His tone grew even more sinister: "Besides, he has a very mysterious aura about him, one that can actually draw my energy in. He must have some secret!"
Shangguan Mingbo gritted his teeth for a long time before painfully saying, "Fine, I'll have someone investigate!"
"Behave yourself!" Shangguan Jinwang instructed, then focused on driving.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Brother Kuan was already slapping himself while apologizing to Lu Chen.
"Director Lu, uh...Grandpa Lu, it's all our fault! We were blind and offended you! You're so magnanimous, you'd find it annoying to hold a grudge against us, right? Just let us go like a fart!"
As he spoke, he turned to his three subordinates in the back and scoffed, "Why don't you slap yourselves?"
Immediately, all four of them started slapping themselves, the slaps were really loud.
Luckily, there weren't many people on the street, otherwise, a huge crowd would have gathered to watch the monkey show.
Lu Chen watched them slap themselves in the face with a cold, icy gaze, then asked mockingly, "So? Still want my 400,000?"
"No, no, no!" Brother Kuan quickly said, "How could I dare take Grandpa Lu's money? How about this... Grandpa Lu, from now on we're your underlings. You tell us to attack east, we'll attack east. You tell us to smash west, we'll smash west? Okay? Consider this our apology to you; we're all yours now."
"Yes, yes, yes! We're all yours now! We'll go through fire and water without hesitation!"
The three underlings pledged their loyalty.
Lu Chen chuckled inwardly. Damn, these guys are pretty cunning. They want to suck up to me? They want to use my name to do bad things later? Dream on!
His tone was icy: "Alright, alright, how are you going to resolve this?"
He then looked at Old Tian, the gambling addict standing to the side.
Old Tian's face turned pale, and he trembled like a leaf.
Brother Kuan glared fiercely at Old Tian, his words dripping with murderous intent: "Hmph, this old bastard, as someone's husband, his wife is almost dying, and he still uses her life-saving money to gamble! As that little girl's father, it's only natural for his daughter to take the money back to treat her mother, and he still beats his daughter! Tell me, is he even human? Is he even human?"
The other thugs exclaimed in dismay:
"He's not human!"
"Worse than an animal!"
"His death would bring peace to the world!"
They were shouting as if they were embodiments of justice, messengers of kindness.
Lu Chen was stunned. Damn! This guy's acting too good! This guy's got some talent!
Then, Brother Kuan said firmly, "Grandpa Lu, don't worry, that old Tian is dishonest, but we can't be unkind! For the little girl's sake, we won't pursue this gambling debt! And..."
As he spoke, he turned to his three men, his face full of affection, and said, "Guys, the little girl is so pitiful, shouldn't we help her?"
As he spoke, he took out his wallet and pulled out all the hundred-yuan bills inside.
Seeing their leader do this, the three kids didn't dare to hesitate and quickly pulled out their money. They didn't have a lot of money on them, but together they had over three thousand yuan.
Kuan Ge took the money and walked over to the little girl sitting in the Lamborghini, who had been watching with astonishment. He handed her the money with both hands, saying sincerely,
"Little sister, we're so sorry! There was some misunderstanding earlier. Now we understand what happened. Sigh! Your dad really shouldn't have done that. Don't worry, we don't want the money. You can keep this! It's just a little bit, but it's a small token of our appreciation! Please accept it!"
The little girl looked at Lu Chen with some suspicion, now completely subservient to him.
Lu Chen said calmly, "Just take it. It's a kind gesture."
So, the little girl unceremoniously grabbed the stack of banknotes.
Kuan Ge and Lu Chen were still discussing how to teach Old Tian a lesson. Either cripple his legs so he could never walk again, or cripple his hands so he could never gamble again.
Lu Chen looked at the little girl and said gently, "How do you want to deal with your father?"
The little girl glanced resentfully at her terrified father, bit her lower lip, and said with her head down, "He...he's still my father, after all. If he's crippled, the family will have to spend money on treatment and care. It's not worth it! I also need to pay for my mother's treatment. I...I just hope he'll never gamble again, but...he can never do it!"
She was on the verge of tears again.
Lu Chen smiled slightly and looked at Brother Kuan, addressing him like Shangguan Jinwang, "Little Kuan, this Old Tian, his family can't handle his gambling addiction, but you're so resourceful, no problem, right?"
Brother Kuan immediately understood Lu Chen's meaning and quickly said, "No problem, no problem at all! Grandpa Lu, from now on I'll have people keep a close eye on this guy. Whether it's betting on football or horses, wherever he frequents, I'll go and warn him to stop gambling! If he still gambles...humph!" "
This snort was directed at Old Tian, making him tremble.
A thug shouted, "Old Tian, did you hear that? Say something! Still want to gamble?"
Old Tian quickly waved his hands, "No, no, I won't gamble anymore, even if you kill me!"
Brother Kuan exuded domineering confidence: "You misspoke, it's 'If you gamble again, I'll beat you to death!'" Then he immediately changed to a smiling face, looking at Lu Chen: "Grandpa Lu, is this... alright?"
Lu Chen patted his shoulder, indicating satisfaction: "Not bad, Little Kuan did a good job. But, don't call me Grandpa Lu anymore, I was just teasing you, don't take it seriously. From now on, just call me A-Chen."
With this thug around, and seemingly quite well-informed, Lu Chen suddenly realized that he might be useful in the future. So, making his acquaintance wouldn't be bad.
Brother Kuan was flattered: "Grandpa Lu, no... A-Chen, no, no!" "Brother Chen, from now on I'll call you Brother Chen. My name is Gu Xiaokuan, you're right to call me Xiaokuan, hehe!"
Lu Chen nodded: "Okay, it's decided then. Let's grab a bite to eat sometime. Old Tian, I'll leave that to you. Okay?"
"Sure, sure, no problem!" Brother Kuan immediately nodded, his face beaming: "It's our honor to serve Brother Chen!"
When Lu Chen drove the little girl away, Gu Xiaokuan even lined up to see him off:
"Take care, Brother Chen!"
"Goodbye, Brother Chen!"
They were practically saying "Come again next time."
Lu Chen only drove the little girl away, not Old Tian. Lu Chen truly loathed that inhuman gambling addict. The little girl was also very disappointed in her father, sighing and saying, "I hope he can really change for the better."
"He can change," Lu Chen said confidently, "You have to believe in the power of those little devils!" "
The little girl was very grateful to Lu Chen: "Your name is Lu Chen, I'll call you Brother Chen from now on. Brother Chen, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I would be finished today, and my mother would be finished too. My name is Tian Sijing!"
As she spoke, she stretched out a small, white hand to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen shook her hand and smiled: "Little Tian Sijing, it's nice to meet you."
Tian Sijing immediately pouted: "I'm not a little girl anymore, okay? I'll be fourteen in six months, which is considered an adult. Brother Chen, you're at most seven or eight years older than me!"
"Seven or eight years older isn't that old?" Lu Chen chuckled, looking at her knee, and couldn't help but frown: "Does that injury still hurt?" "
It was obvious that medicine and powder had been applied, but it still looked very raw and swollen. Even an adult would find such an injury unbearable, let alone a little girl.
However, this little girl named Tian Sijing was clearly different. She said, 'It doesn't hurt much anymore, just a little bit. Don't worry, Brother Chen, I'm used to it.'
'Used to it?' Lu Chen was taken aback.
Tian Sijing nodded somewhat sadly, hesitated slightly, and said, 'Yes, compared to the injuries my dad used to inflict on me, this is much lighter.' As she spoke, she gritted her teeth, slightly turned her body to the side, and gently lifted her upper garment, revealing a section of her fair waist.
Lu Chen was immediately angered.
Her slender back was covered with marks from a belt. And it was obvious that new wounds overlapped with old ones. He asked in a deep voice, 'Were these all inflicted by your dad?'
Tian Sijing nodded sadly: 'Yes.'" "I told him not to gamble, and he hit me. He hits me when he's drunk. He hits me for no reason. Sometimes he even hits my mom. I tell him not to, but he hits me too."
Lu Chen said, enunciating each word clearly, "Don't worry, that guy won't dare hit you again. If he does, just tell me! I'll have Gu Xiaokuan deal with him!"
"Okay!" Tian Sijing readily agreed.
Then, she spoke somewhat blankly, "Brother Chen, do you think I'm particularly unfilial to Dad? I hate him. Sometimes, I wish he'd fall to his death on the road, get hit by a car, so Mom and I could have a better life."
"No," Lu Chen smiled slightly, "It's normal, because he wasn't a good father." "
Tian Sijing smiled, a genuine, relieved smile.
Lu Chen turned to look at her profile. She was quite alluring, a beauty in the making, and would grow up to be stunning.
Looking at her, Lu Chen was reminded of his own youth. Back then, when he heard that the girl he liked had been beaten by her violent, alcoholic father, he would grab a big stick and run to her house to teach her father a lesson.
Lu Chen, of course, offered to take her home. Tian Sijing gave him her address.
On the way, Tian Sijing proactively told him about her family situation. It was just the three of them; her mother was currently suffering from nephritis, quite seriously ill, and her father was gambling with the money they had painstakingly borrowed.
It was that football betting—her father bet on Yongda Football Team to win. He initially only bet two thousand yuan, but after being encouraged by Gu Xiaokuan, who said Yongda was guaranteed to win, he borrowed money from him at exorbitant interest rates to gamble on the game.
" In the end, she lost! Gu Xiaokuan forced her to go home and steal money, but luckily she caught him in time, otherwise…
As she spoke, Tian Sijing's tears started falling again.
This made Lu Chen feel bad too, and he said, "You're so grown up now, you have to be strong, don't cry, stand tall, face life bravely, I want to laugh my way through the world!"
With this encouragement, Tian Sijing really did straighten her budding chest and loudly replied, "Yes!"
Then, she said softly, "Actually, I'm very strong, I'm used to being hit by life. But, I don't know why, when I talk to you, Brother Chen, I just want to cry. Brother Chen, I've always wanted an older brother, someone who can protect me, keep me from being wronged, from being beaten, and let me live happily."
Lu Chen smiled: "Okay, from now on I'll be your older brother!"