This old acquaintance was, naturally, Xu Lai.

Humming a tune, he strolled leisurely over and paused slightly when he saw a group of people standing at the front entrance of the building.

Wan Yuanshan, Niu Guihua… how had they ended up gathering with Ruan Jin's family of three?

Although it was somewhat strange, Xu Lai didn't pay it much attention. He nodded to Wan Yuanshan and the others, saying, "I'm here."

Wan Yuanshan's spirits lifted.

As he was about to clasp his fists and bend down to call out "Mr. Xu," a piercing voice rang out.

"Xu Lai? What are you doing here!"

The speaker was Song Ru, who sneered, "I haven't seen you in days, and you're still doing just fine. It's a pity Dongfang Xun didn't manage to curse you to death."

Dongfang Xun was indeed a fraud. Although she was angry about being swindled out of one hundred million, Song Ru was even angrier that Xu Lai was unharmed. How great it would have been if he'd become a vegetable or even died.

Her uncle, Ruan Qingshan, also snorted coldly. "You actually showed up… Ruan Tang has already been expelled from the Ruan Family. There are no longer any family ties between us. What gives you the right to greet us? How laughable."

The scene fell silent.

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of Wan Yuanshan, Niu Guihua, and the others, their faces etched with an indescribable mixture of complexity and fear.

They actually dared to be disrespectful to Mr. Xu? They're simply courting death!

The young people brought by the five Family Heads, with the exception of Wan Yan, began to look at the scene with increasingly strange expressions.

Xu Lai.

He was a powerful figure whom even the Leading Families of Jiangnan's thirteen cities would treat as an honored guest.

Putting aside the mystical Magic Artifact that sealed the Thunder Dragon, in terms of the Martial Dao alone, he was likely the number one expert in the entire Jiangnan region!

The Wealthy Families of Jiangnan couldn't even curry favor with him fast enough, yet the Ruan Family was pushing him away? No wonder they'd fallen so far that they had to flee their home.

Xu Lai's expression remained placid; he didn't spare Ruan Qingshan or Song Ru a single glance. He walked past them as if they were strangers, merely brushing past their shoulders. This dismissive attitude only stoked the flames of anger in the already foul-tempered Ruan family.

It was one thing for the young master of the Wan Family to look down on them—he truly was a cut above the rest. But what gave this Xu Lai fellow the right to scorn them? He was just some riffraff Ruan Tang found outside, a man with absolutely no breeding!

Ruan Jin said coldly, "Xu Lai, I advise you to get lost. The Family Head of the Wan Family and the Family Head of the Niu Family are here. This isn't a place for someone like you. Scram now, for your own good."

Xu Lai still paid the trio no mind. With his hands clasped behind his back, he simply continued walking forward.

Just as Ruan Jin was about to erupt with curses, he saw Wan Yuanshan, Niu Guihua, and the other Family Heads suddenly bow deeply.

"We pay our respects, Mr. Xu."

Their voices and gestures carried an immense sense of respect.

Both Wan Yan and the stunningly beautiful woman holding the umbrella for Niu Guihua had a look of fervor in their eyes. They had long wished to meet this great figure renowned throughout Jiangnan. To be able to see him up close today—even if they weren't qualified to say a single word—was still immensely thrilling.

"M-Mr. Xu..."

Song Ru's mind went blank. A terrifying thought suddenly surfaced: could the important person the five Family Heads had been waiting for for hours... be none other than Xu Lai, the son-in-law the Ruan Family despised?!

But what shocked Ruan Qingshan and Ruan Jin even more was the air of superiority Xu Lai carried. He responded with a simple, indifferent, "Mm."

"Mr. Xu, you received the one hundred million yesterday, didn't you? I wonder, for the Magic Artifacts you're making yourself, will there be one for our Wan Family..." Wan Yuanshan asked nervously.

He had doubted Xu Lai that day, instead believing in and purchasing Dongfang Xun's Magic Artifact. Although he later got his money back, Wan Yuanshan had been worried ever since that he had offended Mr. Xu. That was why he had gone so far as to spend ten million to get Xu Lai's account number from Su Daiyi, hoping to be the first to purchase a Magic Artifact made by Xu Lai as a show of good faith.

"If you paid, you'll get one. Did you pay?"

"I did."

"Then you'll get one."

Xu Lai yawned, as if the conversation with Wan Yuanshan was completely pointless.

But upon receiving a clear answer, Wan Yuanshan was overcome with excitement and bowed deeply to Xu Lai once more. He held this bow for a full minute before he dared to straighten up, his face flushed with excitement. He looked less like a minister who had received the emperor's affirmation and more like a commoner who had been blessed with a sacred favor. The sheer honor and pride on his face made it impossible to believe that this old man was from the Wan Family—a Leading Family of East Sea City and once the number one Wealthy Family of Jiangnan's thirteen cities!

"Come in," Xu Lai said nonchalantly.

At his words, Niu Guihua, Wan Yuanshan, and the others quickly agreed.

Wan Yan shot Ruan Jin a cold glance before following his grandfather into the school's medical clinic, his cautious and timid demeanor looking almost comical.

The area in front of the school medical clinic, which had been bustling just moments before, fell deathly silent.

Ruan Jin and his parents stood stupefied, unable to believe what they had just seen and heard.

After a long moment, Song Ru finally regained her senses, her expression turning ugly. "How could that riffraff of Ruan Tang's possibly be the important person the Wan Family Head was waiting for? Impossible, this is impossible…"

Though she insisted it was impossible, her legs were trembling uncontrollably. No wonder the Wan Family suddenly turned on us. No wonder Wan Yan said our Ruan Family had offended a powerful figure… It was all Xu Lai, pulling the strings from the shadows!

"It's all because of that villain Xu Lai! Otherwise, how could our Ruan Family have ended up so deep in debt!" Ruan Qingshan gritted his teeth.

Ruan Jin didn't dare say another word. He cast a fearful glance back at the school's medical clinic, then staggered to his feet and left. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he tightly gripped the last three hundred yuan—his food money for the next several days.

...

"Mr. Xu, actually, my family doesn't have much of a connection to the Ruan Family," Wan Yuanshan said cautiously, his back bowed, inside the medical clinic. "The real estate project we were collaborating on has already been halted as well…"

"Oh."

Xu Lai responded with a noncommittal grunt.

Wan Yuanshan carefully read his expression. Seeing that Xu Lai wasn't angry, the heavy stone in his heart finally lifted. He knew that even if his flattery hadn't been perfect, it hadn't been a misstep either. For a behemoth like the Wan Family, where the entire clan's fate was at stake, the goal wasn't to achieve greatness but to avoid making mistakes.

Liu Nanwei and Zhou Feng gasped.

They had recognized Wan Yuanshan and the others outside the door earlier and had vaguely guessed they were there to see Director Xu. When they had first invited the guests inside, they were refused, which made them think they had been overthinking things.

"Director Xu is impressive," Zhou Feng said softly.

"In which way, or which *other* way?"

Even at a time like this, Liu Nanwei couldn't resist making a risqué joke.

Zhou Feng was speechless.

With a helpless glance at Liu Nanwei, Xu Lai took five cards from the deck on the table, scribbled something on them, and tossed them out.

The playing cards flew into the hands of the members from the Wan and Niu families, among others.

"It can only save your life once," Xu Lai said blandly.

"Yes."

The ten people bowed respectfully. Xu Lai waved his hand, and they took the cue, bidding their farewells before departing. Only Niu Guihua's granddaughter lingered, giving Xu Lai a slightly reproachful look.

Her grandmother had given her a specific task for today: do her best to catch Mr. Xu's eye and, ideally, develop some kind of special relationship with him.

But from beginning to end, Xu Lai hadn't spared her a single glance.

This caused the heart of the Pearl of the Niu Family—a woman known throughout East Sea for her pride and beauty—to turn cold.

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