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

The Shiba Inu stood there, trembling, with large beads of sweat rolling down its forehead.

Chao stared at him and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Tell me, where's the car?"

The Shiba Inu trembled even more violently, and with difficulty raised its hand, pointing to the dilapidated Jetta at the door.

"It's...it's that Jetta..."

Following his finger, Chao saw the nearly new Volkswagen Jetta. Covered in dust and with scratches on the bumper, it looked like a shabby pile of scrap metal next to the BMW 740.

He sneered, turned around and shouted to the two burly men behind him, "Go. Smash that junk car."

The two burly men responded in unison, "Yes!"

They strode up to the group of thugs and snatched the steel pipes from two of them. The two thugs didn't even dare to resist, obediently releasing their grip and taking several steps back.

Two burly men carrying steel pipes rushed out of the restaurant and headed straight for the Jetta.

What happened next made everyone present hold their breath.

"Bang!"

The first blow struck the windshield. The glass shattered instantly into a spiderweb pattern, leaving a large dent.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Bang!"

Several more blows, and the side window glass shattered into pieces all over the floor.

"Bang!"

The hood was trampled into a large dent, and two strong men jumped on it, bouncing and leaping until the hood was dented and deformed like crumpled paper.

"Bang!"

The rearview mirror was knocked away by a stick and rolled to the ground.

In less than two minutes, the Jetta that was once drivable was reduced to a pile of scrap metal. All the glass was shattered, the body was riddled with dents, the hood was caved in, and the tires were all punctured.

The restaurant was deathly silent.

Shiba Inu stood there, looking at his car smashed like this, his face twitching with heartache. That was a second-hand car he had saved up for two years to buy, which he usually treasured like the back of his hand, wiping and washing it every day.

But now, he could only watch helplessly, not daring to utter a single word.

His henchmen, one by one, shrank back, heads bowed, wishing they could hide themselves. Their earlier arrogance had vanished without a trace.

Only one person was genuinely delighted. That was Su Ming, who made no attempt to hide his smile.

He stood behind Qiu Tong, watching the Jetta smashed to pieces, and felt an immense sense of satisfaction. The way Chai Gou had acted just now still made him angry. Serves him right!

After smashing the car, the two burly men carried the steel pipes back to the restaurant, threw them on the ground, and stood back behind Chao Ge.

Chao glanced at Chai Gou, then turned around and picked up a bottle of baijiu from the table next to him—the one that Chai Gou and the others had just finished drinking from, with more than half a bottle left.

He walked up to Chai Gou and handed him the wine bottle.

"Finish it."

Chai Gou stared at the bottle of liquor, his face paling even more than before. He knew this was punishment, and humiliation. But he dared not refuse.

He took the bottle, tilted his head back, and gulped it down into his mouth.

The baijiu was pungent and irritating, burning like fire as it flowed down his throat. He choked, and the liquor spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his clothes. But he didn't dare stop; he wiped his mouth and continued drinking.

"Gulp... gulp..."

He managed to finish the entire bottle of baijiu.

After finishing the drink, Chai Gou's face was flushed and his eyes were somewhat unfocused, but he still forced himself to stand up, holding the empty bottle and bowing and scraping to Brother Chao:

"Brother Chao...I'm sorry...I was wrong...Sister Tong...I'm sorry..."

Chao gave him a cold glance and said nothing.

He raised his hand, pointed to the unfinished food on Qiu Tong's table, and said coldly:

"Pay the bill for the meal in a bit."

The Shiba Inu nodded repeatedly, as if grasping at a lifeline: "Yes, yes, yes! I'll get married! I'll get married!"

Qiu Tong suddenly spoke up.

She stood up, her expression indifferent, her tone icy: "No need. I don't care if someone else treats me."

With that, she picked up her bag, slapped three hundred yuan on the table, and nodded to Brother Chao: "Thank you, Brother Chao. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Chao Ge quickly nodded respectfully, "Sister Tong, would you like me to give you a ride?"

Qiu Tong shook her head, her expression remaining calm: "No need. I'll go back myself. I'll leave this to you."

After saying that, she waved to Su Ming and Yang Tian and walked towards the door first.

Su Ming pulled Yang Tian along and followed behind her.

The three of them walked through the hotel lobby, past the group of timid thugs, and out the door.

A night breeze blew, carrying the chill of early autumn. The crowd that had gathered on the street had dispersed, leaving only the smashed Jetta parked forlornly on the roadside, like a pile of scrap metal.

Qiu Tong stood by the roadside and glanced back at Su Ming and Yang Tian.

"You guys keep playing," she said. "I'm going back now."

Su Ming opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Yang Tian stood to the side, looking at Qiu Tong with a complicated expression.

"Go ahead, have fun." Qiu Tong smiled at them, a smile that seemed somewhat blurred in the night. Then she turned around, her high heels clicking as she slowly disappeared into the shadows of the street corner.

Su Ming stood there, watching that figure recede into the distance, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

There is gratitude, admiration, and a little bit of...heartache.

He recalled Qiu Tong standing calmly in front of that group of thugs at the restaurant. He remembered her calm tone when she called Chao Ge over. He remembered her icy "I don't care" when she refused to let Chai Gou pay the bill.

What has this woman gone through to develop such an aura?

Yang Tian gently tugged at his hand.

Su Ming snapped out of his daze and looked at her.

Yang Tian smiled, a somewhat forced smile, but she still managed to force it: "Let's go too."

Su Ming nodded, got on his motorcycle, and drove her away from that street.

The lights in the restaurant were still on behind me.

Those thugs were still standing there, like a group of elementary school students being punished.

Chao sat in his chair, legs crossed, coldly watching them.

This isn't over yet.

Those thugs are in for a rough time. Meanwhile, Yang Tian and Su Ming are quite happy.

Yang Tian took his arm and looked at him with admiration.

"Su Ming, I didn't expect you to be such a good fighter."

Su Ming scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I learned a little from my grandfather when I was a child."

"That's not just a little bit; even the trained fighters over there might not be a match for you!" Yang Tian nodded sincerely.

The beautiful woman looked at Su Ming with an innocent expression, making him feel a little embarrassed.

He forced an awkward smile and said, "Luckily, it was my cousin who sent people tonight, otherwise, no matter how good my skills are, it wouldn't have mattered."

"Yeah, your cousin is really something. I never thought she could summon such a big shot with just one phone call, and she subdued that group of thugs in no time. Chai Gou is a gang leader from Sichuan!"

"Of course!" Su Ming nodded with considerable pride.

"By the way, what does your cousin do?" Yang Tian asked Su Ming with curiosity. "She seems like someone important! She probably doesn't work in a factory, does she?"