Chapter 44: Shooting Yourself in the Foot

(Thanks to book friend [Lin Qiufeng] for being promoted to Hall Master, here’s the acknowledgment and extra update!)

Chen Qitao and the goblin exchanged glances, unaware that the situation between the two had reached such a point, and that even Wen Qianyi would go to such lengths to rid herself of Zhang Songyang; Sun Hui and Xu Ping were also dumbfounded and envious. Paradise Group was full of beauties, with Zhang Yurong and Wen Qianyi being the most outstanding. They initially egged Li Yan on to pursue Wen Qianyi, but unexpectedly, he silently succeeded.

After the initial shock, Wen Qianyi instinctively struggled a bit but gave up when she couldn’t break free. Since she had already been kissed by Li Yan before, another kiss wasn’t unacceptable. More importantly, since he had kissed her in public, everyone else had seen it. Even if they stopped, others wouldn’t believe they were just friends, which would simply make Zhang Songyang think nothing was amiss. So, since they would be misunderstood anyway, she recklessly decided to embrace it and let go of everything.

If they weren’t the parties involved, they naturally wouldn’t be as shocked. The group had a broader view and could see Zhang Songyang’s actions clearly. Noticing Zhang Songyang standing up with his wine glass, Chen Qitao and the goblin tensed up, realizing that in his fury, he intended to pour it over Li Yan’s head, which could really lead to a fight.

"Uh-oh!" Xu Ping exclaimed directly.

"What’s uh-oh? Do you think this kid would beat Old Li in a fight?" Although Sun Hui had never fought with Li Yan, he believed Li Yan wouldn’t lose in a fight with Zhang Songyang.

Xu Ping urgently pointed: "Look at that!"

Sun Hui only saw the wine glass in Zhang Songyang’s hand, thinking that even if wine was poured on him, it was no big deal. But looking closely, he noticed the wine they ordered was already being delivered to their table by another waiter, and it had just arrived at their table!

This startled him too. Li Yan was currently enjoying himself, and getting wine poured over him would just add to the fun. But if the wine bottle was smashed on his head, the fun could end up being a trip to the hospital!

...

Li Yan was kissing Wen Qianyi. Although it was a rare opportunity to enjoy her charms, he wasn’t there just for indulgence. He wouldn’t forget his surroundings. He aimed to prove their relationship was real to provoke and unsettle Zhang Songyang, naturally keeping an eye on his every move.

When Zhang Songyang stood up with the wine glass, though still kissing Wen Qianyi, Li Yan’s hand was already on the table. He was confident enough to flip the table at the last moment before Zhang Songyang could pour the wine on him, knocking him over!

Just then, a small twist occurred. The waiter delivered a bucket of wine, seeing the three of them — two kissing, the other looking like a hyperactive bull with reddened eyes. The waiter hesitated as to whether to just place the wine on the table and leave.

As Zhang Songyang was about to pour the wine, he noticed the development. Already on the verge of snapping, he continued to vent his fury. He only resorted to using the wine because there was no other outlet. Now that there was, his wrath flared, and he reached over with his left hand to grab a bottle from the bucket, swinging it towards Li Yan’s head, pouring the wine from the glass in his right hand as well!

This was unexpected for Li Yan too. If Zhang was merely pouring wine, considering his anger, a mild rebuke would suffice. But since a bottle was being swung at his head, the consequences would be different!

Since there was an attack on his head, Li Yan certainly wasn’t pleased to say, "Alright, alright, go ahead." He swiftly used his hand to flip the table rapidly towards the opposite side!

Wen Qianyi had already closed her eyes, unaware of the current situation, but Chen Qitao and the goblin saw it. They wanted to intervene but were too late, while Xu Ping and Sun Hui had already rushed over but, due to distance and other patrons, couldn’t get there immediately. They could only watch events unfold.

But another twist of fate happened right in front of them!

As Zhang Songyang sneered and struck out, the table suddenly hit his lower body, causing him to instinctively hunch over, losing control of the wine glass and bottle. The table flipped directly onto his face.

The wine splashed from the glass, which shattered against the table. The bottle fell and shattered on the floor, and one end of the table hit Zhang Songyang’s body. The other end, having flipped up, struck his forehead!

After creating chaos with the table flip, Li Yan protected Wen Qianyi, while also using his foot to kick the table’s opposite side, sending it crashing heavily into Zhang Songyang. Simultaneously, using the recoil, he pushed their chairs back slightly.

Initially, it was just their own scuffle, so only their friends noticed, but the ensuing chaos affected nearby patrons, drawing attention from many who craved a bit of excitement and were eager for a brawl to watch.

Nonetheless, once Wen Qianyi realized something was wrong, she quickly pushed him away. Seeing the monumental change before her, she found it all somewhat unbelievable!

At this moment, Xu Ping and Sun Hui had already come over and hurried to Li Yan and his friends’ side, asking softly, "Old Li, how are you? Are you okay?"

With things having escalated to this point, Chen Qitao and the sprite quickly rushed over as well.

Li Yan shook his head and said softly, "We’re fine." Then he stepped forward, shouting loudly at Zhang Songyang, who had fallen to the ground and was pinned by a table, "Zhang! I just asked you to stop bothering my girlfriend, there’s no need to be so enraged that you flip the table, is there? You flipped the table and even knocked yourself over; are you trying to frame me?"

Sun Hui, being the mischievous friend, of course, jumped in right away, "He saw you guys kissing and wanted to smash you with a bottle! He just didn’t expect his steps to be so unsteady and his belly so big that he ended up knocking over the table himself! Fortunately, none of you got hurt."

Xu Ping further said to the waiter, "You saw him trying to hit someone with the bottle, and you still let him have it? Aren’t you afraid of causing trouble?"

The waiter was arguably the closest eyewitness, but he hadn’t reacted quickly and wasn’t very clear about the situation. However, he did see Zhang Songyang grabbing a bottle from the tub in his hands to hit someone. "S-Sorry, I wanted to stop him, but... I didn’t react in time..."

By this time, the bar’s security had arrived. Hearing Li Yan, Sun Hui, Xu Ping, and their waiter’s accusations against the person pinned by the table, and recognizing Wen Qianyi as a regular and a friend of the owner, they immediately apologized and had the waiter arrange another table for them while ordering someone to take out Zhang Songyang, who had flipped the table.

While they were handling this, Chen Qitao and the sprite also came over. They wanted to explain, but considering that Zhang Songyang had attempted to attack Li Yan first, even if this was an unintended result, he was still about to commit violence. Facing Wen Qianyi, they couldn’t say anything, so they just nodded to her and quickly followed the security out to avoid Zhang Songyang being seen as the troublemaker and getting beaten up.

...

Once a new table was set, the four of them sat down again, opened some drinks, and Sun Hui poured drinks for everyone. "It’s okay, everything’s fine now, Little Wen, drink up to calm your nerves!"

Wen Qianyi didn’t know what happened at the time, but after seeing the outcome, she could pretty much guess. It was definitely Li Yan who had taken action to let Zhang Songyang suffer the consequences. Others didn’t see clearly, but she knew Li Yan’s real identity.

It was good to let Zhang Songyang learn a lesson and hope he’d stop causing trouble in the future. Even if they couldn’t be friends anymore, it didn’t matter.

"Come on, drink! Let’s drink!"

The pretty girl was so cheerful that the others naturally weren’t willing to be outdone, and everyone quickly immersed themselves in the drinking atmosphere.

Originally, the two of them intended for Li Yan to treat them, maybe to invite other friends over, or to flirt with some unaccompanied girls. But because of Wen Qianyi, Sun Hui and Xu Ping restrained themselves. They didn’t drink too much and didn’t stay too long. After a while, they left together early.

Before leaving, Li Yan discreetly hinted to the two of them to keep the night’s events private and not to mention what happened between him and Wen Qianyi. Sun Hui and Xu Ping might tease, but when it came to real issues, they were pretty loyal and seriously nodded in agreement. They understood Li Yan’s feelings. He was just an ordinary guy, but after teaming up with Wen Qianyi, he had slowly become what he was today. Although he might have put in his own effort, others—including the two of them—believed it had a lot to do with Wen Qianyi.

If their relationship was exposed, everyone at the company would definitely say behind his back that Li Yan was living off a woman. They were buddies, and Wen Qianyi was friendly and approachable, so they naturally couldn’t spread gossip and burden them with pressure. Of course, whether they might "blackmail" Old Li for a treat in the future was another matter.

During this time, the sprite returned once to tell Wen Qianyi that Chen Qitao had taken Zhang Songyang to the hospital, and then she left after settling the bill.

When only the two of them were left, Wen Qianyi asked about what had just happened. "Why did you do that earlier?"

Li Yan put on an innocent face, "Sister, didn’t you see the scene? He was about to pour a drink all over me, never mind that, but he even intended to smash my head open with the bottle. Of course, I had to protect myself. I had to protect you too at that moment, couldn’t stand up and grab his hand, so I could only use the table."

Wen Qianyi snorted lightly, "That’s not what I’m talking about!"

"Then what do you mean?" Li Yan looked bewildered.

"Why did you kiss me in front of everyone?" Wen Qianyi took a sip of her drink and asked directly.

(Fourth update! Old Lai is still working hard, striving for the fifth update, asking for your support with monthly passes!)(To be continued, to know more about the story, please visit www.qidian.com, for more Chapters and to support the author and legitimate reading!)