Outside, there were still so many prying eyes watching. If Lu Lingchuan truly harmed Zou Zhijie, it would surely invite unnecessary trouble.
"Lu Lingchuan." Shen Nian shook her head. "Calm down..."
Lu Lingchuan's breathing was heavy, the crimson in his eyes refusing to fade.
But upon hearing Shen Nian's voice, the little rationality he had left increased slightly.
Seeing his emotions had slightly eased, Shen Nian carefully tried to take the wine bottle from his hand.
Fortunately, Lu Lingchuan didn't struggle, allowing her to take it.
After taking the wine bottle from him, Shen Nian immediately threw it aside, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Lu Lingchen at the door also let out a breath of relief.
If his brother had truly acted, it would have caused a lot of trouble.
Ling Rui's case had yet to be resolved. Feuding with President Zou's side now would only be adding fuel to the fire.
The hotel manager had come over earlier, bringing a bunch of security guards. It was Lu Lingchen who had calmed the manager, preventing them from calling the police.
"Lu Lingchuan." Shen Nian called his name again, staring at his tightly clenched fist, the veins protruding on the back of his hand.
Although he had changed greatly after Ling Rui's passing, he would never lose his composure and rationality like this unless something major had happened.
Shen Nian's voice gradually pulled Lu Lingchuan back. He gazed at her, looking her up and down.
Her clothes were tidy, with no signs of mistreatment.
He then released Zou Zhijie, who was so frightened he had nearly wet his pants, and pulled Shen Nian out of the private room.
The manager and security guards at the door dared not provoke the King of Hell, silently clearing a path for them.
It wasn't until much later that Zou Zhijie finally recovered from the shock and became enraged. "Lu Lingchuan has gone too far!"
Lu Lingchen did not leave with them, instead staying behind to clean up the aftermath.
Hearing President Zou's words, Lu Lingchen burst into laughter. "President Zou, you seem to be turning the tables here."
"..."
Lu Lingchen walked in, looking at the now terrified Zou Zhijie, his gaze then slowly shifting to President Zou's face.
The two brothers shared a striking resemblance. Although younger, Lu Lingchen had also matured overnight after Ling Rui's passing. While he lacked his brother's imperious aura, he was by no means someone to be trifled with.
"The Lingrui Group sincerely wanted to cooperate with Zou's Group, yet President Zou wanted his nephew to exploit one of our company's employees?"
"..." President Zou felt guilty. "You... you're talking nonsense, I don't know what you're saying."
Even he knew how dishonorable this act was.
"Really?" Lu Lingchen raised an eyebrow, his gaze scanning the area around where Shen Nian had been, eventually landing on the center of the dining table.
He reached out his long arm and picked up Shen Nian's phone that Zou Zhijie had knocked onto the table, then lifted his own phone.
This was the one Lu Lingchuan had thrown on the ground when he kicked down the door. Lu Lingchen had picked it up.
The two phones were still in a call.
Lu Lingchen calmly ended the call on one of the phones. On Shen Nian's phone, a notification popped up: "Recording saved."
He waved Shen Nian's phone at President Zou. "Assistant Shen's phone has automatically saved the call recording. If President Zou is unwilling to admit it, and insists on involving the police, we can certainly go to the police station for some tea and discussion."
"..."
"If President Zou truly feels he and his nephew have been wronged, you're also welcome to publicize today's events at your own expense. The Lingrui Group is willing to add a million dollars to make this a high-profile case known to all. Then we can see which side the masses will stand on."
Just hearing that Lu Lingchuan had kicked down the door and was even prepared to kill Zou Zhijie would surely provoke public outrage. But with Zou's Group having tried to exploit Shen Nian first, the case took a dramatic turn. Even if Lu Lingchuan had used force, what of it? The clear-eyed masses would only applaud!
"..." President Zou knew they were in the wrong and was regretful.
He regretted allowing Zou Zhijie to try to exploit Shen Nian. If this incident hadn't happened, the cooperation between the two sides could have proceeded smoothly, and Zou's Group would have profited.
For this project, even if Lu Lingchuan didn't want to work together, it would have greatly benefited Zou's Group. Lu Lingchuan had never intended to profit himself; his only reason for securing the cooperation was the connections President Zou had.
Of course President Zou wanted to cooperate with Lu Lingchuan, but his intentions were impure. Thinking Lu Lingchuan wanted to work with him, he became arrogant and overstepped.
Leading to the present situation.
"Manager Lu," President Zou smiled ingratiatingly. "This is all that brat's fault. You gentlemen shouldn't take it to heart. We still need to cooperate in the future, don't we?"
"Cooperate?" Lu Lingchen laughed outright. "Our company doesn't lack this cooperation, much less a cooperation obtained by sacrificing our female employees."
"..."
There was nothing more to say between them. Lu Lingchen then turned his gaze to Manager Yu and Vice Manager Chen.
Although he hadn't witnessed them condoning Zou Zhijie's exploitation of Shen Nian, the fact that they hadn't said a word while she was mistreated showed their stance.
"It seems the two managers approve of exploitation?" Lu Lingchen said with a mocking smile.
"Manager... Manager Lu," the two managers stammered, tongue-tied.
"No... not at all..." They tried to explain, both filled with regret.
"Not what?" Lu Lingchen's smile deepened as he spoke slowly.
"Assistant Shen, Young Master Zou seems like a nice guy. Why don't you just go along with it?"
"..." The Manager Yu closest to him froze, his face contorting in horror as his body began to tremble.
Lu Lingchen mocked, "Manager Yu, those were your words, weren't they?"
"..."
He then looked at Vice Manager Chen beside him. "When Manager Yu said that, Vice Manager Chen remained silent, which amounts to tacit approval?"
"..."
Staring at the two of them, Lu Lingchen's smile faded as he coldly stated, "The Lingrui Group has gotten to where it is today through capability and hard work, not crooked means! Even if it wasn't Assistant Shen today, no female employee of ours is to be sacrificed for the sake of achieving a goal!"
"It seems the two of you hold vastly different life values, value systems, and world views from the Lingrui Group. If that's the case, I have no need to keep you both. Please submit your resignation letters to my email by tomorrow. I'll approve them personally."
Leaving them with those words, Lu Lingchen walked out with Shen Nian's belongings, ignoring their pleas for him to stay.
Reaching the door, he took a card from his pocket and handed it to the manager. "For the door that was kicked in and anything broken inside, please make a list so we can provide full compensation."
...
Lu Lingchuan drove away with Shen Nian, who kept watching him.
His mood was poor now. Driving in this state was very dangerous, so Shen Nian looked around before speaking to Lu Lingchuan.
"Lu Lingchuan, find a place to stop and calm down."
