A pack of security guards surged forward, brimming with menace, only to be felled by Ye Chu within a few swift blows.
"Wretch, how dare you lay hands on my men?" Zhao Xiaotian's eyes blazed with fury. "Do you even grasp the price of causing trouble in Jiangnan Mall?"
At the mention of Jiangnan Mall, Sun Yurou's delicate face changed. That was a property under the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce—an institution she had certainly heard of, a towering behemoth within Jiangnan Province.
"You lie!" she retorted, unable to contain herself. "When did we ever cause trouble? We merely came here to buy clothes—it was Wang Yingying who provoked us without cause. You seized him without reason; this is nothing less than tyranny. I shall lodge a complaint against you!"
Wang Yingying sneered. "Sun Yurou, so what if we bully you? Tian-ge's father is the general manager of this mall. Do you think a complaint will matter? Everyone here belongs to us. Who would believe a word you say?"
Zhao Xiaotian smirked smugly. "Yingying speaks the truth. If this escalates, you alone will suffer the consequences."
"You… you are shameless!" Sun Yurou trembled with indignation.
"And what of it if we are?" Zhao Xiaotian's face twisted with arrogance. "People like you, with neither power nor influence, were born to be trampled. This waste dared injure my men—one phone call, and I could see him rotting behind bars for years. If you wish to spare him such a fate, then submit to me."
Panic flickered across Sun Yurou's features. Though Ye Chu was formidable, fists could not prevail against the law. The mall was backed by the Jiangnan Chamber; if they pressed charges, Ye Chu would surely be dragged away.
"Do not fear," Ye Chu said softly, his gaze steady as he sought hers. "With me here, no harm shall befall us." Then his eyes narrowed at Zhao Xiaotian. "You truly delight in throwing your weight around, don't you?"
Zhao arched a brow. "And if I do? What can you do, without pedigree or power?"
"How do you know I lack such things?" Ye Chu gave a low chuckle, amusement glinting in his eyes.
"If you relish abusing power, then today, I shall let you taste what it means to be humiliated in turn."
Zhao Xiaotian blinked, then burst into raucous laughter. "Ha! Did I hear aright? You, abase me? By what right? Does the Jiang family lend you such bravado? Even if they stood with you, the Jiangnan Chamber owes them no courtesy."
Ye Chu said nothing further, merely withdrew a golden card and flung it toward him. "Is that so? Then why don't you take a look at this first?"
Zhao Xiaotian caught it instinctively. One glance—and his pupils shrank to pinpoints. This was no ordinary token, but the Jiangnan Dragon Card, the Chamber's highest echelon of membership. With it, one could spend freely in any establishment under its dominion, never paying a single coin. Rumor held that fewer than a dozen such cards existed, and those who bore them were figures of near-mythic stature.
He knew this only because his father had once warned him: should he ever encounter the holder of such a card, under no circumstances must he offend them. Zhao had scoffed then, convinced he would never cross paths with such titans. Yet here one stood—whom he had already insulted.
Seeing his stricken expression, Wang Yingying whispered nervously, "Tian-ge… what's wrong?"
Forcing down his shock, Zhao glared at Ye Chu. "How could you possibly possess a Jiangnan Dragon Card?"
Ye Chu's lips curled faintly. "That is none of your concern. I ask you simply—holding this card, do I have the right to humiliate you?"
Earlier, when departing the manor, Huangfu Shiyue had explained its significance to him. Ye Chu had intended never to reveal it. Yet Zhao's arrogance demanded retribution in kind.
Zhao was struck dumb. The Dragon Card was beyond even his father's reach; before its bearer, he himself was less than dust.
Wang Yingying's curiosity overcame her fear. "Tian-ge, what is this Dragon Card?"
Though vexed, Zhao explained, and when she understood, her jaw dropped. That despised pauper actually held such a thing?
"But… but isn't he just a useless son-in-law? How could he…?" Her voice faltered, eyes wide with dread.
Indeed, Zhao too was baffled. Not even the Jiang family's patriarch could hope to wield such a token.
"Could it be he picked it up?" Wang Yingying ventured, desperate for an answer.
The thought lit Zhao's eyes. To be safe, he snapped a picture, sent it to his father, and called him to investigate.
In the top-floor office, Zhao Dazhi, in the midst of a clandestine tryst, nearly leapt from his skin when he saw it. A Dragon Card within his own mall—this was no trifling matter. At once, he searched the Chamber's private registry.
The result came swiftly: the card belonged to Li Jingxuan.
The name stunned him. Li Jingxuan—wife of Jiangdu's mayor, and scion of Jinling's Li family. That family was one of Jinling's most exalted, their influence spanning military, political, and commercial spheres. The Chamber itself had been co-founded by her kin.
For a mere Jiang family son-in-law to hold such a card was inconceivable. Clearly, it must have been stolen or chanced upon.
Zhao Dazhi telephoned his son at once: "Keep him there. I am on my way."
Back in the boutique, Zhao Xiaotian received the message and exhaled with relief. Given Ye Chu's prison record, petty thievery seemed likely enough. His confidence returned.
"Speak honestly, you wretch—where did you steal this Dragon Card?" His voice was sharp, as though interrogating a criminal.
Ye Chu, unmoved, answered blandly, "It was given to me."
"Given to you?" Zhao let out a harsh laugh. "Do you even know whose card this is? The mayor's wife herself! How could a worthless son-in-law like you ever cross paths with her, let alone receive such a priceless gift?"
The revelation left the three women present dumbstruck. Who could have imagined that a single card might implicate so lofty a figure?
Wang Yingying sneered viciously. "Sun Yurou, so this is the man you chose? A thief. And not just any thief, but one audacious enough to steal from the mayor's wife herself."
"You're spouting nonsense!" Sun Yurou's voice rang with indignation. "Ye Chu would never steal!"
…