Throughout the conflict, Ouyang Tianming remained uninvolved, not because he fancied himself a martial arts master waiting for the right moment to strike like in the movies, nor because he was scared. Instead, he believed it was beneath him to engage in physical confrontations directly, thinking it would degrade his status to get involved in such brawls. Honestly, he wasn't afraid at all; his father was the deputy secretary of the SH city committee, and in SH city, not many dared to mess with him due to his father's influence.
He didn't act, and Ye Qian didn't go out of his way to provoke him either. After dealing with the lackeys, Ye Qian calmly sat down, took a sip of his drink, and disdainfully glanced at the groaning men on the floor, commenting, "Really asking for it."
At this point, Lin Rourou and Xu Yaying also came over. Lin Rourou, concerned, asked, "Are you alright?"
Ye Qian smiled slightly, pleased with Lin Rourou's concern, and shared, "Let me tell you a secret, I've never lost a fight from childhood till now."
Lin Rourou glared at him, yet her eyes were filled with affection.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xie was in a pitiful state. He hadn't had the courage to join in the assault on Ye Qian, but being too scared to move, he ended up being hit by someone else knocked over by Ye Qian, and ended up with several broken ribs, now lying on the ground crying in pain.
Xu Yaying helped Zhao Xie up and glared at Ye Qian, but shuddered when she met Ye Qian's piercing gaze. Turning to Lin Rourou, she bitterly said, "Rourou, what kind of boyfriend have you chosen? He's just a thug."
Lin Rourou retorted defiantly, "What's wrong with a thug? I like him that way. At least he's better than your boyfriend, who is nothing but a lackey."
"You..." Xu Yaying was taken aback, not expecting Lin Rourou to confront her directly.
Lin Rourou scoffed and added, "Xu Yaying, don't think you're so high and mighty just because you snagged a small-time bureaucrat. A pheasant will always be a pheasant, never a phoenix. You might dream of being a phoenix, but reality is cruel, as cruel as a hen served as dinner after dreaming of being a phoenix."
Taken aback by Lin Rourou's ferocity, Ye Qian was also surprised and gave her a thumbs up, clearly impressed. Lin Rourou just smiled happily and leaned into Ye Qian's arms.
Wang Hu, the owner of the "Intoxicated" bar, wasn't a major force in the area but had some influence, so disturbances in the bar were rare. He had been in his office cuddling up with a beauty when he was informed that Ouyang Tianming was at the bar. Knowing Ouyang Tianming's reputation, he intended to come out and pay his respects, preferring profit over conflict. However, upon stepping out, he was greeted by the sight of a fight and intervened to stop what looked like a group attack on one individual.
Surprised to recognize Ouyang Tianming's people among the assailants, Wang Hu was momentarily taken aback, given the repercussions if anything happened to Ouyang in his venue. Approaching with a couple of his men, he felt relieved seeing Ouyang Tianming safe and nodded at him, saying simply, "Ouyang Tianming."
Ouyang Tianming nodded back with a grunt, indicating no harm done.
Turning to Ye Qian, Wang Hu frowned deeply and said, "Brother, you went pretty hard there. What circle are you from? I'm in charge of security here, and you seem to have overstepped a bit."
Ye Qian looked at Wang Hu and internally chuckled, thinking how well Wang was doing. He replied, "Just some kids throwing their weight around because of their fathers. They need to be taught a lesson, or they'll never learn."
Hearing this, Ouyang Tianming's face turned dark, but he remained silent. Wang Hu, shocked and uncertain of Ye Qian's background and whether he had strong support behind him, found himself in a difficult position. After a moment of silence, he looked at Ouyang Tianming.
Ouyang Tianming spoke indifferently, "It's your place; you handle it." Although his tone was casual, his meaning was clear: he expected Wang Hu to sort it out.
Internally cursing, Wang Hu thought, "Damn, you start the trouble and leave me to clean it up." Though he didn't voice these thoughts, he looked at Ye Qian and said, "Brother, how do you propose we resolve this? I need to give some explanation here; it's tough for me."
Ye Qian smiled lightly and retorted, "Hu, you've become so indecisive. What's wrong? Learned to suck up to power now?"
Wang Hu was stunned, not expecting Ye Qian to know him and talk as if they were old acquaintances. Racking his brain, he couldn't recall when or where he had met Ye Qian and asked, puzzled, "You are…?"
"You don't remember me? When you were being beaten up, it was I who stood up for you," Ye Qian said with a smile.
Wang Hu paused, staring at Ye Qian, and slowly a sense of recognition dawned on him. A flashback suddenly came to him, and he exclaimed in shock, "You... you are 'Second Young Master'?"