Chapter 248: Chapter 248
After Huangfu Huazhang finished speaking, he got up and headed straight to the outer area. Xia Zuo quickly followed suit, put on his gloves, pulled a white handkerchief from his left chest pocket, carefully wiped the bottle clean, and then wrapped the glass in the handkerchief to take it away.
The bartender in the bar sensibly came over and, using a pure white napkin, took the bottle back to the counter for continued storage. Only then did Xia Zuo calmly follow Huangfu Huazhang.
By this time Huangfu Huazhang was already at the door, standing in the night light at the entrance, illuminated by the dazzling pink neon lights of the bar’s signboard.
Tang Yan Yi watched them both nervously, trying to gauge Huangfu Huazhang’s next move while carefully observing Xia Zuo’s series of actions. Distracted by both sides, she couldn’t focus on the bulky man across from her who was hopelessly trying to make small talk.
Xia Zuo walked towards the door, Tang Yan Yi glanced at him, discreetly reached for her handbag, intending to quietly follow.
Xia Zuo crossed through the noisy crowd, coincidentally passing by Tang Yan Yi and the bulky man’s table. There were so many people in the bar that as Xia Zuo passed by, he seemed to stagger and bumped into the bulky man.
The man, relying on his large stature, turned his head frowning and said displeasedly, "Hey! Watch it!"
Xia Zuo quickly raised his hand in a gesture of apology, "Sorry, old pal." His head slightly tilted, his gaze naturally swept towards Tang Yan Yi, and he arrogantly raised his eyebrow at her, whether intentionally or inadvertently.
In the blink of an eye, Xia Zuo already wore a proud smile and strode away.
Tang Yan Yi stared at Xia Zuo’s silhouette as he exited through the glass door, joining Huangfu Huazhang outside. From this perspective, they both looked similarly tall and thin, equally aloof.
Tang Yan Yi then grabbed her handbag, got up, and flashed an apologetic smile at the bulky man: "I have something to do, I’m leaving now. Bye-bye~"
The man had been trying to chat up Tang Yan Yi all along, but she had ignored him completely, leaving him frustrated. Just now he was bumped by Xia Zuo, which further fueled his temper. When he saw this East Asian girl who led him on all night about to leave without giving him any satisfaction, he became furious.
As Tang Yan Yi just stood up, he reached out and grabbed her arm, "Hey? Leaving just like that?"
Tang Yan Yi struggled hard, but the bulky man was surprisingly strong, making it difficult for her to break free quickly. Anxiously looking towards the door, she saw the headlights of a car sweeping over, enveloping Huangfu Huazhang and Xia Zuo’s figures in a dazzling white light. As if deliberately, Xia Zuo seemed to turn and look inside. Though he was still wearing sunglasses in the night, it was uncertain where he was looking, but Tang Yan Yi instinctively felt he was glancing in her direction.
As for Huangfu Huazhang, he remained standing tall, but his shoulders relaxedly drooped, revealing a particular sense of arrogance, as if the world and all its people weren’t worthy of even a backward glance from him.
The car lights turned, the vehicle stopped in front of the two, and they were about to get in.
Tang Yan Yi gritted her teeth, glaring at the bulky man in front of her, and hissed lowly, "Let go!"
The man smirked brazenly, "You want me to let go? You’ll need to come with me first. Once you settle the tab for tonight’s drinks, I’ll naturally let you go."
In this foreign country, an East Asian girl alone was seen as easy prey, so the bulky man was determined to take advantage of her tonight.
Tang Yan Yi sneered with contempt, "Not letting go? Well then, I’m sorry."
Her wrist suddenly twisted, performing a reverse joint grab on the man’s wrist, then stepped forward abruptly, her arm twisting fiercely, as she lifted the huge man onto her shoulder, performing an over-the-shoulder throw and smashing him onto the table!
With a clatter, bottles shattered all over the floor. The man’s back broke through the table surface, then he crashed heavily onto the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
The surrounding group of strong M Country men were taken aback, staring dumbfounded at the petite East Asian girl with black hair and eyes.
Tang Yan Yi snorted softly, dusted her shoulders, took out enough cash from her handbag, and slapped it on the table, "For your medical bills, to mend your face."
She then went over to the bar, compensating for the broken bottles, glasses, and table cost, before arrogantly raising her gaze, and walked out the door on her 10-inch stiletto heels.
Standing at the entrance, she could no longer see Huangfu Huazhang and Xia Zuo’s figures. She flexed her wrist joint, lightly squinting her eyes.
Did they think this little trick would scare her? Or did that mysterious man not even deem her worthy of a more profound tactic?
"Huangfu Huazhang, I won’t let this slide." She clenched her fists quietly, "Just wait."
Xiang Yuan, with dark circles under his eyes, arrived early at the meeting room waiting for the arrival of several partners.
He had met with Mr. Lin Qi last night, regaining the qualification to serve as Mark’s defense attorney. Holding the winning ticket this morning, he intended to secure the favor of each partner in advance.
Not only was he confident that he wouldn’t lose control of Huatai Hall at this meeting, but he even aimed to retaliate, using the meeting as an opportunity to sweep Rosa out.
The past sentiment wasn’t nonexistent; the reason he got tangled with Rosa for so many years was partly due to his soft-heartedness.
However, he could never forget last night. After Rosa failed in her final attempt to beg for intimacy, she used the partner meeting to threaten him, trying to make him lose Huatai Hall—Huatai Hall, which is his lifeline, something Rosa should have been most aware of. In fact, he originally worked to get to know Rosa just for Huatai Hall, yet she wanted to join forces with other partners to make him lose Huatai Hall!
Emotions aside, threats are threats. He could accept Rosa arguing with him, making a scene, or even hitting him a few times—it didn’t matter...but she shouldn’t have done something so chilling.
As a lawyer, what he learned the most over the years was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
The partners arrived one after another, and Xiang Yuan seized the opportunity to chat with each person for a few minutes, displaying the good cards he already held to the partners.
After all, the partners originally invested in Huatai Hall because they valued Xiang Yuan as a person; Rosa came later and wasn’t a lawyer. Moreover, they said they wanted to call this meeting because they were worried Xiang Yuan would only focus on maintaining his marriage, disregarding the firm’s business and partners’ interests, so they intended to use the meeting to urge Xiang Yuan to reevaluate his choices. Since Xiang Yuan had already complied, they were happy to reconcile with him.
So by the scheduled meeting time, over 70% of the attendees, including 5 senior partners and 12 regular partners, had agreed to vote for Xiang Yuan in the upcoming meeting.
Xiang Yuan felt relieved, sat upright, and waited for Rosa’s arrival.
Today struck him as somewhat unexpected. Rosa was usually a meticulous and thorough person, so it surprised him that she was truly reassured about letting him have such a long time alone before such an important meeting.
The meeting time arrived, yet there was still no sign of Rosa.
Five minutes passed, and still nothing.
Ten minutes went by, and the silence persisted.
Fifteen minutes...and all the partners were starting to feel a bit restless.
Xiang Yuan personally went out to find Rosa’s secretary. Rosa’s secretary was also extremely surprised, saying that the boss hadn’t taken any leave today, nor had other external engagements, not even... the phone couldn’t be reached.
Xiang Yuan narrowed his eyes and personally took out his phone to dial Rosa’s number.
Sure enough, it was persistently unreachable.
Xiang Yuan’s expression couldn’t help but change a bit. He continuously attempted to call again while walking back to the meeting room to inform everyone to go about their business for now. He would reschedule the meeting once he found Rosa.
Everyone dispersed, and he grabbed his car keys and headed downstairs.
He drove straight to Rosa’s residence.
Just halfway there, he saw a large crowd gathered by the roadside. Someone was anxiously making a call, and not far away, an ambulance with flashing lights came speeding by.
Xiang Yuan didn’t even know how he managed to park his car by the roadside. He only knew that he unbuckled his seatbelt, didn’t bother closing the car door, and dashed to the other side of the road. As he crossed the road, his hands and feet were cold.
He pushed his way through the onlookers and saw a large pool of blood on the roadway.
And Rosa, wearing her favorite royal blue business suit, lay there on her back in a pool of blood, unconscious.
Shi Nian was discussing new topics with Ye He and Xiao Mai, when Tang Yanqing suddenly received a call, glancing at her intentionally or unintentionally while listening.
Shi Nian handed over several alternative topics in her hand to Ye He and Xiao Mai, then walked over: "What’s going on? Does it concern me?"
Tang Yanqing put down the phone: "There was a car accident. It seems to be an ordinary car accident, except that the injured person is somehow connected to you?"
Shi Nian tensed up: "Who?"
Tang Yanqing’s eyes, like clear spring water, met hers: "Rosa."
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No one expected that what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill traffic accident would attract Xiong Jie from "Black Curtain" to come and interview with such fanfare.
When Shi Nian and Ye He arrived at the emergency center, they saw Rosa clinging to Xiang Yuan, bombarding him with endless questions.
Shi Nian and Ye He exchanged a glance, and Ye He pressed Shi Nian’s hand: "Chief, it’s inconvenient for you to go over there, let me handle it."
[Three Chapters today, the second Chapter in the morning]