The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er looked at Lin Shan, and in that moment, she felt completely at ease. Her father was protecting her, shielding her from bullies. No matter what came next, as long as she was with him, she felt safe.

"Let him go! If you let him go now, we can still talk this over. If not, none of you are walking out of here today!"

The man Xiao Li called his big brother stepped forward.

"You just wait! See if I don’t kill you! Lin Gu’er, you shameless bitch! I’ll get someone to take care of you, I’ll..."

Seeing his big brother step forward, Xiao Li grew excited. He had been threatened by Sun Jiaming last time, and now he’d been beaten by some middle-aged man who was holding him down and humiliating him. A venomous glint flashed in his eyes. He would have his revenge. He would make Lin Gu’er kneel and beg him one day.

Lin Shan said nothing. He just grabbed Xiao Li by the hair and forcefully slammed his head against the table a few more times. BANG! BANG!

Xiao Li shrieked in pain, no longer daring to hurl insults at Gu’er.

A vicious glint flashed in the eyes of Xiao Li’s big brother. He wanted to move forward, but with Xiao Li in the man’s grasp, there was nothing he could do.

’This bastard is infuriating. The moment he lets Xiao Li go, my guys and I are going to cripple him.’

Just then, someone shouted, "The manager’s here! Manager Shang is coming over."

Following the shouts, Manager Shang, whom Gu’er had met before, strode over with two men in tow.

"Brother Shang."

The man Xiao Li called his big brother called out.

Manager Shang gave a distracted nod. Just a little while ago, Xiao Li had brought Chen Kui and his friend, Lai Qing, to see him. However, he had been in a private room at the time, dining with a distinguished guest. Ordinarily, Xiao Li and Chen Kui wouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near that room, but since an acquaintance of Chen Kui’s—someone with a slight connection to the guest of honor—was also present, he hadn’t stopped them. Still, their appearance had clearly displeased his guest, so he had quickly sent them away.

He had told Xiao Li to take Chen Kui and Lai Qing to wait outside, promising to speak with them after he was finished with his guest. But only a moment later, a server had burst in to tell him a fight had broken out. His distinguished guest had overheard and shot him a pointed look, leaving him no choice but to rush out and deal with the situation.

The moment he stepped out of the room, he asked what was going on. When he heard Xiao Li was at it again, he was inwardly furious. ’I’m firing him,’ he decided. ’I don’t care who tries to intervene this time. That kid is a walking disaster.’ He’d only been working here for six months and had already caused two massive incidents. The dust from the last one hadn’t even settled, and now he was pulling this crap again.

’Still,’ he thought, ’no matter what, Xiao Li is one of my employees for now. His backer, Chen Kui, is here, not to mention the other person in the private room. I can’t completely disregard their connection. I have to back Xiao Li up first. As for the person who started a fight with him, I absolutely can’t let them off the hook. I need to teach them that our hotel isn’t a place where just anyone can stir up trouble.’

Manager Shang quickly arrived at the scene. He was resentful toward Xiao Li, so he only gave Chen Kui a brief nod when he called out. He wanted to see who the troublemaker was.

The first thing he saw when he approached was Gu’er. He froze. ’Her? What is she doing here?’

He understood at once. ’Xiao Li must still be holding a grudge from last time. He must have seen Gu’er here and decided to cause trouble.’

’That Xiao Li... He knows perfectly well those villagers are savages. You’d think he would’ve learned his lesson after what happened last time, but no, here he is again.’

"Gu’er, what are you doing here? Even if Xiao Li was in the wrong and said something inappropriate, you can’t just resort to violence. This is the city, not your village. Assault is a crime here. And tell me, why are the people you bring along always so eager to throw a punch?"

Manager Shang’s face fell the moment he saw Gu’er, and he immediately started lecturing her.

"Manager Shang, you storm over here and start laying into us without bothering to find out what’s right and what’s wrong. Such a show of authority. So this is how your hotel usually treats its guests? By bullying them?"

Seeing Manager Shang target Gu’er right away, Lin Shan’s expression darkened.

Manager Shang froze. ’Something about that tone is off,’ he thought. He finally turned his gaze toward Lin Shan. At first, he’d assumed the assailant was Sun Jiaming from the last incident.

One look, and he was dumbstruck.

"Mr. L-Lin? What brings you here?"

Xiao Li hadn’t been around long enough to recognize Lin Shan, but Manager Shang certainly did. The city had several districts, each with its own head, but which one was the most prominent? Yonghong. Yonghong District was ranked number one; its economy and everything else about it were top-tier, and the other districts couldn’t even compare. This meant that while the other district heads were technically the same rank as the head of Yonghong, they all dreamed of taking that position. Yonghong was not only prosperous, but it was also where one could most easily make a name for themselves. And Lin Shan was the head of Yonghong District. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"It seems Manager Shang isn’t pleased by my visit," Lin Shan said calmly.

"Of course not! Please, Mr. Lin, don’t say that. I’m delighted you’re here. Why didn’t you call ahead? I would’ve had a private room arranged for you."

Manager Shang forced a bitter smile, then he froze again. ’Lin Shan seems to be with Gu’er. What’s their relationship? That damn Xiao Li must have run his mouth. How on earth did he manage to offend Mr. Lin?’

’Mr. Lin was known to be an approachable and righteous man, with a reputation for being good-tempered. But as he looked at Xiao Li, still held by Lin Shan, Manager Shang couldn’t help but shiver. This was the good-tempered Mr. Lin?’

Chen Kui’s eyes narrowed. ’A district head? I know two district heads, but this isn’t one of them. His surname is Lin... Does that make him the head of Yonghong District? We’re screwed. I might have some pull, but not enough to mess with the head of Yonghong District.’

"Mr. Lin, may I ask how Xiao Li has offended you?"

When Lin Shan remained silent, Manager Shang had no choice but to brace himself and ask again. To be honest, he didn’t necessarily have to be afraid of Lin Shan; he had his own powerful backing for this job. But he didn’t want to make an enemy of him, either. In his line of work, it was best not to offend anyone you didn’t have to. You never knew who was connected to whom. If he made an enemy of someone truly powerful, he could kiss his manager position goodbye.

This thought only strengthened his resolve to fire Xiao Li. ’The kid is a magnet for trouble.’

"Manager! Manager, I... I just said a few nasty things about that Gu’er girl, I... Help me!"

Xiao Li’s mind went blank. The man beating him was a district head? He’d thought he was just some peasant from the village. And he had accused Gu’er of sleeping around with this man... What was he going to do now? Could his big brother, Chen Kui, even save him?

"Mr. Lin," Manager Shang said, all smiles, "Xiao Li is young and reckless with his words. Please don’t stoop to his level. How about you let him go first? Anything can be resolved with a calm discussion, don’t you think?"

Manager Shang maintained his ingratiating smile, though he was inwardly puzzled by the relationship between Lin Shan and Gu’er.

"Gu’er is my daughter. I have no desire to repeat the things he said. Since you’ve claimed him as your employee, Manager Shang, I will release him. However, you will owe me an explanation for this matter."

Lin Shan let go. He was giving Manager Shang some face. He couldn’t actually beat Xiao Li senseless—that would be breaking the law. His only goal was to teach the boy a lesson and protect Gu’er.

Manager Shang stared at Gu’er in shock. ’Isn’t she just a girl from the village? How can she be Mr. Lin’s daughter? Then why on earth are you playing at being a villager and selling wild boar meat instead of just enjoying your life as the daughter of a district head? If we hadn’t all assumed she was just some country girl, would any of this have even happened?’

Rubbing his aching head, Xiao Li also stared at Gu’er. He remembered the person who had followed her last time telling him where she was staying. Back then, he had just assumed she was living with relatives. He’d never dreamed that she had powerful backing—let alone from someone so far beyond his reach.

***

*Thank you to Sidney Liu and Duan Ya for the monthly tickets, and thank you to Ning Zhihai for the praise. I had a stomachache today and spent the whole afternoon in bed. There will be three Chapters tomorrow.*