Chapter 41: I’m not willing to accept this!

Inside a private hospital room, two extra beds had been placed by the window. Lying on them were Su Mengqing and Yang Tingting, their knees wrapped in bandages.

“Mengqing, Lin Fan is a real piece of work. I won’t let him get away with this!” Zhang Meili stood before the three patients, her pudgy face twisted in fury as she ground her teeth.

Su Gang was already in a wretched state, wrapped head to toe like a mummy and howling in agony despite having regained consciousness. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the returning Su Mengqing and Yang Tingting would also be so badly hurt? Their knees were scraped raw and bloody, leaving them barely able to walk.

“Mrs. Zhang, you have no idea how ruthless and hypocritical Lin Fan is!” Yang Tingting cried out, her face tear-streaked. “He even tried to pin Young Master Chen’s death on the Su family!”

What? Lin Fan dares to be so reckless? He’s nothing but a beast!

Hearing this, Zhang Meili’s pudgy face paled, and she gulped. Even the wailing Su Gang couldn’t help but tremble and fell silent.

An oppressive, suffocating silence filled the room.

After a long moment, Su Mengqing, lying there with dead fish eyes, finally broke the silence. She stared blankly at the ceiling, a hoarse, wretched laugh escaping her lips. Two streams of hot tears rolled down her cheeks and into the corners of her mouth, tasting of bitterness.

This trip to the Yuan estate had not only cost them their dignity but had also offended business magnates like Chen Heihu and Mr. Wang Sr. It was a classic case of lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet.

To make matters worse, she had just received back-to-back calls from the Haicheng Chamber of Commerce and the Medical Association, informing her that Su Pharmaceutical had been expelled from their memberships. Four years of blood, sweat, and tears had become a complete joke. She had fought desperately to climb the social ladder and break into higher circles, yet in the mere two days since her falling out with Lin Fan, she had plummeted back to where she started.

Su Mengqing was utterly disheartened, filled with a crushing sense of defeat. Even as her phone buzzed incessantly with resignation letters from her employees and cancellation notices from clients, she was too numb to feel anything.

THUD!

“It’s all because of your gambling addict of a father, Su Guang!” Zhang Meili’s jaw dropped. Her expression of disbelief instantly twisted into one of immense grief and resentment. She collapsed to the floor, wailing and cursing. “If he hadn’t bankrupted the Su family all those years ago, would we ever have provoked a jinx like Lin Fan?!”

“Sis, didn’t our family cash out several hundred million?” Su Gang said sheepishly, trying to console them. “So what if the company goes bankrupt? We can still live a good life!”

“You still have the nerve to mention those hundreds of millions? If it weren’t for your mess, how would we have gotten involved with Black Tiger Hall?” Su Mengqing turned her head stiffly, staring daggers at Su Gang. “And on top of that, you and Yang Tingting have been secretly stealing money from the company accounts!” she choked out, fresh tears welling in her swollen eyes.

“I’m the only male heir of the Su family! Shouldn’t the family’s money be mine to spend?” Su Gang shot back.

At his outburst, Yang Tingting guiltily shrank back and said nothing.

His own face flushing with anger, Su Gang continued to shout, “If you’d just given me a bigger allowance, would I have needed to get money behind your back?”

“Fine, I was wrong. It’s all my fault… but I refuse to accept this!” Su Mengqing clenched the bedsheets, grinding her teeth so hard they audibly clicked.

“Director Su, our only chance to rise from the ashes might be the Pharmaceutical Procurement Conference in a week,” Yang Tingting said cautiously, stealing a glance at Su Mengqing’s expression.

“That’s right, Mengqing! We haven’t lost yet! Our family still has a chance to make a comeback!” Zhang Meili fiercely wiped her tears and scrambled up from the floor.

“Exactly. Lin Fan must be staying at the Yuan estate these days, keeping a vigil for his mother,” Su Gang’s eyes darted around as he let out a sly snicker. “Once I’ve recovered for a couple of days, I’ll go turn that broken-down clinic upside down. Maybe I’ll find some other prescriptions Lin Suxin left behind!”

At these words, the eyes of Zhang Meili and Yang Tingting lit up. Even Su Mengqing paused, a flicker of interest in her eyes.

Although the idea of stealing from Lin Fan left a bad taste in her mouth, she just couldn’t swallow this humiliation! As long as she could get into the Pharmaceutical Procurement Conference and open up the market channels in the North, Su Pharmaceutical was bound to rise again under her leadership! And if she could get her hands on Lin Suxin’s other prescriptions, their market competitiveness would be even stronger, completely making up for the damage from the leaked Injury Ointment Prescription!

“Alright. Let’s work together and shock everyone all over again!” Under their three pairs of expectant eyes, Su Mengqing’s resolve hardened, and she gave a firm, heavy nod.

「On the outskirts of the city」

Deep within the Yuan family estate stood a stark white mourning hall. Night had fallen, but the estate grounds were brightly illuminated. Lin Fan was still squatting before the portrait, tossing paper money into a brazier.

“Mr. Lin,” came Mrs. Xue’s soft voice from behind him, “the Old Master and the Young Miss invite you to join them for dinner in the dining hall.”

Lin Fan hesitated for a moment, then stood up and nodded.

The two of them left the mourning hall and entered the grand dining hall of the estate. A long rosewood table was already filled with members of the Yuan family, all of whom turned to stare at Lin Fan as he entered. At the head of the table sat a smiling Mr. Yuan Sr.

Yuan Ruohai, seated in the place of honor to the right, pointed to a small stool in the corner. “Lin Fan, there’s no seat for you here,” he said with a disgruntled look. “Go over there.”

If it hadn’t been for this guy, the Yuan family would have long since changed masters. Yuan Ruohai detested Lin Fan, so there was no way he would allow him at the main table.

“Lin Fan, don’t think we’re trying to humiliate you,” Seventh Uncle chimed in, his face grim as he sneered. “The Yuan family has a strict hierarchy, and as an outsider, you naturally don’t qualify to sit at this table.”

“That’s right. For our Yuan family to handle your mother’s funeral was already an act of utmost benevolence.”

“If not for the Yuan family’s reputation, none of those magnates would have come to pay their respects. You and your mother have benefited greatly from our family’s standing.”

“I think we should just have Lin Fan eat with the servants in the kitchen. That way he won’t feel so out of place.”

“Heh, you can’t serve dog meat at a grand feast, after all…”

One mocking, backhanded comment followed another. Everyone watched Lin Fan with playful interest, curious to see how he would react. They had kneeled to this man before, but that was because the Yuan family had been in peril, with Yuan Youwei leading the gesture. But who could have predicted such a turn of events? Not only had the old master survived, but even now, Yuan Ruohai hadn’t been punished for his attempt to seize power.

With the situation now stable, other considerations came to the forefront.

So what if Lin Fan is a capable fighter? So what if the Yuan family owes him a favor? Did he really think he could use that to climb the social ladder, enter the Yuan family’s inner circle, and get a piece of the pie? Hmph, in his dreams! Absolutely not!

The atmosphere in the hall grew awkward. The expressions on Yuan Youwei and Mrs. Xue’s faces soured, a flash of anger in their eyes. Yuan Tao started to speak, but a fierce glare from Yuan Ruohai silenced him.

“Is this how the Yuan family, Haicheng’s so-called top household, shows its hospitality?”

Meeting their strange gazes, Lin Fan remained silent for a moment before turning to the quietly smiling Mr. Yuan Sr.

“If a life-saving favor isn’t even worthy of a decent meal… then I see the Yuan family is nothing special after all.”

His detached voice wasn’t loud, but it instantly silenced the hall.

A moment later, the room erupted into chaos.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep