Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Throwing One’s Weight Around

"Didn’t you already apologize? Of course I don’t blame you anymore," Su Qing said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"That’s good." Cheng Beilin smiled. "My brother brought a stone-gambling master with him. If there’s anything you don’t understand, I can have him teach you." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Your family is in the jewelry business too?" Su Qing asked curiously.

"Yep, in Xiangcheng. You should come visit Xiangcheng when you get the chance. When you do, I’ll give you a grand tour," Cheng Beilin said to Su Qing with a smile. "Oh, right, I still don’t know your name. I’m Cheng Beilin. What’s yours?"

"Su Qing."

"Great, Su Qing! Then I guess we’re officially acquainted now. Later on..."

Before Cheng Beilin could finish, An Zhiwei’s surprised voice cut in. "Cheng Beilin, what are you doing here?"

Cheng Beilin turned to see An Zhiwei and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "If you can be here, why can’t I? What, is this the An Family’s territory? Do I need to report to your family just to show up? An Zhiwei, since when did you get such a big head?"

"You— Cheng Beilin, stop spouting nonsense." As An Zhiwei spoke, she glanced at Su Qing and pursed her lips. "You’re really not picky, are you? Chatting with just about anyone. Hmph."

An Zhiwei hated both of the people in front of her. One was her sworn enemy—most people said that as a Xiangcheng socialite, An Zhiwei couldn’t compare to Cheng Beilin. The other was someone she had just made an enemy of yesterday.

So, seeing both of them at the same time today put An Zhiwei in a very bad mood.

"What, you think you’re better than everyone else?" Cheng Beilin sneered. "In Xiangcheng, who doesn’t know about the airhead socialite, An Zhiwei? You’re probably the only one who doesn’t."

"You— what did you say?" An Zhiwei was furious. Of course she knew that nickname. It was the reason so many people laughed at her behind her back. And wasn’t it all because of Cheng Beilin? If she weren’t constantly being compared to Cheng Beilin, would anyone ever have called her that?

Just thinking about that nickname made An Zhiwei’s blood boil.

"You can’t even understand such a simple sentence. No wonder they call you an airhead socialite. It’s a well-deserved title," Cheng Beilin sneered, raising an eyebrow.

"Cheng Beilin!" An Zhiwei was so angry she forgot about the crowd and lunged forward to slap Cheng Beilin, but Su Qing grabbed her wrist and, once again, shoved her away.

Although she didn’t fall to the ground like yesterday, being shoved by Su Qing in full view of everyone was still a major humiliation.

A bodyguard from the An Family was following An Zhiwei. He hadn’t expected her to be pushed by Su Qing and rushed forward in alarm to support her. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she hadn’t fallen.

An Zhiwei gritted her teeth, looking at Su Qing and Cheng Beilin. She pointed at Su Qing and ordered the bodyguard, "Go, teach her a good lesson for me. Make her understand who she can and cannot mess with."

After hearing An Zhiwei’s order, the bodyguard felt that for a grown man to attack a young woman was hardly a fair fight. However, he was employed by the An Family, and if he didn’t listen to An Zhiwei, he could lose his job. So, pursing his lips, he stepped forward, said, "My apologies," and moved to take Su Qing down with a grappling hold.

Cheng Beilin couldn’t believe An Zhiwei would stoop so low as to order her family’s bodyguard to attack a girl like Su Qing. She was furious and tried to pull Su Qing behind her for protection. After all, the An Family’s bodyguard would never dare lay a hand on her, the young lady of the Cheng Family.

But to everyone’s surprise, before the bodyguard could even touch Su Qing’s clothes, she grabbed his hand. With a single burst of strength, she flipped the bodyguard into the air, spun him around, and slammed him back-first onto the ground. He was in so much pain he couldn’t get up for a long time.

"You..." An Zhiwei stumbled back two steps in fear. ’If her bodyguard can’t even beat Su Qing, wouldn’t I be as helpless as a baby chick in her hands, to be dealt with as she pleases?’

Cheng Beilin, on the other hand, was staring at Su Qing with shining eyes. ’My god, that was so cool! I never would have thought her martial arts were this good! She took down the An Family’s bodyguard in a single move!’ Thinking back to her own attitude toward Su Qing on the train that day, she shivered. ’Thank god, thank god. Su Qing really went easy on me back then.’

Moreover, Cheng Beilin thought the move Su Qing just used to throw the An Family’s bodyguard was just so badass. ’I think my eyes are sparkling!’

The commotion had grown quite large, naturally attracting a lot of attention. Cheng Beize and An Zhiqian, of course, saw what was happening and both hurried over.

When Cheng Beize first saw Su Qing, his heart skipped a beat, thinking Cheng Beilin had provoked her again. But after a second look, it seemed Su Qing and Cheng Beilin were on the same side, facing off against An Zhiwei, and the person on the ground was an An Family bodyguard. He relaxed. He had been genuinely worried that Cheng Beilin would start another fight with Su Qing over what happened on the train. At the same time, he was also quite surprised to see Su Qing here.

An Zhiqian’s mood, however, was far from pleasant. The person lying on the ground was one of his An Family’s bodyguards. This meant a member of the An Family had been utterly humiliated in front of so many people. ’What’s the difference between this and being slapped in the face in public?’

"Miss, I don’t know what great enmity exists between you and our An Family that would cause you to humiliate us like this," An Zhiqian said, looking at Su Qing with displeasure. ’He had let yesterday’s incident slide, but today, he had to demand an explanation. Otherwise, with so many people watching, they would think the An Family was a pushover.’

"You should ask An Zhiwei." Cheng Beilin quickly shielded Su Qing behind her, lifted her chin, and said to An Zhiqian, "Su Qing and I were having a perfectly nice conversation when An Zhiwei came over to provoke us. Not only did she try to hit me, but she also ordered her bodyguard to hit Su Qing. The bodyguard just wasn’t skilled enough and got taken down in a counter. What, is Young Master An trying to turn the tables and blame the victim now?"

An Zhiqian was taken aback by Cheng Beilin’s retort, and his expression soured. The An Family and the Cheng Family were business rivals who didn’t think much of each other. While the elders maintained a semblance of civility, the younger generation was not nearly as harmonious. He was well aware that An Zhiwei and Cheng Beilin did not get along.

And Cheng Beilin had never been submissive or adoring toward him like other girls were. Usually, when they met, she would just give a polite but distant greeting. This was the first time she had ever been so blunt with him.

Cheng Beize also walked over, stepping in front of Su Qing and Cheng Beilin. He gave a faint smile and said to An Zhiqian, "Mr. An, if you’re going to throw your weight around and bully people, then the An Family is the one in the wrong here."