Chapter 198: A Familiar Face
Yunice had just made a solid impression on Wyatt. Leaving early would definitely rub him the wrong way. So she said into the phone, “It doesn’t sound too serious. It’s probably something you ate. I’ll come by after I wrap this up. In the meantime, just don’t—”
A loud crash came from inside the room. Yunice, Jordan, and the bunny girl immediately turned toward the billiards room where Wyatt and the middle-aged man were. The doors were closed, so they couldn’t see what was going on, but the sounds of smashing and crashing inside were deafening. Something was definitely wrong.
The bunny girl was the first to rush forward and shove open the door. Yunice and Jordan weren’t far behind and squeezed in right behind her—three people, one doorway, too cramped. Jordan grabbed the bunny girl in a bear hug, while Yunice slipped past them and darted into the room.
The middle-aged man and Wyatt were in a brawl. Yunice grabbed a golden ornament off the ceremonial shelf without a second thought and charged toward the man. Jordan caught a glimpse and shouted, “Hey, hey, hey!”
Yunice planted herself behind the man and raised the ornament. “Don’t move! I’m mentally unstable! If I hit someone, it doesn’t count as a crime!”
The middle-aged man turned around slowly. When he saw Yunice holding the ornament over her head, he reflexively shrank back. As his face turned, Yunice froze for a second. The man was covering his head, and his face was streaked with blood. The sound of a cane tapping echoed across the room. Wyatt, his eyes locked onto the man, calmly walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yunice.
The man, now being stared down by four people, let out a sneering sigh, then looked exasperated. He protested, “What the hell do you people think you’re doing? I was just messing around.” He moved his hand away from his head and grimaced when he saw the blood. “Damn it. I’m bleeding.”
Yunice gripped the ornament tighter. She was afraid he might retaliate or call for backup. After all, this was his turf. They were the ones who’d barged in like wolves into the lion’s den.
The bunny girl shook off Jordan’s hand over her mouth and shouted, “Somebody! The boss got attacked! Get in here!” A rush of enforcers came storming in. Even Jordan tensed up at the sight. The middle-aged man raised his hand, and the group froze instantly.
Yunice watched as he pulled the patterned silk scarf from around his neck and wiped the blood off his face. Unfortunately, the more he wiped, the worse it looked. His face ended up smeared and gruesome. But he didn’t seem to care. He casually tossed the scarf aside and said to Wyatt, “Young man, being hot-headed doesn’t pay. You two might not care about broken bones, but there’s a young lady with you…”
He pointed straight at Yunice. He probably thought she’d be scared. But instead, she raised the golden ornament even higher and snapped, “Take down the boss first—if any of you so much as touches us, I’ll smash this thing right over your head!”
The man’s eyes widened, then he curled his lips in a strange, amused smirk. “What, is this what your father taught you? Risking your life over some guy?”
Yunice glanced at Wyatt, also thrown off. The guy had just gotten his head busted open and still had the nerve to be lecturing people? But she wasn’t taking any chances. After exchanging looks with Wyatt, she quickly shifted her stance and readied herself for another strike.
The man glanced at her, unimpressed, then casually picked up his teacup and brushed away the foam on the surface. Yunice paused. Mountain Rose Bitter Blend Tra…? That was the kind of tea her father used to drink all the time. She knew that scent like the back of her hand. No way she was mistaken.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt off about what he said earlier. Most people would say, “Is that what your mom taught you?” Not “dad”—unless he really did know her father…
With a loud clang, the ornament slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. “Mr. Carl,” she whispered.
But before she could even finish the sentence, she noticed the middle-aged man actually chuckling. He set down his teacup and gave a warm smile. “Took you long enough,” he said.
Yunice’s eyes welled with tears. “Mr. Carl…”
Carl Crawford raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you just about to bash my skull in?”
Yunice shook her head furiously, tears streaming down her face. She looked at his bleeding head and quickly said, “Mr. Carl, let me dress your wound…”
The shift in tone was so sudden that nobody in the room knew what to do with themselves. Carl Crawford… was someone Yunice already knew? What was their relationship?
Wyatt looked from Carl to Yunice, who was now crying as she fussed over him, and his stomach turned. So who had he just smashed a tea tray over?
As if he could sense Wyatt’s discomfort, Carl—unapologetically petty—pointed straight at him. “Yunice, he’s the one who hit me.”