You Should Thank Me

Haochi Commercial Building, conference room.

This was Lin Jiatao's stronghold. Lin Group had gone public three years ago, and with the backing of the Far East Chamber of Commerce and his own skillful maneuvering, it had risen rapidly, becoming unrivaled throughout Tongzhou for a time.

It even showed faint signs of entering the ranks of the top elite families.

Someone had once predicted that if Lin Group continued developing at this pace, within ten years it would be able to stand on equal footing with the established top families, the Li family and the Bai family.

The implications behind those words were enough to prove the Lin family's influence!

At that moment, the atmosphere inside the Haochi Conference Room was stifling to the extreme.

There were more than twenty people in the conference room.

Lin Jiatao stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression cold as he remained silent.

His aura was immensely powerful, the oppressive presence of someone in authority plain to see. Standing with his hands behind his back, he rolled two Iron Walnuts in his hand without pause.

With Lin Jiatao standing, no one dared to sit.

Inside the conference room, a fat middle-aged man wiped the sweat beads on his forehead, his expression taut.

He was Wang Chen, the owner of Fibi Bar.

Behind him stood several strapping young men in security guard uniforms.

"CEO Lin, I truly wasn't at the bar last night! If I had been, even if someone put two holes in my head, I wouldn't have let anyone hurt Tianyou..." Wang Chen explained, his mouth dry.

"I didn't come here to hear your explanation." Lin Jiatao's gaze turned harsh as he slowly turned around. No one dared meet his eyes. "It happened on your turf. You bear responsibility."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wang Chen nodded frantically. "I'll compensate you. I definitely will!"

Creak...

The conference room doors were pushed open, and a young man walked in.

Su Rui swept his eyes around the room and smiled brightly. "Boss Lin, quite lively in here."

The expression on Lin Jiatao's face became stern, and the Iron Walnuts in his hand stopped moving.

After a moment, his expression darkened, his piercing gaze fixed on Su Rui. "You really dared to come here yourself."

He recognized Su Rui. He looked exactly like the figure in the surveillance footage.

As Lin Jiatao spoke, an almost tangible pressure spread through the room. The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.

"You're that little brat?" Madam Lin immediately turned her gaze toward him, her eyes like blades and her tone filled with bitter hatred. She pulled out a pistol from a drawer in the conference room and slapped it onto the table. "You hurt my son over some little vixen?"

As Madam Lin drew the gun, the conference room instantly fell so silent that a pin could have been heard dropping.

"My son taking a liking to your girlfriend is an honor for you!" Madam Lin stepped forward two paces, her ugly face fully exposed, aggressive and crude beyond measure. "Where's that little slut? Bring her here so you can both kneel and apologize to my son!"

Bang!

A whole case of red wine was thrown onto the floor. Lin Jiatao casually pulled out a bottle, expressionlessly twisted off the cork, and poured out the wine inside with a splash.

"I'm a fair man. However you hurt my son, I'll make you repay it the same way." Lin Jiatao gently placed the empty wine bottle on the table, then picked up another and repeated the same action. "You hit Tianyou twice, so I'll return two hits."

"But... you deceived me. That counts as one."

"Tianyou bowed and apologized to you. That counts as one too."

"Because of you, the Lin family lost face in Tongzhou. That counts as one more."

"..."

Lin Jiatao did not stop moving. Before long, the table was covered in empty red wine bottles. A rough count showed there were eighteen of them!

"In Tongzhou, no one has ever humiliated my Lin family like this."

Lin Jiatao's face was gloomy. Pointing at Su Rui, he said one word at a time, "Will you do it yourself, or should I help you?"

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

To everyone's surprise, Su Rui smiled and actually began applauding.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Thank you, Boss Lin, for letting me understand the word 'fair' all over again today." Su Rui smiled, then continued, "Like father, like son. Now I finally understand why Lin Tianyou was raised into such a piece of trash."

The moment those words left his mouth, the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop again.

Wang Chen sucked in a sharp breath, his pupils constricted.

Was there something wrong with this brother's head? He was clearly trapped in a dragon's den and tiger's lair, yet he still had to say something so inflammatory. Was he really tired of living and looking to test the Lin family's bottom line?

"Smack!" The veins at Madam Lin's temples bulged. Her face turned livid as she raised a hand and grabbed the pistol from the table. "I'll kill you, you little bastard!"

Su Rui acted cleanly and decisively, slapping her across the face.

Smack!

Su Rui did not use much force, but the blow landed solidly on Madam Lin's face. It sent her staggering and left five bright red finger marks behind.

"At your age, and you still have no manners..." Su Rui rubbed his palm as though he were scolding a junior.

Silence.

Dead silence.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

The Bodyguards behind Madam Lin immediately rushed forward, murder in their eyes.

"You dared to hit me?" Madam Lin was stunned.

"Of course!" Su Rui frowned and raised his hand for another slap!

Smack!

Crisp! Loud!

The two consecutive slaps completely shattered Madam Lin's composure.

Her pride and lofty arrogance were utterly crushed at that moment!

Even Lin Jiatao was astonished for a moment. Then his face rapidly turned extremely ugly. With a cold laugh, he snatched the pistol from Madam Lin's hand and racked the slide.

"I'll make sure you die horribly! I'll make that little slut a woman every man can have!"

Madam Lin's emotions collapsed, and she screamed herself hoarse.

She had already decided to use her power and connections to destroy Su Rui's family.

She would make that woman unable to remain in Tongzhou, reducing her to a prostitute any man could have.

She would make everyone involved in this matter pay the price!

She believed the Lin family had that kind of strength!

Su Rui paid her no heed. He merely stared at the gloomy-faced Lin Jiatao and smiled faintly. "Boss Lin... do you really think you've got me cornered?"

"You should thank me! Do you know..." Ignoring the muzzle less than two meters from his head, Su Rui pulled over a chair and sat down, his brows and eyes cold. "If I hadn't intervened last night, your Lin family would have suffered a catastrophic disaster!"

Lin Jiatao froze, but then the finger on the trigger tightened slightly, and he frowned again.

"Heh..." Su Rui propped his legs on the table and pointed through the air at Madam Lin, asking in an icy tone, "Do you know who the woman Lin Tianyou took a liking to last night—the little slut you called her—was?"

Lin Jiatao faintly sensed that something was wrong.

Because the surveillance footage at Fibi Bar was incomplete and unclear, he had only seen Su Rui. The woman's image had remained blurry throughout.

He had hired professionals to process it, but there were still no results.

"Who?" After thinking for a moment, Lin Jiatao finally asked.

"Her surname is Li." Su Rui smiled strangely.

Li.

Almost instantly, Lin Jiatao thought of the Li family of Tongzhou.

But could it really be such a coincidence?

His breathing gradually grew heavier. Lin Jiatao sneered. "Are you trying to bluff me?"

Buzz, buzz...

Just then, Lin Jiatao's phone suddenly vibrated. A professionally enhanced photo arrived on his personal WeChat.

In the photos, the woman had bright eyes, red lips, and a proud bearing!

Looking at the photo, Lin Jiatao's brow throbbed violently and his scalp went numb. With difficulty, he forced out a name.

"Li... Ruobing."