Li Nanfang had been foolish to call the old man, acting like a beggar with a gold mountain on his back. No wonder he was berated.The old man's final jab—that Yue Zitong's approach was superior to his own—left Li Nanfang wishing he could vanish. How could he face anyone now?Fortunately, no one was at the big tree on the hillside that night to witness his shame."Humph, what could Yue Zitong possibly do? Likely, she'd don a mask and intimidate Director Jin under the cover of darkness," Li Nanfang muttered, rubbing his still-hot cheek.He glanced at the distant villa, dark and seemingly uninhabited. Yet Li Nanfang knew Yue Zitong was home, probably sitting on the sofa, cursing him.To others' insults, Li Nanfang paid no mind. But now, lounging in the tree branches, he gazed at the star-studded sky and murmured with a smile, "Director Jin, I swear you'll spend the rest of your life regretting this."Chapter 63: Tonight at Ten ThirtyAt four in the afternoon, Yue Zitong dialed the district office again. She was certain that Old Jin had been waiting for this call. Sure enough, after a few rings, Jin's dignified voice came through: "This is Jin Baiyong. Who's calling?"Despite seeing her number on the caller ID, he put on this act of aloofness."Director Jin, I've made up my mind. I agree to your terms," Yue Zitong said coolly. "You set the time and place.""I'm working now. Let's discuss private matters after hours," Jin replied curtly before hanging up.Yue Zitong smiled faintly, hung up, and turned as a knock sounded on the door. Min Rou entered, nearing the end of the workday, to report on the day's summary and tomorrow's schedule."The audit team left, taking several account books with them," Min Rou began, prioritizing the urgent matter. "Although our records are clean, they're bound to nitpick—"Yue Zitong raised a hand to stop her. "Don't worry. The books they took today will be back tomorrow."Stunned, Min Rou couldn't fathom Yue's confidence. Yue, noticing her concern, softened. "Sit down, Rou. Let's talk."Min Rou hesitated but complied, perching on the sofa. Yue sat beside her, took her hand, and patted it gently. Min Rou shuddered at the unaccustomed tenderness.Yue quickly withdrew her hand, her expression cooling. "What do you think of Li Nanfang?"Min Rou was taken aback. "Honestly, he's not as unpleasant as he seems. He respects women," she murmured, adding, "This is just my personal view."Yue snorted inwardly. Respect women? If you knew how he treats me... But she let it go. "I intended to set you two up," she said bluntly.Min Rou's eyes widened. "Really?""I thought if you accepted him, I'd grant you 10% of the company's shares as a wedding gift. A blessing for your union," Yue elaborated, her tone tinged with irony. "But that good-for-nothing proved beyond help. No matter how I tried to reform him, he remained incorrigible."Min Rou, bewildered, offered Yue more water as she ranted. Yue recounted her efforts, from supporting Li to shielding him from consequences, all while omitting details like him living with her. Instead, she painted herself as a doting aunt rushing to his rescue.Moved by Yue's self-sacrifice, Min Rou gasped when Yue revealed she must accompany Jin tonight. Yue downplayed her own plight, emphasizing her duty to the company and its employees.When Jin called again, Yue accepted his terms: a meeting at 10:30 PM at青山 Hotel's presidential suite, along with a visit to his hospitalized son. Yue agreed without hesitation.Min Rou, realizing Yue's plan involved personal humiliation to resolve the crisis, pleaded with her to reconsider. Yue, resigned to her fate, cited a Buddhist adage about sacrifice.Determined to act, Min Rou impulsively offered to take Yue's place. Yue was taken aback but touched by Min Rou's loyalty. Gently chiding her naivety, Yue dismissed her, seeking solitude.Heartbroken, Min Rou retreated to her office, tears streaming as she mourned Yue's impending ordeal. Convincing herself she must warn Li Nanfang, she dialed his number urgently. "Get back to Qing Shan City now!" she demanded, her voice trembling with emotion. "Or I'll never speak to you again!"Chapter 64: You're Indeed a ScumApart from the threat of never speaking to Li Nanfang again, Min Rou had no other leverage. Li Nanfang, sipping tea across from Kai Huang Group at a teahouse, wanted to laugh. But he dared not—the secretary's voice was laced with sobs. If he laughed now, reconciliation would be impossible.He asked gravely, "Secretary Min, what's the urgency?""President Yue—President Yue—" Min Rou's tears fell as she recounted Yue Zitong's plight, omitting only the part about matchmaking."I see," Li Nanfang's smile faded, though his tone remained nonchalant."Then hurry back!" Min Rou urged."And what would that achieve?" Li Nanfang shot back. "Punch Jin? Or take my aunt's place in his bed?"Min Rou was speechless. What could Li Nanfang do, even if he returned? Flaunt his tattoos to intimidate Jin? Given Jin's worldly experience, that would likely backfire. Besides, Director Kang was still in the hospital awaiting surgery after Li Nanfang's second slap had loosened his back tooth."You are a scum," Min Rou declared coldly before hanging up."I've always been a scum," Li Nanfang muttered, touching his earlobe.After learning from Wang Defa about Jin's vendetta, Li Nanfang had anticipated mere retaliation. He planned to make Jin regret crossing Yue Zitong. But he hadn't expected Jin's ambition to extend to using his son as bargaining chips for both Yue Zitong and Kai Huang Group, aiming to become the company's puppet master.Ambition, when unchecked, spells doom. Jin's scheme mirrored the cartoon adage: God makes mad those He dooms.Li Nanfang slowly set down his teacup, gazing at his clean right hand. "I'm here to do good. Hope you don't interfere," he whispered.As work hours ended, Min Rou heard Yue Zitong's high heels clicking outside. Yue, in a Prada dress with smoky eyes and red lips, exuded rare glamour. "Don't worry," she smiled at Min Rou. "Many things seem trivial once perspective shifts.""If only I had your composure," Min Rou sighed."I called Li Nanfang," Min Rou admitted, head down.Yue's eyebrow twitched. "What did he say?""He said, what's the use of returning? Beat Jin or take your place?" Min Rou relayed."He speaks the truth," Yue said, her knuckles whitening around her wallet before she strode off.Under normal circumstances, employees would marvel at Yue's makeover. But today, all were preoccupied with anxiety.Not Jin Shao, however. Confined to a wheelchair, he still leered at beauty. "Well, if it isn't President Yue," he drawled from his hospital bed."Wind of murder," Yue retorted inwardly, forcing a smile. "Jin Shao, I've come to apologize—"Before Yue could finish, Jin's mother, Mrs. Jin, lunged at her, screeching, "Vixen! My son's leg for your sorry!"Mrs. Jin, nursing her son and cursing the "vixen" who'd lured him into ruin, saw her incarnate. Clad in garish makeup, with a décolletage threatening to burst from her dress and legs sheathed in black silk, Yue embodied the vixen Mrs. Jin despised.Today, I'll claw that fox face blind and break her legs! Mrs. Jin vowed.Ordinary women would've stood no chance against her assault. But Yue Zitong, ex-Huaxia's top spy, White Peony, wasn't ordinary. She stomped Mrs. Jin's stomach, sending her crashing to the floor."Good kick! Brilliant!" Jin Shao applauded from his bed. "If you kill my mom, I'll truly respect you!"Jin Shao's words doused Yue's fury. She coldly acknowledged his praise and left. Jin had demanded her apology; she'd come, spoken her piece. As for kicking his mother? An意外意外, surely forgivable."Leaving so soon? I swear you'll grovel before me yet!" Jin Shao bellowed.Yue ignored him, thinking, He thinks he's Li Nanfang. I forgave Li for far worse. If he likes "Conquer," I'll make him sing it endlessly.Yue thought of Li, her heart tightening. She'd been too lenient with him. Next time, she'd teach him a lesson. Just then, a man approached. "President Yue, what brings you here?"Yue looked up to see Feng Yuntian, heir to the Yunshi Group, in a beige shirt and gray trousers, smiling warmly."Mr. Feng, pleasure," Yue said, stubbing out her cigarette.Feng Yuntian,Qingshan City's top real estate mogul's scion, had admired Yue since their chance encounter two years prior. Often bearing flowers, he'd express his admiration for the president.Truth be told, Feng was a prime catch—handsome, tall, and exuding nobility. With Yue, they'd make a golden couple. Yet Yue felt nothing for him, even without Li Nanfang in the picture. She preferred men robust and sunny, whose biceps bulged with effort—men like He Lan Fus.Only a man with restrained vigor, a lion on the sports field, deserved Yue's flower-like beauty. Feng Yuntian, with his pretty but effeminate demeanor, was nothing but a silver-tipped spearhead in her eyes.Despite her disdain, Yue maintained presidential courtesy."President Yue, visiting a patient?" Feng Yuntian asked, adjusting his three-seven parted hair—a gesture Yue found nauseatingly dainty."Yes, I've finished visiting and am heading home," Yue replied."Any plans for tonight?" Feng asked. "If not, would you honor me with your presence at Shun Jing Road for Western cuisine?""Would I?" Yue mentally scoffed. "First literary, then switching to Western food. 'Would you' indeed."Shaking her head, she remembered something. "I have plans tonight—to meet Director Jin. Mr. Feng, your uncle works at the Municipal Committee, right?""Ah? Yes, yes," Feng Yuntian stammered, realizing Yue's implication. The city's thorough investigation of Kai Huang Group was no secret. Everyone knew the reasons, but given Jin's noble pretext and his son's tragic fate, no one dared to intervene for a mere businessman.This included Feng's uncle, who'd avoided Kai Huang Group for days, fearing Yue might use their relationship to ask for help. If she did, would he agree? Definitely not. So Feng quickly clapped his forehead, exclaiming, "Oh my, I forgot I'm tending to a patient tonight. Let's reschedule, shall we?"Watching Feng flee, Yue smirked faintly and got into her car.Chapter 65: How I Wish This Were Just a NightmareThe bright moon hung outside the window, and it was nearly ten o'clock. In the past, Bai Ling would have long been asleep on a night without missions or duty. As the saying goes, beauty is slept into; only women who start getting wrinkles after thirty regret their late-night habits.Now assigned to a street police station as a community officer managing archives, she had no tasks or night shifts. Yet she couldn't rest, sitting on the bed with her back against the wall, arms wrapped around her bent knees, staring wide-eyed at the window. Her facial muscles and lips twitched occasionally, and she shivered from time to time.This was classic post-trauma behavior, akin to being possessed. It wasn't that she didn't want to rest early—it was that she dared not. She feared that in the middle of the night, she might scream and sit bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat and heart pounding.She didn't even dare to close her eyes; the moment she did, Li Nanfang's terrifying image would emerge, more horrifying than any demon she could imagine. In her dreams, she was violated by a demon and bore its child, a怪胎 with a human body and a ghostly head, fangs bared, screeching "Mommy" in a shrill voice.Who wouldn't fear such recurring nightmares?In the afternoon, she consulted a psychologist at the hospital, using the excuse of a near-encounter with a criminal during a mission—a plausible story for a female officer. The psychologist advised her that the only way to alleviate the terror was to sit down with the perpetrator and discover any redeeming qualities he might have, thereby gradually unknotting the psychological strain.Could Li Nanfang, the scum, have any redeeming qualities? He was despicable, vulgar, shameless, and terrifying. Suddenly, her phone rang with a familiar tune, startling her heart into a violent leap. The caller ID showed a local public telephone.Without considering who it might be, driven by habit, she grabbed the phone and answered, "Hello, this is Bai Ling. Who's calling?""Officer Bai, please proceed immediately to the Golis Club across from Qing Shan Hotel on Shun Jing Road."A stranger's voice, devoid of emotion, came through the receiver: "I'm informed that a sexual assault is currently taking place in Room Seven on the second floor of the club.""What? Who are you?"Forgetting she was no longer a criminal investigator and that her current precinct didn't have jurisdiction over the area, Bai Ling nonetheless acted on instinct. She demanded the caller's identity. "Hurry! Get here as fast as you can. If you're late, it'll be too late!" The man ignored her question and abruptly hung up."Bai Ling quickly threw on her clothes, slipped into her shoes, and rushed out the door. In the parking lot of her apartment complex, a Crown Prince motorcycle awaited—a relic from her days as a criminal investigator, overlooked by the bureau when she was reassigned to the street police station.Roar, roar, roar! The motorcycle's exhaust growled mightily as its headlight pierced the night, and it shot forward like a leopard.After receiving the call, Bai Ling didn't consider her new role or notify the local police. Her sole focus was on reaching the Golis Club, over ten kilometers away, as swiftly as possible. She detested criminals who violated women; those who fell into her hands either died or were left crippled.The Golis Club, a newly opened small venue, carried the distinct scent of construction materials, unsettling to Yue Zitong, accustomed to high-end establishments.But the location was ideal. From the balcony window of Room Seven, Yue could observe the entrance of Qing Shan Hotel across the street. With her sharp vision, she could identify every individual entering and exiting.She awaited Jin Baiyong. Not only had he dared to scheme against the daughter of the Yue family from Jinghua using despicable tactics, but he also sought both wealth and beauty. No one in all of Huaxia would dare to do such a thing—yet Jin Baiyong was bewitched enough to court his own ruin.After lighting a cigarette, Yue Zitong entered the bathroom and stood before the mirror, admiring the beauty within. She struck a pose, hands on her hips, one knee bent, and smiled so captivatingly she nearly enchanted herself."Beauty is truly captivating. If I were a man, I'd stop at nothing to possess you," she murmured.It's often said that the prettier the woman, the more self-absorbed she is—a notion Yue exemplified."But what is Jin Baiyong thinking, scheming against someone like you? How dare he?"Yue Zitong took a drag on her cigarette and gave a silent, cold smile. She turned to the door and opened it—outside stood a figure in a blue-black tracksuit, a monkey mask concealing his face, eyes gleaming mischievously from behind."Who are you?" Yue Zitong asked, stunned. Without waiting for a response, she instinctively kicked toward the intruder's groin.Regardless of the masked individual's identity, his sudden appearance in her private room signaled ill intent—either robbery or abduction. There was no need for pleasantries; a strike was in order.Though Yue's combat skills weren't as formidable as she imagined, they were more than sufficient to handle three or four opponents. Her kick was fierce and powerful.Her usual tactic was to incapacitate first, then interrogate. But this time, her kick was effortlessly deflected. The man seized her foot and yanked it upward, disrupting her balance. As she reached instinctively for the doorframe, a hand clamped over her mouth.The stranger held a white gauze pad, emitting a sweet, intoxicating aroma. Yue recognized it instantly—a sedative!Indeed, it was a sedative. Almost the moment her mouth and nose were covered, Yue's left hand, poised to strike, went limp. Her strength drained in an instant, and she collapsed limply.The masked figure swiftly caught her waist and lifted her into his arms. Yue, with years of experience in national security and familiarity with sedatives, knew their effects. She often carried them on missions for efficiency.But she had never encountered a sweet-smelling sedative that could incapacitate her so swiftly without rendering her unconscious. Her mind remained crystal clear, allowing her to witness the masked figure's next moves.What could this masked assailant want beyond kidnapping her or violating her honor? From his effortless grasp of her foot, Yue realized he was far more formidable than she—capable of subduing her without drugs.Overwhelmed by despair and terror, Yue tried to scream for help but couldn't utter a sound. Helpless, she was laid on the sofa outside.As feared, the masked figure began to undress her with practiced ease, stripping her down to three small black pieces of fabric and removing her stockings. Yue, unable to act beyond tears streaming down her face, awaited her fate.The masked figure continued, shedding all but his shorts. His eyes, visible through the mask, leered at her lewdly.
