Chapter Thirteen: Enmity Formed

“Stop right there.”
Just as Chu Dong and Xiao Yuer were about to get into the car, a slightly sharp voice called out to them.
Startled, Chu Dong turned around to see a young man, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, striding toward him.
“Are you talking to me?” Chu Dong asked, pointing to his own nose.
The young man’s face was shadowed and he nodded in reply.
“Is there something you want?” Chu Dong asked again.
“There is.” The young man answered expressionlessly.
“Then make it quick. I’m on my way to my future father-in-law’s for dinner. If they start without me, I’ll lose all face.” Chu Dong leaned against the car door.
“That’s my brother.” The young man turned and pointed at Tian Hai.
“Oh, I see. But what does that have to do with me?” Chu Dong, finding the fellow rather disagreeable, feigned ignorance.
“Do you find it amusing to stoop to a child’s level? If you’re so tough, why not pick on someone your own size?” The man, introducing himself as Tian Hai’s brother, looked at Chu Dong with contempt.
“So you mean you want me to target you instead?” Chu Dong really had no interest in squabbling with kids, but seeing what the brother was like, he understood why Tian Hai was the way he was.
“That depends if you have the guts.” Tian Hai’s brother glanced back, and immediately several burly men surrounded Chu Dong.
“Are you in insurance? Have you made sure they’re all covered?” Chu Dong eyed his crisp white shirt, black suit, and tie—formally dressed, though clearly, from Chu Dong’s sharp eye, it was a bespoke European outfit worth at least a hundred thousand. But to wear that in sweltering summer made him look quite out of place. The ostentatious display wasn’t enough to intimidate Chu Dong, so he couldn’t resist taking a jab.
“Smash it.”
At Tian Hai’s brother’s command, the burly men, as if performing a trick, whipped out iron rods and began to attack the car.

Chu Dong had thought they’d come for him, but to his surprise, they were going for the car. By the time he reacted, the windows had already been shattered. Five or six iron rods rose and fell in a frenzy, threatening to reduce the car to scrap.
Fury boiled in Chu Dong. Last time, his car’s windows had been smashed for no reason; this time, by the looks of it, the whole car was doomed.
But was he one to be bullied? Certainly not. If someone landed a punch on Chu Dong, he’d make sure to pay them back with a kick.
He quickly stooped to pick up a paving brick. Earlier, he’d noticed the young man had arrived in a black Hummer nearby. So, as the group pounded away at his Audi, Chu Dong set about his own outdoor work with equal enthusiasm.
Bang, bang...
The Hummer’s windows were bulletproof; the brick barely left a mark. No matter—he went for the bodywork instead. One dent wasn’t enough; at the very least, he had to dimple it all over.
The brick split in two, so one in each hand. Like beating a drum, Chu Dong bashed his way from the doors to the hood.
“Get him! Stop him, quickly!”
Tian Hai’s brother had imagined smashing Chu Dong’s car, then tossing over a check with a flourish, ordering him to get lost, thereby showcasing his wealth and superiority to the fullest. Who could have guessed Chu Dong, outnumbered and at a disadvantage, would dare retaliate by destroying his Hummer?
Money wasn’t to be spent this way. That was a Hummer, and every blow of Chu Dong’s brick landed like a hammer to his heart.
At his shout, the burly men rushed over, swinging their rods at Chu Dong.
But Chu Dong was no pushover. With a brick to the head, he floored one of them, grabbed a rod, and a wild melee broke out. He showed no restraint—so long as he wasn’t taking a beating, anyone who came near got a rod to the body. It was hard to say if Chu Dong was just that tough or if the goons were that feeble, but soon several lay at his feet, and only he remained standing.
He gave the rod a swing, found it fit nicely in his grip, and strode toward the young man.
“What are you doing?” Tian Hai’s brother asked, instinctively backing away.
“Next time you want to put on a show, check the calendar first. Today just wasn’t your day to be out.” Passing him by, Chu Dong continued to smash the car—one blow after another, faster and faster.
The growing crowd blocked the school gate.
By the time Chu Dong tossed aside the iron rod, the black Hummer looked like a wrinkled Shar Pei, dimpled and battered, with its hood bent upwards.
“Get in, let’s go home for dinner.” Chu Dong acted as if he’d done nothing out of the ordinary, beckoning to Xiao Yuer, who was still trembling nearby.

“This car?” Xiao Yuer hesitated, nodding at the Audi, now fit only for the scrapyard.
“No worries, we’re not on the losing side.” Chu Dong shrugged it off, nonchalantly taking off his T-shirt to sweep away the broken glass. “Sit here—you won’t get your soft little bottom scratched.”
He then went to the trunk, popped it open, and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Once Xiao Yuer was seated, he got in, started the engine, and drove off, leaving behind fragments of glass and battered metal.
The young man watched Chu Dong’s departing figure, his teeth grinding audibly.
“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing! You’re like an army unto yourself—I’ve never seen anyone as formidable as you. You’re Zhao Yun at Changban Slope, the Conqueror of Chu, unmatched in the world!” Xiao Yuer, quick to flatter, now saw Chu Dong as her personal hero, showering him with unstinting praise.
“Of course. If I didn’t have a few tricks up my sleeve, would I dare marry your sister?” Buoyed by her compliments, Chu Dong was feeling quite pleased with himself.
“Though sometimes you really do have to pay the price.” The wind blowing in from the window reminded him that his friend’s car was a total loss.
“Hmm, that Tian Bing really isn’t one to mess with. Brother-in-law, you’d better watch out.” After her excitement, concern crept into Xiao Yuer’s voice.
“You know him?”
“Yeah, he’s Tian Hai’s brother, Tian Bing—the eldest son of the CEO of Hongfa Industries. He’s always been arrogant, even calls himself ‘the Little Overlord’ as if it’s something to be proud of. And that’s not all—he’s constantly harassing my sister. He’s always waiting outside her office when she gets off work, and she never gives him the time of day, but he just doesn’t get the hint. Well, now he’s had a taste of his own medicine—let’s see if he dares come back again.” Xiao Yuer chattered on, words tumbling out like beans from a bamboo tube.
“‘Little Overlord?’ More like ‘little turtle.’ I don’t care who he is—even if he hadn’t smashed my car, the fact that he dares harass my future wife is enough reason for me to teach him a lesson. Next time I get the chance, I’ll rearrange his face. He’s not even in the same league as me. Sit tight, let’s hurry—wouldn’t want to be late for dinner.”
With that, Chu Dong angrily ripped off his barely-hanging fake beard, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas. The battered Audi, trailing pieces of itself, picked up speed and rattled away.