Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Stroke of Bad Luck

The joint suppression action by the seven major families in the industry had ended in disaster, and as the leader, the Wang family had lost face more than anyone else. After the cloaked man left, Wang Shaokun didn’t stay either; he had his injured expert escorted out through the VIP passage. With Wang Shaokun gone, the group was leaderless, and the other six families, including the Huang family, quickly dispersed like startled birds.

Others merely suffered embarrassment, but it was the Huang family that bore the real loss. Not only did three bars have to be handed over as agreed, but both Iron Tower and Huang Wujiang were injured, and their wounds were severe—likely a month before they’d recover. When the Huang family left the stadium, their faces were dark as ink, a cloud hanging over their heads; even those from families usually on friendly terms didn’t dare approach them at such a moment.

Gao Tianxiong, who had earlier been neglected, suddenly became the center of attention. Members of the neutral families stepped forward to curry favor, but Gao Tianxiong neither welcomed nor rejected them, simply keeping a cool demeanor as he was surrounded out of the stadium.

Under the night sky.

Two BMWs sped along the road back to the Liu family home.

In the leading car, Liu Xinyue glanced at Liu Hao’s grim expression, hesitated several times, but finally couldn’t hold back and said, “Brother, you always say I’m impulsive, but tonight you were more reckless than me. I just can’t understand—why are you so prejudiced against Hong Chen? He kindly tried to warn us, and not only did you refuse to listen, you deliberately did the opposite. If it weren’t for that mysterious man showing respect for Grandpa, Uncle Wang would have lost an arm tonight, and it would be almost impossible to work with Hongcheng Group again. How are you going to explain this to Grandpa and Dad when we get back?”

When Liu Hao was negotiating the profit-sharing plan with Wang Shaokun, Liu Xinyue received a text from Hong Chen. He stated that Gao Tianxiong knew in advance that the major families would act tonight and had certainly prepared a contingency plan. Even if the Liu family didn’t support Hongcheng Group, they absolutely shouldn’t stand on the opposing side. She relayed the message to Liu Hao, intending to persuade him to back down. But the moment Liu Hao learned the information came from Hong Chen, he became annoyed. He had originally wanted to help Hongcheng Group at the right moment to secure benefits for the Liu family, and if Gao Tianxiong refused, it would have been as if nothing happened. Yet, in a moment of impulsiveness, he ended up on the opposing side of Hongcheng Group.

Subsequent events proved that impulsiveness is a demon; the Liu family nearly lost both profit and face.

Liu Hao shot her a cold glance and said indifferently, “Why should I trust the words of a useless son-in-law even the Lin family despises? But you—you trust him far too much, and that’s what angers me. Didn’t I tell you to block him from your phone? Why didn’t you listen? Xinyue, I’m warning you now: if I find he keeps pestering you, I’ll make him disappear from Qing City.”

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

Liu Xinyue frowned, her tone unhappy. “I’ve told you clearly: I have nothing to do with him—not even as a friend.”

Liu Hao replied ambiguously, “The day you see him as a friend, it’ll be too late. You’re already getting too deeply involved. To prevent trouble, I’d rather make a mistake than let it happen.”

“You…” Liu Xinyue turned her head sharply, retorting in a huff, “You were the one who acted stubbornly, and now you want to blame others. Brother, Grandpa sent you away for experience all these years; you’re steadier than before, but you’re getting more and more paranoid. It’s simply unreasonable.”

Liu Hao’s brow furrowed, his lips moved as if to speak, but in the end he said nothing, letting his expression relax.

...

Hong Chen returned home after midnight. Though the lights were off, he found that none of the doors to the rooms were closed. He checked Lin Yuxin’s room; the bed was made, but she wasn’t there. He looked at the doors to the other rooms—same situation.

It was late at night, yet the whole family was gone.

Hong Chen took out his phone and dialed Lin Yuxin.

“Yufei had an accident. Mom, Dad, and I are at City First Hospital. You…” Lin Yuxin’s voice sounded low and hesitant, and before she finished, someone seemed to call her, and she hung up.

Hong Chen waited several minutes. When Lin Yuxin didn’t call back, he thought for a moment, then decided not to call again and left the house.

Lin Yufei had an accident; the whole family rushed to the hospital. It was easy to guess what had happened. As long as he was still part of this family, he had a duty to visit.

The Bentley had been returned to Gao Tianxiong, so Hong Chen drove the Volkswagen. The roads were clear at this hour, and twenty minutes later, he arrived at City First Hospital.

As he walked toward the emergency building, he tried calling Lin Yuxin again, but no one answered. He had to ask the duty nurse, who told him Lin Yufei was in the emergency room on the sixth floor.

He took the elevator, and as soon as the doors opened, he saw a crowd blocking the corridor. He hurried forward and saw Lin Yufei lying on a row of seats along the corridor. She was covered in blood, fresh blood still streaming down her forehead, and Lin Yuxin, Shen Huifang, and Lin Yuan were anxiously tending to her.

On the other side of the corridor, Luo Fei and Xiao Ting sat side by side, also bloodstained. Luo Fei had a gash nearly three inches long on his forehead, Xiao Ting’s face was bruised and swollen, and Shen Huizhu and Xiao Chun Yong stood nearby, visibly shaken.

There were eight or nine other unfamiliar faces, all looking grim.

“Leave this floor immediately.” Hong Chen was blocked by a burly man, who pointed toward the elevator with an unmistakably commanding tone.

“My family is here.” Hong Chen gestured toward Lin Yuxin and the others. The man’s face darkened, and he reached for Hong Chen’s collar. Hong Chen frowned, quickly raised his hand, and gripped the man’s wrist, pressing down with slight force.

The man grunted in pain. Hong Chen didn’t make things difficult for him and let go immediately, but unexpectedly, the man wasn’t finished; he kicked at Hong Chen.

Now Hong Chen was angry. He dodged and countered with a kick, hitting the man’s leg. The man’s calf went numb, and he fell to one knee.

The scuffle lasted only a few seconds, but it drew the attention of everyone in the corridor, who turned to look.

Lin Yuxin, seeing Hong Chen, quickly walked over, waving her hands, “Don’t fight. He’s my husband.”

Her words only made things worse. Hearing he was her husband, three men immediately moved toward Hong Chen with hostile intent, about to act when a stern-faced middle-aged man barked, “Stop!”

“He’s your husband. If you want to talk, go somewhere else, but don’t leave this floor,” the square-faced man said, glancing at Hong Chen and then instructing Lin Yuxin. Lin Yuxin nodded, hurriedly pulling Hong Chen away toward the elevator.

Only when they reached the elevator did they stop. Hong Chen sensed something was off and asked, “Who are these people, and what’s going on?”

Lin Yuxin rubbed her brow, lowering her voice, “After you left, we got home not long after. Around nine, Xiao Ting contacted Yufei and asked her to go sing karaoke. Yufei slipped out while Mom, Dad, and I were in our rooms. At eleven fifteen, we suddenly got a call—Yufei was in a car accident. Xiao Ting and Luo Fei were also in the car. The other party was alone but suffered the worst injuries; they say he was already unconscious when brought in. When we arrived, the rescue was underway in the emergency room.”

She sighed softly, “Yufei really has bad luck. She was in the back seat, shouldn’t have been hurt. The collision was on the passenger side, but she happened to be talking to Xiao Ting at the time—not only standing, but leaning forward, so with the force of impact, her body flew into the front and her head hit the steering wheel. The bleeding hasn’t stopped, and she’s in a lot of pain elsewhere. The main worry is internal bleeding—if it’s delayed, it could be dangerous.”

Hong Chen didn’t know how to describe his feelings. There was indeed some bad luck. The crash struck the passenger door, so Xiao Ting in the front passenger seat should have been most seriously injured, followed by the driver, Luo Cheng. Yet now, both were sitting, looking battered but otherwise okay, whereas Lin Yufei lay there, trembling and clearly more seriously hurt.

But the issue was, they’d just been at the hotel where Shen Huizhu’s family had set them up. When Xiao Ting exposed Lin Yufei’s lie, she had shown no mercy, leaving Lin Yufei utterly humiliated. How could they be out singing together so soon? If Lin Yufei hadn’t sneaked out, she’d have slept peacefully at home and avoided this calamity.

“Then get her to a doctor—why are you just waiting here? I asked the nurse at the front desk; she said there aren’t many emergency patients tonight, no need to wait in line.” Hong Chen shook his head, not wanting to dwell on the causes; the urgent thing was to get medical help.

Lin Yuxin’s face was clouded with worry and sorrow. She glanced at the crowd in the corridor and shook her head. “Those are all the other party’s relatives. Yuxin was already in the emergency room, but they dragged her out. Now we can only wait for the result and hope the other person isn’t in serious trouble, otherwise…”

Her eyes reddened as she spoke.