On Lu Mingyu's private jet, Zheng Yu happily showed Song Yining her various social media accounts, chattering nonstop:
"I'm telling you, this round of marketing for you was a huge success. Your family's jewelry is going to sell like crazy. Even I watched that video and wanted to buy a set myself."
"That's great. I told them I could handle it, but they kept saying I was just messing around." Zheng Yu kept going on.
"Is your brother on this plane too?" Song Yining suddenly asked.
Zheng Yu waved her hand: "My brother has a meeting, so he told me to head back first. Why? Are you interested in him?? My brother is famous for keeping away from women!"
"No, I just think he's someone who can see right through people."
Being around someone like that always felt like standing naked in the light.
As soon as the plane landed, Song Yining went straight to the company to discuss follow-up matters. By the time she finished, it was already late at night.
She stood at the entrance of the office building, waiting for Secretary Lin to bring the car around. At some point, a fine drizzle had started falling. Leaning slightly against the wall, she was still lost in thoughts about the work ahead.
Just then, the sound of leather shoes tapping against the ground came from behind. She instinctively turned and saw several men walking out with Xu Jichen at the lead. His face carried traces of fatigue, clearly from just finishing work.
When Song Yining turned her head, Xu Jichen also caught sight of her. He didn't speak, and the way he looked at her was as if she were a stranger. Song Yining quickly withdrew her gaze and got into Secretary Lin's car.
"Secretary Lin, take me to that wonton shop in the front alley," she said once inside.
Secretary Lin hesitated: "Boss, it's quite late now, and that place is remote. If you go alone, I'm afraid…"
"Just send me there. Forget it, you can get down too," Song Yining waved him off. "I need to check something—I want to see if I guessed right."
Her words left Secretary Lin baffled, but he had no choice but to obey.
So, the two of them sat down at the shabby wonton stall and ordered two small bowls. But before the owner could even bring them out, three or four young men in black rushed at them. One of them swung a bag, trying to throw it over Song Yining's head.
"Boss, run!!" Secretary Lin shouted when he sensed something was wrong.
But when he turned around, why wasn't Song Yining running?? Instead, she was fighting them head-on!
"Call the police, Secretary Lin!" Song Yining yelled, while her hands moved without pause. She even had the presence of mind to take off her high heels.
Those high heels turned out to be quite handy weapons.
——
When Xu Jichen got out of the car, this was the scene before him:
Song Yining stood barefoot on the ground, hair in disarray, clutching a pair of high heels. Three thugs lay sprawled at her feet. The wonton stall owner was clinging tightly to Secretary Lin, looking terrified.
"Strange… how long has it been since I've seen a street fight like this?" the stall owner muttered nervously, worried the incident might affect his future business.
"Did you call the police?" Song Yining asked, glancing toward Secretary Lin, who was practically "held hostage" by the owner.
He nodded.
At that, it was as if all her strength left her, and she collapsed weakly to the side.
The next second, Xu Jichen strode over with his long legs. The very first thing he noticed about her was her small, pale feet. Realizing his attention had wandered, he quickly looked up at her weary face instead, his voice laced with sarcasm:
"Song Yining, you didn't set all this up just to lure me here, did you?"
As he spoke, Secretary Lin rushed over to help Song Yining stand. She opened her eyes tiredly and looked at Xu Jichen as if he were an idiot, completely ignoring his words. She stopped Secretary Lin's attempt to take her to the hospital and said instead:
"The police have already been called. I'll wait here for them to arrive."
Xu Jichen cast a glance at the old chairs of the wonton stall. He didn't sit, but stood coldly to the side, his tone indifferent:
"A wealthy young lady like you, eating at a place like this in the middle of the night—who else would the thugs target, if not you?"
No matter what he said, Song Yining acted as though she didn't hear. A few minutes later, the police arrived.
"Officer, this wasn't a random incident. You can ask around—I believe my stepmother, Madam Jiang Yuan, is behind this."
Before the officers could even question her, Song Yining spoke up.
Hearing that, Xu Jichen's brows furrowed deeply.
"Is this man also involved?" the officer asked, pointing at Xu Jichen.
Song Yining shook her head: "Don't know him."
Xu Jichen: "…"
——
As Song Yining had expected, news of the incident spread that very night. The thugs hadn't expected to get caught, and once at the station, they quickly confessed to the mastermind: Jiang Zheng, Jiang Yuan's younger brother.
"Officer, we didn't know that woman could fight like that! We were tricked! It was all that bastard Jiang Zheng!"
They babbled on, but Song Yining paid them no mind. She simply had Secretary Lin drive her back to the Song family villa.
When she arrived, the house was still quiet. Song Boyuan and Jiang Yuan hadn't heard anything yet.
"Miss, the master and madam have already gone to bed," the butler whispered.
Song Yining sneered, sat down in the living room, picked up a teacup from the table, and hurled it straight at a large, valuable vase in the corner.
The next second, the entire Song household was startled awake.
Song Boyuan stormed down the stairs, his face full of fury:
"Song Yining!!! What nonsense are you pulling in the middle of the night???"
"Dad, what happened tonight? I've already sent the details to your phone. Look at it before you speak." Song Yining leaned tiredly against the sofa, half-closing her eyes as she waited for his reaction.
Within a minute, Jiang Yuan came rushing down in tears, sobbing:
"Honey, I'm innocent! I never told Jiang Zheng to do this!"
"Auntie Jiang, Jiang Zheng has already been taken in by the police," Song Yining said, annoyed at the noise, rubbing her ears.
"So, now everyone will know about this. Tomorrow, the Song family's stock will plummet. Dad, you did marry such a fine wife." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Song Boyuan turned to Jiang Yuan, his face dark with storm clouds.
Jiang Yuan's legs went weak; she almost collapsed.
"And what are you doing here?" Song Boyuan snapped at Song Yining.
She raised her eyes, staring coolly at the despicable pair before her. Her tone was icy:
"Of course—I've come for compensation."