"Let go!"
Meng Jingwei took a step back, but because Xiao Meiyan was tightly gripping her trouser leg, her retreat was hampered.
"Meng Jingwei, help me get out, and I'll give you a hundred thousand, how about a hundred thousand? I... I can give you a check." Xiao Meiyan continued to plead.
Xiao Cheng, fighting beside them, occasionally said to Meng Jingwei, "Xiao Weiwei, please, please take Xiao Meiyan away!"
"Heh."
Meng Jingwei's red lips curved slightly, a hint of fierceness appearing on her delicate face.
She tilted her head and looked at a bodyguard standing beside her, who held a handgun.
The woman's eyes narrowed for a moment, and she beckoned to him.
The bodyguard followed Meng Jingwei's gaze and realized she wanted the handgun. He dared not give it to her, and finally looked at Qing Muye for help.
Qing Muye gave no signal.
After a long moment of no reaction from the bodyguard, Meng Jingwei directly snatched the handgun from his hand, quickly pulled the slide, and with a bang, shot Xiao Meiyan's right leg with swift precision.
As a deafening sound echoed, Xiao Meiyan's ear-piercing scream followed, utterly desolate.
The people fighting nearby stopped, looking at the scene in disbelief.
Xiao Cheng's eyes widened, his gaze shifting between Xiao Meiyan and Meng Jingwei. Finally, seeing Xiao Meiyan clutching her wound and wailing in pain, he confirmed that Meng Jingwei had indeed shot Xiao Meiyan.
"Meng Jingwei, what are you doing?!"
He pushed the bodyguard in front of him away and lunged towards Meng Jingwei.
At that moment, Xiao Cheng, his reason consumed by anger, lunged towards Meng Jingwei on his bad leg, "You always said I was your second brother, and you treat me like this... mmph..."
Before Xiao Cheng could finish his words, when he was still three meters away from Meng Jingwei, she raised her gun and, with a bang, shot his injured leg.
Xiao Cheng's body went limp, and he involuntarily knelt on one knee, his knee hitting the ground heavily. The pain made him gasp, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Sweat mixed with the blood on his face, flowing down and staining his white shirt, making him appear as wretched as a survivor crawling from a battlefield.
"You... what are you doing?"
Xiao Cheng gritted his teeth, almost collapsing from the pain, but his disappointment in Meng Jingwei grew even deeper.
Meng Jingwei ignored Xiao Cheng's gaze, looking at the still smoking gun and tossing it back to the bodyguard behind her.
"Is money truly omnipotent?"
As if talking to herself, she took out her wallet, pulled out a check for five hundred thousand, and threw it directly at Xiao Meiyan.
The thin check fluttered down, spinning in the wind, and landed gracefully on Xiao Meiyan's face, a corner of it soaked by her tears.
"Five hundred thousand, enough for you to get treatment."
Meng Jingwei gave a self-deprecating laugh, closed her wallet, and patted it in her hand, "Phew, it feels so good to spend money!"
Her series of abnormal actions stunned Xiao Cheng, leaving him speechless for a long time.
Not only Xiao Meiyan was shocked, but also Song Ci and Qing Muye, who were standing not far away.
Qing Muye's eyes were filled with surprise, but in a flash, he seemed to understand something, and the slight oppression in his eyes was replaced by a hint of heartache.
Her doing this...
"Xiao Meiyan, I really hate how you flaunt your money in front of me."
Meng Jingwei said in a sarcastic tone and turned to leave.
The moment she turned, she tightly gripped her wallet, her trembling hand concealed by a natural swing of her arm as she walked.
With her head lowered, she walked to Qing Muye, pursed her lips, and adjusted her emotions.
Looking up at Qing Muye, she shrugged, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Thank you for investigating the truth. Let's go for a drink. Assistant Song and your brothers have worked hard. Let's pick a place, my treat."
Meng Jingwei, who was usually stingy, was exceptionally generous today.
Song Ci's momentary confusion was quickly replaced by understanding Meng Jingwei's intention.
He remained silent, only looking at Qing Muye.
Qing Muye gazed at the transformed Meng Jingwei with deep, complex eyes, his thin lips curving, "Okay, you treat."
With that, he turned and walked out, not forgetting to add, "Song Ci, arrange for the brothers tonight, put it on my tab."
"Yes, boss."
Song Ci bowed slightly and then waved to the dozen or so bodyguards, "Brothers, you've worked hard. The boss said we're going out to have fun tonight."
"Oh ho, alright."
"Boss is generous, we won't go home until we're drunk tonight."
"Oh dear, we were indeed tired today."
"That Xiao Cheng fellow, he can sure fight."
"Hiss, damn it, he knocked out one of my teeth."
...
The dozen or so brothers spoke one after another as they walked out of the warehouse.
Meng Jingwei, standing in the crowd, looked back at the unconscious Xiao Meiyan, who was writhing in pain on the ground, and Xiao Cheng, who was slumped beside her, with a meaningful gaze. She said nothing and walked away.
Song Ci watched Meng Jingwei's receding figure and inexplicably felt that this woman was quite interesting, loyal and righteous.
Although she had shot Xiao Meiyan and Xiao Cheng, these two shots had saved their lives.
Otherwise, with their boss's style of handling things, perhaps the underworld would have gained another soul.
This simple fact, he could see, and Qing Muye naturally could too.
Meng Jingwei, having left the warehouse, got into Qing Muye's car. He drove while she sat in the passenger seat, saying, "Thank you."
The car slowly started, and Qing Muye, looking straight ahead, glanced at Meng Jingwei from the corner of his eye. Her face was gloomy, and an unshakable sadness lingered between her brows.
"I'm not the one who was wronged, so why the thanks?"
Qing Muye said softly.
Meng Jingwei knew very well that the wedding banquet today would bring incalculable losses to the Qing family.
Given the Qing family's status in Lancheng, what happened today could have led Qing Muye to personally execute Xiao Meiyan as a price.
To deter Qing Muye from such thoughts, Meng Jingwei had no choice but to shoot and injure the Xiao siblings.
She knew that Qing Muye would surely understand her intentions by doing so.
Indeed, the man had not disappointed her.
"You're right, I'm responsible for today's wedding. So, you don't need to pay the final payment; consider it compensation."
"Mm, that's more like it. It also indirectly saved me from my losses."
"I don't want the final payment of 150 million, but you must give me the 100 million for saving your life."
"It's settled then."
A smile finally bloomed on Meng Jingwei's overcast face, but as she turned her head to look out the window, the smile vanished instantly.
She and Qing Muye casually found a place to eat, and then returned to Ye Se Apartment.
Meng Jingwei, citing "fatigue," returned to the bedroom, washed up, and lay down, not coming out again.
In the study.
Song Ci went upstairs to Qing Muye's study and stood before his desk, handing him a document. "Reporters still managed to infiltrate the wedding banquet today and recorded the video, which was posted online. The internet is in an uproar, and Songyu Group's stock has plummeted due to the 'broken engagement' incident, with twenty billion yuan evaporating out of thin air."