45: Liquidate the assets of the Gao and Shen families and remove them from Tianhai City!

Soon, Xiao Wu led a slender young woman into the hall.

Her features were delicate, her skin radiant and snow-white, and a long beige dress accentuated her graceful figure, making her appear gentle and demure.

Although slender, she was curvaceous and alluring, especially her full, ample chest, which swayed with her steps. Her entire being exuded a youthful yet delicate charm that captivated all who saw her.

However, her hair was disheveled at the moment, and her exquisite, beautiful face was deathly pale, as if she might collapse with a gust of wind, appearing utterly pitiful.

Her limpid autumn eyes were slightly swollen and red, as if she had just been crying, the glistening tears adding a touch of poignant beauty that evoked pity.

Every movement she made conveyed fragility, like a lily blooming in the forest, trembling in the wind and rain, yet still standing tall, showing a hint of strength and stubbornness.

The moment she appeared, everyone's attention was drawn to her.

Gao Shiyuan was even more agitated, scrambling to his feet and rushing over: "Xiao Wei! You finally came downstairs!"

Gao Xuewei looked at Gao Shiyuan, surprised by his disheveled state, but she said nothing.

A trace of disgust appeared in her beautiful eyes. She lowered her gaze, avoiding Gao Shiyuan's outstretched hand.

Gao Shiyuan awkwardly retracted his hand and continued to say with a fawning expression: "Xuewei, ah, I misunderstood you about what happened before. Father truly didn't mean to. Please forgive Father."

Gao Xuewei still ignored him.

She raised her watery eyes and looked around.

Gao Xuewei immediately saw the handsome and tall man sitting on the sofa.

His face was cold, with a hint of Evil Qi between his brows. His deep eyes were as bright and dazzling as obsidian, and his entire being exuded an arrogant disdain for all living things, displaying elegance and nobility in every gesture.

Gao Xuewei froze for a moment; her heart suddenly accelerated, and she felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation.

"Mommy!" At this moment, the little girl behind Lu Chen suddenly cheered.

Gao Xuewei suddenly came back to her senses.

The little girl, with her short legs, rushed into Gao Xuewei's arms, her small mouth pouting, her eyes teary: "Mommy, I miss you so much! Mommy... woo-wah..."

She hugged Gao Xuewei and began to wail aggrievedly.

Gao Xuewei eagerly hugged the little girl, pulling her tightly into her embrace, patting her back. Her beautiful eyes gradually became moist, and she choked out: "Xiao Xi, be good, Mommy misses you too!"

"Woo woo... Mommy..."

The mother and daughter embraced and cried bitterly.

But Gao Xuewei knew that now was not the time for sadness and tears.

She let go of the little girl, wiped the tears from her eyes with her hand, and said softly: "Good girl, let's not cry."

"Mm." Xiao Xi wiped her tears clean with her sleeve and stood obediently beside Gao Xuewei, though her small face was still covered in tear streaks.

Gao Xuewei held Xiao Xi's hand tightly, walking step by step towards Lu Chen, her voice slightly choked, yet she tried hard to control her emotions:

"Hello, my name is Gao Xuewei, Xiao Xi's mother. Thank you for saving my daughter."

Her voice was very gentle, like a refreshing spring of clear water.

Lu Chen smiled slightly: "You're quite clever."

"Aside from you, I see no hope here." Gao Xuewei lowered her eyelids, concealing the turbulent emotions in her eyes.

This place was either the Gao Family or the Shen Family. Besides Lu Chen, a stranger, everyone here was no different from her enemies.

Gao Xuewei truly couldn't think of anyone else who would save her daughter besides Lu Chen.

Lu Chen nodded and pointed to the empty sofa beside him: "Sit down and talk."

Gao Xuewei led Xiao Xi to the sofa, looked at Lu Chen, and said: "Thank you, I can stand. May I ask you..."

Lu Chen calmly took a sip of tea, interrupting her words that were about to spill out: "First, sit down and watch this play. We'll talk about other things later."

Gao Xuewei was still hesitating. Xiao Xi raised her tear-filled, big eyes, looked timidly at Gao Xuewei, and her pink little mouth moved: "Mommy, Big Brother is a good person."

Gao Xuewei's gaze was gentle and doting, and she reached out to stroke Xiao Xi's head.

She bit her lip and slowly sat down with Xiao Xi.

However, only half of her bottom touched the chair, and her entire posture was rigid, like a bird startled by a bow.

As soon as she came downstairs, she felt the strange atmosphere in the courtyard. Shen Zeting was kneeling on the ground in a sorry state, and Shen Yuntao stood in front of Lu Chen, trembling and bowing subserviently.

Clearly, all of this was because of the distinguished man on the sofa.

Faced with such a situation, it was hard for her not to be nervous.

Lu Chen glanced at her, put down his teacup, and said casually: "I heard you and Shen Zeting are getting engaged?"

Hearing this, Gao Xuewei's heart trembled, and she involuntarily clenched her fists, lowering her eyes without a sound.

She didn't understand Lu Chen's meaning and dared not speak carelessly.

Having raised a child alone and lived a hard life at the bottom of society for years, Gao Xuewei clearly understood one principle.

Speak little or not at all; if you have nothing to say, don't discuss it.

Seeing this, Shen Yuntao quickly winked at Gao Xuewei, and at the same time said eagerly: "Young Master Lu, our Shen Family truly has no engagement with Young Miss Gao. These are all groundless rumors!"

Gao Xuewei's eyes widened abruptly, looking at Shen Yuntao in shock.

"Father! What nonsense are you talking about!" Shen Zeting, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't bear it anymore and roared.

"Slap!" Shen Yuntao raised his hand and slapped Shen Zeting hard: "You beast! Didn't I tell you to shut up? Are you deaf?!"

Shen Zeting covered his stinging cheek, glaring resentfully at his father.

He could endure anything else, but his engagement with Gao Xuewei couldn't end like this; that was his bottom line.

Because he truly liked Gao Xuewei very much.

"Father, how could you do this?"

"You scoundrel! Shut up!"

"Father, you must give me an explanation for this matter! Otherwise..."

Shen Yuntao grabbed his collar and said sinisterly: "Otherwise what? Are you trying to rebel?"

He was already on the verge of madness. Couldn't this foolish son see by now that Young Master Lu was here for Gao Xuewei!

Lu Chen watched the father and son confront each other, shaking his head with a smile.

Although he hadn't seen this part of the plot yet, he had pretty much guessed it based on Shen Zeting's reaction.

In the original plot, Shen Zeting was deeply in love with Gao Xuewei and was determined to have her, but who knew the God of War would return and beat him to a pulp.

So the Shen Family must have used Shen Qingyan's relationship with him, Lu Chen, to get him to act.

Thus, he forcibly stood up for the Shen Family, and from then on, he formed an enmity with the God of War Dragon King.

"Alright, you two don't need to argue anymore."

Lu Chen leaned lazily against the back of the sofa and calmly instructed the butler: "Inform finance and human resources to take over all of the Shen Family's assets tomorrow."

"Yes, Young Master." The butler nodded.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuntao went limp, falling to the ground. His face was pale, and his lips trembled as he said: "Young Master Lu, you... what do you mean by this?"

Shen Zeting was even more scared, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

Lu Chen didn't even look at them, paused, and then added: "Oh, and the Gao Family's assets, take those over as well while you're at it."

His voice drifted lightly into everyone's ears in the courtyard, yet it weighed like a thousand pounds on their hearts.

"Yes, Young Master." The butler respectfully replied.

Gao Shiyuan had just been gloating, but after hearing this, his pupils constricted, and he immediately panicked, quickly kneeling and shuffling over to Lu Chen, pleading bitterly:

"Young Master Lu! Young Master Lu! I beg you to spare the Gao Family!"

Seeing that Lu Chen ignored him, Gao Shiyuan immediately crawled to his daughter Gao Xuewei, hugged her leg, and cried and shouted:

"Xiao Wei, quickly beg Young Master Lu to let our Gao Family go!"

Gao Xuewei stared blankly at this scene, as if in a dream, her mind buzzing, her eyes vacant.

This man beside her, with just two sentences, had resolved a predicament she once thought she could never escape in her lifetime.

Who exactly was this man?

Why was he helping her?

Could it be... he was also interested in her?

As this thought emerged, a deep chill rose in Gao Xuewei's heart, feeling a wave of coldness, and her hands involuntarily tightened.

She had never met this man before; in fact, she had only known him for a few minutes.

But he was willing to help her solve such a huge problem.

Why... exactly?