Rebirth: The Villainous Young Master in a Novel

Chapter 11: Who’s the Boss and Who’s the Lackey?

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In theory, the peach blossom curse pendant was still in effect. So, now that his ex-girlfriend, the minor celebrity, was wearing it, wouldn’t she also be hit by a romantic misfortune?

Just as Song Shicheng was pondering this, the elevator dinged open, and three men stepped out from the adjacent elevator.

The leader was a pot-bellied, balding middle-aged man, but judging from his designer clothes and thick gold chain, he was undoubtedly a nouveau riche tycoon. The two tall, burly young men in black behind him appeared to be bodyguards.

“Huh? It’s you!”

The tycoon frowned when he saw Song Shicheng.

It seemed this was another character from the novel.

However, from the tone of his voice, it was clear that their relationship was rather distant. Song Shicheng could sense a hint of disdain from the man.

As he was trying to figure out who this person was, the tycoon suddenly noticed Shen Yizhu and the “trophy clothes” (Jessica) being affectionate nearby. His face immediately darkened.

“Jessica! What are you doing?!”

The tycoon roared angrily and charged over.

Jessica, seeing this, turned pale with fear. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she stammered, “M-Mr. Ma…”

“You little tramp! I’ve spent so much money to get you into the entertainment industry, and you dare to cheat on me with some pretty boy behind my back?!” The man, addressed as Mr. Ma, gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.

Well, well, looks like we’ve got a classic case of catching a cheater in the act!

Song Shicheng couldn’t help but chuckle. He hadn’t expected Jessica to be so capable, juggling two sugar daddies at once. She must have thought she was playing both sides perfectly, only to be exposed here!

Of course, given the effects of the peach blossom curse pendant, Song Shicheng didn’t believe this was a mere coincidence.

For now, he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He decided to stay and watch the show.

“You shameless tramp! Let’s see how I deal with you!” Mr. Ma cursed loudly.

Shen Yizhu, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, quickly retorted, “Hey! Old man! Who do you think you are, yelling like this? Do you even know whose territory this is? Do you know who I am…”

“I don’t care whose territory this is! I, Ma Jinbiao, will show you who’s the boss and who’s the lackey!”

Mr. Ma waved his hand and shouted, “Beat this cheating couple to a pulp!”

The two bodyguards immediately rolled up their sleeves and started pummeling Shen Yizhu and Jessica.

Despite his tall and muscular appearance, Shen Yizhu was all show and no substance. Within a few hits, he was knocked to the ground.

Soon, the elevator entrance was filled with cries of pain and pleas for mercy.

Mr. Ma dragged Jessica to the ground by her hair and began slapping her left and right.

“Wah~ Mr. Ma, I won’t do it again, I promise! Please spare me… Ah! Young Master Song, save me!”

Jessica’s pretty face quickly swelled up like a pig’s head as she cried out to Song Shicheng for help.

“Sorry, but you’re no longer my ‘clothes.'”

Song Shicheng responded coldly, showing no pity for this green tea bitch (a term for a manipulative, two-faced woman). He didn’t even glance at the beaten Shen Yizhu, his gaze focused solely on Mr. Ma.

The tycoon’s self-introduction saved Song Shicheng the trouble of guessing his identity.

To put it simply, the two knew each other, but only superficially. There was no friendship between them.

Strictly speaking, Mr. Ma belonged to the protagonist’s camp.

He was the internet tycoon’s brother and right-hand man (don’t ask why the internet tycoon’s surname is Ma). In the internet group, he was primarily responsible for the search business. He was known for his bold, rough, and righteous personality, and due to a series of plot developments, he had a close relationship with the protagonist, Ye Tian.

The enemy of a friend is an enemy. Because of Ye Tian, Mr. Ma naturally disliked Song Shicheng.

However, Song Shicheng didn’t care about that. He was more concerned about two things.

First, he had never written about Mr. Ma keeping a mistress. Was his relationship with Jessica created by the peach blossom curse pendant? If so, the pendant’s effects were truly terrifying!

Second, as a staunch ally of the protagonist Ye Tian, Mr. Ma’s sudden appearance at the hospital to see Shen Guotao was undoubtedly intriguing. Was he here to persuade Shen Guotao to act as a mediator and convince Song Shicheng to let Ye Tian off the hook?

At this moment, the deafening commotion finally attracted the attention of the security guards and medical staff. Even Shen Guotao and Shen Yixian were alerted and rushed over. Seeing the scene, Shen Guotao immediately shouted, “Everyone, stop!”

Mr. Ma and his bodyguards reluctantly stopped, but when they saw Shen Yixian running over to help Shen Yizhu, calling him “brother” repeatedly, their expressions turned awkward. Looking at Shen Guotao’s livid face, Mr. Ma smiled bitterly and explained, “Mr. Shen, is this your son? I’m sorry, I really didn’t know. I’ve never seen him before, and when I saw my girlfriend being affectionate with him, I just lost my temper…”

“Enough, I understand!”

Shen Guotao waved his hand impatiently, his face clouded with gloom.

Song Shicheng couldn’t help but laugh again. Mr. Ma was quite cunning. In just a few words, he not only explained the situation but also exposed the fact that Shen Yizhu had cuckolded him. Even if Shen Guotao was angry, he would likely avoid making a big scene out of it. After all, he couldn’t exactly go around boasting that his son had been beaten up for stealing someone else’s woman, could he?

“Xiao Xian, take him downstairs to check his injuries.” Following the principle of not airing dirty laundry in public, Shen Guotao made a decisive decision.

“Dad, you have to stand up for me! These bastards dared to hit me on our own turf! They actually hit me! You’ve never even laid a hand on me since I was a kid!” Shen Yizhu, with his swollen pig-like face, wailed pitifully, looking more like a crying child seeking his parents’ comfort than the arrogant young master he usually portrayed.

“All you do is cause trouble!” Shen Guotao glared at him, frustrated by his lack of ambition.

“Alright, come with me first. Don’t be reckless.”

Shen Yixian, however, was more sensible. She pulled her brother toward the elevator and, seeing Song Shicheng at the elevator entrance, couldn’t help but pause.

“I just came out for some fresh air. I happened to be passing by.”

Song Shicheng suppressed a laugh and explained, then tactfully slipped into the elevator.

Shen Yizhu was so furious he could barely breathe. He had finally managed to one-up his rival, only to have his humiliating beating witnessed in its entirety. How could he ever hold his head high again?

Now, he didn’t want to spend a single second with Song Shicheng, but Shen Yixian didn’t seem to care about these trivial matters and simply dragged him into the elevator.

As they descended, the elevator was unusually quiet.

Shen Yizhu was too embarrassed to challenge Song Shicheng, and Song Shicheng had no interest in dealing with this useless young master. However, he couldn’t help but notice that Shen Yixian’s attitude seemed to have become somewhat strange, and she kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

“I was going to help earlier, but I’m still recovering from my injuries. I really couldn’t do much. Don’t mind me,” Song Shicheng broke the silence first.

“It’s fine. This brat has been asking for a beating for a long time.”

Shen Yixian casually patted her brother’s head, making Shen Yizhu wish he could blow up the hospital with dynamite.

After a moment of hesitation, Shen Yixian asked, “Do you know who that bald guy is?”

“I think his surname is Ma. He’s in the internet search business, right?” Song Shicheng replied vaguely.

“That’s right. He has some business dealings with our group. For example, a lot of the hospital’s advertising business is handled by him,” Shen Yixian said lightly. “Also, he seems to have a good relationship with Ye Tian. You should be prepared.”

Song Shicheng nodded.

Shen Yixian’s words revealed two key pieces of information: the internet tycoon had business interests with Shen’s Qingmao Group, and the internet tycoon was determined to protect Ye Tian.

Therefore, when it came to handling the dispute between Song Shicheng and Ye Tian, the Shen family, out of respect for the internet tycoon, might waver in their stance.

However, if it was just a matter of wavering slightly, it wouldn’t be a big deal. What troubled Song Shicheng the most was that, apart from the carefree Shen Yizhu, Shen Yixian and even the entire Shen family were gradually becoming ambiguous in their attitude toward his family.

It seemed that the decline of Fenghua Group had led to a deterioration in their alliance.