Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
At that hour, the night sky was empty, and the neon lights turned Jiangcheng into a sleepless city.
Li Zimeng parked the car at the corner of the park, looked toward the basketball court, and exclaimed, “Mr. Xiao, Chen Jianbai is right over there playing hoops!”
Looking in the direction where she indicated, Xiao Luo saw Chen Jianbai. He had small eyes, wasn’t too tall, and wore a jersey over a black singlet. He was very agile on the court. Although he was moderately short, his jumping ability was astonishing. He managed to accomplish several offensive rebounds against his bigger and taller opponents.
Li Zimeng said, “All of the guys on the court are his friends. They are all shady characters. For someone like him, who is in that field of work, they need these kinds of people to help keep an eye on movements in Jiangcheng at all times. That way, once something that may intrigue the public happens, he is notified at once.”
“He’s pretty smart.”
Xiao Luo smiled as he commented. Then, he got out of the car and moved straight toward the basketball court.
Li Zimeng quickly got out of the car and followed him. Her heels went clickety-clack, but she still kept up with Xiao Luo’s pace.
Lights glistened around the basketball court, and a few large floodlights shone on the venue, making it seem like daylight. Iron nets enclosed the court’s periphery, which was painted green. The flooring was made of out rubber, and the surrounding environment was pretty good. For basketball enthusiasts, this was a sacred land where sporting dreams came true.
When they were almost at the entrance, Li Zimeng reminded him in a quiet voice, “Mr. Xiao, Chen Jianbai is with his gang now. Let’s speak in a nicer tone when we are asking him questions later. I-I’m afraid that t-they will…”
“Beat us up?”
The corner of Xiao Luo’s mouth lifted into a playful crescent as he finished her sentence, speaking her thoughts aloud.
“Y-yes.”
Li Zimeng nodded. She did have some concerns in this regard. Those people were big and bulky, and some even had tattoos. They looked like rascals. At first glance, one knew that they were up to no good. If friction were to escalate, she and Xiao Luo would not end up on the safer side of things.
“I got it.”
Xiao Luo lifted his eyebrows to signify that he understood. Then, he raised his feet and stepped inside the court.
“Mr. Xiao is still quite approachable!”
Li Zimeng pouted as she considered the situation. Her boss wasn’t as cold-hearted as that time when he’d first come and fired more than 500 employees. He was charming and easy to get along with. At least, to her, he didn’t seem to possess the demeanor of a typical boss.
However, she changed her mind the very next second, and her expression quickly morphed into one of panic. Xiao Luo had walked onto the court and snatched the gang’s ball while they were indulging themselves in their game. He cradled the ball in his arms, halting the match in this simple, most straightforward manner.
Oh my gosh! What is he trying to do?
Li Zimeng was shocked. She’d never expected Xiao Luo to do something so rash. Why wasn’t he afraid of being beaten up by these people?
Sure enough, as Xiao Luo held the ball in his arms, the eight men who had been playing immediately gathered around him. Another five at the edge of the court also came over. Evidently, they were all part of the same group.
Chen Jianbai stared furiously at Xiao Luo as he questioned him loudly, “What are you doing? Do you have a problem?”
The others also glared at Xiao Luo. They were not happy about being interrupted by him.
Xiao Luo chucked the ball at someone else and said to Chen Jianbai with a smile, “I’m Luo’s Workshop’s boss. I’d like to talk to you,”
“You’re Luo’s Workshop’s boss?”
Chen Jianbai adopted a playful expression. With a tinge of disdain in his eyes, he sneered, “You wish to talk to me? About what? About your bread poisoning people to death?”
“I’m unaware of any evidence you may have that claims our bread has killed someone. That being said, this information in my hands proves that you’re tipping off the press with fake news, negatively impacting Luo’s Workshop’s reputation. The reason I came to you today is that I hope that you will stand up and clarify this matter,” Xiao Luo said seriously.
Chen Jianbai stared at him up and down. He retorted mockingly, “If I clarify as you ask, what benefits will you give me?”
“Absolutely none!” Xiao Luo answered faintly. “You are in the wrong by default. Correcting your mistakes is your responsibility. I’m already behaving sincerely by not suing you for slandering our reputation.”
Hearing this, Chen Jianbai couldn’t help but laugh loudly and say, “That was a serious face you had there when you said this was my responsibility. What an interesting man you are. I suggest you get your brain checked at the hospital. The human brain is a nice thing to have. If it’s broken, you’ll seem like a fool.” Then, he shouted to the crowd, “Ignore him. Let’s continue.”
The group dispersed and went to continue their match.
However, Li Zimeng quickly pulled Xiao Luo back toward him from underneath the basketball hoop and said sheepishly, “Mr. Xiao, let’s wait until they finish playing. These aren’t nice people to be messed around with.”
Seemingly agreeing with her, Xiao Luo silently turned around and walked off.
Li Zimeng quietly let out a sigh of relief. She thought: Thank goodness, nothing awful happened.
But before she could even finish sighing, Xiao Luo bent down and picked up a basketball, which was beside the iron net. He then wordlessly hurled the ball at Chen Jianbai, who was in mid-air with a ball in his hands, performing a jump shot.
Psss…
Li Zimeng gasped. She was startled. Time slowed down for her as she watched the ball in Xiao Luo’s hands smash right into Chen Jianbai’s head. The force of the impact was undoubtedly colossal. Chen Jianbai, who had been doing a jump shot, slammed onto the ground with a horrible shriek.
Oh no!
This was the only thought left in her mind.
She couldn’t believe that Xiao Luo would do such a thing. Why did he do it? Didn’t he know that they had a whole bunch of people on their side? What, exactly, was he trying to accomplish by smashing one of them viciously in the head with a ball?
Chen Jianbai picked himself up from the ground and shook his head, which was spinning. He looked around for the person who had hit him and ultimately confirmed that it was Xiao Luo because he was waving at him.
He dashed at Xiao Luo, taking three steps in one, and roared at him with a stern face, “You bastard! What the f*ck do you want?”
“I already told you. I want to talk,” Xiao Luo said unhurriedly.
“Talk! Haha.” Chen Jianbai was so irked that he began laughing. The very next second, his eyes became vicious. “Talk your a*s!”
He clenched his right fist and greeted Xiao Luo’s face with a punch.
Seeing this, Li Zimeng couldn’t help but scream in terror. She covered her eyes with her hands as she was afraid of seeing the picture of Xiao Luo being beaten to a pulp. However, even after a very long time, she didn’t hear Xiao Luo hit the ground. Bewildered, she moved her hands away and slowly opened her eyes.
Upon getting a more precise look, she was instantly dumbfounded. Her boss had managed to block Chen Jianbai’s blow.
His left hand was behind his back, and his right was stretched out, holding Chen Jianbai’s fist. Xiao Luo’s movements were elegant, and his posture was relaxed. He had done everything with ease.
Chen Jianbai’s expression changed slightly. He failed to free his fist from Xiao Luo’s palm even after expending a considerable amount of effort.
Xiao Luo stared at him indifferently and asked, “Can we talk now?”
“Talk your sorry a*s, you bastard! Do you believe that I’m going to utterly destroy Luo’s Workshop’s reputation and deny you even a single customer?” Chen Jianbai was infuriated.
Xiao Luo released him. He slid his hand into his pocket and secretly clicked on his recording pen. Then, he asked, “Do you mean that you’ve deliberately reported false news to deceive all everyone in Jiangcheng into thinking that our bread poisons people to death?”
Chen Jianbai thought that Xiao Luo was scared. He sneered in disdain while exercising his wrist, saying, “I write whatever I want. When I say that your bread kills people, your bread kills people. If I say the opposite, that will also become the truth. One single news story from us has the power to decide the fates of companies like yours. When you’re standing in front of me, you have to respect me like you’re my grandson. Got it? If you make me unhappy, then I’ll publish a story tomorrow saying that one of your employees has an infectious virus and purposely mixed his blood with the flour that you use to make your bread. We’ll see who does business with you after that.”