You're Hurting Me

The world spun around Su Yutang. She realized her body had shrunk, as if she'd gone back to early childhood.

A small hand caught hers. "Young Miss, come quick! A blue butterfly flew in here!"

Su Yutang froze. As if her body were no longer her own, she followed the little girl toward the flower bushes. It was only a moth—a lucky one, its wings glowing faint blue.

In a garden full of musk roses, the butterfly landed on the fullest bloom. The girl caught it with one sweep of her net, slipped it into a glass jar she'd prepared, and held it up to Su Yutang. "Young Miss, isn't it pretty?"

A faint, sweet smile touched Su Yutang's lips. "Ugly as sin," she said softly, as if teasing.

"Young Miss, my mom says you're too highborn. I can't keep playing with you like this..."

Su Yutang sat among the flowers, tipped her head back, and regarded the little girl with the air others called noble. "Then do you want to play with me?"

The girl nodded hard. "Mmhm! If only I could stay by the Young Miss's side forever."

Su Yutang reached out and patted the girl's head. "Then I permit you to be my little dog. You'll stay by my side forever and never betray me. You may only listen to me."

"But my mom..." The girl's brows knitted.

Su Yutang's face darkened. "If you listen to your mom, then go be her good daughter. If you want to be my little dog, you obey me. Plenty of people are lining up to be my dog. If you don't want to, forget it."

At that, the girl quickly forced a fawning smile. "I'm willing. I want to stay by the Young Miss's side forever."

Su Yutang smiled, satisfied. She stroked the girl's head the way she once petted her most beloved little dog. "Good girl."

Su Yutang hadn't returned to that estate in a very long time; it held too many bad memories. As she stared at that person, her feelings tangled, every rose in the garden withered, and a cold blade pressed against her fragile, slender neck.

A gap opened in the blindfold over her eyes. She saw the little girl standing not far away. She tried desperately to reach out, to call for that person to save her, but the girl watched her for a moment with tear-filled eyes and a complicated expression, then turned and walked off toward a corner.

In that moment, it felt as if the whole world had abandoned her. Her hands stopped struggling; she let the blade graze her neck.

She had promised to be her little dog for life—so why, when things turned dangerous, had she run away?

Or had she been too frightened, and seen it wrong?

She didn't know how much time had passed when the television started broadcasting news. "A child kidnapping case occurred in our city recently. After tireless investigation, police finally located the kidnappers in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Hai City. However, because the kidnappers put up a desperate resistance and were suspected of taking illegal drugs with intent to harm the child, police, after multiple considerations, arranged for a sniper to shoot them on site and successfully rescued..."

The rest was cut off. A woman's sharp voice rang through the hall. "Who the hell leaked the kidnapping? Shut it down across the entire internet right now. By tomorrow, I don't want to see a single word about this, or every one of you can get out of the Su family!"

"Yes, Madam."

Little Su Yutang curled up under the covers, hugging herself tight. She didn't know how long it had been before a pair of warm arms lifted her out of the blanket.

Still trapped in those memories, unable to free herself, she was like a pitiful little beast when someone approached—she bit down on the arm that came near.

A woman's gentle voice sounded above her. "It's all right, Tangtang. Don't be afraid. Mama is here."

At the woman's voice, she finally burst into uncontrollable tears. "Wuwuwu... Why did they do this to me? What did I do wrong?"

The woman wiped her tears gently. "No, Tangtang, you did nothing wrong. It was their fault. You only need to remember that you are the sole heir of our Su family, the Young Miss everyone watches. Anyone who displeases you, you can trample underfoot. It was only because you got too close to those lowlifes that you fell into their trap."

Su Yutang stopped crying. A faint sense of foreboding rose in her. "Lowlifes?"

"It was that Aunt Lu from before. She colluded with outsiders to have you kidnapped. We treated her so well, and she was still an ungrateful wolf. These people only care about money, so you must stay far away from them. Do you hear me?"

Su Yutang's eyes widened. "Is it... the Aunt Lu who took me to find Xiaobai?"

The woman held her close and soothed her. "It was her... But don't worry, I won't let a single person who hurt you go. My poor Tangtang lost weight after being outside for days. Tell Mama what you want, and Mama will give it to you."

"Darling, only Mama will always have your best interests at heart, always love you, always stand on your side. So from now on, you must listen to Mama even more. Understand?"

From that moment on, Su Yutang's young heart and childish innocence began to crumble away.

...

The scenes of the past scattered like fragments. As if she couldn't breathe, she tugged her collar down a little, still muttering, "A bunch of... ungrateful, treacherous wolves..."

Yun Huaizhu held the access card Su Yurong had sent someone to deliver. When she walked into the top floor of Grace with Aunt Fang, she found Su Yutang lying on the sofa, drunk into a puddle, snorting and cursing.

At that moment, the disgust on Yun Huaizhu's face was entirely undisguised. She stood across the table. "Hurry and help her into my car."

Aunt Fang answered quickly. "Yes, Miss."

When Aunt Fang went to support her, Su Yutang seemed to sense someone there and waved wildly at the air. "What are you? Lowlifes... Don't touch me! You pack of ungrateful, treacherous wolves..."

If she were sober, Aunt Fang certainly wouldn't have been able to overpower her, but right now she was dead drunk; even the phone in her waving hand was weak and limp.

Aunt Fang ignored her "attacks" and helped her toward Yun Huaizhu's car.

Su Yutang kept cursing the whole way, but the moment Aunt Fang placed her in the back seat of Yun Huaizhu's car, as if exhausted, she lay there and fell into a deep sleep.

Yun Huaizhu gripped the steering wheel. Just as she was about to start the car, she noticed the access card Su Yurong had sent over, along with the keys to the villa where Su Yutang currently lived.

She had wanted to spend a private day with Lin Meng, but Su Yurong had insisted she come pick up the thoroughly drunk Su Yutang and take her home—with the fine excuse of cultivating their relationship along the way.

If she didn't still need Su Yurong to speed up the Yun family's transformation, she would have thrown Su Yutang out of her car right now.

She knew Su Yutang didn't like her, and she loathed Su Yutang just the same.

Over the years, Su Yurong had pushed Su Yutang into blind dates with heiresses from everywhere, but the woman seemed stuck in her rebellious phase and opposed Su Yurong in every way.

If Su Yurong and Su Yutang's mother-daughter relationship weren't so tense right now, Yun Huaizhu wouldn't have found a gap to exploit for her own benefit.

When Yun Huaizhu drove into Su Yutang's villa, she found a red Ferrari parked in front of the gate. She got out to open the villa door, only to find it already unlocked.

Suspicion immediately rose in Yun Huaizhu's heart. She drove into the courtyard first, then told Aunt Fang in the passenger seat to help Su Yutang inside.

Su Yurong's people might be watching somewhere in the villa, but Yun Huaizhu truly did not want to touch Su Yutang. Even the slightest contact with that person disgusted her beyond measure.

Yun Huaizhu didn't really hate many people in this world, but the Su family had plenty.

She had been here twice before, so the villa's layout was not unfamiliar.

Just as she had Aunt Fang take the reeking Su Yutang up to the fifth-floor bedroom, her sharp senses caught someone sitting quietly in the living room, drinking tea.

Yun Huaizhu said to Aunt Fang, "Take Miss Su upstairs first."

"Yes."

After Aunt Fang helped Su Yutang disappear into the elevator in the corner of the villa, Yun Huaizhu slowly walked over and sat down on the sofa across from the woman. She stared at the woman in the brown knit dress with an emerald brooch pinned to her chest. "Miss Huo, you and Miss Su really are childhood friends who grew up together. For someone as fiercely private as Miss Su to actually give you the key to her villa."

Huo Yi narrowed her fox-like eyes slightly. She set down her teacup and gave Yun Huaizhu an extremely sweet smile. "You flatter me. Yun Huaizhu, you didn't grow up with Tangtang, yet you also have the key to her villa. That proves Aunt Su still approves of you."

Yun Huaizhu's face gradually paled at Huo Yi's words. She lowered her head, biting her lip, eyes darting back and forth as if searching for a countermeasure.

Seeing her so flustered, Huo Yi went on with a smile. "Why is Miss Yun so nervous? Aunt Su and you have reached some kind of cooperation, and I happen to know a little about it, but I won't interfere in your affairs. I only came because I heard on my way back that Tangtang was drunk, so I stopped by to check on her."

Yun Huaizhu lifted her head, wariness already in her eyes.

Su Yutang was easy to read, but she could never figure out what Huo Yi wanted.

Huo Yi was, after all, the sole heir of the Huo family. From birth, she had possessed no less than Su Yutang.

The only thing Yun Huaizhu knew was that although the Huo family was top-tier among Jing City's elite, and Huo Yi had been in the same class as Su Yutang since elementary school, she was always a notch below Su Yutang—lower in family status, and even when she differentiated into an alpha, she was one grade lower than Su Yutang as an A-rank.

Without Su Yutang overshadowing her, Huo Yi was dazzling whenever she appeared, but the moment Su Yutang showed up, everyone's attention went to Su Yutang.

Even so, over the years there had never been rumors of unpleasantness between Huo Yi and Su Yutang. On the contrary, their business dealings were now extremely close; one could say they were tightly bound together, sharing honor and ruin.

With someone like her—who bore no hostility toward Su Yutang yet paid close attention to her affairs—Yun Huaizhu couldn't guess her intentions.

Besides, Huo Yi already knew she was scheming against Su Yutang, yet the woman showed no inclination to tell Su Yutang.

What exactly was she thinking?

Seeing Yun Huaizhu sitting there in silence, eyes flickering, Huo Yi smiled. "Miss Yun, don't overthink. I truly only came to see how Tangtang is doing. After all, she is my most precious angel investor right now. If something happened to her, I would be very sad."

Only then did Yun Huaizhu relax her guard slightly. She looked at the woman who could make panic surge through her with just a narrowed-eye smile. "Then Miss Huo can wait until Miss Su wakes up to see her."

Huo Yi shook her head. "No need. I have things to do; I don't plan to stay long." Just as she elegantly smoothed her skirt and prepared to stand and leave, the fox-like woman seemed to remember something and looked at Yun Huaizhu. "I heard you've been quite busy lately. But no matter how busy, you still find time to accompany your little girlfriend. Truly a good balance of work and rest."

At that, Yun Huaizhu's eyes suddenly went bloodshot. As if enraged, she shot to her feet and glared at Huo Yi. "You investigated me?"

Huo Yi kept her composed smile and spread her hands as if unconcerned. "If you hadn't latched onto Aunt Su's connections, do you think anyone would be so idle as to investigate you?"

As she spoke, her narrowed eyes opened. Her pupils were bright and pure as brown amber, and paired with her fox-like eyes, she looked exceptionally shrewd and bewitching.

"But you really are bold, deceiving both sides—not only coaxing investment from Aunt Su, but also wrapping Tangtang around your finger. Did you think that if you did things secretly, no one would find out?" She stood and walked up to Yun Huaizhu as she spoke.

Her overwhelming presence forced Yun Huaizhu to retreat step by step. "Don't forget, your Yun family is not what it used to be. I'm telling you, in this world only the person standing on your head knows the truth. Your position is what it is; no matter how flawlessly you cover things up, you will still slip up. But rest assured, I quietly cleaned up after you. Even if Aunt Su and Tangtang wanted to investigate, they wouldn't find anything."

Yun Huaizhu was dumbstruck. She took a moment to react before asking, "You... why did you help me?"

Huo Yi suddenly seemed amused and elegantly covered her mouth. "Help you? Who are you to me? Why would I help you? The only reason I don't want them to discover your true face so quickly is that I want to see how this drama unfolds. Of course, before that, if you really want to protect that little girlfriend of yours, you should see her less."

This woman was too dangerous. She already knew Lin Meng existed... Not only that, she also knew Yun Huaizhu cared deeply about Lin Meng.

She currently had no ability to protect Lin Meng. If this woman one day went mad like Su Yutang and told Su Yurong about Lin Meng, what then?

All her painstaking efforts would turn to bubbles, and Lin Meng might be dragged in as well.

Yun Huaizhu could barely control her expression of fear. "This... this is my business. What right do you have to interfere?"

Huo Yi's smile faded a little. She took half a step closer to Yun Huaizhu. "Miss Yun, your schedule today was never told to anyone, was it? Yet Aunt Su knew you were free and had you come pick up her precious daughter. If you get close to her a few more times, guess whether the Su family will discover her?"

Yun Huaizhu lowered her head uneasily.

Yes, she hadn't told anyone about going to see Lin Meng. Su Yurong might not know who she had gone to see, but this Huo Yi knew clearly.

Huo Yi walked beside her, shaking her head with a sigh. "Speaking of it, your little girlfriend is truly pitiful. She's just an ordinary person working a regular job—why drag her into your disputes? Even I feel tired watching."

Yun Huaizhu no longer had the heart to argue with this woman, because she also felt the woman had a point. She was currently at the most critical step of her plan; if the transformed Yun company could not go public, all her efforts would be wasted.

As Huo Yi brushed past her, she added one more line. "Oh, right. What I told you is only a suggestion. Whether you take it or not is entirely up to you."

With that, the woman gave Yun Huaizhu an exquisitely elegant smile and strode away.

Yun Huaizhu stood frozen in place for a long time, dazed. She didn't know how long she had held that posture, but in the end, as if drained of strength, she collapsed onto the sofa and covered her eyes.

She didn't know how long ago it was that someone had stroked her head and exhorted her. "Zhuzhu, you must become strong. No matter how treacherous the road ahead, you must walk it firmly, because only by becoming strong can you protect what you want to protect, and guard the person you love most..."

If not approaching her now was a form of protection, then for Yun Huaizhu, it was too painful.

...

Night fell. After playing on her phone half the day, Lin Meng lay on her bed, staring blankly at the top of the little canopy hung over it.

Yun Huaizhu had been too busy lately... Two days ago, she hadn't even rested half a day before taking a call and heading out again.

Was Su Yutang deliberately targeting her?

At that thought, Lin Meng turned her head to look at the dress—freshly dry-cleaned and cared for—that she had just brought back from that brand store. She had actually been a little afraid to take such a dress to those luxury stores for cleaning.

Before going, she had searched online and learned that cleaning and caring for a dress like this cost at least two thousand yuan. The moment she saw the price, she wanted to back out.

But then she thought again: if she sent such an expensive dress to an ordinary dry cleaner and it got ruined, wouldn't that be even worse?

If she took it to the store that specialized in this brand and it got damaged, she could at least make them compensate. After all, this dress was worth more than selling her current self could repay.

Lin Meng thought for a long time, then finally gritted her teeth and took the dress to the store. Unexpectedly, the same salesgirl was there to receive her. The girl recognized her and said Su Yutang was a senior VIP of their store; all clothing and other luxury items were cleaned and cared for free of charge.

Well, she had benefited from Su Yutang's prestige again.

Now the dress was clean. When should she return it to Su Yutang?

The sky outside had turned gloomy just after dusk, and beyond the window dark clouds were piling up; it looked like rain.

Thinking of this, Lin Meng turned over in bed.

She still hadn't seen what that Bai Li looked like, though she probably wasn't bad—likely another delicate, pitiable little white flower like Yun Huaizhu.

If she saw that white moonlight at the banquet, would she recognize her as Bai Li?

If she didn't know her, how was she supposed to stop that little white flower from doing bad things?

She thought about this for a long time. Outside, lightning began to flash amid rumbling thunder.

This was the first spring rain of the year. After this rain's baptism, all things would be reborn.

Lin Meng had played on her phone all day; there really was nothing to do today. Although she hadn't eaten all day, she didn't feel hungry... Su Yutang and Yun Huaizhu—when she thought about them, it was always the same few things. Anyway, she couldn't see them right now, so thinking was useless.

When Lin Meng looked up at the window, she saw lightning slice through the dark clouds, refracting a purple-black hue. As if suddenly inspired, she got out of bed, ran to her little cabinet, and dug out a dust-covered canvas board and paint box.

When she was very young, a classmate whose family was filthy rich brought her mother's sapphire necklace to school. The gem's facets sparkled with dazzling light; it was the first time Lin Meng had ever seen something so beautiful.

After returning home...

Never mind, no use mentioning going home.

Perhaps that gem had inspired her. She learned to draw gems in pencil on her exercise book, drawing all kinds of little dresses, and later she picked up a bit more in art class.

But oil painting was something she learned during the summer before she was about to start university. A senior girl taught her, and the senior praised her talent, saying that with Lin Meng's college entrance exam scores, if she had taken the art exam, she could have gotten into the China Academy of Art. Then the senior asked her why she hadn't started learning when she was little.

Lin Meng only smiled faintly—she just painted for fun.

What a pity.

She didn't know how many times she had heard that answer during her student years.

Lin Meng hadn't thought about the past for a long time. Perhaps rainy days dredged up the most hidden things buried deep in one's heart. She picked up a brush and laid the sky's purplish-black color onto the paper.

She painted half the sky, then suddenly felt uninspired and wanted to go to the window to look. When she opened the window, damp air mixed with the smell of fresh earth rushed in.

Just as she was about to look at the greenery in the neighborhood for inspiration, she suddenly saw a splash of red in her line of sight, completely out of place with the scene.

Lin Meng pushed up her glasses and saw clearly what the red object was—a luxury car. As for the brand, she really didn't know.

But now, any time a luxury car appeared in her neighborhood, especially below her building, she felt an inexplicable panic.

Was it Su Yutang, or had Yun Huaizhu finished her work and come over?

But she was a little tired now and truly didn't want to deal with them.

Just as Lin Meng fell into thought, thunder rumbled overhead, shaking the window. Caught off guard, she was startled into crouching down with her ears covered. Moments later, rain poured down in torrents, blurring even that splash of red.

Bean-sized raindrops quickly swept indoors on the wind. Seeing this, Lin Meng hurriedly reached out to close the window, but when she closed it and looked down again, the red luxury car that had been parked below her building was gone.

Lin Meng breathed a sigh of relief...

Jing City was huge; it wasn't only Su Yutang and the others who had luxury cars.

It seemed the experiences of recent days had made her overly sensitive.

While calming her racing heart from the thunder, Lin Meng sat back in front of the canvas, ready to finish the painting.

Although the red car had startled her just now, it had also given her great inspiration—in a black sky torn by lightning and thunder, a streak of red out of place with the gloomy weather suddenly appeared. It had tremendous visual impact.

After finishing, Lin Meng nodded in satisfaction, then put away the messy painting supplies and lay back in bed to continue scrolling on her phone. She was a little curious about the car's model, so she searched online based on the image in her memory.

So the car that had been parked there was a Ferrari.

At first Lin Meng didn't think much of it, but the moment she saw it was a Ferrari, she bounced upright in bed.

A Ferrari!

When she was little, the luxury cars she heard about most were Rolls-Royce and Ferrari. Though at the time she didn't know what those two things represented, everyone who mentioned one day being able to ride in one had a face full of bliss.

Lin Meng also began to fantasize about how wonderful such a car must be to make people so happy; she wanted to ride in one too.

Unfortunately, what had seemed like a joke in childhood had grown into a heavy hammer striking her down.

At this thought, Lin Meng collapsed limply onto the bed. Forget it... things were fine as they were.

But she had lived in this neighborhood for so long and had never seen any owner drive a Ferrari. Such a flashy car would draw attention the moment it was on the road. Could it be a visitor's car, maybe a friend of a resident?

Although Lin Meng rented an old, broken-down little place, in Jing City, where every inch of land was precious, buying even this apartment outright would cost several million. If someone could afford property here, what was strange about them buying a Ferrari?

Thinking of this, Lin Meng opened her chat with Su Yutang. Since she had returned from that place called Grace, she had still sent Su Yutang messages as usual, and Su Yutang had still not replied.

Really, she had had enough of these days—going to work, then placating the Young Miss! Maybe tomorrow, after delivering the dress to Su Yutang, she could try stopping the messages?

Anyway, Su Yutang didn't take her seriously. Even if she stopped sending messages, Su Yutang probably wouldn't notice.

...

Su Yutang sat on the living room sofa in deep gloom, staring at the person across from her with a displeased look, while the other person seemed not to notice Su Yutang's displeasure at all.

Yun Huaizhu stepped forward and poured Su Yutang a glass of water. "Eldest Miss Su, what would you like to eat? I can have someone make it for you right away."

Su Yutang stared at Yun Huaizhu's face, which wore a fake smile. "I remember this seems to be my house. How come you're acting like the host and running wild in my home?"

The more Su Yutang thought about it, the angrier she got. Lin Meng angering her was one thing, but why did she wake up from drinking to find this bringer of misfortune in her home, refusing to leave?

Right now she was truly struggling to maintain surface composure. If Yun Huaizhu would just obediently get out and stop being an eyesore, that would be fine.

Yun Huaizhu still maintained her carefully concocted perfect smile. "Aunt Su asked me to come, and she also said that starting today I can stay here to accompany you. If you go out and cause trouble again, or get dead drunk, she will be very troubled."

At that, Su Yutang tilted her head and laughed, like the prelude to a storm. Then she splashed the glass of water on the table onto Yun Huaizhu. "You think using my mother to pressure me means you can do whatever you want? I am ordering you now—get out!"

Yun Huaizhu's pure white shirt was soaked through, yet she seemed like a different person; her face showed neither humiliation nor anger.

She very naturally took the tissues beside her and wiped the water off herself. "Sorry, I don't know how I upset you. Weren't you the one who most wanted me to be your little dog before? How about I bark twice for you?"

At that, Su Yutang's brows knitted tightly, and her face instantly turned green. Now she finally understood why Su Yurong had sent Yun Huaizhu to her home—this person had come purely to disgust her.

She used to think Yun Huaizhu's appearance was passable. How had she turned into this after being trained by her mother?

It was like a beautiful but disobedient dog that ran off because its owner hadn't trained it well, only to come back completely submissive to someone else's training.

The more interesting Su Yutang had once found Yun Huaizhu, the more she now loathed her, because she only liked little dogs she had trained herself—not dogs like Yun Huaizhu who listened to others and could betray her at any moment.

Even Su Yurong's dog was no exception.

Seeing her like this, Su Yutang stood up directly. Like an angry lioness, she approached Yun Huaizhu step by step. "Fine. I gave you the chance to be a person, but you insist on being someone else's dog. It just so happens the basement downstairs is quite spacious. A biting dog like you is better locked up down there!"

With that, she moved to drag Yun Huaizhu to the basement.

A vicious dog that wouldn't obey just needed to be locked in the basement for two days. After all, this was a little dog Su Yurong had given her; she couldn't be too harsh.

When Yun Huaizhu saw Su Yutang's hand reach for her, her pupils constricted slightly. She barely restrained the urge to grab the spherical marble ornament on the table and smash Su Yutang to death.

Endure it. She absolutely had to endure.

As long as the company's transformation succeeded and it went public, she would have nothing more to do with these people.

Yun Huaizhu squeezed her eyes shut as if awaiting the harshest judgment.

But at that moment, the villa's doorbell rang. Su Yutang shot Yun Huaizhu a glare and pointed at her. "Don't think this is over. You just wait!"

With that, as if furious, she stormed to the door and opened the villa's main entrance. "Who is it!"

Her expression was already as foul as it could be, but when she saw the person standing in front of her, holding a bag and trembling all over, the anger on her face seemed doused with a bucket of water and vanished instantly.

She could hardly believe her eyes and stood frozen in place for a full minute.

How was this little thing here? Had she learned that Su Yutang had gotten drunk over her and come specially to see her?

At this thought, Su Yutang hurriedly adjusted her expression.

But it was already too late when she realized how ferocious her expression had been.

Su Yutang had opened the door looking like she wanted to beat Lin Meng up. Seeing that, Lin Meng was almost scared to tears.

She had only come to return a dress today; she did not want to be whipped by Su Yutang!

Seeing Su Yutang silent, Lin Meng wanted to put the clothes at the door and sneak away. "S-Since Eldest Miss Su is inconvenient right now, I'll just leave the clothes here. I still..."

Her voice came out choked, trembling violently. Just as she was about to say something else, Su Yutang looked at the bag in her hand. Inside was exactly the dress she had bought Lin Meng that day.

Seeing this, the anger that had just subsided in Su Yutang's heart flared up again with a whoosh. But the earlier anger was rage; now it was more gloom.

Seeing that Lin Meng wanted to drop the thing and run, she grabbed Lin Meng's wrist. "Darling, you really don't want my things, do you? You want to draw a line between us already?"

Oh no. Why did Su Yutang seem especially angry today?

She really had terrible luck, picking a time when Su Yutang was angry to deliver clothes.

Seeing her frightening expression, Lin Meng quickly shook her head. "N-No, that's not it. I just think this dress is too expensive. There's nothing between us to begin with, so I really can't accept such an expensive gift from you!"

When Su Yutang heard the words "nothing between us" come out of Lin Meng's mouth, something in her head suddenly rang with a buzz.

At that moment, the force of her grip on Lin Meng's wrist increased involuntarily. "Nothing between us? If there's nothing, would I let you sit in my sports car? If there's nothing, would I f*cking bring you to my home to stay the night? If there's nothing, would I take you to meet my friends? Do you think I'm so idle? Does everyone get the same treatment as you?"

As if venting all her dissatisfaction from this period, Lin Meng's eyes reddened immediately at these words. She couldn't help but move her wrist, which was nearly crushed by Su Yutang. "Sorry, I said the wrong thing... But you're hurting me. Let go first..."

When Su Yutang saw the dress Lin Meng had placed at the door, ironed neat and tidy as if newly bought, her expression turned even gloomier. She picked up that unlucky thing and hurled it with force into the grass nearby. "I said it before—gifts I give out are never taken back. Since you don't like it, then throw it away!"

Seeing the dress worth over a hundred thousand yuan tossed into the bushes like garbage by Su Yutang, Lin Meng's heart actually ached as if bleeding.

That was over a hundred thousand yuan!

How could she treat a hundred-thousand-yuan dress like that? Even donating it would be better than throwing it away!

Lin Meng still wanted to go dig the dress out of the grass, but Su Yutang gripped her wrist tightly and dragged her inside the villa. The door slammed shut with a "pa—".

...

Meanwhile, Yun Huaizhu, who had been sitting in the living room waiting for Su Yutang, sensed something was wrong, because she thought she had just heard Lin Meng's voice.

But how could Lin Meng come here? The security system here was very advanced; without visitor information registered in advance, entry was impossible.

No—that madwoman Su Yutang seemed to have brought Lin Meng here before. Had she registered Lin Meng's identity information then?

It might not be Lin Meng...

She clenched her fists nervously. As the arguing outside grew louder, the unease in her heart deepened.

Finally, when she heard Su Yutang shout "Get in here," along with the sound of a familiar voice crying, she couldn't help but stand and look toward the door—

Lin Meng was using her other hand to pry at Su Yutang's grip. "Um... Eldest Miss Su, I can explain. When I said there's nothing between us, I meant someone like me isn't worthy to be by your side, that I'm not even qualified to carry your shoes. Could you let go of me first?"

The more Lin Meng said, the angrier Su Yutang became. "When did I ever make you carry my shoes? How about I f*cking carry your shoes for you?"

Seeing this scene, Yun Huaizhu's pupils shrank sharply, and an expression of extreme fury instantly appeared on her face.

In that moment, all her strategizing, patient endurance, and lurking before striking were burned away by rage.

Almost like a madwoman, she rushed forward and violently shoved Su Yutang away. "Let go of her!"

Yun Huaizhu had used nearly all her strength in that shove. Su Yutang, afraid of dragging Lin Meng down with her, released her hold, and she fell backward, landing neither too far nor too close.

At this moment, she felt her head buzzing with pain.

After pushing Su Yutang away, Yun Huaizhu hurriedly cradled Lin Meng's hand—the one Su Yutang had been gripping so tightly that it had turned purple from lack of blood—and spoke gently. "Are you all right? Does your hand hurt?"

Lin Meng had been so focused on explaining herself to Su Yutang that she hadn't noticed Yun Huaizhu was here!

She first looked up at Yun Huaizhu, whose cheeks were flushed with extreme anger, then lowered her head to look at Su Yutang, who had been knocked to the side.

In that moment, the air seemed to freeze.