Chapter 1589: The Price of Arrogance

Watching Gu Yuan, who had just finished issuing his threats, depart in a daze, Lin Xiao—having learned that Wang Yan had launched retaliatory strikes against the company owned by Gu Yuan's family—fixed Wang Yan with a deeply dissatisfied gaze.

"Wang Yan, you've gone too far!"

Her milky-voiced anger lacked any real force; it sounded more like a joke feigning displeasure.

"I have no desire to listen to your ignorant accusations. In fact, I already explained the reasons when I recounted the sequence of events earlier. I will tell you once more, hoping you will understand.

It was not because Gu Yuan showed mercy and spared me; it was because he could do nothing to me. It was not because Gu Yuan's mother possessed refinement; it was because she was powerless against me. Otherwise, when Gu Yuan previously paid Gu Yong and Xicheng to gather a gang of idle loafers, even including minors, to beat me, the normal outcome would have been me suffering broken bones and torn tendons, while receiving little compensation in return.

At that time, Gu Yuan, the perpetrator, would not only have remained at large living comfortably, but might well have come before me to mock me, letting me know it was he who did it, yet leaving me powerless to stop him. You have known Gu Yuan for several years; could you possibly be unaware of how he bullies people?

And do not say that since I am unharmed now, there is no need to retaliate against Gu Yuan. I tell you, there is a need, a great need. I want them to feel a sense of powerlessness; I want to see whether, once their wealth shrinks, their social status drops, and their social connections wither, they can still look down on others from their lofty heights.

They claim that when others fail to earn money, it is because those others do not work hard, do not know how to think, and lack cognition. I want to see, once they have no money, whether they can still think, whether they possess cognition, whether they can earn money, and whether they can become rich again."

"But..."

After listening, Lin Xiao instinctively still wished to refute, yet she discovered she did not know how to argue back.

Because Wang Yan was right; it seemed Wang Yan's retaliation also possessed rationality. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It was Gu Yuan who first sought to retaliate against Wang Yan, only he failed to overcome Wang Yan. Now Wang Yan was retaliating against Gu Yuan, and still Gu Yuan could not overcome Wang Yan.

Therefore, naturally, one could not blame Wang Yan.

To strike someone yet forbid them from striking back—there seems to be no such logic in this world.

She asked blankly, "So, is Gu Yuan's family going bankrupt?"

"The company being delisted and going bankrupt has little to do with his family personally; they still possess some money. However, since they treated public assets as private property, some of it may be reclaimed, and fines imposed; comparatively, little will remain in the end. Nevertheless, they will still have a place to live and will not lack food or drink."

"So you're saying you're quite merciful?"

Wang Yan smiled and shook his head: "If possible, I would rather break the legs of that mother and son, forcing them to ride skateboards out to beg."

Imagining such a scene, Lin Xiao couldn't help but shudder: "You are truly wicked."

"Don't you love that?"

Thus Lin Xiao shivered, casting a disdainful glare at Wang Yan: "Hooligan, I'm ignoring you."

Lin Xiao returned to the company to report the situation; she received neither praise nor criticism, and the matter simply passed. This greatly disappointed Lin Xiao, who had undertaken considerable mental preparation, because she truly had not been regarded as important in the slightest.

Finally enduring until quitting time, she ate a fast-food meal alone and returned wearily to the apartment.

"How was work today?"

Hearing the noise and seeing Lin Xiao enter, Gu Li greeted her with a sarcastic tone.

"Certainly not great," Tang Wanru chimed in from the other side. "Oh, working is truly terrible. Lin Xiao, haven't you noticed you now reek of a working stiff on the verge of death?"

"You're the one on the verge of death."

Lin Xiao rolled her eyes, shut the door, changed her shoes, and within a few steps flung herself onto the sofa.

Only after letting out a lazy, satisfied groan did she remember the main matter; she asked, "Gu Li, do you know that the situation with Gu Yuan's family company is not good?"

"I know. Gu Yuan told me earlier that it was that madman pulling the strings. What of it?"

Hearing Gu Li's casual tone, Lin Xiao realized Gu Li was unclear about the specific circumstances of Gu Yuan's family. She said, "Gu Li, today I saw Gu Yuan go to Wang Yan to beg for mercy. Wang Yan also said that previously Gu Yuan's mother had gone as well... The situation with Gu Yuan's family might not be good..."

"What?" Gu Li jolted upright, "Gu Yuan went to Wang Yan to beg for mercy? Ye Ping also went before?"

"Gu Li, you don't need to ask again," Tang Wanru muttered sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Gu Li frowned. "No wonder Gu Yuan hasn't come to find me these past few days; whenever I called, he hung up after only a few words. It turns out there were problems at home... Wait, no!"

Gu Li looked at Lin Xiao. "How did you see this? Where did you see it?"

So Lin Xiao explained the matter of being dispatched by the company to conduct public relations with Wang Yan: "Just as I was about to leave, Gu Yuan arrived. At that time, he entered and headed straight for Wang Yan..."

After hearing the account once, Gu Li offered no opinion but grabbed her phone and left: "I must call Gu Yuan to ask about the situation..."

With that, she returned to her room.

Tang Wanru leaned over and whispered, "Lin Xiao, from what I'm hearing, it sounds like Gu Yuan's family is about to go bankrupt?"

"Who knows? In any case, the situation is not good." Lin Xiao let out a long sigh. "Wang Yan acted too ruthlessly..."

"Yes, over such a small matter, he held a grudge for so long and even targeted Gu Yuan's family." Tang Wanru sighed again. "Lin Xiao, if Gu Yuan's family truly goes bankrupt, what about Gu Li and him..."

"Impossible. Gu Yuan loves Gu Li so much; even during that huge incident before, Gu Yuan never abandoned her. What is money? If Gu Yuan has no money, doesn't Gu Li still have some? Besides, even without money, one can go out and earn it... Ah..."

Speaking of earning money, Lin Xiao felt somewhat hesitant; after all, she was currently working as an assistant serving others, earning eight thousand yuan a month. This was only because she served a leader like Gong Ming; if it were any other position, she truly was uncertain how much she could earn.

Gu Yuan was good-for-nothing, possessing not a single skill; could he possibly earn money?

"So you don't have high hopes for them either, right?" Tang Wanru wore an expression that said, 'I see right through you.'

"What are you talking about? I was wondering whether Gu Yuan could earn money; I never doubted the two of them would break up! Do you really have such low expectations for them?"

"It's not that I have low expectations; I'm just saying. Of course I hope the two of them last forever, but with problems arising in Gu Yuan's family, such a massive change will surely affect their relationship..."

"Rest assured! There will be no effect whatsoever. If Gu Yuan has no money, I can support him!"

Gu Li walked out, looking down at the seated Tang Wanru, changed her shoes at the doorway, and left directly.

Left behind, Tang Wanru and Lin Xiao stared at each other in silence, having no words to exchange...

The next day, after morning exercise and breakfast with Nan Xiang, Wang Yan strolled leisurely to the Entrepreneurship Center.

Upon arriving, from afar he saw Gu Li sitting on a bench at the entrance of the Entrepreneurship Center, her two feet clad in high heels knocking against each other repeatedly.

Wang Yan walked over, sat down beside her, and lit a cigarette.

"Have you come to apologize to me?"

Gu Li hummed in affirmation, rare in her calmness: "I reflected on it; indeed, the entire matter was my fault. I judged by appearances and looked down upon the toiling masses. If I had not mocked you at the very beginning, none of the subsequent events would have occurred.

However, there is one point I must clarify: I am simply straightforward in speech, and my mouth is somewhat poisonous. I speak this way even when talking to Lin Xiao and the others; I never intentionally made things difficult for you or hurt your self-esteem.

Now, Xicheng has been arrested, you have slept with Nan Xiang, the scandal of me being... raped by Xicheng has been exposed, and I have lost face before my friends, my reputation utterly ruined. As for Gu Yuan, he spent three months in a detention center, and now his family's company is being delisted, on the verge of bankruptcy liquidation.

Wang Yan, stop. If you stop now, they will still have a chance to catch their breath..."

Wang Yan blew a mouthful of smoke into her face: "Look at you; you still don't understand. What I told Lin Xiao yesterday, didn't she tell you? Is it that Gu Yuan didn't want to retaliate against me? Is it that Ye Ping, that old vegetable, showed mercy? It is that they were powerless against me.

Gu Li, on what grounds can you bully others yet not be bullied yourselves? Where in this world is there such logic? Xicheng being arrested was due to your seduction. You sleeping with Nan Xiang was not the objective; moreover, this was indirectly facilitated by you. If Nan Xiang heard these words, she would probably curse you to death.

I won't dwell on the ugly business you mentioned; after all, you were also a victim, and I at least have that much decency. As for your claim that you speak bluntly and have a poisonous tongue, I addressed that issue right from the start, when Xicheng had just been arrested and you and Nan Xiang came to seek my forgiveness. Didn't you have Nan Xiang record that conversation?

It isn't that you speak bluntly or have a poisonous tongue; it's that you don't take others seriously, that you hold a overwhelming psychological advantage over them. If you truly spoke bluntly and had a poisonous tongue, why are you here apologizing to me now? Right?

Gu Li frowned. "What exactly do you want?"

"Didn't I make myself clear enough? I simply want Gu Yuan to lose his money, to strip him of his support. Gu Li, you know that for your sake, he wanted to cripple me.

That gang of Xicheng's was armed with knives, guns, and clubs; if any one of them had slipped and struck my head, I might well have ended up a vegetable, with nowhere to turn for help, forced to swallow this humiliation. Then, on some day when I could no longer bear it, I might have ended my wretched life in some unnoticed corner. How tragic, how pitiful that would have been. Relatively speaking, haven't I been quite generous? What dissatisfaction could you possibly have?"

"Then what about me? Everything started because of me. How do you plan to retaliate against me?" Gu Li craned her neck, staring defiantly at Wang Yan as if to demonstrate her unyielding attitude.

"You are mistaken; this is not retaliation."

Wang Yan shook his head. "In targeting Gu Yuan's family, have I broken any laws? On the contrary, it was the law that punished them, and the market that punished them. The law regulates the market, and the market, in turn, promotes the law. As an elitist, as a finance student, Gu Li, would you call this my retaliation?"

"Isn't it? You dug up tax evidence against Gu Yuan's family from who-knows-where and reported them. You also secured funds from who-knows-where to suppress their stock price and disrupt their operations..."

"Did Gu Yuan's company break the law or not? Did they have tax issues or not?"

Gu Li opened her mouth but said nothing.

"I traded stocks openly in the market; what wrong is there in that?"

Wang Yan said, "It was their family that had problems, and I caught them. This is justice. If their family had no problems and I had manufactured issues to bring them down, that would be retaliation.

Don't argue with me by asking why I didn't target other companies; it's because other companies didn't target me. If Gu Yuan's family had no flaws, I wouldn't have been able to catch them. Similarly, if your family were clean, I would have no way to touch them either."

Gu Li let out a long breath. To be honest, after learning the details of what Gu Yuan's family had endured, she had already begun to feel despair.

She had never expected that Wang Yan, such a lonely and destitute poor man, could possess such great power, steadily pushing Gu Yuan's company toward destruction over the course of several months without haste or delay.

If Wang Yan had possessed equal or even superior strength, it would have been easier to understand and accept; instead, it was precisely this current situation that made people feel so aggrieved. Playing the pig to eat the tiger is no pleasant experience for the tiger being eaten. Of course, Wang Yan was no pig, and they were no tigers.

Yet despair was not without its benefits; it sobered her, finally allowing her to calm down and forcing her to speak with Wang Yan in a peaceful and rational manner.

"You still haven't found any evidence?"

Wang Yan shook his head and said, "Tell me, wouldn't it be interesting if, when the time comes, I hand the evidence over to Gu Yuan and let him make the choice?"

"You are nothing but a lunatic."

"Didn't you just show me how your love was stronger than gold? By the way..." Wang Yan took out his phone and pulled up several photos. "Take a look. These were taken before your 'love stronger than gold' phase. During this period, Gu Yuan was indulging in wine and women. Don't say it isn't so; wealthy people are different; the ones he finds are all quite attractive. Take a look, won't you?"

Gu Li did not take the phone; she had already seen the photos Wang Yan scrolled through earlier. There were images of Gu Yuan drowning his sorrows in a bar, embracing women on both sides, entering and exiting hotels, and even depicting specific activities...

"You will stop at nothing. Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to drive a wedge between Gu Yuan and me?" Gu Li coldly voiced her condemnation.

"No, no, no; I am innocent. Only the photos of entering and exiting the hotels were taken by people I hired; the surveillance cameras inside the hotels were installed by others. You can note down the names of those hotels and look into it later; you will discover that those hotels have all been penalized. As for your claim about driving a wedge between your feelings..."

Wang Yan looked at her with a smile. "Do you really think your relationship needs driving a wedge into? Is your love truly stronger than gold, impregnable and indestructible?"

"It is indestructible; we'll just have to wait and see." Gu Li snorted, stood up, and said, "You'd better worry about yourself. Aren't you afraid Gu Yuan might seek mutual destruction with you too?"

"Why use the word 'too'? Do you think what Xicheng did amounted to mutual destruction? What was the result? He was sentenced to seven years, his tendons in his hands and feet were ruined, while I sit here comfortably. Do you think Gu Yuan has that kind of courage?"

"Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall; who can say for certain what a cornered person might do?"

"Actually, in many cases, humans are not even as good as dogs."

Wang Yan refuted Gu Li's words, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ai! Did I ever tell you that my grandfather was a barefoot doctor who taught me a few tricks?"

"What do you mean?" Gu Li looked at him as if he were a lunatic.

"You should go to a hospital and get checked out."

"You're the one who's sick."

Gu Li snorted, turned around in her high heels, and walked away...

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