Chapter 40: Demanding an Explanation

Now, everyone present understood. Xiaowang, the boss from the building materials city, hadn't been wronged in the slightest.

Li Xue was the first to lash out. "Didn't I tell you not to act rashly? To wait until I was off the phone?"

Chen Xi wanted to explain that Mu Lin had dragged him along, but that would be throwing Mu Lin under the bus.

So he could only say, "I went on my own. Mu Lin just ran into me on the road and decided to join."

Li Xue's face was stern. "What did I tell you? I specifically told you not to go, but what did you do? You've disappointed me so much!"

Chen Xi lowered his head. Chen Quan asked, "Chen Xi, answer me. Did you hit someone?"

Chen Xi answered honestly, "I did!"

The room erupted in an uproar. Lu Yi sneered, "Oh, Chen Xi, Chen Xi. Don't you know that hitting a client is a huge taboo? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're a director's grandson!"

Chen Quan shot Lu Yi a dark look. 'This kid is truly vicious,' he thought. 'If it weren't for him saying that, this whole thing could have been de-escalated.'

But now that Lu Yi had said that, Chen Quan had no choice but to deal with Chen Xi strictly.

"You little bastard!" Without hesitation, Chen Quan grabbed his cane and swung it at Chen Xi.

Chen Xi didn't dare to dodge, standing still and taking the hit. The cane struck his head, leaving a purple, bloody welt on his face. The corner of his eye was split open and bleeding profusely.

The sight made everyone in the room stare wide-eyed. Li Xue quickly pulled out a handkerchief to press against his wound.

"Grandmaster Chen, Chen Xi is your grandson, after all! How could you...?!"

Mu Lin reached out and pushed Chen Xi aside. "Why are you taking the blame? Can you even beat them? I was the one who did the hitting, it has nothing to do with him! And I was the one who dragged him to the pig farm to collect the debt!"

Seeing Mu Lin jump in, everyone found it a bit strange.

'Is this something worth fighting over?' they wondered. 'Especially Mu Lin—he was bullied so badly by those rich kids in the special team. Why is he still speaking up for him?'

Elder Li narrowed his eyes, feeling that Mu Lin was probably not lying. After all, Mu Lin was that person's disciple; his fighting skills were bound to be impressive. Beating up the owner of a pig farm would be child's play for him.

He just couldn't understand why Mu Lin would speak up for a rich kid like Chen Xi.

"Mu Lin!"

As soon as Elder Li spoke, the entire room fell silent. Everyone was listening to him.

Mu Lin turned his head. "Elder Li, what is it?"

"I want to ask you, why did you hit him? If you can't give me a clear answer, I'll have to assume you're just taking the fall for Chen Xi."

Mu Lin said, "Because I overheard President Li's call with Yang Jian. After she hung up, she cried."

Li Xue's head snapped up. She had been exhausted these past few days, suffering from a migraine, so she had put the call on speakerphone.

'Did he hear everything?'

Her eyes went wide. 'At the company, I treat him like this, and in our daily life, I'm never nice to him. Why would he take care of me like this?'

'Logically, he should have just kicked me to the curb!'

"On the call, President Li was urging Yang Jian to pay back the money, even suggesting he could pay back a portion first. But Yang Jian kept harassing President Li, saying that unless she slept with him for a night, he would never pay up."

Li Xue shot Mu Lin a glare. 'This idiot! How could he just say something like that out loud? After you've said it, how am I supposed to face anyone?'

Li Yinhe's expression was beyond ugly; it was downright ferocious.

Any father's blood pressure would skyrocket hearing such vile things said to his precious daughter.

He probably wanted to jump in and beat the man to a pulp himself.

'To hell with the Li Group's rules about customer service.'

Elder Li had a sudden realization. 'So that's how it was. No wonder Mu Lin was so angry. Good kid. He knows how to protect his wife now.'

But he could only praise him like this in his heart. Publicly, Mu Lin hadn't even proposed to Li Xue yet. For now, their marriage certificate couldn't see the light of day.

Even though Mu Lin and Li Xue weren't quite in sync yet, he hadn't pushed them. The old man wasn't muddle-headed; he wouldn't deliberately try to speed up their relationship.

You can't force love.

Mu Lin's performance was beyond his expectations.

"Well done!" Elder Li said forcefully. "The Group does have a rule about respecting clients, but that doesn't mean we have to tolerate their every action! In a situation like this, you have to strike hard! If I were twenty years younger, I'd have beaten him into next week!"

Lu Yi and Lu Baichuan's faces turned sour. With Elder Li setting this tone, any further criticism of Mu Lin would be useless.

The president being sexually harassed is unforgivable in any company. If the Li Group backed down now, they might as well not even be in business and just close up shop.

Lu Yi frowned, thought for a moment, and came up with an angle. "But, we really are just one step away from closing down. If we don't have supplies, we're finished."

Elder Li said, "Then let us be finished! Li Yinhe, go take stock. See which projects still have a chance of being completed. Divert all other inventory to supply those projects. Save them first."

"As for the other projects, put them on hold for now."

Lu Yi and Lu Baichuan both felt the atmosphere was off. Elder Li was prepared to go all-out for his granddaughter.

The receptionist ran over and whispered a few words into the secretary's ear.

The secretary's expression changed slightly. She discreetly excused herself and ran towards the front entrance.

A moment later, she came running back in a panic. "This is bad! That supplier, Xiaowang, is here! He says we have to hand over the person who beat up his brother!"

Mu Lin said, "I'll take responsibility for my own actions. I hit the man, so I'll be responsible. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I'll go and come right back. Once I explain it to him and he calms down, the Group's projects can continue."

He turned to leave.

'If he goes, his chances don't look good.'

Li Xue was overcome with a pang of pity and quickly raised her hand. "Don't!"

Mu Lin turned his head. "President Li, this is the best solution right now. Do you have a better one? Or maybe you want to go?"

Li Xue thought about what Yang Jian had said and felt a wave of revulsion.

Elder Li laughed heartily. "No one has to go. Tell Xiaowang to come up. If he wants to hold someone accountable, let him hold all of us accountable!"

The situation was spiraling further and further out of control. The Lu Family father and son looked at each other, thinking that things had really gone off the rails now. This could very well lead to the genuine collapse of the Li Group.

'What's the point of being president then? The president of a bankrupt company?'

Before long, Xiaowang walked in. He was flanked by a group of menacing men armed with bats and clubs.

Mu Lin saw Guo Lei among them, dressed in plain, inconspicuous clothes.

When Guo Lei saw Mu Lin, he quietly gave him a wink.

Mu Lin understood his meaning. It meant the situation was still within their control.

'Guo Lei's men won't join Xiaowang in making a scene.'

Xiaowang rushed forward, his first words being, "Who hit my guy? Give me an explanation! Otherwise, today will be the Li Group's last day!"

Elder Li stepped forward and said with a cold laugh, "I founded the Li Group with my own two hands. If you want to tear it down, you might as well kill this old man first!"

Xiaowang said, "Elder, I'm not an unreasonable person. I'm here today to get justice for my brother! He can't just get beaten up for no reason!"

"Then who's going to get justice for my daughter?" Li Yinhe was fired up too, rolling up his sleeves, ready for a fight.

"Yang Jian dragged his feet on a seven-million-yuan project payment, and on top of that, he harassed my daughter. You tell me, who should I demand justice from?"

"I don't care who you demand justice from! It was just verbal harassment, it's not like she lost a piece of flesh! My brother was beaten so badly by your employee that he has internal bleeding! There isn't a single unbruised spot on his body!"

Lu Yi secretly nodded. That was his attitude exactly, but it would have been completely inappropriate for him to be the one to say it.

"My brother did nothing, and he ends up injured like this. Isn't that going too far? Who did it? Step forward!"

Mu Lin calmly stepped forward, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked serenely at Xiaowang.

"I did it. What are you going to do about it?"

Xiaowang's gaze was utterly vicious. Holding a metal baseball bat, he swung it in a wide arc right at Mu Lin's head.

A crisp CRACK rang out, and a small dent even appeared on the bat.

Xiaowang then waved his hand. "Take him away! This place is too small. I can't even get a good swing in!"