Bai Yuze’s request to personally participate in the lion dance came as a surprise to many, but those with clever minds had already guessed that the Bai Family was determined to win this lion dance competition.
This was an implicit challenge to the Xiao Family. After giving it some thought, Lin Tian even suspected that Bai Yuze’s request to fight was prearranged by the Bai Family. One should not underestimate the importance of these small victories because, if this continued, the Bai Family would accumulate immense power while the Xiao Family’s influence would wane.
Outsiders would then see the Xiao Family as gradually declining, which would affect their business. Provoked without a strong response, the Xiao Family’s business partners would feel insecure and gradually lose confidence in them.
This was a slow-boiling frog strategy, a very poisonous plan. Lin Tian realized that the Xiao Family was strong in defense but lacked offensive initiative. In business, standing still equated to moving backward, and sooner or later, they would be eliminated. With the Bai Family flourishing in every generation, stronger than the last, overtaking and even swallowing up the Xiao Family was only a matter of time.
Once the Xiao Family was swallowed up, it would be easier for Bai Yuze to win over Xiao Manxue. He knew that to conquer a woman as strong as her, he needed to be even stronger.
Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Manxue both frowned slightly. What Lin Tian could think of, they were, of course, very aware of. However, as women, they could hardly ask Xiao Manxue to perform the lion dance. Even though she was an Ancient Martial Artist, women were generally not allowed to participate in lion dancing.
The people in the living room slowly made their way outside, heading towards the high stage set up in the courtyard of the Bai Family. The guests occasionally looked at the mother and daughter of the Xiao Family, all wondering what they would do. Lin Tian walked behind, idly chatting with Zhou Botong. It was Miss Xiao’s headache to deal with the family matters, and Lin Tian, considering himself only as Xiao Manxuan’s bodyguard, felt it was not his place to meddle excessively.
Maybe meddling would just provoke Xiao Manxue, a woman prone to outbursts. As Lin Tian walked forward, suddenly someone tugged at his clothes. He turned his head and saw it was Xiao Manxuan.
"Second Miss, why aren’t you with your mother? What do you need me for?" Lin Tian asked curiously.
"Lin Tian, why are you here?" Xiao Manxuan countered.
"Oh, I came with Elder Zhou. This is his grandson, Zhou Botong," Lin Tian replied, not understanding why she asked.
Zhou Botong interjected, "Brother Lin Tian, you don’t need to introduce her; I’ve met Second Miss Xiao before."
I forgot they were all part of the same circle. Lin Tian still looked at her, observing the little girl’s hesitant expression as if she had something to say.
"Scoundrel, can you help big sister out?" Xiao Manxuan pleaded as she looked at him earnestly.
"Are you talking about the lion dance? How can I help? Maybe helping will just upset the Miss; why should I bother?" Lin Tian innocently said, truly not wanting to get involved in Xiao Family matters.
"Xuanxuan, why beg him!" Miss Xiao unexpectedly fell back as well, with that annoying Bai Yuze following by her side.
Bai Yuze wore a faint smile, as if he hadn’t been the one to embarrass himself just moments ago.
Tch, pretending so well, Lin Tian inwardly sneered. He visibly hated it but still had to pretend to show gentlemanly decorum. No wonder he needed to release his stress at Jinhua Villa, being bottled up usually.
"Miss, it’s bad, something... something has happened." Someone ran up, breathing heavily. After catching his breath, he said, "The lion dance team we hired suddenly has diarrhea; they can’t perform!"
"What!" Xiao Manxue was stunned by the sudden news. This was bad; although she previously couldn’t match the skillful Bai Yuze, she could still have given her best. Now, it seemed they were defeated before even starting.
The Xiao Family had hired a weak and incompetent team, a fact that would spread across the entire circle in no more than a day, making them lose all face—as if thrown to their grandmother’s house. Lin Tian frowned and glanced at Bai Yuze, who remained calm and composed. Damn it, the guy didn’t even flinch at the news, it was almost certainly the Bai Family’s doing.
"Lin Tian, what should we do?" Xiao Manxuan, this girl, always thought of Lin Tian first when trouble arose, a trust that touched him.
Seeing those pitiful eyes, Lin Tian felt a pang in his heart, but then he thought, even just to repay the girl’s trust, he’d lend a hand to the Xiao Family.
"Miss, let me take the field," Lin Tian said to her softly. He had played lion dance with his security colleagues before. Although he was not an expert, lion dancing was all about physical agility. As long as he could knock down the opponent, how things proceeded afterwards was up to him.
"Great, Brother Lin Tian, you be the lion’s head, and I’ll pull the tail, haha, let’s see how we sweep the Bai Family away!" Zhou Botong laughed heartily, though his words turned some heads.
Lin Tian didn’t stop him and addressed Bai Yuze, "Mr. Bai, I am just a servant of the Xiao Family as you say. Since you want to challenge the Xiao Family, you must get past me first, otherwise what right do you have to challenge us?"
Without caring what the Miss thought, he had someone take him and Zhou Botong to fetch the props and get ready. Lin Tian and Zhou Botong changed clothes, lifted the lion head, and approached the stage.
Around the stage were plum blossom poles, and beyond them, a crowd of people. The Bai Family’s servants had also come to watch. Mrs. Xiao, Elder Zhou, and others were already seated. Bai Yuze stood on the stage, looking somewhat majestic under the spotlight, aided by someone handling the lion’s tail whom Lin Tian did not recognize.
"Botong, hold on tight, don’t fall off!" Lin Tian instructed as he grabbed on, then suddenly leaped high, landed on a plum blossom pole, executed a 360-degree turn, and landed steadily on the stage, his movements flamboyantly skillful.
"Bravo...!" The audience erupted in applause.
"I heard they switched to that bodyguard from the Xiao Family."
"Yes, his moves are quite good!"
"I just had someone check, and that bodyguard turns out to be an Ancient Martial Artist!"
"Exactly, I found out too, he even fought with the Bai Family’s tribute and had the upper hand."
These wealthy people found it very easy to look someone up, and now they all sighed in awe, even envious that the Xiao Family could hire an Ancient Martial Artist as a bodyguard.
This meant that the Xiao Family now had two Ancient Martial Artists; they were all relieved that they hadn’t directly clashed with the Xiao Family’s bodyguard, for offending an Ancient Martial Artist would mean never resting easy, even while eating or sleeping.
These discussions reached the central seating area, where Bai Zhengchu’s expression turned sour. The sudden emergence of a young Ancient Martial Artist left him only hoping that they wouldn’t lose too disgracefully. Bai Yufeng had had a dispute with Lin Tian and hadn’t even informed his family, a real troublemaker. Bai Zhengchu had also requested Uncle Zhao to teach Ancient Martial to his grandson, but Uncle Zhao had always refused, stating Ancient Martial was not to be passed on.
Mrs. Xiao and Elder Zhou were all smiles, only Xiao Manxue watching Lin Tian on stage, her expression unreadable. As for Second Miss, she had already run to the front to cheer.
Bai Yuze’s expression couldn’t look good with Lin Tian’s sudden entry, having completely disrupted their plans. His skills were formidable, but how could he compare to an Ancient Martial Artist? Now, caught in a difficult position, backing down had become impossible.
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