Chapter 159 Hand It Over Willingly? Or by Force?

Chapter 159: Hand It Over Voluntarily? Or Get Forced To?

Shen Qingci heard that familiar, grating voice and looked up.

His cold eyes landed on the speaker's face, and the moment their eyes met, the man shut up.

Then, realizing he'd let himself be intimidated by a guy in his twenties, his face turned beet red with embarrassment.

He thrust out his chin, his face turning crimson, and roared:

"What are you looking at!"

Shen Qingci looked at him, his eyes cold and devoid of any emotion, which made the man's skin crawl even more.

After a few seconds, he looked away and turned to Lu Lin, his voice icy:

"Is that the guy you've got saved as 'Er Gouzi' in your phone?"

Lu Lin had already bent down to get close the moment Shen Qingci looked over.

At the question, he glanced at the flushed middle-aged man, nodded, and replied with a smile:

"Yeah."

He paused, then added with a smirk:

"He's the old bastard's second son, so technically, my second uncle. Not only is he ugly and bad-tempered, but he's also not too bright."

Shen Qingci gave a noncommittal 'Mm'.

He looked up again at the middle-aged man, whose face was growing sourer, parted his thin lips, and remarked flatly:

"Indeed."

"Quite stupid."

Second Master Lu was so furious that his chest heaved violently. He pointed at Lu Lin, his finger trembling and lips quivering, about to start cursing.

But the moment he met Lu Lin's smiling eyes, a strange chill shot up his spine.

His finger suddenly pointed at Shen Qingci.

"You bitch, how dare you—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

*Thud!*

A muffled sound.

A dagger was driven straight through his outstretched hand.

The blade pierced his palm, the bloody tip poking out the back.

Second Master Lu froze for a second, staring at the dagger piercing his hand as the searing pain spread all over his body.

"Ahhh—!!!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the office.

The sound was sharp and piercing, like a stuck pig.

The people around gasped, stepping back in unison, terror written all over their faces.

Shen Qingci didn't see a thing; he just felt his eyes go dark as a hand covered them, blocking everything.

He only heard the scream, the gasps, the sound of people stepping back, and the sharp intakes of breath.

Frowning, he reached up to pull Lu Lin's hand away, but it was like a steel plate welded over his eyes—completely immovable.

A few seconds.

Dozens of seconds.

Several minutes.

Finally, the hand moved away.

Frowning, Shen Qingci looked around. Second Master Lu was gone.

The remaining people in the office were all pale, staring at Lu Lin like they were looking at a demon crawling out of hell.

Shen Qingci looked away and up at Lu Lin, his eyes full of questions.

Lu Lin bent down, wearing his usual docile smile, leaning in close, and said softly,

"What's wrong, bro?"

Shen Qingci stared at him.

To Shen Qingci, Lu Lin looked completely innocent, his eyes clear as he gazed back.

Shen Qingci looked away, turned his attention back to the trembling members of the Lu family, and lightly tapped his finger on the desk.

He went quiet.

He had long noticed the fear the Lu family had for Lu Lin—but what he didn't understand was—

Since they were so afraid, why did they still come pick a fight with Lu Lin every now and then, acting all high and mighty?

They clearly trembled like mice before a cat, too scared to even breathe.

Could it be that Lu Lin's mood swings and occasional dissociative episodes weren't a disease after all?

But a family thing?

"Bro?"

Lu Lin's voice sounded again, tinged with confusion.

Shen Qingci snapped out of it.

He glanced at Lu Lin again, seeing the same obedient, innocent look on his face, his eyes shining with eagerness and excitement.

Shen Qingci looked away, stopped thinking about the weird dynamic between Lu Lin and his family, and looked back at the Lu family members who were still standing.

He spoke in a cold, emotionless voice, delivering an ultimatum:

"You have two choices."

"Option one: hand over the shares willingly."

"Option two: hand over the shares unwillingly."

His gaze swept over the pale faces, paused, and then he continued:

"Which one do you choose?"

Hearing Shen Qingci's words, a middle-aged woman stepped forward, her voice sharp and shrill.

Her well-preserved face was filled with anger, her lips painted bright red opening and closing:

"Shen Qingci, are you joking? An outsider like you, waltzing in and demanding to buy our family's shares?"

"Who do you think you are? We came here to take down Lu Lin—"

Before she could finish, her voice came to an abrupt halt. In her mind, the scene from just moments ago instantly flashed.

A flash of metal, blood spraying, and Second Master Lu clutching his pierced palm, wailing in agony.

And the culprit, just smiling, casually covering the eyes of the person beside him.

Her face instantly turned pale. Suddenly, she figured having Lu Lin as CEO wasn't so bad after all.

After all, the dividends they got each year were now several times what they were before Lu Lin took over.

Money was rolling in, life was cushy—why pick a fight with him over a few shares?

The others clearly had the same thought. They exchanged glances, silently passing the message.

Someone quietly stepped back, then another, then another.

Like a receding tide, the group crept toward the door.

Shen Qingci sat behind the desk, tapping his fingers lightly and unhurriedly on the desk.

He watched the group inch toward the door. Just as they were about to step through the doorway:

"Hand over the shares now, and I'll buy them at a premium."

A cold voice cut through the silence, and the group's footsteps instantly stopped.

Shen Qingci's icy gaze swept over them. His voice was calm, devoid of any emotion, yet it seemed to lower the temperature in the room a few degrees:

"The moment you walk out that door—"

He paused, his tone dripping with warning:

"If you want to sell later, it's up to me whether I'll buy."

Several people exchanged glances, unsure what Shen Qingci meant.

Their only reason for coming was that Old Master Lu was hospitalized after Lu Lin made him so angry.

They saw this as a chance to cause trouble for Lu Lin and squeeze some perks out of him.

After learning about it yesterday, they went to check the surveillance footage, planning to save it as evidence to blackmail Lu Lin later.

But when they checked, they found all the footage for that night was turned off.

Usually, the Lu family's surveillance ran twenty-four hours a day. But that night, everything was down.

It was damn strange.

But regardless, the fact remained that Old Master Lu was in the hospital because Lu Lin had worked him up.

So they had the audacity to come today, hoping to force Lu Lin to hand over shares or give up some perks.

Now, not only had they failed to cause trouble for Lu Lin, but an outsider was threatening them into giving up their own shares?

Even though they feared that lunatic Lu Lin, they were still his elders.

Let alone when facing an outsider like Shen Qingci.