Chapter 94: What the Hell Are You Worth
Xu Yunhe was dumbfounded. If he'd known, he never would've taken the lead on this case. Tonight, he'd clearly walked right into a mess. What a stupid move, total IQ failure!
Anyone who dares cause trouble in a six-star hotel like Royal Hee can't possibly be some simple nobody. At least check the situation before charging in.
He wasn't afraid of trouble or responsibility, but one still needed to assess the circumstances. Even if you stand for justice, if the power gap is too wide, not only can't you uphold justice, you might lose your own career in the process.
The situation before him was like Pigsy looking in the mirror—screwed from both sides. No matter whom he offended, he was doomed.
"Enough, I'll handle this." Qiao Xier, clutching her bag, looked displeased. She glanced at Xu Yunhe, then slowly walked up to the bowtie guy and said coolly, "Du Yuheng, about tonight, I'll apologize to you on Zhang Yang's behalf. He was a bit impulsive, but as you saw, it was all because of me. So I hope you can give us some face and let it go."
Just by saying "on his behalf," her stance was clear—she was firmly on Zhang Yang's side.
Hearing that, and in front of everyone no less, Du Yuheng couldn't swallow his pride. He immediately stepped up to Qiao Xier.
"Let it go?" Du Yuheng pointed to his swollen face, eyes wide. "Qiao Xier, we're classmates, and your aunt introduced us! Our date got interrupted for no reason, and I was beaten up by this bastard. And you want me to just let it go? How the hell am I supposed to show my face again?"
Before he could finish, another slap landed square on his face. His teeth almost flew out. He turned around—it was Zhang Yang again. He was speechless. Damn it, could this brute not give him a break for once…
"Idiot, how you live your life has nothing to do with us." Zhang Yang gave him a mocking glance and stepped protectively in front of Qiao Xier, exuding such a fierce aura that Du Yuheng involuntarily backed away. This guy's combat power was terrifying.
"Officers, aren't you going to arrest him? You've got witnesses and evidence!" Du Yuheng shouted while covering his face. He didn't dare go at Zhang Yang but yelling at the cops was safe enough.
Xu Yunhe glanced at him but didn't move. He'd just recognized Zhang Yang and Qiao Xier—hell, he must've been blind earlier. Weren't they part of the "Dragonborn" project team that had been all over the news lately?
Especially Qiao Xier—not only was she one of the project's main leaders, she was also the eldest daughter of the Qiao family.
The Du family might be powerful, but compared to the Qiao family, they weren't even worthy of carrying their shoes. If tomorrow's papers said he'd arrested members of the "Dragonborn" research team, he'd be drowned in public outrage.
The farce before him was easy enough to understand. That young master from the Du family wanted to have a romantic date with his beautiful classmate Miss Qiao. But then, Zhang Yang had shown up out of nowhere—if he wasn't mistaken, these two probably developed feelings through work.
Then, after finding out that Miss Qiao was being pressured into meeting Young Master Du at the Royal Hee, Zhang Yang had rushed over and beaten the guy up in a fit of passion!
Along the way, the hotel security guards and front desk staff had taken some collateral damage!
That was the whole story—simple and clear.
It was a classic Korean-style tragic love story: the male and female leads fall in love, but her family looks down on him for being poor, forcing them apart. Yet, the hero bravely fights back and punches his way through the injustice.
Officer Xu imagined the scene, feeling a bit of sympathy for Zhang Yang and Qiao Xier. Two scientists who had made such great contributions to the country, their sweet romance being torn apart by filthy family politics.
So, this wasn't something he could or wanted to get involved in. Everything now depended on one person's attitude—and that was Miss Qiao. In this room, her influence was unmatched. Whoever she sided with was automatically right. As for Du Yuheng? Aside from a swollen face, there wasn't much else to fuss over. Whether Zhang Yang's actions even warranted detention was questionable.
And judging by Miss Qiao's expression… arresting Zhang Yang was out of the question.
No wonder his boss had been so nervous—it was this lady. He'd heard rumors that some idiots from the Qianshui Police Station had once arrested the two of them by mistake, and the entire station got cleaned out afterward.
Luckily, he'd recognized them now. Otherwise, his own station might've been next.
So even if Du Yuheng screamed louder, he wasn't going to interfere. A rich brat who brought bodyguards around clearly wasn't any good guy anyway. Best if someone gave him a good beating. These young masters love bullying overworked cops like them for fun.
Meanwhile, when Qiao Xier heard Du Yuheng call her by her full name, her expression went cold. Seeing Zhang Yang slap him again made her feel oddly satisfied. Finally, she could vent all the frustration she'd been holding in for days.
She smirked coldly, stepped up to Du Yuheng, and said slowly, "Du Yuheng, I only agreed to see you out of respect for our old school days and family ties. But if you really think that's enough to make something happen between us, you're way too naive. The kind of man I, Qiao Xier, want doesn't need to be rich or powerful. As long as I like him, I'll follow him—even if he's a beggar. And you're clearly not it. That's all I have to say. Don't humiliate yourself any further."
"Qiao Xier…" Du Yuheng's temper flared. He yanked off his bowtie and pointed at Zhang Yang, yelling, "What can this pretty boy offer you? Don't think I haven't investigated him. He's just a pathetic orphan. Killing him would be as easy as squashing an ant!"
Before he could finish, two slaps landed almost simultaneously—one from Zhang Yang, the other from Qiao Xier.
Du Yuheng was stunned. Those hits left him dizzy—he almost collapsed.
His two bodyguards, still nursing their injuries and terrified of another beating, didn't dare move. They just averted their eyes and pretended not to see anything, rubbing their noses awkwardly. Whatever, none of this was worth dying over.
"Du Yuheng, you really think chatting with Qiao Xijie gives you a backer? What the hell are you worth?" Qiao Xier sneered, leaning in close. "If it weren't for the fact that you're my classmate, you'd already be dead ten times over."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Du Yuheng muttered, voice shrinking. She was right—if not for his cousin Qiao Xijie and his own mother constantly pushing him to pursue Qiao Xier, claiming she liked him too and that everything was arranged, he never would've dared dream about her.
Honestly, he hadn't believed it at first—the gap between their families was massive. Sure, he'd lusted after Qiao Xier for years, but he wasn't an idiot. Even if his grandfather had once served under Old Master Qiao, there were plenty of old subordinates. His grandfather had long retired, and the Du family's influence in Southeast Province had waned. How could the thriving Qiao family ever marry their precious granddaughter to him?
But Qiao Xijie had mapped everything out convincingly. First, Qiao Xier's mother's Lanchen Group wanted to expand into the Southeast Province, meaning they needed to build ties with the top family there—the Du family. Second, his own father had just been appointed acting head of Mingzhou, the provincial capital, signaling the Du family's resurgence in politics. That connection was vital for the Qiao family's ambitions in South China.
Another key point: Qiao Xijie's mother, as the eldest aunt, played the role of a traditional housewife, which gave her great control over family marriages. With her arranging the match, Qiao Xier couldn't object without openly rebelling against her aunt.
With all those factors laid out, Du Yuheng saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
That's why he'd dared to pursue the goddess he'd secretly loved for so long.
To his surprise, things had gone quite smoothly. Qiao Xier had accepted most of his invitations. Even though nothing romantic happened, it was still a promising start.
Then Qiao Xijie gave him a bold suggestion—to get Qiao Xier drunk, and if possible, seal the deal.
That led to tonight's setup. But instead of success, he got his ass handed to him by Zhang Yang—so bad even his parents wouldn't recognize him.
How could he not be furious? Qiao Xier had clearly been drunk, and he might've sealed the deal tonight, but Zhang Yang suddenly appeared, claiming she was his, and beat the crap out of him.
And the worst part? Qiao Xier admitted it. Damn it! If Zhang Yang were from some powerful family, fine. But he knew exactly who the guy was—he'd done his homework while chasing her. The dude was just a regular student, maybe a helper at their research institute at best.
Who would've thought that useless nobody could hit so damn hard. This was insane…
Clearly, Qiao Xier had taken the pretty boy's side now. If he kept pushing, he'd only make a bigger fool of himself. For now, he could only back off and regroup with Qiao Xijie later.
So, after Qiao Xier exposed his little scheme with Qiao Xijie, he couldn't stay any longer. He gave Zhang Yang a cold glare, covered his swollen face, lowered his head, and left—while silently swearing this wasn't over.
He vaguely remembered that not long ago, a playboy from the Bai family named Bai Liangfeng had a grudge with this guy and even complained to him about it. Maybe it was time to call him up—he could be a useful pawn.