Chapter 281: Hold Tight to the Golden Thigh I Almost Missed

Wang Kai spoke with full confidence, spittle flying.

Wu Sanye was drenched in sweat at that moment, could no longer bear it, and kicked Wang Kai in the butt.

"Ah—" Wang Kai gasped sharply, fell to his knees with a thud, almost collapsing in front of Ning Jinli.

He froze, bewildered, turned his head, "Third Uncle, why… why did you kick me?"

Wu Sanye wiped the cold sweat from his temple and cursed, "Stop bragging to me here! Keep talking nonsense and I'll damn well kill you!"

Wang Kai became frantic, "Third Uncle, did I say something wrong? Your bodyguard is literally a top‑class mercenary, right? That's not bragging at all, and if you just dodge a kick, Xinghan City would tremble, both the underworld and the righteous would give you face… Ordinary people don't get it, but anyone with any influence in Xinghan City knows your prowess!"

"Oh, so impressive?" Ning Jinli said with a half‑smile, staring at Wu Sanye.

Wu Sanye's cold sweat kept pouring, no amount of wiping could clean it, so he forced himself to walk up to Ning Jinli, bowed his head cautiously and said, "Miss Ning… as for that, it's just rumors spread by some people in society, getting more and more outrageous. I… I absolutely haven't done anything illegal."

"What? Third Uncle, what's wrong with you? Why are you being so polite to this little girl?" Wang Kai saw Wu Sanye's attitude and almost dropped his jaw.

Wu Sanye slapped his forehead, "Watch your words! Miss Ning is my boss!"

With those words, Wang Kai's mind instantly short‑circuited.

And Ning Jinli's two friends and three male classmates all wore shocked expressions.

"Third Uncle, Wang Kai is under your command; how you deal with him is your business, I won't interfere, but you know my temperament—if I find that someone under you still behaves as arrogantly and bullies others like he does, you better be careful."

The tone wasn't heavy, yet every word struck Wu Sanye's heart like thunder.

Wu Sanye's legs went weak, and he almost wanted to kneel and admit his mistake to her.

"Miss Ning… I…" Wu Sanye swallowed awkwardly, "I will definitely handle it, rest assured. I, Wu Sanye, originally promised you that I would never do anything illegal, and I will keep that promise. It's just that our antique business has grown bigger, now it's the largest antique industry leader in the country, with a massive and complex personnel structure below, inevitably some bad apples—"

"Alright, you don't need to explain further," Ning Jinli said calmly, looking at him, "Have Wang Kai give Zhang Haoyang a proper apology, pay any compensation owed, then you take him and these people out of the hotel. After a while, tell me the result of how you dealt with Wang Kai."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wu Sanye nodded repeatedly.

Wang Kai only now came to his senses, realizing he had hit a steel plate.

Though it was hard to believe that the girl just over twenty in front of him could be Third Uncle's boss, the fact was clear, and his fate was now in this girl's hands, so he hurriedly bowed to Ning Jinli with a clatter.

"Miss Ning… I'm sorry! I never thought the flood would wash over Longwang Temple, I was wrong! Please give me a break this time, I won't dare do it again!"

Wang Kai begged for mercy while bowing; he was already bruised and battered, and now his forehead was bleeding from the bows, looking both pitiful and terrifying.

Ning Jinli's eyes held coldness, "Do you realize you were wrong? You just discovered that the background forces behind you no longer work, that you have gone from being the side that can crush others at will to being the one being crushed. I gave you a chance, yet you never recognized the problem."

"Miss Ning… I… I really know I'm wrong! I won't bully anyone again!" Wang Kai was so frantic he wanted to grab Ning Jinli's leg.

Wu Sanye immediately reached out and gave him a big punch, "Didn't you hear what Miss Ning just told you? Still wasting time with this nonsense!"

Wang Kai covered his face, sniffling and tearing, "Yes… I… I'll go apologize right now."

"Hurry up!" Wu Sanye kicked him again.

Wang Kai's guts now turned green with regret, and he honestly went to the party suite.

The people in the party suite had no idea what was happening outside, each one restless and uneasy.

When Wang Kai pushed open the suite door and appeared before them, they all held their breath, not daring to move.

Especially Zhang Haoyang, like a mouse seeing a cat; as Wang Kai walked straight toward him, his body trembled more and more, his legs went limp uncontrollably, and he was about to kneel and beg for mercy.

What he didn't expect was that as soon as his leg bent a little, Wang Kai was already kneeling before him.

"Little brother Haoyang…"

Wang Kai lifted his head, trying hard to show sincerity, "I was very offensive just now, truly sorry. I apologize now, please forgive me."

"Wha… what?" Zhang Haoyang's face looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Si Ya beside him, and a group of their university classmates, were all petrified on the spot.

This 180‑degree turn was so sudden and inexplicable that anyone would be stunned.

"Kai brother… what… what are you doing?" Si Ya reached out and touched Wang Kai's forehead, "Are you possessed?"

Wang Kai got up, pushed Si Ya into Zhang Haoyang's arms, "Little brother Haoyang, from now on she's yours."

Zhang Haoyang and Si Ya remained bewildered.

Wang Kai thought for a moment, then took off the expensive watch on his wrist, offering it together with his car keys, "This watch cost over 800,000, limited edition, probably still appreciated, and this sports car cost over a million. Consider them compensation for you, is that enough?"

"Huh? This…" Zhang Haoyang looked at the watch and car keys in his hand, his mind still buzzing.

"Don't be polite, don't be polite!" Wang Kai shoved the watch and car keys at him.

Si Ya got anxious, "Kai brother, what on earth are you doing? The way you act… scares me…"

"No need to be afraid, no need to be afraid," Wang Kai lowered himself as low as possible, "I'm sincerely apologizing, and I sincerely wish you two a hundred years of love, a happy marriage, and early children."

"Little brother Haoyang, do you accept my apology now?"

Having said that, Wang Kai looked at him both eager and sincere.

Zhang Haoyang's mind still couldn't turn the corner; he truly couldn't understand how such a dramatic change could happen.

Seeing he stayed silent, Wang Kai added, "How about… I kneel and bow three times for you? If that's still not enough, then… you could just piss on me, and whatever I did to you, you give it back to me unchanged."

"That… isn't necessary," Zhang Haoyang didn't know how to respond, so he accepted the watch and car keys, "Kai brother, I forgive you."

"Ah! Thank you, thank you!"

Wang Kai turned and left.

At the door, he whispered to Wu Sanye's two bodyguards, "Brothers, you witnessed everything; I apologized as required and got their forgiveness. Later, if Third Uncle asks, you must tell the truth."

The two bodyguards expressionless, dragged his arm to take him away.

Zhang Haoyang thought for half a second, hurried to the door, whispered to Wang Kai, "Tell me the truth, what's really going on?"

"Sigh… little brother, if I knew someone could protect you… even if they killed me I wouldn't dare offend you… never mind, nothing more to say…"

After saying that, Wang Kai left with the two bodyguards.

Afterwards, the group of underlings and thugs outside the corridor also lined up orderly and left.

Zhang Haoyang, recalling Wang Kai's words before he left, gradually regained his usual smug and confident expression.

Although I don't know who the person Wang Kai said could protect him is, as long as such a person exists, wouldn't I be able to stand tall again?

Moreover, the person who could cover for him did not show up directly.

On one hand, it means that person does not want to reveal their identity; on the other hand, it indicates that the person likely has an even higher status than imagined.

Who could it be?

Zhang Haoyang racked his brains, thinking of everyone he knew, but none of them could match.

"Haoyang..." Si Ya's voice suddenly sounded.

Zhang Haoyang came to his senses and discovered that Si Ya had come up behind him.

He turned around and saw that the rest of the people in the private room were all looking at him with doubtful eyes.

"What's up?" Zhang Haoyang asked lightly while putting on the watch Wang Kai had given him.

Si Ya bit her lip, reached out to close the private room door, and probed: "Wang Kai suddenly apologized and compensated you—did you... do something?"

This was also what the other university classmates in the gathering's private room wanted to ask; everyone perked up their ears and stared at him unblinkingly.

How could Zhang Haoyang waste such a good chance to show off? He immediately affected a mysterious, deep tone: "Actually, I didn't want to do this; I originally just planned to meet you all as an ordinary person, but this unexpected thing happened. Even when facing Wang Kai's bullying, I didn't intend to stoop to his level, but he kept going too far, so I had to use a little bit of my connections to warn him."

Upon hearing this, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, and their gaze toward Zhang Haoyang changed noticeably.

Besides shock and awe, there was also admiration.

Si Ya couldn't believe it: "Even someone as arrogant and domineering with a powerful backing like Wang Kai has been put in his place by you—you... your connections are that strong? Just now your fearful expression in front of him... turned out to be... all an act?"

Zhang Haoyang felt secretly delighted, continued to furrow his brows slightly, maintaining his deep demeanor: "Well, I don't want to stoop to the level of someone like Wang Kai; I originally planned to endure a bit of loss, let him save face, and then this would be over. Unfortunately... he pushed too far, not understanding my good intentions. Forget it—I'll just give him a lesson, believing he'll henceforth behave."

At this moment, Zhang Haoyang's image in Si Ya's and the classmates' eyes became mysteriously and toweringly impressive—so towering that one could only look up.

Si Ya quickly reacted again, tightly gripping Zhang Haoyang's arm, with a pitiful expression and a choked voice, saying: "Haoyang... I'm sorry; actually... I was forced to do that back then. You saw how terrifying Wang Kai is—I... I was afraid he'd kill me, so I went against my conscience to deliberately draw a line with you, even saying hurtful things—I'm truly sorry..."

After speaking, she still shed two lines of tears.

Her stance and choices had flipped back and forth repeatedly, but now she had finally made up her mind.

Since Zhang Haoyang hides his strength, casually using a bit of influence could subdue Wang Kai; therefore, her wisest choice was naturally Zhang Haoyang.

No matter what, she must seize this last chance, restore her relationship with Zhang Haoyang, and firmly cling to this golden thigh she almost missed.

Zhang Haoyang already had feelings for her; even though he had been angry and upset by her change of attitude back then, seeing her cry now instantly softened his heart.

"Xiao Ya, I don't blame you." He used his other hand to gently wipe Si Ya's tears.

Si Ya secretly rejoiced, but since the act had to be complete, she put on an even more heart-wrenching expression, softly sobbing as she asked: "I've hurt you this much—do you... still want to be with me?"

Zhang Haoyang gazed affectionately, speaking softly: "Just as you said, that was all because you feared Wang Kai; I actually saw through it long ago, Xiao Ya—rest assured, with me by your side, no one will ever be able to hurt you again."

"Haoyang..." Si Ya felt a thrill from head to toe, her eyes brimming with hot tears as she strove to gaze deeply into his.

"Xiao Ya, I love you..." Zhang Haoyang said, slowly lowering his head toward her red lips.

Si Ya immediately held her breath.

She hadn't forgotten what had been poured into that mouth just minutes before.

Even though Zhang Haoyang had rinsed his mouth several times, she still... felt disgusted.

Watching him close his eyes, his mouth drew nearer and nearer.

Si Ya steeled herself, tilted her head back, and met him.

The two embraced and kissed in front of everyone else.

The few male classmates who used to follow Zhang Haoyang around like lackeys in college immediately clapped and cheered, leading the blessings for the two.

Meanwhile.

Wu Sanye had already left.

Ning Jinli planned to change venues, bringing Xiao Qidi and her two close friends for a private gathering.

Out of basic courtesy, before leaving she still had to say something to the other classmates who had gathered together this time.

"Ting Ting, Xiao Yan, and you three," Ning Jinli earnestly instructed, "Please keep what just happened in this private room confidential; I don't want to make a big fuss. Not only after we go to that other private room later must you refrain from speaking, but you must also never reveal it to them. If later someone asks what happened after Wang Kai took us away, we'll say we were just staying in another private room, nothing happened, and Wang Kai's gang just left."

The three guys nodded vigorously, promising to keep their mouths shut.

Come on, even the bigwig behind someone like Wang Kai quails before Ning Jinli—how could they dare not obey her instructions?

Ting Ting and Xiao Yan's expressions grew somewhat complex, and they fell silent.

Ning Jinli felt nervous, taking their hands and saying: "Don't misunderstand; that Wu Sanye is not some underworld boss. I know all this will seem strange to you, but please believe me—when a suitable opportunity arises in the future, I will certainly explain the situation to you."

"Jinli, I'm not misunderstanding anything," Xiao Yan said softly, "I'm just thinking that if we don't speak about what just happened here, Zhang Haoyang won't know you helped him."