Chapter 140: Can I Slap Her Now?

"That punk really is the chairman of the Chu Group!"

"It's over, our Shen family is finished!"

"How could this happen? Everything that punk said was true! He wasn't lying to us!"

Every single member of the Shen family wore an expression as unsightly as if they had swallowed human waste.

In their wildest dreams, they never imagined that the bumpkin they had continuously berated and belittled was genuinely the mysterious chairman.

Shen Linglong, in particular.

Her face was deathly pale, and her entire body swayed unsteadily. She had believed that starting today, she would be able to grind Shen Miaoyu beneath her heels.

Yet, in the end, she was nothing more than a clown, a laughingstock!

She finally understood why that spotlight had shone upon her in the very beginning.

It was because Chu Fei had done so specifically to humiliate her.

First giving her a taste of impending hope, and then kicking her straight down into the abyss—this was far more than just breaking a spirit; it was psychological torture of the highest order.

"Mom, what do we do now?!"

Shen Qiushan looked anxiously at the Old Madam Shen. If he had known Chu Fei was truly the chairman, he never would have pushed things to such a ruthless extreme.

Now look at them. Not only had they completely broken Shen Miaoyu's heart, but they had also missed out on the opportunity for the Shen family to soar to greatness, potentially driving the entire clan to a dead end.

Recovering from her shock, Old Madam Shen could only turn her gaze to Meng Kaiwen.

"Second Young Master Meng, look at this..."

"What on earth is your feud with that punk? Spill it all, right now!" Meng Kaiwen barked furiously.

He could tell that Meng Ziyi was intentionally targeting the Shen family purely because of that kept man.

Therefore, he had to figure out what was going on!

Old Madam Shen immediately confessed every single detail of the grievances between the two parties to Meng Kaiwen.

After listening, a scheme suddenly popped into Meng Kaiwen's mind.

"This matter isn't completely without a chance of turning around."

He turned to Old Madam Shen and said, "Based on what you've told me, Chu Fei is only going against you because of Shen Miaoyu."

"If that's the case, go and beg Shen Miaoyu! Who knows, you might just be able to make that Chu Fei change his mind!"

Shen Linglong was the first to step out in opposition. "Are you out of your mind? You want me to beg that bastard's spawn? Absolutely not!"

*Slap!*

Old Madam Shen's expression shifted in an instant as she delivered a vicious backhand across Linglong's face.

"This concerns the life and death of the Shen family! Who gave you the right to refuse? Let me tell you, even if you have to crawl and beg her on your knees, you will win this project back for me!"

Shen Linglong clutched her burning cheek in grievance.

Yet not a single member of the Shen family spoke up to defend her; instead, they immediately joined in the chorus of condemnation.

"Exactly! If you hadn't constantly picked fights with Miaoyu and offended Chu Fei, would our Shen family have lost face to this extent?"

"This is all your fault! How dare you refuse?"

"Shen Linglong, you bringer of bad luck! If you want to die, don't drag the rest of us down with you!"

The sudden 180-degree shift in her family's attitude left Shen Linglong seething with rage yet too cowed to speak out.

She could only look toward her father, hoping he might say a word on her behalf.

Unfortunately, Shen Qiushan had no such intention whatsoever. Instead, he chimed in, "Linglong, own up when you make a mistake and take your punishment like a man. You shouldn't have treated your cousin that way!"

In that exact moment, Shen Linglong finally experienced the profound feeling of being abandoned by the whole world that Shen Miaoyu had once endured.

Meng Xinghe was utterly disgusted by the Shen family's attitude. He sneered, "What is wrong with all of you? Aren't you family? Why are you dumping all the blame onto Linglong?!"

"Shut your mouth! You have no right to speak here!"

Meng Kaiwen snapped at Meng Xinghe, then turned a gloomy, terrifying glare toward Shen Linglong.

"Listen to me, you must go and beg for their forgiveness right now. I am determined to secure this project. If you ruin things for me, you bitch, I will never let you go!"

He didn't even use her title as his prospective sister-in-law, resorting straight to calling her a bitch.

It was clear that Meng Kaiwen had completely lost his composure out of desperation.

Meng Xinghe clenched his fists. "Second Brother, aren't you going a bit too far..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shen Linglong cut him off.

"Enough! Will you just shut up? If you had the ability to replace Meng Ziyi's position, would I have to suffer this kind of humiliation?!"

"Linglong..."

Meng Xinghe stared at Shen Linglong in shock, never expecting that when he stood up for her, she would show no gratitude whatsoever.

"I'll do as Second Brother says."

Someone like Shen Linglong knew how to read the room and adapt to the circumstances. Faced with such a situation, she had no choice but to temporarily submit to her fate!

Led by Old Madam Shen, the members of the Shen family then walked over to Shen Miaoyu.

The old matriarch aggressively grabbed Shen Miaoyu's hand, wearing an expression of profound remorse.

"Miaoyu, my child, Grandma knows you've been wronged, but we are family after all! I'm going to make Linglong kneel and apologize to you right now. See if you can put in a good word with Chu Fei, ask him to let bygones be bygones, and hand the Wanli City project over to our Shen family!"

The guests present, including Tan Yingyao, witnessed the Shen family flipping their faces faster than turning the pages of a book.

One by one, they began to hurl scathing sarcasms.

"They say 'there is no limit to human shamelessness,' but today this old hag has truly opened my eyes!"

"Heh, I still remember the ugly expressions on their faces when they drove people out of the Shen family. Now that they see Shen Miaoyu holding all the power, they've crawled right back to lick her boots!"

"People shouldn't be allowed to be this utterly shameless!"

In the face of immense wealth and prestige, what was human dignity worth?

To a bunch of opportunistic, sycophantic snobs like the Shen family, whoever had milk was mother.

As long as they could return to the pinnacle of success, let alone forcing Shen Linglong to kneel, even if they were all ordered to drop to their knees, they would do so without a moment's hesitation!

Seeing that Shen Miaoyu remained silent, Shen Qiushan immediately barked sternly, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kowtow to apologize to your sister, and make her forgive you!"

No matter how intensely Shen Linglong resisted in her heart, at this moment she had no choice. With a heavy thud, she dropped to her knees right in front of Shen Miaoyu.

"Sister, I was wrong! I'm kowtowing to apologize to you, please give the Wanli City project to the Shen family!"

Once on her knees, Shen Linglong began repeatedly slamming her forehead against the floor in front of Shen Miaoyu.

Shen Miaoyu still said nothing.

Instead, Chu Fei chimed in from the side, "Kowtowing to apologize sounds a bit much—how about you chop off your head to apologize instead?"

"Oh come now, good son-in-law, stop joking around," Shen Qiushan hurried forward, patting Chu Fei familiarly on the shoulder. "This was all just a misunderstanding. If you had just told us your true identity earlier, we wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

"I approve of your relationship with Miaoyu. From now on—"

*Slap!*

With a backhand swing, Chu Fei delivered a sharp blow straight across Shen Qiushan's face.

"Don't touch my shoulder!"

Clutching his reddened cheek, Shen Qiushan stammered, "Well... I am Miaoyu's father after all, how can you hit me?"

*Slap!*

"I hate it when people touch my shoulder the most!"

Chu Fei had wanted to hit Shen Qiushan for a long time. Ignoring the context entirely, he delivered yet another resounding slap.

Shen Qiushan was beaten to the point where he lost all temper, prompting someone nearby to step in and try to mediate.

"Chu Fei, I think—"

"I don't care what you think, I care what I think."

Chu Fei slapped the meddling Shen family member straight to the ground with a single strike.

"Now look here, you—"

"Look here what? Do you think you're special?!"

*(Randomly drawing a few Shen family members—no gifts, just pure slaps!)*

After consecutively slapping several members of the Shen family, absolutely no one dared to step forward and try to reason with this master of the open palm anymore.

Chu Fei walked right up to Shen Linglong and politely asked the assembled crowd, "May I slap her now?"

The best treats should always be saved for last, and the most satisfying targets for a beating followed the exact same principle.

Not a single member of the Shen family dared to answer.

Only Meng Xinghe attempted to step forward to stop him, but Meng Kaiwen grabbed him firmly by the arm!

"What do you think you're doing? Didn't you hear what I just said?!"

"Second Brother, but she's my woman!"

"She's just a cheap bitch, don't ruin my grand plans!"

Meng Kaiwen threatened, "You stay right here and behave yourself, do you hear me?"

Meng Xinghe fell silent.

Then, he walked over toward Meng Ziyi.

Meng Kaiwen made no effort to stop him. Unlike himself, Meng Ziyi didn't hold such deep animosity toward Meng Xinghe; this could still be played as an emotional card.

"Eldest Sister, if I had known how fiercely you were backing Chu Fei from the start, I never would have gone against him. So now..."

"Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Meng Ziyi interrupted Meng Kaiwen, delivering a blunt and direct retort.

"They are all using you—both Shen Linglong and Meng Kaiwen. You're the only utter fool who lets himself get sold down the river while still counting the money for them!"

Meng Xinghe was left completely speechless.

Meanwhile, back in the center of the room, Chu Fei smiled once more.

"Since nobody has any objections, I suppose I can finally enjoy myself!"

With those words, Chu Fei raised his hand high, preparing to let loose and thoroughly vent.

Yet, at the critical moment, Shen Miaoyu reached out and grabbed his wrist.

This action instantly rekindled a glimmer of hope within the hearts of the Shen family.

The fact that Shen Miaoyu couldn't bear to let Chu Fei beat Shen Linglong proved that she still cared about the family after all.

Shen Linglong's face lit up with joyous surprise as well, convinced that as long as Shen Miaoyu softened her heart, there was still a chance to turn this entire situation around!