Chapter Seventy-Eight: A Woman Ought to Be Gentle

Han Wei took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled before recounting everything that had happened.

It turned out that while she was studying abroad, at a young and naive age, she had tried imitating others by posing for a fully nude photo shoot. The photographer back then had ulterior motives and secretly took pictures of places that were strictly off-limits. Later, a private detective agency in Anhai City somehow got hold of these photos. Their original plan was to sell them to tabloid magazines for their covers.

But someone at the agency instantly recognized Han Wei and decided to blackmail her with the photos.

After listening to her, Yang Jiekai frowned deeply, thought for a moment, and asked, “What are their terms? How much do they want?”

Han Wei’s face was clouded with anxiety. “If it were just money, it would be simple. But they’re asking for the impossible. They found out I’m the legal representative of Ziyu Corporation and are forcing me to hand over thirty percent of the company’s shares.”

“Damn, that’s outrageous!”

Yang Jiekai was visibly upset. “Tell me where this detective agency is—I’ll go get the photos back right now.”

Han Wei said urgently, “It’s not that easy. This is a bottomless pit. Even if you get the photos back, they’ll definitely have backups. They’ll haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Yang Jiekai frowned again. Han Wei was right—forcing them to hand over the photos wouldn’t prevent them from making private copies. This really was a never-ending trap.

After thinking for a while, Yang Jiekai asked Han Wei for the agency’s address and hurried to leave.

“Where are you going?” Han Ning couldn’t help but ask. This guy had vanished for days without a word; she worried he’d disappear again for no reason.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.” With that, Yang Jiekai strode out, hurried down the stairs, hailed a cab, and headed straight for Dragon Palace Bar.

Inside the apartment, the two sisters were weighed down with worry.

“Sis, what should I do? I regret it so much!” Han Wei was on the verge of tears. If it were any other issue, with her temperament, she wouldn’t have cared even with a knife at her throat. But nude photos—any woman would panic if it were her.

Han Ning pressed her lips tightly together. “Let’s keep things steady for now and see if he can resolve it.”

“You mean brother-in-law!” Han Wei said, her face stricken. “I know he’s tough, but even if he forces them to hand over the photos, there’s no guarantee they won’t keep a copy. If they get desperate and put them online, my reputation will be ruined.”

“Let’s wait and see. Maybe he really does have a better way,” Han Ning said with a deep breath, feeling a strange surge of trust in Yang Jiekai.

Dragon Palace Bar.

“Break a leg for each of them and toss them out! Daring to make trouble in my territory—they must have a death wish!”

Long Xiaoman sat in a private room, dressed in a tight black outfit, her long legs crossed, barking orders at a group of thugs.

“Boss Long, we were wrong! Please, just this once…”

“Boss Long, we’re begging you, it won’t happen again…”

Five or six men knelt on the floor, faces bloodied, pleading desperately.

“Listen up! This is my place. Next time you want to make trouble, keep your eyes open. Otherwise, you’ll pay a price you can’t afford!” Long Xiaoman took a delicate drag of her cigarette and exhaled a plume of smoke. “I’ll let you off this time. Now get out!”

The men on the floor kowtowed so quickly their heads nearly hit the ground, then scrambled out as if granted a royal pardon.

“And you lot—what are you standing here for? Don’t you have work to do?” Long Xiaoman snapped at the ten or so thugs nearby. “Next time something like this happens, I don’t care who it is—break their legs and throw them out. Don’t bother me again. If you can’t even handle this, you might as well quit now!”

The thugs quickly slunk out of the room, mumbling their apologies.

Long Xiaoman felt irritable, not because of what had just happened, but because Yang Jiekai had vanished into thin air for days; even his phone had been unreachable.

“A woman should be gentler. Losing your temper isn’t good for your health.”

Just then, a faint voice sounded from the doorway.

Long Xiaoman froze, then looked up in shock. When she saw who had spoken, she was so startled the cigarette fell from her fingers.

“You bastard, I ought to break your legs!”

Yang Jiekai laughed. “I have three legs. Which one do you want to break?”

Seeing Yang Jiekai appear as if out of thin air in the private room, Long Xiaoman was both delighted and annoyed. She rushed over and showered him with playful punches.

“Enough, I need your help with something.” Yang Jiekai gently pushed the tearful Long Xiaoman aside.

She shot him a sidelong glance. “I knew you only come to me when you want something.”

Yang Jiekai shrugged, took a seat on the sofa, and lit a cigarette. “A friend of mine was photographed nude. Can you help with that?”

“Who did it?” Long Xiaoman asked.

“It was a group from Dingxin Private Detective Agency.”

“Dingxin?” Long Xiaoman’s eyes widened.

“You know them?” Yang Jiekai touched his nose.

She frowned. “We’ve crossed paths. Last time, you mentioned a friend who borrowed from loan sharks and got into trouble—you asked me to step in. That was them.”

“What a coincidence,” Yang Jiekai recalled the incident with Zhang Hua, which Long Xiaoman had helped resolve.

“What’s their story? Aren’t they just a detective agency? Why are they involved in loans and blackmail?” Yang Jiekai was still unfamiliar with the underworld in China.

Long Xiaoman explained, “The detective agency is just a front. Truthfully, it’s an organized crime group. They’ll do anything for money.”

Yang Jiekai pondered. “So is there a way to settle this?”

She looked troubled. “There is, but it would break the unspoken rules.”

“Rules?” Yang Jiekai was puzzled.

She continued, “There’s an unspoken understanding—we don’t interfere with each other’s business unless directly provoked. If we step in, it means breaking the code.”

After a moment’s thought, Yang Jiekai said, “I get it. Fine, just give me Dingxin’s address. I’ll handle it myself.”

Long Xiaoman took a drag from her cigarette and slowly exhaled. “Forget it. I know you’re tough, but you can’t handle this alone.”

She stubbed out her cigarette and stretched her arms. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Dingxin Detective Agency!”

“But you said if you step in, it’ll break the rules.”

Long Xiaoman gave him an impatient glance. “Enough talk. You can’t pull this off without me. For you, I’ll make an exception.”

Yang Jiekai felt a little awkward and chuckled. “I knew you’d come through.”

In a residential building in the north district of Anhai City—

A group of burly men sat in the living room, smoking, filling the room with haze.

“Boss, do you think that Han Wei woman will give in?” asked a bleach-blond thug.

A tattooed man sitting in the center of the sofa replied, “She has no choice. I did my homework—she owns a company. Forcing her to hand over thirty percent of the shares is just the beginning.”

“What next?” the blond asked.

The tattooed man glared at him. “Are you stupid? We’ll make copies of those photos and keep her under our thumb forever. She’ll be our cash cow.”

The blond was stunned, then grinned. “That’s perfect. With her as our golden goose, we’ll never have to worry again. It’s better than loan sharking.”

Suddenly, a cool voice echoed through the room. “You’re clever, but isn’t this a bit too filthy?”

“Who’s there!”

The tattooed man snapped his head up and looked toward the sound. Sitting on the windowsill, as if appearing out of nowhere, was a young man, quietly munching on a banana and grinning at them.

“Who are you?” The tattooed man leapt up from the sofa. There were more than ten men in the room, yet not one had seen how this person entered. They were on the fifteenth floor; it was impossible he’d come through the window.

“How did you get in here?” the tattooed man demanded.

Yang Jiekai finished his banana in a few bites, jumped down from the windowsill, and said, “That’s not your concern. I’m here today because I need a favor.”

At his movement, the dozen thugs in the room immediately grabbed steel pipes, machetes, and other weapons, encircling him.

“What do you want from us?” The tattooed man was a seasoned criminal and didn’t panic.

Yang Jiekai touched his nose. “You took some nude photos of my friend. I’d like you to hand them over.”

The tattooed man sneered. “Depends on whether you brought what we want.”

“What’s that?” Yang Jiekai asked.

The blond thug barked, “Don’t play dumb—thirty percent of Ziyu Corporation’s shares!”

“What?” Yang Jiekai pretended not to hear. “Come closer, what did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

“Don’t get cocky!” The blond thug, annoyed by Yang Jiekai’s nonchalance, stepped closer and shouted, “Thirty percent of Ziyu’s shares! Stop pretending, or I’ll take you down too!”

Bang!

Before he finished, Yang Jiekai smashed a fist into his chest, sending him flying.

Yang Jiekai brushed his hands together. “No shares, but I do have a pair of fists. Anyone interested? I’m in a good mood today—one punch comes with another, free of charge.”