Chapter 212: Don't Give Me Face, Come On!
"Qiao Yunfei, don't be so arrogant!" Shen Fengyun slammed the table and stood up. "Do you think you belong in a place like this?"
"Shen Fengyun, stop acting high and mighty. If I'm not fit to be here, what does that make you?" Qiao Yunfei gave him a cold glance, replying casually but firmly.
"You… The Qiao family might be considered a sizable clan, but in the eyes of our Shen family, you're nothing but ants." Shen Fengyun hadn't expected Qiao Yunfei to be this brazen—to the point of showing no respect even to the Shen family.
"So what? If your Shen family's so great, then don't hold back on my account! Come at me with everything you've got!" Qiao Yunfei suddenly lifted one foot onto the table, giving Shen Fengyun a defiant sideways glare, his tone full of mockery—like a whore spreading her legs before a client, shouting, 'Come on, baby!'
"Qiao Yunfei!!!!"
"Turtle Yun!!!!"
"You—" Shen Fengyun was so furious he almost had a stroke. In seniority, they were equals, but in age, he was over fifty, while Qiao Yunfei wasn't even forty. The age gap was at least fifteen years. Calling him 'Uncle' wouldn't even be wrong! "If this is how Qiao Zhengguo raised you, no wonder the Qiao family will forever remain a second-rate clan."
"Shen Fengyun, your Shen family isn't much better off. Aren't you basically Cai family's lapdogs now?"
"You bastard! I'm not letting this go!" Shen Fengyun clutched his forehead, fuming so hard his stomach hurt.
He was supposed to be here as a mediator, but now—great! The Cai and Qiao families hadn't even started arguing, and somehow it had turned into him and the Qiao family's fourth son having a shouting match. How ridiculous! What a disgrace.
"Qiao Yunfei, you've gone too far!" Cai Yong frowned, seeing things going sideways.
What started as a Cai-Qiao family dispute had become a Shen-Qiao brawl. Though he didn't mind watching them tear each other apart, the timing was off.
At least let him settle his own issue with the Qiao family first.
Qiao Yunfei glanced at him and sneered. "Cai Yong, who the hell are you? Stay out of grown-up talk, kid."
"You… you…"
"Ahem… ahem, Young Master Qiao." Yuan Zhenfeng, the mediator, could see where this was heading—if it went on, Donghua Garden would go down in history as the first place where top-tier families actually started a brawl. If that happened, he might as well kill himself. It'd be a scandal like no other. He quickly tried to calm them down.
"Young Master Qiao, Elder Cai, Elder Shen, please, stop arguing. Let's focus on the real issue."
Shen Fengyun and Cai Yong exchanged glances.
Both looked equally pissed off. Shen Fengyun was the first to sneer. "Since the Qiao family clearly has no sincerity, I see no point in continuing as mediator."
"Then don't. Like I care." Qiao Yunfei circled him with a look of disdain. "No one invited you anyway."
Hearing that,
Shen Fengyun felt like a boulder had dropped on his chest. If he had a knife right now, he'd stab this arrogant bastard without hesitation.
"Young Master Qiao… Young Master Qiao…" Yuan Zhenfeng hurriedly stepped between them. "Let's please return to the matter at hand, alright?"
At that, Qiao Yunfei finally eased up a little. "Uncle Yuan, go ahead."
"Here's the thing." Yuan Zhenfeng glanced at Cai Yong, hesitated, then decided to rip off the bandage. "Before you arrived, Elder Cai told me their condition. I might as well say it outright."
Seeing Qiao Yunfei remain silent, Yuan continued, "Elder Cai's condition is simple: if the Qiao family hands over Zhang Yang, the Cai family will withdraw from the Southeast Province, and both sides can end the conflict peacefully."
"Hand over Zhang Yang?" Qiao Yunfei turned his gaze toward Cai Yong.
The latter shut his eyes. Saying this to Qiao Zhengguo would've been one thing—at least he'd be speaking to someone of equal standing. But saying it to Qiao Yunfei, and seeing the clear look of disdain on his face, was unbearable. He wanted to storm out but couldn't. If he left first, it'd make his side look guilty. If word got out, the Cai family would take most of the blame.
"Hand over Zhang Yang? Fine. But only if you hand over Cai Bing and Cai Yu first. Then we'll consider it."
"You're insane! They're members of my Cai family!" Cai Yong couldn't hold back.
"Who's insane here? Zhang Yang's also our Qiao family's son-in-law. You want us to hand over our son-in-law? Then hand over your grandsons. Fair trade, right?"
"So there's nothing to discuss then? You'd risk your entire family's downfall for one man like Zhang Yang?" Shen Fengyun said sternly. "We all know Zhang Yang has no real connection to your family, just a reckless young man."
"None of your damn business!" Qiao Yunfei, a master of verbal combat, immediately fired back. "If you shut up, no one would mistake you for a mute."
Hearing that, Shen Fengyun couldn't take it anymore. He snorted and sat down, fuming silently.
But Qiao Yunfei wasn't done. "Look at the Gu family—they didn't even bother showing up. Unlike your Shen family, always pretending to be noble while chasing clout. You think you're hot shit as a 'mediator'? Go home and fix your mom's period first."
"You bastard…" Shen Fengyun finally exploded, shouting, "I, Shen Fengyun, swear this—our Shen family and your Qiao family are enemies from this day forward!"
"Oh? Finally said what you really think." Qiao Yunfei grinned, completely unbothered. "Your Shen family's been acting that way for a while, hasn't it?"
"Don't think we don't know it was your Shen family that helped the Cai family worm its way into the Southeast Province. And during the last mediation, you openly sided with them. So tell me—how the hell do you still have the face to show up here pretending to be neutral?"
Without giving Shen Fengyun a chance to reply, Qiao Yunfei continued, "And this time, on behalf of my father, I'll make it official—you Shen family are now our enemies."
"What?" Shen Fengyun froze. "You're challenging our position?"
"Challenge? You think you're worthy?" Qiao Yunfei sneered. "Alright, message delivered. I'm done here."
Shen Fengyun nearly had a stroke on the spot. Cai Yong clutched his chest, breathing heavily to stop his heart condition from acting up.
"Young Master Qiao…" Yuan Zhenfeng looked utterly miserable. At this point, whether the meeting could continue didn't matter—he was just glad no one had thrown punches yet.
"Elder Yuan, I understand. Sorry for the trouble today." Qiao Yunfei glanced at the two furious men and said coolly, "Our Qiao family will give you a proper explanation soon. Goodbye."
With that, Qiao Yunfei turned and left.
Even after his back disappeared from view, Cai Yong and Shen Fengyun were still frozen, faces twisted in disbelief. What the hell was that Qiao brat thinking?
Did he really think the Qiao family was strong enough to challenge not one, but two great clans—one of them being the first-tier Shen family?
The Qiao family was already struggling against the Cai family alone. Now they were stupid enough to provoke the Shen family too? Were they tired of living?
"That Qiao brat is truly arrogant. It's one thing to ignore our Cai family, but now even the Shen family? Utterly delusional." Cai Yong said, stirring the pot. Though childish, the words hit home for Shen Fengyun.
"Elder Cai, don't you think the Qiao family's actions seem… suspicious?" Shen Fengyun wasn't stupid. He could read between the lines, but he already despised the Qiao family to his core.
"Yeah, looks like they've found a powerful backer to be acting this cocky." Cai Yong's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Qiao and Gu families had formed an alliance? If so, a Qiao-Gu union against the Cai-Shen alliance could shake all of Huaxia.
"Elder Cai, don't worry," Shen Fengyun said coolly. "That won't happen. Even if we wanted it, the people above wouldn't allow it."
"True." Cai Yong nodded, though still fuming. If the Cai-Shen alliance ever clashed with a Qiao-Gu alliance, the odds wouldn't be great—but neither side would escape unscathed. And those higher powers would never permit such chaos.
"That means there's only one real solution—to restore things to how they were. That Zhang Yang—he either behaves himself as a live-in son-in-law and stops stirring trouble, or he disappears forever with his inventions…"
Far away in Meining, Zhang Yang suddenly sneezed…
"Damn it! Who's cursing me?" Zhang Yang lifted his head from a pile of electronic components, cursing under his breath. At the moment, he was tinkering with the 'Magic Eagle Eye Surveillance System.'
Xu Danying had already completed the software draft, and now he was working on the hardware. Once integrated and installed in the villa, anyone foolish enough to trespass would be in for a surprise.