Chapter 354: Could It Be an Act?
Chapter 354: Chapter 354: Could It Be an Act?
Hua Yusen was certain it wasn’t an act; this had to be real.
"They clearly don’t want to talk to you, yet you’re still chasing after them. What are you trying to do? Are you really going to harass those two young ladies in public?" Hua Yusen retorted. He was inwardly shocked. ’This Li Gongde is a total scoundrel. Does he think Liu Qingqing and Wu Qiaoqiao are just girls from ordinary families that he can bully whenever he wants? That they’ll be too intimidated by his power to fight back and just have to swallow their anger?’
But Wu Qiaoqiao and Liu Qingqing weren’t like that. They both had powerful, high-ranking fathers and came from prominent families. Li Gongde had come here to win over Liu Zhongjun and form a partnership. And what does Li Gongde do? He had just reached an agreement to become partners with Liu Zhongjun, and now he was trying to humiliate the man’s daughter.
For that move alone, Hua Yusen had to admit Li Gongde had guts. Even if you gave him a hundred times the courage, he would never do something like this.
"Hua Yusen, you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Stay out of my business from now on, or I’ll make you pay a heavy price. The Hua family got lucky and escaped last time, but I won’t let you off the hook this time," Li Gongde said coldly. "The situation is so clear now, yet instead of laying low, you’re choosing to go head-to-head with our Li family. You’ve got a lot of nerve!"
"Whether we have nerve or not isn’t for you to say. And what we do is none of your business either. So everything you’re saying right now is just noise to me. Besides, didn’t you come here to win over Liu Zhongjun? And now you’re insulting his daughter. I’d love to see just how solid this partnership of yours is!" Hua Yusen said, treating it like a joke, regardless of whether the situation was real or not.
The bodyguards standing not far away had also been shocked by their young master’s actions just now. But they had originally assumed their young master and Liu Qingqing were mutually interested. They were well-matched, both young, and the agreement even mentioned a future marriage alliance between the two families. That was why they hadn’t intervened.
They never imagined their young master would actually try to force himself on a woman, that Liu Qingqing wasn’t a willing participant.
This was bad. They had just paid such a high price to reach an agreement with Liu Zhongjun, and now this. The young master turns around and starts bullying Liu Zhongjun’s daughter.
"Heh, the matters between our two families are not for an outsider like you to understand," Li Gongde chuckled. "You think you look so impressive playing the hero right now, but later you’ll realize just how foolish you’ve been! This is my room. You can take your leave now. If you don’t get out, I won’t be so polite anymore!"
"Not so polite?" Hua Yusen laughed coldly. "Come on, I’d love to see how you’re going to be ’not so polite’ to me. Your bodyguards and my bodyguards are equal in number. That just leaves the two of us. If you have the guts, bring it on. Let’s see if I can’t beat you until you call me ’daddy’."
"Mr. Hua, please be mindful of your status. You are Gu Qingyu’s personal bodyguard. Did you come here to tell us about Gu Qingyu’s next move?"
Seeing his young master speak so inexplicably and offend so many people, one of the bodyguards wanted Hua Yusen to leave. After Hua Yusen was gone, he needed to ask the young master what his objective truly was.
Up to this point, he still didn’t believe Li Gongde’s earlier actions were unintentional. He was convinced that such abnormal behavior had to be deliberate.
The current situation was extremely complex; they couldn’t act rashly. This was something the old master had specifically instructed them on before they left.
Hua Yusen shrugged and then smiled. "Alright, I’m leaving. And you don’t need to try and stir up trouble between me and my boss."
With a grin on his face, Hua Yusen left with his guards, leaving behind Li Gongde, the messy room, and Li Gongde’s grim expression.
After a good while, a muscle in Li Gongde’s face twitched. It was as if he suddenly understood the severe consequences his actions would bring, and his face instantly turned pale.
’Good heavens, what just happened? Liu Qingqing is a beauty, yes, but our two families are already discussing a marriage contract. There was absolutely no need for me to be so desperate as to try and humiliate her right now!’
’But I actually did it! It’s completely irrational!’
The moment he thought about how his actions might destroy the agreement the Li family had just finalized with Liu Zhongjun, Li Gongde broke out in a cold sweat.
’What should I do now? It’s already happened. If I go to the Liu family immediately, there might still be a chance to salvage this.’
So, Li Gongde hastily gathered his bodyguards, prepared lavish gifts, and got ready to go to the Liu family to apologize and formally ask for Liu Qingqing’s hand in marriage.
When Hua Yusen learned of Li Gongde’s actions from his bodyguard, he grew even more confused.
A moment ago, Li Gongde had been acting all high and mighty, completely unaware of the consequences of his actions. Now he was rushing off with expensive gifts to apologize. Wasn’t it a bit too late for that?
’Was this all just an act?’
Hua Yusen brought his bodyguards to Gu Qingyu’s room.
Right after Hua Yusen left Li Gongde’s room, the small black stone he carried, a gift from Little Red Carp, grew smaller and smaller until it slowly disappeared.
"You were gone for a long time just to get some food," Gu Qingyu said, putting down his pen. "Did you run into Li Gongde out there?"
"Elder Gu, you guessed it. I did see Li Gongde. And he was brazen enough to try and harass both Wu Qiaoqiao, Wu Jianxiong’s daughter, and Liu Qingqing, Liu Zhongjun’s daughter, at the same time."
"What?" The hand Gu Qingyu was holding his chopsticks with trembled, and a piece of food fell onto the table. But he paid it no mind, looking at Hua Yusen. "Are you telling the truth? That scoundrel Li Gongde would actually do something like that?"
"You yourself called him a scoundrel. Of course he’d do something scoundrelly," Hua Yusen said. "But I find it strange, too. Li Gongde’s sudden actions... I’m curious. Even if he was desperate, it makes no sense to make a move on Liu Qingqing and Wu Qiaoqiao at this critical juncture. And the things he said just now were incredibly arrogant!"
"Oh..." Gu Qingyu pondered for a moment. "You suspect this is a trap they’ve set?"
"Yes. That’s why after I rescued Wu Qiaoqiao and Liu Qingqing, I verbally provoked Li Gongde. I noticed his behavior was unusual, so I don’t fully believe what I saw. Which means we naturally can’t take full advantage of it."
"Mm..." Gu Qingyu nodded, then smiled. "You don’t need to overthink it. It’s actually very easy to verify whether this was real or not. Liu Zhongjun has only one daughter, Liu Qingqing, and he adores her. If Li Gongde really did something like that to her, she’ll definitely tell Liu Zhongjun when she gets back. Given how much Liu Zhongjun loves his daughter, he would never let Li Gongde off the hook, let alone cooperate with the Li family!"