Chapter 12: Fool

Bai Jianming was also a proud young master of high standing. Being slapped in the face like that made his smile falter significantly.

Especially in public. However, adhering to his so-called “gentlemanly” conduct, Bai Jianming didn’t strike back. Instead, he raised a question.

“Zhao Xue, have I offended you in some way?”

Beyond the frustration in his heart, he felt a deeper sense of astonishment. Today, he had truly experienced firsthand how vast Zhao Xue’s transformation actually was. It wasn’t just her face; it was the look in her eyes and her entire aura.

Zhao Xue scoffed. She didn’t answer his question, but demanded: “Give me the surveillance footage for Room 305.”

Her gaze then turned icy as she looked at the manager standing nearby, who was wearing a forced smile. “I want to know exactly what happened.”

Bai Jianming stepped sideways to block the manager. “Sorry, Zhao Xue, that involves guest privacy.” He refused her without hesitation.

The noise of the surrounding crowd gradually died down as people began to pay secret attention to the confrontation. Zhao Xue’s gaze grew colder and colder. After a long silence, she laughed.

“I recall that your illegitimate younger brother was recently officially recognized by the family, wasn’t he? I wouldn’t mind if my family gave him a little… helping hand.”

This was a direct hit to Bai Jianming’s Achilles’ heel. His father was a reckless man who had fathered two illegitimate sons. Although he was the eldest son of the Bai family, he was not the sole heir. Above him were two older female cousins and an older male cousin, and now these two illegitimate brothers had surfaced. If the Zhao family leaned toward any of the other parties, it would be disastrous for him.

And as everyone knew, the Zhao family doted on Zhao Xue to the point of absurdity.

Bai Jianming narrowed his eyes slightly. “Follow me.”

Zhao Xue obtained the footage of Room 305. She saw how Meng Yao had faced those people alone. She saw Meng Yao speaking into her earpiece, only to receive no response. And she saw exactly how Meng Yao’s head had been smashed with a wine bottle.

After watching, Bai Jianming looked displeased. He barked at the manager: “Something this big happened and no one noticed?”

Cold sweat poured down the manager’s forehead—not because of Bai Jianming’s scolding, but because of Zhao Xue’s gaze. It was cold enough to make one’s soul shiver.

The manager looked terrified. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t hear. The employee’s earpiece seemed to be broken, and I was busy at the time. I’m truly sorry such a big thing happened.”

Looking at the two of them, Zhao Xue knew she wouldn’t get anything more out of them here. She turned, walked up to the manager, and pressed a slender hand onto his shoulder. The manager felt as if her grip was strong enough to crush his bone.

“Manager, tell me, where do you live?”

The manager answered instinctively, but his face turned deathly pale the moment he realized what he’d done. Zhao Xue gave a cold, emotionless laugh. “I’ll remember that.”

Only after Zhao Xue left did the manager look toward Bai Jianming in a panic. “Young… Young Master, this—” He was stuttering.

Bai Jianming looked at him expressionlessly. “I’ll look after you.”

However, the promise did little to ease the manager’s mind. Having spent years in places like this and working for a Bai family club, he was familiar with the upper circles. He knew Zhao Xue was doted on to the extreme—she was lawless and capable of anything.

He had thought Meng Yao was just a commoner; how could he have known she belonged to Zhao Xue? He was filled with regret, but even if he could do it again, he would have done the same—because he couldn’t disobey Bai Jianming.

Zhao Xue returned to the private room she had booked and found Meng Yao asleep. She walked over quietly. Even in sleep, Meng Yao’s brow was furrowed, and her thin frame was curled into a ball. Despite being 175cm tall, she looked small and fragile in that moment.

She was still in her work uniform, her hair clumped together by dried alcohol, looking quite disheveled. Zhao Xue let out a slow breath.

She carefully tilted Meng Yao’s head toward her. Opening a pack of wet wipes from the room, she gently and softly began to wipe Meng Yao’s face. Meng Yao was apparently exhausted; she slept deeply and didn’t react to Zhao Xue’s movements at all.

Zhao Xue’s fingertip lightly brushed a bruise on Meng Yao’s face that had already turned purple.

“Be a good girl. I’ll get revenge for you.”

Meng Yao opened her eyes in a daze. When she moved her neck slightly, her entire body ached, especially her head.

“You’re awake?” Zhao Xue’s voice came from above.

Only then did Meng Yao realize she was being held in Zhao Xue’s arms. She instinctively tried to shift.

“Don’t move. We’re almost at the clinic.”

Meng Yao looked up, meeting Zhao Xue’s gaze as she looked down.

“Sleeping like a pig. I carried you up and down and you didn’t feel a thing.” Zhao Xue seemed to find this funny herself and laughed out loud.

The night was late. Even the moon had hidden away, leaving only the hazy streetlights. The warm yellow glow reflected in Zhao Xue’s eyes, making her gaze seem unusually tender.

Meng Yao wondered if she had been hit so hard in the head that it was malfunctioning. Her heart was beating abnormally—like a drum, loud and deafening. She quickly lowered her eyes to hide her state.

Zhao Xue didn’t notice. She carried her into the clinic. It was a 24-hour clinic near her residence. When she had left to find Meng Yao, she had paid a driver ten thousand yuan to speed; on the way back, she had told the driver to go as slowly as possible.

It was 2:00 AM by the time they reached the clinic. The doctor examined Meng Yao and said there was no major damage. Because her skin was so pale, the injuries looked more exaggerated than they were. The only semi-serious injury was the lump on the back of her head, which had some broken skin and bleeding.

In the end, she was given some medication for swelling, pain relief, and inflammation. Zhao Xue paid and prepared to pick Meng Yao up again.

But Meng Yao refused her outstretched hands. “I can walk.” Perhaps feeling that sounded too blunt, she added awkwardly: “You’re tired today, too.”

Zhao Xue smiled and said nothing. She let Meng Yao walk in front while she followed behind. After a few steps, Meng Yao realized her body was so sore she couldn’t walk quickly. She bit her lip and looked back at Zhao Xue. “Zhao Xue… you go back first. I’ll walk back slowly.” It was only about a ten-minute walk.

Zhao Xue raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. Instead, under Meng Yao’s gaze, she reached out and took Meng Yao’s rough hand in hers.

Meng Yao froze.

Zhao Xue said: “The little dog is quite concerned about her dignity. Fine, I won’t carry you, I’ll lead you.”

A soft palm enveloped her own. It was smaller than hers, but very delicate and smooth. A wave of warmth traveled from where they touched. Meng Yao stared at their joined hands for a moment, then slowly tightened her grip.

The manager, Li Jian, had been living in fear ever since he gave Zhao Xue his address. He was terrified she would send someone to jump him, but days passed with no activity. He thought maybe the Young Master had settled it, so he finally relaxed a bit.

At 1:00 AM, Li Jian drove back to his apartment complex, parked, and hummed a song as he walked toward his building. There was no one around at this hour. He reached the entrance; the elevator was under maintenance, so he had to take the stairs. Luckily, he lived on the sixth floor.

As he stepped onto the second-floor landing, he suddenly heard the click-clack of small leather shoes behind him.

His body stiffened. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He tried to tell himself it was just a neighbor from the seventh floor, but he immediately dismissed it—no one lived on the seventh floor.

He walked faster and faster, but the sound behind him didn’t stop; it grew closer. Li Jian was shivering, cold sweat breaking out. He didn’t dare look back. When he reached the sixth floor, the footsteps were still right behind him. He reached his door, his hand shaking so much he could barely hold his key card.

Click. The door opened. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, his movement stopped.

Someone grabbed him by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall. His key card clattered to the floor.

“Hehe, why are you in such a rush?”

In front of Li Jian was an incredibly beautiful face, though it still held a hint of youth. Who else could it be but Zhao Xue?

His throat was held in a iron grip; her slender fingers were like giant pincers, cutting off his vocal cords and the scream trapped in his throat. He tried desperately to pry her hand off, but found it useless.

Zhao Xue smiled. The fluorescent light in the hallway made her pale face look even whiter. To Li Jian, that smile looked sinister and terrifying—she looked like a starving ghost. His eyes were filled with terror as the lack of oxygen made his brain go fuzzy. He truly felt she was going to kill him; she was looking at him as if he were already a corpse.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, she threw him aside. Li Jian curled into a ball on the floor, gasping for air.

Zhao Xue stepped into the room and closed the door. She knelt down and waited for him to finish coughing. “I’m just here to ask one thing today.”

“Was it Bai Jianming’s idea to send Meng Yao to 305? Don’t lie.”

She didn’t use any explicit threats, but Li Jian was terrified to his core. A grown man of 170cm was now a mess of tears and snot. Without needing any further prodding, he confessed everything. “It was him, he made me do it! I didn’t know any of this! He told me to ignore whatever happened in Room 305! I’m just an employee, what choice did I have?” He was hysterical.

He was clearly broken. Zhao Xue smiled with satisfaction. “Don’t tell a soul about tonight, understand? Or I won’t let you off.”

Zhao Xue left. Li Jian clutched his head and cursed in a breakdown: “She’s a lunatic! A lunatic!!!” Who in their right mind stakes out someone’s door in the middle of the night? He had thought it was a serial killer or a ghost; who would have guessed it was Zhao Xue? But the feeling she gave him in the dead of night was no different from meeting a vengeful spirit.

Time flew by, and Meng Yao’s injuries healed. Her daily routine with Zhao Xue consisted of constant light kissing. Both seemed to have forgotten “that incident”—neither mentioned it.

Meng Yao was getting used to this life. She and Zhao Xue still hadn’t taken the final step. They rarely even unbuttoned their clothes; it was as if they were stuck at kissing, much like their relationship—never likely to change.

Meng Yao began to feel an inexplicable agitation.

It was after-school time again. Zhao Xue was pressed against a desk by Meng Yao, being kissed continuously. This was an empty classroom where almost no one ever came. Meng Yao drank deeply from Zhao Xue’s mouth; it was too sweet, and it felt like she could never get enough.

Zhao Xue was enjoying it, her eyes narrowed like a satisfied kitten—cute and beautiful. Meng Yao knew “cute” didn’t fit Zhao Xue’s personality at all, yet she found it appropriate.

Her hands gripped Zhao Xue’s waist as she began to kiss downward. On Zhao Xue’s open collar, there were still bright red marks from the day before. She had made those. And today, she pressed her lips there again, grinding and sucking until the marks turned a deep, dark red. Yet the void in her heart only grew larger. Something felt wrong, but she couldn’t understand what.

Zhao Xue felt a slight sting at her collarbone and opened her eyes to see Meng Yao nuzzling her neck like a puppy. She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Suddenly, something flashed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zhao Xue spotted the tip of a smartphone peeking out. Someone was taking pictures?

Zhao Xue looked down at the oblivious Meng Yao and smiled. Meng Yao lifted her head and kissed Zhao Xue’s lips again.

Zhao Xue muttered indistinctly: “Fool.”

She hadn’t even noticed they were being photographed.