Blackstone Code

Chapter 104:

In the afternoon, Lin Qi met with representatives from the Women's Rights Protection Association at an outdoor caf, a man in his thirties and a woman around the same age.

"Lin Qi..." Lin Qi introduced himself while shaking hands with them. The two visitors didn't show excessive animosity, instead politely shaking hands with Lin Qi before taking their seats at the table.

The economic downturn had significantly reduced the number of customers at the outdoor caf. In the past, it used to be full, but now there were only two tables occupied in the entire roadside garden.

One table was theirs, and the other was occupied by a young couple who didn't seem like an ordinary family.

"I heard from other sources that there might be some misunderstandings between me and you..." Lin Qi paused here, leading to the purpose of this meeting, which was communication.

The two people sitting opposite exchanged a glance. The male nodded slightly. "It's possible, Mr. Lin Qi. Do you know a lady named Julie?"

Without beating around the bush, they directly addressed the core issue.

Julie was a somewhat influential member of the Women's Rights Protection Association in Sabin City. When the Sabin City Rugby Club was popular a few years ago, Julie had significant influence. Leveraging the club's reputation, she often expressed opinions either independently or alongside some players. People also patiently listened to what she had to say on behalf of the association.

However, in recent years, her influence in the eyes of the public and the media had gradually declined, and her position in the association had begun to diminish. Nevertheless, considering her past efforts, some people still valued her.

They couldn't just change their attitude depending on their level of influence. It wasn't appropriate.

After Julie was fired yesterday, she went to the association and informed a few of her friends about it. After a brief closed-door meeting, the association decided to help Julie seek justice.

But was justice really easy to seek?

The economic downturn had affected various levels, including the association. Membership fees were hard to collect, funding applications were getting rejected, and sponsorships were dwindling. If they didn't take some action, even the branching association in Sabin City might dissolve.

Whether it was to stir things up with Lin Qi, make those companies with a large female workforce understand their value and importance, or persuade the association higher-ups to allocate some maintenance funds, it was crucial to create some disturbance. Of course, the premise was to make some noise.

And why Lin Qi? He was the one who got caught after all.

Lin Qi didn't evade the question either. He nodded. "There were disagreements between me and Ms. Julie in terms of work, and it was difficult to find a balance, so I fired her..." He paused with a wry smile. "I remember compensating her for an extra month's salary. Did I break the law?"

According to the current laws of the Baylor Federation, if one didn't give prior notice before termination, they only needed to compensate one month's salary. This gave the other party a month's buffer to avoid causing immediate financial problems.

Lin Qi hadn't done anything illegal, and the association wouldn't use this against him. Even if it were to escalate to the Baylor Federation Supreme Court, Lin Qi hadn't done anything wrong.

The woman sitting beside him introduced herself as "Taylor()." At this moment, her expression was slightly serious, emitting a unique aura.

Lin Qi could sense that she must have a certain status in the association, a demeanor often referred to by people as that of someone in authority.

"Mr. Lin Qi, Ms. Julie mentioned to us the reasons for your disagreement. She said you wanted to establish a sports movement centered around female athletes, but it was suspected of pandering to men. When she advocated for women's rights, you fired her. Is that true?"

The man sitting beside her glanced at Taylor. He felt Taylor was too eager to solve this matter, but he didn't say anything. Taylor was the vice president of the association and held some power and status.

Their goal was to cause a stir, create public opinion, put pressure on Lin Qi, and show people their power.

"If having male spectators in a sport is considered insulting to women, Ms. Taylor, do you think I'm insulting you right now?"

Taylor was momentarily taken aback. Her mind was processing Lin Qi's first statement, finding it somewhat confusing, and then she had to face the second part.

A strong woman shouldn't be easily cornered. After her expression underwent some changes, she shook her head slightly. However, she didn't speak. This way, even if there were any subsequent developments, she could change what she wanted to express once she understood Lin Qi's intentions.

Shaking her head could mean affirmation or denial; it all depended on her.

Lin Qi then smiled. He chuckled with a hint of mockery. "No, Ms. Taylor, I have been insulting you all along, thoroughly insulting you..."

"Mr. Lin Qi..." The man beside him tried to interrupt the conversation, realizing that Taylor had fallen into the trap. But how could Lin Qi let him have his way?

He directly counter-questioned, "As a companion of Ms. Taylor, do you think I am insulting her?"

The man who had already noticed the problem found himself in a corner. It was hard for him to answer this question. If he said yes, regardless of whether lying through his teeth would make him uncomfortable or not, once what happened today was leaked out, it would become a huge joke.

Everyone would find others' misfortunes amusing. Even after the person being laughed at gets angry, others would often hypocritically console them. Only the person being laughed at would truly understand how painful it was to become a joke.

If he said no, he would obviously deviate from Taylor's position. It meant he was on Lin Qi's side. It had been less than five minutes since they met, but Lin Qi had already undermined them internally.

Taylor seemed to realize that her previous evasion had turned out to be the dumbest choice. Her complexion didn't look good either. She directly interrupted Lin Qi's questioning. "You are evading the issue!"

"Evading the issue?" Lin Qi looked at Taylor, his expression exaggeratedly shocked. "Are you talking about me?"

"No, I didn't evade the issue. I was just addressing it. If you think my admiring gaze toward you is insulting, then we have no need to continue this conversation."

Lin Qi felt that if the Women's Rights Protection Association in Ssbin City consisted of people like Taylor, they wouldn't pose any threat.

Taylor stared at Lin Qi. Perhaps Lin Qi's "admiring gaze" made her feel that he wasn't lying. After about ten seconds, she nodded and said, "Okay, this isn't insulting me. So what?"

Lin Qi's attitude also softened. "Let me ask another question, Ms. Taylor. Do you think I'm handsome?"

Though Taylor wanted to say no, she had to admit that Lin Qi had a natural charm. Reluctantly, she nodded. "You are handsome. What's your point?"

Lin Qi smiled brightly. "See, this is the difference between me and Ms. Julie. She believes that admiration from men is a form of insult to the one being admired. I deeply respect every woman; women are an indispensable part of society."

His statement quickly stabilized Taylor's emotions, and her attitude quickly softened.

"I've noticed that some girls also admire handsome or well-built men, but these men never feel insulted by the girls' gaze."

"The same goes for sports. If a sports event primarily for women can only be watched by women, that's the real insult to women."

"I personally think Ms. Julie has some ideological issues. She deliberately creates divisions and frightening viewpoints to highlight women's status and rights. This is very detrimental for the Women's Rights Protection Association."

"Because of her and her actions, people will eventually associate them with your style and approach."

"Furthermore, I had planned to create at least two thousand jobs for women in this state through the movement I was pushing. But due to our disagreements, including those between Ms. Julie and me, I have decided to temporarily shelve this plan."

Lin Qi's expression gradually became serious. "I will hold a press conference to explain this to society. I have not discriminated against or insulted anyone. Ms. Julie has subjected me to pressure I shouldn't have had to endure. Society and public opinion will give me a fair judgement."

Taylor and the man beside her exchanged a glance. Suddenly, they realized that they were the ones in trouble now.

Taylor voluntarily closed her mouth, and the man cleared his throat, solemnly saying, "Mr. Lin Qi, perhaps you can temporarily postpone the press conference. We don't have a thorough understanding of this matter yet, and there may still be serious misunderstandings. Shouldn't we first dispel these misunderstandings?"

"If Ms. Julie has some issues, we will address them and help you push forward this sports movement primarily for women in this state or even at the federal level as soon as possible."Please vote for this novel at /series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 6 Advance chapters Link

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