Savage Kiss - Chapter 96

“It was you who sabotaged the sales of my upgraded products last time too, wasn’t it?”

“Mi Lian, you should know better than anyone how much I value money. You’ve ruined my career twice, cutting off my livelihood, how can I ever trust you again?”

This society was in shambles. She did good deeds to accumulate merit, not expecting anything in return, but she certainly didn’t deserve to be repaid with evil.

Xu Qingyi hung up the phone.

Since this incident had blown up, her emotions had never been so complicated.

Mi Lian continued to send her WeChat messages: [I didn’t do those photos!]

[Can you believe me just one more time? Just once!]

[I only leaked a few of your client’s information. The other photos were exaggerated and re-shot by someone else! They were added later!]

[It must have been Shen Yaoyao!]

[It’s not fair for you to direct all your resentment and revenge at me alone! If you have the guts, go after her too!]

[She’s also in love with Shen Yanzhou! I’m not your real enemy, she is!]

Zhuang Mi Lian grew more and more agitated, but Xu Qingyi didn’t bother reading any further.

Three women fighting over Shen Yanzhou? She had no time for that.

Xu Qingyi hadn’t expected Shen Yaoyao to be involved as well.

In the end, everyone was scheming against her. What had she done to deserve such attention?

Her phone fell silent for a moment before chiming once more.

Xu Qingyi recognized it as the sound of a text message.

There were only a few people who preferred texting when contacting her, and her first thought was Shen Yanzhou.

But there was no way he would reach out to her now.

She picked up her phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, it was from Shen Yuqiao.

He had sent only one word: Satisfied?

Xu Qingyi was puzzled. Satisfied with what?

Mi Lian’s current situation… Could it be Shen Yuqiao’s doing?

After a moment’s thought, she called him back. “What do you mean?”

Shen Yuqiao’s end was, as always, quiet and orderly, his tone indifferent.

“Didn’t you think I lacked integrity in our transactional relationship? Is this enough for you now?”

“I didn’t handle the photos for you, but I handled the person. Making up for my mistake should suffice, shouldn’t it?”

Silence lingered on both ends of the line.

Xu Qingyi hadn’t expected him to be the one who forced Mi Lian to surface. But she wasn’t particularly keen on accepting this favor. Even if he hadn’t intervened, Shi Qing could have resolved it.

She really wanted to hang up, but she was afraid Shen Yuqiao would take his anger out on Xu Chen. No matter how harsh her words were, she couldn’t disregard Xu Chen.

Noticing her silence, Shen Yuqiao asked, “No thank you?”

Then the call disconnected.

Shen Yuqiao lowered his phone, glanced at the screen, and instead of getting angry, he smiled. She dared to hang up on him, and not for the first time.

A short while later, the phone rang again.

Shen Yuqiao thought it was Xu Qingyi calling back. A faint smile touched his lips as he picked up, but it vanished abruptly when he saw the caller ID.

He answered and tossed the phone back onto the coffee table, then leisurely began unpacking the medication he needed to take for the day.

“Shen Yuqiao, you just want to force my parents to hand over their resources, don’t you? You’re despicable!”

Shen Yuqiao swallowed a pill and took a sip of water.

“If Miss Zhuang wants to share her parents’ burdens, she can step forward and pose for a similar set of photos to prove that the ones circulating online aren’t of her.”

Zhuang Mi Lian gritted her teeth.

There was no way she would do that!

Her father was the founder of the Zhuang Corporation, and her mother was a specially appointed professor. By all accounts, she was a well-bred lady from a respectable family, she couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

If she were truly capable of being so shameless, why would she even bother calling him?

“President Shen,” Zhuang Mi Lian still clung to a sliver of hope. “I didn’t take those photos online, and I certainly didn’t exaggerate or spread them.”

“I never intended for Xu Qingyi to face such large-scale cyberbullying!”

“To be honest with you, I approached Shen Yaoyao and subtly encouraged her. It must have been her who later took more photos and pinned them on Xu Qingyi!”

“You’ve made it clear no one is to touch Xu Qingyi, right? Then go deal with Shen Yaoyao.”

Shen Yuqiao’s expression remained unchanged. “So, you still remember what I said.”

He had warned her not to lay a finger on Xu Qingyi.

“And yet you did it anyway. How brave.”

Zhuang Mi Lian opened her mouth to speak. It was true that she had come up with the idea of subjecting Xu Qingyi to online abuse, but she hadn’t released that many photos!

Was he even listening?

“I told you it was Shen Yaoyao who released the photos! On the surface, she’s loyal to you, but deep down, she’s still hung up on Shen Yanzhou, unable to let go…”

“President Shen, you probably don’t know this, do you? No matter how passionately Shen Yaoyao moans beneath you, her mind is always on Shen Yanzhou. Doesn’t that disgust you?”

“I’ve heard that since childhood, you’ve always loved competing with Shen Yanzhou for everything. You even slept with Shen Yaoyao right in front of him, and yet she still hasn’t changed her heart. It seems no matter what, you can never outdo Shen Yanzhou.”

This gossip, Zhuang Mi Lian had picked up from the old butler at home.

The two brothers were at odds. As the eldest son, Shen Yuqiao had everything, yet Shen Yanzhou surpassed him in every talent, so Shen Yuqiao competed with him for everything, openly and covertly.

The most obvious example was Shen Yaoyao.

Shen Yaoyao was a distant cousin from their great-grandfather’s generation. Although she was adopted, she still bore the Shen surname. Despite this, once Shen Yuqiao learned of her feelings for Shen Yanzhou, he pursued her anyway.

By pushing Shen Yaoyao into the spotlight, Zhuang Mi Lian hoped to redirect Shen Yuqiao’s anger.

It would also further alienate Shen Yanzhou, but Zhuang Mi Lian couldn’t care less about that now. All that mattered was deflecting the blame.

Once this was over, she would have Shen Yanzhou marry into the Zhuang family. It would make up for everything and be the best outcome for him, far better than enduring daily exclusion from his father and brother in the Shen family.

But after a moment, Shen Yuqiao only responded indifferently, “I know.”

Zhuang Mi Lian was taken aback.

“You know Shen Yaoyao and Shen Yanzhou are still involved?”

“Then why aren’t you dealing with her?”

Shen Yuqiao had finished his medicine and was putting it away. “You’re overstepping.”

Then he hung up.

Zhuang Mi Lian was in despair.

Shen Yuqiao knew everything. He was deliberately framing her, all to vent his anger on behalf of Xu Qingyi!

Shen Yuqiao was indeed aware that Shen Yaoyao had escalated the situation. He also knew that the real person in those photos was neither Xu Qingyi nor Zhuang Mi Lian, but Shen Yaoyao.

Wrongdoings must be punished. He intentionally pinned everything on Zhuang Mi Lian to let her taste the same bitterness.

As for Shen Yaoyao, she was his to deal with, and he would handle her in due time.

…

Xu Qingyi had no idea what outcome Shen Yuqiao wanted, and she had no say in the matter.

She assumed, at most, Zhuang Mi Lian would issue a public apology, and the incident would be erased entirely.

The poor had no time for melancholy. With work already delayed, Xu Qingyi had to quickly pull herself together and stop dwelling on the matter.

She wanted to continue working on the next series of the erotic chair.

Whether it was due to the online scandal or the lack of discussion with Shen Yanzhou, she felt completely uninspired.

Shi Qing mentioned that his birthday was coming up soon and he wanted to celebrate it at the hotel where she was staying, inviting all the friends he knew in the area.

The key point was that his mother was also coming, so she should mentally prepare herself a little.

Xu Qingyi frowned slightly, “Haven’t you told Mrs. Shi that we’ve broken up yet?”

Although it felt a bit like burning bridges after crossing the river, they had previously agreed to announce the breakup once the online incident was resolved.

Shi Qing, though having his own motives, was genuinely in a difficult position, “My mom specifically asked to see you… so I didn’t mention it. Can we wait until after my birthday?”

Shi Qing hadn’t invited many classmates; most of the guests were from the Haibin Auto Repair Shop, he had invited the entire shop.

In the evening, he went to the shop to call out to Shen Yanzhou, “Are you sure you’re not coming? Don’t you want to know what progress I make with her tonight?”