Chapter 76: A Farce

After the Lin family of three were "asked" to leave the President Suite, they were not directly taken to the police station but temporarily housed in a ordinary room downstairs, guarded by two men in black suits. This was a silent pressure, like a Damocles sword hanging above their heads, uncertain when it would fall—this agonizing wait was far more terrifying than direct punishment.

Inside the room, Lin Weiwei slumped on the floor, her eyes hollow, tears streaking her face, her expensive Chanel suit now wrinkled and clinging to her body, making her look utterly disheveled and ridiculous. She kept muttering under her breath: "It's over… everything's over…"

Lin Daqiang crouched in the corner, hands buried in his graying hair, as if aged twenty years overnight. He no longer cursed or cried—only a hollow, soulless numbness remained. He had spent his life cautious and careful, desperately clinging to a shred of dignity, only to have it shattered in a single day by his daughter—and drawn upon himself a force beyond imagination.

Lin's mother wept softly beside her, afraid to make too much noise, fearing it might anger those outside the door.

"Will the Xuan Family really be acquired?" Lin's mother asked her husband, clinging to a sliver of hope.

Lin Daqiang snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes filled with bitter mockery: "Acquired? Didn't you hear? They said 'full takeover'! Ten percent above market price? That's not an acquisition—it's charity! It's a warning! The Xuan Family… is finished! We… are finished too!"

The last thread of hope shattered; Lin's mother's sobs could no longer be contained.

At that moment, Lin Weiwei suddenly jerked upright as if stabbed by a needle, lunging to the door and frantically pounding on it: "Let me out! I need to see Xuan Hao! Let me see him! He can't abandon me! He swore he'd love me forever!"

Outside, there was no response—only deathly silence.

Lin Weiwei's outburst was nothing more than a hysterical farce, performed for no audience.

…

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, the Xuan family villa.

Unlike the cold, oppressive atmosphere of the hotel suite, this place was now filled with panic and chaos.

Xuan Mingcheng, the Xuan Family Head—a middle-aged man nearing fifty, overweight—was screaming into his phone, veins bulging on his forehead: "What do you mean 'no way'?! Li Zong, we've worked together for years! Tell me who the hell Yaofeng Capital is! What gives them the right?!"

The person on the other end apparently said a few helpless words before hanging up abruptly.

Xuan Mingcheng hurled his phone onto the expensive Persian rug with a dull thud.

"Dad! What's going on?!" A young man in a flashy pink shirt, his hair slicked back, burst in—it was Xuan Hao. His face showed irritation and a flicker of barely concealed panic: "I was racing with friends! Then my house is calling nonstop saying we're going bankrupt? What the hell is this?!"

"What the hell?!" Xuan Mingcheng whirled around, eyes blazing red as he pointed at his son, "This is all your doing! That girlfriend of yours! Lin Weiwei! She's stirred up someone she shouldn't have touched!"

"Lin Weiwei?" Xuan Hao blinked, then sneered, "What's wrong with her? She just had a little quarrel with a classmate—so what?"

"A quarrel?!" Xuan Mingcheng roared, spittle flying onto Xuan Hao's face, "She poured boiling water on Qin Feng's own sister! Qin Feng! That Qin Feng—the most powerful Qin Feng right now! He just issued a direct order: full takeover of the Xuan Family! Yaofeng Capital has already moved! Our stock is crashing! All partners are terminating contracts! Banks are calling for repayment! You call this a quarrel?!"

A barrage of disasters hammered Xuan Hao like sledgehammers; his face drained of color, his legs trembling: "N-no… that can't be… just for his sister? He… he'd really do that?"

"Would he? Hah…" Xuan Mingcheng let out a hollow laugh, "To you, maybe not. But for someone of his caliber, face is everything! To strike at him is to slap his face! He's killing a chicken to scare the monkeys—and our Xuan Family is the chicken he chose!"

Xuan Mingcheng collapsed onto the sofa, hands covering his face, voice thick with exhaustion and despair: "It's over… our Xuan Family's decades of legacy… will be destroyed by this disobedient son of mine!"

Xuan Hao was utterly panicked. He had always relied on his family's status to bully others—he'd never imagined the great tree of his family could fall. He rushed to his father's side: "Dad! Think of something! We can't just give up! Find connections! Go to the city officials!"

"Find connections? Who dares touch us now?" Xuan Mingcheng shook his head weakly, "Yaofeng Capital… they're a major predator even internationally, with depths no one can fathom. Once Qin Feng speaks, he won't retreat. His offer—ten percent above market—isn't negotiation. It's notification. It's the last shred of dignity he's giving you. If you refuse, you won't get even that ten percent!"

Just as father and son sank into despair, Xuan Mingcheng's Secretary, pale-faced, rushed in: "Chairman Xuan! It's bad! Downstairs… downstairs, Lin Weiwei and her parents have come! The guards can't hold them back!"

"What?!" Xuan Mingcheng and Xuan Hao both froze in shock.

The family hurried downstairs to find the two black-suited men from the hotel had driven Lin Weiwei's family to the entrance of the Xuan family villa—and now stood nearby, arms crossed, watching coldly, as if merely here to enjoy the show.

Lin Weiwei, hair disheveled, was trying to break through the guards' blockade, sobbing toward the villa: "Xuan Hao! Xuan Hao, come out! You can't leave me to die! I'm your girlfriend! Your family is rich and powerful—help me! Please beg Mr. Qin for mercy for us!"

Lin Daqiang and Lin's mother stood nearby, wanting to pull her back but too afraid to exert force—the scene was utterly disgraceful.

Neighbors and passersby gathered, pointing and whispering—Xuan Family's dignity was being ground into the dirt.

Seeing Lin Weiwei's madwoman appearance, and remembering his own family's impending ruin, Xuan Hao's rage boiled over. He stormed forward and, before Lin Weiwei could react, slapped her hard across the face!

"Crack!" The sharp slap silenced the crowd instantly.

"Bitch! Who the hell is your boyfriend?! Get the hell away from me!" Xuan Hao snarled, face twisted in fury, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't caused trouble, how could our Xuan Family end up like this?! Get out of here!"

Lin Weiwei was stunned, clutching her cheek, staring in disbelief at the man who had whispered sweet nothings to her just yesterday.

Seeing his daughter struck, Lin Daqiang's blood boiled. He rushed forward: "How dare you hit her?!"

"Hit her? I'm being generous not to kill her!" Xuan Hao tore off all pretense, pointing at the Lin family and screaming, "You trash! You cursed family! You bringers of misfortune! Get out! Don't dirty our ground!"

At the villa's entrance, former in-laws now turned enemies, hurling accusations and insults at each other—a grotesque farce unfolded.

A short distance away, the two black-suited men watched coldly. One pulled out his phone and whispered: "Mr. Qin, as you predicted, they've started fighting."

On the other end of the line, Qin Feng stood before the hotel's floor-to-ceiling window, listening. A cold, faint curve touched his lips.

Dogs fight, both lose fur.

This storm, sparked by Lin Weiwei's vanity and malice, ended with the Xuan Family's empire collapsing, the Lin Family's hopes shattered, and both families turned bitter enemies.

And this was merely the first installment of interest he collected for his sister.

The true reckoning is still ahead. Those hidden behind the scenes—who may have stoked the flames, or simply watched in silence—he would not spare a single one.

This farce must end. And a new storm is brewing.