"Nothing, I didn't see anything at all." Jason avoided John's gaze with a guilty conscience, as if he really didn't see anything and knew nothing.
John was a little satisfied after hearing his response. While enduring the pain in his head, he straightened his clothes in a serious manner, pretending as if nothing had happened.
He couldn't, at all costs, bear to lose face.
However, his anger towards Nina had reached extreme limits. He had made up his mind that he would find another good opportunity to take his revenge on her in the future.
Nina was a beauty he could not ignore, but unfortunately, she had done such unforgivable things.
In many ways, they somehow had a lot of similarities.
"Do you need to go to the hospital? I can bring you there," suggested Jason. As John's brother-in-law, he felt that he had an obligation and responsibility to take care of John's well-being. If something really bad were to happen to John, he would never have a peaceful day at home.
John raised his head then and glared at him with a forbidding look, which made Jason immediately shut up. It was fine then, if John really wanted to insist that nothing had happened. If that was the case, why would there be a need to go to the hospital?
"Do not make a mountain out of a molehill," John sneered with a cold, dismissive snort and reached out his hand to touch his head. Without a doubt, it was a little painful. But in order to save face, he had to endure it silently without any complaint. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he held his pent-up anger within.
Enraged, he shouted fiercely, "Ask James to come over here now!"
"Okay, I'll call him up." Jason picked up his phone and dialed James' phone number. "James, John wants you to come to the hotel immediately. Pronto, right now."
"What?" Unable to hold his scream and with legs trembling, James tried in vain to recall if he had done something wrong.
Why was John suddenly asking him to meet up with him in such a hurry? Was there something wrong with the hotel reservation that he booked? Gosh! It was a wide-known fact that John would not hold back when he was angry and nobody would be able to stop him from doing terrible things.
James immediately pushed the girl in his arms away, picked up his coat and ran out of the bar with great haste. He rushed to the hotel as fast as he could, as if he was taking part on a marathon race.
The atmosphere in the hotel room gradually changed and became more and more subtle. Outside the window, the neon lights were flashing brightly, and the heating in the room was sufficient and warm. However, the coldness in John's heart intensified by the second and could not be dispelled.
He was lying on the sofa, his face livid with uncontrolled rage. Out of his own volition, his left hand inadvertently touched the beaten part of his head. His overbearing persona prevented any stranger to get close to him.
Even his brother-in-law didn't dare to get close to him.
"John, who called you honey in the elevator just now?" Jason inquired as he tried to break the embarrassing atmosphere. The ambiance in the room was so weird that he carefully tried to change the topic in hopes of pacifying John's anger.
Jason was reminded of the voice of the girl he had heard on the phone a while ago. Instead of erupting in anger, John paused for a moment in contemplation. Jason was left wondering if John might have a crush on the girl.
Would talking about her make John feel better?
However, to Jason's utter surprise, the livid face of John became even darker. John slowly turned his head and stared at Jason indignantly, which made Jason shiver in fear.
For a moment, Jason was left speechless and could not do anything as he sat quietly aside.
After a long time, John gritted his teeth and replied sarcastically, "She is the girl you met just now."
Was the girl who hit John the same girl who called him honey?
Jason and John grew up together and knew each other well. They had a tacit understanding, and it was not difficult for Jason to understand what John really meant to say. Jason couldn't keep his curiosity in check and whispered to himself, "Who could that girl be?"
Jason had no intention of letting John hear his mumbling, but the room was too quiet, thus making his murmurs audible to John.
"She was sent to me by James."
"Was she the surprise that James gave you the day you came back from abroad?"
"Yes, she was."
"And you slept with her?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then she called you honey?"
"Yes, she did."
"And she was the one that hit you?"
"Hmm?" The sudden change in John's tone and the prolonged ending of his hesitant reply made Jason's heart beat faster. Jason fawned over him and chuckled nervously to try to cover up his stupid line of questioning.
Joh
n's face was as deathly pale, and the blue veins on his forehead bulged with every breath he took. Jason was able to breathe a sigh of relief upon realizing that John's wrath was not directed towards him. By all means, he didn't want to be the cause of his raging fury, and was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, he also mourned for James' plight in his heart.
It seemed as if John would vent his anger out on James and punish him severely.
The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from the corridor. Suddenly, John raised his head and stared straight at the door. His lips were tightened savagely, and his hands had already balled into fists.
Jason immediately rushed to open the door for James and sympathetically patted him on the shoulder. James was breathing heavily and was out of breath from running.
"I wish you safety," Jason prayed, unable to do anything else.
James was 1.8 meters tall, well-proportioned, and was presently wearing casual light-colored clothes and a pair of expensive sneakers. He had a handsome face, and yet he always wore a wicked grin, making people who saw him have the impression that he was a playboy.
There was smell of alcohol and smoke around him. He must have just come out of a bar. Jason wrinkled his nose in annoyance and couldn't help but take half a step back. 'James is getting bolder and bolder every day, ' he thought.
Sam, the head of the Shi family, had three sons and a daughter. John was his youngest son, and he was the most favored one in the whole family.
Jason's wife was Jessica Shi, the third offspring and the only daughter. The second son was Nelson Shi, whose only son was just ten years old.
Only the eldest son, Daniel Shi, had two children, a son and a daughter.
James was the eldest son of Daniel Shi and had a high status in the family.
Being spoiled rotten by the whole family, James had always been arrogant and unruly. There was only one person he was extremely afraid of, and that was John, his uncle.
In the presence of John, James would be sublimely obedient like a mouse seeing a cat, not even daring to speak out a word without permission.
Daniel and his wife were both smart. Seeing that only John could intimidate and control James, they handed over James to John for supervision. This made James awfully frightened and he had cried, pretended to be sick, run away from home, and even gone on a hunger strike, but all his actions were to no avail. In the end, no matter what he did, he still couldn't escape from being under the supervision of John.
"Uncle Jason, who has dared to offend Uncle John?" With one hand on the wall, James opened his mouth and panted heavily. He had run as fast as he could without worrying about his throat after taking in the cold wind. He just hoped that Jason would tell him what had happened.
Jason didn't dare to speak loudly in fear of aggravating John's outrage. He disclosed the recent event to James in a low voice. "Your uncle was hit. And a girl did it."
He emphasized "hit" and "girl" on purpose, hoping that James would be able understand the hidden meaning himself.
"What? Who was hit by a girl?" James stared at Jason with wide eyes in disbelief.
"Your uncle John."
"Uncle John? Really?" It was such a big joke. How could there be someone who would dare to do such an unthinkable thing? She must really be brave indeed!
James was really curious to know who this brazen girl could be so he could pay her a visit in person another day.
He asked with a sinister smirk, "Have you seen what happened with your own eyes?"
"Yeah, almost," Jason replied, looking dejected and unlucky. It would be lucky for him if he had not seen what had happened. But now that he had seen it with his very own eyes, he would definitely suffer a lot in the future for having witnessed such an embarrassing incident.
"Then, you will be punished miserably," James stated with a gloating look on his face. By then, he hadn't realized yet that he would be in an even bigger trouble.
"You are in an even more miserable state than I am. The girl who hit your uncle was the same one you sent him after he just came abroad!" Jason countered back gloatingly, mouthed "take care," and abruptly pushed James in.
James was silent and had nothing to say.
He felt terrified to the bones.
He knew that he was in deep trouble and that he was about to suffer severely. His body stiffened in anticipation of John's punishment and his legs became weak in an instant.
Then, he raised his head and prayed inwardly. His only hope was that John would spare him his life for the sake of having the same origin, and to let him live the rest of his life in peace to atone for his sin.
"Why are you dillydallying there for? Come in quickly!" John snapped angrily.