I realized her motive and angrily scolded her, "You sit in such a luxurious building, yet you owe people their hard-earned money. Are you asking for a beating?"

My sudden outburst didn't intimidate her at all. She stared at me like a plague god for a few seconds, then said calmly, "I've never been slapped before in my life. I'd like to see what it's like today."

At that moment, I felt the veins throbbing on my forehead. She clearly didn't take my words seriously. I stared back at her face, at the sexy curve of her lips beneath her straight nose. Perhaps she'd never dealt with someone like me before.

I suppressed my impulse for the moment, but my tone was even more aggressive than before...

"Are you going to settle the account or not? I don't have time to waste here. It doesn't matter if this deal goes through, but don't provoke me."

She had been sitting, but hearing this, she calmly stood up, meeting my gaze without fear, and provoked me, "What consequences will befall me if I provoke you? I'd like to experience it today."

"Really? So it's my fault if I don't slap you?" I retorted.

She completely disregarded me, looking at me with her face tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, as if she was sure I was just threatening her.

I said again in a cold voice, "Don't provoke me again!"

"You're not worthy!"

Her response and attitude completely trampled on my dignity. Even the most violent tone couldn't threaten her. I quickly met her slightly raised right cheek with a casual slap.

She was stunned, and I was also slightly taken aback. Then I nonchalantly lowered my right hand. I saw the expression on her face alternating between anger and humiliation. Tears were stubbornly welling up in her eyes. Her eyes briefly went blank, then immediately filled with anger. That aggrieved look was very ceremonial, but she didn't lose her composure.

Then she turned around to make a phone call. I pressed her onto the desk like a chicken... not using much force, just wanting to extinguish that sense of superiority that emanated from within her.

"I told you not to play with fire with me. You just wouldn't believe it."

I clapped my hands after letting her go. Regardless of whether she made a call for help, I walked straight out, but before I could open the door, I saw someone pushing the door open from the outside. It was a woman with glasses, who looked to be in her forties. She was stunned when she saw me, then looked at the desk and cried out...

"President Pei, what's wrong?"

I answered for her, "She was beaten by me. If you want to call the police, do it quickly."

She couldn't figure out the situation at the moment and quickly walked over...

"Who is he? Should we call the police?"

"Call them. I'm not leaving. At worst, I'll be detained for a few days. You need to think clearly about whether you want peaceful days in the future!"

I stood motionless inside the door, turning to look at her. She had been lying on the desk, but now she was sitting upright, not even looking at me, and said very decisively, "No need. Let him go."

Her voice was chillingly cold. I guessed that her current mindset was that she didn't want to leave any hidden dangers for the future.

Having received her confirmation, I calmly walked out of the room and went straight to the elevator. Xiao Wu had said that we couldn't use it. I tried it with some suspicion and doubt, and sure enough, it wouldn't move.

This was a building of more than sixty floors. Whether the stairwell allowed direct descent was still unknown. After a brief moment of thought, I pushed open the office door again.

As soon as I opened a crack, I heard the woman who had come in ask, "Should we transfer the money from just now?"

Hearing the sound of the door opening, before she could answer, they both looked at me. Seeing that it was me, the woman with glasses immediately asked, "What are you doing back here?"

"Who wants to come back? What's wrong with the elevator!" I replied coldly.

The woman with glasses walked past me directly, went straight to the elevator, and I saw her press a few numbers. The elevator started immediately.

In the lobby on the first floor, Xiao Wu and the other two were standing by the greenery outside. Seeing me come down, they immediately came up and said, "Didn't you reach an agreement? The phone hasn't been returned yet."

I replied with a dark face, "I was played by her."

"Didn't she agree?"

"We were tricked! She never intended to give the money. She just wanted to divert you guys."

Xiao Wu scratched his head and said, "The contractor praised me just now, saying that this is a stubborn household that has been asking for money for several months."

"I taught her a lesson. This deal won't go through."

"You hit her?" Xiao Wu asked in disbelief.

I didn't answer the question. Arguing is inevitable in society, but this was the first time I had hit a woman. I just wanted to subdue that superior attitude she possessed by birth. Whether she was outstanding or not had nothing to do with me, but her attitude today really made it impossible for me to back down. She could have just agreed to give the money quickly. There was no need to say provocative words to force me to act.

On the way back, Xiao Wu sat in the passenger seat. Seeing that I was in a bad mood, he was less talkative than usual. A Cheng and Hei Zi didn't talk much to begin with, but they were able to get things done. They had a ruthless streak, ruthless in just the right way, which coincided with my personality.

We rented an office building. There were only five or six people in total. We had been working for several years, and our reputation was quite good. We were very measured in our work, only taking on some clean debts, which were basically like difficult and complicated cases. Either they were short of money or they were deliberately delaying payment.

Many bosses didn't have the energy to spend on collecting debts, so they might as well spend a few percentage points of commission to help them get the money.

I personally handled the basic business myself, the purpose of which was to control the degree and not to touch the bottom line of the law.

Halfway there, I received a text message. Lin Hai had transferred the money into my account. To be honest, I never thought he would give it. He didn't even want me to go to college. Such a large sum of money, even if I took it, would be very hot to handle.

I would decide whether to return it or not after I met him. If his attitude was still as ruthless as before, I would definitely not be soft on him. When I was a child, he could manipulate me at will. Now, I didn't put him in my eyes at all. From the moment I left home, I was determined to break ties with him.

The rented office building was quite large. I had separated an independent room for myself. Besides the swivel chair, the desk, and a computer, it was completely empty.

Lin Hai called again, probably because he was worried that I wouldn't answer after I received the money.

I answered the phone and said impatiently, "I received the money. I will be there on time."

"With your words, I believe you."

"I'm hanging up if there's nothing else."

I stared at the hang-up button on my phone, not wanting to talk nonsense with him. Just as my thumb was about to press the screen, his voice sounded again, surprisingly asking me, "What do you do for a living now?"

"Don't worry, I won't steal or rob. Now that I have your money, I can go and enjoy myself."

My words didn't elicit any emotion from him. He was only concerned about his son, and he instructed me very worriedly, "You should dress more formally tomorrow. Anyway, I've given you the money. Buy whatever looks good. Don't show up looking sloppy."

I sarcastically replied, "That reminds me. The most expensive of my clothes don't exceed two hundred. I'll go buy a set of clothes in the three-hundred price range later. I plan to attend tomorrow in a grand fashion."

This was his inherent flaw. After more than ten years of separation, he never wanted to care about me from the bottom of his heart. He was just afraid that my image would affect Lin Yang, treating me as a dispensable accessory.