CHAPTER 253: 232: IF YOU CAN’T EVEN BEAT ME, HOW CAN YOU GUARANTEE ANYTHING?

Shi Yin snatched the black handgun from the woman’s hand, instinctively wanting to hide it.

When he turned his head, his peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of Xu Linchuan’s figure, forcing him to stop his movement.

He gripped her hand tightly, as if awaiting judgment, nervously and anxiously looking at the other man: "If you’re taking her, take me too."

Shi Yin made his decision in an instant.

No matter what Ruan Yuan’s true identity was, as long as she remained his woman, he’d never leave her.

Whatever lies ahead, whether fortune or misfortune, they’d face it together.

His straightforward words caused Ruan Yuan’s already reddened eyes to brim with crystalline tears.

She wrapped her arms around Shi Yin, who had shielded her from start to finish, like a wandering bird finally finding a place to rest.

"The gun is mine." Ruan Yuan choked out, her voice hoarse: "It has nothing to do with Shi Yin, he..."

"Don’t listen to her nonsense." Shi Yin quickly interjected, his furrowed brow forming a distinct crease.

He lightly patted the back of her hand, his eyes resolute: "I’ve known she had a gun for a long time. I count as an accomplice."

Xu Linchuan: "..."

He hadn’t said a word yet, had he?

Why did it feel like they were staging a life-and-death separation?

Xu Linchuan glanced at the glaring bullet hole on the white wall and clicked his tongue lightly.

Clutching his stomach, he put on a dramatic ’in excruciating pain’ act: "I can’t take it, I need to go to the bathroom."

After tossing out that line, he acted as if nothing had happened and turned to leave the study.

Shi Yin exhaled deeply, his tense spine relaxing. Turning, he embraced Ruan Yuan and spoke gently: "It’s okay now. He won’t arrest you."

Though he was familiar with Xu Linchuan’s temperament, the previous situation had genuinely left him unsure.

Fortunately, things hadn’t turned out too badly.

"Ruan Yuan, you were too reckless." Yu Zhi took the gun from Shi Yin’s hand and returned it to its original place.

Her expression carried visible disapproval, her face clouding slightly with anger.

"But I took the risk and won, didn’t I?"

"And next time? How many lives do you have to gamble with?"

Ruan Yuan was momentarily stymied by these words but remained obstinate: "Little Zhi, why don’t you believe me? I can guarantee that I won’t ever put myself in dangerous situations."

These remarks only made Yu Zhi even angrier.

She broke free from Shi Yin’s embrace, marched up to Ruan Yuan, and seized her collar, a trace of sarcasm flashing in her almond-shaped eyes.

"You can’t even beat me. How do you plan to guarantee that?" Her gaze drilled deeply into the other woman’s eyes, her crisp voice as cold as ice.

Just as tensions escalated to the brink, as if the two were about to start a fight in the next second—

Shi Wei quickly signaled Shi Yin with an eye gesture, the brothers adeptly pulling them apart and individually soothing their turbulent emotions.

"No matter what it is, let’s all sit down and talk calmly first." Xu Fan closed the study door and led the men over to the sofa.

His voice seemed to possess a peculiar magic, as if it could calm everyone and make them unconsciously listen to him.

Ruan Yuan fell silent for a moment. Glancing at the girl seated on the other side, the inexplicable anger that had weighed on her heart dissipated abruptly.

"Little Zhi, I overstepped." After a brief reflection, she realized her own faults.

A person blinded by hatred, if they don’t wake up in time, can easily commit grave errors.

She wouldn’t have made such mistakes in the past.

Yu Zhi responded lightly, her gaze shifting toward Shi Yin: "How long would it take to bankrupt the Meng Family?"

Shi Yin paused, instinctively coming up with the fastest plan possible: "One month at most."

Though his company wasn’t as influential in the Imperial City as Xing Ye’s, capable of causing a sensation with ease,

as long as he was willing to put in the effort and time, dealing with the Meng Family was definitely achievable.

Yu Zhi seemed satisfied, her delicate brows slightly arched: "The Meng Family going bankrupt is equivalent to taking half of Meng Zheng’s life. If we insist on him dying, then we’ll use other methods."

Just a few short sentences from her were enough for everyone to grasp the matter at hand.

Jin Yunzhi, who had initially been stunned, finally emerged from his shock, a peculiar sense of excitement now arising within him.

He blinked his glistening, grape-like eyes: "Sister, Brother Fan can help you bankrupt the Meng Family, and I can help you by handing over the knife!"

You kill, I hand over the weapon—it’s just like in the dramas, isn’t it?

Jin Yunzhi had always harbored a dream of becoming a killer since childhood.

But in reality, he could only dominate in the gaming world and not actually play with knives or guns.

Finally seizing such an opportunity, he had to contribute in some way. Of course, this was premised on Meng Zheng being a bona fide villain.

Xu Fan: "..."

He sighed in a way that words couldn’t describe, entirely unable to fathom what the boy was so excited about.

Xu Fan flicked Jin Yunzhi’s forehead lightly, playfully glaring at him: "Put those ridiculous thoughts away."

Jin Yunzhi looked aggrieved, his cheeks puffed up as if he were sulking: "How is it ridiculous? I’m clearly helping Sister."

"Helping yourself is more like it." Xu Fan pinched his cheek, teasing with a smile: "Little killer?"

The exposed Jin Yunzhi blushed slightly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." He swatted Xu Fan’s mischievous hand away with a sharp motion, turning aside in embarrassment, not wanting to face him anymore.

Ruan Yuan chuckled at their interaction, her mood lifted noticeably from earlier. Leaning against Shi Yin’s shoulder, she mused: "No need to hand over the knife—it’s dirty work."

"Then what can I do?"

"Watch the show?"

Jin Yunzhi: "??"

Isn’t that underestimating him too much?

Noticing Jin Yunzhi’s lips pout even higher, Xu Fan hurriedly changed the subject to prevent further sulking: "Ruan Yuan, would it be convenient to share more about you and Meng Zheng?"

"The DNA similarity between me and him is 99%."

Ruan Yuan had no intention of acknowledging Meng Zheng as her ’father,’ and she spoke rather tactfully: "My mother once dated him."

Ruan’s mother was born into a modest household, and her romance with Meng Zheng was doomed from the start—or rather, he had never intended to give her a happy ending.

Under family pressure, Meng Zheng agreed to marry his current wife but promised Ruan’s mother that he would separate from her once he gained power.

But that promise remained unfulfilled, even up until her death.

Ruan’s mother spent her whole life waiting, even when sent abroad, even while fraught with illness, holding onto hope.

She continued to believe in his so-called love.

"When I was little, she constantly instilled in me how extraordinary my father was, how much my father loved me."