As one of the top young masters in Northern Mountain City, what mattered most in Gao Yuan's circle? Two words: face! It was his own preconceived notion, of course. He assumed the young hostess wanted to get close to him, yet she had the audacity to publicly reject him in front of everyone.

Wasn't this a blatant slap to his face? To put it harshly, it was outright contempt. His expression instantly darkened. "Young Master Zhang," he said indifferently, "it seems I was getting ahead of myself. Miss Guan apparently has no intention of getting to know me!"

"It certainly seems that way," Zhang Xuanfeng added fuel to the fire, staring at Chen Fei with a sinister, mocking smile. "Young Master Gao, it looks like your reputation doesn't count for much anymore! Even a mere hostess dares to shut you down so publicly. If it were me, she might have pinned me down and slapped me a few times, eh?"

"No, Young Master Gao, that's not what I meant. Please, don't listen to their nonsense," Guan Shiyin pleaded. Her heart pounded wildly and her face turned pale. Under the crowd's piercing gazes, she felt like she was being roasted over a fire. Sweat beaded on her forehead and trickled down her back.

On one side was her: a newcomer to Northern Mountain City with no foundation or connections to speak of. On the other side were the son of the city's richest man and the son of the Health Bureau's director—a true top-tier rich scion and a Government Official's Son. Offending either one would mean the end of her career at Northern Mountain City Television. Yet now, both of them were targeting her. Guan Shiyin felt so wronged that her eyes reddened. She clenched her fists, biting her trembling lip in silence.

"Shiyin, it's okay. Don't be afraid."

Seeing this, Chen Fei could no longer stand by. He stepped forward with a cold expression, gently patted her shoulder, and moved her behind him. His indifferent gaze swept across the crowd before landing on Gao Yuan with a disdainful smile. "Young Master Gao? Sorry, I've never taken you seriously. So what?"

The crowd erupted in an uproar. "Whoa!" "Did you hear what he just said? How dare he speak to Young Master Gao like that?" "This kid is hopelessly stupid. Does he really think he can just play the hero whenever he wants? Use your brain! Doesn't he know who Young Master Gao is?" "Now this is going to be a good show!"

Everyone knew that was the son of Director Gao from Vast Sea Group, the absolute central figure of tonight's banquet. For someone to dare speak to him with such an offensive tone… was he courting death? In that instant, nearly everyone looked at Chen Fei with pity, as if he were some dim-witted fool.

"Chen... Chen Fei... are you insane?" Guan Shiyin was clearly startled. She never expected Chen Fei to say something so 'arrogant' right to the man's face. The scene made her face go white. She tugged at Chen Fei's arm, completely dumbfounded, her lips quivering too much to form a coherent sentence.

"You little shit, who do you think you are?" Zhang Xuanfeng barked, a flash of malicious glee in his eyes. He hadn't expected Chen Fei to be so hot-headed. "Daring to speak to Young Master Gao like that? Are you looking for death?"

SLAP! A crisp crack echoed through the hall. "Get out of the way. Do you even have the right to speak here?" The once-proud Young Master Zhang was sent flying by the blow. He crashed to the floor, knocked senseless and so stunned that he began to question his own existence. You bastard! You hit me in the face again!?

"What is the meaning of this?" Gao Yuan's face turned even uglier than before. "Young Master Zhang is a guest at my banquet tonight. How dare you do this? Are you showing me, Gao Yuan, absolutely no respect?"

He was the son of Gao Zhinan, the city's wealthiest man, and Zhang Xuanfeng was a guest at his banquet. But now, in front of everyone, that guest had been slapped. What did this imply? If word of this got out, how could he, Gao Yuan, maintain his standing in the upper circles of Northern Mountain City?

"You, you, you actually dared to hit someone again!?" Jie Meiling was also flabbergasted.

Originally, she and Zhang Xuanfeng had come tonight to stir up trouble and set a trap. If Guan Shiyin had agreed to get closer with Young Master Gao, it would have been a harsh slap in the face to that pretty boy, Chen Fei. But if Guan Shiyin refused and disrespected Young Master Gao, that would be even better.

But they had never, ever expected Chen Fei to actually hit someone right in front of Young Master Gao. Zhang Xuanfeng leaped to his feet, clutching his swollen face. "Cousin, did you see that?" he shrieked, his face contorted with rage. "This little shit dared to hit me right in front of you, at your own banquet! He has absolutely no respect for you! Are you just going to stand there and watch your cousin get slapped?"

Clearly, Young Master Zhang had lost all reason, completely forgetting the secret his father had sternly ordered him to keep. His screams echoed through the hall, shocking everyone present. Young Master Gao's cousin? Zhang Xuanfeng was his cousin?

Gao Yuan was no fool; by now, he realized he'd likely been used by Zhang Xuanfeng. "Sir," he said, his voice tight, "I can see there must be some misunderstanding between you two. But even so, you shouldn't be so arrogant in my presence. You're causing a scene and hitting people at a banquet that I, Gao Yuan, am hosting. If word of this gets out, how can I show my face?"

But that wasn't what truly angered him. It was the fact that this man showed him, Gao Yuan, absolutely no respect. Not only had he spoken so arrogantly, but he'd also assaulted a guest at his banquet. If this story spread, how could he possibly hold his head high? Since his father became the richest man in the city, who had ever dared to disrespect him like this? When had he, Gao Yuan, ever suffered such humiliation?

"If you don't know where to put your face, then don't bother having one!" Chen Fei's temper was even fiercer than Gao Yuan's. He unleashed a cold, torrential scolding. "If it weren't for Gao Zhinan, do you think you'd still be standing here in one piece?" Damn it, if I'd known this kid was such a piece of work, I never would have bothered saving him. It would've been better if he'd lost an arm or a leg. Why did I have to be so meddlesome?

"What's that supposed to mean? You know my dad?" Gao Yuan was startled by Chen Fei's fierce tone. When he heard his father's name mentioned, he felt an inexplicable pang of guilt and stared coldly at Chen Fei.

"Your dad?" Chen Fei said, his face still cold. "I don't just know him. I know you, too. From the operating table."

"The operating table... the operating table..." Gao Yuan's expression changed dramatically upon hearing this. "Could it be... that you're...?" he stammered, his voice trembling.

He finally understood why Chen Fei's face seemed so familiar and why it made him feel so inexplicably guilty. It was the face of the young man in the photograph his father kept in the most conspicuous spot in his study. He was the savior, the Divine Doctor who had single-handedly pulled him back from the brink of death—Chen Fei.

"You're still asking who I am?" Chen Fei retorted impatiently upon hearing the tremor in Gao Yuan's voice. So now you're afraid? What about a few minutes ago?

"Mr... Mr. Chen, please don't be angry! I truly didn't know it was you! Please... please don't be angry..." Hearing the coldness that remained in Chen Fei's voice, Young Master Gao couldn't help but shudder, breaking out in a cold sweat. His previous posture and image as a top-tier scion were now a world away from his current state.

Even though he had only recently recovered, he'd heard more than a few terrifying tales from his father about a certain individual. Stories of how his prophecies of bloody disasters came true, how bullets couldn't hit him, and various other unbelievable, monstrous abilities. Just hearing them was enough to make one's scalp tingle—they sounded like something out of a fantasy novel. How could he possibly dare to offend such a person now? He was scared to death! At a time like this, it didn't matter that he was the son of the city's richest man. Even if the son of an American oil and finance tycoon were here, he would have to bow his head in absolute submission. Otherwise, his own father would be the first to thrash him to death, and with absolutely no mercy!

This sudden reversal from Young Master Gao left everyone present completely dumbstruck, their expressions shifting in disbelief. What on earth was going on? Did Young Master Gao actually know that young man?

"Not angry?" Chen Fei snorted coldly. "You make it sound so easy. You tried to make a move on my woman, and now you're telling me not to be angry? Hmph!"

Hearing those two words—"my woman"—our Young Master Gao couldn't help but feel his knees tremble.

He was all too aware of the place this man held in his father's heart. Why, even Uncle Huang—Huang Tao, an Executive Vice Mayor—seemed to respect this man even more than his own father did. And now, he had been reckless enough to make a move on Chen Fei's woman. He was truly courting death!

Cold sweat poured down Young Master Gao's forehead. He spun around and suddenly kicked Zhang Xuanfeng square in the chest. "Fucking Zhang Xuanfeng, you bastard! You dared to set me up!" His roar was followed by a stream of graceless curses and a frenzy of slaps so loud they made one's own hands ache just from hearing them. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! This kid has gone insane!

"This, this…" The crowd watched Young Master Gao furiously slap Zhang Xuanfeng, their eyes almost falling out from shock.

The crowd was completely dumbfounded. This was Young Master Gao, son of Director Gao Zhinan of Vast Sea Group! Just moments ago, he had been so imposing and dignified. Now, in front of this stranger, he was like a mouse that had seen a cat. He raised his hand and, ignoring the pain, began slapping Zhang Xuanfeng's face with crazed abandon, almost beating him senseless. What in the absolute hell is going on!?

"Ah!" Guan Shiyin covered her mouth in utter shock, unable to believe what she was seeing was real.

As for Jie Meiling, she stood there with a deathly pale face, as if petrified, feeling as if her scalp was about to explode.

She couldn't understand why Young Master Gao would suddenly turn on them and attack one of his own. Either he had gone mad, or that pretty boy had such a powerful background that even the son of the city's richest man was terrified of him. At this thought, her vision went black, and she fainted.

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