Rebuked by Xu Qingqing, Lu Chuanbai and Lu Fenglin exchanged a glance and promptly fell silent.
Lu Fenglin shot Lu Chuanbai a venomous look and sneered, "My dear elder brother, while you've been busy rescuing Miss Xu these days, are you unaware that some major events have transpired in the company? A large number of stocks have been bought by a stranger. Aren't you going to investigate who's behind this?"
Lu Chuanbai remained unmoved by his words. Instead, he regarded him with a cryptic look and asked, "Who do you think has the financial resources and the ability to persuade those retail investors to sell their shares?"
A smile played on Lu Fenglin's lips as his gaze met Lu Chuanbai's in mid-air. "Are you insinuating that I'm the mastermind behind all this, elder brother? Do you have any evidence?"
"You've always been adept at such underhanded schemes. Why would I need to look for evidence?"
"Whenever I take a fancy to something, you do too. You saw me getting close to the two children of the Xu family, and you rushed to ingratiate yourself with them too. Lu Fenglin, today, in front of Miss Xu, I'll make myself clear. If you have any grievances, come at me. Don't target the Xu family!"
Lu Chuanbai's eyes were deep, exuding a hint of warning and threat.
He had already said something similar to Xu Qingqing, but his words had fallen on deaf ears. Now, with Xu Yan present, he reiterated his stance. Xu Yan was a cautious person, and he was confident that Xu Yan would ensure Xu Qingqing didn't suffer.
Sure enough, upon hearing Lu Chuanbai's words, Xu Yan frowned and glanced at Xu An'an, who was holding Lu Fenglin's hand.
"An'an, come to Uncle. Let these two uncles talk here."
Xu An'an blinked her big eyes. Although she didn't understand why Uncle wanted her to go over, she was always obedient. She nodded, released Lu Fenglin's hand, and walked towards Xu Yan.
Lu Fenglin raised his eyebrows slightly. He had seen through the situation. In the Xu family, for now, Lu Chuanbai was more popular than him.
This stoked the embers of inferiority in Lu Fenglin's heart.
Currently, Lu Chuanbai was the one in power in the Lu family. If he were in Xu Yan's shoes, he would indeed prefer his sister to be with Lu Chuanbai.
How laughable it was that he had failed to completely destroy Lu Chuanbai when he was disabled. Instead, he had ignited Lu Chuanbai's will to live. Whenever Lu Fenglin thought of this, he felt a lump in his throat.
Not long after they had walked a short distance, they ran into Gu Anrou, who was rushing over in a hurry. Upon learning that Lu Chuanbai had spent the night at the Xu family yesterday, she flew into a rage on the spot. She immediately found out where the Xu family lived and rushed over early.
As luck would have it, Gu Anrou witnessed the scene where Lu Chuanbai was holding Xu Yiyi's hand, Xu Yan was carrying Xu An'an, and Xu Qingqing was standing beside them.
The scene was incredibly harmonious.
As for Lu Fenglin, she simply ignored him.
Gu Anrou was instantly enraged. With a face full of grievance, she walked up to Lu Chuanbai.
"Brother Chuanbai, I understand that Miss Xu was frightened yesterday, and it was you who saved her. It's only natural that you were worried about her. However, you're still unmarried. How could you just stay at the Xu family? This will damage both your reputation and Miss Xu's if it gets out."
As she spoke, Gu Anrou turned to Xu Qingqing. "Miss Xu, I know you were frightened yesterday and needed someone to comfort you. But Brother Chuanbai has a lot of troubles to deal with in the company recently. Now that you're safe, I hope you can give Brother Chuanbai some time to handle his official business, okay?"
"I'm very sympathetic to your experience. I've specially bought some gifts for you today. I hope you can quickly get over this unpleasant experience."
"Oh, right, Miss Xu. I heard that those three men were a gang of criminals who often committed crimes. They took you away for three days. Did they do anything to you?"
Although the words seemed concerned, coming from Gu Anrou, they took on a different meaning, as if Xu Qingqing had lost her virginity in the hands of the kidnappers.
Hearing this, Xu Yan was immediately displeased. He stepped in front of Xu Qingqing and glared at Gu Anrou angrily. "My sister has already explained to the police in detail what she went through in the hands of the kidnappers. Those kidnappers never touched her. My sister is not that weak. She was able to protect herself in danger."
"Those who know about this incident won't spread rumors casually. Today, Miss Gu came to our house to offer condolences and gifts. We appreciate your kindness."
"However, if anyone spreads rumors in the future that my sister lost her virginity and was insulted in the hands of the kidnappers, I'll hold Miss Gu accountable first. Coincidentally, there's a surveillance camera at our door, and every word Miss Gu said just now was clearly recorded."
Rebuked by Xu Yan, Gu Anrou deliberately showed a hint of grievance on her face. "I know you're Miss Xu's elder brother, and it's natural for you to worry about her. But my concerns are just what an ordinary person would think. Aren't you being too harsh on me?"
As she spoke, she cast a pleading look at Lu Chuanbai, who was standing beside her. "Brother Chuanbai, you misunderstood me yesterday and thought that I instigated someone to kidnap Miss Xu. But although I may be a bit spoiled now, I still know what I can and can't do. How could I kidnap Miss Xu? That's against the law."
"You questioned me yesterday, and today, I came here out of kindness to comfort Miss Xu, but her elder brother treated me like this. What on earth did I do wrong to make you all hate me so much? Did I do something unforgivable?"
She said pitifully. If a stranger saw this scene, they would probably think that Gu Anrou was really pitiful, an object of exclusion and isolation.
Lu Fenglin twitched the corner of his mouth. He knew exactly what kind of person Gu Anrou was.
Xu Qingqing had been watching her performance coldly all along and had no intention of talking to her.
But Lu Chuanbai, who had been constantly mentioned by her, was not so lucky. He hadn't expected Gu Anrou to come so early and block the entrance of the Xu family.
"Questioning you yesterday was my own business and has nothing to do with the Xu family. If you have anything to say, talk to me privately. Don't block the way here."
Lu Chuanbai's expression was calm, which was his usual attitude towards others.
Previously, Gu Anrou wouldn't have thought anything of it. But now, Lu Chuanbai's attitude towards Xu Qingqing far exceeded his usual personality.
This filled her with a sense of crisis.
"Brother Chuanbai, I know you feel sorry for her, but you wronged me so much yesterday. I've also been wronged. Don't you think you should make it up to me?"