CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: DON’T HIT MY HUSBAND

What? Lin Xiao wasn’t the one who beat him up? Su Qingning felt like her brain was short-circuiting.

Xue Dashan, however, completely lost his temper. He glared at Pei Donglai, his rage barely contained. Is this guy taking me for a fool? In the entire security team, besides that stinking beggar Lin Xiao, who else would dare to do this? After all, that stinking beggar already beat up Xue Long yesterday!

His gaze turning sinister, Xue Dashan growled, "Then you tell me, how did Xue Long end up like this?"

Pei Donglai nodded. "To answer your question, Deputy General Manager Xue, Xue Long simply fell off the table. He was dancing on it and boasting that sooner or later he would force himself on President Su. Captain Lin told him not to speak like that, but Xue Long just pointed at Captain Lin’s nose and called him a worthless coward. He even said... he said he was going to force himself on her right in front of Captain Lin..."

Lin Xiao chuckled. I didn’t expect this guy to be so quick on the uptake.

At these words, the color drained from Xue Dashan’s face. He could disregard Lin Xiao; in his eyes, the man was nothing more than a stinking beggar. But he would never dare to underestimate Su Qingning. It didn’t matter how breathtakingly beautiful she was; her methods were not something an ordinary person would ever want to experience. Unless he was pushed into a corner, Xue Dashan truly had no desire to make an enemy of her.

"Shut up!" Xue Dashan roared, brutally cutting Pei Donglai off.

Even though he didn’t believe a word of it, he couldn’t let Pei Donglai continue. Even if it was all nonsense, the story would sound completely different by the time it reached Su Qingning’s ears.

Xue Dashan cautiously glanced at Su Qingning. Her stunningly beautiful face was now covered in a layer of frost. He knew she was furious.

The turn of events left Xue Dashan feeling both furious and suffocated. Any idiot can see that my nephew was beaten up by that stinking beggar, Lin Xiao! But now the story is that he fell on his own, not to mention he was grossly disrespectful to Su Qingning. What made it even more agonizing was that he’d planned to use this as an excuse to kick Lin Xiao off the security team. He never expected his own nephew would be the one to suffer the consequences.

"President Su, I’m sorry. This is my failure to discipline him properly," Xue Dashan said, his voice laced with suppressed bitterness. "But shouldn’t the priority be getting Xue Long to a hospital? Once he recovers, I’ll make him kneel and apologize to you."

Although Su Qingning was extremely displeased, it seemed there was no other choice for now.

Just then, however, Lin Xiao suddenly said, "Hold on!"

Xue Dashan shot Lin Xiao a venomous glare. "Does Captain Lin have something else to add?" he asked coldly.

"You two, speak up," Lin Xiao said, nodding toward the two men with battered and swollen faces. These were the men Xue Long had used in his attempt to frame Lin Xiao. However, after some "persuasion" from Pei Donglai, they had already seen the error of their ways.

At Lin Xiao’s prompting, one of the men spoke up immediately. "President Su, Xue Long was the one who beat us up! He did it to frame Captain Lin!"

"That’s right! When Xue Long was hitting us, he was completely savage," the other man added.

Su Qingning was stunned. She never would have dreamed that this was the truth of the matter. A wave of guilt washed over her. Back at the Chunyu Pavilion, I told myself I needed to trust him more. How could I have forgotten that the moment we got to the bar? I didn’t just wrongly accuse him, I made him apologize to someone else!

At that thought, Su Qingning couldn’t help but glance at Lin Xiao. As if reading her mind, he looked back at her. The instant their eyes met, Lin Xiao put on such a pitiful, wronged expression, he might as well have been a blubbering giant.

The guilt in Su Qingning’s heart intensified. But this wasn’t the time for apologies. The priority was dealing with Xue Long. After all, these two bruised and battered guards were employees of the bar. After such a serious incident, she felt that it was her duty, both legally and morally, to seek justice for them.

While Su Qingning was grappling with guilt, Xue Dashan’s scalp tingled with shock at the two men’s confession. Of course, he knew Xue Long had beaten them—in fact, he had been the one to suggest it. What shocked him was that these two nobodies had actually dared to spill the beans in front of Su Qingning.

This changed the entire nature of the incident. He knew Su Qingning was the type of person who couldn’t stand a single grain of sand in her eye—she couldn’t tolerate injustice. Having suffered a great deal of unfair treatment herself, she was a zealous advocate for fairness. That meant she would undoubtedly handle this matter with the utmost seriousness, even if Xue Long was her own nephew.

Realizing this, Xue Dashan started to panic. His nephew might very well end up doing some time in jail. After all, the two guards’ injuries were severe enough to warrant a criminal charge.

"President Su, I’m sorry! Please, let me handle this. I promise I will get justice for these two employees!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Su Qingning asked coldly.

At this point, Xue Dashan couldn’t afford to be frustrated. He spoke hastily, "I’ll make that animal Xue Long apologize to these two men and compensate them for their injuries. I swear I’ll make sure they’re both satisfied with the outcome."

Su Qingning snorted. "Xue Dashan, an apology and some money won’t be enough to satisfy everyone. Besides, you can’t beat someone this badly and not give a proper accounting for it. You two, go get your injuries officially examined."

As soon as she said that, Xue Dashan’s heart sank. He knew she intended to handle this by the book. If this went through official channels, Xue Long was definitely going to jail.

"President Su, do you really have to be so ruthless about this? Isn’t an apology and compensation enough?" Xue Dashan pleaded, his voice trembling.

Su Qingning retorted coolly, "When Xue Long was beating them to a pulp and trying to frame Lin Xiao, did he ever consider not taking things too far?"

Her words instantly stripped away Xue Dashan’s veneer of humility, replacing it with raw irritation. He had already groveled and humbled himself. And yet, Su Qingning refused to give him any face. So what if Xue Long was in the wrong? For years, I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this damn bar of hers! If I haven’t earned any merits, I’ve at least earned my keep through hard work!

With that thought, Xue Dashan suddenly let out a cold sneer. "Su Qingning, back when you were single, you had all those scions from Jinling City’s prominent families flocking around you, all trying to kiss up to you. I’ll admit it, I was afraid of you then.

"But now? You went and married a stinking beggar! All those powerful heirs have abandoned you. Since that’s the case, what makes you think I’m still afraid of you?

"I’m laying my cards on the table. Either you turn a blind eye to this whole affair, or you can’t blame me for getting nasty!"

At that, Lin Xiao let out a loud laugh.

Xue Dashan immediately glared at Lin Xiao, his eyes spitting murder. "You stinking beggar, what the hell are you laughing at?"

"At your stupidity, of course," Lin Xiao sneered.

"Damn you, I think you’ve got a death wish!"

"Tsk, tsk. Your breath is horrible. Xue Dashan, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?" Lin Xiao taunted.

Xue Dashan grew even more furious. With a cold snort, he roared, "You stinking beggar! Today, I’ll show you what happens when you offend me!"

As the words left his mouth, he lunged at Lin Xiao.

Seeing this, Su Qingning cried out in alarm. Xue Dashan is a Yellow Level Martial Artist! That’s the whole reason I hired him at such a high salary to protect the bar! If he actually lands a blow, Lin Xiao will be severely injured, if not killed! She couldn’t let that happen.

She instinctively threw herself in front of Lin Xiao and declared defiantly, "Don’t you dare touch my husband!"