Chapter 837: Su Qingyu Unjustly Takes the Blame

At 7:50 p. m., Triumph Joy Hotel Suite 404.

Zhao Tianyu sat on the living-room sofa, with a bottle of whiskey, an empty glass, and a commonly used solid wood baseball bat on the coffee table in front of him.

The baseball bat was made of maple, its handle wrapped in black non-slip tape, and it felt heavy and substantial.

Zhao Tianyu picked it up and hefted it.

Then he set it aside.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Ten minutes left.

The suite's curtains were drawn tight, only a single floor lamp was on, its dim yellow light casting the room like a stage, with him as the sole performer—or rather, the sole audience.

The doorbell rang.

Zhao Tianyu didn't move, just called out toward the door: "Come in, it's not locked."

The door was pushed open.

Su Qingyu poked half his body in, smiling: "Big brother, what's so urgent that you had to call me today for a face-to-face?"

Today Su Qingyu wore a dark blue suit, his hair neatly combed.

But his complexion was poor, with heavy eye bags—anyone could tell he hadn't been resting well lately.

"Come in, close the door." Zhao Tianyu said, his tone indifferent.

Su Qingyu closed the door behind him, and when he turned back and saw the baseball bat on the coffee table, his steps hesitated—but he quickly recovered his smile and sat down at the other end of the sofa.

"Big brother, why call me so late? What's the urgent matter?" Su Qingyu asked, trying to sound casual.

Zhao Tianyu didn't speak; he just poured himself a drink and took a slow sip.

The room was eerily quiet.

You could hear a pin drop!

Su Qingyu waited a few seconds; seeing Zhao Tianyu silent, his nerves grew worse.

He rubbed his hands and gave a dry laugh: "Big brother, could it be… could it be that something happened at the company? I heard the new audit team is coming in tomorrow…"

"Who told you that?" Zhao Tianyu suddenly asked.

"Ah…" Su Qingyu realized he'd misspoken, quickly putting on an apologetic smile: "I just heard it from friends in the circle; I don't know if it's true or not…"

"Which friend?"

Zhao Tianyu's gaze was like a knife, an interrogative stare that allowed no hesitation.

That gaze fixed on Su Qingyu, making him break into a cold sweat: "Just… just… the people I usually drink tea with, you know them…"

Zhao Tianyu stared straight into Su Qingyu's eyes.

Then he suddenly smiled: "Qingyu, how many years have we known each other?"

"Ten… twelve or thirteen years." Su Qingyu swallowed.

Zhao Tianyu asked: "Over these past dozen years, how have I treated you? How has the Zhao family treated you?"

"Big brother's been very good to me, always looking out for me." Su Qingyu replied tremblingly.

"Looking out for you?"

Zhao Tianyu smiled again, his smile tinged with mockery: "I really have looked out for you. Which of your company's big or small projects wasn't mine? Which of your bank loans didn't I arrange? Even your marriage to Linlin was set up by me personally."

Su Qingyu quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, yes—I've always remembered your kindness, big brother."

"Remembered?"

Zhao Tianyu suddenly raised his voice, thunderous: "You fucking remember jack shit!"

This sudden outburst startled Su Qingyu; he lowered his head, trembling, unable to utter another word.

Zhao Tianyu rose, grabbed the baseball bat, hefted it, and shouted: "Su Qingyu! I ask you—was the leak about my high-interest loan from overseas institutions your doing?!"

"What… what high-interest loan?" Su Qingyu's face went pale as he hurriedly feigned ignorance: "Big brother, I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Still pretending to be clueless!"

Zhao Tianyu swung the bat and smashed it onto the coffee table.

With a loud "bang," the glass coffee table instantly cracked in a spiderweb pattern, the whiskey bottle toppled, and amber liquid poured out.

Su Qingyu jumped up from the sofa, backing away repeatedly: "Big brother! It really wasn't me! I don't know anything…"

"You don't know?!"

Zhao Tianyu stepped closer, the baseball bat dragging on the floor with a screech.

"How could Lin Dongfan suddenly move against the audit team? How could he time it to trigger a re-audit right now? Su Qingyu, aside from Shen Mingyang, you're the only one who knows about my high-interest loan. Shen Mingyang doesn't have the guts to betray me—if it wasn't you, who else could it be?!"

"It wasn't me! Brother, this really wasn't my doing…"

Su Qingyu was backed against the wall with nowhere to go, his voice cracking: "Big brother, believe me! I… I wouldn't dare betray you, even if I had the gall."

"You wouldn't dare?!"

Zhao Tianyu laughed, a vicious grin: "You're so close to the mayor's wife—do you think I'm blind?! Su Qingyu, I've long sensed you're off. Running around all day, doing arts sponsorship—isn't it just to get close to Lin Dongfan? Do you think the Zhao family's about to fall and you want a new master?"

"I haven't! I just… I just wanted to lay down another path." Su Qingyu stumbled over his words: "Big brother, the situation's bad; my accepting Chu Lingxi is also for the Zhao family…"

"Shut up!"

Zhao Tianyu snapped: "Your surname is Su, mine is Zhao—who considers you family?! All these years, have you really thought of yourself as a Zhao? Damn! Linlin treats you like a dog, my mother treats you like a servant—will this waste of a person truly work for the Zhao family? Damn it, you cling to not divorcing my sister just for profit!"

!!!

These words were like knives, ruthlessly stabbing into the most painful part of Su Qingyu's heart.

Su Qingyu stared at Zhao Tianyu, his fear gradually turning to despair, then into a twisted hatred.

"Waste!"

Su Qingyu muttered under his breath, then suddenly laughed—a laugh uglier than crying.

He glared at Zhao Tianyu.

He gave a bitter smile: "Yeah, I'm trash! In the Zhao Family's eyes, I'm damn trash! I've been running around for over a decade, sucking up to please your whole family! And what? Did any of you ever look at me straight?!"

He grew more agitated as he spoke.

Su Qingyu couldn't help stepping forward and slapped Zhao Tianyu, hoarsely roaring: "Zhao, do you know what kind of life I've lived these years?! In front of your mother, I dare not even breathe! In front of Linlin, I'm just a damn slave! In front of you…… I'm not even as good as a damn dog!"

Zhao Tianyu, pushed back a step, did not lash out right there.

He stared coldly at Su Qingyu, voicing the ultimate doubt in his heart: "So…… did you really betray me?"

"I said it wasn't me!"

The enraged, out-of-control Su Qingyu scolded ever more furiously: "I'm telling you, Zhao! Even if it really was me who betrayed you, you deserved it! Dig up your black history—based on all the dirty, filthy things you've done, which of them doesn't deserve death?! People like you, social trash, should have long been dragged to the execution ground and shot!"

Before his words even fell, a baseball bat was swung around and came crashing down.

Su Qingyu instinctively raised his hand to block.

"Crack!"

A clear bone-crack sounded, his entire right arm instantly lost strength! The pain made Su Qingyu cry out hoarsely, and he stumbled back several steps.

"I gave you a chance!"

Zhao Tianyu stepped closer step by step, his gloomy gaze filled with killing intent locked onto Su Qingyu's face: "You damn bastard, not thinking how to repay me, you actually turned around and betrayed me!"

His words had just fallen.

Zhao Tianyu gripped the baseball bat with both hands and swung it at Su Qingyu's head.

The whole motion was completed in one fluid motion.

There was not a hint of hesitation!