Free Web NovelChapter 254: Chapter 254: Abandon
The staff in the restaurant didn’t move. After all, their boss hadn’t yet spoken.
Hu Tuchao also looked at Ming Lingyi.
Ming Lingyi said, "What’s the rush? Aren’t there still plenty of matters we haven’t cleared up?"
With his backer present, Hu Jin felt a surge of courage and forgot the terror of being dealt with by Li Yun. "Didn’t Boss Hu make himself clear? Besides, I already told you I made a mistake. You’re just a woman—always dithering, no vision. You’ll never accomplish anything great."
The words had barely left his mouth when, before Ming Lingyi could even speak, Hu Jin’s vision went black.
Before he could even register what had happened, he felt a crushing blow to his face. His head snapped to the side, and he was nearly knocked to the ground.
The taste of blood filled his mouth.
Li Yun had moved like a phantom, yet he had thrown the punch for all to see.
"If you can’t speak properly, you don’t need that tongue," Li Yun said coldly.
Hu Jin cried out instinctively after the punch. Believing his backer was here to protect him, he’d wanted to roar back at Li Yun. But when he turned his head and met Li Yun’s frigid gaze, the sound died in his throat, and he couldn’t utter a single word.
That one punch made Hu Jin finally remember his two guards, still lying on the floor with their bloody palms.
The same mixture of shock and terror from before flooded his senses, and he didn’t dare utter another word.
Seeing that he had quieted down, Li Yun indifferently withdrew his gaze.
He would never interfere with Ming Lingyi’s decisions, nor would he overstep and make them for her. But if anyone dared to speak rudely to Ming Lingyi, he would not hold back.
Knocking out three of Hu Jin’s teeth was just the first warning.
Hu Tuchao’s expression darkened when he saw Hu Jin get hit right under his nose.
"Boss Ming, what is the meaning of this?"
It was as if Li Yun’s punch had landed not on Hu Jin’s face, but on his own.
Ming Lingyi replied, "What meaning? Did I say I was just going to let him go? I’m simply helping Boss Hu discipline his own dog. Sometimes, if a dog isn’t trained, it becomes disobedient and likes to bite people when let off its leash. But as you know, Boss Hu, every household’s guards are meant to protect their master’s safety. If a dog is running wild, the guards have no choice but to take action."
Her words made Hu Tuchao’s expression sour even further.
Hu Jin, of course, understood Ming Lingyi was indirectly calling him Hu Tuchao’s dog, but he was in no position to argue.
"Still, you shouldn’t have hit him."
"My guard is just too loyal," Ming Lingyi said. "Besides, when this Boss Hu came to my restaurant earlier, he brought his men and nearly injured my employees. And then there are the tables and chairs in this hall. The damages aren’t huge, but they aren’t nonexistent either. There must be some accountability for this, correct?" Ming Lingyi asked, looking at Hu Tuchao.
’I can let the matter of the fake deed and lease contract go for now. But if someone can come to my restaurant to stir up trouble and then walk away completely unscathed just because of Hu Tuchao’s reputation, how will I ever establish myself in the Capital City?’
’The fact that Hu Tuchao sent someone to make trouble... there are probably quite a few people watching right now, just waiting to see how the show unfolds.’
’If I just let them go, wouldn’t everyone think I’m easy to bully? Will my restaurant have to constantly deal with troublemakers in the future?’
Hu Jin started, "I..."
"Do you have any right to speak here?" Ming Lingyi shot him a cold glare.
Hu Jin, still bound, fell silent. "..."
Perhaps Ming Lingyi’s glare at that moment was so menacing that he truly did fall silent, not daring to speak.
Ming Lingyi turned back to Hu Tuchao. "Wouldn’t you agree, Boss Hu?"
Hu Tuchao asked, "What are you planning to do?"
Ming Lingyi replied, "Actually, I think what Boss Hu said earlier was very reasonable. We’re all doing business in Shangjing City, so we should be amicable. Since this Boss Hu of the fish market coming to my restaurant to cause trouble was all a misunderstanding, and now that it’s cleared up, I don’t need him to face me in court over the deed and the lease contract. However, the matter of him injuring people still requires a formal judgment from the authorities. Don’t you agree, Boss Hu? After all, this was just the action of the fish market’s boss; it doesn’t need to implicate any other innocent people."
Ming Lingyi put special emphasis on the words "innocent people."
Hu Tuchao was silent. "..."
Ming Lingyi’s meaning was clear: a compromise where they both took a step back was possible.
She wouldn’t go to the Jingzhao Mansion to pursue the issue of the fraudulent contract between him and Hu Jin, but since Hu Jin himself had landed in her hands, she was prepared to send him directly to the government to make an example of him.
Hu Tuchao found himself in a dilemma.
Abandoning Hu Jin was, of course, the best option. He wouldn’t suffer much of a loss.
But if he did that, how could he expect anyone to trust him in the future? If he threw out a scapegoat at a critical moment, how could he ever win people’s loyalty?
But if he insisted on protecting Hu Jin, Ming Lingyi would undoubtedly drag him into a fight to the bitter end, resulting in mutual ruin.
"Boss Hu, I..." Hu Jin grew frantic when he saw that Hu Tuchao was actually considering Ming Lingyi’s proposal.
His own backer was about to abandon him—how could he not be anxious?
"Why haven’t you gagged him yet?" Ming Lingyi said calmly.
Soon, Hu Jin couldn’t speak another word. He could only make muffled sounds, "MMPH! MMPH!", while squirming his obese body, desperately trying to get Hu Tuchao to notice him.
But in the next moment—
"Boss Ming has a point. Even if it was a misunderstanding, one cannot go around injuring people."
This meant he was abandoning Hu Jin.
Ming Lingyi nearly clapped her hands and laughed. "In that case, today’s misunderstanding is resolved. We open for business tomorrow, and I hope Boss Hu will grace our restaurant with his presence. I still have things to attend to today, so I won’t see you out."
Hu Tuchao left.
Hu Jin seemed unable to believe his eyes. He couldn’t believe his backer had really just left him behind and walked away.
"Go on, ungag him," Ming Lingyi said. "Wasn’t he so eager to talk before?"
The rag was pulled from Hu Jin’s mouth again.
"Hu Tuchao, you bastard! I only came here because you told me to! And now you just walk away?! May you die a horrible death! You son of a bitch!"
The moment he was free, Hu Jin couldn’t stop himself from cursing up a storm.
He had no grudge against Ming Lingyi. If he hadn’t been acting on Hu Tuchao’s orders, why would he have ever waded into these muddy waters?
Even when Ming Lingyi had been dealing with him earlier, he hadn’t ratted out Hu Tuchao. And now look—the man had tossed him aside like a piece of trash, without a hint of consideration.
How could he stand for that?
After he finished cursing, Hu Jin knew he had fallen into Ming Lingyi’s hands. He quickly turned his head, snot and tears streaming down his face. "Boss Ming, you’re a discerning person, you know I’ve truly been wronged! Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!"
The things he would have rather died than reveal before, he was now desperate for a chance to confess, to spill every last detail!
