Qi Mu froze awkwardly in place.
Why did he always manage to catch Jiang Shao beating up Li Xin?!
What kind of bizarre fate was this?
Qi Mu desperately wanted to turn around and leave right now. Unfortunately, Fang Ming Qian was still beside him, and more importantly, the moment the two of them appeared—
Jiang Shao abruptly turned his head. His dark eyes were razor-sharp as he stared coldly at them.
For one dazed instant, Qi Mu even had the illusion—
That Jiang Shao was about to abandon Li Xin and come beat them up instead…
The atmosphere instantly became dangerously tense and frozen.
Qi Mu stood there stiff-legged and drew in a sharp breath, silently cursing his own damned curiosity. He never should have come over for a look. He genuinely had no interest whatsoever in watching Long Aotian beat people up!
He very much wanted to say, Please, carry on. Pretend we’re not here.
However…
Jiang Shao had already tossed Li Xin aside like a piece of garbage. His dark eyes fixed on Qi Mu as though he were prey that had wandered into his territory.
Qi Mu met those unfathomable black eyes.
In an instant, he remembered that night. No—this was even more terrifying than that night… The hairs along his spine stood on end.
Lu Jin Wen had originally been standing off to the side enjoying the show. He had already been preparing to call an ambulance for Li Xin when Qi Mu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, with Fang Ming Qian inadvertently stumbling into the mess as well. Faced with this tangled, chaotic scene, even Lu Jin Wen was momentarily dumbfounded. How was he supposed to explain this to Jiang Shao? Sigh. If only I’d stopped him just now and told him to wait until Qi Mu left before beating the guy up…
Li Xin had been terrified out of his mind and had already closed his eyes in preparation for the beating. Instead, Jiang Shao suddenly dropped him. Li Xin landed on his backside and sat there blankly, still not quite processing what had happened.
Of the five people present—
Only Fang Ming Qian had no idea just how complicated the situation really was.
He could vaguely sense the undercurrents in the air, but he had no idea what was going on. All he had seen was Jiang Shao beating Li Xin, so he frowned. “What’s going on here?”
No one answered Fang Ming Qian.
Yet it was precisely Fang Ming Qian’s puzzled voice—
Like the second hand of a clock beginning to tick again, it broke the spell that had frozen time, allowing the overly rigid atmosphere to slowly start moving once more.
Jiang Shao’s dark eyes flickered. He clenched his fist, then slowly loosened it again.
Reason returned to him little by little.
The instant he had seen Qi Mu and Fang Ming Qian appear together, talking and laughing with such easy familiarity, Jiang Shao had almost lost control. He had wanted to abandon Li Xin and go beat Fang Ming Qian instead. In truth, he did not give a damn what happened to Li Xin. He had merely wanted an outlet. The person he truly wanted to kill was Fang Ming Qian…
But he had only lost control for that one instant.
Now, looking at the shock and unease on Qi Mu’s face…
Jiang Shao finally realized that the shell he had believed indestructible could, in fact, shatter at the lightest touch.
He did not want to admit that he was afraid of Qi Mu discovering he had deceived him. It was precisely because of that fear that he no longer dared to go looking for trouble with Fang Ming Qian and had instead begun avoiding him.
As though, so long as that day never came, Jiang Shao could continue lying to himself.
Continue maintaining things as they were.
But what he had not expected—
Was for that day to arrive so quickly.
Along with his returning reason came the panic rising in his heart, though outwardly he remained perfectly calm.
Jiang Shao stared at Qi Mu with his lips pressed tightly together, his expression cold.
He said nothing.
Perhaps the initiative had never belonged to him in the first place. He was merely a fraudster waiting for his verdict.
Qi Mu was not having an easy time either.
He had never wanted to stumble onto Jiang Shao’s true identity, okay?!
How awkward was this?!
All he wanted was for Long Aotian to smoothly finish this portion of the plot and then leave his company. He had no desire to get entangled with him. If Jiang Shao’s identity were exposed now, how was Qi Mu supposed to face him afterward? He certainly had not held back from ordering Jiang Shao around like an ordinary employee before.
Jiang Shao wouldn’t come settle accounts with him, would he?
And besides…
Qi Mu’s gaze swept unobtrusively over Li Xin. His thoughts moved rapidly, and he soon pieced together the general outline of what had happened.
Although the dream had never mentioned Li Xin, back at the summit Qi Mu had already noticed that Jiang Shao and Li Xin had a poor relationship. Judging from Li Xin’s reaction at the time, he had not known that Jiang Shao was hiding his true capabilities. Therefore, Qi Mu could reach one conclusion—Jiang Shao did not want Li Xin discovering his secret.
As for why Li Xin was here today, that was not difficult to guess. Judging from his bloodshot eyes and furious expression, he was most likely here for Lu Jin Wen.
Hanxing Automotive had only recently gone through such a major crisis. Li Xin had been set up and had presumably come looking for trouble with Lu Jin Wen, only to unexpectedly run into Jiang Shao here as well—just as Qi Mu himself had.
Why Li Xin had ended up fighting Jiang Shao instead was something Qi Mu could not figure out. Still, the information before him was already enough for an initial judgment.
Qi Mu had no intention of digging into whatever grievances existed between Jiang Shao and the Li family.
But since Jiang Shao did not want Li Xin discovering his secret, and Qi Mu likewise did not want Jiang Shao’s cover blown right now—
Then the best solution was…
Qi Mu’s expression darkened as well. He glared angrily at Jiang Shao. “Who told you to come here?”
Everyone froze.
Without explaining himself to anyone, Qi Mu turned apologetically to Fang Ming Qian. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect Jiang Shao to follow us here on his own. I’m truly sorry about what happened last time too. I’ll make sure to have a serious talk with him.”
Fang Ming Qian blinked. The sudden turn nearly gave him mental whiplash.
But from what Qi Mu was saying, did that mean Jiang Shao had come here because of them? Why did something still feel off…?
Lu Jin Wen’s gaze drifted toward Jiang Shao, his feelings complicated.
So this brat really is jealousy incarnate. Your methods for dealing with a love rival are embarrassingly crude. Look at you handing people ammunition against you.
Jiang Shao stood there with a rigid expression.
He had not understood Qi Mu’s first sentence, but he understood the second.
Qi Mu thought Jiang Shao had come here specifically to cause trouble for Fang Ming Qian.
So you’re really that worried about Fang Ming Qian? You care about him that much?
Anger surged inside him at the thought. He almost wanted to stop caring about the consequences and simply beat Fang Ming Qian up for real, if only so he would not have to suffer this accusation for nothing.
Qi Mu’s scalp prickled under Jiang Shao’s stare, but there was no backing down now. Bracing himself against the pressure, he stepped forward again and demanded, “That time by the river wasn’t a coincidence either, was it?”
It felt as though Jiang Shao had been struck in the chest. Too proud to explain himself, he gave a cold snort. “So what if it wasn’t?”
Seeing that the two of them appeared to be on the verge of an argument—
Fang Ming Qian and Lu Jin Wen silently stepped backward to keep out of the line of fire.
Only Li Xin failed to notice anything was wrong. He finally came back to his senses, looking utterly bewildered, and promptly grew irritated.
He was the one who had come here to confront Jiang Shao! How had everyone suddenly stopped paying attention to him? Jiang Shao had literally dropped him on the ground and gone off to argue with someone else!
This was practically an insult to him!
Li Xin was furious. Li Xin was aggrieved. Li Xin was dissatisfied.
Li Xin jumped up from the ground, pointed at Jiang Shao, and roared, “You still haven’t answered me! Were you the one who set me up?!”
Jiang Shao felt a vein twitch at his temple. His fists clenched with an audible crack. He decided that he absolutely had to beat someone up today. He could not beat Qi Mu. He could not beat Fang Ming Qian either, because Qi Mu would blame him. So… maybe he should just beat Li Xin after all.
But before Jiang Shao could move—
Qi Mu suddenly turned and said coldly to Li Xin, “President Li, you shouldn’t throw accusations around without evidence. Jiang Shao is my employee. How could he possibly have plotted against you?”
Li Xin thought, Are you sick in the head?
Weren’t you just arguing with Jiang Shao yourself? How did you turn around and start defending him in the blink of an eye? You have an employee like this and instead of firing him, you’re actually protecting him?!
Li Xin shouted in disbelief, “Why couldn’t he? He even dared hit me! He’s not as simple as you think—”
But before Li Xin could finish, Qi Mu cut him off with a grave expression. “Jiang Shao certainly did some things wrong, and he came here today without my permission, but he doesn’t attack people for no reason. If he really did hit you, then perhaps President Li should ask yourself why. There should be surveillance cameras around here, shouldn’t there? Why don’t we check and see who threw the first punch?”
Li Xin’s expression changed, and for a moment he said nothing.
Qi Mu was only bluffing. It was not as though he actually believed Jiang Shao never hit people. But if Jiang Shao wanted to hide his identity from Li Xin, then there was no reason for him to attack Li Xin without cause. Jiang Shao would not do something that stupid. Most likely, Li Xin had struck first.
From his reaction, it seemed Qi Mu had guessed correctly.
Now fully justified, Qi Mu stepped forward and placed himself between Jiang Shao and Li Xin. “I don’t know what misunderstanding President Li has about Jiang Shao, but my employee is mine to discipline. It’s hardly President Li’s place to discipline my staff for me, is it?”
Li Xin stared at the two men who had been at each other’s throats only moments ago, only for Qi Mu to suddenly turn all his firepower on him instead. He was so furious he could barely speak. “You—you—you—”
You two shameless accomplices!
Jiang Shao stared at Qi Mu’s back as the man stood in front of him, calmly and methodically shutting Li Xin down.
His heartbeat suddenly accelerated. The warmth it sent coursing through his chest swept away the violence there. Those impulses he had thought would be so difficult to suppress simply dissolved in a way he had never imagined possible, as easily as scraps of dust scattered by the wind—not worth mentioning at all.
Jiang Shao shifted his gaze toward Li Xin and suddenly no longer felt his fists itching. Wasn’t watching Li Xin become this furious even more entertaining than beating him up?
He folded his arms and stood lazily behind Qi Mu, peering out from his shelter as he added mockingly, “Exactly. President Li should worry about himself first.”
Qi Mu had not expected this formidable ancestor to have such an infuriating mouth. Seeing Li Xin about to explode again, he finally snapped and turned around to bark at Jiang Shao, “You only just took a month’s salary in advance! Are you already trying to lose this job?!”
Jiang Shao put on an aggrieved expression, even lowering his voice. “But he hit me first…”
Lu Jin Wen quietly sucked in a breath from behind them, wondering whether he was looking at some counterfeit version of Jiang Shao. Perhaps an alien had possessed the man in front of him.
Qi Mu was rendered speechless as well.
What else could he say when Jiang Shao put it like that?
Qi Mu turned irritably toward Li Xin. “President Li, aren’t you going to explain why you were the one who started hitting people?”
Li Xin thought, This is completely backwards! Wasn’t I the one getting beaten just now?
Where exactly are your eyes located that you can look at Jiang Shao and see some innocent little white lotus?
Elio’s Notes: “White lotus” (白莲花) is Chinese internet slang for someone who appears pure, innocent, and harmless, often with an implication that the innocence is fake. Li Xin is using it sarcastically here because Qi Mu is treating Jiang Shao as though he were the blameless victim.
Li Xin’s lips trembled with rage.
But what left him even more speechless was what Qi Mu had just said—Jiang Shao had asked him for a month’s salary in advance.
Not only had Jiang Shao asked Qi Mu for an advance on his salary, he had actually meekly endured Qi Mu’s scolding without daring to talk back. This completely overturned everything Li Xin knew about Jiang Shao.
This string of utterly unbelievable developments finally restored a tiny bit of Li Xin’s reason, allowing him to start thinking again.
He had known Jiang Shao for nearly twenty years and understood his arrogance better than most. Jiang Shao had always been outrageously wild. Back when he still lived in the capital, he had thoroughly cowed all the spoiled rich kids in their circle. He would not even lower his head before Jiang Zong Chao. He was a lawless little demon who feared neither heaven nor earth.
If someone told Li Xin that Jiang Shao had punched a hole through the sky, he would believe it without hesitation. But if someone told him Jiang Shao would lower himself before another person and meekly submit, Li Xin would never believe it even if you beat him to death. He would only tell you that you were dreaming.
Unless he saw it with his own eyes, like now.
At this point, Li Xin genuinely wondered whether he was dreaming.
Jiang Shao had apparently fallen so low that he needed a salary advance just to live, and when his boss scolded him like a dog, he did not even dare make a sound. Li Xin would never have dared dream of something this ridiculous.
Li Xin raised a hand and rubbed his eyes.
Yet no matter how he looked—
Jiang Shao was still standing obediently behind Qi Mu, and the scene before him showed no sign of blurring or disappearing.
Had Jiang Shao really been driven into such desperate circumstances?
Then how could he possibly possess the ability to join forces with Lu Jin Wen and scheme against Li Xin?
Had he really misunderstood Jiang Shao?
But…
Li Xin suddenly remembered one remaining inconsistency. His eyes widened as he asked, “He was just with Lu Jin Wen. So what was that about?”
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