Bang!
The front door of Riversouth Garden Bistro was shoved open from the outside.
Leading the charge was a bald man, his black shirt stretched tight over explosive muscles—a single glance told you he was a force to be reckoned with.
"Director Su!"
He strode in, swept his gaze around, saw nothing unusual at first, and then barked out a shout.
A few rosewood railings separated the private room corridor from the main entrance.
Hearing the man's shout, Leo Li—who'd been cowering in the corner for ages—suddenly sprang up, voice trembling with sobs: "Over here! Over here!"
"Director Su's been beaten! Director Su's brains got knocked out! Hurry, get over here!"
His brains got knocked out!
Hearing this, Director Su—face dark as iron, still pinned under Evan Lin's foot—shot Leo Li a murderous glare, teeth clenched.
But the steady march of heavy footsteps that followed was a real shot of confidence for Director Su.
"Kid, you can take your foot off now, can't you?"
Director Su spat out his words with hatred, lying flat on the ground, twisting his neck to glare at Evan Lin, who still had his foot planted on his back.
But as he turned his head, all he saw was Evan's sneaker, filling up his entire field of vision.
"Enough with the chatter."
Evan yawned, slouched in his chair, watching the squad of burly men storming in from the entrance.
A quick glance—there were at least fifteen of them.
Every single one looked like they'd seen real combat.
Anyone who could land a security job at Su International was basically ex-military—trained in hand-to-hand, way tougher than your average guy.
The bald man led the way, following the sound, and as he rounded the rosewood railings and saw a skinny teen standing on Director Su, his face darkened. He glanced around, grabbed a solid wooden chair, and, without a word, swung it straight at Evan Lin's head.
"Get off him! You think you can step on Director Su? You got a death wish or what?"
The bald man barked coldly, brandishing the solid wood chair with real menace. He moved fast, swung hard—just as the chair was about to smash down on Evan's head, everyone saw the teen tap the wall with his left hand, shift his body sideways, and narrowly dodge the blow.
But the bald guy couldn't pull back in time—the chair crashed down squarely on Director Su's back.
"Aaargh!"
Director Su's face had just been stomped by Evan, and before he even knew what was happening, a jolt of agony shot through his back, lighting up every nerve.
"Director!"
Leo Li jumped in fright.
"D-Director! Are you okay?" The bald man froze, tossed the chair aside, and rushed over to help him up.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you stupid? Aaagh, it hurts, it hurts so bad!"
Director Su shrieked in agony, his whole body stiffening and trembling on the floor, his voice breaking into a sob.
It hurt. Bad.
That chair almost blasted him so hard he couldn't hold it together—one more inch and he would've crapped himself.
"You little punk! That was dirty! Who told you to dodge?"
The bald man whipped his head around, eyes blazing, glaring murderously at Evan.
"Are you stupid? You smash someone and expect them not to dodge? Screw you!"
At a nearby table, a ten-year-old brat with a roast duck leg yelled at the bald man.
The bald man shot him a fierce glare, and the kid plopped down on the floor in fright.
"Guys, please don't fight in my restaurant, okay? If you want to fight, take it outside—fight however you like out there." The owner of Riversouth Garden Bistro pleaded, only to be shoved aside by the bald man.
He propped Director Su up, glared at Evan, eyes full of menace: "If I don't make you kneel and apologize to Director Su today, I'll crawl out of here myself!"
"Brothers! Get ready to move!"
The bald man roared.
The dozen-plus security guards he brought all clenched their fists, ready to rush forward.
"Yeah! Kill him! Kill that little bastard! Who does he think he is, going up against the big guns? He must be tired of living!"
Leo Li jeered from the side.
With the bald man and his squad backing him up, Leo was riding high—he was sure Evan was about to get humiliated big time.
Leo even had it all planned out: as soon as the bald man started swinging, he'd whip out his phone, film Evan getting wrecked, and send it to Stella Huang and the girls so they'd regret ever turning him down.
"Director Su is Second Brother Su's distant cousin, kid. This time you really kicked the iron plate." The bald man set Director Su down to the side, voice full of menace.
"Get him! Damn it!" Director Su clutched his head, dizzy as hell. What was supposed to be a great dinner—with pretty student girls, maybe some karaoke and drinks after, and who knows what later—was now totally ruined.
Now it was all trashed.
"Those two girls' jobs? Forget it! Who knows what kind of people they're mixed up with. Tomorrow I'm going straight to Capitalview TV Station, and that reporter Stella Huang can kiss her internship goodbye!"
Director Su kept shouting, glaring at the bald man and his crew: "Go on, do it! What, you want me to lead the charge for you?"
As soon as he said that—
—the bald man and his men started to move.
The surrounding diners all backed away, eager to watch the show but terrified of getting caught up in it.
But just then, as all eyes were on him, the teen at the center of it all suddenly pulled out his phone.
It was a battered old Nokia, practically an antique, its case covered in faded scratches.
Everyone watched as he dialed a number and spoke a single sentence into the phone.
"Ten minutes. Come to Riversouth Garden Bistro."
He spoke softly, lazily, still slouched in his chair—not giving the dozen-plus muscleheads before him a second thought.
Leo had already sidled up to Director Su, and the restaurant owner was handing over some cotton balls to help stop the bleeding.
"Oh, you can make phone calls too, huh?"
Hearing what Evan just said, Director Su's face turned icy as he sneered: "Now I really want to see who you've got backing you up! You dare lay a hand on me?"
"You really don't put Su International in your eyes? Not putting Su International in your eyes means you don't put the Su family in your eyes!"
"Baldy, hold off for now. When his people show up, we'll take them all out together! I'll make his so-called savior lick my shoe clean, right in front of me!"
Director Su was shaking with rage, his voice cold and vicious.