punish
At night, the mountains are deserted and quiet everywhere, except for the villas on the top of the mountain, which are brightly lit and bustling.
The chandelier on the ceiling illuminated the entire hall. The entire first floor had no partitions, and the space was huge, but it was still packed with people coming to the party. The music kept switching, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the center of the hall.
Yu Li recalled that when she was entertaining a few friends backstage and was asked about her marriage partner, she said it was someone from the Cui family, and everyone's first reaction was Cui Ze.
"Is it because you've been attending the same school? I would have transferred to Jiutang earlier."
"This is the 245th time I've confessed my love to you. I'm giving you a chance to change your mind before we get married."
"I've never been successful in confessing my feelings, so where do you get the confidence to make Yu Li regret it?"
"In a dream."
A few people were playing and fighting, but Yu Li didn't join in. She was still thinking about something in her mind.
Why, everyone thinks it's Cui Ze.
Back in the present, watching the scene again, Yu Li understood. No one would have thought she could be attracted to Choi Jung Woo. The positive qualities she had found in Choi Jung Woo, such as being obedient, attentive, and not interfering in her life, now seemed a bit iffy.
Standing in front of Yin Yancan, do you think you are a hero who protects the weak?
"Yu Li, for the sake of our engaged couple, forget it."
You also know that they are an "unmarried" couple.
Yu Li: "The Cui family can call me 'Yu Li'. Besides Cui Ze, I'm the elder. When did you start to raise your generation?"
Cui Zhengyu's face turned pale immediately, and the people around him burst into laughter.
"Are they really an engaged couple? How unique."
"I told you it was Choi Jung-woo dreaming."
"Even if it's true, does Choi Jung-woo think that he can ask for face from Yu Li because he is the queen who was selected into the palace through auditions?"
He could only hear ridicule. Yin Yancan pulled the hem of his clothes behind him and told him to forget it: "Zhengyu, don't hurt your relationship with Quan Yuli because of me. You finally got engaged to her."
No, they are not engaged yet. Cui Zhengyu smiled bitterly in his heart, not daring to look at Cui Ze's direction. Compared with the disdain and ridicule of these people, Cui Ze's eyes were enough to make him feel ashamed.
Beneath the shame, there was an indescribable emotion. The Choi family couldn't compare to the Quan family, and I couldn't compare to Choi Taek, but that didn't mean I could be treated like this, right? Quan Yuli was fine, but what about the others?
"After all, we're an engaged couple." He said, with expectations for Yu Li, "Give me some face."
Yu Li just found it funny. Choi Jung Woo still didn't understand the main point. Whose party was this? Who was in control of this marriage?
It’s me, Kwon Woo-ri.
"There's one thing you might not have figured out yet," she said, her brows raised, her aura radiating. Compared to the gorgeous gown she wore on the night of her coming-of-age ceremony, this one was much simpler, a plain long dress without even a pattern. Yet, everyone felt as if they were seeing a queen on the throne. "Do you have any respect in my presence?"
"Whoever I choose as my fiancé will be the heir to the Cui family. So the first thing you do when you see me is not to ask for my respect, but to lie down and bark like a dog. Do you understand?"
Zhengyu, you have to please me to get the status of heir. Don’t you recognize your own position?
Cui Zhengyu was completely stunned.
He's like a dog? His brain was buzzing, and he felt a little uneasy. This wasn't the case. After all, he was the young master of the Cui family. He shouldn't have fallen to the level of a dog.
But when he looked up, everyone was looking at him with a half-smile, especially the group behind Quan Yuli. He vaguely recognized a few of them: the Ming family from the Internet industry, the Jin family from new energy, the Hong family from the media industry, and the Che family from real estate. They were people of his class that he could not reach, so no one would pay attention to him if he approached them to talk to them.
He looked at this group of chosen ones, and these chosen ones were also looking at him, with a strong threat in their eyes, as if if he dared to resist, this group of people would rush up and tear him to pieces in the next second.
They are not on the same level.
Choi Jung-woo finally faced the reality that all his honor and disgrace, as well as that of the third branch of the Choi family behind him, depended on Kwon Wook-ri.
He couldn't say "no" to Kwon Yu-ri.
Stiffly, he moved his body away, revealing Yin Yancan behind him.
"Tsk." Yu Li felt a little disappointed. She thought he was so ambitious. If Yin Yancan really liked Cui Zhengyu as the task publisher said, she wondered how he felt now.
Her eyes fell on Yin Yancan. The girl looked pitiful with alcohol all over her body and blood on her arms. She was staring at her stubbornly.
"Yancan, there's no need to make that expression to me." Zheng Ruizhen doesn't use that expression anymore.
Yu Li stepped forward and said, "Tonight's party is for you. I was worried that if I didn't invite you, you wouldn't come."
But both sides knew that Yin Yancan would not miss this opportunity.
"Let me introduce you to Yin Yancan, a student at Jiutang Private School. He's not part of the chaebol circle, nor is he a special admissions student." Yu Li pointed to the ground below her feet. "This resort is owned by our Yancan. It just opened not long ago, and we are the first guests."
Zheng Zhihe looked around and quickly replied, "Wow, then we're just here to warm up Yancan. Yancan should be very happy, right?"
"Huh?" Everyone who knew Yin Yancan was stunned. Yin Yancan? Industry? They didn't seem like the two words could be connected.
Those who don’t know Yoon Eun-chan know that there is something interesting to watch. It is impossible for Kwon Wook-ri to hold a party just for an ordinary person.
Cui Zhengyu was a little bit unbelievable. In his impression, Yin Yancan was weak, hard-working, and a spring bud growing out of dry land. But now he was told that Yin Yancan was not short of money, and that Yin Yancan had already started the business that he had not yet started.
"Yun Yancan..." Choi Jung Woo murmured.
Yin Yancan avoided Cui Zhengyu's sight and said, Zhengyu, don't blame her for lying. Didn't you give up on me just now?
This is the reality, people always have to think about themselves.
"Thank you, Yu Li," she said, covering her arm. "What a big surprise! I only found out the moment I walked in. Let's put it this way. We're all classmates. I'll pay for tonight's show. Have fun everyone."
Now, can she go?
Yin Yancan turned around, but was stopped by Zheng Zhihe again: "Since you're already here, why are you in such a hurry?"
Yin Yancan frowned. What else did he want?
Yu Li smiled without a trace of pity: "Yancan, the cleaning staff won't be here until tomorrow morning. You can clean up the mess yourself, okay?"
She was referring to the champagne tower that was knocked over by Yoon Yeon-chan.
"Yeah," Zheng Zhihe tapped the floor with her toes. "The boss shouldn't ask the guests to clean up the mess he made, right?"
Yin Yancan tightened her fingers. The ground was covered with the remains of an entire champagne tower, including fragments and wine. She was alone and had no idea how long it would take to clean it up.
But she couldn't refuse: "...I understand."
Yu Li turned around, ignoring Choi Jung Woo, and smiled at the others. "What are you standing there for? The party's about to start. Do you still need me to teach you how to play?"
This sentence was like a switch that suddenly turned on everyone's enthusiasm for fun. Several people cheered loudly and someone opened the champagne again.
"Come on, come on, play as you please, there's a cleaning lady for you too."
"If I had told you earlier that the boss was Yin Yancan, I would have brought more people to support us."
"Boss, hurry up! My shoes are stained with wine. Do you know how expensive these shoes are? Clean them for me quickly."
The hall was filled with laughter again. Zheng Ruizhen huddled in the shadows with a glass of wine, looking at Zheng Zhihe. This kind of occasion did not belong to her. Zheng Zhihe was more suitable for a place where the lights were shining.
Yu Li found a seat and sat down, which happened to be close to Pei Haocheng. She asked Pei Haocheng if he had seen the person he wanted to see, and Gao Zhuyan sat next to him.
Pei Haocheng and Gao Zhuyan dislike each other because people of the same sex repel each other, not in terms of gender, but in terms of personality.
Perverts are the easiest to spot as perverts themselves, both of them are mentally twisted people.
Pei Haocheng shook his head: "You asked me to come here specially, is that all?"
"Of course not." Yu Li shook her head, looking expectant. "If this were a filming location, you'd be the male lead. When have I ever let you down?"
No, Quan Yuli would never let him down. Pei Haocheng clinked glasses with Quan Yuli and drank them all in one gulp.
Cui Ze looked away lazily.
Song Minjing leaned over and whispered to Cui Ze: "Cui Ze, I was wrong. I apologize to you."
Cui Ze:?
Song Minjing: "Yu Li was surrounded by her childhood friends, and I couldn't get a word in."
If they hadn't met in kindergarten, Song Min-jeong and Kwon Woo-ri would have been two parallel lines, never intersecting in their lives.
Song Minjing: "Can you think of a way to drive them away?"
Cui Ze lowered his head and said: "Some people, if you can't squeeze in, don't force it, otherwise it will only make people dislike you."
Seeing Song Minjing curl her lips in displeasure, he sneered, "For the sake of our friendship as classmates over the years, I'll just give you a heads up this time. Yu Li is running too fast, and she'll get faster and faster. If you can't keep up, then forget it."
Song Minjing has everything, but she also knows nothing. Does she expect Yu Li to take time out of her busy work to play with her in the future?
Song Minjing bit her wine glass. Of course she knew, but her older siblings had taken over the family business, and she couldn't learn the business world's tricks. Her hobby was chasing stars and looking at beautiful women. Was she going to become an idol? She couldn't sing or dance.
What will she do in the future?
After three rounds of drinks, someone suggested playing games. This is a must-have at every party, but we have played the games too many times before, and we can’t think of anything new at the moment, and there are so many people here.
Gao Zhuyan said he could provide one.
"There's a small app that you can access with your phone. I'll create a 'circle' and everyone will be in it. Everyone will use their real name."
"After everyone enters the mini program, they can leave anonymous messages for anyone else. You can tell that person what's really in your heart, whether it's a confession or a complaint. Then, we'll see which 10 people received the most messages. These 10 people will then stand up and pick a message from the list and guess who left it. If they guess correctly, they can ask the other person to do something. If they guess wrong, someone else will ask them to do something."
The game mechanics are simple, but it differs from Truth or Dare in that you are not asking others to tell you the truth, but others are telling you the truth.
It's anonymous anyway, you may not be the one picked, and even if you are picked, you may not be able to guess your identity.
Someone praised Gao Zhuyan: "Where did you find this little program? It's quite interesting. What do you usually play?"
Gao Zhuyan didn't answer. He had made the mini-program himself, and it took less than an hour. Gao Rixi might be disappointed. He was better at computers than at law.
——Otherwise, how can I help Zheng Ruizhen change the surveillance?
Everyone responded enthusiastically to this game, as they had never played it before. Yin Yancan squatted on the ground to pick up the glass fragments, but he was discovered by Gao Zhuyan when he looked up reflexively.
"Yin Yancan, do you want to play too?" he asked, looking at Yin Yancan with the same eyes that Yin Yancan used to look at her. "So pitiful, sewer rat, come play too."
Hmm? Yin Yancan, it's not impossible. Everyone figured out the key in a second and pulled Yin Yancan to sit on the sofa again.
"Let's start." Gao Zhuyan shared the mini program, and a group of people joined the circle. Soon, everyone present came in.
Yu Li looked at the names on the screen. Each person could leave messages for up to five people, and at least one. There were many people she was familiar with, so she didn't know who would be the best person to choose.
Cui Ze was swiping through the names as if he couldn't make a choice; the others seemed to have their targets and their fingers were moving very quickly, and new messages soon entered the message box.
Yu Li took a look and saw that it had only been three minutes and there were already 20 messages in her message box. She didn't click on them to read them because she would draw them last anyway.
Gao Zhuyan gave the message a ten-minute window. Once that time was up, the message channel would be closed, and no one could send any new messages. "To prevent accusations of cheating, I'm not participating in this event. I can see the backstage, so I'll just be your toiler. You should have guessed that Yu Li was first, so we'll start from tenth place."
Right from the start, Yu Li was indeed unremarkable, and everyone nodded in agreement.
It was a rare occasion for her to be disliked, so Yu Li shrugged and clinked glasses with her friends.
Song Minjing was stuck at number ten and stood up in a daze. She didn't expect so many people to leave her messages. Her lips turned pale when she clicked on the message box. Two-thirds of the messages disliked her.
I despise her for being so incompetent, but she can always stay by Kwon Wook-ri's side.
"Please, have some self-awareness. Zheng Zhihe is better than you."
Gao Zhuyan pretended not to notice anything. "There's a draw button in the upper right corner. I forgot to mention that the comments aren't drawn by us individually, but by the program itself. Whichever one is drawn counts."
Song Minjing clicked the extraction button, and the messages scrolled up and down, then soon stopped.
[If you leave Kwon Woo-ri, you should just abdicate automatically, right?]
Song Minjing looked at Zheng Zhihe angrily: "Did you say that? I knew it was you!"
Zheng Zhihe has been coveting her position for a long time.
Zheng Zhihe was baffled: "I praised you, okay?! I was so kind for once, but you scolded me. I'm speechless."
She actually thanked Song Minjing because of the last incident with Wen Jingkui.
Not Zheng Zhihe? Song Minjing covered her phone and looked at the others. Who was that?
Gao Zhuyan didn't care about that. If he guessed wrong, he would accept the punishment. He asked the people present: "What do you want Song Minjing to do?"
Yu Li looked at Zheng Ruizhen meaningfully. The person who wrote this message wanted to get promoted and also wanted to sow discord between Zheng Zhihe and Song Minjing. After all, if the two of them got along well, they would unite against other people who wanted to invade.
Her provocation was successful. "Sing a song," Yu Li said, saving Song Minjing. Compared to singing, a painless "adventure", Song Minjing was afraid that anyone else would be too much for her.
Knowing that Yu Li wanted to protect Song Min Jing, everyone naturally would not offend Yu Li and just let Song Min Jing sing a song. However, they did not expect that Song Min Jing's loud voice would make everyone laugh.
The game continued, and the subsequent punishments became more and more extreme. Some people were asked to photoshop their pictures and say they wanted to come out on social media, while others were asked to pretend to have committed a crime and confess to their families so that they would find a way to get them back. To be honest, this kind of thing must never be exposed, otherwise the entire upper circle would be criticized.
It’s the second place’s turn, Yin Yancan.
Yin Yancan looked at the message box without changing her expression. She thought that this game was aimed at her. The message box was full of insults. She felt a little disdainful and was about to press the draw button when Quan Yuli stood up.
Yu Li picked up her phone and said, "Just assume I can't wait. Let me go first, and Yan Can will come later, okay?"
Gao Zhuyan was the first to nod enthusiastically: "Okay, okay."
...Shit, is this guy a dog? He nods his head so quickly.
Everyone present was convinced, what a lackey.
Yu Li pressed the extract button. She actually didn't read the message left for her because she had no interest.
【Hello, get married】
[Li Li's legs, Shashasha]
This message is completely meaningless.
After the drawing was over, Gao Zhuyan read out the message: "If he can do it, why can't I?"
Ah…this sentence has a very secretive feeling.
Everyone looked at Yu Li with interest: "Yu Li, who is it? Can you guess?"
“I feel like this isn’t a simple matter.”
“Who is he, who am I, what is this talking about, kkk.”
Yu Li lowered her head slightly to look at her phone, her hair blocking her vision, so others could not see the emotions in her eyes.
Cui Ze, you really are...
"It's Pei Haocheng, right?" Yu Li raised her head again and answered with a smile.
Pei Haocheng:?
Pei Haocheng: "There must be a reason, why me?"
Yu Li said matter-of-factly, "You were jealous before and asked me if I had another dog outside. You told me to call that dog, or you wouldn't come to the party."
ha?
Everyone was stunned, so the meaning of this sentence is: Since he can be your dog, why can't I?
I didn't realize that Pei Haocheng is also a masochist!
"Wow, I can't tell at all."
"So he's the same kind of guy as Gao Zhuyan."
Being teased by others, Pei Haocheng licked his teeth and finally laughed: "Fuck."
The smile at the end of his voice was hard to tell whether it was anger or indulgence. He looked at Kwon Woo-ri and said he was jealous?
He admitted it.
"Yes, I did."
"Oh oh oh~" Everyone was busy making a noise and no one cared about Choi Jung-woo's expression.
However, some people raised objections: "Looking at Pei Haocheng's surprised expression just now, I always feel that he is covering up for Yu Li. No, did Pei Haocheng really say this? Is there anyone who can come forward to claim it?"
Yu Li smiled, glanced calmly in Cui Ze's direction, and finally raised her hands in surrender: "I told you but you don't believe me, so how about this, I'll draw another one and let you guess it."
"Alright, draw another one. I don't believe I can guess right this time."
Yu Li pressed the extract button, and soon, a new message appeared in front of her.
[In your opinion, you should always win, but unfortunately, I beat you twice]
Ah, interesting.
Zheng Zhihe was dissatisfied: "You beat Yu Li twice? How is that possible? It's you, Cui Ze."
It's possible that he beat Yu Li twice in exams when he was a child, but there's no need to brag about something like an elementary school exam.
Cui Ze didn't even bother to reply, it was obvious that this was not something he would say.
Song Minjing: "Who is that?"
In her memory, Yu Li always won first place in any competition she participated in.
Everyone was guessing wildly and became curious about the person who said this, until Yu Li looked at Yin Yancan for the first time.
"Yancan, is that you?"
Yu Li intuitively believed that this sentence was said by Yin Yancan.
Yin Yancan's eyebrows jumped. How perceptive.
Gao Zhuyan could see backstage, and she could only admit, "It was me. But I was just joking."
"Ah, how can you say such things casually?"
"I'm speechless."
"Yu Li, tell me the punishment you gave her and teach her a lesson."
Punishment? That was unnecessary. Yu Li sat back down and said that it would be Yin Yancan's turn soon, and that they would discuss punishment after Yin Yancan finished drawing.
Most of Yin Yancan's messages were disgusting. It's not that people in the upper circle don't curse, on the contrary, they are even more chilling. The selection took a little longer this time, and it took dozens of seconds before the final message was selected.
Can you tell us about your biological father?
Yin Yancan's pupils suddenly shrank.
No wonder Kwon Yu-ri mentioned her family last time at the fountain. It turns out they were waiting for her here. Who was it? She didn't want to accept the punishment. Who asked this question?
Kwon Wook-ri? Jung Ji-ha? Song Min-jung? Or Choi Taek?
Is it true that the damn Gao Zhuyan didn't have any control behind the scenes?
There are too many suspects. Yoon Yeon-chan remembered that Kwon Wook-ri usually gave some tasks to Zheng Zhihe, and today it was Zheng Zhihe who was targeting her, so he guessed that it was Zheng Zhihe.
"Wrong." Someone in the corner said. Zheng Ruizhen shook her phone. "It's me."
Guessed wrong!
Yin Yancan's breathing became heavier. Zheng Ruizhen, that bastard, was only able to come to Jiutang because of the opportunity given by her!
"Now Yin Yancan has two punishments on him."
The initiative fell to Yu Li. Yin Yancan shifted uneasily, and Yu Li watched with interest. Wasn't it a little late to start worrying now? She had invited so many people to play, not just to have Yin Yancan sweep the floor.
"Yancan, I'm here to sincerely congratulate you on your opening."
Yu Li gave Zheng Ruizhen a look, and Zheng Ruizhen turned sideways and pulled open the red cloth behind her. Only then did everyone notice that there was a stage behind the red cloth.
It had been dark over there before, with no light reaching it, and there was only one special admissions student, Zheng Ruizhen, sitting there, so they subconsciously ignored this part.
Now it seems like this is a performance?
Yu Li directed Zheng Ruizhen to turn on the stage lights and arrange for the performers to go on stage: "There is a real choir tonight, and the lead singer is someone Yancan knows. The first punishment is that Yancan watch this performance quietly and carefully."
What does it mean? If it were the choir, it should be a blessing, how could it be a punishment?
The next second, the choir members walked lightly onto the stage.
There were two rows of people, both men and women, all dressed to the nines. The lead singer was a man with wrinkles all over his face, though he still had a youthful charm. He had a buzz cut and looked a bit older.
Yin Yancan couldn't help but exclaimed: "Ah!"
She covered her mouth tightly again. This was the first time she lost her composure like this.
There was another person who behaved strangely like her, Pei Haocheng.
Pei Haocheng stood up directly from the sofa, his eyes fixed on the lead singer.
Others were confused.
The music started playing, it was the well-known "Blessing Hymn", which basically meant to wish everyone peace, happiness, good luck in everything, and a happy family reunion.
The performers were majestic and their voices were in unison, especially the lead singer, who at his age could still have such a heroic voice, and most people were able to listen to him.
It was only three minutes long, and after it ended, some people applauded out of respect, saying that the singing was very good and they wanted to hear it again.
However, Yin Yancan didn't want to listen.
Someone asked which choir these people were from, saying that it was their elder’s birthday and they could be invited to perform.
Zheng Ruizhen looked at Yu Li, who held her head up and said nothing, so she replied, "The two rows of people in the back are from the 'Heart Island Choir,' and the lead singer is a serving inmate of 'Qingshan Prison.'"
Mo?!
Prison service personnel?!
Pei Haocheng gritted his teeth. He would never forget this man's face. There were three people who kidnapped him that year. The other two were sentenced to death, and only this one was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yu Li proposed the second punishment at the right time: "Yancan, the second punishment is to introduce your biological father to us."
His biological father is Jung Sung-sik. He is one of the three kidnappers in the Bae Ho-seong kidnapping case and the only one still alive.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
