Chapter 149: Give Them an Inch, and They Take a Mile

Just the thought of his mother being so ostracized and coldly treated by the Xie family filled Lin Le with a surge of anger. He no longer wished to endure their disdain.

“If it weren’t for my mother being here, who do you think would even care about your Xie family!” Lin Le swept his gaze over Xie Jingguo and the others, speaking coldly.

“Xiao Le, don’t speak to your uncle like that,” Xie Qiushan interjected, trying to prevent the situation from worsening.

“You… at your young age, you’re utterly arrogant!” Xie Jingguo snapped angrily.

“Sister, for your sake, we’ve tolerated Lin Le so far. But today’s matter, you must give us an explanation. Otherwise, we will never let it go!” Xie Jingguo said with hatred.

“An explanation? I’d like to hear what kind of explanation you want,” Lin Le asked with keen interest.

“You must apologize to Xinglong and the others in public!” Xie Jingguo demanded.

“Apologize? They should be the ones apologizing! Not only did they recklessly race and cause an accident, but they also tried to frame me and even attempted to ruin me! Is this how your Xie family’s upstanding youth behave?” Lin Le stood his ground without yielding.

“Xiao Le!” Before Lin Le could say more, Xie Qiushan suddenly snapped, “Enough!”

Caught in the middle, Xie Qiushan found herself in the most difficult position today.

She was astute; from the earlier conversation, she had already pieced together the full story and understood that Lin Le had his reasons for acting out.

But she also knew their current predicament all too well.

Xie Jingguo and Xie Yucheng were the actual power holders of the Xie family now, and she, as the eldest sister, was essentially an outsider.

They were only still entertaining her because of her status as the eldest sister of the Xie family. If she kept clashing with them and tore the family apart, there was no telling what might happen. If she angered Xie Jingguo and the others, her own position might be untenable.

With the Xie family’s influence and methods, Lin Le would surely suffer greatly.

After all, this was the Xie family. Given their current standing and power, who could stand against them?

Xie Qiushan didn’t want to watch helplessly as Lin Le was harmed, so she had to yield.

“Xiao Le, apologize to Xinglong, Xie Dong, and Ziyun now,” Xie Qiushan said reluctantly but firmly.

“What?!” Lin Le was stunned, looking at his mother in disbelief.

“Mom, it’s clearly their fault. Why should I apologize?” Lin Le was strong-willed; how could he accept such an unreasonable demand?

“Sister, you’ve seen it all. Since even you can’t control him, I’ll have to discipline this rebellious son of yours myself!” Xie Jingguo’s expression darkened ominously.

Besides Xie Jiuling, Xie Jingguo was the greatest authority in the family, and the domineering aura of the Xie clan instantly emerged from him.

“Xiao Le! What exactly do you want to do!” Seeing Xie Jingguo about to make a move, Xie Qiushan hurriedly shouted at Lin Le.

* * *

With a sharp slap, Xie Qiushan struck Lin Le hard on his back.

“Hurry up and apologize to them!” Her words cut like a knife in her own heart.

She could bear the humiliation alone, but now she had to watch her son suffer alongside her, and the pain was unbearable.

Yet she knew that if she didn’t act this way, her son might end up in serious trouble.

Just like she had once agreed to divorce Lin Tenghui under the pressure of her father, Xie Jiuling, to keep her husband away from the Lin family and avoid greater calamity.

“Apologize…” Xie Qiushan’s voice trembled.

Given Lin Le’s fiery temperament three years ago, even if his legs were broken, he would never utter a word of apology. But now, seeing his mother’s eyes already glistening with tears, all his principles suddenly seemed trivial.

Lin Le understood his mother’s intentions—she was protecting him.

More than anything, Lin Le never wanted to put his mother in a difficult position.

He turned away and looked at Xie Xinglong, Xie Dong, and Xie Ziyun.

At this moment, Xie Xinglong looked down on Lin Le with haughty disdain, chin raised high; Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun beside him wore triumphant smiles.

They seemed certain that under their pressure, Lin Le would never dare to resist.

Although his heart burned with unwillingness, for his mother’s sake, Lin Le bowed his proud head.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong,” Lin Le said without any emotion.

“Hmph…” The moment Lin Le apologized, Xie Xinglong emitted a satisfied snort.

Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun exchanged a glance, both filled with smugness.

Lin Le, Lin Le, you think you’re formidable, a master at the pinnacle of your realm. And yet, here you are, forced to bow your head and admit fault to us!

Daring to defy the Xie family’s descendants, you truly don’t know your place!

Only then did Xie Qiushan finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Originally, she thought that with Lin Le’s fiery nature three years ago, even if his legs were broken, he would never apologize. She sighed quietly, realizing her son had truly grown.

“Jingguo, Yucheng, Xiuwei, see? Xiao Le knows he was wrong. Please forgive him,” Xie Qiushan said apologetically.

“Forgive? Sister, are you joking? Your son beat Xie Dong so badly—do you think a mere apology will settle this?” Lin Le’s third aunt, Xie Dong’s mother, sneered.

Third Aunt was no pushover. Now, driven by the desire to avenge her son, she was even more ruthless.

“Exactly, we absolutely can’t let this go!” Xie Ziyun chimed in.

Being forced to apologize was already beyond Lin Le’s limit, but now these people refused to relent.

Moreover, they were clearly toying with Lin Le and Xie Qiushan.

When Xie Jingguo demanded Lin Le apologize, they never mentioned that they should apologize too. Now that Lin Le had apologized, they still had the nerve to make more demands—it was sheer insolence.

“What else do you want?” Lin Le glared coldly at them.

“If you want us to forgive you, you have to pay back all the injuries you caused us!” Xie Xinglong said viciously.

“That’s right. You slapped me, so I’ll hit you back!” Xie Dong said with resentment.

“You dislocated my arm; I’ll make you feel the same pain!” Xie Ziyun’s once lovely face was now filled with venomous malice.

“Exactly! Anyone who harms the Xie family must pay!” Third Aunt pointed at Lin Le’s nose, shouting.

“How can you say such things!” Xie Qiushan’s face was full of anguish, unable to believe they would say such words. “Xiao Le is your own flesh and blood—your nephew, your brother!”

“Hmph, now you suddenly want to claim kinship with us? When you were hitting people, where was this consideration?” Third Aunt shouted back.

“Exactly. We’re already being lenient with Lin Le. If this were an outsider who hit our family’s youth, do you think we’d let them leave alive?” Fourth Aunt, even more fierce, said bluntly.

These words pierced Xie Qiushan’s heart like thorns, sending chills down her spine.

Looking at her three younger brothers—Xie Jingguo, Xie Yucheng, and Xie Xiuwei—they all remained silent, tacitly approving. Xie Qiushan could only smile bitterly.

Is this really my family?

Her heart was filled with utter disgust for this so-called first noble family of Huaxia, the prestigious Xie family of the capital.

After a moment of silence, Lin Le suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“You Xie family people truly disgust me beyond words!” His voice was icy to the bone.

“Wh-what…” Xie Jingguo and the others could hardly believe their ears.

This little bastard from the Lin family dared speak to them, the illustrious Xie family, in such a manner!