"What was that?" The young man whose punch just got blocked couldn't help but mutter. He was sure that the bodyguard hadn't moved an inch, yet suddenly his fist got blocked by a palm.
"Yes! Now let him know the meaning of pain. Ling Qidong said with a smile on his face. Now that his bodyguard had been in action, this arrogant young man would finally get what he deserved.
But Li didn't act at all. He just watched the young man retreat a few steps back, ready for the next attack to block. "You are his bodyguard?" the young man asked.
"Yes."
"Why?" the young man asked seriously. Someone that could block his punch without problems wouldn't be a simple bodyguard, especially not for some unknown third-class young master.
Before Li could answer, though, a loud shout was heard throughout the entire restaurant. "Who dares to cause trouble in the Singing Swan?" The manager had come out of his office on the fifth floor to rush down and stop the altercation.
"It was him!" Ling Qidong said quickly. He needed to be labeled the righteous party here; otherwise, if the events spread with him as the aggressor, he wouldn't have much face left after his friends got pummeled by a young man. Even his father would not let him off easily.
The manager walked up to the two parties, and seeing the clothing off the young master compared to the other, he was about to scold the young man who injured two of the young masters, but then he saw the young man's face and began to stutter.
"Hello, hello, young master Wang. I didn't see that you were entering the Singing Swan; otherwise, I would have set up a private room on the fourth floor."
Seeing the reaction of the manager, Ling Qidong's heart suddenly sank. Who was this guy? Even the manager respected him?
"No problem, I wanted to keep things simple," young master Wang replied with a slight smile.
The manager recovered from the shock of seeing young master Wang after a few seconds, and his expression turned darker and darker. "Young master Wang, what should we do with them? Call the police and let them receive a lifelong ban, or do you want to have them for yourself?"
"There is no need for any of that. Just let them leave; these two already got what they deserved. As for the third one, let's say I respect his bodyguard," young master Wang said. He was quite an easygoing person and had already vented most of his frustrations.
"Is that ok for you, Tang Yayu?" he asked the woman who timidly watched the whole situation, worrying about young master Wang, and surprised by the kindness the manager showed. "En," she softly said, not really wanting to decide herself.
"Then it is decided," the manager said. "He turned to the security guards behind him and said, "Please escort these four out of the restaurant and let it be known that they and their families will have a lifelong ban from this restaurant."
Ling Qidong, whose face was anything but pretty, quickly grabbed Ma and Weiyang, who lay on the floor unconscious, and left the building with Li walking shortly behind. Who would have known that this random young man was someone with status high enough to command the manager of the Singing Swan?
Once all of them were in a car, Ling Qidong turned to Li with anger in his eyes. "You! How could you defy my orders and neither protect them nor hit the other guy?" He was red and full of anger. The bodyguard gave him extra confidence, resulting in him stirring up trouble where he normally wouldn't. Then he defied his orders twice, and his whole family got banned for life.
His standing within his family wasn't good to begin with. He might be the son of the company head, yet his cousins all seemed to be better at business and more hardworking than him, resulting in people calling him a failure behind his back. Now his standing would get even worse, and the mocking would amplify. And it was all Li's fault.
"I just did my job," Li simply answered. Ling Qidong wasn't injured, so his job was completed.
"What are you saying? You are my bodyguard. MINE! You are to follow my orders as MY bodyguard. Understood?"
"No, I will continue to act like a bodyguard should." Li didn't agree at all. He wasn't about to defend everything this guy did.
"Fine then! Then I will bring you to my father, and he will find a way to discipline you," Ling Qidong said in anger.
As the car started, the other two woke up and asked about what happened, and after hearing the full story, they panicked. Their whole family got banned? It would have been fine if it was only them, as although the humiliation of getting hit and kicked out would lose them face, their family was way more important. After all, who would give them money for their lifestyle if not their family?
Both of them quickly got out, trying to control the damage done while Ling Qidong drove towards his father's company.
After taking the elevator and finally arriving at Ling Chuse's office, the father already expected his son to come. Ling Chuse looked at Ling Qidong with a mix of disappointment and anger.
"Father, I have to report something," Ling Qidong said and told the entire story. Well, he spun it so that his friends got too excited and wanted to pay someone for their seats while he tried to stop them, and that the young man named Wang hit them without provocation, while highlighting Li's disobedience.
In the end, from his story, no fault lay with him. Ling Chuse quickly looked between the somewhat nervous Ling Qidong and the emotionless Li.
"Li, what was the story like from your experience? Don't leave out even a single word," he said calmly yet with an undertone of fury.