Xu Mu was still enjoying the spectacle when he noticed Nangong Yao staring at him.
"What is it?" he asked softly.
"Nothing, my kindred spirit!" Nangong Yao giggled, her twin ponytails bouncing.
If she followed Xu Mu, maybe one day because of him she could awaken her own power too—eyes that could see sin for what it was.
Xu Ningbing stared at the giant screen, then glanced toward Xu Mu in the distance.
This had to be his doing.
Isabella frowned at the footage, then stood and headed for the manor gates. She was devout; her faith prized chastity and propriety. The video on-screen made her deeply uncomfortable.
Seeing Isabella leave, Lin Yan called after her, "You're going?"
"Yes," Isabella replied evenly.
"I'm friends with your grandfather. He sent you to the Dragon Nation this time—"
"He sent me to invest. I have my own judgment," Isabella cut him off.
She had already decided to withdraw when Feng Kang publicly used his influence to threaten other companies. Gaining by coercion only invites future backlash.
Her bodyguards fell in behind her as they exited the Feng estate.
"Damn it! Enough already! Turn it off!" Feng Kang snarled, kicking the big screen.
Feng family security scrambled, yanking the USB stick from the control computer backstage. Only then did the footage vanish.
But Feng Kang couldn't swallow the humiliation. He looked around—his newly crafted aura of authority had become a joke. He felt as if every gaze below was mocking or pitying him, looking at a turtle with a green shell.
He fixed his glare on Chen Cai and Dai Xiao, that pair of dogs.
No wonder he'd so often found Dai Xiao in his study. Now he understood: every time Dai Xiao showed up, another "hat" appeared on Feng Kang's head.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Feng Kang's voice trembled. He turned to the assembled business crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I had planned to host a family banquet, but as you can see, a… domestic matter has arisen. Please, go ahead for today. I'll make it up to you another time."
Dai Xiao stood first and strode toward the exit.
Feng Rui Li looked to Feng Kang, as if awaiting orders. After a long hesitation, Feng Kang merely shook his head—he would let Dai Xiao go, for now.
"Yaoyao, let's go too," Ren Fuhai said, smiling as he approached Nangong Yao.
Nangong Yao clutched Xu Mu's sleeve, reluctant. "Kindred spirit, I'm going now. I'll come play with you next time."
Then she left with Ren Fuhai.
All around, the other businesspeople also began to file out, stifling their laughter. Today, Feng Kang had truly become the butt of the century's joke.
He'd called everyone here to show off—boasting that he had ancient martial artists and the backing of an elite British family. Who would've thought he'd end up screening a farce?
His wife had cheated at home, saying Feng Kang wasn't even as good as a hair on Dai Xiao.
"Let's go too," Xu Shou said, glancing at Xu Ningbing as he stood.
Xu Ningbing nodded and went to fetch Xu Mu. "Xiao Mu, we're heading back."
"Alright," Xu Mu said with a slight nod. He glanced at Feng Yue. "You should leave quickly too."
Feng Yue nodded. She could already see how unhinged Feng Kang was. Staying might drag her into the mess.
Su Ruiming also departed with his father, Su Weiye.
—
Once the guests were gone, only the Feng family and Lin Yan's group remained.
"Mr. Lin, I've made you witness a joke," Feng Kang said, forcing a thin smile.
"It's fine. I'll head out first," Lin Yan replied.
"Alright. Once I settle things here, I'll come find you," Feng Kang said with a small nod.
Lin Yan glanced at the two men beside him, then walked out of the manor.
"Husband! Husband! I was wrong, I know I was wrong! But it's not my fault—Dai Xiao forced me! He forced me!"
With a thump, Chen Cai dropped to her knees, weeping as she pleaded.
"Forced you? You're more proactive with him than with me. Do you think I'm blind?" Feng Kang said, turning toward the villa.
Feng Rui Li looked to security. "Drag Chen Cai back."
"Yes, sir!"
Security moved at once. Before, they'd have hesitated—uncertain whether Chen Cai or Feng Rui Li held greater authority. Today even a fool knew whose orders to follow.
Several guards traded wry looks as they seized Chen Cai. She had never been easy to deal with; on the slightest displeasure she'd rain abuse. Thinking of the scene just now—Chen Cai kneeling before Dai Xiao—the contrast was almost unreal.
Inside the villa.
Feng Kang sat on the sofa. Feng Rui Li stood by the window, lighting a cigarette. Chen Cai still knelt on the floor, tears streaming. Feng Jian stood beside her, face like thunder.
"Who played that video?" Feng Kang asked coolly.
"I did," Feng Jian admitted without hesitation.
"You damned wretch! Are you trying to kill me?"
Hearing it was her son, Chen Cai lunged at him, hysterical. The bodyguards pinned her at once.
"Mother, you wanted me to cover for you? To deceive my father? Sorry, I can't," Feng Jian said, arms crossed, utterly calm.
He was a wastrel, but not brainless. In this situation, siding with his mother was suicide. He might end up like Zhang Shuaikai—kicked out of the family.
Right now, he needed to cling firmly to his father.
Chen Cai had no answer.
"Feng Jian, where did you get the video?" Feng Kang asked, barely suppressing his rage—yet his body still trembled. In front of so many business leaders, his prairie-green humiliation had been laid bare. No matter how successful he became in the future, the first thing people would remember would be the green hat his wife gave him.
"Xu Mu gave it to me," Feng Jian said, hiding nothing. This was no time to hand Feng Kang a pretext.
"Xu Mu! That bastard!" Chen Cai's face went ice-cold. She hadn't expected he really had footage.
"He deserves to die—but you deserve it more," Feng Kang said, looking straight at her.
"Husband, spare me. Give me another chance, I beg you," Chen Cai pleaded, all her former aloofness gone. Now she wanted only to live. She even regretted it—had she known, she would have followed Xu Mu's terms and helped him dig up dirt.
"Rui Li, take Chen Cai upstairs, lock her in the bedroom," Feng Kang ordered.
Feng Rui Li nodded, stubbed out his cigarette, and hauled Chen Cai to her feet. "Get up."
"Rui Li, I know I was wrong. Put in a good word for me with your father," she cried.
He said nothing, leading her up to the second-floor bedroom.
Clinging to his arm, Chen Cai sobbed, "Rui Li, Auntie begs you—no, Mother begs you. I don't want to die."
Feng Rui Li shut the bedroom door and smiled faintly. "When you were kneeling at the door eating KFC, you probably didn't foresee this ending, did you?"
"I know I was wrong," Chen Cai pleaded. "Only you can speak to your father."
"You don't 'know you were wrong'; you know you're about to die," Feng Rui Li's lips curled. "Saving you isn't impossible."