Chapter Ninety-Five - Showing His Power, Part One

Everything is my fault alone; the three women have nothing to do with it. I swept my gaze across the crowd and smiled faintly. “The conflict with Tengtian Shoichi did happen, and his men were indeed beaten by me. That much is true. But what I want to say is this: first, the quarrel began because Tengtian Shoichi deliberately tried to harass my friend. His men had the advantage of two against one, and I merely acted in self-defense. Was I supposed to stand there and let them beat me? Second, the man beside him, Mr. Huang, called in the gangsters from the bar. That is no longer a simple scuffle; it amounts to collusion with organized crime. I believe everyone here can tell right from wrong. Out of courtesy toward our Japanese business guests, I am willing to compensate them, since I was the one who struck the blow. But on one condition: Tengtian must first apologize to the three ladies.”

My words made the three girls’ eyes light up at once. Zhang Jing and Chu Qitong immediately nodded in agreement, saying that everything I had said was true.

At this, all the officials fell into thought.

I had seized tightly on two points: self-defense and gang enforcers. Even if these people wanted to argue, they would find it difficult to say much. In this way, the blame would be split evenly. I was at fault for injuring someone, while Tengtian was at fault for deliberate provocation and collusion with the underworld. Any ordinary person could see which side was more at fault.

“Even if what you say is true, Mr. Tengtian is Japanese and may not yet understand our country well. We have already investigated those thugs; they merely have some connection with Mr. Huang. It is not as serious as collusion, as you claimed. So the fault is not on your side. If you are willing to apologize to Tengtian in person and pay the injured man’s expenses, then this matter can be settled.”

The man who had just been so imposing, Xia Guomin, was instantly stripped of his confidence by my explanation. He could only settle for having me apologize and pay compensation.

“Sorry, but I have a strange temperament. I can apologize to anyone, but not to a Japanese!”

A joke. In my previous life, the people I hated most were the Japanese. Ask me to apologize to one of them? That was pure fantasy.

“Bastard! Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!” Tengtian Shoichi’s face darkened. He urged Xia Guomin again and again. “Mayor Xia, if he refuses to apologize, then Heaven’s Company’s investment in C City is officially over!”

“This...” Xia Guomin looked troubled. On one side was the major political achievement he had worked so hard to secure; on the other was a small citizen standing his ground with reason. It would not do for him to have me arrested in front of so many officials, would it? Though the law could be twisted with clever wording, it would be far too blatant. He glanced at me and tried a softer approach, smiling faintly. “Young man, what is your name? Where do you live?”

I looked at Xia Guomin and said indifferently, “My name is Xiao Qiang. I live in the old district in the east of the city.”

“Student Xiao, is that right... Hm? What? You, you’re Xiao Qiang? You are Xiao Qiang?!” At first Xia Guomin seemed not to react, but then his face was filled with shock and surprise. I knew it must be that Xia Fugui and the man from the Axe Gang, De Guangqing, whom I had beaten into the hospital, had told him about me, which was why he was so astonished.

Though I understood, the others did not. So when he blurted out in surprise, all the officials looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“Good. What a narrow road for enemies to meet. So you really are no good after all!”

“Mayor Xia, please watch your words. Casual insults can also count as personal attacks, you know?”

I could not help frowning. This guy must have been so angered that he had lost his composure and actually cursed aloud.

Xia Guomin realized his失态 and let out a cold snort before continuing. “There are so many government officials here today. I hope you will cooperate and apologize to Mr. Tengtian. If you have grievances, you can raise them later.”

“Hmph. And if I refuse?”

I fixed Xia Guomin with a cold stare. It looked like he intended to settle both old and new grudges together. Fine. Did he think I was afraid of him?

“If you refuse, that is fine too.” Xia Guomin said with a sinister smile. “I can immediately order the police to detain you for forty-eight hours, and then notify your school that you, a minor, entered a bar and assaulted a foreign guest. If it ends in your expulsion, that will no longer be up to me!”

“You...” Fury surged through me.

I had never expected this man to be so shrewd as to seize on the one point where I had no way to fight back. Indeed, if the government informed the school, then the matter would become serious. I would certainly be expelled.

I was not afraid of being without school, but my parents would be heartbroken if they found out later, and they would surely blame themselves. Thinking of that, I gave a helpless, bitter snort. “Mayor Xia, must you really do this? Don’t you think it is rather shameless and despicable to force someone with such a method?”

“How is this shameless or despicable? I am enforcing the law fairly and without favoritism toward anyone!”

Xia Guomin knew I had already suffered a hidden loss, and he sneered. “So, are you apologizing or not?”

There was no choice. Driven to this point, I truly had no other way out.

I sneered. “Fine, I can apologize. But I want to ask: if Mr. Tengtian does not need my apology, then I wouldn’t need to apologize, would I?”

“How could that be? Are you dreaming? How could Mr. Tengtian possibly not want your apology? Cut the nonsense. Do you think everyone has nothing better to do? It’s already this late, and we’re here playing along with you? Hurry up and apologize!”

Xia Guomin was practically glowing with triumph. Once he had made me lose face tonight, he was probably planning to go brag about it to his brother Xia Fugui.

Unfortunately for him, no matter how much he schemed, he had failed to reckon with the fact that I had long since established a connection with Heaven’s Company, and that the company’s decision to invest in our country had in fact been brokered by me. I simply had not known that they would, by such a coincidence, choose C City.

At Xia Guomin’s impatient urging, I slowly swept my eyes over the arrogantly self-satisfied Tengtian Shoichi before me and smiled faintly.

“I hear Mr. Tengtian is a senior executive of Heaven’s Company?”

Tengtian had no idea why I had suddenly asked such a thing, and instinctively nodded.

I went on, “Then I assume Mr. Tengtian is very familiar with Heaven’s Company’s president?”

“Hey? Why are you asking such irrelevant questions? Mr. Tengtian is Heaven’s Company’s representative, of course he knows the president. Asking such a stupid question—what an immature high school student you are,” Huang Qi said with a smug smile, glancing at Tengtian.

“Good. Since that is the case, then I’m sure you must know Heaven Group’s vice president, Tetsuo Sato, too. And then I suppose you should also know that your company’s GBA design technology came from our country. In that case, shouldn’t you also know that I was the one who sold that GBA technology to your company?”

Silence. The police station fell into a deathly silence.

After hearing my words, all the government officials were so stunned that their jaws seemed ready to drop, and even Chu Zhengsheng and Su Guohui wore expressions of utter shock.

How could they have imagined that I would say something so astonishing it bordered on suicidal?

Not only the officials—after hearing me, Tengtian Shoichi’s whole body trembled violently. His gaze was instantly filled with fear and unease. At this point I did not care about their expressions at all and continued calmly, “Regret it, damn it, I really regret it... If I had known Heaven’s Company had people like you in it, why the hell did I sell the technology for only three million? If I had known, I should have sold it for a hundred million instead!”

Thud.

Tengtian Shoichi could no longer keep his balance and collapsed to the ground, his face as pale as paper. He stared at me in panic and stammered, “How is that possible... how could it be such a coincidence...”

“Heh. You said it yourself. It is just that coincidental.”

Then I looked at Tengtian’s crumpled, cowed expression, and the satisfaction in my heart was beyond description.

Damn it, if I don’t show my strength, do you think I’m a sick cat?

Hmph. Let me see how you people are going to explain this now.