Looking at the tattered tent in front of him and the child who kept looking in their direction, Lu Ping slowly sensed that something was wrong.
He followed the child's gaze towards Li Mu, then frowned and lazily said, "What is he looking at? Do you know this child?"
The latter half of Lu Ping's question was directed at Li Mu.
Li Mu maintained a smile on his face, but his heart was tense.
He looked at Lu Ping and replied, "Perhaps he's just wary of us. After all, we've come here many times, and it's normal for him and his mother to dislike us!"
Li Mu tactfully brushed off Lu Ping's suspicion, and seeing the young master nod slightly, as if accepting his explanation, Li Mu let out a subtle sigh. He knew that he had once again managed to deceive Lu Ping.
Quietly glancing at his wristwatch, a sense of unease slowly welled up within Li Mu. Lu Ping was easy to fool, but Ning Zhi was not someone so easily deceived. He worried that Hu Fei might not be a match for Ning Zhi.
Li Mu's worry was very reasonable. Since Ning Zhi dared to have a face-to-face conversation with Hu Fei alone, she must have been prepared.
Hu Fei had no idea how Ning Zhi had come to know about these hidden truths. She only felt that if she continued to stay with Ning Zhi, she would soon be exposed!
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Hu Fei retorted with a meaningless rebuttal and looked at Ning Zhi with a malicious gaze.
"Li Mu and I were indeed husband and wife in the past, but this has nothing to do with me opposing your company's advancement of this project! I am a native of He Ling, and I won't allow you to trespass upon my ancestral home. That's the reason I'm standing here, and all those things you're saying… they're useless." Finding strength from her earlier words, Hu Fei withdrew her sinister gaze and continued her rebuttal.
Ning Zhi's expression remained unchanged as she listened to Hu Fei's cunning defense. She knew that this matter wouldn't be easily resolved. Despite Hu Fei's denial, Ning Zhi remained calm, her gaze fixed on her.
The tent became very quiet at that moment, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.
"You… What else do you have to say? If not, you can leave. We won't back down anyway." Seeing Ning Zhi's lack of response, Hu Fei couldn't help but add.
Knowing that Hu Fei's "we" also included several other groups of difficult natives, Ning Zhi frowned. She stood up and calmly said, "I thought you were a smart person, but it seems I was mistaken."
"Do you think you can get double the compensation by teaming up with Li Mu? Then I think you're a little too naive."
"Since he could kick you and Hu Mu out when he was on the verge of success, and immediately get involved with other women, what makes you think that he would still care about you in such a good situation?" Ning Zhi persistently questioned.
"It's simply because you have this piece of land that he can exploit!" Ning Zhi said as she took out a sum of money from her bag and casually placed it on the crude wooden table nearby.
"Just because you and a few who are old, weak, sick, or disabled, won't be able to stop the progress of the Li Corporation. Your demands are unreasonable. Not only will Li Corporation not agree, but even the local government of He Ling won't stand on your side! If you are willing to believe me, I swear that I will fight for the maximum compensation for you from the company."
Seeing Hu Fei only turn her head without saying a word, her whole body taut as if it was about to break at any moment, Ning Zhi reluctantly took a step closer, gently lowering her voice as she continued to console her. "It's too embarrassing for you to live here. If Li Mu had even a shred of pity for you, he wouldn't have come up with such a malicious idea! He can sit comfortably behind the scenes and do nothing, while he makes you bear the burden. Have you ever thought about the hidden motives behind this? Did he promise you that once the matter is settled, you would get the lion's share, while he takes the scraps?"
Ning Zhi smiled, thinking about the information Yao Jing had just sent her. She looked at Hu Fei sympathetically. "He's deceiving you. Do you know about his plan to buy a house in the capital with that woman?"
Hu Fei's heart trembled at the words, and when she turned her head to look at Ning Zhi, her eyes were already red.
Li Mu couldn't buy a house in the capital where each inch of land was expensive, so the source of his confidence was worth pondering!