The Frost Vault of the Leng family was a place rarely spoken of in socialite circles — an underground fortress beneath their ancestral home in Country F. It was designed not only for preservation but punishment. Silent, cold, and merciless.
Li Man, Cheng Ciao, and a third woman — a lesser-known heiress named Fang Qi — sat on the icy metal floor, trembling. Their hands were bound, their expensive gowns torn and stained. The air bit at their skin, and the silence around them felt suffocating.
Footsteps echoed — sharp and deliberate.
The large steel doors creaked open, revealing *Leng Yumo* and *Leng Meixuan*, both dressed in black, coats dragging behind them like royalty cloaked in vengeance.
"You look less arrogant now," Leng Yumo said coldly, stepping forward, her stilettos clicking ominously. "Where did all that confidence go, Cheng Ciao?"
Cheng Ciao's lips trembled. "W-We didn't mean to hurt her like that—"
"You pushed her into a glass sink. She needed surgery." Meixuan's voice was low and deadly. "You knew what you were doing."
Li Man coughed from the cold. "It was just a party prank—it got out of hand."
Leng Meixuan's eyes narrowed. "This isn't a school hallway, and Lu Jingyan isn't someone you get to bully."
Yumo pulled out a slim silver tablet and pressed play. *Security footage* from the charity gala's restricted hallway began to play. The three women were clearly seen cornering Lu Jingyan inside the bathroom, pushing her, one of them grabbing her arm violently.
"You don't want to know how many people saw this," Yumo whispered. "But they won't. Because we got it first."
The women flinched. Fang Qi burst into tears. "We'll apologize—publicly! Please—my father doesn't even know I'm gone!"
Meixuan leaned forward. "Let me explain something to you. The Leng family protects our own. Jingyan may not carry our name, but she has our blood, our loyalty. You broke her. Now we break your pride."
As the girls wept and pleaded, another wave of footsteps interrupted them.
The air turned colder.
Leng Shiyan stepped into the vault like a looming shadow. He was still in a tailored suit, fresh from a meeting, but the glint in his eyes was far from diplomatic.
"You started without me?" he asked casually, his tone far too calm for the setting. "I wanted to see the faces of the social scum that thought touching her was a good idea."
Meixuan moved aside. "They're all yours."
Leng Shiyan took slow steps, crouched in front of Li Man, and stared into her bloodshot eyes. "Do you know how long I've wanted to get my hands on you for what you did to Jingyan?"
"I—I didn't—" she stammered.
He smiled — not kindly. "But you did. And I've been instructed not to break bones… so we'll play a different game."
He rose, turned to Yumo and Meixuan. "Get their families on the line. I want them to see exactly what kind of daughters they've raised. And if they don't publicly apologize within 48 hours... their businesses? Consider them dust."
"You're insane!" Fang Qi screamed.
"No," Yumo said quietly. "We're the Lengs."
As the steel door slammed shut, and the cries echoed inside the vault, there was only one truth left standing:
Lu Jingyan was no longer fighting alone.
And the world was about to learn the cost of touching her.