Everyone in the hall watched as Ling Fan slowly disappeared at the door, with solemn expressions, not a single person dared to stop him.
Xiao Chubing was torn, but finally made up her mind and stepped forward to follow.
"Stop right there, if you dare to step out of this door, you are no longer my daughter," Xiao Zhengping said harshly.
Xiao Chubing stopped in her tracks, and her face instantly darkened.
She had always been puzzled why she was so unwelcome in this family until Elder Xiao, on his deathbed, finally told her the truth.
It turned out she wasn't the biological child of the Xiao Family, her mother came to the Xiao Family pregnant, gave Elder Xiao a sum of money, and after giving birth to her, left.
It was with this sum of money that the Xiao Family evolved from an insignificant clan into an empire with assets worth tens of billions.
Within the entire Xiao Family, only Elder Xiao remembered that act of kindness and treated her as his own, unlike Xiao Zhengping, this so-called father... ha!
Xiao Chubing sneered, "You say that as if you ever treated me like your daughter!"
With that, she moved her shapely legs, her high heels clanked rhythmically against the marble floor, resolutely vanishing at the doorway.
Xiao Zhengping trembled with anger, falling back onto the sofa, his face the epitome of ugliness, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine a simple divorce could escalate to this extent.
...
Outside the Xiao Family Villa!
"Ling Fan, wait for me!" Xiao Chubing called out from behind.
"If you're insistent on the divorce, I'll sign the papers when I return home," Ling Fan said indifferently.
"Did I ever say I wanted a divorce?" Xiao Chubing pursed her lips, glaring at him.
"Uh..." Ling Fan was taken aback.
"Get in the car!"
Xiao Chubing slipped into the white BMW 5 series parked at the side, and once Ling Fan was in the car, she floored the accelerator and sped away.
"You should leave Binzhou and hide for a while, the Li Family won't dare to do anything to me," she said, handing Ling Fan a bank card.
"Keep it, I won't be going anywhere!" Ling Fan said, touched.
Xiao Chubing became frustrated, "Can't you just give me a break, do you really think a few moves will make the Li Family wary of you?"
"My moves really can make them wary," Ling Fan nodded lightly.
"You..." Xiao Chubing's face turned pale with anger.
At that moment, her phone rang.
"Hello!"
"President Xiao, our partners have suddenly breached the contract and are not supplying us with raw materials anymore, and one of the suppliers upstream has also stopped our orders," an anxious female voice came through the phone, her assistant.
"Okay, I know, I'll be right back at the office," Xiao Chubing's face turned ugly instantly.
"They're quick to act, you should go handle things at the company first. Stop the car on the side of the road, I have some things to take care of too," Ling Fan, with his exceptional hearing, naturally hadn't missed a word from the call.
Xiao Chubing pursed her lips, "Can you please take my advice for once!"
"I've followed your advice in every way for the past two years, but not this time," Ling Fan said calmly, his tone resolute.
"Screech—"
A sound of the brake pads grinding, and the car abruptly stopped at the roadside.
Xiao Chubing, her chest heaving with anger and face showing her frustration, snapped, "Get lost, get out!"
"Take care of yourself, call me if you need anything!" Ling Fan cautioned before getting out of the car.
Seeing this, Xiao Chubing, with a face ashen with rage, didn't bother to argue with him, pressed the gas pedal, and left Ling Fan in a trail of exhaust.
Ling Fan gave a bitter smile and muttered softly to himself, "Don't worry, from now on, no one in the whole world can bully you!"
After a short while, a Hummer stopped in front of him.
A strikingly beautiful woman in military attire stepped out of the car, her well-defined figure both sexy and voluptuous.
"Have you gathered all the information I asked for?" Ling Fan frowned in thought.
This time, regaining his memories, he intended to resolve each and every one of the emotional knots he left behind in Huaxia.
"It's been prepared, in the car!" the woman respectfully replied.
"Hmm, thank you for your hard work. Keep an eye on the Li Family's activities today, as well as Tian Yun's situation," Ling Fan instructed.
The woman's real name was Li Wei, the deputy commander of the Northern Canglong Army in Huaxia, codenamed Vermilion Bird.
She was currently looking up at the young man before her with admiration and respect.
Nobody could have imagined that this god-like man had not fallen in that battle two years ago and was now miraculously appearing in this little Binzhou.
Ling Fan had Vermilion Bird park the car in a spot, and he spent the entire afternoon inside the vehicle poring over the documents.
The amount of information was vast, covering not only his own background but also his enemies, as well as the dynamics of the major forces in Huaxia and the Martial Arts World.
In the Li Family Mansion, within a private club,
"Young Master Hao, I didn't see it coming. That piece of trash had the guts to break Sister Mei's arm!" a buzz-cut fellow with dyed yellow hair scoffed.
"Boss, should I take some guys and take care of that kid?" another young man with a sinister look spoke up.
"Hmph, fuck, there's no rush. Almost all the suppliers to Tian Yun have been cut off, including those in official circles.
The company is currently pausing for restructuring. That lousy company of Xiao Chubing is going to suffer heavily in a couple of days and will go bankrupt within a month.
I'm not just blowing hot air, I guarantee you that before nightfall, Xiao Chubing will come knocking on my door, begging on her knees!" the leader said with arrogant viciousness.
This guy was Li Guohao, the young master of the Li Family, and the other two were his cringing lackeys, with the yellow-haired one named Wang Chuang, and the other named Zhao Bin, both hooligans from the streets.
Aside from the three men, the room was filled with a bevy of cooing women, each dressed in provocative clothing.
"Young Master Hao, the third young mistress has set up a banquet at Tian Hao, and she's let the word out that before night falls, she wants Ling Fan to come over and apologize to regain face for us!" Wang Chuang said.
"Heh, just a spineless wimp daring to challenge me. Once I've had Xiao Chubing on my bed, I'll send him a few intimate photos to appreciate, hahaha!" as Li Guohao spoke, he burst out laughing.
"Boss, I'm just worried that the kid might be a coward and might have already run away," Zhao Bin interjected with hesitation.
"Hmm? Is that guy such a coward?" Li Guohao sneered.
"Can't say for sure. It's been half a day, and there's no sign of the kid. Maybe he's found a place to hide!" Zhao Bin said uncertainly.
"Right, doesn't that guy have an older foster sister? He might be hiding out with her!" Li Guohao said with a sly smile.
He had already thoroughly investigated Xiao Chubing's good-for-nothing husband.
"Hmm, that kid is really freaky. Despite being a loser, he's extremely lucky with women. Not only did he marry Xiao Chubing, one of the top four beauties of Binzhou,
but working as a lousy security guard in a bar, he even managed to form a connection with the boss lady, getting himself an older foster sister!" Wang Chuang couldn't help but snicker.
The bar where Ling Fan was working was located near a school, and it happened to be under his protection.
"Heh, isn't the boss lady named Xia Ying? Not bad in looks, and she seems like quite the sly woman. An older foster sister? More like you have to split the first word to get the meaning!" Li Guohao laughed darkly, his face revealing his lewdness.
"Screw..." Wang Chuang mumbled.
"Hahaha... Young Master Hao, I didn't see it coming, this kid's playing quite the thrilling game. Looks like he finds the wild flowers more fragrant than the home blossoms!" Wang Chuang burst into laughter.
"Haha, damn it, you make me quite curious now. Let's go meet this 'older sister.' I want to see what makes her different from Xiao Chubing and why this loser would ignore the beauty in his home to chase after this wild peony.
Fucking hell, he'll regret crossing me, home or wild, I'll have them all, hahaha!" Li Guohao laughed uproariously, then stood up with determination.