"What?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the Xiao Family was utterly shocked, hardly believing their own ears.
"Impossible! Eldest Miss Li, did you make a mistake?"
"How could this possibly be a flesh Ganoderma?" Zhang Mei blurted out, cold sweat instantly beading on her forehead. The expressions of the other Xiao family members changed drastically as well.
The item Shen Qing had brought was actually a flesh Ganoderma, and it was presented as a gift from Eldest Miss Li herself! Didn't this mean Shen Qing had a connection with Eldest Miss Li?
At that moment, Shen Qing's voice rang out.
"Oh, it's you!"
He walked over from the side, looking somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected Li Xue to be here, and judging by her status, she was held in such high regard that this bunch of snobs from the Xiao Family treated her with utmost reverence.
Xiao Tong's expression shifted slightly, and his heart skipped a beat. "Shen Qing, you know Eldest Miss Li?"
Li Xue nodded and said, "Shen Qing saved my life two hours ago. That box of flesh Ganoderma is a token of my gratitude to him!"
Boom!
This statement was like a deep-sea bomb dropped on a calm lake.
An uproar broke out among the Xiao Family, and shock was etched on everyone's faces.
This bumpkin turned out to be Eldest Miss Li's savior!
Are you kidding me? What virtue or ability did he have to be connected to such a big shot as Eldest Miss Li?
Zhang Mei broke out in a cold sweat. Realizing she had caused a massive disaster, she hurriedly explained, "Eldest Miss Li, please listen to me. I didn't mean to throw your flesh Ganoderma on the ground just now."
"I had no idea it was a flesh Ganoderma. It's all a misunderstanding!"
Taking in the scene, Li Xue furrowed her brow and immediately demanded, "What on earth is going on here?"
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Qing immediately lodged a complaint. "I came to find my Third Senior Sister, but this bunch of people took one look at my ordinary clothes and decided I was a good-for-nothing pauper. They even wanted to break my legs just now."
"Your senior sister is Yuyan?"
Li Xue was extremely surprised, and her expression instantly turned icy.
Seeing Shen Qing being bullied stirred a wave of fury in her heart.
"You people in the Xiao Family are truly blind to the status of others. Shen Qing saved my life, yet you dared to treat him like this!" Li Xue demanded coldly.
A powerful aura emanated from her, causing the Xiao family members to break out in cold sweat one by one.
The members of the Xiao Family scrambled to explain themselves in a panic.
"Please don't be angry, Eldest Miss Li. We didn't know Mr. Shen was your savior."
"He was dressed like a country bumpkin, so it's no wonder we misunderstood," Zhang Mei explained, looking aggrieved.
Xiao Tong was terrified as well. "That's right, we had no idea Mr. Shen had such a relationship with you. If we had known earlier, how could we ever dare to neglect him!"
"We beg for your understanding, seeing that we were ignorant of the truth."
The Xiao Family completely changed their tune, acting like a bunch of clowns.
Watching the submissive attitude of the Xiao Family, Shen Qing almost burst out laughing.
These fellows were truly snobs—acting arrogant and overbearing in front of him, but turning into mere grandchildren in front of Li Xue.
Li Xue's face remained frosty. "Don't apologize to me. The person you offended is Shen Qing!"
Hearing this, Xiao Tong hurried over to Shen Qing. His attitude underwent a 180-degree flip; the haughty expression he wore moments ago was instantly replaced by fawning flattery.
"Mr. Shen, I am so sorry. We completely misunderstood you just now."
"Since you are Yuyan's junior brother, please forgive our rudeness earlier for Yuyan's sake!"
Shen Qing sneered. "I actually liked your arrogant look from just now. Could you please change back?"
This taunt made Xiao Tong flush red.
Suppressing his anger to the absolute limit, he managed a forced smile. "Mr. Shen, it really was a misunderstanding!"
"Our Xiao Family is willing to offer compensation. Please, Mr. Shen, be the bigger man!"
"We are willing to pay Mr. Shen five million as compensation!" Xiao Tong said through gritted teeth.
Five million was no small sum; his heart was bleeding as he said those words, but under the pressure of Li Xue's authority, he had no choice.
If they couldn't satisfy Li Xue today, they would likely be in deep trouble.
The corners of Shen Qing's lips curved into a smile.
"Fine. For the sake of my Third Senior Sister, I won't hold it against you!" Shen Qing nodded.
Shen Qing laughed heartily. After being bullied by the Xiao Family, it was finally his turn to stand tall.
He hadn't expected that casually saving Li Xue earlier would yield such results.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Tong transferred five million to him. The funds arrived shortly after, and a deeply satisfied smile broke out on Shen Qing's face.
Ring, ring, ring!
At that moment, Li Xue's phone rang. She answered it and said, "A charity banquet is being held at Pingjiang tonight, and a very important figure will be attending."
"I'll take you both along, and I can introduce that big shot to you then."
Xiao Yuyan felt a bit embarrassed. "Xiaoxue, thank you!"
Shen Qing wasn't particularly interested, but since Xiao Yuyan was going, he naturally wouldn't miss it.
Beside them, Xiao Tong watched with burning jealousy; he also wanted to make connections with such a major figure.
That damned Shen Qing! He was nothing more than a country bumpkin, yet he had the blind luck to save someone as important as Eldest Miss Li!
Before long, the three of them left together.
The Xiao family members stood in the main hall, watching their retreating figures vanish, their expressions extremely colorful.
Zhang Mei's face was consumed by rage. "That damned Shen Qing! He's using Eldest Miss Li to back him up just so he can mock us like this!"
Xiao Tong waved his hand dismissively. "Shen Qing is just a good-for-nothing who borrows others' power. He's no threat!"
"The real problem is Eldest Miss Li. We simply cannot afford to cross the Li Family. If she's going to protect Yuyan, things are going to get very troublesome."
Zhang Mei looked anxious. "Then what do we do? We've already promised the young master of the Wang Family; if we breach the agreement, the consequences are more than we can bear!"
Xiao Tong took a deep breath. "This matter is beyond our ability to resolve. I'm going to call the young master of the Wang Family right now and ask him to handle it!"
With that, Xiao Tong pulled out his phone.
Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the entrance of Pingjiang Hotel, and Li Xue handed the car keys to Shen Qing.
"Yuyan and I will go change our clothes first. Park the car properly." Li Xue and Xiao Yuyan walked away.
Shen Qing drove into the underground parking garage. A careful look revealed that it was already packed with various luxury cars as far as the eye could see, resembling a grand auto show.
"This really is an upper-class banquet!" Shen Qing smacked his lips, a look of envy in his eyes.
He parked the car and prepared to leave when a middle-aged man walked past with his head down, walking right into him.
"Apologies, little brother. I was lost in thought and didn't see you!" The middle-aged man looked apologetic.
Shen Qing smiled and waved a hand. "It's fine!"
He turned to leave, but suddenly, he noticed something off about the middle-aged man—his brow was shrouded in a dark cloud, and a flash of crimson Qi flickered across his face.
A look of surprise surfaced in Shen Qing's eyes. This person...
He immediately called out to stop him, "Wait a moment."
"Sir, your brows are entangled with baleful Qi. I'm afraid you're going to suffer a bloody disaster today!"