Chapter 28: Savior
Cheng Yuan’s voice was so stern it startled Mei Bin, who instinctively let go. If Cheng Yuan hadn’t reacted in a flash and cupped the back of Shen Jiangnan’s neck, the man would have certainly smashed his head on the ground.
Such a perfect opportunity to curry favor had been ruined, and what’s worse, he’d nearly dropped the City Lord. This sent Mei Bin into a rage.
Mei Bin turned to look at Cheng Yuan. Seeing his gaudy clothes, a flash of disdain crossed Mei Bin’s eyes.
"Who is this punk? You haven’t even hit puberty and you dare order me around? Get lost! Don’t make trouble here!"
Cheng Yuan shot Mei Bin an indifferent glance. If Shen Manwen’s parents weren’t here, he would have already slapped Mei Bin across the face for talking to him like that.
Shen Manwen’s eyes lit up from the side. "Mr. Cheng? What brings you to Renhe Court?"
Cheng Yuan gently lowered Shen Jiangnan’s head to the floor. In a calm voice, he replied, "I came to pay my respects to a classmate."
A look of understanding crossed Shen Manwen’s face. ’It must be for Jin Pengfei. But whether he’s here to pay his respects or to gloat is another question entirely.’
"Mr. Cheng, can you help my father? I think something went wrong with his training."
Cheng Yuan activated his Double Pupil to observe. He discovered that Shen Jiangnan hadn’t suffered a cultivation deviation at all. "Manwen, it’s not a training accident. It’s just a minor issue, easily solved..."
Mei Bin’s pupils constricted. ’Manwen knows this punk? And she’s being so polite to him?’
A powerful sense of alarm washed over Mei Bin.
Before Cheng Yuan could finish, Mei Bin rudely cut him off.
"You’re the one trying to kill the City Lord, kid! His cultivation went haywire, causing a stroke! His brain is suffering from severe congestion. Laying him down now will only worsen the bleeding and could even cause a cerebral hemorrhage! We have to prop him up immediately! Now get out of my way! Don’t stop me from saving the City Lord!"
As he spoke, Mei Bin once again tried to lift Shen Jiangnan, hoping to reduce the blood flow to his brain.
’City Lord?’
Cheng Yuan gave Shen Manwen a long, searching look. ’So this girl’s family is that prominent?’
’Then again, if she came from an ordinary family, how could she be best friends with Ruoxi?’
Cheng Yuan, of course, had no intention of tolerating Mei Bin’s antics. He simply tapped a finger on the man’s wrist. A numbing sensation shot through Mei Bin’s arm, and he instantly lost all strength, his arm falling limply to his side.
With a slight shrug of his shoulder, Cheng Yuan knocked Mei Bin aside. Then, to everyone’s utter astonishment, he suddenly grabbed Shen Jiangnan by the ankles and hoisted him upside down!
It happened so suddenly that everyone froze, stunned.
Shen Jiangnan’s secretary, Wu Fei, was the first to react, roaring, "Kid, put the City Lord down this instant!"
Mei Bin was furious about being knocked over by Cheng Yuan, but when he saw Cheng Yuan do something as suicidal as hoisting Shen Jiangnan upside down, he was overcome with malicious glee. He pointed a finger at Cheng Yuan’s nose and began to curse.
"You punk! This is murder! Put the City Lord down! He’s had a stroke, his brain is already congested with blood, and you dare to hold him upside down? You’re trying to kill him!"
Shen Manwen’s mother, Lin Moyun, was completely beside herself with panic and instinctively looked to her daughter. Shen Manwen, however, had complete faith in Cheng Yuan. She gently held her mother’s arm, silently urging her not to worry.
As everyone watched in suspense, not only did Cheng Yuan not put Shen Jiangnan down, he drove his knee hard into the man’s upper back.
Mei Bin shot to his feet. "Kid! You’re assaulting the City Lord! Call the police! Secretary Wu! Call the police now! We have to bring this kid to justice! He must be punished to the fullest extent of the law!"
Wu Fei was livid. If the City Lord was assaulted right in front of him, he would be held responsible too!
Wu Fei immediately pulled out his phone to call the police.
This move was so extreme that even Shen Manwen was starting to get nervous. ’What is Cheng Yuan doing?’
’Is this revenge?’
’Revenge because I was the one who reported it?’
But Shen Manwen respected Cheng Yuan, so even though his actions seemed outrageous, she didn’t question him.
Lin Moyun, however, could hold back no longer. She tore her arm from her daughter’s grasp and lunged at Cheng Yuan, screaming.
"Give me back my husband! I’ll kill you!"
Like a lioness protecting her cub, Lin Moyun charged at Cheng Yuan recklessly, tearing at his clothes.
Yet Cheng Yuan didn’t stop. Instead, he put more force into it, driving his knee into the man’s back again!
This time, he used thirty percent more force.
COUGH! COUGH!
Shen Jiangnan began to cough violently!
With a great HACK!
Shen Jiangnan spat out a glob of incredibly thick phlegm.
Shen Jiangnan’s deathly purple face returned to a normal color at a speed visible to the naked eye. He began to take huge gasps of air, clearly on the mend.
Cheng Yuan nodded in satisfaction. He carefully lowered Shen Jiangnan to the ground and asked gently, "Uncle Shen, are you feeling better?"
The scene was so bizarre that the other four were completely dumbstruck. They stared at the recovering Shen Jiangnan as if they were seeing a ghost, unable to believe their own eyes.
Wu Fei’s call to the police had already connected, and a calm female voice came from the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is the emergency hotline. Do you wish to file a report?"
"Uh... sorry, wrong number."
Lin Moyun’s mind was a complete blank. She hadn’t yet snapped out of it and was still frozen in the act of tearing at Cheng Yuan’s sleeve.
Shen Jiangnan scolded her, "Lin Moyun, what is the meaning of this? Is this how you treat the man who saved my life?"
Lin Moyun finally snapped back to reality. Her face flushed beet-red as she quickly let go of him and began to awkwardly smooth out the clothes she had pulled into a disheveled mess.
"Um... Xiaocheng, is it? I misunderstood you. Thank you so much!"
After saying that, Lin Moyun turned and unleashed all her pent-up frustration on Mei Bin. "Xiaomei, why were you trying to stop Xiaocheng? You nearly got Old Shen killed!"
"I... I was..."
Mei Bin was about to lose his mind. ’I thought the City Lord had a stroke from a cultivation deviation. Who would have guessed he was just choking on a massive glob of phlegm?’
Shen Jiangnan looked at Mei Bin coldly. "Xiaomei, I always thought you were a steady and reliable young man. It seems I was wrong. You’re rash and impetuous, with no sense of propriety. You are not a good match for Manwen. Don’t come looking for her again. And another thing—that plot of land your family acquired is designated as farmland. It cannot be rezoned for commercial use."
WHOOSH!
Mei Bin’s face instantly turned ashen.
’Failing to win over Shen Manwen was one thing; with his family background, countless women would be lining up to throw themselves at him.’
’But if the land his family just acquired couldn’t be rezoned for commercial use, they wouldn’t be able to develop it. The financial loss would be immense!’
"City Lord, but we had an understanding..."
"We did. And I’ve decided that something so against regulations absolutely cannot be permitted. You may leave now."
Mei Bin left, completely crestfallen. Shen Jiangnan turned to Cheng Yuan with a broad smile. "Last night, Manwen told me that a young man had cured her internal injury. I didn’t believe it then, but I certainly believe it now! Thank you, Xiaocheng! You’ve not only saved my daughter but me as well. From this day forward, if you ever run into any trouble in Luocheng, you come to me. Xiaowu, give Xiaocheng my personal card."