Volume 1, Chapter 27: Who Gave You the Freedom?

Fang Mo frowned and turned his head to look, wondering why anyone would be making such a racket in a cemetery.

He saw a young man dressed in garish, eccentric clothing holding two wreaths, staring unpleasantly at him and his companion, with three or four bodyguards trailing behind him.

"What are you looking at?"

Seeing Fang Mo and his friend remaining calm, the youth impatiently kicked the wreaths in front of Li Wenhan's grave, shattering the delicate white flowers into pieces.

Fang Mo's eyes widened, and his fists clenched tightly. The dead deserve respect; what was this animal doing?

"What the hell are you doing? Are you looking for trouble?"

Li Haowen, his eyes bloodshot, stood up abruptly and grabbed the youth by the collar. Before he could make a move, however, the bodyguards surrounded him.

"I am Li Haowen, Chairman of the Li Group. I think you've picked the wrong people to harass," Li Haowen said through gritted teeth, suppressing his emotions as he identified himself.

Although the Li Group was in decline, it had once been a prestigious name with some deterrent power. Unfortunately, the youth did not care.

"Heh, the Li Group?"

"I was wondering who was crying like a little girl. So it’s the two stray dogs from the Li Group. Oh wait, I remembered wrong—your brother is already lying inside, so now it’s just the stray dog of a younger brother."

Boom!

At these words, Fang Mo's breathing became ragged. Li Haowen struggled wildly, trying to fight, but he was pinned down by the bodyguards.

"My name is Gao Zijie. You should have heard of me, right?" The youth grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Li Haowen’s body shook. "Gao Zijie? It was you. You killed my brother. You’re the hit-and-run driver who killed him. You... you aren't supposed to be in prison?"

*Slap!*

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Zijie impatiently slapped Li Haowen across the face.

"Prison? Don't use such ugly words. I’m a law-abiding citizen; why would I be in prison?" Gao Zijie said with a mocking smirk, showing no respect for the deceased. "Your brother’s case was an accident where he dashed across the road. The insurance company already paid your family a million—don't you remember? The money was paid, and the case is closed. If you keep calling me a murderer and throwing dirt on my name, I might get angry."

Hearing this, Li Haowen trembled with rage, tears of humiliation welling up in his eyes. He had learned some inside information about the scene later. While the crash was technically an accident, records showed that the last call Li Wenhan made before his death was to Gao Zijie. And by a strange coincidence, Gao Zijie was the driver who hit him. To say there was no connection was something Li Haowen could never believe.

"You bastard, I will find the evidence eventually. Just wait, Gao Zijie, you will face justice..."

*Bang!*

"Noisy!" Gao Zijie kicked Li Haowen in the stomach, then glanced at the grave. "Pfft! Looking at you two losers and that photo, you make me sick."

*Bang!*

Gao Zijie kicked the photo on the tombstone, and it crashed to the ground. Even Fang Mo’s breathing grew sharp. This was equivalent to desecrating the grave of Li Haowen’s brother! Gao Zijie was too arrogant, too excessive. It was lawless!

Just then, a dozen staff members walked over. "Sir, we need to maintain silence in the cemetery. Your shouting will disturb the deceased..."

"Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me?" Gao Zijie lit a cigar and blew a cloud of white smoke directly into the staff member's face. The staff member’s expression darkened instantly.

Not far away, three women noticed the commotion. Wu Jiabei was about to rush over to intervene, but her two friends held her back. Song Yu grabbed her and said in a low voice, "Calm down. That guy is from the Gao family of the Jiangcheng Bank. They are notorious bullies, and Gao Zijie is the worst of them. If you go over there now, we will be the ones to suffer."

Wu Jiabei bit her lip, her eyes red. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. Li Wenhan was the man she had loved for seven or eight years, and now she had to watch his grave being kicked over.

Song Yu didn't just sit by; she called Ning Yuelan. As soon as the call connected, Ning Yuelan asked curiously, "Aren't you guys at the cemetery? How do you have time to call me? I was actually thinking of calling you later to see if you'd run into my little man."

"Your little man?" The three women were stunned.

"My husband went to pay his respects today, and he’s likely visiting the same person you are, so I thought you might bump into each other," Ning Yuelan said with a smile. She noticed the silence on the other end and frowned. "What’s wrong? Song Yu, did something happen?"

Song Yu sighed bitterly. Ning Yuelan was too sharp; nothing could be hidden from her. "It seems we can't stay out of this today. Gao Zijie is in a conflict with your husband and his friend. There are only two of them; I’m afraid they’ll be at a disadvantage..."

Gao Zijie? Hearing the name, Ning Yuelan’s face darkened. "What is that mad dog doing at the cemetery?"

Wu Jiabei said with teary eyes, "He’s the one who drove the car that killed Li Wenhan. I always suspected there was more to it, and seeing him acting so brazenly now, I’m even more convinced."

Animal! Ning Yuelan’s anxious breathing could be heard on the other end of the line. She was also worried that Fang Mo would get hurt. "There is a Ning family property near the cemetery. Call a team of security guards over there. I’ll be right there."

With that, Ning Yuelan hung up. The women could only pray that Ning Yuelan’s husband could hold out for a while. Otherwise, neither the Song family nor the Wu family had the standing to challenge the Gao family.

"Gao Zijie, what are you doing?"

Just then, a sharp voice rang out behind them. A young woman in her early twenties, holding fresh flowers, walked toward them with angry eyes. She wore a pure black dress with a flower pinned to her chest, her delicate face flushed with indignation at Gao Zijie’s behavior.

Gao Zijie looked back. "He Xiyuan?"

Fang Mo was startled. He felt like he had seen this girl somewhere before. But the girl wasn't paying attention to him.

"Gao Zijie, you came here today to visit my grandmother’s grave. If you have any respect, you should follow the rules of the cemetery. Making such a scene will upset my grandfather."

Gao Zijie frowned and glanced at Li Haowen. "Kid, you're lucky."

He was only in the cemetery today to curry favor with this girl. Although both families were in the banking business, the He family’s Central Bank was on a completely different level than Jiangcheng Bank. He had received orders from his elders to get on good terms with He Xiyuan at all costs. This was the only shortcut for the Gao family to rise further.

"Xiyuan, I wasn't making a scene. I just ran into some acquaintances and chatted. Since the old man is here, let’s go."

As he spoke, he prepared to leave with his men. The battered Li Haowen was shoved to the ground.

At that moment, Fang Mo, who had been watching coldly, said, "Stop! You hit someone and now you want to leave? Who gave you the freedom to do that?"

The eyes of everyone present turned to Fang Mo. Who gave me the freedom? Gao Zijie paused and glanced at Fang Mo in surprise. "I forgot about you, little sidekick. Kid, this is none of your business. Stop yapping, or I’ll teach you how to behave in a minute."

"Teach me how to behave?" Fang Mo sneered. "You aren't going anywhere. I’ve already called the police. The officers will be here soon to check the surveillance footage. You hit my friend and kicked his brother’s tombstone; you are completely lawless. I won't let you leave so easily today."

"Called the police? Heh, you’ve got guts, kid!" Gao Zijie licked his lips. "It’s been a long time since I’ve met a hothead like you."

"It’s you!?" Just then, He Xiyuan cried out in surprise. Ignoring Gao Zijie’s bewildered expression, she walked straight up to Fang Mo. She grabbed his hand, her face full of excitement. "We finally meet again, my benefactor!"

Benefactor? Fang Mo was confused. "Miss, do we know each other?"

He Xiyuan nodded. "Don't you remember? Three days ago, in the basement parking lot of the Ning family mall, you saved my grandfather when he collapsed..."

Fang Mo didn't recognize her because, back then, the girl had been crying so hard her features were distorted, and his attention had been entirely on the elderly man.

"Ah?" Fang Mo finally realized. "You’re the little girl who called herself Wan'er? It was so dark that night, I didn't see what you looked like. How is your grandfather?"

He Xiyuan smiled gratefully. "Thanks to you, he’s fine."

Gao Zijie noticed them holding hands and stepped forward, unhappy, sizing Fang Mo up as if trying to guess his identity. "Xiyuan, you know him?"

"Yes, he’s the one who saved my grandfather."

"What happened just now? Did Gao Zijie do something bad? Are you planning to call the police..." He Xiyuan asked, confused.

Fang Mo pointed at Gao Zijie. "We were here visiting my friend’s brother’s grave, and he came over to provoke us, kicked over the tombstone, and when my friend tried to argue, his men beat him up."

He Xiyuan looked at Li Haowen’s bruised face, and her expression turned ugly.

"Misunderstanding, Xiyuan, it’s a misunderstanding." Gao Zijie, realizing they knew each other, coughed and explained, "Actually, his brother was a friend of mine, and I just came by to pay my respects..."

"Shut up!" He Xiyuan snapped. "Gao Zijie, my friends told me that your polite demeanor in front of me was all an act, but I didn't want to believe you were so two-faced. Now it seems they were right."

Gao Zijie’s face sank. It was clear the girl was angry. "Xiyuan, it’s a misunderstanding. I can explain. The old man must be waiting. Let’s go visit your grandmother’s grave first."

"Misunderstanding?" He Xiyuan’s voice rose, and she glanced coldly at the toppled tombstone. "Then tell me, what happened to this tombstone? Did the wind blow it over? Gao Zijie, you’ve disappointed me. Apologize, and then have someone repair this grave."

Apologize!? To a loser like Li Haowen? Gao Zijie’s face darkened again. He had never looked at the Li brothers as anything more than ants, and apologizing to them was worse than death.

"Xiyuan!" Gao Zijie clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. He felt incredibly stifled. He hadn't realized that when he was humiliating Li Haowen, he was now in the exact same position.

He Xiyuan glared at him. "Apologize! And then disappear from my sight. I don't want to see you ever again."

What!? This serious? Gao Zijie turned pale, his eyes darting between Fang Mo and He Xiyuan. He wasn't willing to lose his chance with He Xiyuan because of this pretty boy.

"I'm sorry!" Gao Zijie gritted his teeth and bowed to Li Haowen. "You guys find someone to lift the stone, and I'll arrange for a craftsman to fix it later. Xiyuan, I’ve apologized. I was wrong, please give me another chance..."

He shot a venomous glance at Fang Mo, vowing to remember his face. He blamed Fang Mo for his forced submission. *Just a little sidekick to this loser Li Haowen? You ruined my plans, I won't let you off...*

*Slap!*

Suddenly, a slapping sound echoed. In front of the stunned crowd, a clear handprint appeared on Gao Zijie’s face.

"That’s not how you apologize. Your head must be lowered, your waist bowed, and your attitude sincere. You’re being so perfunctory—who are you apologizing to?"

A beautiful woman with slightly messy hair stood in front of Fang Mo, shaking her slender hand.