The speaker was a little girl, less than 1.6 meters tall, with an adorable appearance.
She looked a few years younger than Tian Lingli.
But the words she spoke were incredibly grating, like a village gossip.
The girl linked arms with a man in a sharp suit, his hair meticulously styled, a smug smile on her face.
Her eyes were sly and cunning, not even landing on Li Chonglou, but instead appraising Tian Lingli with amusement.
Her expression was triumphant as she sneered, "Mo Mo is right. I didn't agree to be your date, but you don't have to find someone like *this*, do you?"
"Lili, if you knew this day would come, why did you act like that before? Isn't it better to be straightforward?"
"At least you wouldn't have to make such a fool of yourself."
The man's words were laced with subtext, which Li Chonglou naturally understood.
These live-streaming platforms were a mixed bag, attracting all sorts of people.
Moreover, most streamers lacked formal education and practical survival skills in real life.
Girls relied mostly on talent and looks.
Expecting them to have good manners was as futile as expecting an ivory tusk to sprout from a dog's mouth.
But for this man, a high-ranking executive, to openly mock one streamer in front of everyone while assisting another was very unusual.
Unless, of course, Tian Lingli had done something that deeply embarrassed him.
"Zhang Cheng, don't push it!" Tian Lingli's face flushed, and she said with suppressed anger, "I've been yielding, and it's still meaningful for you to be so aggressive?"
"I didn't intend to be your enemy, so no matter how much you overstep, I'll give you some leeway."
"But everyone has a bottom line. Don't look down on people!"
These words further convinced Li Chonglou that there was some past grievance between them.
However, these matters had nothing to do with him.
The girl named Mo Mo and the man named Zhang Cheng, who were in front of him, couldn't even stir the slightest urge for him to lift an eyebrow.
He was too lazy to pay attention to their taunts.
"It's like playing music for a cow; it's meaningless. Let's go," he said, preparing to pull Tian Lingli inside.
"Stop right there!"
Zhang Cheng's face twitched, and he coldly shouted, "Kid, who are you calling a cow?"
"What an arrogant tone! Do you think you can be so lawless just because you've latched onto a streamer like Lili and are living off her?"
"What do you think you are? Does anyone like you even exist in Qinzhou!"
Yueyu Group was considered one of the top ten enterprises in Qinzhou.
As a Yueyu executive, no streamer dared to disobey him. He had even met figures like Tang Xiuzhu, the eldest young master of the Tang family, who were high and mighty young masters and ladies in Qinzhou.
He was also well-acquainted with affluent families.
The moment he saw Li Chonglou, he knew he wasn't from high society.
Therefore, he was nothing more than a spineless pretty boy trying to live off Tian Lingli.
Someone like that dared to insult him by calling him a cow.
This was his territory, and he was simply asking for trouble!
"Mr. Zhang, Yueyu didn't invite such a low-class social scum to the banquet, did we?" Mo Mo chimed in at this moment, fanning the flames with schadenfreude.
She and Tian Lingli had always been at odds, having exchanged insults during livestreams before.
When she heard that Tian Lingli's date was Zhang Cheng, she had secretly arranged for Zhang Cheng to sleep with Tian Lingli. However, she hadn't expected that despite looking charming and alluring, Tian Lingli's private life wasn't as promiscuous as imagined.
Instead, she had firmly rejected Zhang Cheng.
This angered Zhang Cheng, who threatened to blacklist Tian Lingli and even planned with Mo Mo to humiliate her on the spot.
He wanted to make her look like a complete fool tonight.
As for Li Chonglou, he was merely an accessory, not taken seriously by them at all.
He was merely a tool to insult Tian Lingli.
"Of course, with that attire, what right do you have to attend such a high-class banquet?" Zhang Cheng sneered triumphantly. "Pretty boy, you should at least buy a decent suit."
"I can represent the organizers and refuse a lowly commoner like you."
Li Chonglou, with his strong inner fortitude, didn't get angry despite being called "lowly" repeatedly.
But Tian Lingli could no longer stand it.
"Zhang Cheng, that's enough! He's my classmate, my friend. Are you really going to fall out with me?" Tian Lingli's voice involuntarily rose.
She could tolerate Zhang Cheng's suppression of her using company resources, no matter how angry she was.
After all, she had to bow her head when living under someone else's roof.
But everyone had their limits, and she was no exception.
She had refused Zhang Cheng's advances without hesitation.
While Tian Lingli wasn't overly conservative, she still had her pride. She didn't want to advance her career through her body in real life. Having finally achieved some success online, why should she compromise herself?
But she hadn't expected Zhang Cheng to be so petty, not only ditching her at the banquet but also indiscriminately humiliating Li Chonglou.
"Do you think you're worthy of falling out with me?" Zhang Cheng's cold smile gradually faded, a hint of fierceness flashing in his eyes. He lowered his voice and threatened, "Lili, remember, you only eat because I allow it. If I stop providing, you'll starve."
"After tonight, I'm afraid I won't even rank in the top hundred of Yueyu, let alone the top ten!"
"I'll sleep with you whenever I want, you ungrateful slut—"
Slap!
Before he could finish speaking, a hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slapped him hard across the face.
Zhang Cheng stumbled from the impact. The immense force left several red finger marks on his face, and blood trickled from his lips.
When he turned his head back, his face was contorted beyond recognition.
His eyes were red as he glared at Li Chonglou.
"Mr. Zhang, are you alright?" Mo Mo exclaimed in shock, anxiously cupping Zhang Cheng's face.
Her cry immediately drew the attention of everyone who hadn't yet entered the venue, shifting their focus to the group.
Tian Lingli was stunned by the scene.
"You scumbag, you dare to hit me?" Zhang Cheng pushed Mo Mo away, his eyes filled with hatred as he glared at Li Chonglou and bellowed, "I'll let you know how expensive this slap is!"
"You wait for me. If I don't make you kneel today, I'm not Zhang Cheng!"
He absolutely hadn't expected that Li Chonglou, whom he saw as lowly as a dog, would dare to slap him in public.
This was an important company gathering.
His reputation, his pride, all had vanished in that single slap.
If he didn't get revenge today, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up again within the company or in front of streamers.
After speaking, he took out his phone and gritted his teeth as he dialed.
"Hitting you is the least of it," Li Chonglou said quietly, watching him operate, his expression growing colder.
He had stepped in to teach Zhang Cheng a lesson, not because Zhang Cheng disgusted him.
But to stand up for Tian Lingli.
From the conversation alone, he realized this woman was different from what he had imagined.
She wasn't as sycophantic or messy as he might have thought, but rather possessed her own principles.
To go from nothing to a streamer with millions of followers relied on her own strength and skills, not her body or connections.
As Zhang Cheng threatened her, the fear and defiance warring in her eyes deeply moved Li Chonglou.
In today's society, how many people could still adhere to such a bottom line?
"It's over. You shouldn't have hit him," Tian Lingli said at this moment, her heart in turmoil, her voice tinged with tears. "It doesn't matter if my livestream is good or not, but Zhang Cheng's connections are very complicated. He's rich and influential."
"You hit him in front of so many people, and he definitely won't let you go."
"Even if Wang Dehai supports you, it's probably useless."
"This is my mess. I'll take responsibility alone. You should leave quickly!"
Despite the panic in Tian Lingli's alluring eyes, the words she spoke surprised Li Chonglou greatly.