facing each other like this, holding hands, made Cha Kexing a bit uncomfortable, so he asked, “I’m fine, but how’s Song Qiqi?”

“Her name isn’t Song Qiqi, it’s Song Miqi.”

“Song Miqi…” This name with a bit of a pun made Cha Kexing realize, “Song Mixian… she’s Mixian Bro’s sister?”

Seeing Zheng Yao nod, Cha Kexing couldn’t help but smile, his eyes sparkling, “Mixian Bro is still with you?”

“No, he’s with the King of Hell now.” Zheng Yao let go, leaning heavily against the seat, saying with a bit of melancholy, “You know their family has a hereditary disease, right? Qiqi was cured when she was young, but a few years ago, Mixian wasn’t cured when he got sick. Before he died, he entrusted me to take care of Qiqi. I didn’t take good care of her, just gave her some pocket money now and then, being her wishing well. She wanted to see a celebrity, so I took her to your cinema opening. Usually, I didn’t pay much attention to her. Who knew she was taking that cough medicine—she seemed so cheerful in front of me, I didn’t see any signs of depression.”

The news of a little brother who had once mixed with them passing away made Cha Kexing put away his smile, silent for a while. He comforted, “You must have done well. It’s clear she trusts you a lot. Don’t worry too much. Actually, if many people went to see a psychologist for tests, they’d have a bit of… it can be adjusted.” He had also seen a doctor for severe insomnia while studying in London, taking medication for two years.

“Yes, an appointment with a psychologist has been made.”

Cha Kexing thought for a moment and asked, “So when I said Song Tiantian, why did you say… slept with…”

Zheng Yao gave him a sidelong glance, “You just said the girl I ‘held that day,’ how do I know which day you’re talking about? Besides, when don’t I hold a girl?”

“Oh, right…” Cha Kexing pushed up his glasses again, “If not Song Tiantian, then Wu Tiantian or Li Tiantian…”

“What, are you jealous?” Zheng Yao suddenly leaned over. This time, there was no wind in the car, and in the enclosed space, his breath sprayed on Cha Kexing’s face.

Author’s Note:

To emphasize, Zheng Yao is genuinely flirtatious, not a misunderstanding.