The thin man raised his cup of tea, a faint smile on his face. "Come, let me toast to you, Old Jia, with tea in place of wine. Here's to a pleasant partnership," he said.
"To a pleasant partnership!"
Jia Zhengyi raised his teacup as well, breaking out into boisterous laughter.
Their teacups clinked in the air, and then they both tilted their heads back, downing the tea in one go as if they were drinking wine.
But when they put their teacups down, they got the shock of their lives! They both shrieked in fright and fell off their seats for, out of nowhere, someone had suddenly appeared sitting in the chair beside them. It could only have occurred when they tilted their heads back to drink their tea, yet there wasn't a sound or sign that pointed towards how this person could've appeared so suddenly.
"You...who are you?" Jia Zhengyi asked, choking on his spit as he tried to repress the fear rising within him.
The person was dressed in white, and the collar of his shirt was slightly open. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow to reveal tanned skin. There were depth and divinity in his eyes, and his nose bridge was high; his eyebrows were long and willowy. He was blessed with a handsome face, and his charming, yet aloof countenance had an evil yet cold air to it.
And who was this, if not Xiao Luo!
He moved about with no concern for the others, turning over an inverted teacup and filling it with tea. He looked to Jia Zhengyi with a blank face, then slowly savored his tea. As he looked at Jia Zhengyi, he said, "This is Pu'er tea. You're quite good at enjoying the finer things in life, huh, Jia Zhengyi. Pu'er has the effect of lowering fat levels in your blood, weight-loss, inhibiting bad bacteria, aiding in digestion, as well as to warm your stomach. This tea seems to have been tailor-made for you."
The thin man felt an invisible bout of oppressive force hit him from Xiao Luo's calm and collected demeanor. He chose to remain on the ground where he fell, not daring to move in the least.
Jia Zhengyi was both frightened and enraged. This was his home, and a stranger had suddenly barged in, drinking his tea as if he owned the place. Fury overcame fear as he picked himself up from the floor, whipped out his phone, and screamed, "Who the hell are you? This is my home; how did you get in here? Tell me, or I'll call the police!"
"Don't get all riled up. Sit down, and let's have a chat!" Xiao Luo said, gesturing with his hand.
Jia Zhengyi was infuriated and shouted, "What the f*ck are you doing treating me like I'm your dog? Listen—"
Whoosh~
The teacup Xiao Luo was holding suddenly flew from his hand and smashed into Jia Zhengyi's kneecap with a bone-shattering crack. Jia Zhengyi instantly dropped to the floor, crashing knee first onto the floor. He let out a scream from the excruciating pain, and his phone clattered to the ground.
At the sight of this, the thin man gasped in fright. In a panic, he picked himself up and dashed toward the front, scrambling off without a care for anything else.
"Hmm~"
Xiao Luo extended his hand as if grabbing at thin air.
Suddenly, the thin man felt a powerful force pulling him back. Before he could even react, he felt a strong hand grasping him on firmly to the scruff of his neck, and was instantly dragged back to where he had been earlier. He was unceremoniously dumped, butt-first, and the overwhelming pain caused him to squeal like a pig at slaughter.
Grabbing something through the air?!
Jia Zhengyi's eyes widened as he stared at Xiao Luo in abject fear.
Did this man know sorcery?
Jia Zhengyi could not think clearly as a chill ran down his spine, and his hair stood on ends.
Xiao Luo squinted at the thin man with an evil glint in his eyes. "Did I say you could leave?" he asked, as he casually poured himself another cup of Pu'er tea.
The thin man kneeled on the ground for a few beats before his face scrunched up, and he wept unashamedly. "Hey man... oh, no, I mean, Big Brother. Your issue is with Jia Zhengyi; it's nothing to do with me. Just... just treat me as if I'm nothing and let me be," he cried.
Upon hearing these words, Jia Zhengyi was so incensed that he spat at the thin man. "Scaredy-cat, bloody coward!" he hissed.
"What do you know? This is what it's like to keep up with current affairs. This Big Brother here obviously isn't a regular person, and killing us will probably be like squashing a couple of ants to him. You offending him is your own problem to deal with, and I have no wish to be buried beside you," the thin man retorted, immediately distancing himself from Jia Zhengyi—he was the kind of person that people referred to when they say "all smiles one second and treacherous the next."
"Quiet!" Xiao Luo bellowed.
"Good man... err, Big Brother," the thin man responded.
The corner of Xiao Luo's lips curled up into an evil smirk, and his assessment of the thin man was that it was always better to deal with an honest villain than a hypocrite.
"Thank you for the kind words, Big Brother," the thin man gushed.
"I told you to keep quiet just now. Why are you disregarding my words?"
Xiao Luo's expression changed, and his face cracked a cold, heartless smile. The thin man froze, and before he even knew it, Xiao Luo mercilessly shoved the teacup he was holding into the thin man's mouth.
The ceramic cup and smashed into the thin man's front teeth and shattered into numerous razor-sharp fragments. The pieces tore through his mouth with several reaching his throat, and as the thin man swallowed involuntarily, the shards lodged in his throat.
"Ah...Ack...Hurh..."
The thin man squirmed on the ground in pain, grunting with a mouth full of blood. He could not say anything for quite a while, as he had a finger in his throat attempting to dislodge the fragments.
This scene filled Jia Zhengyi with fear, and he was sweating bullets. This was just too cruel and terrifying. He hurriedly turned to look at Xiao Luo but what he saw frightened him—for Xiao Luo now looked no different from a demon.
"You...just who are you? H-have I offended you somehow?" he whimpered, his voice was trembling as he humbly lowered his body as far as he could go.
Xiao Luo glared at Jia Zhengyi and said nothing else. He extended his hand again and grabbed at the air, and Jia Zhengyi's mobile flew through the air into his hand. Ominously, Xiao Luo placed it in front of the man. "Open up Weibo and write up an apology to Su Li!" he barked.
Su Li?!
Jia Zhengyi was so shocked that all the blood drained from his face. "Y-you were sent by her?"
Xiao Luo was running out of patience at this point and was becoming agitated. He yanked Jia Zhengyi up by his hair and dragged him down towards the tea table, before slamming his head on the tabletop and holding him there.
BANG!
Jia Zhengyi reeled from the impact as forehead smashed violently on the tea table, as the sturdy wood it was made of was much denser than a human skull. Jia Zhengyi's head was bleeding profusely, and his glasses shattered instantly.
"Do as I say. You have no right to question me, do you understand?" Xiao Luo growled as he maintained a firm grip over the man's hair, dragging Jia Zhengyi's face across the tabletop and closer to him.
Jia Zhengyi's face was covered in blood, and his head felt light. He was so frightened that all he could do was nod. "Understand, I understand..." he cried.
At this moment, he did not even have the energy to cry. The court's subpoena had not even been served yet, but such a ruthless executioner had already been dispatched. Undoubtedly, he would very much rather have dealt with a warrant than a scary person like this. At this time, Jia Zhengyi was terrified and began to wonder if Su Li came from such an exceptional and complex background. Not only could she hire a super hacker, but she could also summon a monster like this.
"You used to run a talk show, so you're probably good with words, no? Put that talent of yours to good use and write this apology well. Make sure that it's moving and touching. It has to move me, at least," Xiao Luo said. He spoke matter-of-factly, making the demand with a blank face, and then went back to leisurely sipping his tea.
Jia Zhengyi took his phone. Obviously, he did not dare to call the police. This man, right in front of his eyes, was a vicious person. If he even tried to call the police, he would be walking a path to death. He opened up his Weibo page and started clicking on his screen, sincerely penning his apology letter.
...
Not long after, Jia Zhengyi prepared a draft for his post that expressed his apology to Su Li.
Xiao Luo read through it grumpily, and he could not help but sneer. "This is the language standard of a professional talk show host? A middle schooler could write this!"
Then, in the next second, a palm landed squarely on Jia Zhengyi's face.
Smack!
The palm was not as big as a palm-leaf fan, but it still packed quite a punch! A sharp, crisp sound accompanied the slap as it landed hard on the soft, sensitive skin of Jia Zhengyi's face, sending him crashing to the floor as he screamed in pain. One could tell with just one glance that the left side of his face was swelling up quickly.
Xiao Luo tossed the phone back to him. "Rewrite it. Make it more vivid this time," he barked.
"Yes, yes..."
Jia Zhengyi was on the verge of tears, but he did not dare decline. He promptly held the phone and continued to write once again.
The thin man by the side looked on in fear. There were still teacup fragments aplenty lodged in his mouth, and the blood was flowing freely, but they did not dare make another sound or move.
After 10 minutes, Jia Zhengyi finally and painstakingly managed to draft another apology letter.
Smack!
Xiao Luo looked over it again and then landed another slap on Jia Zhengyi's face. "Not meaningful enough. Write it again!" he roared.
After that, Jia Zhengyi wrote a whole chain of apology letters, but not a single one of them made it past Xiao Luo's inspection. His face had taken quite the number of slaps by then.
Every slap was delivered with immense force, and the strength behind each blow only got stronger and stronger. The thin man's face was drained of blood, and he started quaking violently. Cold sweat was pouring out from the millions of pores on his body, out of his control, when he saw that both sides of Jia Zhengyi's face had swollen to an extreme state—even his eyelids were swollen. He looked every bit like a decapitated pig head. Strewn on the floor were several bloodstained teeth that had flown out from Jia Zhengyi's mouth.
Too vicious! Too cruel!
The thin man's soul was trembling. How he wished that he had never stepped foot into Jia Zhengyi's house on this day, that this experience was nothing more than a hyperrealistic nightmare. When he looked at the enigmatic young man who sat by the side elegantly sipping tea, all he saw was a demon who came straight from hell.
Jia Zhengyi drafted yet another apology letter with trembling fingers, and then he shakily handed the phone to Xiao Luo.
When Xiao Luo took the phone for inspection, Jia Zhengyi kneeled on the ground in front of him, kowtowing pleadingly. "Big Brother, please, I beg you... Please don't hit me anymore. I've learned my lesson. I really have..." he begged.
He could not bear it any longer. He was being tortured, both physically and mentally, and it was utterly destroying his psychological state. He howled and cried pitifully, snot and tears alike pouring down his face, and from his mouth flowed a nasty-looking mixture of saliva and fresh blood. This pain was just too much to bear—any more, and he would not be able to feel his face.
Xiao Luo paid him no mind as he sipped his tea leisurely with one hand, picking up the phone to read the post with the other.
"To the beautiful Miss Su Li, I express my deepest apologies to you regarding the rude incident on Weibo of the 7th. In the past few days, I have been tormented by my rash behavior. Those vulgar and unbecoming words had sufficiently exposed me as barbaric, uneducated, and uncultured. Those were the words and actions of an animal."
"As a public figure, I failed to set an example. On the contrary, I had led the mob against you, and the numerous insults had made me realize the extent of my atrocities. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me, and I seek the apologies of everyone as well!"
After reading this apology letter, Xiao Luo's lips slowly curled up in a cold smile.
Jia Zhengyi and the thin man did not dare make a single peep. They were so nervous they could barely breathe. The two of them looked exactly like ghosts who had fallen into the afterlife, waiting for the king of the netherworld to pass his judgment and decide whether they would be reincarnated into animals or people. They were beside themselves with fear.
"Publish this as it is!"
Xiao Luo threw the phone back to Jia Zhengyi. It was not to say that this letter was exceptionally well-written, but rather, it was because he thought that he had punished Jia Zhengyi sufficiently.
Upon hearing these words, Jia Zhengyi felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He kowtowed twice again, overwhelmed with relief and gratefulness. "Thank you! Thank you..."
Then he hurriedly sent the post.
"Keep your mouth shut about everything that happened here today. If a fourth person learns about whatever happened today, I will come looking for you two again. By that time, I won't let you off with a light punishment like this time. I'll be coming after your head!" Xiao Luo scowled.
Jia Zhengyi and the thin man met eyes with Xiao Luo, and then they felt a chill run down their spines.
Xiao Luo knocked his glass back, downing the tea in one go, and then he slapped the sturdy wooden tea table with his palm.
Crack!
The teacup in his hand instantly shattered into a million pieces flying in every direction, as if it had exploded. Jia Zhengyi and the thin man huddled together and shaking, now collapsed into a heap on the floor. By the time they sat up and looked around the hall, Xiao Luo was nowhere to be seen. The chair he had been sitting on was empty. It was as if there had never been another person in the hall with them.
After experiencing such a terrifying incident, the two of them were so shocked that they remained sitting on the floor, paralyzed in fear, with their eyes and mouths wide open. They were so traumatized that it was difficult to return to their senses. Neither of them called for the police. There was no point in calling the cops against someone as terrifying as Xiao Luo. On the contrary, they would only endanger themselves.
After ten or so seconds, the two of them started crying. Tears of terror poured down from their faces!
******
******
After Jia Zhengyi published his apology letter, Weibo quickly came alive with chaotic chatter.
"F*ck! Wasn't he just saying yesterday that he wasn't afraid of a subpoena or something? Why is he already making a public apology today?"
"He's given up. He's thrown in the towel!"
"Why is this cracking me up? Jia Zhengyi, did you stage all of this as an elaborate joke?"
"This is amazing. As expected, the law is the best weapon."
"There's a good boy. Make your apology, and our Goddess Su will forgive you! Haha..."
Below his post were thousands of comments, and many people had shared this post via its link. This apology letter had swept through Weibo's space like a hurricane and filled Su Li's diehard fans with glee. The people who were insulting and ridiculing Su Li were thoroughly disappointed, and those who were sitting on the fence and were just here for the show had been treated to quite the wild ride.
Su Li, who was still in quite a frail condition, had heard from Luo Pingxiang about Jia Zhengyi's apology...
"Sister, that Jia Zhengyi seems to be afraid of a subpoena after all, and now he's apologizing to you publicly on Weibo. He insulted you like that yesterday, but he's apologizing to you today. What a joke!" Luo Pingxiang said gleefully as she kneaded Su Li's shoulders.
Su Li had a book propped open as she read carefully. When she heard the news, she felt a lot better.
At this moment, Chai Zhiying pushed open the door and stormed in. Paying no mind to anything else, she poured herself a cup of water and released the fatigue from her body before she said, "Lili, the press conference has been arranged. It will be held in the Venice Hotel tomorrow afternoon, and all the reporters from the big media outlets will be in attendance. We'll start preparing now and do our best to brainstorm and think of what questions the reporters might ask. And then we'll move forward with the least impactful questions."
"Mmm."
Su Li nodded and then followed up quickly by saying, "Since Jia Zhengyi has already apologized, then let's withdraw the lawsuit we filed against him. These days, it's better to avoid trouble."
"Sue Jia Zhengyi? But I've been so busy with organizing the press conference the past few days that I haven't contacted the lawyers yet," Chai Zhiying said.