179: anger

After Li Zhan gently closed the door to Teacher Bai Jie's room, the room plunged into darkness and silence, leaving only Bai Jie's own pounding heart and uncalmed gasps echoing in the air.

She lay limp on the bed...

Every inch of her skin retained the scent of that man...

Following closely behind was an overwhelming sense of immense shame and guilt!

Oh, heavens!

What have I just done?!

I actually... I actually, as if possessed, opened the door myself, tacitly allowing, or even... welcoming that man's intrusion...

She had betrayed her husband and become a complete cheater!

The shackles of morality tightened instantly, leaving her almost suffocated.

She pulled the quilt over herself, tightly wrapping her burning face and naked body, as if this could help her escape the judgment of her own heart.

This intertwining of physical satisfaction and immense psychological guilt plunged her into great contradiction and struggle.

She didn't know how long she spent in this torment of fire and ice, but finally, extreme exhaustion and the depletion of complex emotions left her mind blank, and she drifted into a groggy sleep...

A trace of dried tears seemed to remain at the corner of her eyes.

The next morning.

The faint light of dawn squeezed through the gaps in the curtains.

Li Zhan woke up in Xiao Qian's bedroom.

The little girl was like an octopus, wrapping her limbs tightly around him, sleeping soundly with rosy cheeks, carrying a hint of the fatigue from last night's madness, but appearing even more charming and naive.

Li Zhan looked at her, lowered his head to gently kiss her smooth forehead, then carefully, bit by bit, pried open her wrapped arms and legs, and got out of bed softly.

He pushed open the bedroom door, and the aroma of food wafted over.

Sister Qin was busy frying eggs in the open kitchen, wearing an apron, her figure swaying.

And Teacher Bai Jie was actually in the kitchen too, with her back to him, silently helping to cut fruit, though her movements were slightly stiff and slow.

Hearing footsteps, Sister Qin turned around, saw it was Li Zhan, and immediately threw him a look filled with deep reproach and resentment, silently mouthing something, as if complaining that he hadn't come to find her last night.

Li Zhan could only rub his nose and smile sheepishly.

And when Teacher Bai Jie heard the commotion, her body visibly trembled slightly.

She turned around extremely slowly, like a slow-motion shot in a movie, still holding a slice of apple in her hand.

As soon as her gaze met Li Zhan's, it snapped away as if burned, and her cheeks flushed with visible speed, spreading all the way to her ears and neck.

She hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to focus on the fruit plate in her hands, but her fingers were trembling slightly, and she appeared completely at a loss, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Li Zhan looked at her embarrassed and distressed appearance, so different from last night, a subtle smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't point it out, just walked naturally to the dining table and sat down.

At this moment, Xiao Qian also came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes.

She was only wearing one of Li Zhan's oversized T-shirts, the hem just covering her buttocks, revealing her straight, slender legs.

Her face was radiant, like a flower fully nourished, and her figure seemed to have become fuller and more moving overnight, exuding an alluring luster like a ripe peach, somewhere between a girl and a woman.

She yawned without any inhibition, then sat down next to Li Zhan with a grin, leaning affectionately against him.

Morning, Mommy, Teacher Bai!

Her voice was crisp and full of vitality, forming a sharp contrast with the other two women at the table, who were each lost in their own thoughts in the subtle atmosphere.

Sister Qin looked at Xiao Qian's radiant appearance, nourished by love, glanced at Bai Jie beside her who wished to hide herself, and finally let her gaze fall on the nonchalant Li Zhan, unable to resist reaching out under the table to pinch Li Zhan's thigh hard.

Li Zhan accepted it all without changing his expression, picked up his chopsticks, and said, Let's eat.

A new day began with a breakfast filled with a subtle atmosphere and undercurrents...

10:00 AM, the top floor office of the Phoenix City Nightclub.

Sunlight spilled in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and the office was filled with the lingering fragrance of tea.

Li Zhan and Old Zhou sat opposite each other, leisurely brewing Kung Fu tea.

Big Ox had his massive body sunk into the sofa nearby, resting with his eyes closed.

Old Zhou, while skillfully rinsing the tea set, reported, All the venues have been calm recently, nothing special. The security detachments are still following the old routine, rotating to a different venue every month to ensure there's no trouble.

He paused, looked up at Li Zhan, and his tone carried a hint of concern, It's just... the manpower is indeed a bit saturated. A-Zhan, are you really planning to shut down all the Gambling Dens so quickly? That will leave even more people, and it will be troublesome to settle them.

Li Zhan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, the smoke blurring his contemplative expression.

Just as he was about to speak, his private mobile phone on the coffee table suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID—it was A Zhen.

At this time of day, A Zhen usually wouldn't disturb him.

Li Zhan's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and an ominous premonition swept through his mind.

He immediately pressed the answer button.

Hello, A Zhen?

From the other end of the line came A Zhen's voice, deliberately lowered but carrying a hint of lingering fear and anger, as she quickly recounted what had happened in Master's courtyard early this morning...

A few minutes later, Li Zhan put down the phone. The relaxed and lazy look on his face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by icy gloom, his eyes sharp and frightening.

The temperature in the office seemed to drop to freezing point instantly.

Old Zhou stopped pouring tea, and Big Ox opened his eyes and sat up straight; both of them keenly sensed the change in Li Zhan's mood.

Li Zhan's eyes flickered. Did they really think... he had no arrangements back in his hometown?

When he left, Li Zhan had instructed Master to help watch over his family.

The village back home was an iron bucket to outsiders; any stranger who entered would be known immediately by the old men sunning themselves at the village entrance... Those were all natural sentries!

Did they really think the saying 'Guangxi Wolf Soldiers, every tree and bush is an enemy soldier' was just empty talk?

The folkways of some ethnic minorities in Guangxi, when fierce, could make them regret being born...

Young Master Liu...

Li Zhan whispered this name. He had originally wanted to see if, given the current situation, it was better not to have too much friction with the Liu Family and leave him some face, but now it seemed that some people really didn't know how to appreciate kindness, and wouldn't shed tears until they saw the coffin!

Old Zhou and Big Ox exchanged glances, their expressions turning grave.

Old Zhou asked in a deep voice, A-Zhan, what happened?

Li Zhan took a deep breath, suppressing the surging killing intent, That bastard surnamed Liu sent people to sneak into my hometown, wanting to make a move on A Zhen.

What?!

Big Ox's face changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly, his muscles instantly tensed, Then, is Sister-in-law...

Don't worry. Li Zhan interrupted him, his tone regaining a hint of calm, Master is watching in the village. The people have already been taken down by Master and the junior brothers. Did you really think Master was just a kind old man?

A flash of ferocity crossed his eyes... Few people who are truly trained in martial arts, who have killed and seen blood, are truly kind. Those people are probably currently serving as fertilizer for the bamboo in the back mountain.

Hearing this, Old Zhou's eyes also flashed with cold light, That Young Master Liu... is really courting death! It seems the previous lesson wasn't profound enough.

Li Zhan stood up, his tall figure casting a shadow in the sunlight, and the air pressure in the entire office seemed to drop a few degrees. He hesitated no longer and directly gave the order, Old Zhou... immediately notify AZu, Big Courage, Shui Sheng, Zi Qiao, and Brother Jiang to come here for a meeting at 2:00 PM...