Chapter Thirteen: Violence

Arriving at the first-floor lobby, Hong Chen took off his jacket and handed it to Xu Le. While the latter went to the restroom, Hong Chen slipped over to a corner and made a call to Gao Tianxiong. He didn’t mention Xu Le’s predicament, only that he was heading up to the sixth-floor Investment Department and asked Gao Tianxiong to send a female secretary down in five minutes to give him a tour.

When Xu Le returned after freshening up, his appearance had improved significantly. The two tears in his trousers had been folded up, and he was now wearing Hong Chen’s jacket. It was a bit small, the buttons left undone, but it barely fit. His hair, slicked down with water, looked neater; apart from the obvious bruises, his face was free of dirt and blood.

“Let’s go,” Hong Chen said after giving him a quick once-over. He led Xu Le toward the elevator. The receptionist at the front desk looked as if she wanted to ask something, but after recognizing Hong Chen, and seeing that the person with him had his back turned, she held her tongue, maintaining a polite smile as she watched them go.

On the sixth floor, after stepping out of the elevator and heading toward the Investment Department, a young woman emerged just as they approached the door. She and Hong Chen locked eyes, both pausing in surprise.

“Hong Chen, what brings you here?” The young woman was Lin Meimei, Lin Yuxin’s cousin, just a year older than Lin Yuxin. Clad in a semi-formal black-and-white outfit, a hint of her neckline visible, lips painted, brows defined, and makeup carefully applied, she looked far more alluring and mature than her usual flamboyant self.

“Just accompanying a friend for an interview,” Hong Chen replied casually, not bothering to slow his pace or engage further. Of all the Lin family, he despised Lin Meimei and her mother, Lin Shujie, the most.

Perhaps because her father had married into the family, Lin Shujie was a veritable tigress. Lin Meimei, though less fierce, was even more shrewish and petty, a snob with a calculating nature.

At every family gathering, the mother-daughter duo led the charge in mocking Hong Chen, their jeers making up at least half the scorn he endured from the entire Lin clan.

“Pervert!” Lin Meimei suddenly shrieked, stumbling back several steps as if she’d seen a monster.

Hong Chen thought the outburst was directed at him and frowned, but then another voice rang out behind him, spitting venom: “You bitch!”

It was Xu Le who had spoken.

Hong Chen was momentarily confused and turned to see Xu Le, his face seething with anger, pointing directly at Lin Meimei. “She and that bastard set me up with a honey trap!”

In the blink of an eye, Hong Chen understood. Lin Meimei worked in advertising and was likely negotiating a partnership with the group’s Investment Department. The deputy director of the department was responsible for vetting partners; give Lin Meimei some benefit, and with her lack of scruples, it was no surprise she’d help to frame Xu Le. A perfect match—scoundrel and vixen.

“Your friend is him? A loser paired with a pervert—how fitting.” Lin Meimei was briefly startled by Xu Le’s appearance but quickly recovered, jabbing her finger at him and sneering at Hong Chen before turning back into the department. She shouted exaggeratedly, “Security! Security! The pervert is back again…”

“Chen, do you know her?”

“She’s my wife’s cousin,” Hong Chen replied, glancing at Xu Le. “An extremely annoying woman. Now that you’ll be working here, possibly even as management, don’t stoop to trading insults with the likes of her. Don’t lose your composure later—leave it to me.”

Xu Le nodded in understanding, his expression easing.

Lin Meimei’s cries drew not only the attention of job applicants waiting for interviews but also the office staff. Even the interviews in the conference room came to a halt.

By the time Hong Chen and Xu Le stepped into the Investment Department, the reception hall was crowded with dozens of people, all eyes fixed on them. Hong Chen remained calm and collected, but Xu Le, less hardened, flushed with embarrassment, his face burning.

“Security, that pervert is after me again, and he’s brought a helper. If I hadn’t run just now, who knows what they’d have done to me!” Lin Meimei, feigning terror, gazed imploringly at the two approaching security guards, her helplessness almost pitiable.

A shame she didn’t pursue a career in acting.

These two security guards were among the four who’d assaulted Xu Le earlier. Both were burly men in their thirties. One pounded his chest reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Miss Lin. This time, we won’t let him off.”

The other nodded in agreement.

Their faces darkening, the two advanced on Hong Chen and Xu Le. But before they could act, Hong Chen spoke up, “You’re just going to take her word for it? Just because she’s a woman, you assume she’s the victim without any proof?”

The guards hesitated. Hong Chen waited a beat, then continued, “I heard four security guards attacked my friend earlier—were you two among them?”

“It was them,” Xu Le interjected. Hong Chen nodded, then asked, “Let me ask: when this woman accused my friend of harassment, did either of you witness it personally?”

“So you’re saying I framed him? Look at him—does he look like someone I’d bother to frame? He looks like a pig, dressed in cheap clothes—why would I bother?” Lin Meimei sneered, looking around at the crowd. With so many watching, she was in her element.

Hong Chen ignored her. “If you didn’t see it with your own eyes and only have her word, who gave you the right to use violence? Just because you have fists?”

With those words, a cold gleam flashed in Hong Chen’s eyes. He stepped forward and delivered a kick to one guard’s stomach, sending the man down with a wail.

The attack was so sudden that the other guard barely reacted before swinging at Hong Chen. Hong Chen dodged with ease, then counterpunched, landing a blow to the man’s abdomen.

Another scream. The guard doubled over, and Hong Chen finished him with a kick, sending him sprawling.

But he wasn’t finished. Hong Chen continued, fists and feet flying, as the two guards rolled across the floor, their howls chilling to the onlookers.

The crowd recoiled in terror, stumbling over each other in their haste to retreat—three people even fell in the crush. Several women screamed in fright, their faces drained of color, Lin Meimei among them. For her, it was as if she’d witnessed a ghost; this was the first time she’d seen Hong Chen, who’d always endured her family’s taunts in silence, reveal such a violent side.

Even Xu Le was stunned, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Before they’d come in, Hong Chen had specifically told him not to lose his composure…

No one dared step in. The beating lasted nearly a minute before a swarm of security guards surged in from outside. Simultaneously, a sharply dressed middle-aged man strode out from the work area, his presence commanding as he shouted, “Stop!”

Before the new security team could intervene, Hong Chen obediently halted, dusting off his hands as if nothing had happened, then returned to Xu Le’s side. Casually, he asked, “Are the other two here?” As he spoke, his gaze swept over the newcomers.

Xu Le didn’t respond; he was staring at the middle-aged man. Sensing something, Hong Chen followed his gaze. The man, around forty, had a broad face and prominent ears, his skin pitted with acne scars, his build decent but marred by a protruding beer belly—a textbook greasy executive.

“That’s him?” Hong Chen asked.

Xu Le grunted in affirmation. Hong Chen couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Didn’t you say he was tall, rich, and handsome?”

Xu Le’s round face flushed red, and after a moment, he muttered furiously, “His name is Wei Xie—‘withering and limp’ suits him perfectly.”

Hong Chen nearly burst out laughing.

“Director Wei,” he greeted.

As the company staff respectfully made way, Director Wei showed no particular reaction, striding up to the front of the crowd. He turned first to Lin Meimei, offering a polite smile. “Miss Lin, I’m sorry this happened in our company and that you were frightened. Rest assured, I’ll give you an explanation.”

Then he faced Xu Le, his expression hardening. “It seems the previous lesson wasn’t enough. You forgot it the moment you turned your back—daring to come here again, with such brazen audacity. You’re truly beyond help.”

Finally, his gaze fell on Hong Chen, his voice cold. “Who gave you the courage to cause trouble in our group?”

He then ordered the security team, “Take these two to the security office—don’t disrupt the Investment Department’s work. I’ll discuss with Manager Luo about how to proceed. As for the two injured guards, get them to the infirmary immediately.”