Chapter 118: No Technical Content
Chapter 118: No Technical Content
"Father, why so upset? Tonight is so wonderful, I still want to dance with Mr. Yang Chen." Chanel pouted in grievance.
The guests couldn't help but smile, although they dared not be too blatant since Zhou Guangnian was present. Yet, the scene before them was too dramatic. Who would have thought that the underworld prince would show up in such glamorous women's clothing, shyly flaunting himself?
Rose looked at Yang Chen with a strange look and whispered, "Honey, you don't really have... with Zhou Dongcheng, do you?"
"What are you thinking!" Yang Chen's face changed immediately, rejecting firmly, "How would I know he'd suddenly turn out like this? I've only met him once."
Rose breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest, "If you really liked men, I'd never talk to you again!" Obviously, while she could accept her beloved cheating with other women, if it were with men, that would drive any woman crazy.
Zhou Guangnian strode up to Chanel, eyes green with anger, and a fierce look on his face, "Are you deliberately defying me by coming here today?"
"Why say that, dear father? Don't you want your daughter to look beautiful?" Chanel fluttered her golden bangs coquettishly.
"You are a man! I fathered a son!" Zhou Guangnian suddenly roared, making the guests around instinctively step back a few paces.
Chanel elegantly adjusted her golden hair, "Whether I'm a man or a woman, who knows me better than myself? If father insists on proving I'm not a woman, it seems I'll have to... in front of everyone..." With that, Chanel cast a flirtatious glance at the men and women around her, and amidst their horrified gazes, lifted the fluffy hem of her skirt...
He really was going to do it!
"This is outrageous!"
Zhou Guangnian finally couldn't bear it anymore, and with one swift motion, he slapped Chanel hard across the left cheek!
Smack!
Chanel's half-face bore a bright red handprint from the force of the slap. Slowly, she lowered the hem of her skirt, which had risen to her thighs, and stood up straight. She reached up to touch the side of her face that had been struck, casting a resentful glance at Zhou Guangnian. Then, like a seasoned actress, her eyes turned red and tears shimmered as she whimpered, "Father, you actually hit me... I won't talk to you anymore!"
With that, Chanel, like a pink cloud, wiped her tears away and quickly fled towards the banquet hall's exit!
Although the spectators had already been stunned by the scene before them, Chanel's sudden departure left many feeling bewildered. What was this? She appeared and then left?
Zhou Guangnian's face alternated between shades of green and purple, losing the calm demeanor he had at first. Seeing his son crying like a little girl and running out of the banquet hall, Zhou Guangnian cast a meaningful glance at Situ Mingze, who was also wearing a dark expression. Then he declared loudly, "Due to personal reasons, Mr. Zhou will leave first to discipline his unruly son. Please continue, everyone!"
More than ten elite bodyguards from Dongxing immediately surrounded Zhou Guangnian, and the group left the banquet hall in a majestic procession.
After a moment, the Zhou father and son were gone without a trace, leaving many guests in the audience sighing, but more feeling like they had witnessed a great spectacle.
Yang Chen wasn't sure if Zhou Dongcheng had planned this or if it just happened to turn into a farce, but the current situation was much easier. After all, with only Situ Mingze remaining, there was no need to worry too much about Dongxing's power.
Situ Mingze seemed to realize this, but decades of experience had made this cunning old man unwavering. With a pair of shrewd eyes on Rose and Yang Chen, he said, "Mr. Zhou may have left, but our conversation will continue. I believe everyone here would be pleased to see the Situ and Zhou families united in marriage, right?"
Though it seemed like a question directed at the guests, each one unanimously chose to remain silent, bowing their heads.
Situ Mingze didn't seem embarrassed by this silence and continued, "My daughter, don't you want both of us to have a good future?"
"I've made it clear already, President Situ, your goodwill is better left for yourself. Miss Chanel is indeed a beauty," Rose replied with a faint smile.
"I was also surprised by Mr. Zhou's actions," Situ Mingze wasn't provoked by Rose's words. He sighed and continued, "I believe Mr. Zhou is just being playful. Young people are prone to mistakes, just like you. Making mistakes is okay, as long as they are corrected. If one persists in their wrongdoings, that wouldn't be a good thing."
"If I enjoy persisting in my mistakes?" Rose laughed brightly.
"Then I'll help you regret," Situ Mingze's expression turned serious. He gestured to the muscular man who had been silent by his side, Zhang Hu, a rising star within the Ximeng Society.
Understanding the signal, Zhang Hu nodded and shouted to the guests present, "Mr. Zhou has left first, and tonight's banquet is hereby concluded. Of course, if any of you wish to stay and witness the upcoming performance, we'd be delighted!" With that, Zhang Hu grinned menacingly.
The guests immediately became chaotic. They had no idea what the so-called "performance" was, and most had only come along reluctantly. Now, they dared not linger and rushed towards the exit in a flurry!
In the blink of an eye, the spacious hall, brightly lit, was left empty except for the group from the Ximeng Society and Yang Chen, Rose, and the others.
Little Zhao, dressed as a waiter, had also dashed to Rose's side, wearing a resigned expression. Clearly, even the younger generation had grasped the grimness of the situation.
As for Chen Rong, she had been petrified by the scenes unfolding before her from earlier until now. The innocent girl had never imagined such a group of people or such a lifestyle. Though she didn't know what would happen next, she nervously clutched her skirt.
The Ximeng Society's leaders, accompanied by a group of brothers who had rushed in from outside, surrounded Rose's group with triumphant smiles. For them, the culmination of tonight's struggles marked a satisfactory conclusion.
Situ Mingze and Rose, father and daughter, silently locked eyes, their gazes laden with countless implications.
"How long have you been planning this?" Rose asked.
Situ Mingze took a freshly cut and lit cigar from his subordinate, took a puff, steadying his emotions before replying, "In fact, it started from the very beginning. I've been in contact with Mr. Zhou, and we've had mutual respect for each other."
"More like birds of a feather," Rose chuckled, "Zhou Guangnian started with foreign dealings in drugs and human trafficking. What you've been doing these past few years, compared to him, is equally if not more impressive."
"Tsk tsk, what kind of talk is that?" Situ Mingze shook his head. "Daughter, I only confide in you because you're my only daughter. In whatever profession you're in, you have to act the part. In the underworld, if you don't dabble in drugs or arms, you're not doing your job properly. As for what you mentioned about human trafficking, it's a matter of mutual benefit. You can't blame me for that..."
"Do you know where you lost?" Situ Mingze asked, holding the cigar in a victorious posture.
Before Rose could answer, Situ Mingze widened his eyes and exclaimed, "You lost in humanity! Humanity is necessary, but too much of it is not good. You think dealing drugs, trafficking people, and causing havoc in this world are inhumane. But if no one buys, why would I sell? If no one sells, what would the buyers do? Consider things from a different perspective, and you won't get stuck on trivialities."
Situ Mingze paced as if he were a professor explaining an important subject to the entire audience. "When you betrayed me before, you called me a beast and wanted to draw a clear line between us. Did I argue back? No! I didn't! Why? Because I am a beast! To hell with humanity!"
With force, Situ Mingze threw the Cuban cigar in his hand to the floor, stomping on it fiercely until it turned into mud. Then he looked up with a sardonic smile. "You see, humanity is such a useless thing. One step and it's gone."
"Today's banquet was discussed between me and Brother Zhou. If you hadn't come, it would have been a declaration of war against us. You could have chosen not to come, because sooner or later, we would go to war. But for the sake of your subordinates, you would have taken the risk to come here. And you wouldn't have brought anyone, why? Because you feared they might all die. Look at you, how humane you are... But is your humanity useful? Now you've just handed yourself over."
"That's my choice, and I don't need your lesson," Rose said nonchalantly.
Situ Mingze chuckled, "I know you must be guessing. Such an obvious trap. If I had really wanted to kill you and my own daughter at such an event, how disgraceful and lacking in skill would that be? I've been in the game for so many years, I'm considered a prominent figure in Zhonghai. I wouldn't do such a thing... But! I did it anyway! I just did it! Beasts don't care about rules. I'm not afraid of losing face or losing dignity. I don't even care about humanity, what else would I care about?"
Rose looked at him with some pity, "It's a pity, I didn't realize my opponent ceased to be human long ago."
"What you should regret is that half of your blood is from this beast," Situ Mingze's tone gradually rose, his gaze like two sharp blades staring straight at Rose's proud head.
"Today, you either choose to obediently listen to me in the future, or I'll personally send my daughter on her way..."
As he finished speaking, Situ Mingze slowly reached behind himself and took the Glock pistol handed to him by his subordinate. The ominous muzzle of the gun was aimed straight at Rose's proud head!