Silence!
At the boxing arena, except for Chu Lingtian, hundreds of men and women were stunned into silence, their mouths agape.
No one had expected that the scene they had subconsciously assumed, where Chu Lingtian would be begging for mercy after being beaten to his knees by Da Xiong's punches and kicks, would not happen. Instead, Da Xiong, the so-called Iron Fist and king of the "Fang Yu" bar's boxing ring, was defeated by Chu Lingtian with just one punch.
"Wh-what's going on? Da Xiong actually lost?"
"Holy crap! This kid named Lingtian actually knocked Da Xiong out of the ring with one punch?"
"Not only did Da Xiong get knocked out of the ring with one punch, he was knocked unconscious! Just how much power did that punch have?"
"..."
The crowd at the boxing match slowly came back to their senses, their voices filled with shock and disbelief.
Chu Lingtian, still standing on the ring, had a harmless, gentle smile on his face. He looked down at the unconscious Da Xiong on the ground and sighed, "Alas, I asked you to show mercy and let us go. I told you fighting is wrong and sets a bad example for children. Why did you force my hand?"
At this moment, the hundreds of men and women present finally understood.
It turned out Chu Lingtian had been playing the part of a pig to eat the tiger, hiding his true strength. With his ability to cripple Da Xiong with a single punch, let alone one Da Xiong, ten more wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
In reality, Chu Lingtian wasn't pretending to be weak. He simply wanted to keep a low profile and disdained to act. That was all.
If Da Xiong hadn't been so aggressive and persistent, pushing his luck, Chu Lingtian would have left with Liu Huohuo already.
"Haha, you all saw it, didn't you? I wasn't lying! Da Xiong is just a big bear, a weakling trash!"
Seeing Chu Lingtian defeat Da Xiong, Liu Huohuo, still drunk, was as happy as a child, waving her arms and shouting at the hundreds of people around her.
Chu Lingtian didn't want any more trouble. He grabbed Liu Huohuo's hand and quickly left the bar.
As soon as they stepped out of the bar, the cold wind blew, making Liu Huohuo even more dizzy. She squatted beside a roadside trash can and vomited.
Chu Lingtian shook his head, handed her tissues, and said, "Little imp, why bother? You couldn't trick me, and you ended up like this. It wasn't worth it."
"Because I wanted to..."
Before Liu Huohuo could finish her drunken ramblings, she collapsed on the ground and fell unconscious.
Seeing that Liu Huohuo was about to reveal her true intentions in her drunken state, why she had been seducing Chu Lingtian and trying to trick him, the little imp fell asleep under the influence of alcohol.
Waving down a taxi by the roadside, Chu Lingtian carried Liu Huohuo into the back seat, got in himself, and headed back to the Haoting Villa district.
Meanwhile, back at the "Fang Yu" bar's boxing ring, the spectators had been dispersed, and the unconscious Da Xiong had been sent to the hospital for treatment.
A bald middle-aged man with a large head, a fleshy face, and gold necklaces, a gold watch, and gold rings on his neck, wrists, and fingers, was accompanied by four burly bodyguards in black vests.
The bald middle-aged man was the owner of the "Fang Yu" bar, named Jin Sanyuan. He was quite influential in both the legitimate and underground circles of Dachang City, and his subordinates called him Master Jin.
"Master Jin, our men couldn't catch that couple."
A subordinate quickly approached Jin Sanyuan and reported in a low voice.
Jin Sanyuan took a puff of his cigarette, his eyes sinister, and asked coldly, "How is Da Xiong?"
"Da Xiong's entire right arm is fractured, and his internal organs have sustained injuries of varying degrees. Doctors say he'll need at least six months to recover, and even then, he won't be able to fight in boxing matches again."
The subordinate replied.
Jin Sanyuan's eyes flashed with killing intent, and he ordered, "Spread the word. I must find this kid named Lingtian. He injured Da Xiong and cost me such a valuable asset. Either he works for me in Da Xiong's place, or he pays me ten million. Otherwise, I'll cripple him for life!"
"Yes!"
The subordinates behind him nodded and responded in unison.
Haoting Villa.
Dong dong dong, Chu Lingtian knocked on the door.
Zhang Ping opened the door.
Seeing Chu Lingtian with Liu Huohuo's slender waist in his left arm, and Liu Huohuo already passed out drunk, Zhang Ping quickly took over the task of supporting her and said with concern, "How did Huohuo drink herself into this state? This girl's alcohol tolerance has always been good. How much did she drink?"
"She insisted on drinking that 'Sihai Yijia' mixed liquor. This kind of drink is very intoxicating and has a strong aftereffect. Plus, she probably hadn't eaten much, and drinking on an empty stomach makes one drunker. A few drinks and she couldn't handle it."
Chu Lingtian helped move Liu Huohuo to the sofa to rest temporarily.
Hearing the commotion, Liu Bingxue also came down from the second floor.
"Chu Lingtian, what did you do to my sister? How could she be so drunk?"
Liu Bingxue walked to the side of the sofa, looked at her sister lying there unconscious, and immediately glared at Chu Lingtian, interrogating him.
Chu Lingtian shrugged his shoulders, "She insisted on going at it with me. She didn't win, and instead got knocked out by me."
Hearing Chu Lingtian's words, Liu Bingxue's body trembled with anger, thinking, this scoundrel, using the word "gan" (which can mean 'to do' or 'to have sex') back and forth, what did he mean?
"The character '干' (gan) is a polyphone. Try substituting different pronunciations into my previous sentence," Chu Lingtian whispered in Liu Bingxue's ear.
"Chu Lingtian..."
Just as Liu Bingxue was about to erupt, her father, Liu Shu, interrupted her.
"Alright, this isn't Lingtian's fault. You know your sister's personality since childhood. She doesn't even listen to us, so how could she listen to Lingtian? She must have done this to herself."
Liu Shu was a little annoyed. He found his younger daughter, Liu Huohuo, truly difficult to manage.
Zhang Ping chimed in, "Bingxue, you and I will help your sister to her bedroom, give her a bath, and let her sleep well. She'll be fine."
"Uncle, Aunt, I'll head home now."
Chu Lingtian smiled and said to Liu Shu and Zhang Ping.
But this time, before Liu Shu and Zhang Ping could speak, Liu Bingxue's face turned frosty as she looked at Chu Lingtian and said sternly, "You're not leaving tonight. Watch some TV in the living room first. I'll find you after I've finished taking care of my sister."
"Huh?"
Chu Lingtian was surprised that Liu Bingxue would ask him to stay.
They were just strangers who met by chance. Even though they had spent a night of intense activity in the hotel, there was no affection between them, and their encounter in bed was truly a mishap.
Therefore, as soon as Chu Lingtian left the Liu family tonight, his pretense of being Liu Bingxue's boyfriend would be over, and he and the Liu family of four might never see each other again.
But now Liu Bingxue was actively asking him, Chu Lingtian, to stay. This cold beauty's sudden change in behavior, what did she want?