Lin Chuan, following behind, had a stern face, seemingly not too thrilled to see Bai Yifan. Bai Yifan nodded hurriedly, saying, "Come in, whatever you need, I'm here to help if I can."

The two of them stepped inside, and Bai Yifan completely ignored Lin Chuan's presence. He stood next to Tang Yumeng, showering her with attention, apparently eager to say all the sweet nothings in the world to woo her. Sadly for him, Tang Yumeng was no longer young and had been through a lot, including life-threatening experiences, which made her less susceptible to such flattery.

Lin Chuan, standing beside them, couldn't help but snicker coldly, not expecting Bai Yifan, a full-grown man, to constantly speak these sweet nothings meant to deceive young girls. Yet, this guy had a way with words.

The three sat down in a booth, with Bai Yifan blatantly disregarding how Lin Chuan felt and sat right next to Tang Yumeng. Tang Yumeng looked somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything and instead gestured to the spot opposite her, saying, "Lin Chuan, you sit here."

Lin Chuan didn't mind and plopped down on the seat.

"Xiao Yu, what brings you to me this time?" Bai Yifan asked perplexedly.

"Actually, it's not me who wanted to see you, but Lin Chuan," Tang Yumeng smiled and then said to Lin Chuan, "Lin Chuan, didn't you want to confront Bai Yifan? Now, speak up."

Bai Yifan looked incredulously at Lin Chuan: "You want to confront me? What's there to confront between us?"

"Yesterday, a riot broke out at Changlin Factory," Lin Chuan took a sip of plain water and continued, "Three people died, more than ten were injured, all innocent civilians. According to the police investigation, someone infiltrated the protesters and incited the riot. Moreover, the killers are notorious criminals operating across several provinces and cities. I just want to ask if those three were hired by you?"

Bang!

Bai Yifan slammed the table, his face flushed with anger: "Lin Chuan, what nonsense are you spouting? Am I, Bai Yifan, that kind of person?"

"Don't be so quick to deny it!" Lin Chuan smirked. Then he threw three photos on the table, saying, "Take a look, do you recognize these three people?"

Bai Yifan glanced at them and immediately denied: "No, I don't recognize them."

"Really?" Lin Chuan smirked, "Unfortunately, these three happen to know you."

"You're lying." Bai Yifan's eyes showed slight panic.

"I caught these three in a hotel in the Western City District," Lin Chuan grinned, "Mr. Bai, these three personally identified you as the mastermind behind the scene. What do you have to say about that?"

"Impossible!" Bai Yifan shook his head, trying to calm himself, then said lightly, "I don't know these three people, how could they identify me? Moreover, even if they do point me out, maybe it's because I'm too famous, so they randomly blame me."

Tang Yumeng thought for a moment, then said, "Lin Chuan, could there be some mistake?"

"No mistake," Lin Chuan smiled, "Bai Yifan, you gave them five hundred thousand. How did you pass them the money?"

"You!" Bai Yifan suddenly felt as if his vulnerabilities were tightly gripped.

With both witness and evidence present, he couldn't argue his way out.

Tang Yumeng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Lin Chuan, what exactly is going on?"

Whoosh…

Lin Chuan took out a bank transaction record and threw it on the table, saying, "Take a look yourself, Bai Yifan has transferred five hundred thousand to them, in two separate payments. The first of two hundred thousand, and the second, three hundred thousand. This is tangible evidence."

Tang Yumeng glanced over, then interrogated, "Bai Yifan, what exactly is going on?"

"I…" Bai Yifan's eyes became somewhat flustered.

"I can't believe it's actually you!" Tang Yumeng, shocked, said, "I had always believed that you are basically a good person. I even forgave you for the drug thing last time. But… you actually committed such a monstrous act."

"Yes, it was me," Bai Yifan gritted his teeth, his face turned beet red, saying, "But everything I did was for you!"

"You're lying." Tang Yumeng glared at Bai Yifan.

"I just don't want to see Lin Chuan make any progress in his career, I use every possible means to give Lin Chuan trouble," Bai Yifan roared angrily, "That's why I did it, I thought it was foolproof, but I didn't expect you to find out."

Bai Yifan turned to look at Lin Chuan.

"Man proposes, God disposes," Lin Chuan glanced at him disdainfully, saying, "You think what you did was foolproof, but in my view, it's just a shoddy game."

Tang Yumeng was outraged, recalling how she had just rebuked Lin Chuan in the office, she felt extremely guilty and remorseful. She had been so unfair to Lin Chuan. Immediately, Tang Yumeng stood up, saying, "Bai Yifan, I've seen through you."

With that, Tang Yumeng turned and left.

"Xiao Yu!" Bai Yifan hurriedly followed her out and grabbed Tang Yumeng's hand, crying, "Don't go, I was wrong, I was wrong."

"Let go of me!" Tang Yumeng shook off Bai Yifan's hand, saying, "You cheater."

"No, I won't let you go." Bai Yifan clung to Tang Yumeng desperately, as if he were a piece of clinging candy.

Slap...

Lin Chuan stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

The slap made Bai Yifan see stars, and his gold-rimmed glasses fell to the ground.

Tang Yumeng was stunned by this scene. Bai Yifan even more so, as he sat on the ground with his mouth agape, his right hand covering his face. He looked at Lin Chuan in shock: "You... you dared to hit me?!"

"This slap is for the elders of Changlin Factory," Lin Chuan sneered.

Slap!

What Bai Yifan and Tang Yumeng didn't expect, and neither did all the staff of the bar, was that Lin Chuan would slap him again.

"This slap is for those three lives lost," Lin Chuan said with a fierce expression.

Bai Yifan covered his face with both hands, blood seeping from his mouth. Lin Chuan's two slaps were really powerful, almost knocking his teeth out. Sitting foolishly on the ground, Bai Yifan completely lost the arrogant and noble demeanor of a young master.

"Sister, let's go!" Lin Chuan said as he helped Tang Yumeng walk out.

Tang Yumeng felt somewhat bewildered, and seeing the pathetic sight of Bai Yifan, she ultimately turned her head and left.

Bai Yifan sat on the ground, his mind blank. From childhood, everyone had pampered him. They treated him like a precious cargo too fragile to drop, too precious to dissolve if soaked. He had always lived a life where everything was handed to him. No one had ever dared to strike him before, and now, in his thirties, he was hit by a man in his twenties.

Bai Yifan felt that all of it seemed like a dream, it felt so unreal to him.

"Mr. Bai, are... are you alright?" a waiter hurried over.

The waiter tried to help Bai Yifan up.

"Get lost!" Bai Yifan suddenly snapped, fiercely shoving the waiter away, and yelled: "Lin Chuan, you dared to hit me!"

This kind of humiliation, the physical pain was negligible, the real agony was the spiritual trampling.

Since childhood, Bai Yifan was pampered, respected wherever he went. But now, someone had struck his most important feature, his face. They say don't hit the face when hitting someone. Striking the face is akin to a naked insult, a spiritual and soul-deep trampling.

Clang...

Bai Yifan picked up the drinks from the bar counter and smashed them violently on the floor. While smashing, he roared: "Bastard, you dared to hit me, I must kill you. I will kill you!"

The waiters at Extraordinary Bar hurriedly closed the bar's main door, fearing that the disgraceful scene involving Mr. Bai might be exposed. That would be troublesome. If it got leaked to the news media, it would be even more problematic.

Lin Chuan and Tang Yumeng left the bar.

In the car.

Tang Yumeng looked at Lin Chuan and said, "Was it really okay to treat him that way just now?"

"Sister, he killed three people," Lin Chuan looked at Tang Yumeng and said, "Not taking him to the police station is already very lenient."

"But, he is after all Bai Yifan!" Tang Yumeng said with a bitter smile.

"The emperor commits the same crimes as the common man, let alone he is just a Bai Yifan!" Lin Chuan retorted.

"Actually, you also know that taking him to the police would be useless," Tang Yumeng said with a smile, "Plus, he wasn't the actual murderer. He was just the mastermind. So, with his family's connections, Bai Yifan will definitely be released without charges."

"Right, so I only gave him two slaps to teach him a lesson," Lin Chuan chuckled.

"But you don't realize, those two slaps, for him, are more painful than ten years in prison," Tang Yumeng helplessly said, looking at Lin Chuan, "For people like him, pride is more important than anything. Even though their pride is nothing but false dignity."

"So what?" Lin Chuan scoffed, "If he has made a mistake, he should face the appropriate punishment, right?"

"I can't argue with you," Tang Yumeng shrugged.

......

After the huge fire, the demolition of Changlin Factory became more urgent.

Zhou Rui, along with the work team from Sichuan University Group, was working overtime almost non-stop. The construction unit had already been contacted properly, and the demolition team was largely made up of the Jvyi Gang brothers, who composed the demolition team. The demolition of the low-rise buildings of Changlin Factory was not complex, just a few large excavators were enough to handle it.

Finally, just before National Day, all the plans were finalized, and the task for October was to mobilize for demolition. Sichuan University Group had already posted notices, urging the residents of Changlin Factory to move by the end of October, because construction to demolish the buildings would start in November.

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