Chapter 56: Not Good Enough For You

Hearing Li Mu's words, the once-bashful Baili Yanhong was struck as if by a bolt of lightning.

She stood frozen in place, her mind swimming in a daze.

"It's quite all right, Mr. Li. Since you and my granddaughter simply aren't meant to be, I shall never bring this matter up again!"

With a faint smile and a nod, Li Mu turned and walked out of the private dining room.

Watching his dashing, retreating figure, Baili Yanhong was momentarily at a loss for words.

"My dear granddaughter, tell me the truth—do you have feelings for this young man?"

Her grandfather's voice rang out from behind her, finally snapping Baili Yanhong out of her trance.

"So what if I do? He already told us he has a wife!"

Old Master Baili let out a helpless sigh.

"It seems our Baili family simply lacks this fortune. My granddaughter, you must not act on impulse and do something you will later regret."

Baili Yanhong nodded helplessly.

Meanwhile, parked in a luxury sports car outside the teahouse, Xu Miaoyun and her parents wore expressions of profound loss.

Especially Xu Miaoyun.

Purely in terms of appearance, Li Mu was undoubtedly her top choice.

After all, he was exceptionally handsome; although he was supposedly a beggar, he bore none of the wretched disposition associated with one.

Moreover, he had connections with the lord of Yuncheng City. Had she known this beforehand, she never would have broken off the engagement, and having him pull a few strings would have made many things far easier.

Yet the Xu family had been the ones to tear up the agreement first, and now, to ask him for a favor... to be frank, Xu Miaoyun could not swallow her pride.

Besides, Li Mu's attitude toward her earlier made his stance abundantly clear; even deploying the honey trap might not guarantee success.

She knew her modest charm was entirely incomparable to Baili Yanhong's.

Was abandoning that beggar back then the right decision or a mistake?

A strange, lingering sensation churned in her heart.

"Mom, Dad, should we reinstate the engagement?"

The middle-aged couple in the backseat let out a silent sigh.

"Don't worry, my child, we would never sacrifice your happiness for the sake of family interests!"

Silence descended upon the car, and a look of desolation washed over Xu Miaoyun's face.

Upon stepping out of the teahouse, Li Mu sensed that someone was trailing him.

He took a couple of turns and walked straight into a narrow alleyway.

The footsteps behind him grew quicker, while right ahead lay a dead end.

"You wretched beggar, I bet you never expected us to cross paths again right here!"

Li Mu lit a cigarette and turned around.

"Deng Qingqing?"

The newcomer was none other than the old classmate who had been fired from the supermarket two days prior.

Only then did Li Mu notice several hulking brutes trailing behind her.

It seemed this woman meant business today!

"Well, what do you want with me?"

"Li Mu, it's all your fault, you wretched beggar, that I lost my job! Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

A look of disdain crossed Li Mu's face.

"Back at the supermarket, considering we were old classmates, I spared you the worst of it. I never expected you to deliver yourself right to my doorstep today!"

"You stinking beggar! If you kneel, kowtow to me three times, and admit that it was all your fault from the very beginning, I might just let you off the hook!"

"Is that so? Then I beg of you, please don't let me off!"

Deng Qingqing had not anticipated that Li Mu would be so utterly arrogant and brazen.

Her face flushed crimson with anger as she turned to the thugs behind her.

"Beat him to a pulp! Make sure his own parents wouldn't recognize him!"

The hulking brute leading the gang had a face covered in scars and flashed a mouth of yellow teeth.

"Kid, I advise you to hurry up and beg Qingqing for forgiveness, then kneel and kowtow to her three times while shouting 'Auntie' three times. Only then will we consider this settled!"

Li Mu pulled a bank card from inside his jacket.

"Just how much money did this woman pay you to risk your lives? I'll triple it. I have more important things to attend to today and would prefer not to stain my hands with blood."

Hearing this, Deng Qingqing broke into a smug smile.

She swayed her hips as she walked up to one of the thugs, gently hooking her finger under his chin.

"I'm afraid whatever you're offering is something you simply cannot afford!"

With that, she turned and burrowed straight into the brute's embrace.

"Tell me, can you match this?"

Li Mu was dumbfounded by the display, his jaw hanging open.

"You... you've given yourself to all of these men? You really are utterly vile!"

Before Deng Qingqing could retort, the brute behind her gave her waist a hard pinch.

"That's right, and we share her. Are you feeling jealous, kid?"

Li Mu shook his head and sighed.

Back in their school days, how had he never noticed this side of her?

Perhaps it was precisely this calm, nonchalant expression that provoked Deng Qingqing further.

Striding forward with an expression of utter disgust, she sneered, "Don't bother stalling or putting up a stubborn front. Who I give myself to is entirely a matter of my own preference—I happen to enjoy it. What business is it of yours?"

This woman truly was utterly shameless!

"For the sake of our old school days, I'll ask you one last time: are you going to kneel and apologize, or not?"

"Bah! I advise you not to make a move, or you will regret it for the rest of your life!"

Hearing this thinly veiled threat, Deng Qingqing turned pale with rage.

"Regret it? A poverty-stricken wretch like you has no right to utter such words! While I may not be born to nobility, squashing you like a bug is still as easy as pie!"

With that, she waved her hand toward her men.

The hulking brutes clenched their fists tight, advancing toward Li Mu step by step.

"Kid, we gave you a chance to live, but you didn't appreciate it. Don't blame us for what happens next!"

As he spoke, the leader threw a vicious punch straight at Li Mu's face.

No matter what, the man stood over six feet tall and weighed well over two hundred pounds.

This punch channeled at least eighty percent of his total strength; if it connected, the target would either be dead or permanently crippled!

Yet Li Mu showed not a trace of panic. With a casual flick of his hand, he effortlessly caught the incoming fist.

The brute froze in shock, and the next second, a searing wave of agony shot straight from his arm to his brain.

Before he could even scream, his entire body was launched into mid-air.

With a deafening crash, he slammed heavily into the adjacent brick wall, leaving a human-shaped indentation smashed directly into the masonry!

Deng Qingqing watched in utter disbelief from the sidelines.

She had never imagined that the frail-looking man before her possessed such terrifying strength.

"Single combat isn't working—let's all rush him together!"

Since the battle had already begun, there was no turning back. Though shock flickered in their eyes, the remaining thugs swarmed toward Li Mu simultaneously.

Li Mu offered a cold smile. With a couple of fluid pivots, he easily evaded the brutes' coordinated onslaught.

Then, his leg lashed out in a ferocious, sweeping kick.

Instantly, the hulking men collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The tearing sound of their bodies cleaving through the air still echoed in the atmosphere.

Before the fallen men could even manage to open their eyes again, a crushing wave of immense force descended from above.

In a flash, blood spurted from the noses and mouths of the men sprawled across the pavement.