"You... you... what do you want?!" Jin Gaoyi looked utterly terrified. He was no fool. Seeing Shangguan Yuanxin's sudden change in attitude and hearing what she had just said, he immediately suspected that Mu Xiao had some hidden identity. Perhaps he was some high-ranking official's son playing a nasty game of pretending to be an ordinary man.
"It's actually nothing." Mu Xiao patted his shoulder in a friendly manner and said meaningfully, "I'm the kind of person who usually settles grudges on the spot... Honestly, I don't care about the manager position, nor do I care that you're pursuing the former Mu Xiao's girlfriend..."
Xia Qian's radiant, jade-like face turned pale, and an inexplicable pain stabbed through her heart.
Jin Gaoyi's lips also went white. His expression was even more miserable than if he were crying. "Misunderstanding... this is a misunderstanding..."
Slap! A crisp, resounding slap suddenly rang out. With lightning speed, Mu Xiao raised his hand and fiercely slapped Jin Gaoyi across the face. Everyone in the lobby turned to look. Shangguan Yuanxin alone had already been eye-catching enough, and now there was such a spectacle. It only made things more entertaining.
"I wasn't finished speaking. Why did you interrupt me?" Mu Xiao grabbed the stunned Jin Gaoyi, then said gently, "Why are you in such a hurry? Could you listen until I'm done?"
"O-okay... okay..." Jin Gaoyi covered his reddened fair cheek. When he looked at Mu Xiao, his eyes held shock, fear, and even a trace of venomous resentment.
Slap!
Without warning, Mu Xiao gave Jin Gaoyi another slap. Looking at his dazed expression, Mu Xiao said flatly, "I don't like that look of revenge in your eyes. What you should do is, if I slap your left cheek, offer me your right cheek."
"You... you..." Rage flooded Jin Gaoyi's mind, making him temporarily forget his fear. He pointed at Mu Xiao with a trembling hand, nearly coughing up blood from fury at such reasoning as he snarled, "You—"
Slap!
"I'll let your sister!" Mu Xiao raised his hand and viciously slapped the words Jin Gaoyi wanted to curse back into his mouth. Then Mu Xiao swung freely, giving him several consecutive slaps. With each slap, Mu Xiao gave another reason for hitting him.
Slap!
"This one is for slandering my character!"
Slap!
"This one is for interrupting me repeatedly!"
Slap!
"This one is for wasting my time!"
Slap!
"This one is for that punchable pretty-boy face of yours!"
Mu Xiao gripped Jin Gaoyi by the collar. His eyes were bloodthirsty like a wolf's, and his raised palm moved as swiftly as a gale. The more he hit, the more satisfying it became. In just a few slaps, Jin Gaoyi's fair face had been beaten into a blood-red pig's head. Several teeth were knocked out, blood flowed from his mouth, and his head buzzed violently. If Shangguan Yuanxin had not stepped forward to speak, Mu Xiao might not have let Jin Gaoyi off so quickly.
"Mr. Mu, could you give Yuanxin some face and spare Manager Jin for now? I will definitely give you an explanation later." Shangguan Yuanxin did not even spare Jin Gaoyi, whose face was covered in blood, a glance. She looked only at Mu Xiao.
"Of course I'll give you face..." As Mu Xiao spoke, he slapped Jin Gaoyi across the face again and continued, "This slap is from the president you admire so much, Shangguan."
Shangguan Yuanxin remained expressionless, but the exceptionally agile female bodyguard's mouth twitched slightly.
Mu Xiao pulled off Jin Gaoyi's branded tie and threw him onto the floor like garbage. He used the tie to wipe the specks of blood from his hands, then said calmly, "Miss Shangguan, you just said you would give me an explanation, but I don't think that's necessary. After all, I'm not an unreasonable person. He's already pitiful enough like this. There's no need for me to keep kicking him while he's down."
He had beaten the man half to death and still claimed he was not unreasonable! The exceptionally agile female bodyguard had already turned away. She did not want to look at Mu Xiao's shameless face any longer, afraid she would lose control, grab him by the collar, and give him several fierce slaps herself.
"Mr. Mu, please." Shangguan Yuanxin's expression was cold. Watching him beat her employee right in front of her naturally made her uncomfortable. Indirectly speaking, those slaps had also landed on her own face.
"Please."
Under everyone's incredulous gazes, Mu Xiao walked side by side with the female president.
"Is he still the Mu Xiao we know?"
Lü Xiaoman watched his gradually receding back. It was as though he were no longer the Mu Xiao she knew. Those violent, bloodthirsty, gleaming eyes of his no longer held even a trace of the gentleness and humility he once had.
"Xixi, did you provoke him too much yesterday?" Lü Xiaoman looked toward Xia Qian beside her and found that she stood like a wooden statue, frozen for a long, long time... as though those slaps had stunned her as well. Only after Jin Gaoyi was carried away did one of Shangguan Yuanxin's personal bodyguards come over and sternly warn them that nothing from today could be leaked, including the contents of the conversation, or they would be violating company confidentiality...
Such a gag order made it clear just how important Mu Xiao was.
Once Xia Qian realized this, she seemed to lose her soul. She finally tasted what regret felt like.
At that moment, Mu Xiao, Shangguan Yuanxin, and her group of female bodyguards boarded the maglev. They quickly rose to the top of the two-hundredth floor. After the elevator doors opened, a broad, brightly lit reinforced corridor appeared before them. The floor was covered with faintly gleaming pure-white panels, while metal components and graphic designs lined both sides of the corridor. Mu Xiao gave them a few glances, then followed Shangguan Yuanxin in one direction.
"Bullying an ordinary person, don't you think that's rather lacking in grace?" Shangguan Yuanxin blinked her beautiful eyes lightly, meaning hidden within her radiant face, fair as accumulated snow.
Mu Xiao rarely acted as impulsively as he had today. By nature, he was calm and rational. Yet he had experienced such an unbelievable rebirth today, and he also had to face the coming disaster. No matter how calm he was, it was difficult to suppress the unfamiliarity and unease in his heart. That was why he had used that unlucky man to vent the stifling irritation and unease inside him.
Mu Xiao had vented his emotions and felt much better, though his expression remained calm as he replied, "I was only seeking a little peace of mind."
He answered casually, ignoring Shangguan Yuanxin's verbal probing.
Shangguan Yuanxin could tell that Mu Xiao did not wish to discuss what had just happened, but for the sake of her family's affairs, she continued probing. "The receptionist in the lobby, Xia Qian, used to be your girlfriend. But you broke up yesterday, and Manager Jin will likely succeed in pursuing Xia Qian. So today, to vent your anger, you revealed your unknown identity and caught my attention. Then you wanted to prove just how grave a mistake she had made, didn't you?"
In such a short time, Shangguan Yuanxin had already learned all of Mu Xiao's relationships and records within the company.
"I'm not that bored." Mu Xiao glanced around casually, secretly memorizing the positions of the corridor's weapon systems.
This was no ordinary corridor!
Seeing how distracted he was, Shangguan Yuanxin felt a faint anger rise within her. She did not know whether she was angry because he ignored a beauty's charm, or because he disregarded an heir holding great power—or perhaps both. But the initiative was now entirely in this man's hands. Until she knew his trump card, she could not use forceful methods to pressure him. To Shangguan Yuanxin, however, that was an utterly terrible feeling.
For a while, neither spoke. Only the clear sound of shoes stepping across the white hard floor echoed through the corridor.
There was no one else on the top floor. The entire floor belonged to Shangguan Yuanxin. Mu Xiao followed her to a crystal door carved with dragon totems. Once the optical computer scanned her identity, the door opened automatically. She signaled for the female bodyguards to remain outside, then entered the room alone with Mu Xiao.
Shangguan Yuanxin's presidential office was not as lavish as he had imagined. There was an outrageously large bookshelf packed full of books, exquisite potted plants and strange fresh flowers placed throughout the room. They were pleasing to the eye and filled the room with vitality, while the sword and blade decorations gave off a cold impression, as though symbolizing her strength. Two cleaning robots flew around the room as well. Everything created a simple, clean, pure kind of beauty.
Mu Xiao briefly examined the layout of the room. Shangguan Yuanxin had already walked to her seat. Before her was a silver metal desk, but the silver did not feel cold or sharp. Instead, it carried a smooth, rounded softness.
"I thought you would have your bodyguards come in with you." Mu Xiao sat down and stroked the armrest of his chair. It felt warm and smooth like jade. He then looked at the metal desk before him and realized they were made of the same material. He could not help sighing inwardly. Such rare Silver Jade Metal in the later years was actually being wasted like this. What a terrible squandering of treasure.
"In my own territory, I naturally have some confidence." Shangguan Yuanxin leaned her slender body against the back of her chair. Her mature, graceful figure was richly curved, like a beautiful landscape of rolling peaks and valleys. In particular, her increasingly prominent chest rose and fell slightly. Those perfect, ample breasts had such a firm, full texture even visually that they seemed impossible to grasp in one hand. With the light from the window behind her, her plump, charming jade-like face possessed an incomparable beauty that surpassed the brilliant sunlight itself. Her slightly pursed red lips were like flames that could ignite desire.
Mu Xiao turned a blind eye to such beautiful, tempting scenery. Instead, he glanced at the two robots that appeared to be rigidly carrying out their cleaning programs and said dismissively, "With two S-Class Advanced Robots secretly protecting you, it naturally surpasses having one S-Class Physique expert and several B-Class Physique bodyguards."
Shangguan Yuanxin's eyelids twitched. A trace of panic flashed through her beautiful eyes, but she quickly calmed herself and said as though nothing had happened, "It seems, Mr. Mu, that you know quite a lot about me."
A chill gradually rose in Shangguan Yuanxin's heart. She completely understood that all initiative had slipped from her grasp.
No one had ever seen through the disguise of these two S-Class Advanced Robots, and fewer than ten people knew about them...
Although Mu Xiao no longer possessed his former strength, his eyesight and instinctive senses remained within his consciousness. The moment he entered, he knew these two robots were anything but ordinary, and he also knew that one S-Class Physique expert was hidden among Shangguan Yuanxin's female bodyguards.
"I actually know very little." Mu Xiao looked Shangguan Yuanxin directly in the eye. "But I do know a little about the Shangguan Family's secretly manufactured first-generation military robot, 'ZI-S001'..."
Bang!
It was not the sound of a slap. Shangguan Yuanxin had slammed her palm onto the desk and risen to her feet. Both hands braced on the tabletop, her mature and plump body suddenly leaned forward. Mu Xiao clearly saw the powerful swaying of the two soft peaks wrapped beneath her clothing, but her peerlessly beautiful face was covered in a frost so cold it seemed to pierce the bones. Without a trace of emotion, she said sharply, like a cutting cold wind, "Speak! What do you want? Or what does the person behind you want?!"
"All of Bauhinia's liquid capital." Mu Xiao stated his price simply and directly, though it was undoubtedly an outrageous demand.
"Dream on!" Shangguan Yuanxin sneered and sat back down. Calm and composed, she said, "Do you think the charge of 'illegally manufacturing military equipment' alone is enough to bring down the Shangguan Family?"
Mu Xiao knew she would not agree, but he could not possibly tell her that in a few hours, no matter how many federal credits she had, they would be nothing but meaningless numbers. If he said that, Shangguan Yuanxin might simply curse him as a lunatic.
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