Standing Next To You-Chapter 405: Withdrawing

A/n: This Chapter is now fixed. Thank you for waiting.

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Like the Go pieces that were cornered and captured, Head Master Fei and his men found themselves forced off the board, admitting defeat. His schemes had been seen through and countered so perfectly that he had no grounds to argue.

Head Master Fei signaled his men to retreat, his heart heavy with shame.

"This will be the last time you can play dirty, Head Master Fei." Fei Chuan’s cold voice sounded beside him. "If you ever truly considered me your grandson, then withdraw your lawsuit against her. If you do that, I will forget you putting a gun to my head,"

For the first time, Head Master Fei felt such shame that he wished the ground would open up and swallow him. What made it worse was that he felt this way in front of his own descendant—the very one he had just promised to protect, only to put a gun to his head moments later.

His shame and guilt might have been lessened if the plan had succeeded. But now that it had failed, Head Master Fei couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

Fei Chuan didn’t wait for an answer. He stood up. "Listen carefully, Head Master Fei. This is a warning. If you continue your lawsuit against her, I’ll have no choice but to expose all the dirty secrets the Fei family has hidden. You wouldn’t want this family to be destroyed by your own grandson, would you?"

Head Master Fei turned sharply toward Fei Chuan. Swallowing the shame and guilt in his heart, he asked, "...Do you have what it takes to ruin the Fei family?"

Fei Chuan opened a file on his phone and showed the contents to Head Master Fei. It was easier to let him see than to explain.

Head Master Fei adjusted his glasses as he stared at the screen. Several folders with different titles appeared—

His eyes widened as he read the titles. Just as he was about to scroll down to see more, Fei Chuan took back his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

"I only showed you the tip of the iceberg. I have much more saved on my drive."

Head Master Fei glanced up at him, and the expression in his eyes shifted. Where he had once regarded Fei Chuan as a naive young descendant, he now looked at him as though he were someone who held his weakness and fate in their hands.

"Fei Chuan... how did you get this? What are you planning to do with those files? W-who... who are you working for?" Head Master Fei was so flustered that he asked several questions in a single breath.

Fei Chuan met his gaze and replied solemnly, "I don’t work for anyone. How I got this isn’t important. What matters is what I intend to do with it. If you follow my instructions, I won’t expose or share these files. But if you play any more tricks and endanger Bei Sangyun or my people, I will release this to the public without leaving any crumbs behind."

Head Master Fei paled. With so many crimes exposed, even if he gave all his wealth to bribe the officials, most of the family members—including himself—would still end up in jail. The family would suffer, and they would never recover.

As the monk said, ’he’ would be their downfall.

"I hope you make a wise decision, Head Master Fei." Fei Chuan walked away without looking back.

Head Master Fei slumped weakly in his chair. It was only when his men came to his side to escort him to the car that he managed to leave the place.

...

Two days later, just the day before the pre-trial, a lawyer from the Fei family came to the Lin family’s house looking for Bei Sangyun.

When Bei Sangyun arrived at the Lin mansion’s sitting room, she saw the lawyer waiting for her in the presence of Old Master Lin.

Old Master Lin saw her and smiled warmly. "My dear Sangyun is here. Come, child, sit beside me. Butler Yang, please prepare refreshments for Sangyun."

"Yes, Head Master," Butler Yang complied and prepared the tea.

The aroma of tea once again filled the room.

Bei Sangyun sat on the couch beside Old Master Lin, giving him a strange look. This old man, who always frowned when meeting his descendants, was now full of smiles. He even personally asked his own butler to prepare her tea.

What was this? Was he trying to please her? Or was this a reward?

She had never seen this side of him, not even in her past lifetime.

But why was he here?

Just as she was about to shoo him away, Old Master Lin waved his hand. "Ah, right. Don’t mind me. Just start your meeting."

Bei Sangyun: "..."

So he was here to gossip.

She rolled her eyes and faced the lawyer. "What news do you have?"

The lawyer greeted her respectfully and handed her a document. It was a notice of voluntary dismissal filed by the Fei family to withdraw the charges against her.

"Ms. Bei, I am here to inform you that the Fei family wishes to drop the charges against you. After much deliberation, my client has decided not to pursue this conflict further, as it all stems from misunderstandings. We recognize that certain aspects were misconstrued and believe it’s in everyone’s best interest to put this matter behind us."

"...Put this matter behind us?" Bei Sangyun smiled. It seemed that old man Fei finally realized he won’t win this battle.

She nodded. "Alright. I accept. If they’re going to stop bothering us, then I won’t start anything. Tell them that."

"What? You’re just letting them go?" Old Master Lin suddenly intervened. "They started a fight and now, like cowards, they run away with their tails between their legs. They didn’t even apologize and just want this whole matter to be forgotten?"

Both Bei Sangyun and the lawyer looked at him.

Bei Sangyun raised an eyebrow. "Should we mind you?"

Old Master Lin: "..." Right, he had just told them not to mind him.

He closed his mouth and picked up his tea.

Bei Sangyun turned back to the lawyer. "I’ll keep my word as long as they keep theirs."

The lawyer understood and nodded.

The meeting with the lawyer was brief. After she signed the legal documents for both parties to settle the matter peacefully, the lawyer left.

Bei Sangyun was about to leave the room when Old Master Lin coughed.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him lazily.

"What? If you have something to say, say it. I still need to go study." Her Fei Chuan was still waiting at home.

Old Master Lin ignored her rude tone and manner of speech. He gestured to the untouched tea on the table. "Is the tea not to your liking? Butler Yang worked hard to prepare it for you."

Bei Sangyun glanced at Butler Yang.

Butler Yang caught the hint from his master’s look and bowed to Bei Sangyun. "If the tea is not to your liking, I will prepare a new one according to your preference. Please let me know how you would like it changed, Young Miss."

Bei Sangyun sighed and sat back down. "Just reheat it. No need to make a new one."

Old Master Lin, having successfully made her stay, smiled more genuinely. "Sangyun, why did the lawyer address you as Bei? You’re a Lin. I’ve told you before that you can use our family name whenever you want. I will support you."

Bei Sangyun raised an eyebrow. The old man had indeed said she could use the Lin family name as a paper shield, but she clearly remembered him saying he wouldn’t support her or help clean up any mess.

"Well, I prefer the ’Bei’ in my name. It sounds good." She didn’t expose him, but her words made Old Master Lin’s smile stiffen.

To say she preferred her former name over the surname he bestowed upon her—wasn’t she essentially saying she didn’t care at all about being a Lin?

He coughed again. "Ahem. Is that so? Anyway, it’s very admirable that you managed to push back the Fei family on your own. I never knew you had connections in the mercenary industry."

Old Master Lin did not offer any help or support to Bei Sangyun, but he watched the situation with hawk-like eyes.

Although he didn’t have all the details of what happened, the reports from the spies he sent to follow Bei Sangyun described the chilling scene of hundreds of mercenaries disguised as civilians surrounding Head Master Fei’s men.

"It’s just a trifling matter. Nothing to be impressed about," Bei Sangyun said as she picked up the teacup that Butler Yang had placed in front of her. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

Old Master Lin’s lips twitched. Trifling matter?

To hire several hundred veterans from the mercenary industry, strategize such a grand plan, and push back not just any family but the great Fei family—none of it was trifling.

Old Master Lin drank from his teacup to adjust his mood. Only now did he realize that this arrogant young woman truly had the ability to back up her arrogance.

"You’re right. It’s all just trifling. Now, tell me, what are your plans after this? You took their son away; you don’t plan on continuing to live with him, do you? You two can’t live together under one roof."

"Why not? We have plans to marry each other in the future, so I don’t see anything wrong with it."

"You’re barely twenty. People will talk if they find out that you two are living together at such a young age," Old Master Lin rebutted.