3 Feet Tall but I’m the Dragon God

Chapter 4- The decoy and the quack

The morning sun filtered through the curtains of the Su family villa, but the atmosphere in the living room was darker than a moonless night.

Su Hao was sitting on the sofa, his right arm wrapped in a makeshift sling, his face pale and dripping with cold sweat. His knuckles were swollen to the size of walnuts.

Beside him, Madam Su was practically hyperventilating, dabbing her son’s forehead with a damp towel while shooting daggers at Lin Fan, who was quietly sitting at the dining table, sipping a carton of cheap soy milk.

"You useless, good-for-nothing dwarf!" Madam Su shrieked, her voice shrill enough to crack the windows. "Look at what you did! My baby’s hand is ruined! If you had just caught him when he fell, he wouldn’t be in this state! You can’t even do the one thing you’re good for, which is being a footstool!"

Lin Fan slowly lowered his soy milk, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

*If I hadn't paralyzed his motor nerves, his head would be embedded in the floorboards,* he thought, keeping his face perfectly blank.

"Mother Su, he was swinging at me. I just stepped aside. Physics is a harsh mistress. He’s two hundred and twenty pounds; I’m eighty. I can’t exactly catch him like a football."

"Shut up! You just stood there and watched him fall!" Su Hao slurred, glaring at Lin Fan with bloodshot eyes. He tried to point an accusatory finger, but his broken hand throbbed, making him hiss in pain. "When I get this fixed, I’m gonna feed you to the stray dogs, you little freak."

Before Lin Fan could reply, Su Qing walked out of the hallway. She looked exhausted, her eyes darting from her crying brother to her screaming mother, and finally to her tiny husband. She didn't say anything at first, but her gaze lingered on the floor where Su Hao had face-planted. She noticed the deep, splintered crack in the hardwood floorboards right where his forehead had hit.

*Wait,* Su Qing thought, her sharp mind catching the discrepancy. *Su Hao is a heavy drinker, but he’s a martial arts enthusiast. He has a solid base. How did he lose his balance so completely that he cracked solid oak? And why did he just freeze up like a mannequin before he fell?*

She walked over to Lin Fan, leaning down so her face was level with his. "Lin Fan, come to the study. Now," she whispered, her tone leaving no room for argument.

A minute later, in the privacy of the study, Su Qing crossed her arms and stared down at him. "Tell me the truth. What happened last night? Su Hao is an idiot, but he’s not clumsy enough to just trip and break his own hand on your forehead. Your forehead isn't even that hard."

Lin Fan looked up at his beautiful wife, his expression a masterpiece of innocent confusion. "Qing'er, I swear on my life, I just stood there. Maybe he had a stroke? Drunk people get strokes all the time. You should really cut back on the family liquor budget."

Su Qing narrowed her eyes. She wanted to believe him, because the alternative—that her three-foot-four, seemingly useless husband had somehow incapacitated her massive, drunken brother—was absurd. But her instincts were screaming that he was hiding something. "You’re hiding something from me, Lin Fan. I don't know what it is, but one day, you’re going to slip up."

"I'm just a guy who likes to stay out of the way," Lin Fan replied smoothly, offering a harmless, self-deprecating smile.

Su Qing sighed, rubbing her temples. "Whatever. Get dressed. We’re taking Su Hao to the Jiang City First Hospital. Dr. Wang, the head of orthopedics, is the only one who can fix this without leaving him with a limp. And we need to be there early because he’s a very busy man."

"Sure," Lin Fan said.

As Su Qing left the room, Lin Fan’s smile vanished. His eyes turned cold. *She’s getting too sharp. If she keeps digging, my cover is blown.*

He pulled out his burner phone and dialed a secure, encrypted number. It rang once before a crisp, professional female voice answered. "Dragon God. This is Secretary Yan. How may I serve you?"

"Yan," Lin Fan said, his voice dropping an octave, losing all traces of the meek son-in-law. "My wife is getting suspicious, and the local underworld is starting to sniff around the Su family. It’s time to activate the 'Shadow Protocol'."

There was a brief pause on the other end. "Understood, Boss. You want me to deploy the decoy?"

"Yes. Get Kui Gang’s younger brother, Kui Lei. He’s six-foot-six and built like a brick shithouse. Put him in the iron mask, give him the voice modulator, and dress him in the Dragon God robes. Starting today, the 'Supreme Dragon God' is a towering giant. Have him make a public appearance at the docks tonight, crush a few rival gangs, and let the underworld spread the rumor. As long as they’re looking for a giant, they’ll never look down at me."

"Brilliant, Boss. It will be done within the hour."

"Good. And Yan? Keep an eye on the Zhao family’s movements. They’re making a move on the ancestral mountain."

"Consider it done."

Lin Fan hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket. Perfect. Now he could play the useless dwarf in public while his decoy handled the heavy lifting in the underworld.

***

An hour later, the Su family arrived at the VIP wing of Jiang City First Hospital. The hallway was crowded with nurses and wealthy patients, but the moment Madam Su saw a tall, slick-haired man in a white doctor's coat, she practically shoved Su Qing and Lin Fan aside to bow and scrape.

"Dr. Wang! Oh, thank heavens you’re here!" Madam Su cried, grabbing the doctor’s hand. "My son’s hand is ruined! You have to save it!"

Dr. Wang, a man in his late thirties with a face that screamed unearned arrogance, sneered and pulled his hand away as if Madam Su was dirty. He glanced at Su Hao’s swollen hand and clicked his tongue. "Madam Su, this is a severe comminuted fracture. The bones are pulverized. Honestly, it’s a miracle he can even move his fingers."

"Can you fix it?" Su Qing asked, stepping forward, her CEO persona slipping into place. "Name your price. The Su Group will pay whatever it takes."

Dr. Wang’s eyes lit up with greed, but he quickly masked it with a condescending smile. "Su Qing, you know I’m the top orthopedic surgeon in the province. My hands are insured for fifty million. I *could* fix it, but it requires my personal, round-the-clock attention for a month. And frankly, the Su Group’s stock is in the toilet. I don't think you can afford my standard f*e."

"Then what do you want?" Su Qing asked, her jaw tightening.

Dr. Wang’s gaze drifted over Su Qing’s beautiful face, then down to Lin Fan, who was standing quietly by the wall, looking entirely out of place in his cheap clothes. Dr. Wang laughed.

"I’ll do it for free," Dr. Wang said smoothly. "On one condition. Su Qing, the Zhao family is hosting a charity gala tomorrow night. Young Master Zhao has been asking you to be his date. If you go with him, and publicly announce that the Su Group is open to a merger with the Zhao family, I’ll fix your brother’s hand for free."

Su Qing’s face went pale. "You want me to sell my company to Zhao Feng? That’s extortion!"

"Call it a consultation f*e," Dr. Wang smirked. "Take it or leave it. But if you leave, your brother will be dragging this hand for the rest of his life. Oh, and tell your little pet dwarf to stop staring at me. It’s depressing."

Madam Su immediately grabbed Su Qing’s arm. "Qing'er! Think about the company! Zhao Feng is a great catch, and Dr. Wang is a genius! Just go to the gala! It’s for your brother!"

Su Hao, sitting on the bed, glared at Lin Fan. "You hear that, you useless runt? Even the doctor thinks you’re a joke. If my sister doesn't marry Zhao Feng, it’s your fault for being such a burden!"

Lin Fan just stood there, his hands in his pockets, his expression completely unreadable. He looked at Dr. Wang, then at Madam Su, and finally at Su Qing, who looked like she was about to cry from the pressure.

*Extortion? A forced marriage?* Lin Fan thought, a dark, amused smirk touching the corners of his lips. *These ants really think they’re playing chess. Let’s see how Dr. Wang feels when he finds out the hospital he works in is about to be bought out by the Nine Heavens Pavilion.*

"Dr. Wang," Lin Fan said suddenly, his voice calm and echoing slightly in the quiet VIP room. "Are you absolutely sure you’re the only one who can fix this hand?"

Dr. Wang looked down at the dwarf, bursting into loud, obnoxious laughter. "Oh, this is rich! The little mascot wants to play doctor! Listen, kid, I went to medical school in London. I’ve performed over a thousand surgeries. What have you done? Delivered a pizza?"

The nurses in the hallway snickered. Madam Su’s face turned red with embarrassment. "Lin Fan! Shut your mouth and stand in the corner before you embarrass us more!"

Lin Fan didn’t move. He just kept his eyes locked on Dr. Wang. "Because if you mess this up, I might just have to step in. And I promise you, my methods are... highly effective."