Fyren never thought a girl could pull this off.
How devastating she was!
Her tears came on command, flowing as freely as water from a faucet;
She opened her mouth and called him "Dad," making Hong Zhang's heart blossom with joy, leaving him so excited he was at a loss for words;
The moment she heard about the engagement, she knelt down and kowtowed without the slightest hesitation.
The act had reached this point, and even Fyren himself felt like a scoundrel.
Surely I couldn't have actually slept with her and forgotten about it!
Xena was comforted by Fyren's mother, who took off her own heirloom bracelet to console the heartbroken girl.
"Xena, no matter what, as Fyren's mother, I share the responsibility for failing to discipline him properly."
"Mom, please don't say that."
Fyren's mother was immediately overjoyed. "Ah! Good girl! Don't worry, from now on I'll treat you as my own daughter. In fact, your Uncle Hong and I had always wanted a girl back then, but we ended up with two ungrateful boys instead."
"Both mom and dad are blessed. Fyren is actually quite accomplished."
"Hmph! What good is being accomplished? The way he's treated you makes me furious! Here, this bracelet was given to me by my mother-in-law when I first married into the family. Now I'm passing it to you—"
"No, mom, I can't accept this. It's too valuable."
"Take it! It's from your mother." The happiness in Fyren's mother's eyes was unmistakable.
Fyren grew anxious when he heard this. "Mom, just give her some red envelopes instead. That's the bracelet grandmother gave you."
"I know what I'm doing!" Fyren's mother glared at him before turning back to Xena. "Keep it. It represents my feelings. The Zhang family isn't irresponsible—we'll definitely make things right for you."
"Thank you, mom!"
After this prolonged display of affection, Fyren was in despair.
No! I can't give up! I have to fight her to the end!
I refuse to believe I'll be defeated by some little girl.
When the two of them walked out into the yard and confirmed no one was around, Fyren watched Xena admiring the bracelet with satisfaction. He sternly held out his hand. "Hand it over."
"What?!"
"The bracelet! Stop playing dumb. You shouldn't be keeping that! How dare you?"
"Mom gave it to me. You have no right to take it."
"Don't you call her 'mom'! Since when do you call her 'mom'? Give me the bracelet!"
Fyren glared. "Are you going to give it back or not?"
"Are you bullying me again?"
"Cut the act!" Fyren said. "I've seen through you—you're wicked! Honestly, how can you keep calling them mom and dad without any shame? Don't you think you're going too far?"
"No, mom and dad are so good to me!"
"That's a lie! I'm warning you—next time you see them, tell the truth, or I won't let you off. Give me the bracelet!"
"You're being mean to me again!?"
"Listen, Xena, my patience has limits. Don't push me! If you keep pushing, I'll slap you dead!"
Fyren made a vicious gesture as if to hit her.
Xena wasn't afraid of him at all—she had Fyren completely figured out.
No matter how fierce or intimidating he acted, it was all just an act—a bluff. He wouldn't actually lay a hand on her.
But then, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted Fyren's parents approaching from behind him.
She quickly said, "You're always bullying me! I'll go tell mom and dad!"
"Oh, really? Still calling them 'mom and dad'? Is that your dad? He's my dad! Hand it over, or I'll beat you up!"
Fyren's mother overheard. "Hong, is Fyren bullying Xena again?"
Fyren's father gritted his teeth. "That little bastard!"
Seeing they were almost upon them, Xena suddenly clapped her hands together loudly.
Then she dramatically covered her face as if she'd just been struck.
Fyren froze.
Xena pitifully held out the bracelet. "Fyren, don't hit me… I'll give the bracelet back. Honestly, I didn't dare take it, but the elders insisted, and I was afraid it'd be rude to refuse…"
Fyren narrowed his eyes, snatched the bracelet, and sneered smugly. "At least you know your place. Let me tell you, in the future—OW!—"
Hong grabbed Fyren by the hair from behind and yanked him back, then started punching him.
Xena nestled into Fyren's mother's arms and started crying again.
...
Sitting in the car.
Fyren's hair was a mess from being pulled, his face bore a bright red slap mark, and he pouted in resentment as he started the car.
Xena sat in the back, whistling and admiring her new bracelet. "Fyren, I just realized—this bracelet looks amazing on me! Doesn't it match my skin tone perfectly?"
Fyren shot her a glare in the rearview mirror. "Get out!"
...
Otto sat on a futon, circulating his energy to heal his wounds.
After a long time, he exhaled a turbid breath and slowly opened his eyes.
Sherry asked nervously, "Young Lord, how do you feel?"
Otto's gaze was fierce. "What do you think?"
Sherry shook his head. "My apologies, I shouldn't have asked."
Otto said bitterly, "Damn Iron King… Once I regain my full strength, I'll shatter every bone in his body and grind him into dust!"
Sherry nodded. "Young Lord, Fyren cannot be allowed to live."
"Exactly."
Otto said, "How dare that bastard impersonate me and get me beaten up like this!"
"Young Lord, to be fair, it was Iron King who beat you up - nothing to do with Fyren. You were the one who switched faces with him to take the beating."
Otto glared at Sherry. "So you're saying this is my fault?"
"That's exactly what this subordinate thinks!"
Otto tried to sit up straight to argue, but immediately winced in pain.
"Young Lord, please don't move! This subordinate will go kill Iron King to avenge you!"
"No," Otto said. "The real problem is Fyren. That bastard has managed to make both Eliza and Xena so attached to him. He's a real scourge!"
"So what does Young Lord suggest..."
"Killing him would be easy, but I need to win over Eliza and Xena first."
Otto continued, "Has Sabrina arrived yet?"
"She'll be here today."
"Good! Both Sabrina and that woman - I want Fyren to lose all dignity in front of Eliza and Xena first. Then I'll appear as the dashing foreigner and win their hearts."
Beads of sweat formed on Otto's face as he grinned darkly. "Sherry, remember: The inferior strategy is to attack the city; the superior strategy is to attack the heart. Taking lives is secondary; winning hearts is primary. After securing these two women, killing Fyren will be as easy as slaughtering a dog!"
Sherry said gruffly, "Young Lord, you've already complicated things enough. If you continue like this, I'm afraid you'll be beaten to death next time."
"Who the hell would dare hit me... ouch, pain pain pain pain..."
...
Iron King answered Tactician's call with a smile on his face.
"Tactician, everything's been handled. The money has been transferred to Young Lord's account, and that guy who opposed Young Lord? I beat him into submission - he's practically my grandson now."
There was a long silence on Tactician's end. "Come back immediately. Right now. No delays."
"What's wrong? I can stay here to secretly protect Young Lord."
"No need. I don't want to waste words. Just return immediately."
"Is something wrong?"
Tactician took a deep breath. "The man you beat up... the one whose seventy-plus bones you broke... was Young Lord."
Iron King's brain short-circuited.
"But... no no no, he was Fyren! Young Lord is Otto!"
"Young Lord and Fyren switched faces. As a result, you... just stop talking and hurry back. If you're a day late, I'll have you killed."
Iron King hung up the phone and collapsed onto the ground.
"How is this... possible? I messed up again?!"
"Iron King, we should hurry back. This is serious."
Iron King looked up. "Can I even go back? I beat Young Lord to a pulp. Won't Tactician skin me alive when I return?"
Iron King, the iron-clad, black-faced giant, shed humiliated tears.
"I... I really beat him half to death!"
"Yes, yes, you did. You even jumped up and kicked him."
"I... I was gnashing my teeth while cursing and beating him!"
"You also grabbed a bench and smashed four of them."
"I broke his bones, didn't I?"
"That! You beat him so badly that even if he had copper skin, it'd take him a hundred days to recover."
"What should we do? If the Branch finds out about this, I'll become the most infamous screw-up in history!"
"We don't need to pay attention to those rumors."
"Damn you!"
Iron King suddenly stood up and gritted his teeth. "Fyren! I'm going to get you... No, Otto!..."
He suddenly broke down. "Who am I even supposed to curse? This whole situation is messing with my head!"
...
Tracy wore a duckbill cap and a loose denim jacket over denim shorts that showcased her long, snow-white legs. Her white-and-pink board shoes stepped onto a skateboard as she carried a backpack, skating a long distance before making a skillful braking turn to stop.
Seeing Fyren return to his villa while Zaring was giving instructions, she smiled proudly, pulled out her camera, and snapped several pictures. Putting on her sunglasses, she continued deeper into the villa area.
When she reached her destination, she turned on the recorder hidden in her hair bun and tested the button-sized pinhole camera on her chest. Then she snapped the hood of her denim jacket up, checked that no one was around, and sneaked into Fyren's villa courtyard.
After lurking quietly for a while, her phone suddenly vibrated. She quickly pressed against the wall and whispered, "Hello?"
"Tracy, have you gotten the evidence yet?"
"Working on it."
"Good! Fyren, that scum - that batch of drugs must be closely connected to him. He probably couldn't cover it up anymore and had to make a public appearance. We must expose this kind of person and turn him into infamous scum."
"Got it!" Tracy said impatiently. "I need to work."
"Oh, and also, find out why he took the lead in voting for the shantytown project. There must be a conspiracy here. If we can prove he's embezzling people's hard-earned money or government project funds, or uncover any other shady secrets, we can take down this crooked businessman for good and restore Crystalpeak City to its rightful purity!"
"Yes, yes, is there more?"
"There is. Recently someone photographed him getting close to Xena, the Xu family's eldest daughter, while he's already engaged to Eliza. If he's fooling around with Xena too, that would be another major scandal we can use against him!"
"Wait for my news."
Tracy suddenly saw Xena actually walking into the villa courtyard and grew excited.
"Something's happening. I'm working."
Tracy lowered her hat brim and said hatefully, "Fyren! I, Tracy - a righteous, brave, intelligent, and beautiful female reporter - am your evil's natural nemesis!"
"You've never left evidence behind before, but I! Will expose your ugly, twisted, sinful, dark side completely!"
"I, Tracy, swear it!"
Fyren sneezed in the living room. "Damn, who's cursing me behind my back!?"