Chapter 58: The Canary's Self-Discipline (23)

To be honest, Shen Han Deng was feeling rather bewildered. A young woman and a strange man were alone together in a room. The key issue was that the man’s life or death was uncertain.

Well…

Despite everything, Shen Han Deng was no stranger to storms and crises. She quickly regained her composure.

“What happened?”

Ling Qiong closed the door and leaned back on the sofa, idly playing with a phone.

“He tried to take advantage of me.”

Shen Han Deng’s gaze grew cold as she scrutinized Ling Qiong. “Then why is he lying on the floor now?”

“I’m no fool, of course I fought back. But it really gave me a fright,” she replied, patting her chest dramatically, as if to show she was truly scared.

Shen Han Deng couldn’t see any sign of fear in her.

“Where did you get that phone?”

Ling Qiong pointed at the man on the floor.

“...” So you knocked him out just to play with his phone?

Is this what you call being scared?

What exactly are you afraid of?

Shen Han Deng checked the man on the ground. She had no idea what Ling Qiong had hit him with, but the man’s head was split open. Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped, so his life shouldn’t be in danger.

Shen Han Deng wiped her hands with a tissue, then asked a seemingly unrelated question: “Do you remember my phone number?”

“I remember everything about you, Young Master,” Ling Qiong replied, setting the phone down and making a heart shape with her fingers. “You’re always in my heart.”

Shen Han Deng sneered, tossing away the tissue. “It’s my money you keep in your heart, isn’t it?”

Ling Qiong: “...” There’s no way to have a proper conversation with you!

How could you say something like that, little one!

...

Shen Han Deng ignored the man on the floor and sat down next to Ling Qiong. “Did he touch you anywhere?”

Ling Qiong fell silent, then asked warily, “What happens if he did?”

According to the stereotype, shouldn’t you say something overbearing like ‘wherever he touched, I’ll cut off that part’?

Shen Han Deng’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “Wherever he touched you, I’ll cripple him there.”

Ling Qiong let out a sigh of relief. “He bumped my foot with his butt.”

Shen Han Deng: “...”

Shen Han Deng: “Why did he… try to take advantage of you?”

Ling Qiong leaned over, quickly scrolled through the phone, and pulled up the call log.

“Look, isn’t this your stepmother’s number?”

“You can tell even though it isn’t saved?”

“I remember it.”

“...”

So you didn’t make a point of memorizing his number, then?

Shen Han Deng flipped through the phone. There was only that one call logged.

However, Shen Han Deng found an audio recording.

It was probably not a deliberate recording by the man, but rather an automatic feature that recorded every call.

The caller was Zhou Jing.

The gist of the conversation was that Zhou Jing wanted him to get some dirt on Ling Qiong. Perhaps feeling insecure, Zhou Jing wanted to double down, making it easier to control her.

Ling Qiong had previously suspected Zhou Jing wanted to target Shen Han Deng, but unexpectedly, she was after herself instead...

...

Zhou Jing had ordered A-Mei to keep an eye on Shen Han Deng.

But A-Mei had come over to report that she looked away for just a moment, and Shen Han Deng had vanished—no one could find her anywhere.

Zhou Jing snapped, “How can you not even keep track of one person!”

A-Mei tried to explain, “Director Zhou, there are a lot of people here, and the young master—”

“Enough.” Zhou Jing cut her off, face darkening. “Go check upstairs.”

Zhou Jing brought A-Mei up to the third floor. She listened at the door but heard nothing, so she told A-Mei to unlock it.

“Young master, young master, slow down—”

From the stairs came the anxious voice of a servant.

A-Mei glanced at Zhou Jing, who waved her hand. A-Mei quickly pocketed the key and stood behind Zhou Jing.

Just then, Shen Han Deng came around the corner and, spotting Zhou Jing, narrowed her eyes. “Where did you send Ye Qingtang?”

Zhou Jing looked puzzled. “Miss Ye? I haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s just off somewhere?”

“Young master, Miss Ye really hasn’t come upstairs,” chimed in another servant.

Zhou Jing said, “Miss Ye is an adult, nothing will happen to her. Han Deng, why don’t you come meet the board with me?”

Shen Han Deng replied, “No need.”

She turned and left.

...

After Shen Han Deng left, Zhou Jing called someone.

It took a while for the call to be answered. Zhou Jing immediately asked, “Is it done?”

A gruff, tense voice replied, “Almost.”

“Hurry up,” Zhou Jing urged.

Worried that Shen Han Deng might barge in again, Zhou Jing told A-Mei to keep a closer eye on him—if possible, to find someone to delay him.

A-Mei went downstairs to carry out her orders.

Zhou Jing glanced at the door, then clicked down the stairs in her high heels.

Inside the room, the man had his hands tied behind his back, only his head could move. Just a centimeter from his eye was a sharp knife. If it moved forward even slightly, his eye would be ruined.

The person holding the knife looked like a harmless little girl.

Ling Qiong said, “Of all the things you could have done, why this? A girl’s reputation isn’t something for you to trample on.”

“N-no, it wasn’t, I lost my head. It was my fault,” the man stammered, not daring to move his eyes.

Ling Qiong twirled the knife, a faint smile on her lips. “My young master said wherever you touched me, he’d cut that part off.”

The man’s pupils shrank. When he’d woken up, that man was still here. The look in his eyes was terrifying.

He shuddered involuntarily, but then realized something was off.

“I-I-I… I didn’t touch you!”

She had kicked him as soon as she entered, with surprising strength.

He hadn’t even managed to touch her clothes before being knocked out.

Ling Qiong pointed to her foot. “When I kicked you, didn’t you touch me?”

The man: “...”

Does that count?

Isn’t this a setup?

Ling Qiong sighed. “Our young master is fierce, but I’m not like that. I’m not that cruel.”

She even smiled to show how gentle she was.

The man: “...” Please, put the knife away first.

Ling Qiong said, “If you do what I say, I’ll ask my young master to let you off this time.”

To show her sincerity, Ling Qiong moved the knife away and hugged her knees, looking sweet and well-behaved. “Is that all right?”

The man: “...”

Did he even have a choice?

...

While Zhou Jing was talking to someone, she caught sight of Ling Qiong dashing out in a panic, wrapped in a man’s coat.

It seemed she was looking for a way out, but Shen Han Deng stopped her.

No one could hear what they said. The girl hung her head, shaking it over and over, her hand clutching her clothes, her whole body trembling.

In the end, Shen Han Deng seemed to lose her temper and dragged her away.

It seemed everything was fine...

Zhou Jing told the other person to come see her, but he said he was too injured and needed to patch himself up first.

Thinking the matter was settled, Zhou Jing didn’t pay much attention.

But after she’d seen off the last guest, she remembered he still hadn’t shown up.

When she called again, the man suddenly began demanding more money.

He had long since left, and Zhou Jing was in no position to use force.

——— Interlude ———

Ling Qiong: If you don’t vote, you’re being naughty~