Chapter 241 – Broke
Tu Ran, who had failed to act as a mediator and instead made the situation worse, could only brace herself and block the two men’s attacks.
Zhou Ming and Qi Tongda had been roughhousing together for years, so their teamwork was still on point.
One focused on attacking from above, the other from below, forcing Tu Ran to jump around, barely able to keep her feet on the ground.
However, her strength was undeniable. Back when seven members of their squad attacked her together, they couldn’t get the better of her. Now, with just the two of them, and after her recent intense combat experiences, her skills had improved drastically. The two of them didn’t even pose a challenge for her.
Sidestepping quickly, Tu Ran slipped between them and bent her arms at the elbows, delivering sharp blows.
Zhou Ming and Qi Tongda, who were both a step too slow, were instantly flipped over. Zhou Ming crashed heavily into the chair that had been pushed over earlier, shattering it to pieces. Qi Tongda hit the ground, clutching his jaw in pain, his body convulsing.
Xiao Miao, watching from the side, inhaled sharply through his teeth in sympathy.
He hurried over to pull Zhou Ming, who was closest to him, to his feet.
When he moved to help Qi Tongda, he saw that Tu Ran had already extended a hand to him.
Tu Ran reached out to Qi Tongda and said, “Young Master Qi, you won’t hold a grudge against me, right?”
Qi Tongda glared at her irritably. “I’m not that petty.” He took her hand, stood up, and gingerly rubbed his chin as he shakily walked back to his desk, turning his back to Tu Ran and gazing out the window.
There was an inexplicable sadness in his posture.
Young Master Qi couldn’t help but recall the time when he had been part of a seven-on-one attack and Tu Ran had nearly crippled him. It had taken half a month for him to fully recover.
Young Master Qi had wanted to regain the dignity he lost back then.
But before he could reclaim his dignity, even his pride had been trampled into the dirt.
Young Master Qi silently wept inside.
From now on, he would never provoke Tu Ran again—at least not physically.
Unlike the now-silent Qi Tongda, Zhou Ming was as talkative as ever.
That fall had seemingly knocked all sense out of him.
“Tu Ran, how did you get even stronger?!” Zhou Ming pointed at her, his voice a mix of frustration and disbelief.
His body ached, and he could barely stand straight, wobbling as if he were a drunkard looking for a fight.
Xiao Miao had his arms wrapped tightly around Zhou Ming’s waist, preventing him from rushing forward again to get beaten up.
“Tell me! Why is a woman like you so strong?!”
Tu Ran raised an eyebrow and looked at him calmly without saying a word.
“Tu… Ran! Are you hiding your true strength?!” Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes, his expression turning particularly sleazy.
“No, I’m not,” Tu Ran responded, her face looking as innocent as ever.
Zhou Ming wasn’t having it.
“You are hiding your strength,” he declared confidently. Even though the fight hurt, it was clearly less painful than the last time.
“I’m really not.”
“Yes, you are!”
“I’m not,” Tu Ran sighed helplessly.
“You definitely are! Don’t think you can fool me.” He pointed to his eyes with exaggerated suspicion.
Tu Ran felt exhausted, “Alright, fine, I’m hiding my strength.”
“Who do you think you’re looking down on, huh? Why would anyone hide their strength in a fight?!” Zhou Ming suddenly became agitated.
“Brother Zhou, aren’t you just looking for trouble at this point?” Xiao Miao couldn’t help but step in.
“What’s it to you?” Zhou Ming pushed him aside, stumbling before grabbing onto a nearby table to steady himself.
It just so happened to be Qi Tongda’s desk.
Their eyes met.
Qi Tongda’s gaze: The way you’re desperately trying to save face is pathetic.
Zhou Ming’s thought: Why do I suddenly feel like crying?
Qi Tongda’s gaze: Mourning the loss of your dignity.
Zhou Ming: “…”
Qi Tongda: “…”
“Are you guys done fighting?” Suddenly, the door creaked open from the outside, and Ye Qingcai poked his head in.
Seeing the shattered chair on the floor, he nodded to himself. Just as expected.
Looking at Zhou Ming and Qi Tongda, both teary-eyed—one clutching his waist, the other holding his chin—Ye Qingcai already knew how the fight had ended.
He pushed the door open and walked in, giving a quick glance at Tu Ran, who stood perfectly unharmed, smiling. Clearing his throat, he said, “The logistics team is coming to replace the door soon. Clean this mess up before they see and laugh at you.”
“Yes, sir,” Xiao Miao quickly summoned the cleaning robot from the corner, which swept up the remnants of the broken chair.
Tu Ran, suddenly thinking of something, began circling the office.
When she passed Zhou Ming, he involuntarily shuddered.
Tu Ran didn’t pay any attention to him, but Qi Tongda noticed and let out a derisive snort, earning himself a threatening glare from Zhou Ming.
Everyone else watched Tu Ran’s movements, curious about what she was up to.
Raising her hand, Tu Ran called out, “Captain, I don’t have a chair anymore.”
So that was it. Ye Qingcai barely stifled a sigh of relief.
“Logistics will send you a new one later,” he responded.
Tu Ran nodded obediently.
“The cost of the chair will be deducted from your salary,” Ye Qingcai added nonchalantly.
Tu Ran’s smile froze on her face.
“Deduct money for a chair? That’s—”
She nearly blurted out “stingy,” but swallowed it just in time.
She couldn’t say it out loud—it would make her look poor.
“Of course. It’s government property, just like how the Pioneer Team has to pay for any damage to their combat uniforms.”
But those were combat uniforms!
In the Pioneer Team, only damaged combat uniforms cost money; everything else, including weapons, was covered.
“So if my weapon breaks, does that mean I have to—?”
“Yes,” Ye Qingcai interrupted. “Anything that belongs to the Executive Department—if you break it, you pay for it.”
Tu Ran sighed. “Alright, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Qi Tongda, who thought Tu Ran was broke, suddenly revived. “Captain, have them send me five more chairs. Deduct the cost from my salary.”
Wang Qiang, who was busy organizing his collection of various bombs, looked up and asked in his deep voice, “What do you need so many chairs for?”
Qi Tongda glanced at Tu Ran, making sure she was watching, and proudly lifted his bruised chin. “I, the young master, will sleep on them.”
“Did you get hit so hard it scrambled your brains?” Wang Qiang, being straightforward, didn’t catch the hidden meaning in Qi Tongda’s words. “Sleeping on chairs is uncomfortable.”
“The young master here is rich. I’ll sleep wherever I want,” Qi Tongda declared, raising his head in arrogant defiance.
“Oh,” Wang Qiang muttered, still not understanding. He concluded that rich people were simply foolish and had more money than sense.
Standing up, the two-meter-tall man stretched his body, nearly touching the ceiling. After fiddling with his bombs for too long, his neck was aching. He left a parting comment, “I’m going downstairs to stretch my legs. Call me if there’s a mission,” and walked out.
Qi Tongda was thrilled, feeling like he had somehow avenged himself in some way. He crossed his legs, leaned back, and began humming a popular tune.
Tu Ran ignored his bragging and glanced at the time—12:00 noon.
Ah! A perfect chance for revenge.
“Young Master Qi, do you keep your word?” she asked.
Qi Tongda opened his eyes, puzzled by the sudden question. “Of course! I, the young master, always keep my word.”
“Then let’s go eat. Didn’t you say earlier that you’d treat me to lunch?”
The smile on Qi Tongda’s face instantly vanished.
He had forgotten about that.
“Come on, young master.” Tu Ran walked over, hoisting him up from his chair, and called out to the others, “Today, the young master is treating us all to lunch!”
“Yay!” Xiao Miao was the first to cheer excitedly.
Qi Tongda reluctantly muttered, “When did I say I’d treat everyone?”
“Hm?” Tu Ran looked at him in surprise. “No way, is the young master of one of the top hundred conglomerate families can only afford to treat one person to a meal?”
