The speaker was none other than Su Qingkun, that good-for-nothing idiot. At that moment, he was gleefully watching the scene unfold, as thrilled as a widow who had just given birth to a son.

Su Qingning, who was already feeling awful, felt her heart sink even further at his words.

Su Qingkun was her relative, after all. She was already facing such a huge blow. While she didn't expect him to comfort her, did he really have to kick her while she was down?

Lin Xiao sneered at Su Qingkun. "Itching for a beating?"

How dare he bully my wife? He must have a death wish.

"Damn it, you filthy beggar! Don't get fucking cocky! My family has allied with the Xue Family now. If you fucking dare to touch me today, the Xue Family will have you killed in minutes," Su Qingkun said with extreme arrogance.

Lin Xiao chuckled. "The Xue Family? Which one?"

"Listen up, you filthy beggar! It's the Xue Family of Jinling City, of course. But a piece of trash like you probably doesn't know that the Jinling City branch is backed by the Xue Family of Jinhai City. *They're* a truly powerful clan," Su Qingkun said, his arrogance swelling.

A sharp pang struck Su Qingning's heart.

She'd held some hope in the struggle for the Su Corporation's inheritance. But if the Su Family really formed an alliance with the Xue Family, it would be extremely disadvantageous for her.

The Xue Family might be a second-tier family in Jinling City, but they were backed by the Xue Family of Jinhai City—Xue Jingdong's family. That Xue Family was indeed a truly grand and influential clan. The projects they handled were all massive. Even the scraps that fell through their fingers would be more than enough to completely satisfy Su Qingkun's trading company.

Lin Xiao, however, looked at this piece of trash as if he were a complete moron.

To say nothing of an alliance with the Jinling City Xue Family, even if they had connections to the Jinhai City Xue Family, it was all useless in his eyes. After all, taking out this kind of trash was like a game to him.

"So, what you're saying is, if you get into trouble, the Xue Family will back you up. Is that it?"

"That's right, you filthy beggar! If you have the guts, fucking try and touch me," Su Qingkun roared wildly.

Lin Xiao nodded and delivered a resounding backhand slap across his face. The force of the single blow sent Su Qingkun crashing to his knees. He instantly let out a wail, screaming like a pig being castrated. The sound was utterly piercing.

Lin Xiao glared at the worthless man with a chilling expression. If Su Qingning hadn't been there, that one slap would have been enough to kill him.

Clutching his burning face, Su Qingkun staggered back to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Lin Xiao. "You filthy beggar, you get down on your fucking knees and apologize to me right now, or I'll have the Xue Family kill you in minutes!" he bellowed.

Just as Lin Xiao was about to speak, Su Qingning cut in coldly, "Su Qingkun, everything that happened today was your own doing. It has nothing to do with my husband. If you want revenge, come at me."

Although the news of the Su-Xue family alliance had disheartened her, all other considerations vanished from her mind the moment Lin Xiao was involved—especially when he was in danger.

Even she didn't know why.

Lin Xiao's heart warmed to see Su Qingning defend him so fiercely. He smiled and said, "Honey, this piece of trash isn't worth your concern. If he wants revenge, let him bring it on. Never mind a mere Xue Family; even far more powerful clans are nothing but ants in my eyes."

Honestly, even though Su Qingning knew he was bluffing again, she couldn't help but feel touched.

She was moved by the fact that no matter when or what happened, he would always take the initiative to stand in front of her. He never let her face any danger alone.

Yet, amid her gratitude, an uncontrollable sense of disappointment welled up in her heart.

If only Lin Xiao were as powerful as he claimed. It wasn't that she looked down on his current background. She just felt that if he had a more impressive family history, no one would dare to bully him so brazenly. At that thought, Su Qingning silently vowed to work as hard as she could—so hard that no one would ever dare to look down on her or Lin Xiao again.

Just as Su Qingkun, seething with rage at Lin Xiao's words, was about to retort, his expression suddenly changed as if he'd seen a ghost. The fury on his face instantly transformed into unbridled excitement.

Lin Xiao followed his gaze and saw none other than Xue Jingdong, the very man he had taught a lesson to the previous night.

Su Qingkun shot Lin Xiao a look that screamed, "You filthy beggar, you're fucking dead now!" He then hurried over to greet Xue Jingdong.

"Young Master Xue! You—why are you here?" Su Qingkun asked, his voice thick with excitement.

Xue Jingdong looked at him with a puzzled expression. "And you are?"

Su Qingkun hurriedly explained, "Our Su Family has an alliance with your cousin, Xue Wenbing!"

Xue Jingdong nodded. "Your surname is Su?"

"Yes, Young Master Xue! My surname is Su. Did Xue Wenbing happen to mention me to you?" Su Qingkun nodded enthusiastically.

"He did mention you in passing," Xue Jingdong said indifferently.

Of course, that was nonsense. Xue Jingdong had always looked down on his cousin's affairs. He only said that because he heard the surname Su and figured there might be a connection to Su Qingning.

Su Qingkun grew even more ecstatic.

He never would have dreamed that the famous young master of the Jinhai City Xue Family had heard of him. If word of this got out, what a glorious thing it would be!

But Xue Jingdong then asked, "Since your surname is Su, what is your relationship with Qing Ning?"

"She's my second uncle's daughter. Young Master Xue, you..."

Xue Jingdong interrupted him. "Ah, so you're relatives!"

Su Qingkun, however, misinterpreted this and assumed his familial tie to Su Qingning had displeased Xue Jingdong. He shot Su Qingning a disdainful glance, then said with a fawning smile, "Young Master Xue, although we're relatives, rest assured that our branch of the Su Family would never associate with such poor relations!"

Xue Jingdong's expression instantly darkened. The only reason he had shown Su Qingkun any courtesy was because of his relationship with Su Qingning. But unexpectedly, this piece of trash before him was looking down on her. How could he tolerate that?

After all, he was here today to apologize to Su Qingning for what happened last night. Although the thought of it annoyed him, he had swallowed his pride for the sake of his plans. He had been worrying about how to broach the subject. Unexpectedly, this piece of trash named Su Qingkun had walked right into the line of fire, giving him the perfect opportunity to apologize. It was just what he needed, right when he needed it.

At this thought, Xue Jingdong let out a cold snort. "You worthless maggot. How dare you speak ill of Qingning? Let me tell you something: Qingning is my college classmate, and we're very good friends. Now, get on your knees and apologize to her!"

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