Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Empty Room

"I'll kill you!" As Li Dabiao shouted, he thrust the spring knife in his hand forcefully toward Xu Fei.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Xu Fei—

Bang!

Li Dabiao's knife-wielding hand was suddenly gripped tightly by another hand.

"Who are you!?" Li Dabiao looked to his side in shock.

He saw Old Third An standing right beside him, a grim smile on his face as he said, "Li Dabiao, has your temper grown so fierce these days? Drawing a knife at the drop of a hat?"

"Th-third Brother!" Li Dabiao, seeing it was Old Third An, instantly wilted like an eggplant struck by frost.

"Who are you?" Zhang Lei, unaware of Old Third An's identity, marched over, pointed at him, and barked, "Let go of him! Are you tired of living?"

"Zhang Lei, you—just shut up." Li Dabiao shot Zhang Lei a glare.

"What's wrong, brother-in-law? Weren't you being all tough just now?"

"When did I ever say I was tough?" Li Dabiao winked at Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei still wanted to retort, but Mrs. Zhang hurried over, pulling him aside.

"Fei, are you alright?" Old Third An turned to Xu Fei.

"Third Brother An, I'm fine. You two... know each other?" Xu Fei gestured toward Li Dabiao.

"Him? Hmph. He used to run with my elder brother. Hey, Li Dabiao, weren't you peddling pork these days? What are you doing here, playing the tough guy?"

Old Third An showed no courtesy whatsoever.

Li Dabiao had no fight left in him and managed a fawning smile. "Third Brother, I'm just taking my little brother-in-law out for a meal. By the way, Third Brother, if you have time, let's have a drink together?"

"Get lost." Old Third An waved him off. "Xu Fei is my brother. We're here for a drink as well. And you—what were you doing pulling a knife just now?"

"This..." Upon hearing Xu Fei was Old Third An's brother, Li Dabiao was momentarily stunned.

He shot Xu Fei a sidelong glance. Though he was loath to accept it, Old Third An's status was undeniable. With the An family of Donghai behind him, a low-level hoodlum like Li Dabiao knew better than to provoke him if he wanted to keep living in Donghai.

"Third Brother, I—I didn't know Xu Fei was your friend," he said, his demeanor changing in an instant as he walked over to Xu Fei, grinning. "Brother, sorry about earlier. It was all a misunderstanding."

"Brother-in-law, you're apologizing to him...?" Zhang Lei, seeing Li Dabiao apologizing to Xu Fei, was indignant, but Old Third An shot him a glare.

"You're Zhang Lichun's son, aren't you?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. Why?"

"Weren't you the one making trouble for my brother at the cinema last time?"

"Uh..." Old Third An nodded. "So you admit it. Good."

Li Dabiao hurriedly pulled Zhang Lei closer. "Mind your manners with Third Brother."

"What's wrong with what I said?" Zhang Lei glared at Old Third An.

"You..." Li Dabiao couldn't say much—after all, he still needed Zhang Lei for his own purposes. He signaled discreetly to his wife.

Mrs. Zhang quickly pulled Zhang Lei aside.

"Don't pull me, sis. That old man..." Zhang Lei protested.

Li Dabiao shot a panicked glance at Old Third An.

"Third Brother, please don't mind him. It's just my wife's uncle—he's spoiled him rotten."

Old Third An ignored him.

"Fei, let's go upstairs." He turned to Xu Fei.

"Third Brother..." Li Dabiao followed behind, wanting to explain further.

But Xu Fei and Old Third An were already heading upstairs.

Li Dabiao watched their retreating figures, stamped his foot in frustration, and turned toward the room he'd reserved earlier.

"Brother-in-law, why were you so afraid just now? Who is that old guy?" Zhang Lei asked, somewhat upset.

"He's my old friend. You really have no idea who you just messed with."

"Who?"

Li Dabiao shook his head, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it down to quench his thirst. Only then did he look at Zhang Lei. "You've heard of the An family in Donghai, right?"

"The An family?" Zhang Lei thought for a moment. "Yeah, didn't you used to work for An Guohao?"

"That was An Guohao's younger brother."

"What!?" Zhang Lei's eyes went wide with fear.

"Brother-in-law, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Li Dabiao shook his head helplessly. "You have to give me a chance to speak, don't you?"

"Lei, is this An family really so powerful?" Chen Rong, confused, asked from the side.

Zhang Lei was stunned, staring blankly for a long while before finally nodding. "I really got myself into trouble this time."

He grabbed Li Dabiao's arm. "Brother-in-law, what do I do? That Old Third An won't send someone after me, will he?"

Li Dabiao pondered. "Probably not. From the look on his face just now, he didn't seem to take you seriously."

"Ah, that's a relief."

But Chen Rong snorted coldly, "Who does he think he is, so formidable? Is Donghai really his to command?"

"Dear, you don't understand—there are some things that operate outside the law."

"I don't believe it," Chen Rong's expression darkened. "Lei, don't be afraid. If he dares to touch you, I'll tell my father."

Li Dabiao glanced at Chen Rong. "Your father?"

Zhang Lei seemed to recall something and looked at Chen Rong. "Right, how could I forget about Uncle?"

He turned to Li Dabiao. "Brother-in-law, let me introduce you. This is Chen Rong, my girlfriend. Her father is the deputy director of the southern city precinct."

"You mean Chen Qiang?"

Zhang Lei nodded.

Li Dabiao broke into a grin. "My dear brother, with such a good father-in-law, what are you afraid of Old Third An for? Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Brother-in-law, what father-in-law? Chen Rong and I aren't married yet," Zhang Lei replied, a little embarrassed. Chen Rong also glanced at him shyly.

"Right, right, I got ahead of myself. Since Uncle is Director Chen, then there's nothing to worry about. Later, I'll mention it to Old Third An, so he knows where things stand."

As he spoke, Li Dabiao called out toward the door, "Serve the dishes!"

Upstairs, Xu Fei had just brought Sun Yindi into the room. As he closed the door behind him, Li Zhen appeared at the stairwell corner.

"Comrade, which room are you in?" a waiter asked, approaching.

Li Zhen thought for a moment. "Is there an empty room next door?"

"There is."

"Give me one."

The waiter led him into the adjacent room. Li Zhen ordered only two dishes and then sent the waiter away. He opened the window and stood by it. From here, he could hear everything going on in Xu Fei's room next door.

Xu Fei's voice rang out clearly.

"Manager Sun, I really must thank you this time."

"Don't mention it. Third Brother's friends are my friends too, aren't they, Third Brother?" Old Third An laughed.

"How have you been lately?"

"I'm alright."

"Married yet?"

"No."

"When my elder brother passed, didn't he ask you to..."

"I have someone now," Sun Yindi interrupted.

"That's good."

Li Zhen, on the other side, finally felt his anxious heart settle.