My Co-renting Lady Boss
Chapter 174 - 0174: You Pay the Money

Chapter 174: Chapter 0174: You Pay the Money

With that thought, Tang Ming started to move around the vicinity, reasoning that eighty percent of arsonists stay at the scene to watch the incident unfold before leaving. Therefore, Tang Ming speculated that the person who planted the explosives might also still be there, waiting to watch the explosion.

Outside the cold drink shop, Tang Ming’s gaze was constantly searching for suspicious targets, and he quickly spotted someone at the opposite corner with binoculars observing.

Visitors who come to the snack street are either eating for leisure or shopping; it’s very rare for someone to bring binoculars to enjoy the view, especially focusing on the Xia Family’s cold drink shop. This fellow obviously had issues!

Without drawing attention, Tang Ming picked up the burned backpack from the ground, stuffed some garbage inside to make it bulge, and for added weight, he even placed a brick in it.

After getting things ready, Tang Ming took advantage of the momentary inattention of the binocular-holding person and quickly circled around to approach them.

Tang Ming walked behind the person and suddenly slapped their shoulder, startling them!

The person hurriedly turned around and, upon seeing Tang Ming, both were somewhat astonished.

"You?"

A trace of fierceness slowly emerged on Tang Ming’s face as he picked up the backpack and said, "Dead fly, this is your masterpiece, isn’t it?"

"No, no, it’s not, it has nothing to do with me."

Chen Cang hadn’t expected Tang Ming to have survived the explosion, let alone come looking for him with the explosive bag in hand. This scared him to the point of trembling, and he tried to hide his binoculars behind his back.

"It has nothing to do with you?"

Tang Ming sneered, "You’re sneaking around here with binoculars, isn’t it because you want to watch me get blown up? Fine, if you want to watch, I can show you right now."

"What do you mean?"

Chen Cang was baffled, not understanding what Tang Ming was up to.

Tang Ming took the backpack in one hand, and with his other hand, he fished out a lighter from Chen Cang’s pocket. With a gentle press, the lighter burst into flame, hissing as it burned. Tang Ming, holding the lighter, brought it close to the backpack.

"Tang Ming, what are you doing?"

Chen Cang was only a meter away from Tang Ming. If the explosives were to detonate, he wouldn’t be able to escape either. He asked, frightened.

"What am I doing?" Tang Ming laughed, "This is a gift you gave me, let me light it to see what’s really inside."

"Don’t, please don’t play with fire."

Chen Cang, terrified, turned to run but was tripped and fell to the ground by Tang Ming’s foot, trapping him in place.

By this time, the edge of the backpack had already caught fire, and with the situation looking dire, Chen Cang helplessly shouted:

"Tang Ming, I was wrong, please put out the fire, or it will explode!"

"You know it’ll explode?"

Tang Ming sneered, "And you still say you didn’t do it."

"I did it, Tang Ming, please put out the fire, it really will explode."

Chen Cang pointed to the part of the backpack that had caught fire and said, his heart in shock, thinking that this guy was truly reckless, a downright desperado!

Tang Ming pinched the flame on the backpack and extinguished it with a squeeze of his hand, then said, "Every debt has its debtor, since you admit it’s your doing, let’s hear how you want to settle this."

While speaking, Tang Ming held up the backpack, still pinching the lighter in his hand; the implication was clear - if Chen Cang’s proposal didn’t satisfy him, he would ignite the backpack.

"Madman."

Chen Cang cursed inwardly. Previously he only knew that Tang Ming was skilled in martial arts, but he hadn’t realized the man was daring enough to gamble with his life, holding a big bag of explosives and actually daring to light it with a lighter. One false move would have certainly shaken the entire vicinity.

Chen Cang had no desire to die and naturally was unwilling to play such a risky game with Tang Ming, so he reluctantly said, "Then we’ll do as you say, just don’t light up the backpack."

"Well, I’m going to say it," Tang Ming glanced at the Xia family’s beverage shop in the distance. Although the fire had been put out, the interior was a sorry sight to see, so an idea quickly came to him, "See that? The shop has been burned to such a state—you have to compensate."

"How should I compensate? How much?"

Chen Cang grimly asked.

"Go buy that shop and give it directly to Xia Wei’er as compensation, and then I will consider letting you off."

Desperately weighing the backpack in his hand, Tang Ming made Chen Cang’s face turn pale with fright.

"Fine, I’ll compensate. I’ll buy the shop and compensate them."

Chen Cang eagerly nodded.

"Make sure you keep your word."

Tang Ming glanced over at the shop’s entrance where Xia Wei’er and her mother were explaining something to a woman. From the quarrelsome conversation, it seemed the woman was the landlord, demanding compensation from the Xia family for the house.

"Did you see? The landlord has come out. Go talk to her right now and buy the shop, or else..."

Tang Ming brought the lighter close to the backpack.

"I’m going, right now. Don’t light it."

Terrified, Chen Cang hastily scrambled up from the ground and ran towards the beverage shop.

After about ten minutes of talking, Chen Cang phoned someone as if to bring money. Tang Ming, carrying the backpack, walked over and overheard that the deal was settled. Chen Cang had bought the shop for the landlord and then presented it directly to Xia Wei’er’s family.

"What’s going on here? We can’t just accept your shop for no reason."

Wei’er’s mother, not knowing the reason behind his offer, tried to refuse.

"Auntie, he is compensating you. Just accept it with peace of mind. Besides, with the house burned like this, you’ll probably need to renovate it before reopening," Tang Ming explained.

Hearing this, Chen Cang was immediately on the verge of tears, "I’ve already compensated with the shop, do I also have to pay for the renovations?"

"Oh, then forget that part,"

Tang Ming let him off the hook, but Xia Wei’er, who had been listening all along, understood something fishy was up. She wondered if the fire at her home had anything to do with Chen Cang. Furthermore, that bag of explosives—wasn’t it eaten by Tang Ming? How come there’s still something in the backpack?

Xia Wei’er was a top student, brilliant and insightful. She also suspected that Chen Cang being so obedient was probably due to Tang Ming’s extortion. But as for such a bad guy, he deserved it!

Xia Wei’er didn’t call him out, instead, she let her mother accept the house, claiming that Chen Cang was a rich man and a good friend of Tang Ming’s, hence he helped out. This not only settled the issue with the landlord but also allowed their family to continue their business.

Although Wei’er’s mother was full of doubts—wasn’t Chen Cang a notorious villain? How had he suddenly become a good friend of Tang’s?—what mattered most at the moment was fixing the situation with the landlord and being able to keep doing business. As to the true nature of these events, she didn’t feel it was appropriate to probe any further.

However, Wei’er’s mother was certain the situation had something to do with Tang Ming. His help to their family—was it genuinely out of kindness, or was there an ulterior motive?

Wei’er’s mother quickly thought of her daughter and silently speculated, "Right, could Tang Ming be Wei’er’s boyfriend? Perhaps that’s why he’s helping us. Though it’s a bit early for dating, the kid isn’t too bad. If Wei’er were to follow him, she wouldn’t be ill-treated."

In her mind, Wei’er’s mother was matching up a figurative pair of mandarin ducks, feeling increasingly reassured by Tang Ming. She naturally paid no more mind to how the house came into their possession; after all, it had been settled thanks to Tang Ming’s intervention.