"No, it's fine, don't worry."
Yu Ke, who was still hesitating, made a decision instinctively upon hearing Li Chonglou's voice for some reason.
However, her voice was a bit dazed, as if speaking from instinct or without thinking. Li Chonglou could clearly sense something was amiss.
After hanging up the phone, Li Chonglou thought about it and decided to go over again. He needed Yu Ke to clarify this matter to him in person.
After another half-hour drive, Li Chonglou returned to the vicinity of the barbecue stall. By then, it was almost dawn, and the streets were deserted. Even the barbecue stall owner had packed up and closed for the night.
Li Chonglou dialed Yu Ke's number.
"Where are you?"
Yu Ke, who had just walked out of the hospital, realized something and didn't know how to answer.
This unusual behavior made Li Chonglou even more convinced that something else must have happened behind the scenes. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice, "Yu Ke, I don't want you to hide anything from me."
"It's nothing, really nothing. I just went to bed not long ago."
"Let's talk when you come out. I'm already nearby."
Yu Ke sighed and finally, reluctantly, chose to take a taxi back.
In fact, she and Yang Dongtian had reached a relatively good agreement. She didn't have to be Yang Guang's girlfriend immediately, but she had to give Yang Guang a chance to pursue her.
This meant that in the coming days, Yang Guang would likely appear frequently in her life, and she couldn't refuse him until the half-year deadline...
Even so, this was considered a better outcome for Yu Ke. After all, all she needed to do was endure someone's pursuit for half a year. As long as she maintained her stance, perhaps Yang Guang would give up before half a year was up.
Therefore, she did not intend to tell Li Chonglou about this matter. Even when they met, she lied, claiming that Huang Zigang had suddenly shown up, so she had changed to another hotel to stay.
"Really? Then what about that matter with Old Man Yang you mentioned? Why is the other party suddenly okay with it?"
Yu Ke had already thought of an excuse on her way, and immediately said without hesitation.
"Because this whole thing was started by Huang Zigang. After I explained it clearly to Old Man Yang, he stopped pursuing it."
"After all, you were also innocent, right? It wasn't you who made the first move."
Li Chonglou gazed at Yu Ke silently for a long time. Since she didn't avoid his gaze, Li Chonglou finally nodded slightly.
"Alright then, if there's anything else, remember to call me anytime."
"Okay, okay, you go back and rest quickly."
Only then did they part ways.
However, neither of them knew that in a corner of a nearby alley, Huang Zigang was hiding there, his face full of disbelief.
Worried that Yu Ke wouldn't handle things well, Huang Zigang, who had returned to his residence earlier, couldn't sleep and came out again, wanting to intercept Yu Ke and ask about the situation.
He knew that Yu Ke was going to see Old Master Yang.
However, he didn't expect to see Li Chonglou before he could intercept Yu Ke, so he hid to the side, wanting to observe the situation.
Li Chonglou, due to his diminished strength, had also become less vigilant, and thus failed to notice Huang Zigang hiding in the dark.
This led to the scene just now. In the almost silent street, Huang Zigang overheard their conversation. Only after both of them left did Huang Zigang react.
"Damn it, this bitch used me as a shield?"
"And now Old Master Yang wants to vent his anger on me?"
Upon realizing this, he was so angry that he clenched his fists, his face a mix of complex emotions.
Fierceness, dread, fear, unwillingness...
He never expected Yu Ke to point all the blame at him. What was more, Old Master Yang actually agreed! Otherwise, Yu Ke would never have dared to stop Li Chonglou from seeing Old Master Yang!
"No, you can offend anyone but not Old Master Yang!"
After a long while, when only panic remained on Huang Zigang's face, he immediately made a decision and called his own grandfather.
After briefly recounting the process, he specifically mentioned Yu Ke pushing him into the fire pit.
"You useless brat! You can't even handle such a small matter and you've offended that old guy! What use are you to me!"
After being severely scolded, the call was immediately hung up. However, Huang Zigang felt a slight sense of relief. He knew his grandfather's temper; while he scolded harshly, he would also take action to resolve the issue.
Nevertheless, he was still displeased.
"It's all because of that guy! If he didn't exist, none of this would have happened!"
Huang Zigang immediately directed his anger at Li Chonglou. At the same time, a plan for revenge began to form in his mind. Looking in the direction Li Chonglou had left, his eyes became incredibly cold.
Meanwhile, Yang Dongtian, who was about to rest, received a call from his old friend.
"You know about this too?"
Yang Dongtian was somewhat surprised, but he quickly remembered Huang Zigang's intention to arrange a marriage with Yu Ke, and he felt displeased.
However, the person on the other end of the phone kept speaking in a conciliatory tone, mentioning their years of friendship and past favors. Yang Dongtian could only say helplessly, "Alright, alright, don't say any more. I'll let this slide this time for your sake."
He then hung up the phone.
However, neither of them knew that they had misunderstood each other's intentions: Old Master Huang thought he was asking Yang Dongtian not to pursue his son, while Yang Dongtian thought Old Master Huang was asking him not to pursue the matter of his son's proposed marriage with Yu Ke...
On the other side, after returning to his residence once more, Li Chonglou could finally get a good night's sleep.
However, he hadn't even slept for five hours when, near noon, he was woken by a phone call.
"What? Fourth Uncle put someone in the hospital?"
Li Chonglou immediately lost all his sleepiness. When he arrived at the hospital, Zhang Yu and the other two were already there. It was clear he was once again the last to know.
"What happened?"
Fourth Uncle, with a bruised and swollen face, said helplessly, "The person who hit me specifically said it was because of you. Li, have you encountered any trouble again recently?"
As Fourth Uncle spoke, his tone was full of grievance, and Li Chonglou's face suddenly darkened.
"Did they say who they were?"
Fourth Uncle shook his head, "They just asked me to pass on a message to you: this is just the beginning."
Li Chonglou's heart sank. The three people beside him exchanged glances, suddenly feeling a bit of pity for Fourth Uncle.