Leng Yunyang curved his lips into a faint smile. "We’ll talk about this later."
As his words fell, he lifted his gaze toward Leng Xingshuang.
Leng Xingshuang instinctively took a step back.
Leng Jiao, standing behind her, lowered his voice and said, "Miss Xingshuang, stop acting recklessly. Apologize immediately to Young Master Yunyang and Miss Xuexi."
Leng Xingshuang bit her lip, her face filled with reluctance.
Gu Bichen glanced at Leng Yunyang, then quickly stepped up to Leng Xingshuang’s side, grabbing her hand in an attempt to leave with her.
"Gu Bichen, where are you rushing off to with her? We still have an unsettled score to deal with."
Leng Yunyang spoke lazily.
Gu Bichen turned back to look at him. "Xingshuang is young and naïve, spoiled by Grandpa Leng. I apologize on her behalf to you and Miss Xuexi. She’s still just a child; don’t hold it against her. I’ll educate her later."
Leng Xingshuang stubbornly muttered, "Brother Bichen, you don’t have to apologize for me. I didn’t do anything wrong..."
"Shut your mouth." Gu Bichen reprimanded her coldly, his face frosty.
Leng Xingshuang pursed her lips in grievance.
"Why are you being so harsh?"
Gu Bichen took a deep breath, urgently trying to pull her away.
"You’re apologizing for her? And who are you to her that you think you have the right?" Leng Yunyang sneered.
Leng Xingshuang flung Gu Bichen’s hand away and snapped back, "Leng Yunyang, I’ve tolerated you enough..."
A porcelain cup shattered at Leng Xingshuang’s feet.
Startled, Leng Xingshuang jumped back abruptly.
Leng Jiao stepped forward. "Young Master, that’s enough."
Leng Yunyang curled his lips into a gentle yet roguish smile. "And what if I say no?"
Leng Jiao squinted his eyes.
"Please don’t make things difficult for Old Sir Leng."
In the parking lot, Old Sir Leng was busy greeting a distinguished guest. Given the guest’s esteemed status, Old Sir Leng couldn’t leave, and the escalating spectacle on this side couldn’t be allowed to go unchecked.
Leng Yunyang couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge him. Instead, he turned his gaze to Gu Bichen. "You said she’s spoiled by Grandpa. So why are you continuing to indulge her? Isn’t that just making her worse? It seems that I, as her brother, am the only one left to discipline her."
Leng Xingshuang stomped her foot. "What kind of brother? You’re just a bastard child. Who do you think you are to call yourself my brother..."
Leng Yunyang stepped forward and slapped Leng Xingshuang across the face.
The force of the slap was not light.
Leng Xingshuang’s head turned sharply to the side, her hair disheveled, and a trail of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Everyone was stunned speechless.
Leng Yunyang calmly withdrew the silk handkerchief from his chest pocket, leisurely wiping the hand he had just used to slap her. His handsome face bore a gentle yet detached smile that sent a chill through onlookers’ hearts.
Leng Xuexi murmured, "Brother..."
She was well aware of how ruthless her brother could be, but to hit a young girl so directly—wasn’t that going too far?
"Say that word ’bastard’ one more time and see what happens," Leng Yunyang said, his lips curving upward in a faint smile.
Leng Xingshuang’s mind was spinning. "Did you just... hit me?"
Gu Bichen stepped in front of Leng Xingshuang. "That’s enough. She’s only fourteen. Don’t go overboard."
"From this moment on, every time she utters those three words, I’ll slap her. She can test me if she wants."
Leng Jiao tugged at Leng Xingshuang’s sleeve. "Let’s go."
Young Master had still spared Old Sir Leng some face by not tearing everything wide open. That should suffice.
A dazed Leng Xingshuang allowed herself to be dragged away.
Jing Zhan couldn’t bear to let this drama conclude so easily. She sighed, "To tolerate being usurped in status for so many years and still endure being called a bastard... Young Master Leng, you truly are a saint."
Slapping a young girl and then being sarcastically praised for sainthood—the irony couldn’t be more biting.
Leng Xingshuang’s steps halted. She turned back, her expression filled with confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
Gu Bichen gave Leng Jiao a look, intending for him to forcibly take her away.
But Leng Xingshuang refused to give him the chance. With a single stride, she bolted in front of Jing Zhan. "Speak! What did you mean by what you just said?"
Jing Zhan gazed at her with pity. "Miss Xingshuang, to repeatedly call Young Master Yunyang a bastard—it’s the most unreasonable thing. I even feel aggrieved on his behalf."
Leng Yunyang raised an eyebrow at Jing Zhan, then shifted his gaze to Yu Ruohuan.
Yu Ruohuan met his eyes, smiling warmly and nodding gently, her attitude exceedingly amicable.
Leng Yunyang arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning casually against a column.
Noticing the look Leng Jiao sent his way, Leng Yunyang shrugged his shoulders, his expression exuding helplessness, as though to say, "This has nothing to do with me."
Leng Xingshuang, enraged, yelled, "Why isn’t he a bastard? His very existence is the greatest humiliation to my father!"
Jing Zhan sighed. "Miss Xingshuang, calling him a bastard over and over again is truly excessive. Young Master Yunyang has refrained from exposing the truth out of familial sentiment, but I can’t stand by and watch this farce..."
Jing Zhan’s eyes brimmed with pity, yet her smile carried a silent derision. "Little did you know, Leng Xingshuang, it’s you who’s the illegitimate child."