"And the second time, some unpleasant things happened between us. The incident went like this: he asked me out, and I thought he wanted to discuss business or some form of cooperation..."
"But what I didn't expect was that as soon as we met, he wanted to arrange a marriage, asking me to marry him. I naturally refused without hesitation, and then he started threatening me..."
Liu Yilin recounted the events of the second encounter.
There was nothing to hide about this second incident, so Liu Yilin saw no need to conceal it.
"President Liu Yilin, are you saying that Ryan used your company's financial difficulties to threaten you, wanting you to marry him?" Shi Yong asked.
Liu Yilin nodded and readily admitted it. She also revealed that her group of companies had recently been facing a cash shortage, matters that didn't require concealment as they could be uncovered with an investigation.
"So, you rejected Ryan, which made him furious, and thus the Violet Family launched their revenge against you?" Shi Yong analyzed.
However, there were still some things he couldn't figure out. Even if Ryan was rejected, the Violet Family wouldn't be so insane as to put out a bounty of one billion on her head.
Unless there was something that suddenly drove the Violet Family into a frenzy, determined to kill Liu Yilin at all costs.
Since the Violet Family had not announced Ryan's death, the outside world was unaware that Ryan was already dead.
If Shi Yong had known that Ryan was dead, and that it was related to Ning Beichen and Liu Yilin, he wouldn't have found the Violet Family's frantic actions surprising.
If he were the head of the Violet Family, and his son had died, he would likely be even more enraged.
"Alright, thank you, President Liu Yilin. What you've told us will be of great help in dealing with the matter." Shi Yong expressed his gratitude to Liu Yilin.
"You're welcome. You are all doing this for me, and I appreciate your hard work." Liu Yilin replied.
"President Liu Yilin, there's no need for pleasantries. This is part of our duty. By the way, for your safety, the four of them will remain to protect you full-time until the Violet Family matter is resolved."
Without waiting for Liu Yilin to agree or refuse, Shi Yong began introducing the four of them.
"This is our security officer, his name is Sun Sheng, nicknamed the Great Sage. You can call him Great Sage."
"Hello, President Liu Yilin. Rest assured, your safety is in our hands from today onwards."
"This is Chen Xiaojia, also known as Jia Jia, nicknamed Cute Girl."
"Hello, President Liu Yilin."
Cute Girl also stepped forward to greet Liu Yilin.
"This is Xiao Long. He likes boxing, so his nickname is Dragon Fist."
"Hello, President Liu Yilin."
Dragon Fist also stepped forward to greet her. After all, their task was to protect Liu Yilin's safety for a considerable period, so building a good rapport with her wouldn't hurt.
"This is Zhou Zhouhu. You can call him Little Tiger."
Little Tiger also came forward to greet Liu Yilin. Among the four, he was the youngest, and he blushed a little upon seeing Liu Yilin.
"Won't this be too much trouble for them? I actually have my own bodyguards..." Liu Yilin explained.
However, Shi Yong did not allow her to refuse, stating directly, "President Liu Yilin, your safety is not just your personal concern. If anything were to happen to you, it would be not only your loss but also the nation's."
"Please don't worry, they will only protect your safety and will not interfere with your actions. You don't even need to be responsible for their food and lodging; we have our own budget."
"I... I didn't mean that."
Liu Yilin didn't know how to refuse, especially since they had already offered to provide their own sustenance.
"Then it's settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
Shi Yong swiftly concluded the discussion and left after assigning the four of them, not actually leaving the Tianmei Technology Group building, as he still needed to meet someone – a key figure in this matter, Liu Yilin's personal bodyguard, Ning Beichen.
Soon, Shi Yong met Ning Beichen. He looked at Ning Beichen with an extremely sharp gaze, treating Ning Beichen with far less politeness than he had shown Liu Yilin.
"You are President Liu Yilin's personal bodyguard, Ning Beichen?"
Shi Yong tried to gauge if Ning Beichen was feeling guilty, but after observing him for a long time, Ning Beichen's expression remained unchanged.
"Who are you?"
Although Ning Beichen already knew his identity, he pretended not to.
"I am an external security officer. My name is Shi Yong. This is my identification."
Shi Yong presented his ID to Ning Beichen, adopting a professional demeanor.
However, Ning Beichen completely ignored him. He hadn't committed any offense; trying to intimidate Ning Yanwang with his current approach was futile.
What was an external security officer to him? When he was ruthless, he could even pummel royal princesses and princes.
"May I ask what business you have with me?" Ning Beichen asked calmly.
"I have some questions for you. How much do you know about the Violet Family?" Shi Yong asked.
"The Violet Family? You mean that shameless guy who wanted to arrange a marriage with my boss?" Ning Beichen feigned surprise.
Shi Yong's forehead creased with exasperation. He patiently explained, "Ryan was the most promising heir of the Violet Family."
"What does that have to do with me, sir? I didn't hit him. He was pursuing my boss, but I thought that guy was not a good person. Who proposes marriage on their second meeting? That's absurd." Ning Beichen replied with feigned righteousness.
"I didn't say you hit him. I'm asking if you had any conflict with him? Or, after he was rejected, did he do anything to you?" Shi Yong asked, his forehead furrowed.
"No, if he dares to harass my boss again, I'll beat him until he shits himself." Ning Beichen declared loudly, perfectly portraying the role of a loyal bodyguard protecting his boss.
"Then tell me about that day." Shi Yong said to him with some helplessness.
Ning Beichen recounted the two encounters with Ryan from his perspective, adding a good amount of his internal thoughts. The situation was almost identical to what Liu Yilin had described, with the only difference being that Ning Beichen narrated it from his own viewpoint.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Oh, and from today onwards, my four subordinates will be protecting your boss."
Shi Yong didn't want to waste any more time with him and left the Tianmei Technology Group after saying this.
He had many more matters to attend to and didn't want to spend too much time on a bodyguard.