True Solution of the Sword Dao

Zhao Deyang had once helped him, and there was a favor between them. Moreover, he himself was a top-level figure at the same level as the position of Lin Fei as the president of Shueisha, and in Ping City, he was one of two peaks, one visible and the other hidden.

So his call still needed to be taken.

Lin Fei picked up the cell phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, President Lin? Do you remember me? I’m Zhao Deyang, I’ve had dinner with you and the previous president before."

"Of course I remember. Is that you, Secretary Zhao? What’s up, why the sudden call today?" Lin Fei said with a smile. At the same time, his gaze swept around the entire hall.

The restaurant was fairly quick; apart from their group, basically everyone else had been asked to leave. As to whether this had any impact on the customers or caused dissatisfaction, that wasn’t something Lin Fei considered.

Apart from this hall, other places were empty, and a balding, portly man in a suit carefully waited with four or five staff members at his side.

The others were either making phone calls in low voices or inquiring about the condition of the concerned parties, while the rest seemed to be sizing up Lin Fei and his group.

The sudden appearance of Lin Fei and his entourage, and then the direct shutting down of the restaurant, undoubtedly revealed a massive hidden strength. After all, the Minchen Restaurant was one of the most high-level restaurants in Ping City, and anyone who could make the manager here clear the place out with a single word couldn’t be weak in the background.

Zhao Deyang’s call was naturally to mitigate the impact. Lin Fei verbally agreed, but even a fool could tell from his casual attitude that he was just perfunctorily giving Zhao Deyang face.

**************

Ping City Municipal Committee

Inside an office.

Sunlight slanted in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a bright strip on the somewhat dark office floor.

The middle-aged, short and chubby man in the leather chair behind the desk put down his cell phone.

"This is troublesome..." the chubby man furrowed his eyebrows, "Of all the people to mess with, it had to be the violent department, and to top it off, a leader of the violent department that no one can control right now..."

He put down the phone, picked up the receiver from the desk phone, and hit a speed dial button.

"Xiao Zheng, check the number for Elder Fei... yes, that’s right... the art collector Elder Fei. Send the number straight to my office. I need it urgently."

"It’s all about whether he’ll give face now. Youthful vigor is indeed prone to causing trouble. This Wang Kaishan really stepped into a minefield. However, something feels off; President Lin has always been quite amiable when I interacted with him before, so why would he suddenly become so infuriated?" Zhao Deyang was puzzled, "But I’ve shown my stance; if others don’t respect it, there’s nothing I can do, I’ve done enough just by making the gesture."

***********

Rainbow Hotel

Lu Jun had a smile on his face as he held the phone.

"President Chen, it’s not that I don’t give you face, I’d like to help, but I’m only the acting president. They just don’t respect me. This time, that Wang Kaishan really made them completely furious."

"Yes, exactly, if Wang Kaishan hadn’t pushed them to the brink, they wouldn’t have so easily shut down Minchen Restaurant, right? So many people were eating there, offending so many at once, people aren’t fools."

A deep male voice came from the other side of the phone.

"So President Lu isn’t going to give me this face?"

"President Chen, it’s not that I don’t give you face, but they don’t give me face," said Lu Jun with a grin.

"Lu Jun, it looks like you at Shueisha will have to resolve this matter yourselves. I’ll have my brother intervene, and whatever the consequences are, you better think them through," the man said, before abruptly hanging up.

Lu Jun put down the phone.

Since the last purge, Shueisha in Ping City promoted a new batch of people wholly loyal to Lin Fei, whether out of fear or for the pursuit of power. These people followed Lin Fei wholeheartedly, sometimes even ignoring the orders of him, the acting president.

But Lu Jun was always one to know when to advance or retreat. Everything he had, he owed to Lin Fei and was able to secure because of him. In essence, he was part of Lin Fei’s camp. Whether it be Xu Ruoruo, Yu Fei, An Ying, or Yuan Yonglong from the Swordsmanship Club’s higher-ups, these people wouldn’t have become part of Shueisha’s combat power if not for Lin Fei. Even if people like Yu Fei and An Ying originally belonged to Shueisha, they would likely undermine him discreetly.

"Since President Lin has chosen not to hide anymore, then it doesn’t matter. Shueisha in Ping City has attracted too much attention with its movements recently. Sub-branches at the provincial level have also repeatedly requested to transfer combat power from here. But how would they know that President Lin is the true core that these powerful ones wholeheartedly follow?" Lu Jun was well aware that this President Chen and the backer that Wang Kaishan had found were not particularly close; it was because Shueisha in Ping City had been too conspicuous recently, and additionally, the provincial side kept wanting to take people from here for their own use. This was merely an opportunity to exert pressure.

It was also a way to probe the depth of Lin Fei’s roots in Ping City.

**************

Minchen Hotel

The hall grew increasingly quiet.

Lin Fei also let go of Lin You, sitting on the sofa, with neither of them saying a word.

However, Feil in Lin You’s arms kept staring up at Lin Fei with his round eyes.

Lin You, head bowed, seemed lost in thought.

"Hey, little You, feeling any better?" Feil transmitted his voice.

Lin You remained silent.

"Little You, your brother’s power here really is strong, isn’t it? Last time, he arranged for someone to protect our home secretly, and now casually shutting down a restaurant, it seems we underestimated your brother’s influence," Feil said.

"So what?" Lin You replied, sounding downhearted.

"So what? Your brother may not be as strong, but having such influence means he has money and power! Don’t you realize that?" Feil spoke incredulously, "Aren’t we just in need of solid backing? Let your brother be your support, with sufficient financial power, we can definitely have a lot of security."

"......"

"I’m telling you, little You, look how timely your brother’s arrival was. The moment you faced some trouble, he was here."

"....."

"Just be a little coquettish or pretend to be cute and that’s it, your brother, who’s so attached to you, will definitely be easy to coaxe," Feil said indifferently.

"I..." Lin You didn’t know what to say.

She recalled the old Lin Fei, who was wilful, petty, loved gaudy things, and dressed in a tacky fashion, not to mention poor grades.

Now, Lin Fei was handsome and beautiful, gentle, modest, academically excellent, and had wealth and power behind him. He was a completely different person from before. She suddenly felt a slight sense of helplessness; she once looked down on him and now, he seemed to look down on her. And she had no choice but to rely on him.

A surge of irritation welled up in her heart.

Lin You couldn’t quite explain what was happening to her; she just didn’t want to accept being overshadowed by Lin Fei.

"Brother... can we go home first?" she said softly all of a sudden.

Although her voice was quiet, it was incredibly clear in the current setting.

Immediately, everyone’s gaze fell on Lin Fei.

If he agreed, perhaps today’s events could be de-escalated.

But if he didn’t let go, the matter would continue to cause a stir.

Lin Fei was slightly startled, then smiled.

"Xiao You, don’t you want to settle the score? That family dared to humiliate you in front of so many people."

Lin You remained silent, not saying a word.

Lin Fei, not wanting Lin You to see his violent side, turned to Xiao Ling, who had come with him. "Take Xiao You home first."

Xiao Ling seemed to guess Lin Fei’s intention and nodded. She was close to Lin Fei’s family, so she was quite familiar with Lin You.

"Let’s go, Xiao You," she whispered into Lin You’s ear, gently leading her to stand up.

Meow~~~

A black cat squeezed out from Lin You’s arms and leapt onto Lin Fei. It was Feil.

A flicker of confusion passed through Lin Fei’s eyes, but he paid it no mind and gently stroked the black cat’s neck while watching Lin You being led by Xiao Ling, her head bowed, walking out of the hall.

"Xiao You!!" Suddenly, a girl ran out from the crowd on one side.

A young man behind Lin Fei was about to act, but Lin Fei raised a hand to stop him.

The one who ran out was Kong Qiyu. She hurried over and stopped in front of Lin You, who was halting her steps.

"Please don’t be like this, ok? It’s just Wang Jifan’s issue; it has nothing to do with anyone else. You’re my best friend. I’m begging you, please persuade your brother," Kong Qiyu whispered.

Although she had also called her father, he was still on his way. If Lin You left now, the situation might spiral out of control. Given the domineering and forceful attitude Lin Fei had shown, it was very likely he would completely let loose without reservations.

Even though Wang Jifan and she never saw eye to eye and had deep conflicts, they were still classmates after all.

Being part of a powerful family, she had seen too many dark political struggles, so she understood that once Lin You left, the situation here might quickly deteriorate.

Lin You gave her a faint smile, yet her face was somewhat pale.

"Qiyu, I’m sorry, it’s your birthday, and it ended up like this because of me."

Kong Qiyu also looked distressed, "I wanted us to have a good time together, I didn’t expect this to happen. It’s also my fault for not being by your side. Otherwise..."

Mr. and Mrs. Wang Kaishan were carefully tending to Wang Jifan, helping their son catch his breath. Along with the other guests, they were subtly surrounded by the group brought by Lin Fei.

Kong Qiyu and Lin You were whispering at the entrance of the hall.

Wang Kaishan seemed to have gained some confidence after making a few phone calls. Facing Lin Fei, he forced a smile, though his complexion was ashen. His mood had also largely improved because the kick from Lin Fei’s subordinate hadn’t caused serious harm, which was part of the reason he felt reassured.

"Young man," he looked at Lin Fei, "my son may have done some wrong, but that was just kids making jokes and playing around. You started hitting as soon as you arrived, isn’t that a bit excessive?" By this time, he had realized that Lin Fei seemed to have a significant background, so he spoke more softly.

"Secretary Wang Lin, have you heard of this? The political and legal committee secretary of Southwest Province, a longtime old classmate of mine, I’m sure the hotel’s cameras have a complete record of the incident. If you don’t want things to end up worse for both of us, just apologize to my son, and I’ll pretend as if nothing happened. After all, my son only spoke a few words, while you guys directly turned to violence," Wang Kaishan didn’t want to exacerbate the conflict. The calls he had made gave him some assurance, but immediate help was still needed; they couldn’t afford the immediate loss. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Fei was about to speak when the sound of sirens could be faintly heard outside the hotel, clearly indicating that either Wang Kaishan or someone else present had called the police.

Then, amid the sound of hurried footsteps, it was evident that someone was quickly approaching the venue.

Xiao Ling looked towards Lin Fei, who was sitting calmly on the sofa.

He nodded slightly in response.

Kong Qiyu whispered a few more words to Lin You, then hurried back to her sister. She also whispered something to the friends who had come to celebrate her birthday with her. From the low murmur among the boys, the words being spoken could be vaguely heard.

"It must be my mum and the others," a boy whispered.

"And my aunt."

Bang!

The hotel’s main door was forcefully pushed open.

A group of police officers in uniform rushed in swiftly.

The leader was a young female officer with a face dotted with freckles. She had a serious expression, first scanning past Kong Qiyu’s group, pausing to take a few glances at one of the boys, and then focusing her attention on Lin Fei, who was sitting placidly on the sofa. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)