Li Estate — Main Hall
Tension hung in the air like a drawn blade.
The patriarch sat unmoving at the head of the hall, eyes narrowed, expression carved from cold authority. His earlier ultimatum still lingered in the room like smoke.
Xue sat composed, milk tea resting in her hands with quiet poise.
Feng sat relaxed, unreadable.
Guohua sat steady, shoulders squared in quiet resolve.
Everyone else watched them with thinly veiled contempt, curiosity, or eager anticipation of their downfall.
And then—
vrrt.
One phone vibrated.
vrrt. vrrt.
Another.
Then another.
Within seconds, the entire hall trembled with the soft, synchronized hum of dozens of notifications—executives, managers, branch wives, assistants. A wave of quiet alertness spread like an invisible shockline through the room.
Heads dipped toward screens.
Brows creased.
Someone choked on their breath.
A tech director whispered too loudly,
"Impossible…"
A PR manager's hand flew to her mouth.
Zhao Lihua's grip tightened so hard on her phone that her nails clicked against the case.
Even the patriarch's personal aides exchanged fleeting glances—small, subtle, but unmistakably alarmed.
The Second Branch didn't reach for their phones.
They didn't need to.
But everyone else did.
And on every single screen, the same headline glowed bright and damning:
***
[Blue Horizon Tech — Official Announcement]
Silent Hands™ to Launch Nationwide
Patent Holders: Li Feng & Li Xue (Longhai No. 1 High School)
Exclusive Licensing Agreement Finalized for Production & Distribution
***
It was a silent bomb.
But its shockwave shook the entire hall.
Silence collapsed into stunned disbelief.
"Patented? Already?"
"With Blue Horizon—?!"
"They secured licensing—?!"
"The children hold the rights? The children?"
"How did this get past us—?"
Every eye turned toward the Second Branch.
Feng sat still, hands loose.
Xue lowered her lashes, serene.
Guohua inhaled slowly, composure unbroken.
At the front of the hall, the patriarch didn't rise.
He didn't even blink.
But his jaw locked—just enough for those closest to him to see it.
Then—
"Silence."
The single word sliced through the noise like steel.
The room obeyed instantly.
His voice, when he spoke again, was low, cold, and measured with razor precision:
"This meeting is adjourned. We reconvene in thirty minutes."
A beat.
"No member of the Second Branch leaves this hall."
The command echoed.
Dozens rose immediately as the patriarch stood, his inner circle falling into step around him. Their expressions were tight—controlled panic wrapped in professionalism.
He spoke as he walked, never raising his voice:
"Legal team.
Tech division.
Business intelligence."
He didn't slow.
"I want full verification of this announcement. All patents. All filings. Licensing agreements. Everything."
They hurried to keep up.
"And find out every detail about Blue Horizon Tech."
The main hall's doors closing behind them
Remaining in the main hall surrounded by the patriarch's guards, the second branch sat patiently
Xue's fingers curled slightly around her cup— not trembling, not fearful.
Simply… waiting.
Feng leaned back a fraction, expression steady, the faint shadow of confidence resting over him like a cloak.
---
Corridor outside the Main Hall
Less than a beat after the patriarch's directives, the corridor came alive.
Phones to ears.
Assistants speed-walking.
Branch heads following the patriarch in a tight formation.
No one wasted a second.
By the time they reached the inner chamber used for emergency executive sessions, the investigation was already in motion.
The patriarch pushed the door open, entered without sitting, and spoke only three words:
"Give me updates."
The room responded immediately.
A legal officer stepped forward first, tablet already in hand:
"Patriarch, we've pulled the national patent registry. The filing listed in Blue Horizon's article is genuine. Fully approved. With complete documentation."
A beat of stunned silence washed across the room.
Li Guowei inhaled sharply.
Zhao Lihua's hand tightened around her bracelet.
Li Guotao muttered something under his breath.
The patriarch's expression didn't change.
"Names," he said.
The legal officer swallowed.
"Patent holders are listed as Li Feng and Li Xue."
The room shifted.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just a collective tightening of posture — confusion, disbelief, and irritation bleeding through the air.
A tech division director stepped up next:
"We pulled Blue Horizon's announcement. They are legitimate — medium-sized firm, real team, physical office, long-standing registration. They filed the announcement today at 3:01 PM."
PR added quickly:
"And it's already trending across three platforms. News outlets are beginning to pick it up."
Li Guifen's brows pinched.
"How fast—"
"It isn't their doing," PR interrupted carefully. "It's the public's reaction to Silent Hands. The device already had exposure from the expo. The whole city has been waiting for news on it. It's not surprising for an official announcement like this to gain traction instantly."
Another aide slid forward with a stack of digital files.
"We've done a minor check on Blue Horizon's history. They're clean. No major scandals. No suspicious donors. They've never approached any Li subsidiary before."
"Leadership?" the patriarch asked.
"We're still digging. Their executives use multiple shell layers. Nothing illegal, just… protective. They're difficult to narrow down quickly."
He nodded once — slow, thoughtful.
A business intelligence analyst stepped in:
"We're running forensic checks on the patent documents now. So far, everything aligns. Timelines, signatures, approvals."
"And the licensing deal?" the patriarch asked.
"That, too, appears airtight. Exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights granted to Blue Horizon. No obvious loopholes. No soft clauses. No ownership transfer."
A thin line formed at the patriarch's mouth.
In the silence that followed, the room finally understood:
The Second Branch didn't just prepare.
They sealed every exit.
They anticipated the family's retaliation… and cut off every path the patriarch could have taken to seize Silent Hands quietly.
The patriarch lowered himself slowly into his chair.
Eyes narrowed.
Breathing even.
No outburst.
Just calculation.
"Continue digging," he said quietly. "Every layer. Every connection."
The room bowed and scattered instantly, splitting into rapid clusters of hushed strategy.
---
About 30 minutes later — Main Hall
The doors to the main hall opened again exactly twenty-nine minutes later.
The sound was small — just a metallic click — yet it dropped across the hall like a stone thrown into still water.
The patriarch re-entered with the same controlled stride he had left with, but something in the air behind him had changed:
— the First Branch walked with stiff jaws
— the Third Branch wore thin, bitter disbelief
— the Fourth Branch looked unsettled, almost offended
— aides and executives followed with tight expressions, avoiding eye contact
It was the look of people who had gone searching for leverage… and returned with none.
Inside the hall, the Second Branch hadn't moved.
Feng sat calm.
Xue held her empty milk tea cup neatly in her lap.
Guohua rested his hands loosely together, expression unreadable.
They stood as the patriarch crossed the room.
He didn't gesture for them to sit.
He didn't sit himself.
He simply stopped before them — face unreadable, posture straight, voice level.
"Li Guohua. Li Feng. Li Xue."
The entire hall fell into an absolute, breathless quiet.
The patriarch's gaze settled on the three of them one by one —
Last of all, on Xue, whose chin remained politely lowered, posture graceful and steady.
His jaw tightened.
Then—
"With the information verified," he began, voice calm enough to make the words sharper, "the Second Branch has made its stance clear."
Silence thickened.
"You have chosen to act independently of the family."
"You have concluded agreements without the family's authorization."
"And you have aligned your future interests outside the Li Group's sphere."
His words carried no heat.
Just authority.
And consequence.
"Therefore," he continued, "as patriarch of the Li Family, I hereby announce the following."
Every head lifted.
Every breath held.
Even the guards straightened.
The old man spoke with the weight of a judge reading a sentence:
"Effective immediately, the Second Branch is stripped of all privileges granted by the Li Family."
A ripple of shock ran through the hall — even though this was exactly what he had threatened earlier.
"Li Guohua will surrender all positions within the Li Group," he continued.
"All shares allocated by the family will be reclaimed."
"All properties granted by the family — including the Second Branch residence — are to be vacated within seven days."
Xue's fingers tightened once around her cup.
Feng's hand brushed her wrist — subtle, grounding.
The patriarch wasn't finished.
"Furthermore, any financial support — direct or indirect — from the Li Group to the Second Branch is terminated."
He paused.
Not for drama.
But for silence to seal the words.
"You may keep your personal belongings," he added, tone dismissive. "The family has no use for them."
A few people from the First and Fourth branches smirked.
The Third Branch looked uneasy.
Then the patriarch spoke the final line — the one that cut deeper than everything else:
"From this moment onward, the Second Branch stands alone."
The hall felt colder.
More hollow.
More final.
The patriarch lifted his chin slightly.
"Escort them out."
Two rows of guards stepped forward in practiced formation.
It wasn't rough, but it was firm — a boundary being drawn with quiet, immovable force.
The Second Branch didn't struggle.
Guohua bowed his head politely.
Xue rose gracefully, still composed even as her heart thudded in her chest.
Feng stood with calm eyes and an unreadable half-smile.
As they were guided toward the doors, whispers followed:
"They're really being cut off…"
"No way back now…"
"They threw away everything…"
"For a small invention?"
"No— Silent Hands is clearly worth far more…"
The doors closed behind them.
The echo lingered.
Inside the hall, the Li Family watched the exit in silence—
Believing they had just witnessed the fall of the Second Branch.
Unaware that the fall
was actually
the beginning.
---
Outside the Estate Gates
The heavy gate of the Li Family estate shut behind them with a dull, final clang.
Cut off.
For most people, the sound would have carried fear.
Loss.
Panic.
But the three of them stood there quietly — father, son, daughter — the winter wind brushing past without stealing their composure.
They were alone.
No car.
No driver.
No escort.
Just the faded echo of the patriarch's sentence and the cold stretch of Longhai road.
Guohua exhaled once, slow and steady — not defeated, not crushed.
Simply accepting the reality he had already prepared for.
Xue held her empty milk tea cup close to her chest.
Her posture remained upright, elegant, controlled…
but her eyes flicked toward Feng, seeking the smallest reassurance.
She didn't even have to ask.
Feng stepped half a pace forward so he stood slightly in front of them both — not shielding… but leading.
"We'll take a cab," he said simply, as if they had just finished grocery shopping.
Xue's breath eased.
Guohua nodded.
They walked toward the curb.
A lone taxi slowed and pulled over.
The second branch entered the cab not as exiles…
…but as people stepping away from a cage.
The car door shut.
The taxi rolled forward.
And behind them, the Li estate shrank into the distance — no longer a home, no longer a center of gravity…
Just a place they had already outgrown.
---
Hello, Author here,
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