My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

The Shiba Inu was stunned.

He squinted, looking Qiu Tong up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Qiu Tong smiled, a smile that carried a hint of condescension.

"Never mind who I am." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears. "Today, your people were in the wrong first. If you want to downplay this, take your people away now, and I'll let it go and not hold it against you."

Shiba Inu frowned and carefully examined the woman in front of him.

She was wearing a red dress that was mostly wet, and her hair was a little messy, but standing there, she exuded an indescribable aura. That aura wasn't feigned; it was the confidence that only someone who had truly seen the world possessed.

He hesitated.

At this moment, one of Chai Gou's henchmen spoke up impatiently: "Brother Gou, don't fall for this woman's tricks! Anyone can brag. If she really knew Boss Chen, would she be eating here?"

Upon hearing this, the other thugs joined in the commotion.

"Exactly! Who is Boss Chen? How could he possibly know her?"

"Hey Dog Bro, don't get scared by her!"

"Just do it! What's there to be afraid of!"

Hearing this, Chai Gou's courage grew again. He raised his face and sneered at Qiu Tong, "Beautiful lady, you don't need to scare me. It's useless."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Qiu Tong with unbridled ferocity, his tone becoming flippant: "But don't be nervous. I, Chai Gou, know how to treat women best. You'll come over and have a couple of drinks with me later, then make this guy who hit me kneel on the ground and slap himself a few times, and we'll be friends tonight. After the drinks, the conflict will be resolved, and I'll drive you out for some fun later."

As he spoke, he turned around and pointed to the Volkswagen Jetta parked in front of the restaurant, saying with a smug look, "That car is mine."

Qiu Tong glanced indifferently at the dilapidated Jetta, a cold smile playing on her lips.

"Want me to drink with you?" she said, emphasizing each word. "Dream on."

The Shiba Inu's expression changed instantly.

"Damn it!" he cursed angrily. "You bitch! You don't even give me any face, do you?"

He brandished the steel pipe in his hand, pointed it at Su Ming, and arrogantly roared, "Fine! Then don't blame me for being impolite! This kid is dead tonight! I'll break this son of a bitch's legs."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Qiu Tong suddenly raised her hand and pointed towards the restaurant entrance.

"Wait a minute." Her voice was as calm as if she were commenting on the nice weather. "Someone will come in soon and reason with you."

Everyone involuntarily looked in the direction she was pointing.

A brand-new champagne gold sedan was slowly coming to a stop in front of the hotel.

That was a BMW 740.

The car's body gleamed, its lines sleek, radiating a luxurious sheen under the streetlights. The color, the style, the aura—it was clear at a glance that it was expensive. In 2003, when everyone was barely scraping by, and even ordering fried rice noodles required careful consideration of whether or not to add meat, those who could drive such a luxury car were truly wealthy and powerful, and no one dared to look down on them.

The scene fell silent instantly.

The group of thugs stood there, stunned, forgetting to raise the steel pipes in their hands.

"My God..." someone muttered quietly, "A BMW 740?"

"I heard this car costs over a million, right?"

"The person who can afford to drive this car must be incredibly impressive..."

The Shiba Inu's face began to turn pale.

Ah Qiang's eyes narrowed even more.

Even Su Ming and Yang Tian were stunned by this sudden aura. They stared at the luxury car parked at the door, and the same thought popped into their minds: Who is sitting in this car?

The car door opened.

The first to come down was a man who was about 1.85 meters tall, in his thirties, with a buzz cut and bright, piercing eyes. He was wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt, which was stretched taut by his muscles, making him look lean and powerful.

Immediately afterwards, three more people got out of the car.

All four were over 1.8 meters tall, with equally strong physiques and sharp eyes. Standing together, they resembled four iron towers; their mere presence was enough to make one feel breathless.

Su Ming carefully examined them, his gaze landing on their waists—there were bulges there, clearly hiding something.

He figured it out.

That's a short knife.

Like a butcher's knife, it was about a foot long, with a sheath, and tucked behind the waist.

The man with the buzz cut strode into the restaurant.

His cold gaze swept over the group of thugs, and wherever he passed, those thugs who had been so arrogant just moments before froze, not daring to even breathe.

Finally, his gaze fell on Qiu Tong.

He smiled and waved to Qiu Tong, "Sister Tong! Are you alright?"

Sister Tong? Su Ming was secretly taken aback. He hadn't expected that his seemingly gentle and charming cousin-in-law was so respected by others. Could it be that this crew-cut man was also wary of Jiang Jian, the man behind his cousin-in-law?

Qiu Tong nodded, a smile appearing on her face: "It's alright."

The crew-cut man's smile deepened, and he nodded: "That's good."

After saying that, he straightened his back, strode across the hall, and walked straight to Qiu Tong.

The group of thugs automatically moved aside, and not one of them dared to take a step forward.

Shiba Inu stood there, his face as pale as paper.

His lips trembled, and his eyes were wide open, as if he had seen something incredible.

Finally, he opened his mouth and managed to squeeze out a few words: "Chao...Chao-ge? It's you?"

Chao walked up to the Shiba Inu.

His steps were neither fast nor slow, his leather shoes making a dull thud on the ground. The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a hammer, striking Chai Gou's heart again and again.

Chai Gou stood rooted to the spot, his legs feeling like lead, unable to move. He watched helplessly as Chao Ge approached, the color draining from his face, his lips trembling, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

Chao Ge stopped in front of him.

Raise your hand.

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap landed squarely on the dog's face.

The force was astonishing; Chai Gou stumbled two steps to the side, almost falling. He covered his face, half of his cheek instantly swelling and burning with pain.

Chao looked at him coldly and said, "It's a shame you still recognize me. Didn't your boss, Chen Jinwang, teach you any manners?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a suffocating sense of oppression.

"When you're out in the game, you have to keep a low profile. Understand?"

The Shiba Inu covered its face and nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, yes! Brother Chao is right! Yes, yes, yes..."

Chao glanced at him indifferently and said nothing more. He turned around and walked towards Qiu Tong.

When he walked up to Qiu Tong, his expression immediately changed—respectful, gentle, and with a hint of concern.

"Sister Tong," he asked, "what did they do to you? Did you suffer any injustice?"

Qiu Tong smiled and shook her head, her tone relaxed: "Nothing much. Just a few casual remarks, saying he wanted me to drink with them and that he'd drive me around."

Upon hearing this, Chao's face immediately darkened.

He turned to look at Chai Gou, sneered, and cursed, "Damn! You? You dare ask Sister Tong to go play with you?"

He paused, his eyes growing even colder: "Let me tell you, even your boss Chen Jinwang wouldn't have the guts."