After leaving the Qin family’s hotel, Tong Yi called a driver to take him and Jiang Li to a park in the western suburbs. The park was a property of the Tong family, so the staff there naturally recognized Tong Yi and treated him with the utmost respect.
Seeing that Tong Yi was accompanied by a girl, the manager in charge immediately asked if he wanted to clear the area. Although he was seeking Tong Yi’s opinion, his eyes were fixed intently on Jiang Li.
Jiang Li immediately shook her head, “This place is meant for leisure and entertainment. If we can come here to have fun, so can others. There’s no need to clear the area.”
Hearing this, the manager said with a smile, “Please don’t worry, Miss. You’re a guest personally brought by the Second Young Master. If you don’t want to be disturbed, it’s quite easy to clear the area.”
Jiang Li glanced at the manager. Although she was smiling, her eyes were icy cold. “This park seems to have a nice environment and a high standard of service. The majority of the people who come here probably aren’t your regular folks, right? When you go to clear the area without prior warning, are you also planning to tell them that the Second Young Master of the Tong family is kicking them out?”
Upon hearing this, the manager’s expression immediately turned awkward. As the person in charge of the park, he was well aware of the awkward relationship between the Second Young Master and President Tong. He also knew that the Second Young Master’s reputation as a troublemaker had spread widely, thanks in no small part to the president fanning the flames behind the scenes.
So, when he saw the Second Young Master bringing a girl over, he immediately suggested clearing the area. Teenage girls tend to be vain—with a few compliments, she would surely fall for it. As for the Second Young Master, once the girl requested it, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
When he went to clear the area, all he needed to say was that it was the Second Young Master’s order, and he would ‘help’ the Second Young Master offend quite a few people. In this way, even if the Second Young Master was the top scorer in the college entrance exam or had recently made some name for himself, people in the social circle still wouldn’t take him seriously.
Unexpectedly, the girl who came with the Second Young Master saw through his intentions immediately and directly brought the issue to light.
The manager’s expression became awkward, but Jiang Li completely ignored him. She turned to Tong Yi and said, “This manager clearly lacks good judgment. Can you fire him directly?”
He nodded immediately, “That should be doable. Wait a moment, I’ll call my uncle.” With that, Tong Yi pulled out his phone and called Tong Bingran. As soon as the call connected, he casually said, “Good afternoon, Uncle!”
As soon as he heard his nephew’s voice, Tong Bingran knew it couldn’t be anything good, but he still replied with a smile, “Good afternoon. You’re not calling to tell me you’ve gotten into trouble again, are you?”
Tong Yi quickly replied, “Not at all, it’s just that the management at the western park is a bit out of line. As soon as I arrived, they started talking about clearing the area. Many of the guests here are probably of high status, but he said clearing the area would be easy. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
Tong Bingran immediately said, “Well, the customer is always king. Of course you can’t just clear the area at will. Just ignore him.”
Tong Yi sighed, “I don’t mind, but this person is so out of line. I wonder if it’s because of you, Uncle, or my cousin. Maybe I should ask the guests here if they’ve offended you two?”
Tong Bingran felt his temples throbbing, “Xiao Yi, you’re in your twenties now. Stop throwing tantrums like a child. Fine, I’ll just fire that person. Does that work?”
“Sure, why not? After all, he’s your employee, so you can do whatever you want. Oh, by the way, I accidentally recorded our conversation just now. Don’t go telling people later that I’m the one who got your employee fired.”
Tong Yi spoke with his usual nonchalant air, but Tong Bingran knew that his nephew was sending him a clear message: he couldn’t continue ruining his reputation.
Tong Bingran sighed helplessly, wishing his own son was as clever as his nephew.
After hanging up the phone, Tong Yi put his arm around Jiang Li’s shoulder and said, “See? I told you I could get him fired, but you didn’t believe me.”
Jiang Li gave him a thumbs up, “Yeah, you’re pretty impressive, Big Nephew.”
“No, no, our Jiang Xiao Li is even more impressive. You could see right through his attempt to set me up. I’m not as sharp as you.”
Jiang Li raised her hand and ruffled his hair, “Keep learning from your aunt, and you’ll become just as impressive.”
Of course she didn’t actually believe that Tong Yi hadn’t noticed the manager’s intentions. It was just that he had been playing the role of a troublemaker for so long that he didn’t care. However, while Tong Yi didn’t mind, she did. She was protective of those close to her and wasn’t about to let anyone bully her big nephew.
With the sudden firing of the manager, the other staff members’ attitudes toward Tong Yi immediately changed. They didn’t want to offend this Second Young Master and end up like the manager. However, it seemed that the person they actually couldn’t afford to offend was the girl who came with the young master, because he seemed to follow her every word without question.
It wasn’t surprising, though. After all, even heroes fall for beauty, and this girl’s looks were definitely top-tier, outshining even many celebrities. It was only logical for the Second Young Master to shower her with such affection!
The park’s operations weren’t affected at all by the loss of one manager. After achieving her goal, Jiang Li looked at Tong Yi and said, “Let’s go to the haunted house.”
Tong Yi paused, “Jiang Xiao Li, why does it seem like that you’re especially fixated on haunted houses?”
Jiang Li nodded earnestly, “Because I do. My whole reason for coming here was to visit the haunted house.”
“But didn’t you say haunted houses are childish?”
Jiang Li nodded again, “Yeah, they are quite childish, but I’m here to play with my nephew, so naturally, we should do something a bit childish.”
Tong Yi: “…”
In the end, he was dragged into the haunted house by Jiang Li, who quickly noticed that he was genuinely frightened of ghosts. Even though the staff’s acting was obviously fake, her big nephew was timid the whole way through, and by the latter half, he was clinging to her arm and wouldn’t let go.
When a zombie with glowing green eyes suddenly jumped out, Jiang Li was ready to team up with the zombie and give her big nephew a good scare. But before she could react, she found herself lifted off the ground. Tong Yi carried her all the way to the exit before putting her down and hugging her tightly, “Jiang Xiao Li, if you’re scared, just say so. My shoulder is here for you.”
Jiang Li: “…” This big nephew, while stubborn as a mule, is actually kind of cute!
Because Tong Yi was so scared, Jiang Li relented and decided not to push him away, opting to comfort him instead.
From an angle that Jiang Li couldn’t see, a slight smile curved on Tong Yi’s lips. He had realized that Jiang Xiao Li enjoyed watching him embarrass himself—the more exaggerated he looked, the more fun she had.
If that’s the case, he might as well play along with her little antics.
As such, Tong Yi kept holding onto Jiang Li, showing no sign of letting go. Jiang Li really wanted to push him away, but she noticed his heart was beating rapidly—he probably hadn’t recovered from the scare yet!
Oh well, she might as well comfort him a little longer.
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Author’s Note:
Tong Yi: “I’m genuinely scared of ghosts. My heart’s really racing!”
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