Lanting Hotel, between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, guests were coming and going—it was the busiest time of the day for the hotel.
Li Hong and another waitress, Axiang, were extremely busy.
The hotel's location, near University Town, with its cheap prices and cleanliness, had become the preferred spot for many university students to go on dates in the evening.
And today being the weekend, the business was particularly booming.
"Is Lin Xueyi, Boss Lin, here?"
As Li Hong was registering a room number for two students at the computer, an indifferent and cold voice reached her ears.
Although the voice was polite, it sent a chill down one's spine.
Li Hong looked up and saw a man standing at the reception desk, about 1.78 meters tall, with a crew cut and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, currently looking at Li Hong with a detached expression.
His tawny eyes gave off the sharpness of a hawk.
"Sister Xueyi... just stepped out."
For some reason, this ordinary-looking man exerted an overwhelming pressure on Li Hong, heavy as a mountain.
Her usual quick wit was nowhere to be found, words would not come out; it was as if something was stuck in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
The man exhaled smoke and looked at Li Hong indifferently, "It's better that she's not here. You can relay a message for me."
"Ma Liu might not be anything special, but he's one of Brother Wei's guys. Boss Lin's people hit him, and that's disrespecting Brother Wei."
As he spoke, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, crushed the nearly spent butt in the ashtray on the reception desk, and slowly exhaled smoke from his nostrils.
Li Hong stared blankly at the man. She was just a girl under twenty; where had she ever encountered someone like this?
She wanted to say something, but her body shook violently, and she couldn't utter a single word.
The man continued, "Brother Wei says that we are all businesspeople, and we should pursue wealth in harmony."
"This matter can be easily resolved. Within three days, Boss Lin pays up one million in medical expenses, and you all will have no trouble. Otherwise, don't blame Brother Wei for being ruthless when he takes action."
"If you understand, call this number. Heh heh, don't even think of playing tricks."
After leaving those words, the man left a phone number on the reception desk and turned to leave.
As he reached the door, he sneered and suddenly punched a marble column at the hotel's entrance.
With a loud bang, the marble column shook, shards flew everywhere, and the smooth surface was covered with a dense web of hairline cracks.
"Oh my..."
Li Hong was startled, almost slumping to the floor, dumbfounded. She had never seen anyone with such a formidable fist, as if it were a giant iron hammer.
Although the marble column was made of man-made stone, at the end of the day, it was still stone.
How could a human fist clash with stone and leave the column in such condition?
"Quick, call Sister Xueyi, oh my god, this is terrifying."
It took Li Hong a while to snap back to reality as she fumbled to dial Lin Xueyi's mobile number.
To her dismay, after two rings of the busy signal, the call was abruptly disconnected on the other side.
Li Hong, still dazed, said to Axiang, who also looked petrified, "What should we do, Sister Xueyi didn't answer the phone..."
Axiang shook her head, both girls looking distressed and at a complete loss.
At this very moment, Lin Xueyi was in the office of the University Town Police Station's director, negotiating with Zhang Shide.
She had disconnected Li Hong's call and smiled apologetically at Zhang Shide, "Director Zhang, I'm sorry for the interruption."
"Speak quickly, I'm very busy."
Zhang Shide's expression was stern, showing impatience, his tone as cold and hard as an iron lump.
Lin Xueyi knew Zhang Shide's temperament and didn't beat around the bush, smiling as she said, "This morning, an odd-job man at our hotel, Yang Fei, got into a fight with Ma Liu and his group, causing a disturbance. I sincerely apologize..."
"What, you mean to represent that person... coming here?"
Zhang Shide had been leisurely leaning back in his chair, slowly sipping his tea.
Upon hearing Lin Xueyi's words, he was suddenly startled, instinctively straightening his back and promptly standing up.
His abrupt movement caused the tea to spill, dampening his clothes.
Zhang Shide's intense reaction caught Lin Xueyi off guard, and she cautiously looked at him, "Director, are you... alright?"
Zhang Shide's usually inscrutable poker face managed a strained smile, looking awkwardly out of place, "No problem, no problem, we've already cleared this up. Ma Liu and a few other rascals stirring up trouble is nothing new."
"The one... his name is Yang Fei if I'm not mistaken, teaching them a lesson qualifies as legitimate self-defense."
"This is also a failure on our part. We will continue to work hard and resolutely crack down on these scoundrels and rascals."
Given Zhang Shide's position and status, he didn't have the authority to access Yang Fei's identity on the confidential intra-network of a certain security department.
Yet, his years of police experience allowed him to sensibly perceive that Yang Fei's true identity must be extraordinary.
No matter who he was, good or evil, he was not someone a small fry like himself could afford to provoke.
With such a Great Master, the further away the better—safety first.
And on such non-principal issues, doing Yang Fei a favor could leave room for future discussion.
It was the survival wisdom of a seasoned police officer.
Lin Xueyi stared at Zhang Shide in disbelief as he spoke to her, her head buzzing, completely clueless about what had happened.
Was this the Zhang Director reputed to be stiff and unapproachable, someone not given to social niceties?
"May I ask, is there anything else... you wish to say?"
After finishing, Zhang Shide saw Lin Xueyi staring blankly at him, and he suddenly felt a bit awkward.
Lin Xueyi immediately shook her head; although she did not understand Zhang Shide's attitude, she knew the police would no longer arrest Yang Fei.
"All right then, if there's nothing else, you're free to go. I won't see you out."
Zhang Shide immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to show the guest out.
Lin Xueyi walked out of the University Town Police Station, turned her head for a glance, and also let out a sigh of relief.
Half an hour later, Lin Xueyi returned to the Lanting Hotel.
Upon entering, she saw Li Hong with a pale face and a look of terror, which gave Lin Xueyi a start: "What's wrong, Li Hong? Why do you look so pale?"
"Sister Xueyi, you've finally come back. Look at the marble column next to you..."
Li Hong hadn't recovered from the earlier shock, her hands trembling as she pointed at the marble column, unable to finish her sentence.
"Oh my, how could this column be destroyed like this, who did this? What on earth happened?"
Lin Xueyi dropped her bag and rushed to check the column at the entrance.
During the renovation, just these two marble columns had cost Lin Xueyi more than twenty thousand dollars.
Seeing them damaged to such a degree was immediately distressing to her.
Li Hong, still trembling, said: "Just a while ago, Brother Wei's men came, demanding we pay one million for Ma Liu's medical expenses or threatening to make us suffer."
"This particular column, he smashed it with his fists."
"What, with his fists... How much do they want for compensation?"
Lin Xueyi was startled by Brother Wei's reputation. She had clearly heard what Li Hong said, but the figure of one million was frightening. Still, she asked Li Hong again, holding out hope.
"One million."
Li Hong repeated with a mournful look on her face.
"One million..."
Lin Xueyi's legs went weak; one million dollars was like an astronomical figure to her.
The annual turnover of the Lanting Hotel would not exceed two hundred thousand, and after all expenses, Lin Xueyi's yearly profit was less than seventy or eighty thousand.
Where was she going to find such a large sum of money?
Lin Xueyi stood dazed for a long moment before she forced herself to stand up, her complexion turning ashen.
She had some understanding of what kind of person Brother Wei was.
He was someone in Yannan City with immense influence, who played both sides of the law, ruthless and vicious.
A small-time hoodlum like Ma Liu wasn't even fit to carry his shoes.
Lin Xueyi hadn't expected that Wu Wei would actually stand up for Ma Liu, provoking Brother Wei and destining the Lanting Hotel for trouble.
"It's no use, let's get Yang Fei back here as soon as possible. If he can't handle it, our hotel... I fear we won't be able to keep it."
Lin Xueyi sat on the couch behind the counter, muttering to herself.
Life really wasn't easy these days.