As she pondered how to excuse herself from them, her phone rang.
It was her brother calling, and she answered it in front of Tang Haichao.
"Xiangyang. What's up?"
To her surprise, it wasn't Xiangyang's voice on the other end.
"Xiang Wan, is it? Who are you to Xiangyang?"
"I'm his sister. Who are you? Why is his phone with you?"
"You'll know why it's with me when you get here."
The man gave her an address.
"Hurry up, your brother's caused trouble. If you don't come give me an explanation quickly, don't blame me for being rude."
Xiangyang had caused trouble outside?
Her expression changed, and Xiang Wan stood up.
"I'm sorry, I have to go. There's something at home."
Tang Haichao, sitting opposite her, had heard her conversation clearly. He stood up as well.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for dinner, goodbye. Tangtang, I'm leaving now."
She grabbed her bag and ran out in a hurry.
In her haste, she almost collided with someone as she exited.
Tang Haichao glanced at his daughter with a frown.
"Are you full?"
"Yes."
"Then take your medicine. Let's go see what's going on together."
Xiang Wan drove to the address the man had given her, arriving quickly.
It was a fitness club.
She couldn't figure out why Xiangyang would be here.
She rushed in and spotted a group of tall, lean men standing in the billiard hall to the left of the lobby.
Judging by their appearance and attire, they were around Xiangyang's age.
Xiang Wan understood.
Xiangyang had probably gotten into a conflict with someone while playing here.
"Sis."
Xiangyang, being held by someone in the crowd, saw her.
Xiang Wan walked over and noticed he had a bruised face.
The boys beside him also had injuries on their faces to varying degrees.
"Oh, I didn't expect your sister to be such a beauty. No wonder you're so arrogant."
The lead guy casually appraised Xiang Wan from head to toe.
"I was the one who called you just now. Do you know what happened?"
Xiang Wan ignored him and looked at Xiangyang.
"What happened?"
There was someone behind Xiangyang.
She hadn't seen him earlier as he was crouching on the ground.
He stood up now, clutching his forehead, blood seeping through his fingers.
"What happened? You can tell by looking at me."
"Your brother is incredibly arrogant. He went on a rampage here with us over a ball. He even did this to me. Tell me, how do you want to resolve this?"
"My face is my livelihood. I haven't even found a girlfriend yet. If this leaves a scar, I'm not done with him!"
Xiang Wan glanced at the man, then back at her brother.
"Is that how it happened?"
Her brother had always been well-behaved, rarely causing trouble.
Perhaps because he seldom made mistakes, he felt ashamed of his actions today.
He clenched his jaw, not daring to look at her.
The mistake had been made, and scolding him was pointless.
Moreover, in front of everyone, Xiang Wan didn't want to embarrass him.
"I'm not scolding you. Just answer me honestly, did you hit these people?"
"Even if you did, your sister won't blame you. It's normal to feel overwhelmed when so many people are bullying you. We can just pay for it, don't be scared."
Hearing his sister say this, Xiangyang's eyes welled up.
After mumbling a few times, he nodded.
"I did."
Xiang Wan looked at the lead man.
"Have him take his hand away so I can see how badly he's hurt."
"Judging by your tone, you seem quite wealthy. You really support your brother fighting? You want to settle this with money after the fight? Are you a rich second-generation?"
"It doesn't matter if I am or not. You asked me to come resolve this, and I'm here. What do you want now?"
The young man turned and raised an eyebrow at the person he was talking to.
He removed his hand.
A cut, about two to three centimeters long, was on his forehead.
Xiang Wan calculated in her mind.
Going to the hospital for stitches, a tetanus shot, plus their various other expenses, five thousand yuan would be more than enough.
"Here's five thousand. Let my brother come over."
"Five thousand? He injured my buddy and all of us like this, and you think five thousand will settle it?"
Xiang Wan remained as calm as water.
"I'm talking about him alone. Give another five thousand for all of you combined, a total of ten thousand. Is that acceptable?"
To fight and have his sister pay out ten thousand yuan.
Xiangyang felt heartbroken.
"Why give him so much? I got hit too, why aren't they paying me?"
Xiang Wan quickly showed concern for her brother.
"Besides your face, are you injured anywhere else?"
Her brother bit his cheek and fell silent again.
Always losing his nerve at critical moments, Xiang Wan felt like kicking him.
"I'm talking to you, are you mute?"
Her brother shifted his leg awkwardly.
"My leg is injured. They hit it with a pool cue, and I'm afraid to move it now."
Something like this happened?
Xiang Wan truly regretted saying she'd pay ten thousand yuan!
Her brother's leg was injured to the point he was afraid to move it, damn it!
"Move aside. Let me see."
She tried to get to her brother.
Several young men blocked her path, shoulder to shoulder.
"We agreed on ten thousand yuan. Bring the money first."
"Let me see my brother's injuries. As long as he's okay, the money isn't an issue."
"What could be wrong? He's not bleeding. Are you trying to welch on the deal? There are so many of us, don't force us to fight you."
Xiang Wan was already in a bad mood.
Now, hearing that her brother was seriously injured, and these people were so unreasonable.
She became furious.
She looked at them coldly.
"I told you to move aside! All of you, get out of the way!"
"Heh, feisty, aren't you? Talking to us like that? Interesting..."
The lead guy started teasing her like a little girl.
Xiang Wan's face turned cold. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
"Did your mother not pay for your education? Don't you have basic human decency? Who are you calling a little girl? You wish!"
The young man covered his face, looking incredulous and enraged.
"You dare slap me? Damn it! In my life, neither my parents have ever hit my face, and you dare to hit me?"
"Don't think I won't lay hands on you just because you're a woman!"
"Try to touch me. If I don't have your fingers chopped off tomorrow, I'll write my surname backward!"
"Heh, trying to scare me? Are you some kind of gangster? Or are you relying on your looks to find a rich man?"
"Chop off my fingers, fine. I hit you, so come at me tomorrow if you dare!"
With that, he grabbed Xiang Wan's shoulder and tried to push her to the ground.
"Stop!"
At the critical moment, a man's voice, full of authority, cut through the air.
Everyone turned towards the voice and saw Tang Haichao striding in, holding a gleaming baseball bat, his face radiating killing intent.
He seemed to have wind beneath his feet, arriving in front of them in three quick steps.
He grabbed Xiang Wan's clothes, pulled her out of the way, and then grabbed the young man by the neck.
"Who are you touching? Is my boss someone you can just touch? Don't you want to live? Huh?"
His strength was immense, and the young man's face turned red as he was choked.
He looked at Tang Haichao with confusion and terror.
"What boss? Who's your boss?"
"Who else could it be? Her!"
Tang Haichao gritted his teeth, looking as if he wanted to skin the young man alive.