A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

Xie Qingyang struggled to sit up straight and tidied his messy hair.

The door was pushed open.

Two officials, a man and a woman, walked in.

The leader was a white man in his fifties, accompanied by a Chinese woman carrying a briefcase and a notebook.

"Ms. Claire."

The man sat down opposite her.

"I am Smith, an official from the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in China. We have received notification from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police that, in accordance with the consular treaty, we are here tonight for a consular visit to you."

"Mr. Smith!"

Xie Qingyang almost burst into tears.

"This is kidnapping! This is political persecution! They have illegally detained me! They have violated my constitutional rights! I demand to see the US ambassador immediately! I demand that the US government lodge the strongest protest with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs! I am a US citizen, and they have no right to arrest me without authorization from an international court! Moreover, I am in poor health—"

She slammed her hands down on the interrogation table.

However, the two consular officials opposite him had rather calm expressions on their faces.

Smith opened the file in front of him.

"Madam, please calm down. We need to clarify a few legal facts."

"First, according to international law and the principle of territorial jurisdiction, you are suspected of committing a crime within China, and the Chinese judicial authorities have absolute jurisdiction over you. Your U.S. citizenship does not grant you any diplomatic immunity in the field of criminal offenses."

"Secondly," the woman beside her began, "we have reviewed the arrest warrants and preliminary chain of evidence provided by the Chinese police. The Chinese side followed proper legal procedures and obtained authorization for cross-border investigation from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. The procedures are fully compliant with international regulations. There is no so-called 'illegal kidnapping' or 'political persecution'."

Xie Qingyang froze.

"What...what are you talking about? I'm an American taxpayer! My family has trusts on Wall Street! Shouldn't your job be to bail me out?!"

"Madam," Consul Smith sighed, "the duty of consular protection is to ensure that you receive humane treatment during your detention, are not subjected to torture or mistreatment, and have access to legitimate translation and legal counseling services."

"No--"

"We have no right to interfere with China's independent judicial process. We cannot appoint a lawyer for you, pay your bail, or bail you out of a Chinese detention center and bring you back to the United States."

"No...this is impossible..."

Xie Qingyang shook his head, tears finally welling up in his eyes. "Go find Xie Jing! Go find Tianyu Group! Tianyu has hundreds of billions in assets overseas! They can hire lobbying groups! They can speak out in Congress! Go and communicate with them!"

The female consul looked at her and said, "We contacted the chief legal and compliance officer of Tianyu Group half an hour ago."

Xie Qingyang held his breath.

"The official response from Tianyu Group is—"

The female consul closed the notebook and clearly uttered each word:

"Ms. Xie Qingyang's personal actions have no connection whatsoever with Tianyu Group. Tianyu Group has never supported or participated in any form of diplomatic negotiations and respects the fair rulings of the Chinese judicial authorities."

Xie Qingyang's eyes widened in horror. "But—"

"That's the US response, ma'am."

Consul Smith stood up, buttoned his trench coat, and said, "We will regularly check with the detention center to check on your health and ensure you receive the necessary medical care. Good luck."

The two consular officials turned around and walked towards the door.

"No! You can't leave! Come back!"

Xie Qingyang's screams echoed in the interrogation room.

The next second, an indescribable dull pain exploded from behind the sternum, like a red-hot blade tearing down the back!

"Well……"

Xie Qingyang's face instantly turned ashen.

It's like a blood vessel about to burst completely inside the body.

She collapsed onto the interrogation table.

"Why...why..."

Xie Qingyang's lips moved, uttering the last few indistinct syllables.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Xie family... Everything should be mine... Xie Jing stole everything from me..."

Outdoor alarms blared.

The footsteps of the paramedics drew closer.

The wind and snow were howling outside the window in Beijing.

-

The banquet has ended.

"Shall we go straight home?"

Jiang Chu looked at Xie Jing.

"No."

The man raised his hand and gently loosened his tie, his collar slightly open, revealing the extremely sexy line of his Adam's apple. He then pulled Jiang Chu closer, his voice low and playful.

"There are still a few people... or rather, stray dogs."

He put his arm around her, and together with his assistants and four muscular bodyguards, walked straight to the end of the corridor.

It was an executive suite that was not open to the public.

The motion-sensor lights turned on one by one as they approached.

The bodyguards quickly stepped forward, passed the security check, and opened the suite door.

The pungent smell of tobacco hit me.

There were several middle-aged men and women in the suite.

Right in the center is Lei Jin, the current head of the Lei family.

The moment the door opened, Lei Jin instinctively froze.

He watched the tall, imposing figure approach, and a terrifying sense of oppression washed over him.

"..."

The Lei family members instinctively took a step back, their fear and apprehension barely concealed in their eyes.

Lei Jin pursed his lips, his breathing becoming somewhat heavy.

He looked at the towering, mountain-like man before him, a flicker of subconscious fear crossing his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a twisted arrogance.

"Xie Jing, Qingyang has been taken away, and Lei Bin has been detained as well."

Lei Jin spoke slowly.

"Your tactic of luring the enemy in deep was indeed ruthless. Fine, we've known each other for a while now, no need to pretend anymore. Are you really going to wipe out the Lei family and Tianyu's cross-shareholdings overseas, and swallow up even the last bit of supply chain assets?"

Xie Jing didn't even lift his eyelids, and sat down on the sofa next to Jiang Chu with his arm around her.

"This isn't swallowing it up, it's cleaning up the garbage," Xie Jing said calmly. "The garbage from back then wasn't swept up properly, and after more than ten years, it's starting to stink."

Lei Jin's expression changed.

"Xie Jing! Don't forget who you are!"

Lei Jin's eyes were filled with resentment and venom.

"You're just a bastard! If it weren't for the old man's soft heart back then, do you think you'd be alive today? What kind of person was your mother—"

"My mother is much richer than you," Xie Jing said without any anger. "Over the past thirty years, because of my filial piety as her illegitimate son, I have added billions to her global expansion budget every year. Now her stores have spread to major cities all over the world, and their market value is probably equivalent to more than half of the Lei family at its peak."

"you!!"

Lei Jin nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, trembling with rage. His finger, pointing at Xie Jing, shook uncontrollably as if it were electrified.

"Let me tell you, in the eyes of the Lei family, you're not even a proper illegitimate son! You're nothing but a bastard with filthy blood!"

Jiang Chu raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when Xie Jing gently grasped her hand.

The man's large, warm palm, calloused and rough, gently squeezed her fingertips in a soothing manner.

"...Fifteen years ago, your elder brother Lei Zhen said the same thing."

Xie Jing spoke slowly and deliberately.

"At his manor in Bangkok, he brought a squad of men, fifty guns, pointed them at my head, and said I shouldn't be alive."

Lei Jin's face gradually turned pale.

Back then, the heir of the Lei family, along with their hired mercenaries, was wiped out overnight in Thailand.

The official conclusion was that it was a gang fight between overseas factions.

But everyone knows what really happened.

The head of the Lei family lost his eldest son overnight, and the old man suffered a heart attack and soon passed away as well.

"And then, your eldest brother died, your second brother became paralyzed, and committed suicide."

Xie Jing leaned forward slightly.

"Back then, even with guns, you couldn't kill me. Now, you think you can take over Tianyu's business with a few idiots who went to Wall Street, learned a little bit, and played around with some outdated quantitative trading?"