Chapter 359: The Female Demon's Enemy

Bailujian saw Lin Yuan all tensed up, hurriedly reached out and tugged his arm, her voice soft and soothing:

Don't be nervous, Lin Yuan, Miss Hong specifically told me earlier that she came tonight just to learn painting from me.

After hearing that, Lin Yuan's mind was filled only with surging absurdity.

Does learning to paint require bringing dozens of BMW 7 Series and hundreds of people in black suits?

This woman is clearly using the pretext of learning painting to come settle scores with me!

He took the chance while Hong Wenyan hadn't fully entered the shop, quickly pulling out his phone.

He hurriedly opened the chat with Pan Jia, typing just one line: 'Send people to the barbecue shop, need backup fast!'

Lin Yuan sent Pan Jia the coordinates, then he started rallying people.

After sending the message, Lin Yuan hastily slipped his phone back into his pocket, gripping the Silver Needle in his palm even tighter.

His eyes fixed on Hong Wenyan as she stepped closer, not daring to relax in the slightest.

Hong Wenyan stepped in her seven-centimeter black stiletto heels, each step firm and powerful, the heels tapping the floor with a 'tap-tap' sound, as if tapping on everyone's hearts.

The waist-cinching design of her black dress outlined her waist as slender and neat, the hem swaying slightly with her steps, revealing a section of fair, slender calf.

Her face bore exquisite cold beauty makeup, her beautiful eyes slightly lifted, the corners brushed with a hint of pearl, her lips coated in rose-red lipstick pressed into a straight line.

A cascade of black hair hung over her shoulders, the black diamond studs in her earlobes flashing cold light under the streetlamp, she was both beautiful and fierce, her aura so strong no one dared meet her gaze.

The several hundred black-suited followers behind Hong Wenyan didn't follow her inside, but stood neatly in two rows outside the shop.

The bodyguards stood with hands behind their backs, expressionless, guarding the door and windows like two impenetrable black walls, sealing the barbecue shop completely.

DaShu stood by the grill holding his son XiaoRui, warmly greeting, 'Miss Hong, you're here, please sit.'

XiaoRui blinked curiously, then broke into a grin, crisply shouting, 'Hong sis!'

XiaoRui's childish voice was full of joy.

Hong Wenyan gave a slight nod, smiled at the little one with pursed lips—this woman, one smile could topple a city, indeed beautiful and moving.

Hong Wenyan gently patted XiaoRui's head, then turned her gaze to Lin Yuan.

In an instant, Hong Wenyan's beautiful eyes turned icy cold again.

Looking down at Lin Yuan, Hong Wenyan spoke with a voice cold and sharp, as if forged from ice:

"Deadbeat scumbag, you've got guts to still be here? Still not over Teacher Bai, wanting to keep clinging to her?"

Lin Yuan replied coldly: 'What do you want?'

Hong Wenyan lifted her eyes to him, the corner of her mouth curling into an icy arc, her voice devoid of warmth:

"I want to kill you."

Lin Yuan's breath hitched, the last sliver of hope in his heart vanished—indeed, she had come to deal with him!

He hesitated no longer, fingers clenched tightly around his chopsticks, arm slightly raised, ready to respond at any moment, his gaze locked on Hong Wenyan, not daring to relax.

Seeing this, Bailujian hurriedly stepped forward, placing herself between them, her tone urgent in pleading:

"Miss Hong! You said you came to learn painting, didn't you? How could you say such things—is there some misunderstanding?"

DaShu also stepped over holding XiaoRui, adding: 'Yeah, Miss Hong, speak nicely, no fighting—the kid's still here.'

XiaoRui hid in DaShu's arms, timidly gazing at Hong Wenyan, his small hand gripping DaShu's clothes tightly, not daring to speak.

Just then, Hong Wenyan suddenly halted her motion, footsteps pausing, her gaze sweeping over Bai Lu and XiaoRui, then she turned and walked toward the empty seat beside Bai Lu.

She stepped in her heels to the table, gracefully pulling out a chair and sitting down, the black hem of her dress swaying slightly with the motion and settling on the chair.

After sitting, she finally lifted her eyes to Lin Yuan, her tone carrying a hint of mockery, but the previous killing intent gone:

"I was just joking with you all—I can't be bothered to deal with this deadbeat scumbag."

Lin Yuan furrowed his brow, chopsticks still in hand, his mind full of doubt: What trick is she pulling now?

Hong Wenyan seemed not to notice Lin Yuan's wariness, her gaze shifting to XiaoRui who was drawing, her voice flattening: 'He's not worth my effort, a waste of time.'

Bai Lu stood frozen, watching Hong Wenyan suddenly calm down, still not quite reacting, her hand still clutching the colored pens.

"Miss Hong, you… you really came to learn painting?"

Hong Wenyan glanced at her, didn't deny it, merely pointing at the paper before XiaoRui: 'Keep teaching him, I'll watch.'

Bai Lu hesitated, glanced at Lin Yuan, seeing he didn't object either.

She then slowly walked over to XiaoRui, picked up the colored pens again, and gently said, 'XiaoRui, shall we continue drawing the puppy's tail?'

XiaoRui nodded, then stole a glance at Hong Wenyan, seeing she wasn't fierce anymore, he took up the colored pens, following Bai Lu's guidance, and began to draw slowly on the paper.

Hong Wenyan sat to the side, hands folded on the table, her gaze on XiaoRui's drawing paper, the previous coldness gone, replaced by a subtle softness.

Lin Yuan watched her, his vigilance easing a little, yet he still didn't put down his chopsticks, merely sinking back into his chair to observe her every move.

Lin Yuan still hadn't lowered his chopsticks, fingertips still tense, his gaze like a taut string, constantly vigilant on Hong Wenyan, not missing even her sitting motion.

As soon as Hong Wenyan settled at the table, her peripheral vision caught Lin Yuan's look of facing a formidable foe, she immediately rolled her eyes, her tone full of disdain:

"What are you doing with those chopsticks? Do you actually want to fight me?"

Lin Yuan's hand gripping the chopsticks paused, his brow still furrowed, his tone clearly doubtful: 'Not fighting?'

He glanced at the neatly ranked black-suited men outside the shop, then looked at Hong Wenyan, his eyes full of disbelief: 'If not fighting, why bring so many people?'

As soon as he said that, the barbecue shop fell instantly silent.

DaShu stood by the grill holding XiaoRui, not daring to breathe, XiaoRui also stopped drawing, timidly looking at Hong Wenyan.

Bai Lu hastily tugged Lin Yuan's arm, whispering: 'Lin Yuan, don't say that—Miss Hong might just… just have other business.'

Hong Wenyan ignored Bai Lu's attempt to smooth things over, her fingertip lightly tapping the tabletop, producing a crisp sound, her eyes holding a hint of mockery:

"Do I need to explain my actions to you?"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Yuan's tense face, then added:

"But seeing how tense you are, it looks like you're afraid I'll eat you."

Lin Yuan didn't respond, merely loosening his grip on the chopsticks a bit, yet still not putting them down, his doubts undiminished.

Even if Hong Wenyan isn't targeting me, bringing this many people to a barbecue shop is definitely not normal.

Hong Wenyan seemed to see through his thoughts, curling her lips into a cold smile: "Don't guess wildly; these people aren't here to deal with you."

"Then what are they here for?" Lin Yuan pressed, his tone still wary; he wouldn't easily believe Hong Wenyan's words.

Hong Wenyan leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, and said coldly: "They're waiting for someone else; it has nothing to do with you."

She added, "If I wanted to deal with you, would I need to use this method? I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan's grip on his chopsticks visibly loosened.

Hong Wenyan isn't here to deal with me?

Then why did she bring so many people? Who is she waiting for?

Lin Yuan was still puzzling over it when, in the next second, he understood.

All he saw was that outside the formerly quiet barbecue shop… suddenly came a more chaotic sound of footsteps.

This sound was noisier than the footsteps of Hong Wenyan's men just before.

It seemed like a large crowd was rapidly approaching, so much that the "DasshuShaokao" sign hanging at the door trembled slightly.

DaShu's grill spatula clanged onto the grill; he hurried to the window to look out, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

DaShu shouted back inside: "Out, outside there are even more people! They're all wearing camouflage pants and black T-shirts—looks trouble!"

Bai Lu also panicked, instinctively moving closer to Lin Yuan, eyes fixed on the door, voice tight: "How could so many people suddenly show up?"

Hong Wenyan, however, acted as if nothing were wrong, picking up the iced tea on the table, taking a sip, slowly setting the cup down, then glancing sideways at Lin Yuan: "Now you know why I brought these people?"

Only then did Lin Yuan realize: earlier Hong Wenyan had said "they're waiting for someone," but that someone wasn't him—it was these people who had suddenly appeared!

He walked to the window, following DaShu's gaze outward…

He saw that the street outside the barbecue shop was packed with people—several hundred of them, each broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, holding steel pipes or baseball bats, glaring menacingly at the shop, ready to charge in at any moment.

"Who are they after?" Lin Yuan asked Hong Wenyan, turning back, his tone growing more solemn.

Hong Wenyan picked up a skewer from the table, took a bite, chewed twice, then said: "Who else could it be? Obviously, they're after me."

Outside the barbecue shop, several hundred people stood, each either gripping a steel pipe or concealing a machete, forming a semicircle around Hong Wenyan's black-suited followers.

In the midst of the crowd, a man with a crew cut and a face full of bulging muscle stepped forward.

He wore a thick gold chain around his neck, kicked a nearby plastic stool as he reached the shop door, and roared angrily: "Hong Wenyan! Get out here, you bastard!"

Only then did Hong Wenyan slowly rise, straighten the hem of her black dress, step onto the door in her high heels, and look down at that man.

"Gao Jiapo, shouting so loud, are you afraid people won't know you lost your turf?"

"Lost my turf?" Gao Jiapo's face flushed red as he pointed at Hong Wenyan's nose and cursed: "In just one month you've taken four of my bar locations! Do you really think my Xiangyinjiuba is a soft persimmon, easy to squeeze?"

He stepped forward, his steel pipe striking the ground with a "thud-thud," his harsh words ringing so loud they made ears ache:

"If tonight you don't give me an explanation, return the turf and compensate ten million in losses, I'll make you and all your lackeys die without a burial place!"

Hong Wenyan's black-suited lackeys immediately stepped forward, hands moving to their waists, about to strike—but Hong Wenyan raised her hand to stop them.

Lin Yuan stood inside the shop, watching the tense standoff outside, and finally realized… the people Hong Wenyan had brought were waiting for Gao Jiapo!

Hong Wenyan tonight came to answer the duel challenge from Xiangyinjiuba!