Chapter 497: Settling the Score

Everyone looked up to see the office doors suddenly blasted open by an immense force.

No, not just opened. Blasted apart.

The entire double door shattered under that overwhelming power, exploding into countless palm-sized fragments that spun through the air with a shrieking whistle, shooting off in every direction.

Wan Caixuan and Ning Xi reacted quickly. The instant the doors blew apart, they ducked down, using the high-backed chairs to shield themselves from the shrapnel. As she crouched, Wan Caixuan even pulled the girl beside her down as well, sparing her from harm.

The young man, however, wasn’t so lucky.

Completely unprepared, he stood dumbfounded until several fragments struck his body, only then realizing what had happened. He crouched in panic, flustered and disheveled.

Among the flying debris, a figure shot in from the outside. The person seemed unable to control their body, tumbling through the air for seven or eight meters before slamming hard into the wall.

Bang!

The solid wall cracked, revealing red bricks beneath the plaster, which crumbled and rained down. The figure let out a dull groan and slowly slid down the wall, hair disheveled, revealing a pale, bloodless face.

That figure was the middle-aged man, the one referred to by the young man and the girl as Uncle Meng.

At that moment, Uncle Meng’s arms were twisted at unnatural angles, likely broken. His face was drained of color, and a thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

“Uncle Meng?!”

The handsome young man and the girl were both stunned, crying out instinctively.

Uncle Meng opened his mouth as if to speak, but a surge of blood rose up his throat and spilled out. His breath weakened dramatically.

At that moment, a lean, well-proportioned figure appeared at the conference room entrance.

The figure had unremarkable features, the kind that would disappear into a crowd. But his gaze was sharp as lightning, impossible to meet directly. He wore only pants, bare-chested and barefoot. His muscles were strong and tight, with not an ounce of excess fat. Eight sculpted abdominal muscles looked like they’d been chiseled by blades.

In his hand, he was dragging a woman in a qipao. Her eyes were closed, blood at the corner of her mouth, face pale as a corpse—clearly unconscious and utterly defeated.

Both Wan Caixuan and Ning Xi stood up.

Ning Xi’s eyes lit up, filled with surprise and delight. She cried out, “Lin Xiao!”

Wan Caixuan didn’t show such emotion, maintaining her icy demeanor. Her lips curled slightly, a fleeting smile flashing across her face.

“You’re both alright?”

Seeing that Wan Caixuan and Ning Xi were unharmed, the lightning in Lin Xiao’s eyes slowly faded. He casually flung the woman in his hand across the room. She rolled across the floor and landed at the feet of the girl.

The girl jumped in fright, as if she’d seen a cockroach. She pointed at Lin Xiao, stammering, “You… you… you killed Aunt Ding?!”

In her panic, she could barely speak.

Lin Xiao’s entrance had simply been too violent, too overwhelming.

“Relax. I didn’t kill her, she’s just unconscious,” Lin Xiao said calmly.

He returned to his usual expressionless self. His gaze lingered on the girl’s face for a few seconds.

She looked far too much like Wan Caixuan. If he didn’t already know Wan Caixuan was an only child, he might have thought the two were twins.

Meanwhile, the handsome young man stood slowly. Through the shattered doors, he could clearly see the wreckage in the hallway, like the aftermath of a magnitude-nine earthquake. The floor was cracked, gouged, destroyed.

His eyes swept over the collapsed Uncle Meng and unconscious Aunt Ding. His face turned dark as ink.

Ning Xi quickly walked over to Lin Xiao and circled around him several times. After confirming he wasn’t injured, she sighed in relief. Then, suddenly, she threw her arms around him.

“Lin Xiao, I missed you so much!”

Wan Caixuan bit her lip, her eyes sharp as blades as she stared at Ning Xi’s curvy back, like she wanted to poke holes through it.

Lin Xiao’s arms stiffened at his sides—hugging back would be awkward, but so would not hugging. Even someone as dense as him could sense the strange atmosphere in the room.

The girl standing beside Wan Caixuan snapped out of her panic. Her eyes darted between Ning Xi and Wan Caixuan, sparkling with curiosity as if trying to figure something out.

After seven or eight seconds, when Ning Xi still hadn’t let go, Wan Caixuan finally couldn’t hold back.

“Manager Ning, haven’t you hugged him long enough? Is this really the time for that sort of thing?”

Her voice was cold, laced with ice.

Only then did Ning Xi let go of Lin Xiao. She turned and grinned at Wan Caixuan. “Miss, come on. Your turn for a hug.”

“I’d rather not.” Wan Caixuan was clearly tempted but refused without hesitation. Her gaze shifted to Lin Xiao. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Her seemingly indifferent tone actually held subtle concern.

Ning Xi curled her lip, unimpressed by Wan Caixuan’s act.

Lin Xiao shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“You actually beat Uncle Meng and Aunt Ding? Looks like we really underestimated you,” the girl suddenly interjected, showing no sign of concern about her situation. “Why not forget about being her bodyguard and come work for me instead? I’d welcome you with open arms.”

She spread her arms and bent slightly, even throwing Lin Xiao a flirtatious wink.

But Lin Xiao was unmoved, his gaze calm and deep as water. “Sorry, not interested.”

The girl instantly fumed, shooting him a glare. “Insensitive jerk. Fine, go stick with your ice queen.”

“Trying to poach him right in front of me? Wan Ziyue, you’re getting bolder.” Wan Caixuan said coolly. “Now then, let’s talk about our little wager.”

“Big sis, that bet was between you and Fourth Brother. It has nothing to do with me,” Wan Ziyue rolled her eyes, trying to back out. “I was just watching the fun. If you want to talk bets, talk to him.”

She pointed at the handsome young man.

He was livid. “Wan Ziyue, what’s that supposed to mean? Don’t forget it was you who dragged me to Jinghai. You pushed me to go after Third Sis.”

“Do you have proof?” Wan Ziyue spread her hands, her eyes flashing with mischief. “I grew up with Sis, we’re closer than real siblings. Who’d believe I’d ever try to harm her?”

“I would.” Wan Caixuan’s lips curled into a frosty smile. “Wan Ziyue, enough lies. Do you think you can fool me? No matter what, both of you are handing over your Brilliant Pharmaceutics shares today, or I’ll return the favor, and you won’t like how I do it.”

“Big sis!” Wan Ziyue stamped her foot, eyes brimming with tears. “I admit I was wrong, okay? Just let me off the hook, or at least pin my share on Fourth Brother. He’s richer anyway.”

The handsome young man laughed bitterly, clenching his teeth. “Third Sis, I lost fair and square. I’ll transfer the Brilliant Pharmaceutics shares. But don’t let this little devil off easy. She was the one who talked me into this.”

“Fine. Wan Shiyi, sign the agreement, and you can leave. I won’t make it hard on you.” Wan Caixuan turned to Ning Xi. “Manager Ning, prepare the documents.”

Ning Xi nodded knowingly and turned to leave. As she walked out, she suddenly gave Lin Xiao a quick kiss on the cheek and exited with a playful laugh.

Leaving behind a very awkward Lin Xiao and a Wan Caixuan, whose expression turned complicated, though only for a moment. She quickly returned to normal as if the flicker had never happened.

But Wan Ziyue, who’d been watching her closely, saw it all.

A glint of realization flashed in her eyes, and she began to examine Lin Xiao with newfound curiosity, like she’d just discovered some interesting secret.