Her back hit the wall with a sharp pain, but Lin Shiya didn't even have time to rub her shoulder before hurrying after him.
"Su Chen, I didn't mean it like that. I was just speaking hypothetically—"
Before Lin Shiya could finish, Su Chen suddenly spun around!
The fury in his eyes made her swallow the rest of her words.
Lin Shiya's heart tightened.
Her face drained of color.
She had really just been speaking hypothetically. How had things escalated to this point?
Grandma was Su Chen's absolute taboo. She was completely off limits!
After that, the only sound in the apartment was the heavy tread of Su Chen's footsteps.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
Su Chen and Lin Shiya both looked toward the entryway.
The clock on the wall pointed to 11:30.
Who could it be at this hour?
"I'll get it."
Lin Shiya hurried over, peeked through the peephole, and pulled the door open.
"What took you so long to open the door? What were you doing?" Lin Zhiheng stepped inside, already complaining. "Don't tell me you two were fighting?"
Seeing the frost on Su Chen's face, Lin Zhiheng froze for a second before a sneer curled his lips.
"So you're really making a clean break? Got a lot of backbone, haven't you? What, going to move out?"
"You can leave if you want, but once you walk out that door, don't ever think about coming back!"
"That whole cliché about a prodigal son returning being worth more than gold—sure, that works on girls, but it won't buy you anything with Elder Lin!"
He deliberately raised his voice on the last part, making sure to drop Elder Lin's name.
Su Chen raised his gaze, his eyes completely devoid of warmth.
If he had managed to avoid Lin Shiya's endless pestering just a minute earlier, he wouldn't have run into this disgusting scene.
He had intended to just leave quietly, but of course, he had to run into Lin Zhiheng on his way out.
It had been a while since they last met, but Lin Zhiheng was still... utterly repulsive.
As the sole male heir of the Lin Family, everyone knew that Lin Group would eventually fall into Lin Zhiheng's hands.
And just as surely, Lin Group would eventually be destroyed in those same hands.
He embodied every single bad habit of a spoiled rich kid—drinking, gambling, whoring, you name it.
On the flip side, academic knowledge, corporate management, and business strategy were entirely alien to him.
The only thing he was ever fluent in was waving Elder Lin's banner around to throw his weight about.
Case in point.
Here this idiot was again, issuing decrees in Elder Lin's name.
In the past, because of his relationship with Lin Shiya, Su Chen had kept the peace and avoided making things too hostile with Lin Zhiheng.
But now?
Su Chen let out a cold laugh in his heart.
Disappointed that he hadn't gotten the reaction he wanted, Lin Zhiheng pinched the end of his cigar, took a deep drag, and blew out a smoke ring.
He leaned against the wall, eyeing Su Chen sideways.
Slicked-back hair, black trench coat—he had the whole arrogant posture down.
Yet, no matter how Su Chen looked at him smoking that cigar, all he could picture in his head was someone aggressively slurping down a bowl of river snail rice noodles.
"All right, stop smoking. I can't stand the smell of that stuff!" Lin Shiya complained, waving a hand in front of her face to clear the air.
Lin Zhiheng carried on regardless.
"I came by today to give you both a message. Elder Lin says you two are not allowed to break up right now."
"The third round of financing for the group is about to start. We can't afford any hiccups right now, especially not among senior management. Mishandling any issues could deal a heavy blow to our stock price."
"Besides, the Lin Family's reputation cannot be ruined. Weigh the weight of these words yourselves."
Every word Lin Zhiheng spoke made Lin Shiya's expression grow a shade uglier.
Finally.
Her delicate brows knitted tightly together, an unprecedented solemnity settling over her face.
Her father was considering the bigger picture, and she didn't want to face that kind of fallout either, but right now...
She looked up at Su Chen, her gaze carrying a hint of a plea.
Slowly taking a step forward, Lin Shiya edged closer to Su Chen and gently tugged on the hem of his jacket.
"A-Chen, please don't go, okay? Let's sit down and talk things through."
"There's no need."
Everything that needed to be said had been said; staying here another minute was sheer torture.
In fact, Su Chen half-regretted not just brushing past Lin Zhiheng the moment he walked in.
That way, he wouldn't have wasted several precious minutes.
"Oh, look at you acting all high and mighty. For a grown man, why are you so petty? So what if he's just a male best friend? Is it really worth making such a big deal over?"
"My sister already said that she and Xu Lang are completely innocent. Can't you be a little more broad-minded?"
"You've thrown your tantrum, you've even hit someone, and right in front of all those people you announced you were calling off the wedding! Did you ever stop to think about my sister's feelings? Where is this supposed to leave the Lin Family's face?"
"Su Chen, I'm warning you, don't push your luck!"
The moment Lin Zhiheng opened his mouth, it was pure preaching.
That condescending attitude made Su Chen's skin crawl with irritation.
Lin Zhiheng was acting all high and mighty right now, but if he knew what Lin Shiya had actually done, he wondered if the guy would still be standing there so self-righteously.
Thinking of what had happened over the past couple of days, Su Chen suddenly burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Lin Zhiheng's tirade was cut short by the laughter, and he blinked in momentary confusion.
"I was wondering why Lin Shiya could do something like that with a clear conscience, but seeing you now, I think I finally have my answer."
"What are you talking about? What does this have to do with me?"
"You think I'm petty, narrow-minded, and pushing my luck?"
"Well, you are! We already told you it's pure friendship, and you're still refusing to let it go. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Seeing that his cigar had gone out, Lin Zhiheng tossed it straight into the trash can.
Then he rolled his eyes hard at Su Chen.
"If your girlfriend went and got a marriage certificate with her male best friend, started calling his mother 'Mom,' and then turned around and told you to be more understanding—would you be broad-minded about it?"
"What the hell? Are you out of your mind? If my girlfriend pulled a stunt like that, I'd slap her across the face! They've already gotten a marriage certificate; they've probably already slept together!"
He added for good measure:
"Why wouldn't you kick a woman like that to the curb immediately? Keeping her around for the holidays?"
Lin Zhiheng followed Su Chen's train of thought, and just picturing the scenario was enough to shatter his composure.
"Lin Zhiheng, what nonsense are you spewing? I had a reason for doing that! Xiao Lang and I aren't like what you're imagining!"
Lin Shiya's face flushed crimson as she stomped her foot while speaking.
Lin Zhiheng spun around, sheer disbelief flashing across his face.
"Sis, you actually did that? Holy shit, you really went too far this time!"
"Not in a rush anymore, are you? Why so worked up? When the exact same thing happens to someone else, you preach tolerance and understanding, but when it happens to your own family, it suddenly makes total sense? That really is the classic Lin Family way of doing things!"
Dropping those words, Su Chen turned to leave once more.
Lin Shiya grabbed his arm and pleaded again, "Su Chen, don't go, I'm begging you. Let's talk this out properly."
"Let go!"
"I won't! You already slapped me once, surely your anger should have cooled down by now!"
Before the words had even faded, Lin Zhiheng let out a sudden roar.
"What? You bastard surnamed Su, how dare you hit my sister? I'm going to kill you!"
"Ah! Su Chen, what's wrong with your arm? Why is it bleeding?!"
Before Lin Zhiheng could even lunge forward, Lin Shiya screamed in sudden panic.
The wound on his arm had torn open again, and a searing pain shot through Su Chen's body!
In an instant.
Fresh blood soaked right through his shirt!