089 Face

Though Black Bear’s eyes were small, his gaze was sharp. He saw the silver needles in Song Qingzhu’s hand, but he charged forward fearlessly all the same. A fierce battle seemed inevitable, and the atmosphere bristled with tension.

Just then, the office door was suddenly kicked open with a loud crash.

“Who’s the blind fool daring to trouble President Song?” Lin Qi bellowed as he stormed in, exuding a murderous aura. When he heard that Song Qingzhu was surrounded, he had been positively delighted—what a perfect chance to prove himself!

“Black Bear?!” The moment Lin Qi caught sight of the hulking man in the office, he froze in disbelief.

“Young... Lin Qi?!” Black Bear very nearly blurted something out, but managed to hold his tongue at the crucial moment. He had never imagined Lin Qi would be here; for a moment, he was just as stunned.

Seeing this, Song Qingzhu quietly slipped the silver needles away. Lin Qi cleared his throat without saying a word and walked up to Song Qingzhu, lowering his voice, “President Song, are you alright?”

As Lin Qi entered, Secretary Zhou hurried in behind him and also rushed to Song Qingzhu’s side, worry etched on her face.

Song Qingzhu shook her head at the two of them and then said, “Lin Qi, I’ll leave this to you.”

“Understood.” Lin Qi turned to face Black Bear and demanded, “Black Bear, what do you think you’re doing?”

Black Bear was still bewildered. He’d heard from Tang Long that Song Qingzhu might be affiliated with “those people,” and today, taking advantage of Uncle Qiu’s request, he’d come to probe and test this woman for himself. But now Lin Qi was here, and judging by his concern, he was obviously close to Song Qingzhu?

“I...” In front of Lin Qi, Black Bear felt a little nervous, but he quickly composed himself and said boisterously, “Lin Qi, it’s you! What are you doing here?”

“I’m President Song’s personal bodyguard now. What’s going on here?” Lin Qi replied.

Black Bear grew even more confused, unable to make sense of the situation, but he answered, “Uncle Qiu from Qiu Village came to me and asked me to collect Qiu Laosan’s medical expenses...”

Lin Qi was both exasperated and amused; he hadn’t expected Qiu Village would recruit Black Bear for this.

“There’s no need to get involved for their sake—they’re just a bunch of troublemakers,” Lin Qi said with a wave of his hand, then, feigning loyalty, added, “With me here, no one’s going to harm President Song!”

“Alright, I’ll leave now,” Black Bear said, turning on his heel to go. He didn’t know what was going on and thought it best to make a quick exit and avoid saying something he’d regret. Besides, he was always a bit anxious around his young master.

Black Bear and his men left together, and peace returned to Jinyang Group.

In the office, Secretary Zhou had already arranged for a new desk to replace the broken one. Gong Jun, the head of security, rushed over at the first opportunity, hoping to see how things had turned out. But Secretary Zhou stopped him at the door.

“Don’t get involved,” she whispered at the entrance. “After the way you behaved today, you still want to see President Song? That’s just asking for trouble.”

“Alright, I won’t go in,” Gong Jun answered anxiously. “But how is President Song? Did she get hurt?”

“There was a bit of a conflict, but she’s fine. Don’t worry,” Secretary Zhou reassured him. She then recounted what had happened.

“Lin Qi drove Black Bear away?!” Gong Jun’s eyes widened in astonishment. “How... did he manage that?”

“I have no idea,” Secretary Zhou replied, shaking her head. “Lin Qi told him to leave, and he left—seems like they know each other... Anyway, I have to go back in now.”

With that, Secretary Zhou turned and went into the office, closing the door behind her. Outside, Gong Jun remained utterly stunned, unable to recover from his shock.

Inside the office, Song Qingzhu sat behind her new desk while Secretary Zhou tidied up the documents carefully beside her.

“Do you know Black Bear?” Song Qingzhu looked up and asked.

“Yes,” Lin Qi answered from across the desk.

“How did you meet?”

“I once injured someone and got locked up for fifteen days. He happened to be there too. We had a bit of a run-in—let’s just say we became acquainted through a fight.”

“He seems to respect you quite a bit.”

“Of course. We got along well while we were locked up together.”

Song Qingzhu nodded, clearly satisfied with his answer. “You’ve done well, Lin Qi. It seems I made the right choice in hiring you.”

Lin Qi grinned. “You flatter me, President Song. I work for you, so it’s only right I do my job. Today was just bad luck—I was delayed buying a breakfast pancake... Well, I’ll step outside now. If you need me, just call.”

With that, Lin Qi turned and left.

“Check if what he said is true,” Song Qingzhu said quietly.

“Yes,” replied Secretary Zhou, who then departed as well.

Shortly afterward, Secretary Zhou returned.

“President Song, I’ve checked. It’s all true—Lin Qi was detained for fifteen days for injuring someone. Black Bear was in the same cell at the time. The two did have a run-in, but it didn’t escalate, and they actually got along quite well afterward.”

Song Qingzhu nodded, satisfied that Lin Qi hadn’t lied.

But then Secretary Zhou continued, “While I was looking into Black Bear, I found something else. He was once wanted by the Special Services Bureau for killing Chen Yuannan... Later, Tang Long spent a fortune and enlisted many influential people to help resolve it for him.”

Song Qingzhu’s fist clenched tightly.