Chapter 394: Taking 'Courting Disaster' To The Extreme (2)
"You are?" Shen Jingbin gave the Leader a once over. He looked to be about forty or so years old; around the same age as Huoqing's father. He seemed to be an honest and straightforward type of person. Unfortunately, his radiant eyes gave away his true nature.
"I'm the Leader of the civil division. My last name's Li."
The man then proceeded to plop down onto the officer's chair and looked through the records. He looked up at Shen Jingbin's group and said, "This incident is neither big nor small. I don't think there's a need to go through so much trouble to clear things up."
Xia Qihui was a forthright person and had a long history of dealing with all sorts of people. Naturally, he also knew a thing or two about shady characters. He could tell that something was fishy the moment Leader Li walked into the room and spoke. Xia Qihui smiled and gestured for Zhao Chengning and Shen Jingbin not to say anything.
"You're Leader Li, right? Since you've looked at the recording, you should know that my friends and I aren't locals. We were just overcome by a moment of panic. Leader Li, why don't you tell us what you think is the best way to handle this incident?"
Leader Li looked at Xia Qihui with eyes full of praise and said, "I'd recommend you guys to settle this privately. You should be aware that the other party consists of a few little girls. I don't think two grown men need to quibble with a bunch of girls."
"Leader Li, while they might look like frail little girls, they're exceptionally vicious when they make their move. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I myself was tongue-tied when I saw what happened. My friend was knocked out the moment Huoqing sent that bottle of beer his way."
Leader Li shot a glance at Huoqing's father. He got the message and immediately chimed in. "Yes, this was indeed my daughter's fault. How about this then: I'll cover all of your friend's medical fees. Also, I'll also give him an additional 20,000 as compensation. That should be enough, right?"
Unexpectedly, Xia Qihui shook his head. "Uncle, your daughter caused quite the fuss tonight. Many people have borne witness to my friend being attacked by your daughter. Just imagine how shameful it'll be for him if word of this gets out… Why not this then: In addition to whatever you said before, you get your daughter to go over to the hospital and issue an apology in front of all the doctors and nurses."
"Dream on. I'll never apologize to all of you. That little gay ran up and took the hit all on his own. How is it my fault?!" Huoqing roared.
Zhao Chengning and Shen Jingbin's faces darkened when they heard what she said. Even the smile on Xia Qihui's face receded and was instead replaced with an ice cold exterior.
"What did you just say? Who did you say was a gay?"
"I was talking about your friend! Just look at how he looks like. Who'd believe it if he said he wasn't gay?" Huoqing knew that Leader Li was someone her father had sought out, so she felt safe in the knowledge that she'd be protected.
Huoqing's three other companions couldn't sit still any longer when they heard what she said. All of them stepped forward and said that they would be willing to apologize and pay for compensation. They also hoped that Shen Jingbin's group wouldn't hold this incident against them. One of them even went as far as to beg Zhao Chengning to be merciful and let them go.
Huoqing was both puzzled and incensed by her roommates actions, and proceeded to berate them for their betrayal.
In spite of being labelled as traitors, her companions didn't refute her.
What a joke. Huoqing and Zhao Chengning's social status are miles apart from one another. They must have been possessed back at the bar when they tried to help her. If they still sided with her now, they probably wouldn't even know how they died the next day.
All three of them hailed from ordinary families. Apart from being a little vain, they were still aware of their own position. A person like Zhao Chengning wasn't someone they could go up against.
Zhao Chengning cast a sidelong glance at the three girls. His face remained expressionless, and it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. He was interrupted by Leader Li just as he was about to speak.
"What do you think this place is!? Quit kicking up a fuss and shut up!" Leader Li roared as he slammed a hand down on the table. The three girls were shocked into silence, no longer daring to utter another word. Their parents were incensed by this, but they didn't dare to say anything either.
Shen Jingbin suddenly smiled and said to the three girls, "The three of you should find a time to head over to the hospital and apologize. Afterwards, you can apologize to my roommates as well, and we'll treat it as if you played no part in this incident. You don't need to pay any compensation either since Uncle Huo said that he'll shoulder all the costs."
The three girls were overjoyed by the news. They dragged their parents over and repeatedly thanked her. Afterwards, under Leader Li's unwilling gaze, they signed their forms and immediately left.
Shen Jingbin's expression changed once the three girls had left. She eyed Huoqing's parents and Leader Li and said, "I would've let it go if you'd agreed to Xia Qihui's suggestion. But now… hmph."
Following that, Shen Jingbin pulled out her handphone and dialed a number.
Huoqing's father knew that Shen Jingbin looked very familiar when he laid eyes on her. After seeing her mannerisms, he had an inkling that she might belong to one of the wealthy families in A City. This was why he'd glared at his daughter just now.
Offending anyone wasn't a good idea, but his daughter just had to offend a wealthy family's daughter.
As he looked at Shen Jingbin's face while she was making her call, he finally remembered where he'd seen her and immediately broke out in cold sweat.
Didn't she belong to the Shen family?
He'd previously seen her once before at a martial arts competition sponsored by his company. Back then, she, a young girl, was amongst a group of martial artists who were at the pinnacle of their sport, and she was neither cowed nor arrogant in spite of where she was. When he caught wind of her background, he sighed and said that she was a golden child. But, due to his lack of social standing, he only had that one chance to see her, so he wasn't able to recognize her till now.
Huoqing's father had already thought up a tens of thousands of different bad endings that could happen if they offended the Shen family. He placed a hand on his daughter and said through clenched teeth, "Huoqing, go apologize! Come with me to the hospital and apologize right this instant!"
Huoqing and Leader Li stared at him in disbelief when they heard what he said.
"Dad, what are you saying? What do you mean 'go apologize'? You want me to apologize to a gay? I…"
The expressions from Shen Jingbin's group darkened a little further. They looked as if they had the urge to beat someone up. In that instant, Huoqing's father gave her a vicious slap.
"Enough! How can a girl say such things! You're going to apologize tonight, no matter what!"
"Ole Huo, you…" Leader Li couldn't understand the reason behind Huoqing's father's sudden 180. Leader Li wanted to say something to reassure Huoqing's father and say that they were just a bunch of kids who couldn't do much. At the most, they were second generation moneybags. He had people on his side higher up on the hierarchy too, so these kids couldn't do anything.
Before Leader Li could finish what he wanted to say, the exceptionally beautiful girl's icy voice could be heard. "So, now you want to apologize? Sorry, Mr Huo, but it's too late."
A shiver immediately ran through Huoqing's father.