In the early hours of the morning, Tan Ni was wheeled out of the operating room. The nurse said her condition had stabilized.

Meng Jiuyi finally felt relieved. Before he could go to the ward to see her, he saw the attending physician bringing Tan Yuchen out and talking about Tan Ni's condition.

At this moment, Meng Jiuyi least wanted to run into him, so she didn't dare to get close and tried to minimize her presence.

But it was too late.

Tan Yuchen had already spotted her.

After the doctor left, he gave her a single glance, and she had no choice but to follow him.

She thought she would be questioned, but when she came downstairs, Jiang Zhou was waiting in front of the car. He opened the car door when he saw them.

"Where to?" Meng Jiuyi asked Jiang Zhou in a low voice.

"Miss Meng will know when she gets there."

Unable to get a reason from him, Meng Jiuyi had no choice but to bite the bullet and get on the bus.

The Cullinan turned the corner and drove toward the main road. Outside the car, it was pitch black and shadowy, and inside the car, it was completely silent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Meng Jiuyi saw that he was dozing with his eyes closed. The dim light inside the car was enough to illuminate the man's indifference and lack of interest.

She was torn between two conflicting emotions. The lesson she learned last time told her that it was best to be honest, because if he found out, she would be in deep trouble. But she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

The people around her seemed oblivious to her little schemes, at least they never even glanced at her.

While they hesitated, the car had already passed the checkpoint and stopped in front of a villa.

Meng Jiuyi had never been here before. He followed Tan Yuchen until they entered the main hall and saw Chen Xiaoran, who was tied up tightly.

"You dare touch me! Do you even know who my dad is?"

Chen Xiaoran's face was stomped on the ground, and he cursed and swore.

He was initially a little timid, but when he saw that the person who came in was Meng Jiuyi, he became even more arrogant, "So you, Meng Jiuyi, dare to have someone retaliate against me? I'll kill you, believe it or not."

Meng Jiuyi's face was expressionless, but his tightly pursed lips revealed a hidden satisfaction.

"Are you deaf, you filthy bitch, huh—"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp scream of pain was heard.

Tan Yuchen squatted down in front of him, slowly poking at his mouth with the cigarette butt between his fingers, as if it were an ashtray.

Chen Xiaoran's head had just been pressed to the ground, and he hadn't been noticed at all in the blind spot.

At this moment, I saw the man's sword-like eyebrows lowered at the corners of his eyes, and his smile was unrestrained.

"Who is your father? Li Gang?"

For a moment, Chen Xiaoran was intimidated by his aura.

But upon closer inspection, he's nothing more than a playboy.

Tan Yuchen asked, "Which hand pushed my sister?"

"What, you want to get justice for her?" Chen Xiaoran said sharply, "Blame her for ruining my plans, now release me, or else—"

Tan Yuchen didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore and lazily raised his eyebrows.

"I was originally thinking of leaving you one hand."

Before Chen Xiaoran could understand the meaning of those words, he saw the man raise his hand, and his arm was pressed firmly to the ground.

He struggled fiercely, cursing and begging for mercy, watching helplessly as someone swung a hammer and slammed it down hard—

Heart-wrenching screams, mixed with the stench of blood, filled the entire room.

Meng Jiuyi was terrified and took several steps back.

The cleanup was quick; the room was spotless in moments, as if nothing had happened.

Tan Yuchen sat lazily on the sofa, glancing at her casually.

"Were you scared?"

"..No."

To demonstrate credibility, Meng Jiuyi spoke without pausing, but her bloodless lips betrayed her.

Tan Yuchen rested his chin on his hand and said casually, "By the way, I haven't asked you what happened tonight?"

His tone and posture were completely relaxed, like a lion that was languid after eating. But after witnessing what had just happened, Meng Jiuyi felt that he was about to pounce on her at any moment and bite her neck off.

After seeing the price Chen Xiaoran paid, she dared not tell the truth anymore, at least not now.

Last time she secretly tried to be clever behind his back, he teased her mercilessly. If he finds out now, he'll really kill her.

She said that Chen Xiaoran invited her out tonight, and Tan Ni happened to run into her at the bar. She saw her drunk and being bullied, and got into an argument with Chen Xiaoran.

Meng Jiuyi pursed her lips and apologized.

"I'm sorry, I've dragged Tan Ni into this."

Tan Yuchen did not express his opinion, but just kept staring at her.

That gaze sent chills down Meng Jiuyi's spine.

She forced herself to meet his gaze, even as his scrutinizing eyes lingered on her face for a long time.

Tan Yuchen smirked, "Want me to get you a mirror so you can see your guilty conscience?"

Meng Jiuyi felt a pang of panic.

"I--"

"Is that really the case, Meng Jiuyi? Didn't you bring Tan Ni into this so you could use me to get rid of Chen Xiaoran?"

"I don't!"

Meng Jiuyi felt a chill run down her spine, wondering how he had figured it out. "How could I possibly have schemed so much? I just... I just—"

Before she could finish speaking, Tan Yuchen had already stood up and approached her. She instinctively wanted to back away, but the man pushed off with his large hand, and his tall figure enveloped her in the corner of the wall.

His breath was too intense and aggressive, making her tense all over. Tan Yuchen looked down at her and curled his lips.

“Meng Jiuyi, I know you’re smart and think you can outsmart others. If you drag Tan Ni into this, I won’t hesitate to send you straight to Chen Xiaoran’s bed.”

Meng Jiuyi's face stung, and she glared at him angrily.

"If you really dare to do that, don't blame me for fighting to the death!"

Tan Yuchen chuckled as if he had heard something amusing. "How do you plan to fight to the death, like last time, leaving a backup plan to ambush me?"

Meng Jiuyi bit her lip and remained silent.

She knew she had done wrong this time and owed Tan Ni, but being threatened like this by him, her pride and self-respect made it impossible for her to show weakness to the other party.

Even with a knife to her throat, the curve of her chin still exuded stubbornness and arrogance.

Tan Yuchen gradually stopped smiling and shook his head.

"Meng Jiuyi, you really are... A month has passed and you're still the same old you. Your trust in people is smaller than the eye of a pin. We've only worked together a few times, and you keep making a mess of things."

What, do you think you're so great that I'm expected to clean up your messes?

How could he possibly offer to clean up her mess after humiliating her like that last time?

Meng Jiuyi said in a muffled voice, "I dare not think that way!"

"You've already done it, what else wouldn't you dare to think about?"

Tan Yuchen sneered, "You've always hated me for threatening you, and you've been waiting for a chance to take revenge on me, haven't you? You flaunted what you did back then, did you think everyone was a fool?"

Instead of reflecting on why you made a wrong move, you're constantly causing trouble. Is this your so-called cleverness? Next time you try these tricks behind my back, no matter how many thorns you have, I'll pull them out one by one!

At this moment, the man abandoned all his usual gentleness and frivolity, becoming like a ruthless Yama.

Meng Jiuyi's face burned, and the stinging sensation spread down her neck.

He easily saw through her hidden dissatisfaction with just a few words. She admitted that she had always harbored resentment towards him, and that if he hadn't disrupted her plans, she would have given up long ago.

But she also admitted that she needed his money.

She is not upright and honest, but what she thinks in her heart is one thing, and being pointed out by others is another.

She wouldn't have done this if there had been any other way.

Her eyes inexplicably burned, and she turned her face away from him.

Tan Yuchen withdrew his hand, glanced down at the back of her hand, and saw a bloody mark from being cut by glass.

That happened when he helped Tan Ni up at the bar. He called her away hastily from the hospital, and she hadn't had time to clean up.

He said, "Are you still trying to play tricks on me?"

Meng Jiuyi's eyes gradually welled up with tears, and she clenched her fingers.

After a long silence, he finally said, "That's enough."