Chapter 74: Three Times Is Enough

Hou Guiwen was so startled that he nearly dropped his phone.

“Mr. Lin, please don’t be angry. My staff acted without recognizing greatness. Which store are you at? I’ll be there immediately.”

Hou Guiwen quickly apologized, cursing his employees in his mind for their stupidity.

“Nine Ding Shopping Center. My patience is limited. You have ten minutes—should be enough. If you’re late, none of your stores at Nine Ding will ever open again.”

With that, Lin Yang hung up.

“Who did you call? Judging by your tone, was it my father?” Hou Xiaoqiang asked.

“That’s right.”

Hou Xiaoqiang burst into laughter. “Who do you think you are, daring to order my father around? Who are you trying to scare? You think I’ll believe you just because you made some call?”

“Exactly. He must be out of his mind, calling your father in front of us and threatening to have your dad arrive within ten minutes,” Liu Qian scoffed. She couldn’t believe Lin Yang had the power to summon Hou Guiwen with a single call.

“If you can actually get my father here with one phone call, I’ll kneel down and admit my mistake to you. Otherwise, you’re not getting away today,” Hou Xiaoqiang said arrogantly.

By now, the store manager had called security.

“Keep an eye on him, so he doesn’t run. Ten minutes will pass quickly,” Hou Xiaoqiang instructed.

Eight minutes flew by. Hou Xiaoqiang stood and said, “Kid, two minutes left. If you kneel and apologize now, and cut off the hand that struck my girlfriend, I’ll let you go.”

“And you, Shen Youwei. You falsely accused our family of owing money, so you must kneel and apologize as well,” Liu Qian added, seizing the chance to humiliate Shen Youwei.

“You should pray your father arrives within ten minutes, or else every shop your family owns in Luocheng will shut down for good,” Lin Yang said, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed.

“Crazy! Your nonsense is getting wilder. Let’s see how long you keep this up,” Hou Xiaoqiang sneered.

Just as he finished, Hou Guiwen burst into the store, sweating profusely.

“Dad…”

“President Hou…”

Hou Xiaoqiang and the store manager greeted him hurriedly.

But Hou Guiwen ignored them, heading straight to Lin Yang, not even daring to wipe his sweat.

“Mr. Lin, sorry to keep you waiting. It’s entirely my fault—for not disciplining and training my staff well enough, you’ve been offended twice. Please forgive me.”

Hou Guiwen disregarded everyone else, humbling himself to apologize to Lin Yang.

“This time, it’s not your staff, but your own son. He accused me of stealing a card and cheating for money, threatened to cut off my hand, and wanted to hand me over to the City Guard,” Lin Yang remarked, glancing at him.

Hou Guiwen’s heart skipped a beat, his face growing even paler. If it were just employees, he could handle it—scold them, fire them. But for his own son to offend Mr. Lin, that was different.

Hou Guiwen turned, glaring furiously at Hou Xiaoqiang.

“Dad…”

Hou Xiaoqiang saw his father apologizing to Lin Yang. Though he didn’t understand why his dad feared Lin Yang so much, it proved the Black Diamond Card really belonged to Lin Yang. He realized he’d caused serious trouble.

“Don’t call me Dad—I have no son like you! Get over here and apologize to Mr. Lin at once!” Hou Guiwen barked.

Hou Xiaoqiang dared not hesitate, quickly stepping forward to apologize to Lin Yang.

“Kneel!” Hou Guiwen thundered.

“Dad…”

Smack!

Hou Guiwen slapped Hou Xiaoqiang hard, shouting, “When I tell you to kneel, are you deaf?”

Hou Xiaoqiang had never seen his father so furious. Terrified, he knelt and apologized.

The store manager and staff were dumbfounded, wondering who this young man was, to make Boss Hou slap his own son and demand he kneel.

Liu Qian was so frightened she barely dared to breathe, standing anxiously to one side.

“Mr. Lin, I apologize sincerely. My son had never met you, so he was disrespectful. Please, show mercy and forgive him this once,” Hou Guiwen pleaded.

Lin Yang stood and said, “Fine. Today, I’ll grant you this courtesy, President Hou. But remember, this is the second time. There won’t be a third.”

“I promise—never again. If it happens again, I’ll kill myself to atone,” Hou Guiwen vowed silently. After today, he would gather all his staff and relatives, show them Lin Yang’s photo, and make them memorize his face.

A mistake made twice could not be allowed a third time.

Hou Guiwen’s attitude was consistently humble; Lin Yang decided not to pursue it further.

Lin Yang walked over to Liu Qian, who backed away in terror, unable to meet his gaze.

“What… what do you want?” she stammered.

“The three million your family owes must be repaid to the Shen family, principal and interest, today. If not, keep the money for coffins and funeral expenses,” Lin Yang said, releasing a chilling aura and the pressure of a master. Liu Qian was so terrified, her face white as a sheet, her whole body trembling—she nearly collapsed.

“I will… I absolutely will…” Liu Qian replied, panic-stricken.

The staff had already packed the outfits Shen Youwei had chosen, including the limited-edition dress.

“Mr. Lin, please accept these clothes as my apology,” Hou Guiwen said, personally handing them to Lin Yang.

Lin Yang asked Shen Youwei to change into the dress and toss away her work uniform, then left Nine Ding Shopping Center for the hospital.

“Dad, why are you so afraid of him? Isn’t he just the former young master of Xingyao Group?” Hou Xiaoqiang asked, unable to understand.

Hou Guiwen slapped him again.

“Shut up! Don’t you dare pry into Mr. Lin’s affairs, or gossip about him. Do you realize you nearly got me killed today? Be grateful you survived!”

Hou Guiwen scolded him.

Hou Xiaoqiang held his face, not daring to say another word.

“What’s your relationship with that woman?” Hou Guiwen asked.

“She’s my new girlfriend, Liu Qian,” Hou Xiaoqiang replied, then called Liu Qian over to greet Hou Guiwen.

“Uncle Hou…”

“Don’t call me that. I don’t know you, and we have no connection,” Hou Guiwen cut her off bluntly.

“Break things off with her immediately. No ties between you two from now on.”

Liu Qian panicked.

“Qiang, don’t leave me!”

“Get out! This whole mess started because of you—if not for your meddling, I wouldn’t have offended Mr. Lin. Get out, now!”

Hou Xiaoqiang turned on Liu Qian, driving her away.

Liu Qian left as if mourning, having thought that hooking up with Hou Xiaoqiang would let her marry into wealth, help the Liu family rise, maybe even join the Grand Commerce Guild and enter Luocheng’s elite circles.

She never imagined all her hopes would be shattered.

But no matter how hard she tried, Liu Qian simply couldn’t understand why Hou Guiwen was so terrified of Lin Yang.