BOOM!

Su Qingning's mind went blank for a moment. It wasn't because of shock, but because she was deeply moved. It was pure joy. She had never expected Lin Xiao to say such a thing. Even though his words sounded incredibly obnoxious, Su Qingning was moved beyond words.

A jarring laugh snapped Su Qingning back to reality. The laughter came from Cheng Wei, who was now looking at Lin Xiao with wild arrogance.

"You lowlife, you've got some nerve, spouting bullshit like that. I'm bullying Su Qingning right now, so what the hell are you going to do about it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xiao swung his hand and delivered a hard slap across his face.

That was the best response. Luckily, Su Qingning was still present; otherwise, the bastard's head would have already exploded.

Cheng Wei was dumbfounded. Clutching his stinging cheek, he stared at Lin Xiao, completely stunned, clearly unable to process what had just happened.

Su Qingning was shocked, but she quickly came to her senses. Her heart sank, and her stunningly beautiful face filled with panic. Her worst fear had come to pass. She had wanted to take Lin Xiao away precisely because she was afraid he would lash out on her behalf. She never expected him to actually do it.

Xue Jingdong, however, wasn't shocked at all. In fact, a strange glimmer flickered in his eyes as he watched the scene unfold with a smile. This idiot actually dared to throw a punch. He has no idea what he's gotten into, he thought. But this is good. I'd like to see how he's going to get out of this!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he spoke up, feigning surprise. "Qingning, how could your husband hit someone? While what Cheng Wei said was awful, you know what he's like after four years of college. That's just how he is."

Su Qingning shot Lin Xiao a dark look. She desperately wanted to scold him, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words. After all, he had only done it to stand up for her.

Just as she was about to ask Lin Xiao to apologize, Cheng Wei suddenly roared, "You goddamn beggar! You fucking dare to hit me? I'll be damned if I don't kill you today!"

As he spoke, Cheng Wei lunged at Lin Xiao like an enraged beast.

Su Qingning panicked. Without a second thought, she threw herself in front of Lin Xiao.

"Cheng Wei, I apologize on my husband's behalf! I'm willing to compensate you!"

This wasn't the first time Su Qingning had shielded him from danger. Lin Xiao was moved. Of course, he was. Although she was usually harsh with him, she never disappointed him when it truly mattered.

Still, there was no way Lin Xiao would let her face this alone. Just as he was about to pull her aside, Cheng Wei stopped in his tracks. His eyes were fixed on Lin Xiao with pure malice.

"Su Qingning, even though we were classmates, let me tell you, this isn't something that can be solved with a simple compensation!"

"Then what do you want?" Su Qingning asked grimly.

"Hmph, it's simple. I want this filthy beggar to get on his knees and apologize. Then, he'll kneel at the entrance of Chunyu Pavilion."

Su Qingning's expression darkened. Kneeling to apologize was already an excessive demand, but Cheng Wei wanted him to do it at the restaurant's entrance. Chunyu Pavilion was known as the best restaurant in Jinling City, frequented only by the rich and powerful. If Lin Xiao were to kneel at the entrance, Su Qingning was certain the news would spread throughout the entire city in less than two hours.

"Kneel? My ass! Qingning, move. I'm not stopping until he's the one on the ground calling me Grandpa," Lin Xiao snarled, his voice laced with killing intent.

"Shut up!" Su Qingning said coldly.

Although she detested Cheng Wei for throwing his weight around, the priority now was to de-escalate the situation. Lin Xiao's words would only inflame the conflict.

"Qingning, if I may speak frankly, your husband is far too arrogant," Xue Jingdong said, putting on an air of feigned disappointment. "He has no real ability, but he's got a huge temper. Cheng Wei is from a third-tier family in Jinling City, not to mention he's an employee of the Shao Family Group. I was going to put in a good word for your husband, have him apologize, and this whole thing would be over. But look at him, still acting so defiant. He's a complete idiot!"

Hearing this, the already furious Su Qingning felt even more aggrieved. Her indignation wasn't because Lin Xiao had hit someone, but because of Xue Jingdong's humiliating words. She desperately wanted to talk back, but she knew that if she did, today's incident would become truly impossible to resolve. After all, she was still counting on him to help mediate.

At that thought, Su Qingning sighed helplessly.

"Xue Jingdong, my husband was indeed too impulsive. Could I trouble you to help us mediate? After this is all settled, I'll be sure to thank you properly!"

Saying this was humiliating for Su Qingning, but she felt she had no other choice. She couldn't let Lin Xiao suffer the consequences.

Xue Jingdong was both furious and secretly thrilled. He was furious that Su Qingning, who had always been as proud as a swan, was willing to lower her head for this filthy beggar. But he was thrilled because she had just promised to thank him properly once this was over. Although he didn't know how she planned to do it, her promise alone was enough to excite him.

Besides, this entire situation had been orchestrated by him from the start. Before arriving, Xue Jingdong had called Cheng Wei and told him to humiliate Su Qingning. If that filthy beggar made a move, Cheng Wei was to teach him a lesson first. Then, Xue Jingdong himself would step in to resolve everything. He was confident that Su Qingning would be incredibly grateful to him by the end of it.

With this in mind, Xue Jingdong nodded, feigning difficulty. "Alright. Since we're all classmates, I'll reluctantly try to talk some sense into him."

He then turned his gaze to Cheng Wei. "Cheng Wei, Qingning is our classmate. Her husband might be an idiot, but you heard what she said. How about this? Do me a favor. Let Qingning buy you a drink later as an apology. What do you say?"

"Hmph, Young Master Xue, of course I'll give you face," Cheng Wei bellowed. "But just looking at this filthy beggar fills me with rage! He better scram! The farther, the better!"

Lin Xiao sneered. Watching this trash's clumsy performance, he simply bypassed Su Qingning and stood directly in front of Cheng Wei.

"Apologize to my wife!"

Those words almost made Su Qingning spit up blood. She had just barely managed to convince Xue Jingdong to help, and now this damned hooligan was provoking Cheng Wei again.

Cheng Wei was furious. Did this beggar really think he was scared? He would have already attacked if not for his agreement to play along with Xue Jingdong's act.

"You damned beggar, are you looking to die?" Cheng Wei roared. "I'm not apologizing! If you've got the guts, go ahead and kill me!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Lin Xiao's hand flashed out, slapping him again.

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