Chapter 155 Settle the Score Clearly

The newly emerged rising star in Nan City’s inner circle, Young Master Gao, whose single word could make Young Master Lu compromise and whose mere presence without a demand could make the head of the Qian family voluntarily back down, was at this moment being beaten into a rolling mess on the floor, letting out miserable, shrill screams.

Yet the person who gave the order to strike was none other than Young Master Luo, who had previously treated Young Master Gao with utmost respect and willingly played the humble foil.

What kind of game was being played here?

Everyone stared with dead fish eyes, dumbfounded and terrified, their brains completely turned to mush.

Hong Chen lit a cigarette, a playful smirk curving the corner of his lips. Most people in the hall were ordinary folks; to them, the two gray-clothed men were putting on a fierce beating, and Gao Yuanjie’s plight looked utterly dreadful. In reality, the blows hadn't inflicted any severe internal injuries or cranial trauma on Gao Yuanjie—they were merely flesh wounds, resulting in a few broken bones. Of course, the pain was definitely real!

This was precisely the effect he had requested in his text message to Luo Song.

After the beating lasted for a little over a minute, Luo Song received another text from Hong Chen and immediately yelled for it to stop.

Hong Chen walked forward slowly, looked down at Gao Yuanjie, and chuckled softly, "Still haven't recognized me after all this time?"

Gao Yuanjie lay on his side on the floor, his entire body wracked with pain, unable to get back up for the moment. He looked up at Hong Chen, his eyes blazing with fury and a chilling glare, "Hong Chen, was it you who ordered—"

Knowing what he was about to say, Hong Chen shook his head and replied, "I certainly don't have the clout to order the eldest young master of the Luo family around. It was just a chance encounter. The week before last, when I came to Nan City with Director Xu of the Investment Promotion Department, we had a few drinks together. We hit it off quite well and became friends."

With that, his tone abruptly shifted. "Do you know why Young Master Luo suddenly turned hostile? Because a friend's wife must not be violated, and a classmate's wife must not be molested, right?"

Hong Chen glanced sideways. Luo Song wore a solemn expression, his tone resolute, "That's right. A friend's wife must not be violated, and a classmate's wife must not be molested."

Expressions shifted slightly across the crowd, a mix of comprehension and confusion. However, the subsequent relationships pointed out by Hong Chen, coupled with Luo Song’s concluding remark, made everything crystal clear to everyone present.

Pointing at Gao Yuanjie, Hong Chen raised his voice and announced to the crowd, "This Young Master Gao here was my middle school classmate." He then pointed at Lin Yuxin. "This is my wife. She works at the Hongcheng Group. If you calculate the hierarchy, she is the subordinate of the subordinate of the subordinate of Young Master Gao's father."

Luo Song immediately followed up with a stern reprimand, "Young Master Gao, if you want to use unspoken rules to sleep with a female subordinate, as long as it's consensual and you both get what you want, that's fine. But that was your classmate's wife! That is utterly inhumane. With morals like yours, you are not worthy of being my friend!"

When the words fell, the hall was plunged into a silent exchange of glances. Everyone wore varied expressions, and the atmosphere grew extraordinarily bizarre.

Lin Yuxin lowered her gaze to look at the tips of her shoes, her cheeks slightly flushed, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs, completely lost in thought.

Shen Huifang's lips trembled with rage. She desperately wanted to scream "You lunatics!" at Hong Chen and Luo Song, but she didn't dare.

Both Lin Yuangui and Lin Yufei wore bitter expressions, utterly unable to describe the complex feelings swirling inside them at that moment.

"Now you know. Not only is this beating not unjust at all, but it's actually letting you off way too light." Glancing at Gao Yuanjie once more, Hong Chen swept his gaze over to Qian Jingsong and said indifferently, "I don't mind going with you. But are you certain you want me to come along? Have you ever considered whether you can bear the consequences?"

Qian Jingsong’s expression turned chillingly dark, and he remained silent. Luo Song had even beaten Young Master Gao on Hong Chen's account; that level of unwavering support made even him feel a shiver of dread.

Hong Chen sneered, "The grievance between your son and me is like a thorn in your heart—it was bound to be pulled out eventually. Instead of waiting, let's settle it clearly right here in public." He then looked around at the room and raised his voice, "The week before last, Qian Duoduo, the young master of the Qian family, attempted to sexually assault my wife, driving her to resist to the death. She slashed her own neck with a knife, missing a fatal blow by a mere centimeter. Afterwards, the punishment heaven dealt Qian Duoduo was having all five fingers of his right hand smashed to pieces and his reproductive capacity permanently stripped away!"

The hall fell into a dead silence, akin to a midnight graveyard filled with jagged rocks. A moment later, an uproar broke out!

Qian Duoduo had attempted to violate Hong Chen's wife, and his wife had resisted to the extent of actually cutting her own neck with a knife, and finally, Qian Duoduo's right hand had been broken and he had been castrated.

In just a few short sentences, the information contained within was enough to make everyone's heart leap to their throats, their emotions surging like violent, rolling waves.

The four members of Lin Yuangui's family already knew the truth of the matter, yet at this moment, they were still dumbstruck, their hearts filled with shock.

Luo Song suddenly spoke up, "President Qian, compared to Qian Duoduo's vicious crimes—which nearly killed Hong Chen's wife—having five fingers broken and becoming a eunuch is still far too lenient of a retribution."

Pinned by Luo Song's piercing gaze, Qian Jingsong’s expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth and said, "President Luo, whether the truth of the matter is really as he says cannot be based solely on his word. Right now, his wife is safe and sound, while my son has lost five fingers and can never father children for the rest of his life. That is an ironclad fact."

Luo Song was about to retort, but Hong Chen raised a hand to stop him. Turning his head, he looked at Elder Shen and said, "Since things have already been brought out into the open, there's no need to keep hiding anything. Elder Shen, do you know why your daughter-in-law, Yang Meihua, is so full of hostility toward me? I'll tell you right now: it's because when Qian Duoduo committed those vile acts against my wife, your son Shen Shanliang and your grandson Shen Tianbao didn't just help plan it—they even coordinated with Qian Duoduo's actions. They were accomplices! Afterwards, the two of them didn't escape heaven's punishment either. They were struck blind!"

Struck blind!

The single sentence dropped like a bombshell on the Shen family.

Elder Shen's aged face trembled violently, and an intimidating glare suddenly erupted in his eyes. Staring straight at Yang Meihua, he forced the words out between clenched teeth, "Is what he said... true?"

Yang Meihua's eyes turned red at the corners, and she nodded with great difficulty, "Shanliang and Tianbao... are both blind."

"Mother!" The old matriarch fainted on the spot, throwing the Shen family into complete chaos. Meanwhile, Hong Chen calmly lit a cigarette as if nothing had happened, his gaze sweeping over the four members of Lin Yuangui's family.

Shen Huifang roared with a vicious expression, "Hong Chen! They are my eldest brother and my nephew! They are Yuxin's uncle and cousin! No matter how wrong they were, you shouldn't have been so ruthless!"

Hong Chen laughed casually, "Whether they treated you like a sister or an aunt is none of my concern. All I know is that they didn't treat Yuxin like a niece or a cousin. I remember telling you back then to look after Yuxin properly, or did you really think I just slapped you twice and called it a day?"

At this, his smile suddenly vanished, replaced by a fierce and sinister expression. "If Yuxin hadn't been saved that night, did you honestly think the Shen family would still exist, or that your pair of eyes would still be embedded in your face, Shen Huifang?"

"Shen Huifang, let me tell you this: I used to be polite to you only because I still acknowledged you as my mother-in-law. But now, you are just Shen Huifang. When I, Hong Chen, deal with strangers, I am always ruthless. If someone curses at me, I break their fists. If someone strikes me, I stab them three times. If someone touches my family, the light consequence is making them wish they were dead, and the heavy consequence is wiping out their entire bloodline!"

Hong Chen's icy gaze and the chilling, judgment-like tone sent a violent shudder through Shen Huifang's heart. She involuntarily took two steps back, her face draining completely of white.

At this moment, Hong Chen gave her the terrifying impression of a demon. It felt as though the moment she dared to utter a single word of doubt, the grim fate he had just described would instantly be inflicted upon her.

Terrifying! Beyond terrifying!

The next instant, Hong Chen shifted his gaze away from her, letting it fall upon Lin Yuangui and Lin Yufei. His expression transformed instantly, melting once more into a slightly helpless smile. "Dad, Yufei, you should remember how utterly frantic and desperate Shen Shanliang and Shen Tianbao looked the night they left. Instead of feeling any remorse, they harbored a deep grudge in their hearts. How could I possibly give them another chance to harm Yuxin?"

Having finished his explanation, regardless of whether the two of them understood or not, Hong Chen turned his attention back to the Shen family. The old matriarch had already been carried into a bedroom, and the Shen family members were gradually calming down. It was time to settle accounts properly now. Since things had blown wide open today, there had to be a resolution that satisfied him. A half-hearted ending would only sow future troubles. He wasn't worried about himself, but Lin Yuangui and the Lin sisters were people he had to protect...