TLLKTBD CH 39

Chapter 39: Who Is Brother Wang?

As soon as Lu Qian approached “You Mu,” he sensed something was off.

“You Mu” was a nightclub, and it wasn’t even 11 a.m. yet. The bar shouldn’t have been open at this hour. Even if someone was inside, it should have been only Jin Xiaomi, since she lived in the apartment above the bar.

However, at this moment, the metal shutter was rolled up halfway, and the dark glass doors obscured the view inside. Shadows flickered across the tinted glass, accompanied by a faint commotion.

Just as Lu Qian placed his hand on the tree-branch-shaped door handle, feeling puzzled, a sharp cracking sound suddenly rang out—it was the sound of shattering glass.

Lu Qian immediately pushed the door open and rushed inside. Jin Xiaomi was a woman living alone here; he couldn’t let anything happen to her.

Upon entering, he realized things weren’t as bad as he feared. Jin Xiaomi wasn’t alone—Ah Tang and Sam were there, along with a few young men and bodyguards who formed a half-circle around her. They all stood behind her anxiously, watching her in the middle of an outburst.

Opposite them, another group of three to five men dressed in black stood silently behind a sofa. They seemed to have been instructed not to interfere, remaining expressionless despite the chaos in front of them.

The man sitting on the sofa appeared to be their leader. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, his face and hair dripping wet, as he watched Jin Xiaomi screaming and throwing a tantrum at him—smiling all the while. The ground beside him was littered with shards of broken glass. The entire bar was in disarray—chairs and tables were overturned, and a few bottles of alcohol had been smashed.

“Get out! Leave!” Jin Xiaomi glared at the man in front of her, eyes blazing with fury as she pointed at the door. “You left when you wanted to, and now you think you can just come back whenever you please? What the hell do you take me for?” Her voice was shaking with rage, eyes reddened.

“What’s going on?” Lu Qian stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jin Xiaomi. “Who came back?”

The moment Jin Xiaomi realized Lu Qian was here, she turned halfway and threw herself into his embrace, clinging onto him tightly. Then, she suddenly burst into tears.

“Qian… he’s bullying me! Help me throw him out…!”

“Who is he?” Lu Qian tried to piece together the situation, scanning the room. Ah Tang and the others all shook their heads in terror. They were completely helpless in the face of their boss, their mighty big sister, suddenly turning into a weeping mess.

The moment that man saw Lu Qian stepping in to hold Jin Xiaomi, his smile faded. And when he saw Jin Xiaomi actually reciprocating the embrace, he immediately stood up from the sofa and took a step forward. At the same time, all the men in black behind him moved as well.

He stared at Lu Qian with displeasure. “Who are you?”

Lu Qian’s mind worked fast, and in an instant, he figured it out. “Brother Wang? You’re Brother Wang?” He reached out a hand for a handshake. “You’ve finally returned. Xiaomi has been waiting for you all this time.”

“Brother Wang?” The man’s frown deepened. He asked softly, “She’s been waiting for Brother Wang?”

Under his commanding presence, Jin Xiaomi’s people all nodded, completely intimidated. Only Jin Xiaomi was still sniffling in Lu Qian’s arms.

Suddenly, the man grabbed Jin Xiaomi, yanking her out of Lu Qian’s embrace. He clutched her arm tightly and demanded furiously, “Who? Who is Brother Wang? Who have you been waiting for all these years?”

His loud roar stunned Jin Xiaomi for a moment, but then she immediately burst out in frustration. “Who? Who else could it be? Who the hell do you think you are to ask me that?” She screamed angrily. “I, Jin Xiaomi, have only ever waited for one bastard! Who is Brother Wang? Just a damn bastard! A total bastard! Whoever that bastard is, that’s who I’m waiting for!”

Before she could even finish yelling, the man pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her pound her fists and cry against his chest.

“That bastard disappeared just like that,” she sobbed uncontrollably. “They told me you were dead, but I didn’t believe it. The obituary didn’t even list me as the surviving spouse, so how could the dead person have been you? Waaah…!”

Back then, it had all been an act—a carefully orchestrated play for the sake of revenge. The only unexpected variable had been this girl who had stumbled into the middle of it all. In order to protect her, he had to follow through with the plan without leaking even the slightest hint.

The man had faked his death.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what this girl must have told herself over the years just to endure and keep going.

Holding the hysterical Jin Xiaomi in his arms, the man lifted his gaze and looked around. He noticed Lu Qian still frozen in place, his outstretched hand hanging awkwardly in midair.

“Hello,” the man finally reached out and shook Lu Qian’s hand. “My surname is Ouyang. Ouyang Youmu.”

Youmu.

So that’s where the bar’s name came from.

So much for the poetic ‘Youmu, where the phoenix comes to rest.’ Lu Qian suddenly realized he had greatly overestimated Jin Xiaomi’s literacy skills.

“Nice to meet you,” Lu Qian returned the handshake. “I’m Lu Qian, Xiaomi’s…”

“Oh?” Ouyang Youmu raised an eyebrow. “So you’re Lu Qian. I know who you are. You’re her friend from the orphanage. The one who grew up with her like a brother and sister.”

Lu Qian nodded. It seemed this Brother Wang—no, Ouyang Youmu—had already investigated everyone around Jin Xiaomi.

“I apologize for disturbing everyone today,” Ouyang Youmu said casually. “Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Ouyang Youmu—her man.”

The woman in his arms struggled in fury, but Ouyang Youmu held her down firmly.

“I had urgent matters to attend to overseas, so I’ve been away all this time. I only returned today. Thank you all for taking care of Xiaomi.”

He gave everyone a serious nod before continuing, “We’ll be heading home now. You all…” He slightly turned his head toward the men in black behind him and instructed, “Clean this place up properly. Don’t let it interfere with tonight’s business.”

“Yes, sir.”

A chorus of synchronized responses followed, and in the next second, the men sprang into action. Even the young masters and bodyguards in the bar started moving.

Ignoring Jin Xiaomi’s struggling, Ouyang Youmu effortlessly hoisted her over his shoulder and strode toward the exit.

Jin Xiaomi, hanging upside down on his shoulder, furiously kicked, punched, and cursed at him nonstop.

At that moment, one of the men in black suddenly spoke up, “Boss, please be careful. The boss still hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries.”

Jin Xiaomi instantly deflated like a popped balloon. All her anger drained away in an instant, and she went limp, curling up on his shoulder like a meek little kitten.

Ouyang Youmu’s lips curved into a faint smirk. He shot a playful wink at the black-clad subordinate as a silent gesture of gratitude.

The man gave his boss a serious nod in response, then efficiently returned to sweeping the floor.

(To be continued…)