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Chapter 140: Chapter 127: Unaware of Death (Please subscribe!) _1
"Little Tang, what’s going on?" Zhou Li started to ask. Seeing Yan Fei’s face full of rage, he knew that asking him wouldn’t be a wise move, and besides, Yan Fei had too many ’previous offenses,’ making him unreliable.
At this moment, Zhou Li also had a headache. One was his future "money source," and the other was his old friend’s son. Both were at odds with each other, and he found it hard to mediate no matter who was right or wrong. However, he needed to understand the situation first.
"It’s nothing, just a little misunderstanding," Tang Qing answered indifferently. He wasn’t in the habit of pointing out people’s faults in situations like these, mostly because it seemed like a waste of breath.
"Hehe, well as long as it’s a misunderstanding, let’s clear it up. So, let’s just..." Zhou Li chuckled. He sighed in relief upon seeing that Tang Qing was willing to let it slide. Worst-case scenario was if neither party was willing to back down, creating a tension that would make him positioned awkwardly in the middle. All the while, he couldn’t help but appreciate Tang Qing’s understanding and ’magnanimity’. Even though Yan Fei was the victim here, well, Zhou naturally trusted Tang Qing to be the one in the right, not for any particular reason, but because he roughly knew Tang Qing’s character from their interactions and was certain that Tang Qing wouldn’t abuse his power.
However, Yan Fei wasn’t willing to let this slide so easily. He’d clearly been slapped twice. As the recipient of the hits, how could he just let this go? So, he interrupted Zhou Li and shouted, "Hold on, Tang Qing, what about those slaps you just gave me?"
"Oh? And how would you like to settle that?" Tang Qing asked with interest, looking at Yan Fei.
"You should fire Zhang Jing," Yan Fei demanded loudly. He couldn’t just take two slaps for nothing, and while it was unrealistic to hit back right now with Zhou Li present, it was better to take advantage of the situation. If Zhang Jing got fired, he might not necessarily win her over, but at least he would have taken the first step. Unfortunately, Zhang Jing’s ’prejudice’ against him was too deep - conventional methods were no longer effective.
Upon hearing this, Tang Qing scoffed and said, "Hehe, let me give you three words: ’Not... Possible...’"
Fire Zhang Jing? What a joke, for an idiot like him? Even if he was the son of the richest man in the country, Tang Qing wouldn’t fire one of his own when he was clearly in the right. That’s his principle. As for the trouble that this might cause, hmph, he would deal with it.
Yan Fei, who expected Tang Qing to agree, was taken aback when Tang Qing’s attitude changed so abruptly, giving him ’no face’. It felt like a slap in the face, and he didn’t know how to describe his feelings at the moment, but one thing was for sure—he harbored a deep hatred for Tang Qing—resenting him for ’stealing’ his wife.
"You...if you do not fire him, I will not return this money," Yan Fei retorted with a clever look in his eyes, patting the bag of money next to him triumphantly.
"Aren’t you worried about the overdue penalty?" Tang Qing asked curiously, referring to the contract produced by the system. He wasn’t afraid of people defaulting on their repayments, as he’d always win, given the high penalty fee for overdue payment that he’d specified. It was incredibly high, 1% per day. This kind of breach was meant for clients using the system funds. In the future, for clients not using system funds, a more ’reasonable’ penalty condition might be better. Otherwise, to some people, it might seem as if he was practising usury.
There had been cases in the future where people deliberately did this—they would give loans at a very favourable rate, but set a high overdue penalty. Then when the loan was due, they would use various excuses to prevent repayment, just to earn the overdue penalty. Tang Qing didn’t want to invoke suspicion of practising usury. After Dou Jiao’s ’insightful detection’, Tang Qing had become more cautious.
"Hmph, when the time comes, if the breach is long, and the penalty is high, I’ll accuse you of charging usurious interest. You better think it over," Yan Fei boasted smugly. In his eyes, Tang Qing’s kind had to have usury as part of their business. Otherwise, what could you earn from a mere 1% interest rate? Moreover, he had seen news reports of people who practiced usury being arrested. Yan Fei intuitively thought that usury was illegal, so he decided to try and scare Tang Qing.
"I..." Tang Qing was speechless. He hadn’t expected Yan Fei to come up with such a ludicrous solution, or rather to have latched onto the ’crux’ of the issue so quickly. But this crux held no ground, and even if it did, Tang Qing wouldn’t let it stand.
Rather than engaging further with Yan Fei, Tang Qing turned to Zhou Li and asked, "Uncle Zhou, what do you think about this?"
Zhou Li had been wanting to speak for a while now. Seeing that the situation had progressed to direct threats, he was anxious. His old friend was still in the hospital, and this news would surely cause him distress. Before leaving, his old friend had repeatedly urged him to look after Yan Fei, and Zhou had promised to do that. But reality proved to be tougher than imagination, and before Zhou could react, the situation between Tang Qing and Yan Fei had already escalated.
"Little Fei, what are you doing? Apologize right now. Tang Qing has helped your family’s factory," Zhou scolded sternly.
The situation was clear now. Tang Qing wanted to put the past behind them, forgive and forget but Yan Fei was hell-bent on achieving some objective unknown to Zhou. Yan Fei was obviously their loophole. Moreover, while he understood the scale and legality of usury, getting Tang Qing dragged into a lawsuit would mean trouble. Given Tang Qing’s previous standoff with the bodyguard, Yan Fei’s family would definitely suffer if they were to confront such a ’powerful’ force.
"I don’t care, just agree to my demand. Otherwise... I won’t return this money," Yan Fei hugged the large ’money bag’ on his lap. Seeing Zhou Li siding with Tang Qing, Yan Fei felt frustrated. Zhou Li was his father’s good friend, and he should be on his side. It didn’t matter to him that Tang Qing had helped their family. Who would value someone who couldn’t help with even a small matter?
"You’re such a character, eh? Looks like you’re refusing a toast and asking for a forfeit instead," Tang Qing shook his head reluctantly, feeling that Yan Fei’s head wasn’t working properly. For a woman, he was willing to offend anyone. Lust had clouded his judgment. Although Tang Qing wanted to commend Yan Fei for his ’persistence’, who asked him to be the antagonist?
Upon hearing Tang Qing’s words, both Zhou Li and Yan Fei tensed up. Just as Zhou was about to say something, Tang Qing moved. In an instant, he magnified his speed to its maximum, striding forward, and grabbed the money bag before Yan Fei could even react. Yan Fei was still clenching the money bag, but there was no way he could be a match for Tang Qing. Even Han Leng, the muscular special forces soldier, couldn’t compete with Tang Qing in terms of strength, let alone Yan Fei.
In the end, the bag of money was seized by Tang Qing while Yan Fei was still in shock. Tang Qing returned to his seat and placed the money on the left side of his chair.
Seeing his hands empty, Yan Fei was dumbfounded. He immediately stood up, trying to snatch the money back.
"Give me back the money..." Yan Fei charged towards Tang Qing, baring his teeth menacingly. If this scene were to be played in slow motion, it would reveal Yan Fei’s ferocious face, almost terrifying enough to make a night owl stop hooting.
Seeing this, Tang Qing scoffed. Competing in strength? He was no match for Tang Qing.
Tang Qing kicked Yan Fei, thinking to himself how lucky Yan Fei was that the borrowed money was from the system, prohibiting him from violating the contract. If it were Tang Qing’s own money, he would not just let it go.
Yan Fei was kicked directly into the corner. Tang Qing didn’t use full force. Yan Fei, who initially thought he would be severely injured, found out that he was just feeling a bit bloated in his chest. He understood Tang Qing had shown mercy. For a moment, he didn’t dare to come forward. He previously thought Tang Qing was as harmless as a lamb, but that kick transformed him into a big, menacing wolf, showing his sharp teeth. The situation was clear now. Yan Fei could definitely not beat Tang Qing. Even if Ying Fei were to hold a knife, he would not have the slightest confidence in facing Tang Qing.
Zhou Li felt relieved to see that Yan Fei wasn’t seriously injured. If things got out of hand, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Come over here again, and you’ll see what happens." Tang Qing pointed at Yan Fei and said coldly.
Yan Fei was frightened by Tang Qing’s icy gaze, break out in a cold sweat, he didn’t dare to make a move.
Tang Qing didn’t want to waste time. He reached into the small opening of the bag and transferred all the money into the system. Accurate and successful. The task was completed, perfectly.
The extra change was kept in his personal account.
Zhou Li and Yan Fei, their vision blocked, were naturally unaware of Tang Qing’s small move.
Then, Tang Qing pulled out a receipt from his pocket and handed it over, saying coldly, "Take this, now, immediately, and get out. You’re not welcome here."
"You, Little Tang, Little Fei...Little Fei, go back first." Zhou Li instinctively wanted to express that Yan Fei was still young, but seeing Tang Qing in his school uniform, he didn’t know what to say. It seems like he can no longer play the moderate peacemaker. He started to criticize Yan Fei in his mind. He was older than Tang Qing but far less mature. He did not know the principles of advance or retreat, gain or loss. Had he lived to the age of a dog? Yan Fei didn’t care a bit about what Zhou Li said before. As the boss, Zhou Li was a face-conscious person outside. Yan Fei, you are just the son of my old friend. How dared you ignore me with such disdain? What do you think you are?
Seeing that Zhou Li was not helping him, Yan Fei realized that it was hopeless. After confirming the receipt was correct, he took it and left the box. Seeing that Tang Qing didn’t count the money and just gave him the receipt, Yan Fei instantly regretted not "pilfering" some money. As he left, Yan Fei didn’t forget to leave a harsh word: "Tang Qing, you just wait, this isn’t over."
Having said that, seeing Tang Qing taking a step towards him, Yan Fei was frightened and changed his walk to a run. He ran downstairs in a dejected manner. He had originally intended to flirt with Zhang Jing at the front desk, but seeing Tang Qing about to come downstairs probably to beat him up, he quickly ran out of the restaurant.
Looking up at the large sign of Baiwei Restaurant, Yan Fei felt a surge of hatred. This was not just a great loss of face today; it felt like his face was completely shattered.
As if a thought struck him, Yan Fei took out his phone and dialed a number. A woman’s voice came from the phone.
"Hello, this is the 110 emergency service desk."
"Hello, 110? I want to report someone lending money at exorbitant interest rates." Yan Fei immediately spoke loudly with newfound conviction.
PS: Here comes the second Chapter, sorry for keeping you waiting.
