Those board members looking down on her was one thing, but did they have to use such vicious and humiliating language?
Slap!
Right at that moment, Su Lin rushed in front of Li Wei and delivered a fierce slap across her face!
Instantly, Li Wei's body was sent flying through the air, spinning a few times before slamming heavily onto a desk!
"How dare you talk to my wife like that, and call me some gigolo? Looks like I need to teach you lot of employees a proper lesson on my wife's behalf!"
Su Lin swept a ferocious gaze over the board members.
"You little punk! How dare you hit people in our company..."
The potbellied board member never expected Su Lin to resort to violence, and he angrily stood up.
Before he could finish, Su Lin grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him straight into the air. "Old bastard, got something to say?"
"Listen here, kid, I'm a board member of this company. You'd better let me go right now, or you'll regret it!"
The potbellied board member forced a look of composure.
"Oh, really?"
Su Lin curled his lips in utter disdain and tossed the board member straight out!
Bang!
The potbellied board member slammed into the wall and passed out on the spot!
"And the rest of you—not a single one of you is getting away!"
Su Lin turned his gaze back to the remaining board members.
Having witnessed Su Lin's methods, the board members panicked and scrambled to run for the door.
However, Su Lin was much faster than them. He blocked the doorway and started greeting them with slaps.
Slap, slap, slap!
A rapid succession of slaps rang out, and soon every single board member who had mocked Xia Bingyu was knocked flat onto the floor!
"Wife, am I awesome?"
Having finished the job, Su Lin returned to Xia Bingyu's side and beamed proudly, fishing for praise.
Xia Bingyu finally snapped back to her senses, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.
While Su Lin's actions felt deeply satisfying, he had just beaten up so many board members—how was she supposed to explain this?
"Xia Bingyu! You actually conspired with a gigolo to beat up the company's board members! This is completely lawless! Do you really think this company belongs to you alone?!"
Recovering from her shock, Li Wei clutched her face and shrieked.
"That's right! If you don't give us an explanation for what happened today, we're pulling out our shares!"
The other board members angrily chimed in.
Whoosh!
Just then, Su Lin flashed forward, appearing in front of Li Wei once again, and sent her flying with another slap. "Stinking bitch, you really don't learn, do you? You're just asking for a beating."
After that, Su Lin looked at the board member who had demanded an explanation. "You just wanted an explanation, right?"
"That's right! What of it?" the board member stammered in reply.
Slap!
Su Lin answered with a direct slap that knocked him flat on his back, then turned to the other board members. "That's my explanation. Who else wants one? I guarantee I'll satisfy you one by one!"
Instantly, all the board members fell silent.
They could already see that this punk was completely unreasonable and fearless!
"Enough!"
Just then, Xia Bingyu cut off Su Lin's actions and coldly glared at the board members. "Gentlemen, I am very sorry about you being assaulted. The company will cover all medical expenses in full."
"As for pulling out your shares, if you've truly made up your minds, you are welcome to come to my office to discuss it at any time."
"Let's end today's meeting here. Su Lin, come with me!"
Chapter 11: I'll Follow Your Every Command!
Watching Su Lin follow Xia Bingyu out of the office, the board members finally breathed a sigh of relief and struggled to their feet.
Immediately afterward, they turned their anger on Li Wei:
"Li Wei, we only pulled our shares today because we listened to your demand, and look what happened—we got beaten up for it! You need to give us an explanation!"
"That's right! You can't expect us to actually pull out our shares now!"
...
Having taken two slaps, Li Wei's entire face had swollen up like a pig's head.
Facing questioning from so many people, she could only force a smile. "Board members, please don't be angry. I'll call Mr. Xia right now and report this. I'll definitely give you all an explanation!"
With that, Li Wei hurriedly took out her phone, dialed Xia Guodong's number, and reported everything that had happened.
On the other side, Su Lin followed Xia Bingyu into a well-appointed, luxurious office.
"Wife, did you call me in here to give me a private reward?"
"An office! Black silk stockings! Floor-to-ceiling windows! You've checked off so many boxes—wife, you know me too well!"
Su Lin looked at Xia Bingyu with burning eyes.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you realize that by beating up those board members, you almost ruined me?!"
Xia Bingyu's face was covered in dark lines.
Su Lin scratched his head in confusion. "Wife, where is that coming from?"
"The people you just beat up are the company's board members. They were already preparing to strip me of my position as CEO, and with you pulling a stunt like this, holding me accountable is going to be a massive headache!"
"Fortunately, though, they were probably just trying to scare me. Since the company is still turning a profit, not many of them will actually pull their shares."
Xia Bingyu sat down in her executive chair, closed her eyes, and kept massaging her temples.
"Wife, you're so capable. Why would they want to strip you of your position?" Su Lin continued to ask.
"It's all Xia Guodong's doing. The Xia Group is in the pharmaceutical business. During this period, our competitor, the Wang Group, somehow developed several physical-enhancement drugs with incredible results. They completely overshadowed the Xia Group.
"Because of Grandpa's old rules, Xia Guodong isn't allowed to interfere in company affairs, so he wants to use this opportunity to push his son Xia Fei into the CEO position. That's why he keeps targeting me every chance he gets."
The more Xia Bingyu spoke, the more indignant she became!
Of course, telling Su Lin all this wasn't because she expected him to be of any help; she just wanted a release for her pent-up emotions.
"Is that all?"
"Wife, you should've said so sooner! I've got all kinds of medicinal formulas here. Just tell me what kind you want, and I'll write it down for you!" Su Lin patted his chest reassuringly.
"Forget it. You grew up on a mountain—your so-called formulas are probably just old folk remedies that would never pass muster in the real world."
Xia Bingyu shook her head, not believing him at all.
Su Lin didn't press the matter further. Instead, he walked up behind Xia Bingyu and placed both hands on her head.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Xia Bingyu had kept her eyes closed, and feeling Su Lin's actions, she was so startled she almost jumped up.
"Wife, why are you so nervous? I just saw that your head was bothering you and wanted to give you a massage." Su Lin explained.
At the same time, his fingers began to gently massage Xia Bingyu's scalp.
His movements were soft and gentle.
As he massaged, wisps of mysterious energy flowed from Su Lin's fingers directly into Xia Bingyu's mind.
At that moment, Xia Bingyu felt a wave of profound refreshment wash over her, and the fatigue of a long day vanished completely.
In particular, her mind felt clearer than ever before, and her thoughts became remarkably sharp.
In such a state of utter bliss, a soft moan involuntarily escaped Xia Bingyu's throat.
Hearing this, Su Lin smiled and asked, "Wife, how's my technique?"
"Not bad. It'd be even better if you used a bit more strength." Xia Bingyu replied instinctively.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xia Bingyu realized the ambiguity of her own statement, and her face flushed bright red down to the roots of her neck!
"Got it, wife. Just sit back and enjoy—I'll make sure to pamper you right!"
Su Lin grinned, increasing the pressure in his hands.
Meanwhile, back at the Xia family residence.
Xia Guodong had already learned through Li Wei about what happened in the meeting room, and his expression was grim.
"Dad, how did things go at the Xia Group? Was Xia Bingyu removed?"
Just then, Xia Fei walked into the house and asked the question upon seeing Xia Guodong sitting on the sofa.
"The removal failed. During the meeting, that punk Su Lin barged in and beat up all the board members." Xia Guodong said with a dark expression.
"Damn it! That kid again! Does he really think that with that bitch Xia Bingyu protecting him, we won't dare touch him?!"
Xia Fei slammed his fist onto the table in fury!
A cold glint flashed in Xia Guodong's eyes. "Looks like we'll have to execute the second plan."
Xia Fei's spirits perked up. "Dad, you mean using Young Master Zhang..."
Xia Guodong nodded heavily. "That's right. I already told Young Master Zhang about Su Lin yesterday. Given his personality, he's bound to make a move very soon."
"Now we just need to wait. As soon as Young Master Zhang makes his move, we'll act accordingly!"
Elsewhere, just as Xia Bingyu was enjoying her massage, the phone on her desk suddenly rang.
After answering it, Xia Bingyu's expression changed drastically. "What? How can the Hundred Flowers Bank do such a thing? That's going way too far!"
"Fine, I know. I'll find a way to deal with it!"
Hanging up the phone, Xia Bingyu wore a deeply troubled look.
Seeing this, Su Lin couldn't help asking, "Wife, what happened now?"
"Our company previously took out a loan from Hundred Flowers Bank, and we agreed it would be repaid in a year. Now the bank suddenly wants us to repay it early."
"This sum is crucial to the company. If we have to pay it back early, it'll trigger a cash flow rupture, and the company might go bankrupt."
"Forget it, why am I telling you all this? You don't understand any of it."
Mid-sentence, Xia Bingyu shook her head in resignation and picked up her phone to call the bank and plead for leeway.
A full ten minutes later, Xia Bingyu finally hung up the phone and let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Wife, how does it look?"
Su Lin asked cheerfully, looking completely carefree.
"It's hard to say for now. I've scheduled dinner with the bank president tonight, and hopefully we can work something out then."
Xia Bingyu sighed helplessly.
Hearing this, Su Lin's eyes lit up. "Wife, I'll go with you!"
Xia Bingyu frowned slightly. "Why are you going?"
"When you treat someone to dinner, you certainly won't go to a shabby place, and it's bound to be a huge feast—how could I miss out on that?" Su Lin analyzed with a straight face.
"All right then. But you have to stay by my side and not say a word."
After thinking it over, Xia Bingyu agreed.
Even though Su Lin's thought process was somewhat different from a normal person's, having him by her side gave Xia Bingyu an indescribable sense of security.
Seeing Xia Bingyu agree, Su Lin immediately snapped to attention and struck a formal pose. "Don't worry, Chief Wife! I'll follow your every command!"
Chapter 12: You Fat Bastard, You Think You're Pretty Arrogant, Don't You?
After staying at the Xia Group until the end of the workday, Su Lin left the company with Xia Bingyu and headed to Pinxiang Pavilion.
Though not quite a top-tier luxury hotel, Pinxiang Pavilion was a well-known upscale restaurant in Jiang City, with a minimum consumption of four to five thousand per person.
Upon entering Pinxiang Pavilion, Xia Bingyu led Su Lin straight to a private dining room and waited with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
"Wife, we're just talking business—do you really have to be this nervous?" Su Lin couldn't help asking when he saw Xia Bingyu's expression.
"What do you know? This concerns the life and death of our company! Anyway, just speak as little as possible later and don't cause trouble for me!"
Xia Bingyu gave Su Lin an annoyed side-eye.
"Oh!"
Su Lin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
After about twenty minutes, footsteps echoed from outside the private room.
Then the door was pushed open from the outside, and a middle-aged man walked in.
The man looked to be in his fifties, with a receding hairline that left him practically bald on top, which, combined with his bloated physique, gave him a very greasy appearance.
"President Sheng, you're finally here. Please, take a seat!"
Seeing the man, Xia Bingyu hurried forward to greet him warmly.
Sheng Lei merely nodded, his hands clasped behind his back with an arrogant air as he walked toward the table in the private room.
Just as Sheng Lei was about to sit down, he caught sight of Su Lin sitting nearby and paused in surprise. "President Xia, who is..."
"President Sheng, this is my husband."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Xia Bingyu answered truthfully.
"When did you get married, President Xia? How come I didn't know about it?"
Sheng Lei frowned in displeasure.
Xia Bingyu was a famously gorgeous female CEO in Jiang City, and Sheng Lei had been eyeing her for a long time.
More importantly, rumor had it that Xia Bingyu was ice-cold toward all men, leading Sheng Lei to guess that she was likely still a virgin!
Yet now, Xia Bingyu suddenly popped out with a husband—what was this all about?
"President Sheng, we got married not long ago, and to keep from making a fuss, we didn't hold a wedding ceremony." Xia Bingyu smiled and explained.
Sheng Lei didn't ask further, though a hint of disappointment crept into his heart.
Originally, he had been hoping that Xia Bingyu was still a virgin and would fall right into his lap; he hadn't expected to be a step too late!
Still, it didn't matter.
Young married women were quite nice too—not only did it save the trouble of breaking her in, but there was also the added thrill of cuckolding another man.
At this thought, Sheng Lei couldn't help swallowing hard, finding the prospect even more stimulating than before!
Unaware of Sheng Lei's thoughts, Xia Bingyu motioned for the waiter to start serving dishes once he was seated.
Soon, a succession of lavish and rare dishes was brought to the table, bursting with color, aroma, and flavor!
Su Lin didn't stand on ceremony either; he picked up his chopsticks and dug right in, completely ignoring Sheng Lei.
Seeing this, Sheng Lei looked displeased and asked, "President Xia, what line of work is your husband in? Does he not know the first thing about basic manners?"
"I'm sorry, President Sheng. My husband had a busy day at work and didn't get to eat lunch, which is why he's like this."
Xia Bingyu hurriedly apologized, then kicked Su Lin under the table and shot him a warning look.
"I didn't say anything, why'd you kick me?"
Su Lin turned to Xia Bingyu, looking baffled.
Xia Bingyu gritted her teeth in frustration, instantly regretting that she had brought him along!
A sharp glint flashed in Sheng Lei's eyes as he realized their relationship wasn't great. With a forced, ugly smile, he asked, "Heh, this gentleman certainly has quite a strong personality. May I ask what kind of work you do?"
Su Lin glanced up at Sheng Lei, ignored him, and went right back to eating his food.
Sheng Lei hadn't expected Su Lin to dare ignore him, and his face darkened instantly!
"President Sheng asked you a question, why aren't you answering?!"
Xia Bingyu kicked Su Lin again.
"Weren't you the one who told me not to talk?"
Su Lin felt deeply aggrieved.
Xia Bingyu was choked into speechlessness; she even wondered if Su Lin was doing this on purpose!
"Heh, it seems President Xia's husband is quite the character!"
Sheng Lei offered a sarcastic chuckle.
This Su Lin had zero emotional intelligence; he really had no idea how the guy had won Xia Bingyu's heart!
"President Sheng, I'm truly sorry..."
Xia Bingyu apologized profusely, keeping her posture very low.
However, Sheng Lei directly cut her off. "President Xia, let's not play games. You didn't invite me out just for dinner today—let's talk about the real matter!"
"President Sheng, since you put it that way, I won't beat around the bush either."
"I'd like to ask: the Xia Group previously took out a billion-yuan loan from your bank, which we agreed to repay in a year. Why are you suddenly demanding early repayment?"
Xia Bingyu asked with a serious expression.
Sheng Lei put on a fake sigh. "President Xia, this was a collective decision made by our bank's senior management. Because your company's performance has dropped severely lately, our assessments show a constant risk of bankruptcy. Naturally, we need to recover the loan before that happens."
"President Sheng, I can assure you that the Xia Group will never go bankrupt! It won't be long before the company's performance rebounds!"
"As for the loan, I must ask your bank to show some flexibility!"
Xia Bingyu took a deep breath and pleaded.
"I'm sorry, President Xia, but this isn't something I can decide alone. Besides, why should I believe your guarantee?"
Sheng Lei shook his head coldly.
"President Sheng, you're backing our company into a dead end!"
Xia Bingyu clenched her fists in fury!
"You can't put it that way. I'm just acting in the broader interest."
"Besides, this matter isn't completely without room for maneuver."
Sheng Lei changed his tone, finally revealing his true colors. "I have a condition. If President Xia can meet it, not only will I not recall the loan, but I can even extend the term for another year!"
"What condition?" Xia Bingyu asked vigilantly, not believing Sheng Lei would be so kind.
Instead of answering directly, Sheng Lei reached into his briefcase and pulled out two items.
The first was an alluring piece of erotic sleepwear, specifically black silk stockings with most of the fabric in the crotch area conveniently missing.
The second was a hotel room card with the room number written on it.
Seeing these two items, Xia Bingyu's expression turned ugly. "Sheng Lei, what is the meaning of this?"
Sheng Lei licked his lips with a smile. "President Xia, we're all adults here, why play dumb?"
"You're already married and have experienced that kind of thing before. I shouldn't have to spell everything out for you."
"At ten o'clock tonight, I'll be waiting for you at this hotel. I hope you'll come find me wearing this outfit."
"Just one night, and I guarantee your company's loan problem will vanish."
Xia Bingyu hadn't expected that the respectable-looking Sheng Lei possessed such a depraved mind. She gritted her teeth and said, "What if I refuse?"
"I'm very sorry, but if you refuse, not only will your company have to repay the loan in the near future, but you'll also be blacklisted by all major banks!"
Sheng Lei said with a playful smirk.
Trembling with anger, Xia Bingyu couldn't help looking toward Su Lin.
She was his nominal wife, and now that she was being threatened like this by another man, surely he had to show some kind of reaction, right?
However, Su Lin showed no intention of speaking up at all, simply sitting there quietly!
Seeing Su Lin's reaction, Sheng Lei assumed he was terrified of him and burst out laughing. "President Xia, it looks like your husband doesn't have any objections either. I'm just curious—can a spineless man like this really satisfy you?"
With that, Sheng Lei patted Su Lin on the shoulder. "Brother, just rest assured and hand your wife over to me. I promise to give her the kind of pleasure you've never been able to provide!"