Chapter 124: Severing Ties!

Qian Cong looked toward Tang Ying, attempting to sway him with a mix of soft and hard tactics. "Young Master Tang, your decision just now must have been born of impulse. It is not too late to retract it."

"I will not hide it from you: my family's greatest backing is my cousin, Uncle Yao Wu. He is currently in the room right next door."

Tang Ying remained noncommittal.

Ye Tianci asked indifferently, "Qian Cong, which big shot is this cousin of yours? Why don't you enlighten us?"

"Don't wet yourself when you hear his name!" Qian Cong boasted, his spittle flying as he bragged. "My cousin is Yao Wu, the Deputy Pavilion Master of the Sky Patrol Pavilion! Even Mayor Shen gives him a measure of respect!"

A playful smile tugged at the corners of Ye Tianci's mouth. He had never expected that Qian Cong’s trump card would turn out to be Yao Wu.

"Young Master Tang, surely you know of my cousin’s reputation? Won't you show him some respect and take back what you said?" Qian Cong looked at Tang Ying with absolute confidence. He believed that once he brought up his cousin, Tang Ying would surely yield.

Tang Ying laughed as well. "Your cousin’s status is indeed intimidating, and I would certainly show him respect, but that depends on how Mr. Ye chooses to proceed."

Tang Ying kicked the ball back to Ye Tianci.

Ye Tianci smiled and said, "Qian Cong, is it possible that your cousin isn't actually that close to you, and won't help you at all?"

Qian Cong flew into a rage. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you idiot? If my cousin won't help me, do you think he'd help a piece of trash like you?"

Seeing Ye Tianci’s mocking expression, he angrily pulled out his phone. "You garbage, just wait! I’m calling my cousin over right now! Let’s see him crush you!"

"Cousin, I’m being bullied next door! Hurry up and bring some men over here!" Qian Cong pointedly turned on the speakerphone and shouted into the receiver.

"Ah Cong, didn't I tell you not to disturb me unless it's something important?" Yao Wu’s deep voice echoed from the phone.

"Cousin, I’m really being bullied! If you don't come, I won't even be able to leave!" Qian Cong cried out in desperation.

"Who has the guts to bully you? Wait there, I’m coming over immediately!" Yao Wu roared.

The call ended.

Qian Cong looked at Ye Tianci triumphantly. "My cousin is right next door and will be here in a moment! You have at most one minute to think about how you’re going to apologize to me!"

"Young Master Tang, I’m showing you respect. I hope that when my cousin arrives, you’ll show me some respect as well and take back your previous words."

"Bang!"

The moment Qian Cong finished speaking, the private room door was shoved open violently. Yao Wu strode in with four men, looking menacing.

"Cousin!" Qian Cong shouted, running up to him in excitement. At that moment, he felt his backbone had never been straighter. He knew his cousin Yao Wu’s capabilities well; Yao Wu had a hand in both the underworld and the legitimate world, and there was nothing his cousin couldn't handle.

Yao Wu wore a stern, glaring face, radiating an aggressive aura. "Ah Cong, who has the nerve of a bear and the guts of a leopard to bully you?"

"This is truly lawless!"

"Tell your cousin, and watch me deal with them properly!" Yao Wu spoke with great arrogance.

Qian Cong pointed at Tang Ying. "Cousin, you know that my family supplies the aquatic products to this hotel, but Young Master Tang insists on revoking our supply qualification."

Yao Wu’s expression shifted abruptly, and his fierce momentum drained away. The Tang family was not to be trifled with. Qian Cong had brought him here to force a confrontation, which was effectively leading him into a trap!

But since he was already here, he had to bite the bullet. He only hoped Tang Ying would grant him a sliver of respect.

Yao Wu glared fiercely at Qian Cong before turning to Tang Ying with a forced, apologetic smile. "Young Master Tang, is there any room for negotiation? Could you show me some respect?"

Tang Ying smiled faintly. "It’s not that I won't give you face, but it wasn't me who canceled his supply qualification; it was someone else. I am simply following orders."

"Young Master Tang, you must be joking. This hotel belongs to your family—surely you are the one who calls the shots?"

Tang Ying gestured lightly to the side. "It truly isn't me. It was Mr. Ye here who gave the order, and I am merely acting on his instructions."

Yao Wu dismissed the remark and looked in the direction Tang Ying pointed, but the expression on his face instantly went blank. His entire body shuddered, as if struck by electricity, and he froze on the spot.

Ye Tianci?

This was the person whom even Mayor Shen and Li Zhenhua had to curry favor with! Yao Wu knew this as clearly as a mirror.

Qian Cong, oblivious to the change in his cousin's demeanor, pointed at Ye Tianci and said, "Cousin, it’s this brat surnamed Ye. I told him to kneel and apologize, but he refused! Hurry up and teach him a lesson for me!"

"Make him kneel and apologize to you? Why don't you go die instead?!" Yao Wu’s eyes widened in horror, flames of rage burning within them.

"Cousin, why would you say that to me?" Qian Cong was stunned.

"Slap!"

Yao Wu could no longer hold back. He swung his hand and struck Qian Cong across the face with all his might.

"Ah!"

Qian Cong let out a shrill scream as he was sent flying, crashing into the table and chairs before hitting the wall hard. The other classmates in the room gasped in shock.

Qian Cong scrambled up from the floor, his mouth full of blood and two teeth missing; half his face was instantly red and swollen. Clutching his mouth, he looked aggrieved, tears brimming in his eyes. "Cousin, why did you hit me?"

"Hit you?"

"If I don't kill you right now, I'm being too lenient!"

"I’m telling you, Qian Cong, from this moment on, don't you dare call me cousin again! I have no such relative as you! I am completely severing ties with your family!" Yao Wu gritted his teeth, his fury absolute. Ye Tianci was someone even the Mayor had to flatter; for Qian Cong to ask him to deal with Ye Tianci was pushing him into a fiery pit!

Qian Cong, terrified by his cousin’s savage appearance, asked pitifully, "Why, Cousin?"

"Do you even know who he is?"

Qian Cong clutched his swollen cheek, looked toward Ye Tianci, and muttered, "Isn't he just a cripple..."

"Boom!"

Before he could finish, Yao Wu kicked him across the room again. He truly wanted to cut out Qian Cong’s tongue right then and there.

"Cousin..." Qian Cong began to wail.

"You blind, dog-eyed thing! This Mr. Ye is someone even I must treat with the utmost respect!!" Yao Wu bellowed.

"Ah?"

Qian Cong was instantly dumbstruck. The rest of the classmates were equally frozen in shock.

Yao Wu, in a fit of rage, grabbed Qian Cong by the collar and began delivering slap after slap with his fan-sized palms.

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

Each blow landed squarely and resonated with a sharp, crisp sound. The other students were paralyzed with fear, not daring to make a single sound.

"Cousin, wuwu... I know I was wrong, please stop, ahhh!" Qian Cong cried and howled.

Yao Wu was hitting him so hard that even Ye Tianci found it difficult to watch. He waved his hand and sneered, "That’s enough, twenty or thirty slaps will do."

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Yao Wu had intended to stop, but hearing the second half, his mouth twitched, and he redoubled his strength!

After thirty consecutive slaps, Yao Wu finally stopped. Qian Cong lay limp on the ground, his face covered in tears and mucus, his cheeks so swollen he looked as if he had been stung by a thousand hornets. Blood and saliva trickled from his mouth, and his speech was slurred: "You... you... my cousin... ah, you hit me so hard... I’m going to tell my dad."

"Go ahead, go tell your dad!"

Yao Wu took out his phone, dialed a number, and held it to Qian Cong’s ear. Qian Cong actually began to wail his grievances into the receiver.

Less than five minutes after the call ended, a middle-aged man rushed into the private room in a frantic panic.