Tyler Li's gaze at Ethan Wu grew increasingly scrutinizing and even a bit hostile. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't figure out what was so special about Ethan.
Sure, Ethan looked decent, but he wasn't outrageously handsome. He had an average height, neither tall nor short, and he seemed too young. While youth might be a positive trait in some people's eyes, to others, it was not.
In the eyes of successful, powerful people, youth often equates to inexperience and lack of capability. As the saying goes, "no whiskers, no wisdom."
Tyler knew his sister well. If she were to choose a man in his forties or fifties, he wouldn't be surprised because he understood her personality. Strong, dominant, and unsympathetic, Isabella considered weak or incapable people beneath her notice.
She respected men who had proven themselves. Even if someone came from a powerful background, if they were lazy or aimless, she wouldn't give them a second glance. Conversely, if a man had built himself up from nothing, even if he wasn't extraordinarily wealthy or his methods were somewhat dubious, Isabella would still respect him.
So, Tyler couldn't understand why his sister would be interested in someone barely in his twenties.
To him, it defied logic. He was starting to suspect that his proud, powerful sister had been duped by this pretty boy!
Despite her maturity, business acumen, and strong-willed nature, his sister had never been in a real relationship. It was entirely possible that this pretty boy's sweet words had deceived her. Love could make people blind, reduce their intelligence to zero.
That had to be it!
The more Tyler thought about it, the more convinced he became. He was determined to save his sister from this fraud and expose the pretty boy's true colors!
"Tyler, what are you staring at?" Isabella frowned, waving her hand in front of him. Tyler had been staring at Ethan for quite a while.
While anyone else might have felt uncomfortable under such a stare, Ethan remained perfectly composed, smiling all the while.
"Oh… Nothing, just looking at my brother-in-law," Tyler replied with a forced smile. He added casually, "You look pretty young, brother-in-law."
"Twenty-two," Ethan said with a smile.
"Only twenty-two, fresh out of college?" Tyler pressed.
"Just graduated this year."
"So you just graduated. When did you meet my sister?" Tyler continued his probing.
"Three months ago, when she personally led a recruitment drive at the university," Ethan replied smoothly.
Isabella glanced at Ethan. She had indeed gone to Sea City University three months ago, though she hadn't told Ethan about it.
"Only three months?" Tyler laughed politely, glancing knowingly at Isabella. "And you're already talking marriage? Sis, weren't you the one who swore you'd never marry?"
"I'm not here to chat with you!" Isabella snapped, shooting Tyler an annoyed glare.
"Come on, let's chat a bit," Tyler pushed on. He was willing to take the risk of annoying his sister—even if it meant getting slapped—to expose this fraud.
"Oh, and by the way, brother-in-law, I heard there was a misunderstanding between you and Jack Zhao and his men yesterday. Let me apologize on their behalf," Tyler said in a polite tone.
"No problem. It's all in the family," Ethan replied.
"Very magnanimous of you, brother-in-law. Oh, I heard you were with a young lady at Lotus Bar last night. Who was she? Your sister?" Tyler asked, an underlying tone in his voice.
"A young lady?" Isabella glanced sharply at Ethan, quick to catch on.
Though she knew nothing about last night's events and didn't actually care if Ethan had been with another woman—since their relationship was only a pretense—she had to act as if she cared in front of her brother.
"Not my sister—Chloe Mu," Ethan replied immediately. "The daughter of Miles Mu, the owner of Sea City's Mu Biopharmaceutical Group. You should be grateful to me. If I hadn't stopped him last night, Tom Liu might have harmed her, and I doubt you'd be able to clean up that mess."
Tyler's expression changed.
The Mu Group was a leading local biopharmaceutical company in Sea City, the top player in its field, with its owner, Miles Mu, possessing a wealth of over a billion and a strong network in the city as a delegate in local government.
Though not comparable to the Li family, the Mu family held significant sway as a local powerhouse.
The Mu Group was the "local dragon," while Tyler, in Sea City, was the "foreign tiger."
The biopharmaceutical industry was notoriously complex, and without the right connections, it was impossible to get a foothold. Ethan was right. If Chloe Mu had been harmed, even Tyler would have struggled to contain the fallout, as Miles Mu doted on his only daughter.
While Tyler wasn't afraid of Miles Mu, he knew that clashing with him in Sea City would be costly, even if he won.
"Well… thank you, brother-in-law," Tyler said reluctantly, his expression stiff.
"Enough of this small talk, Tyler. I came here because of something urgent," Isabella interjected.
"Of course, sis. Whatever you need," Tyler replied promptly.
The topic of Chloe Mu was thus dropped. Tyler refrained from probing further, picking up on the hint that Ethan might be acquainted with Miles Mu.
Ethan was intentionally leading them to believe he knew Miles Mu. While he did know about Miles Mu, they had yet to actually meet—but Ethan could arrange that if needed.
"Let your brother-in-law explain," Isabella said, gesturing to Ethan.
Tyler's brows furrowed slightly.
This pretty boy had his sister wrapped around his finger?
He knew well that Isabella's previous fake boyfriends had always been meek and deferential around her, hardly daring to breathe too loudly. Tyler had seen it all.
But this time…
Ethan ignored whatever Tyler might be thinking and succinctly explained the situation to him.
"They're planning to take down the Crown Club? That's impossible. How do you know?" Tyler squinted at Ethan, his tone skeptical.
He was aware that the Crown Club attracted attention, but he believed he'd covered all his bases. Besides, everyone knew he was the Li family's eldest grandson—who would dare act against him?
His grandfather was still very much alive!
"You shouldn't have filmed those videos to blackmail people. And… you should have severed ties with Hunter Xie a long time ago," Ethan replied.
"You…" Tyler grew uneasy, glancing at his sister.
Hunter Xie was part of the Xie family in the north, and Tyler's dealings with him were something even his sister didn't know about. How Ethan knew was a mystery.
"You're still involved with the Xie family?" Isabella stood up, clearly agitated, pointing at her brother. "How many times have I told you? He's bad news! Are you ignoring me?"
"Calm down, sis… take care of yourself, please. Here, sit down," Tyler said, shrinking back, wary of his sister's wrath.
"Your sister's right. Hunter Xie is trouble," Ethan added. "He sold you out this time. He got caught first and shifted the blame onto you, claiming it was all your idea."
Tyler's expression darkened, his fists clenching.
Though he was only half-convinced, he had to admit that Hunter Xie's behavior had been odd lately. It had been months since he'd introduced any new clients.
"How do you know all this? Why should I trust you? Who told you?" Tyler suddenly demanded, staring intently at Ethan.
Tyler was beginning to doubt Ethan's identity.
Something wasn't right!
"There are things I don't need to explain to you. I'm here because of Isabella," Ethan said, glancing at her, then turned back to Tyler. "You're her brother. If something happened to you, it would hurt her. That's why I'm here."
"Don't give me that mysterious act! Let me tell you—if you don't explain yourself, you won't leave this room alive!" Tyler shouted, slamming his hands on the table and standing up.
Ethan merely smiled.
Just like his sister, Tyler seemed to enjoy making threats.
"Tyler, what do you think you're doing?" Isabella shouted, clearly angry.
"Sis! Listen to me! Sis! He's a con artist. He's obviously after something. You can't trust him!" Tyler pointed at Ethan, shouting.
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