Chapter 474: Zhao Qingfeng Falls Into Crisis

“What a waste… No, what a romantic gesture.”

“Right? I’d love to have a boyfriend like that.”

“Mm-hmm, wait a second, aren’t you a guy?”

“Does gender really matter in the face of such love? All that matters is who pays.”

The customers in the restaurant started discussing it, and soon enough, odd remarks began to pop up.

“Qingyu, go cut the cake. I personally prepared all of this for you.”

Xu Shaochen tugged at the corner of his mouth, ignoring the strange conversations around him, and softly spoke to Zhao Qingyu before leading her toward the massive cake.

Yes, he lied without batting an eye. The only thing he actually did was make a phone call.

Zhao Qingyu was so moved, she was on the verge of tears.

In truth, for Xu Shaochen, this was nothing. He didn’t even have to lift a finger; one phone call and everything was taken care of.

But Zhao Qingyu didn’t know that. Moreover, Xu Shaochen, that scoundrel, blatantly lied, claiming he prepared everything himself. Could Zhao Qingyu not be touched? A woman in love has no IQ, so she blindly believed whatever Xu Shaochen said.

“Uh-huh.”

Zhao Qingyu wiped away her tears, nodded, and stepped forward with the knife to start cutting the cake.

“Everyone gets a piece of cake. Don’t be shy tonight; all expenses are on me.”

Xu Shaochen looked at the crowd and shouted. When you’re rich, you can do whatever you want.

“Clap! Clap! Clap…”

Instantly, the room erupted in applause.

“Happy birthday to Miss Zhao, may you grow younger with each passing year.”

“Wishing Miss Zhao and Mr. Xu everlasting happiness and a lifetime together.”

Everyone who received a piece of cake said something nice. Sincerity varied, but all that mattered was the atmosphere was set.

Tonight was sure to be a pleasant one.

Zhao Qingyu was overwhelmed with emotion. She stubbornly held onto Xu Shaochen, refusing to let him leave. She changed into something even more beautiful, insisting on serving him personally for the night.

Xu Shaochen gently suggested that one should not be too selfish and that she should consider Zhou Sixian and the others. For example, maybe they could join in… Well, let’s stop here.

It was destined to be another wild night.

………

Morning.

After drinking last night, and with all that exertion afterward, Xu Shaochen was still sound asleep.

“Ring! Ring! Ring…”

The sound of a phone ringing suddenly filled the room. Half-asleep, Xu Shaochen reached for the phone on the nightstand, answering it impatiently, “Hello? What do you want?”

“Brother-in-law! Help me! If you don’t come, I’m dead for sure!”

Zhao Qingfeng’s frantic voice came from the phone, accompanied by the sounds of cursing and things being smashed.

“Where are you now?”

Xu Shaochen didn’t ask what was going on; he could tell from the background noise that the situation was chaotic. There was no time for explanations.

“I’m in the storage room at the construction site. I’ve locked the door from the inside. If you don’t come soon, they’ll break it down and force their way in.”

After hearing this, Xu Shaochen immediately figured out the reason. He had asked Zhao Qingfeng to collect evidence at the construction site yesterday. It was highly likely he was discovered while recording.

“Hold on a little longer. I’m on my way.”

Xu Shaochen’s expression turned dark and menacing. Those people, did they intend to kill to silence him?

A bunch of ignorant fools.

Xu Shaochen crawled out of the pile of women, dressed himself, hastily washed his face, and left the Du Family Residence.

“Boss.”

Long Yi and the bodyguards, who had also stayed at the Du Family Residence last night, had already gotten up early and were waiting outside for Xu Shaochen.

“Head to the construction site #1. Step on it.”

Xu Shaochen got into the car with a cold expression and gave the order in an indifferent tone.

In Jiangzhou, Chen Yu controlled four pieces of land, all of which started construction in the order they were acquired. Construction site #1 was where the incident occurred.

………

At the construction site #1.

“Open the door! Zhao! Hand over the recording, and we’ll let you go.”

“Damn it! Break down the door! We can’t let him leave with that recording, or we’ll all end up in jail!”

“Break it down!”

The person in charge of the construction site screamed, his face contorted in rage, commanding his men to break down the door while sending some to get tools to pry open the lock.

He had embezzled so much money that even a life sentence wouldn’t be enough for him. No matter what, he couldn’t let Zhao Qingfeng leave this place alive.

The people around him were all accomplices who had taken their share of the money, so even if Zhao Qingfeng died today, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, the concrete mixer at the construction site isn’t just for mixing cement and stones; it can also mix people.

Inside the storage room, Zhao Qingfeng’s face was ashen as he held a piece of rebar, trembling uncontrollably while listening to the shouting outside.

“Gulp.”

He swallowed hard in fear, then quickly hid a sweat-soaked recording pen in a pile of cement.

Xu Shaochen had guessed correctly; he was indeed caught while recording.

The construction site started early, so Zhao Qingfeng arrived first thing in the morning.

For safety, he didn’t use his phone to record but instead bought a recording pen and kept it in his pocket.

He then began chatting casually with the construction site manager, hinting that the money wasn’t enough and that he wanted more to keep quiet.

This topic was meant to get the other party to admit out loud their collusion with the suppliers.

He had finished the recording, but as he was getting ready to leave, someone bumped into him, causing the pen to fall out of his pocket.

Things went south from there. He was beaten several times before he managed to flee in a panic into the storage room, where he called Xu Shaochen for help.

“Bang! Bang! Boom!”

Finally, the door was broken down.

“Stay back! Stay back!”

Zhao Qingfeng, terrified, blindly waved the piece of rebar around, injuring a few people in the process, but it was no use; he was eventually pinned to the ground.

“Slap!”

The construction manager stepped forward and slapped Zhao Qingfeng across the face, cursing through clenched teeth, “Damn it! I kindly brought you into the money, but not only were you ungrateful, you even thought about recording to expose us. You’re forcing me to kill you!”

“You guys… don’t do anything stupid.”

Zhao Qingfeng, who had lived an ordinary life for over twenty years, had never encountered anything like this. He was so scared that his words became jumbled.

“Do anything stupid? Don’t worry, we won’t do anything stupid.”

The construction manager flashed a sinister smile and told his men, “Take him to the mixer. I want to see how he exposes us after that.”

The two men grabbed Zhao Qingfeng and began dragging him out, their faces cold and merciless.

“No! No! No!”

Zhao Qingfeng struggled, cried, and screamed, but it was all in vain as he was forcibly dragged closer and closer to the mixer.

He was filled with despair. Brother-in-law, why aren’t you here yet? I’m about to die.