Now, it was the breaking point for everyone. Fang Liyun stepped forward, her voice sharp and commanding. "How dare you mock my son like this? Mark my words. From this day onward, I will make sure that you can no longer work here and also ensure that no company, no business, and no establishment will ever hire you again." Her expression turned icy. "You will learn that some words come with consequences."
Instead of fear, the receptionist scoffed. Her eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "You? You think you can make me jobless? And who are you? Mrs Wang?" She questioned laughingly. "Oh, please. Do you still think that you're the 'Mrs Wang of the so-called Wang family?' I guess… You still don't know how deep the ship of the Wang family has sunk in the vast sea. Then let me fill you in on the bad news I've heard recently about the Wang Family." She sneered. "The title 'Mrs Wang' you're so proud of is nothing but something you're soon to be ashamed of as the Wang business is on the brink of bankruptcy, isn't it? And you still dare to threaten me with my job using the Wang family name & power?"
She laughed disdainfully at her, "Instead of coming out to dine in the restaurant you can't afford, you should have stayed at your home and read the recent news about your family to know how your status and value have fallen. The headline news said 'A three-hundred-million deal gone terribly wrong'." She folded her arms arrogantly. "Don't show me the weight of the family name that can barely stand on its own. You're already balancing on one leg, which is about to fall any moment now." Her gaze slid toward Wang Lingxuan's wheelchair, her smile venomous. "Just like your son's legs."
Just as Fang Liyun was about to lash out, Wang Hao's hand had already tightened and was ready to take action at any moment. Wu Qingyi spoke up suddenly. Her voice was sweet, gentle, almost innocent, accompanied by a soft smile. "Very well said," she remarked lightly. "Thank you for the valuable information." To anyone else, it sounded harmless. But those who truly knew Wu Qingyi, a one look at her current expression would know that this soft smile is never a good omen….
It wasn't innocence. It was the smile that appeared just before someone's world quietly collapsed, the moment the devil stepped in to turn someone's peaceful life into a living nightmare.
Wu Qingyi then turned towards Wang Lingxuan and Fang Liyun, her tone warm and considerate. "Hubby, Mother, you must be tired from standing here for so long, right?" Before either of them could respond, she shifted her gaze to Wang Hao and Su Nian. "Hao, Sister Su," she said softly, yet with unmistakable authority, "Could you please help my husband and mother step outside for some fresh air?" The request sounded gentle. But it was, in truth, a command, and the storm was only just beginning.
Confusion rippled through the group as none of them understood what Wu Qingyi's sudden request meant. They stood there in silence, exchanging puzzled glances, unable to make sense of her intentions. The air grew tense, thick with unspoken questions, until Wang Lingxuan finally broke the silence. "Hao," he said calmly, his gaze steady, "Take Mother and me to the passage entrance." Wang Hao stiffened for a moment before realisation dawned on him. The passage… the private corridor was reserved exclusively for the restaurant's owner. He understood what his young master meant, yet another doubt surfaced in his heart, why would the young master leave the young madam alone here to face the vicious receptionist, alone?
However, years of loyalty and silent understanding prevailed over his hesitation. If the young master had made this decision, then he must already have a plan in his mind. Wang Hao trusted the instincts that were telling him that whatever was about to unfold would be fully under the young master's control. So, without further question, he carefully wheeled Wang Lingxuan toward the hidden passageway, while Fang Liyun followed beside them. What Wang Hao didn't know was that what was going to unfold would be beyond Wang Lingxuan's control and imagination. No… In fact, what was going to unfold would be beyond everyone's imagination.
Seeing Wang Hao take the young master aside and her boss going along with them, Su Nian had no reason to stand there. She trailed silently behind them. Her steps were slow and reluctant. Her mind was a whirlpool of unanswered questions, and her heart trembled with unease, yet she said nothing. Casting one last worried glance back at Wu Qingyi before disappearing down the corridor along with everyone.
Everyone had barely reached the entrance of the private passage when Fang Liyun finally lost the last thread of restraint holding her composure together. She spun around abruptly, her usually graceful demeanour replaced by a storm of agitation, and began firing questions one after another at her son, without any pause. "Why did Qingyi ask us to step out for some air? And you…? You just simply agreed?" Her voice rose with every word. "How could you leave her alone there? That too with that vicious receptionist? What if that arrogant girl says something harsher… what if she dares to hurt Qingyi?" The more she spoke, the more her own words seemed to fuel her anxiety, and soon her worry transformed into outright anger. Her gaze snapped toward her son, sharp and unforgiving. "Wang Lingxuan," she warned sternly, each syllable heavy with threat, "if my daughter-in-law gets hurt… even just a small scratch… then you should be prepared to be disowned by me."
Su Nian and Wang Hao were both stunned by the declaration. Never before had they seen Madam Wang so fiercely protective towards anyone except for her son, especially toward someone whom she had only just entered into the family. Even Wang Shenghao had to take a seat back when it came to Fang Liyun's care, concern and protectiveness towards their son. But now it looks like there is a change in Mrs Wang's list of love for close and dear ones. Yet beneath their astonishment, a single question lingered, quietly eating away at their minds – Why had the Young Master allowed Young Madam to face that woman alone?
At last, Wang Lingxuan spoke. But instead of answering his mother's barrage of questions, he turned his gaze to Wang Hao and issued a calm but chilling command, "Hao, inform the manager to be here within five minutes. If he fails to appear… he can consider his job finished." Wang Hao immediately stepped aside to carry out the order without hesitation. Only then did realization dawn upon Fang Liyun like a sudden flash of lightning. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at her son. "You… you are the hidden boss of Ling Pavilion?" she asked, her tone filled with astonishment. "When did you build it? And why didn't you tell us?"
Su Nian didn't find anything unusual in the young master's command. Until she heard the question from Fang Liyun. That's when she realised that only an owner can have the right to threaten the manager of Ling Pavilion to make him lose his job if he doesn't appear within five minutes. She had thought this was already the greatest shock she would receive today, second only to the news of the Wang family's young master getting married and the astonishingly poor image Young Madam held of him. But she was mistaken…. Terribly mistaken…. Because this was merely the beginning. Soon, one secret after another would be revealed before her eyes, each more astonishing than the last, shattering her assumptions again and again until even she would struggle to believe what she was witnessing.
Wang Lingxuan fell silent for a moment. He understood that now there was no longer any way to conceal the truth from his mother. A faint, weary smile tugged at his lips as he finally spoke, his voice low yet steady. "I built it…" He paused for a moment. Fang Liyun looked at her son's expression, and then right there, she knew that her son was going to talk about something painful. Maybe she already knew about what he was going to talk about because, to date, there was only one most painful thing happened to her son.
Then she heard her son continue to speak, "I built Ling Pavilion two months after that accident." His fingers tightened slightly on the armrest of his wheelchair before he continued again, his gaze drifting somewhere distant, as if revisiting those lonely days. "I was tired of being trapped in that room, trying to accept the reality that I could no longer walk. But at the same time… I didn't want to face people either." He paused briefly, then exhaled softly. "So, this place became my refuge. A space where I could exist without being pitied, without being watched. I would come here quietly, through the private passage meant only for me." His eyes returned to his mother, calm yet resolute. "Only Wang Hao, the manager, and a few of my personal bodyguards know that I am the hidden owner of Ling Pavilion."