"What? Rebellion? Everyone, get back to work!"
Qi Li stepped up beside Jiang Hai, her presence sharp and commanding. A single cold glance from her sent many onlookers scattering immediately. No one in the Qi Group dared cross Qi Li and her faction.
"You're finally here! Your husband hit my son—how do you plan to settle this?"
Seeing Qi Li disperse the crowd, Qi Yuanlong realized his attempt to rally people had failed. Still, he couldn't back down. His heart clenched at the sight of his son still retching on the floor, so he pointed at Qi Li and shouted.
"Oh? Good for him. Since you don't discipline your son, my husband did it for you. You should be thanking us."
Qi Li spared Jiang Hai a quick glance—relieved to see he was unharmed—before turning her disgust toward Qi Zhengtao.
"You—you—he's your brother! The same blood as you! You shameless woman!"
Qi Yuanlong roared. In his mind, how could Qi Li allow an outsider to strike her younger brother—the precious jewel of their family?
"Good beating—though a bit too light. What happened?"
Ignoring her uncle's theatrics, Qi Li glanced coldly at Qi Zhengtao, then looked back at Jiang Hai with a faint smile.
"These security guards tried to cause trouble. I took them down. Then the mastermind jumped out to beg for a beating, so I granted his wish."
Jiang Hai shrugged casually.
Qi Yuanlong trembled with fury. In all his years, he had never seen anyone as shameless as Jiang Hai.
Then again, Jiang Hai had never met anyone as shameless as Qi Zhengtao and his father.
"You're lying through your teeth! You injured the security guards without caring if they lived or died. Then my son came to question you and you attacked him! And now you twist the truth? Are you even human?!"
Qi Yuanlong's voice boomed through the lobby. Several bystanders lowered their heads—some people were simply born shameless.
"Heh. You really are something. There are security cameras right here—check them."
Jiang Hai chuckled. He suddenly felt a little sympathetic toward Qi Song. Having a teammate like Qi Yuanlong was worse than having an enemy.
"My son's character speaks for itself. We don't need surveillance. And who knows if you've tampered with it anyway?"
Qi Yuanlong waved his hand righteously, as if he were reciting scripture.
Jiang Hai stared at him, stunned. Every sentence seemed to push the boundary of shamelessness lower and lower. This father and son pair… utterly despicable beyond imagination.
"They're hopeless. Let's go. Talking to people like this insults my intelligence."
Jiang Hai sighed and turned to Qi Li. He finally understood what she had been dealing with all this time. Five minutes of conversation with Qi Yuanlong made him feel a hundred IQ points lighter. Having to deal with these people daily? He couldn't imagine how anyone could keep a straight worldview.
"Heh, now you know."
Qi Li hooked her arm through Jiang Hai's naturally and glanced at the guards still groaning on the floor.
"You're all fired. If you have complaints, go file a report at the police station."
Her voice was icy, queenlike.
The guards gave bitter, helpless smiles. They had chosen the wrong side. No one in their wildest imagination thought Jiang Hai was Qi Li's husband. If they had known earlier, they'd never have dared to provoke him.
In their minds, Qi Li's husband should be a tall, handsome, elite businessman in a suit—refined, educated, and polished. Someone like Jiang Hai? Dressed in sportswear, unassuming, looking like an average guy except for his height? Impossible. Completely outside their expectations.
Now all they could do was remain silent. As long as they kept quiet, they could still pick up their final paycheck. If they complained, even that might disappear. And with the surveillance cameras as evidence, they couldn't rely on the police. Unlike Qi Yuanlong and his son, most people still lived in the real world.
"Qi Li! You two murderers, you adulterers! You don't deserve the Qi family name!"
Qi Yuanlong roared as Jiang Hai and Qi Li walked out. He knew no one would stand up for him now—and he valued his life too much to actually challenge Jiang Hai physically. All he could do was shout empty curses.
"You deal with these mad dogs every day—must be exhausting. Why not just get rid of them?"
After leaving the lobby, Jiang Hai and Qi Li headed straight to the executive parking lot. The Qi Group had two parking areas: a large underground lot for employees and a small surface lot reserved for executives, VIPs, and business guests.
Inside Qi Li's Rolls-Royce, Jiang Hai and Qi Li sat in the back while Du Ning drove. Jiang Hai asked his question again, genuinely puzzled. These people had obvious weaknesses—it shouldn't be hard to take them down.
"When I first took over the Qi Group, I couldn't just attack my uncles and elders outright. Even though they were competing for power, they were still protecting the company's reputation," Qi Li explained calmly.
It made sense. Qi Song, Qi Yuanlong—while troublesome—were still shareholders and part of the old guard. After Qi Li's father passed away, many external forces wanted to dismantle the Qi family. Yet despite internal power struggles, the elders still defended the family. At that time, the concept of 'yours' and 'mine' didn't exist; everything had to be unified for survival.
"Later, once the Qi family stabilised, I warned them. But the pushback from the board was huge. They're all old veterans, terrified of a new ruler cleaning house. They feared being cast aside. So after my warning, they only acted more boldly. Even Qi Song's family got cozy with the An family…"
Qi Li sighed lightly as Jiang Hai nodded, already aware of some of this history.
"But after the An family fell, Qi Song's family became more restrained. I removed Qi Yuanlong's real power too. I thought if they were content to retire quietly or manage a small department, I'd let them be. I never expected them to stir trouble again so soon. Sigh… I'm exhausted."
She rubbed her temples. The last time she visited Jiang Hai's manor, she genuinely planned to hire a professional manager on returning home—handle everything through remote meetings, just overseeing major decisions. Then she could live at Jiang Hai's side and focus on having a healthy child.
But just when she began arranging that, she discovered that during her absence, Qi Song and Qi Yuanlong had acted again.
Since returning, she had been containing their schemes. But with pressure from above and resistance from the board, removing the two factions entirely wasn't easy. She could suppress them, but eventually, they would cause a major problem.
"So what do we do with them?"
Jiang Hai rubbed his chin. These people weren't dangerous—just extremely troublesome. Like street dogs that didn't bite but never stopped barking. Removing them was annoying and could dirty your hands; Qi Li didn't mind fighting, but she hated unnecessary mess.
"There's really no perfect solution."
Qi Li shook her head. She wanted to handle them, but options were limited.
"I see…"
Jiang Hai thought for a moment, then gave up. He wasn't a schemer, nor did he enjoy playing strategy. He preferred direct, overwhelming solutions. Unfortunately, this wasn't something brute force could solve.
"Alright, enough of this depressing topic. What do you want for dinner tonight? Roast duck? Hot pot? Maybe some stir-fry?"
Qi Li gently patted Jiang Hai's shoulder, dropping the matter and smiling brightly.