"Madam, the young lady is on her way," the gang leader whispered, voice shaking. His knees threatened to give out, but Xia Ruyan gave only a slight nod, so faint it could've been missed.
There was no tension in her body. No fear. Just quiet composure. Is she fearless… or just terrifyingly good at pretending?
"I didn't tell her you'd be here," he added quickly. His voice still trembling, the smell of blood lingering in the air even when the body had been removed, who had they offended?
It was meant to be a simple mission, just a measly woman, but in the skin of a woman, they had let a demon cross their threshold. He realized that inviting a demon is easier, but sending one away is impossible. It is either that he will beg or go to hell. Of course, begging is easier; pride means nothing if he can keep his life.
She raised an eyebrow, one delicate, silent question: And you think that matters?
At that moment, Marie returned, having received a small black package. With the same professionalism as always, she walked over and handed Xia Ruyan a steaming cup of coffee.
In that cold, rust-stained warehouse, with drying blood on the floor and trembling men surrounding her, the smell of rich, roasted beans somehow made everything feel more disturbing. It hit the gangsters like a punch. That aroma didn't belong here.
Now they knew. They hadn't lured a victim. They had stepped into the lair of a monster.
The air shifted.
A black car screeched to a halt. Li Wan stepped out in her designer heels, sunglasses pushed high on her head, her posture dripping arrogance. She didn't even glance at the surroundings, too busy barking orders.
Li Wan was used to having her way, just as her family was used to getting what they wanted by playing dirty. The Li family had controversial material on many elites, politicians, businessmen, actors, and countless others in the country. The Li media house was just the face; behind the media business, a deeply intricate system of extortion and blackmail fed the family. To make it work, the Li family owned a gang that handled all the dirty work. Li Wan grew up in this environment, where if you wanted something, you got it by hook or by crook; if you wanted it, you snatched it.
"Did you get the pictures?" she snapped at the trembling gang leader. "Hmph, that woman really thinks marrying into the Mo family makes her somebody. Let's see how they react once this goes public."
With Ye Yutong, she shared a different kind of bond, not just transactional. Li Wan believed Yutong was her only good friend, the one who stayed when people feared her, the one who helped when people gave up on her. Not big things, but countless small efforts, asking her to play, helping with an exam, going shopping. At her core, Li Wan was a naïve, lonesome woman who wanted true companionship, and Yutong gave her that… an illusion.
She kept ranting, pacing, and gesturing, completely unaware of the stillness around her. The kind that meant everyone was already watching a car crash in slow motion.
And that illusion gave the Ye family a lapdog, the Li family. Later, Li Wan was engaged to Ye Shu, with Ye Yutong acting as the broker in their relationship. It gave Young Lady Li the phantasm that she had found a true friend, a true love, and a bright future.
Things might have gone fine if she had not decided to be a blade against Xia Ruyan. Her compassion for the Ye family was going to cost her far more than she could afford in her miserable life.
Marie scoffed quietly as she saw the woman with just a bark and sunglasses. This is what they sent to fight Miss Xia?
"Where. Are. The. Pictures?" Li Wan barked again.
A calm voice cut through the air like ice slicing skin. "They're about to be taken."
Li Wan turned, and for the first time, saw her.
Xia Ruyan.
The woman she had never seen or met before, she had only ever insulted behind closed doors, the name she spat with disdain, was standing before her like a painting come to life.
Beautiful and otherworldly.
Li Wan's confidence faltered, just for a second. No. No, she can't look like this… I have to destroy her. For Yutong's sake.
She squared her shoulders. "Oh, I see. You bribed these thugs to save yourself, is that it? Typical low-born tricks. Do you think the Li family will be scared of someone like you?"
She turned back to the gang. "What are you all waiting for? Grab her. Finish the damn job!"
Silence. Then, a shift. The gang leader moved… but not toward Xia Ruyan.
He grabbed Li Wan.
"What the hell are you doing?! I'm your boss! I'm a Li!" she shrieked, panic rising.
The leader looked half-mad, eyes bloodshot. "I'm sorry, young miss. We have to save ourselves."
Marie moved quickly. She opened the camera case and assembled the high-definition lens. Every motion is smooth and practiced.
The scene began to play out exactly as Li Wan had planned, just not with the roles she imagined. She screamed. A sharp rip of fabric tore through the stillness of the warehouse. Li Wan's protests turned into choked, frantic cries, echoing off the cold concrete walls. Her voice broke again and again, until it dissolved into silence, leaving only the sound of her ragged breathing and the unblinking gaze of the recording camera.
She begged. She cried. She surrendered.
The camera recorded everything.
And in her agony, she realized something for the first time in her privileged life: This is what it felt like. The women she had mocked, silenced, and exposed, this is what they felt.
Outside the warehouse, Xia Ruyan stepped into the Range Rover. She left when they surrounded Miss Li like vultures and didn't watch the footage.
"I'm not fond of those kinds of films," she said, glancing out the window.
She opened her laptop. Her fingers danced over the keyboard in fluid precision, commands, encryption, screenshots. A silent rhythm of destruction.
Marie entered quietly. "It's done, ma'am. What are your orders?"
Xia Ruyan leaned back, sipping the last of her coffee. Her voice was low, almost conversational.
"Make sure Miss Li survives."
Marie blinked.
Ruyan continued, smooth as silk. "There will be a headline. Prime placement. It'll say the young lady of the Li family enjoys playing… wild. That she paid a group of gangsters for some violent fantasy."
Marie nodded. "We have the transfer receipts and the video."
"She won't be able to explain anything," Ruyan said, crossing her legs. "After all, what explanation could she possibly give for transferring money to known criminals?"
Marie's lips curled in satisfaction. "The Li family's media empire won't be able to suppress this."
"Good," Ruyan replied, brushing nonexistent dust from her cuff. "Let them be the story this time. Let the Li family taste the kind of headlines they sell so easily about others."
She gazed out the window, her reflection cold and calm.
"The circle is already polluted enough. Let's start cleaning it."