MMB Chapter 22 Threat
Chapter 22 Threat
The smile on Chen Xiong's face vanished completely.
He stared at Lin Dong for a full five seconds.
In five seconds, his gaze shifted from surprise to scrutiny, then to an offended anger, and finally settled into a deep, unfathomable gloom.
"Ah Dong,"
He slowly sat up straight, placing his hands clasped on the tea table—a habitual posture he adopted when discussing important business. "You're eighteen this year, right?"
Lin Dong didn't answer, and took another puff of his cigarette.
Eighteen years old, a good age.
Chen Xiong continued speaking to himself, his tone reminiscent of a sigh, "When I was eighteen, I was still carrying bags at the dock. Each bag weighed two hundred pounds, and I carried fifty bags a day. My shoulders were chafed and bleeding, and I couldn't sleep at night because of the pain."
"At that time, I thought to myself, I can't carry bags for the rest of my life."
He picked up his teacup and took a sip of the now-cold tea: "So later I borrowed money, made loans, and collected debts. Step by step, I've gotten to where I am today."
He put down his teacup, his gaze returning to Lin Dong's face: "Do you know how many people have said 'no' to me along the way?"
Lin Dong flicked his cigarette ash and didn't say anything.
"a lot of."
Chen Xiong asked and answered himself, "Some people borrowed money and didn't want to pay it back, some wanted to steal my business, and some thought my methods were too ruthless and wanted to sue me."
He paused, then lowered his voice: "Do you know where they are right now?"
The sounds of the Lantern Festival parade drifted in from outside the window—the deafening drums and the joyful laughter.
But the private room was so quiet that you could hear the faint gurgling sound of the tea boiling at the bottom of the pot.
Lin Dong exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Chen Xiong without replying.
Chen Xiong laughed, a laugh tinged with pity and warning: "Some are in wheelchairs, never to stand again. Some are in mental hospitals, talking nonsense all day. And then there are..."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tea table, and brought his face close to Lin Dong's.
"I don't even know where I am."
A blatant threat of death.
Lin Dong paused, his fingers holding the cigarette.
Chen Xiong caught this subtle movement, and a flash of smugness crossed his eyes.
Young people are still young people; they'll still be scared when they hear things like that.
"Your dad has a bad back."
Chen Xiong continued, his tone even bordering on earnest, "Your mother has a heart condition. She went to the hospital a few days ago, and my people saw her. The elderly are getting on in years, and her health is of utmost importance. She needs to be especially careful when she goes out."
He paused, as if choosing his words carefully: "During the first month of the lunar year, the streets are crowded with cars and people. What if you accidentally trip and fall, or eat something unclean..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
But the meaning is already quite clear.
Lin Dong's fingers, holding the cigarette, froze in mid-air.
The flickering light from the cigarette butt was reflected in his pupils.
Chen Xiong's words still echoed in my ears... "Your dad has a bad back... Your mom has heart problems... What if she eats something unclean..."
These words pierced Lin Dong's heart like needles.
Images from my past life suddenly flooded back: my father's hunched back as he smoked at the entrance of the hardware factory; my mother sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching her chest and panting, in the middle of the night; and that winter when my father fell and lay in bed for three whole months...
Back then, my family was poor and couldn't afford good medicine.
The mother took care of the father during the day and cried secretly at night.
And the source of all this is the person in front of you.
Lin Dong slowly raised his head.
His face was expressionless, but the calmness in his eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a cold, almost tangible chill.
"Chen Xiong,"
He spoke, his voice very soft, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "What did you just say? Say it again."
Chen Xiong felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, but he still steeled himself and said, "I said, the old man isn't in good health, he needs to..."
"Snapped!"
Lin Dong suddenly raised his hand and slammed the cigarette out onto the tea table.
The cigarette butt was crushed, sparks flew, and a charred mark was burned into the expensive wood.
This action was too sudden and too violent, completely different from the calm and smoking Lin Dong from just now.
Chen Xiong was stunned.
"Threatening my parents?"
Lin Dong stood up, looking down at Chen Xiong. "Chen Xiong, do you know what you just said?"
His voice wasn't loud, but the air in the private room seemed to freeze at those words.
Ten years ago, you lent my dad money for my medical treatment.
Lin Dong said, word by word, "Back then, my dad knelt down before you, and you said, 'Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.'"
"For the past ten years, my family has paid back the money every month without missing a single penny of interest."
"I've brought the principal and interest with me today, and I want to settle things with you."
He leaned forward, placed his hands on the tea table, and brought his face close to Chen Xiong's:
"And now you're telling me you're going to harm my parents?"
Chen Xiong subconsciously shrank back.
"good,"
Lin Dong straightened up, a smile suddenly appearing on his face, but the smile was chilling. "Since you want to play this game, then I'll play with you."
He sat down again, his movements slow, each one carrying a suppressed anger.
"You just asked me if I was afraid something might happen to my family?" Lin Dong looked at him. "Now I'll tell you..."
"You're the one who should be afraid."
He took out his phone, pulled up a photo, and threw it in front of Chen Xiong.
It was a family photo.
The photo shows Chen Xiong and his family of three. His wife and son are laughing in the park. His son, who looks about seven or eight years old, is holding a balloon.
Chen Xiong's expression changed instantly: "You...where did you come from...?"
"Your son is in Class 2, Grade 3 at Experimental Primary School. His homeroom teacher's surname is Wang. Your wife takes him to school at 7:30 every morning and picks him up at 4:00 in the afternoon."
Lin Dong's voice was calm and his tone was cold. "Last Wednesday, your son had a fever, and your wife took him to the pediatric department of the People's Hospital. She used your brother-in-law's medical insurance card to register him."
Chen Xiong's hands began to tremble violently.
"Your wife goes to the beauty salon every Tuesday afternoon and plays mahjong every Thursday morning. Her mahjong partners are the wife of Deputy Director Li from the Finance Bureau, the sister of Section Chief Zhang from the Tax Bureau, and..."
"Enough!" Chen Xiong stood up abruptly, his face deathly pale. "What...what do you want to do?!"
"What do I want to do?"
Lin Dong also stood up, and the two faced off across the tea table. "You were the one who asked me first if I was afraid something would happen to my family."
Now I answer you: I am not afraid.
"Because if you dare to lay a finger on my parents' heads..."
He stared into Chen Xiong's eyes, his voice as cold as ice, "I guarantee your wife and children will suffer ten times worse than you imagine."
Chen Xiong slumped back into his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained.
Lin Dong lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and barely managed to suppress the anger in his heart.
Just now, he truly had murderous intent.
He would never allow the suffering his parents endured in their past life to be repeated in this one.
He would kill anyone who touched his family.
"Now,"
Lin Dong exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice returning to its calm tone, but beneath that calm lay a chilling killing intent. "We can talk about your old scumbag affairs now."