Li Beinian froze and immediately shook off Lin Ya’s hand.
Mu Xichen walked over slowly, and deliberate or otherwise, stood in-between them.
Slightly taller than Lin Ya, Mu Xichen glanced down at the other man in a slightly condescending sort of way. “What a coincidence.”
As Mu Xichen was standing too close, Lin Ya was forced to take a step back.
His expression softening once more as he looked at Mu Xichen, Lin Ya was measured in his response. “Chief Mu, how do you do.”
Mu Xichen eyed him briefly, then turned and cast a sidelong glance behind himself.
Li Beinian was pale, and she had one hand pressing down on her other shoulder, staring at Lin Kerou.
Lin Kerou stumbled another step backward at that look of contempt and hid behind Lin Ya, saying, “I didn’t do it on purpose. I saw someone coming towards me, and on reflex, I…”
“… conveniently gave me a shove?” Li Beinian gave an icy laugh. “If that punch had landed on my head, I’d possibly be suffering a concussion now, you know that?”
Lin Kerou looked frightened as she grasped Lin Ya’s shirt tightly. She shouted timidly, “Big brother, I didn’t do it on purpose. She suddenly came at me, and I was completely caught off-guard…”
Lin Ya’s expression was unfathomable and restrained. He shielded her from Li Beinian’s line of sight. He tried to smooth over the matter and said in a slightly apologetic tone, “I do apologize, Miss Li. This happened suddenly, and my sister was not quick enough to react. Reflex sometimes will cause us to do things that are not within our intention. We seek your understanding.”
“It’s not the first time, Mayor Lin,” Li Beinian looked at Lin Ya icily. “It seems your sister isn’t too fond of me.”
“You’re alright now, aren’t you?” Wang Hao said. “Furthermore, you guys were the ones who started this. We were just acting in self-defense. Miss Lin was only passing by, and now you’re dragging her through the mud? You and your brother really share the same shameful behavior.”
These words set Chi Hailang off again. He glared at Wang Hao and clenched his fists, saying, “You’re full of sh**…”
“Enough,” Lin Ya spoke, obviously displeased. “We’re family. For my sake, could everyone just compromise and we’ll let it go?”
Wang Lei and Wang Hao exchanged a look, reluctance written all over their faces.
But since Lin Ya had explicitly made this request, it would have been inappropriate to still carry on.
Wang Hao put on a generous expression and spread his arms, saying, “Since Mayor Lin says we’re family, we’ll let it go then. However, I have to say, youngsters should refrain from being so impulsive. It’s a good thing it’s just us. If this happened with people you didn’t know, you’d be beaten to a pulp today.”
Chi Hailang could hardly put up with this.
Clearly, they were the ones who had been impertinent and even said that Lin Yuxin would make an easier wife to keep under control. Furthermore, they insulted Li Beinian.
And now they acted like they were being magnanimous and non-calculative?
As though able to read that belligerent expression on his face, Lin Yuxin pulled him back and whispered anxiously, “Forget it, let it go. Let’s not create any more trouble.”
“Since they are your people,” Mu Xichen finally spoke as his gaze fell on Lin Ya, “Let’s do our sums.”
At those words, the Wang brothers turned to look at him with disbelief on their faces.
When Mayor Lin said family, he meant everyone present. Was this man a real fool, or was he just playing dumb?
“Your sister shoved her and caused her to suffer a blow,” Mu Xichen said flatly as he threw a glance at Li Beinian and continued, “Look at how pale she is.”
Li Beinian looked at him and saw the heartache in his eyes and the hidden anger that was burning inside him.
“Although we know Mayor Lin and Eldest Young Master Mu are good friends,” Mu Xichen spoke unhurriedly, and came straight to the point, “But ganging up to bully a girl doesn’t look very good on you.”
With this serious accusation, the smile on Lin Ya’s face vanished.