Gu Lingsha was calm as she faced Qi Lei's aggression. She put on a cold smile. "You can ask him if you want to know, and just observe at his reaction."

Qi Lei freaked out a little when he saw Gu Lingsha's calm manner. He clenched his fists and said, "Don't lie to me, Shasha!"

"You can find out for yourself if I'm lying or not. Moreover, that child is dead! Dead!" Gu Lingsha cackled. "You only thought about how unfair it is to Xi Xiaye. I'm disappointed in you. You'd rather believe in Mu Yuchen than me!"

Qi Lei's expression was stony as his eyes stared intently at Gu Lingsha. "I'll never forgive you if you lie to me!"

"Why would I lie to you? Aren't you accusing me of pushing Xi Xiaye and almost causing her to lose her child? You can just assume I'm taking revenge on Mu Yuchen. You should be happy with that answer!" Gu Lingsha was unfazed as she looked at Qi Lei calmly.

"Shasha! Don't make me do this!"

"Do what? You've already assumed I did it, right? Why are you like this after I've admitted it?"

"Enough! I don't want to fight with you. No matter what, I hope you can leave Qi Kai and go back to City B. Don't get involved in this mess. You don't need to experience another dark period! Please leave Qi Kai, or else you'll turn into a toxic monster. I'll make sure that you leave even if you don't want to—"

Bam!

Before Qi Lei could finish his sentence, the door was opened and a person rushed in.

"How dare you!?"

Pa!

There was a furious growl that was accompanied by the sound of a loud slap!

Qi Lei was not able to react at all. All he could feel was a fiery stinging on his left cheek. His ears were buzzing, and he could not hear anything. When he turned over, he saw Qi Qiming standing right in front of him.

"Uncle Qi!" Gu Lingsha was shocked as she stared at Qi Qiming and could not believe what just unfolded before her.

Qi Lei stood frozen in horror as he just stared at Qi Qiming. He ignored the pain on his cheek as his feelings went numb.

Startled, Qi Qiming looked at his own hand and realized that was really a harsh slap he just delivered. Even he could feel slight discomfort on his palm and his heart throbbed a little when he saw Qi Lei's dark, lifeless gaze, but he soon returned to normal and put on a disgusted look.

Qi Lei's handsome face had become swollen with the extremely obvious slap mark.

One slap...

That one slap destroyed Qi Lei's final hope as well as his pride!

How hilarious!

He was Qi Qiming's son!

Qi Lei ruffled his hair nervously. Although his face was a mess, he still put on his usual wicked smile. "I'm sure you've been saving up for this slap. Do you feel great after hitting me? Should I feel glad to be useful for once?"

"Who do you think you are? What makes you think you're in charge when I'm still around? I appointed Shasha as the project manager. If you're unhappy with it, then come to me. Why are you messing with her? You're just like your mother!" Qi Qiming's icy cold voice reached him, fanning Qi Lei's anger even more.

"My mother? Are you complaining about our behavior? I just feel unfortunate to be your son! You can give birth to me, but you can't raise me? I really hate that I have your dirty blood in me. I have to be known as Qi Qiming's son everywhere I go. Look at you now. Are you sure you're worthy of being my father?" Qi Lei clenched a fist and pointed a finger at Qi Qiming, his smile tinted with darkness.

"You scum! What did you just say? I dare you to say it again!" Qi Qiming was mad. He glared angrily at Qi Lei, and his body was trembling as he pointed a finger at him.

"I said! It's unfortunate for me to be your son. You have no right of being my father. You're not worthy!"

This was the first time Qi Lei could not control his anger!

"You... You... Get out! Get out! I don't have a son like you. Get out right now!"

Qi Qiming was enraged. He grabbed whatever was on the table and threw them towards Qi Lei. Documents were strewn everywhere inside the room!

"Uncle Qi! Qi Lei! Please stop. Qi Lei, leave my office right now!" Gu Lingsha panicked and quickly stood between the two of them.

Qi Lei put on a cold smile and glanced at Qi Qiming. He then looked at Gu Lingsha as well before he stormed off.

"How dare he!? How dare he!?"

Qi Qiming swept all the documents on the table onto the floor. In just the blink of an eye, Gu Lingsha's office looked like a typhoon had passed through it.

Gu Lingsha stood aside and looked with a dark, strained expression on her face.

...

Near evening, on the way towards Glory World Corporation on Fatong Avenue, Mu Yuchen was flipping through some documents needed for a meeting later while Li Si was sitting on the front passenger seat as the chauffeur drove carefully.

Screech—

There was a sudden jerk and the squeal of brakes!

Thud!

Mu Yuchen lost his balance and fell forward as his phone and documents slid to the floor. Li Si's head hit the windshield!

"What happened!?" In shock, Li Si quickly turned around and looked at Mu Yuchen. "Master, are you alright?"

Mu Yuchen held onto the car seat in time and managed to stay safe.

Mu Yuchen frowned as he leaned back in his seat. He did not seem very bothered as he looked in front and noticed Li Si's concerned gaze. "I'm fine."

"Chauffeur Wang, what's wrong?" Li Si calmed down when he heard Mu Yuchen's reply. He shot Chauffeur Wang a darkened expression, and the chauffeur was sweating as he explained, "I'm sorry, Master, I saw a dog crossing in front of the car just now, so..."

"It's fine. Continue driving."

Mu Yuchen was still calm as usual. He already went back to reading his documents while Li Si was still fretting. "Be more careful!"

What if Master had been injured?

Li Si was really shocked just now. He was reminded about the accident back in City B. Master knew what happened, but he did not continue the investigation or take any action in the end. What was he thinking?

Chauffeur Wang nodded. "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on. I'm sorry, Master!" He then continued to drive carefully.

At this moment, the phone started ringing. Li Si picked it up and noticed who was calling, so he turned towards Mu Yuchen and said, "Master, it's a call from Master Qi. Should I...?"

"What's the time now?" Mu Yuchen asked.

"It's almost 3 p.m. now. We should be able to make it back for the meeting," replied Li Si as he took a glance at his watch.

Mu Yuchen flipped another page and replied without even batting an eye, "Don't take his call. Give him a call back after that."

Li Si nodded, rejecting the call. "Yes, Master!"

The car slowly arrived at Glory World Corporation as they spoke, and Mu Yuchen closed his documents.

On the other hand, Qi Lei walked out of Gu Lingsha's office angrily. His expression was sour as his call was not picked up. He called the number again and still did not get a response. The slap mark on his face was extremely obvious, and the swelling had gotten worse.

Qi Lei had a cold smile plastered on his face as his phone screen darkened. He kept his phone and noticed Wang Qin right in front of him.

Wang Qin was heartbroken to see him looking so pathetic. She teared up and just looked at Qi Lei without saying a word. A cold light flashed past in her eyes when she saw the swollen mark on his face.

After some time, Wang Qin called out to him, "Xiao Lei..."

Qi Lei looked downwards as he grabbed his phone tightly and took a deep breath. He looked away and continued walking forward.

Wang Qin grabbed Qi Lei's arm when he walked past her. She asked him in a grim tone, "Xiao Lei, did he slap you? Did that bastard slap you?"

Qi Lei shook off her hand. Though his voice sounded calm, it was also bitter and lifeless. His anger sounded like sharp knives to Wang Qin's ears, and her tears started to fall as the knives stabbed into her. "It's none of your business. Don't get yourself into trouble."

...

"Xiao Lei!"

Wang Qin grabbed Qi Lei who was trying to leave, her voice sounding irate. "How could he do this? How could he slap you? What right does he have to do that?"

Wang Qin had no idea what happened. She just wanted to come and see Qi Lei. Unexpectedly, she saw Qi Qiming rushing towards Gu Lingsha's office with a grim expression, thus she went over to take a look as she sensed something was not right. She did not expect to see Qi Lei coming out of Gu Lingsha's office like this!

Qi Lei shook off Wang Qin's hand again. While the slap mark seemed painful, he was not portraying any emotion of any sort. Instead, he smiled drily and said, "I bet he wanted to do this since a long time ago. Let him be. You don't have to bother yourself with him. You know very well what kind of person he's like."

He then walked forward without looking back.

"Xiao Lei! Listen to me..." Wang Qin tried to catch up to him.

At the same time, inside Gu Lingsha's office.

Qi Qiming finally calmed down after he unleashed his anger. He put his hands on the table in exasperation as he glanced at all the papers around the room. Even after taking several deep breaths, his expression still looked stormy.

Gu Lingsha slowly went closer to him.

"Don't be angry, Uncle Qi. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have triggered him like that. I knew he..." Gu Lingsha seemed uneasy as she looked at Qi Qiming guiltily with a frown. "Qi Lei has always been like this. I should've known better. Maybe my return has triggered some serious disturbance within him. I just didn't expect Xi Xiaye to be so important to him to the extent that he's doing this to us. It seems like his hatred for Mu Yuchen has disappeared."

"That unfilial child!" Qi Qiming looked at the empty entrance in disappointment. "His personality is just like his mother's, always like going against me. You've seen what happened at the meeting today! The two of them are definitely hoping for me to die. I wouldn't have taken action against them if they'd just give in and not go against me, and just look what he did just now!"

"Uncle Qi, actually, Qi Lei..."

"I'm still alive! How dare he?! Lingsha, please don't mind him."

Upon hearing that, Gu Lingsha forced a bitter smile, then shook her head. Her tone was clearly colored with some sadness, yet she responded with a feigned relaxedness, "I'm fine, Uncle Qi. I'm just sorry that I caused a fall out between you and Qi Lei. I'm really sorry."

Qi Qiming waved his hands and lamented, "This isn't your fault. The conflict between us isn't recent."

"Uncle Qi, actually Qi Lei cares a lot about you. Now that this happened, why don't you tell someone to hold him back first? Once there's a misunderstanding, it takes a lot to resolve it. Earlier, he was just saying things out of anger, so don't take it to heart, Uncle Qi. Don't let Qi Lei feel disillusioned. He's always been a rather vulnerable person," Gu Lingsha said a little anxiously as she looked towards the empty entrance.

"He's always never needed to—"

Bam!

Pa!

Before Qi Qiming could finish, a wine-red figure had already come in with the wind as if there was a sudden tornado. They could not even react when a loud slap was heard, and then there were cries!

"Ah!"

"All for this slut! What have you done to her?"

Wang Qin stern and gloomy voice contained a hint of ruthlessness as she clutched Gu Lingsha's hair. As she lifted a hand, two slaps fell. Gu Lingsha only had time to shriek in shock!

"Wang Qin, you vicious woman! What are you trying to do!?"

Qi Qiming reacted quickly enough. He gripped Wang Qin's hand with which she wanted to continue her assault and pushed her back. Because he was too strong, she staggered back quite a few steps before she managed to steady herself. Her beautiful little face was swelling with two red, almost symmetrically-imprinted marks on both sides of her face. Her hands reflexively held her face, and the burning sensation of hurt made her tear up involuntarily, yet she continued to gaze up and fix her stare at Wang Qin before her.

"What am I trying to do? I want to ask what you two did to Xiao Lei instead!" Wang Qin pulled her hand back. Her sharp gaze could not hide the resentment that was on the verge of exploding.

"Shasha, are you okay?" Qi Qiming looked to Shasha with concern.

Gu Lingsha sighed and tried hard to hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. After a while, she shook her head and held down the coldness that flashed in her eyes. Her fists clenched slightly as she stared at Wang Qin while her raspy voice brought a hint of bitterness. "Aunt Wang, what is the meaning of this?"

"Meaning? You know well yourself! You slut, who do you think you are? You should've died in the accident years ago, yet you crawled out of nowhere to harm others again. Xiao Lei has never had it good since he's known you. Do you think a woman of two minds like you deserves to be with Xiao Lei? Give up! It's not enough that you've wrecked Qi Feng, and now you want to drag Qi Lei down too?" Wang Qin questioned her in a rage.

"I don't know what you mean, Aunt Wang. Lei and I are innocent. I told you before. In fact, I've clearly told you before that my decision to enter Qi Kai for work this time is just to obey my father and Uncle Qi's business decision. Father hopes that I can learn some practical lessons from Uncle Qi. I don't understand why you'd accuse me like this. I don't want to explain much. If you insist on placing such accusations on me, I have nothing to say either!" Gu Lingsha's tone was firm and resounding while she looked calm and lacked fear.

However, when she heard this, Wang Qin just sneered in disdain. "Innocent? If you're innocent, then why do you call out to my son so intimately? You should be calling him Master Qi too! Earlier, you looked all wronged at the meeting. Weren't you doing that for Xiao Lei to see? Do you really think I'm blind? I've never seen such a shameless woman. Wouldn't it fine if you'd just stayed by Mu Yuchen's side properly back then? Now, great, Mu Yuchen wouldn't even spare you a glance. I don't even know if Qi Feng is dead or crippled, and now you want to get a share of Xiao Lei? You don't even stop to think if you deserve to. You don't even have the right to appear in front of him now. Do you understand?"

"Enough, Wang Qin! Don't go overboard!" Qi Qiming looked extremely cross as he glared at Wang Qin and did not let her continue spewing nonsense.

Gu Lingsha's little face was exceptionally gloomy too. She snagged her red lips until they almost lost their color.

"Shut up! Qi Qiming, you bastard! You don't have the right to kick a big fuss up with me! You hit Xiao Lei, didn't you? How dare you hit him for this woman? What's wrong? Do you want to sleep with her now? Look at you being all anxious now. Can you please grow up?"

Wang Qin's lips curled up in disdain. Her gaze looked as if it had been tempered with poison as she stared coldly at the two of them. "What else do you know except to vent to my Xiao Lei every time? I will just make myself clear today. I, Wang Qin, only have this one son. He's my life. If anyone dares to hurt him, that means they're asking for my life! And whoever's asking for my life, I'd fight to beat them down first!"

That unfriendly tone with her sharp and imposing manner sounded apathetic to Qi Lei. He looked up straight at Wang Qin. That curl on her lips looked mocking no matter how you saw it.

"Wang Qin, you should consider your words before saying them out loud!" Qi Qiming said through gritted teeth.

"I considered them very well! Gu Lingsha, if you want to stay in Qi Kai, I can't stop you, but you better stay away from Qi Lei. Someone like you doesn't even deserve to be near my son! You got that? If whatever happened today happens again, I wouldn't be just giving you two slaps!" Wang Qin declared meanly as she pointed at Gu Lingsha.

"What a bold tone. Qi Kai's not up to you, Wang Qin! You're too reckless!" Qi Qiming smacked Wang Qin's hand away. His gloomy and cold voice brought a clear warning.

Wang Qin pulled her hand back unaffected. She went closer to Qi Qiming and said with a lowered voice, "If you push me to my breaking point, I'll do anything! My whole life's ruined. I won't let my son follow in my footsteps!"

She left these words before turning around to leave without a second look at Gu Lingsha.

"Lingsha, are you okay? Don't mind her. She's got a temper like that. Oh dear, your face... Let me get the secretary to have you checked at the hospital."

"It's fine, Uncle Qi. I'll just get myself some ice cubes. Don't blame Aunt Wang. She cares a lot about Qi Lei. I understand how she feels!" Gu Lingsha held her face as she said calmly, yet her lowered gaze hid the layer of gloom she felt.