The moment Zheng Wanning heard Wang Keming tell her to drink, she turned to leave.
She wasn’t going to play along with this lunatic.
But with alcohol emboldening him, Wang Keming decided she was being ungrateful.
He was also afraid of losing face in front of the others. He couldn’t stand the thought of being unable to handle even a woman.
So he stepped in front of the door and blocked her way.
“Zheng Wanning, you’re not leaving until you finish that drink! If you don’t, you’re not going home tonight!”
Zheng Wanning pressed her lips together, her hands trembling faintly.
“You know what you’re doing is…”
Wang Keming cut her off, speaking arrogantly. “I have money. Don’t talk to me about the law. I am the law!”
Then he roughly grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the table, wanting to show her what he could do.
If she wouldn’t drink, he’d force it down her throat!
Then he’d take her to the room he’d booked upstairs!
Some little lawyer dared to slight him again and again. He, Wang Keming, was the head of an electronics company in North City!
Wang Keming was strong, and Zheng Wanning couldn’t break free right away.
His grip left a red mark on her arm, stinging painfully. The stench of alcohol on him rushed into her nose.
Zheng Wanning shuddered and wanted to call for help.
But the room was full of Wang Keming’s people. It would be no use; they’d only find it exciting.
In a daze, it seemed as if this had happened before.
Five years ago, after Zheng Huaizhu had been crushed by a truck while working in construction and became a vegetable, the family’s income dried up. He also needed a great deal of money for treatment.
Chen Feng was frantic. She signed an agreement with a high-end bar, taking tens of thousands of yuan in advance in exchange for sending Zheng Wanning there to drink with customers.
Zheng Wanning refused. She was too young and powerless then. She knelt and cried as she begged Chen Feng:
“Mom, I’ll take lots of part-time jobs. I can tutor, like my older sister. I’ll earn lots of money. Please don’t send me to a bar.”
Without a word, Chen Feng slapped her. The blow rang out, leaving Zheng Wanning’s ears buzzing.
“If you wait until you earn money from part-time jobs, your father will be dead. Someone in this family has to sacrifice first. Your sister will make money tutoring; you’ll make money at the bar.”
“If you get offered a good price, go upstairs with the customer. Be smart about it, and make sure you get more money.”
Zheng Wanning’s heart broke. She couldn’t understand.
How could her own mother be so cruel to her?
She knew the family needed money. She would listen; she would work hard to support them.
Why did Chen Feng have to throw her into a place like a bar and make her use her looks to earn fast money?
She didn’t want to. She kept crying and pleading with Chen Feng.
Afraid she’d fight back, Chen Feng locked her in a room and waited for the bar’s madam to come collect her.
Once the madam had taken the money, she naturally wasn’t going to let Zheng Wanning go.
She slapped Zheng Wanning several times, forced her into a short dress that left her entire back bare, then pushed her out to entertain customers.
On her very first day, she encountered a disgusting man just like Wang Keming.
He forced drink after drink on her, hoping to get her drunk and take her upstairs with him so he wouldn’t have to pay extra.
Terrified, Zheng Wanning struggled with all her might. The more she fought, the more frenzied and excited the man became.
Unsatisfied with forcing her to drink, he began groping her, his hands roaming over her body.
Just as she thought he was about to ruin her, she saw Shen Yanqing.
Shen Yanqing was famous at her school. He was handsome and had donated a great deal of money.
At the time, her school instructor had assigned her to work as a greeter, and she’d had brief contact with him.
She didn’t know whether he remembered her, or whether he would help her.
But she had no other choice. All she could do was take a chance.
So she used all her strength to shove the person restraining her away and ran to him.
……
Zheng Wanning’s thoughts returned to the present. She drew a deep breath.
This wasn’t the past.
She was strong now!
She stuck out one foot, intending to kick Wang Keming hard.
But a figure flashed forward like lightning, yanking Wang Keming’s hand off her arm and flinging it away before delivering a fierce kick.
Wang Keming went flying.
He crashed hard to the floor beside the table, his bulky arm knocking the drinks off it and smashing them to pieces.
His face flushed with rage. “Who dares touch me? I’ll make you disappear from North City!”
“Your father does!”
The man’s voice was ferocious and dark, like the judge of the underworld.
Zheng Wanning looked up and saw a familiar face.
For a moment, the past and the present seemed to overlap.
When Wang Keming followed the voice and saw Shen Yanqing, he looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes over and over.
Was this Shen Yanqing of the wealthiest Shen family?
Was this Shen Yanqing, president of the global multinational Wanshi Private Equity Fund?
Most of the others in the room knew Shen Yanqing.
They were all powerful business executives; of course they knew who he was. Not one of them dared even breathe too loudly.
The private room was a wreck, with broken bottles scattered everywhere.
The chill in the air seemed to intensify.
Shen Yanqing’s face was dark. He wiped his hands first, then strode over and looked down at the woman, running his fingers over the red mark on her arm.
Zheng Wanning lifted her eyes. Their gazes met. His stare was direct and intense, deep as the sea.
Her mind was a beat slow.
Why had he suddenly appeared here?
She felt a little guilty about the situation. Zheng Wanning lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet his eyes.
Shen Yanqing’s voice was low and a little hoarse, as though he were holding back some emotion. “Does it hurt?”
A moment ago, Zheng Wanning had only felt frightened, not aggrieved.
But those simple two words made her eyes grow hot, stirring a jumble of feelings inside her.
She sniffed. Afraid her voice would tremble if she spoke, she said nothing and only shook her head.
Shen Yanqing lowered his eyes and drew her behind him.
Zheng Wanning leaned against the man’s back.
His chest was broad and tall. The familiar scent of pine on him gave her a sense of calm and security she had never felt before.
Wang Keming had sobered up halfway. He shakily got to his feet, not understanding what was happening.
Was this woman involved with Shen Yanqing?
What was their relationship?
Why hadn’t she said so earlier?
He’d never be able to show his face in North City again!
Zhang Bo entered the private room just then. He walked over and kicked Wang Keming hard again.
“You dare make a mess in my place? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Wang Keming had only just gotten to his feet, and now he was down again. The kick hurt his chest so badly it felt like it would split open. All he could do was beg for mercy.
“Spare me, Young Master Zhang! President Shen!”
Still furious, Zhang Bo spat at him.
“Damn it, you dare stir up trouble right under the God of Disaster’s nose? Spare you? If I don’t leave you in a ditch today, I’ll be your grandfather!”
The men in the room watched Wang Keming get kicked until his face was swollen and bruised.
Too frightened to approach, they stood off to the side with their heads lowered and eyes fixed straight ahead.
Shen Yanqing didn’t like getting physical. He was a neat freak and couldn’t be bothered with trash.
But when he’d seen Zheng Wanning’s arm in Wang Keming’s grasp, something in him had turned savage. All he’d wanted was to get that disgusting thing away from her.
He looked toward Wang Keming, his eyes glacial, his voice colder still, as if it had been dipped in ice.
“Wang Keming of Electronic Technology Group, is that right?”
Wang Keming braced his aching body and dropped to his knees.
“Yes, yes, yes. I didn’t know Attorney Zheng and President Shen were connected. I didn’t mean to…”
Shen Yanqing looked at him as if he were an insect, his expression contemptuous. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Tomorrow, that company will disappear from North City. You—cripple your own hands and get out of North City.”
The casual way he said it left Wang Keming ashen.
It would have been better if Shen Yanqing had simply beaten him to a pulp.
He would not only be crippled; all the power and money he’d spent half his life building would be gone. Gone.
At those words, the others felt the hairs rise on their legs, cold sweat pouring down their bodies.
They hadn’t known anything just now. Please, let the powerful Shen Yanqing not drag them into this.
Wang Keming made one last desperate attempt.
He kowtowed so hard the whole room echoed. He nearly cracked his skull, and blood ran across the floor.
“President Shen, I truly didn’t know who this woman was. Please, give me a way to live.”
“Attorney Zheng, please! I was a bastard. Hit me, kick me—please forgive me!”
Seeing Wang Keming like that, Zheng Wanning wondered whether this was going too far.
Maybe ruining his company would be enough. If his hands were crippled, Wang Keming’s life would probably be ruined.
But she knew Shen Yanqing’s character. Once he made up his mind, he never went back on it.
He rarely truly lost his temper. But if you provoked him, you could end up dead without even knowing how it happened.
Wang Keming slapped his bloodied face again and again.
“President Shen, don’t take my hands! Don’t make me leave North City! I won’t do it again. If I’d known Attorney Zheng was connected to you, I wouldn’t have dared even if I had ten lives!”
A cold smile curled Shen Yanqing’s lips. He looked terrifyingly grim.
“Do you think you can call my wife that?”
Everyone was stunned.
Zheng Wanning’s ears turned red despite herself.
Her brother is so domineering!
Zhang Bo thought to himself that his nominal sister-in-law really was lucky.
The others secretly congratulated themselves that they hadn’t even touched Mrs. Shen’s hand. Otherwise, they’d be the ones dead today.