DASFAM_CH 07
As soon as these words came out, the flames of war were undoubtedly ignited.
Chen Shaoxuan had lived for so many years, and this was the first time someone had called him ‘trash’ to his face. His face immediately became angry, "Bai Xu, don't you dare refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit*!"
*敬酒不吃吃罰酒: is a metaphor that means someone fail to appreciate sb's kindness/ not know how to appreciate favors, and it also describes that someone is unable to differentiate good from bad (idiom) → not to know what's good for one/ unable to recognize others' good intentions.
"You think I won't dare to hit you?"
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, he threw a punch.
Bai Xu had already anticipated that he would lash out in anger, and he swiftly sidestepped. The rush of the fist was enough to show his anger.
Seeing that his first strike had missed, Chen Shaoxuan immediately swung another punch with his other hand.
—Bang!
The next second, his fist was forcefully caught.
Chen Yufei, who had been ready for this, rushed forward and blocked Chen Shaoxuan's attack with his palm. Then, with ease, he twisted his opponent's arm backward and pushed him away with brute strength.
"Ah!"
Chen Shaoxuan lost his balance and stumbled forward in a panic.
"Watch out, Young Master Chen!"
"Ouch—"
The assistant manager and a nearby friend rushed to catch him, but not only did they fail to do so, they also ended up falling down with him.
"Young Master Chen, be careful!"
"Ouch—"
The assistant manager and a nearby friend rushed to catch him, but not only did they fail, they ended up tumbling down together.
The group fell into a ball in a funny posture.
Meanwhile, Chen Yufei, who had caused all of this, kept a straight face and didn’t utter a single word.
Bai Xu was very satisfied and raised an eyebrow to praise him, "You're quite good and skilled. No wonder Shang Yanxiao keeps you around for protection."
Chen Yufei replied, "It's because the Third Young Master values me and is willing to give me an opportunity to work."
He had witnessed everything from behind earlier, so he naturally knew that Chen Shaoxuan and his group were the ones who had been rude, bullying, and even tried to get physical.
Looking at the number of people on the other side, Chen Yufei whispered, "Mr. Xiao Bai, be careful. I'll handle things here."
Bai Xu asked, "Are you sure?"
Chen Yufei whispered, "No problem."
"......”
Bai Xu's eyes flickered slightly, and he decisively took a step back, pulling out his phone once again.
If this were the real world and a fight broke out, he wouldn’t mind stepping in himself. But having just transmigrated into the book not long ago, the ‘original host's’ body hadn’t been fully trained yet.
He was still thinking clearly, since the odds of winning against so many weren't good, he might as well leave it to someone more capable.
After all, bringing bodyguards along was precisely for moments like this.
During the brief exchange, Chen Shaoxuan had already gotten up from the ground.
He forcefully straightened his clothes, his face flushed with rage, "Where did you even come from? What's with the act? If I don't beat you all to death here today, I won't be a Chen!"
The assistant manager, fearing he'd be caught up in the chaos, quickly tried to calm him down, "Young Master Chen, please calm down."
Chen Shaoxuan was furious and pushed him indiscriminately, "F*ck you!"
Caught off guard, the assistant manager fell backward, and as he hit the ground, a crisp ‘crack’ sounded from his right arm.
Suddenly, a wave of excruciating pain surged through him, "Ah—"
The woman staff in the store were dumbfounded, hesitating and too afraid to step forward.
Chen Shaoxuan completely ignored the assistant manager's well-being and signaled with his eyes for his two friends to attack together.
However, they were just idle rich playboys with no real skills, nowhere near a match for Chen Yufei, who had served in the military and trained properly.
In less than a minute, his friends were either on the ground or crying out in pain. As for Chen Shaoxuan, the ‘main target’, he received Chen Yufei's special attention—
His arms were twisted behind his back, his knees on the ground, so weak as if they had no bones, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Chen Yufei seemed to have pressed a pressure point on his wrist, and the pain went straight up,, "Stop, stop, stop... Ouch... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."
Bai Xu casually walked back, standing in front of Chen Shaoxuan, "Can't take it already? The way you used to bully 'me' was much worse than this."
Bullying others with power, bullying the minority with numbers, they were birds of a feather*!
*一丘之貉: it's can also interpreted as jackals of the same tribe (idiom), which means they are all just as bad as each other.
The suffering the original host endured was far worse than what Chen Shaoxuan was experiencing now!
Pinned down and in agony, Chen Shaoxuan looked up and pleaded, "O, okay, I… Can't I admit defeat? Just tell your bodyguard to let go!"
As soon as he admitted defeat, he was all soft, with no trace of his earlier arrogance.
After four or five years of not seeing him, Chen Shaoxuan hadn't expected this—
Bai Xu, who used to be so weak, now not only responded sharply but even brought a bodyguard with him when going out?
Bai Xu gave Chen Yufei a look, and the latter understood. Before letting go, he applied a bit more pressure.
"Ah!"
Chen Shaoxuan let out a sharp cry of pain and fell to the ground gasping for breath.
Without batting an eye, Bai Xu turned and walked away, with Chen Yufei following closely behind.
It wasn’t until they were about ten meters away from the store that Chen Yufei couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Xiao Bai, don’t you want them to apologize or something?"
"Apologize?"
Bai Xu, no longer in the mood for shopping, casually entered a branded store, "Apologies from people like them are insincere and useless to me now."
He quickly picked out a few items of clothing that caught his eye. Since he was already there, he might as well take some clothes back for now.
Chen Yufei, who came from a military background and had worked for Shang Yanxiao for several years, was used to a ‘revenge must be taken’ approach. For a moment, he felt somewhat unsatisfied.
"So, so you're just going to let it go?"
"….."
Let it go?
How could that be?
Bai Xu swiftly swiped his card and countered, "Did you forget what I asked you to do in the text earlier? Did you take the pictures?"
Chen Yufei was stunned for a couple of seconds before suddenly realizing what was going on.
From the moment Chen Shaoxuan entered the store, Chen Yufei, sitting in the lounge area, sensed something was off. Before he could step forward, Bai Xu, who had just recently added him on a messaging app, sent him a message:
"Stay still, record with your phone."
It was a simple eight-character instruction, and Chen Yufei followed it.
As they left the store, Bai Xu asked, "You recorded everything in the store, right?"
Chen Yufei took the shopping bags from the woman stagg and followed, "Yeah, I did."
Bai Xu raised an eyebrow with a meaningful look, "That's fine then."
He didn’t care for Chen Shaoxuan’s insincere apology, nor did he believe an apology could erase everything they had done to the original host. And they certainly didn’t deserve to be forgiven on the original host’s behalf.
Bai Xu had already prepared a backup plan. If he remembered correctly, Jinbai Real Estate, the company owned by the Chen family, eventually went bankrupt and was absorbed by the group that the male protagonist belonged to in the book.
Chen Shaoxuan loved using his power to bully others, looking down on people because of his family's status, didn't he?
If that was the case, Bai Xu didn’t mind delivering a ‘fast-track to bankruptcy’ gift to Jinbai Real Estate and the Chen family.
…
The car pulled back into the underground garage of the villa, and Bai Xu and Chen Yufei took the elevator directly to the second floor.
Xiao Deng, who was standing guard outside the master bedroom, saw them and greeted them, "Mr. Xiao Bai, Brother Fei, you're back already?"
"En."
Bai Xu calmly responded and immediately asked, "Where’s Xie Qi? Is he at home?"
Hearing this, Xiao Deng knocked on the door, "Assistant Xie is still in the master bedroom. The Old Master just came by and left not long ago."
Bai Xu nodded, "I'll go in. I need to speak with him."
Saying this, he took the initiative and pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
Chen Yufei handed the shopping bags to Xiao Deng and signaled, "Take these to Mr. Xiao Bai’s room. You can switch shifts and rest now. I’ll take over."
“Alright”
…
Xie Qi, who had been working in the master bedroom, immediately set down his tablet and stood up when he heard the noise, "Mr. Xiao Bai, you're back?"
Bai Xu stopped in front of him, but his eyes briefly glanced at Shang Yanxiao, who was lying in the inner room, “En, how is he?”
Pushing up his glasses, Xie Qi replied calmly, "The Third Young Master is the same as usual. But why are you back so quickly? Did you get everything you needed?"
As he spoke, he cast a glance toward Chen Yufei, standing at the door.
Bai Xu didn’t beat around the bush, "We ran into some trouble, so I’d like you to help me handle something."
"Trouble?"
Xie Qi’s expression became more serious as he asked, "What happened?"
Chen Yufei, being more familiar with his long-time colleague, spoke up and explained the situation at the store, showing Xie Qi the video he had recorded.
Bai Xu continued, "Whether it's local media forums or national social platforms, I need someone to help stir up some public attention. As for the topics that should trend, I trust you know what they should be."
Even if it meant paying for online trolls, they needed to create controversy around this issue.
"I understand, but…" Xie Qi hesitated, "Mr. Xiao Bai, are you sure you want to go head-to-head with Jinbai Real Estate alone? Isn’t that a bit too—"
Bai Xu interrupted, "Do you think I'm not being realistic?"
The words were neither salty nor bland, but it carried the commanding presence of someone not to be underestimated.
Xie Qi was taken aback, feeling for a moment as if he were dealing with another version of Shang Yanxiao.
He organized his thoughts and tried to explain, "Although Jinbai Real Estate has been declining over the past two years, it’s still an established corporate group."
As the saying goes, ‘A camel starved to death is bigger than a horse*’. Jinbai surely has its own dedicated PR and operations teams.
*瘦死的骆驼比马大: it's means, although a rich family has become less rich than previous, they are still richer than a poor family.
While Chen Yufei's statements were extreme and might provoke consumer backlash, if Jinbai is willing to spend money on PR, this media battle might not be so easy to win.
An individual against a corporation doesn’t usually stand much of a chance.
Bai Xu understood Xie Qi’s concerns, and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips. His naturally fair face, combined with that smile, suddenly looked harmless, "I know. It’s difficult to bring them down with just a media battle."
But it would still be enough to tarnish Jinbai’s image in the eyes of consumers. Stirring public opinion was only Bai Xu’s first step, he had more plans in place.
Bai Xu paused briefly, then spoke frankly, "I don’t have many connections right now, which is why I thought it’d be easier to ask for your help. But if it’s inconvenient for you to assist me while carrying the title of Shang Yanxiao’s assistant, I can pay someone else to help."
Xie Qi and Chen Yufei next to him looked at each other and thought for a while, "No, this little connection is no big deal."
"Thank you."
Bai Xu’s thanks came swiftly and decisively.
He looked at Shang Yanxiao lying on the bed again, remembering something, “By the way, should I find time to visit Old Master Shang? Does he have time?”
After all, he had entered under the pretense of an arranged marriage, and it would be polite to visit the elder, lest people say he lacked manners behind his back.
Xie Qi replied, "The Old Master specifically mentioned when he came by this afternoon. There's a family dinner this Saturday, so you can just attend then."
The Shang family was large and influential, with certain traditions in place. For example—
At the end of every month, there was a family dinner that all family members in the capital had to attend.
"……"
A family dinner on Saturday?
The timing seemed perfect.
"Okay, I got it."
A gleam flashed in Bai Xu’s eyes as he agreed without hesitation. He glanced at his phone screen, "I’ll leave this matter in your hands then."
Xie Qi nodded, "Understood."
—Bang.
The door closed quietly.
Chen Yufei locked it with practiced ease, stationed himself by the door, and kept a close watch on the inner room.
Xie Qi poured a cup of warm water and handed it to Shang Yanxiao, who had just gotten up to move around, "Third Young Master, would you like some?"
Shang Yanxiao, feeling the numbness and weakness in his legs from lying down for so long, frowned slightly. His nearly 1.9-meter frame exuded an undeniable sense of pressure, "No."
Since he had been pretending to be in a long-term ‘coma’, even the condition of his lips needed to look convincing.
Xie Qi set down the water cup and pushed up his glasses, "Third Young Master, what do you think about what happened with Mr. Xiao Bai just now?"
Shang Yanxiao’s slow steps came to a halt, and he responded calmly, "Since he asked for your help, just do as he requested."
Jinbai Group had focused on building its signature chain of commercial hubs. A few years ago, its development was rapid, but with the increasing regional saturation of large shopping centers nationwide, it had been on a downward trend for the past two to three years.
Shang Group had many industries under its belt, but only a couple of them involved commercial projects.
Six months ago, the Old Master of the Shang family had expressed an interest in expanding into the commercial sector. As for Jinbai Group, in Shang Group's eyes—
It could either be a partner or a competitor, depending on the whims of the family’s highest-ranking chairman.
For Shang Yanxiao, who leaned toward more aggressive strategies, acquisition was preferable to cooperation.
Thinking back to his recent interactions with Bai Xu, Xie Qi told the truth, "Third Young Master, I have a feeling Mr. Xiao Bai isn’t as simple as he seems. I’m not sure what he plans to do with Jinbai Group next."
Shang Yanxiao’s gaze flickered slightly, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes. "No rush. Let’s watch for now."
He, too, was curious about what Bai Xu was planning to do.
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