The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

As evening approached, Shen Qingyao's fingers suddenly twitched.

Meng Jiangyu immediately leaned over, his heart pounding in his throat: "Qingyao? You're awake?"

Her eyelids trembled, and she struggled to open them a crack. Her vision was blurry; she could only make out a vague outline standing guard by the bedside. The outline was familiar, carrying an aura that reassured her.

"Water..." Her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed.

Meng Jiangyu quickly poured a glass of warm water and moistened her lips with a cotton swab.

The moist touch made her feel more comfortable, and her eyes gradually widened until she could finally see the person in front of her clearly.

"Mr. Meng...?" Her voice was blank and weak, her memory still stuck on that terrible scene in the alley, and her body instinctively shrank back.

Meng Jiangyu felt a pang in his heart, and quickly softened his voice: "Don't be afraid, it's alright, you're safe in the hospital."

Shen Qingyao looked at the bloodshot eyes and the undisguised exhaustion in his eyes, and then at her own hand wrapped in gauze. The fragmented memories gradually pieced together.

Li Heng's sinister grin, the pain of his fist landing, the coldness of the snow, and... the raging fury in his eyes as he charged at me.

He saved me.

Tears welled up unexpectedly, not from the pain, but from the relief of surviving the ordeal and a hint of inexplicable grievance.

She wanted to say thank you, but her throat felt blocked, and she could only let her tears fall silently.

Seeing her tears, Meng Jiangyu felt even more panicked.

He awkwardly tried to wipe her with his hand, but stopped halfway through, afraid of hurting her.

In the end, all I could do was pick up a tissue from the side and carefully wipe away her tears.

"Don't think about it anymore," his voice was soft, with an unprecedented gentleness. "It's all in the past. Focus on recovering, and leave the rest to me."

Looking into his earnest eyes, Shen Qingyao nodded, but her tears flowed even more fiercely.

In this unfamiliar city, during her most vulnerable and desperate time, it was this man, with whom she had no prior connection, who gave her support.

Perhaps she was exhausted from crying, or perhaps it was the effect of the medication, but she soon fell into a deep sleep again.

This time, however, her brows relaxed a little, and her grip on his fingers tightened slightly, as if she had grasped a lifeline.

Meng Jiangyu sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep soundly.

From now on, he will stand where she can see him and provide her with shelter.

Outside the ward, night was falling.

Jason sent a message saying that Li Heng's family had begun to panic and were willing to pay any price to beg Meng Jiangyu to let him go.

Meng Jiangyu looked at the message, a cold smile flashing in his eyes.

cost?

They couldn't afford the price he demanded.

He looked down at the girl on the bed and gently placed an almost reverent kiss on her forehead.

I will make everyone who hurts you pay the price.

Mr. Li's hair has turned almost white with worry these days.

Although the Li family is not considered a top-tier family in Beijing, they do have some foundation, thanks to their early investments in the real estate industry, which has made them quite wealthy.

However, after Li Heng's incident, the family's business was as if it had been strangled by an invisible hand. Partners terminated their contracts one after another, banks withdrew their loans, and even several affiliated projects were urgently suspended.

In just a few days, the Li family fell from grace and was on the verge of collapse.

Only then did he belatedly realize that the girl his son had provoked was actually backed by Meng Jiangyu.

Meng Jiangyu was truly enraged and wanted to uproot the Li family.

"Husband, if we don't find a solution soon, Heng'er... he might really be ruined!" Li's mother cried and sobbed, clutching the photos sent by the lawyer in her hand.

Li Heng was locked in an abandoned warehouse, covered in injuries, with a vacant look in his eyes, and had long lost his former arrogance.

Mr. Li took a deep drag on his cigarette, oblivious to the ash falling onto his expensive suit.

He put down his cigarette butt, his eyes fierce: "Go, take out that Huang Binhong painting from home, and prepare a generous gift. I'll go and beg Mr. Zhou for help."

Zhou Yanqiu is a well-known "smiling Buddha" in Beijing's social circles. He is usually very easy to talk to, and perhaps out of some old friendship, he might say a good word for the Li family.

But when Li's father stood outside Zhou Yanqiu's private gallery with the painting and gift box, he didn't even go inside.

The gallery manager politely returned the items untouched: "Mr. Li, Mr. Zhou said he can't help with this. No one can interfere in Mr. Meng's affairs."

Li's father was unwilling to give up, so he turned to Lu Linchuan.

The headquarters building of the Lu Group was magnificent. He waited downstairs for a whole day before Lu Linchuan's car finally arrived.

The car window was only rolled down a crack, and Lu Linchuan's gentle voice came out, but it carried an undeniable distance: "Chairman Li, in the business world, everyone relies on their own abilities. As for other matters, I'm afraid I can't help you."

The car slowly drove away, leaving Mr. Li standing there, the gift box in his hand feeling exceptionally heavy.

Finally, he placed his hopes on Xu Mingxuan.

The Xu family and the Li family have some connections, and Xu Mingxuan is easygoing, so he might consider their relationship.

Xu Mingxuan met him at Wuqizhuang.

A cold wind whistled through the courtyard. Xu Mingxuan, wrapped in a thick cashmere coat, fiddled with a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. After listening to Li's father's tearful complaint, he simply smiled faintly: "Uncle Li, it's not that I don't want to help you. You know, Fifth Brother is always protective of his own."

"I can offer some advice on other matters, but there's nothing I can do about this."

"But Heng'er already knows he was wrong!" Mr. Li said, his eyes reddening. "He's still young; we can't let him be ruined like this!"

"Young?" Xu Mingxuan's smile faded, his eyes turning cold. "When he made his move on Miss Shen, didn't he consider that she was also young?"

"Fifth Brother protected him like the apple of his eye, and what was the result? Uncle Li, put your hand on your heart and tell me, if you were in his shoes, could you have tolerated it?"

Mr. Li was speechless for a moment.

"Furthermore," Xu Mingxuan slowly twirled his prayer beads, "the few of us have a life-or-death bond with Fifth Brother. Is it worth it to provoke him for the sake of an outsider and damage our brotherhood?"

He paused, looking at Li's father's pale face, and added, "Uncle Li, go back. Think carefully about how to protect the Li family's assets; that's more important than anything else. As for Li Heng... perhaps this is the lesson he deserves."

Mr. Li left Wuqi Village in a daze.

Zhou Yanqiu, Lu Linchuan, and Xu Mingxuan are all shrewd individuals, and they all know the details perfectly.

Shen Qingyao's importance in Meng Jiangyu's heart has long exceeded the scope of "ordinary friends".

At this critical juncture, anyone who pleads on Meng Jiangyu's behalf is going against him, and it will be a losing proposition.

When the news reached Meng Jiangyu, he was looking at the sleeping Shen Qingyao.

Jason quietly reported Li's father's actions, and concluded by saying, "Mr. Zhou and the others didn't respond."

Meng Jiangyu hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on Shen Qingyao's slightly reddened earlobes, his eyes showing no emotion.

He had expected this.

His brother would never be so clueless about such matters.

"Tell your men to hurry up," he said calmly. "Don't let these things offend Qingyao's ears."

"Yes."

The downfall of the Li family quickly became a topic of conversation among people in the circle, who only knew that Li Heng had offended a powerful figure.