During the questioning, Huo Yunshen repeated the story exactly as Shen Yueran had told him to.
He did not change a single detail.
According to his statement, Huo Shenkai and his men had been the ones causing trouble from the beginning. They had humiliated him, harassed a beautiful older sister nearby, and smashed the place in the process. In the end, he and his people had fought back to protect that older sister.
Some people found the story absurd, but Huo Yunshen told it so calmly that it sounded like the truth. His performance was flawless from beginning to end.
After hearing it, the madam of the second branch could not believe it at all.
No matter how she looked at Huo Yunshen, she could not believe that this weak, quiet boy had really beaten Huo Shenkai and his men into that miserable state.
Still, whether she believed it or not, both the official version of events and the investigation had already begun to lean that way.
Filled with anger and unwillingness, she immediately went to the old mansion villa to complain to Old Master Huo and Old Madam Huo.
Meanwhile, in his office at Huo Corporation, Huo Chengye read through the investigation report and came across the version of events Huo Yunshen had reported.
The moment he realized that Huo Yunshen had repeated Shen Yueran's shameless fabricated version word for word, he gave a faint nod to himself, as if he were silently commending his nephew's loyalty.
That boy was frail, but he was not stupid.
He knew very well whose side to stand on.
At the same time, however, a strange anger also rose in Huo Chengye's chest.
He could not clearly understand where that anger came from.
Was it because Huo Yunshen had so easily accepted Shen Yueran's words?
Or was it because, in that story, Huo Yunshen was the one who defended her? She had even said that protecting her, even in that fabricated story, was a great honor. Was he angry because that honor had been given to someone else?
Or because the more he learned about her, the less he was able to ignore her?
Even Huo Chengye himself could not understand it.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Only on the tenth day did Huo Shenkai finally open his eyes.
The moment he regained consciousness and remembered what had happened, the humiliation struck him harder than the pain in his body.
He had been beaten senseless.
And the one who had beaten him like that was a woman.
Just that thought alone made his face twist with rage.
Before long, the bodyguard team leader Liu bin came to see him.
Among all the people who had been injured that night, Liu bin had been one of the lighter cases. Though he had almost been killed at that time, compared to the others, he recovered faster and was able to move around sooner.
So the first thing he did after Huo Shenkai woke up was report everything that had happened.
He told him everything from beginning to end.
He told him how terrifying she had been during the fight and how he had nearly died at her hands.
When he finished, he lowered his voice and advised carefully, "Young Master, it's better not to act against that person for now."
Huo Shenkai's expression instantly darkened.
Liu bin continued, forcing himself to speak honestly.
"That woman is a lunatic.
And she's dangerous."
He then reported everything he had managed to uncover over the past ten days about the incident and the person behind it.
"That woman is the young gang leader of Mingxiao Hall. She is also the CEO of Mingxiao Security."
Huo Shenkai's eyes narrowed.
The team leader kept talking.
"Mingxiao Hall once had a notorious reputation in the underworld. Later, they gradually legalized their activities and rebranded themselves as Mingxiao Security. On the surface, they were no longer involved in the underworld, but many people still feared them."
He paused, then added in a lower voice, "Especially because of their young gang leader. Unless absolutely necessary, very few people are willing to offend her directly. Most people would rather avoid her."
Huo Shenkai's expression only became uglier.
Liu bin gritted his teeth and continued with the part that made him feel most humiliated.
"We also told the truth to everyone during the questioning," he said. "But no one listened to our team members."
"Everyone keeps saying the matter has already been investigated. They all say you were beaten by Young Master Yunshen and his people."
"No one even mentioned that woman. Everyone has been mocking us. Not a single person believes us."
Then he lowered his voice even further.
"Young Master, I think someone higher up is manipulating the matter from behind."
But those words did not enter Huo Shenkai's mind at all.
His anger had not calmed down in the slightest after waking up. If anything, it had only grown worse.
A gang leader?
So what if she was a gang leader?
Was he some ordinary person?
He was also a member of the Huo Family.
That alone was enough to make his blood boil again.
And the more he thought about it, the more he hated Huo Yunshen too.
If not for that bastard, none of this would have happened.
In Huo Shenkai's mind, everything had started because of Huo Yunshen. If Huo Yunshen had not been there that night, if Huo Yunshen had not always been a thorn in his eyes, if Huo Yunshen had not made him lose face in front of others, how could things have developed into this?
At last, Huo Shenkai made up his mind.
He would complain to his grandmother.
What higher-up manipulation?
Was there any higher-up in the Huo Family than his grandmother?
Even his grandfather had to listen to her.
Once his grandmother stepped in, he wanted to see whether that so-called young gang leader would still dare act so arrogantly.
Meanwhile, Huo Chengye sat behind his desk in his office, reading through a thick stack of information.
It was the report Xu Chen had gathered.
One booklet after another lay neatly arranged before him.
And Huo Chengye read through them one by one at an unhurried pace.
The deeper he read, the more his interest in Shen Yueran grew.
Every new detail about her only drew him in further.
Her background.
Her habits.
Her preferences.
Her way of doing things.
Even the absurd little details that should have made others find her troublesome only made her more vivid in his eyes.
The more Huo Chengye learned, the stronger that pull became.
He was attracted to everything about her.
And more than once, a clear thought crossed his mind.
He wanted to get close to her.
Since that was what he wanted, Huo Chengye did not waste time.
He acted immediately.
He picked up the phone and called Xu Chen in.
Xu Chen entered at once.
Huo Chengye did not waste any words.
"Contact Mingxiao Security," he said coldly. "Offer a high price for their entire security service."
Xu Chen's heart jumped slightly.
Before he could react, Huo Chengye continued, "But only if they accept certain conditions."
He took out a paper and attached it to the proposed contract list.
"If they accept those conditions, we can sign the contract."
Xu Chen respectfully took the documents.
"Yes, Boss."
Only after leaving the office and returning to his own workspace did Xu Chen finally sit down and open the envelope properly.
At first, he had thought there would be many complicated requirements.
But when he unfolded the paper inside, he saw that there were only two conditions written there.
Just two.
Xu Chen read the first line.
First: Your company's CEO, Shen Yueran, must personally lead the security team and coordinate meetings and discussions inside Huo Corporation.
Xu Chen's face became strange.
Then he read the second line.
Second: Your company's CEO, Shen Yueran, must personally provide personal security service to the CEO of Huo Corporation.
Xu Chen stared at the paper for a long time.
By now, he fully understood what was happening.
He could not help muttering under his breath, "You're already thirty years old, and only now are you having a crush and feelings for another gender like a high school boy…"
Xu Chen looked at the two conditions again.
Then he pressed his fingers against his forehead and sighed.
Now the real problem was—
how exactly was he supposed to contact those people?