Chapter 279: Either Your Girl Belongs to Me, or You Belong to Me

Xiao Qidi said calmly, "Why not?"

Wang Kai pointed at Ning Jingli, grinned and said, "She has to come too."

"I can go together, no problem," Ning Jingli said calmly, meeting his gaze, "but you must not hurt anyone else."

"Hahaha, you little girl are quite amusing, fine, I'll agree to you!"

Wang Kai immediately set off.

Si Ya tried to follow, but he glared, "Don't delay me from handling business, just wait here."

"Yes… Brother Wang Kai," Si Ya silently halted.

Wang Kai was the first to leave the private room, gave a few instructions to the henchmen guarding outside, then casually found an empty private room and pushed the door open.

At that moment the hotel manager rushed over, but before he could speak, Wang Kai's two henchmen each grabbed his shoulders from left and right, led him aside and whispered something.

After listening, the hotel manager politely said, "So you are Third Uncle's people… then… I hope you will be lenient and not let things get out of hand, otherwise our hotel will have a bad ending."

One henchman hooked his arm around his neck and said, "Don't worry, we know our limits, and if any problem arises, we take responsibility; any damaged items, our boss will compensate at full price."

The hotel manager smiled broadly, "You all are so reasonable, how could I have the nerve to ask you to compensate…"

"Alright, this is none of your business, go do whatever you need to, don't disturb our boss." The henchman patted his shoulder.

The hotel manager bowed his head, nodded, and left with the security guards.

Afterwards, Wang Kai's henchmen informed Ning Jingli and Xiao Qidi to go to another private room.

The two then walked out of the classmates' gathering room together.

Ting Ting and Xiao Yan, seeing this, without thinking, tried to follow.

The three boys beside them hurried to block them.

The short‑haired boy said, "Wang Kai is ruthless, you two shouldn't go join the chaos!"

The refined boy agreed, "Yeah, who knows what evil he's planning; you originally have no ties with him, so don't bring trouble upon yourselves…"

But the two girls said that no matter what happens, they cannot leave their good friend in danger and ignore it.

The three boys didn't stop them, and could only watch helplessly as they followed Ning Jingli to the opposite private room.

The gathering room and the opposite room were both at the end of the corridor on this floor, and Wang Kai's henchmen blocked the hallway, apparently still unwilling to let anyone leave.

The boy with a square face thought, then whispered to the two, "We three big guys can't just watch our classmate in danger, right? Let's go over! If Wang Kai turns against Ning Jingli and the others, we might be able to do something."

"Hmm, makes sense," the short‑haired boy nodded.

The refined boy looked conflicted, but still mustered courage and agreed.

Thus, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jingli stepped into Wang Kai's private room, and shortly after, five more people followed in.

Wang Kai sat on a spacious high‑end leather sofa, smoking, and teased, "Treating my place like a market? So many of you showed up at once."

Ting Ting and Xiao Yan were sweating from nerves, but still stood firmly beside Ning Jingli.

The three boys puffed out their chests, forcing a fearless expression.

A warm feeling rose in Ning Jingli's heart.

Her two friends, along with three former classmates, having personally witnessed how ferocious Wang Kai is, still stayed by her side.

Such friendship and courage are truly precious.

"Kid, I know you're good at fighting," Wang Kai stared straight at Xiao Qidi, "You're a practitioner; I can tell at a glance you practice Qi Gong, specifically hard Qi Gong, right?"

In Wang Kai's view, only those who have trained hard Qi Gong can hard‑head a club without injury.

Xiao Qidi remained expressionless and gave no reply.

Wang Kai's gaze darkened slightly, "These days, just being able to fight isn't enough. You can beat ten, what about twenty? Thirty? My men are more than that. Moreover, I can send people to constantly stalk you, always finding a chance to deal with you and your weak points…"

Xiao Qidi frowned impatiently, finally couldn't hold back, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Wang Kai suddenly smiled, "I like giving people a choice; just like I gave that kid a choice earlier, now I want to give you a choice."

"Let me choose?" Xiao Qidi's eyes showed a hint of contempt, "Choose what?"

Wang Kai, finger holding a cigarette, pointed at Ning Jingli, grinned with two rows of nicotine‑stained teeth, "Either from now on your girl belongs to me, or you belong to me."

With those words, everyone was startled, their gazes at Wang Kai turning ambiguous.

Ting Ting blurted out, "Huh? So you go after both men and women?"

"Cough cough!" Wang Kai, hearing that, immediately started coughing from the smoke he hadn't fully exhaled.

Xiao Yan pushed up her glasses, "Jingli's boyfriend is indeed stunningly handsome; Mr Wang, you seem to covet him… understandable."

Pfft— the two henchmen by the door couldn't hold back and laughed.

Wang Kai shot a cold glare, and the two henchmen hurriedly lowered their heads.

"Damn…" Wang Kai snapped out the half‑smoked cigarette, "I don't have that fetish! I only like women!"

Ting Ting pursed her lips, "Then you said you wanted Jingli's boyfriend to belong to you…"

"Fuck! Shut up!" Wang Kai, holding the stubbed cigarette, hurled it at Ting Ting.

Ning Jingli, unflustered, shielded Ting Ting, raised her hand to block the cigarette stub, and said with a half‑smile, "Brother Wang, do you mean you want my boyfriend to join you?"

Wang Kai's complexion improved slightly, "Or be normal. Indeed, I admire your boyfriend's ability; as long as he stays by my side, great prospects await."

Ning Jingli's mouth twitched, eyes smiling at Xiao Qidi, "Did you hear? Join Brother Wang, and you'll have great prospects, or you just give in to him?"

Xiao Qidi helplessly said, "Stop messing around."

Ning Jingli joked again, "He just said, this is your choice; if you don't take him, then wouldn't I have to take him?"

Xiao Qidi was speechless, lightly poked Ning Jingli's nose, "Stop talking nonsense."

"Hey hey hey!" Wang Kai pulled a stern face and warned, "Do you even see me? You're flirting right in front of me?"

Ning Jingli naturally looped her arm around Xiao Qidi, smiling brightly at Wang Kai, "Sorry, Brother Wang, my boyfriend has no interest in joining you, and I have no interest in being your woman."

Such an answer was not unexpected for Wang Kai.

Wang Kai took out another cigarette, lit it, inhaled slowly, leaned back on the sofa, exhaled a long plume, "Huh… seems like you refuse a toast and get a penalty drink. I don't give face easily, but after giving one, I can't get off the stage. I'll ask once more, two choices, are you sure you both choose none?"

Ning Jinli's smiling eyes held a touch of seriousness, "How about I give you two choices? Either we drop everything now to avoid wasting everyone's time, or…… we go by the rules and follow legal procedure."

Wang Kai stared for two seconds, then burst out laughing.

The two lackeys guarding the door also laughed.

Ning Jinli asked, "What's so funny about what I said?"

Wang Kai's two lackeys laughed as they said:

"Young lady, you've really only just stepped into society, huh? Rules? Legal process? Hahaha!"

"So-called rules only work on honest ordinary people who follow them! Open your eyes and take a good look—is our Brother Kai that kind of person?"

Those arrogant, blunt words left Ning Jinli's two friends and classmates feeling uneasy.

Back when they were still on campus, although they sometimes ran into unfair situations and people with connections who flouted the rules, they felt it was just par for the course and still felt the world was beautiful.

Only after graduating college, in the past six months or so of being fully in society, did they realize the world outside campus was nothing like they thought it would be.

They used to obey their teachers' teachings, behave properly, and strive to be noble-minded and morally upright—yet they ended up battered and bruised by a society full of unspoken rules.

Ting Ting and Xiao Yan were relatively better off, since their families were well enough to support their overseas studies, but once abroad they faced various unfair treatments based on their identity and ethnicity.

As for the other three guys, the crew‑cut one and the refined one still haven't found decent jobs; an excellent college diploma is a joke before those with connections, while the square‑jawed one, after grinding hard and getting lucky, squeezed into a big company—only to endure endless overtime, office politics, leadership exploitation and favoritism, making him question his life every day.

For a moment, all five faces were clouded with complex gloom, as if their heads were covered by dark clouds.

Ning Jinli stared at Wang Kai, her voice tinged with coldness, "People like you, relying on a bit of background, trample rules with impunity, not ashamed but even proud—society's morals are ruined by trash like you."

Wang Kai gave a look that said, "You're such a naive person—rare as hell. I've run into a rare specimen, how interesting; having you around would be fun…"

After saying that, Wang Kai glanced at his watch.

He had already sent his lackeys to call in more enforcers; they should be arriving any moment.

"Since we can't reach an agreement, let's do things my way," Wang Kai said, a cruel cold smile flickering in his eyes as he fixed Xiao Qidi with a stare, "Kid, you just saw what happens to anyone who messes with me—that guy only touched my girl, but you dared to break two of my fingers. Do you know what that means?"

Xiao Qidi replied calmly, "It means I'm not that guy."

"……" Wang Kai was momentarily lost for words.

"Enough! I'm not wasting words on you!" Wang Kai snarled viciously, "You broke two of my fingers—you'll pay with both arms! After I cripple you, I'll slowly have my way with your girl! Remember, I already gave you a chance, and you threw it away!"

At those words, Ting Ting, Xiao Yan, and the three male classmates' faces turned ashen in an instant.

Ning Jinli remained calm, while Xiao Qidi's eyes grew dark and gloomy.

"Say that again?" Xiao Qidi stepped forward suddenly, his powerful aura like an invisible hand slamming into Wang Kai.

Wang Kai's body shuddered uncontrollably, yet he forced himself to stand despite the instinctive fear, snarling, "I'll cripple you! And I'll do it right in front of you while I mess with your——"

The word "girl" hadn't even left his mouth.

A whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Qidi closed in, his long, strong fingers clamping directly around Wang Kai's throat.

That speed was too fast.

Wang Kai only felt a blur before him, and instantly his throat tightened, making it impossible to breathe.

"Brother Kai!" the two lackeys by the door shouted.

Wang Kai forced out a few words through clenched teeth, "Quick… quick… attack!"

The two lackeys, in their panic, tried to rush over to help him.

But before they had taken two steps, Ting Ting and Xiao Yan lunged at them, and the three other guys, seeing this, likewise joined the fight.

The two lackeys were old hands at mixing in society, yet they never expected these twenty‑something kids, still fresh from campus, to dare launch a sudden attack on them.

Caught off guard, they hadn't even gotten a chance to use their skills before being knocked to the ground by the five of them.

The three guys piled their weight on them and rained down wild punches; the two girls didn't back down, pulling hair and scratching faces, and Ting Ting, furious, even bit a guy's arm.

Such a scene left even Ning Jinli stunned.

Just then—

Bang!

The private room door was flung open, and a lackey poked his head in to report, "Brother Kai! Our people have arrived!"

Upon seeing what was inside, the lackey stared for three full seconds before reacting, then turned and roared, "Brother Kai's in trouble! Hurry! Come quick!"

The next second, a gang of burly men filed in.

Roughly estimated, no fewer than forty people poured in, instantly making the originally spacious luxurious private room feel cramped.

"Damn! That kid actually dared to choke our Brother Kai's neck?!"

"Holy shit, these guys… dare to beat our brothers?"

"Brothers! Beat them to death! Fuck their mothers!"

A bunch of burly society thugs shouted as they launched into action.

The scene quickly descended into chaos.

The few lackeys guarding the hallway, along with everyone originally in the banquet private room, all heard the sounds of fighting and smashing.

Good thing the hotel's soundproofing is solid; otherwise other guests would have been startled.

A few minutes later, the private room grew quiet.

Suddenly there was noise and fighting, then suddenly it fell silent— the situation felt a bit eerie.

The hallway lackeys slowly edged up to the door and peered inside.

Before they could get a clear look, a figure flew out from inside, slamming into several of them and sending them sprawling.

One lackey took the brunt—his front tooth knocked out, he winced and cursed, "I… fuck! Brothers, get him for me!"

The other lackeys, without a second thought, piled in and started punching and kicking.

The one being hit curled up, shielding his head, and let out incoherent curses and pained screams.

Several lackeys froze stiff.

Wait, something's off!

That voice sounds like...

Kai Ge?