Chapter 32
Slap!
The slap silenced the entire hall. No one had expected such a move.
“You… you dared to hit me?!”
Ma Ru touched her cheek in disbelief. She truly hadn’t imagined she would be struck, her eyes brimming with confusion, anger, and resentment.
“…”
“Brother Hao, you moved way too fast, didn’t you?”
Le Ziyan, equally stunned, hadn’t expected Chen Hao to actually strike her. He had been prepared to intervene himself if Ma Ru went too far, but Chen Hao had acted first, delivering a swift, crisp slap.
Chen Hao glanced at his hand, a puzzled expression on his face. “I swear, it was a slip of the hand,” he said. “Do you believe me?”
“Uh…”
“You bastard! Even my husband wouldn’t dare hit me, and my parents never laid a hand on me! How dare you strike me?!”
Ma Ru roared at Chen Hao, still reeling from the humiliation of being slapped in front of everyone.
“Chen Hao, you’re in the wrong here. We’re all old classmates—how could you resort to violence? Apologize to Ma Ru immediately!”
Chen Hao was in the wrong, so Pan Li’s intervention to uphold justice at this moment was entirely justified. Adopting his former Class Monitor demeanor, he rebuked Chen Hao for striking Ma Ru and demanded an apology.
The assembled classmates, save for Le Ziyan, erupted into discussion. Naturally, most agreed that hitting someone was wrong and that Chen Hao’s apology was inevitable.
When perched on the moral high ground, many tend to overlook the circumstances that led to the conflict.
Besides, it was just Chen Hao, after all. Had the assailant been Pan Huihui, the situation might have unfolded very differently. Such is reality.
Chen Hao’s expression remained impassive, as if Pan Li’s words hadn’t even registered. He continued, “I’d like to ask you all a counter-question: if someone earnestly begged you to hit them, would you refuse? As a good citizen always eager to help, I was happy to oblige.”
“Of course, I’ve never encountered such an ‘unreasonable’ request before. For trying to fulfill it, I was misunderstood.”
“This story teaches us that when doing ‘good deeds,’ we must act within our means, clarify the situation, and consider who we’re helping.”
As a straight man, sarcasm was second nature to Chen Hao. His retort left the crowd speechless and utterly disarmed.
“Right? Have you ever seen such a demand before?”
“Absolutely not. Anyone who makes such a demand is either an idiot or just being a jerk. What else could it be?”
Chen Hao and Le Ziyan began their tag-team routine, determined to show Ma Ru, a woman like her, no mercy.
“You… you two!”
“I’ll fight you!”
Ma Ru threatened to throw a tantrum, even grabbing a chopstick from the table to stab Chen Hao.
But she seemed to forget where Chen Hao came from. Before she could even touch him, he casually seized her chopstick-wielding hand, his expression indifferent as he completely ignored her near-hysterical state.
“Enough!”
Pan Huihui’s sharp rebuke cut through the tension. She couldn’t stand watching this any longer.
At its core, this high school reunion was Pan Huihui’s attempt to show off to her old classmates how wonderful her life had become, thanks to her husband, Sun Yeyou.
But Chen Hao, the unpredictable variable, had repeatedly disrupted her plans, stripping away her sense of superiority and replacing it with mounting irritation.
In her domain, no one would act so brazenly!
“Chen Hao! Do you even know where you are? This is the Wilson Grand Hotel, a five-star establishment, you hear?”
“Resorting to violence? Are you some kind of barbarian? And hitting a woman too? Have you no shame?!”
“You must apologize today, in front of all our old classmates! Apologize!”
Pan Huihui had completely lost her temper, acting as if she were the mistress of the house, glaring at Chen Hao with a “Don’t you dare act so impudently in my home!” expression.
“Apologize? To whom? Her, or you?”
“To everyone!”
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds that you hit someone—a woman, no less!”
“Get your facts straight. She’s the one who egged me on, twice she said, ‘Come on, come on!’ You couldn’t have missed that, could you?”
“You’re just being evasive! Those were just angry words spoken in the heat of the moment!”
“We’re all adults here. We need to take responsibility for what we say, OK?”
“You!”
When it came to trading insults, Chen Hao had never backed down from anyone, and Pan Huihui was clearly no match for him.
“Given your rude behavior, I think it’s necessary for you to leave. I find it embarrassing to dine with someone of such poor character.”
As the saying goes, “Like father, like son on the battlefield,” and “A married couple fights even harder.” With Pan Huihui out of options, Sun Yeyou had to step in to back up his wife.
Having reserved Massena Hall and treated everyone to dinner, Sun Yeyou naturally assumed the role of host, and as the host, he had the right to ask anyone to leave.
“Fine by me. We’ve eaten enough anyway. Let’s go, Suisui.”
“Okay, Papa!”
Suisui had been busy raiding the dining table the whole time, completely unconcerned that her papa might be getting the short end of the stick.
“Actually, the food here isn’t all that great. Did you order the cheapest banquet option?”
As she stood up, Suisui remarked with mock seriousness, once again proving that children have no filter.
“Hahaha! Time to bounce, Brother Hao! Let’s go. Let these lapdogs entertain themselves!”
Le Ziyan finally burst into laughter, no longer able to suppress it. Hearing Suisui’s words, he erupted into sardonic laughter and decided to leave with Chen Hao and the others.
“You—!”
Having their sore spot poked, Pan Huihui and Sun Yeyou flushed crimson.
“You’re just freeloading! This is outrageous! How shameless!”
“Exactly! We’d gladly treat everyone else, but not shameless scum like Chen Hao! You and your bratty daughter need to pay up, or you’re not leaving!”
Pan Huihui threw caution to the wind, her voice rising in fury as she refused to let Chen Hao and his group leave so easily.
“Think you can hit someone and just walk away? Not so fast! Apologize and compensate us!” Ma Ru chimed in, joining the fray.
Bang!
Suddenly, Chen Hao slammed his fist violently on the table, causing the plates to tremble.
Everyone present jumped in shock, especially Ma Ru, who had just been struck. She instinctively covered her face and stumbled back a few steps, fearing another blow. After all, Chen Hao’s combat prowess was evident, unlike those paunchy middle-aged men, none of whom could hold their own in a fight.
“Money is no problem; I can pay, but!”
“That ‘brat’ remark about my daughter? Retract it and apologize!”
Chen Hao’s eyes suddenly turned icy as he pointed his index finger at Pan Huihui. Say what you want about him, but Suisui was off-limits.
“You!”
Pan Huihui was momentarily stunned by Chen Hao’s intimidating presence, rendering her speechless. Naturally, she refused to back down, creating a tense standoff.
Knock, knock, knock!
Creak!
Just as Chen Hao was about to demand an explanation from Pan Huihui, the doors of Massena Hall swung open, and a young man in a business suit strode in. His bearing was remarkably refined, far surpassing even Sun Yeyou, the so-called successful businessman.
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