Chapter 153: Publicly Flaunting Their Affection

Tang Yifei felt deeply resentful. Seeing how utterly useless Black Sable and Jackal had been, he flew into a rage.

Suddenly, Tang Zhenfeng slammed his hand on the table and stood up, delivering a fierce slap across Tang Yifei’s cheek. "You bastard! What on earth are you up to! You’ve completely disgraced me!"

"Dad!" Tang Yifei stubbornly refused to see reason, even then.

"Black Sable! Jackal! Take him away at once!" Tang Zhenfeng knew that if this farce continued, he and his son would be entirely in the wrong. Putting aside whatever underhanded tricks Tang Long might pull behind the scenes, Tang Sanguo and his two sons had been eyeing them like tigers eyeing their prey. If they became the public enemy of the family now, they would be in serious trouble. Whatever the case, he needed to put an end to the situation immediately; apologies and amends could come later.

Without a word of hesitation, Black Sable and Jackal each grabbed Tang Yifei by the arms, hoisting him between them. Tang Yifei put up a symbolic struggle for form's sake before the two dragged him out of the villa's main hall.

Tang Yifei was escorted straight out of the Tang family villa. Outside, the street was lined with parked cars, completely deserted.

Suddenly, Black Sable and Jackal released Tang Yifei and lowered their heads. "Second Young Master, please forgive us."

"Very good," Tang Yifei said with a sinister smile. "That performance played out nicely. Let them fight amongst themselves. I don't mind playing the villain. I want to see if the Tang family's capital chain can stay afloat without me, Tang Yifei. Before long, they'll all be begging for my help."

"Second Young Master, aren't you worried about ruining your reputation by doing this?" Jackal frowned. "What if the Master really does cast you out of the Tang family?"

Tang Yifei snorted. "He wouldn't dare. If I couldn't even calculate that much, how could I dare direct such a self-destructive play? If Tang Jiu hadn't returned today, I would have already succeeded completely! Since they ruined my good plans, I'll let them know I'm not to be trifled with."

In truth, Tang Yifei's original plan had not been this. If Tang Jiu had not returned today, the moment Tang Sanguo and his sons started screaming about dividing the family assets, he would have directly forced Tang Zhengtian to hand supreme authority of the Tang family over to him.

Yet he never expected that good-for-nothing Bear would fail so miserably at even blocking a road, allowing Tang Jiu to break in with that fellow named Xu. That left him with no choice but to instigate conflict and find a way to extract himself. Besides, he currently controlled all of the Tang family's investments, and all the funds were in his hands. Without him stepping forward, it was impossible for anyone to retrieve the invested money, so Tang Zhengtian would sooner or later have to rely on him.

Although his actions today were a bit extreme, it was necessary to make Tang Zhengtian realize that the Tang family could not survive without him, and that handing the family over to Tang Jiu would inevitably lead to its fracture. Yielding it to him instead was the only way to ensure the Tang family wouldn't collapse.

Since Tang Sanguo and his sons insisted on splitting the family apart, he would simply wash his hands of it and leave this messy problem for Tang Jiu to handle. Once Tang Jiu resolved it, the Tang family would ultimately still end up in his hands.

However, there was one development today that Tang Yifei had never anticipated: Tang Long's sudden betrayal. That fellow had always been completely subservient to him, yet today he actually tried to kick a man while he was down. Hmph! He wanted to see what Tang Long amounted to in the Tang family without him! He refused to believe that a motherless child had any right to compete with him.

"Did the two of you actually lose to that woman just now, or were you just putting on an act?" Tang Yifei frowned. He already had a plan to deal with Xu Yun, but he hadn't expected there to be another martial arts expert by Xu Yun's side.

Hearing this, Black Sable’s expression darkened. "Second Young Master, that woman's skill is likely superior to ours."

"What?!" Tang Yifei raised his voice sharply. "Aren't you two at the peak of second-rate martial artists? You aren't about to tell me that woman is a first-rate expert, are you?! Do you expect me to believe that?"

Berated until he felt thoroughly worthless, Black Sable didn't dare utter another word.

Jackal gritted his teeth and spoke up. "Second Young Master, we can hardly believe it ourselves, but the strength that woman displayed was indeed far beyond ours. The internal energy contained within her sword strike was certainly not something a second-rate practitioner could possess. It was clearly the unfettered internal energy that only a first-rate expert, having unblocked all their primary meridians, can freely wield!"

"My foot!" Tang Yifei cursed furiously. "A first-rate expert in a tiny place like Hexi City? Do you take me for an idiot? Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to retain the Ghost-Faced Rakshasa? Why would a first-rate expert willingly hole up in a small town like Hexi City? They wouldn't even deign to look at Jinbei City! Understand?!"

Tang Yifei's outburst was clearly driven by the situation spiraling beyond his expectations, so neither Black Sable nor Jackal dared to speak out of turn.

Once Tang Yifei's rage had subsided somewhat, Jackal dared to speak again. "Second Young Master, the soft sword in that woman's hand is called Longyuan—that is certainly not something an ordinary person could own. I think it would be best to inform the Ghost-Faced Rakshasa about this."

"Do I need you to teach me?" Tang Yifei said through clenched teeth. "You two don't leave. Wait here for my father; I'm afraid my third uncle and the others might pull some dirty tricks shortly. I've already told the Ghost-Faced Rakshasa to wait for me at the club. I'm heading over immediately. You two stay here and keep your eyes peeled!"

"Understood!" the two replied in unison, nodding.

...

Inside the hall, Tang Zhenfeng wore a dark, mortified expression. "This is my fault for failing to properly educate my son. Once we return, I will discipline him severely."

"Tang Zhenfeng, don't just say pretty words," Tang Sanguo sneered. "Among us brothers, you've always been the shrewdest. We can rarely guess what you're plotting. Who knows if you didn't deliberately orchestrate this little scene today with the ultimate goal of monopolizing the Tang family fortune?"

"Third Brother, do you still view me as your older brother?" Tang Zhenfeng said coldly. "I have only one objective today: I will absolutely not agree to you tearing the Tang family apart. Don't doubt my intentions either. Tang Jiu has already brought her back her boyfriend, and Big Brother has already spoken. For everything else, I will simply follow orders."

Tang Shaofeng frowned. "Second Uncle, your expression changes even faster than a face-changing performer. Although Ninth Sister brought such a fellow back, she hasn't proven to us yet that he really is her boyfriend."

"How would you like me to prove it?" Tang Jiu asked. "Third Brother, as long as you say the word, I'll prove it to you right now."

Tang Shaofeng smiled faintly. Having grown up together, he knew Tang Jiu's personality very well. For an ordinary man to even approach her was sheer fantasy; Tang Jiu's standards were exceptionally high. From childhood to adulthood, Tang Shaofeng had never seen Tang Jiu behave with special intimacy toward any man.

Reading the subtext in Tang Shaofeng's expression, Tang Yi chimed in, "Ninth Sister, you should at least prove to us how intimate the two of you are. Otherwise, how can we believe there's genuinely something between you and him?"

Tang Jiu was slightly startled before she smiled. "Fourth Brother, you really do understand me. But just how intimate he and I are... well, it's a bit embarrassing to display that in front of all of you, isn't it?"

"Ninth Sister, it's not that your brothers don't trust you, but you're too clever. Fourth Brother is afraid all our uncles and elders are being hoodwinked by you," Tang Yi said with a smile, voicing everything Tang Shaofeng had left unsaid.

With that, everyone cast suspicious gazes toward Tang Jiu once more.

Tang Huazhong, who was usually sparing with his words, spoke up as well. "Little Jiu, you didn't pay someone to come back and fool your Eighth Uncle, did you?"

Tang Jiu glanced back at Xu Yun, hardened her heart, and spoke to the gathered crowd with graceful poise. "Very well. Since my uncles and brothers wish to see just how deeply in love Xiaojiu and Xu Yun are, Xiaojiu won't hold back today. I'm going to show our affection right here in front of everyone."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yun truly panicked. He hadn't prepared for any of this! Exactly how did Tang Jiu intend to display their affection in front of so many people? Surely she didn't mean to play for keeps, did she? Good grief, if this turned out to be real, she'd have to pay him extra!

No, even with extra pay, he couldn't do this! No matter how he looked at it, Xu Yun was a genuine virgin. Forget doing it in front of a crowd like this; even in private, he had never engaged in anything deeply intimate between a man and a woman. Doing this in front of so many people with zero experience—he'd be exposed in a second!

Yet Tang Jiu paid no mind to whether Xu Yun was prepared. She walked straight over to Xu Yun, who was seated to Tang Zhengtian's left. With every step she took toward him, Xu Yun felt a fresh twinge of anxiety, as if something ominous was about to happen.

Sure enough, Tang Jiu walked right up to Xu Yun and plumped herself straight down onto his lap. Xu Yun hadn't been ready at all; cold sweat broke out all over his back.

"Oh my god!" Guoguo gasped, her mouth wide open. She rubbed her eyes and tugged at Chou Yan. "Sister Chou Yan, am I seeing things? What is Sister Xiaojiu doing... isn't this a bit too bold?"

Chou Yan glanced over. Though her face remained completely expressionless, her heart tightened involuntarily. From the very beginning, Chou Yan had never imagined there would come a day when she would feel a pang of heartache over matters between a man and a woman. Yet, this sensation was now real enough to make her feel entirely hollow inside.

Even so, Chou Yan refused to admit to herself that she had fallen for Xu Yun. That was a taboo she could never touch. She exerted all her willpower to suppress her emotions, refusing to believe that any story of growing old together hand-in-hand would ever be hers.

"Sister Chou Yan? What are you thinking about?" Subtle though Chou Yan's reaction was, Guoguo caught it with sharp perception.

"Nothing," Chou Yan murmured, her gaze drifting away and settling elsewhere.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the room locked their eyes onto Tang Jiu, who was now seated comfortably on Xu Yun's lap.

Tang Jiu remained entirely poised and unbothered, while Xu Yun, a grown man, found himself thoroughly awkward. Lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear, he asked, "Tang Jiu, what are you playing at?"

"Just sit still. Whatever I do, you're not going to lose out. Don't you want to take advantage of the situation?" Tang Jiu replied with a smile, her lips barely moving as the faint voice came from deep in her throat.

Take advantage? Xu Yun's heart gave a jolt as his legs finally began to register the indescribable sensation of Tang Jiu's springy, well-rounded hips pressing against him. His eyes widened. Good grief, you really know how to pick a spot! What if you crush my precious assets?!