Chapter 355: Zhao Yuyan domineeringly protects her husband!

In the meeting room, Lin Yuan gave a cold smile, lightly tapping the folder in front of him with his fingertips, and said, "Since Director Lu can't solve this, I'll help solve it."

As soon as he said that, the meeting room filled with a few faint gasps; some people hurriedly lowered their heads, pretending to flip through documents, while others' peripheral vision still lingered on the two of them—

No one expected Lin Yuan to dare respond in public, and he even directly mocked Lu Chengyu.

Lin Yuan took on the task. He pinched the edge of the folder with his fingertips, steadily pulling it out; the four characters "Gao De Pharmaceutical" on the cover were pressed into a shallow mark by his fingertips. Looking up, his tone was calm yet weighty: "By the end of the month, I'll report the repayment progress to you."

But at the same time, he slapped Lu Chengyu in the face. Lu Chengyu, who had been sitting composedly in the chief seat, saw his smile freeze instantly, his knuckles whitening as he clenched them, and even the hand resting on the edge of the table instinctively drew back.

Lin Yuan's words outwardly accepted the task, but secretly they said this director "lacks ability." In front of over a hundred department members, this loss of face was blatantly obvious.

Lu Chengyu's face changed; he suppressed his anger and gave a cold smile: "I hope you finish the task soon."

He rapped his knuckles twice on the table, trying to suppress the fire in his chest, but his tone couldn't hide its sharpness: "Don't end up failing to deliver; losing face is trivial, but delaying the company's repayment is no joke—after all, you're someone the Board of Directors 'favors'."

In the meeting room, smoke of conflict lingered.

"No need for Director Lu to worry, I'll complete the task." Lin Yuan said, picked up the folder, and walked out.

Everyone in the meeting room stared blankly at the scene.

Lu Chengyu snorted coldly, "Hmph! As long as Lin Yuan takes on this task, he's not far from death."

After all, the Gao De Pharmaceutical Group is no pushover—behind Gao De Pharmaceutical lies a jianghu force as its backing.

Once Lin Yuan dares to intervene, his death is certain.

……

At noon, Lin Yuan took the Gao De Pharmaceutical documents to find Legal Counsel Fei Fanjin, wanting to learn about the situation of this account.

When Fei Fanjin saw the Gao De Pharmaceutical documents, her pretty face visibly changed color.

She set the folder down, tapped her fingertips on the desk edge, and her tone grew stern: "Lin Yuan, I advise you to absolutely avoid taking this collection task—you can't handle it, and you might end up bringing trouble upon yourself."

Lin Yuan's heart sank, and he asked, "Is it because the contract has problems, or does the other party have some background?"

"The contract issues are not minor, and the background is even more troublesome." Fei Fanjin pulled up a file on her computer and turned the screen toward Lin Yuan.

"Look here—when Su Group first signed the contract with Gao De, the clause stating 'payment deadline is after the medicine passes acceptance' was written too vaguely; the standard for 'acceptance qualified' wasn't quantified, neither the acceptance procedure nor an acceptance checklist was specified."

"They're exploiting this loophole to delay payment; even if we sue, it's hard to produce strong evidence proving they 'intentionally delayed,' let alone sufficient grounds to claim liquidated damages."

Fei Fanjin paused, lowering her voice slightly:

"More importantly, the boss of Gao De Group, Gao Qiming, isn't a legitimate businessman—he has a jianghu background. Earlier, the Wind Control Department sent three waves to collect payment: the first wave was stopped by security at the gate, the second wave didn't even get to see Zhou Minghai's face, and the third wave fared worse—they were beaten into serious injury and hospitalized…"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan's expression hardened. This collection task is indeed thorny.

Fei Fanjin reminded him, "Lin Yuan, if you can drop this case now, you'd better do so quickly. Lu Chengyu giving you this case is clearly digging a pit for you."

Lin Yuan shook his head. "I've already taken on the task; I can't drop it, so I can only try to collect the debt. A jianghu background… doesn't mean we can default on the debt, right?"

As he said that, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

The jianghu background doesn't scare him, after all, Lin Yuan himself also has a jianghu background.

Fei Fanjin sighed, "Then go give it a try. If you truly encounter a legal problem you can't solve, don't tough it out—just call me anytime."

Lin Yuan nodded.

After thanking her, he rose and left Fei Fanjin's office.

Fei Fanjin's pretty face was complex; she still wanted to say something, her beautiful eyes gazing at Lin Yuan with a hint of reluctance.

But Lin Yuan had already walked out of the office.

Fei Fanjin bit her cheek, only able to swallow back the words she was about to say…

……

At three in the afternoon, the blinds of the Wind Control Department Deputy Director's office were half-open.

Lin Yuan sat in front of the office, analyzing the Gao De Pharmaceutical data.

The phone on the corner of the desk suddenly vibrated.

The screen flashed "Zhao Yuyan" in three characters, glaringly bright.

His pen tip paused, his brow unconsciously furrowing.

Why is this woman calling again?

Lin Yuan originally wanted to gradually draw a line with Zhao Yuyan; getting involved with her would only complicate his jianghu identity further.

The phone vibrated twice; he didn't answer, instead reaching to press the mute button, letting the screen go dark.

Less than five minutes later, the phone vibrated again—still Zhao Yuyan.

This time the screen showed a preview message: "Lin Yuan, why have you been out of touch these past few days? Are you free tonight? I booked that private restaurant in the south of the city; let's have dinner together."

Lin Yuan glanced at the message, his fingertips rubbing the screen's edge twice. Now the Gao De Pharmaceutical collection task is pressing so hard he can barely breathe—where would he find the energy to deal with this?

He simply turned the phone face‑down on the table—out of sight, out of mind.

Since he didn't want to get involved, there was no need to answer calls or reply to messages; cutting things off cleanly was best.

By the time work ended, Lin Yuan picked up his phone and discovered Zhao Yuyan had missed two more calls.

Lin Yuan didn't return the call; instead, he picked up Director Su and drove home.

After first dropping Director Su off at the villa, Lin Yuan drove toward his own Shidai Gongyu…

……

Lin Yuan gripped the Mercedes steering wheel, just about to enter the apartment's underground parking garage…

Suddenly a furious engine roar swept over, and a black sports car shot out from the side, screeching to a halt in front of the vehicle.

It was Zhao Yuyan's BMW M8.

The BMW M8's car door popped open with a "click," and the first thing to emerge was a single black stiletto heel, its toe trimmed with a subtle silver band; tapping on the asphalt, it gave a crisp "tap," like a knock on one's heart.

Zhao Yuyan bent to step out of the car, her black waist‑cinching dress hugging her graceful curves, the matte fabric casting a cool sheen in the sunset.

The dress's slit reached mid‑thigh; as she walked, a glimpse of her fair calves could be seen. The bodice featured a neat V‑neck, revealing a delicate collarbone. She lifted a hand to tuck the falling curls behind her ear—absolutely stunning and sexy.

She walked toward the Benz in stiletto heels, each step deliberate, the black hem of her dress swaying lightly with her gait, unadorned yet exuding an oppressive presence.

She walked to the driver's side window, stopped, extended her finger, and knocked on the car window glass with her distinct-knuckled hand—three "dong" sounds, neither too light nor too heavy, but enough that Lin Yuan inside couldn't pretend not to hear.

Lin Yuan lowered the car window, and a faint cold scent from her, mixed with a hint of mint, rushed over him—adding a touch of wildness.

"Lin Yuan, get out. I'm asking you, why have you been avoiding me these days? Not answering calls, not replying to messages—are you trying to play disappearing act with me?" Zhao Yuyan said with an icy face.

"I've really been busy lately; I got promoted to Wind Control Department as deputy director. I just took on a tough collection task, working overtime every day organizing files—I really have no energy to spare." Lin Yuan rubbed his forehead, his tone tinged with fatigue.

That wasn't entirely an excuse—the High Virtue Medicine case had him working around the clock, and he truly had no mind for other matters.

"Busy?" Zhao Yuyan snorted, leaning in toward the car window, her perfume drifting in—"Busy enough to outright refuse our dinner plans? Lin Yuan, now that you're a deputy director, you've gotten full of yourself, right?"

Zhao Yuyan threatened coldly, "Lin Yuan, I'm asking you one more time—will you go out with me tonight? If not, believe it or not, I'll post that ambiguous video of us online."

Lin Yuan felt helpless—this woman was truly a handful.

"Fine, I'll go with you." Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, pushed open the car door, and got out.

Seeing him relent, Zhao Yuyan's anger faded by half, a triumphant smile curling her lips as she turned toward her BMW M8: "If you'd done this earlier, it would've been fine. Get in—I booked a place not far away."

Lin Yuan parked his Mercedes-Benz car and then walked up to the BMW M8 sports car.

He had just opened the door when a harsh tire-screech suddenly came from behind.

Three minivans came charging like crazy, screeching to a halt beside him and Zhao Yuyan, their bodies turned sideways, completely blocking the two of them.

The minivan's doors flew open with a clatter, and a dozen or so muscular men in black jackets, sleeves rolled up to reveal arm tattoos, jumped out, gripping steel pipes and baseball bats, their eyes fierce and intimidating.

The lead man, his face full of bulging flesh and a savage look, was none other than Wang Lei—the one Lin Yuan had toppled a few days earlier, who had been fired from the Wind Control Department of the Su Group.

"Lin Yuan! You little brat, you sure know how to hide!"

Wang Lei gripped the steel pipe and took two steps forward, his knuckles whitening from the force: "You got me fired, my family's about to eat dirt, and here you are dating a woman? If I don't beat you bloody today, I'm not a Wang!"

Lin Yuan's brows instantly knit, and he instinctively pulled Zhao Yuyan behind him—

He never expected Wang Lei to dare bring people to block him in broad daylight, let alone that the other side would track him down so quickly.

Zhao Yuyan didn't appreciate it; instead, she slipped out from behind him, the hem of her black dress swaying slightly with her movement, her black stiletto heels tapping the floor with a crisp "tick-tock".

Her voice held no panic, only a hint of coldness: "What kind of dog are you, daring to interrupt my date with a man?"