Chapter 153 Temptation

Upon hearing Mo Qian Ni's words, Li Mu Hua's face showed a hint of anger. He stared straight at Mo Qian Ni and said in a deep voice, "Miss Mo, please mind your language. Tonight, I am the victim. It was Li Mucheng who attempted to murder me. Unfortunately, Li Meng and others arrived suddenly, turning the situation around. I am innocent." "Innocent? Do you think our eyes are blind and our ears are deaf?! You are even more shameful than Li Mucheng, more inhuman!" Mo Qian Ni sneered. Li Mu Hua's expression became even more grim, his brows furrowed deeply, veins bulging on his forehead. Yang Chen touched his face in frustration. Why was this woman so agitated? Just a family feud over money and property, like ancient wars of the Yan and Xia. It doesn't matter who wins; they're fighting over the same piece of meat. Why bother getting involved? But now, with Mo Qian Ni's words, peaceably resolving the situation seemed impossible. "Miss Mo, I'm truly disappointed to hear you say that," Li Mu Hua sighed, releasing his furrowed brows and giving a bitter smile. "Though it might sound sudden, the truth is, I had thought about it before. Through this cooperation with Yulei International, I hoped to become friends with Miss Mo and then find opportunities for deeper connections." Li Mu Hua's words not only stunned Mo Qian Ni but also Yang Chen. What did he mean? Confessing his feelings to Mo Qian Ni? "Unfortunately, I didn't expect Miss Mo to witness this scene today. It seems my dream is shattered," Li Mu Hua lamented. Mo Qian Ni bit her lip. "Li Mu Hua, stop making such expressions. Your thoughts about me only disgust me." "Miss Mo, do you know, before deciding whether to invite Yulei International to join, I carefully studied your company's profile. And the profiles of both Yulei's President Lin Ruoxi and Miss Mo Qian Ni were the most attractive to me. I must say, my decision to invite Yulei International to join was largely in hopes of forming a certain relationship with one of the two beautiful ladies." Li Mu Hua said frankly. As soon as he said this, Yang Chen felt annoyed. This Li Mu Hua was despicable. He had wanted to help him keep this matter under wraps as if it never happened, but this guy had been eyeing his wife! How could he tolerate this?!

"However, although President Lin possesses all the qualities I've ever dreamt of in a future partner in terms of appearance, capability, talent, and cultivation, her personality is destined not to be the supportive spouse I hoped for. So, I've always hoped for an opportunity for deeper development with Miss Mo," Li Mu Hua continued. "Unfortunately, fate has other plans. I didn't expect tonight to unfold like this. Speaking my heart out seems to signify that we are fated to be estranged in this lifetime."

Yang Chen couldn't stand it anymore. Li Er (Second Li) was shameless, acting as if he's at a loss if a woman doesn't choose him. Didn't he see him standing there?

"I say, Li Er, stop with the act. Do what you need to do. Your words make me sick," Yang Chen waved his hand at Li Mu Hua, grabbed Mo Qian Ni's hand, and intended to leave.

But just a few steps away, the tall figure of Li Meng suddenly stood in front of them, blocking their path.

"You can't leave today," Li Meng said.

Yang Chen frowned, glanced at Li Meng, then turned back to ask Li Mu Hua, "Li Er, are you sure you want to turn hostile?"

"I can only say it's regrettable, Mr. Yang. Since you both came here tonight, it can only mean that my unfortunate elder brother here will be buried with you. I believe the deaths of both of you will equally serve to strengthen the alliance between our three companies. It will make us more resolute in dealing with the Xus," Li Mu Hua's gaze turned cold as he said calmly.

Yang Chen sighed, patted Mo Qian Ni's slightly trembling hand due to nervousness, gave her a reassuring look, then turned to Li Mu Hua with a smile. "Do you know why I came here?"

"Why?" This was actually the question Li Mu Hua had been pondering. Why did Yang Chen come? How did he follow?

"Because I wanted to confirm if my guess was correct."

"Guess?" Li Mu Hua became even more puzzled.

Yang Chen nodded, released Mo Qian Ni's hand, walked up to Li Mu Hua, and said, "I had a suspicion that all these so-called assassination attempts, bomb placements, and extortion incidents were all orchestrated by you."

Li Mu Hua sneered, "Mr. Yang, I'm quite curious, given your limited time in this world, how did you come up with such a fantastic speculation?"

"Don't you believe it?"

"I consider this arrangement flawless." Li Mu Hua said arrogantly, his numerous successes making this young CEO exceedingly confident.

Yang Chen shook his head, pulled out a cigarette from his pants pocket, lit it for himself, with slow and deliberate movements.

The low-quality tobacco emitted a pungent odor, causing Li Mu Hua, who had been accustomed to the upper echelons of society since childhood, to instinctively take a step back.

Yang Chen took a satisfying drag from the cigarette and embarrassedly said, "Can't explain it all at once without taking a puff."

"Please go ahead," Li Mu Hua said, as if offering the last cigarette to a death row inmate. At this point, in his view, Yang Chen and Mo Qian Ni were like fish on the chopping block; he wasn't in a hurry to slaughter them.

"Let's start with the first time I saw your elder brother, Li Mucheng. I remember he cried his way into the private room because Miss Tina, the daughter of the Earl of Scott from England, broke up with him after completing her studies and chose to marry someone else in England," Yang Chen began.

"What's there to doubt about that?" asked Li Meng.

"Of course, I don't believe that a noble lady from the Scott family, retaining her title, would fancy a man who cries like a child. And how could such a man win the heart of such a socialite that she has to go back to England to marry someone else?"

Li Mu Hua retorted, "We don't know Miss Scott, so no one can guarantee that a noble lady wouldn't like someone like my elder brother."

"So, I decided to test him, to see if your elder brother was intentionally pretending to be that foolish," Yang Chen smiled.

"Test?"

"At the casino," Yang Chen flicked the ash from his cigarette and continued, "I proposed a bet with him and used our Miss Mo as bait to entice him. I observed his reaction. Although he seemed pleasantly surprised on the surface, his eyes remained calm, like a tranquil pool, undisturbed. It showed that he wasn't actually lecherous. His prior advances toward Miss Mo were likely deliberate acts. Then, I challenged him to a game of dice. Forgive my bluntness, but his technique in rolling the dice was quite amateurish. I say amateurish because anyone knowledgeable in this field could easily discern the exact numbers being rolled. When I made my guess, I discreetly observed Li Mucheng's eyes. I knew the answer was a small number, but the moment I uttered the word 'big,' I distinctly felt the disdain in Li Mucheng's eyes. Why would he be disdainful? Because he knew perfectly well that the actual number was small."

"At that moment, I concluded that his intelligence in gambling was not low, at least higher than the average person's, which indicated that he wasn't stupid. However, when I immediately changed my answer to 'small,' Li Mucheng deliberately claimed he was an expert and could tell it was big with just one guess! This contradicted his true intentions. Why? Because he was pretending. He deliberately made people around him believe that he had no gambling skills and relied solely on luck. Moreover, he guessed wrong intentionally!"

As he said this, Li Mu Hua and the three bodyguards showed signs of contemplation, their gazes towards Yang Chen changed. Especially Li Mu Hua, all the things Yang Chen mentioned, he was present for them, but he hadn't noticed that Yang Chen had been probing all along!

Initially, Mo Qian Ni felt annoyed when she heard that Yang Chen had used her as a bet against Li Mucheng, but gradually, she was convinced by Yang Chen's analysis and reasoning. Her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at the man in front of her. Even though they were in dire straits, she completely forgot about it.

"Why would someone deliberately display their foolishness, their stupidity, their greed to those around them? The greatest possibility, in my opinion, is nothing but a show of weakness. And as to whom this weakness is displayed to, it must be towards those who harbor hostility towards him."

Yang Chen looked at Li Mu Hua and continued, "I distinctly remember your father, Li Deshen, saying that all the money Li Mucheng invested three years ago went down the drain. I refuse to believe that someone as cunning and intelligent as him couldn't handle even the simplest investments. Even if they didn't make a profit, they should at least not have incurred losses. The most likely possibility is that his enemy caused him to fail. So, his deliberate show of weakness is probably for reasons like biding his time and waiting for the right opportunity."

A strong murderous intent welled up in Li Mu Hua's eyes. He realized that the man in front of him absolutely couldn't be allowed to leave. "These are all your speculations, Mr. Yang, without substantial evidence."

"Indeed, there is no evidence, but there is a huge loophole that makes me unable to help but believe that this series of events is a huge conspiracy."