Chapter 54: Fourth Brother, Didn't You Say There Would Be a Fierce Battle?

“Brother Lin, at the company I only knew you and Brother Li. But since Brother Li left, I haven’t been able to find you. I send you messages, but you rarely reply. And lately, I don’t know what’s gotten into my supervisor—he keeps making things difficult for me, dumping all the dirty and exhausting work on me. Just this afternoon, he made me clean the restroom...” Xia Qingqing sounded utterly wronged, clinging to Lin Feng and refusing to let go.

Lin Feng was startled by her words. Even without thinking too hard, he could guess what was going on—it must have been an order from Chu Lingshuang! He hadn’t expected that even after Li Hao was fired, Chu Lingshuang would still trouble Xia Qingqing like this...

Anger clenched tight in Lin Feng’s fist, but before he could speak, Xia Qingqing mumbled again, “Brother Lin, maybe I should just quit too. Take me with you, okay? Don’t just take Brother Li!”

She was clearly not in her right mind, her words tumbling out incoherently.

Lin Feng replied in a deep voice, “No! Didn’t you say your family pulled strings to get you this job? Quitting suddenly wouldn’t be good.”

Dazed, Xia Qingqing swayed her head. Hearing the word “family” seemed to trigger something in her. She hurriedly bowed her head, frantically searching her pockets for her phone. But after a long search, she still hadn’t found it. Panic flashed across her face.

“Oh no!” Xia Qingqing suddenly exclaimed, “Brother Lin, I think I left my phone at the bar...”

“Uh...” Lin Feng paused, then said, “You rest here, I’ll go get it.”

“I want to go with you!” Xia Qingqing tugged insistently at Lin Feng, trying to get up.

But she was so drunk—how could he possibly let her go out with him? He’d only have to bring her back again.

With a firm hand, Lin Feng pushed her back down, tucking the blanket around her. “Wait here. I’ll go get it. Don’t make trouble.”

Perhaps his tone was too stern, for Xia Qingqing shrank back, quickly pulling the blanket up to wrap herself.

Lin Feng sighed, not bothering to explain further. He grabbed the keys from the bedside and walked out, locking the door behind him.

He took a cab to Golden Age.

It was already past eleven at night, and the bar was bustling. Lin Feng went to the counter and asked a staff member, who confirmed someone had indeed found Xia Qingqing’s phone there.

Thanking the staff, Lin Feng picked up the phone and headed out, but before he’d taken two steps, the phone vibrated in his hand.

He thought it was a call and was about to hang up—after all, it wasn’t right to look at someone else’s phone—but when he glanced at the screen, he froze.

It was a scheduled reminder for that day:

“Tomorrow is your 25-year-old brother’s birthday. Happy birthday to the silly brother who got lost! Note: Remember to take leave and come home!”

Twenty-five?

Lin Feng’s brows furrowed instantly. He was extremely sensitive to that number, because he himself had just turned twenty-five this year.

His eyelids twitched violently. Could it really be such a coincidence?

He recalled that his earliest memories were of being in an orphanage; anything before that was a blur. He only remembered a couple handing him over to a middle-aged man. After that, everything was lost to time.

For some reason, Lin Feng felt this couldn’t be a coincidence. His heart pounded. He wouldn’t be so nervous for no reason otherwise.

Why not do a DNA test and see?

The thought leapt into his mind—testing would give him the answer. Sitting here wondering did him no good; it only made him more anxious.

Clutching the phone, Lin Feng bought a box of plastic wrap at a street stall and took a cab back to Xia Qingqing’s place.

She was already asleep. He set the phone by her pillow and, without hesitation, plucked a few strands of her hair, wrapping them securely in the plastic wrap.

He’d take them in for testing tomorrow.

With that decided, Lin Feng tucked the hair into his pocket and left.

But just after he reached the entrance, he saw a group of a dozen burly men approaching. The leader, dyed red hair and a cigarette dangling from his lips, grinned at Lin Feng with a rogue’s smirk.

Lin Feng’s expression darkened at once.

“So, you’re the one who hit our boss Zhao?” the red-haired man sneered, spitting his cigarette butt to the ground and grinding it under his shoe.

The “Boss Zhao” he mentioned had to be the man who’d been harassing Xia Qingqing.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes, weighing his chances in a fight.

Seeing him silent, the red-haired man grew angry. “I’m talking to you, you little punk!”

A dozen men shouldn’t be too hard to deal with, Lin Feng thought, but if they’d found him here, their boss must have some influence—and would surely come after Xia Qingqing again.

Feeling guilty for dragging her into this mess, Lin Feng decided it’d be better to resolve the trouble once and for all. That way, their debts would be settled.

He raised his head and said calmly, “Yes, it was me.”

The red-haired man hadn’t expected Lin Feng to admit it so readily. He burst out laughing. “Alright! Got guts! Be smart and come with us. Don’t make us use force!”

That suited Lin Feng just fine. What good would it do to rough up these small fry? Better to go straight to their lair and catch the real culprit.

He nodded. “Fine, lead the way.”

Red Hair, who’d been prepared for a fight, was taken aback. “What?”

He shot Lin Feng a look of disbelief. This was going too smoothly!

Red Hair’s temper, wound up and ready to explode, was left hanging. He pointed at a nearby black car, dazed. “Get in, then.”

“Alright,” Lin Feng replied.

In front of a dozen burly men armed with sticks, he calmly opened the back door and got in.

Red Hair was speechless.

“Fourth Bro, didn’t you say there’d be a big fight?” one of the men in black behind him asked.

“Big fight, my ass! This whole neighborhood is covered with cameras. Are you stupid?” Red Hair snapped, rolling his eyes.

The original plan had been to scare Lin Feng, and if that didn’t work, to drag him off in a black bag. But the guy got into the car himself...

Most people here worked for big companies; he didn’t want to stir up trouble. So he barked, “Alright, get in! Boss Zhao is waiting!”

The group quickly piled into the car.

Red Hair slid into the front passenger seat of Lin Feng’s car, face dark. He turned with a sly grin. “Listen, man, you can’t go like that.”

Lin Feng looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Your hands—you can’t keep them free. Gotta tie them up!” Red Hair gave a wicked smile, brandishing a rope with a look that said, “Either you cooperate, or my guys will do it by force.”

To his surprise, Lin Feng calmly held out his hands, expression serene.

“Go ahead, tie them.”

Red Hair was left speechless.