117: Mingcheng cheated and stole customer resources; the three men's antics led to their crushing defeat.

At 10:00 AM on Thursday, in the accounting firm where Zhu Li worked, the printer hummed as it spat out the final draft of Shengtong Technology's annual audit. With toner on her fingertips, she was organizing the documents by page number when the glass door was suddenly pushed open with a bang—Su Mingcheng burst in carrying a briefcase with worn corners and rushed straight to her workstation. He clutched a crumpled note with the words 'Shengtong Technology' scrawled on it, his eyes filled with a greedy, predatory light.

"Zhu Li, hand over the contact information and cooperation proposal for 'Shengtong'!" Su Mingcheng reached out to snatch the document folder, his knuckles turning white from the force. "I'm negotiating equipment procurement with them. If it succeeds, I'll give you thirty percent of the profit. Don't be ungrateful!"

Zhu Li quickly stuffed the folder into a drawer, her fingertips turning red from being scraped by the drawer edge. "Su Mingcheng! This is a core client of the firm. The proposal involves trade secrets. It's useless to you anyway—you can't even distinguish between equipment models. You're not looking for cooperation; you want to scam them for a deposit to pay off your gambling debts!"

The briefcase on the floor was knocked open, and several casino debt collection notices rolled out, with the words 'Debt of 50,000, pay within 3 days' particularly eye-catching. Su Mingcheng's expression changed, and he simply threw caution to the wind, grabbing Zhu Li's wrist. "Stay out of my business! If you don't give me the documents today, I'll tell your colleagues you took a bribe from 'Shengtong'! I'll make it impossible for you to stay in the auditing circle!"

Surrounding colleagues looked up one after another; some were secretly recording, while others whispered. Zhu Li cared most about her professional reputation. Being struck at her weak point, she was both anxious and embarrassed, tears welling in her eyes. She reached for the mobile phone at the corner of her desk and dialed Xie Hui's number with trembling fingers, her voice choked with tears. "Mr. Xie, Su Mingcheng is trying to steal 'Shengtong's' documents and says he'll ruin my reputation... Please come quickly!"

"Don't panic, I'll be there in two minutes!" Xie Hui's voice came through the receiver—he had just finalized the list of suppliers for the new energy project at Company Name. He even had a hot coffee in his car for Zhu Li and had planned to drop it off on his way. He hadn't expected to run into this. "Lock the documents away, don't fight him head-on, I'm almost there!"

After hanging up, Zhu Li gritted her teeth and shook off Su Mingcheng's hand, stuffing the drawer key into the inner pocket of her sweater. "The director's office is right next door. If you keep causing trouble, I'll call the police!"

"Go ahead and call them!" Su Mingcheng lunged forward with bloodshot eyes, trying to pry open Zhu Li's hand to grab the key. "Let's see how you explain this to the client!"

Just as his fingers were about to touch the key, Xie Hui pushed the door open and rushed in. His right hand accurately clamped onto Su Mingcheng's wrist and gave it a gentle twist—using the Nine Yin Manual's force-deflecting technique learned in the condor heroes world. It seemed effortless, but it made Su Mingcheng's arm go numb, causing him to stumble and crash into a filing cabinet, grimacing in pain.

"Su Mingcheng, I warned you last time. If you touch Zhu Li again, I'll break one of your hands. Did you take it as a joke?" Xie Hui's gaze swept over the debt notices on the floor, his tone cold as ice. "Stealing client documents to scam a deposit for gambling debts—you certainly know how to find 'shortcuts'."

Su Mingcheng rubbed his arm and remained stubborn. "I'm asking my ex-wife for something, what does it have to do with you?"

"An ex-wife should help you scam clients?" Xie Hui pulled out his mobile phone from his inner universe and played a recording—it was recorded this morning using Time Stop. Su Mingcheng was on the phone with a debt collector at the Su Family Old Residence: "I'll go to Zhu Li's place this afternoon to snatch the 'Shengtong' documents and scam a deposit to pay you back. Don't worry!" In the recording, Su Daqiang could also be heard chiming in: "I'll go to the firm and make a scene to help distract people!"

As soon as the recording played, the colleagues' chatter exploded. "So he's scamming a client to pay off gambling debts! How wicked!" "Accountant Zhu is so pitiful!"

Su Mingcheng's face turned white as paper. He tried to grab the mobile phone, but Xie Hui sidestepped him. Zhu Li looked at the debt notices on the floor, and her last bit of sentiment for Su Mingcheng was completely severed. She picked up the internal phone. "Director, Su Mingcheng broke into the office to steal documents and threatened me. Please call security!"

Su Mingcheng caught a glimpse of the "Shengtong Cooperation Risk Assessment" peeking out of Xie Hui's pocket (which Xie Hui had the Company Name legal department prepare this morning to prevent Zhu Li from being disadvantaged). He finally lost his nerve, picked up his briefcase, and ran. "Zhu Li, you just wait!"

Zhu Li watched his retreating back and sighed in relief, but then felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand—the edge of the document folder had scratched her skin while they were struggling, and beads of blood were seeping out. Xie Hui handed over the hot coffee from the car and pulled out a first-aid kit. "Drink something hot first. I'll take care of your wound."

The steam from the coffee hit her face. Zhu Li took the cup, her voice still trembling slightly. "Thank you. Otherwise, the documents would be gone, and both my job and reputation would be ruined."

"I've already told the director. From now on, if Su Mingcheng comes, security will block him downstairs." Xie Hui helped her disinfect with iodine, his movements so gentle she didn't feel any pain.

Just as they walked downstairs, Zhu Li's colleague ran over. "This is bad! Your former father-in-law is crying while holding a sign, and many people are gathering to film him!"

Xie Hui and Zhu Li hurried over and indeed saw Su Daqiang sitting on the steps, holding a piece of cardboard. In red ink, it read: "Begging daughter-in-law to give client to save son, black-hearted person won't let people live." He was also stuffing notes into the hands of passersby. "My son just wants to find a way to make a living, but my daughter-in-law is hiding the client and won't give him up..."

More and more passersby gathered, some recording with their mobile phones. Zhu Li's face flushed. "Dad, 'Shengtong' is a client of the firm, not something I'm hiding! Stop spreading rumors!"

"Stop making excuses!" Su Daqiang lay on the ground, slapping his thighs and wailing, "If you don't give me the documents, I'll die right here!"

At this moment, Su Mingyu and Wu Fei arrived in a hurry—Su Mingyu was worried and had taken time off from work; Wu Fei had taken a taxi straight over after dropping Xiao Mi off at kindergarten. Su Mingyu watched Su Daqiang throwing a tantrum, her face cold. "Dad, get up! Su Mingcheng wanted to scam a deposit to pay off gambling debts. If you keep making a scene and the people from 'Shengtong' see it, he won't even have a way out!"

Su Daqiang's crying paused, his eyes darting around. "I... I wasn't spreading rumors..."

Xie Hui took out his mobile phone and played a new video—it was recorded this morning using Time Stop. Su Mingzhe was on a video call with Su Daqiang and Su Mingcheng: "Dad, lie down at the entrance of the firm, the more pitiful the better. Mingcheng, once you grab the documents, hurry up and scam the deposit. I'll send a message to Wu Fei to have her persuade Zhu Li to 'remember old times.' We'll surround her from three sides!"

Su Mingzhe's voice in the video was clear and piercing. The onlookers instantly understood. "So the whole family conspired to scam a client! How disgusting!"

Su Daqiang's face turned a deep purple. He scrambled up, grabbed the cardboard, and ran towards the alley, nearly tripping. "I'm never coming back!"

Zhu Li breathed a sigh of relief and said to Su Mingyu and Wu Fei, "Thank you for coming all this way."

"We're friends, of course we should help each other." Su Mingyu pointed at the back of her hand. "You should go to the hospital to have that wound treated so it doesn't get infected."

Wu Fei's mobile phone suddenly rang. It was Su Mingzhe calling, his tone sounding exceptionally gentle. "Wu Fei, Dad's scene was too unsightly. Please persuade Zhu Li to give the documents to Mingcheng. My rent in America has gone up, and I really can't help..."

Wu Fei pressed the speakerphone button, and Xie Hui pulled out Su Mingzhe's bank statement from his briefcase. "Su Mingzhe, you just received $12,000 in translation fees yesterday and even transferred $5,000 to your sister Su Minglan. How can you say you have no money?"

The records on the statement were glaringly obvious. On the other end of the phone, Su Mingzhe was instantly silenced, stammering, "I... I have to pay property fees, hanging up!"

"He's still the same, only good at pretending to be a good person with his words." Wu Fei smiled helplessly.

Xie Hui checked his watch. "Don't be upset anymore. Let's go to that newly opened Cantonese restaurant for lunch; their shrimp dumplings are very fresh. I'll pick up Xiao Mi tonight, and we'll celebrate her handicraft project results."

In the Cantonese restaurant at noon, warm yellow light spilled onto the table. Zhu Li drank sugar cane and cogon grass water, a sterile bandage on the back of her hand, feeling much more at ease. Su Mingyu picked up a shrimp dumpling for Xie Hui. "Thanks to your quick reaction today, otherwise Zhu Li would have been in trouble."

"It's mainly because Zhu Li locked the documents away quickly." Xie Hui handed the shrimp dumpling to Xiao Mi, who had just been picked up by Wu Fei. "Try it, there's a whole shrimp inside."

Xiao Mi took a bite, her eyes narrowing from the deliciousness. "Uncle, this is so tasty!"

Wu Fei smiled and rubbed her daughter's head. "You only know how to act spoiled with your uncle. But today, I really have to thank Mr. Xie. Not only did you save Zhu Li's job, but you also exposed Su Mingzhe's lies."

Xie Hui raised his teacup. "No need for formalities among us. We'll face things together from now on. Cheers! To never being bothered by the Su Family again!"

"Cheers!" The four cups clinked together, and Xiao Mi followed suit, raising her juice cup and shouting, "Cheers!"

While seeing Su Mingyu home that evening, she took out a hand-woven maple leaf pendant from her bag, its edges adorned with a small silver bead. "I learned how to weave this from the auntie downstairs. It took me three days. Hang it in your car; they say it brings good luck."

Xie Hui took the pendant, his fingertips feeling the fine texture of the weave. "I like it very much, thank you. No matter what happens in the future, I will always be here."

Su Mingyu's face instantly turned red. She turned and walked quickly into the apartment building, turning back to wave after a few steps. The streetlights fell on her face, making it look like it was coated in a layer of soft candy. Xie Hui watched her retreating figure and thought of the relaxed look in Zhu Li's eyes when she drank the sugar cane water, and Wu Fei's gentle smile when talking about Xiao Mi. He knew clearly—these three women, who had been dragged down by the Su Family, had already come to see him as someone they could rely on with peace of mind.

On the drive home, Xie Hui touched his inner universe—inside were Su Mingcheng's debt notices, Su Mingzhe's bank statement, the video of Su Daqiang's scene, and that maple leaf pendant. These weren't cold pieces of evidence; they were marks of his protection for them. He knew the three men of the Su Family might still be unwilling to give up, but as long as he was there, no one would be able to make them suffer again. As the night deepened, a smile remained on Xie Hui's face—the smooth journey in the all is well world was still continuing, and he looked forward to them completely breaking free from the shadows and living brilliantly.