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Chapter 27: The Leopard Fears the Cat
"It's fine, whoever comes first gets to go first."
"Brother Qiu, you should go ahead. I've already finished my turn."
Zhang Qiu felt a sudden awkwardness surge within him. Clearing his throat, he spoke loudly to the surrounding students, "Classmates, the purpose of our Hall Society is to help students and protect their rights, not to create privileges or disrupt the rules. Recently, our society has been in the spotlight with several major actions, but I still hope that everyone does not misunderstand us. The Hall Society is built on the support of all of you, and we will never become a bully just because we have grown."
"Brother Qiu, you really misunderstood," a classmate explained anxiously to Zhang Qiu. "You are someone who handles big matters; we all respect you, which is why we let you go first for lunch."
"That's right, Brother Qiu, we all respect you," someone in the crowd echoed.
Seeing that his classmates were not afraid of him, Zhang Qiu felt slightly relieved. He did not want to be someone who was feared by everyone; such a life would be too boring. As long as his enemies feared him, that was enough.
After Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue got their meals, Song Weidong surprisingly joined them with a bun. "Zhang Qiu, I think your Hall Society is really successful."
"I’m glad too, but it has gone through many ups and downs. If I had to do it all over again, I'm not sure I would make the same choices."
Song Weidong laughed and said, "How about I bring some people to join your Hall Society?"
"Please don't. Everyone knows there’s another Song Weidong besides us in Senior Year. It’s better if we keep things separate so we can look out for each other."
"Alright." Seeing that Zhang Qiu was unwilling, Song Weidong dropped the subject. After they finished eating, he reminded Zhang Qiu once again to attend the banquet that evening.
Regarding Song Weidong's suggestion to join the Hall Society, Zhang Qiu had considered it. Although the Hall Society had a great reputation, it had not yet developed significantly and needed fresh blood. As for Song Weidong, Zhang Qiu thought being friends was good enough; merging their societies was not something he wanted.
After school let out at noon, Jiang Xue went home alone while Zhang Qiu headed straight to White Day Fire. As soon as he walked in, he saw Biao Ge's people in the lobby. Rui Rui noticed Zhang Qiu approaching and hurriedly pulled him aside with a panicked expression. "What did you do? Did you cause trouble over there?"
"Last night, I brought people to smash Azure Blue Rose."
"You didn't get hurt anywhere, did you?" Rui Rui exclaimed, looking around Zhang Qiu anxiously. "You have some nerve; that place is Chen Hu's territory, usually with over a hundred people there." Seeing that Zhang Qiu was unharmed, Rui Rui felt slightly relieved but then questioned, "Who did you bring to smash it?"
"Me, Xue'er, Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, and about ten brothers from Yang Yu."
"Wow, even Jiang Xue went? Just you few managed to take down Azure Blue Rose?"
Zhang Qiu smiled and said, "Yeah, after work you can go check it out; they must be closed for business just like us."
Rui Rui still looked incredulous and asked, "What about them? Did anyone get hurt?"
"Don't worry, we all made it back safely. By the way, weren't you waiting for Biao Ge? I need to meet him."
Rui Rui grabbed Zhang Qiu, reminding him, "It's not just Biao Ge, Brother Tiger is here too."
"Oh?" Zhang Qiu hadn't expected that even Brother Tiger was involved. But that was fine; since he was summoned by Brother Tiger, he wanted to see what he thought.
"Don't worry."
Zhang Qiu left Rui Rui with a charming smile and turned to head upstairs. However, as Rui Rui watched him go up, she couldn't shake her anxiety. Just then, an idea struck her, and she quickly walked toward the bar.
Outside the second-floor office commonly used by Abiao, two burly brothers stood on either side. When they saw Zhang Qiu approaching, they nodded slightly and said, "Brother Leopard is waiting for you inside." With that, one of the brothers opened the door for Zhang Qiu. Upon entering, he saw Brother Leopard, dressed in a floral shirt, sitting in the center of the sofa like a Maitreya Buddha. Biao Ge sat beside him, leaning forward as he conversed with Brother Leopard, his long hair covering the scar at the corner of his eye.
"Brother Leopard, Biao Ge," Zhang Qiu greeted as he sat down on the sofa.
Brother Leopard looked coldly at Zhang Qiu, asking, "What were you doing last night?"
Zhang Qiu's response was only two words: "Revenge!"
"So, the matter with Azure Blue Rose was done by you?" Brother Leopard squinted his eyes, the smoke from the cigarette at the corner of his mouth forming a hazy barrier between the two, making it hard to see clearly.
"It was me." Zhang Qiu replied decisively, his calm gaze shifting between Brother Leopard and Biao Ge.
Brother Leopard continued to squint, asking, "Have you thought about the consequences of what you've done?"
"The other party has no evidence."
"Are you so sure?"
"I am very sure."
"But the underworld never needs evidence."
"And there's no need to consider too many consequences. If it's not for the thrill of revenge, then what's the difference between the underworld and the upper world?"
"Hahaha." Brother Leopard suddenly burst into laughter, the seriousness in his expression vanishing instantly. Biao Ge laughed along, but Zhang Qiu sensed that Biao Ge's laughter was different from Brother Leopard's. Brother Leopard's laughter came from the heart, while Biao Ge seemed to disagree with Zhang Qiu's actions.
"Zhang Qiu, I'm very satisfied with what you've done. That old tiger should have been dealt with long ago; he dared to disrupt my territory, does he really think a leopard is afraid of a cat?"
Zhang Qiu smiled and said, "So it seems Brother Leopard isn't here to seek justice."
Just then, the door to the room was pushed open again, and Rui Rui entered carrying several glasses of wine. She was chatting to moisten Brother Leopard's and Biao Ge's throats, but her gaze remained fixed on Zhang Qiu. Seeing that the atmosphere was harmonious and that Zhang Qiu was safe, Rui Rui's tense expression gradually faded.
Brother Leopard had a keen eye; with just one glance, he saw through Rui Rui's thoughts. He took a glass and smiled, saying, "Rui Rui, you've been at White Day Fire for quite some time now. You know a lot about Stone Dagger Gang's affairs; you could be considered one of us. If you want to see Zhang Qiu, just come directly to me instead of beating around the bush."
Rui Rui's face flushed as Brother Leopard pierced her thoughts, and she hurriedly put down her wine glass to explain, "Brother Leopard, I really just came to deliver the drinks."
Brother Leopard chuckled, "Well, the drinks are delivered, so you can leave now?"
"Not leaving yet?" Abiao's tone was firm. He had a completely different view on Zhang Qiu's matter compared to Brother Leopard. When he first learned about it and reported to Brother Leopard, all Brother Leopard did was sigh with a half-smile, remarking that he was just a young man.
"But Brother Leopard, with Zhang Qiu's impulsive personality, won't it be too unstable for him to act as a wedge between us and Lin Tao's side?"
"It won't be. I see that he is not impulsive in his actions."
"Isn't this impulsive? I'm even starting to regret whether I should have let him manage this place."
"Don't just focus on his self-initiative. I've looked into this matter; before Zhang Qiu acted, there was a large amount of smoke from Azure Blue Rose. It's highly likely that Zhang Qiu was behind it. Moreover, he is quite clear in his actions. If you don't let him act rashly, he won't need our Stone Dagger Gang members. Just with those few brothers who are still students, he managed to smash Chen Hu's place to pieces and still got away unscathed. Don't you think that's a kind of ability?" Brother Leopard leisurely blew smoke rings, dismissing Abiao's concerns.
"But..."
"No buts. Trust those you employ; if you doubt them, don't use them. I chose him because he is different from others. Alright, Abiao, I understand your worries, but you must not bring your emotions into our gang. No matter what, Zhang Qiu is still one of yours. If you don't trust him, my plans will be thrown into chaos. You know our gang is unstable right now."
"Brother Leopard, you don't need to worry; I'll listen to you."
Rui Rui picked up the tray and hesitated to leave, glancing back several times. Brother Leopard smiled and said, "Why let her go? Let her stay and sit for a while. I'm here today for a casual chat; Rui Rui is in charge of mixing drinks. The cocktails you make are truly exceptional for our White Day Fire."
Rui Rui eagerly nodded in agreement and sat down between Brother Leopard and Zhang Qiu, separating the two.
Brother Leopard took a sip from his glass, leaned back on the sofa, and said with a smile, "So tell me how you did it. I'm very curious about last night; you surprised me."
"The place was smashed up; Biao Ge sent me to investigate. I found out that the ones who came to smash the place were none other than Mao Tong."
At this moment, Abiao said to Brother Leopard, "Mao Tong is a subordinate of Chen Hu, known for his love of gambling and women, but he has been given more responsibilities recently. Not long ago, he specifically investigated Zhang Qiu."
"Investigated Zhang Qiu?" Brother Leopard smiled at Zhang Qiu and asked, "Did you two have any contact before he investigated you?"
"Yes."
"Ah, then I understand." Brother Leopard nodded thoughtfully. If Zhang Qiu and Mao Tong had interacted, then the investigation was reasonable. However, if they had no contact and Mao Tong still chose to investigate Zhang Qiu, it would raise questions. Even so, he still couldn't let Chen Hu's old buddy keep an eye on his actions at the intersection of their two factions.
Brother Leopard then asked, "What about that rich second-generation? Is he related to this?"
"This is still unclear; he didn't appear in the video."
"But our video was destroyed," Rui Rui said, confused. Mao Tong's crew had smashed the place up, which had destroyed the surveillance.
Zhang Qiu smiled and replied, "It was the police's video."
Rui Rui suddenly understood; just yesterday she had gone to the police station with Zhang Qiu. Brother Leopard had always had a good opinion of Zhang Qiu's background. This time, seeing Zhang Qiu decisively take advantage of the situation made him admire him even more. He praised, "You handled this well; it saved us a lot of time and eliminated distractions. We should leverage any power we can. Keep going; I have many more questions. What’s going on with the smoke? Also, how did you manage to smash the place with just a dozen people and come out unscathed? I heard even your woman joined in personally?"
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