Chapter 676: The Sound of Shattered Bottles Inside

The air in the private room seemed to freeze into ice, then Lin Dongfan's seemingly regretful but actually threatening words shattered it piece by piece.

Li Hengbo's face turned ashen; his grip on the golden cane whitened his knuckles. He stared fixedly at Lin Dongfan, his chest heaving violently, yet he truly dared not shout wildly as before.

He had no doubt that if he uttered another insult, Lin Dongfan—the madman who never played by common sense—would surely use "rabies outbreak" as an excuse and give him a good beating on the spot.

Lin Dongfan seemed not to notice Li Hengbo's murderous gaze; he wore a relaxed smile, his eyes slowly sweeping the private room—past the silent Qian Dong, the two tense bodyguards ready for battle, and finally settling back on Li Hengbo.

"Tsk, President Li, you've made quite a show." He spoke with a hint of teasing, "Discussing matters—do you really need so many spectators?"

Li Hengbo squeezed out a voice through clenched teeth: "Lin Dongfan, what exactly do you want?!"

"Nothing much." Lin Dongfan spread his hands, looking innocent, "I just happened to pass by, heard President Li was here disciplining a subordinate and even forcing a young woman to undress, so I dropped in for the spectacle. But now that the show's over, I have a private matter I'd like to discuss with President Li alone."

He deliberately stressed the words "private" and "alone."

Upon hearing that, Qian Dong felt as if pardoned, his butt almost springing off the sofa; he wished to flee this place about to become a battleground. He glanced anxiously at Li Hengbo, seeking permission with his eyes.

Li Hengbo's face shifted unpredictably. He didn't want to show weakness before Lin Dongfan, but he also didn't want his subordinates to see the embarrassment he might soon face. Knowing Lin Dongfan's "private matter" was no good, he weighed the pros and cons, gritted his back teeth, and reluctantly waved his hand.

Seeing this, the two bodyguards bowed slightly, then hurried out of the private room, pulling the dented alloy door shut as best they could.

Qian Dong also hurried to his feet, bowing with a smile to Lin Dongfan and Li Hengbo respectively: "President Li, Mr. Lin… you talk, I'll leave first, I'm leaving…" Having said that, he practically tip-toed out of the private room.

The heavy door sealed off the inside from outside.

Qian Dong stood in the dimly lit hallway, exhaled Along breath, feeling his back shirt soaked with cold sweat. With lingering fear he glanced back at the closed private-room door; inside now only Lin Dongfan and Li Hengbo remained.

Intense lingering fear and curiosity intertwined.

What is Lin Dongfan planning? Will he strike Li Hengbo? Though Li Hengbo is lame, he's no pushover—could it be…

Various thoughts clashed in Qian Dong's mind. He glanced left and right; at the hallway's end, club security loitered, but evidently no one dared to inquire about the private room. After a moment's hesitation, his strong desire to obtain some insider information—or to catch Li Hengbo in a compromising spot—drove him to a bold move.

He recalled the small, exquisite stethoscope he carried—a prop he used to "check" his heart in crucial moments so he could feign illness and slip away from the drinking table; now it found an unexpected use.

Qian Dong, acting like a thief, glanced left and right again, confirming no one was paying special attention, then swiftly pulled the stethoscope from his inner suit pocket, pressed its chest piece firmly against the cold alloy door, and plugged the earpieces into his ears.

The door's soundproofing was good but not total; through the stethoscope's amplification, the sounds inside became faintly discernible.

At first there was utter silence, which only made people more anxious.

Then came Lin Dongfan's voice, smiling and sounding as if he were trying to mediate, but its content sent chills down Qian Dong's spine:

"President Li, look at you—why get so worked up? Let's talk things out nicely."

"Thud!" a muffled bang, as if something had struck the sofa.

"President Li, I've given you face, right?" Lin Dongfan's voice remained steady, yet the chill seemed to pierce the door, "Those online smears—were they your doing? Targeting my people—was that your idea?"

Li Hengbo's voice sounded somewhat fierce but hollow; due to distance and soundproofing it was indistinct, only fragments audible: "…Lin Dongfan! You… dare to move against me… the Lin family… won't let you off…"

"Tsk, using the Lin family to scare me again?" Lin Dongfan chuckled lightly, "I'm just a commoner whose prospects you've ruined—barefoot, I fear no shoe; what do you think I have to fear?"

Immediately after, a clear clink of glassware sounded, as if someone had picked up a wine bottle.

Then Qian Dong clearly heard Lin Dongfan's voice suddenly rise, filled with "astonishment" and "concern" as he urged calm—a tone that starkly contrasted with his words:

"President Li! President Li! You mustn't give up on life!"

"How could you smash your own head with a wine bottle?!"

"Put it down! Put it down! Ow, that hurts! Why can't we talk things out nicely instead of self‑harm?!"

Qian Dong listened, eyes wide, scalp tingling; he knew with his toes that Li Hengbo could not possibly be smashing his own head with that bottle!

"Woo——!!!"

A forcibly suppressed, low, painful howl burst through the door, drilling into Qian Dong's eardrums. It was Li Hengbo's voice, filled with incredulous agony and humiliation.

"Crack——!"

This was the sharp sound of a wine bottle violently smashing into something and shattering, unusually clear. It was unknown whether it struck Li Hengbo's head or the coffee table.

"Hah… hah…" Li Hengbo seemed to be sucking in cold air, his voice trembling and choked with tears: "Lin… Dongfan… you…"

"What do you mean 'what'?" Lin Dongfan's voice returned to its earlier "gentle" tone, even tinged with helplessness: "President Li, I told you not to give up, yet you won't listen. Look, your head's split open, huh? Well, this 'Vital Water' bottle is pretty tough."

"Bang! Crash——!"

Another loud bang accompanied by shattering glass; this time it sounded as if the whole crystal coffee table had been overturned, fruit platters, wine cups, and ice cubes scattering everywhere.

"Ah——!!!"

Li Hengbo's second scream was even more shrill than before, interspersed with the dull thuds of his body hitting the sofa or wall.

Outside, Qian Dong's hand holding the stethoscope shook violently; the cold sweat that had just dried on his forehead welled up again, sliding down his chubby cheeks.

He felt he wasn't eavesdropping but witnessing a one‑sided, brutal execution. Each of Lin Dongfan's "peaceful" words now sounded to him like a funeral toll from hell, striking his heart and courage to pieces.

The Lin Dongfan inside was no human—he was a devil! He didn't just strike; he used this heart‑wrenching method to twist his violence into Li Hengbo's "self‑harm"!

Inside the private room, Lin Dongfan watched Li Hengbo curled in the sofa corner, forehead bleeding profusely, his body soaked in liquor and fruit scraps, a miserable, shivering wreck, while he leisurely pulled out a few tissues and wiped his hands.

Li Hengbo's lame leg was bent at an unnatural angle; it seemed to have been "accidentally" singled out for extra attention just now, and the piercing pain almost made him faint. Watching Lin Dongfan approach step by step, his eyes burned with deep‑seated hatred, but even more with fear rising from the depths of his soul.

Lin Dongfan bent down, brought his mouth to Li Hengbo's ear, and in a voice only the two could hear, said coldly: "Dead cripple, here's a piece of advice. Breaking one leg just makes your gait a little distinctive. If you dare reach out again at me or my friends…"

His voice paused, his gaze sweeping over Li Hengbo's other intact leg, and he spoke lightly, yet with a bone‑chilling cold: "I don't mind making you crawl from now on."

Li Hengbo's whole body shuddered, his pupils constricted sharply; all his anger and resentment were crushed by this naked threat, leaving only boundless cold.

Lin Dongfan rose to his feet, as if having finished a trivial task, straightened his slightly disheveled collar, and put on that harmless smile again, facing the door as if muttering to himself—or speaking for any ears lurking outside:

"President Li's emotions aren't stable; he insists on self‑harm, and I can't stop him. Oh well, let him be alone to quiet down."

Having said that, he no longer looked at Li Hengbo like a dead dog, and strolled leisurely toward the door.

"Squeak——"

The private-room door was pulled open.

Qian Dong, who had been glued to the door, eavesdropping intently and drenched in cold sweat, was caught off guard and nearly stumbled inside. He hurriedly straightened, fumbled to hide the stethoscope behind his back, and forced a grin stiffer than a cry.

Lin Dongfan seemed not to notice his little move of hiding the stethoscope; he merely smiled at him, that smile inscrutable beneath the hallway's hazy lights.

"Qian Dong, you're still here?" Lin Dongfan said gently, "President Li said he's tired, wants to be alone for a while to reflect on life. You'd better not go in and disturb him."

Qian Dong nodded vigorously: "Yes yes yes! No disturbance, absolutely none!"

Lin Dongfan nodded satisfactorily, taking with him Lao Ba, who stood at the doorway like a door god, and headed straight out of the hallway.

Only after Lin Dongfan's back disappeared around the hallway corner did Qian Dong dare to take a deep breath. Still shaken, he poked his head out to look inside the private room—

Inside the private room was a scene of utter chaos: the crystal coffee table overturned on the floor, shards of glass mixed with liquor and fruit, a filthy mess. Li Hengbo lay slumped in the corner of the sofa, his forehead swollen and split, blood mingling with liquor smeared across half his face, his expensive suit wrinkled and soaked, clinging to him; his lame leg posed oddly, his whole person stared blankly at the ceiling, emitting unconscious hoarse sounds, as if his soul had been sucked out.

This miserable sight bore no resemblance to the arrogant, overbearing Li Hengbo who had been unbeatable just minutes earlier.

Qian Dong jerked his head back, leaning against the cold wall, his heart pounding nonstop.

He knew that after tonight, many things would change. Lin Dongfan, this "mad dog," was even more ruthless, cunning, and terrifying than he had imagined. Using the most direct and brutal means, yet with an eerie "rule," he completely tore apart Li Hengbo's arrogance and fiercely intimidated all onlookers.

And he himself, the witness to it all, wondered what to do next. Qian Dong felt a deep sense of bewilderment and fear. He touched the stethoscope hidden in his pocket; this thing now felt like a hot potato.

In the corridor, the faint singing and laughter from other private rooms still echoed, but outside this tightly shut alloy door there was only a suffocating silence, and the lingering aftertaste of fear still hanging in the air.