Chapter 10 Public Enemy

The smile vanished from Master Qiu’s face as soon as Qiu Mu-Cheng and Ye Fan appeared. He snorted coldly and refused to look at them. “Mu-Cheng, come have a seat.” Qiu Lei welcomed his daughter to the feast. His phone rang just then, so he excused himself with an apologetic smile and left the room to answer the call. “This trash. How come he has so many phone calls? Who knows what kind of trashy friend is calling him.” Qiu Mu-Ying humphed coldly and then she remembered what she was about to say. “That’s right, grandfather. I nearly forgot. I have something to report. Just now, the young master of the Shen family came to my office for a business meeting. But he got beaten up by Ye Fan and his wife when he left the building.” What? When they heard this, the dinner guests swiveled their heads upwards. “They assaulted the young master of the Shen family?” “Are they crazy?” “He’s the only son of the Shen family, and the heir to the Shen Corporation!” “His father, Shen Jiu-Yi used to be the number one tycoon in Yunzhou. He is very powerful and is on good terms with Master Li Er.” “That’s Master Li Er, the top boss of Yunzhou!” “He’s a person with a powerful background. And this piece of trash actually hit him?” “They are trying to destroy our family!” All at once, the Qiu family members turned pale with shock. And even Master Qiu had an unhealthy pallor on his face. The Shen Corporation was one of the top enterprises in Yunzhou, and its assets were worth billions. Compared to them, the Qiu family’s logistics company only had assets worth a few dozen millions. The Shen Corporation was more than just a few rungs above the Qiu family and a behemoth that the Qius should never pick a fight with. Meanwhile, Qiu Lei’s face had gone as white as a ghost. “Grandfather, we were only defending ourselves. That rich boy from the Shen family harassed me first.” Qiu Mu-Cheng explained. “Cousin, you should not confound right and wrong. Young Master Shen was just joking with you. But you are a stuck-up and small-minded person so you couldn’t take a joke. Not only did you gang up with your useless husband to beat him up but, now, you are also falsely accusing him of harassment.” Qiu Mu-Ying smiled smugly and then, putting on a mask of piteousness, she turned to speak to Master Qiu. “Grandfather, you have to help me. I spent a lot of effort to secure the order from the Shen Corporation. Today, Young Master Shen was going to sign the contract with me. But after their interference, my months of effort have gone to waste.” And of course, Qiu Mu-Ying had to add fuel to fire. When Wang Qiao-Yu heard that her daughter’s business has been affected, she flew into a rage. “Is your family bent on destroying the Qiu family?” “Back then, we should have expelled them from the Qiu family. All these years, they have been living off us. Yet, they do not know how to be grateful and keep causing trouble. Now, even the order that my Ying-Ying secured for us is gone.” “Beautiful women are trouble indeed!” Wang Qiao-Yu cursed angrily. “That’s right. I’ve already said we shouldn’t keep this woman around. She’s trouble!” “She nearly destroyed our family back then. And now she’s causing trouble again?” The other relatives also chipped in to criticize Qiu Mu-Cheng. Master Qiu turned to look at her with a look of anger on his face. “Qiu Mu-Cheng, are you sorry for what you have done?” “Grandfather, I don’t know what wrong I have done. Are you just going to listen to their side of the story...” “Shut up! You are still unrepentant? You said you don’t know what wrong you have committed. Let me ask you. Did you and your husband beat up Young Master Shen?” “I ask you again. Ying’s order. Is it gone now because of what you have done?” “Finally, is our Qiu family in danger because of what you have done?” Master Qiu sprang to his feet, his eyes wide with anger. He had fallen into the throes of rage after asking the three questions in succession, and he was not going to give Qiu Mu-Cheng the chance to speak for herself. “Dad, is there a need to ask? Didn’t she admit to assaulting Young Master Sheng just now? Just because of a joke, she flew into a rage and ganged up with her husband to give Young Master Shen a beating.” “This girl. She has been spoilt by the family. Today, we should make her go down on her knees and apologize to us.” The fourth eldest Qiu brother, Qiu Luo, looked on with a smile on his face. “That’s right. Kneel and apologize to Ying-Ying!” “Apologize to the family~” “Just expel them from the Qiu family~” Qiu Mu-Ying, Wang Qiao-Yu and the rest of the Qiu family were eager to kick Qiu Mu-Cheng while she was down. As they scolded her, they also called for the expulsion of Qiu Mu-Cheng and her family. That way, they would receive a larger share of the family fortune in the future. When Qiu Lei heard their calls for expulsion, he was scared out of his wits. So as he begged his father for mercy, he also ordered Qiu Mu-Cheng to apologize. “Mu-Cheng, get on your knees quick. What are you doing?” “Do you want to see your father and mother starve to death in the streets?” Qiu Lei howled bitterly. All of a sudden, Qiu Mu-Cheng became Public Enemy Number One. Everyone was screaming at her. They all wanted her to kneel in apology. At this moment, Qiu Mu-Cheng felt incredibly aggrieved. She turned her red-rimmed eyes to look at her father, grandfather and relatives. She couldn’t understand why. Why did they only listen to Qiu Mu-Ying’s side of the story and refuse to give her a chance to tell hers. She also couldn’t understand why her relatives did not show any concern for her, but instead chose to side with an outsider like Shen Fei. Could it be because Qiu Mu-Ying had a rich and powerful husband while hers was poor and useless? Could it be because Shen Fei had a powerful background while she and Ye Fan were commoners? The assembled guests continued to scream and, as she faced the attacks coming from all sides, Qiu Mu-Cheng laughed. She laughed piteously and tears streamed from her eyes. At that moment, Qiu Mu-Cheng felt that the world had abandoned her. She had to resign herself to her fate. Reality is cruel. If you do not have wealth or power, nobody will give damn about your dignity. At last, Qiu Mu-Cheng bowed her head and started to bend her knees. She was going to kneel down in front of her relatives. But, at that moment, a firm hand reached out and stopped her from going down on her knees. “Mu-Cheng, why kneel down in front of these people? They do not deserve your respect!” Ye Fan’s words were firm and resounded like the sound of a rock striking the ground. At once, Qiu Mu-Cheng froze in surprise. She didn’t know when it started, perhaps since the day of her cousin’s engagement banquet, but she felt that Ye Fan had changed. He had become bigger and taller! And the hand holding her had become stronger. “How dare you!” “You bastard. How dare you show us such disrespect. Do you still recognize us as your elders?” The fourth Qiu brother, Qiu Luo, flew into a rage and screamed as he gestured at Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng. “Elders?” Ye Fan laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Uncle, let me ask you and everyone else in this room. I recognize you as my elders. But when have you ever treated Mu-Cheng as a niece and me as a son-in-law?” “Mu-Cheng was nearly violated but, instead of showing concern for her, you are berating us and you even tried to make her kneel in apology? I don’t know who’s really your niece. Mu-Cheng or that rich boy from the Shen family. If he asks you to sever ties with Mu-Cheng, are you really going to do that?” Ye Fan’s words were sonorous and forceful. As he spoke, he stared fiercely at the Qiu family members. His speech was cutting and rendered Qiu Luo speechless. His face turned red and, for a while, he couldn’t get any word out of his opened mouth. “We didn’t say we would sever ties with Mu-Cheng. But Ying-Ying said Young Master Shen was just joking with Mu-Cheng. He didn’t...” Qiu Luo tried to explain but his tone was already weaker than before. Ye Fan thought he had just heard a joke. “A joke? Uncle, let me ask you. If some passerby on the street starts touching your wife, would you still think it’s funny? If somebody harassed your daughter in public, would you still think it’s a joke?” “Well...” Qiu Luo was struck dumb and his face turned red. He didn’t know how to respond to Ye Fan’s questions. Ye Fan laughed coldly and then he turned to interrogate Master Qiu. “That rich kid from the Shen family insulted Mu-Cheng’s modesty and we merely defended ourselves. What wrong did we do? But look at you. You didn’t care for right or wrong. You only listened to Qiu Mu-Ying’s one-sided story and passed judgement on Mu-Cheng.” “Don’t you all feel guilty?” Cold anger smoldered in Ye Fan’s eyes and he showed no fear whatsoever even as he debated the rabble all by his lonesome. Meanwhile, Qiu Mu-Cheng was completely dazed by the scene unfolding before her. Was this still the same weak and submissive husband who had never uttered a word of complaint? Was this still the same useless piece of trash son-in-law? When did her husband grow a backbone? At that moment, Qiu Mu-Cheng felt that Ye Fan had become as tall as a giant, and that gave her a sense of security. Under Ye Fan’s questioning, a number of the Qiu family members had turned red-faced in embarrassment. Qiu Luo and his family, especially, were so ashamed that they could not say a word. Master Qiu was furious. But he could do nothing except fall back on his seniority. “How dare you! You are just a useless live-in son-in-law! How dare you disrespect your elders! Even if we are in the wrong, you still have no right to criticize us. Are you not going to kneel down? If not, you can leave the Qiu family.” Ye Fan smiled a self-deprecating smile. “Grandfather, you have already lived past half a century. You must have been through a lot. I have always thought that you were an understanding person. But now, it looks like you are nothing but a stubborn old fool who only knows to take advantage of his seniority.” “Since it’s like this, there’s no need to stay in the Qiu family.” “Mu-Cheng, let’s go. I will bring you home.” Under the stunned looks of the Qiu family, Ye Fan grabbed hold of Qiu Mu-Cheng’s hand and departed without turning back. Back at the villa, an oppressive silence remained in the air. “You… You people~” The abrupt departure of Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng caused Master Qiu to tremble with rage and he nearly choked to death on his own anger. “Qiu Lei, look at your daughter and son-in-law!” “Your family, they are really something, eh? They are so capable that they can even disrespect father.” “Our family has no daughter like her.” “From now onwards, Qiu Mu-Cheng is no longer a member of our family!” “Tomorrow we will kick her out of Qiushui Logistics!” The eldest Qiu brother, Qiu Guang, roared angrily as he held up his father. Qiu Lei’s face paled in terror and his skin took on a lifeless pallor. At that moment, he looked as if all strength had left his body. Outside the villa, Ye Fan supported Qiu Mu-Cheng as they walked back home. There was a tinge of sadness in Qiu Mu-Cheng’s eyes. She knew. She knew what the actions of the Qiu elders meant to her. It was quite possible that she would not have a place within the Qiu family from today onwards. She had grown up in the Qiu family and had lived with them all her life. Now that she was expelled from the family, Qiu Mu-Cheng did not know where to go or how to support her family. “Mu-Cheng, believe in me. After a while, the Qiu family will beg you to return.” Ye Fan said confidently with a smile. “Really?” “Of course.” Ye Fan’s words were grave and resonated with firmness. At the same moment, in the Li family’s villa within the city center, an elderly man was holding a glass of red wine and standing in front of a French window. Outside, a river of stars spread out across the night sky and the streets below were lit up with bright and colorful lights. It was night but vehicles streamed continuously on the roads. And then the old man spoke: “Mister Chu, by this time, my gift should have already arrived.” “I hope you like it.” Li Er smiled lightly, lifted his wine glass and raised a toast to the scenery outside his window. And then, he titled his head back and quaffed the drink!