Chapter 148 - Do You Know How to Write the Word "Death"? (Part 4)

I hurried over to Zhang Jing. She had already noticed my arrival, and her frosty, reddened cheeks instantly betrayed a look of grievance, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on my approaching steps.

"What on earth are you doing? Why aren't you wearing a coat? What if you catch a cold?" I reproached her with a glare, quickly draping my own jacket over her shoulders. "Didn't I tell you to wait five minutes before coming down? Why did you come down so early?"

"Xiao Qiang... Am... Am I in the wrong? You... You seem really upset..." Zhang Jing looked at me with a face full of grievance, seeming somewhat frightened as she stared into my eyes like a little girl who had done something wrong. Twisting the hem of her skirt slightly, she lowered her head and said, "I—I don't know what happened, but—but I was so scared, so scared that you wouldn't talk to me anymore..." By the end of her sentence, her voice was already slightly choked with emotion.

I sighed, pulled her straight into my embrace, and scolded gently, "You little fool. I'm angry because you shouldn't care about me this much, and because you don't take proper care of your own body. Jing, don't worry. I'll never snap at you like that again, alright?"

Faced with such sudden tenderness, deeply affectionate words, and an embrace from me, Zhang Jing was visibly too surprised for words. For the longest time, she had always been the proactive one while I remained passive. Whenever I saw her, I used to try to keep my distance, but today I had taken the initiative to hold her. How could she not be astonished and moved?

"Xiao Qiang... What is going on? You—you're acting so strange today..." Her cheeks flushed pink from my embrace, Zhang Jing seemed reluctant to let go, tightening her arms around me just a bit more as she murmured softly, "Still, I really love this kind of hug, Xiao Qiang. This is the first time you've held me this tightly."

"Alright, let's talk about it later. Let's get into the car quickly; it's too cold outside and you'll catch a cold." With a soft sigh, I finally parted from Zhang Jing's delicate body, took her little hand, and led her toward the BMW.

Inside the car, Su Xin had already sensibly moved to the front passenger seat, leaving only Chu Qitong in the back, trying to stifle a giggle. As Zhang Jing climbed inside and saw the other two women, her cheeks flushed even brighter. Naturally, she realized that the two of them must have witnessed the hug just now.

As soon as Zhang Jing settled in, Chu Qitong threw her arms around her, poking and prodding her all over while teasing, "Well, Sister Zhang Jing, seriously, who would've guessed you stood out in that freezing wind for so long and yet your body is still this warm? Could it be that someone's irresistible charm is what heated you up?"

"Cut it out, Qitong! What are you blabbing about? Be careful or I'll tickle you." Teased like this by Chu Qitong, Zhang Jing's face instantly turned as red as a monkey's backside. She cast a shy, fleeting glance at me, then quickly lowered her head and fell silent.

"All right, Tongtong, you only know how to make fun of people. If I made you stand outside next time, you'd know what it feels like." I shot Chu Qitong a glare; how could we mess around and giggle when we hadn't even discussed the serious business yet?

Chu Qitong stuck out her little tongue playfully, rolled her eyes at me, and kept quiet. At that moment, the sound of police sirens wailed from a distance, and I knew for certain that Zhang Baoqiang had arrived. I opened the car door, stepped out, and looked off into the distance.

Good grief, was Zhang Baoqiang heading off to war? I stared in dumbfounded amazement at the approaching police cars—there were a full eight of them, three of which were vans easily capable of holding ten officers each...

Before long, Zhang Baoqiang jogged over to me followed by a group of officers, shook my hand, and said, "Brother Xiao, weren't we heading to your house? Why are we here instead? When I heard something happened at your place, I immediately dispatched a squadron of police officers. Rest assured, those bastards have a death wish for daring to give Brother Xiao trouble. I'm going to teach them a thorough lesson."

"Heh, thanks in advance, Brother Zhang." I gave him a faint smile, then straightened my expression and asked, "Brother Zhang, did your precinct receive a report from Tianyu Freight Company, a subsidiary of the Sunshine Group, and previously send officers to protect them?"

Hearing this, Zhang Baoqiang frowned slightly in thought before nodding. "Seems there was something like that. Back then, Bureau Chief Huang gave the order to dispatch ten officers. What's wrong? Did something happen at Tianyu Company again? Don't worry, Brother Xiao, this time I brought a whole squadron. That's definitely enough!"

I was left speechless, staring at Zhang Baoqiang as he eagerly tried to suck up to me. My company? If my company was the one that wrecked my home, whose side were you planning to help? I offered a helpless, bitter smile, shook my head, and said, "Brother Zhang, this time all I need you to do is have your men cordon off the perimeter of the company and make sure no one goes in."

"Oh? What, does Brother Xiao want to handle this personally?" Zhang Baoqiang had witnessed my formidable martial arts skills, so he assumed I wanted to personally dish out punishment to the people who had provoked my company. I couldn't help a silent sigh—damn it, even if my martial arts were god-tier, could I go beat up my own father?

"You don't need to worry about that. Alright, let's get in the car. Just tail our convoy." I waved a hand to signal him and hopped back into the black BMW.

Watching my long convoy of black sedans, Zhang Baoqiang turned to a junior officer beside him and said, "See that? Now *that* is what you call pulling rank and making a statement. Look at that all-black sedan fleet—how many people in City C have this kind of swagger? Let's move. Tail them closely and don't you dare lose them, understand?"

"Understood, Captain Zhang!" The officer saluted Zhang Baoqiang, then trotted back toward the police cruisers. Turning his gaze back to the BMW I was riding in, Zhang Baoqiang muttered with excitement, "Damn it, I, Zhang Baoqiang, finally backed the right person in this lifetime. This Brother Xiao is practically my god..."

Amidst the roaring engines and wailing police sirens, my black sedan convoy and Zhang Baoqiang's police fleet formed a massive, sprawling procession, rolling through the streets of City C. Naturally, such a colossal semi-official, semi-private convoy quickly drew the attention of pedestrians on the sidewalks, nearly every one of them stopping in their tracks to gawk as we passed.

"Xiao Qiang, I'm sorry... I really didn't know things would turn out like this..." Before I got back into the car, Su Xin and Chu Qitong had already eagerly spilled the details to Zhang Jing, finally making her understand why I was angry. Looking like a subordinate who had made a grave mistake, she lowered her pretty face and said to me with heartache, "I honestly knew nothing about this, truly! This must have been stirred up by the person in charge of acquiring Tianyu Company. I..."

"You don't need to explain. I know you had no idea about this." I interrupted her, gently stroking her hair. "On the surface, you bear no responsibility for this, but in truth, you still made a mistake. Think about it: if this hadn't happened to involve my father, you still wouldn't have known. You must realize that once something like this is left to fester, it only grows worse until it spirals completely out of control. The Sunshine Group is like a big tree whose roots have already begun to rot; tell me, can a tree like that avoid falling?"

"Right, I know I hold a huge responsibility this time. I failed to properly vet the people I hired. From now on, I'll pay much closer attention to screening and investigating lower-level management. I'm sorry, Xiao Qiang, I actually ended up hurting your father..." At this point, the rims of Zhang Jing's eyes reddened. "Your mother must hate me to death. I... I... Wuu..."

Knowing she must be terrified that my parents would despise her and crying out of sheer anxiety, I smiled, wrapped an arm around her delicate shoulders, and coaxed her, "You silly girl, it's not your fault. A simple explanation will clear things up. Even though things got a bit unpleasant because of this today, I still have some good news to share with you."

"What good news... Xiao Qiang, I regret this so much..." Zhang Jing was still sobbing. Chu Qitong hurriedly pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. Taking it, Zhang Jing wiped away her tears while mourning, "When something like this happens, you must think it's utterly humiliating that your own company ended up bullying your father. I—sigh..."

"Alright, alright, stop dwelling on it. Aren't we on our way to resolve this right now?" I gently took the tissue from her hand, wiped the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, and flashed a faint smile. "I've got good news: starting today, you, Chu Qitong, and Su Xin will all officially become my women."

"Hmph, what kind of talk is that? Weren't we your women already before? Honestly..." Hearing those words, Chu Qitong immediately puffed out her cheeks in protest. I glared at her fiercely for talking too much, scaring her into instantly making a comical face and sealing her lips.

"What? Xiao Qiang, what did you say? Am—am I dreaming?" Hearing my declaration, Zhang Jing's delicate frame trembled violently, and she stared at me in sheer disbelief. When she caught Su Xin's suggestive, encouraging nod, a sweet, blissful smile finally broke through her tears, and she laughed amidst her sobs, "So Su Xin already told you what was in her heart... She finally told you..."

"Yeah, that's right. So I'm never going to hide from you again, Jing. From now on, you're my woman." I gathered her slender form into my embrace, gently pulling her against me, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. The faint, delicate fragrance drifting from her made me a little dizzy with infatuation. Finally, I no longer had to fear the temptations of this charming girl—this feeling was truly wonderful...