Chapter Thirty-One: Call the Police!

Chapter Thirty-One: Call the Police!

Tang Zhong rarely bought novels to read; what he read most were the criminal case files of inmates in prison.

Life was far more absurd than fiction. If not witnessed firsthand, it was hard to believe what madness and cruelty humans were capable of inflicting upon their own kind.

For this reason, Tang Zhong was acutely aware of how to deal with those who came into conflict with him.

The Boss had once told him: If you can’t make someone like you, then at least make sure they ignore you. If you can’t do either, find a way to eliminate future troubles.

The power of hatred was terrifying. Whether you hated someone, or someone harbored hatred for you, such hatred could drive people to do things far beyond their capabilities.

Tang Zhong knew that if he acted today, a deep enmity between him and Liu Weidong would be inevitable.

But if he didn’t act, he simply couldn’t live with himself—

Lin Huiyin was neither his sister nor his friend; in fact, the words they’d exchanged so far could be counted on two hands. Still, even so, he had to intervene.

“Because—” Tang Zhong thought for a moment, then mentally pasted a bright, shining label on his own forehead. “I represent justice.”

With that thought, he immediately felt his image become heroic and radiant. The punches he’d thrown seemed all the more magnificent; he almost wished Liu Weidong would get up from the floor and curse him as a “filthy whore,” giving him the perfect excuse to lose his temper and pummel him another thirty or fifty times—

“If I’m going to fight, I might as well make it worthwhile,” Tang Zhong thought.

“Knock, knock—”

Someone was rapping at the door.

Bai Su hesitated, unsure whether to open it, but Tang Zhong pulled her back.

The private room’s door was pushed open from the outside. Liu Mingwei entered, holding a glass of wine, his eyes bleary with drunkenness. He smiled and said, “Sorry—truly sorry, ladies. Some friends came over and they made me drink a few extra glasses—who’s that on the floor?”

No one answered.

Bai Su’s face was cold and menacing, Lin Huiyin’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, and Zhang Hepburn—this girl was a genius. In the time it took Liu Mingwei to knock and say a few words, she had already worked herself up into tears, her eyes red from crying.

Tang Zhong—“Tang Xin”—stared at Liu Mingwei with a look of mocking disdain, making clear just how angry and unsettled he was.

“What happened here?” Liu Mingwei finally sensed the tension in the room. “Where’s Weidong? Who’s lying on the floor—?”

Because Liu Mingwei had been drinking with a few officials, his head was still a bit muddled.

However, the two assistants behind him remained perfectly sober.

Yan Li, the director of the general office, immediately rushed forward, knelt down, and shrieked, “Young Master Liu—Is that Young Master Liu? My god, he’s been beaten!”

Liu Mingwei sobered up almost instantly. He rushed over and cradled Liu Weidong’s body, seeing his son’s face swollen like a pig’s head. If not for his clothing and build, he wouldn’t even have recognized that the hunk of meat he was holding was his own son—

Checking if Liu Weidong was still breathing, he roared, “Bai Su, what happened? What did you do? What on earth did you do to Weidong?”

“Chairman Liu, you’ve really raised a fine son,” Bai Su kicked away her chair, stormed up to Liu Mingwei, and demanded an explanation. “When I went down to meet him, I thought he was a gentleman and had a good impression of him. Who would have guessed he was a monster in disguise? The moment you left, he tried to keep Huiyin as his mistress—when she refused, he started groping both Huiyin and Hepburn. Chairman Liu, I have to wonder—were you and your son in this together? Did you leave on purpose to give him a chance? Otherwise, isn’t this all a bit too much of a coincidence?”

Bai Su was no fool. Since Tang Zhong had already beaten the man and hinted at what she ought to do, if she couldn’t handle the rest, all her years in the entertainment industry would have been for nothing.

“You—you’re slandering us!” Liu Mingwei shouted in fury. “Weidong isn’t that kind of person, he’d never do such a thing—”

Every parent loves their child and believes in their character. It’s only human nature.

“And with Weidong beaten up like this, he can’t defend himself. You can say whatever you want—”

“If he hadn’t tried to molest Huiyin in the private room, do you really think a few weak women would dare lay hands on your son? Aren’t you overestimating us? You’re our business partner—we rely on you for our livelihood. Why would we do such a thing?”

“I don’t care what you say.” Liu Mingwei handed Liu Weidong to his subordinates, then got up from the floor, his voice cold and hard. “My son isn’t someone who can be bullied—especially not by a few singers. I will make sure justice is done for him.”

“Chairman Liu, should we call the police?” Yan Li, the general office director, asked.

“If Chairman Liu wants justice, then let’s call the police,” Bai Su retorted, standing her ground. “Out of respect for our partnership, I waited for you to handle this. You feel your son has been wronged? Well, I feel Huiyin has been wronged. Let’s have the police decide who’s right and who’s wrong.”

Liu Mingwei did want to call the police. But after Bai Su’s words, he realized that might not be the best choice.

He and his two assistants hadn’t been in the room when the incident happened. He didn’t know what had really taken place.

And Bai Su and the other members of Butterfly were united—they would insist Weidong had tried to assault them.

If only there were surveillance footage from the room—then he’d know the whole story. But of course, he knew that was impossible. No luxury hotel would dare install cameras in private rooms and risk a scandal; if that ever got out, they’d be ruined.

Besides, once he calmed down, even Liu Mingwei had to admit that his son had behaved disgracefully.

As Bai Su said, unless Liu Weidong had gone too far, they wouldn’t have dared lay a finger on him—especially given their good business relationship. Why would they attack the son of their own golden goose?

“He’s such a bastard,” Zhang Hepburn wept, rubbing her eyes. “I thought of him as a brother. Who knew—he’d do something so disgusting. I hate him!”

Liu Mingwei had always been fond of Zhang Hepburn, thinking her an innocent, lively girl.

Hearing her say this, he was even more inclined to believe Bai Su’s account and his own suspicions.

“Well, Chairman Liu?” Bai Su pressed, her tone sharp as if she’d swallowed gunpowder. “Didn’t you say you’d call the police? What are you waiting for? Don’t think we’re too delicate to handle it—if you’re unwilling to make the call, I’ll do it myself.”

As she spoke, Bai Su had already pulled her phone from her pocket.

“Manager Bai. We all need to calm down,” Liu Mingwei said, trying to defuse the situation.

Bai Su immediately caught the shift in his tone—just from how he addressed her, she knew his attitude had changed. She couldn’t help but glance at Tang Zhong, thinking, Once again, this rascal’s instincts were right.

“Calm down?” Bai Su sneered. “Chairman Liu, I am calm. When your son suggested keeping Huiyin as a mistress, we were offended, but out of respect for you, we didn’t make a scene. We even waited here for you to return. When he started groping Huiyin and Hepburn, we decided to leave—but he grabbed Huiyin’s arm and refused to let her go, and then he started pawing at her. What were we supposed to do?”

“At the very least, you shouldn’t have beaten him like this,” Liu Mingwei said, frowning at his unconscious son. “But what’s done is done; there’s no need to pursue it further. Our partnership has always been pleasant. If the police get involved, it’s bad for my reputation and Butterfly’s image as well. You know how the public always assumes the worst about celebrities—no matter how you explain, not everyone will believe what really happened tonight.”

“It’s only out of respect for you that I haven’t called the police already,” Bai Su replied, her tone softening. “You know Huiyin’s character—she’d rather die than submit. She tried several times to call the police, but I stopped her. Now you show up and say you want justice for your son—well, who’s going to give us justice?”

Liu Mingwei’s anger flared again.

So what if my son touched you a couple of times? You beat him like this—do you really expect justice for yourselves, too? Isn’t that going too far?

But he knew exposing this incident would only bring negative repercussions for himself.

Forcing down his anger, he said, “Manager Bai, what do you suggest?”

“I have no suggestions,” Bai Su replied. “Your son bullied Huiyin and Hepburn. You should ask what they want.”

Liu Mingwei had no choice but to turn to them. “Miss Huiyin, what do you want?”

“Call the police,” Lin Huiyin replied coldly.

(PS: If you don’t vote for me, I’m calling the police!)