098 We're doomed

Although these couriers were all hot-blooded young men, none of them were trained fighters. Their brawling had no structure to it at all, and before a real practitioner like Lin Qi, they had not the slightest chance of striking back.

With Lin Qi’s arrival, the tide at Hong Yu’s side reversed at once. In the blink of an eye, they were the ones beating the other side into a sorry mess.

The moment everyone saw Lin Qi, they were thrilled beyond words. Da An shouted, “Lin Qi, that bastard’s bullying Sister Yu and Xiao Rui!”

Da An pointed at Zhu the Skinflayer.

Little Rui clung to Lin Qi and cried, “Brother Lin Qi, he wants to drive my mom away...”

In their eyes, Lin Qi was almost divine.

With Lin Qi here, every problem could be solved.

He did not disappoint them. After handing Little Rui to Hong Yu, he lunged straight at Zhu the Skinflayer.

Frightened out of his wits, Zhu turned and ran, but how could he possibly escape?

Lin Qi kicked him in the back and sent him sprawling face-first into the dirt. Da An and the others were overjoyed; they surged forward at once and boxed him in with a flurry of fists and kicks.

Before long, Zhu the Skinflayer had been beaten into a state between life and death, unconscious and motionless.

The delivery station was in a busy commercial district, and a gang of couriers brawling in the street had long since drawn a crowd. A police call was inevitable, and soon several special operations vehicles arrived, taking everyone back with them.

Da An and the others were not the least bit worried. They knew Lin Qi was Song Qingzhu’s bodyguard, and handling this sort of small matter would be child’s play.

Once again, Lin Qi did not disappoint.

Two hours later, everyone was out.

Standing at the entrance of the bureau, Hong Yu and Little Rui were the first to rush up.

“No worries. I come here all the time—I know this place inside and out,” Da An boasted, patting his chest.

After saying a few words to the mother and daughter, Lin Qi walked to the other side of the road.

An Alphard business van was parked there.

Lin Qi pulled open the door and said to the person inside, “Thank you.”

Song Qingzhu was sitting in the car, smiling. “You’re being too formal, aren’t you?”

Lin Qi faintly felt that Song Qingzhu was different with him now. She used to never smile at him, but now she was smiling more and more often.

“Seriously, thank you,” Lin Qi said. “I’ve troubled you twice in one day...”

“You gave me a peach, and I return a plum,” Song Qingzhu replied. “You’ve helped me solve a great many problems, so it’s only right that I help you too. I don’t trust many people. You’re one of them.”

After a pause, she continued, “That Zhu the Skinflayer—I found a way to bring him down, and I also used a connection to get Hong Yu appointed as the new station manager.”

“Thank you...” Lin Qi truly did not know what else to say.

“All right, go spend a little more time with Hong Yu and the others. Come to work on time tomorrow. Your leave only lasts until this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

The car drove off.

Lin Qi returned to Hong Yu and the others and told them the news, and naturally they were all overjoyed.

That evening, Lin Qi stayed with them to eat and drink.

The next day, he went to work on time.

From that day on, the relationship between Song Qingzhu and Lin Qi grew noticeably closer.

In the past, Song Qingzhu had never discussed work in front of Lin Qi, but now she no longer held back. Even on the way to and from the office, she would be in the car, on the phone nonstop.

From the scraps of conversation he caught, Lin Qi learned that the conflict between the Jinyang Group and the Longyue Group was growing more and more intense. They were competing fiercely over many projects, almost to the point of a fight to the death.

Of course, Lin Qi did not care about any of that.

He had never interfered in his subordinates’ affairs. First, he did not understand them; second, there was no need. The rise and fall of the business world were only natural.

Tang Long’s ascent was a matter of ability.

Tang Long’s decline would be a matter of fate.

Lin Qi was still more interested in Song Qingzhu’s identity. Since their relationship had grown a little closer, he did not miss the chance. He casually steered the conversation toward ordinary household matters whenever he could, asking where she was from, where she had studied, how she had become a CEO at such a young age, and so on.

These seemingly casual chats were, in truth, the foundation of Lin Qi’s attempt to probe her background.

If Song Qingzhu had any connection to that other side, she would inevitably reveal some flaw or slip.

But she did not.

Song Qingzhu was watertight. She never let slip the slightest hint of a connection to that other side.

Lin Qi even took the initiative twice to mention the imperial capital, saying his greatest wish was to travel there someday and admire the grandeur of the city beneath the emperor’s feet. Song Qingzhu still gave no reaction, as if she had nothing at all to do with it.

That made no sense. If Song Qingzhu truly were one of them, she could not possibly leave not even the faintest trace.

Lin Qi felt baffled. Could it be that Song Qingzhu had nothing to do with that other side after all?

After probing her two or three times with no result, Song Qingzhu still gave him no response, and that only deepened his confusion. He began to suspect that perhaps he had been looking in the wrong direction.

That evening, as usual, Lin Qi drove Song Qingzhu home.

In the car, Song Qingzhu made several calls in a row, apparently discussing some project the entire time.

“If we land this project, Longyue Group is definitely finished!”