Chapter Fifty-Four: Twice in One Day, the Family Council

“Gentlemen, please… may I have a moment? I truly don’t know why this happened. Can’t we just talk this over?” Chen Xiong struggled to rise, and with his daughter’s support, lowered himself as much as possible, pleading respectfully to those around him.

“Two minutes left,” Wei, the Second, replied coldly. He didn’t bother to address Chen Xiong’s words, merely reminded him of the time.

“You… wait, I’ll call Chen Muxue right away and have her speak with you all. I really don’t know what’s going on with these contracts!” Desperate, Chen Xiong suddenly thought of Chen Muxue, hoping she could stall these men while he figured out a way forward.

A sharp slap echoed as Wei, the Second, stood from his chair and strode over, landing a heavy blow across Chen Xiong’s face. “You drove President Chen away, and now you’ve got the nerve to ask her to clean up your mess? Honestly, it’d be easier to just get rid of you!” His anger mounting, he raised his hand to strike again.

“Stop! You can’t do this—we accept our fate, but you can’t just demand compensation based on your own accusations. There must be something wrong here. Besides, that much money will take time to gather. Even if you push us, we can’t pay you right now!” Chen Wenli, though frightened, managed to keep calm, speaking earnestly as she tried to reason with them.

“Well, look at that! The little girl’s got a sharp tongue—but she’s using it in the wrong place!” Shen Qingqiang interjected mockingly, his face twisted in derision as he looked at Chen Wenli.

“If you’d met me sooner, I’d have sorted you out. You say you don’t have the money? Fine—when you settle the compensation, we’ll leave.”

“But I really need time to raise the funds, and we have to investigate what’s actually happened. I believe there’s a misunderstanding between us, so—”

“Oh, would you look at what I found, gentlemen? These two are bold—on their first day in the company, they dared to misuse the company’s accounts. Impressive!” Wei, the Second, interrupted her, his voice rising in surprise as he pointed at the computer screen.

He called the others over, gesturing wildly. Chen Wenli’s mind went blank—this was truly the end. Her father’s unauthorized use of company funds had been exposed in real time.

She couldn’t help but blame him in her heart; why rush it, why not wait until tomorrow to transfer the money?

But it was too late for regrets now.

Shen Qingqiang and his cronies crowded around, shoving the father and daughter aside.

“Take pictures, get evidence!”

“I’ll do it—damn it, my payment’s going straight into his own pocket? He’s asking for trouble!”

“This won’t end here. I’m going to expose these greedy bastards, bring justice to this!”

“And to think such trash was put in charge—old Mrs. Chen must be blind, senile even!”

The men, all seasoned real estate bosses, with backgrounds forged from the bottom up, spoke without restraint. Seeing the completed transfer on the screen, they shouted and jeered.

Some even flashed murderous looks, itching to teach Chen Xiong a lesson. Was their money meant for him to squander? He must be mad.

Now, not only did Chen Xiong’s legs shake with terror, but Chen Wenli was utterly helpless. With both evidence and witnesses against them, caught red-handed, what defense could they offer?

“Enough, I’m calling the police. Twenty million—tsk, that’ll get him decades behind bars!” Wei, the Second, said excitedly, pulling out his phone as if to make the call.

Chen Xiong couldn’t take it anymore; the repeated blows left him unconscious, his eyes rolling back as he fainted.

Chen Wenli was petrified, her body trembling as she pleaded, her voice choked with tears. “Please, gentlemen, let us go. We have no enmity with you. I’ll return all your money, even compensate you further—just spare my father and me, please!”

“Shut up!” Wei, the Second, barked ferociously. “I stand to get millions in compensation—now you want me to walk away quietly, leave empty-handed? Are you stupid, or just delusional? Dream on!”

The scolding left Chen Wenli terrified and despairing. She now understood—they had no intention of letting her and her father off.

In that moment, she was truly at a loss, stunned and silent as the jeers continued.

Meanwhile, in another room, Chen Muxue and Su Zheng observed through a one-way mirror, watching the scene unfold.

Su Zheng’s expression remained calm, his clear, deep eyes betraying no emotion.

At first, Chen Muxue felt a sense of relief, but seeing Chen Xiong collapse and Chen Wenli pleading in tears, a flicker of compassion crossed her beautiful eyes.

“Su Zheng, maybe we should stop—it’s enough. There’s no need to push them any further.”

Su Zheng smiled faintly and shook his head. “You see only her pitiful exterior, but inside she hates you to the bone. She’d drag you down with her if she could.”

Chen Muxue was skeptical, about to argue, when Chen Wenli’s voice rang out from the next room.

“Gentlemen, I just remembered—the one who signed the contracts and took your money was that wretched woman, Chen Muxue. We were all tricked by her!”

“Oh? They say you’re cunning and sly, girl, but I never quite believed it. I see you’re about to surprise me. Go ahead, tell us—since we’ve got time, let’s be entertained!” Wei, the Second, lounged in his chair, eyeing Chen Wenli with a playful smirk.

“Thank you for the chance, sir. Let me analyze the situation for you, and you’ll see!” Chen Wenli heard the mockery in his tone, but refused to waste the opportunity. If she could drag Chen Muxue down, she might shift the blame entirely onto her.

Even if she couldn’t absolve herself completely, with the old matriarch to cover for them, she and her father wouldn’t suffer too much.

In the other room, Su Zheng’s lips curled with cold amusement as he watched Chen Wenli. Chen Muxue, meanwhile, flushed with anger, shocked that Su Zheng’s prediction had come true—Chen Wenli, even now, wouldn’t miss a chance to frame her.

“First, the contracts you signed were with Chen Muxue. She must have promised you hefty kickbacks. I won’t go into details—everyone here does business, and understands how these things work.”

Chen Wenli began her analysis, voicing her suspicions—believing this was the only way Chen Muxue could have secured so many orders so quickly.

But, anxious and flustered, Chen Wenli failed to notice the mocking and disgusted glances from Wei, the Second, Shen Qingqiang, and the others.