"Enough!"
Chen Lian roared, the sound genuinely startling many. Even some wealthy merchants chatting nearby noticed.
"What's going on?"
"Isn't that Young Master Chen?"
"The Vice Mayor's son?"
"That's him. Who could have angered him so much?"
"..."
Many watched with surprise and confusion, as they had no idea what had transpired to provoke such a furious reaction from the Vice Mayor's son.
Li Se, looking at the Vice Mayor's son before him, was somewhat bewildered by the sudden outburst. However, he didn't pay it much mind.
"Lick this spilled red wine off the floor clean, or I'll make you regret it!" Chen Lian said fiercely. He wasn't angered by Li Se's arrogance, but by the way the two of them were flirting. He had his eye on Qiao Weiwei, and their whispering together felt like a complete disregard for him.
As the Vice Mayor's son, he wasn't afraid of arrogance, but he detested being ignored the most!
"In a hurry?" Li Se scoffed.
"You!" Chen Lian, annoyed, raised his hand to slap Li Se. But halfway to its target, his hand stopped. Li Se had precisely grabbed it.
"Let go!" Chen Lian said sternly.
"What, you want to hit me, and I'm not allowed to retaliate?" Li Se sneered.
"You brute, release Young Master Chen at once!"
"Who do you think you are, daring to grab Young Master Chen?"
"So bold, retaliating? Do you even deserve to?"
"..."
Several of his companions were furious.
Chen Xue, having already struck, also raised her hand to slap Li Se. But the same thing happened as with Chen Lian; her wrist was caught by Li Se.
"You dare touch me?" Chen Xue exclaimed.
Li Se frowned, "What, I really can't fight back?"
"Do you know who I am? You dare touch me? I'm the Vice Mayor's daughter! You, a nobody, think you can touch me? I see you have ill intentions towards me!" Chen Xue said with disgust, trying to pull her hand away.
Li Se was somewhat speechless and simply let go of Chen Xue. However, in doing so, he released his grip. Chen Xue, in her effort to yank her arm free, exerted force and stumbled to the ground.
"Xiao Xue?" Chen Lian's expression darkened. "Kid, you're dead. I originally just wanted you to leave Qingyun City, but now I've changed my mind. I want you to spend the rest of your life in the hospital!"
"Are you sure you have the ability to do that?" Li Se remained dismissive.
Everyone listening was speechless. Even the wealthy merchants present shook their heads. It wasn't just Li Se; even they, the wealthy, wouldn't dare offend Chen Lian lightly. They wondered where this young man came from, or if he was the son of some big boss, acting so arrogant after being a rich second generation for too long that he disregarded even the Vice Mayor's son?
The common people do not fight against officials; this is an unchanging truth. Indeed, many present wanted to curry favor with Chen Lian. Offending him would likely make their lives impossible.
Qiao Guohua, who was chatting with an old friend, immediately noticed the situation. Upon seeing Li Se and Chen Lian in a scuffle, and Chen Xue falling to the ground, his expression changed. He hurried over, playing the peacemaker, "Is there perhaps some misunderstanding?"
"Dad!" Qiao Weiwei called out.
"Uncle Qiao," Li Se also greeted politely.
"Misunderstanding?" Chen Lian said with a dark face. "Do we look like we're having a misunderstanding now?"
Chen Xue had already been helped up and, like a shrew, pointed at Li Se, shouting furiously, "There's no misunderstanding. He's dead! I don't care who you are, get out of the way! No one here today can save this scoundrel!"
"That may not be true!" Qiao Guohua and Weiwei frowned. He knew that this small gathering, hosted by Mayor Ding Peng and Du Jinglong, was because of Li Se. His reason for intervening as a peacemaker was because of Chen Lian's significant status; if things escalated unpleasantly, it wouldn't be good for either party. But Chen Xue's words were indeed quite infuriating.
"May not be true?" Chen Xue raised an eyebrow, becoming even angrier. "Who are you? Do you have the right to speak here?"
Her attitude made Qiao Guohua displeased. He said calmly, "I am from the Qiao Corporation. My name is Qiao Guohua."
"So, from the Qiao Corporation. Are you very impressive?" Chen Xue said dismissively.
The Qiao Corporation was wealthier than most of the merchants present. While not based in Qingyun City, the Qiao Corporation had established a presence there for some time. Even so, offending the Vice Mayor would be imprudent.
"Not particularly impressive, but shouldn't everything be handled with reason?" Qiao Guohua said with a smile.
"Qiao Corporation, is it? You'd best not get involved in this matter. This is between me and this kid!" Chen Lian said with a grim face.
Qiao Guohua shook his head, "As you can see, this is my daughter's man. As her father, how can I not intervene?"
Chen Lian was taken aback. Had Qiao Guohua acknowledged Li Se as his son-in-law? He was confused. The man looked quite ordinary, so how could he have earned Qiao Guohua's approval?
"Heh, even if you want to step in, it's useless. I told you, no one can help today!" Chen Lian said menacingly.
"Yes, no one can help!" Chen Xue agreed.
Everyone shook their heads. This Qiao Guohua was truly out of his mind, trying to offend the Vice Mayor's son?
"The Mayor is here!"
At this very moment, someone exclaimed. Several people were walking in, led by Ding Peng. Accompanying him were Du Jinglong, Vice Mayor Chen Minfeng, and a group of leaders behind them.
"Mayor Ding, President Du, I've been suffering from certain ailments lately. You must introduce me to Physician Li later," Chen Minfeng said with a smile.
"Certainly, I will introduce you," Mayor Ding replied with a laugh.
"Dad!" Chen Xue was the first to run towards Chen Minfeng, looking wronged.
"Xiao Xue, what's wrong?" Chen Minfeng doted on his daughter dearly.
"Some brat bullied me and pushed me to the ground. Look at my arm..." Chen Xue cried, referring to her injured arm from her fall.
"Who is it?" Chen Minfeng asked with a cold face.
Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to Li Se, some with schadenfreude, others with pity. This time, he was truly finished, for the Vice Mayor was enraged.
Chen Lian smiled cruelly, "It's too late even if you lick the red wine off the floor now!"
Li Se remained unfazed, "How about we make a bet?"
"What is it?" Chen Lian was surprised that Li Se still had the leisure to make a bet with him.
"If nothing happens to me today, you'll lick the red wine clean. What do you think?" Li Se pointed at the floor.
"Haha!" Chen Lian burst into laughter. "Alright. Conversely, if you lose, you'll lick it clean. And this is just the beginning; more cruel things await you!"
Many were speechless upon hearing their bet, and some admired Li Se for daring to gamble at such a time, wondering what he was thinking.