Gu Bei paused before he added, “Don’t forget that your uncle isn’t able to help you anymore. He has lost his job. No, you should be rivals now. So what if Shen Peichuan is now the deputy chief? If I want to, I can ask my father to remove him from the position. What can you do?
Can you implicate me for what Number Four has done? Previously, I escaped unscathed. I can do the same this time. As I said, if you’re willing to apologize for hurting me, I can forgive you. We can mind our own businesses from now on. But of course, if you want to be my friend, I’ll welcome you with open arms.”
Apologize to him?
Lin Xinyan parted her lips to say something, but Zong Jinghao grabbed her hand and shook his head, telling her to calm down.
The man looked straight at Gu Bei as his jaw hardened. “No one can touch anyone from the Zong family. Mr. Gu, you might have a powerful backer, but no matter how powerful you are, you should have a weak spot, right?”
He leaned back lazily and scoffed. “You’re disgusting enough to send those photos to my wife and kidnap her friend. I believe you should be the one to apologize, am I right?”
Gu Bei gritted his teeth. “You’re crossing the line!”
He should be the one apologizing to me!
“Crossing the line? The man in the temple should be your henchman, right? Don’t you know what he did to my friend?” Lin Xinyan chimed in as she clenched her fists. It was getting hard for her to calm down.
“If you really want to resolve all the differences, you need to apologize for the kidnapping incident which caused the fatal car accident and bear the consequences. You should also hand over the person who hurt my friend. Well, I think we can forgive you for sending those photos and pretending to save me back in C City.”
“Is this a joke?” Gu Bei was mad at Number Four as he had gone to Qin Ya without informing him. The fool wanted to take advantage of her, but she had escaped instead. Gu Bei wanted to punish this fool, too. No one knew how furious he had been when he saw the news.
However, he couldn’t just hand him over just like that. “If I hand him to you, who else will want to work for me? The car accident was an unfortunate accident. I wasn’t even the mastermind. The mastermind has paid the price, hasn’t he? Why won’t you let me off?”
If he handed Number Four over to them, his other men would be utterly disappointed. No one would want to risk their lives for him anymore.
It was important to gain their trust and loyalty.
Even if Number Four made a mistake, he had to defend him. He wasn’t only defending the man; he was also ensuring his men’s loyalty to him.
The manager had stood out to take the blame, so it was apparent that Gu Bei was well-respected by his subordinates.
Lin Xinyan sneered, “Mr. Gu, you know that well. Why are you acting foolishly? If I ignore my friend’s condition now, what will she think of me? We’re not refusing to let you go. We just want those involved to bear the consequences of their actions. Is that too much to ask for?”
As Lin Xinyan was right, Gu Bei fell silent.
Indeed, that should be it.
Upon realizing that they weren’t going to reach a consensus, Gu Bei was no longer smiling. He looked at Zong Jinghao and the sharp-tongued woman. Now I know why he likes her, he mused.
Most of the women he knew would wait for men to solve their problems or cry to gain attention and sympathy.
However, this woman stood beside Zong Jinghao bravely. Is it because an ignorant person knows no fear?
He glared at Lin Xinyan. “Don’t you know who my father is? You won’t win if you insist on going against me.”
Lin Xinyan met his gaze without flinching and scoffed, “I don’t know who your father is, but everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. You need to bear the consequences of your mistakes, irrespective of your wealth and status. Is your father above the authorities?”
Silence ensued as their vicious gazes met in confrontation. After a long silence, Gu Bei parted his lips and sneered, “Fine. Let’s see who will end up being the winner!”
With that, he turned and left.
Lin Xinyan couldn’t be bothered to see him off. “Goodbye, Mr. Gu.”
Gu Bei spun around and glowered at her. Before he left, his lips curled up. “I can’t wait to see you again, Ms. Lin.”
After spitting out that line, he grinned and left.
Lin Xinyan was grim. His father must be someone influential. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so arrogantly.
“You found out?” Zong Jinghao uttered.
She wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for that.
Lin Xinyan swiveled around to look at him. “It’s all over the news. Why wouldn’t I know?”
Zong Jinghao massaged his temples. “I forgot to cut off the electricity back at home.”
Lin Xinyan was rendered speechless.
What is he saying?
“Come on, stop joking. What are you going to do? He doesn’t seem like a pushover.” That man wasn’t that capable, but his backer was.
Zong Jinghao sighed. He refused to reply to her question as he wanted her to stay at home to focus on her pregnancy. He was able to take care of everything himself. “You naughty girl. Why did you come out? Can’t you stay at home?”
“How could I stay at home after watching the news? Qin Ya…” she trailed off as her lashes fluttered delicately. “I’ll make sure the perpetrator pays for what he did!”
Her voice was firm and confident.
Zong Jinghao said nothing. He knew why Lin Xinyan felt that way. Actually, he wasn’t sure if Qin Ya was sexually assaulted as she was sent to the hospital after being rescued. Shen Peichuan didn’t send him any updates after that.
Gu Bei had arranged for Number Four to go into hiding as he was afraid that Zong Jinghao would nab him.
“Give me your phone,” Lin Xinyan demanded and stretched out her hand.
Zong Jinghao handed her his phone as instructed. “Are you going to save your new number?”
“No,” came Lin Xinyan’s reply. She didn’t even look at him.
Zong Jinghao fell silent.
Then what are you doing?
Checking my phone?
He felt a chill creeping up his spine at her action.
“What are you doing?” inquired Zong Jinghao cautiously.
