Chapter 55 (1/2)

Get Outside and I’ll Fight You

“Lei, what are you doing here?” Ning Jing walked up to Xia Lei and Liu Ying, a pleasant smile on her face; she was not hiding the joy in her heart at all.

Xia Lei returned her smile, “I came here with Big Sister Liu.” He followed with an introduction, “This is Liu Ying. Big Sister Liu, this is Ning Jing, she is an archaeologist and very knowledgeable.”

Liu Ying and Ning Jing shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Liu Ying seemed to be uninterested in mingling with Ning Jing and chatted only briefly before excusing herself, “You two continue your chat. I’m going to look for my friends.”

“Okay, sure.” Xia Lei did not feel it appropriate to go with her when she put it that way.

After Liu Ying walked off, Ning Jing asked, “Who is she?”

“A friend from business. She owns a sports equipment company and I’m her parts supplier now,” said Xia Lei.

“That’s great. I knew you would succeed,” Ning Jing smiled as she said, “I am really happy for you.”

“That’s right, what are you doing here?” said Xia Lei.

“My uncle brought me here. I… I didn’t think that Ren Wen-Qiang would be here too,” said Ning Jing.

Xia Lei quickly understood the situation. Ning Yuan-Shan must have brought Ning Jing to the party partially due to her parents, to create an opportunity for her and Ren Wen-Qiang to interact, and partially because of the wind power plant project that East Wind Heavy Industries was doing with the Shentu clan. It was like killing two birds with one stone, so why not bring Ning Jing?

“Can you accompany me out for a walk?” Ning Jing looked at Xia Lei, “I don’t like the atmosphere here.”

“Sure, let’s go out for a walk.” Xia Lei actually wanted to remain in the hall and get to know more business people but he did not want to refuse Ning Jing her request.

Before Ning Jing and Xia Lei could go, however, Ren Wen-Qiang walked over. Crisp suit, handsome face, eyes full of confidence; Ren Wen-Qiang had an aura of the elite. Xia Lei was not as impressive compared to Ren Wen-Qiang but he had a calm and determination that Ren Wen-Qiang lacked. If you used cars to compare these two men, Ren Wen-Qiang would be a Ferrari racing on the highways while Xia Lei would be a Jeep Wrangler trudging through the Gobi Desert. Different environments, different men and different manly charm.

“Oh, if it isn’t CEO Xia. Why didn’t you come over for a chat since you’re here?” said Ren Wen-Qiang with a smile on his face. He called Xia Lei ‘CEO Xia’ but the seemingly flattering words were full of contempt.

Xia Lei replied indifferently, “There doesn’t seem to be anything we can talk about.”

“What are you doing here?” Ren Wen-Qiang looked at Xia Lei with a provoking gaze.

“There’s no need for me to explain my presence to you, is there?” said Xia Lei.

Ren Wen-Qiang laughed, “Ah, I forgot. You’re here with Liu Ying. Her husband passed away quite recently and you’ve paired up with her already. How impressive. Then again, you do suit each other very well. You are both budding entrepreneurs so you’ll have lots to talk about.”

Xia Lei’s temper flared, “Watch your words. You can take jabs at me but not at Big Sister Liu. She is a woman worthy of respect and not someone you, with a shit-smeared mouth, should be making irresponsible remarks about.”

The smile on Ren Wen-Qiang’s face disappeared. “You, the one surnamed Xia. I don’t know where you get the guts to talk to me like that. I can have you thrown out right now. How can a person of your low status even be here? The people here will be insulted by your commonness!”

Ning Jing could not keep listening to him any longer and spoke angrily, “Wen-Qiang, Lei is my friend. How can you talk to him like that?”

Ren Wen-Qiang sneered, “Some people are not worthy of respect. I’m protecting you. Don’t be conned by someone with ulterior motives.”

“Lei has never lied to me. You’re mistaken.” Ning Jing looked mad. She never had a happy minute whenever she was with Ren Wen-Qiang.

“No need to explain anything to him. Some people think that the world revolves around them and think very highly of themselves. It’s useless to explain anything to him because he will not listen, much less understand you.”

“I think highly of myself? Sure, I do, but I am still better than someone who relies on women to climb up, aren’t I? Can you say that you didn’t sleep with Liu Ying and waited on that widow? Why would she bring you out to this party if you hadn’t?”

Xia Lei suddenly splashed the wine in his hand at Ren Wen-Qiang’s face. Purple-red alcohol blossomed on Ren Wen-Qiang’s face and dripped down to his white shirt. It was very eye-catching.

Ren Wen-Qiang was also quick to react. He threw a punch at almost the same moment that Xia Lei threw the wine at him and the punch connected with Xia Lei’s chest. There was a dull thump and Xia Lei was knocked one step backwards. However, he seemed better off than Ren Wen-Qiang, who cut a sorry figure indeed.

Ren Wen-Qiang was still raring to go but Ning Jing stood in his way, “What are you doing?”

“Get out of the way!” Ren Wen-Qiang said fiercely.

“Go outside. Get outside and I’ll fight you,” said Xia Lei.

All eyes of the guests in the hall were turned towards Ren Wen-Qian, Ning Jing and Xia Lei. Some guests whispered their conversations while others just stared.

“Get outside! I’ll cripple you!” Ren Wen-Qiang was like a beast in a primitive forest in that moment.

Xia Lei sneered, “Don’t think so highly of yourself. So what if you have an eighth-degree black belt in judo? I’m not afraid of you even if you were ninth-degree.”

An eighth-degree black belt was an impressive level and Xia Lei was actually not very confident of beating Ren Wen-Qiang but he had no fear of him at all.

“You two…” Ning Jing was so anxious she teared up and her tears rolled from the corners of her eyes.

At that moment, a tall and big man accompanying a young woman walked over. The entire hall quieted when she appeared.

This young woman was the Gu clan’s second daughter, Gu Ke-Wen. She was tall and well-proportioned, curvy in front and back, and had attractive body lines. Her exquisite facial features were matched with a swan-egg shaped face. She looked like an Eastern Barbie doll, so pretty that it made people think that her face had been photoshopped.