As she began to fall, unable to control her body, an arm suddenly hooked around her waist.
“What a coincidence, Miss Tao. I was looking for you. I never expected to run into you here.”
The man’s voice was low and warm, like a gentle stream in a mountain ravine, its waters warmed by the sun. It would have been a pleasure to hear—if not for the fact that, to Tao Huanyi, it sounded like a demon’s voice, leaving her breathless.
In an instant, she felt the blood in her body begin to flow backward!
Shen Yanchen tightened his hold around her waist. His long fingers tapped at the small of her soft back, one beat after another, as if playing a piano. A low laugh rumbled from his chest as he said mildly, “I don’t know whether to say fate has brought us together, or…”
“After searching high and low, you find it without even trying.”
His eyes narrowed, and the trace of icy amusement on his face disappeared. He leaned close to her ear and asked, each word deliberate, “Miss Tao, if I remember correctly, didn’t I warn you what I’d do if you came here again looking for trouble?”
His thin lips moved as he said, one word at a time, “I’ll break your legs.”
Tao Huanyi’s heart clenched. Though she could not see him, she could clearly sense that the man before her wanted her dead—
And this devil might really do it!
As if driven by the instinct to survive, Tao Huanyi grabbed his lapel and stammered urgently, “M-Mr. Shen… I’m not here to cause trouble for you! I won’t try to hold you responsible for anything, either. If my family says anything outrageous today, you can send me out there to face them—”
“I’ll tell the truth about what happened that night. I’ll never try to get a single thing out of the Shen family! Please believe me!”
Perhaps because she was so nervous, Tao Huanyi’s voice trembled despite herself. But her tone was earnest and resolute, and a flicker of surprise crossed Shen Yanchen’s originally amused eyes.
This girl was interesting!
The birthday banquet was about to begin. The invited guests were arriving at the hall one after another.
With Shen Yanchen holding her by the wrist, Tao Huanyi stepped into the banquet hall, one step at a time. She strained her ears, as if trying to work out where her aunt and cousin were. But before she could make sense of anything, a shrill voice rang out—
“Everyone! Everyone! Please help me get justice for my poor niece!”
Unable to find Tao Huanyi with her son, yet unwilling to let this golden opportunity slip away, Wei Minjun snatched the host’s microphone and raised her voice.
As if anticipating what Wei Minjun was about to say, Tao Huanyi’s heart clenched, and her frail body began to tremble.
Hearing Wei Minjun’s “appeal,” Shen Yanchen curled his thin lips in a mocking smile. “Poor thing?”
“You?”
Tao Huanyi pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Wei Minjun kept shouting into the microphone, drawing everyone’s attention. “A month ago, my blind niece went to Xingyue Bar to deliver some documents to my husband. But the moment she walked in, the Eldest Young Master Shen grabbed her and dragged her into a private room, where he abused her without a word of explanation!”
“Then we found out and rushed over. We thought the Eldest Young Master would at least comfort my niece after what she’d been through. But who could have imagined it? He warned us that not a soul could tell anyone what happened that day. Otherwise, he’d cut out our tongues and feed them to the dogs, just as he’d done to all those other people who disobeyed him!”
The hall erupted in an uproar.
Wei Minjun, however, was already sobbing, looking utterly pitiful.
As soon as she finished speaking, the guests could no longer hold back. They muttered among themselves, condemning Shen Yanchen.
“I’ve heard for ages that Eldest Young Master Shen is a terrible man! He went through three wives in a row in the past, and everyone who opposed him met a violent end. He’s a cruel, bloodthirsty devil to the core!”
“And for the past two years, he’s supposedly taken up praying to Buddha. I say it’s because he’s got too much blood on his hands and wants to put on a show of repentance, so this Living Yama won’t end up in the Avici Hell!”
…
At that moment, the Living Yama lowered his head and gave a faint smile. Then he murmured behind Tao Huanyi’s ear, “Cut out his tongue and feed it to the dogs…”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. What do you think, Miss Tao?”
Tao Huanyi shuddered. Almost without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Mr. Shen, I’ll go…”
Shen Yanchen lowered his eyes, watching the pale girl before him with keen interest.
Before she could finish, Wei Minjun began to sob again onstage. “I came here today for just one reason—my poor niece is pregnant. But just now, right before my eyes, she disappeared. I have every reason to suspect that someone found out in advance that we were coming, and deliberately took my niece away!”
“Please, help me—and help my poor niece!”
“No one’s trying to silence me! You’re the ones trying to kill me!”
Tao Huanyi clenched her fists and finally could not hold back. She raised her voice.
She had no microphone to amplify her voice like Wei Minjun did. But it rang out clear and firm, soon carrying to every corner of the banquet hall.
Everyone turned to look at her. When Wei Minjun saw Tao Huanyi, her eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath. The microphone slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.
What shocked her even more was that Shen Yanchen was standing right beside that brat!
As if sensing Wei Minjun’s gaze, Shen Yanchen turned his head and looked up at her with a half-smile.
A single glance sent an icy chill through Wei Minjun from head to toe.
Tao Huanyi could see none of it. She took a light breath, sensed where Shen Yanchen was, and said softly, “Mr. Shen, could you help me up onto the stage?”
Shen Yanchen adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled faintly. “I’d be happy to.”
A moment later, Shen Yanchen helped Tao Huanyi onto the stage.
In full view of everyone, they walked step by step into the spotlight. To everyone’s surprise, Shen Yanchen, usually so proud and aloof, bent down to pick up the microphone from the floor for her.
Wei Minjun suddenly came to her senses. She hurried over to Tao Huanyi and grabbed her, flustered. “Huanyi, where did you go just now? I was worried sick!”
As she asked, she kept trying to smear Shen Yanchen. “Huanyi, tell your aunt—was it this Mr. Shen who took you away just now?”
“Did he say something to you? Did he—”
“He didn’t say anything to me! You’re the one who did, Aunt! All the way here, you acted like you were comforting me, but you must have planned everything from the start! I heard every word you said all those times. And that day, when you and your precious son talked about how Young Master Shen dragged me into the private room and we ended up having sex, that was your plan all along!”
“Aunt! You’re so cruel! I may not be able to see, but my heart isn’t blind!”