Mrs. Hong didn’t ask any more questions as she already got an answer from Mr. Gou’s response.

This was obviously a personal vengeance. Mr. Gou had no idea of what was going on, including what was done without his consent.

Mr. Gou stood up and bowed to Mrs. Hong with his fist clasped. “Ms. Hong, I am truly ashamed to cause such inconvenience to Ms. He! It’s all because I’ve been too lenient. I sincerely apologize for this and will apologize to her once again when I see her!”

Mrs. Hong stood up too, and returned his greetings formally, “Mr. Gou, you’re too courteous. We have overstepped the bounds of our authority by dealing with your people. Please forgive us!”

“No worries, no worries. Ms. Hong, you’ve dealt him well, and I’m thankful for that. Don’t worry. I’ll definitely give you a proper explanation in regards to this matter!”

The people behind Mr. Gou felt sorry for Nan’s family. In fact, some of them had already guessed the outcome for Nan’s family. It was probably the end for them.

But no one felt sorry. If you planned to do something like this, you should’ve done it thoroughly without leaving any traces behind. You shouldn’t have acted rashly if you hadn’t been sure of your odds of success. Kang was obviously too impulsive, which in turn ruined his family.

At this point, no one would stand up for him. The first reason was that friendships in this field of theirs were meant to be taken advantage of. Only a few were willing to risk their lives for their friends. The second reason was that no one had the power to challenge the Lin Family. Even Mr. Gou had no choice but to put up with it, let alone the others.

It was very simple actually. Ms. Hong’s actions were obviously a blatant provocation and a ruthless slap to Mr. Gou’s face. Though he was very sophisticated, it was inevitable for him to feel mad.

But Mr. Gou held himself back. Was it because he respected women? Of course not! There was only one reason. It was his competencies. He was not as competent as the other party, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

The two of them exchanged a few more words before Mrs. Hong asked out of the blue, “Mr. Gou, is there a man named Wang Shen under you?”

Mr. Gou froze for a moment and looked back. Wang Shen stepped out of the crowd hurriedly and cupped his fist to Mrs. Hong, “Glad to meet you, Ms. Hong. I am Wang Shen.”

Mrs. Hong stared at him coldly for a few moments and said slowly, “Stay away from Ms. Lin from now on. If you still don’t know how to behave yourself, I don’t mind letting you face the same fate as Kang!”

Wang Shen shivered in a cold sweat and responded, “Yes, yes, please don’t worry. Ms. Hong, I’ll keep that in mind!”

Mr. Gou shook his head slightly and his gaze at Wang Shen was filled with hatred.

Mrs. Hong gave no attention to Wang Shen and smiled at Mr. Gou instead, “Mr. Gou, can I please request for us to talk somewhere else? There are some things I’d like to talk to you about alone.”

“Sure! It’s my pleasure!”

The two of them got up, went to the study room, and only returned together after about an hour. They looked pretty happy and were both in a good mood, so it seemed like their conversation went well.

Mr. Gou personally saw Mrs. Hong off and sent her out.

Upon returning to the living room, Mr. Gou gestured to the crowd, “Sit down. There are no outsiders now, so there’s no need for so many rules.”

They sat around him respectfully and waited for him to lecture them.

“Wu, I’ll hand it to you to settle Nan’s matters. You know what to do, right?”

The middle-aged man that whispered in Mr. Gou’s ears just now nodded and sighed.

Mr. Gou ignored him and said, “Ms. Lin’s properties in Nanyun have been fully handed over to me to be taken care of. I guess we can consider it as a return to its original owner.”

The crowd burst into excitement, only to hear Mr. Gou continue, “From now on, no one is allowed to mess with the Lin Family again, especially Ms. Lin. Stay away from her, and don’t blame me for taking actions against those who have ill intentions again.”

The crowd immediately agreed so, especially Wang Shen who nodded repeatedly while wiping his cold sweat.

He had already made up his mind. Once he left this place, he’ll immediately resign from his position as vice-principal and get the h*ll out of here. He was not going to come back until Lin Wan left Shanyang. What happened today was too scary. He’ll never forget what he saw just now for the rest of his life.

In fact, everyone knew very well that Kang was definitely killed alive. A dead person would never have that kind of expression on his face. This act by the Lin Family was obviously a warning to them. If they dared to act rashly again, the Lin Family would not hesitate to ruin them all.

After this move, the Lin Family took the initiative to hand over the properties in Nanyun to him as a gesture of goodwill. This was a very smart move, as they showed how competent and ruthless they were at first and proceeded to show them some respect by offering the properties. They’d be dumb to not understand and pick up the hints.

As the Chinese saying goes, a powerful dragon could not crush a snake in its old haunts. But if the snake triggered the dragon, the consequences would be unimaginable. The Lin Family was one of the most powerful families in Nanyang, and everyone depended on them financially. It would be a piece of cake for them if they wanted to ruin someone’s life.

At this point, both Mr. Gou and everyone else here knew exactly what to do. If Wang Shen still acted cluelessly, Mr. Gou would not hesitate to finish him off before the Lin Family could even make a move.

...

In the room, Lin Wan and He Xiaoyu glared fiercely at each other, and it was as if a war had been about to happen.

Li Mu tried to sort things out, “Do the two of you have nothing better to do? What’s with the temper? Stop glaring at each other, look at me, and look at me instead! Shout at me, not at each other!”

“Honey, who exactly did you come here for? Was it her?”

“Nonsense, do I have nothing else to do? Why would I look for her? I came to find Xinzhu. By the way, Xiaoyu, where is Xinzhu?”

He Xiaoyu smiled sweetly and said without haste, “Ms. Xinzhu doesn’t live here. Li Mu, you came here for a date with me. Why did you bring her along?”

“Are you sick in the head? You’re still fooling around at this point? Hurry up and tell us where is Xinzhu?” Li Mu scolded discontentedly.

“Brother Mu, I’m in the bathroom. I’ll be out in a minute!” Du Xinzhu’s voice can be heard from the bathroom.

Li Mu nudged his mouth in the direction of the bathroom and whispered to his wife, “Xinzhu is in the bathroom, I told you that you were throwing a tantrum for no reason!”

Lin Wan replied indignantly, “Who asked her to glare at me?”

“What are you saying?” He Xiaoyu huffed, “You were the one who glared at me as soon as you entered the room and was even ready to hit me. Am I not allowed to glare at you?”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Dear Ms. Lin, I’m helping your friend. I’m helping her with the lawsuit, hire a lawyer, and even getting her a place to live in. Now, do you still think I shouldn’t be here?”

Lin Wan felt a little embarrassed and speechless. Li Mu persuaded hurriedly, “Alright, alright, enough with this. The matter ends here. Stop quarreling. Xiaoyu, have the two of you met the lawyer already?”

“Yes, we did. We couldn’t decide on some matters, which is why we called you over.”

At this time, Du Xinzhu came out of the bathroom and looked overjoyed when she saw Li Mu and Lin Wan.

Lin Wan held her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed. She then asked Du Xinzhu for a follow-up of her current situation.

“The lawyer said that the evidence I provided is enough to win the lawsuit and that I was at a higher advantage in terms of property distribution.” Du Xinzhu said excitedly.

“Isn’t that a good thing? What’s troubling you?” Puzzled, Lin Wan asked.

“Well, Fang Qiang has two safes, one at home and one at his office. One day, he forgot to lock the safe at home, so I took the opportunity to photocopy some of the documents inside. It was some records of bribery and some fishy financial statements.”

Li Mu and Lin Wan were taken aback, while the former regained his senses and asked with a smile, “Xinzhu, did you want to divorce him a long time ago and started preparing the materials for the lawsuit since then?”

Du Xinzhu nodded vigorously and said through gritted teeth, “When he let a stranger do those things to me, I’ve already hated him and had never forgiven him. The only reason me holding back for so many years was to find a chance to ruin him completely.”

Lin Wan sighed and glanced at Li Mu subconsciously, and the latter couldn’t help but curse in a low voice, “You id*ot, what are you looking at me for? I’m not a b*st*rd. I’d never do sh*t like that!”

“I want you to take this as a warning. The ones you’re closest to tend to take cruel revenge. You’d better not learn from Fang Qiang. If you dare to break my heart, you’re dead meat!”

Li Mu rolled his eyes at his wife and asked Du Xinzhu, “Is the matter that’s troubling you related to this evidence?”

Du Xinzhu nodded and said hesitantly, “The lawyer said that once these materials are submitted, it will most likely turn into a major case. Many people will be involved, and it will have a major impact on the retention of his property.”

“What effect could it have on his property?” Lin Wan asked, puzzled.

Li Mu explained on behalf of Du Xinzhu, “What the lawyer meant was that, once it becomes a major case, Fang Qiang’s property will probably be confiscated because those are ill-gotten gains. And once he’s left with nothing, Xinzhu won’t get much money even if she wins the lawsuit.”

“Oh, I see. What did the lawyer say then?” Lin Wan asked.

“The lawyer’s advice was not to present this evidence to the court and only submit evidence of his domestic violence and immoral behavior. To put it simply, he asked me to let Fang Qiang off the hook, so I could get more money.”

All three women fixed their gazes on Li Mu, who was in deep thoughts for a while before saying to Du Xinzhu, “I agree with the lawyer. Although it sounds great to send him to jail, you will also be left with nothing. It’s a lose-lose situation, and I don’t recommend you to do so either.”

Du Xinzhu nodded silently but said in a worried tone, “Brother Mu, you know Fang Qiang very well. He’s a vengeful man, and I’m pretty worried about that.”

“If he has the guts to threaten and harass you, just tell him that you have a lot of evidence of his illegal wrongdoings and that you didn’t submit this evidence out of courtesy due to old times’ sake. Tell him to behave himself! Don’t worry. I know him very well. Once he’s aware that you really have the evidence, he’ll stay away from you as far as he could.

That could work too. Du Xinzhu nodded her head in agreement.

“Xinzhu, you left yesterday without telling him anything. Didn’t he suspect you?” Lin Wan asked worriedly.

“No, we don’t care about each other now. Although we are married, we act like strangers. It doesn’t really matter if one of us goes missing or if we’re missing for a period of time. We both stopped caring for each other.” Upon saying this, she shook her head while smiling bitterly.

She then proceeded to tell Li Mu and the others, “I’ll let Lawyer Zhao help me with the lawsuit, you guys shouldn’t get involved in this anymore. I don’t want him to go after all of you afterward.”

“Let him come after me then. I’ve been dying to settle a score with him anyways!” Li Mu couldn’t care less.

Du Xinzhu’s expression became a little embarrassed, and she said to Lin Wan, “Xinzhu, I’m really sorry. I should have warned you and Brother Mu earlier, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid you’d misunderstood me, and I was also afraid he’ll take revenge on me. I did a very bad job.”

Lin Wan waved her hand magnanimously and responded with a smile, “It’s okay. I understand how hard it was for you. It’s all history now. Don’t take it to heart, neither my husband nor I blamed you for that.”

Li Mu also agreed immediately. “Lin Wan is right. These things have nothing to do with you. You don’t need to feel guilty at all. Besides, you’ve also reminded Lin Wan before. Didn’t you remind her to watch out? It all makes sense now.”