After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 428 - 419: Two Phone Calls

Chapter 428: Chapter 419: Two Phone Calls

This sudden change left the other three people in the private room stunned.

"How did they wake up?"

Zhang Lingxuan snapped back to reality, desperately suppressing the panic rapidly rising in his heart, blurting out a harsh, urgent question: "When did you wake up?"

Chen Rui, listening from the side, couldn’t help but be speechless for a moment.

Isn’t the most important thing now to first calm the person down to prevent Xu Ling’an from accidentally cutting her own neck?

Thinking of that consequence, even he couldn’t help but feel his heart race a few beats.

Although Mr. Zhang never dabbled in business and even publicly disdained his own son for being tainted with commercialism more than once,

most of Zhang Anfeng’s company’s rapid scaling in just a few decades was due to his father’s reputation in the painting and calligraphy circles.

As for his own newly established and barely begun art division, it would collapse instantly at Mr. Zhang’s mere word.

When Zhang Lingxuan met Xu Ling’an’s cold eyes, he realized that his schemes were likely all overheard, taking a deep breath to force himself to stay calm, "An’an..."

"Don’t call me that, you’re not worthy!"

Thinking back to this morning when she had allowed Zhang Lingxuan to hold her arm, Xu Ling’an felt intensely nauseated.

She originally thought Zhang Lingxuan was cozying up to her just to show her grandfather, but never expected him to be so vicious as to want to ruin her directly.

Waking up from a coma, hearing such blatant malice next to her. For a moment, she felt like her heart would stop from fear.

But there was no time for fear and loathing; protecting herself and getting away was of utmost importance.

Zhang Lingxuan’s face cycled through shades of red and green, just about to speak when Chen Rui interrupted.

"Miss Xu, calm down, the table knife is sharp, be careful not to hurt yourself."

Xu Ling’an tightened her grip on the western knife, her fingertips turning white from the force, her gaze shifting to Chen Rui, who seemed to be kindly persuading her. "I know you, you’re no good person either."

Chen Rui: "..."

He knew he wasn’t a good person, but it was the first time someone said it so bluntly to his face!

"To have eyes on a vicious woman like Lin Xuefei, and Chen Cheng, who’s done all sorts of bad things, is actually your brother. Truly, the old saying rings true, ’birds of a feather flock together,’ your lot is like snakes and rats in one nest!"

Even Chen Rui, who considered himself to have a good demeanor, couldn’t help but look grim when lashed at by a fully charged Xu Ling’an.

He signaled to Chen Cheng with the corner of his eye and began to brazenly tell lies, "Miss Xu, you must have some misunderstanding about me..."

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng began stealthily shifting his position, intending to catch Xu Ling’an off guard and snatch the table knife from her.

Such a frail little girl wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

To him, it’s better she’s awake.

There’s less fun in having her unconscious; struggling adds more spice to the game.

*

Inside the private room, the few people were still in a tense standoff, but unbeknownst to them, it had grown quiet outside the room.

It was lunchtime when it should be bustling, but outside the room, it was so quiet you could hear the echo of footsteps.

The boss of the club, initially seated in his high office suite, was now obsequiously following behind the man in black exuding a murderous aura, not daring to look at the young men and women dressed identically with stern expressions nor to manage the patrons sent away.

"Mr. Shen, this is the private room."

Shen Yunqing finally stopped his steps, glanced at the tightly closed private room door in front, and stepped back, without waiting for the boss to personally knock on the door.

One of the guards accompanying him stepped forward and directly kicked the door.

With a resounding crash, the supposedly sturdy lock was kicked open,

even leaving an indented mark on the ornately styled door.

However, upon seeing the situation inside, he cared no longer for the costly decoration of his private room.

The crash startled the four people who were already caught in a chase within the room.

They paused, instinctively turning their heads to look over.

"Boss Qi?" Chen Rui only had dealings with the club owner Qi Sheng, and upon realizing Qi Sheng’s cautious attitude toward the man in black next to him, he immediately felt a foreboding sensation.

Zhang Lingxuan was no better off.

Their doings couldn’t withstand the light of day.

Soon enough, this sense of foreboding materialized.

For they heard two voices simultaneously shouting toward the door.

"Mr. Shen!"

"Brother-in-law!"

Except, the former was filled with fear, from his brother Chen Cheng.

The latter was filled with excitement, from Xu Ling’an.

Chen Rui lifted his foot, still planning to somehow mediate the situation, but before he could open his mouth, one look from this Mr. Shen stopped him in his tracks.

His gaze was like a knife, he almost felt as if it had cut into his flesh, rendering him speechless.

He could only watch as he was approached, step by step.

The guard followed closely behind the Family Head.

After everyone had entered, the private room door was slammed shut again.

Qi Sheng, who almost got his nose hit trying to enter: "..."

He didn’t dare to leave.

Fine, he’d guard the door personally.

Shen Yunqing ignored the three people frozen in place, first looking Xu Ling’an up and down, then finally relaxing a bit.

"An’an, come here."

Xu Ling’an ran over clutching the table knife, eyes reddened.

She had narrowly avoided Chen Cheng’s attempt to snatch the knife.

Afterwards, the other two stopped pretending, although Chen Rui kept on feigning a well-meaning explanation, he was covertly blocking her retreat.

It disgusted her even more than Chen Cheng’s obvious malice.

Shen Yunqing exchanged the phone in his hand for the table knife Xu Ling’an was holding, "It’s your sister on the line; she wants to talk to you."

As he spoke, Jiang Lingxi’s voice, mixed with wind noise, came through the speaker, "An’an, it’s your sister. It’s okay now, don’t be afraid!"

This voice finally let the tears that had been brimming in Xu Ling’an’s eyes fall freely, allowing her to finally release the cold table knife she had clung to as if it were her lifeline and replace it with the phone holding her sister’s voice.

"Sister, I’m fine, I’m not hurt, don’t worry!"

"Mm, I knew it, our An’an is the bravest girl."

A young girl from the Shen family stepped forward, gently holding Xu Ling’an’s other hand, speaking softly: "Come, the Family Head will handle the rest, let’s go have some water, shall we?"

Xu Ling’an nodded slightly in agreement when her brother-in-law nodded to her, allowing herself to be led aside to rest.

Zhang Lingxuan finally found his voice, his tone tremulous with uncertainty, "This, this gentleman, if I’m not mistaken, my aunt only had one daughter; you and my cousin..."

Even though the voice on the phone sounded exactly like Jiang Lingxi, he still couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that Jiang Lingxi, who mingled in entertainment circles, could have such an evidently extraordinary boyfriend.

Shen Yunqing had just taken another call, yet upon hearing Zhang Lingxuan still getting hung up on that detail, he frowned with increased impatience, "Shut up."

Chen Rui, who wanted to speak: "..."

It seemed there was no easy resolution in sight.

As he rapidly contemplated how to handle the current predicament, he heard the words from across the room.

"Family Head, the call is connected."

"Mr. Zhang, this is Shen Yunqing."

"Mr. Shen, why are you calling an old man like me at this hour?"

Hearing his grandfather’s voice from the receiver, Zhang Lingxuan felt a buzzing in his head, driving him nearly mad.

"No!" he exclaimed, intending to forwardly snatch the phone away.

Before the Shen guard could intervene, Shen Yunqing’s patience had been entirely exhausted, and he directly tossed the table knife in his hand backward, "Shut up!"

The scream cut off abruptly.