108. The Unrivaled Spell of the Golden Headband

As Bai Haonan crossed the street with Yu Jiali, supporting her with one hand, the young woman was practically hanging onto his arm. Whether intentional or not, her weight was negligible to Bai Haonan. He was well experienced in holding women; just wrapping an arm around the waist made walking easier and could even be an excuse for a little mischief. But with Jiali, there was still some distance—he merely steadied her by the armpit of the arm closest to him, without their bodies touching. This made Yu Jiali glance down at her figure with a hint of grievance, likely fueling an even stronger resolve to lose weight.

Bai Haonan paid her no mind and headed to his own car. Yu Jiali protested, but she was tipsy and soft from the alcohol, no match for Bai Haonan’s strength. She was pushed into the passenger seat. “Damn it, this provincial city is so small. What danger could there be if I strolled over slowly? Besides, you’re the one drinking with those girls at night. There’s no way I can do anything!” he grumbled.

Yu Jiali giggled, reaching out to hug Ada, the dog.

Unexpectedly, Ada behaved oddly. From the moment the door opened, the dog barked persistently, not ferocious with bared teeth, but the tail didn’t wag in friendliness either. When Yu Jiali hugged him, he struggled fiercely. Bai Haonan, walking around the front of the car, opened the door, and Yu Jiali laughed as she released the dog. “Here, what’s your watchdog trying to say?”

Before she finished speaking, Bai Haonan, about to get into the car, noticed three or four figures sprinting from different directions on the sidewalk. They were very close—undeniably heading straight toward him, faces fierce and defiant, wielding machetes and steel pipes. They looked like gangsters, swaggering as if starring in some underworld flick.

Damn it!

Just like the time in Jiangzhou when he was rammed by a bulldozer after leaving a nightclub—was it happening again today?

Bai Haonan reacted swiftly, without hesitation diving into the car and starting the engine. “Hurry up! Someone’s after me!”

His action triggered the attackers. As Bai Haonan slammed the accelerator, the men reached the car and began smashing the windows with their weapons. Yu Jiali screamed, clutching Ada tightly. Bai Haonan grabbed her head, pressing it hard beneath the glove compartment. “Hold your head tight. Tense your whole body. Don’t move!” Ada naturally slipped under Yu Jiali’s feet.

Amid the clangs and crashes, Bai Haonan recklessly drove the car from the curb back onto the road. Whether he hit someone along the way didn’t matter. Just as he tried to straighten the car and speed away, a brick smashed through the rear window, followed by a loud bang and a violent forward jerk—the car was hit from behind!

Bai Haonan’s mind raced. Whether it was an accident or a deliberate attempt to take him out, his first thought was that the Zhuang family had caught up. Based on past experience, he hammered the gas pedal to escape!

The Polo’s lightweight frame was no match. After the crash, the car nearly spun out. The body twisted sideways. Bai Haonan had no time to look at the chaos around him; he focused on reversing and steering sharply forward. Another stone smashed against the rear window, sending glass shards flying onto the passenger side. Yu Jiali’s screams grew louder.

The noise was deafening. Bai Haonan’s hands and feet moved instinctively, eyes fixed on the road ahead. Just as he realigned the car on the highway, a fierce impact struck near the left front wheel, like a heavy punch in a boxing match.

Bai Haonan felt the hood of the white car twist and warp in slow motion. His neck was violently jerked. Without the muscle strength from intense training, it might have been broken. His hands released Yu Jiali, who was flung against the passenger door. The young woman, flesh soft and startled, clung to his neck, ceasing her screams.

A dirty black pickup truck had crushed into the front of the car with blatant disregard. Then a silver sedan rammed in from the passenger side, knocking Yu Jiali onto Bai Haonan’s shoulder. The two vehicles formed a wedge, pinching the small white car’s front in a V-shape. The gap was too narrow to slip through.

The attackers had caught up and now jabbed steel pipes and other weapons against the windows, trying to break in and kill the driver.

Bai Haonan refused to surrender. His hands shuffled the gear to reverse, pressing the accelerator and brake simultaneously. The RPMs surged, then he suddenly released the brake. The hatchback shot backward like a spring snapping free.

Outside, the attackers thought they had him trapped, but Bai Haonan saw through the rearview mirror as one of them was thrown flying.

Surviving this close call, Bai Haonan’s will to live surged wildly. His mind was razor sharp. He glanced at the pickup truck’s position—only five or six meters behind. The nimble silver sedan shifted into reverse, creating a small gap. Bai Haonan quickly switched to second gear, balancing clutch and gas like a seesaw.

With a loud crash, the car rammed the pickup’s corner, scraping off a bumper with a grating metal screech. He forced open the space between the two vehicles and squeezed through, finally able to surge forward.

The pickup, likely a diesel, had power but lacked agility. Its driver scrambled to accelerate and pursue. Two men jumped out of the silver sedan to check the body lying on the road behind.

In this brief, brutal ten-second skirmish, there were probably casualties.

Bai Haonan gritted his teeth. “Damn it, they’re still chasing me after all this distance…”

His small car’s burst power was strong, and despite the damage, it continued to sprint, weaving through a few turns until the pickup was out of sight.

Yu Jiali’s voice came softly. “They’re Old Tan’s men. I saw the man in the pickup is his deputy, and the silver sedan’s driver is the security captain. They started it.”

Bai Haonan turned, surprised, only to bump his nose into her soft chest, nearly choking. He quickly pulled back from the scent. “What? They dared attack you?” Then, suddenly relaxed, the desperate feeling of being hunted vanished. He joked, “This pillow’s not bad for shock absorption!”

Yu Jiali slowly released her grip and gazed through the shattered rear window. “Maybe… they wanted to send you a message, scare me. No one knew I was in your car. It’s our first time out together, right?”

The reminder jolted Bai Haonan. “Yeah! If they found me, maybe it was the phone’s location. I only gave your secretary my number. You better check who’s around you.” As he spoke, he deftly removed the phone’s back cover and pulled out the battery.

Seeing his action, Yu Jiali crouched back in the passenger seat, reaching for her Birkin bag beside Ada, only to notice her hands trembling. “I… this is my first time in a situation like this…”

Bai Haonan was trembling too, adrenaline still coursing through him. While accelerating, he kept watch on all sides, wary that another bulldozer might come charging out. “It’s actually my second time. Damn, last time I even had a girl to cool me off afterward… Damn, I’m bleeding again. Probably from glass shards. Where to? Your place or our training base…”

Yu Jiali had already pulled out her phone and made a firm decision. “Do you know the Nanguo Hotel? It’s the provincial government’s state guesthouse. Take me there! Whoever it is, that place is safe… Dad, I was attacked outside. I think it’s Old Tan’s men. I even saw…”

Thanks to running at several sports grounds in the city over the past two weeks, Bai Haonan knew the location well. He glanced curiously at the chubby girl, noting her calm expression on the call—unlike the screaming moments before. Usually, he only saw her in meetings. Now, she was poised and confident, a stark contrast.

On the other end, Yu Deshui was likely asking questions. “It’s fine. I’m with Old Bai. He crashed through and escaped… Yeah, probably not targeting me. Maybe they didn’t even know I was in the car. Okay…”

After hanging up, Yu Jiali settled completely, crouching in the passenger seat, staring at the cracked windshield for several seconds. “Got any cigarettes? I suddenly want to smoke.”

Bai Haonan refused. “I never smoke.”

Yu Jiali laughed. “See? You seem careless, but you stick to some principles. You just haven’t been properly guided and chose the wrong path…”

Bai Haonan ignored the increasingly bossy chubby girl, who clearly had more control over him than any before. He was tempted to run.

Yu Jiali continued talking to herself. “You say the football world is dark, or society itself is dark, so there’s no point trying. It’s just an excuse to be lazy. When my father started, the environment was even worse. Our family had dealings with many government officials—you saw that. But in the beginning, he made some money from smuggling to quickly accumulate capital. Many businesses then had shady parts because the laws were incomplete. Anyone who didn’t take advantage of the loopholes was foolish. Honest business couldn’t survive. So he withdrew early, separating his ventures from mine. If anything happened, we could cut ties. But whether that separation held depended on a word from some people. Isn’t that darkness? Should we just say it’s game over?

Bai Haonan remained silent—he wasn’t fond of grand moral lectures.

They arrived at the brightly lit hotel entrance. The state guesthouse was elegant—no towering buildings, just a park-like area with military police standing guard. They stopped the battered car. Yu Jiali rolled down the window, but only halfway. She handed out a card. “I’m a member of the city’s political consultative conference. We just encountered a robbery situation and need to wait here for some leaders.”

Sure enough, they were immediately allowed through. Bai Haonan watched the officers communicating via radio through the rearview mirror, glancing at the card in Yu Jiali’s hand. She handed it over for him to see.

“My father never did anything truly wicked. Our smuggling was common back then, and still exists, but he stopped long ago. He used those means only to gather initial funds. Later dealings were similar—just enough to work with the government without taking sides. That’s what he told me growing up. No matter how dirty things got, he chose to face them positively. As times changed and I took over, with government, economy, finance, and society evolving, everything had to become regulated and legal. Old Tan couldn’t keep up and was naturally eliminated. You’re the same. The chaos and darkness you’ve seen are just reflections of that era, maybe the filthiest corners, but you can’t deny the whole era and society because of that. If you hold onto such darkness, blaming society and others for everything, you’ll be cast aside too.”

Bai Haonan said nothing. He didn’t like to hear preachy truths.