Chapter 56: He Is My Dear Friend, After All!

"Thank you, President Chu, for your kind words. I feel much better now!" Lin Beifan said sincerely.

"That's the spirit! Just let it go! Eight out of ten things in life don't go the way we want. Who hasn't encountered a few scumbags along the way?" Chu Ruoxue replied with a smile, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction.

Then, Lin Beifan hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"President Chu, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it? As long as it's not too difficult, I promise to help!"

Lin Beifan's voice carried an indescribable tone. "It's like this… Can you pretend this never happened?"

"What do you mean?" Chu Ruoxue was taken aback.

"Just act like Ye Xingchen never came to you. Like he never told you about the land… as if none of this ever happened. Could you do that?" Lin Beifan asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

Chu Ruoxue frowned. "Are you saying… you want to forgive him? To ignore what he did and continue your relationship as if nothing happened?"

Lin Beifan sighed. "Yes. I hope you understand, President Chu."

Chu Ruoxue was stunned. "Why would you keep such a treacherous person by your side?"

Lin Beifan let out another heavy sigh. "Because… he is my dearest friend."

Hearing this, Chu Ruoxue finally understood.

Lin Beifan truly saw Ye Xingchen as his brother—someone he trusted with all his heart.

Even after being betrayed, he still couldn't bring himself to expose Ye Xingchen. Instead, he wanted to protect their fragile friendship, unwilling to shatter the illusion.

Who would have thought that this infamous playboy was actually a man of deep loyalty?

At that moment, her opinion of Lin Beifan completely changed.

A man who values loyalty and friendship is always more attractive in the eyes of a woman.

In contrast, people like Ye Xingchen—ruthless, ungrateful, and treacherous—were utterly despised!

Chu Ruoxue waved her hand dismissively. "Fine, fine! This has nothing to do with me, anyway! Since you insist, I won't say anything. But let me give you some advice—he is not to be trusted."

"He betrayed you once, and he will do it again. Not just once or twice, but over and over. He doesn't see you as a brother at all!"

"Thank you, President Chu! No matter how he sees me… to me, he will always be my brother."

Lin Beifan then changed the topic. "By the way, you called to renegotiate the price of the land, right? I'm not in the mood right now. Let's discuss it in a couple of days, okay?"

"Alright, no problem. But before I go, there's something I forgot to ask… Is Ye Xingchen really an investment genius? Because from what I've seen, he seems nowhere near as skilled as people claim!"

Chu Ruoxue was subtly trying to confirm her suspicions.

Lin Beifan sighed again. "That's all in the past… Let's not talk about it."

That response told her everything she needed to know.

After hanging up, Chu Ruoxue took a piece of paper, wrote the name "Ye Xingchen", and then drew a big X over it.

---

Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Lin Beifan set down his phone, completely unfazed.

He had already predicted that Ye Xingchen would eventually run to Chu Ruoxue for help.

Because if this land deal went through, Ye Xingchen's main heroine would be lost to him, and at the same time, the downfall of his story arc would begin.

So, he had to sabotage it—even if it meant exposing the true value of the land.

Sure, it would cost Lin Beifan some money.

But it was well within his acceptable losses.

Besides, the money was going to his own wife's pocket anyway.

Left pocket to right pocket—it was all still his!

However, Ye Xingchen had suffered a huge loss.

"Ruoxue is a very proud woman. The thing she despises most is betrayal. She's the type of person who has no tolerance for disloyalty.

Ye Xingchen just walked right into a trap, practically branding himself as a traitor.

I'm sure… she's already written him off completely!"

Lin Beifan chuckled to himself.

Just then, he heard murmurs outside his office.

Curious, he stepped out and found a group of employees whispering near the trading room.

"What's going on?" he asked.

One of the traders quickly answered, "Mr. Lin, something strange is happening. Mr. Ye came back and suddenly started aggressively trading gold, crude oil, and other commodities. So far, he's made over 4 billion yuan!"

Lin Beifan raised an eyebrow, amused. "Four billion? Brother Ye is really working hard today! Looks like that vacation did him some good! Shouldn't that be a good thing? Why does everyone look so… uneasy?"

The employee hesitated before speaking.

"We're making money, of course, that's great! But Mr. Ye doesn't seem happy at all. His emotions have been getting more and more unstable. In the end, he completely broke down, kicked all of us out, and locked himself alone in the trading room!

We're all… really worried about him."

Lin Beifan sighed. "I see… I'll go check on him."

With that, he walked toward the trading room.