Chapter 32: Rick and Hana Lee, Meet the Four Families!

Chapter 32: Rick and Hana Lee, Meet the Four Families!

"Every year I meet the families in a clockwise fashion to be fair and not pick favorites," my father-in-law explained as we stepped away from our table. "So we will greet the Long, Lang, Tang, and Feng in that exact order based on where we are sitting."

I kept my left hand rested casually against Hana's waist, adjusting my stride to match theirs. "Makes sense. Plus, it lets us get one of my future teachers out of the way early with the Long clan."

Dean John Chang—or dad, as I was supposed to call him now—had polished social skills that were clearly built for high-stakes networking. A few guests tried to stop him along the way, but he managed to untangle himself from the unnecessary small talk without looking rude, keeping us moving straight toward the back left table right by the main stage.

The Long family spotted our group of three approaching, and the collective look that washed over their faces was a real mixed bag. Out of everyone sitting at that table, the current Head, Kimberly Long, and her younger sister, Victoria Long, had expressions that were distinctly less than friendly the moment their eyes landed on me. I stared back, wondering if I had somehow managed to completely piss off Victoria without even trying.

"I came to give my seasonal greetings to the Long family," my father-in-law said smoothly, stepping up to the table with an easy smile. "And especially to you, Teacher Long. Thank you all for coming out to support this fundraiser for my daughter's hospital."

Kimberly Long, the family Head, completely ignored the pleasantries and looked past the Dean, locking her eyes straight onto me. "Hello again, Dean Chang. I am well aware of who your daughter is from previous years, but who exactly is this young man standing with her?"

Only Hana truly understood the sudden wave of prejudice coming off those two sisters. Her father and I were completely ignorant of whatever ancient history or grudge they were harboring, which was the exact reason she had insisted on coming along to anchor me.

My new father cheerfully broke the news to the table. "My daughter Hana Lee is newly married to Rick here, making him my brand-new son-in-law. He is actually going to be in your business class this semester, Victoria, so make sure to look after him for us."

Both sisters looked completely taken aback, their polished masks slipping for a split second. The realization that I was married to Hana and backed by the Dean of Star University hit them like a physical blow.

Their eyes dropped to see my hand resting firmly on Hana's waist. Right on cue, acting with absolute wife-magic, Hana let a massive grin spread across her face and proudly held up her left hand to flash her new wedding ring.

"We met a month ago and fell incredibly hard for each other," Hana told them, her voice dripping with playful pride. "He is an absolute genius who completely shares my values and my hobbies. Right, dear?"

I smiled down at her, knowing damn well that our drifting session was the single biggest factor that had caused her affection meter to skyrocket into marriage territory. "She literally saved my life, so of course I fell hard for my doctor."

Victoria narrowed her eyes at me, leaning forward slightly over the table. "Mr. Lee, why exactly did you enroll in a business management class?"

"Because I have already learned the entire curriculum and I just need the actual diploma," I replied, keeping my tone perfectly casual. "So it should be an incredibly easy four years for me."

Victoria's expression tightened. She reached back into her memory, pulling out a highly complex financial question taken straight from a prominent business magazine article published last year, clearly aiming to trip me up right in front of the Dean. "Let us put that theory to the test, then. What is better: one-hundredth of one percent of a one-hundred-billion-dollar market, or twenty-five percent of a forty-million-dollar market?"

My Master-tier Business Management skill fired instantly, retrieving the exact case study from my mind and reshaping the wording just enough so I wouldn't sound like a textbook-spewing robot.

"They are completely equal in raw dollar terms," I said without missing a single beat. "But for a variety of practical reasons, capturing that incredibly thin slice of a massive, heavily contested pie is much harder and significantly less profitable than owning a massive chunk of a smaller, stable market. I also happen to have completely memorized the updated corporate tax codes for next year if you ever want to save ten percent on your overhead. Oh, wait, I probably shouldn't tell you the trick just yet. I don't have that blasted degree in my hands."

Victoria's left eye twitched violently. She had fully intended to use her position as my professor to make my classes an absolute living hell and force me to drop out of the university entirely, but my answer completely wrecked her opening move.

Hana, being the incredibly wise woman she is, read Victoria's frustration like an open book and immediately struck at her pride to give my ego a solid boost. "See, Teacher Long? I told you my husband is a genius. Plus, he scored a perfect one hundred percent on his entrance test for Star University."

Kimberly Long realized they were losing ground fast, her face hardening as she forced a stiff nod. "Well, Dean Chang, congratulations on your family's good fortunes."

My father-in-law, completely missing the undercurrent of icy hostility coming from the two women, decided it was time to wrap things up. "Well, it was great to visit with you all tonight, but we must head over to greet the Lang family now. Have a wonderful evening."

The moment the three of us turned and walked out of earshot, I leaned closer to the Dean. "The Head and my new teacher did not seem to like me for some reason, father. Teacher Long isn't going to be a massive problem for me, is she? Do I need to completely change my major just to avoid dealing with the Long family?"

"I noticed the cold shoulder as well," he replied, shaking his head firmly. "But absolutely do not change your course. That is entirely her issue, not yours. If she gives you any kind of unfair treatment or grades you poorly out of spite, come straight to my office and I will launch an investigation. She is currently on a trial basis and doesn't have tenure yet, which means I can fire her ass without a second thought."

"I understand," I nodded, my analytical side clicking into gear. "I will make sure to record every single class session and take photos of all my graded work as hard evidence just in case she tries anything."

Meanwhile, back at the Long family table, the atmosphere had gone completely radioactive the second we left.

"That little bastard looks exactly like his father did back in the day," Kimberly hissed, her voice dripping with pure venom. "What genius? Victoria, you make absolutely sure that kid does not pass your class. Our sister was utterly humiliated by his father, so a bit of old-fashioned justice against the son is perfectly reasonable."

"If I target the Dean's son-in-law, I will lose my job permanently," Victoria countered, her voice low as she looked around the room. "And I could tell just from that brief interaction that he actually knows his stuff. Besides, the kid is a proven killer. I don't think I am stupid enough to mess with him directly. Did you completely ignore the reports about him killing five heavily armed men in a blink of an eye? He literally downed a helicopter. Our niece saw it happen with her own eyes. No way am I crossing him."

Kimberly scoffed loudly, waving her hand dismissively. "Fine, you coward. If you won't touch him, then I will personally call in some masters from the Mountain Temple to teach that brat a proper lesson."

"Sister, if he ends up killing them too, the Mountain Temple will never forgive our family for putting them in his path," Victoria warned, a chill running down her spine.

"Oh, please. There is absolutely no way a kid that age can fight real martial arts masters. I can believe he understands advanced business, but claiming he can slaughter masters is a total joke. Don't make me laugh."

Internally, Victoria felt her sister was going completely overboard, but Kimberly's explosive temper was second to none, making her entirely irrational when it came to old grudges. Especially against a kid who had done absolutely nothing to the Long clan. Her gut instinct about me was tracking perfectly, but her sister was too blinded by hate to see it.

Back with my group, we arrived at the next table.

The members of the Lang family spotted the three of us approaching, and unlike the previous table, their expressions were significantly friendlier.

"Hello, Lang family," my father-in-law greeted warmly. "My daughter, my new son-in-law, and I wanted to deliver our personal greetings and thank you all for attending the event today."

George Lang looked up in genuine surprise, pointing back and forth between Hana and me. "Mr. Lee and your daughter are already married? I had absolutely no idea."

"Indeed they are," the Dean beamed, before looking down at the young woman sitting next to George. "And hello there, you must be little Linda Lang, right? Congratulations on earning the second-place ranking and getting into Star University. Let me know if you ever run into any issues with your classes, and I will gladly help you out."

Linda, maintaining her usual flat, unreadable personality, offered a polite nod to the Dean. "Thank you, Dean Chang. It was honestly a humbling experience for me to take second place. Now I know I must work significantly harder."

I looked down at her, my street-smart instincts taking over. "Miss Lang, remember to actually rest and don't overdo your study hours. You can't learn properly or perform at your best if your mind is completely exhausted."

George Lang stared at me oddly, noticing immediately that my tone with his daughter was completely professional, utterly ignoring any past connection between us. "Mr. Lee, you spent a full four years attending the same school as my daughter, and yet you are acting as if you don't even know each other?"

The sheer mention of the past caused a massive wave of anger toward Scott Tang to surge straight to the surface. I looked directly at George, my mind instantly flashing back to the driver present at the warehouse fight that day. There was no way this asshole didn't know exactly what had been happening to me.

"Mercy Mu must have reported the exact details of my ongoing conflict with Scott Tang to you by now," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerously sharp whisper. "The man is personally responsible for almost killing me two separate times, and he beat me a total number of twenty-one times over the years, all for Linda's sake. So please, do not treat me like an ignorant man. Of course the fiancee of my attempted murderer is going to be completely ignored by me."

The sudden, tense silence at the table was making my blood boil. Realizing I was on the verge of losing my cool in public, I immediately activated my Acting skill, forcing my facial muscles to relax as I actively fought down the white-hot anger in my chest.

"I apologize to the Lang family for my sudden outburst," I added, smoothing out my voice to sound collected. "I am sure none of you here tonight were aware of those specific details, and I blamed you all too harshly. If you will excuse me for a moment, I am going to head to the restroom to wash my face."

Hana looked deeply worried, but she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and let me walk away so I could clear my head outside the main hall for a bit.

To be honest, I actually really needed to piss anyway, so the timing worked out perfectly.

While I was walking away, Hana and her father decided to keep moving along the clockwise path to greet the Tang family table, completely unaware of just how bad of an idea it was to send the Dean to that specific spot without me. But right before they reached the table, Hana leaned in and gave her father a brief, brutal explanation of exactly what Scott Tang had done to me over the years.

Hearing the truth, my new father-in-law instantly tossed Scott straight into his mental shit-basket, his entire demeanor hardening as they stepped up to the White Tiger clan.

Walking away from the Lang table, I was absolutely boiling inside. I was feeling deeply pissed off that George Lang actually had the nerve to bring up his daughter to my face, completely acting like he didn't know exactly what kind of hell I had been through because of her. If he genuinely didn't know about Scott Tang hunting me down over her, then he had absolutely no business running a powerful noble house in the first place.

The moment I pushed through the doors into the grand restroom, my honed instincts instantly detected two people inside, and they happened to be two absolute assholes whose faces and scents I had permanently memorized from the brutal beating on my birthday. One of them was currently using a toilet stall, his heavy trousers hitting the tile floor with a dull thud. The other stood completely relaxed at the urinal, right in the middle of taking a leak.

They were Scott Tang's personal muscle.

Given the white-hot mood I was already in from the dining hall, seeing Scott's prime bodyguards standing there with their backs completely turned, utterly failing to notice my entrance, sent a jolt of pure adrenaline straight through my veins. I didn't think. I simply moved on pure animal instinct and launched into a cold, silent attack.

I moved across the polished tile floor like a literal reaper of death, closing the distance in less than a second. I came up directly behind Bob, who was still mid-piss at the urinal. Before he could even register a shadow, I reached out, clamped my fingers tightly into the short hair at the back of his shaven head, and slammed his face forward with maximum force straight into the hard tiled wall.

Smack! Crack! Thud!

The sheer impact cracked his nose wide open and shattered his expensive sunglasses right across his eyes. The blow knocked him out cold instantly. He slumped forward, his unconscious body sliding down the wall as he continued to pee all over himself, eventually tumbling head-first right into the wet stall floor.

The loud commotion echoed off the hard surfaces of the restroom, immediately alerting the second guard.

"Bob, what was that? Are you alright over there?"

I didn't freeze. Activating my Acting skill, I seamlessly altered my throat muscles to perfectly imitate Bob's gruff, deep voice, making it sound like I was merely shaking off a heavy piss.

"I am good."

To make absolutely sure Jack wouldn't be able to identify my face in a police report later, I pulled the sleeve of my black suit jacket up high, covering the entire lower half of my face. I took two swift steps forward, squared my hips, and drove my heel straight into the center of the locked stall door.

BANG!

The door lock sheared completely out of the frame, the metal barrier flying open to reveal a thoroughly stunned and confused Jack sitting on the toilet.

Crunch! Crack! Thud!

Before he could even attempt to stand or reach for a weapon, I snapped a brutal kick directly into his face. The localized impact shattered his nose, smashed his sunglasses into his eyes, and knocked his brain into complete unconsciousness against the back wall of the stall. But I wasn't done yet.

This was the exact guy who had held me down and punched me until I was near death on the concrete.

Thud, crack! Thud, crack! Thud, crack! Thud, crack!

I delivered four rapid, calculated punches straight into the exact four ribs he had bruised on my body during that beating. I didn't use lethal force, but I made absolutely sure to crack all four of those ribs completely, ensuring that every single breath he took for the next two months would be an agonizing reminder of tonight.

With the debt paid, I walked over to an empty urinal, casually took a leak to handle my actual business, and thoroughly washed my hands with soap at the sink.

I reached into my leather wallet, pulled out one of my slim lock-picking tension tools, and manually jammed the lock mechanism of the main restroom door from the inside before stepping out. I made sure to use my Cat Burglar skill to completely wipe down every single surface, handle, and faucet I had touched, leaving absolutely zero fingerprints behind. I grabbed a bright yellow [ out of order ] floor stand from the open janitor's closet down the hall and placed it squarely in front of the locked bathroom door.

On my way back to the main event hall, my analytical mind caught a strange detail on my phone's interface that left me thoroughly confused. I had fully intended to remotely hack into the venue's local server and erase all the security camera files showing my movement to the bathroom, but looking at the telemetry feed, it looked like someone had already wiped that exact block of time clean from the digital ledger. Was there another high-tier hacker actively playing games at this event tonight?

Brushing the thought aside for now, I activated my Cat Burglar skills again to blend seamlessly into the background, sneaking back inside the massive convention hall entirely unnoticed. I kept my posture relaxed and low-profile, ensuring that very few people in the crowded room even had a chance to register my return.

Across the field of tables, my father-in-law and Hana were just finishing up their tense conversation at the Tang family table. They both looked up, noticing me leaning casually against a pillar with a wide grin on my face, waiting patiently for my family to return and showing absolutely zero interest in speaking to the White Tiger clan.

The current Head of the family, Anthony Tang, noticed me as well. His stern face hardened as he raised a hand and firmly waved me over to their table, drawing shocked looks from everyone sitting around him. I blinked, surprised myself, but I knew I couldn't exactly ignore a direct invitation from the patriarch of a major house right in front of the Dean.

I walked over, sliding my arm right back around Hana's slender waist and pulling her hip tight against mine. To settle the lingering anger in my chest and keep my facial muscles under control, I deliberately focused my thoughts on the memory of the beautiful twins, Nadia and Nichole, which instantly helped ground my emotions.

"Hello, Rick Lee," Anthony Tang said, his deep voice carrying a strange weight as he looked me up and down. "I heard you are the new son-in-law to our good Dean here. Congratulations on the marriage."

"Thank you, Head Tang," I replied, keeping my expression perfectly schooled. "It was ultimately the sum of all my past misfortunes that led me straight to Hana, bringing me the immense good fortune I have today."

Sitting right next to his father, Scott Tang couldn't help himself. He sneered openly, leaning forward with pure arrogance radiating off his face. "Don't forget your place, Lee. Stay the hell away from Linda."

The sheer arrogance in his tone caused my Acting skill to slip for a split second. A cold, dangerous grin of pure anger spread across my face as I stared directly into Scott's eyes, dropping a heavy truth bomb right on his lap.

"Are you still regular pen-pals with Mei Xia? You did tell everyone she was completely innocent, right?"

Scott’s face drained of color instantly, his jaw tightening in sheer panic. Before he could erupt, his father slammed a hand down onto the table, his voice cutting through the air like a knife.

"Scott, say one more word and you can leave this venue permanently. Rick Lee, we only want to enjoy the evening, so perhaps we should cut our chat short for now, but I would highly like to invite you over to the Tang estate for a formal meal sometime soon."

"Someday maybe," I lied smoothly, knowing damn well that day would be never. "Thanks for greeting me, Head Tang."

The moment the three of us turned to walk away toward the final table, I turned to my father-in-law with an apologetic shrug. "Father, I am so sorry for the last three family tables being so incredibly awkward. But I actually do some contract work for the Feng family, so at the very least, they probably don't completely hate my guts."

Dean John Chang patted my back firmly, letting out a loud, hearty laugh that cleared the remaining tension. "Son, I have two functional eyes and I can see exactly who is who and what has been going on here. I have been navigating the muddy waters of these noble circles for a very long time now. Let us go greet the Feng family properly, and then we can finally get some food."

Back at the Tang table, the moment we were out of earshot, Scott slammed his fist down in frustration.

"Dad! Why the hell did you just shame me like that in front of that little bastard?"

Anthony Tang had a deeply complicated look on his face as he watched my retreating back. He had been quietly observing the raw, explosive tension between his son and me, realizing we were circling each other like two wild beasts with absolutely zero regard for the future repercussions. He looked down at Scott, his tone chillingly ambiguous.

"If a Dragon and a Tiger truly fought to the death, Scott, who do you think would actually win? No, don't bother answering—you are far too ignorant to understand the weight of that question. I know exactly what you have been doing behind the scenes, and you have gone far past the point of simple reconciliation with that boy."

Scott scoffed loudly, waving a hand dismissively. "Are you seriously talking about that little trash Rick Lee? Haha! Come on, Dad, I know exactly who he is. I have known since middle school. The kid is complete garbage, he is no Tiger."

The patriarch of the Tang family let out a long, heavy sigh, looking at his pampered, short-sighted son with a mixture of pity and disappointment as he muttered under his breath. "The fact that you are knowingly doing it makes this even worse. Now I can't even tell the others the truth... tigers aren't supposed to eat their own, sigh."

Finally, as our group of three approached the Feng family table, we were met with a wall of genuine, warm smiles.

Tony Feng, who had already caught wind of my frosty interactions with the Long and Lang tables and easily guessed how badly the Tang family had acted, looked thoroughly amused. He clearly thought the other major houses were a bunch of blind idiots for treating a genius killer like dirt.

"Dean Chang, Dr. Chang, and Rick, hello there," Tony Feng greeted loudly, a massive grin on his face. "Looks like you had some pretty rough greetings across the floor tonight?"

Hana, sensing the intense female attention focused on me from the younger Feng daughters, immediately stepped into her possessive wife role. She lifted her left hand high, letting the overhead lights catch the gleaming metal of her new wedding band as she smiled sweetly at the table.

"Thank you for the incredibly warm greeting, Master Feng. But I am officially Dr. Lee now, fufu."

Lane Feng, an incredibly experienced woman who immediately understood Hana's territorial play, let out a soft chuckle and jumped right into the conversation to ease her mind.

"Rick is an absolute excellent catch, Dr. Lee. You certainly have great eyes for locking him down early, ufufu."

Standing next to her mother, Tina Feng stared at the wedding ring on Hana's finger, her expression completely unreadable as she processed the news.

But having been thoroughly trained by her mother in high-society etiquette, she quickly hid her surprise and joined in on the playful banter.

Across the massive room, the heads of the other three elite families frowned deeply as they watched how warmly and enthusiastically the Feng clan was embracing me. Complicated, bitter thoughts began swirling through their heads, particularly within the Lang family, who were realizing they had completely alienated a massive asset.

Tony Feng, being the brilliant businessman he is, made sure to put on a massive public show of our close relationship. He took immense pleasure in watching the blatant buyer's remorse spreading across the faces of his rival clans.

Hana's territorial walls finally began to drop once she realized that Tina and her mother were acting as strategic allies rather than vultures trying to steal her husband. She let her guard down, completely relaxing as we enjoyed the positive atmosphere.

We ended up spending at least twice as long chatting with the Feng family compared to any of the others, and I was formally introduced to Tina's older sister, Jill Feng, a sharp young woman who took entirely after her mother with her striking blonde hair.

When we finally parted ways, the three of us made our way back to our corner table. Mary had already started digging into the high-end catering, a look of pure, unadulterated bliss on her face as she ate. I stepped up behind her, wrapping her in a warm, protective hug before heading toward the long buffet tables to finally get some solid food into my own belly.

The massive high-society party was only just getting started. I had managed to fully vent my anger, thoroughly beat the bastards who had nearly killed me, and locked down a powerful alliance. Now, I could only wonder what kind of chaos the rest of the night would bring.