Meng Jingwei sat calmly on the chair, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, as if dozing.
Suddenly, a lecherous hand touched her cheek. "Hey, little girl, did someone wrong you? Let big brother pamper you, hmm?"
Meng Jingwei slowly opened her sharp eyes. Her long, dense eyelashes fluttered, and her red lips curved into a smile, lending her an unexpectedly vulnerable beauty.
"How will you pamper me?" Her voice was unnervingly calm.
Hearing her reply, the men exchanged glances, their faces contorting into lewd smiles.
A man with dyed yellow hair stepped forward and pinched her impossibly soft, fair skin again. "Tsk tsk, so fresh and tender. Let us have a kiss first, then you can snuggle up in my arms to warm up. It's freezing cold, and the detention room doesn't even have air conditioning. If the beauty catches a chill, we'll be heartbroken."
His words drew another round of laughter.
Meng Jingwei tilted her head, feigning innocence, and looked at them. "With so many people here, who should kiss me first?"
"Me, of course. I'm their boss." The yellow-haired thug leaned closer to Meng Jingwei, pointing to his cheek, waiting for the beauty's favor.
"Come closer."
Meng Jingwei beckoned him with a finger.
The yellow-haired thug was overjoyed. He tilted his head and moved closer to Meng Jingwei again.
But the next moment, the smile vanished from Meng Jingwei's face. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face with a resounding crack. Then, she swiftly lifted her foot and kicked him two meters away.
With a thud, he hit the wall and bounced back to the ground, crying out in pain.
Meng Jingwei, sitting on the bench, lifted her leg, stepped onto the table and chair, propped her chin on her elbow, and looked at him with a hint of disdain. "Feel better?"
Seeing how terrifyingly Meng Jingwei had acted, the other men trembled, not daring to breathe.
My goodness, this was no ordinary woman!
She was like a she-devil!
Terrifying!
The men shivered, inching towards the corner.
The man on the ground, groaning in pain, pursed his lips, spat on the ground, and out popped a bloody tooth.
"Damn it, this hurts like hell. What are you guys standing there for? Get this bitch! Ouch, it hurts so much!"
He looked ferocious, speaking the most menacing words, but his words were slurred and even comical due to his missing teeth.
Meng Jingwei, feeling a knot of frustration in her chest, sat there, wishing she had an outlet for her anger.
Since arriving in Lan Cheng, she had endured countless grievances and insidious schemes.
She had suffered so much, both openly and in secret.
In that instant, all her rage surged.
Looking at the men before her, her mood lightened considerably.
"Your boss asked what you're standing around for, why aren't you coming over?" Meng Jingwei waved her hand.
However, one by one, they shook their heads like rattles, none daring to approach Meng Jingwei again.
But...
"Is that all? Sorry, your grandma isn't finished playing yet."
Meng Jingwei stood up, walked to the man on the far right, grabbed his ear, dragged him forward, and slapped him twice.
A man beside him tried to intervene, but as soon as he stepped forward, Meng Jingwei kicked him away, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground.
She then proceeded to beat the next one, and the next...
After taking down all five or six of them, she clapped her hands and turned back to sit on the bench. Her cold eyes swept over the men who were now cowering with their heads in their hands, and she said with displeasure, "You're not young anymore, yet you spend your days doing nothing good!"
She truly wondered how many innocent young girls these men had taken advantage of.
Then, a police officer walked over. "What's all the commotion?"
"Officer, help us, she's hitting people."
"Wuwu... this woman is hitting us."
"Let me out quickly, or I'll be beaten to death."
"...Wuwu... Help, officer."
...
Seeing the officer, the men pounced on him like they had found their mother, all clamoring to be released.
The police officer, seeing their bruised and swollen faces, turned to Meng Jingwei. "What happened here?"
Meng Jingwei pulled her shoulder strap down. "Officer, they were trying to humiliate me just now. I was merely defending myself."
Hearing this, the police officer pointed at the men. "All of you, behave yourselves."
And then...
He left nonchalantly.
As a result, when the hooligans looked back at Meng Jingwei, they all shrunk back, obediently huddled against the wall, side by side, not daring to breathe.
Meng Jingwei sat on the chair, lost in thought. When she grew tired of sitting, she lay down on the bench, recalling the events of the past few days, feeling incredibly depressed and utterly exhausted.
How could her fractured heart ever be mended?
By midnight, Meng Jingwei was still wide awake, her eyes occasionally scanning the hooligans, terrifying them into wakefulness as well.
...
Meanwhile, at the President's Office of Songyu Group.
Qing Mu Ye stood by the window, gazing out, a cigarette held between his fingers, a wisp of smoke curling upwards.
Song Jun pushed the door open and entered.
He asked, "Is she... alright?"
"In the detention center. Some thugs tried to take advantage of Miss Meng, and she taught them a severe lesson. Then she lay on the chair and slept."
Song Jun relayed the information he had investigated to Qing Mu Ye and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Qing clearly still cares about Miss Meng, so why must things be so strained?"
Although he hadn't accompanied Qing Mu Ye for as long as Song Ci had, he understood Qing Mu Ye's character.
In the past month, even though Qing Mu Ye hadn't sought out Meng Jingwei, he had paid close attention to everything concerning her.
He, as her special assistant, had witnessed it all.
"What, are you missing Song Ci?"
The man spoke with a profound implication.
The word "missing," deliberately drawn out, sent a chill down Song Jun's spine. He immediately said, "Mr. Qing, I've already dispatched people to investigate the incident at today's wedding. However, the explosive balloons from the scene were taken by Master Qi's men. Master Qi is also investigating the matter."
"Continue the investigation."
"Yes, Mr. Qing."
Song Jun acknowledged and then, as if remembering something, asked, "Miss Meng is still in the detention room. Should we bring her out?"
"No need."
The man replied without hesitation.
Although Song Jun didn't know his boss's intentions, he didn't pry further and turned to leave.
After Song Jun departed, Qing Mu Ye let out a long sigh, standing by the window for a long time without any reaction.
It wasn't until the cigarette in his hand burned out that he finally regained his senses and returned to his desk to continue working.
...
The next day.
Meng Jingwei, who had spent the night at the police station, had barely slept.
She paced back and forth in the detention room, constantly waiting for a breakthrough.
She had initially thought that being in the detention room, Qing Mu Ye would surely rescue her before long.