Chapter Fifty-Five and Head Wine

  Du Ziyuan seemed to have some difficulty digesting Zhao Heng's appearance, the joy on her face never dispersing. She then rapidly introduced him to her father: "Dad, this is Zhao Heng, he and I are from the same college, it was him who found the notice that I lost on the train, and he also saved Principal Ye in the park."

  Zhao Heng took a deep breath and smiled at Du Ziyuan: "Ziyuan, it's great to see you again. How's your foot injury?"

  He didn't even look at Ding Lingling.

  "Zhao Heng is good! The foot injury has healed, thank you!"

  Du Ziyuan ran to Zhao Heng's side with a smile, unconsciously pulling on his sleeve and shouting towards his father: "Dad, you must thank Zhao Heng properly! He not only helped me treat my sprained foot, but also offended a group of pickpockets on the train for me and retrieved the notice."

  She knew her father could withstand it, so she took the blame for what happened on the train herself, to prevent Zhao Heng from getting hurt.

  Zhao Heng smiled slightly and thanked her kindness.

  "So you're Zhao Heng."

  Du Tianxiong's face flashed with surprise, and he immediately reached out his hand and smiled: "Thank you for helping Ziyan, I've always wanted to thank you. I also wanted to see if there are still young people who dare to be righteous and brave in this world. Unfortunately, I never had the time or opportunity. I didn't expect that today we would meet under such circumstances. Little brother, thank you."

  He was well aware of the incident involving his daughter on the train and had even sent a warning to Qing Bang through an intermediary, which led Zhang Xiaolin to send a BMW as an apology overnight. However, at that time, he didn't pay much attention to Zhao Heng, after all, it was a small matter, and Du Tianyong, who handled thousands of matters every day, hadn't even looked at the photos secretly taken by Lu Shu.

  Now looking at Zhao Heng, Du Tianxiong was caught off guard.

  He stretched out his hand in front of Zhao Heng: "Little brother, you're not simple!"

  Looking at the unassuming Du Tianxiong, Zhao Heng also extended his hand, and the two men shook hands. Du Tianxiong didn't engage in a test of strength, but instead gave a slight shake before letting go. Ding Lingling furrowed her brow and exclaimed, "Ah, Zhao Heng, you're back! I thought Sister Siqing had taken you away!"

  "Did Qingjie catch him?"

  "How is this possible?"

  "Gotcha!"

  Ding Lingling used ambiguity to pique Du Ziyuan's interest and also wanted Du Tianxiong to know that Zhao Heng was not a good person, so she fired off a few more sentences: "He has a friend who impersonated the Chess Saint to deceive Sister Sicheng's feelings, but was seen through by Sister Sicheng on the spot and almost got taken back to the police station."

  "Zi Yan, haven't you seen the forum?"

  When she saw Du Ziyuan, she was shocked and described the scene at that time: "Right, he seemed to have also offended the underworld, a group of people blocked him at Hua Hai Bar, making our business impossible to do. If it wasn't for Sister Siqing's timely deployment of police officers to calm things down, Zhao Heng would probably have been beaten up by those thugs."

  Du Ziyuan slightly opened his mouth and shook his head: "How is that possible?"

  She subconsciously looked at Zhao Heng, and Zhao Heng smiled faintly:

  "If I had really done something wrong, I wouldn't be so carefree."

  Du Ziyuan, who was originally worried about Zhao Heng, suddenly felt relieved upon hearing the words. Ah, if Zhao Heng had really broken the law, he wouldn't be so carefree and come to the student association to look at paintings and chat; Du Tianyong also glanced at Zhao Heng at this time, regardless of whether Ding Lingling's words were true or false, he thought Zhao Heng's previous words were well said.

  One sentence hit the point, making everything Ding Ling said meaningless. Du Tianxiong smiled leisurely, with a hint of approval in his eyes: this kid, whether painting or speaking, is always to the point, it can be seen that his way of doing things is also straightforward, he suddenly felt that it was necessary to investigate Zhao Heng's background.

  Ding Lingling was furious: "Do you dare deny that the underworld is blocking you?"

  "Not denying."

  Facing Ding Lingling's pressing inquiry, Zhao Heng calmly shifted the focus to the key point of the incident: "They were people from Qing Bang, led by Fei Hu Ge. He was once caught stealing on a train and I beat him up, so last night he gathered a group of people for revenge. Luckily, I, Zhao Heng, have a big life and escaped their poisonous hands."

  "Brother Flying Tiger?"

  "Is it those pickpockets from the train?" Du Ziyuan's body shook slightly. She secretly wrapped her arms around herself, then grabbed her father's arm and said, "Dad, you must help Zhao Heng. He only confronted Qing Bang to retrieve my lost notification letter. You must help him, don't let Qing Bang bully Zhao Heng again."

  Ding Ling's mouth twitched, knowing she had been played down by Zhao Heng. Although she wasn't clear about what happened on the train, she knew that night that Qing Bang's revenge was not just about a notification letter. She didn't know the truth and couldn't argue back. Just as she was getting angry, Zhao Heng smiled faintly: "Zi Yan, this has nothing to do with you."

  In Du Tianxiong's playful gaze, Zhao Heng let out a long sigh: "The notice is just an add-on. My original grudge with Qing Bang was that I beat up two thieves, and then I also beat up Fei Hu Ge and his men who came to reason with me, injuring seven or eight of them, which led to Fei Hu Ge gathering people to confront me that night."

  Du Ziyuan pouted and looked at her father, saying: "I don't care, it's all related to me anyway."

  Facing her stubborn good intentions, Zhao Heng could only smile helplessly, but in his heart, he had a deeper appreciation for this girl's kindness. Du Tianxiong didn't say much, just nodded at Zhao Heng: "Zhao Heng, you've made me look at you in a new light. If you had dodged the issue earlier and let Zi Yan take the blame, I would have looked down on you."

  "It's fortunate that you have taken responsibility and are honest enough!"

  He pointed at the eagle painting: "It matches your grandeur!"

  Then, he opened his mouth as Ding Ling's face changed and her daughter was delighted: "What kind of conflicts you had with Qing Bang, I don't care, but I can tell you one thing, from now on Qing Bang won't bother you again. All past grievances are written off, it's a return for your help to Zi Yan."

  Du Tianxiong also burst out laughing: "Thanks for that finishing touch."

  Today I accompanied my daughter to Huada to relive old dreams. I scribbled casually, but didn't expect to run into Zhao Heng, which can be considered a bit of fate.

  Ding Ling's face sank at the time, wasn't this letting Zhao Heng escape a disaster? To know, no matter how good Zhao Heng was at fighting or how fierce he was, in the end he would only sink into the Huangpu River if he continued to provoke the Snake Gang. If she herself added some pressure from her father, Zhao Heng would probably die even faster, and then he wouldn't be able to get close to Zi Yan.

  Who would have thought that Du Tianxiong would take the opportunity to intervene, and Ding Lingling couldn't help but scold herself for being too talkative. She cast her eyes on Zhao Heng, hoping he would refuse the offer like a protagonist in a dog-blooded novel. But unexpectedly, Zhao Heng nodded lightly: "Then thank you, Mr. Du. I can have a good sleep tonight."

  Du Tianxiong burst out laughing: "Zhao Heng, you're an interesting guy." Then he pointed to the eagle spreading its wings on the table: "Let's not talk about those trivial things. I'm very interested in your painting skills now. Come to my place for dinner another day and help me paint another eagle. The one you painted is really too domineering."

  Zhao Heng did not refuse, he needed such an opportunity:

  "Good! I will definitely visit Mr. Du when I have time."

  Polite and courteous, yet without deliberately socializing, Du Tianxiong's eyes flashed with a hint of approval once again. After years of silence in Hua Hai, his temperament had long since returned to its true nature, without being intentionally profound or deliberately friendly. Over the years, he had seen many young people come and go like fish swimming across the river, but there were only a few who could win his appreciation.

  Ye Shishi counts as one, Zhao Heng also counts as one.

  Du Ziyuan looked at Zhao Heng with a smile: "Dad, I'm hungry, let's go eat."

  Du Tianxiong naturally knew his daughter's little thoughts, and let out a hearty laugh: "Alright, I'll treat you to dinner!" He looked at Zhao Heng, who had a calm expression, waved his hand and said: "Zhao Heng, it's almost time for dinner, let's go eat outside together. Otherwise, this little girl Ziyan will scold me for being heartless and unrighteous."

  "No, I have two friends who have made an appointment with me."

  Zhao Hengyuan politely declined Du Tianxiong's invitation, not because he wanted to take advantage of anything, but because this meal was destined to have Ding Lingling and Ding Sanshao present. These two people who hated him to the bone would be there, and this meal would likely be a punishment. So he smiled at Du Tianxiong: "Another day, I'll invite Mr. Du to dinner."

  Du Ziyuan was slightly disappointed: "Zhao Heng, aren't you coming with us?"

  Zhao Heng smiled: "Maybe someday!"

  As Ding Ling let out a sigh of relief, Du Tianxiong also nodded lightly and replied: "Alright! Let's meet again next time we have the chance." Just then, his phone suddenly rang. After answering it for a moment, he looked apologetic: "Zi Yan, I've got something to attend to, let me take you out for dinner another day instead."

  Zhao Heng didn't go with them, and Du Ziyuan wasn't very interested either: "Whatever."

  Du Tianxiong, who sensed his daughter's emotions, smiled and put the phone back in his pocket. He looked up at Zhao Heng and said, "Zhao Heng, you're busy today and can't have dinner with us, but surely you'll be free the day after tomorrow? I'll have Ziyan come pick you up that evening, and we can have dinner together. By the way, I'll introduce you to Mr. Zhang."

  Zhao Heng's eyes narrowed: "Mr. Zhang?"

  "Zhang Xiaolin?"