<h4>Chapter 1267: Chapter 1280</h4>


    Chu Ge awkwardly smiled and scratched his head, "Senior Dao Liu, I’m used to being free, I don’t like being constrained."


    A hint of regret shed across Dao Liu’s face, he knew it would end like this.


    "Alright, alright, I don’t like forcing people either, but remember, this matter is valid anytime, if you change your mind, you cane find me anytime."


    Dao Liu said.


    Chu Ge nodded, "Thank you, Senior Dao Liu, for your kindness."


    On the way back from Dao Liu’s ce, Chu Ge constantly felt a burning gaze staring at him.


    "Uncle Jian, if you have anything to say, just ask directly. It’s embarrassing for me when you keep looking at me like that."


    Jian Chunqiu sighed lightly, "You, you, you really don’t know how blessed you are. Senior Dao Liu is a prominent figure. If you got his guidance, you would definitely make great progress, but you just had to reject it."


    He wanted to be Dao Liu’s disciple, but he was refused. This Chu Ge really wasted the opportunity!


    Chu Ge shook his head with a smile and sighed lightly. He just didn’t want to make the Old Master sad. If the Old Master found out that after his death, he sought another master, it would surely break his heart.


    He could even imagine what the Old Master would say to him.


    At night, Chu Ge had that dream again, but this time, the situation in the dream had nothing to do with him but was about a woman. Although this woman had appeared in his dreams before, this time she seemed more real.


    Inside the Chenji Bar.


    Lin Zhihan looked at the wrecked venue, a mess of destruction, cursed under her breath, her gaze fierce. Damn, whoever did this really went all out, essentially ruining the barpletely.


    Beside her, Bai He was quietly weeping, clutching her sleeve, refusing to let go.


    "You didn’t even see what those people looked like - sly-eyed and vicious thugs, utterly hideous. And they... they... destroyed my phone, I was heartbroken."


    With a wail, Bai He copsed into Lin Zhihan’s arms, crying even louder. It was her newly bought phone, one she hadn’t even fully enjoyed yet.


    Lin Zhihan sighed deeply, gently patting her back, unsure if she was truly heartbroken over the phone or scared by those people’s looks and demeanor.


    "Do you know who they are?"


    Bai He suddenly nodded vigorously, "They were brought by the group you beat upst time."


    "..." Lin Zhihan nced at her. She had beaten up plenty of people.


    "It’s the group collecting protection fees on Xingfu Street."


    Lin Zhihan nodded as if realizing something. Those young punks, trying to act like mobsters they see on TV, collecting protection fees from the vendors on Xingfu Street. They were reported several times, yet they only stayed in lockup for a few days each time beforeing out to cause trouble again.


    They were just unlucky once, caught by Lin Zhihan in the act. It wasn’t that she liked to meddle, but those people practically walked into her fists.


    "Did they leave any message?"


    Lin Zhihan kicked at a broken stool on the ground, her frustration barely contained, eager to go settle ounts with those people.


    "They said if you meddle again in the future, it won’t just be a bar getting smashed."


    Ha? Lin Zhihan snorted.


    "Call the Monkey and have him look into who’s backing these people," Lin Zhihan raised an eyebrow. Those rookies couldn’t havee smashing her ce on their own.


    The ce was so trashed, it would need aplete renovation, adding to Lin Zhihan’s frustration over the not insignificant expenses.


    "Should we report it to the police?"


    Bai He thought of those fierce thugs whose arms were as thick as her thighs and was understandably worried.


    "Let’s first see who they are," Lin Zhihan contemted for a while, then added, "In theing days, have a decorationpanye by to estimate how much the renovations might cost."


    With the bar trashed, there was nowhere to go for now, so Lin Zhihan reluctantly headed home.


    Lin Zhihan parked her car and frowned at the departing car tail from her home. Standing at the door with her helmet in hand, she peered inside.


    Her mother’s temper was not something to be praised, and taking the Golden Card was like cutting a piece of flesh from her mother’s side. This return home was bound to be tumultuous.


    However...


    She saw Lin Sufang holding the Golden Card, touching it here and there, smiling widely.


    Their coffee table was covered with all kinds of gifts.


    Sparkles filled Lin Zhihan’s vision for a moment, causing a brief dizziness. Damn it, why won’t this lingering ghost disappear!


    Lin Sufang, with her sharp eyes, soon noticed her daughter lurking sneakily by the door.


    "You ungrateful girl, you still have the face toe back!" Remembering how this girl actually returned the card, her anger red up again. She had prepared a feather duster, just waiting for Lin Zhihan toe home.


    After chasing her for a while, Lin Sufang couldn’t bear to use the feather duster in her hand. Lin Zhihan exaggeratedly stepped forward to hug Lin Sufang, coquettishly saying, "Mom, I’m not even that old, and you’re already trying to marry me off."


    "Besides, don’t you think, given the Jiang Family’s background and influence, how could they possibly take a liking to a smallmoner family like ours?"


    Lin Sufang was jolted awake by her words. Coming out of nowhere to propose a union, it was truly...


    Seeing her mom’s expression soften a bit, Lin Zhihan quietly slipped upstairs, quickly hiding in her bedroom.


    Returning to her room, Lin Zhihan rummaged through her treasure chest, finding at the very bottom the bank card she had discarded long ago.


    A pure ck card, its number special, clearly abination of two sets of birth dates, and the digits at the card number’s end were exactly her birthday. Curious, when she checked the card’s bnce and saw rows of zeros, she just threw it back to the bottom of the box, an inexplicable resistance in her heart, unwilling to touch it further.


    Lin Zhihan sat by the window, staring nkly at the card in her hand. If the bar’s renovation costs were too high, she might really have to consider using this card.


    ...


    The private car that had been following her all along reported over the phone once Lin Zhihan was inside, "President, Miss Lin has returned home safely."


    "Mm."


    Jiang Chen hung up the phone, his fingers touching a photo that had been lying in his wallet—a photo torn apart and put back together again. The girl in the photo smiled brilliantly, gazing at him with tender affection.


    While lost in thought, Wu An’s call came in.


    "President, the things have been delivered to the Lin Family."


    "Mm."


    "President, judging by Miss Lin’s demeanor, she doesn’t seem to recognize you," Wu An voiced his inner doubts.


    The grip on Jiang Chen’s phone tightened; it was a puzzling matter for him too. Even if she beat or cursed him, it would mean she still cared, but nothing.


    That indifferent and disdainful look left him breathless.