The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Earlston, Scotland, 08:30;

Xi Yuan lifted his head up to look at the huge screen, amused. He hadn't expected his mother to shield Rong Xinghe so firmly, to be honest. And as Li Jungah stormed out of the Conference Hall, the man finally noticed the girl sitting beside him. Her face was but void of any emotion. Though, he could see her hands trembling. 

"Xinghe...", the man put away the plate before he grabbed both her freezing hands into his, making her turn to look at him, "What is it, Love?", he asked, softly. 

The girl refused to speak, still. Truth be told, she found it difficult to express the overwhelming feelings rushing through her heart at the moment. Ever since she was a kid, she'd been a survivor. She was the kind of person who would always find a way to crawl back out from the deepest, the darkest of the pits. Be it the Rongs, or the Zhous, or the Human Experimentations in Country N; she walked out stronger than before from all those incidents. But to not fight for once... It was a strange experience for her. 

Although the Six tigers had always been her silent protectors, their methods had always been dangerously mysterious. They preferred responding with destruction or something of the sorts when it came to dealing with her enemies.

But apart from that, they'd always taught her to throw a punch than to lay back and watch others speak in her stead. And they were right to do so. Else, how would she have grown into someone so strong and confident? 

However, in this situation, she did not know what to say, really.

"You okay?", Xi Yuan hauled the woman back to reality.

"Y... yeah.", the girl nodded, "I, um-- it was nice.", she managed to say.

"Nice?", the man raised his brows, letting out a short laugh.

"I mean, it was great! Excellent PR management, brilliant detailing. I am impressed, Mr. Xi.", Rong Xinghe muttered under her breath in one go. 

"You want to talk to Mom, don't you?", Xi Yuan smiled, seeing through the girl's awkward mumblings. The woman nodded, "I should thank her."

"Call her after some time.", the man shrugged his shoulders in an obvious manner, planting a soft kiss against the tip of her fingers, "But you don't have to thank her. She just did what she was supposed to do. There really is no need for such formalities between you two, Xinghe."

"Oh."

"Hmm.", Xi Yuan chuckled as he picked up the remote to switch the TV off, "Now, coming to the important subjects, how do you feel? How's the ankle pain now?"

"The pain is relatively mild today.", Rong Xinghe smiled gently, pinching the man's nose. He sure had his priorities, didn't he?

"And the headaches? Any discomforts or dizziness?"

"Nothing.", the girl replied, "In fact, I had the most relaxing sleep last night, must you know. Now stop the damn interrogation, will you? You've asked these questions for the sixth time today. I am okay!"

"Fine, Good God, how feisty!", the man blinked at the woman, speaking to himself.

"So what are you going to do about the 'Soulagement Pharmas' case?", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes.

"I'll take it from here, Ma Jolie.", Xi Yuan smiled, "This matter no longer concerns you. Now that your innocence has been proven, I don't want you involved in any of this anymore."

"But why?"

"Why? Because your brothers have strictly instructed me to keep you away from such stressful matters. And things are going to get nasty between the Jeongs and the Soulagement Pharma.", the man replied, "You just focus on your recovery, and in the meantime, I will handle the business.

"Xi Corporations will make these idiots rue the day they thought of walking over us. Believe me."

Rong Xinghe frowned, "But--"

It was now that the phone placed over the table rang up, cutting the girl mid-sentence. Subconsciously, the man brought it to his ear, smiling at her apologetically, "What is it, Fang?"

About a minute and a half later, Xi Yuan stood up and walked out of the room, "Are you sure?", he questioned, a pinch of disbelief in his tone.

"Why are you so stunned, brother?", the young man on the other end asked.

"Because I know who was one of the two hackers that night now.", the man stated, disconnecting the phone. Walking at a considerably sufficient distance from Rong Xinghe then, he dialed another number. 

____________

Lu Corporations Headquarters;

City A, Country X, 14:35;

As the Six men sat over the couch in Lu Wei's office corner, they watched the 'breaking news' headlines, a satisfied smirk spreading across their mouths. "Almost every news channel in Country X has issued a public apology to Xinghe.", Zhi Al laughed as he scrolled through his Weibo, "And it hasn't even been half an hour."

"The Xis really outdid themselves this time, didn't they?", Mo Zixuan poured himself another glass of Whiskey. 

"Yeah. At least, Yuan's parents seemed genuinely bothered.", Zhi Bo nodded in agreement, "Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou, on the other hand, were obviously there for the 'Throne Politics'."

"It doesn't matter.", Su Rogguang shook his head, "Xinghe doesn't care about them anyway."

"What are you thinking about President Zhi?", Lu Wei turned to look at the man lost in his own thoughts.

Zhi Xi shrugged, "Nothing much. Just waiting for Yuan's call." Right when the man was done speaking, his phone's ringtone resounded throughout the room. As Xi Yuan's name popped up on the screen, the Six men grinned internally. Lu Wei picked the call up then, leaving the speaker on for everyone to listen, as he gestured Zhi Xi to chat with the man. 

"Yes, Yuan?", Zhi Xi greeted casually. 

"Bro Al hacked into my system, right?!", Xi Yuan came straight to the point. 

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Bro Xi.", the man exhaled a long breath, "You and Bro Wei were the ones who taught me business. A businessman never offers anything for free. The fact that you suggested Fang a deal with Soulagement Pharma's parent company out of the blue, benefitting Xi Corps five times the original deal; can't be a mere coincidence. 

"Given Bro Al's skills, this can be the only possibility. Now I understand why I couldn't track the two hackers. The only question is, why would you guys do it? What the hell's going on?"

"We did teach you a lot, didn't we?", Zhi Xi laughed, "Alright, we did it. We had our reasons for it, of course. But we were not acquainted with the other hacker. I'd like to make that very clear. We simply took advantage of the situation at hand then."

"Why?", Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows, confused. 

"To test the Xi family's elders.", Lu Wei was the one to answer this time, "To see if the Xis have what it takes to be associated with Xinghe."

"..."