Cheng Siyan slumped helplessly onto the sofa, covering her face with her hands. She knew in her heart that this time, she was completely finished. In this fame-driven industry, once your reputation is ruined, making a comeback is virtually impossible.
After a long while, she slowly lowered her hands, her eyes vacant and lifeless, staring blankly ahead.
Lu Yanting walked steadily to Cheng Siyan. His tall and imposing figure instantly enveloped Cheng Siyan, exuding a powerful sense of oppression.
"Cheng Siyan, what exactly are you doing this for? Tell me!"
Under such intimidating aura, Cheng Siyan's body trembled slightly, and her lips trembled a few times, but she couldn't utter a sound.
"Yanting, Siyan definitely didn't do it on purpose. She must have made a mistake in a moment of confusion. Fortunately, Miss Qiu wasn't seriously harmed. There's still time to salvage the situation. Let's give Siyan a chance to make amends."
Xu Jingyan walked over gracefully, gently took Lu Yanting's arm, and shook it slightly, as if she were being coquettish or pleading.
Cheng Siyan looked at Xu Jingyan, her eyes instantly filling with tears of gratitude. She secretly rejoiced that she hadn't chosen the wrong person after all; Sister Jingyan would still come to her rescue in the end.
All eyes were on Lu Yanting. Everyone wanted to know whether Lu Yanting would give Xu Jingyan face and let Cheng Siyan go, or whether he would side with Qiu Mang.
Han Bing scoffed dismissively and said bluntly, "Sister Jingyan, Cheng Siyan has only herself to blame. If you do something wrong, you must bear the consequences."
After saying that, she decisively picked up her phone and said, "I'm calling the police now so they can handle this matter fairly. I believe the law will give Ms. Qiu justice."
"Han Bing!"
Just as Han Bing was about to dial the police, her phone was suddenly snatched from her hand.
She was both shocked and angry. She turned her head and saw Han Feng staring at her with wide eyes.
"What are you doing, Han Feng!" Han Bing asked angrily, both angry and anxious.
"I called you here today to celebrate Jingyan's birthday, not to cause trouble! Haven't you made enough of a scene? Jingyan has already spoken, so you should know when to stop!"
Without saying a word, Han Feng confiscated Han Bing's phone and stuffed it into his own pocket.
"you!"
Han Bing glared at Han Feng with wide eyes, her gaze seemingly spitting fire.
Seeing that Han Feng's attitude was firm and he showed no intention of backing down, Han Bing bit her lower lip, feeling unwilling but helpless, and could only swallow her anger and compromise for the time being.
"Yanting, today is my birthday. Please give Siyan another chance, okay?"
Xu Jingyan's eyes, as clear as autumn water, were full of earnestness as she turned her gaze to Lu Yanting once more.
As soon as she finished speaking, she covered her chest with her slender hand and coughed violently, her delicate body trembling slightly.
Lu Yanting's deep gaze first swept over Qiu Mang, who was looking at him fearlessly. Their eyes met, and Qiu Mang's eyes remained as calm and undisturbed as a clear lake, without any impure thoughts.
For some reason, Lu Yanting felt inexplicably annoyed. Everyone knew who had the most influence in this private room, and even Xu Jingyan knew to speak to him gently.
Couldn't Qiu Mang also ask him for help? Cheng Siyan was targeting her like this; didn't she hate her? Didn't she want to teach Cheng Siyan a lesson?
Lu Yanting vowed that even if she softened even a little, he would never let Cheng Siyan go!
After a moment, Qiu Mang remained unmoved.
Lu Yanting took a deep breath, feeling a little irritated. He slowly lowered his head and looked at Xu Jingyan, who was coughing incessantly beside him. His tone softened unconsciously as he replied softly, "Alright, as you say."
Xu Jingyan gently raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose, coughed a few times, and then slowly raised her eyes, her eyes glistening with tears, and said softly, "Yanting, thank you."
"Now that Miss Cheng's necklace has been found and the whole story has been clarified, there's no need for us to stay here any longer. Let's take our leave."
After Qiu Mang finished speaking, he pulled Shi Nan along and walked out of the private room.
As she passed by Xu Jingyan and Lu Yanting, she kept her head down and never looked at them.
As Qiu Mang reached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked back towards Han Bing.
"Miss Han, tonight, we are truly grateful for your courage and help!" Qiu Mang said earnestly, her eyes filled with sincere gratitude.
Han Bing remained haughty, arms crossed, leaning lazily against the wall with a lollipop dangling from her mouth, and replied disdainfully, "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not doing this for you. I just can't stand some despicable behavior!"
Shi Nan gave a helpless, bitter smile and said, "Anyway, thank you for tonight!"
Qiu Mang and Shi Nan exchanged a knowing glance, then walked out of the private room side by side.
After the two left, the people in the private room seemed to understand each other implicitly and started to liven things up again. Laughter and cheerful voices instantly dispelled the previous gloom, and the atmosphere became incredibly lively, as if the conflict had never happened at all.
Lu Yanting leaned back lazily on the brown leather sofa, his brows furrowed, radiating an air of unease, as if shrouded in gloom.
His hand instinctively reached into his pocket, pulled out a box of exquisitely packaged cigarettes, and deftly picked one out with his slender fingers, casually placing it in the corner of his mouth.
Just as he took out his lighter to light his cigarette, the cigarette actually caught fire.
Lu Yanting was slightly taken aback and subconsciously looked up, only to see that Hua Xiao was already standing in front of him.
He held a gleaming lighter in his hand, the pale blue flame leaping merrily, precisely licking the bottom of the cigarette.
Hua Xiao's lips curled into a wicked and unruly smile. With a flick of his wrist, the flame went out. He neatly retrieved the lighter and casually tossed it onto the coffee table with a crisp "clang".
Immediately afterwards, he casually plopped down next to Lu Yanting, leaned forward, casually rested his elbows on his knees, and stared at Lu Yanting with a playful look.
"What? Judging from your expression, you haven't actually fallen for someone, have you?" Hua Xiao broke the silence first, his words full of teasing.
Lu Yanting naturally knew he was talking about Qiu Mang. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke slowly swirl around in his mouth.
A moment later, through the thin layer of smoke, he glanced at Hua Xiao and uttered three words indifferently: "You brat..."
"Hey, don't deny it!" Hua Xiao leaned forward abruptly, as if afraid that Lu Yanting would deny it outright.
She interrupted him, speaking very quickly, "There's nothing shameful about being in love. Look at you now, all coy and hesitant. Is it really necessary?"
Lu Yanting glanced at him indifferently, his tone tinged with impatience, "It's not what you think!"
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