Chapter 51 Two Bouquets of Red Roses Ignite a Battlefield
Li Ruoxue.
She was dressed up carefully today, wearing a Chanel suit, a pearl necklace, and carrying a crocodile handbag.
After getting off the bus, I tidied my hair before heading to the barbecue restaurant.
But she didn't go in; she stopped a few steps outside the store, her eyes searching through the crowd.
Soon, she saw the black sedan on the opposite street corner, and the familiar figure inside.
The smile on Li Ruoxue's face faded.
She had known Li Hanzhou for many years, and had witnessed his ruthless methods, his sharpness during negotiations, and his occasional weariness.
But she had never seen Li Hanzhou look at anyone with such eyes.
That gaze was focused, even carrying a gentleness she couldn't comprehend...?
This word doesn't fit with Li Hanzhou.
But when he looked across the street at the boy in the barbecue restaurant, his aura softened, and the boy's running figure was clearly reflected in his usually cold phoenix eyes.
Li Ruoxue followed his gaze and saw Fang Che behind the counter.
The boy was frantically helping a child tie an apron. His profile was clean against the sunset, and when he smiled, he revealed his tiger teeth, exuding a carefree and energetic spirit.
This is the person.
This kid who suddenly appeared, of unknown origin, reckless and foolish.
On what grounds?
Why does he deserve Li Hanzhou's special attention? Why does Li Hanzhou make exceptions for him time and time again?
Now, even Ah Gui is starting to protect him?
Li Ruoxue gripped her handbag tightly, her nails digging into her palm.
She remembered her father holding her hand before he died and saying, "Ruoxue, Hanzhou is a man of deep affection. If you treat him well, he will not treat you badly. In the future... the Li family will still need you."
She had always thought that she would be the one standing beside Li Hanzhou.
She learned to manage a business, mingled with celebrities, and strived to become someone worthy of him.
But now, Fang Che has suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Li Ruoxue took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.
She couldn't lose her composure, especially in public.
But the seed had already been planted in my heart.
This Fang Che... cannot be allowed to live.
At the very least, we can't let him continue to occupy Li Hanzhou's attention like this.
She composed herself, put on a smile again, and was about to enter the store when another car pulled up in front of the door.
This time, it was Lu Che who came down.
He was holding a large bouquet of red roses, which looked particularly out of place in a barbecue restaurant.
Lu Che wore a light gray casual suit without a tie.
After getting off the bus, his eyes were fixed on Fang Che behind the counter. With a smile on his face, he strode over.
Li Ruoxue stopped in her tracks, standing in the shadows by the door, watching coldly.
Inside the shop, Fang Che had just finished calculating a bill when he looked up and saw Lu Che walking towards him with roses in his hands.
His appearance caused a moment of silence in the room.
Thirteen Sister also stopped rubbing the child's face and looked over.
Ignoring the stares of those around him, Lu Che handed the rose forward: "Brother Fang, congratulations on your opening. This is just a small token of my appreciation; I wish you booming business."
The bouquet of roses was in full bloom, so red it was almost blinding.
Lu Che's gaze fell undisguisedly on Fang Che's face, as if trying to see into his heart.
Fang Che was taken aback by the rose and the look in her eyes, and alarm bells rang in his mind.
But he quickly realized that guests are guests, and today it's all about making money through harmony.
He quickly adjusted his expression, put on a smile, and accepted the roses with both hands: "Mr. Lu, you're too kind! It's enough that you came; you didn't need to bring flowers! Please come in! Xi Rong, find Mr. Lu a good seat, bring a pot of good tea, and a few skewers of pork kidneys to nourish him!"
His voice was loud and clear, and his tone was familiar, as if Lu Che were truly an old friend.
He casually tossed the rose to Ah Ming next to him: "Find a vase, put it in a prominent place on the counter!"
Lu Che chuckled at his series of actions, but his interest only grew stronger.
He sat down as instructed, took the tea from Xi Rong, but his gaze remained fixed on Fang Che, who was busy in the crowd.
After settling Lu Che in, Fang Che went to greet Thirteen Sister and took a moment to yell at the kitchen staff to speed things up, keeping himself extremely busy.
Lu Che sat there, slowly sipping his tea, watching him busy, a smile always on his lips.
After a while, Fang Che finally caught his breath and passed by Lu Che's table, where he was stopped by someone: "Brother Fang, you must be very busy? Sit down and have some water."
Fang Che was indeed thirsty. Without thinking much, he plopped down opposite him and grabbed a large gulp of herbal tea.
Lu Che naturally continued the conversation, casually remarking, "Brother Fang, this shop has a nice layout, and the membership points system is rare in the North."
Fang Che wiped his mouth: "Just some random thought. The neighbors come here often, so I'm giving them a little something. Mr. Lu, please don't laugh at me."
“How could that be?” Lu Che laughed. “I genuinely believe Brother Fang is a talented individual. Wouldn’t it be a waste of his talent for him to stay on Portland Street?”
Fang Che felt a chill run down his spine, but remained outwardly calm: "Portland Street is nice, the neighbors are honest. I don't have any grand ambitions, I just want to live a good life with my children."
“Really?” Lu Che ran his fingers along the rim of the teacup. “But I heard that Jiang Tianqi ‘admires’ you.”
Fang Che's smile faded slightly: "I can't accept Young Master Jiang's 'appreciation.' I've chosen to follow Brother Li, and I'm sticking to this path to the very end."
"You're a man of honor, that's rare." Lu Che praised, then suddenly lowered his voice, "But Brother Fang, the world is a dangerous place, sometimes having more friends means having more options. I, Lu Che, have some connections in the underworld, so if you have any difficulties, or... want to change your way of life, you can always come to me."
That's quite a blunt statement.
Just as Fang Che was about to refuse, a cool hand gently rested on his right shoulder.
Fang Che's body stiffened slightly, and he turned around.
Li Hanzhou appeared behind him at some point, his expression calm, his gaze sweeping lightly over Lu Che before settling on Fang Che's face.
"Ah Che, Thirteen Sister is looking for you. She wants to talk about the drinks."
His hand was on Fang Che's shoulder, not with force, but with a clear possessive posture.
He leaned forward slightly, shielding Fang Che beneath him.
Lu Che's smile remained unchanged as he nodded to Li Hanzhou: "Boss Li."
But his gaze lingered for a moment on Li Hanzhou's hand on his shoulder, then he lowered his eyes, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
Fang Che was oblivious to the silent exchange between the two men; he was surprised by Li Hanzhou's appearance: "Brother Li? When did you arrive? Why didn't you call me?"
"Just arrived." Li Hanzhou said calmly, but his hand didn't move away. "Seeing you having a good time chatting, I didn't want to disturb you."
"Oh!" Fang Che didn't catch the subtle difference in his words and shared enthusiastically, "Mr. Lu is quite the conversationalist and knowledgeable. I just spoke with him..."
“Thirteenth Sister is waiting.” Li Hanzhou interrupted him, exerting a little force to help Fang Che up, his gaze sweeping over Lu Che again, “Mr. Lu, please enjoy your meal.”
Lu Che looked up, his smile unchanged: "Brother Li, please go ahead. Brother Fang, let's talk another day."
Fang Che was led by Li Hanzhou towards Thirteen Sister's direction. Still a little dazed, he turned back and waved to Lu Che: "Mr. Lu, eat and drink well! There's plenty of kidney!"
Li Hanzhou remained silent.
Lu Che watched the two figures leave. Fang Che, with Li Hanzhou half-embracing his shoulder, was still talking to him without realizing it.
He put down his teacup and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.
Just then, two more vans arrived outside the store.
The car door opened, and seven or eight men in floral shirts with a tough demeanor got out.
The leader, a man with a buzz cut and a scar on his neck, was carrying a huge flower basket that almost submerged him.
The commotion silenced the entrance for a moment.
Many neighbors' expressions changed, and Thirteen Sister also stopped smiling, her eyes becoming wary.
Cheng Tieniu and a few older children grabbed whatever was at hand.
Fang Che's heart tightened. Could it be that Jiang Tianqi sent someone to cause trouble?
Li Hanzhou tightened his grip on his shoulder slightly, pulling him back a little, his sharp gaze fixed on the crew-cut man.
Unexpectedly, the man with the buzz cut forced a smile, directed his men to arrange the flower baskets, and then, carrying the largest one, strode up to Fang Che and shouted:
"Brother Che! Congratulations on your grand opening! Our boss sent us to deliver a congratulatory gift!"
As he spoke, he placed the flower basket on the ground, then pulled out a beautifully wrapped bouquet of ninety-nine bright red roses from somewhere and presented it to Fang Che with both hands:
"This bouquet of flowers was personally ordered by our boss to be delivered to Brother Che! We wish Brother Che a prosperous and thriving business!"
The entire room fell silent.
Fang Che was completely stunned when he saw the bouquet of red roses in front of him, which was at least three times larger than Lu Che's bouquet.
Dong Sheng Society? Jiang Tianqi? Flowers? Ninety-nine roses?
What's wrong with Jiang Tianqi's cunning mind this time?
He accepted the bouquet blankly; it was heavy.
He subconsciously turned to look at Li Hanzhou, his eyes full of confusion.
Looking at Fang Che's completely clueless expression, and then at the glaring red roses in his arms, Li Hanzhou felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
His expression darkened slightly, and he gave the buzz cut a cold glance.
The man with the buzz cut felt a chill run down his spine after being glanced at by Li Hanzhou. He quickly said, "Our boss said there was some misunderstanding before, and he hopes Brother Che won't take it to heart. From now on, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Brother Che's business will be taken care of by the Dong Sheng Society! The gift has been delivered, so we won't bother you any longer! Brothers, let's go!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and led his men to get into the car and leave.
Fang Che was left standing there, holding a large bouquet of red roses, amidst the various gazes of the crowd.
Xi Rong asked softly, "Brother Che, where should we put these flowers?"
Amin scratched his head: "Brother Che, is the boss of Dong Sheng Society trying to woo you?"
Cheng Tieniu asked innocently, "These flowers are really pretty, are they edible?"
Fang Che: "..."
He felt the rose in his hand was a little hot.
He looked up and saw Li Hanzhou staring at him, his eyes... seemed a little angry.
Fang Che's heart skipped a beat.
Even the slowest person could sense that something was wrong.
At this moment, Li Hanzhou suddenly reached out, took the bouquet of roses from his arms, turned around and handed it to A Gui behind him: "Put it in the backyard, don't block the way."
Then he looked at Fang Che again, raised his hand to straighten the slightly open collar of his shirt, his fingertips lightly brushing against Fang Che's collarbone.
"Go ahead and get busy," Li Hanzhou said in a low voice. "I'll pick you up after we close tonight. Don't forget about the tattoo."
After saying that, he nodded slightly to Thirteen Sister, turned around and left with Ah Gui.
Fang Che stood there, stunned, as if he could still feel the touch on the spot where his collar had been touched.
He glanced at Li Hanzhou's departing figure, then at Lu Che's enigmatic expression, then at the bouquet of roses that had been moved to the backyard, and finally looked at his own "Northeast Tiger Barbecue," a business that had just opened but was already rife with undercurrents.
He scratched his head.
Isn't this store a bit too "bustling"?
But who cares!
Fang Che shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and a smile returned to his face. He called out to the guests and busy children:
"Brothers! Sisters! Fire up! Bring on the meat! Tonight, we're not leaving until we're drunk!"
The charcoal crackled, the aroma of meat filled the air, and laughter rose again.
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