Chapter 415 414: Tension

He Zheng was in a terrible mood. The sight of Mu Lin sitting with Xiao Hongling made her heart ache as if it were being pricked by needles.

She had known for a long time that Mu Lin was in high demand, but she never imagined he was *this* sought-after. In the blink of an eye, another woman had appeared by his side.

And the daughter of the richest man, no less.

'Thinking about it this way, I don't stand a chance at all.'

'Who knows how many women are lining up to be with him...'

This meal should have been a simple affair. All the arrangements were perfect, and the food was sumptuous.

But with this unexpected turn of events, it became utterly agonizing.

Liu Ye Zhen's heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife, and she was overwhelmed with guilt.

He Zheng ate in silence, not even lifting her head. Throughout the entire dinner, she only offered a few simple responses.

After she finished eating, she stared blankly at Xiao Hongling, her thoughts a mystery.

She was panicking. Xiao Hongling was simply too beautiful. Standing next to her, she felt like a chicken next to a phoenix. It was a completely different league—a devastating comparison. It was terrifying.

It wasn't just the mother and daughter who were unhappy. He Chen was also furious. He never imagined that the "hooligan" his wife kept mentioning was Mu Lin.

He wished he had gotten involved in his daughter's affairs sooner. Perhaps he could have salvaged the situation.

Now, everything had gone down the drain. It was just too frustrating.

The couple had spent their whole lives hoping to find an ideal son-in-law, but when they finally met someone like Mu Lin, they'd immediately denounced him as a conman.

Now, it seemed, they had completely botched it.

'It's an absolute joke. This dinner party needs to end, quick. It's too painful.'

After about an hour and a half, He Chen saw that most of the dishes were finished and asked amicably, "Mu Lin, what do you think? Is the food good?"

Mu Lin smiled. "It's great. This restaurant must be quite famous, right? I'd say it's on par with any five-star hotel!"

He Chen chuckled. "But of course! Would I arrange a mediocre restaurant for you? This is absolutely the best in the city, no question about it."

"Why don't we drive you back to your place first? We can wait a bit."

Mu Lin smiled. "Uncle He, you don't have to trouble yourself. We can just grab a taxi. Your wife and Miss He don't look too well. I think you should take care of them."

'I'm not doing too well either,' He Chen thought. 'How could I be, after missing such a golden opportunity?'

He also wanted to go home and give Liu Ye Zhen a piece of his mind. She had single-handedly thrown away the He Family's chance to rise to prominence.

The whole situation was hopelessly frustrating.

They were getting ready to leave, but unexpectedly, the door to their private room was violently kicked open.

President Liang, his face bruised black and blue, stormed in with more than a dozen burly men.

He Chen pointed and demanded, "Liang Chengfei, what do you think you're doing?!"

Liang Chengfei looked at He Chen with contempt. "He Chen, don't get ahead of yourself. This has nothing to do with you, so just get out of the way! This kid dared to ruin my business, so I have to teach him a lesson he won't forget."

Liang Chengfei pointed at Mu Lin, saying slowly and deliberately, "If you want to walk out of here in one piece, get on your knees and apologize. Otherwise, you're not leaving this place today!"

Mu Lin laughed coldly. "Where did you find so many people? A company man like you can command this many gangsters?"

Liang Chengfei waved a hand dismissively. "It's none of your business where I found them. All you need to know is that every single one of their fists is going to land on you today!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Do you think I just arrived in Lanyang yesterday? You think I don't know how the underworld works here?"

His eyes swept over the thugs, landing on the one with the most tattoos.

He had full sleeves, the ink so dense it had almost completely covered his natural skin tone, leaving only the color of the tattoos.

'A guy this hardcore is probably the one in charge here.'

Mu Lin pointed at the man. "Leave now, and I won't mention this to He Zongshan. Otherwise, you're on your own."

Hearing Mu Lin's words, the burly man's first reaction was to take it as disrespect toward He Zongshan. He cursed, "Motherfucker, say that again! You think you can just throw Chairman He's name around? You might've had a chance to live, but now that you've provoked us, you're completely finished!"

Liang Chengfei eagerly urged, "Master Sheng, let's not waste any more time! Hurry up and beat him to a pulp so we can put this big problem behind us!"

Master Sheng chuckled. He wasn't the least bit afraid. In his eyes, Mu Lin was just a little chick. Wouldn't one squeeze be enough to kill him?

He charged forward himself.

He Chen was panicking. He couldn't help Mu Lin in any way, so he could only prioritize protecting his wife and daughter while making a phone call to god-knows-who.

Xiao Hongling, of course, knew the extent of Mu Lin's power. Even if there were a hundred times more thugs, they probably wouldn't be a match for him. Naturally, she didn't need to waste any energy worrying about him.

Mu Lin immediately lifted the table, flipping it over. Dishes crashed to the floor, creating a total mess.

Mu Lin kicked the center of the table. It shot toward them like a giant dragon, and things instantly got interesting.

It slammed directly into Master Sheng, sending him flying straight into the men behind him.

A series of CRACKING sounds echoed through the room—the sound of breaking bones. It was enough to make one's teeth ache, like having your molars twisted with pliers.

Needless to say, quite a few of them had broken bones.

Master Sheng stared at Mu Lin in stunned disbelief, as if he were looking at a monster.

"You... you..."

Mu Lin said, "What about me? What are you trying to say?"

Master Sheng finally managed to get the full sentence out: "You're a Martial Artist!"

Mu Lin sneered, "Fucking obviously!"

Liang Chengfei had also been caught in Mu Lin's attack. Covered in blood, he lay on the ground, unable to move.

Mu Lin sneered again but said nothing. He just kicked Liang Chengfei aside and walked toward the leader, Master Sheng.

"You're going to call He Zongshan yourself and admit your mistake. Let him handle the rest. I won't overstep my bounds."

Master Sheng was scared to death. Since Mu Lin was a Martial Artist, it made perfect sense that he would know Chairman He.

He immediately struggled to his feet, then prostrated himself on the floor, kowtowing repeatedly. "Sir, I was wrong! I'm sorry! I deserve to die! I was blind not to recognize your greatness! Please spare me! My life is yours from now on!"

"Please don't tell Chairman He, or I'm a dead man for sure!"

Mu Lin said calmly, "What's that got to do with me? I gave you a chance. You were too useless to take it. What else is there to say?"

Only then did Master Sheng understand the meaning of Mu Lin's earlier words, and he was filled with immense regret.

He was such a stupid pig for missing that golden opportunity.

With trembling hands, he could only dial He Zongshan's number. He Zongshan answered, "Ah Sheng, what's up?"

Master Sheng trembled as he said, "Chairman, I messed up! I messed up bad!"

With his head bowed, he explained the situation piece by piece. He Zongshan immediately panicked. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea who Mr. Mu is? How could you possibly offend him?! Even I wouldn't dare offend him!"

"Get lost! I can't help you! Go ask for Mr. Mu's forgiveness yourself. Otherwise, just get as far away from me as you can!"

Master Sheng was utterly terrified. He Zongshan then shouted into the phone, "Mr. Mu! Huo Sheng was blind and offended you! Do with him as you please!"

Mu Lin, hearing the voice from the receiver, said, "He's your man, after all. What would it look like if I disciplined him? You handle it."

He Zongshan quickly and respectfully replied, "Yes, of course! I'll do as you say!"

He Zongshan was furious. He mentally planned to quickly circulate Mu Lin's photo to all his subordinates. This could never happen again.

He had lost so much face!

And Ah Sheng was one of his more capable lieutenants. It would pain him to punish the man.

Mu Lin saw the call end and couldn't be bothered to deal with Huo Sheng or his remaining subordinates.

This filled Liang Chengfei with terror. The great He Zongshan, who dominated the local scene, was completely subservient to Mu Lin.

It was utterly unbelievable.

"Don't come over here... I... I..."

Mu Lin smiled. "What's wrong? You have the guts to pick a fight, but not the courage to take a beating? You should have thought of that earlier."