Chapter 17: Something Happened

Ye Xuan had long heard of the Long family. Among the Noble Families in Jianghai City, they were considered second-tier.

Their strength was passable, and since Long Tian was a member of Su Xiaobai’s Crown Prince Faction, the Long family’s status had been elevated by association.

However, to Ye Xuan, a Noble Family like theirs was nothing. As long as he wished it, the hierarchy of Jianghai City’s Noble Families would be completely reshuffled overnight.

"Yes, Dragon Chief."

The incident at the bar tonight would be more than enough to give Long Tian a massive headache.

White Snake and the others hadn’t even settled the score with the Long family for that, yet Long Tian had the audacity to launch another attack.

It was time for the Long family to completely disappear from Jianghai City once and for all.

White Snake’s efficiency was truly extraordinary. Ye Xuan had issued the order in the early hours of the morning, and by first light, news of the Long Group’s counterfeiting and fraud had already broken.

In an instant, the Long Group’s stock prices plummeted, and their products were pulled from the shelves of major shopping malls. Even with the Su family working behind the scenes for damage control, the Long Group’s corporate image and reputation took a devastating hit.

"Hahaha! Ye Xuan, did you see the news about the Long family today? Talk about karma! Relying on the Su family’s backing, the Longs have constantly made trouble for my family.

"Now that this counterfeiting scandal has come to light, it’s enough to make them suffer. I have no idea who leaked the information, but I really need to give them a proper thank you."

At the dining table, Yang Bingyu practically danced with joy as she scrolled through the news notifications about the Long family on her phone.

Ye Xuan watched her excitement in silence, eating his breakfast with perfect, refined manners.

"You didn’t do this, did you?" Seeing Ye Xuan’s completely unfazed expression, Yang Bingyu suddenly perked up. Propping her head in her hands, she stared at him with sparkling eyes.

"COUGH, COUGH..." Ye Xuan felt extremely uncomfortable under her intense, bright-eyed gaze and coughed lightly to ease his awkwardness.

"I’m full. Take your time," Ye Xuan said, wiping the corner of his mouth as he blatantly sidestepped her question.

Seeing his refusal to answer only confirmed her suspicions. Yang Bingyu let out a delighted shriek and threw her arms around Ye Xuan in a massive bear hug.

"Ye Xuan, I absolutely love you! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been dying to teach that brat Long Tian a lesson? Hahaha, I’m so thrilled!"

Before Ye Xuan could even react, Yang Bingyu let go, sat back down, and happily resumed eating her breakfast.

The lingering, sweet fragrance of the girl tickled his nose, making Ye Xuan’s throat feel a bit tight.

Realizing he was losing his composure, Ye Xuan hurriedly left the dining room, not daring to stay alone in the same room with her any longer.

This girl had absolutely no concept of personal boundaries between men and women. She just hugged him without a second thought. If it had been anyone else, she would have definitely been taken advantage of.

Meanwhile, in Jianghai City, the Long family had descended into utter chaos.

The massive dining hall was packed with people. Every single face was etched with gloom; there wasn’t a smile in sight. They were even loudly shifting the blame onto one another, all refusing to admit any involvement in the counterfeiting scandal. The deafening clamor was enough to give anyone a migraine.

Sitting at the head of the table, the head of the Long family and Long Tian’s father, Long Peng, looked utterly livid. His face dark, he barked, "Enough! What’s the point of arguing about this now? The most urgent thing is to figure out a countermeasure and suppress this counterfeiting scandal. The longer this drags out, the worse it will be for the Long Group."

Long Peng didn’t slam the table like Long Tao had, nor did he roar in anger. Yet, his calm, authoritative tone was precisely what instantly silenced the bickering crowd.

Seeing that they had stopped arguing, Long Peng turned his head to Long Tian and asked, "Tian’er, have you managed to contact Young Master Su? Did he say anything?"

Long Tian had just hung up his phone. Compared to the rest of them, his complexion was significantly better. He shot a disdainful glance at the members of the second and third branches, lifted his chin, and cleared his throat.

"Dad, Young Master Su said he will find a way to handle this, so we shouldn’t worry. This counterfeiting scandal isn’t exactly a minor issue, but it’s not catastrophic either. As long as we can leak a more sensational piece of news to grab the public’s attention, we can sweep this under the rug."

Hearing this, Long Peng’s expression immediately brightened. He patted Long Tian’s shoulder in deep gratification, his tone brimming with pride. "Excellent! You are truly worthy of being my son. I’ll leave this matter in your capable hands, then."

His words rubbed the members of the second and third branches the wrong way. It was a blatant jab, implying their own sons were inferior to Long Tian. But no matter how incredibly displeased they felt, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.

"Don’t worry. I’m going to see Young Master Su shortly. Within three days, this whole situation will be completely suppressed." Praised by his father, Long Tian felt as if he were walking on air, especially in front of his male cousins. Brimming with smug satisfaction, he patted his chest and offered a highly confident guarantee.

"Good, good, good. You’ve grown up now. But after this matter is resolved, it’s time for you to start working at the company," Long Peng said. His previously gloomy face had completely cleared up as he gently patted his son’s shoulder again.

"Dad, I’m not going to work at the family company. I’m better off sticking with Young Master Su. He’s planning to develop their overseas market this year and intends to appoint me as the manager of his company’s overseas department. That’s a far better prospect than working here."

With that, Long Tian left the dining hall, leaving behind a table of Long family members with varying expressions on their faces.

Long Tian wasn’t stupid. Following Su Xiaobai offered a much brighter future than slaving away in his own family’s business.

As Long Tian’s father, Long Peng was naturally overjoyed to hear this news.

As long as Long Tian was highly regarded by Young Master Su, the Long family’s status in Jianghai City would rise to the next level.

However, as the head of the Long family, he couldn’t let his joy show too obviously. After all, the other two branches of the family were watching. Displaying too much excitement would likely only invite their resentment.

While the Long family was in absolute pandemonium, the Lin and Yang families were working overtime to plan their upcoming collaboration banquet.

The Yang family had even invited the media for exclusive coverage of the banquet, which was undoubtedly a massive slap in the face to the Su family.

After all, Su Xiaobai had already publicly declared that he would make Lin Aoxue pay the price.

For the Yang family to partner with the Lin family at a time like this was a blatant declaration of war against Su Xiaobai.

"Damn the Yang family! Why do they have to oppose me at every turn?!" Su Xiaobai furiously smashed his phone onto the floor, roaring in anger.

His secretary, standing to the side, was entirely unfazed. She quietly picked up the shattered phone from the ground, removed the SIM card, and inserted it into a brand-new phone.

Her movements were extremely practiced—it was clear she did this on a regular basis.

"Please don’t be angry, Young Master Su," she said. "Although the Yang family has agreed to partner with Lin Aoxue, there’s no guarantee this collaboration will actually succeed."