The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

She placed her hand on the edge of the basin, looking at Xi Yuanchen. "Mr. Xi, you can just remove the shrimp veins."

After saying that, she switched places with Xi Yuanchen, letting him stand in front of the tap, and handed him a silver needle-like object, saying, "Use this to remove the shrimp vein, you know how, right?"

Her eyes held a questioning disbelief. She still couldn't quite believe that Xi Yuanchen was the kind of person who would go into the kitchen to cook.

Listening to Yao Yingxi's description, Xi Yuanchen frowned slightly, showing his disdain, but he didn't show it on his face.

Yao Yingxi's gaze just now made him feel that his ability to do this kind of work was being questioned, so he had no choice but to stand there and take the needle.

Yao Yingxi stared at him, watching for his next move.

Xi Yuanchen felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the contents of the basin in front of him.

Seeing that he hadn't moved, Yao Yingxi assumed he didn't understand, but she was too embarrassed to ask him to leave, so she took the needle from his hand.

With her other hand, she held the shrimp and showed him how to remove the shrimp vein.

Xi Yuanchen frowned more and more, looking at the potted thing with disdain.

Seeing him standing there, Yao Yingxi assumed he didn't understand, which was why he wouldn't take the needle from her hand.

She picked out several more before asking, "Mr. Xi, have you mastered it?"

Having done it several times, Xi Yuanchen should have learned it by now; it's not difficult.

Xi Yuanchen stared coldly at the contents of the basin with disdain. "I know how to do it, but I think you did it very well. You should do it."

Before Yao Yingxi could even speak, he walked out of the kitchen.

It took Yao Yingxi a while to realize that Mr. Xi was simply out of his depth and had run away at the last minute.

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips and smiled as she watched Xi Yuanchen's figure disappear.

It took Yao Yingxi an hour to prepare three dishes and a soup.

She placed the food on the dining table, but Xi Yuanchen was nowhere to be seen in the living room. Thinking about what had happened in the kitchen earlier, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

He slowly walked to the study and knocked on the door a few times.

"Please come in."

Yao Yingxi stood at the door, watching him handle the matter: "Mr. Xi, the meal is ready."

Xi Yuanchen didn't even look up, and gave a faint "hmm".

Yao Yingxi stood there for a while, but seeing no sign of Xi Yuanchen getting up, she closed the door and went back to the living room.

She felt too embarrassed to start eating if Xi Yuanchen didn't come out.

After a while, Xi Yuanchen came out, and Yao Yingxi quickly got up.

The two sat down, and Yao Yingxi ate her meal while observing Xi Yuanchen's expression.

Yao Yingxi's gaze fell on him many times, but Xi Yuanchen ignored it all.

It wasn't until the very end of the meal that Yao Yingxi spoke up: "Mr. Xi, what do you think Xu Hengyuan used to threaten those officials into helping him?"

Threatening her with family was definitely out of the question, and what about her lover? After much thought, she felt the chances were slim. After all, those people who wanted to keep a mistress would certainly be very careful in their actions.

Xi Yuanchen had just finished eating and put down his bowl, his expression strange: "Whatever benefits Xu Hengyuan gives them, he will threaten them with the same purpose."

Yao Yingxi suddenly realized that she hadn't thought of this before; Xu Hengyuan's benefit was bribing those people. She even had evidence of Xu Hengyuan bribing them.

If it weren't for this, how could Xu Hengyuan have threatened them?

Seeing that she seemed a little excited, Xi Yuanchen asked, "Have you figured out what to do?"

Yao Yingxi's expression changed, and she looked at a group of people with a cold gaze and sneered: "Hengyuan Group's stock is currently at its lowest point and it is heavily indebted. I don't mind letting it disappear sooner."

“Aren’t those government officials afraid of being exposed for accepting bribes? But their constant worry and fear can’t solve anything.”

The smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to indicate that he genuinely cared about others.

Her expression made Xi Yuanchen feel dazed.

Seeing that Xi Yuanchen did not speak, Yao Yingxi's expression returned to normal, and she continued, "Mr. Xi, I need to go to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection tomorrow."

Xi Yuanchen nodded.

……

Xu Hengyuan returned to the villa with a gloomy face. Not seeing He Qinfang and Xu Xinya in the hall, he angrily went upstairs.

The maid, who was tidying up in the hall, was startled when she heard the door being kicked.

Xu Hengyuan came downstairs and looked at the maid with a sinister gaze: "Where did He Qinfang and Xu Xinya go?"

The maid's hands trembled as she held the rag, and she answered hesitantly, "Madam and Miss went out this morning and haven't returned yet."

Although rumors were rife outside that the Xu family was on the verge of bankruptcy, Xu Xinya had already paid everyone's wages for the month in advance, so they had no choice but to continue serving them until the Xu family officially declared bankruptcy.

Xu Hengyuan kicked the sofa in anger, yelling, "Damn it!"

He's not stupid. If He Qinfang and her daughter haven't returned by now, they've probably already hidden themselves.

He stormed toward the door, where he happened to see Fugui limping in the garden.

Fu Gui was once one of his confidants and knew about his past, so he couldn't dismiss him and had to stay with the Xu family.

Fu Gui also saw him, "Sir."

Xu Hengyuan nodded and walked past him, then turned back as if remembering something. "Fugui, wait a minute."

Puzzled, Fu Gui turned around and limped over to his side.

Xu Hengyuan leaned close to Fu Gui's ear and whispered something, a fierce look rising in Fu Gui's eyes: "Sir, I will definitely get it done for you."

His tone was firm. Xu Hengyuan's lips curled into a smile, he patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, and turned to leave.

Fu Gui watched his figure gradually disappear into the distance, his hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists.

The next day, Yao Yingxi came out of the apartment and hailed a taxi.

The taxi stopped by the roadside, and Yao Yingxi opened the door and got in. "Driver, No. 90, Wanxi Road."

She was holding a bulging brown paper bag in her arms. Her gaze was fixed on the window, completely unaware that a car was following behind her.

The vehicle continued driving, still two kilometers away from Wanxi Road.

Yao Yingxi gazed out the window, her thoughts drifting away, when her phone suddenly rang in her bag. Startled, she clutched the documents in her arms tightly.

He took out his phone and, upon seeing the number, paused for a few seconds in surprise: "Secretary Nan?"

"It's me, Yao Yingxi. Where are you now?"

"Dexing Road is almost at Wanxi Road."

"Get off the bus in a crowded place right now, immediately."

The voice sounded urgent, and Yao Yingxi asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, the car behind the taxi was violently hit, with a loud "bang".

Yao Yingxi's body lurched forward violently, slamming into the back of the driver's seat.

The driver was hit and slammed on the brakes, his body lurching forward and nearly hitting the windshield, but was pulled back by the seatbelt.

Upon hearing that sound, Xi Yuanchen on the phone felt a sudden tightness in his chest, but he didn't realize it at all. "What's wrong?"

Yao Yingxi, clutching the documents in her arms, rubbed her forehead and turned back to look. "The car was rear-ended, but it's nothing."

After speaking, he looked closely at the car, which looked somewhat familiar, and stopped talking.

The driver unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed the car door, intending to open it.

Xi Yuanchen spoke on the phone, "Rear-end collision? Did the driver of that car get out? You are not allowed to get out of the car now, and tell the driver not to get out either."

His voice was serious and tense. It was the first time Yao Yingxi had ever heard Xi Yuanchen speak in this tone.

He quickly stopped the driver: "Wait, don't get out of the car."