Su Qingning's brow furrowed. It was obvious that this man calling Lin Xiao a "filthy beggar" had displeased her.

"Liu Bin, even though we were college classmates, please speak more politely. Lin Xiao is my husband, after all. Isn't it a bit much to call him a filthy beggar?"

Seeing that Su Qingning was angry, Liu Bin gave an awkward smile. "Qing Ning, it was just a joke. Why take it so seriously?"

"Some jokes are fine, but that's not a joke you can make with me," Su Qingning said coldly.

"Understood. Let's go, I'll show you the house."

Su Qingning nodded. She then turned to glance at Lin Xiao, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with apology. Lin Xiao just smiled, signaling that he didn't mind.

The couple followed Liu Bin into the villa. It was about the same size as the one Su Qingning had lost in the fire, but because it had been unoccupied for so long, it was overgrown with weeds and looked particularly dilapidated.

Under Liu Bin's lead, the three of them took a cursory look around.

"What do you think?" Su Qingning suddenly asked.

Lin Xiao shook his head. "Not great."

At these words, Liu Bin was instantly displeased. "Kid, I only brought Qing Ning here because she wanted to buy a house. Otherwise, I wouldn't sell such a great villa. If you think this place isn't good, then why don't you go buy one at Hidden Dragon Villa?"

Lin Xiao smiled, about to speak, but Su Qingning seemed to know what he was going to say. She cut in first, "Liu Bin, that's not what my husband meant. How much are you asking for this house?"

"Seven million. Qing Ning, I'm only offering this price because we were classmates!"

Su Qingning's brow furrowed again. The villa her family had lost had only cost a little over four million when they bought it. The location and size of the two properties were similar, yet Liu Bin was asking for seven million right off the bat. That's audacious.

Su Qingning had actually inquired about the local villa prices just yesterday. The going rate was around four million, and some were even willing to sell for 3.7 or 3.8 million. The real estate market had been in a slump for the last couple of years. If it were a prime location, that would be one thing, but for a place this far out, managing to sell it at all was an accomplishment.

I thought that since we were college classmates, Liu Bin wouldn't ask for an outrageous price. I never expected him to be so ruthless.

"Liu Bin, that's too expensive," Su Qingning said gravely.

"Expensive? Qing Ning, I'm doing you a favor. For anyone else, I'd ask for at least eight million!"

Su Qingning nodded. "Thank you for the offer, but my budget might not stretch that far."

"No way, Qing Ning. You're running such a big bar now, and you can't even come up with this kind of money?"

"I really can't."

Liu Bin laughed. "Why not let your husband buy it for you? I heard you married a man rich enough to rival a nation!"

Humiliation. Blatant humiliation.

Su Qingning's expression instantly turned ugly. Everyone in Jinling City knew she had married a beggar, yet Liu Bin was deliberately saying the opposite. If this wasn't humiliation, what was?

Lin Xiao, however, asked with genuine curiosity, "How did you know?"

PFFT.

Liu Bin burst out laughing as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. The sound was piercingly loud.

Su Qingning's face became even uglier. Is this damn rogue a pig? Can't he tell the man is mocking us? And he still has the nerve to say something like that.

However, with Liu Bin present, she reined in her temper and said coldly, "Liu Bin, thank you for your offer, but I really can't afford the house. We're leaving."

"Fine, fine. Actually, before you came, Young Master Xue already called and told me to give you a discount. How about this: a flat price of five million. I can't go any lower," Liu Bin said.

Su Qingning's expression shifted, and her voice grew even colder. "There's no need!"

Her reaction is a bit strange, Lin Xiao thought, asking with a smile, "Who is Young Master Xue?"

"The only son of the Xue Family, one of the top three families in Jinhai City," Liu Bin said proudly.

Jinhai City was an economic stronghold of the Nine Provinces, second only to the capital. To be a top-ranked family there meant they were truly powerful.

"What the hell does Young Master Xue have to do with my wife?"

"What, you don't know? Young Master Xue was our college classmate. He and Qingning were our university's 'Golden Boy and Jade Girl.' He was madly in love with her back then. Oh, right, Qingning, he knows you're married. He said he'll be back as soon as he handles his business abroad, which shouldn't be long now," Liu Bin said with a smirk.

Su Qingning's expression darkened further. "Lin Xiao, let's go."

"Sure."

Lin Xiao started to follow Su Qingning toward the exit, but at that moment, Liu Bin barked, "Stop!"

Su Qingning paused.

Liu Bin continued, "Su Qingning, I let you see this house out of respect for Young Master Xue, but you treat me with such disrespect. In that case, don't blame your old classmate for not returning the favor. You're buying this house today, whether you want to or not. Otherwise, don't blame me for getting rough!"

Lin Xiao was shocked. He'd never encountered anything like this in his life. This is a forced sale. No, not just that. This is courting death.

Su Qingning was trembling with anger. Just last night, Liu Bin had somehow found out she was looking for a house and told her he had a high-quality, reasonably priced property for her to see. She had believed him and brought Lin Xiao here first thing in the morning, only for it to turn into this.

"Liu Bin, I am not buying this house," Su Qingning said coldly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally firm.

Liu Bin snorted. "Su Qingning, I'm giving you one more chance to reconsider. Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next!"

"No need. No matter what you say, I won't buy your house today," Su Qingning stated flatly.

Furious, Liu Bin kicked at a clump of weeds. "Damn it! Then don't blame me for getting nasty!"

With that, he clapped his hands. Several burly men suddenly appeared out of nowhere, each one staring at Su Qingning and Lin Xiao with a murderous glint in his eyes.

Su Qingning's face paled, but she remained composed. "Liu Bin, are you trying to force me to call the police?"

"Call the police?" Liu Bin sneered. "And who do you think they'll help when they get here? You or me?"

Su Qingning's heart sank. Liu Bin was a member of the Liu Family. Even if he wasn't a core member, he was still one of them. Given the Liu Family's status in Jinling City, the matter would likely be brushed aside even if she called the police. But am I really going to pay a price so far above the market value for this villa? She couldn't stomach the thought.

Just then, Lin Xiao suddenly smiled.

"Honey, why don't we just buy the villa?"

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