The elaborate arrangements made back then were all for this day, though it arrived sooner than expected.
Leaning against the bed, Qing Si Huai wore a mocking smile. "The way you rage is far more appealing than your affected demeanor, hahaha..."
He shamelessly humiliated Shu Yao, trampling on her dignity.
It seemed that only by seeing Shu Yao driven to the brink of collapse could he alleviate his own endless sense of humiliation.
The events between him and Anthony were vivid in his mind. The pain Shu Yao felt now was the pain he had endured before.
An eye for an eye; she had brought this upon herself.
Shu Yao kept kicking the laptop on the floor, Qing Si Huai's words echoing in her ears. She was plunged into despair, her mind buzzing, staring at him blankly, her face bloodless.
The images from the video replayed in her mind, refusing to fade, each humiliating moment a stain on her life.
She had thought Qing Si Huai faking his terminal illness was the worst he could do, never imagining he would stoop to such outrageous actions.
In an instant, her world crumbled.
Shu Yao trembled uncontrollably, her small hands clenched, utterly devastated.
"Why... why would you do this to me?"
After a long pause, she asked weakly.
Qing Si Huai's smile gradually vanished, a surge of humiliation washing over him. His eyes flickered, and he let out a cold snort, "This is the consequence of becoming my enemy."
How could he possibly tell Shu Yao what Anthony had done?
He didn't want anyone to know about that profound disgrace.
"You want..." Shu Yao knew Qing Si Huai had an agenda. She pursed her lips, quickly composing herself, and asked, "You want to trade the video for the child, don't you?"
She couldn't think of any other reason.
Qing Si Huai raised an eyebrow, not denying it. "Yes. Hand over the child, and I promise to delete all the videos."
"You lied about having cancer; how can I possibly believe you?"
Shu Yao had exhausted all trust in Qing Si Huai, not believing a single word he said.
"That's a fair point."
He nodded, lowering his gaze to the laptop smashed in half on the floor. "You can refuse, but... your captivating figure might be seen by countless people tomorrow."
His words chilled Shu Yao to the bone, an icy dread engulfing her.
She gritted her teeth, feeling a bone-chilling tremor run through her. "Do you believe I'll kill you right now!?"
"I bet... you wouldn't dare."
Qing Si Huai smiled playfully. "You're smart enough to know that even if I die, those videos can still be released."
Such matters could simply be entrusted to others, or he could log in and schedule the release himself.
It was not a difficult task.
What Qing Si Huai spoke of was precisely Shu Yao's fear.
For a woman, having videos that ruined her reputation spread would be like plunging her into hell, casting a nightmare over her life.
She truly dared not gamble.
Shu Yao was bewildered. She didn't know how to resolve this. She wanted to tell Meng Jing Wei but found it too shameful to articulate.
"I'll give you 24 hours. If you don't bring the child, prepare for your video to be exposed." Qing Si Huai said, humming a jaunty tune as if the events he'd endured had no impact on him.
...
Shu Yao, in a daze, didn't know how she left the hospital, only that her mind was a mess.
Upon returning to the villa, she went straight to the bathroom. Submerging herself in the bathtub, she squeezed a generous amount of body wash onto a scrubbing mitt and began scrubbing her body furiously.
Like a soulless automaton, she continued scrubbing, even using up an entire bottle of body wash. She didn't stop, even when her skin began to bleed.
That sense of 'uncleanliness' seeped from her very core, driving Shu Yao to the brink of madness.
She stayed in the bathtub for a long time. The water, initially hot, cooled down, and she eventually fell asleep, leaning against the side of the tub.
She slept for an unknown duration. Upon waking, Shu Yao felt groggy and weak. She grabbed a towel to wrap around herself and collapsed onto the bed, falling back asleep.
She lay in bed for a full day and night.
Her phone, placed on the bedside table, had long since run out of battery and turned off.
After a prolonged period of unconsciousness, Shu Yao's stomach growled with hunger, jolting her from her stupor. However, she still felt utterly weak.
After a few moments of grogginess, her eyes suddenly lit up. She sat up abruptly, reaching for her phone. Seeing it was out of battery, she immediately plugged it in to charge.
Anxiously, she turned on her phone. It buzzed and vibrated incessantly.
There were numerous missed calls from Meng Jing Wei and others, including Qing Si Huai.
She clicked on Meng Jing Wei's WeChat messages. "Don't turn off your phone next time; you really scared me. I came to your place to find you, and when I saw you were asleep, I didn't disturb you. Get some good rest, don't overthink things."
"Contact me when you wake up tomorrow."
"Are you awake yet?"
Listening to Meng Jing Wei's voice messages, Shu Yao's eyes welled up with tears. She felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and self-reproach.
Thinking about how she had reprimanded Meng Jing Wei the day before because of Qing Si Huai, she felt like a complete fool, a mere clown.
*Biu~*
Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
A WeChat message popped up.
Shu Yao clicked on it. It was a website link from Qing Si Huai. She hesitated for a moment before clicking the link. A 'risk' warning appeared on the page, but she continued to browse.
As expected, it was a website for adult 'entertainment' from overseas, displaying various eye-catching videos.
As she was still wondering, she caught sight of a familiar video thumbnail in the bottom right corner.
Because it was a page recommendation with multiple videos displayed, the thumbnails were very small, and she hadn't noticed it at first.
Now that she saw it clearly, her heart skipped a beat, and her face turned pale with fright.
Shu Yao's hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably. Her thumb shakily tapped on the video. It was in ultra-high definition, but fortunately, her eyes were pixelated.
*Ring, ring, ring—*
The phone's ringing startled Shu Yao.
Upon seeing the caller ID, it was Qing Si Huai. She answered immediately. "Qing Si Huai, are you trying to kill me?"
Even though the video was pixelated, anyone who knew her could recognize her instantly!
"Little Princess Yao Yao, your agitated state is really not likable."
Qing Si Huai spoke slowly, his voice laced with mockery that infuriated Shu Yao.
He continued, "I told you I'd give you 24 hours. You didn't cherish it; you lack contractual integrity. As the one who broke the promise, you must pay the price!"
"Qing Si Huai, you're not human! Delete it! Delete the video immediately!"
She shrieked, her voice cracking.
"Deleting it is no problem. Just give me the child."
"You, you... you're dreaming!"
"It seems you won't believe me unless I use some leverage." Qing Si Huai hung up the phone.
Shu Yao tried calling back, but her calls were continuously rejected.
Five minutes later, as Shu Yao was desperately trying to find someone to delete the video, she discovered that the pixelation was gone.
At that moment, she felt she was going completely insane.