Chapter 7

When I hurried to Jingxiu Mansion, Manager Wang had already gotten Manager Li drunk.

Seeing me enter, they shouted for me to join them in drinking.

Sensing something was off, my smile was a bit forced.

“Sorry, I don’t drink alcohol.”

“How about this, I’ll toast everyone with tea instead.”

“That won’t do. You’re late, so you should punish yourself with three drinks.”

Giving me no room to refuse, Pei Chenghuan stood up and filled a glass of baijiu for me.

Stunned by his unusual behavior, I looked at him in disbelief.

“Pei Chenghuan, what are you…”

“Nan Yu, hurry up and drink. Manager Li is waiting.”

Pei Chenghuan shrugged indifferently, picked up the glass, and pressed it to my lips.

He had shed his gentle facade, his smile now both shrewd and calculating.

Jin Beiyan’s words flashed through my mind for no reason: “He’s not a good person.”

Frightened by his unfamiliar demeanor, I instinctively took a step back.

My gut told me this was a trap.

Perhaps sensing I wanted to escape, Pei Chenghuan directly pushed me into Manager Li’s arms.

The greasy stench of the man overwhelmed me, and I struggled desperately but couldn’t break free.

When Jin Beiyan pushed open the door, Manager Li was forcing me into his arms and pouring alcohol down my throat.

I choked, tears streaming from my eyes, clutching my lifted skirt in embarrassment.

The private room was dimly lit, with suggestive music playing.

My tear ducts ached, and I finally realized Jin Beiyan had forbidden me from going out to protect me.

The air was silent for a moment, and fear filled Pei Chenghuan’s eyes.

He suddenly flung open the door and dashed out, as if a beast was chasing him.

Jin Beiyan didn’t spare him a single glance, walking straight toward me.

“Sweetheart, is this the ‘work’ you were talking about?”

I lowered my eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

Manager Li’s fat, greasy hand kept moving upward, his smile both fawning and smug.

“You… Hey, Boss Jin, what are you doing here?”

His gaze fell on my wrist, red from being gripped, and Jin Beiyan’s words carried a murderous intent.

“I’m here to take my disobedient darling home.”

“And, incidentally, to ruin someone.”

Drunk and slow to react, Manager Li didn’t catch the meaning behind Jin Beiyan’s words at all.

“You mean… her?”

“President Jin, you’re too bold. No matter how much you like her, you can’t just call her ‘darling’ right away. Hahaha, this girl really is a rare beauty.”

“But you can’t compete with me. I’ve had my eye on her for a long time.”

I rarely appear in public, so Manager Li didn’t know I was Jin Beiyan’s little niece.

“Is that so?”

Jin Beiyan tugged at the corner of his lips, his eyes calm.

I had only seen that expression once before.

When Jin Beiyan first started out, many rivals underestimated him, always mocking him for being so young and dragging along a burden, doubting how capable he could be. But no matter how harsh their words, he always chose not to start conflicts.

Except for one time, when a potbellied boss joked with him.

“That little girl by your side is really pretty. Let me touch her, and I’ll give you this investment. How about it?”

Jin Beiyan wore the same expression then.

The next day, word spread that the boss was hospitalized with a shattered hand.

“Compete?”

With a soft laugh, Jin Beiyan leisurely picked up an ashtray and weighed it in his hand.

The next second, he smashed it decisively onto Manager Li’s head.

“Compete with your damn mother. She was mine from the start.”

His tone was calm yet arrogant, brimming with menace.
The screams made the scene all the more chilling.

Pei Chenghuan, bruised and battered, was dragged back by the bodyguards, kowtowing and begging for mercy nonstop.

Jin Beiyan tilted his head, lit a cigarette, and pressed his foot slowly onto Pei Chenghuan’s face, grinding it down.

“Speak. Why did you approach Nan Yu?”

Pei Chenghuan screamed in pain, so terrified that he stammered as he spoke.

“I-I just wanted, I originally just wanted to date her.”

“I know you treasure her, so-so, ah, I just wanted to climb up the social ladder…”

“But she didn’t give me any chance at all… I was unwilling, so-so I wanted to give her to Manager Li… Take some photos or something to blackmail you for money… Ahhhhhh!”

Jin Beiyan squatted down and deftly shoved the burning cigarette butt into his mouth, then looked over at his secretary.

“Send him to the police station.”

“Contact the lawyers. I want him to never get out for the rest of his life.”

The scene was so bloody that I squeezed my eyes shut, shrinking and frozen in place.

The next second, I fell into a familiar embrace.

“Little Uncle, I can walk by myself.”

Sensing his anger, I spoke cautiously.

“Shen Nanyu, now you remember to call me Little Uncle?”

His merciless sarcasm was as cold as a blade.

Jin Beiyan took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my waist, ignoring my resistance as he hoisted me onto his shoulder.

I was carried away by Jin Beiyan.

He yanked open the car door and unceremoniously tossed me inside.

Instinctively, I shrank my neck, but the pain I expected at the back of my head didn’t come.

Jin Beiyan straightened up and looked down at me coldly, withdrawing the hand that had cushioned the back of my head.

“Shen Nanyu, you’ve really grown bold.”

With a cold laugh, Jin Beiyan’s voice carried a hint of lingering fear.

“I know I was wrong. I trusted the wrong people and made you worry so much.”

Knowing I was at fault, I lowered my head and admitted defeat.

“Do you remember what I told you?”

Jin Beiyan slowly unbuttoned his cuffs, closing in on me.

Recalling that threat, I felt a bit scared.

Nervous, I hurried to make excuses.

“Little Uncle, it’s not my fault, I didn’t know they would do this…”

“Don’t keep that stern face, it’s too scary.”

“Besides, you were always hot and cold with me before. If you hadn’t been like that, I wouldn’t have ignored your advice.”

Jin Beiyan was so exasperated by me that he almost laughed in anger, gritting his teeth.

“Try being stubborn one more time?”

“I’m not being stubborn. Pei Chenghuan really acted well-I couldn’t have guessed he’d team up with Manager Wang to set me up.”

I shot him a quick glare, muttering in a small, defiant voice.

Because he rejected my confession before, I was still sulking.

Even though I knew I was wrong, I couldn’t help but go against him.

“Still acting up? You make mistakes and still think you’re in the right.”

Jin Beiyan pinched my cheek hard, his tone laced with danger.

“Then what do you want?”

“You treated me like that before, and I haven’t even settled the score with you.”

“And now I’m the one who got bullied, yet you’re still being mean to me.”

Seeing his indifferent expression, I felt a wave of grievance, and my rebellious side surfaced at the worst possible moment.

Jin Beiyan just stared at me, his dark eyes swirling with ink-like depths.

I belatedly started to panic, quietly scooting backward.

“W-what are you going to do?”

Jin Beiyan’s lips curled into a half-smile, then he grabbed my ankle and dragged me out, his voice gentle.

“Be good. Of course, I’m going to deal with you.”