"Do what you have to do; her intentions are already very clear. From today on, you must remember that she is not just your ordinary friend; she is your boss, understand?" Mr. Cheng said.

"Yes, I understand," Cheng Hao nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, in a certain basement, dim and dark, Shen Donglin was locked up here. Initially, he got a beating, and by now, he was like a pile of mud, completely drained of strength.

Up until now, he still couldn’t fully determine why Zhu Lie had brought him here. Although Shen Hanxue’s incident was related to him, he felt he hadn’t exposed any flaws. His friend had already left Jiang City, so logically, Zhu Lie shouldn’t be able to track it down!

However, apart from the Shen Hanxue affair, he indeed hadn’t done anything else, so why would Zhu Lie come looking for him?

Could it be something went wrong on Shen Siwen’s side?

But he immediately dismissed the possibility. Shen Siwen wasn’t a fool; she naturally understood the seriousness of the matter being exposed. Moreover, he had repeatedly warned Shen Siwen never to tell anyone, so he didn’t believe it was Shen Siwen who leaked it.

Just then, footsteps could be heard approaching, and Shen Donglin shivered uncontrollably.

Suddenly, the lights were turned on, glaring light illuminating every corner. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Shen Donglin struggled to lift his head and saw a swollen, red face. It was Shen Siwen, and at that moment, for some reason, his heart suddenly sank.

Zhu Lie had captured both him and Shen Siwen; aside from the Shen Hanxue affair, he couldn’t think of any other reason.

"Zhu Lie, what do you mean by capturing me?" Shen Donglin asked unwillingly.

Zhu Lie hadn’t had a chance to speak when Gu Qing’er suddenly approached Shen Donglin. This young girl, who usually didn’t seem intimidating at all, made Shen Donglin feel like he was falling into an ice cellar once he saw the undisguised killing intent in her eyes.

"Gu Qing’er, what do you mean? I’m warning you, don’t... don’t come near me..." Shen Donglin struggled and retreated backward.

However, Gu Qing’er completely ignored him, her steps unyielding.

At that moment, Zhu Lie behind him reminded, "There’s a stick on the ground, don’t hurt yourself."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing’er bent down to pick up the wooden stick and, without saying much, slammed it onto Shen Donglin’s head.

Despite being a girl with limited strength, putting her all into it, especially on such a fragile area as the head, would be intolerable for most people.

Shen Donglin cried out in pain, tears flowing as he rolled around.

This time, Gu Qing’er was clearly determined. After one strike, she hadn’t vented enough and gripped the stick tightly, slamming it down again.

This time it was Shen Donglin’s knee, and his bone was likely cracked. The basement was filled with his screams.

Shen Siwen was trembling with fear, filled with regret, but there’s no medicine for regret in this world. Their repeated courting of death was their own undoing.

"Why are you hitting me?" Shen Donglin roared, his eyes filled with resentment.

Gu Qing’er didn’t speak. She was very angry, extremely angry, gripping the stick tightly as she again slammed it onto Shen Donglin’s body.

Shen Donglin screamed, while Zhu Lie watched coldly from the side. He knew how angry this girl was inside. If she didn’t get a proper release, what would happen if she suppressed it?

Moreover, given Zhu Lie’s status, he really had no right to stop Gu Qing’er. She was Su Changfeng’s sister. A sister standing up for her sister-in-law, there was nothing wrong with that. He was just a subordinate, doing his duty was enough.

"Qing’er, are you tired? If you are, let them help you," Zhu Lie reminded Gu Qing’er.

Gu Qing’er was indeed tired, as she wasn’t one to exercise much. Having hit for so long, she really was out of energy.

She threw aside the stick in her hand and walked directly in front of Shen Donglin, looking down at him, "You want to know the reason? Fine, I’ll satisfy you!"

She took out Cheng Hao’s phone and played Shen Siwen’s confession.

This was damning evidence, Shen Siwen’s personal admission.

After hearing the recording, any remaining sliver of luck Shen Donglin had vanished. With such evidence in Gu Qing’er’s hands, how could he possibly have any hope of survival?

"Shen Siwen, what the hell did you do?" Shen Donglin glared viciously at Shen Siwen.

Seduced by a gentle assault, Shen Siwen was now waking up, but the situation had reached this point, and she surely didn’t want to take all the blame herself.

"If it weren’t for you, would I have done this? It’s all your fault, it’s all your fault!" Shen Siwen shouted.

Initially it was Shen Siwen who suggested this, but at this life-and-death moment, she only wanted to survive, so she could only shift the blame onto Shen Donglin. This was her only chance of life.

But Shen Donglin wasn’t foolish, there was no way he’d bear such a great burden for nothing, so he immediately retorted, "Shen Siwen, you’re really something, this was clearly your idea, and now you’re putting all the blame on me?"

"You’re talking nonsense, it wasn’t me. It was you who resented Su Changfeng, resented him for stepping on you, and purposefully framed Shen Hanxue, you wanted to make Su Changfeng a laughing stock in Jiang City!" Shen Siwen exclaimed loudly, at this point there was no way she’d admit this idea was hers.

Shen Donglin suddenly laughed; now that things had been exposed, Shen Siwen was trying to push all the responsibility onto him? No way.

Things had reached this point, and no matter how they shirked, the result was sealed. Whose idea it was, did it even matter?

The rumors were deliberately spread by them; the smear against Shen Hanxue was their doing too. Now, was there any point to arguing?

"Shen Siwen, you’re too naive. You think by pinning all the responsibility on me, you’ll be fine?" Shen Donglin said.

"Zhu Lie, you have to believe me, I didn’t do it. I knew about it, but I had nothing to do with it. It was he who wanted to smear Shen Hanxue’s reputation, he wanted to make Su Changfeng a laughing stock in all of Jiang City." Shen Siwen desperately explained.

Zhu Lie didn’t respond to her; instead, he looked directly at Gu Qing’er. This matter wasn’t his decision to make; it all depended on what Gu Qing’er wanted.

After all, Gu Qing’er now, in a certain sense, could represent Su Changfeng’s intentions.

"Qing’er, how do you plan to handle them?" Zhu Lie asked Gu Qing’er.

"Since my brother isn’t here, let me decide for him. This incident isn’t just about my sister, it also affected Niannian. Surely he wouldn’t want to let them go either."

The rumors, which had developed from Shen Hanxue having had affairs with outsiders, to Ye Nianhai allegedly not being Su Changfeng’s biological child, stirred up so much uproar. Gu Qing’er saw no reason for leniency towards Shen Donglin and the others.

...