ã€ŠFalling Dreams, Rising Hopes: Saving Mr. Boyfriendã€‹


 Chapter 1 - The Entry

    In the sweltering heat, a petite girl got out of the dull, old, yellow taxi and stood before the heavy and gigantic iron gates of the school. Even from outside, one could guess the amount of money put into building and maintaining this fancy place.

    Lush green gardens all around, a big gray marble fountain at the entrance and historical architecture of the school, equipped with the most modern facilities, boasted the wealth of the owners as well as the people who attended this private school. It looked like a city in itself. A huge campus worthy of its fame indeed!

    This girl stood at the gate in awe for about thirty seconds to take everything in.

    Since the new academic year was yet to start and it was so hot to begin with, no one was to be seen on campus grounds. She glanced at her watch and realized that she was late. She turned her head to ask the guard at the gate for directions.

    "Hello, my name is Mei Qingyang and I¡­"

    Before she could utter anything else, the guard gave her a look of disdain. He then pointed to a small luxurious gray building and said in a slightly high tone, "You! You are finally here? Madam has been waiting for your arrival. Five minutes more and I wouldn''t have let you in. Since you''re new, I am telling you beforehand. The school honors punctuality and discipline more than anything. If poor pests like you start disrupting madam''s schedule like this, she won''t have peace of mind ever. Do you have any idea how busy she is?"

    Mei Qingyang bit her lip and scanned the guard from top to bottom with her big marble like green eyes that exuded coldness and apathy. This was not unexpected to be honest. And seeing that even the guard of the school was wearing clothes made of better material than the dress she was wearing now, she could tell that the guard was looking down upon her. And this green skater dress was even one of the best she owned!

    Because she was always told by everyone around her that she looked too cold and aloof, despite her best efforts to be more amiable, she had decided upon this green dress today to make a favorable impression on everyone.

    Sure, it was too hot right now, but the color and pattern definitely provided a contrast against all the yellow and orange trees whose leaves had started changing their color due to approaching fall season.

    "What are you looking at? You still have time to linger around here? Why don''t you just go inside?", the guard was getting a bit impatient with this lowly girl who was wasting his and his master''s time without any purpose.

    He also freaked out a bit after he got a frosty glare from this girl. I need to report it to madam for sure.

    She thanked the guard politely for his help and headed towards the small building that the guard had pointed to earlier. Although it seemed quite small compared to the tall buildings behind it, it had two floors and was the exclusive office of the owner of the school and her new boss, Yu Rong.

    Yu Rong was the younger sister of Yu Ming, the third ric.h.e.s.t businessman in the M nation. They had established this school for the rich people to send their spoilt kids to have their way.

    These children were either orphaned or their parents could not afford raising them and thus, ''sold'' them to this school in hopes for them to get some skills and get a job after graduation. Everything was provided for these children including lodging and boarding. It was advertised as ''real life simulation of the society'' for the kids. It showed everyone equal before education and how rich and poor mingled harmoniously.

    The reality though, was far from the rosy picture portrayed. The poor children were basically recruited as servants to the rich kids. Although the education up to high school was free for poor kids, the admissions were taken till middle school only, since it was easier to mold younger children. They did all the menial work for the rich kids and thus, the gap between the skills was wide.

    Furthermore, the campus also housed a college with degrees offered in humanities, sciences, management and engineering. But since, it was not free, only wealthy people could afford it.

    The servants also did not retaliate because if they actually curried the favor of their masters, they would end up being permanently employed by their rich counterparts in their businesses, either as personal servants or some small job in one of the businesses of their parents. Getting admitted to this school was considered as the ticket to a stable job for the poor. Thus, everyone would bear the discrimination and humiliation quietly for a happier future.

    This system obviously served the Yu family well since they were swimming in money. Large donations poured in from the wealthy parents when their children were happy. Of course they knew what was going on behind the scenes. They actually wanted their children to learn how to trample on insignificant lives and get their way in the world.

    Furthermore, since the course was supposedly rigorous both during school and college, it was not unusual for kids who could not cope up with the stress to end up in hospitals or commit suicides. Any deaths or injuries related to bullying could easily be disguised as stress induced.

    Most interestingly, the pairing of master-servant was almost always done with opposite gender, a guy would almost always have a girl servant and vice-versa, but largely depended on the master''s preference. The servant also had small rooms attached to their master''s suite room. These suite rooms were equipped with 5-star hotel type of facilities. And the servants needed to stand-by in service of their owners 24*7.

    Unfortunately, it took money to raise the poor kids for free, so one master usually had only one school sponsored servant. They could have multiple servants sponsored by their parents, the ones who could afford that, at least. There was a strict rule of bringing outsiders to the school when taking admissions, and so, if some wealthy kid took admission to the school later in life, they were only allowed to get servants from the school. They could not bring their trusted aides from their respective families.

    Children of both the groups were taught since an early age to keep their mouths shut. The rich students who would take pity on the poor ones and try to stand up for them would be bullied as well.

    The Ministry of Education of M nation had tried to investigate the school for they did not believe Yus'' claims of happy and just society that they showed to everyone, but everything was in vain. Not only had they failed to reveal this school''s true colors, they had even lost most of the people they had sent for investigations to various weird accidents.

    The circ.u.mstances of those people''s deaths were very suspicious, but police could never find out the culprits. Of course, the police force was all in cahoots with these people who basically ran the whole country.

    This had frustrated the Ministry of Education a lot. Not that the ministers here were not sending their own kids to this school or that they did not side with these guys to begin with. But the current Education Minister of M country, Mr. Jiang Nuo was an honest man. He really wanted to open everyone''s eyes about this much coveted school and their heinous system.

    There were many spies of the school in the Ministry because the employees also happened to be parents of kids studying there. They did not want their children''s future to be affected by unnecessary meddling of their minister.

    Mr. Jiang had tried very hard to keep his operations secret, going as far as sending his only son to the death door. But he did not know who to trust anymore. Even his closest friends in the Ministry ended up sabotaging all the work he had done. In the process, he ended up losing his son as well.

    What was more frustrating was that the school was very good at producing prodigies. Despite all the shortcomings, the wealthy kids were very competitive and did pour their all into learning and getting ahead.

    And thus, the school was not only famous at the home country, but internationally as well. It was another thing that they did not admit international students to keep their dirt within the country itself.

    While this frail looking Mei Qingyang with a small suitcase was walking towards the gray building, she was trying to spot any obvious signs of some kind of bullying. Though she could be content about this just being the beginning of her assignment, she only had one year for now. If she did not show any results, she would be called back. And another mission would result in failure. If she did not die before the end of the year that is.

 Chapter 2 - The Boss

    Mei Qingyang walked towards the building, still exuding her heartless demeanor. She knew the outcome of her meeting with Yu Rong beforehand, why worry and not be confident about it? Five minutes late for that person meant grounds for being expelled. She hadn''t even been formally admitted to this school yet. She could not be expelled.

    But she could not fathom what was in store for her today. She had already been scolded by the guard from the get-go anyway, so she wasn''t expecting this to be a good meeting either. So many thoughts ran through her mind in the five-minute walk from the gate to the building that it seemed like an eternity.

    As soon as she entered the building, she was greeted by a welcome sight, a very handsome and charming receptionist, Wang Hao. Of course, this is Yu Rong we are talking about. There is no way she wouldn''t have given preference to the looks of the receptionist she had hired. Was he also a poor student back in his day, who came here to make a fortune?

    Wang Hao was as visibly upset with her entrance as was the guard just now. He frowned at her and called his master right away.

    "She is really busy and the time she had set aside for you just got over. You will have to wait for half an hour now to meet her." After talking to Yu Rong, he put down the phone and gave her a look which seemed to say serves you right.

    "But I was just five minutes late because of¡­"

    "See lady, my master is a busy person and perhaps, she only had a few instructions. That''s why she took aside only five minutes for you. You have come from Ministry of Education, we would assume you are an intelligent person. Or do we need to provide you instructions from beginning to the end?", Wang Hao was now in the lecturing mode.

    A glib tongue. If you want to say I am not important enough for her ten minutes even, just say so. Why beat around the bush?

    But Wang Hao didn''t seem to want to stop, "She had another appointment right after your meeting and now you will be eating up time from her resting time of the day. Her giving you that much importance that she is giving you another meeting slot should show you that you are in the position of responsibility here and should uphold your promises."

    Okay, I take back my earlier conclusion. This guy is too straightforward.

    "Okay, I will wait here then.", Mei Qingyang resigned to her fate. She decided to observe Wang Hao in the meantime, since her first target for any of the information on Yu Rong should be this guy. He seemed to be a meticulous personality, borderline OCD perhaps. In the half hour, he had received multiple doc.u.ments from outside as well as from Yu Rong''s office. He was processing them quite efficiently too. There were no visitors to Yu Rong''s office though, it seemed like she was stalling her on purpose.

    Ringing of telephone on Wang Hao''s desk snapped Mei Qingyang from her thoughts. The moment of truth was near. As expected, it was a call for her.

    "Ma''am wants to see you. I will take you to her office.", Wang Hao rushed her to Yu Rong''s office. The whole building looked like a maze and it took passing through three different corridors, a small pond with kois in it, and a well-maintained bonsai garden before they reached her office.

    Okay, this building did not look that big from the outside. I wonder what else is in here. But no matter what, Yu Rong''s taste seems good.

    They entered the office. The yellow lighting in her office was low on purpose. The lady''s back was facing Mei Qingyang as she was looking outside her window. The aura around her was powerful, as a person who deals with biggest names on earth, but it was also very bone chilling. Mei Qingyang still could not tell how Yu Rong was going to react to her presence.

    There was silence for first few seconds. When Qingyang saw that no one was initiating any conversation, she decided to introduce herself first. "Hi mam, my name is Mei Qingyang, your new superintendent. I am so sorry I was late, but the traffic was¡­."

    Crash!! A flower vase flew just past Mei Qingyang''s left ear before she completed her sentence and crashed into the wall behind her. Mei Qingyang did not flinch or react on this as she had heard about this lady''s temper before. Her heart chilled to the core. Any respect she had for this lady evaporated in an instant.

    It was a no-brainer that Yu Rong had acute ac.u.men for running businesses. She was given charge of this school at the tender age of thirteen by her father as her older brother was mourning loss of his wife. From what Qingyang had heard, Yu Ming had drowned himself in alcohol after his wife of one year died after a mysterious illness that no doctor could understand. It took that guy full two years to recover from the loss.

    On the other hand, Yu Rong took over half of the Yu business in those two years, that too, very adeptly. To have won such a faith from their father, despite being so young and a girl on the top of that, Yu Rong was a role model to many girls in the country as well as abroad. Qingyang never saw any of these top businessmen and women in good light but she still had immense respect for this particular lady, till now that is. Her eyes became frosty.

    "You b*tch, just shut up. My head is already aching that some poor lass has come here to disrupt the peace we have had till now. On the first day itself you are tardy. What was that old man thinking? Just because he won the favor of our country''s President , does he think he can do anything now, that he is invincible? He did not need to target our school first. Was he not satisfied with our performance for the past three years without any outsider to take this role?" She yelled at her in one breath without stopping while slowly turning her chair towards Mei Qingyang. The look in Qingyang''s eyes sent down shiver Yu Rong''s spine. She instantly lowered her gaze with thousands of thoughts in her mind.

 Chapter 3 - Get Lost

    Mei Qingyang was at a loss of words. Why would this lady take out her anger of my old man on me? If you have problems with that guy, why not talk to him directly, okay?

    Yu Rong''s facial features were still not very visible but her round spectacles were reflecting the light. One could also see how seductively she had dressed, a bright red shirt with top buttons open to show her cleavage and a tight black skirt. Bright red lipstick adorned her plump lips and a layer of heavy make-up was present on her face. If not for her voice and fame in the country, she could easily pass as someone in her mid-20s with an affinity for heavy make-up, of course.

    "I am very sorry to make you worried about me." Mei Qingyang bowed down politely. It was not that she wanted to apologize. But she wanted to take advantage of the people influencing skills she had been developing for the past six years to make this person let her guard down. And perhaps deal with it with a little diplomacy. However, the sharp and cold look in her eyes betrayed her words.

    Yu Rong flinched a bit seeing the dark expression on Mei Qingyang''s face. It was very eerie and familiar, like evoking a past memory from somewhere. She just could not remember it but it was very heart trembling for her. Nonetheless, she masked her fear with absolute anger.

    "Hmph! Who is worried about you? Are you even worth it? That old man taught you well huh? Twisting my words like anything. I am worried about getting infected with bad genes of yours. Who knows what origins you have? I, for one, am pretty sure that that old man only had one son. Now he claims that he has you as a daughter. Unless you are an illegitimate child, he cannot explain your existence. Why would he adopt someone for no reason otherwise? Perhaps, that''s why he sent you here, to abandon you!", Yu Rong swirled her chair towards the window and started looking outside again as if keeping an eye on someone and to hide the fear she was feeling looking at this girl.

    "Now get lost before I need to throw something else on you again. I don''t want my office to be contaminated by your filth. Don''t show me your face ever again." Without even swirling her chair back, she ordered her receptionist, "Wang Hao, you will deal with her from now on. Also, bring a disinfectant and air freshener here and clean up that broken vase. Take it out of her salary by the way."

    Mei Qingyang bowed and left the room in a calm and composed manner. Although she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible for if she heard any more insults, especially about her dad, she would have ripped her mouth off. But, she also wanted to make sure that the lady knows that she was not affected much by her tantrums.

    Wang Hao came out of the office as well. He stopped her and gave her some instructions with a stern face, "We have opened the room we have used for previous superintendents. You should be honored by the fact that you would be attending our college. This has never happened before and so, as an underprivileged student, you''re getting way more than you deserve."

    Wait wait wait! So, no words about what just happened inside? What if that vase had hit me? No apologies? No explanation? What does it mean? On the top of that, you are lecturing me again?

    The receptionist took out a rusted key from one of the drawers that seemed to be full of old stuff and handed it to her without looking, "Here is the key to your room. Once you get out of here, turn right and keep walking straight. You will go to the tallest building there. Your room is in the bas.e.m.e.nt of that building. Number is written on the key. You will have phone in your room as well. We will be in touch." After giving her some robotic instructions, he went away to Yu Rong''s office without giving her even a slightest glance.

    She breathed a sigh of relief when she came out of the building. She sat down on the stairs for ten minutes before strolling towards the place the receptionist had pointed her to. She was still trying to process what had happened earlier. Got scolded by two people, almost got killed by her new boss, what else was to come? She was still in a daze.

    She also realized it had gotten hotter than earlier. Since she had just reached the building while lost in her thoughts, she checked her watch and realized it was already lunch time. The sun was over her head. And the building before her was humongous. It perhaps had around 30-40 floors. That many floors just for one of the hostels? She looked up to try to find the top of the building and got blinded by the blazing sun.

    What she failed to notice was that a person was climbing down the stairs of this tall building and both of them bumped into each other. The collision was a bit strong and she fell down.

    ---------------------------------------------

    "Did you see her? Did she not dodge that flower vase I threw?", Yu Rong had a glass of champagne in her hand.

    "I did not see her moving from her original spot my lady.", Wang Hao did not want to tell her that her aim might have been wrong.

    "What, do you want to tell me that my aim was off? I definitely directed it towards her head. Would have been great if I killed her then and there. Lucky bastard.", Yu Rong stood up from her chair and advanced towards Wang Hao slowly.

    "My lady, that''s not what I meant. I think you need to exercise caution with this girl. Today''s move might have been a bit reckless. That old man claims she is his daughter after all."

    "Hmph! I didn''t spare his own son; do I need to even worry about this illegitimate girl?"

    "No, my lady. I know your capabilities quite well. What I am saying is, Minister Jiang would not be so reckless to send another one of his own people if he did not have any tricks up his sleeves. We need to be cautious of this girl for now. Daughter or not, she definitely has some special identity. I have been trying to look into her but to no avail. She does not have any background at all, her history only starts four years ago for some reason." Wang Hao adjusted his spectacles while reporting all the information he had.

    "Hmm¡­ you are probably correct. I should have restrained myself, that was too direct. But I just can''t stand filthy peasants.", Yu Rong fiddled with the Wang Hao''s tie. "You would take care of her for me again, won''t you Hao?", she whispered in his ears seductively.

    "As you wish my lady.", Wang Hao embraced Yu Rong tightly and ravaged her lips like a hungry wolf.

 Chapter 4 - Aunt

    "I¡­ I am sorry, I wasn''t looking. I am really very sorry.", Mei Qingyang fumbled as she spoke. She had hit her head on something really hard and since she fell down on her b.u.t.t, she was in pain. She clutched her head with her right hand and tried to open her eyes. She did not even realize that she was sitting down on the floor.

    As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a well sculpted silhouette. The guy before her was 6 ft. tall. He was looming over her and seemed intimidating. The first thing that she noticed about him though were his deep cold jet-black eyes. When her eyes met with his, she felt like she was being swallowed by an ocean of sorrow. How could one''s eyes be hiding so much in them? Yet when one looked at his expressionless face, one could not understand what the guy was thinking.

    His features were sharp, a chiseled jaw, smooth pale skin, jet black hair matching his eyes, his aura, everything about him was mesmerizing. She had never seen such a handsome guy in her life. Now she understood what it meant when the girls literally drooled over a guy. Not that it mattered to her, she was not here to gawk at guys, there were bigger things for her at stake. But it still took her some time to come to her senses. She kept staring at him and realized what an awkward thing she was doing.

    From his clothes, it was clear that he belonged to the category of those rich students. He was donning all those brands whose stores she could not even dare to enter in the big malls back in her hometown. The only difference she saw was perhaps a lack of accessories. No diamond studded piercings or shoes or jackets or platinum bracelets, nothing like that. But he was carrying this book in his hands which seemed to be some centuries old expensive precious treasure. Oh, that''s why he wasn''t paying attention to where he was going.

    Suddenly, Mei Qingyang couldn''t see him in a good light, after realizing his background. She shuddered at the thought of destroying that book and incurring debt on her first day. That was the last thing she wished for. More than the guy, she was more curious about the well-being of the book now. Who knows if it was one of those books, the one with the only copy in the whole world?

    Given the level of monies that went into this school, it wouldn''t be unthinkable for the school to have several antique books. Thinking till here, she just wanted to grab the book from the guy''s hands and check it out for any damage. All the scolding till now did not seem that bad before the thought of owing huge amount of money to the school.

    She had been scolded by three people now and a fourth person would not be a big deal at this point of time. Great Qingyang, today is just not your day, okay? Should have checked for an auspicious time before leaving the home. But as long as that book is okay, I don''t care about anything else. She braced herself internally for harsh words again.

    "It''s fine, no harm done¡­", the guy seemed taken aback by the collision as well. It took him some time to compose himself. He was staring and observing Mei Qingyang too. And he was amused by how openly this girl was checking him out. He had had girls sneak peaks at him, some even deliberately crossing paths with him again and again. But this girl was some different species or something, staring at him like she would find out his whole history just like that. However, he went back to being expressionless and aloof as soon as he started speaking.

    Wait wait wait. Did he just speak politely with me? Am I dreaming?

    "Here, let me help you.", he stretched out his hand towards her. He was startled by his own behavior. He had absolute haphephobia, phobia of being touched, especially by women. He did not like to talk to women either, although that could not be termed as a fear. He just hated it. But here he was, offering this girl a hand. He hesitated a bit and wanted to withdraw his offer but it was too late.

    And it was not like this girl was a beauty who could enchant the nations and make whole cities fall. By looks, she looked like an average homely girl. Most of the girls in his class could be called better maintained than her. This girl was just plain natural face. Her green almond shaped eyes though, seemed like a mysterious black hole in which one could just keep falling, but they were very clear and shining like a marble as well. She also had this elegance about her that could surpass most of the girls from rich households here. The guy just couldn''t help but be courteous to her.

    Mei Qingyang noticed his moment of hesitation. As she was still debating if she should take his hand or not since the guy before her seemed to be conflicted about helping her, a disheveled Yu Rong rushed towards them out of nowhere. She looked like she had just come from running a marathon, to be honest more of a devil incarnate. Her hair was all over the place, her make-up didn''t look right and her face was red. If that is what a 2-minute run from her office to this place did to her, Mei Qingyang thought she needed to re-calculate her age once again. Unless¡­. She was working out before coming here.

    "What ruckus are you making b*tch? First day and you are giving me so much trouble? How dare you harm him?" Yu Rong was fuming while Mei Qingyang was still sitting on the floor, dumbfounded. She couldn''t believe her ears.

    What did I ever do, that she''s reacting like that? And I am the one sitting on the floor, okay? Who harmed who? Are you blind?

    She just couldn''t make sense of this ridiculous situation. Yu Rong already looked ugly contrary to her appearance in the office, but her words made Mei Qingyang really dislike her.

    The starting of her career itself seemed doomed. She should have realized since the time she was stuck in the traffic. Mei Qingyang decided to retaliate. Although she was told to tolerate this lady as much as she could, she just couldn''t stand being wronged. Even if she was at fault for running into the guy, the guy also had eyes of his own. He could have given her way or dodged her. Why was he not being scolded?

    And where did Yu Rong come out of anyway? Was she monitoring me or something? People influencing skills, bullsh*t. I can''t bother to treat this lady as a person. Heck, why am I still calling her a lady? Since the time I have stepped into this campus, I have been treated like a street animal. I need to teach her a lesson.

    "Aunt¡­.", the guy interrupted and tried to calm Yu Rong down. He tried to put a distance between Yu Rong and her, slightly stepping in front of her. Mei Qingyang could sense a tint of fear and hatred in his eyes. Yu Rong''s eyes widened in shock, seeing him being protective of a girl he had met for the first time.

    Wait a minute, did he just say aunt?

 Chapter 5 - Yu Familyéˆ¥æªš Heir

    Aunt? He said aunt, right? What the¡­ Who is he? I have heard about Yu family''s heir Yu Tian, but I didn''t know I would bump into him the first day. OMG, I even collided with him. Is he alright? Will he press charges against me now? He is more precious than that bloody book!!!

    "You keep quiet, my boy. I cannot let any girl near you. What if they do something? It''s not the first time a peasant girl has approached you like this for her own benefit. I cannot bear it." Yu Rong''s face was getting redder with each word she spoke. Some more and it would be hard to distinguish between her red bright lipstick and her skin color.

    Yu Tian''s face became darker upon hearing this. He gave a cold look towards both Yu Rong and Mei Qingyang. Finally she found a rival who could make one sweat just with a glare.

    "What do you mean her own benefit?"

    Uh-oh, someone pushed the wrong buttons it seems.

    "N-no. What I mean is, in the past, there have been so many girls who came to you for your fame and money. She is new here, there is no way she didn''t know who you were. She definitely crashed into you on purpose." Yu Rong suddenly became fl.u.s.tered when she saw Yu Tian''s face. She gave a hateful glance to Mei Qingyang. "A-and it''s not like it was too crowded. She had to be in your way of all this empty space. Doesn''t that make it suspicious?"

    Oh damn, she''s good with words. Now I am the villain. Why were you not paying attention Mei Qingyang?

    Due to lack of any response from Yu Tian, Yu Rong became more worried. She suddenly grabbed Mei Qingyang''s hair. "You little filthy roach, I am going to kick you out from here. You dare harm my sweet nephew? Confess right now, what do you want? Is it money you are after?"

    Why is there no reaction from this girl at all? You need to beg me, apologize to me and leave my nephew alone, you b*tch.

    Mei Qingyang still remained calm. Her crystal-clear eyes were staring at Yu Rong like she would strike her at any moment. Yu Rong could not help but cower in fear in her heart but did not show it on her face. She gripped her hair with more strength in hopes that this girl would crumble down before her in pain. She wanted to make sure that this lass understands that she had absolute power in the school and that she could do anything to anyone.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, became calmer as she faced more pain. She looked like she had reached zen. Yu Tian found this really fascinating. He did not know why but his heart ached for this girl. He had never seen her on the campus but given her normal clothing and lack of any make-up or accessories, she perhaps was someone''s servant. It was her bad luck that she bumped into him; she must have been running an errand for her master. Now, if her master heard about this incident, she would be abandoned and perhaps her master would get her expelled. Although this brawl between two females had nothing to do with him, he was partially at fault for bumping into the girl too. He decided to help her.

    "Aunt, it''s ok. I was in the wrong too." Yu Tian tried to placate his aunt. At least she should leave her hair. That seemed so painful.

    Hearing her nephew taking side of this new girl and the lass not reacting to her abuse at all flared Yu Rong''s anger more. "No! How dare she touch you! I know how severe your haphephobia is!"

    Yu Tian sighed. This aunt of his was not someone easy to deal with. Once she thought of someone as enemy, it was impossible to change her mind. No matter what he did now, it would only add to misery of this girl. Furthermore, from the words of his aunt earlier, this girl seemed to be new here. No wonder she was not paying attention. Since that is the case, might as well go all out.

    The one thing Yu Tian hated was owing anything to anyone. He did realize he had a hand in this accident too. And so, he wanted to take some responsibility as well. He did not want anyone to come back later n life and accuse him of messing the future of a girl just like this. Plus, she had not really done anything to warrant such punishment. And, whatever she was going through right now was not really suitable for any human being, but especially for a 15-16 year old girl like her.

    He went to Yu Rong, and calmly whispered in her ear, "How about I increase my duty time by 15 minutes today?" Her eyes suddenly gleamed and her anger diffused in an instant. She rebuked him lightly, "You- you are ready to do that? For this girl? What kind of magic has she done on you? And 15? You want to bargain with that? Not enough! Make it 30 and I''ll let her go."

    "I''ll make that 30 minutes only if you allow me to give her the school''s tour." He was speaking very slowly, and all Mei Qingyang heard was the first sentence.

    "Ugh, okay. I hate to do this but I''ll give you the permission. After all, your happiness is my happiness, my child. But don''t get too interested in her, the last thing I want to see in my lifetime is you taking in a servant. We have been through this before and remember how she stabbed you in the back? Plus, I still don''t know her intentions in approaching you. See you in office at 9 p.m."

    "And you, I''ll keep a watch on you.", Yu Rong whispered in Mei Qingyang''s ear, "Stay away from my nephew otherwise the consequences would be dire."

    She strutted on her heels and left the venue in a happy mood at once. She even hummed lightly while going back.

 Chapter 6 - My Name is Yu Tian

    "Are you okay?", Yu Tian knelt down to her level to see if she was alright. He wanted to check if she had any wounds or if her¡­. hair was alright. But of course, she was a stranger, all he could do was ask her about her condition. He still had an icy expression without any hint of emotion.

    He was feeling super weird. Because he hated the touch of girls so much, he always greeted every girl who would try to come close to him with cold stares, enough to haunt the girl for life. So, he was deemed by his fangirls as a guy who would only touch girl he was ever interested in, making him the ''purest of pure guys''. No one knew the reason for his phobia. Some even thought of him as gay but no one knew the truth.

    But he really wanted to console this particular girl. He wanted to help her; she would elicit these protective feelings in him.

    Mei Qingyang was still collecting her thoughts. What had just transpired was out of this world experience. She got humiliated before this guy who was the son of the owner of this school. Although there seemed to be no one around to watch the whole episode, if this guy told anything to anyone, her reputation would be in ruins even before starting here. How would she accomplish her mission if she won''t be able to even show her face around? Who would listen to her if all the people would only be snickering at her misfortune?

    She did not want to talk to the guy. She just wanted to run away and never ever meet him again. This was a big school which boasted a population of forty-five thousand people including the students, teachers, servants and other staff. What were the chances she would meet him again in this big city kind of school like this?

    Plus, given the apathetic look in his eyes, he shouldn''t be interested in her affairs to begin with. If she fled right now, he probably would not even remember her. Wasn''t it alright for her to just disappear right now?

    And wasn''t this guy supposed to be a part of the elite students? He shouldn''t be talking to her in a respectful tone. He should''ve supported his aunt, that''s how the things worked here. Why was he being so courteous to her anyway? What did he want?

    She really wanted to know what ''duty'' he was talking about earlier. But she decided to remain quiet. She had already been shamed before this guy by his so-called aunt. She had nothing to say to him. She got up on her own and composed herself. She dusted her clothes and set her hair in a haste, not even facing Yu Tian. Neither did she want to see his face, nor show hers to him.

    "I''m okay, thanks for asking. I am sorry for bumping into you again. I''ll take my leave." Tears were brimming in her eyes and her voice was trembling but she tried to remain as calm as she could manage to. And it was just the first day. She was supposed to endure this all for next one year. She tried to remain strong.

    With her head hung low so that the guy before could not see her face, she picked up her suitcase and took a step to go inside the building.

    He called her, "My name is Yu Tian and I am really sorry for whatever happened just now. It was all my fault. To make up for it, would you let me take you on the school tour?" He had never blabbered so much in his life, not even before his two best friends. He was a reserved personality who either didn''t talk at all or just answered people in monologues. Confused by his own unusual behavior, he paused suddenly.

    Meanwhile, although Mei Qingyang was not in the mood to assess anything right now, she started weighing her options. No matter what, it would be great if she could enlist this guy''s help. He should definitely be one of the most influential people around here. She would probably get more flak for it, both from his fans and his aunt but he would also have some kind of authority, right? Would it not be advantageous for her to associate with this guy?

    It might either become a smooth sail for her to approach the kids that way and continue her investigation or people could shun her for the same reason. However, if she never took the risk, would she reap any results? And this guy had encountered her in such a pathetic situation, and he also had to do some more ''duty'' time because of her, would she not need to comply with this guy''s demands, lest he comes back later to exact some kind of revenge?

    Thinking till here, she decided to accept his invitation. I cannot worry about my pride here¡­.

    She wiped away her tears, turned around and nodded apathetically, "Alright, I will accept your offer. Please take care of me. By the way, I am Mei Qingyang." She didn''t extend her hand for a shake since she had already heard about his haphephobia. She looked directly into his eyes, with confidence and aloofness, despite the incident earlier. Yu Tian felt a pang in his heart. The eyes, brimming with tears, ready to fall at any moment but that poise on her face to hide the shame and pain she felt, he was awestruck.

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    From the farthest corner, behind the blinds, Yu Rong was seeing everything. She was going to make this girl''s life a living hell since she dared to seduce her nephew.

 Chapter 7 - Just A Rich Brat Showing Off

    After agreeing at a time to meet the next day, Yu Tian left. The receptionist Mei Qingyang had seen earlier, Wang Hao, had come to call him urgently to his aunt''s office. There was something suspicious about how perfect the timing was. Yu Rong had just met him, what could be so urgent that she needed him again? And Wang Hao came exactly at the time they had finished deciding the meeting time.

    Mei Qingyang also headed to the building to find her new room where she would be spending her next year. Upon entering the building, she saw a huge hall with luxurious seats. There was a big cafeteria on the side and there were actually people eating there. The prices were extraordinarily high though, she would never be able to afford eating there. The cost of one coffee there was equivalent to the price of all the clothes she had in her suitcase!

    Wang Hao had instructed her to go to the bas.e.m.e.nt of the building. Seeing such a clean and beautiful ground floor, her hopes were high regarding her room. Before going to the bas.e.m.e.nt, she wanted to explore a bit more.

    The whole floor was covered with glass windows from floor to the roof making it sunny and bright. Despite the weather being so hot, the building was cool thanks to huge air conditioners and central cooling. It also featured numerous workstations near the windows with latest iMacs where some students were working, and some were gaming. There were very comfortable looking sleeping pods here and there as well. There was a gym and a virtual reality gaming center too? Damn this school!

    Now Mei Qingyang could finally see the things she had only seen in fantasy futuristic shows on TV, the modern high-tech majestic school for wealthy kids. This was just one of the dorm buildings and it happened to be near the entrance. There were more dorm buildings further ahead into the school area. She was now more excited to see more of them and the classrooms themselves the next day.

    The cafeteria also had a library like corner where there were books Mei Qingyang had never even heard of. Majority of the books were academics related though ranging from medical and engineering to business books.

    *I guess everyone wants to put their best efforts when it comes to studying at least.*

    The vast contrast between the two sections of people in the school was very apparent here. The poor servant class was busy catering to the needs of their masters. So, they would be the ones ordering and serving the meals and beverages and fetching the books while their masters enjoyed their books and computers. And unfortunately, they were always standing in service of their masters. So, no time for studying for poor students and they don''t even get to sit. They truly seemed like raised as butlers and maids.

    Mei Qingyang tried looking for ways to get down to the bas.e.m.e.nt. She was delighted to spot an elevator in a corner. She could easily transport her suitcase now. As soon as she pressed the button of the elevator, she was brutally pushed aside by a girl who looked like a college student.

    *Come on, give me a rest already. Is everyone out there to get me today?*

    "Don''t you know you poor lot can only ride elevators in the presence of your masters? Where is your master?" The girl had an arrogant expression on her face. She had a really cute face and all the latest limited-edition clothes and accessories. Her dress from Fendi really accentuated her slim figure and made her look like an angel. The girl did not look any older than 16 years old.

    "I''m sorry but you need your master to be able to ride this elevator.", the girl''s servant behind spoke to Mei Qingyang politely. The guy was good looking and had donned nice clothes. At least, this girl was taking care of her servant properly.

    "Could you point me to the elevator or stairs that I could take then?", she asked the servant, ignoring the rich brat beside her.

    "You¡­ You need to be punished. Not only did you dare access a forbidden area, you''re now offending me. Answer me! Where is your master? Let me talk to him. See if I don''t get you punished today." The rich brat was pointing her index finger towards her. Some people had gathered around to watch the show and others were peeking at them from their seats.

    Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes inside, gave her politest smile to this lass and spoke in a very congenial tone, "If you can find my master, sure."

    She then faced her servant, "Can you tell me where I could take the stairs?" Her cold eyes exuded a charm and a few people couldn''t help but notice her presence. The authority in her voice and change from polite to a strict tone made the people around want to voluntarily help her out. She seemed to be poor from her clothes, but in this school, you never knew. What if she was some important figure disguised in this way? Anything was possible here.

    On the other hand, the rich brat was at a loss of words. Suddenly seeing herself humiliated by a poor kid in front of all these people, she wanted to stab this wretched girl a thousand times. While to others, it seemed like she was acceding defeat and giving up on riding the elevator, the rich brat could see provocation in her eyes. She wanted to charge at her, but her servant grabbed her hand. She looked at him quizzingly. Her servant slightly shook his head and answered Mei Qingyang''s question.

    "If you go to the right behind that room, you will find the stairs. That is the only way other people in bas.e.m.e.nt also use, unless accompanied by a person with this access card.", the servant waved a card in front of her.

    The rich brat interceded, "This card is something only the masters can get. I wonder if you''re new since you don''t even know basics of living here." She noticed Qingyang''s suitcase and gaped, "Oh, no wonder. Now I see. Okay, this time I will forgive you since you seem to be new but take care in the future." She then instructed to her servant, "Let''s go."

    Having left the scene like this and riding the elevator in front of Qingyang, who could not step onto the elevator, the rich brat thought she had won a losing battle. She had a smug face now.

    On the other hand, Mei Qingyang politely thanked the servant, still ignoring the brat, and headed towards the stairs. She was not even interested in little dog and pony show that girl just performed. Did she think she won just because she could ride an elevator? Or did she think she looked too magnanimous, just because she accepted the fact that Qingyang was new?

    Any intelligent person could see how foolish that looked. Most of the people made a mental note to keep away from this rich brat who was just showing off her wealth without putting in any brains. They also took a sigh of relief just in case they would have sided with that girl and offended this seemingly down to earth and high authority figure. They would rather stay safe without involving themselves in such trifling matters.

 Chapter 8 - The New Room

    Finally, Mei Qingyang reached the bas.e.m.e.nt. Now the bas.e.m.e.nt was totally in contrast to the floor she had been to just now. There was a long narrow corridor and there were rooms on the either side of this passage. She also spotted the guard''s name on one of the rooms.

    *So, Yu Rong has put me not in students'' area but the employees'' area? Let''s see if Wang Hao is here too.*

    No matter how hard she tried, she did not find his name anywhere. Nor did she find any admin''s name. Only the cleaners, the security guards and the wait staff. It was clear to see how there was a demarcation amongst a.d.u.l.ts as well in this school. And the superintendents were put here in this dungeon while they were equivalent to a teacher''s position in the school? How did no one ever report this at all?

    She finally reached her room at the end of the corridor in the dingy corner. Even the light outside was not working properly, flickering every couple of seconds. Mei Qingyang felt like lurching her stomach out, especially after high expectations she had developed seeing the first floor.

    She resigned to her fate once again and opened the door to the room. It was a small room which looked like it was previously a storage. Although there was not even a speck of dust, it was a very basic place.

    There was a small space as soon as you entered the room. One could fit three pairs of shoes side by side there. After the space, it was just and open space. The kitchen and the bedroom and there were not separated by a wall. Only a kitchen counter in the name of boundary.

    The room was just big enough to accommodate a twin-size bed. For closet, they had put up a portable garment rack without any coverings. There was a small bath attached with the room. It looked worse than a studio or an efficiency apartment.

    However, it was what it was. At least she had a room with its own kitchen and bathroom. She mostly wouldn''t be able to host any of her friends in the future, if she ever managed to make one. As long as she had a place to live, that was enough for now.

    She put her suitcase down and started preparing for her life here. First, she scanned the apartment for any hidden cameras. Sure enough, she found two, one in the painting on the wall and one in the kitchen. Very sly of people, don''t want to give her freedom at all. She wondered if any of her predecessors had any idea how they were being spied on all the time.

    But the position of the cameras was so obvious. The painting was out of place to begin with in an otherwise empty place without even a table and chair. A person with a more than normal intelligence would have been able to figure it out.

    Next, she put on her laptop away from the cameras and hacked into the camera feed to make sure that she could easily access them whenever required. Then she started downloading some of the videos by two cameras, so she could use them in the future. She was laughing at the stupidity of these guys. There was no mechanism to alert Yu Rong that the feeds were hacked or the stream she was getting from these spy cameras was fake.

    Guess, she had grown complacent because she was able to defeat the previous people in her position and kill them all. What she did not know was that Mei Qingyang was trained by best of best people. This was a child''s play for her. They should not have underestimated her. But this might become a weapon for her as well. She just needed to act tough and strong on outside and a weakling on the inside.

    This was going to be a long, long day setting everything up. In the terms of not falling for the traps, she was doing great till now. That is what Mei Qingyang thought. In the future, she had wished multiple times that someone had warned her beforehand that this whole mission of hers was a trap in itself.

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    "Why did you stop me then? She humiliated me in front of all those people! I should have slapped her then and there. Hmph!", the rich brat was still not over, over whatever had happened two hours ago in the main hall.

    "Master, you don''t understand. She was way too confident.", the servant responded.

    "And so what? She is probably someone new who doesn''t know the rules of the school. Did you not see her suitcase?"

    "No master, listen to me. Earlier I thought so too. But when she challenged you to find her master, I only had one thought. Either she is new and foolish enough to provoke you or she has such a strong backing that her master is unreachable for us. If it''s the latter case, we would have been the ones in trouble."

    "Now you say it like that, it does make sense. But I am cousin of Gu Layue. Who is beneath her when it comes to status?", the rich brat was quite proud of this blood relation of hers.

    "That just means that she might be associated with one of the three Gods of the school or Yu Rong herself. It would be better to proceed with caution then."

    "Hmm.. you''re growing intelligent by the day. No wonder you''ve managed to stay by my side for so long. Come here, I''ll give you a reward. It''s been some time since we have had some fun", the rich brat was quite pleased with this servant.

    "Master, you''re not¡­."

    "Shhh¡­", she put her finger on the lips of the furiously blushing man in front of her and started unbuttoning his shirt.

 Chapter 9 - So Early in the Morning

    Mei Qingyang woke up refreshed after a tiring previous day. The mattress they had provided was very firm, just the way she liked. They probably put the stone like mattress in her room intentionally. But what they did not know was that she had gone through harsh military training and was accustomed to sleeping on hard floor. This was a piece of cake for her.

    Since she was being given the school tour by the celebrity himself, she decided to dress a bit better than yesterday. Of course, she would not be able to match Yu Tian in any terms. But she did not want to embarrass him and herself in front of others. No matter what, this was going to be a highly publicized event or her and him. He was he heir to the school; his activities were definitely a topic for the whole school to gossip about. And he was about to take her on a school tour very openly.

    She put on a beige t-shirt and dark blue shorts highlighting her slim figure even more. For make-up, she just used her red tinted lip balm and she was ready to go.

    They had decided to meet in front of the dorm building where they collided the previous day at 6:30 am. Yu Tian was of the opinion that the school was so big that they should start early, only then they would be able to finish in time. Even then, he was only planning to show her only main attractions. This huge city like school was basically impossible to cover in one day.

    Mei Qingyang was an early riser, so she was happy to comply. It was 5:30 am right now and it being the beginning of August, the sun was almost starting to come up. Mei Qingyang decided to take a walk nearby. She did not need to adjust the feed of her cameras, since Yu Rong would see her out and about anyway. So she left the room as it is and stealthily came to the gate of the building. She did not want to startle or wake up anyone with loud noises. Moreover, she had no idea if there were any alarm triggers to the doors for all the celebrity kids were in this building.

    She had scouted a bit and tried to find more information about the school through internet yesterday. First of all, they had put restrictions and more spying mechanisms to even her internet supply. Her network was totally separate from the school network and gave per minute feed to her service provider about what she was accessing on the internet. She really applauded Yu Rong to have taken more precautions against her.

    Nonetheless, she was easily able to crack open all the security measures of theirs and once again, misguided them. She had been able to get quite some information thanks to all this brain flexing. It turned out that the building she was put up in was dorm for engineering college students. There were similar big buildings for other departments like medicine, humanities, sciences and law.

    There were smaller dorms for high school, middle school, elementary schools and then a few servant headquarters where early education happened for poor kids. Now that she had some idea, she knew what to look for and what questions to ask Yu Tian during her tour today.

    She tried to find a way to open the glass door of the building without setting off any alarms, just in case there was any attached to it, when she noticed that the door was fully open. When she looked up, she found that Yu Tian was standing there. It looked like he had opened it for her.

    "Thanks!" Mei Qingyang whispered in a low calm voice, still careful of waking anyone up and incur their wrath. She just did not want to deal with more rich brats on such a beautiful morning.

    "I usually go for gym at 4 am and then come out for a casual walk at this time." It seemed that this girl was the only one capable of making him utter a few words.

    *Why do I feel like explaining my presence here to this girl? I don''t want her to misunderstand that I was waiting for her. Yeah, just so that she does not get a wrong idea.*

    "Oh! I came here for some fresh air as well. It''s a bit stuffy inside." For some reason, she found herself warming up to this guy. She usually was a quiet person, liked to stay aloof. She would not really talk to people unless absolutely necessary. Being a person of fewer words always helped her, not only with staying out of trouble but also maintain a mysterious aura.

    She was not planning to place any importance to this guy, although he was basically the big boss here. But her behavior also did not make any sense at all. She could have just nodded at him in acknowledgement and just continued from here. Why did she need to go all out to explain her being so early here?

    She was not really wrong in her explanation. There were only a few small windows in her room in the bas.e.m.e.nt. She needed lights even in the afternoon. She was dreading the winters and how she won''t get any natural light inside her room.

    "Should we start the school tour now then?" Now that both them were here anyway, Yu Tian proposed to start the tour early. He had not gotten any background information on her yet and did not know how she fit in the whole school system. He had also gone back yesterday and ordered his subordinates to do a quick and quiet background check on her.

    "Oh, we can do that? I thought you had a fixed time that you agreed on with your aunt." Mei Qingyang wanted as much information from him as well. But she was most curious about this ''duty time'' they had talked about earlier. She could not ask him directly but she wanted to know really badly.

    So, with a smile plastered on her face, she asked the most awkward question like it was a normal conversation. Although, she had shown here natural cold side to everyone till now, but she had to pretend to be social to start doing her research. Which meant asking questions, good questions, diplomatic questions.

    "Oh, that. Nothing like that. I have one full day for the school tour." Yu Tian face had darkened. A pained expression passed through his eyes. It did not escape Mei Qingyang, so she decided to change the topic.

    "Well, that''s great! Where are we going first then?", she tried to sound excited to make sure Yu Tian didn''t misunderstand. But since she had naturally been an aloof personality, it was becoming more awkward for her. Nonetheless, she could definitely have polite conversations with people.

    "Let''s take a walk towards the other hostel buildings all the way back of this place. I''ll show you the market and then the school arena and at last, the sports facility. Rest, I''m sure you''ll figure it out as time passes by." Yu Tian could not help but get amused by the contrast he saw in her from yesterday and relaxed a bit.

    "Sounds like a plan. Let''s go!"

 Chapter 10 - Who Is This Girl?

    A gentle breeze was blowing, swaying the big trees on both the sides of the road. Since it was the beginning of fall season, pretty orange and red leaves were falling all around. Two figures were walking towards the rising sun, their bodies casting long shadows behind them.

    The scene looked like something out of a painting. There was no one around either. Otherwise one would have thought that two love birds were going on an early morning date.

    Both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were walking silently side by side, many questions about the other in their minds but no idea how to break the ice.

    "So, what kind of work will you be doing here?"

    "Thank you for taking out time for this."

    They both spoke at the same time. Both their lips curled upwards in slight smile at the coincidence.

    Yu Tian had never been the one to take initiative to talk to others. If his friends saw him now, they would assume him having a romantic interest in this girl and laugh out loudly at him. This was too harmonious to be true and he had an ominous feeling about his blossoming friendship with this normal girl.

    He couldn''t forget what had happened the previous day just because he bumped into her. But it was not too bad a feeling to have another soul to talk to. She didn''t look like a person with bad motives at all. Although, he did not know what this girl would have gone through in life to have similar cold personality as his.

    Mei Qingyang did not have anything else to say, so she answered his question, "I will be working as a superintendent here."

    "Superintendent? You mean the position which is filled by an external person from Ministry of Education to oversee the operations and has been abandoned for past three years when the last person in this position committed suicide?" Yu Tian was surprised. This frail girl looked like a teenager, who should be going to a college.

    The position she was talking about was usually taken by a.d.u.l.ts and none of the people who served as superintendent went beyond a year of tenure. Some of them either committed suicide or went mad. It was a high stress position because you were working for the school but at the same time you were acting as a watchdog for Ministry of Education. People hadn''t been able to take it all and hence, it was such a bad position to be in. No wonder he was having this threatening feeling in his heart.

    Mei Qingyang smiled at his analysis and confirmed, "Yes, that cursed position. I am here to serve that role and I will also be studying in the college here."

    Yu Tian could not hide his curiosity. This girl was chock full of surprises. She wasn''t afraid of what had happened before and what was yet to come. She also had a small taste of what it would be like in the future yesterday. She was still smiling about it. His aunt had told him yesterday how she had thrown a vase on her and the lucky bitch came out unscathed. That must have been one hell of a scary experience.

    "You are going to attend college here? Which year? What department?"

    "Uhm¡­ I just graduated from high school last year, so I''ll be starting as a freshman. I''m going to try engineering as it interests me a lot." There were stars in Mei Qingyang''s eyes when she started talking about her college life. She had only been home schooled during her high school years, so she was really looking forward to attending college with peers.

    Yu Tian put his hand below his chin in a thinking pose. "That makes me your senior then. I''m a second-year student in the engineering department. If you ever have any concerns or questions, you can come to me anytime."

    "Thank you, senior Yu Tian!", Mei Qingyang folded her hands in a fist and gave him a slight bow as she had seen in the historical dramas. She had no real worldly experience, especially when dealing with people. Only people she had dealt with were in the Ministry of Education, when she took one year internship there after graduating from high school early.

    This school did not have any restrictions on age for college and welcomed genius students of various ages at any time. But her foster dad, Jiang Nuo, wanted to have her some real-life experience before she stepped into this cruel school. She did gain quite some understanding about scheming and all since she was introduced to political world right after high school. And after working in the Ministry for one year, her dad thought she was ready to start her college.

    Yu Tian could not help but smile at her little gesture. It was also nice to hear her calling him ''senior''. Mei Qingyang was seeing him smile for the first time since she met him yesterday. Given the frosty look he always had on his face, she had assumed that he just didn''t know how to smile. It was breathtaking. If only this guy smiled a little more. No wonder every girl in the hall was talking about him yesterday.

    Whenever they encountered any people on the way, Mei Qingyang was definitely gaining stares of envy from other people. Yu Tian was voluntarily talking to a person, that too a girl. Who was this plain looking, shabby girl to gain his attention? Everyone wanted to know.

    It didn''t take much time for the news to spread all around with different versions. People were even sharing pictures of them together. They all were blurry pictures because no one wanted to gossip about Yu Tian upfront.

    Some said Yu Tian was being forced to go around with that girl and he looked really unhappy. But most of them said that he was with a poor girl, so he might have finally decided to take a servant.

 Chapter 11 - The First Incident

    "And here is the swimming pool." Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang had reached the end of their school tour. Yu Tian completely enjoyed her company as she would ask him various questions. She was a little curious creature and would get impressed by normal things so easily that it was really entertaining to him.

    During their conversation, he had learnt from her today that she was homeschooled for most of her life. Since he had a similar experience, he understood her inquisitiveness about everything. Thus, he was especially cooperative in answering her questions patiently.

    It was already 5 pm now and the sun had started to set. This was an indoor swimming pool and had the facility of heating in the winters so the climate wouldn''t interrupt with the practice of future Olympian medalists. It was to be noted that there were four separate swimming pools for different ages separated by glass walls to give everyone equal access to the facility.

    "Waah!! This is majestic!", Mei Qingyang cried out. The building had a very unique structure for this particular place. The school had used reflectors in the roof to use natural sunlight for lighting up the place during the day. At night, it used solar energy for electricity purposes. That would make the building environment friendly and no one would bat an eye on the amount of water they were wasting by changing it every other day in the swimming pool.

    *Genius! The guys who planned and made this place were absolute geniuses!!*

    Mei Qingyang couldn''t help but admire the architects of the school in her mind. Aesthetically too, it was made such that the tall windows near the swimming pool were facing the west direction. Whenever the sun set, the golden rays would shimmer over the water in the swimming pool, making it really pleasing to the eye.

    Right now, the reflectors were shut and the swimming pool was being illuminated just by the rays. Amazingly pretty girls and handsome boys were playing in the swimming pool with their thousands of dollars'' worth bikinis and trunks on, showing off their perfect bodies. It was holiday time and everyone was enjoying the end of summers.

    At one corner, they could hear peals of laughter, college students flirting and frol.i.c.k.i.n.g around, without any worries.

    Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were also standing near the windows. The shimmer highlighted Yu Tian''s features more. His milky white skin now seemed almost transparent. His silhouette against the sunlight from the window looked as if carved out by Gods themselves. He looked like a celestial being, wrapped in loneliness and sadness in this world of mortals.

    She still had no idea why he had such a gloomy aura all the time. He was a pretty popular guy from what she had gathered till now. With the slightly frisky atmosphere around and having these weird thoughts in her mind, a slight blush inadvertently appeared on Mei Qingyang''s cheeks.

    *What are you thinking Qingyang? Stop it! He might become the reason you don''t get anything out of here!! You have to stop this madness!! You are not supposed to be interested in him! Come to senses!!*

    Among the students, everyone respected him. He was home-schooled till junior high and then he went abroad. After a huge incident here four years ago, he had to come back to save the reputation of this school. It had been just four years here but he had earned massive trust from everyone. Some people feared him because of his connections and some genuinely liked him. But no one dared to really be friends with him.

    He had only two real friends here and they both were elite kids. They were the only people who would always be honest with him regardless of his status. This girl, on the other hand, didn''t fear him at all. She had come to know about his relationship with the owners of this school yesterday.

    ''Normal'' people wouldn''t even have turned up for the next meeting but here she was, asking him questions and always maintaining an eye contact with him.

    "Strip, we said." Both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang heard someone yelling at another corner of the pool building and it snapped them out of their thoughts. They looked towards the direction and saw some guys surrounding a girl. From the looks of it, the girl seemed to be a servant of someone.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t know. I''ll take my leave so please let me go!", the girl cried, her full body trembling.

    "Shut up. Now that you''re here, you gotta listen to us. Either strip right now or you gotta face the consequences which will be far worse." The guy was inching closer to the girl and speaking in very intimidating tone. The other people including girls were snickering in the back.

    "I¡­ I am sorry. My classmates told me to come here. Please leave me. I promise I won''t ever step in here again." The girl was literally in tears now. She didn''t look older than a middle schooler. To be caught by all these guys who seemed to be college going students, it was probably the worst. She even looked malnourished, which suggested that she was probably newly ''sold'' to the school. One good thing about this school was that no one starved unless they were getting some punishment from their masters.

    "Hey! What are you doing?" Qingyang shouted from far away.

    Yu Tian facepalmed internally. *Why does this girl need to meddle in everything?*

 Chapter 12 - Dont You Dare Touch Her

    "What the heck are you doing?", Mei Qingyang marched towards them furiously, leaving Yu Tian behind.

    "You''re asking a minor girl to strip? No, no, wait, let me get this straight, you''re asking a person to remove her clothes? How shameful can you be?" She leaped towards them without thinking.

    "And who are you, missy? Don''t you know the rules here? She''s a slave, she gotta listen to us." Someone from the back yelled.

    Mei Qingyang strode towards the guy who had the girl. "I said leave her alone." She held the girl''s wrist and pulled her towards herself. The girl looked towards her savior through tears. Qingyang reassured her with her kind eyes, stroking her scruffy hair. She then gestured her to leave the room quietly. The girl sobbed into her arms for a few seconds, nodded and then ran for her life.

    Yu Tian was watching how the whole thing was unfolding, once again mesmerized by her courage. He moved towards the darker corner so that no one in the group could notice him. *If she takes a wrong step, I''ll protect her. But let me see for just now.*

    He glared at the merrymaking group at the other corner and they dispersed after getting the meaning behind his gaze. They also knew better to keep their mouths shut about whatever they saw.

    The girl had run away after Mei Qingyang prompted her to do so but she was now surrounded by the crowd of guys and girls from the upper class.

    "You dare interrupt our entertainment? Who are you anyway? Huh? Another poor girl?", one girl spoke.

    "Do you even know what you have done? Are you gonna face that girl''s punishment now?", laughed another guy.

    "Such courage ah! Sacrificing herself for an unknown girl. I tell ya, we need to take care of this groupism among these poor folks. If they rebel someday, it would be trouble for us", another chimed in, just to make everyone laugh at his ridiculous thought.

    "You don''t have any right to ask a person to do something like that.", Mei Qingyang took a defensive stance. Although she had confidence in her martial arts abilities, it would be hard to handle 20 inexperienced people together. Also, since this was such a big school and these all were elite people, they all must have had some training as well. She was in danger, sure. But she couldn''t see that girl suffer.

    "Person? Pfft. Do you think of yourself as a person? You are below animals, girl, you exist only to serve us.", the seeming leader of the group signaled one of his minions. The guy stepped forward and raised his hand to slap her. Qingyang was alert enough to stop his hand in between air, before he could strike her. Another guy approached her from behind to trap her to render her immovable.

    If only. She kicked the guy while still holding other person''s hand. But now two of the minions approached her simultaneously and siezed her on either side. The leader smirked a little.

    "What can a weak girl like you do? A few fancy moves, and that''s all you have got?" He grabbed her face. He was the one who was yelling at the girl earlier.

    "We gotta teach you your place here." His face was too close to hers.

    Now Qingyang could easily get rid of the two guys who were holding her in place. But did she want to? She would be giving away her martial arts level a bit too soon. Especially in front of that big boss who was giving her a tour. Plus, there was a high chance that Yu Rong''s people were here too. Was is alright to reveal her skills here? But should she sacrifice herself here just to pretend to be a weak girl with no strength of her own at all? What was the right decision to make?

    While she was still thinking, the leader guy was about to force his lips on hers. Mei Qingyang did not even flinch and was still fiercely looking into the guy''s eyes. Before she could comprehend anything, she felt something touch her lips. Whatever it was, it was really cold. Cool but refreshing, almost bringing some sort of relief to her tensed nerves.

    The leader took a step back and looked around in confusion to find Yu Tian covering her mouth with his right hand while pulling her towards his c.h.e.s.t with his left.. The two minions holding her had far fled the scene. Qingyang turned her head as well to see what had happened. Yu Tian had this cold gaze in his eyes. She had never seen any human being capable of showing such a cold expression. It was more of a killing intent.

    "Yu Tian! What''s up man!! What are you doing here?" The guy was taken aback a bit. Other people backed up and stood in a bowed position. Mei Qingyang wasn''t looking towards Yu Tian or the guy anymore. She was trying to think of a reason why everyone would become so intimidated on his arrival. And they were even bowing before him! This scene looked straight out of a manga.

    The people in the back started murmuring, "He''s touching a person, that too a girl!" They were also staring at her intently. She had become used to stares since the morning so this didn''t bother her much. What worried her was the murmurs she was hearing.

    "You''re playing with the wrong person." Yu Tian turned Mei Qingyang around and gave another angry look to her as if scolding her for putting herself in trouble. Then he embraced her in his arms, like she was a precious treasure.

    "Don''t you dare touch her." His eyes were burning. To Mei Qingyang, he looked the coolest but the most distant he had been till now. She was almost ready to fight with the thug group, but she did appreciate his intervention. She was confused at the same time. She remembered his aunt saying that he had a fear of touch. How come he was holding her right now?

    "What! Is she your new toy? I am so sorry Yu Tian, I didn''t know that. I''ll be careful from now on.", the guy suddenly became docile. "Hey guys, Yu Tian finally got a toy, we cannot eye his property. Be careful from now on. He''s even touching her! Oh wait, so the rumors of you being gay aren''t true after all", the guy said half-jokingly. Others were sweating shit out of themselves. And this guy was joking with Yu Tian who looked like he was ready to roast him alive.

    "Who are you calling a toy, you¡­" Mei Qingyang wasn''t having it.

    "You stay out of it..", Yu Tian put his right hand on her mouth again.

    "But senior¡­", Qingyang muffled. She tried to free herself from his clasp but his hold was too strong for her. He glared at her fiercely as if to tell her to shut up and not interfere with his business. Right now, although he was maintaining his cool demeanor, he definitely was angry. She was a victim here, why did he need to be angry with her?

    *Is he just trying to avoid the problem at hand? He''s not going to reprimand these people over what they were doing just now?*

    "You guys need to f.u.c.k off from here, otherwise even I don''t know what I will do."

    "Are you picking up a fight, Yu Tian? Remember we''re more than 20 here and you, only one. Just because your dad is the owner of the school doesn''t mean you have the right to speak with us like this." The nostrils of the leader of the group were flaring. However, he didn''t realize that people behind him were stepping back slowly. No one wanted to support this bragging guy.

    His father may have connections with the Yu family and he might be able to make his way out of Yu Tian''s wrath, but other people were just small fries in front of Yu family. Their parents were wealthy enough to afford the school but who could afford offending the young master of the third ric.h.e.s.t business family in the country?

    "Ayyy, is anyone trying to mess with our friend?" Two guys entered from the door where Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang had entered just now.

 Chapter 13 - The Best Friends

    "Is anyone trying to mess with our friend?" Two guys entered from the main door.

    "What''s up? Oh my my my, Yu Tian, you''re holding a girl! We had come to investigate why there was such a commotion outside, everyone talking of you walking around with a girl but it seems to be true. Damn, I am seeing a whole new side of you.", teased one of the guys with silver hair.

    "Shut up Su Lang!" Yu Tian knew these two best friends of his won''t ever leave him alone now they had caught him in such a situation. He glanced at Mei Qingyang who was still fuming in his arms, albeit a bit docilely. He removed his hand from her mouth as it looked like she was becoming breathless. He tugged her closer, eliciting a questioning look from the girl in his arms.

    With a wronged expression, Su Lang pouted, "What! We have been running around chasing after you and this girl just to check what was going on and this is how you treat us? I am so hurt¡­"

    Sweat was flooding out of each and every one present on the scene while Su Lang was making fun of Yu Tian. These three were the legendary Gods of the school, a combination impossible to defeat.

    Su Lang was the only heir of the ric.h.e.s.t businessman in the country, Su Yang. Su Lang had the privilege of doing whatever he wanted, even that principal of the school, Yu Rong, had to give him face. Su industries were involved in diamonds and other precious stones business but had a lot of subsidiaries ranging from jewelry to high end clothing etc.

    However, Su Lang was very hardworking because he didn''t want anyone in the future to tell him that he had everything because of his father. He wanted to earn the title of heir of Su family and had already established multiple successful businesses at the young age of 19 years old. He would not forget to enjoy his life to full either. He was one of the best party people in the school, he would usually throw lavish party every weekend for the whole school to enjoy.

    He was very generous and outgoing, famous for not discriminating between rich and poor students. This was because he understood the importance of working class and that he would get nowhere with their oppression. But he never really bothered other people doing the atrocities because it was ''none of his business''.

    Feng Yue, on the other hand, was very quiet, just like Yu Tian. He was the third son of second ric.h.e.s.t person in the country, actor Feng Junjie. Feng family also ran entertainment business and owned almost all the top celebrities in the country. His mother, Feng Yu was the top beauty of the nation, voted as the best female actress for several of her works.

    His quiet nature should not be mistaken for introversion though. In general, he liked to analyze situations before giving his opinions and hence, he was just a man of few words. Otherwise, he was bold, decisive and ruthless guy who wouldn''t spare anyone if it meant his profit.

    The three families had very close business as well as personal relationsh.i.p.s. While Yu Tian and Feng Yue had gone abroad to study and returned back only four years ago, Su Lang had been here since the beginning. He had chosen not to go with his friends and stay in the country to establish and flourish his own businesses. Feng Yue had a great hand in making his father''s company famous internationally. He was a well-beloved fashion model outside and his popularity was the highest in the school as well.

    Feng Yue chose to just observe the situation but he was enjoying Su Lang''s teasing as well.

    On the other hand, the people were growing more fearful about showing up their faces to these three. If they recognized any of them and it angered Yu Tian''s girl, not only them but their whole families would be destroyed.

    "Ugh, Feng Yue and Su Lang are here. Even us 20 together cannot defeat them. We''re out of here Zhang Shi." The group dispersed within seconds, just like that. Everyone feared the three legendaries when they gathered at one place. This trio was not only famous in the school but also in other countries. All three of them were excellent athletes and were national champions in multiple sports. They were highly sought after in the modeling world as well. The perfect bodies, their presence, everything was alluring about them.

    "Thanks guys, although everything was under control." Yu Tian relaxed a bit.

    Zhang Shi was all alone now. Realizing his own situation, he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury himself in it. Why did he threaten Yu Tian? Why was his brain not functioning when he did that? All the three guys were staring at him now.

    "So, Mr. Zhang Shi, was it? Has it been too long that we haven''t taught any lesson to anyone that you guys think we have become weaker? How dare you threaten our friend? That too with some insignificant people?" Su Lang put up a lazy front while talking to him.

    "I heard you talking about servants. Are you any better than that? Let''s see." Feng Yu waved his latest smart phone. Su Lang shuddered as he knew what this gesture meant. He was finished. He took his whole family down with himself.

    Zhang Shi fell on the floor and kneeled before them. "I''m sorry, I am really sorry. Please do anything to me but spare my family. I know my place now. I will not even look at girls from here on. Please give me one more chance? Please leave me. I promise I won''t ever step in front of you again."

    "Pfft. Hahahahaha. See? This is what you call ''below animals''. Don''t worry, you''re not worthy enough that we would deal with you personally. As you said, don''t show us your face ever again in this school. Leave!" Su Lang waved his hand at him gesturing him to go away.

    Zhang Shi ran away as soon as he could. He had almost peed himself there. He needed to pack his bags and leave this school before any bad luck befell his family. Before he left, he did receive a punch from Yu Tian as a parting gift because he dared touch Mei Qingyang.

 Chapter 14 - Care to Introduce Us?

    "Ahem! So Yu Tian, now that this problem has been solved, can you introduce us?" Su Lang was very curious about this girl. It did seem like she had caught fancy of this friend of his who seemed as.e.x.u.a.l from the beginning. He had never shown any interest in any human being before. This girl must have had some special charm if Yu Tian was agitated enough to protect her like this. What was her identity?

    "Are you an idiot?" Since Yu Tian was holding Mei Qingyang, he had not seen her expression. He had heard her quivering fearless voice earlier and some switch went off inside him. He reacted without even thinking. He was confused as to why he was so angry with her actions but he needed to tell her that she can''t be taking such risks. What if he was not there to protect her? His heart had really stopped when that guy had tried to force himself upon her.

    Earlier he had let her go to issue a punch to Zhang Shi. Suddenly worry took over him and he grabbed her again to check if she was alright.

    After making sure that there was nothing wrong with her, he yelled at her again, "How stupid can you be?"

    A combination of anxiety about her health and anger over her actions made him totally irrational.

    The person who would not even bat an eye for any incident was here, all over this girl. Su Lang and Feng Yue could not wrap their heads around the change in their friend, who they had met just yesterday morning. What did this girl do to their friend in one day?

    A still agitated Yu Tian took two steps towards Mei Qingyang. She felt a bit intimidated and backed two steps. He kept moving forward until her back was against the wall. She could not understand his actions at all. She blinked her doe like large eyes in confusion.

    *Was he mad because I tried to pick a fight with rich kids? Directly a kabedon? Don''t do this to me ah! I am sure we can talk in a civil manner!! What is his deal anyway?*

    He slammed both his hands on the wall trapping her between his long arms, "You are not supposed to fight when there are so many people around. No, you''re not supposed to fight at all. Only one person was enough to harm you. Where was your common sense?" His blood was boiling inside. *How did that guy even try to touch her? I am going to destroy him¡­* This kind of feeling was ludicrous to himself as well. Why was he angry anyway? Why did he care so much that Zhang Shi had just tried to kiss her? Even the thought was enraging.

    *Ugh, need to vent this frustration out somewhere¡­ I hate this feeling.*

    "..." Mei Qingyang was speechless. Here was Yu Tian, in this dark room, lit only by the filtered sunlight from the big glass window, giving her lessons¡­. on whom to pick a fight with? Wait, was she hearing him correctly?

    "Did you want me to just do nothing and let them destroy that poor girl?" Tears formed on the rims of her eyes when she thought about that girl. She finally encountered what she was afraid to find about this school. Those rich brats, who were all of college going age, were going to molest a teenage poor girl for their entertainment. More unfortunate was that there were girls too in that group of 20. Basically, nobody cared about a small life, just because they, no, their parents had money.

    "But what if that harmed you?" Concern for the girl was apparent in Yu Tian''s voice and his two best friends were really seeing this side of his for the first time. They were even more eager to know the background of this girl now.

    "I am sorry, but I couldn''t just bear their behavior. We poor people are just lacking in money, that doesn''t give them a right to do whatever they wish with us, ah¡­" Poor Mei Qingyang was explaining her justified actions to this unreasonable guy. Like, someone should give lessons to these rich brats about poor people''s point of view.

    Looking into her spirited eyes, Yu Tian was unable to fathom her thinking process. Why would someone put themselves in jeopardy for another whom they did not know at all? His face darkened a few shades more.

    If his friends two knew what he was thinking at this moment, they would have facepalmed so hard. Ah Yu Tian, were you not doing the same eventually?

    "Cough cough, you guys¡­.. If you guys are done Yu Tian, would you care to introduce us?" Su Lang coughed playfully, acting as if he was hurt because Yu Tian ignored him earlier.

    Both of them had totally forgotten about Yu Tian''s friends in the room by now. Realization dawned upon Yu Tian how aggressive he was behaving. He immediately released Mei Qingyang, as if caught red-handed in a theft and became his usual cold self again.

    Registering her own predicament and joking tone of the guy, a faint blush appeared on Mei Qingyang''s wheat colored cheeks. She just wanted to disappear right now. She kept her eyes lowered still because she was kind of excited to have a few more characters to get acquainted with and learn more about this school. Within two days, she had already seen quite a few things and it was time to gear up her research into this place. It would be detrimental if they discovered her feelings right now.

    Yu Tian welcomed both his friends and introduced Qingyang to them. "This is Mei Qingyang and joined us yesterday as the new superintendent of the dorms¡­"

    "Wait, what? A superintendent?" Su Lang interrupted Yu Tian and spoke in very exaggerated manner. Who would voluntarily come here just for that? "Waaah lady, how brave of you! Don''t you know what happened with the previous one? You got a death wish for yourself?"

 Chapter 15 - You Got A Death Wish?

    Feng Yue scanned her from top to bottom. "Became superintendent, picked up a fight with a bunch of rowdy rich kids, I cannot say if you''re brave or just a fool."

    "Well Yue, it does seem she has made some powerful friends from the get-go." Su Lang motioned towards Yu Tian while saying so. "But lady, don''t think we''ll come every time you pull a stunt like this.", Su Lang gave her a stern look and grabbed her arm tight. Mei Qingyang was still trying to assess the situation. This arm grabbing though was uncalled for. She felt a bit of familiarity from both of them. She flinched.

    Su Lang instantly got a death stare from Yu Tian for his action. He released her arm and took two steps back. With a hurt expression, her started lamenting on how his friend was abandoning him for a girl.

    "Ugh, to make this guy so angry, even towards me, who are you?" Su Lang glared fiercely at Mei Qingyang while putting both his hands at his heart.

    "Don''t be a drama queen Lang. By the way, you look our age. Aren''t you too young to be handling that position? Generally, the people who serve that position are given charge of a course to teach. Don''t tell me we will be studying from you?" Feng Yue couldn''t help but analyze the situation.

    "I am going to attend classes as a first-year student here, I am not a teacher.", Mei Qingyang explained.

    "A student?", Feng Yue and Su Lang both spoke at the same time. They were really puzzled now. This had never happened before in the history of the school. What was Yu Rong planning? They needed to get to the bottom of this as it also affected their families directly.

    "Yes, I am supposed to study here for a year. After that my performance will be evaluated by Ministry of Education. If it is satisfactory, I will get to study here for rest of the three years. If not, I''ll be transferred to another college then." Mei Qingyang understood from the expressions of the two puzzled people, that they were analyzing each and every word she spoke. It was their utmost duty to be on the top of everything as even the smallest thing could affect their families and their business.

    "That''s unusual. Are you sure you''re up to the task of superintendent? How did you get the positions anyway?" Su Lang was quite intrigued by this whole debacle. Mei Qingyang was a bit surprised. Keeping all the information with them was one thing. But why would be they interested in her since she did not measure up to their league anyway. What could a poor person like her affect?

    "Well, I just happened to be chosen by my senior for the task. I took a gap year after my high school and got an internship in the Ministry of Education. Although I was just helping the team with syllabus and such, I have no idea why dad, I mean, Minister Jiang, chose me for this."

    "Minister Jiang is your dad?" Now it was turn of the two guys to be astonished. Su Lang was related to Minister Jiang on his mother''s side. His mother and Jiang Nuo were very close first cousins and thus, Su Lang had dealt with this uncle of his quite frequently. But his uncle did not ever tell him about any adoption of a daughter.

    A bit embarrassed, Mei Qingyang scratched her chin slightly and nodded.

    *We need to sit down and think about this thoroughly. We need to ask Minister Jiang too what is going on.*

    All the three guys were thinking the same thing right now.

    "And you never asked your dad about your assignment then?"

    "Of course I did. But all he told me was that I am supposed to attend my four-year college normally. However, I will have this task side by side for a year. He said that the first year is generally light and I''ll be on their payroll and they will consider this as an extension of my internship. So, I would have added benefits." Mei Qingyang was very proud of the fact that she would be earning money through this program while working and studying here. It was going to be difficult to juggle the two but there were some things she needed answers to and accomplish her mission.

    "It looks like they made a fool out of you. A poor person going to college with those rich kids, they''re not going to stay put." Su Lang put his hand under his chin in a thinking pose.

    "You''re a rich kid too though." Mei Qingyang gave them an unamused look.

    "Well, thanks for reminding about that. I am going to ask Uncle Jiang about it. He''s a close relative of mine. I don''t like this arrangement. It''s like pushing a poor girl into a pit of fire." Su Lang made a decision in his heart. If this girl came out to be worthy enough for his bro, he would give his all to make sure that she is taken out of this school and protect her.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, took it as a threat to her job. Of course, the way Su Lang spoke earlier, seemed like he was against a poor girl like her to be taking superintendent position and supervise the students in the school.

    *As expected of rich kids. They have connections everywhere. A close uncle? I am sorry but I don''t think you''re close enough to get him to talk about my identity. You did not even know about my existence or anything else until now, what close uncle? Lol, such delusional people.*

    "Well, whatever. None of our concern. What we would suggest to you is to stay away from us. Don''t think we are shunning you or anything. Actually, we are. But it is for your own good. Let''s go Yu Tian." Su Lang lectured Mei Qingyang seriously.

    Any girl his best friend was interested in, he needed to be strict with her when it came to teaching her how the things worked here. He was not looking to determine her status right now, he would need to talk to his uncle first. Whether she becomes his servant or girlfriend, he would stand by his friend''s side.

    The two guys forced Yu Tian to come with them, leaving Mei Qingyang alone. Her legs gave away and she sat down near the swimming pool to get some rest and evaluate whatever transpired today. It had been just two days but she had almost lost her hair, cursed by different people and forced upon by some random guy. Was her life going to be like this from now on? She knew what was in it when she signed up for this assignment. Now experiencing it firsthand, she was becoming doubtful about how long she could last.

 Chapter 16 - You Put Her in Danger!

    "Are you kidding me Tian? Do you know what Yu Rong will do once she learns what happened today?" Su Lang grabbed Yu Tian''s collar. "Both you and that girl are finished man. You understand that you are the one responsible for puting her in danger."

    All three friends had returned to Yu Tian''s room to discuss the events today. They were sitting in his living room while their assistants were busy preparing snacks according to their masters'' taste. Since these guys were so close and often spent time in each other''s rooms, their assistants were very well versed in the location of condiments and dishes in each of their kitchens. It made their job easy that way.

    Yu Tian was going through a complicated mixture of emotions at the moment. In order to protect her at that moment, he had put her up for a lifetime of suffering from his aunt''s hands. "What could have I done? Let her be abused by that¡­ that guy?" He was being torn apart by what he did and what he could have best done to save her from future troubles.

    "It''s too late to think about it now. We''ll see as it comes.", Feng Yue spoke up. He knew it was futile to be even thinking about the consequences.

    "What''s her identity anyway? I mean apart from being Uncle Jiang''s adopted daughter? Although, by the way she walks and talks, she has this air of elite houses to her. But I know for sure, she could not have got that education at uncle''s house. Who is she really?" Su Lang couldn''t stop himself from asking this question he had been dying to know about. What piqued Yu Tian''s interest in her?

    "I don''t know. We had an incident yesterday and she was cursed by Yu Rong because of me. I just wanted to make up for it." Yu Tian had a subtle inkling of what they were hinting at, but it was definitely not a romantic interest in her.

    She was just an interesting and calming person to be around. He did not have to pretend with her, nor did he need to think about strategies and tact that he usually had to keep in mind while dealing with any other people from rich family. He never knew it would be this liberating to have a friend from that side of the world.

    Yu Tian explained to them whatever had happened yesterday. He trusted his friends blindly. Since there was no one to witness the incident the previous day, there were no rumors about it. Hence, the two guys were unaware of the scenario.

    "What the hell? All this stuff happened and you are telling us today?" Feng Yue was upset.

    "See? This is what I am talking about. Will Yu Rong leave her alone once she comes to know what you did today?" While showing concern on the surface, Su Lang was actually really excited with this development inside his mind. He actively sought out entertaining incidents and this girl would provide a constant source of entertainment till whenever she would last.

    "Are you sure about this Yu Tian? You don''t even know her background and you have just met her yesterday?" Feng Yue was concerned about his friend. "Not only will this affect her but you as well."

    "I know. I was just not thinking then. I just reacted impulsively." Yu Tian put his hands on his head realizing the gravity of situation his one decision would produce.

    "What about your haphephobia though? I thought you said no human contact. We have not huddled together since forever. And you are so casually hugging this girl." Su Lang pouted. He wanted to lighten the mood a bit. Both him and Feng Yue had been constantly trying to make him realize that what he did was detrimental to himself. They were not concerned about the girl; she did not matter to them.

    However, they could not see him so stressed out. Both of them were feeling guilty.

    "Oh, I have no idea. I just... I actually don''t know¡­ I don''t feel disgusted when I touch her. And¡­ to be honest¡­ it''s not a bad feeling to be able to hug someone." When he remembered the moment he took her into his arms, he felt quite happy. Just thinking about it increased his oxytocin levels. His stress was instantly gone. The other two relaxed seeing the peace on his face return back. Now the heavy mood had dispersed, they were in the mood of more teasing.

    "Looks like love is in the air. Should we finally consider this your debut moment in love life?" Su Lang laughed loudly.

    "It can''t be that Lang. We have just met. Also, no matter what, our backgrounds don''t match."

    "Good that you understand this point Tian. I''m still skeptical of her intentions. After being attacked by Yu Rong like that, she still accepted your invitation. Isn''t that already suspicious?", Feng Yue voiced his concern once again. "I will order a background check on her immediately. Why did you not do that already?"

    "Actually, I did. They have found nothing about her so far except that she is adopted daughter of Minister Jiang.", Yu Tian shrugged his shoulders again.

    "What? Nothing? Impossible!" Both Feng Yue and Su Lang jumped from shock from their seats.

 Chapter 17 - Background Check

    "Nothing? How can that be?", the two''s eyes almost popped out hearing this. They were taking this girl very lightly till now. Never thought she would be so complicated beginning from the background check even.

    The assistants came out at once after hearing the commotion outside. Yu Tian asked his assistant Yu Bufan to brief them all about his findings. Yu Tian had made Yu family adopt this assistant of his and had made him take the same family surname. Yu Bufan was first hired by Yu Rong to keep an eye on him and protect him as well.

    They became acquainted when Yu Tian was just 8 years old. But when they went abroad, Yu Bufan became Yu Tian''s closest confidant. He also leaked only that information to Yu Rong which Yu Tian wanted her to know. Thus, he was playing a double agent for Yu Tian. He also had saved his life from enemies quite a few times.

    His master had urgently ordered him to run a background check on this girl Mei Qingyang. They obviously had no information to start with, the only clue they had about her was that she was adopted daughter of the Education Minister. But they had different last names so there should definitely be some information out there about this mystery girl.

    Unfortunately, even after searching all the databases in the M nation and the ones abroad that they could access, they could not find much data on her. Her information only started four years ago, even her social security number was recently obtained. She had no history of going abroad. This did not add up.

    They had even employed hackers to access the most secret databases and get information on previous and current employees of Ministry of Education but no luck. Everywhere, her past four years history was consistent but there was nothing before that.

    "Why would her history start only four years ago? Did she appear out of thin air?" Feng Yue still could not believe that Yu Tian''s connections did not work.

    "It is how it is young master Feng. I have still contacted more people to dig into her profile. But they are going to take some time for a thorough check. I find it weird as well that she does not have any history before May 2015. Apart from her birth date, we don''t know anything at all." Yu Bufan sounded concerned for his master.

    It was easy to see that his master was developing some sort of interest in this girl. He had seen him go through some of the most painful events and he was very happy that he was trying to make friends outside of his circle. It was very important for him to develop the skills and knowledge about all types of people. But he did not want his master to associate with a person of unknown origins.

    "But since Uncle Jiang took her in as his daughter, there must be something about her. I shall call him and ask." Su Lang dialed Mei Qingyang''s adoptive father, Jiang Nuo''s number. Jiang Nuo was the Education Minister of the M Nation as well as maternal uncle to Su Lang.

    Su Lang''s deceased mother did not have any brothers of her own. But her cousin Jiang Nuo pampered her to the core. He had worked for the government since the beginning of his career and refused to take any bribes, so he was always average when it came to wealth. But that''s what Su Lang''s mother liked about her cousin. He would bring her gifts of whatever he could afford. His mother had a small separate room for all the gifts her brother had bought her.

    Su Lang''s father did not like to associate with him much. But since Jiang Nuo was in politics, he still could not really avoid him all the time.

    When his mother passed away due to a mysterious disease eight years ago, Jiang Nuo and his wife saw through it that Su Lang did not have any discomforts. They took him in for some time to deal with the trauma. Su Lang''s older cousin, Jiang Bo kept him company throughout, which is why Su Lang was able to remain emotionally stable. Su Lang was really attached to his uncle Jiang Nuo.

    "Hello nephew. How did you remember this old man today?" Jiang Nuo was a cheerful personality. After losing his son Jiang Bo to this school six years ago, he almost became a living zombie. He had tried many times to find evidence against the school and its policies after that but failed. He was sure of the fact that his son could not have committed suicide. He was the previous superintendent of the school. Don''t know what Yu Rong did but Jiang Bo''s body was found hanging from the fan of his room. Police never found any evidence of foul play and the case was closed at a suicide.

    Jiang Nuo had tried to enlist Su family''s help but as it involved dealing with Yu family, Su Lang''s father refused to help him outright. Su Lang was not strong enough back then and he could only see his dearest uncle fall into despair. He could not even console him because of his father. Jiang Nuo didn''t blame Su Lang for this and had maintained contact with only him from the Su family.

    That was one of the reasons Su Lang had decided to stay back and establish his own businesses. He wanted to be good enough to be able to help his uncle in the future. It was one of his greatest regrets in life to not be able to lend a hand to his beloved uncle when he needed it the most.

    "Uncle, how are you doing?" Su Lang was always ultra polite to him whenever he talked to him because of his guilt towards him.

    "I am doing fine. How are you my son? What, did my daughter already catch your attention?" Jiang Nuo giggled.

 Chapter 18 - Isnt My Daughter Amazing?

    Minister Jiang was an intelligent person. Navigating through the tough scenes of politics all these years had given him sharp senses. He could just tell why his nephew might have called him. He was feeling so proud of his daughter right now that he was beaming from ear to ear.

    "What do you mean by daughter? Am I a stranger to you that you would adopt a daughter and not tell me at all? You have not even announced her adoption anywhere and you sent her here to die without any backup? Do you not remember older brother Bo anymore?" Su Lang didn''t understand his uncle''s rationale behind his decision. He had lost his own son to this school. Why would he send another child to face the same fate as his biological son?

    "Things have changed quite a bit little Lang. That''s the only thing I can tell you right now." By mentioning Jiang Bo''s name, Su Lang had poked his sore spots. Jiang Nuo had taken two whole years to come out of depression after losing his only son. Then he found Mei Qingyang and they again became a happy family of three. Bringing Jiang Bo into the conversation, Jiang Nuo went into reminiscing mode again.

    "Ah! Sorry uncle but the main reason I called you was to know more about Mei Qingyang." Su Lang sensed the anger and sadness he had evoked by taking his cousin''s name. He tried to shift the topic.

    "What do you want to know about her? Isn''t she amazing by the way? I feel so blessed to have a daughter like her." Jiang Nuo''s voice recovered from earlier gloom and he was again chirping. Su Lang heaved a sigh of relief.

    "What do we want to know? Everything! We could not find anything about her before you adopted her four years ago. There is no history at all. Where did you find her from? Plus, you never told me about her. I thought I was close to you. Four years, uncle, four years!" Su Lang was too eager to know about Mei Qingyang and anguished that his beloved uncle would hide something so big for so long from him. By relationship, she would be his cousin. As wary as he was of her, they still were a pair of siblings then.

    "Listen little Lang, it doesn''t matter where she came from. Trust your uncle in his choice. I am vouching for her, isn''t that enough?" Jiang Nuo was very happy that Mei Qingyang was raising some eyebrows on the second day of her being in the school itself. *Ah daughter, you''re the best. I know I have raised a tiger. You will definitely accomplish your mission.*

    "But uncle¡­"

    "No buts. I myself don''t have much information on her. I had saved her from somewhere and she doesn''t remember anything about her past. Let her be. She has never shown any suspicious behaviors over past four years and I do consider her as my own, adopted or not. All I can ask you is to protect her, now that you''re all grown up. I hope I can count on you." Jiang Nuo regretted not introducing her to Su Lang earlier now. If she had been inducted in the high society beforehand, it would have been an easier transition for her during this assignment.

    But whatever was done was done. He had absolute faith in his daughter that she would be able to handle whatever obstacles came her way. He had found her unconscious in a burning car somewhere along a river in an unknown region when he was driving down to another city for work. Her skin was charred and she had suffered third degree burns at some places, but she was mostly intact. He had transferred her to the hospital right away.

    Unfortunately, she could not remember much after waking up. It took her almost half a year to really come back to senses and start talking. Before that, she would just lie down in the hospital bed and stare out of the window. Sometimes, tears would just fall down her eyes, like she would remember something. Other times, she would also suffer from nightmares. After the Jiang couple officially adopted her as their daughter, they decided to give her name Qingyang. But Qingyang insisted on keeping her last name as Mei.

    They were a doting couple, so they let her do as she wished. They had finally got a child two years after they lost Jiang Bo and they wanted to spoil her rotten. The girl came out to be very diligent and it took her only two years to complete high school curriculum. After that, Jiang Nuo decided to employ her at Ministry of Education to give her some real-world experience before she decided where to go for her college.

    Don''t know when his wife told her the story of Jiang Bo, Mei Qingyang again insisted to come to this school and work in the same role as Jiang Bo to uncover the school''s dark secrets. Jiang Nuo did not even talk to her for weeks after he heard her decision. But his daughter didn''t budge. He ultimately had to give in and allow her to go to that cursed place. He just wished for her to be safe.

    "Okay uncle, as you wish." Su Lang''s voice from the other side of phone snapped Jiang Nuo from his thoughts. Of course, he didn''t tell all these details to the boys.

    "Thanks little Lang. I will owe you one if she finishes her one-year assignment alive. I will render her work failed then and transfer her to other school. Just make sure she survives till then." He disconnected the call after saying this.

    Since the phone was on loudspeaker, all three guys heard the minister. While they understood his love for his daughter, they also could tell that she was a rebellious girl and was here on her own accord, not because her father assigned her here. Was she here for revenge for her adoptive brother whom she had never met? Why would she pin all the blame on her father earlier about sending her here?

    That can''t be right, right? No matter how grateful she was to Jiang family, she would not throw away her life just like that, right? Now they were tasked to protect this girl by Su Lang''s uncle, they did not have a choice but to involve themselves with her.

    The only other option was to support her from the shadows. but was that even possible?

    It seemed that this phone call proved to have an opposite effect. They had more questions than answers now. For next few days, Mei Qingyang occupied everyone''s heads.

 Chapter 19 - Cou...sin... Su...Lang

    The vacation got over a week after Mei Qingyang came to this school. It had been around five days after the school tour and she did not see the trio or Yu Rong or Zhang Shi again. She did receive curious, threatening and most of the times, hostile glares from everyone wherever she went. She had no idea what shape the rumors had taken though.

    Based on the events on first two days, she was expecting Yu Rong to cause trouble for her for getting closer to her nephew once again. Or perhaps an encounter with Zhang Shi''s goons? But there was nothing these past few days. Guess everyone was busy preparing for new school session which was starting today.

    Mei Qingyang did not have much to do these days, so she had been visiting the library often. Library in this school was a separate huge building secluded from other areas. It was past a big greenhouse and students were allowed to bring the books out and enjoy studying near the greenhouse and the garden. There were many chairs and tables available for the students to enjoy the nature while reading.

    Since it was a secluded building, and open to kids of all ages, there was a higher chance of finding bullying instances in here. She had scoped the whole area and now was familiar with the concealed areas in and out of the building where she could find some evidence for herself in the future.

    It was commendable that this was the only building in the whole which was open to kids off both spectra, mostly thanks the unbiased librarian. The old man was very adamant about keeping the library open and equally accessible to all. There were no separate spaces for rich and poor kids. Anyone could come here and read whenever. It was also accessible 24*7. Library never closed, not even on major holidays like New Years etc.

    It had become one of her favorite places to hang out at. She had become so accustomed to leaving her room early in the morning for the library that she once again wandered off towards the library subconsciously.

    "Hey, you! Don''t you have classes starting today? What are you doing here?" Su Lang spotted Mei Qingyang early in the morning. After coming to know that this girl was his adoptive cousin, he was awkward about how to call her.

    The three boys had long discussion in last five days and had come to a conclusion that they would conceal her identity as his cousin. Otherwise, it might affect her in a negative way. Even their association with her would affect her, and hence, although they saw her a couple of times in past five days, they never took the initiative to talk to her.

    "Oh, it''s senior Su Lang!" Mei Qingyang had investigated a bit from her end too and it turned out that all the three guys were in the same class. That made all three of them her senior. There was no way she did not know her own relation with Su Lang. But to maintain a distance and keep a low profile in front of others, she decided to address him as such. She also knew about his phone call to her adoptive father.

    "How are you doing? How was your call with my father?" She continued in a teasing tone.

    "Hmph! Sure, he didn''t reveal much about you. Doesn''t mean I don''t have my means." Not only Su Lang but even Feng Yue had failed to obtain any information on her, apart from what Yu Bufan had told them. What kind of special background this girl had? She had no records of leaving or entering the country. So even though they had enlisted the help of international agencies, none of them came back with any information about her.

    It was like Uncle Jiang had suddenly found some power source and were blocking each and every inquiry of theirs into this girl. How they wished they could just make this girl spill the beans. But there was a problem, her amnesia as Uncle Jiang stated. It seemed that she herself could not tell them much. She had become an unsolvable puzzle for them, whose key was not even with herself nor her father.

    Mei Qingyang took two steps towards him, put her right hand on his left shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Oh, I see. Which means you don''t have any information. It''s okay. You will know in time. Don''t worry cou¡­sin¡­ Su¡­Lang." She then walked away, laughing over his shocked expression.

    "You¡­ You¡­" Her sudden action made Su Lang speechless, frozen at one place for a few seconds. She was the first woman to render him unable to utter any word. This meant she had all the information. But she was definitely not allowed to use a smart phone. She was categorized as poor and poor people did not have many privileges here. A privilege they did not have was having a smartphone.

    He had also come to know from his sources that her laptop was confiscated the next day after that swimming pool incident and she was given an old laptop by Yu Rong with restricted access to everything. He had tried hacking into her ''new'' laptop and was pretty sure that Yu Rong was monitoring the whole thing without Qingyang''s knowledge.

    Then, when did she get time to investigate about their matters? Was there some mole in their team who was giving away her information? He needed to discuss this with other two.

    He sighed internally. He wanted to chase after her to warn her about her computer being monitored, but she was fresh out of high school. What could she do about it anyway? Su Lang left the library to attend his first class of the semester. It was finally their second year after all. Life was passing too fast suddenly but now he finally had some form of entertainment in the form of this cousin of his.

 Chapter 20 - What Are You Doing Here?

    After stumbling upon Su Lang unexpectedly and scandalizing him with her actions, Mei Qingyang headed to the classrooms. She was in a good mood and Su Lang''s fl.u.s.tered expression was making her laugh again and again.

    At least the beginning of the day was good. She was excited to be studying with other people and experience the atmosphere of an actual school. What she was not sure of was if her to be professors even knew that a poor person was joining the college. If they did, would they help her at all when in need?

    It was going to be first year for all the students but since all her new classmates would have just graduated from the high school here in the same campus itself, they would already know the professors. The campus was open for wealthy students to take admission at college level.

    However, most of the wealthy kids had been enrolled in the school already, so they just advanced to the college. Every year, there were maximum of three-four admissions from the outside for the students who either came from international schools and were originally citizens of M nation or students whose parents had just become rich enough to afford the fee of the college.

    So, it would still feel like transferring to a new school in the middle of a semester, where she did not know anyone. On the top of that, she was a poor person here. Bracing herself for whatever misfortune was to befall her once again, she finally reached the college building.

    She had gotten a schedule of classes from Wang Hao last night, detailing the professors, classrooms and courses she was to take. Suspicious of any childish schemes Yu Rong might be playing with her, she had double checked everything with the college''s database for this semester. The old laptop they gave her was really an ancient device. They gave her a 7-year-old model with one of the oldest Windows operating system.

    Qingyang did cry a little inside when they took her latest laptop, customized for gaming and coding. It looked like an ordinary laptop but it was very powerful. Her dad had secretly asked his army friends for help and had them install latest technologies in it. It had taken even Qingyang a few days to understand how capable her laptop was. It would be impossible for Yu Rong and her helpers to get into that laptop, unless she took help from some famous hackers or programmers. Even people from big tech companies would not be able to crack it open.

    She smiled to herself once again. No one knew that she was the second-best hacker of M nation, just behind another anonymous person who was her online friend, but she never got to know their identity. They were that good. That person would never help Yu Rong with the laptop unless she convinced them with a good motive. But then, Qingyang had already alerted them in advance about the happenings here and Yu Rong had already lost her chance with them.

    Unfortunately for Yu family, the only place they did not have connections was the most secret and advanced department of the army, the IT department. Because it concerned the latest technologies, defense and deep secrets of the nation, this department really worked under complete confidentiality. Now she wondered, the fact that her dad had connections in there, good enough to help and teach her, was mind-blowing to her.

    Qingyang was waiting for the moment they would come back to her to ask for help with her own laptop. The scenario itself was hilarious for Qingyang.

    In the few days she had been here, she had cracked open all the monitoring schemes and bugs they had put in her new old laptop. Similar to the two cameras in her room, she had made sure Yu Rong only got the information that Qingyang wanted her to see.

    It seemed they had not tampered with the timetable she was given. There was still some time in the first class starting and people had just beginning to arrive in the respective classrooms. She had seen the building with Yu Tian before, but it was her first time seeing everything up close. She was also aware of the stares she was getting throughout. Some were perhaps familiar with her adventure with

    Yu Tian, and some were just disgusted with her plain clothes.

    Speaking of clothes, she was looking at all types of colorful stuff, from clothes to make-up to accessories. All the girls here were donning very high-end dresses and bags. Nothing less than Gucci. Such a waste of money ah! Guys were also giving tough competition to girls in terms of brands. Designer shoes and backpacks apart from expensive clothing. Even if they would not look pretty and handsome in ordinary circ.u.mstances, the make-up really dolled them up. She had never seen such a gathering of beautiful men and women.

    She entered the class among all the stares and murmurs outside. She should have covered her face or something before leaving the home today. But of course, her not so expensive clothes would have given away her identity anyway.

    Keeping her head lowered, she tried to look for an empty seat. This room was an auditorium type lecture hall. The floor was pitched to have students at the back sit higher than the students in the front. There were long tables on either side of the hall and a partition in the middle. There were eight chairs on each table.

    Unfortunately for her, she had gained too much attention because of whole school tour thing by now. Zhang Shi and his family had disappeared overnight. The whole swimming pool incident had become the hot topic of discussion for any gathering. Surely, most of the people did not know her face apart from people who had actually seen her with Yu Tian. But people who she had already had encounters with all knew her too well by now.

    Also, she was too extraordinary for a person roaming into the engineering building like she was going to attend the classes here. People internally guffawed at their sill thoughts. A poor student studying with them?

    Thus, she caught the eye of someone as soon as she entered the classroom.

    "You! What are you doing here?", she heard someone calling out to her.

 Chapter 21 - The Gu Cousins

    "You! What are you doing here? Did you forget your place again? Or did you come here on an errand for your master?". This was the rich brat from the dorm building, who had stopped her from riding the elevator.

    Mei Qingyang ignored her once again and looked around to find an empty seat. The rich brat''s address to her had made everyone turn their heads towards her.

    "Gu Jiujiu, what''s the matter? Why would you speak so crudely with anyone?" A seemingly sweet voice entered Mei Qingyang''s ears. From the voice, the owner seemed like a very elegant person. She turned her head to find a very charming girl chiding the rich brat, but also sneering at her. To others, this girl seemed to be taking side of Mei Qingyang but she had seen many double faced people in past four years that she could spot this girl''s fa?ade from miles away.

    "Cousin Layue, do you remember I told you about the girl who tried to ride the elevator in the dorm building without her master? She is the one. Now she has barged into our classroom too. Who does she think she is?" Gu Jiujiu, the rich brat from before, now had support from her cousin Gu Layue, she could do anything she wanted to this girl.

    Everyone now became interested in the show. They had heard about this girl from Gu Jiujiu and how she showed Mei Qingyang her right place. Of course, she didn''t tell everyone that she was the one who had got humiliated instead. What Gu Jiujiu did not know was that some of her classmates were also present in that lounge and had seen everything. While she thought she had evaded a disaster by telling everyone a fake story first, she did not realize that everyone knew the truth already. And hence, the students wanted to see the performance of the new poor girl with their own eyes.

    "Jiujiu, you should not behave like that. That''s so crass. It''s not befitting us, people of culture. She might be lost or something. We should be helping her, okay? Hey little lady, are you by any chance, lost? The high school building is in the other corner of the campus." Gu Layue said half-jokingly, still maintaining her gentle and kind pretense.

    "Oh, thank you so much for pointing that out and your kindness towards this poor girl. Unfortunately, I am here to study in this exact classroom.", Mei Qingyang was cool and calm. Nothing could rile her up, not even a fake person. She did want to puke over how embarrassingly bad this girl''s acting was.

    Upon hearing ''cousin Layue'' from that rich brat earlier, Mei Qingyang recalled the name of this girl as Gu Layue from the database she had checked last night. And the rich brat was called Gu Jiujiu. Oh, same families. She gotta research more on them later when she goes back to her room.

    "Sorry little lady. You did not understand my intention. I am pretty sure you don''t belong here. We are still generous enough to not have you punished, but if some senior comes here and sees you, you will definitely be expelled, not only from your class but the college as well. Where is your master by the way?" Gu Layue was very interested in meeting Qingyang''s master. She had heard different versions of the event that had happened near the elevator. She believed the other versions better than her cousin''s one because she knew her cousin was dumb and only relied on her relationship with her Gu family.

    Gu Layue''s parents were very influential in M country''s politics and were good friends with Su and Yu families. Even Yu Rong had to give her some face. She also claimed to be childhood friends with Yu Tian and Su Lang. However, everyone knew that Yu Tian and Su Lang never really heeded to her. They only acknowledged her existence but never included her in their group. She still threw her weight around and nobody dared defy her because her status was just below Sus, Fengs and Yus.

    Gu Jiujiu came from a branch family of Gus. She did not have much standing of her own. The business her father ran was from Gu Layue''s family as well. They were basically lackeys of main Gu family, which showed in the next generation as well.

    Gu Jiujiu liked hanging out with her cousin because if Gu Layue was feeling generous, she could give her almost unused branded stuff for free. Thus, Gu Jiujiu could live her dream of owning high end brands without spending a single penny.

    Gu Layue derived p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e from seeing the infatuated expression of Gu Jiujiu when it came to her stuff. She also felt disgusted about how her cousin clung to her, just for some monetary benefits. Like father like daughter. Since, they liked playing lackeys, Gu Layue did not mind using Gu Jiujiu for all the dirty work and let her take fall for it. Unfortunately for Gu Jiujiu, she did not even understand that she was being used. Everyone had their own reasons for sticking with someone.

    Right now, the most pressing matter for Gu Layue was to know Mei Qingyang''s master. First of all, there was no way the college administration was allowing a poor person to attend the college here.

    But, if by any chance they were, then she should be serving a high-profile master which could only be one of those three guys. Su Lang and Feng Yue had never really cared about their servants that much. Otherwise, the college would have seen poor students before. But that was not the case. Then were the rumors of Yu Tian taking in a servant true? Was she the rumored swimming pool incident girl, the girl who had earned touch of Yu Tian?

    All these thoughts ran through Gu Layue''s mind at a lightning speed. Mei Qingyang was amused by the number of expressions changes this girl went through in an instant. She chuckled a bit and then said in a mocking tone, "I don''t think YOU understand lady. I am a person with no master. I am just here to attend the class. Let''s be on our ways."

    Gu Layue got incensed with this humiliation. How dare an ugly poor brat with such filthy ways talk to her like that. But she could not lose her temper here. Calmness needed to be dealt with even more calmness.

    "Well, as you wish. Don''t say afterwards that we did not warn you. Although you don''t belong here, we tried to be civil with you. Unfortunately, you wasted best of our intentions." Gu Layue showed a provocative proud expression to Qingyang, as if she had just conquered a battle between countries.

    Once again, Mei Qingyang''s head twitched. If she were going to be classmates with this girl, it was going to be really hard. One, she would need to fight against her ''pure and kind'' speech everyday and two, she would need to see her bad acting. It was really sad how everyone was falling for her act. Had she entered a class of really dumb people?

    She beamed her best smile and was about to reply when the front door to the classroom opened and the professor entered. Everyone, who had gathered to enjoy the show soon scattered and took their seats. Gu Layue was sitting to being with, but she was still staring daggers at Mei Qingyang. Mei Qingyang, however, coolly turned around and found an empty place to sit in, in the back-most row. She noticed, from the corner of her eyes, people already sitting in the row shifting to other rows, emptying the whole back row on both the sides of the partition.

    She had not even settled in the seat yet when all the girls in the class started screaming and whistling.

    Mei Qingyang raised her head to look at the podium at the front and recognized two handsome boys. Feng Yue and Yu Tian were with the professor, carrying some papers with them. Perhaps, they had come to drop off the materials for the professors. Her and Yu Tian''s eyes met and Yu Tian, still with his cold expression, nodded slightly towards her. Startled, she also nodded her head in greeting.

 Chapter 22 - Teaching Assitants

    Yu Tian looked around only to realize that he was in the class full of students from one of the nastiest batches he knew about. If they saw his acceptance towards Mei Qingyang, they would shred her to pieces. He hurriedly averted his eyes from hers, bewildering Qingyang. Why did he change his attitude instantaneously?

    But as much as he wanted to protect her for some reason unknown to even him, he was also interested in how this meddlesome girl was going to deal with situations like these in the future.

    Unfortunately, this whole interaction between Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian did not escape the sharp eyes of the girls in the classroom. So, him taking in a servant was true after all.

    There was no other way to explain this little interaction between this poor girl and the God of the school. But why did he need to treat his servant so nicely that he would even let her attend college? If it was his demand, no one would really say anything to him; he was virtually the owner of everything here.

    Right now, each and every girl was so jealous of Mei Qingyang, they wanted to be Yu Tian''s servant themselves regardless of their wealthy status. That position obviously came with so many benefits including a chance to seduce him. The phones were rapidly taken out and the latest gossip was spread around as fast as speed of light. The whole college''s phones were buzzing at this hour.

    Averting of gaze abruptly squeezed out a chuckle from Feng Yue. When did his best friend, Yu Tian, care for a girl this much? And why was he committing such stupid mistakes? Two days ago, this guy had called him and Su Lang at their private place, a place in the school, unknown to even Yu Rong.

    They used to meet up there frequently to discuss their plans they did not want anyone to know about. Yu Tian was very anxious about rumors getting out of control and how his one move at the swimming pool had made this girl very vulnerable. Not that they did not have meeting the other four days about the same issue.

    It was one thing that he was feeling guilty. He could have just humiliated her in public once and not get involved with her thereafter and things would have settled down. Putting such an act before people would have placated their hearts and they would not bother her then. But he just had to propose the most ridiculous idea ever, to monitor her and those around her by being the Teaching Assistants (TAs) of all the classes she was going to attend.

    And thus, started two really tiring days for them, from finding her classes to begging their teachers to take them as TAs. Since everyone knew them, it was not that hard. But everyone did raise their eyebrows. That''s when he and Su Lang realized that Yu Tian had really started to fall for this girl. So, now their major problem then was Yu Rong. For some reason though, she was rather quiet these days. She definitely knew what had transpired at the swimming pool. She still did not get involved. What was she planning?

    Gu Layue was particularly resentful of this lass. She had only joined a week ago but she had gained Yu Tian''s favor. She could not forget just how warmly Yu Tian was looking at her before that b*tch took her seat. They had been together since childhood but he had never even glanced at her like that. Why was it like this?

    *Why did this lass come to ruin my day and life? I am going to kill this girl. She dares covet my future husband!*

    "Quiet down people. I know you guys are excited to have not only one, but two of the most celebrated people in the college here. They had especially requested me to be teaching assistants aka TAs of this class. I could not refuse them and so, they will be helping you with the class as well the lab for this course. Welcome Feng Yue and Yu Tian.", the professor grinned.

    This was an introduction to engineering class and all the batches he had had before always ended up sleeping because this was very rudimentary course. But now there were two handsome guys in the class, so at least girls would pay attention. Then he would not be scolded by his supervisor about not teaching them properly. No one understood that this course was redundant and was not really required for these high intellect students.

    Everyone was shocked for a moment. These two guys, who were so busy, not only with their courses but also the business life, actually decided to be TA for a puny course for first years? What was going on? Was it really because of this new girl?

    But most of the girls in the class were content with just looking at the two guys. Gu Layue, on the other hand, was plotting to instigate the class against this girl.

    Mei Qingyang was the one truly shocked. *TA? For this class? Wasn''t it supposed to be an introductory class? Why would they require two highly intelligent seniors to be TA? Was it to keep an eye on her? Were they acting as Yang Rong''s spies now?*

    Things were just not adding up for her. She had started trusting Yu Tian a bit after how he had saved her at the swimming pool. She had also given his scolding a thought later and realized he was right for the most part. She should have looked out for herself more and it was a rash decision on her part to meddle in the whole debacle. She could have done something else. But the situation had alarmed her so much that she just forgot to think calmly and took action involuntarily. *Wonder where so much bravery in me came from at that time.*

    But now, she had to rethink everything and try to stay away from the trio. If she had known this situation would evolve like this, she would not have even talked to Su Lang in the morning. *Whatever happened has happened. I need to be careful from now on.*

 Chapter 23 - Even Teachers Wont Stand With You

    After a few introductions, the class started as normal. It seemed that the three of them indeed had taken up responsibility of being a TA, either solely or in pairs for all the classes Mei Qingyang was attending. Were they not being too deliberate in their dealings? They were definitely acting as spies now.

    Mei Qingyang had not encountered any other person who was taking all the classes as her, so she had to be the reason they were doing this. Although, she knew she was placing too much importance to herself, a lowly person in this school, there was no other way to explain this.

    In the afternoon, before the start of her last class, she was approached by Gu Jiujiu again. She decided to ignore her as usual.

    Gu Jiujiu snatched the book she was reading and said loudly in front of the class, "So, how does it feel to have the legendary trio as your TAs in all your classes? Are you enjoying the attention?" She then went on to throw away the book and snicker at her own actions.

    Mei Qingyang was really getting bored of these childish things these guys were doing. Couldn''t they just come up with more innovative schemes?

    She gave an unempathetic look to Gu Jiujiu and calmly said, "It does feel great. If you know that they are doing this because of me, don''t you think if they see you bullying a poor me like this, they will come after you as well? You remember that guy from swimming pool right?" If this is how they wanted to be dealt with, then so be it.

    "You¡­." Gu Jiujiu was speechless. Everyone present, who was preparing to enjoy the humiliation of this girl, stiffened a bit. Indeed, they all had the same thought in their minds. Not everyone was a fool here. The trio was doing this for her and everyone was jealous. They never thought that Mei Qingyang could turn the tables with just one sentence. So, she was enjoying the attention after all.

    Mei Qingyang sensed the change in mood of everyone, including Gu Layue, who was enjoying the show a second earlier. Her face had turned pale from the realization that any action against Mei Qingyang might incur the wrath of Yu Tian. But they still did not know the intentions of the three Gods and they could actually just be keeping an eye on her. And the possibility of this was much greater than them caring for her.

    Thinking till here, Gu Layue could not help but be proud on her intelligence. She laughed, "You think too highly of yourself Mei Qingyang. Do you really think they are concerned about you? We still don''t know their intentions, so you should not be relying on support from them."

    Everyone relaxed after hearing Gu Layue''s words. Indeed, they were too stupid to even listen to this poor girl. Gu Layue was the most intelligent person here, she could not be wrong.

    Mei Qingyang applauded Gu Layue in her heart. At least, she could think a bit.

    "Well, I was not the one who was asking about all the attention I am getting. I guess you guys are feeling threatened already by my existence." Well, nonetheless, it was fun to be provoking the whole class. She did not know what she would get out of making the whole class her enemy but it''s not like she would face any different fate if she were to try to remain harmonious with them. She would have still suffered bullying from them.

    "Mei Qingyang. I will give you just one advice. Do understand that the teachers are also not sure about the attitude of the three guys towards you. I am pretty sure that the professors would have figured out by now why they had requested to become TAs of these particular classes. Once they know that it is just to keep an eye on you, even they won''t stand with you. No one enjoys the company of a lowly person. You are just spreading your filth here, nothing else." Gu Jiujiu was enraged by how calm Mei Qingyang was. Did she never get riled up?

    Gu Layue was a bit proud after hearing her cousin''s jab on the poor girl. She, the most intelligent in the Gu family and the next heir, was herself nurturing Gu Jiujiu. Obviously, she would display some sort of tactic here. She was waiting for Mei Qingyang to tremble with fear on hearing the truth of her situation. She looked at the poor brat but only found dead calm and indifference in her eyes. *Why? Why was this girl so confident? Did she really have backup of Yu Tian? But when she last met Yu Rong, she was not happy with this girl at all. There is no way she had support of Yus. Then was she missing something in her analysis?*

    Suddenly, a realization dawned upon Gu Layue. If Yu Rong had wanted to spy on this insignificant fly, there was no way she would do it in such a high-profile manner. She could have used just any normal student. Moreover, she never had power over any of the guys, especially Feng Yue and Su Lang. It was a far-fetched idea that Yu Rong urged Yu Tian to take help of the two guys and keep an eye on her.

    Even if she did and Yu Tian agreed to her demands, they would again not do it themselves but use their own men or other students. Why would they need to take a step by themselves? What were their intentions? This just meant that they might have their own agenda regarding this girl and their impression might be more favorable than she had calculated earlier.

    Furthermore, she had heard rumors of Yu Tian personally taking this lass on school tour. What did that mean? Oh no! She might have taken a hasty decision just now to speak against her. She should have controlled her jealousy and just watch the show. Never mind, whatever happened had happened. She would need to take more precautions from now on and not get into this girl''s trap. Who would have thought that one little sentence from the brat would elicit such response from otherwise poised her? This girl was good in scheming, alright.

    Throughout her thought process, Gu Layue''s expression changed so many times that the spectators were really worried now. What if, this poor girl implicated every single one of them? To think that even ever gentle and intelligent Gu Layue had to do so much analysis, this nut was definitely hard to crack. Everyone in the class was waiting for the verdict.

    Mei Qingyang was also amused by how hard Gu Layue was trying. But she knew that if it ever came to it, Gu Layue would prove a worthy opponent for sure. She was a bit slow but ultimately knew how to make good decisions based on sound analysis. There were too many factors here to hinder her progress and she needed to be on the top of everything to avoid her plan failing.

    Anyway, Mei Qingyang had arrived at the same conclusion as Gu Layue. She did not need to take much stress because the guys were trying to evaluate her intentions of joining the college as well. She did not have much knowledge about her enemy but the other party did not have much idea about her either. Moreover, she had advantage of Su Lang being her cousin, she could easily get some information out from her dad. Now what was left was starting to pan out to the whole first year rather than just her class for shelling out information.

    As for the professors, she was not too worried. She would just do her best in the classes and even after that, if they gave her hard time, she would deal with them as with the students in her class. By the time they would think of messing with her grades, she would have enough proof

    The rest of the class went normal and as happened in other classes, Yu Tian was here as a TA for this class too. Mei Qingyang was getting a bit sick over seeing him again and again and knowing that the three guys were here for her.

    Not only that, this was just the first day. She would need to unfortunately bear with this for the whole semester and perhaps whole year. She was also getting frustrated with all the attention this was bringing to her. She was supposed to be doing a covert operation here. She decided that she needed to talk with these three after all. She could not really wait to figure out what these guys were up to. She needed to show some of her cards to determine the hand of others in front of her.

 Chapter 24 - Childish Bullying

    And thus, Mei Qingyang''s college life started at this prestigious school of elites. For next few days, she tried really hard to talk to the servant category people outside of the college, but everyone was very tight lipped about everything. No one was willing to jeopardize their status.

    One thing about the school time was to be noted here. The servants were not allowed to be in the service of their masters when the school and colleges were in session. The schools had fixed timing for all the kids, so the servants could not even step near the school buildings. College classes went on throughout the day depending on who had taken what course. So, the servants were allowed near the buildings, but they could not enter. This was done to restrict poor kids'' access to education. If they were to become more informed, there were high chances of them rebelling.

    Thus, she had to change her targets to relatively newer recruits in the middle school. She did gather some intel from their attitude. The servants in the college were relatively happier because one, they had accepted their fate and two, most of them were not being treated badly by their masters, especially if they had shown better intelligence in terms of scheming.

    This was a cruel world and everyone was out there to get ahead of each other. Scheming and plotting were rampant among the wealthy kids. Disgracing each other was equivalent to attacking each other''s parents. The kids who won their battles would gain favor of their classmates, boosting their own reputation and their families'' as well. Here, everything was directly related to one''s family''s prestige.

    So, not only was there discrimination between rich and poor, there was similar demarcation among the rich themselves. The people on lower end of the spectrum, like the nouveau rich or kids whose families were in peril for reasons like loss or failure in business would ''take up'' these ''tasks'' from kids belonging to well established families. The tasks included anything from running errands for them they did not want to be traced back on to taking a few childish revenges on someone who had pissed the employer party off.

    Now this was a business world. So, there were plenty of people who were not as well off as others and were looking to boost their images. A few were forced to butter the better off people by their families. The phrase ''dog eat dog'' really was apt for this school.

    The Gu cousins and their classmates jealous of Mei Qingyang had engaged a few of the similar desperate people to trouble the girl who had been garnering attention from the three gods of the school. They could not really stomach their imaginary importance going down in hearts of the crowd.

    This started the series of days full of headaches for Mei Qingyang. She had basically been left to her own devices for her classes by everyone and whole last row had been designated just for her in each class. The second day she entered her first class, each and every seat was soaked with water. All other seats were occupied by her classmates, so no space was left for her.

    If the students thought this would faze her at all, they were wrong. This was nothing. Very proudly, Qingyang sat on the last stair of the classroom. People snickered on her and called out names, until the professor came, with the TAs.

    Half the students had thought that the three gods being the TA was a first day prank by their immediate seniors. The other half had believed that TAs would not be visiting them everyday. But Yu Tian and Feng Yue proved them wrong. They saw the girl sitting on the floor, obediently waiting for the class to start. Looking around, they found a few people averting their gaze subconsciously, confirming that this was their deed.

    The professor asked Mei Qingyang the reason of her sitting on the floor. She also looked around with a smile without saying anything at first. Once she saw the averting part from a few, her smile deepened. Then she elaborated how the seats at the back were damp and how she thought that someone might have screwed up by mistake while cleaning the classroom.

    Her statement fueled the confidence of the culprits thinking that she had got scared of offending them. Professor also knew what was going on but chose to ignore it.

    Yu Tian looked at her to check any plead for help or sadness, but only found confidence in her sparkly eyes. Before he knew it, he had gone ahead and sat down beside her.

    *Damn! Had we not decided not to get involved with her and just keep an eye? Why am I sitting here?*

    Feng Yue gave him a questioning look too. Had this girl really hypnotized his friend? Seeing Yu Tian silently sit with her, with contentment on his face, Feng Yue shrugged his shoulders and sat on her other side, to surprise of everyone. Their fake confidence deflated in an instant.

    Unfortunately for people who were looking to break her, she still held her head high. Gu Jiujiu could not take it anymore and on Friday of the first week, she decided to confront Mei Qingyang before their last class of the day started.

    "Yo! I hear you have been encountering unfortunate events everyday. Not in just in the college but outside too. Are you enjoying the dead animals? They must be saving you tons of grocery money, since you don''t need to arrange for meat anymore.", and she laughed out loud at her seemingly intelligent insult.

    "You really think these childish pranks would affect me? Are you overestimating yourself or underestimating me Gu Jiujiu? Or are you guys trying to tell me that you guys came up with such stupid ideas because these might have really affected you yourselves if you were in my place?", Mei Qingyang was as calm as ever, even telling to step their game up.

    Most of the people now felt embarrassed of themselves. That''s correct. Why would they think of these pranks as harmful unless they themselves feared them? This girl always knew their innermost thoughts.

    "I personally would suggest you guys to come up with something better. Even kids in elementary school would do better than this. I really judge why this school is so famous for intelligence if it is at this level." She then went back to reading her book without looking at flummoxed Gu Jiujiu.

    Gu Layue was also sitting there and looking at her performance. She realized that this girl was indeed a tough nut to crack. If she wanted something better, then it was time to take matters in her own hands.

    Mei Qingyang''s wish came true the second week after the college started. She vowed to never seek more trouble ever again.

 Chapter 25 - She Was Killed

    "We finally found you ah!", a few burly looking guys blocked the path of Mei Qingyang. She was only heading back to her room after her classes got over one day. It had been almost three weeks since the pool incident now. Was the childish bullying these past few days not enough, that they had hired these terrifying men to scare her off?

    Mei Qingyang scoffed in her mind. "What do you want?"

    "What do we want?" the seemingly looking leader decided to speak up. "Do you remember Zhang Xi, the guy who was expelled from the school?"

    The guy who had just spoken was visibly angry. This girl was living her life in peace day in, day out while his master was dragged to hell after that incident at the swimming pool.

    "What about him?", Mei Qingyang was cold as ever. She did not even want to look at this group of troublemakers. They were definitely not here with good intentions. Had her prediction of Zhang Xi hiring goons for revenge come true after all?

    "What about him?" the leader flared his nose in anger and gave a dramatic pause of a second. "You are asking me what about him? Because of you and that peasant girl, our master was dragged into this whole mess. He has become homeless, thanks to you. If that Yu family was not involved that day, we would still be serving our master."

    "What do you mean?" Mei Qingyang furrowed her brows together. She was totally perplexed right now by this revelation. She didn''t hear anything about what had happened to Zhang Xi or his family after that day. She only knew that the guy was not seen on campus ever since. "Who rendered who homeless? What are you talking about?" She had no idea at all that all this had happened with Zhang family.

    "Hehe, playing innocent eh? It''s all because of you. You lowly creature got favor of Yu Tian and see what he did. We are going to exact our revenge on you. We have already dealt with that servant girl, now it''s your turn.", another guy spoke up from the back.

    So, they were basically ganging up on Mei Qingyang at this secluded place. They must have really stalked her for past two weeks to know that she would take this path, since she had been exploring secluded corners of the school everyday since the beginning of the academic session. Who would have thought that she herself would come across the trouble? But what did they mean by dealt with the other girl?

    "What did you do to her? Where is she?" While maintaining the icy sharpness in her eyes, Mei Qingyang was a bit worried inside. The last thing she ever wanted was to have someone harmed because of her. Half panicked, half boiling, her aura totally changed to that of a mad woman. She still could maintain her dead calm face which made her look more eerie.

    The guys in the group got a few jitters sensing the temperature around them drop by a few degrees. But keeping faith in their numbers, the leader still spoke up, "We¡­. we got her assigned to Brutal Qin as one of his servants. True to his name, master Qin sleeps with all his servants, guy or girl. Not many people are able to survive his beast like stamina and ways. He also beats them¡­."

    Before he could finish the sentence, a punch landed on his face. It was powerful enough to make him lose a few teeth and fly away some distance. He landed on his back. The sudden attack shocked everyone. They were standing quite far from the lass. When did she All the thirty or so guys took a step back in fear.

    The leader, holding his face with five broken teeth continued through his speech, "Haha, you getting angry? I will show you something." He took out his phone and showed her a photograph with trembling hands, "See this? This is the picture I got from Brutal Qin. Do you see her dead body?" The gruesome picture showed a pale little girl lying n.a.k.e.d with many black and purple bruises on her body. There were blood spots at some places including t.h.i.g.hs and face. The adorable little girl was no longer recognizable right now. There was a huge bruise under her right eye and her left arm had been twisted broken. These were only external injuries that were visible.

    A kick. This time she kicked him in his stomach and blood poured out through his mouth. The other guys facepalmed and cursed their leader for further provoking her.

    "What did you say? You f*cking killed her? How dare you touch one of my people?", Mei Qingyang had lost all reason and she was out to kill right now. She had not had much interaction with the girl but did try to talk to her about the whole incident. She wanted to know why she was at the pool.

    From her conversation with her, Qingyang had gathered that the girl was told by her ''friend'' who belonged to a wealthy family to go through this tribulation. If she had been successful in coming out unharmed, then her friend would have taken her as a servant. She had thought that it would be great to remain by her friend''s side rather than going somewhere else, and thus undertook the challenge. Who would have thought¡­..

 Chapter 26 - All Your Fault!

    Those who believed just in quantity and underestimated their opponent, definitely got a good beating. Punches and kicks flew like raining cats and dogs. She did not need any weapons to defeat them. If all of them combined together, they were still weaker than her adoptive dad.

    Her adoptive dad had trained her army style. He himself was not a part of military but he had so many connections that he personally got trainers for her. Not only that, don''t know where her father''s strength came from, she had never been able to defeat him in a combat. Even her trainers from the military respected him. No wonder her dad seemed like an immortal to her. These guys were not even one percent of what her dad was in terms of fighting skills.

    These guys definitely had not undergone any martial arts training. They probably just thought it would be easier to bully a weak girl. Just like that girl, who was sold to a devil. Just the thought of that pretty girl reduced to what she saw in that photo set her heart ablaze. How dare these stupid pigs do that to her!

    One of the guys could not see his brothers get beaten up and suffer humiliation. He instigated a few of them to bring steel rods. One poor girl''s life was not important after all. No one would even ask about where she went. Yu Tian, whose favor this wicked girl had gotten, would also forget her soon enough. Without a master right now, they were gone cases anyway. Another murder would not really harm anyone.

    The guys got steel rods and tried to attack Mei Qingyang. Fully alert, she dodged the one nearest to her, kicked him hard in his shin and snatched away the rod in his hands. Another guy ran towards her in the meantime and succeeded in hitting her left hand with the rod. She blocked the attack to her head using her hand but probably broke her wrist bone. Writhing with pain, she still flung the rod with her right hand.

    Now that she had access to a weapon and a reasonable excuse to use it, she was unstoppable. She was taking on even four people at a time. From then on, it was just a bloodbath and people were literally flying everywhere.

    Some of them had lost teeth and some had cracked a number of bones. Some of the guys had fled seeing how powerful this fragile girl was. By the time she finished dealing with these guys, her hair was disheveled and she looked like a mad woman. Never ever underestimate an angry woman, especially if she knows martial arts.

    While the guys were telling her how they succeeded in killing the other girl earlier, a guy was passing by who had witnessed everything. He clicked a picture of the guys threatening Mei Qingyang and circulated it in a few chat groups, with the spicy gossip that Yu Tian had purposefully made Zhang family homeless, for this girl. The news spread like a fire and also reached our three masters.

    "Oh, this picture started circulating 30 minutes ago. I wonder how much beating she has taken already. There are so many burly guys, there is no way that petite girl can handle them all.", Su Lang was coolly sipping tea in their private base when he received the picture.

    "Are we leaving Yu Tian?" He looked at his best friend who had received the message at the same time.

    This girl was an interesting creature, and a source of entertainment in different capacity for all three of them. On the top of that, she was his foster cousin. Plus, his revered uncle had asked him to take care of her. And Yu Tian had dragged them to become TAs of her classes, which was very exhausting in addition to all the stuff they needed to handle on a daily basis. Now that they had already gone that far for her, it was their duty to help her in this sticky situation too, if only

    "Why would you even ask something like that? Yes, we are definitely leaving.", Yu Tian tried to act cool as usual but there was a rush in his voice. Why? Why did this girl make him jump into action so readily?

    "Oh, come on! What kind of spell has this girl casted on you both? This is such a common occurrence here. Why would you need to save a peasant girl?" Per his principle, Feng Yue was not going to meddle into these affairs until and unless, he himself was involved. Moreover, he was irked by this girl for some reason. She had definitely not done anything to him yet, but whenever he saw her, he just felt irritated.

    "And? Do you want something to happen to her and end up in a situation like four years ago?", Yu Tian reminded him with icy cold gaze.

    Feng Yue shuddered at the thought and joined already standing and ready to run Yu Tian and Su Lang. Luckily, their private base was just 5 minutes'' walk away from the place Mei Qingyang was being ambushed.

    Yu Tian''s brisk walking was surprising all his men. Su Lang and Feng Yue were finding it really funny but they could only keep up with him. *Yu Tian, oh Yu Tian. Why are you falling for this girl with whom you might not have a future at all? The more you help her, the more trouble she gets in. Don''t you realize she is in this predicament right now because of you?*

    But who were they to tell the young master what was appropriate and what was not? Once he had made up his mind, even he could not stop himself. They reached the place swiftly. It had been exact thirty-seven minutes since the picture was clicked and circulated.

    When the three guys reached there with their entourage, they found the burliest guy of them on the ground, face up and a dainty girl with her right foot on a certain organ of the guy. She was stepping on it like she was smashing a bug. Ouch! The party of the guys was feeling his pain already. Many of them unconsciously covered their part, wincing in pain just by looking at this guy.

    "Hey Qingyang, you will kill him. Let him go!", Yu Tian yelled from far away. He had come here with the expectation of having to save her and take her to hospital. But she took down around 20 people by herself! That was just amazing. He needed to recruit her to his martial arts team.

    "Tell me who is behind all this! You can''t be on your own, tell me right now. Who is responsible for her death?" Mei Qingyang had realized that the situation did not seem as simple as she had initially thought. Zhangs were already homeless, there was nothing that they would get by doing this. Moreover, they would be afraid for their lives after the whole debacle, so they would not really want to get into another fight like this, nor would they have any resources to do so.

    Qingyang did not even lift her head to see Yu Tian. She did not seem to be aware of her surroundings anymore. Yu Tian walked slowly and carefully towards her, as if approaching an angry volatile cat. He went behind her back, circled his arms around her waist and took her off of the guy she was beating.

    "Come on, let him go. You don''t want to murder him and dirty your hands.", Yu Tian whispered into her ear from the back to try to calm her down.

    The sudden pull took Mei Qingyang by surprise. Her gaze still fixed on the man on the floor, she heard the familiar voice. Yu Tian! This Yu Tian was the root of everything. If not for him, that girl would not have died.

    She started struggling in his embrace. She yelled at him with a hoarse voice, "Don''t you dare touch me! Why did they not think when they were killing that girl bit by bit. It''s all your fault! All your fault!"

 Chapter 27 - So Frustrating!

    As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt an icy cold aura behind her back. She could imagine Yu Tian''s expression right now the same as when he had saved her back at the pool. Only this time, this coldness was directed towards her.

    After listening to her unreasonable accusation, Yu Tian really felt a pain inside his heart. This girl, who, till now was so reasonable in every situation, could think so logically and calmly that even he, the pinnacle of emotional intelligence in the school could not do, was pinning the crime onto him. Whatever happened to her brain?

    He cruelly pushed her out of his arms. Feng Yue and Su Lang stepped back because they knew Yu Tian''s temper. Right now, no one could placate him. It was Mei Qingyang''s bad luck that she was going to be the victim. But it served her right. She was the one who poked her nose in others business first. What right did she have to scold Yu Tian? How could he be blamed for helping her out?

    Mei Qingyang wasn''t stable to begin with because of the way Yu Tian had flung her in the air. The push was enough for her to fall down in a kneeling position.

    By now Mei Qingyang had calmed down a bit. She realized she had made a fool out of herself before these people. Why did she lose control all of a sudden after seeing that picture? What was this painful sensation she was experiencing right now, like someone was squeezing her heart very hard? Adding to it the fact that that girl was not related to her at all, why did she react so explosively? She had also given away her martial arts skills to her enemies now.

    "I had told you to stay away from those people. You can''t really put this on my head.", Yu Tian circled back to look at her face full of despair. He grabbed her chin and stared into her eyes, still continuing his lecture. "What? Did you think that you would be able to save everyone? It''s a miracle in itself that you are alive right now."

    His aura was continuing to grow icier. Everyone around took another few steps back. It was as if he would kill Mei Qingyang if she did not answer his questions. She was not worried about how Yu Tian was reacting. Her whole conscience was focused on that one picture which was occupying her whole mind right now.

    But the last question from Yu Tian broke a dam of tears in her which she had been holding back till now.

    "I know!", she yelled. "Saving everyone was never my intention. I know my limitations very well. But to think that I would not be able to save even one soul!!", she trailed off without completing her sentence. The listless eyes of usually lively her full of tears, falling endlessly like pearls on her cheeks which had gone red with self-deprecation really tugged a few strings in Yu Tian''s heart.

    She knew her helplessness more than anyone, so much that it was frustrating. And that frustration was what she was taking out on him. She already knew he was not to blame. It was the fault of this system, this demarcation of rich and poor. The system she had come to defeat. Instead, this system crushed her within two weeks. It showed her her place, how weak she was to even think of changing it.

    He just felt like taking her in his embrace and calm her down. He wanted to wipe her tears away and console her. She looked so pitiful that all the iciness around him melted very soon. This was a welcome change for everyone around. While the people close to Yu Tian including his assistant and two best friends were shocked out of their minds that there was something that could make him normal after his temper flared like that.

    Seeing such a heartbreaking state of otherwise strong Mei Qingyang, Yu Tian could not take it anymore. He helped her stand up and then hugged her very tightly. The girl jolted out of her languid state at once and realized what was happening. Her heart warmed up with the contrast this guy was showing within seconds and she sobbed quietly in his arms.

    "It''s frustrating, so frustrating!!", she whispered to herself.

    Yu Tian heard her silent cry and stroke her hair in an involuntary action. Everyone''s eyes widened seeing such a loving side of this guy. Who was this girl to evoke such emotions from this ice-cold pillar of a guy?

    He signaled Yu Bufan and the assistant left to check if there were any people or camera around. There were definitely Yu Rong''s spies among the guards he had brought but he needed to do some damage control here.

    "Oh my God Yu Tian! You are¡­. you are touching another human being!!", a girl entered the scene and yelled loudly.

 Chapter 28 - Fan Ruyi

    A girl of similar age as Yu Tian and group entered the area. She had most simple attire unlike other girls in the school. Yet her style was so refined that no one could take their eyes away from her. Her actions were not too overdramatic, and the girl looked like she was comfortable being herself. This girl with perfect features on her face and golden proportion for her body was smiling towards the pair who seemed to be in their own world.

    Here one sentence broke the momentum of the whole scene. Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian came back to the present. Yu Tian released the girl and both the people blushed hard. Yu Tian''s embarrassed look was funny as well as pitiful to look at.

    Feng Yue covered this new girl''s mouth and tried taking her towards the corner. "Fan Ruyi! What are you doing?", he whispered in her ears.

    "What! There was a historic moment happening here and you did not even take a video for me? What if I had not come back?", Fan Ruyi playfully answered.

    "Can you be serious for once?", Feng Yue chided her.

    "Hey, I helped make the moment light. Can''t you see how your friend is blushing? I am so glad I could witness this moment with my own eyes." Guess no one could stop this girl''s joking.

    But she was correct. All the tension in the atmosphere had dissolved by her one sentence.

    Yu Tian coughed lightly and addressed Fan Ruyi, "Ruyi! Welcome back! What are you doing here? I thought you were abroad for one more year."

    "What, I can''t even come back to my own country to my own friends?", Fan Ruyi stepped ahead and hugged Yu Tian tightly. "I am glad to see that you can touch another girl beside me now.", she smirked towards Mei Qingyang while saying this.

    Yu Tian averted his eyes from this friend of his. This girl will be death of him someday.

    "Anyway, to answer your question, I bring you good news. Yu Bufan told me what had happened. And the mission is accomplished!" Fan Ruyi smiled once again. "Let me see, you are the new girl everyone has been talking about?" She moved towards Mei Qingyang and took her hands in hers.

    "Nice to meet you, I am Fan Ruyi. Childhood friend with these three guys, part of the gang. Welcome to our school!", she shook Qingyang''s hands in a friendly gesture. "But have to say you have got some pretty neat moves. To have defeated all these guys. Ugh, the stench of blood. Brother Bufan, why are you waiting for orders? Are you not going to clean this mess?", she looked towards Yu Bufan and he took her orders.

    Mei Qingyang was still out of it, so she could not decide whether this new girl was trying to provoke her or what her intentions were. She could even order Yu Tian''s assistant around, how much power did she actually have. She was almost behaving like Yu Tian''s wife. She felt like an a.d.u.l.terer caught in some act by the legitimate person. On the other hand, her heart was aching seeing another girl being so close to Yu Tian.

    *Ugh, I guess I am still confused with all this. I need to calm down. I also need to pay respect to that girl. Don''t even know where I could find her body. I shall see that her funeral is done properly at least.*

    Thinking till here, another set of teardrops fell from her eyes.

    "Girl! Why would you cry for a stranger in the first place? Come here, I''ll give you a hug." Fan Ruyi took her into her embrace and then whispered, "Don''t worry, the girl is alive. We have saved her and she is undergoing treatment in my family''s hospital.", she stroked her hair lovingly.

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes widened in shock and she looked quizzingly at the three guys. All of them nodded in unison. Thus, she knew this new girl was telling the truth.

    "Thank you so much Ms. Fan. I am not really sure how to thank you at this point, but I''ll make sure to pay back this debt someday.", there was so much relief and calm in Mei Qingyang''s voice that now everyone knew that she was going to be alright.

    "Hey, no talk of debts and such between friends, okay? Let''s go to our private base and get you treated. We will discuss the nitty gritty of this issue afterwards, okay? Brother Bufan, what has happened to you today? You seem so fl.u.s.tered that I am seeing this side of yours for the first time. Would you not give water to our heroine here? Nevermind, let''s just head to the place." Fan Ruyi held Mei Qingyang''s hand and dragged her with her.

    Feng Yue looked at Su Lang. Su Lang understood that Feng Yue was worried about introducing this girl with unknown origins and motives to their secret place. But now that Fan Ruyi had taken the executive decision on all of their behalves, no one could say anything.

    Not only that, they trusted Fan Ruyi''s judgement of characters very much. She had never been wrong in her evaluation of human beings. Perhaps it was their family''s innate ability or something. That''s why, despite being in such high-risk job as doctors or all the top people in the M nation and managing best and oldest hospital chain of the country for years, Fan Ruyi''s family had not seen any losses for generations.

    Her stiffness might have given away her thoughts. Fan Ruyi pouted, "Hey, you don''t need to be so cautious of me. I am just very interested in you who has caught eye of our Yu Tian. Even I could not do that and I have been with these guys, practically almost since our births.", she laughed lightly staring far ahead like reminiscing her old days. Her two dimples were so charming that even Mei Qingyang could feel her heart relax a bit.

    "But I do need to ask you. I do not sense any ill will from you but I can see that you do not have pure motives in approaching my friends after all. What is the reason for doing all this?", still maintaining her friendly manner, she stared directly into Mei Qingyang''s eyes, startling the latter for once.

 Chapter 29 - Friendship Goals

    "Wha¡­ what do you mean?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes darted around after listening to such a straightforward question. She was also amused by how direct this girl was.

    "Hmm¡­ nothing much. Just know that my friends are too precious to me. If you have any schemes against them, there shall be consequences.", Fan Ruyi unhooked her arms with Qingyang and smiled. Her aura contained so much pressure that Mei Qingyang started feeling a little uncomfortable with this girl. What was she trying to pull off? Was she a friend or a foe?

    "How envious!", she blurted out suddenly.

    "Haha, why would you say that?", Fan Ruyi chuckled, curious at her statement.

    "Ah¡­ no! I did not mean anything by that. I am just envious how close you guys seem to be. You would even warn me like this for the sake of your friends.", this kind of relationship really warmed hearts, didn''t it? It seemed that friendship between these four was above all their family matters and scheming and plotting, despite everyone being from top families of the country.

    "Hey, if you haven''t realized yet, you are half a part of this group. Those guys would not mobilize their people like this if they did not care about you. And even if they do not, I would be more than happy to be your friend. I have been looking forward to addition of a girl in the group since the beginning anyway." Fan Ruyi was such a pleasing personality. Her words really had an impact on people around. Mei Qingyang''s heart was filled with more warmth. She lowered her head and smiled in gratitude. Truth or not, she was just happy to listen to those words, even if they were empty.

    The guys definitely did not put her into their hearts. She was just a person they needed to be wary of and keep an eye on. Perhaps she had created too big a drama just now, Yu Tian had to personally console her that way. Which reminded her, Fan Ruyi did say that he had, kind of, gotten over his haphephobia. He had to, to hug her like that, right? A tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks thinking about it.

    ---------------------------------

    "What do you mean there is nothing?", Yu Rong was pacing back and forth in her room. Wang Hao was standing by her side and another guy was giving her the report of whatever had happened just now.

    "We¡­. we don''t know anything. By the time we reached there, all the guys were on the ground. We¡­ we don''t think she could have done it alone. They even had steel rods. Even Yu Tian would struggle in such a fight¡­.", the guy was trembling.

    "What about the camera feeds? There is a reason we have cameras in every corner of the school!", Yu Rong thundered on the poor guy.

    "They¡­. they were all deleted by someone. It''s like nothing was recorded. We only came to know because of the chat groups among the students. So, someone had replaced the feeds with some old footage of nothing happening there and that is why the surveillance did not see any activity. Later even that was destroyed.", the guy had knelt down on the floor by now. He was ready to be punished by his master. He had known it was his bad luck that he was chosen to serve as a spy under Yu Tian. That guy was bad news for everyone in his team. And that new girl, she was death of everyone. Ugh!!

    "We could not go there ourselves unless we were ordered by Yu Tian. And you had already instructed that leader of the group not to contact anyone amongst us. We just knew the approximate time when they were going to start. If the cameras had recorded what was happening, Yu Tian and the group would have been alerted sooner."

    "F*ck this shit. Who! Who is helping her? Why have you not found out who was behind this?", she had swiped her desk clean and all the doc.u.ments were now lying on the floor. Oh, she was so angry. How does this girl get away every time? Was her nephew really helping her? She had put him and his friends under observation. She had even got someone to investigate their private base. There was nothing.

    "You can go out now if there is nothing else to report.", Wang Hao calmly instructed the guy still trembling on the floor.

    "Yes, thank you.", the guy scurried away as soon as he heard the words. At least he did not die today ah!

    "Hao, what should I do? This girl is proving to be a bigger headache than I had anticipated. Now that other girl is back, if they become ally, I''ll be in peril. Help me out Hao!", she was almost in tears. Seeing such a pitiful state of his master, Wang Hao started running his brain.

    "Let me think about it. We have cut her source of communication with outside world for sure. Her laptop also does not show any suspicious activity. We need to find her back-up. Since Fan Ruyi was present on the scene, there are high chances that she instructed her minions to help her out in dealing with those rogues. I shall investigate this. Unfortunately, there were no students present at that time. Even the guy who took initial picture had left the scene soon afterwards, so he did not get to see anything either.", he adjusted his glasses and analyzed further with a serious face.

    "To me, it is also suspicious that this guy had intended to stay and witness the whole thing but got a text at exact moment from his girlfriend to meet him then. I further investigated and found out that his girlfriend had never texted him and both of them are still spooked out by the incident." He glanced at his madam who plopped down in her chair and put her head in her hands.

    "Were you able to find out who was behind this then?", she asked half present in the moment, half thinking elsewhere.

    "My investigation points to Z, the country''s top hacker.", Wang Hao concluded his report.

 Chapter 30 - The Secret Base

    "Welcome to our secret base. This place is so well hidden that even the administrators don''t know that this place exists." Fan Ruyi dragged Mei Qingyang by hand and proudly showed her the room. The room was actually a hidden cave in the library building. They had to trigger a particular mechanism with certain books in the last shelf in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the library to open up this place. It was all very detective like fancy stuff which was very fascinating to Qingyang. These are the things she had only read in novels. Even her foster father was unable to provide any facility like this.

    "Damn, this is so cool!!" After hearing some sweet nothings from Fan Ruyi about being part of the group, Mei Qingyang had relaxed a lot. She still had her guard up and was observing everything very carefully. She still had to be suspicious of this girl''s motives. She was the only one out of the group who cozied up with her almost instantly, without even properly meeting her. Others were probably still evaluating her. Even her own foster cousin, Su Lang, was wary of her, especially since she scandalized her that one time.

    They were also trying to find out her source of communication with outside people. It was unfortunate that she could not talk directly to her dad, thanks to that boss of hers Yu Rong.

    She looked around the place. It was further beneath the bas.e.m.e.nt, thus did not have any windows. However, it was very well lit by lights and was equipped with modern modular kitchen and everything. There were around six bedrooms with their own bathrooms each.

    Fan Ruyi proudly pronounced, "The library building was built from donation by my family. So, we sneaked in this space in the architecture of this building unbeknownst to anyone else in the school. The builders were also replaced by our own men; thus it was easy to get this one. We all need a breather space all the time, just to get away from the hustle bustle of our lives."

    Mei Qingyang agreed. She could not fathom herself being in their shoes.

    "So, why would you bring me here, at your secret place, so nonchalantly?", Qingyang finally asked the pressing question in everyone''s mind.

    Fan Ruyi as well as people behind the two girls froze. Yeah, why would Fan Ruyi take such a big decision so suddenly? She scratched her head in embarrassment.

    "Well, as I explained to you earlier, I have been a lone girl in this group since forever. I could really have one more girl, so that I can have girly talks with her.", she spoke in a low voice. "And I really liked you to be honest, for some reason, I sense a familiarity from you. So¡­."

    "So, basically, any girl would have been good, as long as you liked them?", before Fan Ruyi could finish her sentence, Mei Qingyang interrupted her.

    Listening to her accusation, Fan Ruyi became dumbfounded for a few seconds. Then she gave her a very mysterious smile and brushed her sentence off. "Come on, if we keep talking like this, who will tend to your wounds? Let''s go to this room, it is not being used by anyone. Guys, you need to standby because I''m gonna take a look at her body and see what is going on.", she once again took Qingyang''s hand in hers and dragged her to the corner most room. The guys behind became red from embarrassment after hearing Fan Ruyi''s description. This¡­ This unruly girl spewed just any non-sense.

    The empty room where Fan Ruyi took Mei Qingyang was very basic. It had a big bed with white sheets in the middle of the room. No decorations on the wall. There was a big bathroom with a jacuzzi inside. She was really astonished at how lavish even their secret base was.

    "Let me take a look.", Fan Ruyi sat her down on the white sofa nearby.

    "Ugh, Ms. Fan, this will get dirty." Qingyang was reluctant to stain such a pristine cloth without even a speck of dust.

    "Oh, come on Qingyang, can you stop with formalities? Can''t you call me Ruyi like the boys? And don''t worry about dirtying it. We can always replace it.", she forcefully sat her down once again and fetched a medicine box from nearby drawer. She then unbuttoned Qingyang''s shirt to take a look at her bruises.

    "Oh God! You have so many bruises!!" Fan Ruyi cried. She alarmed the boys outside who rushed into the room, without realizing that Fan Ruyi had forbidden them from coming in.

    "What happened?" Su Lang worriedly asked.

    The view before them shook them up. A petite Mei Qingyang was sitting on the grand sofa with only a tank top and shorts on. With meat at all the right places, she looked so seductive right now. But more flabbergasting was her body covered in black and purple bruises, some even bleeding. Even more surprising was her skin below her neck covered with marks.

    "Are¡­. are these burn marks?"

 Chapter 31 - Burn Scars

    Mei Qingyang saw shock on everyone''s face. Well, it was not the first time this had happened.

    She had seen all the nurses in the hospital, where her foster father got her treated four years ago after stumbling upon her in a burning car, see her with disgust or pity. Disgust because her body, especially four years ago, looked hideous. Pity because she probably would never get a partner in life. She had heard the nurses discuss her condition numerous times among themselves, on how God did save her face from burning but instead left her with something useless.

    And it was not like she had never tried going to school before. It was fine as long as she was wearing layers beneath her white shirt of the uniform, so her dark scars wouldn''t be visible at all. But that dreaded physical check-up day came. She was still trying to get over her complex about her body.

    The assistant nurse who was working there for the first time in her life, got so scared that she screamed really loudly in panic, causing everyone to be curious. Don''t know if it was her or someone else who revealed her secret to everyone around but Qingyang became a subject of mockery for everyone.

    No one except that nurse and the doctor had seen anything. Her dad tried hard to keep everything under wraps, even pressuring the principal on the basis of his high position in the education ministry at the time. Later, a few bullies had forcefully torn her shirt, only to uncover another layer of clothes beneath. This confirmed their suspicions and the bullying became so worse that her dad had to pull her out of the school. Her confidence became all time low.

    If not for her foster mother going out of her way to seek Chinese medicine from various places and have her bathe in herbal baths everyday, her scars wouldn''t have faded to the extent they were today. And her confidence would not have returned, if not for her foster father, who taught her martial arts. Her parents had put in so much effort into her, she needed to do something for them as well.

    These guys were showing a similar expression of shock and horror on their faces. It triggered her unpleasant memories for sure. Because she did not really want to tell them everything, she just smiled embarrassingly and scratched her head. No matter how much she tried, her face was full of grief.

    "You guys! Get out!! Who gave you permission to enter the room?", Fan Ruyi yelled and threw couple of pillows on exasperated guys who were just standing there, staring at her. The guys understood that they were being rude and went back to their original cold selves. But one had to say, this girl in black tank top and black shorts, with so many scars and bruises, looked like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, a fighter. It added so much to her charms. The guys rushed outside once again after Fan Ruyi''s harsh scolding. Only she could control them ah!

    "Let me see.", Fan Ruyi moved her hand forward to touch her scars below her collarbone. Mei Qingyang promptly blocked her arm with her own, a sharp look in her eyes.

    "Ah! I''m sorry. I was being inconsiderate.", Fan Ruyi snapped out of her trance of seeing her burn scars. Since she belonged to a family of doctors, she had been exposed o medical knowledge since her childhood. She was preparing to become a doctor herself and was enrolled in the medical department of the college. She did not really need any lessons because she already knew everything.

    Thus, she was a special case in the school and was allowed to research on her own under various doctors. Her family being famous, she had opportunity to study under renowned doctors abroad.

    Things like these really intrigued her and she would just get lost in her own world of organs like this. Right now, she was so entranced that she forgot she was dealing with a tough girl.

    "It''s okay, as long as you know.", replied Mei Qingyang coldly. She wasn''t interested in telling them the full story. Their inquisitiveness about her was becoming a headache for her. She had seen sparkles in their eyes before they left the room and in this girl''s too, like they all were ready to listen to a long story from the past. She had come to know from her dad that he had only told them that he had found her somewhere without giving out any details. She didn''t believe it was the right time to reveal her backstory to them yet.

    She told Fan Ruyi sternly, "Ms Fan, could you just pass me that first aid box? I could dress my wounds myself." She knew very well that this girl was trying to be helpful to her but Fan Ruyi was definitely being a klutz right now. Was she just pretending to be on her good side, or did she really want to be friends with her?

    "No, please. Let me do it. I''ll take care of it, don''t worry!!", cried Fan Ruyi. Why was this girl being so mistrusting and difficult? What had these stupid guys done with her that she was trying so hard to maintain a distance? She could feel that this girl could definitely use some social interaction. *I need to ask these idiots if they did something to her. Ugh.*

    "You know, my hospital has developed this skin cream which is not available in market yet. It can fade away toughest scars and works on burn marks too. I''ll get it for you when I get time, okay?" Fan Ruyi tried to make small conversation with her. She shut up after a lack of response from this injured girl.

    "Alright, I''m done. You can rest here for some time. At least one of us will be here with you. Yu Tian has also assigned brother Yu Bufan for your help. So just press this bell here to call him should you need anything.", Fan Ruyi was finally done after about half an hour. She pointed to the bell on the side table and promptly left from the room. The guys were standing outside.

    Mei Qingyang closed her eyes and slowly drifted away to sleep. With her sharp senses, she heard Fan Ruyi complaining to Yu Tian in a disappointing tone, "She doesn''t trust me at all. I''m so sad. Ugh, did you guys make too much trouble for her?"

    A smile floated on Mei Qingyang''s face. This girl will definitely be useful to her in developing trust among all four of them.

 Chapter 32 - A Summon From Yu Rong

    Mei Qingyang ended up sleeping for more than 12 hours in the secret base since she was so exhausted after the fight. The three guys and Fan Ruyi decided not to disturb her and let her enjoy the peace. They needed to get out of there because of their busy lives but left Yu Bufan to look after her.

    Yu Bufan being the most trustworthy man under Yu Tian, everyone was relieved to leave her under his care. He was adept at cooking as well as possessed intermediate medical skills. If, by any chance, Mei Qingyang needed any medical attention, he was there to help her.

    It was the first time Mei Qingyang had a deep sleep after coming to this school. The reason was simple, there were no cameras. And no way for anyone to spy on her. There were only a few people outside whom she at least half trusted. And so, next day when she woke up at 4 a.m., she realized what a mistake she had committed sleeping there.

    She had been taking all precautions since the beginning. She had been programming the CCTV cameras in the whole school before leaving her room everyday, showing a fake video of hers returning to her room at night. This was just in case she had to stay late night for her research. To anyone who was monitoring her via cameras only would feel like she was heading to her room in time.

    She spent about a day making this program because she had to make sure that each camera corresponded to correct timing. She also had to make sure that she had complete video footage of hers from her college classroom to her being in home in one dress. If not, she would be caught immediately. It took her so much effort and time to just find one day worth of film of hers.

    Thanks to Yu Rong, who was paying her extra attention, it became much easier. Otherwise she would have had to create and edit footages of herself which would have consumed more time. She took it next level to add a few clips of hers cooking in kitchen of her room and sleeping peacefully afterwards, just to cover all her basis.

    She would stop this program if she arrived at her abode in time. She could only use this tactic so many times, not to arouse suspicion around. But if Yu Rong found out in any way that she was not in her room last night, that would be a trouble. Not only it would affect her budding relationship with these four people, it would also reveal her hacker skills. She had already put herself in danger with her martial arts skills.

    She had triggered the same program on before leaving for college yesterday. It did come handy because she had not returned to her room at all last night. This was the first time after she programmed the system, that she really had to use it. Although she had absolute confidence in her skills, she was still nervous about it. She could not really wait to see the results of her one day worth of hard work.

    She went out of the room, all groggy after waking up. It was too early for anyone to be awake, so she was really surprised that Yu Bufan was standing outside her door, awaiting her orders, if any. As soon as he saw her, he bowed towards her.

    Yu Bufan was a quiet guy, executing Yu Tian''s orders to the T. Mei Qingyang had not heard his voice at all till now. She was curious to discover the personality of this guy as well. By now, she had gotten quite some idea about the four people who formed the legendary group of the school. She had also come to know that Fan Ruyi''s family''s status was at par with the three guys, her wealth made her family fourth in the order perhaps.

    She was 99% sure that this Yu Bufan could be more intelligent and smarter than any of the four people. Of course, she was not discrediting any of the achievements of the four people to their servants. But it was always useful to keep gifted people around them, and the pinnacle of riches in the school should be expert in doing so. Of course, Mei Qingyang had no idea about Yu Bufan being a double agent for Yu Tian.

    "Mr. Yu, I would like to go back to my room, as discreetly as possible at that.", she urged the butler, who had no hint of tiredness on his face despite looking like he had not had any sleep at all. "I assume everyone else returned back."

    "Ms. Mei, you are correct. The bosses had to return for their works. Master Yu and Ms. Fan did have plans to come back here but they were caught up with something. I shall take you out of the exit that is nearest to your building. I reckon that would be most convenient to you?", a very authoritative but calm voice came out of this gentleman. He did not look more than 25 years old, but his voice felt like he was in his mid-thirties.

    "Oh, we have more entrances and exits to this place? I had thought I would need to leave from library. The chances of me being discovered would have increased greatly. Yes please, I would like to use the exit you recommended then.", Mei Qingyang was delighted to hear the news. It would be so easy for her to reach her room now.

    "Would you like to have a shower before leaving? Ms. Fan has prepared a few dresses for you. All of the other supplies are in the bathroom as well.". Yu Bufan was not using overly respectful tone for her but not very rude either. He obviously did not want to offend someone his master was interested in. He was actually happy for his master had finally found someone. But he was still not sure of this girl''s intentions.

    There had been so many incidents in the past when girls from noble families had approached his master, just for the sake of his fame and wealth. It not only broke his and his master''s heart, it worsened Yu Tian''s fear of touch too. After trying to go out with two girls, who were set up by Yu Rong for him, he had realized, they were not interested in him that much. Of course, Yu Tian''s good looks had warranted that any girl would fall for him. But the ulterior motives behind their approach put them off. This girl did not really behave like the other girls at all. She was rather cold to his master most often. But it could be an act too.

    "I''m sorry Mr. Yu, that would not be possible. It''s almost sunrise and students will start with their exercise regimes. I do not want anyone to notice me.", Mei Qingyang was resolute in her decision. She just needed to get the hell out of here and reach her room. She had more pressing things she needed to evaluate.

    Yu Bufan analyzed her statement and nodded, "Very well, please come this way.", he pointed towards one of the empty bedrooms in the house.

    He took out his cellphone and pressed a button. The door that looked like the door to a closet opened up and showed stairs going upwards. *Damn these rich people. Such interesting dynamics of the building.*

    "I hope I do not need to remind you to keep this place a secret. Upon master''s approval and once we tell you about all the entrances and exits to the place, we might give you access to it. Then, I would not escort you back.", Yu Bufan bowed politely once again.

    "Ah! Mr. Yu, thank you very much for taking care of me. I have nothing to thank you with, but if you ever need any help and it is something that I am able to do, please do let me know. Although I know that I am not that capable, but please.", Mei Qingyang returned the bow as well.

    "Yes, Ms. Mei. I will keep that in mind.", Yu Bufan''s sharp features softened a bit after hearing her words. So, at least she knew how to express her gratitude huh. Not bad. This girl did have a knack to reach people''s hearts somehow.

    Mei Qingyang hurried back to her room. He program was still in effect and while she was heading towards her room, the cameras were showing the hallways as empty to whoever was monitoring the feed from the cameras. The only thing she had now to be wary of was encountering any person in the hallway. Thankfully it went smoothly and she reached her room without any hiccups. While she was thanking her stars, imagine her surprise when she saw an envelope laying neatly before her room''s entrance.

    She opened it in haste and her face darkened. It read "Be present at Yu Rong''s office today at 9 am."

 Chapter 33 - She Wont Be Able To Handle It

    Mei Qingyang grew suspicious at once. If Yu Rong really wanted to summon her, she could have emailed her. Why this letter? And what happened to other ones, the threatening letters she was receiving on daily basis from the crazy fans of the three guys? Looked like someone cleaned this area. She looked around to find any clues as to who could have done that.

    She tried to scrutinize the situation again. If the letter was delivered by Wang Hao, he was not generous enough to get the area swept and get rid of the other letters. Yu Tian and group would not have time or energy to think about this small stuff. Moreover, she was at their place yesterday.

    Was it because people did not get any update on her after her encounter with those burly men was publicized through chat apps throughout the campus, they assumed she was dead? And thus, did not send any letters? And did Yu Rong send a letter like this because she did not want to leave any traces? This letter could have been written by anyone. Email would have been a definite proof.

    Nonetheless, she needed to go to her office anyway to see what was in store for her. It was almost 5 a.m. right now and it was time for other staff to start their shifts and coming out of their houses. Mei Qingyang stealthily opened her room''s door and went inside. As soon as she entered, she opened her laptop. Thank God she had added more features to her camera program. Whenever it would sense any real motion, it would switch to original feed rather than her planned feed, except when she was supposed to be in the videos, of course.

    She furiously checked the original camera feeds to find the reality of the situation. Unfortunately, Yu Rong or someone else had gotten all of them deleted for some reason. Perhaps, the person did not want her to see who left that letter there.

    But once again, was it so easy to just access the database and delete stuff however they liked? Only access she could think of was to Yu Rong and Yu Tian and friends. Another person she could think of was her friend, hacker Z. But why would Z conceal such information from her? Moreover, that person wasn''t even involved with the school. She had only got their help once. They wouldn''t meddle here unnecessarily.

    Giving up on the search, she decided to just go there in the morning. She still had four hours before the meeting. She checked the chat boards of students about the incident yesterday. It seemed someone had deleted all the records of her fight, so much that even Yu Rong didn''t get to see what had happened. *I guess I can assume that not a whole lot of people got to learn about my martial arts then.*

    She heaved a sigh of relief and started to get ready. There was no point in thinking about what You Rong was going to come up with now.

    -------------------------------------------------------

    "Wang Hao, I still cannot believe you came up with such a brilliant idea. How could I just forget that she had come as a superintendent here?", Yu Rong was in a happy mood. She and Wang Hao had racked their brains together yesterday to deal with this girl. In the past few weeks, she had become closer to not only her nephew, but his closest friends as well.

    Yu Rong was going into depression day by day because neither the tricks that had always worked in the past were working on her including bullying and beating by others nor the heavy academics. All the previous superintendents till now had joined the school as teachers. It was far easier to handle them, because they were in a position of authority.

    Of course, to keep their mouths shut and make sure they would not spill the beans about the school she would eventually get them killed, by one means or other. She just made sure that the people who left never rose again in their lives. There was only one rule of this world, no one listened to people without money and power, no matter how much truth was there in their words.

    She had also had a few tough nuts to crack, like that Jiang Bo. He was a stubborn guy who refused to budge and give in to her authority. Ultimately, she played a few tricks and got him killed as well. *Ah! It was so easy to stage his suicide once the police got involved. They rather helped us so much!*

    "Ugh, only this girl. She only has been passing every challenge so far. That swimming pool incident was still a coincidence but this latest incident was such a good opportunity for us. I don''t know how she got out unscathed." Although in a jolly mood, she was still worried that this girl would circ.u.mvent this next thing as well. She had also heard by now that another thorn in her and her nephew''s life, that Fan Ruyi, had returned to the campus. Wasn''t this one leech enough that another female had appeared to cling on Yu Tian?

    "Master, you really should not worry. Once you assign this task to her, there is no way she would be able to handle it.", Wang Hao had been pretty concerned over his mistress''s health since past few days. She had not been very enthusiastic about s.e.x either, and just always thinking of schemes to get rid of this girl. Every time he initiated something, she would utter Yu Tian''s name, frown and just leave. Even while sleeping, she would only mumble "Yu Tian, Yu Tian".

    He then did not have any choice but to think of a plan. If his mistress was happy, he was happy. And thus he came up with a plan.

 Chapter 34 - First Task As A Superintendent

    The plan was very simple. He was going to use Mei Qingyang''s position against her. She was a student and a superintendent. They had employed such tricks with teachers too before. They would just task the previous superintendents to mete out punishments to rich brats who were totally drunk on their parents'' power.

    Who would like to be told off by anyone, especially a poor person? If you offend a wealthy person, when you yourself don''t have a back-up, you just end up dead. This was one of the strategies these guys applied to take care of unwanted thorns in their lives without even being involved at any level.

    And they were going to do the same this time. It would be even easier for those rich brats to eliminate her from their lives.

    At 9 a.m. sharp, the frail girl with her face full of black and blue bruises entered the office building in black denim jeans, a plain black top and a grey blazer over it. Her presence was of a powerful troublemaker. She was exuberating confidence like her wounds were some kind of battle scars. Mei Qingyang had easily guessed by now that the whole incident that happened yesterday was works of Yu Rong and her assistant. There was no one else who could have instigated that. And so, she wanted to show them how she came out of it victoriously and they did not even come to know what had happened.

    "Good morning Mr. Wang. How are you doing today?", she took out her sweetest smile. Even though her face hurt so much, she was provoking enough.

    Wang Hao''s lips twitched. This girl was representation of their failures right now. He frowned a bit, adjusted his glasses and firmed his tone, as usual. "Madam is waiting for you." He pointed towards the lobby and started walking. Mei Qingyang followed.

    "Oh, I thought she did not have time at all. I feel so honored that she is waiting for me even though I made it a point to come on time today. If I had known, I would have come earlier.", she taunted Wang Hao a bit more.

    "I heard a person you were very close to has died. Are you really okay?", Wang Hao had heard from one of his spies how she had cried painfully in Yu Tian''s arms lamenting the fact that she could not save that servant girl. He had decided to hide this fact from Yu Rong for the time being, otherwise, she would have flipped out. But at least he knew Mei Qingyang''s weakness. If she was going to play the catcalling game, then he was ready with comebacks too.

    Mei Qingyang understood his intention. How could she let this guy beat her at her own game? She widened her smile till her big eyes turned into almost crescent shaped. In a very calm voice she stated, emphasizing each word, "How does it matter to me that a life got sacrificed?"

    "Ho~? So, you have grown up to understand that in this much time? Then you should also understand how we feel.", Yu Rong was standing near the koi pond this time, perhaps enjoying the view before she overheard what that zealous wretch was saying. Inside, both her and Wang Hao''s eyes widened in shock on the girl''s answer. But Yu Rong couldn''t really show her surprise.

    She moved closer to Mei Qingyang one step at a time, cl.i.c.k.i.n.g her high heels loudly with each step. Mei Qingyang kept standing with her back ramrod straight, still maintaining the eye contact with her boss.

    "How we feel about that girl who died. And how we feel about you trying to trample on our plans.", she grabbed her petite face full of bruises and squeezed it ruthlessly. Unfortunately for her, Mei Qingyang didn''t even wince, let alone scream in pain. But Yu Rong didn''t stop.

    "If you were that unconcerned, you would not have got your pretty face ruined so badly. It was your face this time. Next time, I''ll make sure that not even a piece of your body remains." There was a vicious glint on Yu Rong''s face. If it was in her hands, she would have stabbed this girl right here right now. She squeezed her face so hard that her one of her nails cut through her skin and blood dripped out of the scratch.

    Mei Qingyang flung her head sideways to come out of the clutches of Yu Rong''s hands. "It might have been easy for you till now Ms. Yu. But trust me, I am not here to joke around either. So please, don''t take me as lightly as previous superintendents. I might be bigger headache than you think.", she smirked. She felt so good inside now that she had spoken these words she had wanted to say since this boss of hers threw that vase on her on the first day. If not for her martial arts skills, she indeed would have died that way. Her crystal-clear eyes were brimming with confidence.

    Wang Hao was frozen at his spot from her declaration. But he was the one maintaining calm all the time. Right now, those were just empty words. But who knew what she was going to do in the future? Need to nip the problem in the bud. He glanced at his mistress reassuringly.

    Yu Rong regained her balance. "Very well. I have called you here today because you need to start working now. You have been here for three weeks but we have not even talked about your duties. You need to start working for us so that you can justify getting a stipend, no?"

    "Oh, so you are going to pull that card now? What, you gonna make me make other people''s lives miserable so that they hate me more?", Mei Qingyang scoffed. She had heard all about this tactic they had been employing since forever. "Guess I did crawl under your skin enough that you are using one of your last strategies on me. I was just wondering when my summon is coming. It did not even last three weeks huh?"

    "You are smarter than you look. Unfortunately, guessing that would not really do anything good for you. So what? Yes, your first task is to deal with Fan Ruyi. She has violated a few rules with coming back earlier than her end date of current study abroad plan. She did not inform her advisor and just left in between.", Yu Rong moved around and sat in her powerful boss pose on a nearby chair.

    "And, what do you want me to do?" Mei Qingyang had guessed their minds earlier, but she had never thought that they would start with a person who was interested in becoming her friend. So, they were attacking people who were cordial to her. This pair was a schemer alright.

    "I just need you to tell her that she is to be punished according to school rules. Running away without completing the semester warrants ten rod beatings by the superintendent in front of her whole department and then she will be grounded for rest of the semester. Of course she will also have to repeat the semester." Yu Rong was seeing Mei Qingyang''s face getting darker by the second. There was no way she could refuse to carry out this task. This will definitely distance her from the whole group.

    "Hahahahahaha", Mei Qingyang suddenly burst out laughing loudly, confusing her boss and the receptionist. She just could not stop laughing for another two minutes before she stopped to wipe away tears in her eyes. "Ahaha, so sorry. I was just thinking how ridiculous you could get. This has gone beyond my expectations. I wonder how Mr. Yu handed over this school to a person like you."

    "Wha¡­ what do you mean?", Yu Rong was baffled again. This wretched girl dare insult her intelligence like this?

    "If you want me to do all this, you need to email me the confirmation from her advisor that she has indeed left in the middle of her program without completing her course. With how smart that girl is, do you think I would believe she abandoned her work? Second, I need an email from you stating that you want me to punish her according to the law of the schools. At least you got the punishment right. I should applaud you for that.", Mei Qingyang smiled once again. Correct, if this lady had made the rule book, she had read the whole book and learnt it by heart. Yu Rong could not edit it on the spot without approval from the board which included her dad as well.

    "So, you want proof? But you do know right, that I am your boss? I can ask you to do anything.", Yu Rong smirked once again. This girl was too na?ve. She did not understand the workings of corporate world.

    "Oh yes, of course boss. I remember. But you see, I also remember the rule book line by line. Section 40 article 6b paragraph four clearly states that any order you give your superintendent needs to be recorded and be officially communicated to the person. I don''t see any official doc.u.mentation, announcement or anything. So, right now, I am not obliged to do anything on this verbal notice. When you have the doc.u.ments ready, call me then.", Mei Qingyang turned around and took a step to leave.

    "Stop right there. I will fire you on the basis of you defying my order.", Yu Rong stood up from her seat in anger and pointed her index finger towards Qingyang. Wang Hao wanted to stop his mistress because he knew they had underestimated how much informed this girl was. She knew her rights. The previous people had just accepted whatever was told to them, never trying to look into the laws of the school. They would also believe when a fake handbook was given to them.

    "Lady, you don''t even have proof that you gave an order to me, how is it me defying you when you did not even give any order?", Mei Qingyang laughed again and left the building.

 Chapter 35 - Can I Ask for Another Favor?

    As soon as she came out of building, Mei Qingyang frowned. She had not expected Yu Rong to be this stupid. To think that she had thought this lady was a worthy person to defeat. Why was she rushing so much suddenly? This lady was known to be ruthless towards her enemies. Something was amiss. She understood that these kind of things worked previously because the previous people were just fools sent by the ministry without educating them properly. This included her foster brother Jiang Bo.

    Jiang Bo was a smart person but these guys had not used this tactic on him. She was to find the culprit behind her brother''s death too. She needed to find that person who made her mentally and physically strong brother take the last step, the path of suicide.

    Anyway, she was feeling very indignant right now. Lost in her thought, she headed towards a spot she had found very recently. There was a small hidden lake at the border of the school. It was an undeveloped area, so not many people used to come here. It was lunch time and she was excused from the classes for the whole day because of her injuries and her meeting with Yu Rong.

    It had started to become cooler since it was end of August now. The warm sun felt very pleasant and so, she decided to head towards the lake. It was another secluded spot but a place which provided her peace.

    She sat down on the grass near the lake. The warmth from the sun and the cool breeze from the lake made the temperature perfect for a small picnic by herself and then a nap perhaps. She still needed to recover from her injuries after all.

    "May I join you?", when Mei Qingyang was in the middle of her lunch and was lost in her thoughts, she heard a familiar sweet voice.

    "Ms. Fan! I did not know you liked places like this too. Please join me. Would you like to have some lunch?", Mei Qingyang did not really have bad impression of this girl She was pretty and elegant and belonged to a good household, perhaps where people respected human life rather than tread over it. Moreover, she had helped her so much within a day.

    "What do I need to do to earn your trust? You put me at such a distance, even calling me by my last name!", Fan Ruyi pouted while sitting down beside Mei Qingyang. She really wanted to be friends with this girl. It was not just to get close and figure out her intentions or mission. She really liked how this poor girl was giving tough competition to Yu Rong. She predicted that this girl would bring change to this school.

    "It''s not that I want to keep you at bay. But you should understand this all is new to me. When I become comfortable enough, I will naturally be closer to you.", Mei Qingyang looked far away into distance, like she was seeing another world altogether.

    "I like how straightforward you are. Fine, we will take this slowly. I think I was being inconsiderate by being a pushover.", Fan Ruyi turned her head as well, to try to see what Mei Qingyang was seeing.

    "But, I will take up your offer on lunch. Can I taste what you are having right now?"

    "Of course! Please go ahead. I practice vegetarian diet, so I have these dumplings filled with veggies and mushrooms. I hope you like them.", Mei Qingyang offered her a small plate of dumplings she had cooked herself and refrigerated for future use.

    Fan Ruyi put one dumpling in her mouth and closed her eyes to savor the flavor.

    "Oh my God Qing Qing, this is so delicious. None of the cooks at my home cook like this!!", Fan Ruyi cried. She plopped another one in her mouth in haste.

    "Hehe. It is just something I have come up with in my spare time, with the help of my mom. They are also easy to make so¡­", she shrugged her shoulders while being amused at Fan Ruyi''s reaction. This girl could eat anything from Michelin five star restaurants whenever she wanted, but she was reacting like she had never eaten dumplings before. Also, what did she call her? Qing Qing?

    Fan Ruyi felt Qingyang''s eyes on her.

    "Ah! Actually, I think the difference is in the love you put in making them. You see, my parents have always been busy with their duties, so I seldom had home-cooked food. They had hired professional cooks for the family and it never had this kind of taste. Restaurants can''t even compare.", Fan Ruyi''s eyes seemed watery at this moment, and a loneliness flashed through them.

    "If¡­. if you want, I can cook more for you. I have variety of recipes from mom.", Mei Qingyang mumbled with her head down. Apart from her family, it was the first time someone had tasted her cooking. She started feeling really hot inside. Guess the sun was too strong still to sit like this.

    Fan Ruyi glanced again at this girl. Her features softened and heart warmed on knowing that Mei Qingyang had taken one step ahead in their friendship. She was a cute junior after all. The cool breeze was still blowing, making this girl''s beautiful black locks flutter into the air. The red and yellow leaves of the trees behind her were painting a beautiful scenery.

    This was the moment when Fan Ruyi understood why Yu Tian fell for this girl. She was a beauty in her own sense. But she had another trait which she had not seen in many people, kindness. This girl was kind and selfless. She stood for justice. No wonder she had a feeling that she would change all their fates.

    "Thank you. I will definitely let you know when I am feeling like eating home cooked food.", Fan Ruyi said delightfully. She stared into distance once again, trying to imprint these warm heartful emotions inside her, forever.

    "No, I should be the one to say thank you. You have helped me a lot. If you guys did not stop me yesterday, I perhaps would have killed that guy. And regretted it all my life. Thank you for saving that girl too, otherwise I would have kept blaming myself. Not to mention, your treatment.", Mei Qingyang did not like keeping debts with other people. She was helpless right now because she had no idea how she would repay them. Was she even supposed to keep a tab here? That way, she had taken enough help from Yu Tian that she would be indebted to him forever.

    "It''s no big deal Qing Qing. That is what you do for friends.", she patted Qingyang''s hand which was resting on the ground to support her.

    "Then I have another favor to ask you.", Mei Qingyang felt Fan Ruyi''s hand and looked at the ground, then at the girl.

    "Go ahead. If it''s in my hands, I will help you no matter what.", Fan Ruyi grinned.

    "I want to visit that girl, the one at your hospital.", Mei Qingyang said.

 Chapter 36 - Field Trip

    "Hmm¡­. I was expecting something else but this is difficult too. I can''t bring her here and you are not allowed to leave this place without supervision. Let me think.", Fan Ruyi looked at the cloudless sky and began to think about this request from Qing Qing.

    "Okay, I am done thinking. We will go in a roundabout way. I might have to take help from my friends, if that is okay with you?", Fan Ruyi asked Mei Qingyang.

    Mei Qingyang nodded, "Yes, that is fine. I just want to meet that girl and apologize to her. Also, I don''t know when I will see the three seniors and be able to talk to them. Would it be possible for you to thank them on my behalf?" She knew she was being rude but she did not really want to see Yu Tian, especially after she showed such an embarrassing side of hers to him. She had made tall claims before other two too but failed so miserably.

    These emotions, ah! Such useless thing. Being too emotional and not being levelheaded had definitely brought disaster to her. On one hand she did not want to hinder her progress by letting these useless pieces of sh*t inside her. On the other, she was also enjoying all these new feelings and experiences. Till now, she had only held her parents dear to her heart. But now more and more people were becoming important to her. Whether they become her strength in future, or weakness leading to her doom, she had to decide before it was too late.

    "You do it yourself. This is between you and the boys, don''t involve me in your affairs.", Fan Ruyi got up from her spot and dusted her clothes. "Thanks for the food, it was an enjoyable afternoon." She left the place in a jolly mood. Mei Qingyang lied down on the grass on her back, closing her eyes and drifting to sleep once again.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Wang Hao, I am disappointed.", Yu Rong glared at his assistant who was standing on the side with his head down. He had never thought that that girl would be so smart to have read and memorized the whole rule book. She had pointed out parts even he did not know. He had gone back and looked into it only to realize that superintendents had a lot more power than they had originally thought. It was their good luck no one had reported them for bending the rules before. If this came before the board of education, they might be in trouble, not that their influence would lessen.

    Wang Hao bowed accepting his mistake, "I''m sorry madam. I underestimated her. We do not have any proof because Fan Ruyi indeed finished her program, albeit a bit earlier. That is why she was able to come back. It is as Mei Qingyang said, Fan Ruyi is a girl of integrity. She would never leave her work unfinished.", Suddenly he stood straight before his master, "We can''t use Fan Ruyi, but she has already made enemies in her class. We can use them to fuel the fire and they are more than capable to deal with her."

    "Are you pointing to¡­..", Yu Rong was his master after all, she could predict what this guy was thinking.

    "Yes, the Gu sisters! They will be the best for this work. We just need to find a good opportunity now.", he adjusted his glasses again, calculating in his mind, everything that could be done.

    "Great then, let''s get to it right away."

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It was five o''clock in the evening. Yu Rong was trying to concentrate on some doc.u.ments but her mind was wandering off to those green eyes of the new girl. Where had she seen those obstinate eyes? Why could she not recall? Suddenly her phone rang.

    "Madam, the young masters Su and Feng and young lady Fan are here to meet you.", Wang Hao informed her.

    "Hao, you don''t need to call me when such esteemed guests are in my office. Send them in." It was a rare opportunity to mingle with all the young masters. She could not offend the two guys because their businesses ranked better than her family''s. The three people entered her office one after the other. She stood up from her chair and walked towards the sofa to entertain her guests.

    "Principal! How are you doing?", Su Lang started the conversation.

    "I am doing great, thanks to all you guys taking care of affairs for me. What did I do to owe such a pleasant surprise from you guys?" Yu Rong absolutely hated losing to families of these guys but she showed her most cordial side. She pointed towards the sofa and let her guests sit down.

    "Uhh¡­ we wanted to plan a field trip for the class we are assisting.", Feng Yue stated. He was happy that she did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

    "A field trip?", Yu Rong was curious. She made Wang Hao stay because this seemed like there could be a chance. She had not expected that her opportunity would arrive this soon.

    "Yes. For the electrical engineering class, we want to take the students to a hospital to show them how different machines in there work. We think it would be a great practical experience." They had prepared their speech in advance, because they needed to convince this person to let everyone out of school.

    "And you won''t have to worry about safety because I have already asked for permission from my dad. We are more than happy to host the class, if you don''t have any problem. You are aware of our security measures", Fan Ruyi chimed in.

    "Tell me what kind of schedule you have prepared.", Yu Rong was excited inside. This was Mei Qingyang''s class they were talking about. There could be so many chances to get rid of her. And this was outside of school, so a few accidents could happen here and there, and she could put blame on someone else. Fan Ruyi was ready to take the responsibility, so she could get rid of her and her family too if there was some incident at her property. This was for the best.

    The three people got startled inside. Why was this otherwise difficult lady, suddenly being so helpful? They showed her the schedule they had prepared.

    "Alright. This sounds good enough. Next week Wednesday, you guys have permission to take the class to the nearest Fan hospital. It will be a one-day trip. Fan Ruyi, I want you to be present with the kids as well. I think it would be better if there are a few familiar faces in the hospital, especially if something were to happen to any child." Yu Rong emphasized the last part.

    Everyone picked up the signal in her last sentence. She was planning something, definitely. They had to be extra careful.

    "Thank you, Principal, for the permission. We will make sure this trip goes smoothly.", Fan Ruyi assured. This was more of a consoling to herself and her friends for they had become really nervous at Yu Rong''s declaration.

    After the three left her office, she could not hide her smile.

    "Wang Hao prepare for this trip. It''s time to get rid of that girl for once and all. Make as many back-up plans as you can. This is the best chance to get rid of the two girls close to Yu Tian.", Yu Rong could not stop grinning.

 Chapter 37 - Did You Thank Them Yet?

    "Alright class! Our dear TAs have planned a field trip for us to the Fan Hospital for next Wednesday.", the professor announced in the class the next day. It was a Friday today, so no one was paying attention. Everyone was busy planning their weekend.

    "Why in the middle of the week? Should have kept it on a Friday.", one student grumbled.

    "Yeah, we do not get many chances to go out. That hospital also happens to be near the beach. It could have been a great three-day excursion.", another student agreed.

    There were very few chances for anyone to get out of this campus unless they were going home because one the campus had all the facilities from all famous restaurants to luxury brands for clothes and accessories. They did not need to go out for their daily needs at all. Second, it was a security issue. Everyone here, especially in the college, were high profile students. Going out without any reason would invite unnecessary trouble to them.

    Also, the nearest city to this place was almost 100 kilometers away. It was too long a journey by road just for fun. Private helicopters and jets needed special permission from Principal, so those were out too. Now they could go with their classmates and enjoy a three-day trip, if only their TAs had that foresight.

    And Fan family was famous for choosing resort like places for their high-profile customer base. They would provide exotic views and top-notch facilities for people who could afford them. And such places provided privacy as well.

    "I know Senior Yu Tian is not a TA for this class, but is he going?", a girl interrupted everyone''s dreams of beaches. Suddenly every girl''s eyes gleamed and they looked forward to the answer. Su Lang scratched his head and nodded. The girls all became very excited. A few started clapping very loudly out of enthusiasm.

    Mei Qingyang was perhaps the only girl who was running horses in her mind. She understood the method Fan Ruyi had come up for sneaking her out of the school and let her meet with the girl. But with the whole class, would she get a chance?

    "Err¡­. so, all you will be divided in four groups. The four groups will be headed by Feng Yue, I, Yu Tian and Fan Ruyi.", Su Lang had just completed his sentence when the guys suddenly started clapping. Fan Ruyi, the number one beauty of the school was back? Earlier they had thought they were being taken to Fan Hospital because of close relationship of school with the Fan family. But turns out Fan Ruyi herself would grace them with her presence.

    Gu Layue gritted her teeth. She now had not only one, but two love rivals. That Fan Ruyi was the only known person to everyone who Yu Tian had no problem touching. And this Mei Qingyang was second. Now there were two girls already in the queue, her chances were further decreased.

    *Why did Yu Rong say yes to this trip? Won''t it give Yu Tian alone time with either of the girls? I need to contact her to see what''s her agenda.*

    ----------------------------------------

    "You understand what we are going to do? I will put you in my group. And you can break away with the excuse of going to toilet. This is the access card to her room. Her room is on top floor. I will signal you near the correct elevator and the first room on right is hers.", Fan Ruyi told Mei Qingyang in one breath.

    "Alright Senior Fan. Thank you very much for taking so much pain.", Mei Qingyang could not believe that this girl would execute it so early. Damn the efficiency of these people.

    Fan Ruyi ruffled Qingyang''s silky smooth hair, "Anything for you Qing Qing." She had committed it to heart that Qingyang had just called her ''Senior Qingyang''. She was now finally at the level with the boys. Su Lang had teased her so much for her obsession about striking a friendship with this girl. Hmph! Now she could tell him that she was in the ''senior'' ranks too. Soon it will be ''Sister Ruyi'' or just ''Ruyi''.

    "Mention not. Oh, by the way, did you get to thank the boys?" Fan Ruyi put another piece of tofu in her mouth. Today was a Saturday and they were meeting at the same lake. Rather, she had stalked the girl to know where she would be at lunch. And shamelessly grabbed half of her portion for herself. This girl really knew how to cook. Her stir fry tofu was relishing.

    "Not yet. They are so busy all the time. I have been taking so much help from you guys but I don''t even have anything I could help you guys with., she lowered her head and took a piece of tofu with rice.

    "You have no idea how you are helping us in so many different ways. One day, you will come to know for sure.", Fan Ruyi smiled towards Mei Qingyang.

    She had never seen such a pretty genuine smile before. That meant, this girl was telling the truth. But how was she helping them? Perhaps she just said that to pacify her. Anyhow, she was just reluctant to show her face to Yu Tian. Whenever she encountered him since that day, she would flee away.

    Yu Tian had even tried to stop her two-three times, but she had been ignoring him like anything. She knew she was being dumb and she needed to properly thank them. She decided she would do it after their hospital visit.

    "What are we going to do about this trip cousin Layue?", Gu Jiujiu has seen Gu Layue was tensed since the announcement but had relaxed quite a bit after she talked to Principal Yu Rong on phone.

    "What do you want to imply Jiujiu?", Gu Layue was actually in a good mood. She had heard from Yu Rong that she could not digest Yu Tian going on the trip alone. So she was sending Wang Hao with them. That way, Mei Qingyang was definitely going to be in Fan Ruyi''s group. She had to take this chance to be in Yu Tian''s group and hog him for herself.

    She also needed to make sure to put Gu Jiujiu in Fan Ruyi''s group so that they could execute a few plans that Wang Hao would instruct them to. But she also needed to make sure Jiujiu did not really know what she was doing. An ominous smile appeared on Gu Layue''s face which frightened even Gu Jiujiu. She left from her room at once.

 Chapter 38 - Hospital Visit Begins

    The fated day arrived and the class finally got ready to visit the hospital. Fan Ruyi was appearing for the first time before anyone in the school apart from her known groups after she came back from study abroad program. She wore a lime yellow skater dress which accentuated her slim figure very nicely. She forewent any accessories since they were visiting hospital. But she made sure to bring her poise and elegance of noble family, since after all, she represented the Fans. If she were to meet any of the high-profile clients, she needed to make the right impression.

    Most of the girls unfortunately, had put on such bold make-ups and dresses that it was hard to tell if they were going to a wedding or a hospital. Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, had also paired up a pale-yellow top with navy denim jeans and comfortable black sneakers. It would help her run and walk around.

    They had divided the groups before boarding the buses arranged by the school. Everyone was happy that Mei Qingyang wasn''t in the same group at Yu Tian. Everyone thought it was for the best that both love rivals were put in the same group. They could fight between themselves and other girls would get a chance on Yu Tian.

    No one had any idea about their budding friendship. The girls also played along and created an atmosphere of awkward tension between themselves, just because it was fun to fool everyone around. Gu Layue and Yu Rong had already set everything up, so Gu Layue ended up in Yu Tian''s group and Gu Jiujiu in Fan Ruyi''s. Jiujiu needed to give Gu Layue as many updates as she could.

    The four teams went their separate ways. In the bus of Yu Tian, Gu Layue had already made clear to everyone that she was going to sit beside Yu Tian. Everyone had given her way as well, since no one wanted to offend the ''childhood friend'' of young master Yu. Unfortunately for her, Yu Tian had decided to board the bus first and put his laptop bag on his side, so as to not keep any seat beside him open. Other classmates of hers snickered behind her back when they saw what was going on. She had made sure that only most unpopular girls remained in her group while other girls went with Feng Yue and Su Lang.

    After Yu Tian, she boarded the bus to take the seat beside him. But he kept his bag and the whole bus was empty, she could not even ask him to give his seat beside him. Ultimately, the bus became full and a guy in the class bagged the most coveted seat by girls. Gu Layue had come multiple times in the front to show Yu Tian that his childhood friend was there in his group and if he felt uncomfortable, he could always ask her to take the place beside him. It never happened, as everyone had predicted.

    In the other bus, all the classmates had made sure that the two girls, between whom sparks seemed to fly, were sat together. Fan Ruyi and Mei Qingyang were happy to be sitting together, but they refrained from talking throughout the journey. Gu Jiujiu was feeling regret that she didn''t get to be in any of the groups headed by boys but seeing such kind of interesting developments happening in this bus, she was beyond excited to be doing the reporting to Gu Layue.

    Wang Hao followed the four buses in his car from behind as instructed by Yu Rong. She had spies in all four groups, so she was not worried about having no information at all. Overall, the journey went smoothly.

    At the hospital, the students got together and had a sumptuous breakfast at the hospital''s cafeteria. The four group leaders all sat together and Mei Qingyang found a spot alone. Wang Hao decided to give her company which rose an alert among Fan Ruyi and group.

    "I thought you had made friends with Ms. Fan. She seems like giving you a cold shoulder today.", Wang Hao sat down with his plate before Mei Qingyang.

    Qingyang was busy reading a magazine in the cafeteria and eating. When she heard his voice, she was very surprised.

    "How come you are sitting on this table? I thought you hated me.", Mei Qingyang closed her magazine and put a snack in her mouth elegantly.

    "That is definitely true. I thought it would be fun to have a change of pace. You did not answer my question thought.", Wang Hao chuckled at her straightforward question.

    "I, Mei Qingyang, only work alone. When have you seen me having friends? Do you think I have time for that?" Mei Qingyang said confidently. It was not total lie. She did never have friends in her life before. Right now, what she had with the group of four, could not be called friendship. Everyone had ulterior motives behind whatever they were doing. Once that went out off the way, then only she could call them true friends. And there was long long way in that happening.

    "Oh? I heard someone really consoled you a few days back, hugging you, stroking your hair etc. etc. If it were me, I would think the person was in love with you or something.", Wang Hao further probed.

    Yu Tian and group were not sitting far away from Mei Qingyang''s table. Hearing Wang Hao''s accusation, Yu Tian''s face darkened and Mei Qingyang choked on the tea she was drinking, splattering it all over the table. Wang Hao was amused seeing such a reaction from the girl. Had he calculated wrong? Or was she not aware of Yu Tian''s feelings.

    "Cough¡­.. I would suggest you stop slandering people unnecessarily. By saying such things, you are just bringing me trouble.", Mei Qingyang calmed down and used some tissues to clean the table. Her plate was now useless, everything was now soaked in the tea.

    She got up with her plate and continued, "Oh, is that your work here? Making such rumors so that other girls just start giving me more headaches? Or are you here to supervise that all your schemes go through?" She smiled and left the table leaving a giggling Wang Hao. This girl was always on point.

    After they were done, their group in charges gave them some general instructions about following them all the time and remain in contact with them throughout the trip. They also announced that the end of the trip would happen with a bonfire by the beach. Everyone finally got some vigor after learning that.

    Now, it was finally time to begin the visit and execute the plans.

 Chapter 39 - Operation Meet The Dead Girl - I

    Fan Ruyi initially took the group of 10 people to a bunch of rooms with big machines like MRI, X-Ray etc. and explained how a few of them worked. Mei Qingyang''s class for electrical engineering had 40 students in total. Each of the group leaders were given 10 students each to take care of. It was great that Yu Rong had already given instructions to the professor on how to distribute people into groups and she had got eight guys and two girls. She was not sure why Gu Jiujiu was put in the same group as her although her cousin, Gu Layue was put with Yu Tian.

    Actually, earlier when everyone had the breakfast, a specially made drug by herself was mixed in all of the food. Fan Ruyi had created this drug as a part of her project at one of study abroad programs last year. This drug would make anyone groggy and tired but would make sure that one does not actually fall asleep after taking it. It was kind of being intoxicated except that there were no harmful ingredients in here. The drug''s effects would kick in two hours after being taken because the ingredients were hard to assimilate by the human body. Pretty convenient. The only problem was that it remained in the system of the taker for six hours in total and could be detected in blood. She had something else in her mind for her project but she had discovered this formula accidently and kept it for the future use. It finally came in handy today.

    Thankfully, no one had noticed that Mei Qingyang was given a separate tea along with her friends that had an antidote to that drug. Wang Hao also played a great role in keeping an eye on her, so no one could accuse any of them to give her a preferential treatment. And he was also given the antidote so that even if he suspected anything and got himself tested right away, he would not get any positives for any compounds.

    She knew that because of Qingyang, Wang Hao was going to keep an eye on their group, rather than anywhere else. All she needed was to create enough diversion.

    "Are you guys alright? Do you guys want to take rest?", she asked of everyone out of concern. They had been moving around for about two hours now and the effects had finally started showing up. It was just enough because she was also making them run around and take stairs rather than elevators.

    "Ms. Fan, it would be great if we could take rest. I suddenly feel really tired. I need some water.", one of the guys went away saying this to find some water.

    "Okay. I will give you guys a half hour break. Why don''t you guys get some coffee or snacks and we will reconvene here after thirty minutes, okay?" It was time for Fan Ruyi to execute her second plan.

    "Okay!" Everyone agreed and dispersed. Only Gu Jiujiu and Mei Qingyang remained and Wang Hao hiding in the shadows.

    Now Fan Ruyi had to do something drastic to make Wang Hao go away. She did not give signal for Mei Qingyang to go just yet because her and Qingyang, both were aware of Wang Hao spying on them from behind the wall.

    "Hey girls, do you want to see something really cool?", she questioned both Qingyang and Jiujiu.

    "Senior Fan, whatever you show us is going to be cool and awesome! I would be honored to learn from you." Gu Jiujiu tried using some flattery to win some brownie points from Fan Ruyi.

    Fan Ruyi got disgusted from her behavior and glared at her coldly. Gu Jiujiu got her cue to shut her mouth and not speak a word again.

    "I got this custom made from Japan.", Fan Ruyi took out a pocketknife kind of thing from her pocket.

    "It has all the basic medical tools, so if I really need something like, say, scalpel, I can use this. I will open it in a bit, it''s just a bit hard¡­", she tried opening it up using force but it did not seem to be working.

    *If you use the scalpel once, your other tools in this collection would be useless unless sterilized. If one tool touches blood, how will you use the other tools?* Mei Qingyang wanted to point out. Such an intelligent lady got such a useless tool. Wouldn''t it be better to just get a kit with all the tools in it? Unless¡­

    Wait, why was she not giving her the signal? Was she waiting for Gu Jiujiu to leave? What was the point of taking out such a stupid thing? What was she trying¡­..

    "AAAAAAAAAAA", she didn''t even finish her thought and heard a shriek from Gu Jiujiu. She flung her head to see what had happened and saw a lot of blood on the floor. Qingyang looked at the source and found that Fan Ruyi''s hand and wrist were full of blood.

    "What¡­. what did you do senior Fan?", Mei Qingyang could not wrap her head around what had happened in one moment she was not paying attention. Wang Hao came from behind the wall rushing. He took her hand and checked. It was a deep cut in the middle of her palm.

    "Mr. Wang, can you call the general physician, Dr. Ma from first floor? He must be preparing for surgeries in his office and would not pick up his phone. You could ask any of the nurses to help you. Please bring him faster, I don''t want this cut to scar.", Fan Ruyi urged Wang Hao.

    "But, I could dress the wound, you can instruct me. Where are the other nurses at this time? Tell me where the first aid kit is!", Wang Hao was reluctant to leave the supervision he was entrusted to. But this was a dire situation and the blood was not stopping.

    "I am feeling dizzy Mr. Wang. I think I have lost too much blood. I might need blood infusion. I need Dr. Ma here, right now!!!", Fan Ruyi was visibly getting paler by the moment. Her lips had parched, and she looked like she could faint anytime soon. Seeing such a problem, Wang Hao rushed to get this Dr. Ma.

    In the meantime, Fan Ruyi gave the signal to Mei Qingyang to leave. Mei Qingyang denied her because she was worried about her wrist. She would not leave her here with this Gu Jiujiu alone!

    "Gu Jiujiu, can you bring me some water please? If you walk to that corner, you will find a water dispenser. Get me warm water in one of the cups. Thanks!", Fan Ruyi spoke very lovingly. If anyone deserved a best actress award, it was Fan Ruyi. She was so cold a moment before to this girl but now suddenly was amicable.

    "Yes senior!", Gu Jiujiu scurried away to find water on such an earnest request from her senior, although she was tired as well. In crisis, even the strongest became a docile puppy, who was this Fan Ruyi?

    "Leave Qing Qing, this is your chance!", Fan Ruyi ordered Qingyang.

    "But how can I? You are bleeding so profusely! You didn''t do it on purpose, did you? I don''t see any nurses around here, nor any system to call anyone at this place. Had you planned this since the beginning?", Mei Qingyang eyes slightly reddened.

    "It does not matter. Wang Hao would have informed the first nurse he must have come across to help. Also, Dr. Ma would be at cafeteria this time. He has strict one hour break everyday where he doesn''t even answer his pager. His assistant already knows something like this was going to happen, so he won''t convey it to him even if the pager beeps. You need not worry. It''s a small injury. There are two people to handle it. Go!", she again urged her.

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes became full of determination seeing how this girl was ready to spill her own blood for her. This person was too good to be her friend.

    "I will wait for the nurse to come. I can''t leave you alone with that Gu girl.", Mei Qingyang took out a first aid kit of her own from her bag and started cleaning her wound.

    "You girl. I said I would be fine. Your time with that servant girl would be greatly reduced if you waste time here. See? Yu Tian is coming here too.", Fan Ruyi smiled seeing how Qing Qing was working so hard for her.

    Mei Qingyang looked behind and saw Yu Tian walking in large strides. He had his cold face still on. The other students were sounding far behind in the straight corridor. Perhaps because they were still under the effect of the drug, it was just hard for them to catch up to Yu Tian.

    "You go, I will take care from here.", Yu Tian instructed.

    "Thank you senior Yu Tian, senior Fan Ruyi. I shall pay this debt to you someday. I will be back.", she hurried away to reach the top floor.

    "Why would you go that far for that girl?", Yu Tian asked hesitantly to his best friend. He took her hand and took over from where Qingyang had left.

    "Silly boy, do you really think I am going this far for her? It''s all for you!", Fan Ruyi laughed and patted his head.

 Chapter 40 - Operation Meet The Dead Girl - II

    Hearing Fan Ruyi''s statement, Yu Tian got stunned for a moment. Understanding the meaning behind, the aloofness around him melted and he sighed. In a moment of impulse, he hugged her with a curt smile.

    "You don''t need to hurt yourself for that. I am fine on my own.", he whispered to her.

    Gu Jiujiu had just arrived at the scene. Seeing such amiable atmosphere, that too around Yu Tian, she almost dropped the glass of water she had brought in shock. She had never seen Yu Tian make that face, even for Gu Layue. There were rumors about Fan Ruyi and Yu Tian being together. Wasn''t this just a confirmation of that?

    But most important question for her was, where was Mei Qingyang. Wasn''t she also the rumored servant that Yu Tian had taken a fancy to? Was she just a mistress then? Then, Yu Tian was a playboy all along?

    "Se¡­ senior Fan Ruyi. Where is Mei Qingyang?", she shivered while asking the question. But Yu Tian looked in a good mood, so it was okay to ask the question, right? If she didn''t report her disappearance to Gu Layue, she would not give her that coveted limited edition Gucci bag she had been eyeing from her collection.

    Yu Tian did not like the disturbance. He reverted back to his arctic self and questioned her, "How is it any of your business where she ordered Mei Qingyang to go, hmm?"

    Gu Jiujiu got so frightened from his glare that she almost peed her pants. Luckily she had just used the restroom, otherwise she would have embarrassed herself in front of these two. In the meantime, the entourage from Yu Tian''s group had also arrived. Gu Layue was frantically staring at the two and then at Gu Jiujiu.

    A few nurses had also come and took Fan Ruyi to nearest room to do emergency treatment on her. They cleaned her and put her on IV drip. She was resting right now but worrying about Mei Qingyang. She could not sleep at all.

    --------------------------------------------------------

    Mei Qingyang rushed to the nearest elevator as she had discussed with Fan Ruyi. She kept a vigilance around, just in case anyone spotted her. She took the elevator and arrived at the room without any hiccups. She did meet a few nurses on the way but they all thought she was a visitor since it was visiting hours.

    She knocked on the door and went inside. The rooms on this floor were all private suites with all amenities including a small kitchenette and a private bathroom. The girl was staring outside and her eyes were lifeless, just like once she had been. On hearing the door, the girl turned her head.

    "Are¡­.. are you sister Mei?", the girl''s voice quivered and eyes widened. She could not believe what she was seeing.

    "Hey, how are you doing?", Mei Qingyang nodded and inquired about her health awkwardly.

    "Bu¡­ but were you not of my status as well? How did you sneak out of the school campus?", she had heard bits of what had happened from the nurses who had been told about her condition by Fan Ruyi.

    "Hehe. I always have a way. I am sorry I could not bring anything for you.", she took a chair nearby and sat down beside the bed. She still could not meet the eyes of this girl. She would feel guilty for her for the rest of her life.

    "Sister Mei, I thought that now I have been deemed dead, I would never be able to see you. I wanted to thank you for saving my life.", big tear droplets started falling from the girl''s now clear eyes.

    "I¡­ I am sorry. I could have handled things better and you would not have to go through the horrible thing you did. If it was in my hands, I would have beaten that Qin guy too. But I am really very sorry. I know my apology cannot give you your innocence back. But¡­.", Mei Qingyang was rambling on and on and on. Her eyes had also reddened and her voice was trembling a bit too. She choked on her own words.

    "Sister Mei, you do not need to feel guilty. Whatever happened was my fate. This had to happen sooner or later anyway. It just got delayed when you saved me at swimming pool. Otherwise, I would have been r.a.p.ed that day only.", the girl paused thinking about that day. She looked at Mei Qingyang whose head was still hung. She continued, "In a way, you saved me twice already. And now I am out of the school too. I won''t ever have to go back there. Sister Fan will take care of my expenses and she has promised me to give a job in her household. I can''t be thankful enough."

    Mei Qingyang looked at her. She was merely a teenager. But one incident had grown her up into a m.a.t.u.r.e person. This was the time she should be enjoying her youth, make friends and go to school.

    *What has her life turned into, ah! And there are so many kids in that school in a similar situation, who have already come to terms with their fate, just like her. I have to do something about them. I have to expedite my research and take actions as soon as I can.* Mei Qingyang made a resolution in her mind.

    "Guess, you come to a decision huh?", the girl was observing Mei Qingyang and knew when the look in her eyes changed.

    "Uh-huh. Thank you for being alive girl. I will keep in touch with you through senior Fan.", she patted her head.

    "I should be the one thanking you, not just for myself but on behalf of all the people you are going to save in future. To be honest, now I don''t mind being the guinea pig for whatever is to come. Because I know, you will succeed.", she took Mei Qingyang''s hands in hers and patted them sympathetically.

    They talked a bit more about her grave injuries and how her bruises everywhere had started to heal. Hearing that everything was going smoothly for this girl, she felt relieved. Her heart felt lighter too.

    As soon as she stepped out of the room, she heard a very familiar voice which alarmed her out of her mind. "What are you doing here?"

    *Wang Hao!! The whole plan just got ruined. Can''t even run away to hide¡­*

 Chapter 41 - Interrogation

    Mei Qingyang''s mind went into a frenzy. She had no idea what she should be answering. She had not prepared for this situation at all!!

    "I¡­. I¡­. ", her head hung low and eyes darted around; she was still thinking what to answer him. At least she had hidden her access card inside her inner clothes. Sometimes, foresight worked wonders.

    "Hey! You forgot this.", a guy behind them called out for her with a pen in his hand.

    She turned around and saw a handsome man in his 40s handing the black and golden pen to her. He was dragging his wheelchair all alone.

    "Oh, thank you very much! You did not need to bring it to me all the way.", she bowed politely to the man.

    "Never mind, it''s better for my practice, now that I have to be in this wheelchair for a while. Anyway, now you have my contact information, so call me whenever you need me, okay? I don''t want to be in the limelight but I like passionate people like you. I''ll answer any questions you have.", the man struggled to turn around his wheelchair. Mei Qingyang stepped forward to help him but the man stopped her shaking his head sideways. Qingyang nodded in affirmative understanding what he

    wanted.

    After struggling for a few minutes, he finally left the scene. He treated Wang Hao like he did not even exist. Wang Hao didn''t think much of it and turned himself towards this unruly impudent girl.

    "Who was that? Do you know him?" Wang Hao wanted to inquire if he was some informant of hers. They still hadn''t figured out how she was communicating with her dad.

    Yu Rong had recently called Jiang Nuo on phone to give him an earful about this pest he had sent. He had laughed at her complaints and told her how proud he was of the stuff his daughter had ''accomplished'' till now. Like hell. From the conversation it was evident that he knew everything she had done. But they had been monitoring her every activity. She didn''t have any way to communicate with outside world.

    There were very high chances that she had met or was to meet Jiang Nuo''s men today. And so, he was very curious about her whereabouts and had been following her all day.

    "That''s pretty weird question coming from you considering the industry you are in. Do you not know him? He''s Bai Yuchen, the most successful entrepreneur of our country. He started at an age of 20 and has opened dozens of successful start-ups till now." The admiration in her eyes about this guy was pretty clear. Now that the Bai guy had interrupted her panic, she had regained her usual composure. Wang Hao had wanted to ask her more about what she had been doing till now but her rambling continued.

    "I had overheard senior Fan talking about him and how he was in this hospital. He had gotten injured on a construction site very recently. I''m a huge fan, so I decided to visit him. That answers your first question as well." She showed Wang Hao enough excitement in her voice but maintained her cold exterior. Now her mind was working with lightning fast speed. She had multiple excuses to dodge his questions.

    "That''s very apathetic of you. Fan Ruyi was dying there and you decided to look for your idol?", Wang Hao took a jab on her. His reports from past few days had stated that the two had become friends already. This was definitely not something a friend would do.

    "What could have I done? Yu Tian had already reached there. Nurses had started to pour in. She had given us half hour break too. I took my chance and left. It didn''t really matter because this is her hospital. If she dies here because she didn''t get treatment in time, it''s her parents'' fault then, not mine.", although she looked all detached and standoffish on the outside, Mei Qingyang was crying inside. To say such rude words for that saint of a girl, she wanted to slap herself hard. But she continued, "What, you don''t think I came to talk to one of my dad''s men, did you?", she smirked.

    Bullseye! Wang Hao''s surprised expression gave away the fact that this is what exactly he was worried about. Seeing his astonishment, she giggled. It was always a great feeling to be able to startle her enemies like this.

    "Seems like I was right. I don''t blame you Mr. Wang, it''s your duty. But you didn''t think how in the world I would have told anyone I am coming here. You guys have blocked my access to any external website. I can''t even send any emails to anyone outside of school. Same with phone. You should be best aware of this.", she said in a provoking tone.

    *That''s what we''ve been trying to figure out!!* Rage was bubbling inside Wang Hao. This girl had seen through him completely.

    "You were gone for an hour though. Were you with him the whole time?", Wang Hao inquired. They had entered the elevator by now to go down where Fan Ruyi was.

    It felt like a detective drama to Mei Qingyang. Wasn''t she going through an interrogation right now?

    Internally, her smile faded. He was right. She had been missing for an hour. What could she tell him?

    She could not admit to having been with Mr. Bai for whole hour. If Wang Hao went back and asked him, there was no reason for Mr. Bai to lie for her. She had just met him. Apart from helping him with his wheelchair, she just talked to him for about 15 minutes.

    She was just thinking about what to reply, when the door of the elevator opened. The scene she saw wasn''t something she thought she would ever witness. There were police all around with guns pointed at her and everyone was staring at her like she had committed some murder.

    "Here is our culprit", Gu Layue pointed at her with a proud smile on her face.

 Chapter 42 - Police Needs To Go Away

    "Culprit? What do you mean?", Mei Qingyang crossed her arms and squinted at Gu Layue. This girl was getting on her nerves now. But she was also aware something huge must have happened for even police to be here. And pointing the guns at them? They obviously couldn''t be referring to Wang Hao, she was the only one left then.

    She was still composed as she was scanning everyone. All the four groups were present here and everyone was staring at her wide eyed. A few people at the back were murmuring in hushed tones. The nurses and doctors in the compound also had an unbelievable look in their eyes.

    She was fine till now but as soon as she saw horrified faces of Yu Tian and the group, even Fan Ruyi standing there with her IV drip, she knew she was in trouble. At least Fan Ruyi was fine. She was happy knowing that.

    "What happened, can someone tell me?", Wang Hao raised his voice. He had authority after all.

    "Nothing much, apart from the fact that the goon who attacked this girl a few days ago was found dead a few minutes ago in his room. In this very hospital. Poor guy was getting treatment here. Someone pulled out the cord to his blood transfusion tube and the guy is gone now. She is our prime suspect because she has the strongest motive to kill him.", Gu Layue shrugged her shoulders like it was just a matter of time Mei Qingyang would have done something like this.

    "Is this true senior Fan? Was the guy actually being treated here?", Mei Qingyang was surprised that they had had multiple discussions after that incident and Fan Ruyi had not told this to her.

    "So what? This was the nearest hospital to the school and that guy needed emergency treatment. Are you questioning my decisions?", Fan Ruyi put on her ''you arrogant brat, who are you to ask me this question'' face.

    Mei Qingyang understood that Fan Ruyi must not have had any choice at that time. That was fine. Now she had a new bomb to handle.

    "Why are you pretending that you don''t know he was here? You killed him to begin with.", shouted Gu Layue angrily.

    "Shut up! There are police, our four seniors and Mr. Wang as well here. Who are you to keep accusing me again and again, that too without any proof?", Qingyang''s head was literally aching now. She needed time to think and this brat would not stop her cacophony.

    Gu Layue could not refute her so she harrumphed and put this humiliation in her mind, so that she could take her sweet revenge later, which did not seem very far away.

    "Mr. Wang, I need a favor from you.", Mei Qingyang turned her head towards Wang Hao and spoke, shocking Yu Tian, Feng Yue, Su Lang, Fan Ruyi and Wang Hao himself silly. Who would have thought she would go for help to the one person who would never help her? Gu Layue was celebrating in her heart for the same reason. There was no way he was going to help her.

    "Speak.", Wang Hao adjusted his glasses and ordered her very seriously. Now it was turn of Gu Layue to be bewildered.

    "This concerns our school reputation. Regardless of whether I''m the real culprit or not, I don''t think you or Principal would appreciate involving police in this matter.", she pronounced to the whole group. "Otherwise, we might as well open all the previous cases that never went out. Plus, it will reveal how Fan Ruyi''s and Yu Tian''s men were involved in beating those up. You would not want Principal Yu to get dragged into this, would you?", she whispered in his ears. She had monitored all the rumors that stemmed from the incident. It seemed, no one believed that a weak girl like her could deal with so many guys. So they had come up with a theory that it was Fan Ruyi''s men majorly who helped her on request of Yu Tian.

    "You are Principal''s representative and should make a decision right now. You could, of course, ask Principal Yu as well.", she increased her volume again.

    Seeing her being so confident, the Gu sisters hearts got an unsettling feeling. Wang Hao, on the other hand, went into deep thought.

    "Don''t listen to her. She is trying to get out of this easy Mr. Wang.", Gu Layue pleaded. Gu Jiujiu was surprisingly quiet during this time. She was calculating where she had gone wrong to get embroiled in a murder plot.

    "Okay, I have come to a decision. What Mei Qingyang is saying makes sense. It is all related our school so it''s an internal matter. Furthermore, we have our own laws. We need to make sure that right person gets punished.", he nodded towards Gu sisters to assure them that everything was in his control. But he did not show that he was calculating far ahead. If this matter went to police, then it might or might not be easy to pin everything on this girl. They still did not know what cards she held.

    He turned to the police chief there and requested him to leave the matters to the school itself.

    "Now that the police is gone, what is your next plan?", he asked Mei Qingyang. His heart was beating very fast right now because he had taken a decision by himself. But it was all so that Yu Rong didn''t get dragged into this. His utmost priority was to keep his mistress as far away as possible. But he knew this girl would come up with something.

    "Three days.", she held her three fingers up. "I need three days to solve this case. I am sure senior Fan was prudent enough to seal the building after the incident. On the authority of superintendent and the major suspect, I would like to work to solve this case. Of course, I would like Mr. Wang to be my supervisor in this, so that the transparency remains. Anything related to the case, I will do under your supervision. How does that sound, Mr. Wang?", she smiled. She had trapped the guy through and through.

    Wang Hao realized he had just served himself on a plate to her. Now even if she comes out of this whole crime accusation, she will have his back. This is what he was worried about. Was it a bad idea to send the police back? He could not regret it now.

    "Let me discuss with Principal Yu. Three days means you guys will have to spend three days here. I need to make arrangements. You guys can take a break of one hour and no one is allowed to go outside. Fan Ruyi, I need your help.", Wang Hao was worried now. This trap that they had set up for this girl might not work out the way he had thought. He needed urgent solution. But he was also the brains behind Yu Rong, so he had absolute confidence in his ability.

    A devious smile appeared on Mei Qingyang''s face. She had cleared the first stage of this game.

 Chapter 43 - Yu Rongs Grand Plan

    Mei Qingyang went to the nearest balcony to get some fresh air after everyone dispersed to prepare for their stay in the hospital building for the next three days. This was too much to take in at once. She was so happy to meet and apologize to that girl but now she was embroiled in this whole murder mystery. Was there a peaceful day in this school ah?

    She heaved a deep sigh. It was good that this hospital had enough space to accommodate 50 extra people. As expected of Fan family. And they had provisions for clothes and everything as well for all the extra people.

    More than that, she was concerned about having everyone from nurses to doctors to janitors to stay here for next three days as well because the whole hospital campus was sealed off now. She did have an idea of who might have done it but she has to inconvenience everyone for her sake. Fortunately, the staff were cooperative enough to accommodate her request.

    She was deep in thought when she felt a touch on her shoulder. She looked sideways to find Yu Tian standing beside her. The tall guy was looking far into the ocean. Which reminded her that her classmates at least should be happy because the hospital had a private beach surrounded by mountains. There was no fear of anyone fleeing so they could enjoy the three days of freedom.

    Also, this balcony space was so good. It was basically a rooftop garden facing the ocean. The Fan family knew their aesthetics alright. There was no way a patient would not recover at such a serene place.

    "What are you thinking?", Yu Tian looked at her with concern. She was a murder suspect right now. The group of four knew where she had gone but still, to take responsibility to prove herself innocent must have been stressing her out. The three friends of his asked him to talk to her and console her and reassure her that everything would be alright.

    Mei Qingyang smiled on his question. This guy did not really know how to show concern or start a casual conversation at all. "What do you think? Obviously, I am trying to think of ways to get out of this sticky situation."

    "Do you have any idea how you are going to solve this? Any help you need, we are here for you.", he really wanted to stroke her head but he refrained from doing so because he knew there were too many unfamiliar set of eyes here.

    "Well, I actually don''t. But I do have a few hints here and there. If only I could get the CCTV footage from either the floor where the guy was placed or where I was, it would have been great. But that''s just impossible. It would put the girl at risk. I can''t use that.", she was just thinking out loud because she knew the guy beside her was although a bit socially awkward, but an intelligent being, nonetheless. If she bounced her ideas off this guy, she would definitely get to the solution or close at least.

    "Well, you would not have been able to get it anyway because only police can access the films after getting a court order. They would not have given it to you because it would also give away Fan family''s clients'' identities. The patients come here for privacy.", Yu Tian wanted her to know the facts. They all had agreed that it was a mistake on her part to send the police back. They would have finished the case if they had accessed the CCTV footage.

    "Yeah, I figured that much. That''s why I got Wang Hao to send them back.", she replied nonchalantly.

    "Wait! You mean to say you knew of this? Then why did you do it when it could have saved you so easily?", Yu Tian was bemused. Why take all this unnecessary work and stress when she could have easily come out of this without even lifting a finger?

    "Do you really think police would have sided with me? I''m sure CCTV footages have gone missing and evidences destroyed before. Do you really think they would have saved me even if they knew I wasn''t the culprit?", she turned her head to look Yu Tian directly into his eyes. She was very confident about the ways these guys worked. If they were that honest since the beginning, the school would have been a much better place.

    "So, you not only wanted to keep that girl hidden but also punish the actual culprit, who has a wealthier background than yours?" Damn this girl. She was thinking this far ahead?

    Mei Qingyang nodded, "You got it exactly right. Our school laws are stricter than anywhere on this land. When Yu Rong was drafting those, she thought she could use them just against the poor people to her advantage and she probably made them that bad on purpose. I don''t know what perverse people are in the board of school though, since they approved them too. Now I''m going to use those against herself.", she was actually looking forward to doing that. Seconds later, she gasped once she realized she was talking to Yu Rong''s nephew. Why did she keep running her mouth before this guy? She revealed her hand so easily to him. Ugh.

    Yu Tian subconsciously snickered at her reaction. She was just too determined to change things but was that even possible? Many had perished for the same cause but this girl definitely seemed different. Was she going to change his fate too?

    "Then, who is in your mind as the felon?", Yu Tian probed further.

    Mei Qingyang put her index finger on her chin and answered, "Hmm¡­ I don''t have a definite answer yet. But my intuition says it can''t be none other than Yu Rong. No one has that much gall to commit a murder on another''s property if not for some big backup. I don''t see how you guys would benefit from the death of that guy when you guys saved him in the first place."

    "What benefits would Yu Rong get?", Yu Tian was now interested in the thinking process of this girl. She liked to analyze the problem and looked at it from all the angles. He did not really talk much with her but now he realized that he had come to enjoy these conversations with her the most.

    "Oh wow, I never paid attention but you call your aunt by her name? No aunt, no principal, directly her name? Well, it''s none of my business, was just curious.", she waved her hands in her defense once she started feeling the temperature drop around him once again. Jeez, such a volatile guy. She changed the topic back to the conversation they were having.

    "Yu Rong has all the benefits right now. By doing this, she either gets rid of me and Fan Ruyi or the Gu sisters. Would be better for her if I lose. I am pretty sure Wang Hao is probably being scolded right now for stepping on her toes and making such a big decision by himself. Police would have definitely been advantageous to them. But Yu Rong also probably forgot to take into account that if this became a public issue by any chance, because we are in someone else''s hospital, then it would come to light that you and Fan Ruyi are involved. Perhaps she was banking on the fact that Fan family won''t let that happen because it''s tied up with their own reputation." Mei Qingyang had admired Yu Rong''s qualities as a businesswoman. That lady knew how people thought. Unfortunate for her that she trusted skills of people around her too much. Wang Hao was brainy for sure, but he did not have capability to think everything out. Yu Rong, with her experience, was much more versatile in her schemes. Another flaw with Yu Rong was that she was overconfident.

    Because she had been winning till now, she had this notion inside her that she would win every time and everyone would listen to her. Such arrogance never helped anyone to win wars.

    "Why would she want to get rid of Gu sisters? Are they not her spies and Gu Layue happens to be her left hand person.", Yu Tian was confused now. He knew his aunt too. She was not really capable of planning all this. Perhaps Mei Qingyang was overthinking all this?

    "I don''t know about her beef with Gu sisters. But one thing is for sure. Even if I win here, she will give the responsibility of punishing the culprit to me. That''s when I will become sure shot enemy of everyone. But my main goal is also to let everyone see what happens once they mess with me. It would be great if I could make example out of an influential person like Gu Layue.", she lowered her head, thinking and scheming and planning. She did not want anyone, even Yu Tian, to see her vicious expression right now.

    "But why would Gu sisters do it themselves? They have so many people in the class, they could ask anyone to do it." Yu Tian was impressed with, rather attracted to this girl''s sadistic ways.

    "That''s simple. They would not want to take any risk, lest something went wrong and the person they chose confessed by themselves. Gu Layue is one tenacious inhuman person. She is as cold-blooded as any one of you four. I don''t blame her since she comes from such circ.u.mstances, just like you guys. The other small fries are just effective when it comes to small physical or mental damage. They would back out once it comes to actual murder. Plus, fewer people know, the better, no? I don''t think even Gu Jiujiu knew about all this." Now she had laid out the whole truth about the situation.

    Whatever she would do would be disadvantageous to her. So why not make the most out of this state of affairs and get out as less damaged as possible.

    "So, then what are you going to do if you don''t want to use CCTV footage.", he came to the most important question. Mei Qingyang was still debating whether to reply to him or not. She herself was unsure what to do, how could she give him a definitive answer? And although her heart warmed up when she realized he was trying to cheer her up in his own way, she was still dubious about his motives. Even if she had an answer, she would not tell him so easily.

    "Mei Qingyang, that servant girl heard about your situation and is adamant to help you out. Do you want to talk to her?", she heard Fan Ruyi''s urgent voice from behind. She was huffing from running it seemed.

 Chapter 44 - Fan Ruyis Tyrant Parents

    "Sister Qingyang, don''t you worry. I will tell everyone that you did not do it. I will show my face to everyone. It was not your fault!!", Mei Qingyang heard a panicked voice from the other side.

    "It''s alright. I will figure it out. You just need to focus on recuperating. If you do anything stupid, all my hard work till now will go in vain, okay? So just stay put.", Mei Qingyang reassured her with a very soothing and calm voice and then abruptly hang up the call. She laughed at herself after hanging up. Even a puny girl was worrying about her now. She needed to solve this as soon as she could.

    "Senior Fan. How was your call with your parents? Have the arrangements been made yet?", she inquired from Fan Ruyi while giving her the phone back. She had to make sure to keep the call quick lest Wang Hao spotted her and became suspicious that she was talking to her men again.

    "They were a bit upset, hehe. They will be visiting us soon. They are in the other wing of the hospital right now and headed towards here. Although they knew about the whole scenario, they are worried about having to keep the whole staff for three days.", Fan Ruyi scratched her head. It seemed things were more complicated by the way she was avoiding Mei Qingyang''s eyes.

    "I see. Then, could you please arrange a room where I could interrogate people and Wang Hao can be present? I would also like to visit the scene and please arrange for the guy''s postmortem too.", she glanced at Yu Tian who also looked concerned after she saw the unusual behavior of his friend.

    They all were aware of each other''s family situation mostly. And Fan Ruyi''s parents were very strict. They were always anxious about their and family''s name. It was her grandfather who doted on her and she had his protection. Otherwise, she would not have been here right now.

    "You ungrateful brat! What did you do?" Everyone turned around and saw a beautiful couple headed towards them in a rush. The guy was tall and handsome. He must have been very popular in his youth. The lady was a split image of Fan Ruyi. Fine wrinkles elegantly sat on her face but she still did not look like an old woman. As soon as they reached the two girls, the lady took Fan Ruyi''s arm by force and issued a slap on her face. Before either Yu Tian or Mei Qingyang could react, they had already taken the action.

    "Is this why you brought all these people here? Now if our clients hear about a murder at our hospital, would they want to stay here?", Fan Ruyi''s father, Mr. Fan Hua Lei yelled at her in his loud voice.

    "I am sorry to b.u.t.t in the family affairs, sir, but with all due respect, do you think it''s her fault?", Mei Qingyang interjected. Yu Tian was a bit hidden and was not really noticeable right now.

    "How dare you meddle in our affairs? You uncouth person using words like ''butt''! What kind of company are you in these days Ruyi?", her mother, Mrs. Fan pointed her finger at Mei Qingyang angrily.

    "Yes, if you want to be angry, you can blame this uncultured person. Senior Fan has not done anything wrong. She was just helping her juniors out. You, on the other hand, the people who are worrying over her company and what not, should think where you are before you scold her. There are dozens of people watching the show over there.", she pointed out to the glass doors and windows which faced this rooftop. There was no one out on the rooftop, so no one could hear what was being said. But they definitely saw whatever happened just now.

    "Please check your own behavior before you accuse anyone else. Also, she has taken the best measures to contain the situation, otherwise I would have seen your so called clients walking out of here as soon as the police arrived. Did you see, anyone, one single person ask you to transfer them to another hospital or your own facility?", she had such faith in Fan Ruyi''s arrangements. Her judgement of character wasn''t bad and she knew she could depend on this senior when needed.

    Indeed, it was the case. Fan Ruyi had promptly informed everyone in the building by proper protocol of whatever had happened and that her school''s name was involved. The school having back of Yu, Feng and Su family and all the young masters being present here, assured everyone in the hospital. No one complained and everyone decided to comply with the in-house investigation. The couple had not noticed Yu Tian standing there.

    "Mei Qingyang is right. Ruyi''s provisions have been impeccable till now. You did not need to do that and show how you deal with your family matters to everyone present here.", Yu Tian stepped forward to reveal he was also there. The two doctors stiffened.

    "Young¡­ young master Yu. We are sorry, we did not realize you were there. Apologies for showing you something so embarrassing. If you are here, we are assured. We will take our leave and let you guys handle it." The two people left the place as hurriedly as they had arrived. They gave a look of disdain to both FFan Ruyi and Mei Qingyang before leaving.

    "Are you okay?", Yu Tian went ahead and touched fan Ruyi''s face tenderly. There were three fingerprints on her cheek, the slap must have hit really hard. The scene was so pretty that everyone inside the building was mesmerized by the scene but Mei Qingyang''s heart was aching for some reason.

    Su Lang and Feng Yue had squeezed out of the crowd behind the doors and arrived at the rooftop as well.

    Fan Ruyi nodded silently covering her face in embarrassment. She mumbled, "Sorry that you guys had to witness something like this."

    "Don''t worry about it. It''s not like we are seeing it for the first time" Su Lang came forward and gave Fan Ruyi a giant hug. Feng Yue and Yu Tian followed suits. Everyone looked at Mei Qingyang like they were anticipating for her to join but she remained aloof, firm at her position, tilting her head and blinking her large eyes like she had no idea what the guys were hinting her to do. The guys'' disappointment was very apparent.

    "Never mind that, I need to make arrangements for my Qing Qing. I will go and check what we can do. When do you want to start?", Fan Ruyi recovered soon afterwards and looked at Mei Qingyang for an answer.

    "Right away. I am sorry senior Fan, you are going through so much because of me.", Mei Qingyang bowed politely. Fan Ruyi shook her head sideways and left promptly.

    "You don''t seem any startled with all this? You even defended her before her tyrant parents.", Su Lang gave a questioning look to the girl who was staring behind the back of the girl she had slowly come to trust.

    "Every family has their own problems. The people who think perfect families exist are mistaken. I do not hold any such notion.", she gave a suggesting look towards Yu Tian while speaking like this. This alarmed him and the other two guys a great deal. *Has she sniffed out our secrets or what?*

 Chapter 45 - Rookie Mistake

    "I got them to scan for fingerprints but they could not find anything at all.", Fan Ruyi explained to Mei Qingyang. While they were creating a makeshift room for her interrogation, Wang Hao, Qingyang and the four friends decided to visit the crime scene.

    There was a big blood puddle near the bed. The body was still there, covered in bandages all over. There was some blood near his wrist and on the white bedsheet as well. Perhaps, someone had interrupted when the person was committing the crime.

    In hurry, they just yanked the tube and splattered blood all over. But she would not really expect anyone from her class to be stupid enough to make a mistake of spilling it over their clothes. These were people supposed to be with above average intelligence. Anyway, she would look for it when conducting her cross-questioning.

    Yeah well, wasn''t that obvious? Why would anyone in their right mind leave their fingerprints behind. Mei Qingyang nodded. Wang Hao and Su Lang were covering their noses with handkerchiefs.

    "Ugh.. I don''t know what we could determine with this blood pool here which has started drying. This probably all came out of that blood pouch.", Mei Qingyang squatted down and put her hand on her head. She had a feeling it was going to take her much time if she did not come up with innovative ideas here. So much for all those detective fiction novels.

    "I just feel sad for this guy. He was beaten black and blue just for being loyal to his master.", Wang Hao said in a joking manner, enraging everyone present.

    *When you and Yu Rong do it for your gain, it''s fine. Someone does that in self-defense, you feel pity for the bully?*

    Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes and wished she could just throw this guy out of the room. He was no help at all but was just making trouble. Before entering the room also, he made a ruckus about the room being filthy. Gu Layue also tried very hard to get into the group but Yu Tian stopped her by making her lead everyone to their accommodation.

    She stared hard at the blood patch for some time, like it would start revealing the answers by itself. She looked upwards and then observed the room once again, silently. Everyone was staring at her for some response.

    "This is stupid. I am leaving.", Feng Yue got agitated with the mess happening here. He removed his gloves in frustration and threw them on the ground.

    "Fingerprints! Right!! Why did I not think of this first? Find me the gloves!!!", she exclaimed as soon as she saw Feng Yue''s tantrum. It was like an epiphany just happened.

    "Gloves? This is a hospital Mei Qingyang! All you will find are the gloves here.", Feng Yue spoke with disdain. What was this girl doing, wasting everyone''s time? She had to go ahead and refuse police first and now she was going to wear a hat of detective. Who did she think she was, an all-knowing female lead of an action novel?

    "No, I mean, I need gloves with blood on them.", Mei Qingyang sounded kind of excited.

    "Listen to this girl blabbering stupid remarks. There will be thousands of blood-stained gloves here.", Wang Hao insulted her a bit more.

    "Senior Fan. I need to find gloves, not far away from this room, in probably a dustbin, mostly in a hidden corner. The blood there will match this blood. I know this floor doesn''t have an operation ward or emergency room. Chances of such gloves of being found should be fewer if not zero.", she tried explaining to the most reasonable person here who would understand her.

    "Oh, are you thinking about glove prints? We did not find any of those either.", Fan Ruyi stated. She had made her team search each nook and corner of the room. She was feeling guilty about the fact that she would not be able to help with CCTV footages. She could have checked it herself for helpful hints but after her parents made that scene, there was no way she would get her hands on any camera feeds. Damnit!

    "No, no. I remember reading a research that sometimes a few latent fingerprints remain inside the nitrile gloves. I am sure the perpetrator didn''t bring their own gloves since it''s easier to discard nitrile gloves from hospital anywhere. No one would think of looking for used gloves in here. I know medical waste is hazardous but this might be my last hope right now.", she suddenly stood up from her position and felt blood rushing to her head. Feeling dizzy, her body waved a bit. Yu Tian caught her just in time, otherwise she would have lost balance.

    Such malnourished girl working so hard, Yu Tian''s heart ached for this poor soul. What did she even get by coming to their school? His grip tightened around her arms thinking about all that she had faced till now, just because of that witch, Yu Rong. They looked into each other''s eyes for a few seconds but realizing that a lot of people were present around, they turned their heads in opposite directions. His friends all observed his ears turning red. Even in this dire situation, these guys could create sweet moments. These two definitely needed to get some room.

    "Are you okay? You should sit down somewhere.", Yu Tian made her sit in one of the chairs nearby. Wang Hao was observing everything very carefully. Out of the four, although Yu Tian was the most cold and aloof, he was probably the friendliest to this girl. And that was the biggest threat for Yu Rong. Other people were rather not very fond of her it seemed. Fan Ruyi mostly looked neutral but she was rumored to have feelings for Yu Tian as well. There was a different tension between the two girls. But probably that''s why Mei Qingyang was depending on Fan Ruyi the most.

    "Yes, I am fine. Senior Fan, please, hurry. Before someone does something or trash gets picked up!", Mei Qingyang pleaded to Fan Ruyi and gave a glance towards Wang Hao, just in case. Seeing that he was staying put in his place, she was kind of relieved.

    She had anyway made sure to get everyone''s phones taken away on pretext of searching call and text records. Of course, she was not police, so she did not have permission to invade people''s privacy. But her classmates complied one by one because they wanted to know the identity of the murderer too. If it was not Mei Qingyang, then mostly the person was amongst them.

    Gu sisters had to give away their phones too. Mei Qingyang could always hack the phones but that would not count as legal evidence.

    On the other hand, Wang Hao was sweating profusely. He could only pray right now that that person didn''t commit a rookie mistake like this. Who would have thought this girl would know about latent fingerprints? Where did her knowledge come from?

    All the hospital dustbins on the floor were scoured for gloves. Even the base of the chute on the floor was examined. Finally, a few pairs were found in different bins. They would narrow down the gloves they were looking for by blood testing first and then check if they could find any fingerprints on the gloves. In a few hours, the result would come out. They also let the body be taken for postmortem.

    "Are you feeling peaceful now that I am dead? You know the one you are trying to convict and actual person who murdered me are different, right?", she heard someone from the back. She turned around and saw a transparent being who closely resembled the owner of the dead body right there. She closed her eyes and walked out of the door without saying anything.

 Chapter 46 - Questioning Gu Jiujiu - I

    The so-called interrogation room was an assembly of real detective stuff in a large room. There was one-way mirror as well as mic system for communication between the two partitions. Mei Qingyang marveled at the resourcefulness of Fan family.

    "I have been to a real one before and this is as close as one could get to an original one. Senior Fan, you are the best.", she whispered to Fan Ruyi. She was in a jolly mood right now. She had always wanted to do something like this. If not for her brother Bo, she would have joined police or army for sure.

    Wang Hao had gone to bring all the kids and Su Lang had accompanied him to keep an eye on him.

    "How did you see a real one?", Yu Tian interjected their conversation from behind startling both the girls. Mei Qingyang looked troubled by his question and realized she had been speaking too much these days. Had she sub-consciously, finally started to trust these people?

    "Why can''t she visit one? Her dad is such a big personality too. What''s wrong with it?", Fan Ruyi slapped Yu Tian''s hand tenderly. Mei Qingyang had been observing them closely. These two were too close to call just friends. And Yu Tian had no problem with personal space when it came to Fan Ruyi. He was not that fond of touch from his other two friends. Only Fan Ruyi was a special one.

    She completely forgot that she was also a special person and Yu Tian had not even spent that much time with her while Fan Ruyi was his childhood friend. Ah jealousy! What kind of wool do you pull over people''s eyes who are in love, ah! If only Qingyang knew what she was experiencing was called envy.

    "Who are you going to interrogate first?", asked Fan Ruyi.

    "I think I''ll start with Gu sisters, just to see what they both are saying. Then based upon what other people say, I''ll see who is telling the truth and who not. Anyway, I am just jotting everyone''s story down. Inconsistencies will find my culprit.", she came back to her calm and composed state from her jovial mood. She did not even pay attention to Yu Tian. These two people were influencing her mood too much these days and that was not good at all. Wang Hao entered the room behind the mirror where everyone was.

    "I have brought the first group. They are sitting outside. Now, the stage is yours.", he said while adjusting his glasses.

    "Thank you, Mr. Wang. You have been a big help to me in this whole thing. I had asked you for three days. It might be that I finish this by tomorrow.", she smiled warmly and bowed politely. Wang Hao was not sure if she was trying to provoke him because of his mistakes or if she was genuinely thanking him.

    Mei Qingyang went outside and saw an anxious crowd. No one wanted to take part in this but they also wanted to make sure that they were proven innocent.

    "Hello everyone. I am just interested in what you have been doing since the beginning of the tour. Just recollect as much as you can, including whom you were with. This will help me count alibis for everyone. I don''t want it to be a formal interrogation. Think of me as your friend and be honest about it. It will not take much time.", she addressed her classmates.

    "Hmph! Who are you to ask us questions?", Gu Layue yelled. People really were seeing her new side. She was the elegant, soft-spoken queen of the first year. What happened to that image of hers? Why had she suddenly become so loud?

    "Haha, are you afraid of something Ms. Gu? You have been quite antagonistic to me, especially since the trip has started.", Mei Qingyang made a smug face. This girl was good in her schemes but she was not that quick to think on her feet or control her temper. She was being too impatient, giving herself away so easily.

    "Why¡­ why are you accusing me? I am not afraid of you! Bring it on!!", Gu Layue flared her nose. On the side, Gu Jiujiu seemed very concerned and quiet. This 180 degrees change in both girls didn''t go unnoticed.

    "Okay, I''ll start with Gu Jiuijiu then. Ms. Gu, you don''t mind right?", Mei Qingyang smiled towards Gu Jiujiu. She had an idea that perhaps Gu Jiujiu had not part in it at all. It seemed that she wasn''t even aware of the whole plan.

    "Oh.. yeah, I''m fine. I''ll go with you.", said an absentminded Gu Jiujiu.

    Gu Layue held her sister''s hand as she was walking past her. "Do not dare rattle anything out. I will never forgive you if you did.", she whispered to Gu Jiujiu. Jiujiu''s heart thumped and she became more nervous after her cousin''s declaration. She bit her lip and followed Mei Qingyang in the well-lit room. There was no one else but Jiujiu knew there were people behind the mirror.

    "Ms. Gu, you need to relax. I am just here to have a chat.", Mei Qingyang pushed a glass of water towards her. She did not have any impression of this girl. She was definitely frustrated with how this girl had treated her throughout her college time but she was only working for her cousin, the higher up in the food chain.

    "Why¡­. are you going to use this for DNA tests and stuff?" Well, everyone had watched enough detective dramas it seemed.

    Mei Qingyang laughed lightly. "Are you admitting that you are guilty now that you are asking me to do a DNA test?", she smiled. Gu Jiujiu stiffened once more. She was not sure how her remarks would be taken, so she decided to just remain quiet.

    "See, I told you. I don''t want anything else. Just tell me what happened after you went to get water for senior Fan till the time I returned to our floor.", she tried to remind Gu Jiujiu that this was not an actual interrogation.

    "That''s it?", Gu Jiujiu actually relaxed a little.

    "Yes, that''s it. I might have a few follow up questions after that and then you will be free to go.", Mei Qingyang smiled once again, to show her friendliness.

    Gu Jiujiu took a deep breath and narrated how she had gone to fetch water for Fan Ruyi but the water cooler was out of glasses. So, she had to find some nurse on the floor to get a few. She also informed the nurse to come with her for first aid, and thus, had a solid alibi. After that, she remained with the Fan Ruyi''s group the whole time.

    "I see. Once I talk to the said nurse, it will clear you out of the suspicion. Before that, I myself am your alibi.", Mei Qingyang nodded her head confirming that she was right about Gu Jiujiu. The tensed girl before her heaved a sigh of relief knowing that she was no longer under the radar.

    "Oh, by the way, before you go, would you be interested in telling me more about your conversation with your cousin, about any schemes and plots she might be planning?" Mei Qingyang asked in a straightforward manner.

 Chapter 47 - Questioning Gu Jiujiu - II

    "Won''t you tell me anything?" Mei Qingyang asked Gu Jiujiu. She had played the act of a kind friend for too long. Now it was time to get a bit tough. She also stopped the mic in front of her slowly because she did not want anyone else behind the mirror to listen to what this girl had to say. Sweat poured through Gu Jiujiu''s forehead when she heard her question.

    "Wha¡­ what do you mean schemes? What could she plot anyway? This is such a guarded facility.", Gu Jiujiu stammered.

    "And yet, a murder happened. See, I don''t want innocent people like you get caught in nonsense. It would be great if you could reveal a few hints at least.", she looked straight into her eyes. "It''s easy. No one would know what you tell me. I''m pretty sure you know better than me how ruthless your cousin is. If she gets convicted, I wonder who will end up taking the fall."

    "So, you have already decided that cousin Layue is the culprit?", Gu Jiujiu inquired.

    Mei Qingyang nodded slightly again. "I''m 90% sure at this point of time that it''s her. Rest will depend on our conversations and the results from postmortem etc." She did not have any qualms about telling this to Jiujiu. She knew this girl was scared out of her wits and was going to think about herself first now. Her conversations just now had fueled her fear more. If she had learned anything at all from Gu Layue, she would be able to foresee her fate. There was no time to play games. Even if she didn''t give Yu Rong and her cousin away, she definitely would not tell about her chat with Qingyang to anyone.

    "How do I believe you that no one is going to hear what I say?", Gu Jiujiu''s eyes darted around. She was not sure who to believe anymore. She wanted to trust in her cousin but she had seen a lot of stuff over the years. She had known from the beginning that she was just a pawn to Gu Layue.

    Mei Qingyang was correct. Her loyalty fueled from the d.e.s.i.r.e of materialism. Gu Layue perhaps won''t even think twice before discarding her. There was nothing as sisterly bond between them. She was equivalent to a servant to her anyway. That is how things happened in this school. Spawns of stronger and wealthier families reigned the weak. This truth was out there before her for so long, she was just in denial. Now this whole trial had really opened her eyes. Gu Jiujiu felt so pathetic at this moment.

    "In two minutes, you''ll see Wang Hao knocking on the door because he is as afraid of the secret going out as your cousin. He would want in on everything.", Mei Qingyang was happy that she had convinced this lass to tell something at least. In the future, she would definitely act as a great informant for her. She needed all the dirt on Yu Rong and Gu Layue.

    Sure enough, within a minute, Wang Hao Started banging the door. "Open this door right now. You''re not allowed to have private chats. That''s what you had promised. Come on!"

    "It''s definitely time to leave Ms. Gu. You have to make your decision within five seconds.", Qingyang got up from her seat and started walking towards the door.

    "Fine! I will tell you what I know.", Gu Jiujiu lowered her head while yelling her to stop. Her voice was quivering and it was apparent that she was on the verge of breaking down. The decision to help out Mei Qingyang would have been a hard one for her. Qingyang stopped in her tracks.

    "Alright. I''m listening here. Keep your head lowered and talk. I don''t want you to get in trouble if someone reads your lips. Video is still being recorded.", Mei Qingyang informed Gu Jiujiu.

    "Okay! I just know that Yu Rong was the one who gave us the information that the guy was being treated here. Gu family has spies here, so Layue did get the info of his exact location. But the plan was never to kill him.", she had started sobbing by now.

    "Can you be sure that you knew about the whole scheme?", Mei Qingyang turned around and walked towards Gu Jiujiu. She acted as if she was consoling her.

    "Gu Layue did have meetings with Yu Rong later but I thought those were just to decide with the professor about group assignment and all. They wouldn''t change the whole plan just like that. And Gu Layue killing someone? It''s impossible!", through her tears, she looked at Mei Qingyang like she wanted her to believe Gu Layue.

    Mei Qingyang scoffed and mumbled to under her breath, "Such na?ve."

    "Plus, the plan was to be executed in the second half of the day. We saw the schedule and although you guys had announced that the beach would be open by evening, the tour was ending at 3 pm in the schedule by the professor. So, it was better opportunity when everyone would be scattered. The injury to senior Fan was a coincidence!", she tugged Mei Qingyang''s shirt to be more convincing. Now this was good information.

    Mei Qingyang walked hastily and opened the door to let Wang Hao come in.

    "Why the f*ck did you turn off the mic? What were you girls talking about?", he yelled.

    "Ah! Sorry, I didn''t realize I had shut the mic off. Can you tell me how to turn it on?", she made an innocent face.

    "You¡­ what did you guys talk about?", he grabbed the girl with both shoulders and shook her like a sac.

    "Hey, calm down. You''re acting like she really had something to tell me. Are you aware of something that I''m not?"

    "Are you accusing me now?", Wang Hao was furious. This girl was way too cunning than they had estimated her to be. She was proving to be one step ahead of them at every step.

    "I''m just stating the fact. You''re being too aggressive for just wanting to know what happened here. Plus, you can always watch the video. At least the video of this room won''t be withheld.", Mei Qingyang smirked.

    Wang Hao realized his reaction had indeed been over the top. He felt like he was a prey to an anaconda right now which was tightening its grip around his neck.

    "Fine. Your time with this girl is over.", he said in a resigning voice. "I am going to be here, with you, in this room, from now on."

    Bingo! This is what Mei Qingyang was waiting for. She had already questioned the person she wanted to. Others did not really matter. The one other person she was worried about was Gu Layue but she wasn''t going to tell the truth anyway.

    "I''m kind of worried about her well being. She even cried due to fright. She thought I called her first because I really suspected her. I think I''ll talk to senior Fan and send a guard for you. How about it?", she gave a questioning yet assuring look to Gu Jiujiu.

    "Many thanks." She was surprised that this girl was providing her with the protection. Or perhaps she just wanted to make sure that she doesn''t contact any of Gu spies.

    As for Mei Qingyang, it was both. Wang Hao wouldn''t believe her just because she tried to use her puppy eyes. As he could not really confront Gu Jiujiu right now, he would just ensure that she doesn''t blabber to people without reason. So, he found it a reasonable request.

    "Alright. I need her separated from other students.", he ordered.

    "Fine by me.", she nodded towards Gu Jiujiu and let her go. By this time Wang Hao had already turned on the mic, so Fan Ruyi had heard about Qingyang''s request for a bodyguard. She assigned one from her own trusted entourage.

 Chapter 48 - Who Is Xiao Xi?

    Next, Mei Qingyang called all the people from Fan Ruyi''s group to cross them off the suspects list, a procedure she had to go through to narrow down the people.

    She then cleared all of Feng Yue''s and Su Lang''s groups because those guys were with each other all the time. A few had gone here and there for restroom breaks but those guys also had someone to vouch for them. Last came her own group. The most suspicious people without alibi were Gu Layue who had separated from the group somewhere, a guy who had just wanted to chase a nurse he had found attractive and herself.

    Gu Layue had not been able to justify her absence although she had tried to drag Wang Hao in between that he was there with her. She just threw a bunch of tantrums about being questioned and making her wait all the while because she was last. It was basically useless to talk with her.

    Mei Qingyang also interviewed her seniors as well as Wang Hao. Now, Wang Hao also became a suspect because although he had gone to find Dr. Ma, he was still by himself during that time. By the time Mei Qingyang finished with everyone, it was already morning of next day. She had called people in batches, so everyone got plenty of rest, except her and Wang Hao. Yu Tian and group also had taken turns to supervise, so they had got some rest too.

    As soon as they finished, everyone went straight to their assigned rooms. Due to a limited number, Fan Ruyi and Mei Qingyang were accommodated in the same room. Wang Hao and Yu Tian each got a separate room. Feng Yue and Su Lang didn''t mind staying in one room, so they were arranged so.

    "So, do you think you would be able to prove yourself innocent?", Fan Ruyi asked while yawning. They had just washed up and were preparing to go to bed.

    "I am quite convinced it is Gu Layue. I just need conclusive evidence from that fingerprint test. They should be done soon. But it is interesting that I am a suspect too, yet they let me do this whole investigation. I don''t know what Yu Rong is thinking¡­", she was drifting off to sleep so she had started mumbling.

    Fan Ruyi was still wide awake. She had gotten a few hours of sleep earlier. She had this weird feeling in her heart that everything was not going to go as smooth as Mei Qingyang was thinking. Qingyang had a similar hunch but she did not want to increase Fan Ruyi''s concerns.

    In the afternoon, Fan Ruyi''s grandfather visited their room to have a chat. Mei Qingyang was so exhausted, that she slept throughout their conversation, without even changing her posture.

    "My dear granddaughter. I am so sorry for that imbecile couple''s behavior. How dare they humiliate my sweet grandchild in front of her friends?", he hugged her hard. Fan Ruyi''s heart filled with warmth on seeing her grandfather.

    "It''s okay grandpa. You know how they can be sometimes. And all my friends are understanding.", she tried to appease her grandfather with a cutesy tone.

    "I should not have given the charge to my son. He is just incapable of handling the empire if he can''t even be sympathetic with his own daughter.", her grandpa sighed. This guy, who was the former king of Fan empire did acknowledge his son''s talent when it came to medicine. But he was just a bad leader. He had no idea how to manage people. It was the grandfather''s people still, who were helping him. If one day, Fan Ruyi''s grandfather died, Fan empire would crumble in hands of her father. Therefore, her grandfather was trying to teach her as much as he could, to be next head of the family and take charge of the empire before he left this world.

    "I heard you have made a very interesting friend in the school. Is it that girl over there?", he asked in a hushed tone, to not disturb the girl''s sleep.

    "She is more of a mystery than interesting. Her thought process is something beyond my comprehension. She analyses everything so neatly, that sometimes even Yu Tian fails to see things that she does. She is not of an ordinary background, that much I can tell you. You must already know that she is adopted daughter of Minister Jiang. But no one know her origin, not even her dad.", Fan Ruyi took a sip from her cup of tea.

    "Hmm¡­ It seems you have found a sibling you have always longed for.", Fan Ruyi''s grandpa felt delighted and smiled in satisfaction. His poor granddaughter had gone through much over the years. If she was able to forge a sisterly bond with another girl, it would be so great. If this was the girl his granddaughter had chosen, he also needed to take care of her in the future. It would be great if he could earn another granddaughter like this.

    "Oh, I think Yu Tian is getting interested in this girl too.", Fan Ruyi snickered.

    "What! That brat? Finally. I was so worried about that guy, oh gosh! Then his illness?", he was very curious about that aspect. Not only he hated the touch of people, more so women, he was just a cold apathetic personality through and through. He had even once thought that Yu Tian was just not born with any emotions.

    "Hehe, I just need to see the development.", Fan Ruyi laughed.

    "Okay. I think you don''t need much help at this time. I will leave you here then. But if anything like that happens again, be sure to inform me, okay? It hurts my heart when I get such news from a third party.", he stood up to leave and patted Fan Ruyi''s head.

    "Yes, grandpa. Have a safe trip back.", Fan Ruyi smiled and walked him out of the room.

    As soon as she entered the room, she heard some noises.

    "Don''t¡­. don''t leave me alone. Please. Xiao Xi! Take me with you!! Please!!", Mei Qingyang was talking in her sleep. She had her browns furrowed and looked quite in pain.

    "Please help me! Please save my family!!", tears started rolling out of her eyes. Fan Ruyi got scared finding her in the state.

    *I went out for two minutes. Just two minutes and Qing Qing. Oh Lord! What is happening? Should I call Yu Tian? I saw him calming her rage down before. Would he be able to help this time too? Never mind. I''ll try it myself.*

    "Qing Qing, are you having a nightmare? Wake up girl. Look, I am here. It''s alright okay?", she took her in her arms and hugged her tightly.

    "Please don''t cry. I am here with you.", she said trembling.

    Mei Qingyang opened her eyes, still mumbling ''Xiao Xi''s'' name.

    "Ugh¡­ Senior Fan? What are you doing?", Qingyang asked in half sleep.

    "Huh? You don''t remember?", Fan Ruyi was now worried.

    "What? Oh, why is my face wet?", she touched her face in a confused state and looked towards Fan Ruyi for answers. But her tears continued flowing.

    "Why? Did¡­ did something happen Qing Qing? Are you alright?", Fan Ruyi''s concern increased more. This petite girl hugged her tightly.

    "I¡­ I don''t know. I just had a very sad dream. I don''t even remember what it was. But I am just so upset. I don''t know what to do.", she started crying loudly.

    "It''s okay. It was just a bad dream. Your friends are here with you.", Fan Ruyi consoled her. As a doctor in training, she realized that it might not just be a nightmare. It might have something to do with her amnesia, as Yu Tian had called it. She would need to help this girl regain her memories.

    "By the way, who is Xiao Xi?", Fan Ruyi asked, as if she wanted to start triggering her memories right here, right now.

 Chapter 49 - Results

    "I¡­ I don''t know anyone by that name.", Mei Qingyang gave it a thought and replied. Why would she spout a random name out of the blue?

    "Never mind then. It might be something you heard on TV or somewhere else in passing. Our brain gets so much information, but it can process so much at a time. Must have been something subconscious. It''s okay. Just calm down and don''t scare me like this again, okay?", Fan Ruyi patted Qingyang''s shoulder.

    Mei Qingyang separated from Fan Ruyi and lied down again. "When are we getting the results?", she asked exhausted.

    "We already have the results and they are going to shock you. None of us have been able to wrap our heads around it. I just cannot imagine how that happened.", Fan Ruyi dialed a number and asked the three guys to join them in the room.

    "Wai¡­ wait. Let me wash myself first! I.. I will just go to the washroom. In the meantime, you can start the meeting.", Mei Qingyang fled the scene like squirrel. However much poor she was, she could not let anyone see her in the groggy state she was in right now.

    The guys entered the room in a haste. They had no idea events would take such a turn. All their hard work had gone to waste.

    "What is with these crappy results?", Su Lang threw the doc.u.ments on the table near the big sofa in the room. Everyone occupied some seat to sit down in frustration.

    "Before that, listen to me. I think Mei Qingyang''s mind is getting triggered and she is remembering some stuff. I don''t know what tragedy she has gone through in her past, she was crying as pitifully as I saw her the first time.", Fan Ruyi put her hand on her chin to think about it.

    "Do we have any clues?", Yu Tian also got concerned hearing Fan Ruyi.

    "Uhh¡­ well, she was mumbling some name. Some Xiao XI. I am sure it''s some pet name or something. It would be hard just to go on that.", Fan Ruyi shrugged.

    "Wha¡­ what did you say? Xi¡­ Xiao Xi?", all the three guys yelled in unison.

    "Why? Did I miss something?", Fan Ruyi inquired. What would make these guys so excited and dumbfounded at the same time?

    "No, it''s probably our imagination. It can''t be right? She doesn''t have any connection with her at all.", Su Lang stated.

    "Uhh¡­ hello everyone. Is there something wrong?", Mei Qingyang stepped out of bathroom after freshening up. She was very eager to know the results. It was the moment of truth. But seeing these guys faces, it felt like something was amiss. The guys scanned her from top to bottom. Then they shook their heads to themselves. There was no way it could be her. Her eye color was different, first of all. Their heights were same but even her gait, her figure, her aura, everything about her was different. Even if this girl had amnesia, it did not mean she would forget her etiquettes.

    "Oh yeah, Qing Qing, it''s bad. The results are really weird. But I went to check everything myself, there is no doubt about the results being wrong.", Fan Ruyi paused and looked at Mei Qingyang''s face.

    Her mind went blank. Did she deduce wrong?

    "Why are you being so mysterious? Please tell me what the results are!!", Mei Qingyang urged with an urgent expression.

    "We were able to get a print from the inside of the gloves. But¡­ It belongs to Gu Jiujiu, not Gu Layue.", Fan Ruyi answered her.

    "Wha¡­ Impossible! It can''t be Gu Jiujiu!!", Mei Qingyang slicked her wet hair back in vexation. This was just unbelievable. On the top of that, Fan Ruyi cross checked the results. What was this sorcery?

    "Oh yeah. Senior Fan, Gu Jiujiu had mentioned spies of Gu family being here. Is there a way to root them out? I am sure it was their doing.", Mei Qingyang plopped into a chair nearby to stabilize herself. She had long had a hunch that something was going to happen at the last moment.

    "But why would they accuse one of their own?", Yu Tian was as irritated as everyone else. This was basically a death sentence.

    "That¡­ Exactly that. So that no one could blame them. But it''s easy to discard a pawn that has defected to the other side. Damnit. I got a hold of that girl after so much difficulty. I can''t lose her now. Aaaarrrggghhh", she ruffled her own hair in irritation.

    "Pfft. Hahahahahahaha. What have you made of yourself? Hahahaha. What is this? A bear?", all four people laughed while being amused at Mei Qingyang''s reaction. She looked so silly right now. This is how she was in her room, lively, full of expression and not as cold as she seemed to be all the time. The atmosphere became lighter too. Suddenly there was a loud bang on the door.

    "Open the door! Mei Qingyang!! It wasn''t me. You had promised you would save me. Please, I did not do anything!!", Gu Jiujiu was yelling from outside.

    "Who leaked the results? Damnit.", Fan Ruyi smashed her fist into the table.

    They opened the door to find a Gu Jiujiu full of tears and snot and other classmates whispering to each other. Gu Layue had a smirk on her face. It seemed like she was saying *I have backup of Gu family and Yu Rong. What can you do?*

    "Hey, you can''t accuse my cousin based on just one result. And she was the one with alibi too. What about us, with no alibi?", Gu Layue spoke confidently and took a few steps forward to show her dominance.

    "What do you want to prove?", Mei Qingyang gritted her teeth internally but she could not show that she was worried.

    "That your investigation is a hoax. I thought you were counting on those fingerprints as your main evidence. Does not look like it worked out.", she chuckled and continued, "What will you do now?"

    "Ms. Gu, please return to your room. Nothing has been proven yet. The results might say something, but we will find what the actual truth is. It''s been only one and a half days. There is still half the time left. We are still working on it.", she glanced at Gu Jiujiu who was sitting on the floor devastated. She signaled the guard who was guarding Jiujiu. He helped the girl up and took her to her room. The crowd also dispersed.

    "Mei Qingyang. Just know this. I won''t let you ever win.", Gu Layue was the last person standing there, waiting to make a contact with Mei Qingyang.

    "Haha, are you sure you want to say something like this in front of your love, Mr. Yu Tian?", Qingyang pointed to Yu Tian standing a bit far away cross armed, looking at both of them and frowning at Gu Layue. She harrumphed and left the scene immediately.

    "Senior Yu. Once this gets over, I need to talk to you about something.", as she approached Yu Tian and shut the of door of the room, Mei Qingyang whispered to Yu Tian.

    He nodded at her but internally his heart thumped. *Is it going to be a love confession?*

 Chapter 50 - Bai Yuchen Saves The Day

    While everyone was brainstorming how to come out of the situation, they heard another soft knock on the door. Mei Qingyang opened it and found Mr. Bai Yuchen sitting there in his wheelchair. A nurse was with him.

    "Mr. Bai, what are you doing here?", Mei Qingyang smiled to him. He dismissed the nurse behind him and asked her to take him to the beach. She informed her group that she was going to get some fresh air outside. Yu Bufan followed them secretly but Mei Qingyang had already discovered his presence, thanks to her good senses developed through her martial arts training. All three of them reached the beach.

    "It''s been a while since I have been here. No one really allows me to come out here because they don''t want people to know I am here.", Bai Yuchen laughed pitifully at his own situation.

    "You must enjoy the fresh air while we are here then.", Mei Qingyang stood behind him, looking at the vast sea as well.

    "Do you know why I asked you specifically to take me here?", he questioned.

    "I have been curious about it too.", she politely answered.

    "I hear you are in a tough situation right now. Since you helped me that day, and refuse to have anything in lieu of that, I would like to be your alibi.", he said with a poker face.

    "Ah! I definitely was not with you the whole time. Is that okay with you?", she was surprised why a stranger would be willing to lie for her.

    "I know you were on my floor, for me you are innocent. I can lie a bit for you, sure!", he shrugged his shoulders.

    "Mr. Bai, I don''t want to be a burden on you. I just helped you up the wheelchair. Are you sure you want to help me like this? If it comes out that you lied for an unknown girl, would it not be bad for your image?", Mei Qingyang was perplexed. She was not minor anymore, but won''t people accuse him of giving favors to a young girl and stuff like that?

    "As an alumnus of your school, I don''t think that would ever happen. But then, you have already changed so much, so I can''t be sure of that either. But I am confident nothing like that will happen because it is closely tied to your school''s reputation.", he looked into the eyes of the girl and smiled. She was still perplexed.

    "Oh, you studied at our college?", the new information piqued her interest.

    "No, no. I was a servant to someone. I was lucky that I got out of that hell. I did learn a lot about how to navigate in the world though, so I cannot hate that place.", he reminisced. "Anyway, let me help you. Let''s go over a few details and we won''t include much. More details always mean lie. We would be easily found out then.", he urged her to take his help. It was much more than just helping her, he wanted to save someone in a similar position as him.

    "Okay. Thank you for doing this.", she was overwhelmed. Perhaps, somewhere down in her heart, she knew his reason. But she was still glad that she had encountered him in the hallway. They went over and cooked up a story. Mei Qingyang had already done half the work when she had made up excuse to Wang Hao. They just added a few more details to make it feel like she was with him the entire time. After dropping him off at his own room, she headed back to her room as well.

    "What happened?", everyone asked with expectant gazes.

    "I found an alibi for myself.", Mei Qingyang smiled.

    "Did you decide to reveal the girl then?" If she did, she would lose everyone''s respect right now. She had played so many games just to keep the girl''s identity safe. Now she was ready to let her come out just to save her ass?

    "No, there is a big celebrity on the same floor. The guy who just came. I met him by chance but he wants to be my witness. So, I am in clear for now. The only thing left is, how to save Gu Jiujiu. I knew she would take the brunt of it, but I had no idea it would happen this early.", she sighed.

    So, she had calculated her in her schemes too. Suddenly everyone found Mei Qingyang quite scary.

    "I am sure they will have bought the nurse who was the witness for Gu Jiujiu by now. I don''t see any point in supporting her then.", Mei Qingyang said making everyone gasp in astonishment at her cruel ways. She was going to abandon Gu Jiujiu just like that now that she was beyond saving?

    "I mean we need to salvage as much as we can with this situation. It''s still not a total loss. I will need one of you guys to take her in. She will be in enough shock to lose all her trust in any one of her family. If we lend her help now, she will definitely prove useful. All we need to do is fake death similar to that servant girl.", she continued. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard her suggestion.

    "I will take care of her. Don''t you worry.", Fan Ruyi accepted the request once again.

    "No, this time let it be one of the boys. There are Gu spies here in the hospital, there is no guarantee when that girl''s secret will be out. If you shelter two dead people, it will put you on risk.", Mei Qingyang explained.

    "Okay, I will take her in then.", Su Lang came ahead to help his foster cousin. In the end, she was saving a life and getting a person from enemy faction on her side without losing her own life. Should it be called a win-win situation? Too bad Gu Layue was still not being punished. But till when could she hide behind Yu Rong''s protection? Everyone had the same thought thanks to Mei Qingyang''s calculated steps. At least everyone was going home safe and sound.

 Chapter 51 - The Verdict

    In the evening, they approached the nurse, who had indeed changed her statement and accused Gu Jiujiu to bribe her to become her witness when she was not. Unfortunately, they had to give up on saving Gu Jiujiu. There was a huge gathering and results were presented to everyone. The witnesses came, cross questioning happened. Bai Yuchen also gave his statement much to chagrin of Gu Layue and Wang Hao who were praying that this whole thing would get called off.

    Gu Jiujiu was pronounced as the culprit and motive became framing Mei Qingyang. Gu Layue shed a bunch of tears, part scolding Gu Jiujiu and part appreciating her efforts for her sake. The punishment was to be given by Mei Qingyang per the rules book of the school. It was to be decided later, after consulting with Yu Rong. Gu Jiujiu had just become a listless person after the nurse had backed out of her earlier statement. She already knew she was doomed, so she didn''t even listen to anything.

    Later, when Mei Qingyang went to meet an already isolated Gu Jiujiu, she was met with a few weak punches from the girl and a lot of sobs and tears.

    "I trusted you, and this is what I get? I should have stuck with my cousin only then.", Gu Jiujiu cried.

    "I am sorry Ms. Gu. I tried my best. Even I did not know things will turn out this way. Nonetheless, I do have a proposal for you.", Mei Qingyang spoke in a very serious tone.

    "What! What more do you want? Should I die now?", Gu Jiujiu yelled at her in anguish.

    "Uhh¡­ Kinda yeah", Mei Qingyang explained her the plan. Gu Jiujiu started crying more loudly as she went into details.

    "You mean to say I won''t be able to even use my servant? How am I going to survive?", she cried.

    "Isn''t it better than me punishing and humiliating you in front of the whole school and then you being outcasted and perhaps bullied by everyone?", Mei Qingyang painted the whole bleak picture in front of the girl. It was true though. Once she was announced at the murderer, everyone would become her hater although they themselves might be involved in such activities regularly. More than anything, they would trouble her for being caught after her deed, that too by a poor person.

    "Oh God. This wouldn''t have happened if you had done your investigation properly.", Gu Jiujiu gave a hate glare to Mei Qingyang.

    "See. I do admit I was careless. But you should be clearer than anyone who has the power here to prove you the criminal when you had a perfect alibi. At this point of time, it would be even pointless to explain them that you could not really have done that in that much time. Unfortunately, according to the postmortem report, it happened in the window when you and I were away.", Mei Qingyang explained. It was a pity that popular opinion swayed against Gu Jiujiu so much that no one wanted to listen about how Gu Layue and Wang Hao and that guy were without any explanation of their whereabouts. Gu Jiujiu understood this very well too. She just needed to vent her frustration. She was basically throwing her life away for her cousin. Was this the debt she owed her?

    "Okay. I will do as you say. Just one condition. Please take care of my family too.", Gu Jiujiu pleaded.

    "You think you have liberty to negotiate at this point?", Mei Qingyang put her hand on her waist and turned around to leave. Gu Jiujiu wanted to catch her but stopped. Now she did not have any rights.

    She was as good as a servant now. "Don''t worry, they are being taken care of as well.", Mei Qingyang spoke over her shoulder and flashed a big smile. Gu Jiujiu felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her c.h.e.s.t. She sat down in relief and smiled.

    -----------------------------

    "Hey sister Qingyang. Are you leaving?", the servant girl looked up when she saw Mei Qingyang entering her room and flashed a cute smile.

    "Yeah. I am leaving. But I am really disappointed with what you did.", Mei Qingyang said with her eyes full of sadness.

    "Wha¡­ what are you talking about?", her eyes darted around as if she was hiding something.

    "I know you were behind the killing. The case is over and an innocent soul got convicted because of you. Her whole career, her whole life is ruined now.", Mei Qingyang informed her with a straight face, without any emotions whatsoever.

    "And what about my life? Am I not important? What wrong did I do? That abominable creature.", the girl''s face was full of rage but she had no remorse.

    "And? Are you happy after your meaningless revenge? What was the use of killing a guy who was already in a vegetative state?", Mei Qingyang crossed her arms. She was still standing in the room facing the girl.

    The girl lowered her head. She had no answer to the question. Was she happy? She did not know.

    "When did you know?", she asked.

    "Since the beginning. I know the servants at the school are trained in some medical knowledge. I observed a few inconsistencies in the guy''s room. I was late in meeting you since I was helping Mr. Bai. That also means, you do not have any alibi either.", Mei Qingyang answered.

    "I understand, you do not need to say anymore. Will you tell it to the mistress?", she looked up again and inquired with a concern.

    "I am not going to tell on you. But know this, I have no plans to associate with you from now on. A person who is so selfish that they would not think about the consequences to their benefactor is just a useless person. You should have thought earlier how it was going to affect Fan Ruyi. Unfortunately, you failed to do so. You are still a life she saved, so I don''t want her to be too disappointed.", She started walking towards the door.

    The girl stood up from her bed and bowed towards Mei Qingyang, "Thank you very much for saving my life." Mei Qingyang left the room without looking back.

    Mei Qingyang visited the mortuary to visit the dead body.

    "I am sorry, I cannot reveal the truth behind your death. In your last moments too, you were ultimately just a tool for people. I pity you and all others in the school. I do promise you though, one day, I will crush this system.", she bowed to the cadaver in respect.

    Yu Tian was standing outside, listening to the girl. A small smile floated on his face as he left the place.

 Chapter 52 - Yu Tian Needs To Get Punished

    "What do you mean by all this Wang Hao?", Yu Rong was trembling with rage and threw the papers in her hand towards Wang Hao. "Explain to me how she could come out unscathed from this whole situation." Yu Rong had asked for her assistant as soon as he had arrived. He had taken his own car to the hospital, so he came back earlier than the buses and the students. He knew he was going to meet a very angry Yu Rong because he had failed his mission. This new girl was really unlucky for him ah!

    As soon as he had reached her office, he saw Yu Rong reading some doc.u.ments on her desk. He could tell that she was not really paying attention to the doc.u.ments and was deep in thought. She had a frown on her face. Upon seeing him, Yu Rong''s face had distorted like she had never been more disappointed in him.

    "Master, the main culprit behind the failure of this plan is Gu Layue. She decided to execute the plan before time. However much I did after that, it was all futile.", Wang Hao lowered his head in shame. He had promised Yu Rong the previous week, in such confidence, that he would take Mei Qingyang out. All failed because of that girl''s oversmartness and that Gu girl''s terrible stupidity.

    "Hmph! That impatient bitch. She couldn''t wait for the time we had decided and went ahead with whatever she wanted to do as soon as she could. Did she have no idea if things went south, there would be so many factors out of our control? And that is exactly what happened. We need to cut off that lass.", Yu Rong slammed her fist on the table. "Analyze the incident for me. I need to come up with another plan. This time I will do it myself. Don''t leave any detail."

    "Well, the first mistake was definitely the wrong timing. I don''t know what the hell is wrong with Fan Ruyi to have pulled off something like that.", Wang Hao adjusted his glasses again. He was an expert in analyzing situations and was happy that Yu Rong has asked him to do his usual thing.

    "Second mistake was you accepting Mei Qingyang''s proposal of sending police back. If police was there, it would have been so easy to deal with her.", Yu Rong was frustrated. It was not like Wang Hao to commit such crucial mistake.

    "I am sorry to be stepping my authority master, but I don''t think we should take that girl lightly, even if she might be bluffing us. I have a feeling that she knows way more than she lets on.", Wang Hao got agitated by Yu Rong''s questioning. He slammed the table by both his hands, startling Yu Rong.

    "I like how you are being so aggressive here. Turns me so on.", she said like she could not control her d.e.s.i.r.e for the guy. However, she still needed to smash that bug from her life. "Continue! Don''t leave a single detail.", she thundered while taking Wang Hao''s face in her hand.

    Wang Hao was pretty used to her ways, so he maintained his calm.

    "It was certainly in our favor that Mei Qingyang had offended the Fan couple. Otherwise it would have been hard to change the fingerprint report. She had told me earlier that she had met that Bai Yuchen, otherwise I would have put the blame on her without her having a witness. A nurse was easier to buy.", he said proudly. If not for his intel, their plan to use this proof effectively would have gone to waste as well. They were able to eliminate at least one person who had schemes regarding Yu Tian.

    "What can we do about that Bai guy? Who was he to meddle in out business anyway?", she pouted. Yu Rong hated all these puny insects getting in her way all the time these days.

    "He is an influential person in the market right now. He also has backing of Su family, so I don''t think we should touch him.", Wang Hao had already done his research on the guy.

    "And? How was Yu Tian during all this time? Poor child had to go through such ordeal because of all these girls. No one is suitable for him, I am telling you.", Yu Rong kissed Wang Hao''s lips and m.o.a.n.e.d while touching herself with her other hand.

    "He¡­mhm¡­ he was maintaining a neutral stance, not overly helpful and not very indifferent either, as usual. He was probably dragged into this mess because of Fan Ruyi who just wanted to get over with the whole thing. It was the question of her hospital''s reputation after all.", Wang Hao told her half out of breath.

    Yu Rong abruptly stopped whatever she was doing and yanked his face away from her hands.

    "Wang Hao, you have really become bold. You have started hiding things from me. Don''t you dare think that I don''t have my other sources.", she slapped his face.

    "I¡­ I don''t understand master.", Wang Hao fumbled. His cheek was hurting, the slap just now was too hard and unexpected. Yu Rong rarely lost her temper on him, even if he committed grave mistakes before. He had built that much trust with her, or so he thought. So she always had an extra set of eyes everywhere, even on him.

    "Hmph! I know about how Yu Tian had embraced and pacified that poor excuse off a girl when those men had attacked her. That bitch, having eyes on my nephew. Never!", she almost yelled at him and took out a whip from under her table. "I think you really deserve some punishment Wang Hao, for leaving out such an important detail. Yu Tian needs to get punished too, although honestly, I don''t know what I am so anxious about."

 Chapter 53 - Thank You!

    Mei Qingyang slept for two more days after coming back from the hospital. She was so exhausted that she had used Fan Ruyi''s shoulder to sleep during their journey back. She had no idea how she had reached her doorstep either. She just remembered unlocking her door and getting in.

    Why did she have a faint memory of Yu Tian helping her out? Perhaps, she was hallucinating? What if it was not Yu Tian and she said something which made the person think that she was expecting her helper to be Yu Tian? She had all sorts of thoughts the day she woke up. But her hunger obviously took over and she got over with her funky ideas.

    Thankfully, it was a weekend when she recovered. If it had been weekdays, she was not even sure if she could get any rest. She had already taken care of Gu Jiujiu, staging a fake suicide for her. Now the girl was being housed by Su Lang at one of his own small estates in faraway countryside. This saved Mei Qingyang from the trouble of meting out punishment to her in front of the whole school.

    Anyway, she needed to thank all the four people for not losing faith in her and helping her throughout. They also provided whatever she had asked for, without many questions. She was not even, like, part of their group. But they still helped her like their own. Her skepticism towards the four people, especially Yu Tian and Fan Ruyi were decreasing by the day. Unfortunately, she still had to be vigilant.

    Remembering that she had asked Yu Tian for time to talk to him, she tried to find him and asked his three friends again and again but could not really see him for the whole next week. His friends had told her that he had gone for a business trip.

    Of course she could not contact him via email or her brick of a cell phone. The group had advised her strongly against it. She had assumed it was because of Yu Rong, but then wasn''t his aunt too controlling about his life then? She had seen her rage firsthand when she had accidently ''touched'' him on her first day.

    "I heard you were looking for me?" Mei Qingyang was sitting on the grass and buried in a book beside the lake she liked. It had finally become her own ''secret spot'' although it was not that hidden. This was at such a far away place, like the end of the campus property, that there were no cameras here. Mei Qingyang had scouted the whole place to find any piece of equipment, but there was none. She could also talk to Fan Ruyi is the most relaxed manner here. Now Yu Tian had found her at this place.

    "Senior Yu! How did you find me here? Where were you for the whole week?", Mei Qingyang replied. She was still in her world of the book she was reading and so, fired questions left and right without thinking she was before Yu Tian. She forgot to put her cold demeanor on once again.

    For Yu Tian, this girl had slowly and unknowingly become a ray of sunshine. With all the things going on in his life, this girl really knew how to uplift his mood. He had already realized that he had started liking this girl. That''s why he became really excited when he heard she was voluntarily looking for him. He glanced at her from the top and then suddenly, sat down beside her.

    "I was away for a while. Fan Ruyi told me I could meet you here.", he went quiet after answering her questions. Mei Qingyang looked at the guy. He was wearing a white shirt and black jeans. Now that she realized, she had never seen this guy in casual t-shirts or even shorts. He had the perfect figure to show off, why would he not do that? Did he have a secret just like her?

    "Oh, I see. Yeah, I said I wanted to talk to you. So, I thought I would look for you. Must be exhausting right?", she was not sure why she was feeling concerned for this guy. He just disappeared for a week and his friends were also not really telling her anything. Not that she had the right over that information.

    "Not really.", he again went quiet. This was a good place actually. It gave a peace of mind and he didn''t mind her presence here. He should visit this place more often in the future. Perhaps he would get to meet her as well.

    "Okay. I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me so far. I am just a commoner but you guys have been so generous to me. I keep insulting your aunt too. I hope you won''t come back to take a revenge on me for that.", she said nonchalantly.

    Yu Tian giggled on her thought. "No worries. To be honest, I don''t like her that much either, nor do I agree with a lot of policies for hers. But she is family after all.", he shrugged his shoulders, showing his helplessness to Mei Qingyang for the first time.

    "Now that you have said what you wanted to, I had a few questions as well.", Yu Tian suddenly got serious. Mei Qingyang also sat ramrod straight after hearing such earnest tone in his voice.

    "Yes please, what do you want to know?", she replied.

    "Have you been to this school before or studied here?", he looked into her eyes to only find surprise.

    "Why would you ask that? I told you I have been homeschooled only. I have not even visited this school before, much less studying here. Why do you ask though?", Mei Qingyang was really perplexed on his vague questions. Was it concerning her amnesia?

    "It''s fine if you don''t remember. How do you know the rules of the school so well? Even such loopholes?", he cross questioned without answering her question.

    "Ahahaha. What? You thought I have been part of this system since forever to have the rules ingrained in my memory? Did you forget my foster brother lost his life here? If I don''t even remember the rules, how would I be able to protect myself?", she said half ridiculing Yu Tian''s train of thought. He mentioned Yu Rong being his family, was he acting on her behalf now? She did face a defeat in this particular incident, though not that much.

    She was worried for nothing. It seemed like these guys did not have any clue about her past life. She was kind of disappointed as well because she had, somewhere in the back of her mind, that they would have some clue.

    "Then, did you know Feng Yue from before?", he inquired once again.

 Chapter 54 - Are You Li Sibao

    "Senior Yu. I don''t know why you are asking me such absurd questions. When I already said I have never been to places like a school before, how can I know Senior Feng before coming here? Are you making fun of me?", Mei Qingyang scoffed. This guy was unpredictable. Sometimes, he acted so warm and friendly, that she would fall in an illusion of him being the best guy out there. And other times, he would just act like a jerk, like right now. She had already said she had no relation to the school, why was he not believing her?

    "Oh, never mind then.", his voice was full of a little disappointment. He got up to leave.

    Mei Qingyang pouted inside and almost shouted at him. "So, you will ask me a bunch of questions and leave me hanging without answering mine? Won''t you tell me what''s going on?", she glared at him coldly but by the end of her question, had mellowed down a lot. Nothing would come out of having warm feelings for this guy. Why, why did this guy make her so frustrated?

    "I heard from Fan Ruyi that she heard you calling a name Xiao Xi in your sleep. Do you know who Xiao Xi is?", he questioned her arrogantly. He had detected the hostility in her voice earlier. They both had become cold to each other once again.

    -----------------------------------------------

    "You¡­. you''re kidding right? You are talking about that Li girl?", Fan Ruyi opened her eyes so wide in astonishment that it seemed like they will pop out of her lids.

    "Yeah. You don''t remember ''Xiao Xi'' at all Ruyi?", Su Lang inquired her.

    Su Lang, Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi were sitting in the living room of their secret place, enjoying a few drinks in the middle off the day. It was weekend and they did not have much to do. Fan Ruyi had insisted on knowing why everyone was so surprised after hearing ''Xiao Xi'' at the hospital.

    "I had no idea. I mean, I knew her, I knew she used to call Feng Yue Xiao Xi. But I did not even remember her, much less make the connection.", Fan Ruyi was still in a shock. Li Sibao was a girl from a prominent family in the M nation. She was engaged with Feng Yue because Feng Yue''s grandfather had given his word to Li Sibao''s grandfather when they were born. Other than the grandfathers being friends, there was not much of a relationship between their father''s generation. Feng Yue''s parents were more open minded and did not believe in arranging their children''s marriage in advance. So, they always had encouraged Feng Yue to do whatever he wanted.

    However, Feng Yue had always been interested in the quiet and lovely as a flower Li Sibao. Unlike other girls around him, who only looked at his fame and looks, she was the one who truly understood him. She was from a similar background but she never had any schemes against him or his family. She always treated his family as his own too, although his parents did not really like her.

    She did not act as an overly delicate flower either, throwing tantrums or crying when scolded. She carried herself with elegance and was a very kind person. They were very supportive of each other. She was also admitted to the school with Feng Yue, more to take care of him.

    Li Sibao used to call him Xiao Xi lovingly, Xi for happiness which was also one of the meanings of his name Yue. Feng Yue really loved his name and he wouldn''t even let these three use this name for him. Li Sibao never got inducted in the group though. She used to say she did not want to make Fan Ruyi uncomfortable. They, even Fan Ruyi herself, had tried to tell her it wasn''t a problem. But there was something that only Li Sibao could see. She was very m.a.t.u.r.e and preceptive for her age. The four friends failed to understand why she would point Fan Ruyi out.

    Unfortunately, the business of Li family failed. Around that time, both Feng Yue and Yu Tian had gone abroad, leaving behind Li Sibao alone to defend for herself. Feng family had refused to help them. Li Sibao disappeared, leaving a deep scar on Feng Yue''s heart. No one had known that Feng Yue was actually in love with Sibao. They were always under the impression that he was forced into this marriage arrangement and his aloofness was a proof that he did not want to get involved with Li family. His family never told him what actually happened. This had also strained his relationship with his family, especially his brothers, whom he had always thought would have his back. By the time he had come back with Yu Tian, he only came to know that Li Sibao was declared dead.

    Now suddenly a girl appeared in front of them, who had amnesia and called Feng Yue''s long lost name. Was this girl related to Li Sibao? Their first thought was that Mei Qingyang was Li Sibao herself. But then, her name, her manners, her face, and especially her eyes, nothing matched to Li Sibao. The only thing that was similar in both the girls was their height and how strong willed and principled the girls were. But that did not really tell anything.

    Feng Yue was lost in thought. He was pretty excited to think that there was a faintest possibility that his girl was alive. It did not matter if her face had changed, he would still love her from the bottom of his heart. No wonder his feelings towards Mei Qingyang was always weird. In his heart, he had already thought of Mei Qingyang as Li Sibao. Fan Ruyi glanced at dazed and seemingly happy Feng Yue and bit her lip.

    "Ugh¡­ this is so confusing but utterly unbelievable. This seems like a reincarnation plot of some Chinese novel. What is Li Sibao transmigrated into Mei Qingyang''s body or something? Should we ask her to get a DNA test?", Su Lang suggested, almost in a mocking tone. The situation was ridiculous to everyone.

    ----------------------

    "No! I am not getting any tests done whatsoever. And Xiao Xi is such a common thing. Why would you associate me with this Li Sibao in the first place?", Mei Qingyang said resolutely. She heard the whole story from Yu Tian. It was bizarre that he was willing to explain the whole thing to her so calmly.

    "But it would help you to know if you truly are Li Sibao or not. Why the hesitation?", Yu Tian was puzzled. Would anyone not want to know about their past? She was getting such a good opportunity, what was the problem?

    For Mei Qingyang though, it was different problem altogether. It was one thing to get these tests done if she had her memory. Right now, her identity was in jeopardy. And if it does come out that she was actual original Li Sibao, then what? What about her new family? And what about old one? She did not even remember their faces.

    And assuming that this school had something to do with original Li Sibao and her apparent death, if Yu Rong, so even gets a wind of this thing, she would definitely come after her. It had just been two months here and she had not collected enough evidence against her and her deeds. Plus, she would rather consult her dad about something like this.

    "No, not happening.", she repeated herself with much more determination in her eyes and heart.

 Chapter 55 - Minister Jiang Wants To Visit

    "If that is your decision, I won''t force you.", Yu Tian turned his head once again and started to move.

    "Senior Yu, wait a minute." It was close to end of September and the breeze had started to get cold finally, especially in the evenings. The sun had started to go down and it had become especially windy for some reason. Mei Qingyang got up and tucked her scruffy hair behind her ear.

    She closed in, walking towards Yu Tian who had stopped and was facing her now. She checked all the sides before whispering in his ear without any emotions, "The bruise on your neck is still visible."

    Yu Tian blushed and covered his neck with his hand instantaneously. Realizing his impulsive action, he buttoned his collar so that no one was able to see it. It was interesting to him how this girl had spotted the blue bruise on his neck but did not ask any questions about it. He felt ashamed that he and the group had been so curious and put her in awkward spot when they had seen her scars previously. She was a little considerate girl. Not having to deal with unpleasant questioning, he had thankfulness in his eyes.

    Mei Qingyang nodded her head understanding the meaningful look in his eyes and left. She needed to cool her head and check with her dad about this whole Li Sibao thing. She needed quiet before she could take any decision. One memory trigger, just one, and it had to happen before the most influential group in the school.

    But wait a minute. Even if they suggested a DNA test, where would they get something to match it against? Did anyone have any tissues remaining from original Li Sibao? But given that Feng Yue was the type of person to not show anyone his real feelings, it was quite possible he had something of hers as a memento. But after so many years, could anything be used? She was not knowledgeable about that, so she needed to consult her dad.

    -------------------------------

    "Did you hear? That bastard Jiang Nuo is asking for permission to visit the school. A mere Education Minister wants to visit my school. Let me see how he dares enter the campus." Yu Rong was really agitated right now. All of a sudden, she got an official notice in the morning from Education Ministry that Jiang Nuo himself wanted to visit the place with his entourage of course. Did the girl manage to inform him of the events somehow? Even if she did, she was just an adopted girl. Surely, he would not be visiting just for her.

    This was something that had never happened in the history of school. None of the political figures had visited the place before because they just wanted to turn a blind eye to the school system. This was totally unexpected and too sudden. Since the day that bitch had entered this school, Yu Rong''s life had been a mess.

    "Dear nephew, can''t you ask your friends to get rid of the girl already? She is getting closer and closer to you guys. I am worried about you.", she pinched Yu Tian''s cheeks and asked him cutely. She had summoned him in the afternoon but the guy was nowhere to be found. His phone was also telling her that he was out of range. She had tried asking him where he went later but he had only told her that he was in the school campus only. There were not a lot of places where there was no phone signal. Why would he go to such a secluded place anyway? Even his secret abode in the library used to get signal. He only returned her call in the evening.

    He politely yanked her hands away from his face.

    "You are definitely more resourceful than my friends. Why don''t you do it yourself? Even if you want to control my life, you can''t control theirs. They choose who to make friends with.", Yu Tian gave a frosty glare to his aunt. He really hated this pretentious side of her.

    "If I wanted, I could have gotten her killed directly by now. My two previous attempts failed. Her only solution is to just shoot her directly in head one day. But I won''t get to justify her death then.", venom was pouring out of her face and tongue. She absolutely hated this chick. Yu Tian''s heart thumped loudly. If one day, Yu Rong really got frustrated with Mei Qingyang, she would actually just go and kill her.

    "Master, turn on the TV!!!", Wang Hao came running from the outside and was panting heavily.

    "What happened?" Seeing her ever so calm assistant in such a state, Yu Rong''s heart dropped. What was this ominous feeling? Was it that girl again? She turned on the TV. Every need channel was broadcasting the same thing, a press conference with Minister Jiang.

    "But this would be the first time ever that an Education Minister is visiting the most celebrated school in the country. Why did you decide to plan this event this time?", a reporter asked Jiang Nuo. He had called a press conference to announce a few important policy changes when someone started asking him questions about rumors that he was planning to visit his daughter''s school.

    "It just so happens that I miss my little girl so much and my son''s death anniversary is coming up soon. I just thought it would be a great idea to visit the place with my wife where my son¡­.", he left his sentence unfinished and dabbed a napkin around his eyes.

    "I don''t know how you got the information. But I haven''t got the permission from Principal Yu yet. So it''s not definite right now.", Jiang Nuo elaborated his difficulty and eagerness before the whole press. He took a deliberate pause to increase the dramatic effect. Everyone looked to him for him to continue. There was a pin drop silence in the hall full of reporters. Even the flashes and keys cl.i.c.k.i.n.g had stopped at this moment.

    "I know Principal Yu is magnanimous but is principled too. If it is too inconvenient, then it is okay to decline the request. I will honor her decision." He nodded his head towards his assistant and the assistant asked the press to only ask policy related questions and refrain from asking any personal ones.

    "That dog Jiang Nuo!", Yu Rong threw the TV remote into the TV shattering the screen of device and tumbling it over.

    "I can''t even say no to him now. He had just sent the letter today. He released the rumor on purpose. What is he planning?" Yu Rong bit her thumb nail in stress.

    Yu Tian thought it appropriate that he left her alone. He stood up to leave. "I''ll take my leave then."

    "Yeah, I am going to be busy now. You go and rest my child. I will make sure no harm comes to you, okay?", Yu Rong stood up and kissed her nephew''s hands gently. He was her beloved nephew and she was supposed to be the only female in this whole world who he did not experience fear of touch with. All other girls were just fake.

    Outside, Yu Tian rushed to the nearby restroom to retch his heart out. He was cursing loudly as well. That day, no one dared use that restroom.

    -------------------------------

    "Bahahahaha. Oh God dad, what amazing acting.", Mei Qingyang was also streaming the news on her laptop. She was so glad that he had agreed to her plan. That meant he had absolute trust in her and that she had been able to change him, even if slightly. She had heard from her mom that he had changed a lot after brother Bo''s death. But he was still the softie inside and wouldn''t be able to be harsh to anyone. But now he was ready to go with her shenanigans.

    She gave two big thumbs up to her dad and started preparing for his visit.

 Chapter 56 - Exam Time

    "Minister Jiang is visiting the campus in two weeks.", Yu Tian announced to the group.

    "What! I heard his press conference but he was able to persuade Yu Rong with just that?", Su Lang wondered aloud with a serious face. There was something seriously wrong with his uncle and his family. His uncle was behaving abnormally. He was never this courageous. What was going on?

    "Perhaps she did not have any choice since he made her focus of the whole nation. She won''t take any risk with her reputation for such a puny request.", Feng Yue explained.

    "You might be right but what is he going to do here?", Fan Ruyi was also sitting with them. This time they had gone to the private lounge of the most famous pub in the campus. This pub was so famous for its drinks that the bartenders were booked in advance for outside engagements by the parents of wealthy kids here. No one could hire them permanently but the owner of the pub was lax enough to allow her employees to partake in such events. She was also a great friend of Su Lang.

    "I don''t know his agenda but he surely has some plan with Mei Qingyang. Apparently, Yu Rong hasn''t been able to figure out her method of communication with outside world. We have been privately monitoring her laptop and cell phone too, nothing on our side either. Anyway, Yu Rong wouldn''t let meet Mei Qingyang with her dad through normal routes.", Yu Tian said. The three guys were engineering students. Their computer skills weren''t half bad. Unless she herself was hacker Z or someone of similar stature, it was impossible for her to pass all the tests of theirs and the high-ranking people they had enlisted help of.

    "She is more resourceful than you think. You believe she can''t trump you guys?", Fan Ruyi stated proudly. It was like she was really praising her sibling. Her c.h.e.s.t puffed up.

    "And how would you know that Ms. Ruyi? Care to explain?", Su Lang took a sip of whiskey inn his hand. This Fan Ruyi was becoming more distant by the day. She was starting to look like Mei Qingyang''s advocate or something.

    "Haha, any intelligent person would be able to guess Mr. Su Lang. Her intel about Mr. Bai at the hospital, do you think that was a coincidence? Her helping him might have been, but do you think she would go without any backup? Plus, you earlier mentioned she had already known about your call to your uncle Jiang. So many instances, and you''re still doubtful about her ability?", Fan Ruyi poked Su Lang''s head cutely.

    "Dang it, this girl. I really want to know what she does the whole day. Oh, which reminds me, the first exams are going to start from tomorrow. I wonder how she will do.", Su Lang''s scratched the point where Fan Ruyi had poked him. He then chugged his glass and filled it again.

    "How about we bet on where she''s going to place? Minister Jiang''s visit is still two weeks away.", Fan Ruyi smiled mischievously.

    "Done!", cheered the three guys.

    If Mei Qingyang were here with them, she would have scolded them all. You guys have this much time, should you not be studying for your own exams?

    -------------------------

    The next day, Mei Qingyang reached the classroom where her exam was to happen, with other classmates. There were a few common people from her class which went to the hospital. Everyone was avoiding even eye contact with her. Well, this was good. At least people would not bother her anymore. She sat at her usual last seat.

    Surprisingly, there was nothing on her desk this time, no notorious notes, no wet seat, nothing. She looked around, only to find people glancing at her and turning their heads as quickly, like they did not want to even be looked at by her.

    She had just kept her bag when she heard the door open with a loud bang. She spotted a very red-faced angry Gu Layue heading towards her. Before she could react, Gu Layue raised her hand to slap Mei Qingyang. Thanks to her martial arts, she had quick reflexes, she stopped her arm midway.

    "You¡­", she pointed to her with trembling hand, "You murderer. You killed my sweet sister. Because of you, she was accused of a crime she did not commit. Why could you not accept your mistake by yourself? Why drag my family in it?", she sobbed loudly. Everyone was dumbfounded by both the actions and reactions but she was actually voicing their thoughts too. It would have definitely been better to save Gu Jiujiu''s life rather than this lowly peasant''s.

    Mei Qingyang laughed loudly making everyone go blank at once. "Ms. Gu, are you really asking after your sister or are you just blaming me for drop in shares your family faced last week?", she scoffed again.

    Everyone lowered their head after hearing this. Of course the reason behind Gu Jiujiu''s suicide wasn''t publicized. That would be too hard of a hit to Gu family''s reputation. Everyone who was at the hospital was made to sign an agreement with the school and the hospital to be tight lipped about it, otherwise there were to be dire consequences. No one dared to take the commitment lightly or underestimate Gu or Fan family''s power. However, Gu Jiujiu''s suicide still got out. She had apparently died by fire and used some accelerant. Body remains were not found but a few of her things were lying around.

    "What nonsense are you spouting? I just lost my sister. She was closer to me than my real sibling.", she screamed while big tears started rolling down her cheeks.

    "Oh, is that why you would give her out of trend, used accessories to use? I really admire such love of yours. I wonder who next could be your pawn and get attracted to those secondhand goods.", Mei Qingyang mocked her in front of whole class. Everyone knew how Gu Layue gifted Gu Jiujiu her old things, which she might not have used even once but they used to be all last season collections. A few snickered on Mei Qingyang''s remark.

    "What I am saying is, I am demanding compensation from you. You wrongly made my lovely kind sister lose her life.", Gu Layue stomped her foot on the floor. Her conversation wasn''t going anywhere.

    "Sorry Ms. Gu. What''s the point of doing this? I went through proper channel to get the criminal. Why did you not say anything then? Even Gu Jiujiu was conscientious enough to have ended her life rather than embarrassing herself in front of whole school.", she paused. Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes now.

    "Rather I should demand compensation from your family. I wasted two of my days because of your cousin. If I had given same hours in the police department, I would have earned something at least. What say Ms. Gu?", Mei Qingyang relaxed her stance and crossed her arms around her c.h.e.s.t. She smiled jeeringly once again.

    "You¡­ How dare you!!" Gu Layue raised her hand to slap Mei Qingyang once again.

    "Enough you two! It''s exam time. Go back to your seat Gu Layue.", Yu Tian shouted at both of them when he entered the class. He looked at Gu Layue sharply as if he''ll chew her out. She made a pitiful face and went back to her seat in utter humiliation.

    *I will take revenge on you for this Mei Qingyang, just you watch.*

 Chapter 57 - She Is Bluffing

    No matter what, it was a gruesome period for everyone. This was first year, on the top of that, the engineering department. No matter how rigorous the curriculum of the school was, a lot of students still found it hard to follow the subjects. The level of studies was suddenly too high.

    And because the TAs were our perfect three handsome guys, exams were especially hard. Everyone was hating on Mei Qingyang even more now. While the girl was in her own world, solving questions one by one with ease. She was so immersed in her exams that she would just forget the time. In the end, in a few of her exams, she was pressed for time. She would be asking for extra sheets after sheets to fill them with her answers while her classmates would see her with envy. Why could she solve the questions so easily when they could not even understand half of the problem statements?

    But apart from being jealous, they also had newfound respect for her. Even after all the stress in her life, due to them and others, she still had time to study so diligently.

    "Hmph! She is just bluffing.", Gu Layue declared to everyone in the class.

    "I would not be so sure. Why would she waste the paper, just to show off?", a person from the group retorted. Now the people had also found some courage to retaliate against this tyrant girl''s nonsense logics, thanks to Mei Qingyang. Family and whatnot, she could not just bully everyone. If everyone grouped up against her, would she have any power?

    "Hey you! How dare you speak against Gu Layue? Also, doesn''t she make sense? That girl doesn''t even have time to attend classes sometimes. If her head and time are all just for scheming, how does she get time to study even?", a lackey of Gu Layue chimed in.

    It was break time after half day was over. They had four exams back to back in the morning and there were four exams to be held in the afternoon. Although their classes were scattered, most of the engineering students had same courses in first year. The exams were kept the same day for all subjects, which was another form of torture for everyone basically.

    Anyway, Mei Qingyang had just left the room after four grueling hours to get some fresh air. She went to the rooftop of the building. This was also one of her favorite spots in the whole school. She started stretching a bit.

    "Tired?", Yu Tian had followed her after he saw she looked a little pale. He had mostly been there in the morning exams. None of his subjects were in the afternoon. He was done with his work, so he was free now to chat with the girl.

    "Who came up with the strategy to keep all the exams the same day? This is just so sadistic.", she w.h.i.n.ed. She did not have any problem with the questions, but it was mentally exhausting to maintain so much concentration.

    Yu Tian realized that this girl had started to show more expressions to him and the group now, as compared to previously when she was just cold to everyone. That meant she had started to trust them. Flowers instantly bloomed in his heart when he thought about it.

    "You are winning anyway. Why give it your all when you can easily be the first in class by a little bit of effort?", he poked her forehead.

    "Hey, you have been taking too many liberties like this. This is not alright, okay?", she rubbed her forehead where Yu Tian had hit just now. This guy! Wasn''t he being too carefree? If people saw them like this and misunderstood. It was a curse to begin with that he did not experience his haphephobia with her. With Yu Rong on their back all the time, would it not mean more trouble for her? Yu Tian smiled at her mockeries.

    "Anyway, so what if I can come first with just small amount of work. I still need to prove to the professors that I am smart and don''t need anyone to rely on. Otherwise they will just accuse me of cheating.", she stretched a bit more.

    "What do you think of them? Aren''t they cute together?", Fan Ruyi was standing behind the door to the roof with Feng Yue and Su Lang.

    "What? Were you not interested in Yu Tian? How come you sound like you support them? Are you planning something? Girls are scary!", Su Lang crossed his hands to cover his c.h.e.s.t once he thought about cruel girls can be, especially Fan Ruyi.

    "Wait, what? Who said I was interested in Yu Tian? Did you believe in those rumors too Su Lang?", she laughed. She had no idea her friends believed in those gossips too. That meant¡­ "I am actually interested in someone else.", she lowered her eyes while saying so because she did not want everyone to know her true feelings.

    "Whoa! You¡­ you are acting like a girl for once! Are you blushing¡­ for real? Who is the guy?", Su Lang jumped up on the opportunity to tease his friend.

    "Shut up Su Lang, you don''t need to know.", she mumbled. "Also, what do you mean acting like a girl!", she hit him in his arm. For once, everyone was frol.i.c.k.i.n.g after so many days of stress all around. This put everyone in a good mood, except Feng Yue.

 Chapter 58 - Do You Like Feng Yue?

    "Hi Mei Qingyang, how did your exams go?" The exams were finally over. The last one happened to be a subject whose TA was only Feng Yue. As the people were coming out of the class, he caught up with Mei Qingyang just in time. He had exam sheets in his hands.

    For exams, the professor did not need to show up to supervise the students. Only TAs took care of distributing and collecting exams and supervision. There were a few classes where only one TA was required. Each of the three guys had one class each which they supervised individually.

    "Oh, senior Feng, do you need anything from me?", Mei Qingyang was surprised that this guy would take initiative to talk to her. Did he not hate her for some reason?

    "No, I was just asking how you are doing. Everything going good for you?", Feng Yue''s eyes really softened, towards Mei Qingyang, so much that the girl got creeped out by sudden kindness he was showing to her.

    "Senior Feng.", she said seriously, "Did¡­ did I do something wrong? Why are being so gentle to me?" Mei Qingyang had high doubts that she had really done something to invoke Feng Yue''s fury and he was just being good to her sarcastically.

    "Uhh¡­ no, it''s okay. I am sorry.", seeing the girl being such a stranger to him, he scurried away from the place. It was just more hurtful to talk to her. Now he understood where his initial irritation with this girl came from. She resembled Li Sibao, definitely did.

    Even if eye color was different, so what? It could be changed by colored contacts. Even if manners were different, that was not a problem either. She was suffering from amnesia, she had lived with Jiang family for more than four years. That would have influenced her for sure. Even if she didn''t agree, he would get her DNA tested for sure! He did not really require her permission. He was almighty Feng Yue, he needed to know her identity.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was still not very sure what the guy wanted from her. It would be better to consult Fan Ruyi on this. She knew them all the best. Deciding that that would be the best course of action, she headed to meet Fan Ruyi, who had invited her out on dinner after their exams.

    Fan Ruyi also had a presentation today in the medical school about her study abroad program. She had to explain her research and her methods. It was a tough task for her to dumb down everything so that her professors could understand. Anyway, now the first set of exams for the semester was over, everyone was relaxed.

    Mei Qingyang entered the private room of Su Lang''s friend''s pub. Her senior was sitting on the chair sipping hot tea. The lighting was dim and soothing music was playing in the background. Her muscles relaxed and the stress for the day melted. Ah! If only there was a spa here.

    *Oh God no Mei Qingyang! Since when did you fall into the trap of worldly things? Need to reduce the interaction with these rich people.* She shook her head to herself before sitting down on the seat.

    "Senior Fan, how was your presentation?", she started with casual talk.

    "Qing Qing. I finally get to spend some alone time with a girl friend. Oh my, my. Next time I will invite you to a spa. Unfortunately, I don''t have any close connections with the spa people on campus, otherwise that would have been my choice.", she spoke excitedly.

    *Of course, she would have thought of it first.* Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes on herself for her stupidity.

    "Anyway, my presentation was good. I heard Yu Tian went through your exam papers in the afternoon. You are topping the class with flying colors for sure.", she was very enthusiastic about giving Mei Qingyang the good news but went back to her calm self seeing Mei Qingyang composed too.

    *Oh, she knows already. Of course, my best friend would not have picked up a dumb girl to fall in love.*

    Mei Qingyang just nodded her head and poured herself the tea too.

    "Ah senior Fan. Did something happen to senior Feng? He was being very cordial today, asking me about my well being and stuff. I got scared if he hit his head somewhere or if my end is near.", she finally brought up the topic she had been thinking about since she had left her classroom.

    "Haha, he won''t beat you for nothing.", Fan Ruyi laughed lightly but there was agony in her voice.

    "Be¡­ beat? Did I really do something wrong?", now Mei Qingyang was worried. Out of all three, she had had the least interaction with Feng Yue. He was always cold to her, like she had snatched something from him. He also gave her looks when Yu Tian himself talked to her. He was like angry mommy of the group who was overprotective of her children and would not be happy with any foreign elements around.

    "Say Qing Qing.", Fan Ruyi started very seriously. Seeing her serious face, Mei Qingyang also sat with a straight back. Fan Ruyi''s next words shocked the life out of the poor girl.

    "Qing Qing, tell me honestly. Do you like Feng Yue?"

 Chapter 59 - You Will Betray Me One Day

    Mei Qingyang tried saying something but nothing came out of her mouth. She was expecting this question but not this soon. Disappointment and humiliation flashed in her eyes. Fan Ruyi saw her thus and lowered her head. She needed an answer for her peace of mind.

    Mei Qingyang composed herself once again and smiled sweetly. "Will you answer a question of mine too if I tell you the truth?", she inquired calmly and lifted her teacup from the table to take another sip. Might as well take advantage of the situation.

    Seeing that Mei Qingyang was not really offended, Fan Ruyi''s panicked heart really calmed down. That''s right, she spoke to her Qing Qing, because she knew this girl would not take it the wrong way. She still needed to explain her her reasoning though. "I¡­ Sorry Qing Qing, you know this whole Li Sibao thing has kind of shaken up our lives. I just¡­" She could not even really justify her question under the watchful gaze of Mei Qingyang. She felt guilty for asking such question.

    Changing the topic a bit, she continued, "What question do you have for me Qing Qing? I did not know you were curious about someone?", she tried asking light heartedly. Inside she knew that damage had been done. The pain in Mei Qingyang''s eyes before was real. She might have permanently put a dent in her budding relationship with this girl.

    "Senior Fan, I have been with you guys for two months now and you have known me for a month. With your intelligence and background, it should be a no brainer that you know what I am here for.", she paused and kept her teacup on the exquisite glass table back with a clunk. She continued in similar dead calm manner, "If not, I will make it clear to you. I only have one year and I am here to abolish this heinous system Yu Rong has had in place. With the swimming pool incident, the ambush incident and this hospital thing that recently happened, I have no doubts there is much more happening between the servants and masters than what seems at first glance."

    Mei Qingyang was in a lecture mode right now and she didn''t mind revealing her intentions to the girl in front of her. She had decided to damage their ties first. Moreover, it was nothing to hide anyway. So she kept talking and Fan Ruyi had no choice but to listen. Ultimately, she just wanted answer to her question.

    "You four not taking any servants for whatever reason doesn''t make you any better, since you guys refuse to do anything about it. You know Gu Jiujiu''s assistant visited me very recently? He wanted to commit suicide because the way he had been groomed, he did not see any purpose to his life apart from giving his services, be it manual labor or s.e.x.u.a.l favor, to Gu Jiujiu. I had to talk to senior Su to take him to his master. What is all this? These are human lives that Yu woman is ruining.", frustration boiled up inside her heart and she talked in a loud voice. She was not the one to lose calm easily. But she had seen so many lives uprooted just because someone was drunk in their power.

    The room was soundproof but one waitress was waiting outside the door with her ear stuck to the door, trying to overhear what was going on inside. The owner of the pub happened to be on round just then. The waitress instantaneously acted as if she was just taking something inside. A soft knock sounded on the door.

    "If we need anything, we will call you. Do not disturb us.", Fan Ruyi spoke in a stern voice to the waitress. She got scared and left as soon as she entered. The only thing she saw was that the girls seemed to be having knives against each other''s throats. In other words, their meeting was not going too well. Good that she observed such a thing at right time. It would be easier to report to both madame Yu and young miss Gu. Being an agent was already tough, being a double agent was like having her life hanging through thread all the time.

    The interruption soured the girls'' mood more. Mei Qingyang realized it was no use to be saying all this stuff, so she came to the point directly.

    "Anyway, what I mean to say is, I do not have time for falling in love. Nor am I in any of the three guys'' league to even think about it. Plus, don''t you love senior Feng?", she stared right into Fan Ruyi''s eyes. She knew the answer already but a bright blush appeared on Fan Ruyi''s face on hearing the question. This confirmed her suspicions.

    "Wha¡­ what are you talking about?", her eyes darted around.

    Her reaction squeezed a chuckle out of Mei Qingyang. "Looks like you think no one knows. I am guessing only senior Feng and Su are dense enough to not know. I reckon, senior Yu already has an idea." She knew Yu Tian saw Fan Ruyi as a sister. It was very evident with how he treated her. But of course, she still could not help but be envious of their close relationship. Oh wait, what was she thinking? Especially just after declaring that she had no time for this?

    "Yu¡­ Yu Tian knows?'', Fan Ruyi blushed harder. She did not expect that. But did she not just accept that she was interested in Feng Yue? "No¡­ What I mean is, what does Yu Tian know? What if I am interested in Yu Tian and not Feng Yue?", she tried prodding into Mei Qingyang''s mind now.

    "We would not be having this conversation here then. Senior Fan, trust me. Regardless of whether I am Li Sibao or not, I do not have any feelings for senior Feng, nor would I develop any in the future, particularly because you like him. I am no homewrecker. Also, even if it gets proven that I am indeed Li Sibao, even then, past me and present me are different. So, please rest assured.", she concluded her long speech thus.

    Fan Ruyi heaved a sigh of relief. She had gotten word from Qing Qing, so she decided to believe her for now. "If that''s the case, then I am glad. Sorry to put you on spot once again.", she apologized.

    "No offense taken. But why would you ask me this anyway? Did he not hate Li Sibao? From what I heard from senior Yu, he always stayed aloof, even in her presence.", Mei Qingyang still was curious about this Li Sibao girl. Now that they were having the discussion anyway, it was good that she could ask her these questions.

    "Quite the contrary, he was hopelessly in love with her. Li family was not always wealthy. The engagement was decided by Feng Yue''s and Li Sibao''s grandfathers. Li patriarch was actually Feng patriarch''s right hand man. Grandpa Feng saw grandpa Li as his best friend, and thus gave away the word. Grandpa Li worked super hard to increase their status. Feng matriarch was not very fond of the idea of her grandson getting married to a servant''s granddaughter. It''s said that she was the one who destroyed Li family''s business after grandpa Feng''s death. That''s why Feng Yue feels super guilty towards his betrothed. He was sent abroad and he could not do anything for his love.", Fan Ruyi narrated.

    No one knew the truth because grandma Feng also expired within a year of grandpa Feng''s death. These were all rumors. A few say Feng matriarch went mad after she realized that she had doomed the whole family because of her status. She could not bear it. If she was really behind Li family''s misfortune, then she did wreak havoc in very short amount of time.

    "Anyway, since you know, I think I just got jealous, hehe. Sorry once again.", Fan Ruyi folded her hands in apology. Mei Qingyang shook her head again to let her know that she was not really bothered about it.

    *But senior Fan, this jealousy is going to make you betray me one day. When that happens, I don''t know what I would do.* Mei Qingyang regretted predicting this, because in future it did come true.

 Chapter 60 - Aced The Exams

    "What was your question again Qing Qing?", the conversation had continued from the teatime. They had ordered dinner now. Suspicious of the waitress''s motive, the girls would just stare at each other when they brought in food.

    "I''ll ask you sometime else. I feel like there are too many ears and eyes here.", she said pointing to the trolley beside them which was left by the waitress there while she went to fetch something for them. Fan Ruyi understood her meaning and giggled lightly. The waitress in the back clenched her teeth in anger. They knew!

    The girls ate their rest of the dinner in silence. They did not have anything else to talk about. Although Mei Qingyang''s question was urgent, she decided it was not the right time to ask. The waitress reported that the girls mostly fought with each other. Although Fan Ruyi was calling Mei Qingyang with her nick name, there was still tension in the air. It was also proven by the fact that they did not even engage in any small talk.

    In a blink of an eye, the week got over. It was Friday and a lot of people in first year engineering department were anticipating the results, not only theirs but Mei Qingyang''s. They wanted to see the downfall of the girl who was way overconfident with her skills. When the results were posted on website, everyone was disappointed because Mei Qingyang had indeed aced the exams.

    A few people noticed her entering the building. Right now, everyone had crowded the notice board, including seniors. They did get their results at their school''s web portal but the whole list was always put up on public notice board for everyone to see. The seniors had also heard from their juniors what was going on.

    Mei Qingyang had earned a different kind of reputation after the hospital incident. People had spread the word far and wide, so much, that almost whole school knew about her now. Even the store owners in the school market knew who she was.

    Mei Qingyang coldly glanced at the notice board and then left. The people surrounding the area noticed her strong aura and made a path for her but she did not even bother to check the board. Now it was the time for the guys to swoon over this cool girl. This irritated the girls in the class further. How dare she show off?

    "Hey¡­ Mei Qingyang, congratulations on getting first. Could¡­ could you please share some tips with me on how to ace exams? I failed in two out of eight subjects. And¡­ and I am so scared of our TAs. Can you pleas help me out?", a brave girl approached Mei Qingyang after seeing the results. She was visibly nervous but dared in the end.

    Mei Qingyang looked at her from top to bottom. This was one invisible girl in the class. She did not know her name or background but knew that she had not participated on the bullying incidents earlier. She did not have much impression of most of her class anyway. But realizing, that this weak anxious girl had enough guts to defy the herd and not participate in their shenanigans, she could be worth a try.

    Everyone was watching carefully, they were sure of this girl''s demise. This girl was another loner of the class, but when it came to it, she had an aura of a tigress. A few girls had tried bullying her initially, in the school days but one glare from this girl had driven them all off. No one bothered her after that. First, no one knew she could be so sweet and shy. Second, everyone was very sure that Mei Qingyang, at this point, would chew her raw.

    Mei Qingyang smiled politely, "How may this humble one help you?" She was a bit sarcastic and bit genuine to see the girl''s reaction. She immediately relaxed on hearing congenial words from the topper girl and held her hands.

    "Thank you so much. I was so afraid to ask you for help. I want to be friends with you, please accept my request.", the girl shook her hands while lowering her head in delight.

    "Hmph! You both are such lowly people. One cheats and another wants to be friends with her.", another lackey of Gu Layue tried to take a jab. The two girls glared fiercely at her and she whimpered like a puppy. "What are you looking at? Did I not say the truth? Mei Qingyang got in total 784 marks out of 800. It''s an average of 98 in each subject. Doesn''t that mean she surpassed even senior Yu''s record last year? Is that even possible by fair means?", she lamented.

    That''s right, Mei Qingyang had broken all the records and earned the title of highest scorer ever in their first year mid semester exams. Well, obviously the guys were too busy to care about the exams, so they put minimal effort. Unknowingly, the geniuses did get highest marks in the history of the school. But that record was broken a year later by this girl with no background. She was either a genius herself or she got the papers from somewhere, probability of latter being the highest.

    "Oh? How do you think I cheated? Care to explain?" Here it was. Mei Qingyang was just waiting for this. Gu Layue had, for the most part, become quiet after the hospital incident. Either she was scolded very badly by Yu Rong or she was planning something more sinister. So, her brainless lackeys had started brewing trouble for her these days.

    "Of course, you must have got the papers from somewhere and memorized the answers. Or you must have got cheat sheets in the exam.", the lackey said very confidently. She was standing near the third last seat, crossing her arms like she had definite information on what had happened.

    "So, what you are saying is¡­", Mei Qingyang stood up from her seat, brushed the other girl who had come for help aside, and took slow steps towards the lackey, "¡­ that there was a flaw in our TAs supervision on exam papers or the class? Are you questioning them?", she smiled intimidatingly.

    The lackey found herself dumbfounded by the accusation. Why did she not think about this? She did not mean it but whatever she had said, definitely implied that she was saying their TAs were incompetent. It was a taboo to question the three Gods of the school. She almost lost her footing from the pressure Mei Qingyang was emanating from her whole person.

    Finding herself cornered and being subjected to eyes from everywhere, she backed off. Mumbling in a low voice, she tried saying "I didn''t mean it like that". But before she could complete her sentence, she received a kick from Gu Layue in the back portion of her knee.

    "Can''t you shut up? Embarrassing yourself is fine, don''t drag me into your useless tricks. Everyone knows its impossible to surpass our three seniors. There is no way she won these marks fair and square. She might as well have seduced the professor for the exam papers. She comes from a lowly house anyway.", as soon as Gu Layue finished, a portion of the class started believing her words. Of course, that was the most plausible explanation. Their professor might go corrupt, but their Gods could not do anything wrong.

    And it was a definite possibility that the professors themselves could have indulged the information. But all eight of them? And what about female professors?

    "I wish you had better idea when to admit defeat Gu Layue.", Yu Tian and Su Lang entered the class with their exam sheets.

    "I thought you were smart enough, you are becoming blander by the day, you don''t even have good comebacks anymore.", Su Lang snickered at her. The class laughed with him. Gu Layue flushed red on the insult.

    She was the campus belle. Even in middle school, she was asked out by so many of her seniors. The guys she liked, she made sure she got that by hook or crook. She had made so many girls cry after snatching their men, just because she could not bear not having their attention.

    Since Yu Tian was her childhood friend, she had always thought he was hers. Then that Fan Ruyi came and took away all her attention. She was even inducted in their group, the group she had failed to make space for herself in. Now this b*tch. These guys would advocate this much for her? Why would a peasant like her get that much attention? She needed to beg Yu Rong to once again take her under her wing, otherwise this girl would not be solved.

 Chapter 61 - Relationship Between Yu Tian and Yu Rong

    Now that Mei Qingyang had made a new friend in the class, she was no longer sitting alone. Well, of course she was not a friend. Her intentions were still not clear. Why did she need to take so many people into account when planning her moves? And her pressing question was still remaining that she needed to ask Fan Ruyi. Could she ask the same to Su Lang or Feng Yue?

    She decided to call Fan Ruyi over the weekend for lunch by lake once again. Incidentally, it was good enough weather to enjoy the sun outside. She had informed her senior about the impending meeting in person as she could not email or text her.

    They met at the lake in the afternoon. It was Sunday after their results were announced. Mei Qingyang was becoming more and more dependent on Fan Ruyi for information. Her only comfort were the words she had lived by since the day she woke up in the hospital.

    *The relationsh.i.p.s in this world are all just give and take. As long as you are not just giving or taking, you should be fine.*

    She had been only taking help from these guys. It was time to pay back.

    Today she had prepared fried vegetables and California rolls as her and Fan Ruyi''s lunch. Fan Ruyi was a big fan of her food and this was also, in a small way, repaying her, with warmth and love that she had been lacking in her family.

    "Qing Qing! What tasty food did you bring today?", Fan Ruyi waved her hand towards Mei Qingyang after spotting her by the lake. She had brought her assistant with her. No one else was allowed here. The assistant had a big coat in her hands. As it had started becoming chilly and they had no idea how long their conversation was going to be, they had prepared extra just in case. Fan Ruyi had asked her assistant to be at a distance enough that she could not hear what they were talking about.

    "Are you okay bringing your assistant? I thought you wanted to keep this place a secret.", Qinyang asked.

    "I cannot shrug her off. She knows all my whereabouts anyway. She comes from a family my grandpa trusts a lot. So, I don''t mind.", Fan Ruyi replied while sitting down. "So, what is it that you have been wanting me to ask that you can only call me at such a private place?" Fan Ruyi was perplexed when she heard Mei Qingyang calling her for a meeting just almost a week later. What was so urgent that could not wait? And why did she need to be so secretive about it?

    "Okay then, I will come straight to the point. What''s the relationship between Yu Rong and senior Yu?", she inquired as she was opening her lunch box. She handed over one box to Fan Ruyi and took over one.

    "What do you mean? They are aunt and nephew. What else there could be?", Fan Ruyi instantly put a roll in her mouth, relishing it much. As usual, Mei Qingyang''s food was the best. She did not think much about Mei Qingyang''s question.

    "You are correct. You must be. But¡­ ", she paused for a moment to think if she should continue or not.

    "Why? Ask away. You are not a person to be shy. Why hesitate?", Fan Ruyi encouraged her still gobbling up her lunchbox.

    "Umm¡­ Nothing. Anyway, I heard Yu Rong is not his real aunt. Is that true?", she still pressed on changing her language.

    "Yeah. She was adopted in Yu family when Yu Tian''s dad was about 10 years old. They are not blood related. Why, are you interested in him?", Fan Ruyi really wanted to matchmake these two. That cold jerk was not going to fall for anyone although he had been surrounded by so many girls. Mei Qingyang was the only girl he had shown remote interest in.

    "We have had this conversation before. I was just interested in knowing Yu Rong''s background. What about his mom though? I never hear anything about his dad or mom." It was true. She had had enough conversation with a few people. No one ever brought up his immediate family. Wasn''t Yu Ming one of the wealthiest businessmen in the country. Why did he not show his face anywhere and there was no news of Yu family either? She only knew about Yu Rong and the school and Yu Tian because of his talents.

    "Why don''t you ask him about it? His mom died when he was only one year old. I don''t think he remembers her much. Yu Rong was the one who has practically raised him. His dad had drowned himself in work after his mom died. So, he never had a father figure in his life either. That way, I think he is much more pitiful than me.", Fan Ruyi stopped eating at this point. She had always felt sorry for Yu Tian.

    It was not wrong to say that the four people were so close together because they all had some tragic past. Although they were bound by their family''s relationship but they were ultimately there for each other when their wounds needed to be tended. That''s what made their bond much stronger.

    "Oh. I see. I got my answer. Thank you for help senior Fan.", after a few moments of silence between them, Mei Qingyang concluded their conversation. It seemed Fan Ruyi did not have much idea about the things happening in the group. Perhaps, they would not tell her everything since she was a girl after all. All this ''friendship forever'' did not matter in the end. There was no way anyone would open up about all their scars to anyone.

    Then she needed to invest more time into this and investigate further because there was definitely something weird going on.

 Chapter 62 - The Actual Reason For Jiang Boéˆ¥æªš Death

    Yu Rong called Mei Qingyang once again the next day. This time it was regarding her dad''s visit to the school. As soon as she entered her office, a bunch of papers flew towards her, one even making a paper cut on her cheek.

    "Good for you that your dad is coming here. What is he anticipating to accomplish huh?", Yu Rong was incensed as usual. She hated even the name of this girl. On the top of that, Yu Tian was getting real close to her, almost as if he was bewitched by her.

    "I am sorry Principal Yu but this is something you need to ask my dad only. I cannot communicate with him, per your directions, so I have no idea what he is thinking.", Mei Qingyang had a mocking look in her cold eyes. She herself was infuriated with this woman. She was going to unmask all her tricks and deeds soon.

    "Oh? So you have started talking back huh? Seems like you are m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic type, do you enjoy being punished?", Yu Rong took out her exquisite whip again from under her desk. This girl would not obey her words alone it seemed. It was time to teach her a lesson.

    "I am sorry Principal Yu if you feel like I did any wrong. But I just spoke the truth.", Mei Qingyang continued calmly.

    "Good, very good. Are you on cloud nine now that you have gotten first rank in your class? Thank your stars that your exams were checked by the three guys. If it were the professors, you would not have even passed the class.", she threw her whip towards Mei Qingyang in order to hurt her face once more.

    Mei Qingyang caught her whip in her right hand. Yu Rong tried to take it back but Mei Qingyang had more strength. Her aura was becoming more domineering. In the dark room with scamp lighting, it was hard to really see. Outside it was dark and thunder was striking again and again. During the event, Mei Qingyang''s green marble eyes shone, making her frightening to the core. Yu Rong''s heart thumped with fear once she saw her menacing look.

    "You mean to say, you would have made me fail by unfair means? Do you think it would have been good if it came out that you were bullying a simple student who was just trying to attend her classes peacefully?", Mei Qingyang spoke in a low tone, weighing her word carefully.

    Yu Rong guffawed at her question. "You think anyone cares about you? You are just a peasant girl. No one gives a shit even if you go missing.", she was still trying to take her whip off Qingyang''s hand without any success. Wang Hao was standing in the shadows observing the whole scene. Initially he had thought that his mistress did not put enough strength on first try. But now that he was seeing her struggling, he stepped forward to use a chop on Mei Qingyang''s neck to render her unconscious.

    Mei Qingyang sensed his presence and stopped his hand mid-air as well. Thinking that he had an advantage, he went ahead to attack with his left hand. At the same moment, Mei Qingyang let go the hand with the whip. Since Yu Rong was still tugging it, the whip went with force towards her, almost injuring her. On the other hand, Mei Qingyang had easily overpowered Wang Hao. She threw him down in a defense move.

    "And, so what? You think you can always win?" she spoke in her heavy low voice again.

    Yu Rong started laughing like a maniac and her fear of this girl disappeared in an instant. That''s right, she was just a puny girl, what was there to fear? "Hehe. You don''t think I can? Killing you is too easy. I don''t really like to give easy deaths. Your end will be similar to your brother Jiang Bo.", Yu Rong tried to trigger the girl since it was pretty clear that she could not win her with her strength at the moment. Her assistant had also been defeated. Dealing with her with a gun was far easier. But then it would take out the fun, wouldn''t it?

    Detecting a slight change in Mei Qingyang''s expression, Yu Rong continued, "I still remember the look on his face. I did not even have to do anything. I just needed to instigate some girls that he had feelings for them. Although he had not done anything, I just got someone to put some aphrodisiac in his drink in one of the college events. And the group of girls took care of him next. He was a handsome fellow to begin with. Ah! Such a cute guy, I wanted to taste him myself once.", she licked her whip l.e.w.dly when thinking about him.

    Mei Qingyang dug her nails in her palm so hard that her knuckles went white. She knew it! From the stories she had heard from her parents, there was no way her foster brother had a weak mentality. He would never commit suicide by himself. Now she knew. There was a turbulence brewing inside Mei Qingyang. Her heart ached for her dead brother and her parents. She wanted to scream and cry and kill this witch here.

    She soon realized that she was losing control of her emotions. She could end up doing the same as she did with the guy who died in the hospital. She didn''t want a scene like that.

    She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. But Yu Rong continued provoking her.

    "Who knew he would decide to take responsibility for the girl? If that girl agreed, my plan would be ruined. I released their tape to the girl''s family and friends. He could not bear the humiliation and hung himself. I get p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e just thinking about his beautiful face. Truly a shame! If only he had accepted my offer of becoming my slave. His life wouldn''t have been wasted in vain.", she trembled slightly while she closed her eyes and smacked her lips.

    Suddenly, the office was filled by Mei Qingyang''s eerie laughter, startling Yu Ring and Wang Hao, who had perhaps broken a bone or two because of Mei Qingyang''s throw earlier.

    "You are trying to threaten me with a dead person?", she said with a dead calm in her eyes. There was no emotion at all on her face. Even in the dim lighting, it was very evident that this girl was just a cold-blooded person. Like nothing could affect her in this moment. Yu Rong sensed trouble but kept her eyes wide open for any danger from this lass.

    "I don''t think you understand Yu Rong. I''m different from Jiangs. I''m just an adopted daughter. My actions don''t really bring my parents much shame since I''m from unknown origins to begin with. Even if they do, so what? These humiliation tactics of yours won''t work on me.", she was peering into Yu Rong''s eyes, making her fear return. Wasn''t she supposed to be all grateful to her parents for giving her a good life? How could anyone be so apathetic?

    "Plus, do you really think I care about a dead person I''ve never even met? Or do I care about my parents'' reputation? If that were the case, I wouldn''t have stepped in this school. So, you better come up with something else.", Mei Qingyang turned around to leave. There was no more talking with this female. She was absolute trash. Whatever was her agenda to call her today.

    Yu Rong could not understand. She was talking like her family was some third party. How could she be disrespectful to her dead foster brother like this? Did no one teach her manners? Where did her calculations go wrong? If she could not even use this, then what leverage was left to her? In all her excitement to finally get an excuse to beat this girl up, she completely forgot about the real purpose.

    "Wait a minute, did I say you could leave?", Yu Rong stood up, pointing her finger towards the girl almost at the door now.

    Mei Qingyang halted her steps and peeked over her shoulder to see what more this woman had to say.Her expression was so calm yet so ferocious that Yu Rong could not muster her courage to be as aggressive as she was being just now.

    "You need to move out of the room you are living in. Since that dad of yours want to visit. You will not have much contact with him, I will make sure of it.", she clenched her teeth while seething in anger.

    "Do as you wish.", Mei Qingyang left with the same blank expression.

 Chapter 63 - Jiang Nuo Visits The School

    Days passed by and finally it was time for Minister Jiang to visit the school. Yu Rong had to give in because of the public pressure. She did take promise of not bringing anyone more than his wife and two bodyguards as more people would warrant more attention and thus, require more security. After the terms were agreed, the Minister''s visit was scheduled for Thursday in the second week of October.

    Time was going really fast and Mei Qingyang was now feeling pressure of her assignment. She was really looking forward to meeting her family as she wanted to make sure that Yu Rong wasn''t creating much trouble for them without her knowledge.

    Minister Jiang came with a large entourage. A lot of reporters also followed him. According to the agreement, he took his wife and two most trusted bodyguards with him inside the campus. In the morning, they went around the campus with Yu Rong. She and Wang Hao made sure that he did not meet Mei Qingyang directly. Such luck she had. Her own people were before her eyes but she could not even talk with them, let alone hug. Her mother was really angry on such an arrangement but Minister Jiang consoled her. Mei Qingyang had signaled them to not make any ruckus for the time being.

    After the brawl last time, she had been moved to a new room. The new room was much better and bigger than her current abode. It was in the same bas.e.m.e.nt only. So, they had more rooms, but they just wanted to force her into that small dingy room. And it was also made clear to her that she would need to shift back to her original room once Jiang Nuo left.

    Anyway, for the day, she was instructed to act as a helper. She was doing all the menial tasks of serving the guests with water, tea and snacks without a chance of talking to them. Not only her parents, both the bodyguards were familiar to Mei Qingyang too. They were all like her family. And all the four people''s hearts were breaking seeing her in this state. Why did she have to be so stubborn about coming here? Why go through such hardship?

    Yu Tian and Su Lang, on the other hand, were feeling really bad for Mei Qingyang too. They had been with the group for different reasons. Su Lang, being related to Jiangs, decided to join and help them out. Yu Tian was there as the representative of the school and Yu family. Later they had called Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue too, to show Jiang Nuo that Mei Qingyang wasn''t alone here. She had made some very powerful friends.

    "Hey Mei Qingyang, you did not introduce us to the two guys over there in the party, who keep looking at you. They seem quite concerned. I have seen them before with uncle but did not know they were acquainted with you as well.", Su Lang whispered in her ears when they were on a break. It was just before the lunch and preparations were still undergoing. A large compound was prepared where all the students were called from the college. A few press members were also present and Jiang Nuo gave a speech over there. After that, a huge lunch party was supposed to be organized which was in preparation right now.

    Jiang Nuo was talking with his wife, still sitting on the stage while Yu Rong had gone to attend some business call. The group of five people was sitting on the left side of the stage while the bodyguards were seated on the right side. They were still under watch, so they still could not talk to her family. Su Lang was trying to create opportunity for her. Yu Tian''s ears also perked up knowing those two guys knew Mei Qingyang.

    "Thank you, cousin Lang. If you could make an opportunity for me, I would be able to introduce you to my two bros.", she said cheerfully. Finally this guy was making effort to help her, although she knew he had some ulterior motive himself. She had been gloomy since the morning but now she had some hope.

    "Now that you have asked your cousin for help, of course this kind gentleman will put all his efforts.", he patted her back in enthusiasm, more so to show his uncle that he was taking care of his cousin earnestly as he had asked of him.

    Then he sneakily whispered to Yu Tian, "Seems like your rival has appeared. The guy''s gaze on the right hasn''t left Mei Qingyang since their arrival. He is definitely more than a bro to her."

    "Wha¡­ what rival? Why do you keep getting all these ideas from nowhere Lang?", he slapped Su Lang''s hand on his shoulder. This guy did not know when to restrain. Mei Qingyang was sitting jjust in front of them, what if she heard all this. Fortunately, it was quite noisy out here and she was too engrossed in making plans to hand her dad some information than try to listen to their gibberish.

    "Pfft¡­ Seems like you are the only one who doesn''t know your feelings then. Because us three definitely agree that you have fallen for that girl really hard. Admit it or not.", Su Lang stuck his tongue out in a cheeky way. Yu Tian nodded at his statement, freezing him there. So, wait¡­ Did he just admit to it? Time to create a chance for all of them meet up and see Yu Tian''s reactions.

 Chapter 64 - A Rival

    For lunch for the guests, a huge table was arranged with head of the table reserved for Yu Rong. Her right hand side was given to the Jiang family. To dismay of Yu Rong, Jiang Nuo had asked his bodyguards to sit with him. *These lowly people don''t understand the sensitivity of occasions, they have to show their stupidity everywhere.*

    Su Lang, Yu Tian, Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue got to sit on the left-hand side of Yu Rong. Mei Qingyang was supposed to stand since she was just a server today. She complied as well. Yu Rong was enjoying this show. It served as a warning to Jiang Nuo that his daughter was no less than servants in her and others'' eyes.

    The Jiangs and their bodyguards were utterly humiliated with this display. Who did Yu Rong think she was? She had a smirk on her face the whole day. Jiang Nuo remained calm as ever.

    His daughter came over to his side with a huge smile to serve him dishes. His angry heart also calmed down seeing her chirpier than ever. In the next moment, she dropped the serving spoon on the floor by mistake, before she could even hold the bowl with the dish. Nothing spilled, thankfully. But in that one moment of distraction, she slipped a few papers with her report to her bro Li Hanyu, without anyone noticing. She nodded to him and got up from the floor.

    "I am so sorry brother Hanyu. I did not mean to drop it.", she said with a pitiful expression on her face like Yu Rong would chew her out for her mistake. Li Hanyu shot a glance at Yu Rong who was still busy giving instructions to Wang Hao at his side to find out what exactly happened in that one moment. She glared at Mei Qingyang out of spite, while Mei Qingyang gave her a smug smile.

    *Something! Something did happen! Wang Hao, you better get the full details.*

    Sensing an opportunity here, Su Lang interjected, "Aiyya! It''s okay Mei Qingyang. Someone will bring a new serving spoon. Why don''t you sit with us and have lunch yourself? You have been working so hard since the morning. Also, introduce us to your family, won''t you?", he glanced at Yu Rong who was clenching her teeth. Now the young master of Su family had said such words, did she dare to defy them?

    Jiang Nuo looked towards Su Lang with eyes filled with gratitude and praise. Su Lang felt very proud of himself. He personally brought Mei Qingyang towards his chair and let her sit between himself and Yu Tian. Thinking that she was under distress because of her mistake, Yu Tian patted her hand under the table without being conspicuous. Mei Qingyang wanted to look towards him but considering Yu Rong was here, she did not react. Her heart melted at this small gesture though. They all were looking out for her in their own way.

    Everyone ate silently for the time being. Now that Su Lang had already initiated the whole introduction thing, Yu Rong had to give him face and let at least the bodyguards mingle with the group. She instructed Wang Hao to keep an eye on their conversation. As soon as the lunch got over, Yu Rong took Jiang Nuo and his wife to the school''s guest area and let the kids be.

    "Qing Qing! Finally, I get to talk to you!", Li Hanyu smiled happily to be able to finally talk to this girl.

    "Brother Hanyu! I missed you so much!!", Mei Qingyang ran into his arms as soon as he called out. He patted her head lovingly, like c.a.r.e.s.sing the most precious person in the world. Yu Tian and Feng Yue both, subconsciously, stepped ahead to separate them but halted before they could take any action. Their small movements did not go unnoticed though. Mei Qingyang was also the one who didn''t let go.

    Li Hanyu was another orphan who was inducted into military since young. Jiang Nuo had recognized his skills and took him under his wing. He also became best friends with Jiang Bo afterwards. Most of the stories she had heard about her foster brother were from him. He also took care of Mei Qingyang like his own family. He was one of the main factors apart from her dad''s hellish training for her confidence in herself.

    "Mei Qingyang, won''t you introduce us to your brother?", Yu Tian cleared his throat when he saw how intimate the two people were being. The guy was still holding Mei Qingyang in his arms while the girl exchanged pleasantries with him.

    "Ah sorry, this is Li Hanyu, right hand man of my dad. Brother Hanyu, these are my seniors, Su Lang, Yu Tian, Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi.", she introduced them to each other wriggling out of her brother''s embrace. Li Hanyu sized all of them from top to bottom, without any shame. The four people did the same. Sparks flew between Yu Tian and Li Hanyu.

    "Ahahaha, young master Su, I have heard a lot about you from Sir. I wonder why you stopped coming to meet Sir and Madame.", Li Hanyu started with Su Lang, who was kind of known to him. Su Lang was kind off irked because of this guy. So he decided to bite back.

    "Unfortunately, I have not heard about you at all, although all four of us have been very close to your sister.", Su Lang emphasized on ''sister'' while breaking Mei Qingyang free from Li Hanyu''s embrace.

    This Su guy was being too forward. Was he also interested in his Qing Qing? Of course, Li Hanyu had a major part in raising this girl for past four years. He knew all her charms and how she could make any guy fall for her with her kind and caring yet bold nature. He could not help but snicker at his sweet little girl.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand was very confused. Why was Su Lang being all touchy feely today? He had never taken interest in her affairs, what was with him today? She glared at him suspiciously. He raised his hands in air like he was not the culprit here. Li Hanyu was happy to see his Qing Qing mingle with everyone, although he was not very satisfied with the type of people she was associating with, especially Yu Tian. He belonged to the family responsible for death of his best friend. No matter how good he was, Li Hanyu would never be able to forgive anyone from Yu family.

 Chapter 65 - Yu Ming Contacted Me

    "So, what are you really doing here Mr. Jiang?", Yu Rong did not even ask them to sit down before she started questioning Minister Jiang first.

    "Haha, I was just waiting for this to happen. Just for the sake of us all being alumni of this school, won''t you let me off the hook?", Jiang Nuo was calm and to the point. He had been feeling really sad for his daughter but it was still better than his dead son. He did not even get to hear how he was doing before Jiang Bo took that step.

    Now that his clever daughter has been sending him news of her well being regularly, he was not that worried. But he still longed to actually see Mei Qingyang. But to find her in the condition she currently was, it was really heartbreaking. He would tell her to leave her studies in between and just return home. Why suffer so much?

    "Hmph! I already told you I did not like the idea of hiring another superintendent but you did not listen. You even sent your own daughter, even after what happened to your son?", Yu Rong really knew how to push someone''s wrong buttons.

    "Yu Rong! You have been very impudent since the beginning. Not only you have been insulting I and my husband left and right, you have treated my daughter as a servant too. What are you trying to imply to us?", Mrs. Jiang could not take it anymore and burst into flames of fury. She was a simple minded woman. Do good with the people who do good to you, was her motto.

    "You do not need to raise your voice Mrs. Jiang. I am talking to your husband.", Yu Rong finally sat down at the big sofa and opened the wine bottle on the table. In an open display of hostility and disrespect, she still did not ask the Jiang couple to take a seat. Mrs. Jiang wanted to punch a hole in Yu Rong''s head to see what kind of trash filled her brain.

    "It does not matter. We are here to observe our son''s anniversary. You surely don''t need to be this offended Ms. Yu?", Jiang Nuo spoke in his authoritative heavy voice.

    "I have been offended since you sent your daughter Minister Jiang. Take her out as soon as possible, lest something happens again to your child.", Yu Rong smirked. She poured the fragrant red wine into her glass and smelled it before taking a sip.

    "You¡­.", Mrs. Jiang was really infuriated. How dared she curse her second child? Jiang Nuo held her hand to pacify her. It was impossible to win against this woman by losing one''s temper. One needed to know their leverage against an enemy like this.

    "Oh, by the way, I heard Yu Ming hasn''t been in touch with you lately. Is he doing alright?", Jiang Nuo knew that this woman was obsessed with her brother. He had been avoiding her since death of his own wife but lately, Jiang Nuo heard the rumors that he had stopped contacting her at all.

    As expected, it did affect Yu Rong and she did not feel like talking to this couple anymore. Forget it! They had come with an agenda here. But she would definitely not let them meet their daughter. That would be the best form of torture. She would also need to keep that cunning Su Lang away from these two. What was he doing anyway, s.u.c.k.i.n.g up to Jiangs? Was he interested in that little b*tch? A light bulb went on in her head. It was quite a possibility.

    Not a lot of people knew the relationship between Sus and Jiangs. They never made a connection either. So, although Yu Rong had news of all the people around her, she had no idea that Su Lang was just looking out for his friend Yu Tian as well as his own cousin.

    "What¡­ what do you mean? He is my brother, of course he is doing well. And if he really wanted to cut contact with me, would he not have taken Yu Tian with him? He is his beloved son, but he is still keeping him under my care.", Yu Rong said proudly. It was true that her brother had not talked to her in a few years. But he had entrusted her with his own flesh and blood for so long. And Yu Corporation was running smoothly as well, so she did not really have to worry about much. All she needed to do was do good with the school business. It was a major revenue unit for the Yu Corp after all.

    "Hmm¡­ I guess I was right then. He contacted me a few months ago. It paid being in the same class with him, eh? He would talk to me but refuse to talk to his own sister.", Jiang Nuo glanced at Yu Rong. He could look down upon her since he was standing. Yu Rong did not like the look in her eyes. Was he mocking her? Her beloved older brother Ming contacted Jiang Nuo? For what? He was so drowned in his work that he did not have time for friends or family and he sought out this lowly commoner? Her expressions changed multiple times and Jiang Nuo was fully enjoying the scene. Mrs. Jiang did not really understand the mental warfare, so she remained quiet on her husband''s prompt.

    "Jiang Nuo, what exactly do you want?", Yu Rong lost it finally. She did not have capacity to think anymore. This was a huge news. Yu Ming had given her the school to run independently. He had not interfered in her administration, which was also probably the reason why she could do what she was doing. She was excluded from all other Yu businesses after Yu Ming''s wife''s death. It had already been quite a few years now.

    She had tried hard to make up with her brother. She did not even know what her fault was. After his wife''s death, he had given up on everything for about two years. Till then, she did whatever she could to manage the business. There were huge losses here and there but she was getting by and learning. Then one day, Yu Ming just packed up his stuff and left. And took over the whole business. He kind of exiled Yu Rong to run this school and made major success in his own business.

    People thought that this school was something new, but it was an established institute already. Just that, it did not have current policies in place when Jiang Nuo and Yu Ming themselves were students at this school. Since Yu Rong took over, it became what it was now. But her brother had become all knowing person and board of members were all his employees too. He had never said anything before, that meant he knew what was going on in the school. Didn''t his silence mean he approved it? Yu Rong''s thoughts strayed to her handsome perfect brother.

    "Hehe, you will see in a few months time.", Jiang Nuo gave her a mysterious smile.

 Chapter 66 - I Am Interested In Her

    "Are you okay here? Adjusting well?", Li Hanyu asked Mei Qingyang. She was walking beside Li Hanyu, looking at him gleefully. After heavy lunch, the whole group was wandering aimlessly, waiting for Jiang couple and Yu Rong to come back. On Su Lang''s suggestion, they had decided to take a break of an hour or so. After the break, they all were going to visit Mei Qingyang''s room and pay respect to the deceased.

    She looked around and Yu Tian and Feng Yue were taking the two spots beside her and Li Hanyu. It looked like a military parade. What was wrong with everyone today? Su Lang, Fan Ruyi and Wang Hao were walking behind the four. Mei Qingyang tried to ignore the pests the three guys were transforming into. She needed alone time with her brother. Wang Hao was enough! Why did everyone need to tag along?

    "Yeah. I am doing good.", she replied.

    "I am glad to hear that.", he patted her head from behind again and in turn, earned furious glares from the two guys. He was becoming really uncomfortable now. Wang Hao''s presence was one thing. They could not talk about her mission. But, now it felt like he was a committing a crime even trying to talk to his own Qing Qing.

    "Brother Hanyu. Tell me the truth, how are mom and dad doing? I hope no one is giving them hard time.", she inquired her brother. After all, all she communicated with her dad were only important things. She could not really ask about anyone''s well being in there. The words were precious and she had to be very judicious when sending her messages.

    Li Hanyu''s heart melted on hearing her words. She was worried about them but she could not do anything. Ah! If only that Yu Rong was a bit easier on this girl. He wished he could give that witch a piece of his mind.

    "Don''t worry about them Qing Qing, I am there for them. Don''t you trust your brother?", he asked.

    "You are the person I trust the most brother Hanyu. I am just worried that because of all the things I have done here, he might face some petty people''s wrath outside.", saying this, she glanced at Wang Hao over her shoulder. All the three guys with her understood her meaning.

    "Aiyya, Qing Qing is all grown up now, eh?", Li Hanyu ruffled her hair to make the mood lighter, taking her and the two guys by the side by surprise. Mei Qingyang didn''t mind since Li Hanyu had been playful ever since they had met. But this time, Yu Tian could not stop himself and grabbed Li Hanyu''s hand.

    "What?", he glared at Yu Tian.

    "I am sorry but this is a school campus. Can you act according to your surroundings? This is not your neighborhood park.", Yu Tian exclaimed.

    "Oh? I did not know there was a policy against skinship between men and women here. I guess dating isn''t allowed either and there are no couples then?", Li Hanyu took a jab on Yu Tian. Being the right hand man of Jiang Nuo, he had a lot of information on his tips. This also included knowing about Yu Tian''s fear of touch. But this guy was removing his hand from Mei Qingyang''s head so casually. Did his illness got cured or was he really serious about her?

    Yu Tian regretted his action right away. Why was he being so childish? Why did it matter that this guy was so close to Qingyang? But he had finally admitted even to Su Lang that he liked her. This was making him so petty. He wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.

    Seeing his predicament, Mei Qingyang chuckled. She had never seen Yu Tian so fl.u.s.tered. He looked so adorable right now. Wait, adorable? Oh no! Why was she getting attracted to this guy?

    "Okay, okay. Brother Hanyu. It''s okay. I understand that everyone is fine.", she said while half laughing and taking apart their hands.

    "Hmph! He is acting like he is interested in you. Qing Qing, stay away from him, okay?", Li Hanyu hugged her again which lit a flame in Yu Tian''s heart. Why was he being so casual with her?

    Mei Qingyang flushed red on hearing this. "Come on brother Hanyu, don''t joke about stuff like this." Li Hanyu could hear that she was a bit mad. He had gone too far it seemed.

    Right, for Mei Qingyang, it was an impossible dream. Why would a guy as talented and worthy as Yu Tian be ever interested in her? There were so many qualified girls around him. He probably thought of her as a source of amus.e.m.e.nt or entertainment. Wasn''t that what Su Lang said to her once? She had really brought some fun in their otherwise dull life.

    "So what if I am interested in her?", Yu Tian broke his silence in the awkward atmosphere. Everyone, especially Wang Hao, were shocked. This guy, who did not give a rat''s a.s.s about anyone, was interested in a lowly peasant girl. But for his friends, the shock was more that he decided to declare it, especially in front of Wang Hao. Could he not be more discreet?

    Mei Qingyang stared at him with a blank expression. What was this guy saying? What will Yu Rong think? Won''t she torture them more over that? Could he not say anything else to save his man pride?

    Feng Yue felt a pang in his heart. He did not want to lose to his friend or this girl. She was originally his and would remain his.

    "I like her too, what''s so wrong with that?", Feng Yue declared. Now, this was truly shocking to everyone. The quiet Feng Yue, for whom, his words were the best treasure, that he would not spend them even if necessary, just made such a bold announcement.

    Mei Qingyang frowned at him. What the heck was he thinking? Was he trying to save his friend? Were they aware of his predicament in his family?

 Chapter 67 - Empty Room, Empty Heart

    Fortunately, Jiang Nuo, his wife and Yu Rong came at the scene a few minutes afterwards, saving everyone from the awkwardness that had taken over. No one had spoken a word since then. There was a turmoil in everyone''s heart. Mei Qingyang decided to clear everything to Feng Yue first. Then she would need to talk to Yu Tian to not pull something like this again. She had more headaches to take care of now. She grimaced at the thought of confronting both the guys. She also needed to make sure that Fan Ruyi did not misunderstand. Otherwise her prediction would come true way sooner than her expectations.

    "Why are you guys all quiet? Su Lang, I thought you would come and talk to uncle. This uncle is hurt.", Jiang Nuo turned around when he sensed something wasn''t right. He was not aware of the fact that a lot of people still did not know about his relationship with Su family.

    Yu Rong heard him calling himself Su Lang''s uncle. She stared at Wang Hao for such a fundamental mistake in his intel. Were they blood related? Sure, Su Lang''s mom''s side was a mystery but this? Dang, this was a big hole in information.

    "Uncle, I¡­ I wanted to greet you properly but with all the pomp and show today, you were so busy, hehe.", Su Lang looked at Yu Rong casually. Jiang Nuo had come to basically observe the anniversary of his son''s death. It had been so many years. Yu Rong was really being childish making him do speeches and all this show.

    By the terms they had agreed on, it was just four people. Including Mei Qingyang, it should have been five. Could she not let the family unite and just enjoy a day? Furthermore, she had to drag the whole campus, just to show everyone how much she was doing for Mr. Jiang. Such a show-off.

    If this whole trip was done quietly, he could have easily got to spend more than half a day with his favorite uncle. Plus, it would have been so easy to get some information from him. This Yu Rong only thought about herself. When was the last time he got together with his family like this? Now she was acting like she had come to some dumpster, covering her nose with a handkerchief and making faces. Su Lang was cursing Yu Rong really heavily in his heart.

    They arrived at the dingy room in the bas.e.m.e.nt where all previous superintendents and Mei Qingyang had lived. Jiang Nuo hardened his heart before entering the place. When Jiang Bo had taken his own life, he did not even get to see him here. He was directly taken to the hospital where he confirmed the identity of the body. He was not in the position of power then, so he was not even allowed to enter the school campus. Now he was finally going to see the place where his son suffered so much, that he¡­.

    It had really been too many years. Now he was the Minister of Education of the country. He had adopted a beautiful smart daughter who was filial enough to have come here to take revenge for their family. She did not really need to do that, but no one could deter her from entering the school.

    Life had come a half circle already and now, there were people who were going to make it a full circle. He strengthened his determination to help Mei Qingyang as much as he could. He was going to take down the Yu family. No, not just take down, he was going to destroy them. He clenched his fists making a promise to himself.

    Mrs. Jiang could not stop her tears from flowing. It was so surreal, to be visiting this cursed place. How tormented her son would have felt, what emotions he was going through, every moment must have been such a big torture for him.

    She could not help but reminisce how her son was such a happy-go-lucky person, always joking with her and his friends. They were such a great company to her, who always regretted not giving a sibling to him. Her husband had always been busy and the boys kept her occupied the whole time. She was also happily passing her days of motherhood when her son was appointed to be the superintendent in this school. Who would have thought that he would never come back after entering this place?

    Mrs. Jiang sobbed quietly, covering her mouth with her white handkerchief. Mei Qingyang''s heart broke seeing her parents in such a state. Yu Rong had already opened the door for the room but both her parents were hesitating to enter. Mei Qingyang could not bear it anymore and stepped forward to hug her mother''s arm and comforted her silently.

    Yu Rong was about to yell when Wang Hao stopped her. It would really be a harm to her reputation if her behavior here came out in public. She would not be able to bear the consequences of public shaming. It seemed that Yu Tian''s friends had started taking an opposite stance to her thanks to Mei Qingyang and if they wished, they could leak it all to the media. There was nothing wrong in the physical interaction as long as no words were exchanged.

    Mei Qingyang also sensed Yu Rong''s intention and glared at her furiously. What was wrong with this woman? Seeing her daughter coming forward, Jiang Nuo also put an arm around his wife''s shoulder and they stepped inside the room.

    The room had been completely cleared of any belongings of Mei Qingyang. Jiang Nuo looked around. He had seen the photographs from that time but it still felt unreal. So, this was the place. He finally got to visit it, finally got to see where his son experienced his last moments. And, also the place where his daughter was spending time in.

    This room was definitely not an ideal place for any human being. Low levels of natural light and a kind of dampness, it was a place where one would feel depressed for no reason. He touched the bed, the table. He could imagine how his son would lie down in the bed or study at his desk seriously. A smile appeared on his face.

    Mrs. Jiang still could not hold herself, so Mei Qingyang was supporting her. The mother was crying while the daughter was trying her best to just be there for her. She had never met her brother, so she only had impression of him from what she had heard from her family.

    Li Hanyu and his friend were standing in their military stance of paying respect to their brother. He had lost his life for a good cause after all. They both were very clear about the happenings and policies of this school.

    Yu Tian was also visiting her room for the first time. He should have visited earlier so that he could introduce her to their secret base sooner. This place stunk. Their base was much airier place although it was still a bas.e.m.e.nt. She could even shift her majority of belongings there. Or he could just shift her to his room. His suite was the one with the best view in whole of school. They could also spend more time together that way. No wait, more time together? What was he thinking?

    "I have looked enough, let''s go from here.", Jiang Nuo suddenly closed his eyes and exclaimed. No matter what, he wouldn''t be able to come to terms with Bo''s death until he finished his revenge.

 Chapter 68 - Jiang Family Takes Their Leave

    "Ms. Yu, it was really nice to be here. I am finally at peace.", Jiang Nuo put his hand forward for a handshake as he decided to leave the campus. His purpose had been fulfilled. It was time to get back to work and make new plans.

    "I hope you never come back Minister Jiang.", Yu Rong returned the gesture but said to him in a hushed tone. She had thought he would take his sweet time and find more excuses to get a report from his daughter. But nothing like that had happened. Moreover, according to Wang Hao''s report, not much interaction had happened between Mei Qingyang and Li Hanyu after the lunch as well. So, was this visit just for what he had been saying it was for? No way!

    This Jiang Nuo was not as simple as he looked. He had nothing when his son had died, he was just an office worker at the Education Ministry. It was said that after his loss, he had thrown himself into his work, gaining fastest promotions in the history of any public department in the country. In that sense, he reminded her of her brother, Yu Ming.

    The only difference was that Jiang Nuo had raised some rowdy pets by his side including Mei Qingyang and Li Hanyu. He actually had more people like these whom he had saved from unknown origins. No one knew if he was raising an army of these wild creatures. Anything he did had a meaning to it, a motive behind it. This visit could not have been without any agenda either. But he was leaving as soon as he saw the room? Was there anything hidden in there that she had missed?

    But she had overseen everything through her cameras in the room. And Wang Hao had made sure there was nothing in there. Mei Qingyang did not even get a chance to enter it after it was emptied, so why?

    Jiang Nuo laughed lightly at her comment. "You don''t need to worry Ms. Yu. I hope the same as well. So please, do not give me any chance like this in the future. I do trust in your abilities to be honest.", he said jokingly. Was he making fun of her? She would not give him a chance to even talk to her. *Just you wait Jiang Nuo, I will traumatize you through your daughter.*

    "Ah! Mei Qingyang, you did not get to talk to your dad today at all. I am sorry that you had to fulfill your superintendent duties and serve our guests. Hope you understand Minister Jiang. She is now part of our big family too. Come on, say your goodbye to him.", Yu Rong signaled Mei Qingyang to come closer to her dad. She was doing this because they were at the school gate and there were still a lot of media people giving attention to the matter. How could she pass on the opportunity to show her concern for her student?

    "Dad!", Mei Qingyang hugged Jiang Nuo tightly. His heart melted seeing how tough she was trying to be. Her eyes were full of tears. They had no idea when they would be able to see each other next. While Jiang Nuo was planning to pull her our of the school after her one year superintendent term was over, he was also looking for ways to terminate her contract earlier. He had been pretty scared and did not want to lose her as well. If not for her stubbornness, he would have never allowed her to even step into the school, let alone work and study here.

    "Qing Qing, just leave everything and come home, okay?", he stroked his daughter''s hair lovingly. "Dad can take care of the matters here, just come back, won''t you?"

    Mei Qingyang''s felt the anguish in her dad''s words. He was really worried about her.

    "Dad, don''t worry. I am good here. Also, look. I have so many friends here now. I did not get to introduce them officially to you, but cousin Lang and seniors Yu, Fan and Feng especially take good care of me.", she looked at the group with a smile.

    "Sir, you truly don''t need to worry. We are here for her.", Yu Tian assured Jiang Nuo like this. Jiang Nuo, as perceptive as he was, understood that this guy''s interest in his daughter was more than friendship and he did not like it at all. He was scion of Yu family after all. He would never approve of him.

    He turned towards Su Lang and patted his right hand. "Su Lang, you need to look out for your sister, okay? I can trust only you here." He also gave a glare to Yu Tian, which made him shrink back in nervousness. Why did he feel that this Minister Jiang was not very fond of him? Did he offend him somehow?

    "Qing Qing, your dad is just worried. Don''t take his words to heart, okay?", Mrs. Jiang hugged her daughter. She knew of her temper. When her dad had refused to place her in this school, she had stopped talking to them and was even not having meals at home. That was her truly rebelling. She did not want that incident to repeat, so she hastily explained her dad''s words to her.

    "I know Mom. You take care of yourself, okay?", she kissed her forehead. All of her friends behind were very envious of her right now. She had such loving foster parents while their own parents did not care about them.

    "Qing Qing. If anyone troubles you here, just let me know. And stay away from the guys, okay?", Li Hanyu patted her shoulder and reminded her with hidden meaning in his words.

    Mei Qingyang chuckled and nodded in affirmative. For her, it was the best that this visit went without any hitches. Neither Yu Rong nor that Gu girl did anything out of line or created any trouble for her family. Was Yu Ring thinking that by keeping them apart, she created enough trouble? She was taking her family too lightly.

 Chapter 69 - Letters

    Dear Dad,

    How are you doing? Sorry I have to be using this method to give you information. I will take the risk because it''s hard not to want to ask you how everyone is during our normal communication. I have to hold back so much whenever I send you a message. I am so glad you came to visit me. The memory card I dropped in your shirt when we were parting contains a lot of information you will find useful.

    To be honest, I know how you are also seething in the fire of revenge. Don''t worry though, your daughter will see to it, without getting harm upon herself. This was the promise I had given you when I left the home and I will definitely fulfill it. Please don''t ruin your health over me.

    And also tell mom the same. She doesn''t say much because she is happy that she has me. But I have seen her cry so many times while hugging brother''s pictures. It is not time to reminisce though since I have important information to give to you.

    I will summarize everything I have found so far and the pawns I have. I also need you to investigate some stuff for me, I can''t find much intel from here. As you know, that Yu Rong took my laptop away, I have all the old school gadgets now. No matter how much I try, they also have their limits. It''s hard to be using them most of the times. So, I would rather you look into those matters while not being monitored.

    I don''t think I reported much to you after the hospital incident. Everything has been so busy and then exams came, I just could not get time. Also, it feels like Yu Rong has increased her surveillance on me and the group around me. I cannot get rid of the tail so easily, so I am trying to keep a low profile. I won''t be sending you many messages from now on.

    My friends think I have connections with this girl called Li Sibao. I have no recollection of being her or with her but I would like you to take charge of this one. I tried finding information about her but Feng family is just too powerful. They have erased all the information about Li family like they never existed. But all the people here know her, then she definitely was a part of their lives. Oh yeah, she was engaged to Feng Yue. They say his grandmother was behind Li family''s demise but there is something fishy about Li Sibao. Anyway, I will leave everything up to you.

    Also, I need to know more about Yu Rong and Yu Ming. Dad, Yu Rong is very weird. She is enamored by handsome boys. I have seen her keeping a few students here as boy toys, I think she even has s.e.x.u.a.l relationship with her assistant Wang Hao. Her office is usually dark all the time with a focus only on her desk. I personally have a feeling that she abuses Yu Tian too, but you know I don''t work on intuitions. I need to know what her life was like before and after she was adopted in Yu family. If my prediction is true, then Yu Tian is also a victim and I just cannot see this happening to any of the children here. They don''t deserve it at all.

    The servants here are in same position, they are s.e.x.u.a.lly, physically and mentally abused by their masters. I have firsthand evidence of that. This whole school itself is full of criminals. I am sure, at the end, everyone would bail out their kids by one excuse or other, but it is necessary to expose Yu Rong in this. It is her policies that give encouragement to such behavior.

    I am still in the process of gathering witnesses about the prior deaths in the school but I cannot be sure. Everyone here is so fickle-minded and they would do anything for their gain. I was able to convert two very solid leads to my side but I don''t know till when I would be able to keep them. One is a poor girl who, for personal vendetta, gave up the goodwill of her savior and now is one of the easiest persons to implicate me. Other is a previous princess of her parents who might not be able to give up on her wealthy lifestyle, although she is out of that circle now.

    Oh, did I mention that Fan Ruyi, whom you will meet during your visit, likes Feng Yue? She has been helping me till now, so much that I sometimes feel guilty. But you know how jealousy works. If Feng Yue is still infatuated with Li Sibao and he starts thinking that I am actually Li Sibao, even though there is no evidence, then I can kiss the help from Fan Ruyi goodbye too. So, all my cards are kind of in limbo right now. I need more material to have a privilege over Yu Rong.

    If there are more developments, I will let you know. Please take care of mom. Don''t let her worry too much about me. Your daughter will be victorious in this battle.

    Love,

    Your Daughter

    ------------------------

    Dear Bro,

    Not going to use any pleasantries and will keep it short. I need your help. You know how we all come from different backgrounds and unknown origins. I might have found something worth pursuing about my past. I cannot rely on dad for this. Although I have still reported to him but I wish you would work independently on this for me. Otherwise, I would never know the truth. Dad already might have an idea about my true identity but he is just not revealing it. It is very important to me, so I hope you will not say no, nor will you inform dad.

    The group of people around me, that you might have met already by now, suspect me of being a girl called Li Sibao. I haven''t gotten any information on her for whatever reason. Please dig into it for me. If you find anything, you know how to contact me. I have arrangements for sending out info to only dad, so it will be hard to send you anything.

    Hope next time we meet, I will get to see a pretty sister in law by your side. Loads of love and kisses.

    - Qing Qing

 Chapter 70 - Go With Your Heart

    After Minister Jiang left, Mei Qingyang started preparing to move back into her room. She was offered no help, of course. So, she had to pack and unpack everything by herself is what she thought. But Su Lang came to help her unprecedentedly.

    "Senior Su, why are you here? This is such a small place, it''s not even up to your standards.", Mei Qingyang was literally shocked when Su Lang knocked on her door and offered to help with his assistant.

    "Aiyya little sister, why are you suddenly being so distant? Do you only call me cousin when you need a favor from me?", Su Lang pouted in his usual cute way.

    "Ah Senior Su, please don''t tease me like this. Your help is really appreciated. If you had not come, it would take me around 2 days to move everything. Although I do not have much but this kitchen stuff is just so c.u.mbersome.", Mei Qingyang stated. Of course she was very grateful to him. He had been especially looking out for her these days. Was he happy with dad''s praise for him?

    In the end, these guys were also craving for love, were they not? She decided to keep this in mind. She would occasionally call him ''cousin'' just to make him extra happy.

    But since he was here, should others not be here as well? Feng Yue, she did not even want to confront. However, Yu Tian was a different story. She needed to clear with him what he meant by his words. Not only that, she also needed to make sure that he explains everything to Yu Rong. Otherwise, she was going to punish them both one way or the other.

    "Where are the others, Senior Su?", Mei Qingyang continued. Hearing ''senior'' from her once again, Su Lang felt a bit disappointed. He had really thought that they had gotten closer during all the recent events. He had suddenly gained a cute brave sister and he wanted to enjoy the sibling relationship with her. From her darling reactions to her parents, she was definitely a warm person. Plus, he had promised his uncle once again that he would take care of her. They still had time to develop their relationship slowly.

    "Hmm? Tell me little sister, who are you curious about? Feng Yue? Fan Ruyi? Or may be¡­", he paused dramatically and turned a 360 degree turn on his feet, smiling slyly. "Yu Tian?"

    Mei Qingyang put her hand on her head and facepalmed.

    "Senior Su, I was just asking if everyone is busy. I have not even heard from either of them after my parents left. It''s already been two days now. But never mind. I won''t be conceited and think that they have time to contact me to begin with. You are the best out of them, keeping me company and helping me out so much.", she said jokingly and gave him a thumbs up. She was in a good mood just because she had probably found a reliable ''brother'' here as well. Who knew her comic words would touch Su Lang so much that he would tear up internally? If he did not need to put up appearances then he would have cried out of joy.

    He slightly coughed and answered Mei Qingyang, "Well. Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi are busy. Yu Tian is not on campus since uncle''s visit."

    "He left again?", Mei Qingyang raised her eyebrows and frowned. Wasn''t this happening too frequently?

    "Ye¡­ yeah, some business work. Why? Did you want to see him? We could make a call if you want.", Su Lang shrugged his shoulders.

    "No need. I don''t want to disturb him if he is on a business trip.", Mei Qingyang rubbed her nose. It seemed like Su Lang had no idea where he actually went. But his hesitation earlier had an ominous feeling to it.

    "Oh, so then, if he was not on business trip, you would have wanted me to make a call to him?", Su Lang teased her again. She threw a pillow from the bed on him.

    "Cousin Lang, we have not cleared the air yet. You do not need to take his words on their face value, okay?", she sighed. It was just to save his ego that was attacked by her brother then. These people could not bear losing to some poor orphans, and that was the reality.

    "Hmph! Now you call me your cousin? But his words might be closer to truth than you think. What you say?" Su Lang rubbed his chin with smug on his face. He was surprised though that she did not get the sincerity in Yu Tian''s words that day. What about Feng Yue? He was obsessed with his ex-fianc¨¦e and now that he had gotten some lead, he was becoming impatient.

    "Okay, tell me. If you were me, who would you choose? Feng Yue or Yu Tian?", she tried steering away from being the main decision maker and spin Su Lang in between. Su Lang saw right through her scheme but still gave her way.

    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think I can answer you objectively. I have much closer relationship with Yu Tian. Plus I feel like Feng Yue is doing you and himself injustice. It is a big burden to you regardless of whether you are Li Sibao or not. So, don''t worry about it and go with your heart, okay?", Su Lang started playing with the pillow Mei Qingyang had thrown earlier because his assistant would not let him work. Mei Qingyang was also packing some stuff when she stopped after what Su Lang had to say. *Go with your heart it seems.*

    She got stuck on that sentence and then giggled in the next moment.

    "When have I ever not followed my heart? If I really want to get together with someone, no one can stop me.", she smiled at Su Lang.

 Chapter 71 - Even If I Were Her

    Finally finished with her moving, Mei Qingyang was back at her old place. She made it exactly the same as previous setting, otherwise she would need to forge new pictures and videos for the spy cameras in her room.

    Now it was time to settle some scores. She needed to contact Feng Yue first since he was available on campus to talk. She needed to make it clear that she was not Li Sibao. By now, it was the talk of the whole school how the two hottest guys of the school had expressed their interest in Mei Qingyang.

    However, everyone took it in the sense of them being interested in her as a servant. They did not think of her as an equal human being, so they had the perception that the three legendries could not really ''like'' her in that sense. They were just stating their s.e.x.u.a.l attraction to her and wanted to have her as their servant.

    On the other hand, Gu Layue had been busy gathering information about the whole thing and Mei Qingyang''s relationship to the guys. She was in their lives much before this b*tch but she had been successful in garnering their attentions. She had seen true colors of Yu Rong and how she had discarded her once she screwed up a bit. Wasn''t the end result to her satisfaction? Mei Qingyang had been ostracized by everyone after hospital incident just because they had grown afraid of her implicating them in any new incidents.

    Finally, Mei Qingyang found Feng Yue after one of the classes. She called him on the rooftop to have a chat with him because she did not want to reveal her lakeside secret spot to everyone. Yu Tian and Fan Ruyi were enough. And it had grown considerably cold these days, it was not a good place to be anymore, unless it was a sunny day. These days, cloud had covered the sky for almost two weeks, raining intermittently. Mei Qingyang''s heart was dropping with each passing day too, like predicting some menacing events in the near future. Yu Tian was still out somewhere.

    It reminded her that she had wanted to talk with Fan Ruyi before she talked with Feng Yue but she had been avoiding her lately. It was understandable, since it seemed that she had been carrying a torch for Feng Yue since their childhood days. She had no idea how people linked Fan Ruyi and Yu Tian and how no one noticed how she had been in love with Feng Yue, including the guys. Were they just pretending to not know or was Fan Ruyi great enough actress?

    Anyway, after the classes got over, Feng Yue went upstairs. He was in a really good mood since it was the first time Mei Qingyang had voluntarily called him. Had she finally found out that she was indeed Li Sibao?

    "Qing Qing, you wanted to talk? I am so happy you called me by yourself.", Feng Yue took large steps towards her, invading her personal space.

    "Stop right there, Senior Feng.", she commanded in her authoritative voice. They were never so close that he would call her ''Qing Qing''. Mei Qingyang felt slightly disgusted with how close he was trying to appear to her.

    Feng Yue frowned upon hearing such ordering manner but since he was under delusion, he complied. He froze his steps awkwardly and waited to hear from the girl.

    "Don''t be so distant Qing Qing. I feel sad.", he did not hide his disappointment.

    "Senior Feng. I called you because I wanted to clear that I am not Li Sibao. Please do not make this difficult for me.", she started.

    She could see that this handsome guy was a bit mentally unstable. He was about to have his heart broken again. The hope of ever finding any clue about his beloved that had probably almost died down in his heart was lit again just because of her slip of tongue and consciousness. She was partially guilty for whatever he was going through.

    "Qing Qing, please don''t be this way. Right now, you don''t have any memories. You called my name, the name only her and the three of my friends know. There is no way you are not Li Sibao.", he urged her with so much affection in his voice that Mei Qingyang struggled internally.

    He had taken two more steps towards her. She went into a trance because of his soft voice and forgot what she had prepared to say to him. She never knew he could be so soft-spoken. She had always seen him as a cold and ruthless person who was not capable of even sparing her a single kind glance, much less, talk to her properly.

    She closed her eyes to harden her heart and deal the final blow. It was time to nip the problem in the bud itself. She breathed in to calm herself down.

    "Senior Feng, please understand what you are chasing is just a shadow of your past. Xiao Xi can be anyone. Moreover, I am not interested in you, nor I have any plans of doing so.", she said firmly.

    Feng Yue knew where this was going. She was rejecting him. His love was saying no to him, just because she suppressed their memories together.

    "Mei Qingyang.", he shouted. He could not take it anymore. The pain he had been bearing for so many years, finally he had seen the light. When did his Li Sibao become so cruel? He needed to get her back, he would get her memories back and then they could be together. In fury, he grabbed both her wrists.

    "You are the love of my life, Li Sibao. I cannot afford to lose you again.", he shook her arms up and down. Mei Qingyang felt so much pain, like he was going to crush her bones.

    "Senior Feng!", she wanted to yell at him in return but it was also hard to see his pained expression. She felt pity for him, so maintained calm and continued., "You should understand this. Even if I were her, I would never go back with you."

 Chapter 72 - Strike While Iron Is Hot

    "Senior Feng, listen to me, okay? You need to understand even if I were her, I would never go back with you. You basically abandoned her then, no girl would ever be able to trust you, even if she loved you like crazy. Have you ever given a thought to her perspective?", she said in a tender voice, as if trying to cajole a child. They were harsh words and she had no idea how he would react to them. He was in a volatile condition right now for sure. If he was not holding her wrists so crudely, she probably would have even patted or hugged him.

    Indeed, her words pierced his heart. He had known it all along but to hear it from his last hope? It was crushing. He loosened his grip on her in shock and dropped on his knees. His mind and face both were blank. Mei Qingyang didn''t know whether he was crying or not. But he was so close to her legs and it was an awkward position too.

    And of course, at this moment, rain had to start pouring in. She did not know what to do anymore or how Feng Yue was at that moment. She was too afraid to look at him directly. But still, she knelt down and patted his back. She wanted the guy to let all his sorrow out. He probably had never shed even a single tear for the person he had lost.

    Suddenly, he started crying very hard. He looked up to her with red eyes. Even in the heavy rain, she could feel his hot tears falling down her arm. But, she definitely did not feel anything for him. She just wanted to be there for him as a fellow human being. There was nothing more to it. Here heart had turned icy cold long time back. This fellow definitely did not faze her at all.

    However, not expressing the pain would be agonizing to any human being. The extreme emotions always needed to be purged from one''s system to behave normally, otherwise those feelings would render the person emotionally unstable. Mei Qingyang hoped, that with this, Feng Yue would finally get to make a new start.

    -----------------------------------------

    "Do you see them sister Fan? They look so intimate. He even knelt before her. Is he proposing?" In the darkness of the staircase, behind the entrance to the rooftop, Gu Layue was fanning flames of jealousy in Fan Ruyi.

    Gu Layue had finally found the information she was missing. She had closed herself in her room for the whole weekend and devoured through all the information from all the sources she could get her hands on. Her assistant and her spent two nights without sleeping on finding any clue regarding this group of people, especially Mei Qingyang. They bribed, flogged and killed, just to learn more about the group''s dynamics.

    Luck was on her side this time, someone had heard Fan Ruyi mention to Su Lang that she was not interested in Yu Tian. From there, she went on to watch their recordings and pictures, getting subtle hints from her movements and behavior. She even hired a few great behavioral experts of the country and consulted them for more hints. They all came to the conclusion that she was indeed attracted to Feng Yue.

    *Damn this girl, she hid so well the fact that she was not into Yu Tian. Was she just helping him all these years?* If Gu Layue had known earlier that she had no rival in real life, she would have approached Yu Tian in a different way and perhaps more aggressively. Still, that eliminated the strongest opponent she thought she had. Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was just a bug, easy to stomp under her feet.

    They were far enough that they could not hear anything. And the rain had started, so their visibility also decreased. All they saw was him holding her hands, then kneeling down and Mei Qingyang hugging him.

    Mei Qingyang had a bad feeling about this since the beginning. But she had no choice but to face this all head on. Unfortunately, she had too many powerful enemies if she had powerful friends too.

    Fan Ruyi felt heartbroken. Qing Qing had definitely told her that she was not interested in Feng Yue and even had noticed her liking for him. Why would she do this now?

    Reason dictated that she should go and ask her friend directly what all this was about. But emotions took over and she left the place in fury. That girl, who had nothing, who took all the help from her, who used her, could not even keep a promise?

    She was having this internal debate with small mind figures around her. One side said that there was more to the situation and she should clarify it from Mei Qingyang. Other side told her that Mei Qingyang was the one who had called Feng Yue on the rooftop, so she was the one who had schemes against her love.

    She immediately messaged Yu Rong that Fan Ruyi had gotten upset with Mei Qingyang for some reason and it was good to strike while iron was hot. Yu Rong got incredibly pleased reading the message. She had been waiting for such a chance since long. This Gu girl finally came in handy. With Yu Tian not here and out of touch, she could totally take whatever actions she wanted. It was time to reveal a few trump cards.

 Chapter 73 - Captured By Yu Rong

    Yu Tian was on his way to the campus in his car when Yu Bufan''s phone rang.

    "Young Master, Mei Qingyang has been captured by Yu Rong and taken to the school prison.", he told him slowly in a very patient way. He had seen his master grow fond of this girl over past three months. His master had never been interested in any girl, but he didn''t know what he saw in this commoner.

    Yu Bufan had come from a poorer background than Mei Qingyang, so he knew exactly how the high society worked after working with Yu family for so many years. His master was the only one who was kind in his own sense. He would not bother with other''s matters and just be in his own world. This guy had so many obstacles in his life, including his own family, his status and his disease, yet he always ended up thinking about others in his own way.

    He had joined Yu Tian when he was going abroad, so he had no idea about Yu Tian''s childhood. But he had served him for enough years to know that his own life was in good hands and he won''t be used as just a slave like Yu Rong did. Now he wanted to cheer on for his master since he had finally found someone he genuinely cared about.

    Yu Bufan had put informants all over the campus to know the whereabouts of the girl, without Yu Tian knowing. They would alert him as soon as something happened to the girl. They also reported to him what she did for the whole day. For the past few days, some interesting information was coming along. But he had not foreseen something like this happening.

    Yu Tian was looking outside the car the whole time, uninterested in anything going on in the car. As soon as Yu Bufan broke the news to him, his ears perked up. He was concerned but did not show it to his face. He knew Yu Bufan was perceptive enough to understand even the slightest change in him but he was not very trusting of the driver driving the car.

    He would have loved for Bufan and him to be the only people in the car. But since everything was being provided by Yu Rong, he was not even sure if the car itself was compromised. So, he would not talk much anyway.

    "Why?", Yu Tian asked in his usual cold tone. Without shifting his pose, he looked into the rear view mirror and found the driver staring at him.

    Yu Bufan immediately sensed the alarm in his master''s voice. He knew his master meant to ask, ''She was okay for the past two weeks, what happened suddenly?'' He wanted to narrate everything to him but he understood Yu Tian''s concerns. He had to make the story look like they did not know anything about all the past incidents.

    "It seems like that servant girl that day had not died. Mei Qingyang had hidden her somewhere, now she has been found. Apparently, she was the one who had murdered the guy in the hospital. Now Mei Qingyang has been captured for housing a murderer and not being able to fulfill her duties. The servant girl was executed before her on the spot.", Yu Bufan explained calmly.

    Yu Tian''s heart started beating fast. If Yu Rong could execute that servant girl, Mei Qingyang could be next. She would torture her for sure. There were no grounds for her to kill Mei Qingyang for now. She had Bai Yuchen as her witness for hospital incident. If Yu Rong ever decided to use camera feed, then she would also need to use the feed for the guy''s murder.

    That servant girl might have actually killed that guy earlier but Gu Layue was involved in it. Once her mouth opened, Yu Rong would not be able to save herself. So, if he analyzed calmly, Mei Qingyang''s life was not in danger, for now. But this was definitely an excuse for her to torture that girl. There was no denying that Yu Rong was a mad woman.

    But how did the whole thing came out in light anyway? Not everyone knew the involvement of that girl in the actual murder. He had heard Mei Qingyang mentioning something like this to the corpse of the guy, so he had investigated. But other than him, who else could know about it? Unless, that girl herself revealed it to someone. Or, it was the owners of the hospital. Should he suspect Fan family or Fan Ruyi?

    But again, Fan family had no idea how that servant girl was related to them. Did¡­ Fan Ruyi really betray them? He had to go and ask her. This was not like her. Plus, had she not declared Mei Qingyang as her dear friend. She had also made it her mission to make her call his sister. Where did things go wrong?

    No, he had no time to think about Fan Ruyi. He needed to meet Mei Qingyang and ask her about the whole situation. Would that girl be able to endure the ways of Yu Rong? Last time, when she heard about the girl being killed, she had wrecked such a havoc. What would have been her reaction now? His heart ached for Mei Qingyang, would she have any support in there?

    Should he call his aunt to go easy on her? But would that not infuriate her more?

    There were so many thoughts circling around in his mind that he felt like his head would explode. Yet, to keep up his appearance, he was still looking outside without any emotion on his face. This life was so tiring to live, he could not even talk to the girl he liked to comfort her at this point.

 Chapter 74 - A Great Show Was About To Begin

    "Qingyang, Qingyang, wake up."

    Mei Qingyang was in a groggy state in this weird prison kind of building. Why would they make such a place in a sacred place like a school to begin with? Did they have to go so far to emulate the real society?

    Yesterday, she was reading in the library as usual when she heard commotion outside. The old librarian was arguing with Yu Rong over something who had brought a bunch of people in black suits with her. A lot of students had crowded the place because of that. Mei Qingyang also went out to check if the old man was alright. She was afraid her secret method of communicating with her dad had been discovered by Yu Rong.

    But then she spotted the servant girl beside them. She was heavily injured already and was being supported by two guys on either side. The girl had probably fainted with all the torture, her body was lump right now.

    *Oh, so it is time after all. Fan Ruyi finally betrayed me.*

    Mei Qingyang laughed at her situation. She was alone from the beginning, all these rich kids only thought about themselves. Not once that girl came to ask her what happened between her and Feng Yue, she just declared a war on her.

    However this time, Mei Qingyang did not feel much for the servant girl. She had brought this upon herself. This was a fate Qingyang had already predicted for her. When people act outside of their might, they end up dead.

    Yu Rong spotted her staring straight at her. She smirked at how much shocked Mei Qingyang looked. Finally she had got this girl. She shoved the angry old man aside and reached Mei Qingyang in big strides.

    "You were being all invincible because you had back ups from three big families, right? Look what your friend did.", she pointed to the servant girl and laughed loudly. She was proud on her victory.

    "And? Who might that be?", Mei Qingyang feigned ignorance. She really felt nothing for the girl and had relayed the same to her when she was leaving the hospital. The people who acted on their own and interfered with her plans, she did not need them.

    "Hey, hey. You can''t discard her now that you are in danger. That''s foul play. Not like it matters, we have plenty of evidence to link you two.", Yu Rong grinned again.

    "Boys, take her away. It''s time for me to know answers to many many questions.", Yu Rong turned around and ordered her men. She was as excited as a five year old kid who had just been given a candy. She was so jolly that it made Mei Qingyang''s mood worsen.

    "Lass, what will they do to you?", the old librarian hurriedly stood up and came forward to protect the girl. He particularly liked this girl who would visit the library often and keep him company. He treated her as his own granddaughter. With his years of experience, he knew this girl was ambitious as well as righteous. She would never use wrong means to achieve her goal. This Yu Rong was using her demonic means once again.

    The guys has started to move and Mei Qingyang was just standing there. She knew it was an unavoidable situation and she had to go through this ordeal as well.

    She smiled assuringly towards the librarian who was frownining so much that he must have developed almost as many wrinkles as he had acc.u.mulated all these years. Mei Qingyang was slightly touched by his concern but she knew the old man was as helpless as her. "Uncle, don''t worry. I will be back soon." She then voluntarily let the guys take her away.

    Yu Rong heard her words and scoffed. She went near Mei Qingyang and whispered in her ears, "I have got you b*tch, this is your end."

    ----------------------------------------

    Yu Rong started with cuffing Mei Qingyang to chains hanging from the roof. She then used her favorite whip but did not hit the girl directly at first.

    "You should actually be honored, you are the first girl to become victim of this tool of mine.", as a usual habit she licked her whip slowly in a perverse way. She was sitting on a luxurious chair and looking at her watch again and again, as if waiting for someone.

    In the meantime, she hit the floor very close to Mei Qingyang, just trying to make the girl shudder in fear. Unfortunately, her wishes did not come true. That b*itch was just staring at her with blank expression. Was the girl so scared out of wits that she forgot to even lower her gaze? Not being able to take her green marble eyes yet again, she whispered something in Wang Hao''s ears who was standing on her side, smiling victoriously to himself as well. A great show was about to begin.

 Chapter 75 - Stripping Clothes And Dignity

    Wang Hao, on Yu Rong''s instruction, walked towards Mei Qingyang. He licked his lips lecherously like he had been waiting for this chance. He would finally get to taste her tender skin. He could not show too much elation because then Yu Rong would get mad. He could not really hurt his mistress.

    But then, this young maiden was definitely better than that old hag of his mistress. Ah! How long had it been since he had stripped n.a.k.e.d a young girl with his own hands? He had been eyeing Mei Qingyang because he had found her to be a natural beauty since the beginning. She did not put on any make-up or chemical products on her skin. She did not seem to have undergone any plastic surgeries either, unlike those pretentious wealthy brats who would regularly go for botox sessions and laced their faces with heavy foundation.

    When would he find the opportunity to unravel such pure and innocent girl of good breeding?

    His hands trembled with excitement as he slowly moved forward his hand towards her neck. He had been looking forward to seeing her fearful expression too. Like master, like servant. Unfortunately, the girl did not even flinch as he slowly started unbuttoning her shirt.

    What the hell? Was she not afraid of losing her dignity and embarrassing herself? Why was her expression so listless? Or had she really lost it now that she couldn''t escape their clutches?

    Meanwhile, Mei Qingyang opened her eyes and found herself in a dark place without any shackles. Weren''t Yu Rong and Wang Hao there in the room? Before she had lost her consciousness, she was still in the prison, she could see the bars, the chair Yu Rong was sitting on and the tight clothes she had changed into especially after coming here. Why was it pitch black all around suddenly, with no one in sight?

    It was as if she was seeing inside her own self. As if she would walk into the room full off her locked memories as soon as she took a step ahead. However, she was fearful. This feeling, whatever that was happening with her outside, these were far too familiar than she would have liked to admit.

    Why? Wasn''t she supposed to be Li Sibao? Did Li Sibao not belong to a wealthy family? Then, why did it feel like she had gone through all this before? She closed her eyes once again and took a deep breath. In the darkness, she decided to walk and check where she would end up. It would be great if she could recover part of her memories here.

    In front of her, appeared a few reels like she was watching a movie of her past life. She still could not make any heads or tails of what she was seeing, but she saw an unfamiliar girl, most probably Li Sibao and all four of her so-called friends as well. But most of her memories were with Feng Yue.

    "Xiao Xi, please eat this. These are your favorite melons."

    "Go away, you don''t even know I don''t like musk melons, I only eat sun melons."

    "But¡­ I saw you enjoying those yesterday."

    "From today onwards, I hate them."

    "Xiao Xi, listen to this, I got selected for school choir. I am the youngest one to be selected."

    "So what? Do you know how to play piano? Can you compare to my family?"

    "Xiao Xi!"

    "Xiao Xi!"

    "Xiao Xi, please don''t go abroad. My dad''s business is failing. Only you can help me out."

    "Sibao, I do not have any choice. I need to go."

    "But, at least talk to your dad for me, please?"

    "Okay, I will try."

    "Thank you so much."

    "Sorry Sibao, I could not do much, but I will keep trying to talk to my dad about your matter."

    "How does it matter? My dad got into cardiac arrest yesterday. I don''t even know if he can be saved. If you hated me so much Feng Yue, then you could have annulled our engagement earlier. At least my father''s business could have been saved."

    "It''s¡­ it''s not like that Sibao. Trust me, I will ask my dad again."

    "Feng Yue, if there is next life for me, I would never ever want to come in contact with you. Because I have loved you so much, I can''t come to hate you. But I don''t think I will ever have any feelings for a person like you whatsoever."

    A cry. In the end, she only heard sobs and cries in distance. So, it was like what she had speculated earlier. Feng Yue had gone abroad without any concern for her. He had known what kind of difficulties she was going through. Poor girl! Feng Yue had treated her so badly, yet he had come back now citing her to be his first love. What a joke!

    No wonder she especially did not feel any warmth for him. She still did not remember how she had gotten green eyes. It was not like she was a transmigrated soul from another world. Why did all these memories feel foreign to her though? Something was amiss here.

    With newfound knowledge, her internal persona opened her eyes. She felt cold, so when she checked, she realized she had been stripped off her clothes. She could feel l.u.s.t in the eyes and actions of Wang Hao, who was in the process of removing her pants. She could also see the bulge at a certain place in his own pants.

    *Damn this guy.*

    Yu Rong was very pleased with the sight. She thought if Yu Tian knew that this girl hid such hideous body behind her clothes, he would instantly leave her. She jumped up from her seat and walked towards Mei Qingyang.

    Mei Qingyang still had her bra and u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r on. She guessed they had lost interest after seeing her burn marks. Yes, they did cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts and bikini line. Yu Rong checked her body from all angles, touching her scars at every point. When she was satisfied with her inspection, she laughed loudly.

    "You were trying to seduce my nephew with this disgusting body. I wonder what he will say once he sees you.", she held the chin of the girl and smiled smugly.

    "Oh, so is this what you are into? Is this how you treat your nephew too?", Mei Qingyang smiled back and spoke as calmly as possible.

    "How dare you talk to me like that, you wench? Fine. I was not going to do this, but I will especially let Yu Tian see you in worse state than this. I wonder how new bloody cuts would look like on these already faded ugly scars."

 Chapter 76 - Torture

    "Pfft.", Mei Qingyang could not help but laugh at the woman''s overconfidence. A small blood line formed around her lip. Yu Rong''s slap had cut her lips at the corner.

    "I am surprised you think so highly of me. You think a high and mighty guy like your nephew would actually be interested in a girl like me?", she snorted. Interest or not, she

    "Oh? I had no idea you suffered from such lack of confidence.", Yu Rong bit back. How dared she? First this vixen seduced her nephew, now she claimed to be an innocent lamb? Incensed, Yu Rong hit Mei Qingyang''s arm with her whip. The whip left a bloody scar on her wheat toned tender skin. This helped mollify Yu Rong''s anger a bit. Seeing the blood, she was suddenly filled with a sense of glee and an urge to hit her more, her eyes curved up in smile. She took a step back and then hit Mei Qingyang''s body a couple of times.

    Unfortunately for her, Mei Qingyang didn''t even flinch with pain, let alone cry. Yu Rong checked her whip to see if it was a fake. Her whip was made with hardest of leather and every hit would leave a deep scar. Did this girl not feel pain or what?

    Since the wench wanted to pretend to be strong, Yu Rong would love to break the girl. She got into the rhythm and hit Mei Qingyang another 20 times. Losing quite a bit of blood, the girl fainted but did not utter even a small scream. Yu Rong whispered something in Wang Hao''s ears again.

    "Splash!!!" Next thing Mei Qingyang knew, her wounds were stinging yanking her out of unconsciousness. It felt like thousands of bugs were crawling her skin, not to mention that this place was cold already. Wang Hao had just put a bucket of ice-cold salt water over her. Internally, she really wanted to scream her lungs out. Her wounds hurt so much, she was almost about to cry. But then, if she gave in here, Yu Rong would never let her rise again. Her only solution was to just endure this ordeal and not give Yu Rong her sense of satisfaction that she was looking for.

    Surely, soon enough, Yu Rong got bored because of lack of reaction from this tough girl. Nonetheless, Yu Rong had enough time on her hands. Yu Tian and his friends were this girl''s only hope and she would break that too. Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue were already out. She had heard everything from Gu Layue as well as Wang Hao about Feng Yue''s confessions and how she rejected him but Fan Ruyi still misunderstood. Emotions ah! Such a useless thing!!

    Once the other two would see her condition, no way they would be interested in her. Everyone liked beautiful things, and although this girl did not compare to the school beauties, there was no doubt that her confidence did attract a lot of people.

    Anyway, she was basically done for now that she had lost her two allies. Two more were on the way to abandon her. Thinking till here, Yu Rong smiled smugly at her intelligence.

    "Leave her like this, let Yu Tian and group see her. Let me see how they bear such a disgusting thing then.", Yu Rong harrumphed and strutted on her heels as usual. Wang Hao, on the other hand didn''t want to leave the place. He looked at the pale skin once again, before he followed Yu Rong out.

    Mei Qingyang was suddenly left alone with burning pain on her fresh wounds. The dead silence wasn''t helping. A lone tear rolled out of her eyes. She had still not recovered from the execution of that girl. Sure, she did not want to do anything with her. But Yu Rong directly put a bullet through that servant girl''s head without any qualms. She could not take out the image from her head, the horror filled face of that girl, the fear of losing the life, they were all too familiar to her.

    She wanted to know what was eating her from inside, this fear, this feeling, she really wanted to know the reason behind it. But those memories that were locked away were not coming back to her. Despair shrouded her once again. Hope this news reached her dad soon. She had cleverly taught her information transmission method to the old librarian. He was one of her dad''s men. She knew she would need to share her method with someone from the school anyway. Good that she did not choose the group of four for this.

    Right now, she was not sure if what Yu Rong had in mind would come to fruition or not. What if the two guys really thought her of as disgusting and refused to help her out? But did she not want to not depend on them to begin with? Why was she longing for their help now, especially Yu Tian? Since when did she become this dependent on those two guys?

    Mei Qingyang shivered from the cold and gritted her teeth for she needed to make her next plan now. But first, she needed some sleep. Her body was already numb from her blood being pulled downwards. They had left her arms hanging in the air, bound by chains. She could not feel her body anymore, was it really okay to go to sleep? Would she be able to wake up once she finally close her eyes? Pondering about her life, she drifted to sleep finally.

 Chapter 77 - Monologue

    "Qingyang, Mei Qingyang. How are you feeling my buddy?"

    Mei Qingyang woke up to a voice she thought was very familiar yet very distant. She opened her eyes and found her in white loose clothes. Had she died already? Was she in heaven right now?

    "Who''s there? Show yourself!" She looked around only to see darkness around. She was the only one illuminated in pitch darkness for some reason. Was she hallucinating?

    "Hahaha, you can think of this as hallucination. Or you can think of this as your conscience. I am your half that is deep buried inside you. How about calling me Li Sibao?", the voice echoed again.

    "How do I even believe you? Won''t you show yourself?", she tried looking around but did not see anyone. She was definitely either dead or dreaming right now.

    "I am you and you are me. So¡­", a figure appeared before her, wearing a very pretty white dress and almost same face as hers. The only difference was the color of their eyes. Mei Qingyang''s eyes were green colored while this girl who claimed to be Li Sibao had pitch black eyes. And the age! This Li Sibao figure was a kid. She was floating in the air.

    *I must really be dreaming. Or I just might have gone crazy with all the pain.*

    "Alright, if you are Li Sibao, give me my memories. I want to know why I am in so much pain.", she extended her hand towards the child.

    "Sorry, you are not ready for it. I am here to ease your pain a bit. And to tell you that you cannot die, not yet. You have to help this other half of yours before you even think of giving up your life, do you understand?", the kid said in a rebuking tone to her.

    "Showing your temper eh?", Mei Qingyang scoffed. Then she put in some thought, if this was her then she was basically her inner child. She could definitely get some information here.

    "Hehehe, making plans? Alright, ask questions, I''ll answer as long as I do not need to tell you whole story.", the kid shrugged.

    "Why are your eyes black and my green if we are the same person???, Mei Qingyang asked curiously.

    "Oh that. Well, your green eyes are actually not yours. Given the scars on your body, did you think your eyes and face would have been intact? Did you not notice that my face looks slightly different from yours?", the kid replied with a serious face.

    Mei Qingyang touched her cheek just under her eyes. These eyes were not hers? Who did they belong to then? And this girl was correct, the basic features were definitely the same but there were still some differences in their faces. She had thought it was because of age difference but on closer look, not really.

    "So many questions in mind huh? Well, I do understand. Just know, everything will be alright. Also know that Yu Rong might not be your last enemy, they may be much closer than you think. Call me when you have thought this out clearly, okay?", the kid came forward to hug Mei Qingyang.

    "I am always there with you, if no one else.", she whispered in her ears and then disappeared. A white snow flakey powder floated around Qingyang for a while, giving her a magical experience. The hug was so warm. She closed her eyes for till the warmth lasted. She felt like she was experiencing it in real world.

    "Mei Qingyang open your eyes, please!!", she heard another voice. Now, this was a male voice and was coming from outside. She tried listening to the source but there was still darkness around her.

    *Damnit, I forgot to ask how to get out of here!*

    She walked forward in the darkness in hopes of finding a way out.

    "Gosh, you can''t do anything without me, can you?", she heard the kid''s voice again after what felt like eternity.

    "Come on, tell me how to get out from here.", Mei Qingyang w.h.i.n.ed. She was getting tired of the games this spirit was playing. If she was actually dead, could she not just tell her that?

    "Hey, I just told you, you can''t die yet. Why do you keep thinking that you are dead? Just concentrate on the voice and you will find the way.", the kid was a bit irritated by this girl''s thought process. Wasn''t she supposed to be all smart protagonist? What was she thinking?

    Mei Qingyang focused on the voice as directed. The guy was calling out to her again and again. There was aggrievance in his voice, like he would break down if she did not wake up. Was it her dad? Had he really found her and come here to save her? She could only think of him being so agitated over her current circ.u.mstances. She also felt very warm touch on her body. Her shivers were getting better and her limbs were getting sensation as well.

    Finally, after walking for another long eternity towards the voice, she saw the light. With a new vigor, she ran towards the light, another hope rising in her heart.

    "Remember what I told you! Don''t die under any condition!!", the kid''s voioce echoed as she umed towards the light.

    She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelids were so heavy that it took much effort for her to slightly open them. It took her a few seconds to come to focus and finally a handsome face appeared in front of her. With her positioning, it seemed like she was in this person''s embrace.

    "Qing Qing?", the voice called out softly.

    "Se¡­ senior Yu? What are you doing here?", she was shocked to find him here. Did Yu Rong really mean it when she would let him see her with her clothes not on, so that he could see her ugly scars fully? Also, what did he call her? Qing Qing? When did they have so much affection between them?

    "I¡­ Why did you have to suffer so much?", he brushed the back of his hand against her cheek with pain in his eyes apparent.

    "Senior Yu, I am asking why are you here? If Yu Rong knows¡­ ", she feared for him, she feared Yu Rong would punish him again. Now she had seen her methods firsthand, she knew Yu Tian was suffering since forever.

    "Shhh¡­ that person is not important right now. I cannot take you out right now but I will make sure you are out by tomorrow.", he put his finger on her lips, sending a tantalizing feeling across her body. She could only nod. She had thought it was her dad but why did this guy show so much affection towards her? Did he really like her as he had stated before her brother Hanyu?

    "I am afraid, she will do something to you.", Mei Qingyang voiced her concern with tears in her eyes. She could not take it anymore, he was suffering again and again because of her. Yu Tian got stunned at her statement, his eyes widened. What did she mean by that?

    "I am her nephew, what could she do to me?", he laughed lightly, but pain spread across his whole face and his body tensed. Mei Qingyang had not paid attention to their position till now but when she sensed the change in the strong arms that were holding her, she realized that he had gotten her released from the chains as well. No wonder she was feeling the blood flowing in her body again.

    "Qing Qing", she heard a another male and a female voice behind them.

 Chapter 78 - Fan Ruyis Apology

    "Qing Qing, how are you? I am so sorry I was not here when everything happened.", she saw Su Lang rushing towards her.

    *Oh, so they both came for her?*

    Tears started flowing from her eyes at this point. She felt so relieved to see the two people she had wished would come help her. The guys panicked seeing her in this state. Yu Tian hugged Mei Qingyang, glaring at Su Lang for making her cry. Su Lang did not give a f*ck about Yu Tian right now, he was just worried for his little sister.

    Somewhere along the way, he had really started treating her as his little sister. If only she would act like one. Nonetheless, he wanted to spoil her to the core. But just because neither he nor Yu Tian were present today, that witch decided to strike. How dared she harm one of his people? His blood boiled with rage on thinking that.

    "I¡­ I am sorry, it seems like all I do is cry in front of you guys.", Mei Qingyang tried lifting her hand to wipe her tears but in vain. Every part of her body was in cutting pain. She then tried to see where she was and analyze her situation. They were still in the same cell, it seemed to be nighttime outside. There was a full bright moon in the sky, visible from a very small window in the room and casting a patch of light on the floor. There were no other lights around.

    Yu Tian had covered her with a thick coat. No wonder she was not feeling cold anymore. So, he had seen everything. She felt another heartache. At least they were not abandoning her just because of her ugly body. She realized she was basically lying in Yu Tian''s arms. He was supporting her head on one arm while his other hand was holding her tightly. He was kneeling down on the cold dirty floor with her in his arms

    Su Lang came forward and wiped her tears for her delicately, as if, if he used more force, it would leave a scar on her face.

    "You can always show us your vulnerable side Qing Qing. When I promised your dad to take care of you, it was just not mere words, I meant it. I am so sorry you had to go through this.", Su Lang stroked her hair lovingly, also voicing Yu Tian''s thoughts. He nodded in agreement.

    "Qing¡­ Qing. Finally she saw the female in the dark. Fan Ruyi was standing behind them, nervous and hesitant. She knew she did wrong but her rage and jealousy did end up making a disaster for this poor girl.

    "Senior Fan.", Mei Qingyang said coldly as if she wanted to put daggers in this traitor''s heart just with her voice. The coldness in her voice sent chills even through Su Lang''s and Yu Tian''s spines. Mei Qingyang found a new strength in her body. She would never ever be a weak girl in front of this person.

    "Qing Qing, I am so sorry, it was all my fault, I could not protect you.", Fan Ruyi knelt in front of her shedding tears as she apologized.

    "Yes, you probably had no idea this would happen, did you?", Mei Qingyang sat up straight, tugging the coat tightly towards her body and sitting in a comfortable position. Yu Tian supported her back from behind, never leaving his hand from her back. Mei Qingyang felt reassured by this. Fan Ruyi could not meet this girl''s eyes, her whole body was full of guilt.

    But after the incident, she had gone to see Feng Yue. He had refused to meet her, or anyone as a matter of fact, at first. But when she told him what had happened to Mei Qingyang, he had come out immediately to answer her questions. He clarified that she had rejected him but he could not even go to see or save her because he had lost the right. Feng Yue''s assistant thanked her profusely as he had locked himself since that day in his room, refusing to come out and even eat properly. So, he still carried the torch for her after brutal rejection.

    Of course hearing the truth, she realized what a blunder she committed. She went against her only female friend, even knowing her innocence in her heart. She was enraged to begin with and that Gu Layue fanned the flames of envy in her heart making her lose her rationality. Now that she saw what this girl turned into just because of her, she just wanted to drown herself somewhere.

    Mei Qingyang stared at Fan Ruyi''s pitiful state. But this time the girl had gone too far. There was no guarantee that this won''t repeat if emotions took over her again. It was going to take quite some time for Feng Yue to recover. If people kept taking advantage of Fan Ruyi like this, it would be better to cut her ties with her. She felt mean at that point since she had used Fan Ruyi''s help many times before. But with all the wounds she received today, she felt they had become even. She had paid the price of trusting this girl and taking help from Fan Ruyi with her body.

    "It''s okay senior Fan, I understand. You were made to choose between two things no? I am glad you turned out to be loyal to your friends rather than me. If you had chosen me, I probably would have looked down upon you.", Mei Qingyang continued in her heart wrenchingly chilling voice.

    "How¡­ how did you know that?", Fan Ruyi looked at the pale girl in surprise. This was the first time Mei Qingyang got to take a look at her face. The girl''s face was tear stained. She must have cried while heading here as well.

    "Because that assistant of yours there, my brother Z, would not have let you do anything wrong if it was not the case.", she smiled while pointing at the back, outside the jail bars.

 Chapter 79 - Hacker Zs Identity

    "What!", everyone present exclaimed. Fan Ruyi''s assistant was the hacker Z, number one hacker in the nations and one of the best hackers in the world.

    Having the spotlight on himself suddenly, when he had never really appeared before the crowd made the guy nervous.

    "How do you know that?", asked Fan Ruyi in astonishment. This girl was sharper than she thought, she even deduced her assistant''s identity?

    He was a guy she had picked up from an internet caf¨¦. She had fled her home one day when she was a teenager to try gaming when she was trying to be rebellious. The guy had taken pity on her terrible gaming skills and taught her many hacks to win those. She had later realized the guy was a genius and after consultation from her coder classmates, she had come to know that the tricks the guy had taught her could only be known if the guy had studied the game code in depth.

    She had gotten a background check done on him only to find that he was another orphan. She took him under her wing, supplying him with everything he needed to grow. The genius in him evolved into hacker Z. He had helped her and her hospital multiple times with his skills. She had also made sure to give him enough freedom and never interfered in the assignments he took on his own. But he was a shy personality and making him her assistant was a huge risk for her.

    Fan Ruyi remained adamant on her choice and ultimately the guy became her assistant. He often talked about this girl he had been helping and teaching advanced hacking techniques. He was the happiest when he talked about her, so Fan Ruyi had decided to support him in his pursuit. Who would have thought that her assistant would suddenly receive a message from that girl while Fan Ruyi was on her internship assignment that she had joined this school and was on a mission she could not talk about?

    Fan Ruyi was looking for an excuse to come back to Feng Yue anyway, so she decided to help her assistant out. Thus, they came back to this school. Now that she thought about it, this girl was the reason she could come back to the school. And she was the only one who could solve the knot in Feng Yue''s heart. Why did she do what she did? Now she was regretting her decision even more.

    "It does not matter how I know that. I am thankful to him for saving my a*s so many times, even on the day when you guys brought me to the hideout. I know he made sure my camera tricks work perfectly.", she nodded towards her assistant in gratitude. Her parched, almost purple lips formed a slight smile, however her eyes remained aloof. The guy was delighted that his pupil and friend recognized him and acknowledged him, that was enough.

    "What are you guys talking about? What camera tricks?", asked a curious Su Lang. But he also realized that this was not the time to solve mysteries. He could always ask about hacker Z from Fan Ruyi or the guy himself. What was more current was to treat Mei Qingyang''s wounds and plan on how to take her out.

    "Yu Bufan, bring the first aid kit.", Yu Tian had gone to his usual cold and aloof self now. He would only show his loving side to this girl. This girl, who was a ray of sunshine in his dark heart. How could he let something like this happen to her?

    He glared at Fan Ruyi like he wanted to kill her. He knew she was behind his beloved''s suffering but he had no idea that Yu Rong would go to this extent.

    To support her, he was holding one of her arms. Now, he gripped her more tightly on the thought of Yu Rong using her whip on this girl. Mei Qingyang gave him a puzzling look when she saw him frowning.

    "Senior Yu, listen to me. I am glad you came here, but you know the best that if you take this step, Yu Rong would not only hurt me more, she will also take some step against you. So please leave me alone. You and cousin should leave now that you have met me. I am fine.", Mei Qingyang shuddered at the thought of the fate Yu Tian was going to suffer. This result was against Yu Rong''s expectations, they did not run away in disgust. And this would make her mad.

    "Yu Tian is Yu Tian but I don''t care. Let''s just say I helped you out.", Su Lang held Mei Qingyang''s hand in his and patted it gently.

    "But cousin¡­", Mei Qingyang wanted to protest.

    "No, it is decided. We won''t let her do anything more. We will rescue you by tomorrow morning. I will stay with you here tonight lest that witch comes here in the middle of night to do something to you.", Su Lang said with a resolve in his eyes.

    Mei Qingyang''s heart was touched. She felt so warm inside and hot tears were once again on the verge of falling. But she held herself back. She also needed to make at least Yu Tian leave from here.

    "Alright, I will accept your offer cousin, I just hope you would be able to endure the harsh conditions. It''s quite chilly in here.", she said cheekily.

    "Hey, I can always borrow your blanket, you know?", Su Lang replied chuckling.

    Yu Tian once again scowled at him. "I will take your own clothes away if you spout nonsense.", he said in a cold tone.

    Su Lan covered his body with his hands, "How cruel!"

    Mei Qingyang chuckled lightly and everyone''s mind felt at ease after seeing her mood becoming better. Yu Tian personally treated her wounds after much convincing. He did not allow Su Lang to see any part of it. Mei Qingyang was quite shy about it but the guys had already seen her, there was nothing she could do.

    Although Fan Ruyi was also present at the scene she was treated as air by all three people. She stood in the corner whole time, watching the procession and accepting her fate of having alienated herself from her own friends. She clenched her hands, what''s done was done.

 Chapter 80 - Big Brother

    "Do you feel better now?", Yu Tian handed Mei Qingyang a glass of hot milk. Finally, she looked a bit better. He had very carefully tended to her cuts. His heart ached so much with each wound he applied medicine to. And with each injury, his d.e.s.i.r.e to crush his aunt increased.

    He had not said anything till now because he knew Mei Qingyang was more or less capable of handling her. He had to help her in between, but majority of work was done by her only. But this was his bottom line. Physical harm was something he had himself had enough. This girl did not need to go through all that.

    He clenched his hands and the aura around him became very stormy. Yu Bufan had never seen his master this angry in his life. How could this ordinary girl rule on his master''s emotions so much? When did they even interact this much that young master would give this much preference to this girl over his own aunt? Love was really blind, eh?

    Mei Qingyang nodded taking the mug from Yu Tian''s hand. She had been dazed by the treatment she was getting right now. Yu Tian was ordering Yu Bufan left and right to bring different things. He had by now, ordered him to bring first aid kit, meals, blanket to sit on the ground and had even asked him to clean the place. Su Lang was also frantically asking his assistant to bring air fresheners and hot packs etc. Right now, they had just let go of all the fear for Yu Rong and how this could affect Yu and Su elders'' relationship. Their friend was more important to them.

    They had urged Fan Ruyi to leave as the place was not really suitable for her. Of course it was just an excuse for the two guys feared that there would be resentment in Mei Qingyang''s heart against Fan Ruyi. Fan Ruyi had felt really hurt that her two friends took side of the new girl. What had she expected anyway, she was wrong in the first place? And yet, it was this very girl who had managed to see through her and her actual reason. Now she felt even more guilty. With tears in her eyes of half embarrassment and half disappointment, she left the place.

    "What did you mean when you said Fan Ruyi had to make a choice, cousin?", Su Lang had been very curious since before but he did not want to ask the question before Fan Ruyi to make things awkward for her. They both had only gotten a brief summary of whatever had happened, they still were not very clear of Fan Ruyi''s role in all this. At the end of the day, she was still their friend.

    "That is something only she can clarify.", Mei Qingyang could not reveal what she had deduced. She had only guessed that some kind of deal had happened between Yu Rong and Fan Ruyi. Otherwise, there was just no way she would give away that servant girl that easily. Of course, Fan Ruyi had a grudge against her because of Feng Yue. But apart from that, she probably had known since the beginning that the servant girl was the actual murderer.

    Fan Ruyi was the heir to the Fan family being the only child, whether her parents liked it or not. So, she had unrestricted access to all the records in her hospital, including CCTV videos. The videos would be the first thing Fan Ruyi would have watched. Even after knowing the truth, she had helped her and the servant girl. Unless there was something really big that could implicate either her family or her friends, she would not take this step.

    Mei Qingyang was expecting something else. Fan Ruyi would have either stopped talking to her, transferred the servant girl faraway, something along those lines, may be even bullied her on her own. But this was too huge a step even for Fan Ruyi. More than that, she had guilt in her eyes, not towards her but from her observation, it seemed like towards Yu Tian. Had Yu Rong decided to show her cards to Fan Ruyi to bring her to her camp?

    Something that Fan Ruyi could not refuse? What could it be?

    She was deep in thoughts about this while Su Lang and Yu Tian also had their own thoughts. They were cursing Fan Ruyi inside their hearts. How could she do it? The only person in their group who thought about others first even before herself, decided to ditch this poor girl for no fault of hers. That''s when it clicked to both of them. This was something she did not do for herself, their friend was not as selfish as they had thought. There was definitely more happening behind the scenes.

    "Investigate what happened with Fan Ruyi.", instructed Yu Tian to Yu Bufan. Yu Bufan nodded his head and left promptly.

    "Yu Tian, you should go and take some rest. You came here directly after your long journey. I will be here to protect my cousin.", Su Lang saw how haggard Yu Tian looked. He had journeyed for over 14 hours and after that he had come to visit him to discuss the situation. They both had headed to this cell in a frenzy afterwards.

    Seeing that everyone there wanted the same, Yu Tian did not insist to stay. He glanced at Mei Qingyang once again and left once he made sure everything was alright.

    Su Lang was in no mood to sleep. He sat down near Mei Qingyang on the floor where she had curled up in a ball in a sitting position.

    "Are you cold? Do you need more blankets?", Su Lang asked her with concern.

    "Cousin Su Lang, can you lend me your shoulder? I am just so exhausted." Right now was the time to rest and not think about anything for Mei Qingyang. She had been acting tough in front of Fan Ruyi and Yu Tian too. But she could rely on this older cousin of hers who her father had also acknowledged, right? She just wanted to go into deep sleep again, her body was imploring her to. But sleep was gone long ago. She had a lot of plans to make and a lot of checks to do.

    "Sure! Here, you can count on me whenever you need Qing Qing. You don''t need to be reserved about it.", Su Lang offered his shoulder to his cousin right away.

    "Thank you, big brother.", Mei Qingyang mumbled while placing her head comfortably on hard sculpted muscles of Su Lang, elating the guy to the core with the way she addressed him. She finally acknowledged him as her family!

 Chapter 81 - Her Online Identity

    "Ahem!", Su Lang lightly coughed bashfully on Mei Qingyang''s address. He adjusted his position so that Qingyang could be more comfortable.

    "Brother Lang, can you tell me more about senior Yu and senior Fan?", Mei Qingyang spoke to break the silence. None of them were really sleepy. Su Lang had asked his assistants to close the temporary lights they had brought in, so it was just that tiny sliver of moonlight coming from the small ventilation window in the wall.

    Su Lang was just staring blankly at the roof of the cell while Mei Qingyang had closed her eyes comfortably. Su Lang had also come from a journey earlier, albeit a more comfortable one than Yu Tian, and all the adrenaline rush had made him sleepless as well.

    "Curious?", Su Lang was startled to hear her question out of the blue.

    "Mmm¡­ Just tell me some stories from your childhood. I don''t think I can sleep right now, although my body is so exhausted, I would need help even to drink water.", Mei Qingyang, still with eyes closed, sighed. What had life come to, she was almost paralyzed because the blood in her body collected in her legs for being in same position for hours. She was still not getting sensation in half of her body.

    "I am sorry Qing Qing. I really wish I could take you out of here right now and get you medical treatment. But until my assistant negotiates with Yu Rong in the morning, I can only be here with you.", Su Lang patted her head of ruffled and smelly hair. Now he realized how much she must have gone through since the morning. This girl was always neat and proper, and now she was so shabby that it was hard to recognize her.

    "This is far more than enough brother. You don''t need to sweat the details, I am fine.", Mei Qingyang reassured Su Lang. She was really happy that they had showed up. This only had earned them her lifetime loyalty.

    "Okay, I will tell you stories but I have a few questions of mine as well. Will you answer them?", he glanced at her hair once again. He really wanted to wash it but decided to refrain from doing anything.

    Mei Qingyang sensed his discomfort and removed herself from his shoulder. She looked into her cousin''s eyes which were sparkling like a curious child. She couldn''t help but chuckle slightly.

    "Brother, what are you so interested in knowing about me that you are acting like a child?", she smiled.

    "Hehehe, how are you so s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to everyone''s emotions around? I am really dumbfounded.", Su Lang also laughed with her. Finally, their nerves eased a little bit.

    The Su guards outside the cell also heaved a sigh of relief after they heard their master talking normally. His mood had been bad ever since he had heard the news about Mei Qingyang and Fan Ruyi. They had similar thoughts about their master and Mei Qingyang as their master had about Yu Tian and Qingyang, when the hell did they get so close that he cared about her so much? She had not interacted much with them over the course of last four months. Nor had she extended any help to them, not like she could in the first place.

    "So, what was that about Hacker Z?", Su Lang continued before telling any anecdotes to Qingyang. He knew she had conceded to him for now and was ready to spill some information.

    "What do you mean?", Mei Qingyang asked. She still wanted to hold some information back and would reveal only enough information to answer his question.

    "I mean, I know not everyone would have thought about it, but you called him brother Z. That means you already know him and not a lot of people are able to reach him unless you yourself are a high-level hacker or coder. So, what''s the story hmm?", Su Lang analyzed his thoughts for her and asked a vague question on purpose to give her space. Mei Qingyang felt grateful in her heart. This guy was master speaker and had best diplomatic ways among the three.

    Feng Yue was quiet but too honest, Yu Tian was just quiet, his answer to anything was silence and coldness while this guy was the one who understood the people the best and knew how to answer them to appease everyone.

    "It just so happens that my online identity is MeiJin.", she stuck her tongue out cheekily.

    "You mean, the hacker who is ranked second in our country, that MeiJin? Who claims to have been mentored by Z himself? Are you kidding?", Su Lang''s eyes became so large with surprise that it seemed like they would pop out.

    "Hey, I never claimed that myself, I don''t know who leaked it out. We just had friendly matches. He did teach me a lot though.", Mei Qingyang shrugged her shoulders.

    "I see. No wonder you have been evading Yu Rong''s cameras. We tried accessing her footages when you were with us that night and saw you moving around in the videos. You were with us the whole time. Unless someone really did something to the videos or you had a twin haha. We really could not figure it out. Ruyi might have known but she never told us." After finishing his piece, Su Lang realized he had taken name of Fan Ruyi in front of Mei Qingyang and probably worsened her mood.

    "Hehe, were you surprised though?", Mei Qingyang did not pay attention to Fan Ruyi part. To be honest, she still had not really processed her betrayal because she still did not have enough information. She needed to bank on Yu Tian to get to know what the actual deal was. She could only guess at this point, and if her guess was right, then it was not Fan Ruyi''s fault.

    "Are you joking? You are such a firecracker, dear little sister.", Su Lang pinched her sinking cheeks. Poor girl seemed to have lost so much weight in just one day. But, this girl was nothing short of a miracle, she had so many skills and talents. What did she really go through to become like this? This would be known in the near future when she would retrieve all her memories and the guys would come to know the grueling training she went through afterwards with Jiang Nuo.

 Chapter 82 - Bold

    Finally, both Mei Qingyang and Su Lang went to sleep while talking till late into the night. They talked about generic stuff and how Su Lang had successfully started his businesses. Mei Qingyang was very happy to learn all the business stories and thus her heart relaxed even more. She had faith in both the guys that they would get her out of here.

    Indeed, in the morning, Yu Rong herself came to visit her and Su Lang. She had full entourage of people with her including a few of the professors, Gu Layue, a few school board members their classmates and a few other students who were just interested in the show. Fan Ruyi had also followed the crowd.

    "Aiyya, young master Su. If I had known I would find you here, I would have arranged something better for you. What will I do if tomorrow your father comes and tells me that I did not treat you well?", Yu Rong came with her usual tight seductive clothes. Today she was wearing black tight leather slacks and a purple qipao style shirt with golden phoenixes drawn on them. She was trying to make a power statement and intimidate Su Lang with his father''s name. Indirectly, she was indicating that she was going to complain about him to his father.

    Su Lang laughed at Yu Rong''s weak attempt. He had been awake since early morning, waiting for some news from his assistant who had gone to Yu Rong''s place since midnight yesterday. He had not returned any of his calls or anything, so he knew that Yu Rong had kind of made him wait the whole night to even listen to him while she perhaps was having fun with her assistant Wang Hao.

    Everyone, especially the upper circle, was aware of her l.e.w.d ways and how she abused people under him. If given a chance, she would not spare other people''s servants too. Handsome men were her weakness.

    "So, you mean to say that you did not get my assistant''s message last night, not did you listen to any of my messages? Are you disregarding Su family''s authority here?", Su Lang thundered at her. Yu Tian had also arrived at the place from behind.

    "Young master, please do not get angry. I honestly did not get any messages from you or your assistant.", Yu Rong continued her act sheepishly.

    "And? Why was my assistant at your place the whole time then? Did you assistant tell him that you would be out soon and never showed up?", Su Lang said angrily. He let go keeping up appearances with her. This lady was basically a wench who did not need any courtesy.

    "Calm down young master Su. Please don''t be so angry. I did not mean to disregard your assistant. I think my assistant thought the situation was not urgent enough since you just sent your assistant and did not come yourself.", she tried to drive a wedge in between Su Lang and Mei Qingyang with telling her that she was not important enough for him while reminding Su Lang that his assistant was not important enough for her to pay heed to him. On the other hand, if he really wanted Yu Rong to answer, he might as well have come himself.

    "Wang Hao.", Yu Rong called her assistant out loudly, seeing that Su Lang''s face was getting darker by the second. She was rather pleased with herself. Wang Hao appeared hurriedly as if ready to be scolded. These guys were putting on such an act like everyone around them was a fool and could not see through their tricks.

    "Yes mistress.", Wang Hao spoke obediently.

    "Why did you not inform me that Young Master Su''s assistant was at my office since midnight? If it was as important as Young Master Su sleeping here in the cold and dirty environment, you should have woken me up!", Yu Rong yelled at him. Wang Hao knew she was making him take the fall in front of everyone. He had gone to inform her promptly last night when he saw her experimenting with new handcuffs.

    He must have had the worst luck to have intruded upon her then. She pulled him into her hidden room in her office and rest, he did not remember. He woke up sore all over his body and with plenty bruises on his b.u.t.t.o.c.k.s and back. And now she was scolding him for something he did not do. How much more humiliation was he to suffer? He lowered his head and bit his lip. He knew his mistress would not do anything to him but this was not sitting right with him. How many times did he need to swallow his pride for this old woman?

    "I¡­ I am sorry master. I did not want to disturb your sleep. It won''t happen again.", Wang Hao bowed in front of Su Lang and apologized to Yu Rong out of habit.

    "It''s not me you should be apologizing. If young master Su gets sick because he had to spend his night at such a lowly place, would you be responsible?", Yu Rong wanted to take another jab at Su Lang. Yes, why did he need to accompany this girl at this rotten place? With her sentence, she also hinted that something was going on between Su Lang and Mei Qingyang.

    She glanced at Yu Tian to judge his reaction. He was standing at the side without any expression, cold as usual. Not seeing any change in Yu Tian, Yu Rong clenched her fists.

    When did this witch enamor her nephew so much that he would trust her like this? If he was so interested in her, why did he not have any hint of jealousy or disgust on his face. He didn''t even suspect them both although they basically spent the night together in a cramped place, totally unusual for always clean Su Lang? Was this not how she had separated that one girl from him?

    "Pfft¡­ Are you hinting at something Principal Yu?", everyone suddenly heard a chuckle from behind. A girl, with neat and tidy hair and slight vanilla fragrance emerged from behind Su Lang. Her body was still covered in the warm blanket Yu Tian had given her last night. Fortunately, Su Lang had brought in a few maids to help freshen up the girl at the jail itself.

    Su Lang obviously had enough connections to get the key to the cell and stay here. It was also part of Yu Rong''s plan who had wanted the two guys to feel disgusted on seeing Mei Qingyang''s original state. That was a whole different issue that the plan had backfired.

    Mei Qingyang had just been listening to the jabber between Su Lang and Yu Rong just now. She had been taking in all the hints. It was okay till she was blaming her own assistant but she could not see Yu Rong slandering her cousin.

    "I don''t think you have still told your followers behind what all you did yesterday. I wonder if they see it, would they be able to judge if you followed proper protocol or not?", Mei Qingyang reminded Yu Rong that she was standing in front of a lot of people she would not want to offend.

    Yu Rong smiled towards this na?ve girl. Her thin face full of make up bloomed with confidence. As usual, she had made sure that she had left the scars on her body that could not be shown to everyone. Sure there were few cuts here and there on her arms but that did not prove anything, unless she were to undress herself before everyone.

    No one would be that bold, would they? Yu Rong was laughing happily internally. This fool of a girl, would she have any dignity left if she were to show her body to everyone present? Most of them were males. She would never do anything like that.

    "What would you mean by that Ms. Mei? I don''t think I did anything out of norm. Ah, are you talking about those few cuts on your arm? I apologize for those. They just happened accidently.", Yu Rong said in a very polite apologetic way to win everyone''s hearts around.

    Who was not aware of Yu Rong''s drama? Everyone turned their blind eye because no one was bold enough to come forward and accuse her of anything. They all had their own idea of what this girl might have gone through yesterday. They were actually in awe that she had not died yet and was actually standing here and back talking to Yu Rong.

    "I think you are mistaken Principal Yu. What I am talking about is this.", Mei Qingyang removed her coat and was back to her wearing just her bra and u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r, earning gasps from everyone present.

 Chapter 83 - Baring Her Scars

    Everyone around gasped seeing Mei Qingyang removing her coat. Yu Tian hurriedly walked towards her and put on his own jacket over her body from behind, never letting her shoulders go. He stood behind her, still maintaining his wrapping arms around her.

    "What are you doing?", Yu Rong and Yu Tian both yelled at the same time but the questions were directed to different people.

    Yu Tian was so angry and frustrated right now. Why did Qingyang have to take such a step, even baring her past scars to these dirty people? It was not worth it at all. There were so many ways to get out of here, why take such an extreme measure?

    On the other hand, Yu Rong was furious over Yu Tian taking care of this b*tch in front of her. Being lovey dovey behind her back was one thing, but now he had gotten bold enough to display his affections right in front of her? Ridiculous! He needed more punishment then.

    Mei Qingyang looked at Yu Rong, her face had become red and she was constantly staring at Yu Tian like he was committing some crime. She shifted her gaze to look at Yu Tian. He also looked her in the eyes. The concern on his face for her was very apparent and it warmed her heart. He was ready to take beating from his aunt for her. Who would go to such lengths? Should she give in to her emotions, just this once?

    She shook her head once towards Yu Tian telling him that she was alright. She stepped forward and said to Yu Rong, "What? You thought I wouldn''t dare to b.a.r.e my body in front these old lechers?" She then addressed the audience there, which was still in shock.

    Fan Ruyi had seen her yesterday before Yu Tian had covered her up and gotten her the blanket, but she could not judge the extent of her injuries yesterday due to darkness. Now she understood why the guys were being so hostile towards her. Yu Rong had gone too far and it was all her fault.

    Yu Tian glared at Su Lang. He understood what his best friend meant. He also had insisted that his sister should change into fresh neat clothes he had gotten for her. But she had refused and had said blanket was enough. How would he know she was planning this? She had not dropped any hint to her.

    "Wha¡­ what are you doing? Don''t you have any dignity as a girl?", Fan Ruyi shouted from behind.

    "Are you talking to me Senior Fan? Should you, of all people, talk about dignity here?", Mei Qingyang didn''t like how Fan Ruyi jumped in between the conversation.

    People present turned their heads to look towards the most famous, pretty, intelligent and hardworking girl of the school. Even now, she was still exuding her charming aura, making people want to keep looking at her forever. The number of expression changes the girl went through in a split second after Mei Qingyang''s question and her biting her lip to shut herself up made everyone to go, comfort her.

    To be honest, Mei Qingyang didn''t mean to be so harsh to Fan Ruyi. She had helped her quite a bit in the past after all. And so what, if this senior of hers had used her for saving her own friends or family? In everyone''s eyes, she was an expendable item anyway.

    "Now, now Ms. Mei, this is not the way to talk with your seniors. This is not what we teach at our institution. No wonder you come from a house like that of Minister Jiang.", an old man from behind decided to take the lead and rebuke this girl who was crossing boundaries.

    "That''s correct. Your behavior of showing of your scars like this is rather inappropriate.", another man, may be in mid 30s raised his voice. Others nodded in agreement.

    Mei Qingyang laughed hysterically at these self-righteous people. "I am pretty sure seeing n.a.k.e.d body of a girl my age is not something most of the people here have done for the first time. Was it appropriate when it was done by the wealthier party?", she scoffed.

    Seeing that there were a lot of students here and this girl was slandering every professor and board member here, didn''t sit right with anyone. She was making more enemies and Su Lang and Yu Tian started getting worried for her. She was diminishing her own chances of getting out of this jail.

    "Ahem! Let''s stop accusing each other here and analyze the situation.", Su Lang lightly coughed and took the lead.

    "What do you propose Young Master Su? This uncultured girl is making us look at such hideous thing, showing her sickening scars from who know where.", another old man from behind spoke up. Although he was saying so, the bulge between his legs was saying otherwise. How sweetly tormenting it would be to taste that sleek perfectly shaped body? Who cared for the scars anyway? The old man almost drooled at the thought.

    Yu Tian glared at the old man and the man shrunk back under the pressure. Oh! He had forgotten that young master Yu also had a particular interest in this girl. Was he also turned on with those marks on her body? He had weird fetishes too? The old man scratched his head.

    Why could they not share the girl? Young master Yu could have fun with her first, then he could ask her as a reward for a job well done today. He needed to come to good books of young master Yu. If young master Yu wanted to save this girl, he would help him.

    "But then, she also stated it right. It does seem that those marks were made recently and the punishment given to her is not in accordance with the rules laid down by the board. We shall need to go and check.", the old man spoke again, this time changing his tone and glancing friendly towards Yu Tian.

    No one understood this sudden change in him but as soon as they saw his state down there, they realized what he was thinking about. Well, these were all similar people, so the l.e.w.d thoughts became contagious. Everyone''s thinking became one and Mei Qingyang shuddered, receiving all the chills from these bunch of men. She tightened her grip on Yu Tian''s jacket.

    "Exactly what I was talking about, Mr. Xiang.", Su Lang disregarded the lecherous gaze this Mr. Xiang was directing towards his sister with much difficulty. If in his hands, he would have punched him by now. This Mr. Xiang was once very highly regarded secretary of Yu Tian''s father. Then Mr. Yu started giving him more and more important tasks, ultimately making him a board member for the school to help his sister. Now this guy thought of himself as a God or something here.

    "Well, I personally think that since she did not deserve this much punishment and has served more than her due, we should release the girl. What does everyone think?", Mr. Xiang continued with his support.

    "What are you doing uncle Xiang?", now it was Gu Layue who spoke up.

 Chapter 84 - One Month Suspension

    "Uncle Xiang, you are supposed to help us, why are you suddenly changing your tone?", Gu Layue addressed the drooling old man as Uncle Xiang. He was one of the supporters of Gu and Yu families and had had relationsh.i.p.s with them since long back.

    "I am not helping anyone, I am just siding with the facts.", Mr. Xiang smiled amicably, showing his yellow teeth, degraded due to heavy smoking. Gu Layue puked inside her head multiple times. She hated such disgusting people. Her only solace in the crowd was ever handsome and expressionless Yu Tian. She glanced towards him who was sending frosty glares towards this uncle Xiang. Uncle Xiang, in turn, was rubbing his hands together as if his deal with Yu Tian for Mei Qingyang was already in his hands.

    Yu Tian, sensing this old man''s greed and l.u.s.t towards his girl, wanted to hide her in his embrace, not letting her see any of these lecherous faces. But he knew that one, Mei Qingyang had her own pride and he could not put her behind his safety net all the time.

    Two, he was not strong enough to protect this girl. If he were, she would not have needed to take the step she took in the first place. The frown on his face deepened. If only, he did not belong to Yu family, Mei Qingyang would not have to go through all this.

    "We are board members as well as disciplinary committee members for the school. I don''t know about the others and I do recognize Mei Qingyang''s wrongdoing. But the real perpetrator has already been apprehended. Thus, I would like to propose that Mei Qingyang be suspended for a month from college. As for other punishments, as I said before, I think she has had more share than she deserved.", old man Xiang looked around for people to help him out.

    Everyone, at this point, had their own thoughts. A few had same realization as Mr. Xiang. How beautiful and exhilarating it would be to tame this wild girl who was as confident and elegant, even while baring her body and showing her scars? She was not even afraid of getting mocked for those ugly marks she had all over her upper body by this whole crowd. Who cared, as long as her lower body was fine?

    Others were intrigued by the fact that the two Yus were standing on the opposite sides. When had Yu Tian grown guts to defy his own aunt? He had never been a rebellious kid and had always listened to Yu Rong since childhood, and everyone knew it.

    To think he would not side with his family for a girl, there must be something going on that they did not know. This girl was adopted in their knowledge. Was it possible that this girl actually had an extraordinary background?

    Whatever was the case, Yu Tian was future of Yu family. So, it made sense to go with him rather than against him. Yu Rong was still in her late 30s. But her policies were sometimes too cruel and behavior dangerous. Her colleagues already suspected that sooner or later she would get in trouble. And with such a rebellious next generation, it was bound to happen very soon.

    Anyway, with all different thoughts around, majority of board members there decided to support the girl. But a few people were still skeptical. Old man Wang whispered to old man Xiang, "Why are you doing this? Yu Rong will kill us all later. You know her temper."

    "Don''t worry my friend Mr. Wang. Her days are numbered, trust me. Don''t you feel the power shifting slowly to young master Yu? He has powerful friends like young master Su and Feng, not to mention the lady from Fan family.", Old man Xiang whispered back, breathing out the heavy smoky breath, sending old man Wang into a coughing fit.

    Everyone came out of their thoughts at once. The people, now in the favor of Yu Tian, nodded towards Mr. Xiang and stated their opinion.

    Once the wind shifted, Yu Rong clenched her teeth and spoke, "Since most of you are in agreement that my punishment was too harsh, I will take it. It seems you guys are not interested in maintaining the decorum of the school. A person who hides a murderer is an accomplice too. And I was just infuriated by the fact that one of our students would be doing something like this." Yu Rong dabbed her non-existent tears while speaking so. Now she was trying to appeal to the students'' hearts around.

    Even if this Mei Qingyang got free out of her clutches, she would not make her life easier. One month suspension? That was too easy. She should have just killed her yesterday. If only she had not wanted to know her mates how she actually looked, she would have probably done the deed. She had already lost so many chances to kill this girl, all because she wanted to see Yu Tian in pain and disgust. There would be no next time. Ultimate form of pain for her nephew would be this girl''s death.

    "You mean to say that senior Fan is also involved then?" Mei Qingyang was scoffing inside her mind all through this. An accomplice in murder? Like this lady had not committed murders herself. She discarded people like sheets of paper and she was talking about integrity? Her cold face did not show any expression but she applauded Yu Rong for her bad acting.

    Fan Ruyi''s squad behind her scrunched their faces hearing their master''s name. Did she need to be embroiled in all this? Mei Qingyang was the one who asked for the help in the first place. They wanted to say something on behalf of their master but Fan Ruyi signaled them to be quiet.

    "It does seem so, are you suggesting what Mei Qingyang is saying Principal Yu? If so, I am very sad about it, feel like I am being slandered.", Fan Ruyi made another sad face. Everyone present felt like this beautiful girl was going through such an injustice that they started grieving on her account. How could their Principal be so heartless to accuse this fairy like girl? Was it her fault that that servant girl did what she did?

    By that association, Mei Qingyang should not be at fault either. But she was a peasant and it did not matter if she knew or not. She was just at fault for being a commoner.

    "I am sorry Ms. Fan, that was not my intention. Okay, I will agree to Ms. Mei''s one month suspension. During this time, she won''t be able to attend any classes. In addition, during this time, she won''t be able to perform her superintendent duties, so she is not allowed to interact with people she does not know. If anyone approaches you for any help, you are to direct them to me.", Yu Rong instructed Mei Qingyang sternly in a hurried manner. She was not interested in getting Fan Ruyi into this mess.

    She had come to know that Mei Qingyang had been talking to poor kids in the school. She did not get to know her intention but perhaps she was trying to acc.u.mulate evidence against her. Now that this girl wasn''t allowed to interact with other kids, she could easily make more plans regarding this wench''s fate.

    Mei Qingyang nodded her head without any expression. She was actually glad that she would get a break from everything. She would not need to do any classes nor any chores as part of her duties. That meant her own work and research. She now needed to hack through the hidden databases in the school in peace. Now that her and Yu Tian''s both nerves were relaxed a bit, the temperature around the couple started coming back to normal.

    Su Lang also loosened up a bit. This was another battle won, albeit by the means he was not really happy about. And he knew, Yu Tian was very upset with the situation as well. Now was the tough part, to teach Mei Qingyang not to take such extreme step ever again.

 Chapter 85 - Safety Net

    The crowd dispersed after listening to the verdict and marveling at Mei Qingyang''s luck. She always managed to come out of all sticky situations. This time she did get harmed though, that too physically.

    Yu Rong didn''t leave until the end. She strutted towards Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang with a murderous intent. Wang Hao also followed his master hurriedly with complicated expression on his face.

    Mei Qingyang stepped ahead in a protective stance towards Yu Tian, covering him behind her. Yu Rong''s eyes expanded seeing their developing relationship in front of her eyes. How dared this b*tch? No wonder her nephew was enamored with this lass.

    Behind them, Wang Hao was also staring at Mei Qingyang. He had been eyeing this lass since the beginning. She was going to be his dessert one day. How were these two people getting closer by the day?

    On the other hand, Yu Tian looked at his girl and his heart felt touched. His lips curled upward slightly. Su Lang and Yu Rong both observed the slight change in this cold guy. At this point, Yu Tian was only looking at the girl.

    "You b*tch, don''t think you have won this. Just your age and average face are working for you.", Yu Rong grabbed Mei Qingyang''s face. She really felt like slapping this girl. She was taking everything from her away slowly, her reputation, her nephew, her network. Yu Rong didn''t like this feeling at all. Her face went red with anger.

    "Sorry Principal Yu, you made the rules and you forgot them yourself. I just hope you read your school policy book again.", Mei Qingyang smiled through her scrunched up cheeks.

    "I will cut that glib tongue of yours one day, just you wait.", Yu Rong spoke through her clenched teeth.

    "Yes Principal Yu.", Mei Qingyang was very at ease now. She knew she had gotten her riled up more. Now when more emotions were involved, and it had kind of become personal, Yu Rong was bound to make more mistakes.

    "But please do make sure that you have included some crime for that in the schoolbook.", Mei Qingyang reminded her once again. Yu Rong withdrew her hand at once hearing her taunt.

    The nerve of this girl! She looked at Yu Tian once, but he was focused on this witch so much that he was not even defending his own aunt in front of his friends. Su Lang and Fan Ruyi were also present there.

    "Guess this whipping wasn''t enough for you. Don''t worry Ms. Mei, more are coming your way. I won''t let you have what''s mine." Yu Rong calmed down a bit and glanced at her nephew once again, turned around and left.

    With all the parties leaving, Fan Ruyi also nodded her head towards everyone and left. Mei Qingyang was thankful to Fan Ruyi once again for intervening. She did give the final blow and closed the argument. But she would not show it on her face. Right now, Fan Ruyi owed her too much. And Mei Qingyang knew that Fan Ruyi felt guilty deep within her heart. That is also because ultimately, she knew that Mei Qingyang never had anything to do with Feng Yue.

    As soon as everyone left except Yu Tian and Su Lang, Mei Qingyang felt weak in the knees. Exhaustion had taken over once again. She just wanted to sleep standing there. This was not easy. She didn''t even know where the courage to display her body like this came from. Anyway, she had no dignity left when Wang Hao stripped her off her clothes yesterday. There were so many people, including Yu Rong''s people who watched that show. She did not mind anything at this point, did she?

    She was on verge of collapsing when she felt her whole body covered in embrace by another. When she came to her senses, she found Yu Tian was hugging her from behind. That felt amazingly secure.

    "Are you alright?", she heard his voice full of tenderness from behind her. *Senior Yu ah! Don''t be so full of love towards this girl, okay? My heart is skipping so many beats. Plus, what is with this intimate position? I have not even told you that I like you, you are already taking me so?*

    "Senior Yu, Principal Yu is not very faraway. Are you not afraid she would do something to you again?", Mei Qingyang turned around and whispered to him, startling him again.

    "Why do you keep saying so Qing Qing?", Yu Tian really needed to know at this point what this girl knew. It felt like she had information about every aspect of their lives and they were the only ones who were in dark about her.

    "I have some hint but I am not sure yet. But, you asking the question does confirm my suspicions a bit. But again, I will wait for you to tell me everything when you are ready." Now Mei Qingyang was facing him, although they were quite close physically at this point. Both of their hearts were beating at the fastest pace they could take. Both of them confirmed their feelings towards each other at this point. There was no denying it anymore. Their emotions, affection towards each other was as real as it could be. Just that, there were too many obstacles between them right now.

    Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore and fainted once again, knowing that she was in safe hands.

 Chapter 86 - Stay Here

    "Oh damn, where am I?", Mei Qingyang woke up confused when she felt sun rays hitting her face. She looked around and could not recognize her surroundings. For once she thought she had been taken to some other place by Yu Rong to torture her more. But given the fluffy and neat bed she was on, it was definitely not her. What was this dreamy feeling?

    "Good morning Ms. Mei, are you feeling well now?", she heard Yu Bufan''s voice. She looked towards the door and found the assistant with a tea tray in his hands. Not believing what she was seeing, she turned around again to confirm she was not in a dream.

    "Mr. Yu! Where is this?", she was quite perplexed. She was not even in their secret base, this was totally a new place. The room was colored cream yellow, which gave a certain warmth to the room. The sun shining outside was pouring in the sunlight directly from the windows, creating an airy and spacious feeling. Now that she looked, the room was actually quite big. Was she in a seven star hotel or something?

    The furniture looked very exquisite. The bed was a big king size bed with light brown coverings and duvet. Then the sofa on the side was with minimalistic design with matching color as the bed coverings. Interestingly, there were no pictures anywhere in the room. There was a huge bookshelf with all business books, autobiographies and psychology books. Psychology? Was this some psychiatrists'' house?

    "You are in master Yu''s dorm room, Ms. Mei.", Yu Bufan smiled at the confused yet amused face he saw. He brought the tea to her and kept it on the side table.

    "Here, master especially ordered this chamomile tea for you. It is good for health.", he poured a warm cup for Mei Qingyang to drink.

    Now that she realized, she felt like her body would kill her. She looked at herself and she was wearing brand new clothes. Her body had also been cleaned and wounds dressed properly. She gave a questioning look to Yu Bufan.

    "Haha, don''t worry Ms. Mei, your clothes were changed by one of our maids. Master Yu does not have any maids, so we called one of master Su''s. You don''t need to look so alarmed.", Yu Bufan laughed lightly at how worried she looked suddenly. *Geez, master has seen all of you already, hasn''t he?*

    Poor Yu Bufan wouldn''t know until later that it was his as well other people''s misconception all along.

    Mei Qingyang finally took the tea from Yu Bufan''s hand. Sipping it really had a calming effect.

    "Uhh¡­ Mr. Yu, where is senior Yu? How long was I asleep?", Mei Qingyang fired questions once again, so much that she choked on the tea she was drinking.

    "Easy Ms. Mei, easy. Master is just outside, cooking. You have been asleep for a whole day now. But since you are suspended, there is no work for you to do. So, you can live here for the whole month.", Yu Bufan answered her in a very light mood. This girl was really likeable, she did not put airs but was not underconfident about her situation either. Her courage yesterday had made him develop huge respect for this girl.

    Even in that situation, she did not lose her cool. It was just like seeing a model posing for a bikini photoshoot. Of course, he was not making fun of her or her scars. He was rather quite impressed with how gracefully she carried herself despite, what some might term as, a disability to her. To be honest, her marks weren''t that appealing to look at, but she made them her badge of honor than a shameful thing.

    "No, no. Whole month is impossible. I shall be taking my leave now actually.", coming to her senses, she realized this will be a very big scandal in the college. Not that she had any personal qualms about it but it would be detrimental to Yu Tian. It was surprising to begin with that he took such a bold step. Was he really not afraid of Yu Rong anymore?

    "You''re not allowed to leave", Yu Tian entered the room as she was preparing to scurry away. She had half folded her blanket already.

    Yu Tian smiled gently towards her blinding her with handsomeness. *Damn, why does he need to look so crazily cool in casuals?*

    Yu Tian was donning a V-neck green tee with black shorts, highlighting his well-developed muscles. It was also the first time she had seen any parts of his body exposed. There were hints of blue bruises around his knees and upper arms, but they had mostly faded. Was he¡­ was he trusting her this much now? He would never wear something so casual in public. He was always wearing shirts and jeans, fully covering his body.

    There was a silence of about 20 seconds in the room while Mei Qingyang was blatantly staring at Yu Tian''s body.

    "Ahem, master, I''ve to take care of the task you assigned to me. I will go check the progress. Ms. Mei, if you need anything, you''ll find the maid we borrowed from master Su outside. Please consider her as your own." Saying this, Yu Bufan left the two alone. Yu Tian really appreciated his assistant in his heart for his quick thinking.

    "Senior Yu, I can''t stay here.", Mei Qingyang was still adamant.

    "Why?", Yu Tian was a bit disappointed that she would oppose the idea so vehemently.

    "I¡­ I don''t want to put you in trouble! This will create so many problems for you!!", Mei Qingyang begged him to not take this step. Seething a bit in anger, Yu Tian walked towards her in large strides and stopped right in front of her nose. He was too close, Mei Qingyang''s heartbeat rose again.

    "And what do you know? Won''t you let me take care of my problems myself?", Yu Tian was now visibly angry. Why did this girl need to run away from him? Did she not like him at all?

    "You don''t get it, do you? If you want me to rely on you, don''t you think I would want the same? You have been helping me so much, sometimes, not even caring about yourself. Do I not have the right to worry about you, share your burden?", Mei Qingyang had enough. This guy was not a superhero. He was just a college student. Because of his background, he had resources, sure. But that didn''t mean he was invincible. Thinking about the bruises on his body, her eyes teared up a bit.

    She had only gone through that torture for one day and this is how she ended up, no strength, in Yu Tian''s room. But this guy seemed to been having beaten up black and blue multiple times. That cruel aunt of his, what was she doing to her own nephew?

 Chapter 87 - Pecked

    Yu Tian got surprised at Mei Qingyang''s sudden confession. Was this girl... worried about him? It was funny but adorable that she wanted him to rely on her though. That serious face she made while saying all this without flinching made him giggle inside. If he had to describe her, she was just like a small kitty. Fierce and bold yet so cute. Why did she need to be this lovable?

    He took her petite frame in his embrace, locking her arms and lightly pecked her forehead.

    "You....", Mei Qingyang could not make head or tails of the situation. Why was he being so forward suddenly? Her heart was racing like a formula one car. She had not even accepted his l¡­ love confession yet.

    Yu Tian put his head on her shoulder. If she wanted him to rely on her, this was how she could help. Her fragrance was really enchanting to him. After all the dirt and blood from yesterday, although she had been thoroughly cleaned, she was yet to take proper bath. She still emitted such a bewitching fragrance that he wanted to stand there forever like this. He took in a deep breath. It relaxed him so much that he could fall asleep easily without any worries in the world. She really was his lucky star.

    "What are you doing Senior Yu?", an alarmed Mei Qingyang yelled at him in her melodious voice. At this point, even her screaming sounded like a song to Yu Tian''s ears.

    Mei Qingyang had other concerns though. She had spotted quite a few spy cameras, similar to the ones in her room, here as well. Her instincts were pretty good so it didn''t take her much to figure their locations out. If she saw this, it would infuriate Yu Rong so much!

    "Just stay like this for some time. It will be a big help for me.", Yu Tian said in a very low voice. He was already feeling all his anxiety and stress melting away. A sweet shudder went through Mei Qingyang''s body and her face flushed red. Her eyes darted back and forth. What was happening here?

    She was about to raise her hand to stroke Yu Tian''s back instinctively for it seemed like he really needed it right now, but her stomach growled loud suddenly, sending both of them in a fit of laughter.

    "I am so sorry, I did not realize you have not eaten for almost two days. Breakfast is ready, come with me." Yu Tian raised his head from her shoulder and parted reluctantly. Before he released her, he did not forget to tuck her hair away from her face behind her ear. That pretty face, only had to belong to him. Those beautiful emerald eyes as deep as an ocean, only needed to hold beautiful things, he would make sure of that from now on.

    If it was in his hands, he would have kissed those red plump lips right then and there. But he had to control his urges so as to not scare her away. Finally, she had started accepting his advances, he needed to take it slow.

    As a curious child, she kept looking around. There were really no pictures anywhere in the whole house. Rather, it was just full of books. Yu Tian only kept observing her from the side, taking delight in how energetic she looked. He wanted her to forget this incident of yesterday. If he knew magic, he would have erased all those scars for her too.

    He sat her down on the small dining table and brought all the vegetarian dishes he had just cooked.

    "You... made all this?", Mei Qingyang discovered yet another quality of this guy. By the presentation and aroma, she could tell that Yu Tian was a master chef. The five dishes on the table were all so tantalizing. Fried vegetables with rice, a tofu dish, a vegetable soup, scallion pancakes and fruit salad! But were these all really vegetarian dishes? She eyed him from the corner, her gaze still focusing on the food at hand.

    "Yes, all of them vegetarian, just for you.", he sat down opposite her on the table and put away his laptop on the side chair. He started putting vegetables in her bowl. Once again, Mei Qingyang was mesmerized by the sight. If only, her everyday was like this. She shook her head to come to the reality. She should not be thinking like this, there was much work to do.

    "There you go.", Yu Tian handed her the bowl of rice with fried vegetables on it.

    "Thank you!", Mei Qingyang said with her whole being full of gratitude. How could she ever repay him?

    She went into a daze while thinking about how he had been always there in her troublesome situations. From the swimming pool incident, even before that, from that first meeting where he stood up for her in front of his aunt, they had come a long way. There were definitely a lot more conversations between them than what his friends knew.

    He had always helped her silently from behind the scenes. On the top of that, he would never take credit for it nor brag about it. Now that she thought about it, did this not prove his feelings for her already?

    On the other hand, what had she done for him? She had only created problems for him. He would get beaten up by his aunt whenever he would help her. This time he had to even go away for two weeks to heal. This is what her speculation was anyway. But she was definitely sure about the beating up part. She wanted to ask him about it but she had promised him that she would wait for him to tell her himself.

    Mei Qingyang had been looking into Yu Tian''s matter for quite some time now. She had tried accessing cameras in Yu Rong''s office where was the most probability of her deeds being conducted. Interestingly, that was the only building in the whole school which was on a separate online network than the school. Not to mention, there were no CCTVs in the hallway where the entrance of Yu Rong''s office room was. And there were none in her office either.

    She suspected that the key to every secret was that dimly lit room. There was no doubt Yu Rong was hiding something there because no one really had seen her office room fully.

    She had also tried indirectly inquiring Su Lang and Feng Yue about Yu Tian and Yu Rong, but could not get out much information. It was highly likely that no one knew about it.

    Now she felt regretful for having taken advantage of this kind guy. She always had this notion in life that all relationsh.i.p.s are give and take. As long as you are participating in both, it is fine. The moment you start just giving or just taking, that is when things go awry. She had taken too much from Yu Tian. So, she needed to help him out break the shackles of Yu Rong.

    With the chopsticks in her mouth, she stared at Yu Tian who had brought his laptop on the table once again to work. Sensing her intense gaze on him, he looked up and found her lost in her own world.

    "What are you looking at Qing Qing?", he smiled at her. The large window behind him was illuminating his whole being, making him look like a celestial spirit. If only he had long silver hair and ancient garb!

    And that smile!! No wonder all the girls in the school were in love with him. And this guy was sitting in front of her in casuals, working on his own stuff, like this was a daily occurrence for them both. If she stayed here for whole month, would she become too used to this scene?

    "Nothing.", she snapped back from her daze and shook her head. Then she started gobbling down her food like she had not eaten in ages. Would he find her weird if she told him her thoughts? Was she basically turning into a pervert? F*ck it, she did not care about anything anymore.

    "I have a proposal for you.", he closed his laptop and looked at her seriously.

    She put down her bowl hearing his profoundly serious tone, gulping whatever she had in her mouth in a hurry. He... he was not going to ask her out, right?

    "I want you to join my martial arts team.", he dropped the bomb on her.

 Chapter 88 - Elite Eagles

    "You¡­ you are not talking about the Elite Eagles which not only is the best martial arts team in the country, most of the Olympics athletes from our country are from that team, are you?", Mei Qingyang choked on her already swallowed food. Did he really mean it? He had not seen her using martial arts though, if she recalled correctly.

    Elite Eagles was the name of the martial arts team headed by Yu Tian, Su Lang and Feng Yue right now but had always been famous. They had won many national and international competitions and many of the students from this team had represented M nation in Olympic games in the past.

    For the past two years, however, the success of the team really soared and the students were recruited in various national teams for international competitions left and right. This was all believed to be because of the three guys. Now, Feng Yue disappeared all of a sudden, they might be looking for new talents. But was she really being recognized for her talents or was it another protection tactic for her?

    Yu Tian nodded, slightly confused. Why did it feel like she was going to reject the offer? His calm expression did not give away his worries though.

    "Are you really serious, senior Yu?", Mei Qingyang was delightfully surprised but anxious at the same time. It was a highly coveted team to be in and she would finally be able to help him out, in some form at least.

    Yu Tian nodded once again.

    "B¡­ but you know I am not allowed to go out of the school, right? I won''t be able to participate in the tournaments even if I want to.", Mei Qingyang laid down the facts before him, pouting slightly. She had become way more expressive now that she had opened up to Yu Tian.

    That was right, Yu Rong had imposed such restrictions on her, that is why she had to go through Fan Ruyi to visit that servant girl in the hospital and make such a big deal out of it.

    Which reminded her, she should have had a funeral service for that girl. She did not bring any value to her in the end, but after all, she was a human soul.

    "As the team leader, that is for me to worry. You just need to focus on practice. You will prove to be a great sparring partner for my boys, if nothing else.", Yu Tian spoke up.

    Oh! So, he was looking at her as a sparring partner only.

    A slight disappointment set in her heart but given the circ.u.mstances, if this was how she could help him, she would still accept it.

    "Okay captain, I shall take you up on the offer.", she grinned, hiding the pain she was feeling. Why could she not prove her worth to this guy? She had so many abilities but all became fruitless when it came to this one guy. Nor was she ever able to keep her cool in front of him.

    "Great! I shall set you up. This way, you won''t lose your fitness while you are staying here.", he teased her a bit. He was okay if she became chubbier for he loved her inner beauty more than the outer appearance. But he still wanted her to maintain her stamina at least. Now if it took too much time for her injuries to heal, it would be fatal for everyone. There were many battles to come.

    "Of course, you won''t be allowed in the gym before you get fully healed.", he concluded.

    "Senior Yu, I am already in a great shape after the rest. These cuts are nothing, I have gone through far worse.", she was very excited with the proposal. She would love to join as soon as she could. She stood up and did a few stretches to show Yu Tian how she was fully healed.

    "Hey, hey. Don''t get too worked up, okay? Once the doctor confirms you are allowed to get out of house, I will personally take you there. But for now¡­", Yu Tian stood up from his chair and walked towards her, startling the girl once again. He then took her hand in his and pulled her towards the bedroom.

    "¡­ you will stay in bed for the time being.", he gently sat her frail body down in the bed, reddening her face and neck once again.

    What was wrong with this guy? If someone saw them, they would definitely take it otherwise. Yu Tian could not bear to let her hand go. That small soft hand held such great powers. He was reminded of the punch he had seen from one of her videos when she was battling those thugs before.

    Yu Tian then made Mei Qingyang lie down in the bed, tucking her into the blanket gently.

    He had just turned around, when he heard her soft voice calling to him.

    "Senior Yu. You are not mad at me for what I did yesterday, are you? I know it was a reckless move on my part, but it was the best strategy.", Mei Qingyang had wanted to resolve this misunderstanding with him too. She knew he was angry with her for that but had not said anything.

    "Senior Yu, just confirm something for me. Did you or Cousin Lang have any plan to get me out of there?", she lowered her head because right now, she did not have any strength to meet his eyes. They both must have racked their brains for a solution, but she knew there was none. Sometimes, you had to swallow the bitter pill.

    "We¡­", he started saying but nothing came out of his mouth, for this girl was absolutely correct. At that moment, he definitely did not have a solution. Su Lang would have stayed with her, if required, till they actually found out some answer. But she took matters in her own hands as usual. And ended up¡­

    "You still did not need to do that.", he said with slight anger in his voice.

    "I am sorry. I know you are not very happy about it. But that was my best bet.", she took her hand back and flipped her body away from Yu Tian. It was not like she wanted to do it. Her scars were one thing that had a lot of her past hidden. And she knew it had something to do with Yu Rong. If Yu Rong ended up determining her identity because of that, it would be another end of her.

    She was lucky last time but this time, it would either be her or Yu Rong.

    "And what about those lechers who are inquiring about your price from me?", Yu Tian lost his cool at this point. He sat down on the bed forcefully and held her shoulders tightly. His fierce gaze really frightened Mei Qingyang.

    "What do you mean?", she fumbled in half fear, half puzzlement.

    "Those old dirty b*stards, they¡­ they want to take you in.", he yelled at her. This idiot girl! She did not understand her own beauty. To have attracted, not only those old bags of l.u.s.t but to have become an object of d.e.s.i.r.e for so many guys who were present in the crowd that day, her popularity among boys was equivalent to Fan Ruyi''s now.

    "That was expected to be honest.", she met his intense gaze and felt she was entering a danger zone where it would be hard to get out from.

    "Expected what? What the f*ck are you talking about? How can you undermine yourself like this?", he screamed some more at her. He was so agitated right now that he pressed her body under his. He needed to get away or he would do something he would regret for his life.

    Mei Qingyang''s green eyes pleaded a bit to Yu Tian. She did not want to argue with him, what was the point? Those dirty old men drooled over any young girl, scarred, charred or whatever. This was what she was here to change. And if she needed to sacrifice a bit for that, so be it.

    She was an orphan commoner anyway, in the end, she would not be harming anyone, including her own parents.

    Still seeing defiance in her eyes incensed Yu Tian even further. But to keep his sanity, he had to stop himself. He squinted his eyes to build up pressure on the girl. If she admitted her mistake, he would forgive her.

    "Ahem! Did I interrupt at the wrong time?"

    They both turned their heads to find Su Lang standing at the door with a teasing smile floating on his face.

 Chapter 89 - Wrong Timing

    This scenario was not supposed to be this steamy! She was not ready for this. Yu Tian was putting too much pressure on her shoulders. But that was not what was on her mind.

    His body was practically covering hers; he was pushing her down on the soft bed. In one day only, why had they gone from talking to holding hands to pecking and now this? Her heart was ready to come out of her body!

    The worst part of it was she was not panicked about it but was rather enjoying this closeness. He was so warm, his body heat was transferring to hers through their clothes.

    Was she really this trustful of him that he won''t go through with it or was she secretly looking forward to it? She seriously could not sort her feelings out. If it were the latter, how would she spend the next one month with him?

    Was she going to crave him everyday like this? Her blush intensified on this thought.

    Yu Tian had not planned to do anything like this either. He had been restraining a lot for her and for his own sake too. This whole situation right now was his own fault.

    But now that they were here, what was the next step supposed to be? And his anger was not subsiding either. What was he supposed to do with this girl? She should be apologizing right about now but she didn''t seem to regret her decision at all.

    Plus, those old geezers! There were a few including that old man Xiang who had called him saying that he was now in their debt for their support to both him and Mei Qingyang that day and they wanted to bed this girl after he was done having fun with her.

    He was not as angry on them for thinking of him this way as much as he was disgusted on how they thought about Qing Qing. How dare they covet her as a s.e.x toy??

    His already peaked anger flared up more and he felt like crushing those bastards. In his anger, he didn''t realize how low they both had sunk in his bed.

    And the girl''s pure marble green eyes were staring at him without any distrust. Like she knew nothing bad was going to happen to her. What if he had given into his craving for her and sullied her? Would she still trust him the same?

    They both were going through their own thoughts in their minds when they heard a knock on the door.

    "Ahem! Did I come at a wrong time?", Su Lang stood at the open door, smirking like he had caught them red handed.

    Yu Tian abruptly stood up from the bed and Mei Qingyang turned her head away to hide her expression.

    Yu Bufan hurriedly followed behind Su Lang, "Young Master Su, Master Yu might be busy¡­"

    Seeing the awkward atmosphere, he instantly understood that he had done wrong. His master might severely punish him later. His master had finally decided to court a girl but he had let young master Su in and he barged upon the couple. He wanted to bury himself in a hole.

    "No, you are here at very correct time.", Yu Tian went back to his cold self and spoke to Su Lang meaningfully. Su Lang picked up the intention in his friend''s words and became serious. Sure, it had not been much time since he discovered this foster cousin of his but he had come to truly care about her.

    And she was about to be in trouble just now. He did not appreciate this move from his best friend.

    "Can you give us two some time Yu Tian?", Su Lang spoke unhappily.

    Great, now things were becoming awkward between everyone.

    Yu Tian nodded and left the room promptly. He came out and heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad that he did not take the step that would probably scar Mei Qingyang for life. He did not have her consent yet and this was something he had to keep in mind all the time. He went to the kitchen to drink a glass of cold water and calm himself down. Apparently, just a glass was not enough, for he ended up chugging down a full jar of it.

    "Qing Qing, are you alright?", Su Lang came forward and took a seat beside Mei Qingyang on Yu Tian''s bed.

    He checked her face and arms to see that her wounds had been properly dressed.

    "You fool! What was the need to do that reveal show? Had this brother of your died? What will uncle think of me when he hears what you did?", he knocked her forehead with his knuckle.

    "Brother Lang! Why don''t you both understand? If I didn''t get out of there yesterday, it would have been my death. These scars are nothing but you did not see her eyes. She just wanted you guys to see my¡­ my disgusting scars, that''s why she spared me. Otherwise, she was definitely in the mood. That was nothing in front of saving my life.", she spoke in one breath. It was getting so hard to explain herself to these guys.

    Yu Tian wasn''t ready to listen and Su Lang was also scolding her.

    "And? I would have stayed with you my dear sister. She would not dare touch you then.", he held her hand and stroked it to placate her down.

    "On what basis brother? The night was fine, you bribed the guards and it was Yu Rong''s wish anyway. But what would have you said in the morning? You had no reason to stay.", Mei Qingyang exclaimed. Su Lang did not have an answer to her question.

    "Alright, alright, as long as you are doing good.", Su Lang gave in pretty easily. He knew this girl had made her decision after thinking for long. Otherwise which girl would want to go through that?

    "Brother, can you get me out of here?", Mei Qingyang took one of Su Lang''s arms in her hands and waved it cutely, like a kid throwing a tantrum.

    "Why? Do you have any discomfort here?", Su Lang scrunched up his brows. Was Yu Tian not being good to her? Given the situation he had stumbled upon earlier, something must have happened.

    Mei Qingyang shook her head. "Senior Yu is taking so much care of me but I don''t want to incur Yu Rong''s wrath by staying here. Can''t I stay at your place? Us being cousins, there would not be many rumors given our relationship is out in open now.

    Yes, after Yu Rong had gotten to know the relationship between Jiang Nuo and Su Lang, everyone somehow had automatically got the information. It was pretty evident how the piece of news got out.

    "Is something on your mind Qing Qing that you are not sharing with me?", Su Lang probed a bit further. Why was she so reluctant to be here?

    "If you are not willing then it''s okay. I don''t care anymore.", Mei Qingyang gave an ambiguous answer. Not wanting to further argue, they rested the topic then and there.

    "So, now tell me what is going on between you two?", Su Lang deviated a bit from the topic but didn''t leave it off completely. When he had arrived, he had noticed strange atmosphere. He was not happy in the position he had found the two but the environment wasn''t exactly congenial too. Did they have a fight?

    "What do you mean?", Mei Qingyang averted her eyes from Su Lang.

    "Qing Qing, to be honest, Yu Tian is a great guy, he is my best friend. I would love to see you two get together. The only problem is, you guys belong to two different worlds." Su Lang thought it was the right time to give her the pep talk she needed.

 Chapter 90 - Preparing For Training

    And thus, after a lecture of three hours from Su Lang, Mei Qingyang was let off. She felt so exhausted that she fell asleep right after once again. In the evening, after a few negotiations amongst the three, it was decided that Mei Qingyang was fit enough to join the team in two days and that she was to stay at Yu Tian''s place.

    They both had given a way to each other a bit. Mei Qingyang had to agree to stay at his place for the time being while Yu Tian had to let her go to the gym the very next day despite being worried about her fresh injuries.

    Now Mei Qingyang had another headache, where would she and Yu Tian sleep? Of course there was a lot of space in Yu Tian''s penthouse but he would not let her use any other place and would insist that she takes his bed. Would this guy be able to sleep on his sofa easily, she wondered. But it was not her place, Yu Tian would need to make decision for himself.

    The three friends had a sumptuous dinner that they had cooked themselves. It turned out, all three of them were great cooks. After the meal, Su Lang took his leave, after giving Mei Qingyang a few reminders about her overnight stay.

    Yu Bufan was snickering on the side while a sly smile floated over Yu Tian''s face. Mei Qingyang on the other hand, was blushing furiously. It felt like her mother was giving her tips for their first night after wedding.

    As suspected, Yu Tian took to the sofa after Yu Bufan bid them both goodbye and let Mei Qingyang rest in his own bed.

    At least this night went peacefully¡­ only for Mei Qingyang. Yu Tian kept turning and tossing the whole night, only to have big dark circles under his eyes the next day.

    "Senior Yu, I had told you that I am used to sleeping on hard surfaces and I could take the sofa!", Mei Qingyang felt really guilty over having troubled Yu Tian so much.

    She had planned to wake up early and make breakfast for both of them and then head to the gym afterwards. But when she woke up, she found Yu Tian sitting on the sofa, reading some doc.u.ments. The breakfast was already on the table.

    She went on to complain to him but saw his haggard face. If only, she was not this useless.

    "It''s okay, you just freshen up and have breakfast. Although, I am still not happy you are going to practice so soon, I will accompany you and introduce you to my teammates." Yu Tian was irritated in the morning due to lack of sleep. Not to mention, he had gotten a summon from Yu Rong already for the evening. But seeing his girl''s face livened up his mood.

    The darkness around him dispersed a bit. When he looked over, he saw the girl had worn her body-hugging training suit already. He had ordered Yu Bufan to get her a few new clothes. They had gotten her pieces from best brands and Yu Bufan was expert in sizes and style, so he got her the best stuff. But this was too much, he would not want anyone else to see her like this.

    "Listen, today we are just going for a visit, so change your clothes. Wear something warm as well, it''s started to become quite cold outside.", he instructed. He needed to scold Yu Bufan later and get her new training clothes.

    Since it was November now, it was perfect excuse for him to ask her to change. If she knew the real reason behind his order, would she obey at all?

    "But, I thought I would get to exercise today! It''s been a while since I have sweated it out!", her hopes shattered, Mei Qingyang threw a tantrum. She was supposed to start today. This is not how they had made the deal earlier.

    "You are taking advantage now, Senior Yu.", pouting, she left for freshening up.

    Yu Bufan entered from the main door, finding his master in a good mood with a tired face. He wondered what happened but was sure that the reason for his smile was that girl.

    His master had always been cold and expressionless since he had started assisting him. Even with his family, he would not show much emotions. Towards Yu Rong especially, who had raised him as almost his mother, he didn''t have even an ounce of affection.

    Yu Bufan had not seen his master''s father much during all these years. His father was basically absent from his life. And then his disease made sure that he would not look towards any girls at all. Only with his three friends, he would show care but still, his expression always remained aloof.

    But now, Yu Bufan would notice certain subtle changes in his master''s countenance and mood. This girl could make flowers bloom all around him and also bring out swords and knives from deep within his being.

    The burning question in everyone''s mind, including Su Lang was, when did he fall for her. It was not like they had interacted much. Or was it something they just did not know about? Anyway, it was time for work. As long as master was happy, the underlings would be happy too.

    "Any news?", Yu Tian asked Yu Bufan.

    "Master, master Feng had earlier holed himself up in his room. Now he has left for a journey. His assistant has been in constant touch with me and he is well taken care of. You don''t need to worry.", Yu Bufan gave him the information.

    "What about Fan Ruyi?", Yu Tian was worried about his friends. They were all his childhood buddies after all. No matter what, he would stand by them.

    "There is some movement on her side, but it is all in our favor.", Yu Bufan said cryptically, lest the girl heard them.

    "Then that''s good.", Yu Tian still believed in her. After he discussed with both Mei Qingyang and Su Lang, they had come to the same conclusion that Fan Ruyi must have had her circ.u.mstances when she decided to give away that servant girl, knowing well the implications it would have on Mei Qingyang.

    "Master, are we really getting her into the team?", Yu Bufan was hesitating for a bit but he finally asked the question.

    "Yeah, is there a problem?", Yu Tian asked in his usual stoic style. Till now he was busy with his doc.u.ments. But on such a question, he put them down aside and stared at Yu Bufan who was now sweating. Why did he have to run his mouth like this?

    "No master. I was just wondering, you know how prideful the team members are. If they think that she has joined the team through connection with you, it might hurt your leadership.", Yu Bufan voiced his concerns.

    "Did you not see the video of how she had defended herself against those brutes. You think she won''t be able to take them?", he gave a questioning look to Yu Bufan.

    "Those ruffians were all untrained. We are talking about the pros who have been in the field for years. Do you think she would be able to handle it?", he gulped his saliva before putting his thoughts into the words.

    Master has not even personally tested her, how could he directly ask her to join the team? Would it not affect his master''s reputation, especially if the girl were to fail?

    "Even if you don''t trust her, I have full faith in her abilities. You have trained couple of years yourself. You should know the depth of her skills just by looking at the angles and techniques she uses.", Yu Tian felt like a proud father who was bragging about his own daughter.

    "Anyway, we will see it today in the gym. Although I have asked her to change her clothes, there is no way she won''t be taking part in the action.", Yu Tian got up from the sofa and softly smiled at the thought of the girl, knocking everyone out in her hard to maneuver clothes that she was most probably going to wear.

    As expected, Mei Qingyang had worn normal denim jeans and a loose tee. She was listening to the conversation from the corner, unnoticed by both master and servant. Her heart brimming with warmth and confidence at Yu Tian''s words, she became more determined to make his savior proud.

 Chapter 91 - Gu Layue Was At It Again

    "What! She is living at his place?", Gu Layue ripped the papers in her hands when she heard her assistant tell her that Yu Tian was housing that lowly commoner at his place.

    Even she had not seen his home, how did she manage to step in there? What tricks did she use?

    "I¡­ I have also heard that¡­ that she is going to join Elite Eagles today. They are visiting the gym for her induction. Young Master Yu has personally called all of the team." Her assistant knew the temper of her master and told her the whole information he had gained from his sources.

    And he also knew that this news would be a devastating blow to his master for she had been obsessed the main character of this story since he remembered.

    Now that he thought about it, he had been in this school since he was abandoned by his parents when he was just five years old. His looks and intelligence were both above average, so he was chosen as a servant for his master after three years of training. Even at 8 years old, he had to act as her servant rather than a companion. She was just 6 years old then.

    His young lady had a temper since the beginning. As the heir of Gu family, she was taught haughtiness and etiquette since early on. She had to walk a certain way and talk a certain way. If one was to analyze, wasn''t she another caged bird too?

    She was to have the world as the person to own Gu empire in the future, but she still did not have any freedom in anything she did. Even her falling for Yu Tian was orc.h.e.s.trated by her parents. They had put in her head since her childhood that she was to be Yu Tian''s bride. They did not even focus on Su Lang or Feng Yue, it had to be Yu Tian because everyone was aware of his family situation.

    Yu empire was going to be Yu Tian''s sooner or later and his dad had almost given up on his fortune at one time. How long would Yu Rong have handled Yu wealth if the empire were to collapse some day? It would have ultimately been shouldered by Yu Tian. Thinking till here, the Gu parents put this idea in her head that she was the most deserving person for Yu Tian.

    Unfortunately, she forgot to take into account in her calculations that Yu Tian had his own mind and feelings. He had always shrugged her away for he did not like her at all. Gu Layue was so blinded by her own ideas that she never saw his acute coldness towards her.

    He, as her assistant, tried, tried hard to make her realize that Yu Tian had no interest in her, many a times getting punished for the same. In the end, he gave up and went along the flow.

    Since they had been together since childhood, he was pretty okay with his lady''s shenanigans too. He would comply whenever she required his ''services''. He enjoyed it too, to be honest. But of course, he was just a lowly commoner, just like Mei Qingyang. He could have his lady''s body but never her heart.

    Now he also resented Mei Qingyang. That girl, how could she seduce Yu Tian, despite her poor background? What right did she have while he was always treated as a pathetic dog? His resentment towards Mei Qingyang came out as exaggerated descriptions of Yu Tian''s and Mei Qingyang''s interactions, just like today.

    "Yes, my lady. They were seen walking hand in hand, whole campus is in uproar. It¡­ it seems that the intel that master Yu has haphephobia is wrong after all.", he continued to exaggerate. Well, it was not false that they were walking quite close together but it did not mean he could not add a few spicy details.

    "How? How did that b*tch manage to do this? That all should have been mine.", Gu Layue took the tablet she had just bought in her hand and shattered it away on the window of her own penthouse. It startled the maids that were working in the house but they were also used to it, so they immediately went back to work.

    "I need to do something about her. Gu Chang, let''s go we need to meet Principal Yu." Gu chang was her assistant''s name.

    Gu Layue wanted to apply the same tactic she had applied before the hospital incident. She needed to rile that lady up because she had a good idea what was going on between her and her nephew.

    That lady was a pervert through and through. She had had countless men till now but the one she could not get over was her own nephew Yu Tian. And so, Gu Layue was always looking for opportunities to eliminate both the girls around Yu Tian and that other wench too.

    "My lady, let''s not go to Principal Yu again.", Gu Chang pleaded.

    "Why do you say so?", Gu Layue was interrupted in her thoughts by her assistant. What the hell was this guy thinking about?

    "I mean to say, Principal Yu has been furious with us for taking action on our own during hospital incident anyway. And she would already know all the information I gave you. If you go now, you will probably only irritate her more." Gu Chang was a broad-minded person, he always looked at the bigger picture.

    It would not be far fetched to say that most of Gu Layue''s schemes were successful because of Gu Chang''s intelligence.

    Gu Layue always got filtered information but he was the one who knew how much she had offended Yu Rong because she was hasty. It was not wise to go that person right now. Unless, she was able to do something on her own and prove her worth.

    "Hmph! Who cares about that s.l.u.t anyway? She doesn''t care about anyone and is only interested in her own nephew. She disgusts me to the core. Whenever I see her make-up laden face, I feel like puking." Gu Layue lamented.

    "So, then what should we do?", Gu Layue looked to her assistant who was observing his lady''s reaction and was waiting for her to ask this question.

    "If you give this servant of yours a chance, I would like to make a very bold suggestion.", Gu Chang lowered his head because he was going to propose a very outrageous idea to Gu Layue, one which would take too much patience for him to convince her to follow.

    "Gu Chang, when have I ever not let you present your thoughts? You ought to know how much I value you.", seeing such obedience from her servant, Gu Layue''s stance softened. She was quite pleased with this guy''s demeanor.

    This was the reason he had won her heart and she had forgiven his countless mistakes again and again. He was also pleasing to look at and p.l.e.a.s.u.r.ed her well too. She felt pity for him a bit since whenever they did it, she only thought about how Yu Tian would be in bed instead. She always ended up uttering Yu Tian''s name during their ''dual cultivation''.

    But why should she feel remorse over it? He was her servant, she could do anything with him. Alas, she never told him that apart from his looks and intelligence, there was one other reason she had chosen him and never let go.

    His voice was very similar to Yu Tian''s. So whenever he called her ''my lady'' she felt utter bliss because it felt like her Yu Tian was right there, calling her with affection. Gu Layue got aroused once again so she got up from her seat and headed towards her assistant, with her eyes full of l.u.s.t.

    Gu Chang understood what was coming so he prepared himself for it. At least, his lady didn''t beat him. How would he know that was because she could never bear to beat Yu Tian for whom he was a substitute?

    He cleared his throat and as Gu Layue arrived near him and started unbuttoning him, he dropped the bomb in his s.e.xy voice in her ear, "We should change our camps from Yu Rong''s to Mei Qingyang''s."

 Chapter 92 - Changing Camps

    "What are you talking about Gu Chang? How can I start supporting that stupid s.l.u.t?" Gu Layue tightened her grip on his shirt she had almost unbuttoned and with a painful and angry expression, she bit his lip. How dare he, a mere servant, ask her to jump sh.i.p.s and

    "But my lady, listen to me first.", Gu Chang was used to getting roughened up a bit like this so he just wiped his face a bit and put his hands on his master''s shoulders. Her dewy eyes touched a soft corner of his heart and he realized he should have started with his rationale first.

    "How can you even put forth this idea? Won''t it be so embarrassing for me to help my rival?", Gu Layue pretended to be almost on the verge of tears. Gu Chang wondered if this was some kind of new foreplay.

    "Ugh", he ruffled his hair in frustration and princess carried Gu Layue to the big bed in the room. One thing he could not bear was his master''s tears. That was one soft spot of his. The maids saw the scene and excused themselves from the penthouse.

    Now left alone, Gu Chang could go in aggressive mode. He ripped his lady''s clothes and touched her s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e spots which he had been master at since they started together. Now that the girl was subdued, he started explaining to her his strategy.

    "Listen to me okay? Yu Rong is someone who is losing her patience with everyone right now. If you go to her now and come under fire, she won''t see if you belong to Gu family. She only obeys three families which are Su, Feng and Fan.", he kissed the girl''s rosy lips hungrily but tenderly, like she was a priceless treasure. The girl beneath him, with milky white skin like snow white was looking at him as if she was looking at her lover.

    Yes, that gaze, that look was the one which sent Gu Chang into ecstasy. There was no other time when she would look at him like this. He kissed her neck and started going down. Gu Layue m.o.a.n.e.d loudly but they continued their conversation, even in the heated atmosphere.

    "And I understand if I separate myself from her. What''s in it for me to help that b*tch?", Gu Layue grabbed the guy''s neck and pulled him closer. Gu Chang looked at the girl''s face again. This master of his was doing her deed here but still thinking about how to get Yu Tian. A kind of pain went through Gu Chang''s heart and he inserted his part into Gu Layue forcefully.

    "Gu Chang! What are you doing?", Gu Layue cried in pain.

    "Sorry my lady, I was just thinking about our win already.", Gu Chang avoided his master''s gaze and stroked her face lovingly.

    "I never said we are going to help your enemy. We are just going to pretend. This way, not only would you be just sitting back and watching the show, you will also gain favor from Yu Tian. With that girl''s background, she would never amount to more than a servant, right?", Gu Chang spoke lovingly because he was told once by her master, how much she liked his voice.

    Gu Layue got placated and seriously started giving it a thought. Gu Chang was correct. Even if that b*tch won Yu Tian''s favor, she would never be able to be together with him. Not only her background was no match for him, they were literally on the opposite side.

    Given how ''filial'' Yu Tian had been till now to Yu Rong''s demands, he would never go against her. And by that wench''s demeanor, she was bound to stand in the way of Yu Rong.

    So, this genius was able to think this through huh? Glad she picked up this gem before anyone else got to him.

    "So then, what''s the next step?", she managed to utter through her m.o.a.ns.

    "You will go and tell them both about Yu Rong''s plans. We don''t really have any leads right now but you should have some idea, if she is planning on doing something big.", Gu Chang had finished by now and was now c.a.r.e.s.sing his master''s soft body. Yeah, he was the only one who had seen her all, and that was a pretty big achievement. He was going to make sure it remained so.

    "I do not have any clue. She hasn''t called me since the hospital incident.", Gu Layue wriggled her body to get into Gu Chang''s embrace. Her only purpose was to not see his face but only hear his voice, so that she could imagine Yu Tian speaking to her. On the other hand, it helped cool down Gu Chang''s flame of rage in his heart.

    "My dear lady, it does not even have to be truth. As long as you are able to convince them that you are giving them a helping hand, it should already make an impression on young master Yu.", Gu Chang brushed his hand over her back, sending shivers throughout her body. She nuzzled closer to his neck and hugged him tightly.

    "Okay, you think of the details, I shall execute them.", tired, Gu Layue fell asleep clinging to his n.a.k.e.d body. Gu Chang smiled at the face he had been seeing since he could remember. Did she really think he would let her go to Yu Tian? Did she not realize that if her dirty deeds came out in open, Yu Tian would never ever accept her? Gu Chang adjusted the strands of hair that had fallen on her face and neck.

    "My lady, you only belong to me.", he whispered in her ears. Unfortunately for Gu Layue, she had already fallen deep in sleep.

    ----------------------------------

    "This stupid nephew of mine, he wants to rebel? I will see how far he can go.", Yu Rong was in a similar state of rage as Gu Layue. So her nephew had made up his mind huh? He was going to stand against her huh?

    Ah, this frustration, where should she vent it out?

    "I need to kill that b*tch! You tell me Wang Hao, how can someone like a person with that disfiguration? Is Yu Tian okay in head? What kind of fetish has he got now?", Yu Rong help her head in her both hands. What was he thinking? Why would her every move backfire?

    Wang Hao rolled his eyes. Did you not raise him yourself? You are sick in mind, so is it a surprise your nephew turned out to be like you?

    "Don''t worry my lady, he just being blinded by foolish infatuation. He will come around soon enough.", he put down a few beer cans on Yu Rong''s table as she had ordered him to bring. It was just the morning and she had already started drinking. Even last night, she had quite some alcohol.

    "If you say so Wang Hao, you are the only one who understands me.", she was already drunk it seemed. She hiccupped twice then instructed Wang Hao to sit on the sofa.

    "Here, I shall reward you with one can, drink with me.", she offered her assistant a beer while sitting on his l.a.p. Wang Hao''s body immediately reacted.

    "See, you naughty boy. I know you love me the most. The reaction in instantaneous huh?", Yu Rong said, fondling a certain bulged part of his body.

    "Master, it is still early in the morning. Let me go and check what the two people are up to and prepare a detailed report for you. How about it?" While Wang Hao was not starting to look upto the days where he would see that girl with tender skin, it was the first time he had actually rejected Yu Rong''s advances. His mistress got startled on the rejection. Wang Hao had started feeing disgust over his master''s deeds. She used him whenever and however she wanted and then threw then under the bus, at every single occasion.

    "Wang Hao, what''s the matter? Are you saying no to me?", she grabbed his face angrily. "Are you enchanted by that witch too?" Yu Rong was is business for so many years, she knew how to read people. And right now, she was losing her assistant to that wench too.

    "Master, what are you talking about? Am I not doing this for your sake?" Wang Hao averted her gaze but still kissed her on lips, just to show he was not rebelling.

    The seeds of doubt, however, were already sown and this would become a huge discord in the future.

 Chapter 93 - Separate Them Apart

    "How dare she do this to my daughter?" Minister Jiang was looking at the pictures he had got from his source of communication between him and Qingyang. He had gotten the news of what had happened to Mei Qingyang in the past few days. This time that wench had crossed the limit.

    "Hanyu! This is utter humiliation. My poor girl. And what was that brat thinking, to house her in his dorm room?" He was furious. He needed to call Su Lang.

    "Hanyu! Do the damage control. These pictures should not get to anyone else, okay? Call Lang right now.", he ordered Li Hanyu who was as angry as his commander. "Oh and also, do not let this news get to my wife. She will have a heart attack if she sees it."

    "Yes, sir. I will go right away.", Li Hanyu said through his clenched teeth. Where did that innocent girl get trapped? He was regretting supporting her decision. He was the first person to know that she was planning to apply for that role in that dumb school.

    But she had told her plan to him with so much conviction that he had started trusting that she would be able to get revenge for his best friend. Why did he forget that she was still a powerless inexperienced little girl? She did not have any knowledge of politics and Yu Rong was an old player as were those old bastards in the school board.

    As soon as he came out of his boss''s office, he bumped his fist hard into the wall, scraping his skin. Marks of blood were left on the cr¨¨me colored wall. Li Hanyu did not even feel the pain, he was just lost in thoughts of how much that lass was suffering at that school. How he wished he could bring her out of the school right now.

    "Hanyu, my child. I heard Qing Qing wrote back to us. It hadn''t been days since her last transmission, why did she send a message so soon? Is everything alright there?", he found Mrs'' Jiang walking towards him.

    He moved to hide blood stains on the wall as well as his bloodied hands behind his back. Like a dog caught red handed in mischief, he fumbled as he replied to her nervously.

    "Yes Ma''am, she is all fine. She was just reporting some minor details about Yu Rong. She has not sent anything for you but said she was doing great.", Li Hanyu lied through his teeth. His forehead was full of sweat now.

    "Oh, okay. Great to hear that. I don''t know why, these days I feel so restless. But your words assure me. I will be on my way then.", Mrs. Jiang beamed and went away. Li Hanyu heaved a sigh of relief.

    A mother''s heart would know when her children are in trouble.

    ---------------------------------------------

    "You brat! What were you thinking when you let that happen to Qing Qing?", Minister Jiang had called up Su Lang. He had given the duty of protecting his precious daughter to him and this was the result? He needed answers!

    "Uncle! You got the news already?", Su Lang was dumbfounded at the resourcefulness of his uncle. Wasn''t it yesterday he was scolding Qing Qing about what if uncle Jiang came to know about it? And the very next day, he already got a call?

    Guiltily, he scratched his face.

    "You bet I know already. This is my daughter we are talking about. So, would you explain what happened?", Jiang Nuo thundered. Was this brat trying to distract him from the topic?

    Su Lang had no such intention, so he narrated the whole incident to him. He did not hide anything from him at all. If his uncle was so resourceful to know instantly what happened in the school, it would be better to have two heads thinking the solution than one.

    "Uncle, what do you think we could have done better? I certainly don''t want the situation to ever repeat.", Su Lang looked for advice from Jiang Nuo. His uncle was an intelligent man, he was the one who taught Mei Qingyang. If he had a few ideas to share, he could work off them.

    "Right now, there is no use analyzing the situation that happened yesterday. It was out of everyone''s calculation that Fan Ruyi would do something like that. In any case, we need to do something about Yu Rong and destroy the root of the evil." Jiang Nuo wanted to kill that person right away. He actually had enough evidence against her to get her a few years of imprisonment.

    But it would not do any justice to his own son, and now his daughter. For those small crimes, she would be easy to get bailed out. Not to mention that powerful brother of hers, Yu Ming. It was not the time to make enemies with that guy.

    "You are very correct uncle but you also need to understand my position. I still cannot take steps from here if it affects my whole family.", Su Lang said helplessly. Unfortunately, he had to think about his own family first. His parents were very supportive of his decisions, he had proven his might by establishing and running his own businesses.

    And they themselves did not like Yu Rong very much. But his parents dealt with Yu Ming and had quite a few business deals with Yu family. In fact, a majority of their business was directly or indirectly related to the Yu family.

    And as much as he wanted to help his foster cousin, he could not take any decisions that would adversely affect that relationship. Openly going against Yu Rong was one such action. On just the thought of choosing between the two, Su Lang frowned deeply. If only he was not bound by his familial relationsh.i.p.s, he could do the right thing.

    Suddenly he felt like a helpless little lamb, tied to a tree by a rope, at the mercy of his master, waiting for being slaughtered to make be served to patrons. Did all his life choices not revolve around his parents? It did not matter if they were right or wrong. Su Lang started reflecting on his whole life. And he regretted it, he regretted having born into the Su family.

    "It''s okay Lang, I appreciate whatever you can do. Just protect your sister as much as you can. And thank you for staying with her overnight." Jian Nuo understood his predicament but had become emotional earlier because his second child was involved with that wench. Foster or not, he did not want to lose her. Now that Su Lang had bared the truth like this, Jiang Nuo went back to his calm self.

    "I am not very happy about her involvement with Yu Tian. You understand my feelings about Yu family, right? I would like your help in keeping them away from each other, because no matter how much she begs me, I won''t approve of them, ever.", Jiang Nuo gave a final warning to Su Lang. He had also been getting news about their growing closeness with each other and he was quite upset about it.

    "Uncle, that is not up to me. I can only guide her. If they are meant to be together, no one, including you can separate them. I urge you to please not be blinded by your own revenge and let the time take its course of action.", Su Lang frowned a bit more. He had always thought his uncle was a level-headed person. He would not bring his personal feelings in his children''s relationship with others. But now hearing this, he was not so sure anymore. But he had explained his stance, so he was done.

    "Is that so? I will take necessary steps myself then.", Jiang Nuo put down his phone in anger. This brat didn''t want to listen to him? Parent knew the best for their children, who was he to give him a lecture? He would do anything in his power to separate them, they were not suited for each other.

    He would have given it a thought if Yu Tian was a clean person, but given he had been raised by Yu Rong, who knew how many girls he had bedded already, how many mistresses he currently had? On the top of that, he was coveting his own daughter now. Was this a ploy by Yu Rong herself?

    This won''t do. Jiang Nuo needed to send a warning to Qing Qing first. He started to work on it right away.

 Chapter 94 - Easy Target

    "Did you hear? Captain Yu is bringing that girl today. Is she really joining our team?", a team member at the gym started gossiping. Everyone had just arrived on orders of captain Yu. It was rare that captain himself had asked every team member to gather.

    The actual duty of training people was of vice captains under the direction of the three captains. How it worked was that each captain commanded four vice captains who further handled 8 team members each. They not only trained in martial arts, but they were also pros in athletics and archery.

    The selection process was also quite rigorous. Every year, only a handful of first year students were picked for the team. If one didn''t get selected in first year, they were not given chances any further.

    The reason was that the fourth-year students didn''t participate in any of the sports because they needed to prepare to graduate. Third year students had their last competition in spring. It was only fair to give chance to people who had been practicing with the team for long rather than recruit new students in second year.

    "Hmph! We went through hell for getting into the team and this girl, who is not even official servant of Yu Tian, is joining through backdoor. One just cannot disregard the power of connections, can they?", another team member chimed in.

    "What can a measly girl do anyway? We will kick her out. There is a reason there are only two females in the team. Even those girls just slack off and order their assistants. Have you ever seen them bring medals in any of the tournaments?", a third guy laughed at how worried the other two looked.

    "Hey the other two girls are graduating from the team this year. So, it would be good to have a girl to look at, will keep our motivation high.", a fourth guy tried to be optimistic.

    "Heh, you were not there when that girl bared her body, she has these hideous burn marks all over her body, she is not even worth it.", the first guy advised everyone else. It seemed that he was the only one who had gone to that show that day. There were secret pictures clicked but someone took them all down even before other people could screenshot or download any of them.

    "In any case, she does not belong to our class, we can always ask her to run errands for us. I am not going to entertain a girl who is weaker than the weakest of our team.", the fourth guy tried making schemes again. Everyone laughed at his comment. Of course they needed to vent out their frustration of always losing to their vice captains. That girl would be an easy target.

    The vice captains were listening to the conversation and smiled toward each other. It was like a new lamb was joining the team. They did not like the news of a girl directly joining the team without any tests either but it was Sir Yu Bufan who delivered it, so it could not be a prank. That frail looking girl, could she really join the Elite Eagles just like that?

    They planned to protest first but realized they were to go against the powerful captain Yu, and captain Su was also backing them. Now hearing the plans from their teammates, they could put their worries to rest. That girl would be out of here for good within days.

    "Oh, see, captain Yu and captain Su are here.", the guys hurriedly stopped whispering and stood up in respect when the two guys entered the gym. Su Lang had finished his call with Uncle Jiang earlier, so he joined the two on the way.

    "Hey guys, hope you have been training hard.", Su Lang greeted everyone cheerfully as he usually did. Perhaps he was the only approachable one out of the three.

    Yu Tian still looked cold. He became especially strict when at gym. They all had to be properly dressed before coming here. Seeing that everyone was wearing their traditional garb and in proper manner, he nodded his head.

    Everyone raised their heads to find a very petite girl enter the gym with them. She was wearing tight black active wear and had her hair tied up in ponytail. Her face definitely was not that bad to look at.

    A few guys snickered in the back, this girl didn''t even have proper clothes. But since she came with the captains, there was nothing they could do.

    "We are training as hard as ever. If only, you two could grant us a few training sessions", one of the vice captains started boot l.i.c.k.i.n.g right from the onset. The other vice captains frowned since they missed the chance to take the lead.

    "Oh great that you guys are pumped up even now. We have our friend, Mei Qingyang here. The vice captains are going to have a few matches with her. I am sure most of you guys would be dissatisfied because of her sudden entry to the team.", Su Lang smiled coldly to the person who had spoken. What did these guys think, that him and Yu Tian were fools? A chill spread in the gym.

    "What!", exclaimed everyone including Mei Qingyang. She understood she needed to show her strength but directly pairing her up with vice-captains? Yu Tian had taught her the structure of the teams on their way, so she knew the vice captains would not be that bad in their skills, a few might even be at par with the three guys.

    According to her knowledge, if one were to rank the three guys based on their strength and skills, Yu Tian would come first and Feng Yue last. Feng Yue had to keep his body in shape for his modelling career, so he could not spar with people.

    Hence, a few of the vice captains were even a bit above when it came to skills. However, Feng Yue was the best leader among the three, and thus, the vice captains acknowledged him as the captain. Naturally, other team members had to follow since they were not as strong as any of the captains or vice captains.

    So, was she to take up on all these guys one by one? She had not anticipated this much exercise suddenly. She should have warmed up before leaving the house. She looked at Yu Tian quizzingly. He nodded his head towards Su Lang first and then at her.

    She understood that there was no other way to convince these guys.

    "Okay, let me do some warm-up and you guys can decide who wants to fight me first.", she showed a confident smile like she was challenging them. A few of the vice captains frowned. How dared she be defiant to them like that?

    "I will take you up.", one of the vice captains came forward. He was not liking this girl provoking their authority. They were here before her. She was in first year and still had a chance, but they had been training since their own first year. Did she really think she would be able to defeat them?

    "Oh? Our vice-captain Xu is really great. Okay, let''s make it freestyle, you guys can use whatever form of martial arts you want. The first to get three hits on other wins. They could be as hard as you are capable of.", Su Lang gave two thumbs up to the guy.

    Wait, what did he mean, as hard as you are capable of?

    Everyone looked at each other in surprise. Was captain Su serious? This vice-captain Xu was one of the bulkiest people here. He was famous for being ruthless and not sparing his opponents. He had a record of paralyzing two of his opponents from other schools in his matches and breaking at least one bone of the opponent in every match. People had started forfeiting in the matches against him. The girl would die with his one hit.

    Mei Qingyang looked at the guy. He was definitely a heavy weight. But she was petite, and her agility was other than none. Su Lang did do her a favor by making the match freestyle.

    "Nice to meet you, vice-captain Xu, I look forward to our match.", Mei Qingyang extended her hand towards the guy to shake it. But the guy did not pay her any heed and left to prepare himself.

    Her hand hanging in air, Mei Qingyang smiled. This guy sure had a temper.

 Chapter 95 - The First Match Begins

    "Well, the girl is done for. We shouldn''t even be here, this is such a waste of time.", the first guy from previous conversation whispered among his peers who were all now gathered around the mat.

    The two captains and the three vice captains were all sitting on the opposite side, so these team members were kind of free to talk.

    Yu Tian glanced towards the place of the movement. Everyone became nervous.

    "Shh¡­ Do you want to kill us? If captain Yu hears us, we will be the ones done for.", the third guy reminded him.

    "It is interesting though. This girl is nothing special but both captains Yu and Su are backing her. I even heard captain Feng had confessed his feelings for her. What is this girl? There should be something, right?", the third guy analyzed the situation for them.

    "Whatever it is, she will still get crushed today. She''s suspended for a month for her evil deeds and now she is here to create more troubles for herself again. Such people deserve such kind of treatment.", another guy added to the heated but hushed discussion.

    "Is something the matter over there?", Yu Tian roared from the opposite side. He definitely could not hear what they were saying, but their disgusted expression towards the direction where Qing Qing had gone was a dead giveaway of their topic of conversation.

    "No, sir!", everyone said in unison. They looked at each other and smirked. The captain was definitely having fun with her, and perhaps had taken her in as a servant.

    A few thought in their mind, how great it would be to have fun with the girl who is being banged by the legendary captain Yu. It would have bragging rights then, if they were able to succeed in that. Now they were looking forward to her joining their team... as their servant.

    "I am ready.", Mei Qingyang came out of the girl''s locker room. She performed her special warm-up she had been trained for. She did not want to show anyone, lest they recognize that her exercise and training style was military.

    What if these two impolite guys decided that she should replace Feng Yue for the time being? It was quite possible that the thought had already crossed through their minds. She was not interested in leading a bunch of kids who were not going to respect her regardless of her win or loss today. She had to hold back her strength and let that guy break her bone or two.

    Ah! The pain never ends, eh?

    "I am ready too.", vice-captain Xu did not do any warm ups. He had already been sweating before the bunch gathered at the place.

    From the perspective of Yu Tian and Su Lang, no one would be able to say after this match that Mei Qingyang cheated or this vice captain Xu was bribed into losing on purpose. They had wanted to pair her up first with this guy as well. Fortunately, he volunteered by himself.

    If she lost, she was not suitable for the team to begin with. If she won, first, she would have her toughest match out of the way, others would be easy wins. Second, no one would question her or the two captain''s integrity since vice-captain Xu''s image was of an honest man.

    Come to think of it, this image was not established just like that. He had been offered, on multiple occasions, monetary and other benefits, to either leave the school and join another team or lose or forfeit the upcoming match on purpose. This guy was so principled that he rejected all the offers firmly, earning him the title of the blunt righteous bear.

    The two opponents were standing on the mat, waiting for the signal to start. Time seemed to have stopped as two contenders looked into each other''s eyes and gauged their confidence. The guy was impressed with the unfounded confidence this girl seemed to have. What was it called again, c.o.c.kiness?

    There was a pin drop silence in the gym at this point. Everyone was waiting for this girl to get her lesson served in a platter by their vice-captain. The tension high, everyone''s heartbeat could be heard loud, including the two captains.

    "Once again, free style, three hits. No time limit. Let''s do it.", Yu Tian''s voice echoed in the still gym.

    No time limit? Had their captain gone mad? The match would be over in three seconds. Was he not putting too much confidence in this lass?

    Everyone shook their head left and right in pity for their captain. He had definitely gotten a screw lose or two in his brain.

    Mei Qingyang and vice-captain Xu both stood at their own places even after Yu Tian gave his signal. Then suddenly, vice-captain Xu took the lead and ran towards Mei Qingyang. Everyone closed their eyes for they did not want to see a bloody scene so early in the morning and prayed for the girl in their hearts.

    Both the captains were smirking at their confused expressions while the other vice captains had their mouths open in surprise.

    Vice-captain Xu had attacked her head-on with a fake left jab and right cross. But the girl had managed to dodge the first and she blocked the second one with her one hand. Not only that, she had put him in a lock, restricting his movements. No one could believe what they were seeing.

    "No wonder both the captains were okay with this match. You do have a few skills.", vice-captain Xu spoke up.

    "Many thanks for your compliment.", Mei Qingyang smiled while strengthening her lock in hopes to render this guy unconscious. Unfortunately, this guy was too thick skinned, literally. Furthermore, she had not trained in a while with an opponent, so her skills had become a bit rusty.

    "But your strength is not enough to hold me for long.", vice-captain Xu managed to open her lock and threw the light body in the air from his back to strike the floor hard. It was a full 270 degree turn.

    "Owww!", everyone exclaimed in pain. It was as if they were the ones who were thrown high up in the air. Yu Tian got up from his seat.

    "Uff.", poor Mei Qingyang had overestimated her body. She had definitely not recovered from her injuries. But now that she had taken up this challenge, she could not back off. She had to win but by low margin. This was good enough.

    "This will count as one hit.", Su Lang spoke while pressing his hand on Yu Tian''s shoulder to urge him to sit down.

    "Yes, we knew it. The first hit was out vice-captain''s!" Everyone actually got excited by this sudden turn of events. The girl could actually put that burly man into a lock? For more than three seconds? It was already better than his own team members. This match wasn''t going to be too short as they had anticipated earlier but since vice-captain Xu had already got his first hit, it might as well be over soon.

    If their captain Su was trying to minimize the injuries to the girl and end the match as soon as possible by deeming this as a hit, then that was not fair. Vice-captain Xu should have his fun. The first hit increased the fire in vice-captain Xu''s heart while a streak of blood came out of Mei Qingyang''s mouth once again. She coughed a bit of blood out.

    "Are you okay?", Yu Tian spoke with concern in his voice. Everyone looked at his direction to see a worried expression on his face, a first for everyone. He was eager to go to the mat and help the girl out but Su Lang had kept his body firm in the chair.

    Mei Qingyang wiped the blood on her face and made an okay signal to Yu Tian. She smiled and got up but her green eyes gold colder. Perhaps she had actually already broken a rib bone, letting vice-captain Xu maintain his record.

    Tsk, I wanted to break his record but my body hurts so much, so cannot be sure. Mei Qingyang!! It''s time to be serious!!

 Chapter 96 - Strike!

    Mei Qingyang tried to stand up but fumbled down. She was feeling really dizzy right now. Perhaps the impact from that throw buzzed her brain too. She shook her head to come back in focus. Sweat droplets flowed down her forehead, blurring her vision more. She could hear her own heartbeat that was almost reaching the moon. Everything around her had stopped/

    After a few seconds of struggle, she finally saw her opponent standing a few feet away in another attack stance.

    Was it already her limit? Was her training all this time with dad and brother Hanyu waste? Wasn''t she letting them both down with her display like this?

    She knew that if she did not find her footing within next few seconds, she would lose the second hit too. It would be utterly difficult to make a comeback after that. She did not have enough strength to pull what the guy did to her, she could only try another lock on him.

    Oh wait! She had completely forgotten that it was a freestyle match! Why was she trying to match the guy''s style this whole time? She could use one of her stealth strikes from Muay Thai.

    From the movements of this guy, he probably had no idea about Muay Thai. She regained her confidence and composure. She took a deep breath in and calmed down properly before standing up straight. She then tried a rally of few fake punches and kicks to startle vice-captain Xu, however, with little success.

    She kept at it and finally started hitting his legs with her low kicks. The people sitting around did not think much of her not so powerful kicks. But no one knew how her small kicks were chipping away the big guy''s strength. Only the other vice-captains and the two captains were seeing her effort.

    It was taking much of her strength to find opportunities to hit the same point on vice-captain Xu''s legs while defending herself from his own ruthless attacks. In the end, when it seemed like she was going to lose her own strength first, she finally found a chance to go for a full blow strike when the big guy slightly tripped on one of her own clumsy moves.

    It was definitely a lucky chance for her. She went all out for her final kick and was finally able to make the guy buckle from her strength. That was a fantastic move and even the vice-captains applauded on her first strike.

    Her two supporters jumped from their seat, this time in elation rather than worry. The guys in the gym were seeing the two captains showing these many emotions for the first time. They seemed more humane to them now.

    Everyone knew Yu Tian was cold and strict. But Su Lang used a totally different strategy for the people under him, hot and cold treatment. If he was happy by performance of someone, he would shower them with so much praise that others would start feeling envious of that person.

    If he was upset with someone, he would humiliate the person before everyone so ruthlessly that the other party would rather not come to gym after that. On the top of that he would use his prettiest of smiles to do so, which looked so sarcastic but no one could really hate him for his charming smile. Everyone was more afraid of Su Lang than Yu Tian.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang finally relaxed and announced her first hit joyfully to the whole gym. The team members were still confused though. They did not process what had happened for two minutes.

    The girl was constantly hitting, trying to hit anyway, their vice-captain. But she was not getting much traction. And then she kind of tripped on her foot or slipped or something happened which made the vice-captain lose balance too because they were in a close combat.

    And the next thing they knew, vice-captain Xu was on the floor with his face in the dust. How did this happen? Should it not be counted as cheating?

    "You guys are done with one strike each. You can take a few minutes break before we begin again.", seeing the condition of both, but especially Qing Qing, Su Lang stood up and suggested this.

    Other guys gave him a weird look as if they were disgusted by the obvious partiality their captains were showing towards this girl. Mei Qingyang was the first one to reject this idea.

    First of all, she could tell that no one was counting her point as a real point. Now if Su Lang showed her more favor, the other people in the gym would definitely go crazy.

    Furthermore, her future two strikes would not be judged genuinely by others. Plus, she didn''t want to give any time to the guy to recover. The element of surprise would be gone by then.

    She could perhaps use the same technique one more time before vice captain Xu got used to it. She again waved her hand for Su Lang to announce that no break was required.

    "I don''t need any break and it seems like my opponent doesn''t want any either. We would like your permission to continue.", vice-captain Xu spoke up. He was observing the girl very closely. She was on the verge of losing her consciousness and barely standing.

    But she was still not interested in taking any rest. As a martial artist, he developed a huge respect for the girl right then and there. Earlier strike might have been a fluke on her part, and he was sure everyone thought that. But he himself knew how much her kick hurt.

    She was also not a person who was battling blindly. He understood she was using proper strategies and he was actually looking forward to seeing more from her.

    If she were to use the same tactic again, he would definitely not be able to use his leg for the rest of his match. Right now itself, he was struggling to lift his legs for his kicks. He needed to defeat her on the ground then. He had the weight advantage.

    "But Qing Qing¡­", Su Lang was about to protest and force her to take a break.

    "Ahem¡­", Yu Tian cut him off in between. Why did Su Lang have to use her nick name before everyone? This dropped her credibility. Su Lang looked at Yu Tian cutting him off and taking lead with suspicion. What were these guys cooking?

    "It''s okay. If both parties agree, you guy can go ahead. Let''s start the second round.", Yu Tian announced. He looked reassuringly towards Mei Qingyang, who was looking towards their direction listlessly, to assure her that she had in her what it would take to defeat this guy. This movement didn''t escape any of the guys sitting on the opposite side of the match. There was this weird atmosphere around these three. What was it again?

    "Let''s do our best for next two rounds.", vice-captain Xu came forward to shake Mei Qingyang''s hand with a stiff expression. He never thought a feeble girl like her would have tied up the score with him. He was regretting underestimating the girl earlier. He had thought that he would finish the match in three seconds, just like any other guy in the gym. But she was putting up a great fight.

    "Yes.", Mei Qingyang smiled and shook his hand congenially. This was start of a legendary friendship that surpassed her relationship with the two guys sitting over there but that would be in the future.

 Chapter 97 - Did I Hit Too Hard?

    "Okay, start!", Yu Tian announced for the second time. This time Mei Qingyang did not waste any time as she ran towards the big guy before he got any chance to attack.

    Vice-captain Xu smiled because he had already anticipated her moves. He prepared himself to block her legs but unexpectedly an elbow strike hit him in his c.h.e.s.t. She intentionally avoided his heart because she was not sure how much strength she would end up using. It was enough to understand that he still was looking for her kicks.

    Ugh, she could not use her killer kick anymore. He was already prepared for it. Still, to confuse him a bit, she used her kicks a few times. Now the guy was constantly on defense while Mei Qingyang was on offense. She was not giving him any chance or opening to attack at all.

    As soon as she delivered a kick or a punch or another elbow strike, she would jump behind the guy to constantly keep him on his feet. It felt like a small rat was jumping around a ferocious tiger and confusing the heck out of him. By the time he turned around, she would deliver another small hit to him.

    Vice-captain Xu''s veins had started to pop out because he was getting really frustrated in his inability to touch her at all. Where did all this agility come from suddenly?

    Not being able to take it anymore, he grabbed the girls hand next time a punch came flying in, trying to stop her movements. Who knew she was waiting for this chance?

    The only thing vice-captain Xu saw was Mei Qingyang smirk and the next thing he knew, he was experiencing an excruciating pain in his c.h.e.s.t. She had cut his grab in an instant and used her other elbow to strike hard in his c.h.e.s.t, throwing him on the ground with his back hitting the mat hard.

    Vice-captain Xu coughed up some blood and laid flat on the ground. He closed his eyes and started contemplating on his life suddenly. Why had he worked so hard just to be defeated by a girl like this? She had taken a lead now and he had definitely broken a rib or two.

    That girl also had broken a few bones with his first throw but still persisted and managed to land two blows on him.

    On the side, the two captains were clapping so hard and joyfully celebrating for her. Did they ever do the same when he won his matches? He was always supposed to win for them, since he trained under them. But this girl was beating him left and right without any training. What was this girl?

    "Are you alright? Did I hit you too hard?", he heard a very melodious concerned voice very close to his ear.

    He opened his eyes and saw a worried girl squatting beside him and looking at his face. Her green marble eyes were so mesmerizing. No wonder she was such beloved of those two. Worrying about an opponent of the match where it would be decided if she was going to join the team or not was out of norms.

    "Oh, he opened his eyes!", she turned her head and spoke at the two captain''s direction.

    He looked towards them and saw the two captains and other three vice captains at the edge of the mat.

    Oh! They were respecting his boundaries by not entering the arena but they were actually concerned about him?

    Yu Tian nodded towards him. He almost cried at his idol''s acknowledgement. This is what he had been working hard for. It felt like he had achieved his dream even if he had lost. He might have been a big burly man, with a body girls were not very fond of, but he was a big softie inside. And this match would prove to be turning point in his career as a martial artist.

    He had followed and idolized Yu Tian for so long. He was one of the best people out in the martial arts world, a strong body and a strong mentality. He had trained hard all his life, just to get into this club. To think, the three guys would end up leading the club in their first year itself. It was something unheard of before. Only third years were allowed to lead the club.

    But they had not really acknowledged any of the vice-captains before. They just instructed them personally for about an hour per week and then they were on their own. Today was the day when he would rise in their eyes, when captain Yu would actually remember his name. Wasn''t this a bliss?

    "Can you stand?", Mei Qingyang offered her small hand while standing up.

    Vice-captain Xu took her offer. The small soft hand was so cool to touch. But this small body possessed so much strength, he was astounded. Mei Qingyang grinned at him.

    "I forfeit.", vice-captain Xu declared, much to the chagrin of his teammates. They stood up in protest.

    "Not cool vice-captain! You can still defeat her! The score is just 2-1", they shouted.

    Idiots! They were not the ones who took that last hit. How would they know the pain?

    "I know my body well. If I do any more damage to it, I won''t be able to participate in upcoming national tournament. Captain Yu and captain Su, you guys would understand.", he spoke expressionlessly towards the two guys.

    They looked at each other and granted him the permission to leave the match. Mei Qingyang was standing there dumbfounded. Did she really do too much damage? She had made sure to control her strength though.

    While she was thinking, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

    "Let me have my dignity for if you land a third hit on me, I won''t be able to show my face to my teammates.", she heard a serious whisper on her side. First she went wide eyed hearing the man''s cute confession, then she chuckled.

    "You got it vice-captain Xu. Thank you very much for a great match!", she complimented him.

    "Please call me Xu Yang. Vice-captain Xu is too formal. And do teach me your techniques some day. Your moves are deadly.", he clutched his c.h.e.s.t to show that he was still in pain.

    "Ah! I am sorry for earlier. And you are still my senior, so I will call you Senior Xu.", she turned her body to face a Xu Yang who was acting to be in pain. She smiled at him once again. He was actually a worthy opponent. He could have easily taken advantage of her injuries from the whip earlier, but he purposefully avoided hitting those areas.

    Who would be this careful in a match? If not for lack of places to grab or hold her, he would have mostly defeated her. She did make sure to hide her majority of moves. But a guy, who was trained in martial arts only for competitions, made her take out a few of her killer moves, he was not an easy challenge.

    "Let''s have another match someday when you are fully recovered and I do not have to participate in any tournament soon.", he whispered once again.

    "I would also like to exchange blows without any restrictions. Thank you for not taking advantage of my wounds.", she bowed slightly to him to show her gratitude and respect for him. He, in turn, bowed back.

    The two people left the mat. Xu Yang''s teammates came to fetch him.

    "Are you okay, vice-captain? We did not realize she did so much damage to you. What will we do in the competition now? That wench is so hateful!", a few of them chided the girl in their heart. She must have used some illegal moves.

    "Shut up! I am not invincible, okay? There is no shame in losing to a worthy person. She is a person you should be learning from.", Xu Yang chided his underlings. God these stupid people still had to learn so much more. He felt like a failure of a trainer too now. They did not know how to take advantage of gems and other''s skills. They still thought of themselves as high and mighty.

    He needed to teach them that that mat did not see the difference between rich and poor. It only witnessed and awarded the better skilled people. That girl''s moves and tactics were so beautiful. If only, he had a chance at the training she had gone through. She might have looked a frail powerless girl, but she was much more complicated than that.

    He turned his head to look at the petite girl once again, who was to go through three more matches. How would she handle three more?

    The girl on the other hand, was running towards the two captains, carefree, not knowing what was coming for her next.

 Chapter 98 - Forfeit

    "Good job cousin! That was great. You made the strongest of our vice-captains to submit to you.", Su Lang came forward to ruffle her hair while smiling brilliantly, only to blind all the people present on the scene.

    The gym was closed to the outside people but there had gathered quite some crowd outside the windows to see what was happening. Everyone was in shock how this girl had defeated that big guy and made him withdraw from the match.

    And now this further never before scenery of the two legends showering warm smiles to that one lowly commoner was eliciting jealousy towards the girl while they were also thanking their stars that they got to see them.

    "Are you okay?", Yu Tian handed her a towel to dry off the sweat. She nodded to assure him that she was alright. Even if she wasn''t, she could not really tell him that. She would never hear an end of scolding otherwise.

    "It was a great match.", Yu Tian patted her head expressionlessly. And hurriedly withdrew his hand in embarrassment. He turned around and went to sit on his seat once again.

    Su Lang understood what was happening but Mei Qingyang was really confused. She touched her head in a daze, not knowing why he left in such a hurry without saying much. He was okay hugging her earlier at his home, now he didn''t want to even put his hand on her head. Was it because she was all sweaty and dirty? No one could understand this guy, seriously!

    "I will go to washroom to wash a bit.", Mei Qingyang left with the towel. She needed to examine the extent of damage to her body. The two girls who were part of the almost non-existent girls'' team, followed her into the bathroom.

    "What? You can''t even bear to hold your feelings now that you had to leave her hanging like that?", Su Lang teased Yu Tian when he returned to his seat. The ears of other vice captains perked up. Xu Yang had been taken to the locker room by his teammates to rest. He could not watch the remaining matches.

    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think just patting her head or stroking her cheek is enough. I just want to hold her all the time. I don''t know what to do about these feelings of mine.", Yu Tian looked at his right hand which he had used to pat her head earlier. What had happened to him? Why was he becoming so¡­ l.u.s.ty?

    "You have really fallen for her, eh? I have never seen you so smitten with anyone.", Su Lang had a smug on his face. He was seeing a very interesting side of his friend and both Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi were missing out on so much. He suddenly started missing his two friends. This guy, who shunned even the presence of girls with his whole body, had fallen in love with a girl so hopelessly.

    "Don''t become too obsessed Tian. It won''t be beneficial for either of you. Do remember to give her space, she is a prideful woman.", Su Lang gave him a reminder. Both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were dear to him and he wanted best for both of them.

    "When I start going out of my line, I will count on you to smack me back on track.", Yu Tian looked at his best friend and grinned, earning a very surprised look from everyone around, including the girls outside.

    What were the two talking about to evoke such a beautiful smile out of their God? His perfect set of teeth was like pearls from the ocean, in the girls'' eyes anyway. Mei Qingyang would have called everyone crazy.

    But the world needed an answer! They would hound those three vice-captains later. The three vice-captains already started feeling the chills in their body from the stares of the girls outside.

    "Uhh¡­ Captain Yu and captain Su.", two of the three remaining vice captains approached the two guys, breaking the harmonious moment between the two. The two friends went back to being all serious and aloof.

    "Yes?", Yu Tian spoke.

    "We would like to forfeit our matched too.", the two spoke in unison, shaking.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang were looking to reduce her number of matches anyway. They agreed as soon as the request was raised.

    They both looked at the third vice-captain, vice-captain Xuan who was staring at the mat with his fists tightly clenched and a sinister expression. They had an ominous feeling about this guy.

    "Do you still want to continue with your match vice-captain Xuan?", Su Lang inquired in a threatening voice.

    "Yes? Ah, yes, I would like to participate.", vice-captain Xuan replied in confusion. These guys did not know his plan, did they? He had not discussed it with anyone. Then why was captain Su''s tone like this?

    He knew these two guys to the core, he had followed them for years. Their expectations for their underlings was beyond anyone''s comprehension. He had already heard the other two who were planning on withdrawing from their respective matches once they saw how ruthless the girl''s moves were. Those scaredy cats!

    But from what he knew about these two captains, those cowards would now fall out of favor of the captains because they got scared.

    Huh! Serves them right. If they could not understand their own classmates even after so many years, are they even worthy of being called men? And did they not think about their own underlings even once before making the decision?

    Furthermore, he could not disappoint that person, could he? She had promised him something he could not refuse. It would be nice to hear the screams of this girl on the mat.

    Later, later I will go and thank that Xu Yang too. He did do much damage to her already injured body. This will be a piece of cake.

    "Okay then, we both will let you both have a similar match as previous. But since we are running out of time, we will make it five minutes match. If none of you is able to get three hits, whoever has more hits at the end of the match, will win. If there is draw, we will increase the duration by one minute every time.", Su Lang wanted to finish this as soon as possible. His heart could not put a finger to it but there was something really wrong here. His gut feeling was saying that this guy was going to be bad news.

    They had been looking to make an all-girls team anyway. Those two girls were rather okay in terms of skill and every time a competition came around, they had one or other excuse prepared to not participate.

    Other girls were busy with their beauty regimes the whole day, so even if someone had any prior training, they would never step into the gym for training. And other few did not want to develop muscles for ''no one would marry them afterwards''. Like what kind of concerns were these?

    So, the three guys had really given up on the girls'' team. Those two girls would just click pictures of the guys and that was their only work. They also belonged to higher status houses in the country, so no one really dared to drive them out, no matter how irritating they were.

    Which reminded Su Lang, he had seen them entering the gym after the match had ended but where were they now? Did they follow Mei Qingyang to the washroom?

    Su Lang apologized to Mei Qingyang in his heart for the two girls would be more nuisance to her before her last match started.

 Chapter 99 - A Bloody Scene

    "Yo! We see a new girl is taking on a new challenge." The two girls entered the washroom where Mei Qingyang was standing in front of the mirror with a basin full of blood. Her lips were laced with blood too.

    The two girls flinched looking at the gore scene. It looked straight out of a horror movie. Not only was the red blood filling the white basin, there were blood spots on the mirror also. The girl with her hair tightly tied in a ponytail was nowhere to be found.

    There was only a girl standing there with her hair scattered on her face and her body slouched on the washbasin. The two girls wanted to scream as if they had seen a ghost but their voice was not coming out. Their deathly pale faces regained some color when they saw the ''ghost'' speak in a familiar voice.

    "Did you need something from me?" the girl with the marble eyes spoke without any hint of emotion in her voice. She was wiping the blood from her lips. Her voice had a menacing tone to it. It felt like she was out there to kill someone. The only thing lacking here was a knife in her hands.

    "N¡­ no." It took some time for the two girls to regain their composure. Oh yeah, there was only one other girl apart from them in the gym and that was that Mei Qingyang. So, this was Mei Qingyang? She sure was ghastly and disgusting, just as the rumors said.

    Seeing that there was no further response, Mei Qingyang started cleaning her face. The blood around the basin flowed down the drain in the process. She coughed a few times to spit more blood out but finally was able to contain her fits.

    Once everything around her was clean to her satisfaction, she tied up her hair in a tight bun. Her last match was with an uptight guy but who knew what the next person would be like? She did not want to give anyone chances to take advantage of anything. She nodded her head twice in delight.

    Her exquisite features were more visible now that she had all her hair tied up. She was indeed a beautiful specimen albeit, one with slightly wheatish skin. The two girls suddenly felt a surge of envy in their hearts. This girl had a match with a guy just now. How was she able to still look pretty in such a state?

    When they had started with the club, they were chosen for their skills. And then, once they started training seriously, they saw a huge change in their skin tone. People started taunting them for having to have started looking more manly.

    It was, perhaps, because they were being trained with the other boys and they had to sometimes practice in hot weather outside. But when a lot of people started pointing out the flaws they were gaining, they stopped putting any efforts.

    "Hmph! What a sickening sight, seriously. You are a girl, don''t you think you need to take more care of yourself?" one of the girls tried taunting Mei Qingyang.

    "If you want to take care of yourself, you should not be in a gym", Qingyang replied caustically. Her eyes had gone cold and any trace of emotion had left her face.

    Ah! These were the famous two girls who drove away all the girls who were interested in joining the club. With their influence, why did the three captains not remove them from the team? They had enough power for that, did they not?

    What was wrong with these two anyway? She had not interacted with them or offended them. Were they another pair of girls with riches complex?

    She cursed her two friends in her heart. Why could they not stop them before entering the restroom? The last thing she wanted right now was to deal with another set of bullies.

    "You dare talk back to us? We are your seniors!", the other girl cried incredulously. Just because she won a match, she had become conceited now?

    The two girls had not really watched the match. They were sure that either this girl had cheated or that guy had colluded with the two captains and lost on purpose. How could a girl like her be able to defeat that beast otherwise?

    "Hmph! I guess one win has gotten into her head. If we want, we can take out that guy too. It''s just that we don''t try", the first girl spoke arrogantly, extending her hand up in the air to look at her pretty nails she had just gotten manicured.

    A muscle on Mei Qingyang''s forehead twitched. Why did they have to come and cause her headache at this point of time? She was going to go into her zone so that she could focus on her next match rather than the pain due to her injuries.

    "Yeah. Perhaps we even would not need any of the captains to plead to the other party for us. Unlike a certain someone.", the second girl took another jab.

    Right now, Mei Qingyang was running out of patience. Were these girls here just to put her down with these small insults? She had gotten used to them long ago. She smiled, frightening the two girls.

    "Oh? Well, if you think the match was fixed, how about a game right here? You guys have skills, I just heard one of you saying. I would like to see", Mei Qingyang flashed a brilliant grin but her eyes told the two girls that she was ready to break a few bones.

    The two girls got really intimidated and ran away as fast as they could, screaming at the top of their lungs, drawing attention from everyone in the gym towards girls'' locker room.

    Su Lang tittered, while everyone else was confused. Didn''t Mei Qingyang go towards that side? Why did the two girls come out of the direction screaming?

    Mei Qingyang''s mood really worsened as she entered back the place. Her eyes met with Yu Tian''s and she was reminded of the pat earlier. She averted her gaze as she blushed on the side. She was not aware of the fact that she had just one last match remaining now.

    Su Lang ran towards her and escorted her back, giving her the details of what had transpired while she was gone. He also gave her a few pointers about her next opponent. Mei Qingyang focused on the information, forgetting the drama earlier.

    Finally, it was time for the last match then.

 Chapter 100 - Another Torture

    "Both of you guys, ready?" Su Lang brought the two of them on the mat. Mei Qingyang''s nerves were all frazzled but vice-captain Xuan looked pretty relaxed. It was almost as if he was sure of his victory.

    And this confidence was what was not sitting right with Mei Qingyang. Her match earlier made two vice-captains quit their match even before they started. According to her data, she already had her toughest match. Then why could she not relax at all. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

    She could not let her opponent know that she was nervous. It might cost her the match. They both bowed to each other. On Su Lang''s instruction, they started.

    The guy did not waste any time at all and started with determining the right distance between the two. Mei Qingyang had to go defensive since the beginning. And then it happened, the thing that Yu Tian, Su Lang and she herself were afraid of. Vice-captain Xuan hit her right near her collarbone where there was a big injury already present from the whip.

    Well, she had bared her body in front of everyone and there were pictures also circulating, which were later taken down, but who knew if privately stored pictures were deleted or not. Although, she was taken away to Yu Tian''s suite and right now she was wearing a suit that was covering her till her neck, there was no knowing if this guy bought the information from somewhere about her injuries.

    The pain seared through her whole body. Collarbone was already a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e part, then his hit and on the top of that, her previous injury, it made her fall onto the mat and curl into herself. Not only that, now she knew this guy was going to take advantage of her previous injuries, her confidence reduced.

    Everyone who had seen her that day and was present to watch the match, gasped in horror. How painful it must be.

    Mei Qingyang''s tears inadvertently came out of her eyes. Since she was already covered with sweat, no one noticed, except the two captains. Both of them stood up and called out fault in rage.

    "But captain Yu, there was no rule against hitting anywhere, was there?" Vice-captain Xuan was justifying his move, and rightly so. If they were going to say anything about it, they should not have kept the matches to begin with. Yu Tian wanted to beat up this vice-captain so bad.

    Out of all the four, this guy was the most mysterious. Xu Yang was a straightforward personality, and other two were timid but still worked hard. They had trained with the three captains personally, so they were still able to put up a fight against other national players.

    But this guy had always been pretty strategic. He knew how to take advantage of all the loopholes in the rules and weaknesses of his opponents. He spent half his time studying others rather than practicing or improving his skills. His ability was an entity of envy for many. He had also exploited quite a few rules like this to his advantage.

    And once such instance was today. The two captains could not even go to help out the girl writhing in pain on the floor.

    "Won''t you call out my first hit, captains?" There was a very minacious expression on his face. He had got his first hit in first thirty seconds. Mei Qingyang would die this way if she were to take two more hits.

    Yu Tian gave him a murderous glance while vice-captain Xuan shrugged his shoulders.

    "We shall give you first hit but no targeting injured areas from hereon", Yu Tian sternly warned him.

    "You cannot change rules in the middle of the match captain Yu. Moreover, although Xu Yang avoided her injured areas, this rule was not used during his match. Don''t you think it''s unfair to me?"

    "You¡­"

    "It''s okay senior Yu", Mei Qingyang got up from the mat somehow. She finally knew that this guy was going to do it again. He would just find another excuse to hit any of her injured parts. That meant she needed to take a lead first and let the match finish in five minutes by just stalling time.

    With this strategy, she found some strength in her and stood up while still clutching her collarbone. No one could rescue her now. She had to give it her all. If she was able to take the lead, that would be the best. It was not ideal to drag the match into sixth minute.

    "I agree with him. Please do not give that many handicaps to him, even if I win the match, there won''t be any meaning to it", she spoke with a resolve in her eyes.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang got convinced by her determination once again. Yeah, she had defeated Xu Yang, so this guy could be defeated too.

    "Great work Ms. Mei. But please do not expect me to go easy on you." The guy had a smug on his face.

    "I would not want that either", Mei Qingyang replied with a fire burning in her eyes now. This guy was getting on her nerves now. She could not not defeat him now.

    The next round started and the guy did not take a hit on her. This time, he locked her in a deadlock and pressed on her arm where she had an injury. He was not gaining anything by this but it was not listed in previous rules either.

    Both captains clenched their fists. Mei Qingyang screamed with pain. He was not scoring a point but just torturing her. Panting heavily, she wished she could do something. But since the guy had the lead already, he was stalling for time too.

    The pain now went to her head and she was starting to lose consciousness. The wh.i.p.s themselves were not as painful that day as how this guy was twisting her arm and pressing the injured area. She wished someone would just separate her arm from her body. That would probably be less painful than what she was experiencing right now.

    "Yo! Don''t keep it against me okay? I am just working for my benefit like this", he whispered to the girl who was struggling to get out of his grip and flailing her legs very hard.

    Ugh! If only she could move one of her arms.

    The guy had pulled her in a lock in which he was kneeling down on his knees while locking both her arms and neck with his own and the girl''s lower body was on the floor. Even if her lower body was free and she could do something with her legs, it could injure her neck. And she did not have enough strength to pull that stunt right now.

    But given that it was her last chance, she gathered all the remaining energy and tried raising her lower body into the air. She tried once, only to fail. Vice-captain Xuan laughed out loudly. Such vain attempts.

    She tried a second time again after a few seconds and finally succeeded to land her legs on his shoulders. With how strong the lock was, her spine was almost at the brink of breaking. But she somehow, managed to hold his neck between her legs. The more she tried to gain an advantage, the guy''s hold was becoming stronger too.

    But it wasn''t as strong as Xu Yang. She knew this guy only knew how to exploit weaknesses but he himself wasn''t that strong. With this realization, she put as much strength as she could to put pressure on his neck and he ultimately gave in. He removed his hold immediately and tried freeing his neck. With her whole body free, she hit his c.h.e.s.t hard with her elbows, dealing a final blow.

 Chapter 101 - Yu Tian Loses Control

    "You sure are tough", vice-captain Xuan spoke between his coughs and panting. Timer was stopped till both the players would get up and start again. However, both of them were lying on the ground, huffing heavily. Mei Qingyang was tired from her previous matches and this one move really took a toll on her body. Not to mention how this guy was torturing her with her injuries.

    The guy was really choked for air. No one had told him she would be this tough. He tried his best technique and yet she was able to take that point from him. Guess, he needed to use his trump card, eh?

    Xu Yang''s team had brought him back to the audience area. They were reluctant but their vice-captain insisted to watch the match. He was briefed on what had happened just now.

    "That fool never understands. But this girl is not in right shape to teach him a lesson too.", Xu Yang bumped his fist against the corner of the bed he was on. He hated such cheating bastards.

    Worry was consistent, in not only the two captains'' faces but a few other guys who Mei Qingyang had won over with her moves in the previous match.

    One thing was clear in everyone''s mind though. From the dark expressions of the two captains, this guy was a goner. He was not playing fair, and he was digging his grave further with his behavior.

    Mei Qingyang tried to take advantage of the downtime and take some rest. But the guy just got up within two minutes, cutting short her one chance to recover. Unfortunately, she had to do the same.

    Yu Tian delayed a bit further by seeming busy. Mei Qingyang noticed this and chuckled to herself. The two captains were helping her so much, why would she not defeat this trickster? Her heart softened but her resolve to win hardened. With a sharp look in her eyes and newfound confidence, she suddenly felt quite ready to finish off her enemy.

    Seeing her in good condition, Yu Tian gave a go ahead and the match started again. Unfortunately, her good condition came crashing down as soon as they started.

    Another piercing scream echoed in the gym. At this point, even the girls outside started sympathizing with the girl. If the matches were this brutal, they would never ever join this club. This guy was behaving like a barbarian.

    The girl''s face was stained with tears. She had never been this embarrassed in her life, she held back even in front of Yu Rong. But this guy knew exactly where her pain points were right now and he was succeeding.

    The last thing she wanted was for Yu Tian and Su Lang to see her in this state. She did not care about anyone else, although her strong and cool personality was being shattered right here. She still tried to keep her face away from both of them. On the other side, Xu Yang, who was lying down on a bed on the side with his team members clenched his hands too.

    Yu Tian could not take it anymore. He stood up, went onto the mat and grabbed vice-captain Xuan with his collar. Xuan was in a lock position with his opponent, and was so focused in hitting her, he didn''t see Yu Tian coming towards him. The sudden grab of his collar made him let go of Mei Qingyang, who coughed again.

    Yu Tian punched vice-captain Xuan hard. His one punch was enough to take out a few teeth of this guy. How dare he harm his girl like this? Yu Tian''s emotions were all over the place and he could just punch this bastard until he died to vent out his emotions.

    "Captain¡­ Yu! This is unfair. I was about to win the match!" Vice-captain Xuan was unsure of where the punch came from at first. He was not expecting this.

    "Unfair? You are beating a girl who has already had a tough match, with no conscience, you are talking about unfair? If you really wanted to win the match, you would have finished it by now. I see that you have got some other scheme in your mind. Let me bring you to the same level of exhaustion as her and then we can play a fair match, how about it?" This was perhaps the most the guys had seen their captain Yu speak.

    Then, did this girl really mean something to him? He had never been so proactive in helping anyone else out. But since their backgrounds did not match, were the rumors of him taking her as a servant really true? But again, she was adopted daughter of Minister Jiang, he could not possibly take her as a servant. Was there something really going on between them?

    Yu Tian kept punching him till he felt a hand on his shoulders. But his anger was still not subsiding, so he still didn''t stop. He was just so very furious right now. Whenever he thought about the state of the girl on the floor, a darkness would envelop his heart. He had never felt so anxious for anyone before.

    Not to mention his code of conduct, not to mention taking undue advantage of his opponent''s state, this guy was trying to kill his girl? That painful scream of hers killed Yu Tian inside bit by bit and he lost his rationale. When did she become so important to him?

    He could have very well killed the guy. Then he felt his whole body enveloped in warmth from behind.

    "Enough", he heard her sweet melodious voice once again.

    "I am alright, so this is enough", she continued. This girl was something alright. Her one sentence was enough to bring him back from insanity.

    Vice-captain Xuan, on the other hand, was not alright at all. He was seeing stars right now. The captain has used full force and his voice earlier was so menacing that it was apparent that he was out to kill.

    But it didn''t matter. Once he rendered this girl half dead, he would enjoy the protection of Yu Rong and benefits he was promised, including the body of this girl.

    Everyone else was biting their nails from nervousness, no one was in the mood to approach Yu Tian to tell him he was practically committing murder in the broad daylight. Su Lang had called him a few times but there was no response from him.

    Then from the corner of his eyes, he saw his foster cousin getting up and trying to shrug him back to reality. He had seen her in dead calm before but today she was in a different state. Like complementing his friend perfectly. She was perhaps the sun he needed. She hugged him from behind in a bold move.

    From how he understood his cousin, she would not do something like this in public. Guess, she didn''t see any other way to stop him? Just then, her air was so serene that even others were feeling healing effects from it.

    The hug worked like a charm for Yu Tian snapped out of his anger and stopped. The only thing that mattered to him was that Mei Qingyang was alright. He patted her hand that was on his neck, letting her know that he was alright too.

    "I think this is enough to bring you both at same level. Now you guys can fight again", Yu Tian smirked coldly towards the swollen face of vice-captain Xuan. He was still not believing this happened to him. Wasn''t Yu Rong going to help him?

    "I¡­ I will file a complaint against you. You¡­ broke rules", vice-captain Xuan spoke through his broken teeth.

    "Why don''t you try? We will see who will speak against me. We have so many witnesses here", Yu Tian crossed his arms and swept his glance to everyone present. While everyone cheered him in their heart to have saved the girl, it was a dark side of him they had not seen before. Everyone agreed to be on the side of their idol, even though it would help that hated commoner.

    "And so¡­ since you are so eager to win this match, I will forfeit myself. I do not have any intention of continuing. I had thought I would be able to but it doesn''t seem like you''re going to admit your fault", Mei Qingyang peeked from behind Yu Tian''s back and smiled. Her eyes were still carrying that serenity from earlier, but her decision was out of expectation for everyone.

 Chapter 102 - Lets Run Away

    "What!" everyone exclaimed.

    Why would this girl, who was so adamant on winning the game till now, suddenly go back on her own words?

    "You¡­ you can''t do that! I will defeat you", vice-captain Xuan stuttered like some lightning bolt had struck him. If he couldn''t increase the damage of her injuries to the point of her becoming paralyzed, he would not get his reward. This was outrageous. Yu Rong had promised that this girl would never abandon her match, no matter what. What about his reward?

    "Oh? And why can''t I? I think everyone knows my skills pretty well now. Even if they don''t accept me into the team, no one would at least mess with me", Mei Qingyang was once again deprived of any negative or positive emotion right now, giving her a more eerie feel.

    The vice-captain Xuan was still lying on the floor. And he was still not able to accept the reality. His panic-stricken face was telling something was amiss. Mei Qingyang sneered once again, she had finally understood why this guy was so obstinate about giving her so much pain. If he really wanted to win, he would have finished the match much sooner. They said whoever finished three hits first, so he could have ended it in as soon as three minutes.

    But he was definitely put up by someone to do this to her. Well, she always had a choice, whether she was ready to accept the consequences or not. And her choice right now, was simple, to withdraw.

    This served two purposes, one this guy would not get what he was promised. That was evident from his expression right now. Two, he would be kicked out of the team anyway, so there would be a position of vice-captain empty. She was afraid these two guys were thinking of making her a captain. Now she could opt for a freer position.

    Oh, about the confirmation of her entry into the team? That was already decided even before her matches in the gym. All she needed to do was show off a few of her skills and she would get a nod of approval from most of the people here, if not everyone.

    Was all this pain in her second match worth it? Perhaps. It at least gained her some sympathy from all the people who thought of her as an eyesore.

    Mei Qingyang stood taller and leaned towards vice-captain Xuan''s face.

    "Thank you for such a great match, vice-captain Xuan", she laughed and limped towards Su Lang. Everyone was looking at her dumbfounded. Where was the girl, who was in so much distress, like five minutes ago?

    "Hey, you b*tch, you can''t go just like this! Wait for me, this match is not over!!" vice-captain Xuan yelled form behind. Mei Qingyang didn''t pay any heed and kept walking.

    Xu Yang was very impressed. So, this girl knew when to admit defeat also. He thought she would just keep heading towards her doom without any thought. She was a worthy person to become friends with then.

    A person needed to know when to back off. This was true for any situation in life. If one kept going forward without stopping and thinking about their own weaknesses, and disadvantages, they were bound to fall one day.

    He could not help but clap for her. As he started, other people also joined him. The whole gym was filled with the thunder of claps for Mei Qingyang.

    After her awe-inspiring show, the girls outside clenched their teeth in anger. This lowly commoner had almost swayed them all towards taking her side. If Yu Tian weren''t helping her, would anyone even be interested in taking her side at all?

    "Take care of him", Yu Tian ordered Yu Bufan pointing to the guy lying on the floor mat as he chased after Mei Qingyang. The guy had developed several blue bruises on his eyes and his nose was bleeding profusely.

    "Understood", Yu Bufan took his order.

    As Mei Qingyang approached Su Lang, she could not maintain her balance and was about to fall but Yu Tian caught her in time from behind.

    "Careful", he cautioned, grabbing her hand.

    "Ugh", Mei Qingyang flinched in pain.

    "I¡­ I am sorry, I didn''t realize you had a wound there." Yu Tian was very careful about not touching her old wounds but he had no idea where all she got injured today.

    "Why do you keep worrying me so? Did you really need to go this far?" he started nagging her once again.

    "Senior Yu, thank you", Mei Qingyang leaned on Yu Tian for she was very tired. It felt like d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Wasn''t this the same when he had helped her after Yu Rong kidnapped her? But his words full of concern for her sounded so sweet.

    Ugh, she ended up getting his help once again. Why could she not do anything with her strength alone? Every time, every single time, she had to take these guys'' help.

    "If you do this, how can I have the heart to scold you?" Yu Tian mumbled. Mei Qingyang was exhausted but her senses were sharper than ever. Perhaps it was because she had been using them for the matches earlier and her mind was still in battle mode. She heard him and a smile blossomed on her face.

    Ultimately, what did humans want? Love, affection, attention. She was fortunate enough to have a gotten a great family after her amnesia. She was loved enough by both her parents. She could never replace her dead older brother but she could at least play part of a filial daughter to the two people who cared for her and made her what she was today.

    On the other hand, this guy was the most unfortunate one. He is point of envy for many but she was sure he would not wish his life even on his enemies. What was the use of such loveless life? And if she could help him out a bit that way, wouldn''t it be great?

    "Say, senior Yu. One day, when we are free from all our burdens, would you want to run away with me?" she asked. Yu Tian got flabbergasted with her question and his whole face turned red. His faster heartbeat that he could not control was heard by Mei Qingyang too, who was leaning against his heart. She chuckled inside by his reaction.

    How cute!

    Yu Tian''s mind was on ninth cloud. Did she just accept him? Was she talking about¡­ eloping with him? But weren''t her conditions too harsh?

    "What non-sense are you saying?" he chided her.

 Chapter 103 - Fragile Friendship

    Mei Qingyang was not expecting this answer. She looked up at him in confusion. It took her so much courage to say it out loud and he was rejecting her offer now? Wasn''t he the one who had expressed his interest first?

    Yu Tian laughed lightly at her expression. He could not hide his excitement and a tinge of blush on his cheeks.

    "What I mean to say is, do I really need to wait that long? What if you change your mind later? Can''t you just run away with me, like, right now?" he touched her scrunched nose lovingly.

    Oh, so he meant it like that. Mei Qingyang closed her eyes and leaned against him once again, just smiling. She was aware of the daggers she was getting from the audience, not only girls outside but the guys in the gym too. When did they have a chance to interact with their idol so intimately?

    And yet, she, a person who had joined the college a few months ago, was enjoying his company like she owned him. She was not in a mood to think about the consequences right now. He had already declared it to the world after he had decided to keep her at his dorm room. She would think about it when the time came.

    "Yo! You two love birds, get a room already, making all the singles here jealous", Su Lang interjected.

    "Older brother, it''s time you find someone. Also, I am just using him for support, alright?" Qingyang chirped, looking at Su Lang with one eye open.

    "Hmph! Only you can dare say that you are ''using'' him. Others would have died by now", he came and supported her from the other side. ''Older brother'' coming out of her mouth so naturally had him at ease too. She had finally decided to accept everyone, eh?

    "I have the doctor here", Yu Bufan appeared from the side with a doctor. They put Mei Qingyang on a chair and let the doctor examine the extent of her injuries.

    "Young¡­ young masters, it would be best to take her to a hospital. It will be too hard to treat her here", the doctor hesitated before giving his diagnosis. She had a few internal injuries, nothing life threatening but still serious.

    "You¡­" Yu Tian growled. He couldn''t let her go in this state all alone outside, anywhere. The risk of her being attacked was too high. She needed to be close to him.

    "Is this how Fan hospital trained you?" A familiar voice came from behind. Fan Ruyi was in her doctor''s coat with her assistant carrying her medical kit with her.

    "Doctor Fan", the young doctor bowed in respect. He was an employee of Fan Hospital. He did his best to check upon the girl. Now if young miss Fan said something else, his head was gone too. Ugh, no wonder they all sent him here, to be the scapegoat. He was a newly employed doctor there, so he had no idea what he was getting into.

    He gulped his saliva and waited for the instruction from the miss.

    "I am not a doctor yet, not by degree at least. I would have personally rusticated you but I hear you are a new employee. Kudos to coming here voluntarily. You''ll be suspended for a week without pay", she ordered and looked towards her assistant who left to take care of things for her.

    "Tha¡­ thank you, young miss Fan", the young doctor bowed one again in gratitude and left with the assistant. He thanked his stars, otherwise no hospital in the country would employ him if he was fired from Fan Hospital.

    "Why are you here?" Yu Tian spoke slowly, emanating his anger very obviously.

    "Tian. I know I was wrong, but could you let me repent and make up for my mistakes? I had no bad intention, trust me", Fan Ruyi had been trying to apologize to the three of them since forever but all she could do was just stand faraway and watch. Now the opportunity had presented itself, she really wanted to mend her relationship, especially with Mei Qingyang.

    She had cried hard by her grandfather''s side and he had only advised her to repeatedly ask for her forgiveness. Once Mei Qingyang would accept her, then the two guys would automatically honor their friendship of so many years. The key here was Mei Qingyang.

    "I don''t¡­"

    "Senior Yu. Please don''t speak something you will regret later. I would still trust her skills more than another doctor''s intentions", Mei Qingyang interrupted whatever Yu Tian was going to say. She gave a meaningful glance to Fan Ruyi who was looking at her wide eyed. In the end, she was the only one who gave a thought to things.

    But when did Yu Tian become so blinded by emotions? Well, considering how infatuated he was with this girl, it made sense. Yes, she used the word infatuation because she remembered, he had such obsession of another girl in the past.

    Who had abandoned him in the end for unknown reasons. Then, she just disappeared from the face of earth. The guy spent months in heartbreak and after that, he had just become an emotionless monster. That change in him was so excruciatingly painful for all three of his friends. But they had to accept the new reality. They never got to know what the story was behind it though.

    Now she could understand a bit of it after her deal with Yu Rong. And there was high possibility that this girl would do the same to him.

    All these butterflies, this rosy picture, everything would come crashing down for him once again. That''s what she thought. At least, this girl was emotionally intelligent.

    "She might need to check me without clothes, so I would rather go to the girls'' locker room. Senior Yu, could you please?" Mei Qingyang could tell that Fan Ruyi had something to say to her again but was hesitant to speak in front of everyone. Well, she could give her another chance after all.

    "Don''t pull off anything again", Yu Tian warned Fan Ruyi before helping Mei Qingyang towards the locker room.

    "YU TIAN! Do you even think of our old friendship at all? Just for one girl, you''re casting me aside like this? What if she does the same to you as that girl did?" Fan Ruyi broke down suddenly near the locker room door. Did her best friend have to humiliate her like this? That too, in front of her other friend?

    Everyone looked towards the side of loud voice for no one knew what suddenly happened. Other people had no idea what was going on within the group, so they thought of it as just a fight between friends. Yu Tian didn''t even stop to listen to her.

    "Tsk tsk, dear senior Fan. Why do you show your desperation like this?" Mei Qingyang found Fan Ruyi really pitiful. She had no other friends and her only group was leaving her behind. Fan Ruyi had entered the locker room where Mei Qingyang was lying down on one of the benches.

    "Then¡­ then what should I do? You know the reason why I did it, at least you have a hint. How do I convince them that it was for them?" Fan Ruyi couldn''t stop sobbing. She really missed them.

    Mei Qingyang sighed.

    "Senior Fan, friendship is a very fragile relationship. There is nothing to bind it after all, no blood, no debts. And friends are people who come and go all the time. Best friends today can turn into strangers tomorrow. You are such a high EQ person, I can''t believe you would throw a tantrum like this", Mei Qingyang tried to instill some ideas into Fan Ruyi''s mind.

    "Qing Qing, I know it was my fault. Can''t you forgive me? Please? They will come back too then", Fan Ruyi pleaded through her soft sobs.

    "Senior Fan, once this delicate relationship breaks, there is no going back to the original point. I have known your dilemma and so, I personally don''t think you need to apologize to me again and again. But unless those two know the full story and your rationale behind your decision, they would never come around", Mei Qingyang tried consoling this senior whom she once liked very much.

    "But you can''t tell them, can you?" Mei Qingyang also knew of this. It was pretty straightforward that this would be part of the deal. Fan Ruyi nodded her head, indicating that she was indeed right.

    "Alright, then you need to help me take down Yu Rong. Once everything is done, it would be easier to tell them the truth. How about it?" Well, to be honest, Fan Ruyi was still of use to Mei Qingyang if she agreed. And, going by her deduction, her senior looked so emotionally drained and worn out, she would agree to the offer, which happened in the immediately next moment.

 Chapter 104 - Gotta Patchéˆ¥æªˆm All

    "Fine. Just tell me what to do. I do hope I will get my friends back at the end of it." It seemed to Fan Ruyi that this girl was now interested in playing some kind of game.

    "Senior Fan, you are reading too much into this. I am not antagonistic to you. I do understand your frustration. I am just a commoner girl who ended up breaking your whole group. And no one is on your side now. You must be hating on me in your heart but this was inevitable." It was not her fault that the group got taken advantage of by Yu Rong. Didn''t they say emotions made humans weak?

    Through the pain of her injuries, Mei Qingyang shrugged. She was correct, how flimsy the relationsh.i.p.s were. A few weeks ago, this girl was so eager to help her, to treat her like sister. Now they were almost at the point of being strangers. Ah! The fate.

    She finally had a girl friend and now there was none. Fan Ruyi was trembling with anger. Although they were friends in the past, Mei Qingyang still looked like a na?ve girl to her. How did she change into such a calculating girl in a few weeks? Or was it a fa?ade all along?

    "Well, let''s just say my emotions got better of me. I will treat your injuries", Fan Ruyi gave up on arguing with Mei Qingyang. She agreed with her views but somewhere in the corner of her heart was still a hope that she would be able to mend her friendship with the guys if she became closer to Mei Qingyang again.

    On the other side, her assistant was fuming inside too. How dare this girl, whom his master had treated as a sister, talk to her in this manner? If it were any other person, they would have been disposed of by now.

    Fan Ruyi tended to her injuries and gave her a few instructions about how to take care of herself. She then left the locker room only to find a few guys standing outside waiting for them.

    "She is fine. I have given her prescription and if she follows that religiously for next month, she will recover very fast. I have come up with a diet plan for her too", Fan Ruyi finally got to talk to her friends, one way or other.

    "One month? Isn''t our competition in two weeks? We were thinking of taking her with us", Su Lang frowned. If only that bastard vice-captain Xuan didn''t hurt her this much.

    "What are you going to do with vice-captain Xuan?" she tried to continue the conversation, scratching her head awkwardly. Damn, this was not how it was supposed to be. Did they not say that friends might not talk for weeks, but when they do, it would be like you have been talking to them everyday? Why was there so much uneasiness in the atmosphere?

    "That is none of your business. He has already been taken care of", Yu Tian still was in no mood to talk to this traitor. Mei Qingyang had been suffering ever since this person''s deeds.

    "Tian, listen to me. Please try to understand. You know me so well, why you think I would do that without any reason?" Fan Ruyi pleaded. She would not go to such a low level for another human being but Yu Tian. They had been friends for so many years and helped each other often. They were also each other''s counselors. Anything bad that happened in their family, they would share with each other, or so she thought.

    "It is because I know you, I know you could have made another choice. Why implicate a person who had nothing to do with your or my power struggle?" Yu Tian was going through a turmoil. He also did not care about many people in his life. But Fan Ruyi had done something he would absolutely not tolerate. And he had no idea how to deal with these emotions, this was the first time he was fighting with her.

    "I¡­ You would not have been able to bear it Yu Tian. Mark my words, you will face the same dilemma again in life with her. I will see then what you choose and what she chooses", Fan Ruyi left without saying anything further. Mei Qingyang''s words about her being desperate were still echoing in her mind.

    She was the proud daughter of Fan family, she had her own dignity. Qingyang was right, she did not need to chase after anyone. If they had enough brains, they would understand, like that lass did. Why was she thinking favorably about her again, she was the root of whatever was happening with her right now?

    Fine, I will wait for my efforts with Qingyang to bear fruits.

    Yu Tian rushed inside the locker room with Su Lang. The girl was lying down on one of the cushioned benches with her eyes closed.

    "Qing Qing, are you asleep?" Su Lang tried to whisper the question, so that if she were actually asleep, she would not wake up.

    "Older brother, my mind is more awake than ever", she replied with her eyes still closed. She had a lot of thinking to do. And nurse herself back to health, lest people kept taking advantage of her poor health now.

    Her almost half body was wrapped in bandages. Yu Tian''s heart ached looking at her.

    "This is what you get for being stubborn", he went ahead and stroked her head. Mei Qingyang opened her eyes, peering into Yu Tian''s eyes. This guy was becoming more and more unrestrained and shameless. But she was becoming one too, l.u.s.ting after this guy. To think she had to spend almost a month at his place, would she be able to bear it? Those eyes though, she just wanted to drown in them.

    "Ahem, you guys started again? Why do you need to torture me, eh?" Su Lang was worried sick about his sister but she was so oblivious to his presence.

    "Older brother, I want to participate in the competition in two weeks", Mei Qingyang declared.

    "What! But your joining the team hasn''t been finalized yet", Su Lang was yet again taken aback by how quickly this girl changed the topics. Furthermore, she was just starting her treatment and Fan Ruyi had said a month of rest. Earlier they were thinking it was perfect that she had one month suspension.

    And what about her classwork? It was final exams of the semester just directly after the competition, when would she be able to catch up with that? If she failed, her dad''s plan to take her out of the college in one year would also fail, giving Yu Rong more chances to mess with her.

    The guys were counting the days for Mei Qingyang to keep here safely, and they were almost halfway there.

    "Haha, older brother Lang, don''t make a face like that, you will get wrinkles. Senior Fan said I will recover fully in a month, not that I need to rest that much. Moreover, do you think the level of any competition would be tougher than what I faced today?" she stated confidently.

    "You ah! What can we do with you? Why do you have to be so convincing all the time? We also want you to help us out. Okay, we will consult with Ruyi once again and then let you know. But nothing is decided, okay?" Su Lang replied. He knew the doting Yu Tian would let her do whatever she wanted. But he had to make sure she was not overdoing it.

    "Hoho, when it comes to medical advice, no one can beat Senior Fan. But would you be alright talking to her?" Mei Qingyang wanted them to make too, to be honest. She knew since the beginning that she could get close to the people but she would never be the part of the group.

    Not that she had any interest in being one. It would create headaches anyway. She did not want to be the cause of anything between the group of four, although she was the one who wreaked havoc. And she would remain a sacrificial pawn for as long as she associated with these people.

    She decided that she would help them get back together. And what better way than letting them see Senior Fan''s face and efforts for her every day?

 Chapter 105 - Physiotherapy

    Mei Qingyang was taken to Yu Tian''s place once again, with the help of a stretcher. Unexpectedly, Yu Rong did not create any fuss this time, hinting that she was planning something big, moving forward. Qingyang ended up sleeping for another whole day before she invited Fan Ruyi to Yu Tian''s place.

    "Senior Fan, could you help me with my physiotherapy please? I could use some help from the top to be doctor of the nation", Mei Qingyang said cheekily. She had to now put in effort to release the stress among these guys. Otherwise, these pent up feelings would keep acc.u.mulating at the back of their minds and they would all end up getting distracted from their main goals. She still needed their help to achieve what she had come here to do.

    These rich brats had another problem, they did not really know how to deal with conflicts. They were so used to getting their way, when it came to their close relations, they would not know how to handle fights.

    Well, of course, she was at the center of this one but that made it much more important that she played a crucial role in helping them. Plus, it was better for everyone''s and her peace of mind.

    "I could arrange the best physician of the nation for you", Yu Tian interjected.

    Oh God senior Yu! How much offense will you take of her one action? Spare her a bit. I should be the one angry with her, why do you need to treat her like this?

    Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes inside her head. Fan Ruyi lowered her head. She had not come here to get humiliated. Mei Qingyang had told her that she would help her and she believed it. But it seemed like her purpose was something else.

    "And do you think your aunt would let that best physician reach me? Tell me honestly senior Yu, would you trust an unknown person coming from outside or senior Fan?" Well, given what she had done, the logical answer would be to call someone from outside. Who knew if she was still acting on behalf of Yu Rong, since the thing that made her agree to the deal was in Yu Rong''s hands to begin with?

    How far would Yu Rong go to take her advantage?

    "I made sure that she could not use whatever she had used in the past against me again", Fan Ruyi spoke up. She was originally very perceptive, but especially so, when it came to Yu Tian. She knew what might be going on in his head right now.

    "Okay, since Qing Qing is saying, I will believe you. But if you try anything funny, this time will be last", Yu Tian glared at her. Fan Ruyi was visibly hurt and she lowered her gaze again. She did not want Yu Tian to know her own complicated feelings about this.

    Sigh, this guy could be really dense sometimes.

    In the end, she did not really think of Mei Qingyang as her own. She still decided to sacrifice her for her family or them. Now he thought rationally, if he were Fan Ruyi, he would have perhaps taken the same decision.

    But it still involved his cousin, so he did not know what to think of it either. He stayed silent the whole time, just observing everything. The usual chatty guy was nowhere to be heard today.

    Mei Qingyang was looking from the side with much interest too.

    "Senior Fan, I have heard of your almost magical medical skills. I want to participate in the upcoming martial arts competition. Could you please make me healthy enough to go in two weeks?" It was time to get down to business.

    "Are you crazy? You want to do another competition in two weeks? Do you want to get better or not?" Fan Ruyi yelled at Mei Qingyang. She was not a God, what was this girl thinking?

    "Please senior Fan? If you can restore me to even 75% of my original condition by the end of two weeks, I will be very grateful", she showed her puppy eyes to her. These eyes were one of the Fan Ruyi''s weaknesses, she felt defeated.

    How was this girl able to act so close to her once again? She was renouncing her just a few days ago, in front of everyone.

    Mei Qingyang, once again, needed to get out of the campus. Her dad must have had gotten the news by now and he must have been worried sick. She could not even imagine the heartbreak her mom would feel if she knew. That poor lady was the only one who truly thought of her as her own child. Her dad was loving towards her, for sure, but she still felt like a pawn in his hands.

    Anyway, she needed to assure them that she was fine, otherwise given her dad''s somewhat lunatic tendencies, he would take action soon against Yu Rong. Her groundwork then would fail. Unfortunately, she was in bed right now, otherwise she would have gone to the library through her own channels to communicate with her family.

    "Fine¡­ I will do what I can but no promises", Fan Ruyi gave in. This lass??s sparkly eyes could move anything on earth, she was still a former friend.

    "I will need you both guys to get out. Also, I would have asked you to arrange a hospital bed but I guess you won''t be able to get anything now. Are your credit cards still working Tian?" Fan Ruyi was quite updated on the situation and she knew Yu Rong would have blocked any and all supplies to her nephew.

    "She can''t do anything. I have my own businesses, I earn my own money", Yu Tian left the room finishing his small talk.

    Fan Ruyi was happy that he was at least replying to her questions. This was already a huge step than when he would just keep glaring at her. Mei Qingyang smiled to herself, fiddling with her hair, lying in the fluffy bed of Yu Tian. Ah these kids!

    "Qingyang", Fan Ruyi addressed the lass, "Thank you."

    Fan Ruyi started her treatment. Thankfully, she had small fractures that could be set easily but participating in another competition so soon would be devastating to her body. As a soon to be doctor, she would do whatever she could but she still wanted to spank this girl for being so rebellious.

    --------------------------------------------

    "Bro, are you sure Yu Rong is not doing anything to your businesses?" Su Lang and Yu Tian came out of the room. It was the first time in his life that he had disobeyed his aunt. And she was not taking it well.

    "She is trying to block my resources, yes. Unfortunately, she does not have much say in the business. She can only try at her end. But dad must be taking care of it behind the scenes. I haven''t faced much losses as of now", Yu Tian explained. He had not seen his dad or talked to him in years.

    But there was still a sliver of hope in his heart that he was helping him out. His side businesses were considered subsidiaries of Yu empire, so Yu Rong could not do much anyway.

 Chapter 106 - Gu Layue Visits Mei Qingyang

    "Master Yu, Miss Gu is outside, looking to meet Miss Mei", Yu Bufan entered the living room where Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian were having breakfast. It was a gloomy Saturday morning, raining cats and dogs outside. It was almost end of November now and had been a week since Mei Qingyang''s matches.

    "Now that Yu Rong does not want to come herself, she is sending her lackey?" Su Lang scoffed at the news. He had been practically living at Yu Tian''s abode. He would barge in everyday early in the morning and leave late at night, making sure that the two people were not having more than necessary contact.

    "We should let her in and hear her out", Mei Qingyang proposed. She was busy with her old laptop, which she had finally got from downstairs with the help of Su Lang. She had already adjusted the video feed for Yu Tian''s camera to Yu Rong a week ago. Now it was much easier to sleep in peace, rather than thinking about when that witch would explode and beat Yu Tian again.

    ???Aren''t you acting like a little wifey already, giving orders to your senior Yu''s staff?" Although Su Lang was acting as a watchdog, he knew if they really wanted to go ahead and do lovey dovey stuff, they could do it when he was gone. No one was stopping them and he could not be here all the time. And thus, he just acted strict but loved to tease them as well.

    "And aren''t you playing a gooseberry here all the time?" Yu Tian took a jab on Su Lang while sipping his morning coffee. This meddlesome guy would not even let them eat breakfast in peace. Yu Tian had not been able to spend alone time with his lass at all for the past week.

    He had thought he would be able to easily reduce the distance between them during this time. He had been attending his classes here and there but nothing more. He had moved all his business stuff back home too, doing teleconferences rather than going anywhere.

    It was not only about closing gaps in their relationship, but also a security issue. He could not leave her alone anywhere. In the past few days, Yu Rong had not even called him to her office. She must have been fuming and scheming inside. He had no idea what his aunt was thinking. And that put them at more disadvantage.

    "Ehehehe", he heard Mei Qingyang looking at the two friends with a mischievous smile on her face.

    "What''s up with the weird expression. Also, can you wipe your drool, it''s disgusting", Su Lang chided Mei Qingyang. Did she lose her brain as well?

    "What drool! Older brother, let''s not talk about me. You two guys are so close, I sometimes feel jealous of your friendship. I wish to meet my best friend from the past, but I cannot find any information on her", she sighed. She had been remembering her past slowly, in bit and pieces. She had seen a silhouette of a girl other than Li Sibao who seemed to be very close to her but she could not remember her face at all.

    "Hmm¡­ I do remember there being a girl very close to you. Do you have any hint on the name or the face?", Su Lang jumped up to help, as usual. Nothing related to his sister could escape him.

    How did he become such a doting brother in a few weeks?

    Qingyang shook her head in negative.

    "Ahem, masters and miss, what to do about the guest? She has been standing outside for almost ten minutes", Yu Bufan reminded the three who had been bickering for some time now.

    "I don''t want filthy things coming into my house", Yu Tian declared, got up from his seat and left towards his bedroom. Su Lang was pretty accustomed to his friend''s behavior but seeing that Mei Qingyang was still calmly drinking her tea, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. She was really setting into her wife role here, eh?

    "What should we do now?" Su Lang whispered to Mei Qingyang.

    "Well, a guest has come knocking on the door, we can''t let her leave just like that. We need some information too." The girl, almost finishing her breakfast, grinned.

    "God, what new scheme do you have in your mind now?"

    "You will see. Assistant Yu, please invite her. I want to see what she has to say", she requested Yu Bufan.

    "Understood", Yu Bufan left right away to invite the girl standing outside, gritting her teeth in anger. She was the heir to Gu family and these guys were making her wait for so long? If anyone else, their servants would not even need to ask their masters before letting her in.

    If it were Yu Tian, she would have understood. The world of rich had a hierarchy too. Since her family was just lower than the Su, Yu and Feng family, she had to be docile in front of them. And they all were handsome lads and an awesome catch, so she did not mind.

    Fan family and hers were at par, but since Fan Ruyi was her senior, she still had to be humble before her. But this bloody wench Mei Qingyang, whose glory was she basking in, that she would make her wait like this? Whatever, she would bear with this humiliation for now, and later it would be her turn, both to stay by Yu Tian''s side and throw the b*tch out of the school and the high society.

    The large door opened slowly from inside. Gu Layue got excited as this was the first time she was going to see Yu Tian''s room. It would be her future home, so she needed to pay attention to details.

    "Miss Gu, miss Mei is ready for you." Yu Bufan was an expert in adding fuel to the fire, so he worded his sentence in such a way that this Gu kid knew who the actual lady of the house was.

    He had taken quite a liking to Mei Qingyang too. She was never rude to him and treated him as a human. A girl like Gu Layue would always think of him as just Yu Tian''s servant and order him left and right to do stuff for her. Fortunately, he worked for a great master like Yu Tian, so he did not need to listen to this person.

    "Ah! Yu Bufan, how dare that girl make me wait?" Gu Layue voiced her complaints. Even here, she was thinking Yu Bufan had better position than Mei Qingyang, so she had the right to vent about her to him. Yu Bufan rolled his eyes in his heart. Did this girl always think in terms of who is higher than who?

    "I am sorry on behalf of miss Mei. She was having breakfast with master and thus, could not receive you." What did it mean for Yu Tian''s assistant to apologize on behalf of a stranger? Were they already playing house? And they were having breakfast together? At the same table?

    That wench was so lowly born that she should not even be sitting on the chairs at Yu Tian''s place. That filthy creature!

    Gu Layue suppressed her emotions and entered the room behind the assistant who was not really interested in how dumbfounded their guest was.

    Gu Layue had brought Gu Chang along with her who was dressed in formal attire of a butler. He had buttoned up his collar in a vain attempt to hide his hickeys. The girl was also dressed modestly, against how all her dresses were always a bit over the top.

    Heating system in the building was too strong today as it was rainy and cold outside. Still, these guys were covering their bodies completely. Mei Qingyang giggled to herself at the sight, the two people really looked overdressed.

    "What do I owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of your esteemed visit today, Ms. Gu?" Mei Qingyang got up from the dining table and headed towards the sofa. She noticed how Gu Layue was looking around as if she had not seen anything like this penthouse before.

    Why, wasn''t she a part of topmost family in M nation too? Should her room also not be as fancy?

    In reality, her own room did not compare to what she was seeing at all. Her rooms were smaller and it did not have a separate living room and dining room. Her dining room was part of the open kitchen itself. And this guy had a grand piano in his room. She struggled to put even her cello at her place. Instantly, she was overcome with rage out of jealousy.

    "Pah!" Everyone heard a random slapping sound out of nowhere. Before anyone could understand what had happened, they saw Gu Chang''s specs and the chocolates he was holding, mostly as a gift for Mei Qingyang, falling on the carpeted floor, taking everyone by surprise.

 Chapter 107 - Making Drama In Anothers Home

    "Gu Chang! Where are your manners? Should you not be giving the gift to the sick person as soon as we stepped in? What is this behavior?" Don''t know what the girl was trying to prove but it was weird she was creating such a drama for no reason, that too in Yu Tian''s house.

    "I am so sorry for my servant''s behavior, I hope you will forgive him", Gu Layue bowed sweetly to both of them, as if her assistant had committed a grave crime here.

    "I should remind Miss Gu that this is Young Master Yu''s property. It does not suit your status to be creating such a ruckus in another''s home, don''t you think?" Mei Qingyang smiled coyly.

    Again, if Gu Layue were not here to suck up to the girl, she would have asked her who she was for speaking like this in Yu Tian''s home. If only¡­

    Tsk, tsk, girl. You are here to impress senior Yu, yet you do what he hates the most. You call your assistant your servant and then you slapped him for no rhyme or reason.

    Su Lang was still in confusion as to why Gu Layue would put onsuch a show. Mei Qingyang also could not think of her motive to come here but if she wanted to see Yu Tian, he would definitely soon be out hearing such commotion.

    Indeed, he did come out from his room to see what was happening. Gu Layue''s eyes lit up like a hungry wolf had seen his prey. With a shy expression, she lowered her gaze like a meek little lamb. This was a drastic change from the behavior she had just displayed.

    "Young Master Yu, how are you doing?" Gu Layue asked shyly. Mei Qingyang and Su Lang threw up in their minds. Was this the same Gu Layue a few minutes ago?

    Yu Tian was just standing at his bedroom''s door, irritated at this girl and more frustrated with Mei Qingyang''s decision to let her in. And now she created this disaster with melted chocolates in the living room.

    "Cough¡­ Assistant Yu, could you please call Mrs. Zhao for cleaning this mess up?" Mei Qingyang asked Yu Bufan, who was standing like an invisible statue at a corner, to call the cleaning lady of the house.

    Mrs. Zhao was an old lady who used to take care of all the cleaning and cooking for Yu Tian. She was one of the maids under his mom once and then she came over to serve him.

    If Yu Tian was not as cold and isolated as he usually was, she would have loved the child as her own. She had anyway dedicated her life in serving this kid, she did not get married nor did she have any family left. She was on standby 27x7 for her master in one of the servant quarters at the corner of Yu Tian''s penthouse.

    Cooking was usually taken care of by her but these days, Yu Bufan would tell her beforehand, on the instructions of their Young Master, when she needed to cook the meals. Otherwise, Yu Tian would cook the meals himself these days.

    Once again, seeing that even that servant Yu was listening to the lowly commoner''s orders, Gu Layue got more incensed. She should be the mistress of the household, why was this girl getting to order everyone around?

    Gu Chang was still not in his senses. His mistress had become too willful lately. While he had tried to be the dominant one, going as far as planning schemes for her to get closer to Yu Tian and being assertive and aggressive during their ''fun'' times, she was still treating him like an animal before all these dignitaries. Where was his dignity?

    "Why call Mrs. Zhao here? Shouldn''t the person who made the mess clean it up?" Yu Tian said coldly, making even Mei Qingyang sweat.

    Oh God, how savage was this guy? He wanted Gu Layue to clean up gooey melted chocolates on the carpet floor. Would she even know how to?

    "What are you waiting for Gu Chang? Did you not hear Young Master Yu''s words?" Gu Layue ordered her servant.

    Well, well. Today was truly an eye-opening day. There was always a difference in the main person any rich kid took as their ''assistant'' and then there were maids and servants who were a mix of a.d.u.l.ts from their own families and a few poor kids from the school.

    But the ''assistant'' or the head servant was almost always from the poor kids of the school. They were also almost similar in age too, so they would grow up together and remain their assistants forever, if they wanted, which was almost always the case because the poor kids were also conditioned to enjoy the luxuries of life with their masters.

    Now this so-called ''head servant'' of Gu Layue was being asked to clean up the floor on another''s property. Mei Qingyang shook her head in pity for Gu Chang, he had to put up with so much.

    "Not him, you", Yu Tian looked straight at Gu Layue, with no empathy in his eyes at all. The other two in the room were finding it hard to hold back their laughter. Why did she come here when she knew Yu Tian hated pretentious girls like her the most? Or she perhaps did not know that.

    A teary-eyed Gu Layue replied, "Young Master Yu, are you not being unreasonable? I am still the miss of Gu family, you are asking me to clean the floor up for you?"

    "So what? Do you not think that ranks are based on wealth? Is that not the reason why you are ordering your assistant like this, even beating him up for something he did not do? By that logic, I should be able to order you around too, no?"

    Now this was some irrefutable argument right there. Mei Qingyang clapped in her heart, she never knew Yu Tian had a soft spot for poor people, totally unlike his aunt. Her admiration for him increased tenfold.

    Gu Layue became speechless. She could not say anything either.

    "Do you think she would be able to clean it up? She will just end up ruining your whole carpet. Let it be", she whispered to him, loud enough for both Gu Layue and Gu Chang to hear.

    His kitten was so hilarious, the way she sneakily walked towards him. His mood became light as soon as he saw her actions and his eyes softened, just for her. Su Lang was observing the two and nodding his head in elation.

    My dear friend, ah! You sure have come a long way!

    "Young Master Yu, let her off the hook, okay? It will not be good for you to offend Gu family for such a small thing", Mrs. Zhao had entered from the front door and was watching the show. She was wise beyond years. She had dealt with high society for years with Yu Tian''s mother, so she had an idea how things worked here.

    Gu Layue straightened her back and stood proudly once again, once she heard her family being mentioned. That''s correct, Yu Tian''s number of businesses collaborated with Gu empire, he would be in loss if she were to complain to her dad.

    Yu Tian laughed in ridicule. He would just show them how things were done.

 Chapter 108 - Teach Her Some Manners

    Yu Tian took out his phone from his pocket and dialed someone''s number. The phone was kept on speaker so that everyone could hear the conversation.

    "Young Master Yu! What can I do for you?" a very polite and humble voice came from the other side.

    "Dad?", Gu Layue eyes widened in shock. This Yu Tian called her father so early in the morning. On the top of that, her father was being so docile to him. Wasn''t her family supposed to be her pillar? She had a bad premonition about this.

    "Daughter? Why are you with Young Master so early in the morning? Don''t tell me you went to him to create trouble?" Although Gu patriarch should have been scolding her, he sounded very pleased with the situation, enough that his excitement could be heard on phone.

    Of course, Mr. Gu was thinking if it was finally time for his daughter to shine and that they had gone on a date or something. But wait a minute, why would Young Master Yu call them if they were on a date? Something didn''t feel right.

    "Mr. Gu, it seems like there is some misunderstanding here. I just wanted to let you know the proposal you had sent to me for your business, I am rejecting it right now", Yu Tian spoke while glancing at Gu Layue who still did not understand what was happening.

    "Young Master Yu, what are you saying. We spent months into preparing it and also made changes as you had instructed. A lot of Gu family''s money is riding on this. Please reconsider", Mr. Gu''s voice sounded alarmed.

    This prick, he made changes at every stage of preparation, took so much time of his company''s employees and now he was refusing the proposal? If it was not his money that Mr. Gu wanted, he would have never approached him. But it was a huge sum and came from the collaboration of all three young masters. They were looking at it favorably even yesterday, why sudden refusal? Did it have anything to do with Layue?

    "I could reconsider if you take your daughter back and teach her some manners. Don''t know why she came so early in the morning knocking on my door", Yu Tian''s lips curved upwards. These people only thought about money, human relationsh.i.p.s didn''t matter to them. That''s the weakness they had.

    "Gu Layue! Why are you bothering Young Master? Hurry up and come back. It seems like you need a few etiquette lessons", Mr. Gu scolded her in a very upset tone. Poor Gu Layue did not know what struck her more. She was quite used to Yu Tian''s rejection time and again but now, her dad was being hostile to her too.

    "Yes father, I will go back home", she replied dejectedly. She glared at Mei Qingang furiously once again. It was all her fault.

    "Young Master Yu. Please forgive my impudent daughter and reconsider our proposal", Mr. Gu continued in a flattering tone.

    "Hmm¡­ I will reconsider it", Yu Tian cut the call without any further pleasantries.

    "Next time you are proud of your wealth, do remember it was never yours", Yu Tian signaled Yu Bufan who showed the Gu pair out.

    "Young Master Yu! It''s not right to be so mutinous every time something doesn''t go your way", Mrs. Zhao started lecturing Yu Tian who was already not in a good mood. He had just dealt with three idiots and his tolerance for such people was literally zero. He looked at the head maid disdainfully, and she knew well to shut up.

    Who was this lady to lecture him? Sure she had taken care of him since young, but she was not his mother. He knew to respect human beings, but they needed to be in their boundaries. When anyone crossed his bottom line, he would just get rid of them.

    Neither his dad nor his aunt ever said anything. He had kept this Mrs. Zhao with him because she was close to his mother, the mother he did not remember. So, she sometimes would tell him a few stories about her, which helped fill the emptiness in his heart. But now if this lady started thinking of herself as his actual mother, that would be a problem.

    Mei Qingyang sensed the mood change in the guy and instantaneously and involuntarily held his hand. Yu Tian looked at her in confusion while she shook her head to let him know he had gone overboard.

    "Senior Yu, I did not know you are this awesome!" she exclaimed, trying to change the topic. This guy had been on edge lately, she had not idea why he was having such extreme mood swings. He was unapproachable yet quite amiable before. But now he was just unapproachable. Even Su Lang had stopped calling him out. Was it because he had lost two friends in a few days and did not know how to deal with it?

    Yu Tian looked at her quizzingly. What was she talking about?

    "I had earlier thought you were the same as other rich brats who only relied on their family''s backing. But I had no idea you had so much power yourself that you could threaten one of the most influential businessmen in M nation like this", she gave two thumbs up to her senior. She really admired such people.

    "It''s nothing. Let''s just say, business runs in my blood?" Mood suddenly lightened, he smiled towards his kitten. And she was holding his hand in both her hands. Was it to comfort him? It was one of the firsts for her to take initiative like this. His heart started racing once again, once he saw how earnestly this girl was complimenting him, stars sparkling in her eyes.

    "Elder brother is the same. I am so glad I am in the company of you two", she continued. It was not just cajolery to placate Yu Tian, she genuinely wanted to tell them how grateful she was to them.

    "Now you remember your elder brother is here too? You both just get lost in your own world, leaving me all alone. Why do I even come here?" Su Lang pretended to sob. He was envious of their budding relationship now.

    Mrs. Zhao and Yu Bufan were standing at the corner. Yu Bufan had already gotten used to seeing such drastic changes in his master but this was a first for Mrs. Zhao. To be honest, she hated the guts of this girl. Her motives did not sit right with her either. Why was she clinging to her master like this? On the top of that, she did not even belong to a noble house. But seeing that Yu Tian was bearing all her weird behaviors and not even shooing her away, she must have something special? The more Mrs. Zhao thought, more she could not make any sense.

    "Yeah, I wonder the same. Why do you even come here?" Yu Tian said half serious and half teasingly to Yu Tian.

    "Fine, fine. I give up. What is your progress with the injuries Qing Qing? Do you think you''ll be able to participate next week?" Su Lang posed the serious question hanging in the air.

    "Who do you think is treating her? Obviously, she will be able to", Fan Ruyi entered from behind. She had been coming here every day, and helping Mei Qingyang getting better through rigorous efforts. In turn, her relationship with both Yu Tian and Su Lang was improving.

    Yu Tian had personally started asking her about Qingyang''s health, so this was definitely an ice breaker. It also meant that he still had space for her in his heart, however tiny.

    She could joke around with Su Lang still, so that mending was much faster than she had anticipated. Was this another thing she had to be thankful to Mei Qingyang for? How could she ever repay her debt then?

    "That''s okay then", Yu Tian nodded towards Fan Ruyi full of satisfaction. Mei Qingyang looked from the corner of her eye and she knew that Yu Tian had already forgiven his friend, he was just acting tough. She followed him to his bedroom and ruffled his hair as soon as he sat down on the sofa with his laptop.

    "What?" This girl was so unpredictable. But her touch seemed so warm and caring. If he could ask her for more pets, he would. Wait, was he turning into a puppy? More pets? What the heck was he thinking? But he still did not remove her hands.

    "Nothing. Senior Yu, you are so cute haha", Mei Qingyang could not help but ruffle his soft black hair once more. When would she be able to do it without restraint? Who knew when this guy''s mood would turn sour?

    Fan Ruyi, Su Lang, Yu Bufan were spying on them from the door that was ajar, craning their necks inside. Mrs. Zhao joined them too. They were shell-shocked beyond words. What was this new side of Young Master Yu they were seeing?

    "Why are you guys peeping here?" Yu Tian noticed the four people there and chided them, dark lines appearing on his face. All of them scurried away, Su Lang sticking his tongue out cheekily. These guys¡­

 Chapter 109 - His Nightmares

    "Aaahhh! P¡­ please, don''t touch me. I beg you!"

    Mei Qingyang woke up with a jolt. She had been feeling pretty restless tonight. She had finally convinced Yu Tian to sleep in his own bed and she was using the guest room. His bed was pretty big to accommodate them both, and it was pretty normal for her to sleep in the same bed as her male friends before, including Li Hanyu. She had been conditioned to be comfortable with it since she trained with guys anyway.

    But, given how she had finally admitted her feelings for Yu Tian in her heart, and the guy had also half confessed, she was reluctant to sleep in the same bed for she was afraid she would jump over him in her sleep. Even the thought of it was enough to turn her whole face beet red.

    So, after much fighting with and begging Yu Tian, now she was finally sleeping where she felt the most comfortable, the guest room. She had felt bad that the poor guy was being deprived of his comforts in his own home by her. Very visible dark circles under his eyes were the proof of him not getting enough sleep in the guest room.

    And she knew most of the servants in Yu Tian''s house, including Mrs. Zhao despised her. She had never asked them to do any of the chore for her but she could feel the hostility from them. Anyway, she could relax a bit now. She still had no idea why Yu Tian was so adamant about letting her sleep in his own bed. There was not much difference in the quality of mattresses, rather his was way comfier than her preference.

    At the midnight, it started pouring once again, this time with loud thunderstorm. It had been pretty gloomy climate for almost a week now but tonight, the weather was really horrible.

    Mei Qingyang was not very fond of thunderstorms; they even induced some kind of unknown fear in her. She did not remember anything related to her fear of thunderstorms in her previous memories, so she had no idea what this feeling was.

    Her throat was parched for some reason; so, she woke up to grab a glass of water. It was then that she heard noises from somewhere. She was spooked thoroughly, but still decided to investigate. She also needed to be careful because there were several people living in this home. She also had to make sure she was not intruding anyone in their¡­ private time.

    Ahem, who knew what one was doing behind locked doors?

    But the voices she was hearing seemed to be a cry for help. After making up her mind, she stepped towards the source of voices and found they were coming from Yu Tian''s bedroom. Was he¡­ alright?

    "Senior Yu?" she called out. She did not want to wake him up if it was just a hallucination to her. The dark room was being lit by occasional thunder. She could feel Yu Tian was squirming in his bed and mumbling things.

    She slowly and carefully walked towards his bed and found a very anxious Yu Tian lying in the bed, throwing everything away near him in his sleep.

    "I said let me go. I am not your plaything", Mei Qingyang heard him saying very clearly.

    "Sen¡­ senior Yu, are you having a nightmare?" she tried asking but once again, got no response. She inched towards the bed and felt his head. He was drenched in sweat and running a bit of fever.

    Yu Tian slapped her hand away very hard. "I said don''t touch me!" he yelled. The clapping sound was overshadowed by the thunder sound. Mei Qingyang''s heart started thumping really fast because right now, she looked really suspicious. The servants already did not like her, if they got wrong idea, it would be a disaster for her.

    She looked towards the door to check if anyone got up because of the sound. She did not sense any movement outside.

    "Senior Yu, calm down, it is just a bad dream", she again tried to wake him up verbally and shook his shoulder a bit. Yu Tian had thrown down all the pillows and his blanket on the floor and was about to rip his bedsheets.

    "No! Not there, please! Ugh", Yu Tian looked so much in pain that Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore. She turned on the lights first. There was still no effect on Yu Tian, so she stood beside the bed and started patting his head slowly. Yu Tian was sleeping in the middle of the bed, so she had to take a place by the edge of the bed. She sat down on the bed to be in a more comfortable position, taking the support of big bed head behind.

    "Senior Yu, it''s okay. I am here with you. No one can do any harm", she whispered in his ears in a calm voice.

    "Please help me¡­ I can''t do it¡­ I want to¡­ want to¡­", Yu Tian kept blabbering in agony.

    "Shhh¡­ It''s alright. See? No one is here", she consoled him ultimately taking his upper body in her embrace. Yu Tian relaxed a bit and snuggled his body closer to her, clutching his arms around her waist. The half hug seemed to have worked.

    The familiar scent dispelled everything, it was like someone was giving him a hand. He could really see a light at the end of the misery he was suffering right now, in this dream or past memory.

    "It''s okay. I will beat them all for you. Now go back to sleep, okay?" she placated. Yu Tian was fully relaxed now and had stopped twisting and turning too. His breathing evened and he fell deep into sleep.

    Now Mei Qingyang was in a bind. Her waist was clasped by the guy and he was not letting it go. Seeing there was nothing she could do, she unbuttoned his shirt to let the sweat dry off since she did not have anything to wipe it. And then she saw a lot of scars on his body too.

    There were not marks like hers, they were perhaps imprinted because of Yu Rong. Qingyang had long suspected that Yu Rong would beat him whenever he would not obey her. Sure, he was a big guy with one of the best fighting skills in the country.

    But she knew within, when it came to certain people, one could be the strongest person and still weak against that one person. And since he was a proud person too, she knew he would not have told this to anyone, including his best friends. Who would want to admit that they, an a.d.u.l.t, take a beating from their closes relative?

    She wondered what she could do to help.

    It would take time for her to fully take Yu Rong down. And while Yu Tian could serve as a witness, it depended on whether he was willing to. If she had succeeded all these years in her abuse without getting caught, there must be something she was holding against him.

    Or, he had given up after all this time. Did she use tactics of Stockholm Syndrome on him? She needed to find out. But right now, it was more necessary to make sure that his fever got corrected. His body was still burning. He was perhaps clinging to her because her body might have comparatively felt cooler.

    And that morning only, she had got the green light from Fan Ruyi for participation. She was still concerned, so she offered to go with them earning approval from both Yu Tian and Su Lang. They had not even asked Yu Rong for permission yet, so the main battle was still pending.

    In that case, if Yu Tian caught a flu during this time, it would not only not let her get out of the school but would be detrimental for the whole team as such. Mei Qingyang hoped in her heart that this fever was only related to his nightmare and would go at least next morning.

 Chapter 110 - Embarrassed

    Mei Qingyang opened her eyes to find a beautiful sunrise coming out behind the clouds, so clearly seen from the window. She felt really tired for such a fresh morning for some reason and wanted to be in bed for some more time. She rolled around with half eyes closed and suddenly Yu Tian''s face popped up in front of her.

    "Aaaaaaaaah!" was her inadvertent response. Yu Tian was staring at her, supporting his head with one of his hands.

    "Wha¡­ what are you doing here?" Mei Qingyang was flabbergasted. His face was so close. She suddenly covered her mouth, it was morning and her breath must be stinking. She needed to get out of here, this was so embarrassing ugh. Why were they in the same bed again?

    Yu Tian put his other arm around her waist from under the soft blanket and pulled her closer. With a smile on his face he spoke, "I could ask you the same question."

    Mei Qingyang got dazed for a moment. She has never paid attention to his voice before but today it was especially s.e.xy. No no, what am I thinking?

    She remembered the night before. How she was trying to help him. With his arm around her, she could feel that his fever was a lot better now. But¡­ why was it burning wherever he was touching? Oof!

    Now that their bodies were so close that they could feel each other''s heat, Mei Qingyang''s stupid brain started getting ideas once again. Qingyang Qingyang, this guy will be death of you. Don''t think about it ah!

    But she did not have the heart to resist either. Reason would have dictated that she needed to get away from this dangerously attractive guy. But her heart was not giving her a way.

    However, his question meant he did not remember much about last night. His struggle, he even yelled at her and slapped her hand away. She could not take his sweaty pale face at that moment out of her mind. His complexion looked a lot better now.

    On the top of that, sun rays were directly hitting him. He looked like a devilish angel. If in her hands, she would have stroked his ethereal face but she needed to control her urges. Ah! Wasn''t this happening too often these days?

    Also, she needed to brush her teeth, ugh. How was he able to withstand the smell? And why did he look like all fresh and not smell at all, despite all the perspiration yesterday?

    And was it okay to tell him that she came to help him out? Would it hurt his pride that she knew about the beating part? But then, she could just say he was having some nightmares and was grunting in agony.

    From his perspective, the girl''s green marble eyes were lost. She was definitely doing some deep thinking. Did he do something last night? He did remember being very uncomfortable and then a familiar touch which let him sleep peacefully. He¡­ he did not attack her, right?

    Did she come here knowing that he was remembering his past? How would she know? And what did he really do then?

    He hadn''t had the bad dreams for quite some time now. Perhaps he was thinking too much yesterday, that''s how he got them again. But did she really hear him all the way from the guest room? No one knew about his frequent insanity, not even Yu Bufan.

    He suddenly separated himself from her and covered his eyes with his arm while lying down straight. Why did she have to see this side of his like this? He wanted to ask her but was afraid of the answer. What if she was onto something? Would she ever like the truth? That the most powerful student in this whole school was a p.u.s.s.y before his aunt? She had hinted before that she knew but she still associated with him. So, was it pity then?

    Getting away from warm body of Mei Qingyang, he suddenly felt cold and realized his shirt was unbuttoned.

    Mei Qingyang saw that too and realized how she had forgotten to button it back. She had no idea when she drifted off to sleep last night. Last she remembered, she was patting him and coddling him like a baby.

    She checked if she had her own clothes on, because she did not trust herself when it came to this man. Then she wrapped the blanked around herself more tightly.

    Thankfully, everything was intact but this gesture did not escape Yu Tian who was still observing her from the corner of his eyes. What was this girl expecting? He smiled to himself.

    "Uhh¡­ senior Yu, I am so sorry. I barged into your room in my sleep, I think. The thunders in the night were pretty scary haha," she tried to come up with an excuse. Yu Tian stared at her, why was she spouting such an obvious lie?

    "Oh? How would you explain this then?" He continued staring at her, without any expression, while displaying his perfect abs with the scars through his open shirt.

    Caught her red handed! Mei Qingyang''s face flushed red. Why did this guy had to be such a smarty pants? Could he just not go along with her white lie, it was for him anyway. How would she explain this ''accident'' to him?

    She averted her gaze in embarrassment and got up. "I am sorry Senior Yu. I did not mean it," she said while trying to get up from the bed and run away from this shameless guy.

    He caught her hand just in time and pulled her back.

    "I can guess what might have happened last night, so thank you," he stared into her eyes. She knew he was being sincere.

    "It''s been quite long since I have had such¡­ sound sleep. How would you like to¡­ help me out like this everyday?" he grinned sheepishly. Wait wait wait, wasn''t he asking her to sleep in his bed everyday? This shameless man!

    When did he start asking for favors so openly?

    "Ahem, Young Master Yu, aren''t you being too demanding eh?" Mei Qingyang said in a joking tone. She did not mind helping him out like last night, but everyday was too much. If one day she lost her own control, poor guy''s reputation would be sullied by her own hands.

    She realized she could not deal with this guy in a normal way. If he was really a victim of abuse, which was very apparent by new and old scars on his c.h.e.s.t, he could take her answers the wrong way. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Right now, Yu Tian had a poker face on, so she could not even tell what he was thinking.

    "I mean, I would help out in¡­ emergencies like yesterday, I don''t mind that," she confessed. Now ever her neck felt hot, she was probably red till there. She adjusted her disheveled hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear. The action to Yu Tian was so seductive that he could not help but reach out and kiss her neck impulsively.

    "Wha¡­ what are you doing Senior Yu?" she yelled at him in embarrassment. Her blush deepened.

    "Could not help it," Yu Tian mumbled while retreating back into the bed with his back towards her. He had let go off her hand too. His heart was racing right now. Why did this girl make him so impulsive? He was supposed to be the calm, cool and composed male lead of a romance novel, what was up with this losing control?

    "I¡­ I will go prepare breakfast," Mei Qingyang fled from the room as soon as she could. The coming days were becoming more dangerous for both of them. It was a matter of time that they both would lose control one day.

 Chapter 111 - Charmed

    I wish I could leave these memories behind that have been haunting me for life. But these have become a part of who I am. I still can''t come to terms with them, perhaps because the memories reflect my current condition too.

    Then, one day, she appeared out of nowhere. She was a breath of fresh air in my gloomy life. Again, she looked nothing special, just an ordinary woman. But her spirit was of a warrior. Independent and brave and¡­ kind. Her kindness towards anyone and everyone has probably charmed me the most. She doesn''t even care about herself at times.

    I am well aware what had transpired last night. While she slept with her back against the head rest, I woke up to find myself in her arms. Silly girl had slept at some point of time. Why was she so careless around me? Did she not see me as a man?

    "My dear kitten, why do you go through such discomfort for me?" Yu Tian got up and c.a.r.e.s.sed her face. Till now she was half sitting because of the support from his body from the side. As soon as he got up, she fell down on his shoulder.

    "This is just fine," he chuckled and sat in contemplation for some time. What expression would she make when she would realize what she did in the night? He had noticed that his shirt was open. He was in a habit to sleep shirtless to begin with but since the day this girl arrived, he had to be considerate of her.

    If he suddenly started walking shirtless in the house, one, she might have gotten spooked and two, she would see his scars.

    It was in vain in the end since she ended up seeing them like this. Given her intelligence and firsthand experience with Yu Rong''s whip, she would know what these were. Would she reject him then? What if she chanced upon the whole truth?

    Yu Tian clenched his fists, that wench! When would he get out of her reach?

    "Ugh, please don''t worry senior Yu, everything will be alright," she murmured in her sleep. Her breath tickled his ear and he was able to hear her clearly.

    Surprised, he looked at her, if she was awake and consoling him once more. Why was even one word from her so comforting? At that time, he had been re-living what he went through very frequently. Only that he was dreaming of his childhood.

    Just one touch on his forehead from her was enough to fill that dreaded space with warm yellow light, instantly dispelling all the darkness. Was she an angel?

    And why would his heart start beating so fast whenever he looked at her? She was going to make his life difficult in coming days. How was he going to interact with her from now on?

    She looked a bit uneasy in the position, so he helped her lie down comfortably and tucked her in the blanket. It was becoming quite cold these days. He had to make sure his kitty was safe and sound.

    Now this girl was lying so defenselessly that if he wanted to do anything to her, no one would stop him. And that is why he was more afraid. He had to control himself so much right now but his body was slowly reacting to her. That was an involuntary reaction and he could not do anything about it. The more he looked at her, more d.e.s.i.r.e was taking him over.

    If he ended up doing something regretful, this kitty, who had finally started opening up her heart to him would definitely hate him. In the end, he ended up in his shower, cold water pouring on his toned body in this cold weather, just to calm himself down.

    His night was spent looking at her innocent and peaceful face. He could not sleep at all, knowing that the girl he liked was lying right beside him. All he did the whole night was just stare at her and drawing her silhouette in his mind from time to time. He wanted to etch everything about her in his heart and wait for the day when she would reciprocate his feelings.

    In the morning, the sun was illuminating her body which was facing the window. He wanted to close the curtains for the direct light might have made her uncomfortable. That petite stature, how he wished he could just hug her from behind. She looked so divine lying right there.

    He was lost in his thoughts when the girl suddenly turned to his side with her eyes wide open. Even her scream was so cute. She seemed to have forgotten for a moment what she was doing in his bedroom and it was so much fun to tease her. He feigned ignorance.

    "I woke and saw you in my bed. I was startled too," he had replied to her.

    At the expense of teasing her, he would not forget to tell her how much he appreciated her. And so, although she was fleeing from his bed, he had to stop her. And thank her.

    Her bashful red face was so enchanting, that he could not resist planting a kiss on her neck in the end. She had tucked her hair away, baring her slightly red nape. Who would not be tempted by her action like this? He wished he could do more. He could only see her thin red lips but again, not wanting to scare her away, he had to control.

    Her green marble eyes, that were losing focus because she did not know what to do next made him chuckle. In the end, she did run away but these small moments were the ones that were bringing p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to his life right now.

    He had wished for a longer suspension for her, so that he could just keep her at his house forever. Unfortunately, that would not sit right with anyone including Su Lang. Was he reporting everything to Minister Jiang? He was a poor guy too.

    He was being charmed by his little sister. But then, he was always fond of Jiang kids. All he would talk about was Jiang Bo when he was alive. Su Lang also had this thick wall around him which only six people were ever able to break, including him, Fan Ruyi, Jiang couple, Jian Bo and now, Mei Qingyang.

    But that was also because of this lass''s traits. She had not particularly done anything for him, yet he was still enamored by her.

    Which is why these two were ready to face any obstacles for this girl. She was worthy of taking pains and having in life. And today was going to be another battle since they were meeting Yu Rong to take permission from her for taking Mei Qingyang out of the school.

    Yu Tian put on new set of clothes and went out to have the breakfast his lass had prepared for him, mentally readying himself to meet his aunt. Su Lang was also sitting at the dining table when he came out of his room. Mei Qingyang was already serving the breakfast to her brother.

    Yes, this was the picture, the picture of a family, that Yu Tian wanted the most in his life. He smiled looking at them both and headed towards the table with a light and fluffy heart. He loved this warm feeling enveloping his whole being.

 Chapter 112 - Disown me

    The day our main leads were getting cozy with each other was also the day when Mei Qingyang was cleared by Fan Ruyi to participate in the competition. The next and the only big task left was to take permission from Yu Rong to let Mei Qingyang leave the campus for a few days. There were still two days in the competition.

    This time Yu Tian and Su Lang just barged into Yu Rong''s office and cut to the chase right away.

    "Principal Yu, we won''t waste your time since we know you are quite busy," Su Lang initiated the conversation. They were seated in the comfortable chairs in Yu Rong''s office which was dimly lit as usual.

    Depending upon who was visiting and where she would seat their guests, the lighting of Yu Rong''s office changed. The dim lighting was usually emphasized on her own desk and was placed to accentuate her curvy body than her face. She dealt with mostly men, so half her deals fell into her l.a.p because of her seductive ways.

    If she needed to entertain important guests, the light emphasis would be on the seating area, where two very luxurious leather sofas were kept facing each other and across them were similar style armchairs. Right now, the two guests were sitting in this area.

    It was very rare for Su Lang to see this part of her office. He usually avoided coming to this place as he could not really stand it for some reason. He always felt a blood stench in there. So he would either call her or just talk to her while standing if he really needed to visit her office and leave as soon as possible.

    Today was a serious discussion and they could not really avoid not coming in person to discuss it. They wanted to finish the discussions early but by the way Yu Rong was just staring at them without saying anything was a foreboding that this was going to be a time-consuming process.

    Even after five minutes, Yu Rong wouldn''t utter a word. She was just playing with her teacup. Wang Hao, and Yu Bufan were both standing at the back. Su Lang would not bring his own assistant to such party because his assistant happened to be a female. He did not want her to see all this nonsense.

    There was a battle happening even in the silence. But Yu Tian and Su Lang were veterans too. They remained calm under any kind of duress.

    Yu Rong crashed the perfectly fine teacup in her hand on the floor.

    "Young Master Su, aren''t you being too demanding? You know that b*tch can''t leave the campus, why do you keep asking for the impossible?" Even after showing her agitation over their request by throwing the poor cup, Yu Rong could maintain her composure perfectly fine.

    "Principal Yu, this is my sister you are talking about, please watch your words," Su Lang raised his voice this time. He might have been weak in the past, not being able to say anything in the death of his cousin, in the misery of his uncle, but he could not very well speak up for himself now and those he held dear.

    "Oh, my my, forgive me Young Master Su, I did not realize that that wench had enchanted you enough as well. You think of her as sister eh? Don''t tell me you developed feelings for her and now putting this sister-brother charade to disguise a semi-illicit relationship?" Yu Rong glanced at Yu Tian for a reaction. Seeing no effect, she clenched her teeth. Why did he trust his friend and that b*itch so much? She needed to change the tactics.

    Su Lang knew it was no use arguing with her over baseless accusation. He chose to remain silent and sip his tea to keep himself calm.

    "I was just wondering if you got any call from Master Su recently?", Yu Rong continued once she realized she was not getting any response, gauging the two''s expression. Yu Tian was just sitting with dead eyes there, perhaps not even focusing as long as he was not the one the conversation was directed to.

    Su Lang, on the other hand, was quite perplexed in his mind. Did this witch tattle to his father once again? Come to think of it, did she not do the same in the past as well? Then she had only thought that he had developed deep friendship with Jiang Bo, without realizing that they were cousins.

    She had approached his father and made him look like a foolish and na?ve person who was being manipulated by a poor kid. He was powerless then, but this time the conditions were not the same anymore.

    "Even if my father did say something, your dealings with him are your own, that has nothing to do with me," Su Lang sipped the tea from the teacup calmly.

    Yu Rong nibbled her finger in nervousness. When did this guy grow so much guts to not budge even after taking his father''s name? Master Su was known to be a strict person, and he had raised his only son with much harshness. Now it seemed these lads had grown wings. Not to mention her own nephew, who was defying her each and every order.

    "Huh? Are you not afraid that our deals with Su family will fall through?" Yu Rong was very confident that this tactic would work because it worked all the time. These rich kids were basically pawns for their parents. Beginning from their education to their marriage and children, everything was done for the purposes of expanding their businesses.

    And ultimately, these were still kids. Did they think they could win against her, a person who had been in this cruel business world since she was in her teens? They could dream on!

    "Perhaps there is some problem with your informants? I have long stopped associating with Su empire, I have my own businesses to take care of. Why would I be afraid of something I have no control of?" Su Lang looked at Yu Rong in confusion. Sure, he was afraid of his dad. His dad had ultimate say in everything.

    But that was precisely the reason why he had worked his a.s.s off to get out of his dad''s clutches. And he had succeeded too. Once he had a few businesses earning profits, his dad had stopped treating him like a punching bag for verbal abuse and left him alone. Perhaps he had realized that his own son could be independent and work without him just fine.

    Yu Bufan''s phone rang and he took the call silently. On the other side of the phone was Su Lang''s assistant. Her voice was trembling as she narrated Yu Bufan how Su Yang, Su Lang''s father, had called her and scolded her. Yu Bufan relayed the message to the young master.

    Su Lang and Yu Rong both sneered at each other. Yu Rong thought it was her victory and Su Lang would back off now. Su Lang on the other hand, asked for his phone from Yu Bufan and dialed a number.

    "Hello, Mr. Su?" he spoke emotionlessly on the phone.

    "What do you mean by Mr. Su? Is this the way to talk to your dad?" a stern voice came from the other side.

    "I don''t care. But if you trouble my assistant again over something that is not yours, please forget you ever had a son. Also, you do not have any shares in my businesses, nor do I in yours. If you think I am affecting your finances, feel free to disown me," the guy spoke courageously while smiling towards Yu Rong the whole time.

    This final phone call was his way to show his resolve.

    "You¡­"

    "Goodbye," Su Lang disconnected the call before his father could say anything else.

    Clap, clap, clap. Yu Rong was amused by these reckless youngsters. Well, she had expected this much.

    "Anyway Principal Yu, I don''t even know why you are bringing all this up. I mean, we are here for the national tournament. It is a prestigious competition, I don''t know what the problem is in sending her. We have never had any females participate, so it will be a good boost to our team and reputation," Su Lang tried to explain. Yu Tian did not need to say anything, everyone in his friend circle knew he hated dealing with his aunt.

    "I never said that she can''t go," Yu Rong glanced at Yu Tian''s expression. The subtle change in his demeanor once he heard that there was hope for his lass, enraged Yu Rong so much that she wanted to slap her nephew right here.

    But then, given her past record, she knew nothing will come out of being angry.

    "But?" Su Land knew she would put another condition. That was how Yu Rong rolled.

    "This time, I will personally go and supervise you guys," she declared.

 Chapter 113 - Dont Ruin It For The School

    "Well, that is not unreasonable to be honest," Su Lang stated as a matter of fact. It did not matter to him where this person before him was as long as she did not loiter around his cousin. His cousin''s safety was of utmost importance to him.

    "What do you think my dear nephew?" she finally directed the conversation to the silent Yu Tian who had just wanted to get out since the beginning.

    "I don''t care as long as our women team can advance, although she will be one-woman army," Yu Tian said seriously but he had a warmth in his eyes, a glow that Yu Rong had never seen before. Where did this kid learn being so soft? He would never show such an expression for her.

    In all honesty, he did not even look at his aunt. All he could think right now was how happy she would be to hear the news that she could go out of campus. It must be so hard for her to remain caged here. It had almost been four months and she had met her family only once.

    "Which reminds me, Principal Yu. I hope our Qing Qing doesn''t get any harm this time. She is a very promising candidate and we would not want anything in the way of our school''s glory, right?" Su Lang taunted her with a hint of sarcasm adding a pinch of reminder to her.

    "Whatever do you mean Young Master Su. If she acts within her boundaries, of course there will be no harm to her. You know how strict our school is when it comes to follow our regulations," Yu Rong sneered. This dude, who is just a kid, is trying to teach her how to deal with stuff, eh? She needed to interfere in a few of his businesses just like she did with Yu Tian, these all arrogant brats needed some form of punishment.

    Which reminded her, she needed to get an update from Wang Hao about how he was handling Yu Tian''s supply chain.

    Yu Tian gnashed his teeth. This person could easily come up with garbage reasons to accuse Mei Qingyang. He had to make sure he was with her as much as possible. But what about the times when he would be participating in his own matches? He needed to instruct Yu Bufan to protect her, no matter what.

    He was lost in thoughts when he suddenly sensed a pair of eyes which were looking at him with l.u.s.t. In the next moment, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he flinched.

    "Remember my dear nephew, I still have not given you your penalty for your rebellious actions this past month. That is still due," He saw Yu Rong standing behind him and pressing her hand on his shoulder. She whispered her chilling words slowly in his right ear so that Su Lang, who was sitting on his left, would not hear anything. He gulped his saliva.

    He had gotten used to his kitten''s warmth in past two weeks. The gentle c.a.r.e.s.sing of hers was the best. He had completely forgotten about this cold aunt of his. A shudder went through his spine but he could not show his emotions because his best friend was sitting here.

    "So, how is living with a lowly commoner with you? Are you planning to take her as a servant Tian?" Yu Rong went back to her ''Principal'' mode once again.

    And Yu Tian and Su Lang kept quiet as well. They knew this witch was provoking them both.

    "You guys are no fun," she pouted. While Yu Tian was accustomed to her trying to act cute like this, Su Lang almost threw up.

    "Principal Yu, can you just tell us what your plan is? And would you need anything from our side since we are the ones arranging everything as the captains?" Su Lang wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

    "I don''t need you to do anything. Just book a separate room for me in the hotel you are staying, same floor. Provide Wang Hao with the details. I will reach there by myself, so you do not need to make extra arrangements for me," she stated.

    "Understood. We want this in written, so please send us an email. You know, just to have proofs for future," Su Lang was ticked now. Could they just go home?

    "Ahahahaha, smart move. Wang Hao, send them the email from my personal email right away," Yu Rong said while clenching her teeth. This smart stinky brat. He thought she would go back on her words? She needed to do something about this chatterbox.

    "Please do not forget to add that Mei Qingyang is allowed to participate in the tournament." After this, there was a silence of around five minutes once again. The two phones of their masters rang for an email receipt notification soon. Confirming the contents, both he guys rose from their seats.

    "Thanks Principal Yu, we will take our leave," Su Lang took the lead once again.

    "Tian," Yu Rong called out before they exited her office. Yu Rong approached him with hasty steps and hugged him tightly. Yu Tian stood there limp, not hugging her back. His face became full of disgust.

    "Do remember what I just said. You can enjoy till the competition and then the exams afterwards. Once they are over, you will be spending a few days with me," she smiled slyly, very pleased with herself. She had abstained too long. He was her favorite toy and she had not touched him in almost a month.

    She also needed to take revenge on that b*tch. This tournament was going to be a little firework surprise for her. But the exams and a few events afterwards were going to be bomb for everyone, she would ake sure of that.

    -------------------------------------------------------

    "Are you really going with them master?" Wang Hao was very curious about her sudden decision. For him, Yu Rong seemed to think of herself as a puppet master. She was basically playing house in this campus. In his mind, he knew that Yu Rong thought of herself as the God and provider of this place.

    Which was why, she seldom went out. Her favorite pastime was peeping people in their rooms with the hidden cameras she had put all around, especially her nephew and that lass Qingyang.

    Since Qingyang came, she had not really done anything that seemed off. Neither she talked to people nor she invited anyone to her room. Well, it was not a place you could invite a lot of people to begin with. Although he had heard the rumors that the lass would sometimes try to poor kids and ask them questions, but it was never caught on any of the cameras.

    They had gotten everything checked for malware or tweaking from multiple experts but everyone had told them that everything was clear. No one had tampered with anything. So they had no choice but to trust their systems.

    And these days, even though Yu Tian and the lass were living under same roof, there was nothing happening between them. Yu Rong had spent countless nights just monitoring them both, but here had never been even a kiss between them.

    Unless, the system was hacked by Hacker Z. Wang Hao chuckled at the ridiculous thought. Why would such an elite hacker help that commoner girl. He had long suspected that Z was perhaps some elite person from their school, the school was full of geniuses after all.

    "Why? Do you have any problem with that?" Yu Rong was quite irritated with how those brats had been behaving lately. Today also, she had agreed to go with them, but then who would look after her empire here?

    "Hmph! These brats need a lesson and that is precisely why I am going there. This time, I won''t wait for anyone''s reaction. That girl has to die."

 Chapter 114 - Another Visitor For Qingyang

    "Hello, cou¡­ could I meet Ms. Mei please?" a girl with freckles on her face knocked on the door of Yu Tian''s room.

    The whole top floor of this particular hostel building belonged to the four friends. There were seldom any visitors because these people were each other''s group. Not that it was out of bounds for anyone.

    But there was a time when all the fan girls and fan boys gathered outside their rooms and made such a clamor that these four had to restrict the entry for everyone. Now anyone who needed to visit any of the four friends had to take permission.

    The whole time-consuming process discouraged most of the fans, one had to go through background checks and their intention to visit was scrutinized very strictly. As such, most of the people gave up. It became a lot easier for the assistants. They would still get love calls from their fans every now and then.

    This girl had also applied for a permit. It was surprising that she got it within a few hours. So, she decided to visit her friend at this time.

    Everyone at the campus had heard how Yu Tian had been keeping Mei Qingyang by his side all the time. They had also seen his attitude at her trial by Yu Rong, and how he had protected her when she had bared herself in front of everyone.

    Since then, a rumor had started to circulate that this was Yu Tian taking in a servant unofficially. All the four people were famous for helping their assistants with education and training. None of them had an official servant but with the exception of Yu Tian, everyone had an assistant of opposite gender to their masters.

    But again, it was not uncommon for people in this school to take on servants of same s.e.x, which was why the rumors of Yu Tian being gay started. Plus, he was famous for not liking touch of women at all. But now he had Mei Qingyang, he had become a hot topic again.

    Because Mei Qingyang could ever only be a servant, something like a favored concubine in ancient times? His official wife would be someone with matching status with their family. And thus, a lot of girls had again started coveting this most eligible bachelor of the college.

    It had become Yu Bufan''s headache once again, since a lot of girls wanted to meet his master who had seemed to have toned down his coldness a lot. These days, he was seen in a good mood usually, still aloof but somehow, he seemed more approachable now.

    At one point, Yu Bufan had started tossing out all the applications for permits in the dustbin directly. Thus, he was very surprised when he found the application from this girl wanted to meet Mei Qingyang.

    He had seen this girl trying to get close to his master''s beloved in her class. She was the only one who would sit beside her and try to talk to her, despite Mei Qingyang''s cold shoulder. He had thought that his future mistress needed to make more friends, otherwise she would end up same as his master, with just four friends, the fourth one being a recent addition in the form of Mei Qingyang.

    Yu Bufan never believed in quantity over quality but his future mistress definitely needed a circle of her own. Moreover, the background check for this girl, Ma Shuxin, came out clean. She was the second daughter of Ma family which was a small merchant family in a foreign country. Her family was, what you call it, at the bottom of social ladder in this college.

    But her dad had enough money to spare for her daughters to study here. Her elder sister was an alumnus of the college as well. In the end, not finding anything suspicious, Yu Bufan had accepted the application on his future mistress''s behalf.

    Coincidently, she visited at the time when neither Yu Bufan, nor Yu Tian were at home. They had gone to meet Yu Rong along with Su Lang. Mrs. Zhao had opened the door. It was early morning on another weekend, so everyone was free.

    Mrs. Zhao had been on edge these days and she was afraid that she would soon lose her job, or head, because of this lass who had made herself comfortable in their home. Her master deserved better. That girl was in a similar social class as hers, how could she sleep in the same bed as her master?

    It would have been okay if she was just a joy toy. But it seemed master was serious about her. Even Yu Bufan, the highest authority among the people under Yu Tian, was okay with the girl living here. Was he also getting benefits from that s.l.u.t?

    Anyway, she had received strict instructions from her master to not make any chaos, so she had to make peace with her inner turmoil for now. Seeing a new lass, who looked better in terms of status, Mrs. Zhao was very surprised. She was not informed prior that they were expecting guests. Her eyes lit up.

    Although this girl was asking for that wench but it might be on the pretext of meeting her master ultimately. If she could push this girl for her master, it would still be better than having that lass as her mistress in the future.

    Mrs. Zhao was heartbroken when she had heard that Young Miss Fan was interested in Young Master Feng rather than her own master. She had already accepted that girl as her mistress in her heart. But anything would be better than Mei Qingyang. Thus, Mrs. Zhao welcomed Ma Shuxin very warmly.

    "I was not informed beforehand that you would be coming. I apologize for having to make you wait," the old lady bowed a little in courtesy.

    "No, no. It is my fault. I was so excited after I got my permit, that I decided to visit that very weekend. I should have informed properly," Ma Shuxin smiled. This lass was definitely very likeable. She was polite in her demeanor and had good etiquettes, unlike a certain someone Mrs. Zhao knew.

    "Please come in. I will call your friend right away," Mrs. Zhao trotted, beaming from ear to ear. She had found a perfect candidate for her master, that Mei lass could now go to hell.

    The contempt in this maid''s statement was apparent to Ma Shuxin. She had survived in this world full of rich people where she was at the bottom of the food chain, she was very perceptive when it came to such matters. Guess not everyone treated her friend favorably here.

    "Ms. Mei, you have a visitor outside," Mrs. Zhao knocked on the guest room door which was bolted from the inside. Hmph! What was so secretive about this lass'' operations that she would not even let her, the head maid of mighty Yu Tian, in the room? Was she conspiring something against her master? She had to find out.

    Inside, Mei Qingyang was also surprised to hear Mrs. Zhao''s voice. She had no idea that she was receive any guests.

    "Who is it?" she asked from the inside. It must either be Fan Ruyi or at most that Gu Layue. But Fan Ruyi would have directly barged into the room without any restraints. And if it were Gu Layue, Mrs. Zhao would have informed her directly. Who was this mystery person?

    "She is a girl with reddish brown hair and freckles on her face," Mrs. Zhao whispered.

    The door opened and Mei Qingyang appeared. She was wearing a full sleeves white turtleneck and an olive-green wide pants to hide her scars. Now she finally chose sensible clothes. Otherwise, she would keep roaming around with her scars visible, especially since the day her master and the s.l.u.t came out of the same bedroom. It was like she had won the ticket to openly display her own scars in front of everyone. Why torture us, servants'' eyes ah?

    Mrs. Zhao saw the lass with contempt in her eyes but lowered her head once she spotted spine chilling coldness from the girl, very similar to her master.

    "Mrs. Zhao, I understand that assistant Yu''s arrangements are impeccable. If he gave the permit to someone, that person would be trustworthy. But you let someone in without even knowing their name? I thought you were head maid for a reason," Mei Qingyang spoke in a flat tone.

    She was not angry with the maid. She had since known that Mrs. Zhao rose to her position because she was good at housework and she was associated with Yu Tian''s mother. She definitely had knowledge of how to navigate in the high society but she was lacking some very basic common sense.

    Moreover, it was not difficult for Mei Qingyang to take on another girl, if they were to be attacked. But what if it was someone like that vice-captain Xuan?

    "Yes, I trust in Yu Bufan, he would not make any mistakes," Mrs. Zhao kept her head low but still spoke with an angry voice. How dare this lass try to teach her, a person with over fifty years of experience in life?

    "Forget it. Please prepare some tea for our guest. I will attend to them," Mei Qingyang left, not wanting to argue with this blockhead of a maid anymore.

    As people aged, they became more stubborn, not wanting to admit their mistakes. They were always proud of their rich experiences in life and thus thought that they knew everything. But time waited for none. Thus, people who refused to learn and evolve with time would be left behind in dust. Then, all their experiences would be for nothing. The prime example of this was Mrs. Zhao.

    She would refuse to let go of her pride and would hate to hear a lecture from a young a.d.u.l.t like her, thinking she knew better. But she had been cooped up in this campus for her whole life after Yu Tian''s mom passed away, how would she know of the current world?

    Mei Qingyang sighed and shook her head in pity. If only, Mrs. Zhao would smarten up a bit.

    She headed towards the living room where Ma Shuxin was reading a magazine that was on the table.

    "Shuxin, what are you doing here?" Mei Qingyang addressed the girl with her first name. Shuxin grinned seeing her friend. Finally, this girl had called her by her first name for the first time.

 Chapter 115 - Too Friendly

    "Ah Qingyang! How are you? Haven''t seen you in a while!" Ma Shuxin got up and hugged Mei Qingyang. Mrs. Zhao was keeping an eye to report it to the master later. She would make sure to praise this new lass in front of him.

    "Ah? Ah!" Mei Qingyang was confused. When had they become so close that she was hugging her like this? If someone saw her, they would think that her and this girl were best friends.

    "I was so worried about you. I wanted to meet you after your¡­ your incident. And then I came to watch your match too. You were so cool there, I had no idea you could fight like that," Ma Shuxin kept blabbering on, confusing Mei Qingyang more and more.

    "Umm¡­ did you need anything from me? You came all the way here; I am assuming you went through the whole process of application?" Mei Qingyang urged her to sit down on the sofa with a signal and sat down on the opposite side of hers while they waited for Mrs. Zhao to brew the tea.

    "I don''t need to have a reason to meet a friend, do I?" Ma Shuxin picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip. She winked at Mei Qingyang.

    Now, Mei Qingyang was bewildered. What was this over familiar attitude of this girl? She did remember when she was being bullied by those girls in her class, Ma Shuxin would sometimes help her out in cleaning stuff. Was it because she was a foreign bred wealthy kid?

    She did not seem to have any malice in her. Should she accept her as an acquaintance for now? If assistant Yu let her in, then he must have done his due diligence already. But then again, no one but only time could tell what went in someone''s heart. So for now, she would maintain appropriate distance.

    She glanced at the girl in front of her once again and found a very friendly smile blooming on Ma Shuxin''s face. Well, there was no way one could not be charmed by that innocence.

    "Oh well. Yeah¡­ so¡­," despite everything, Mei Qingyang was at a loss for words. What would she talk about with this girl? With her friends back at her parents'' home, she could talk to them about martial arts or coding the whole time and time would fly. Here, she had to discuss her plans and the information going around, so she was comfortable talking to Yu Tian and Su Lang.

    What to say to this girl though? Her eyes darted around in indecision. A peal of laughter escaped Ma Shuxin''s mouth.

    "Ahem, so, are you enjoying your stay here?" The sharp-witted girl understood Mei Qingyang''s dilemma and thus started the conversation.

    Mrs. Zhao was just serving the tea on the table when she harrumphed in a low voice.

    Mei Qingyang did not like Mrs. Zhao''s attitude. In this era, where any kind of information could work against her own master, she was openly showing her disdain towards the person her master was trying to protect. She was sabotaging her own master''s efforts.

    No matter how close Ma Shuxin was to Mei Qingyang, Mrs. Zhao needed to hold back her emotions. Later, Mei Qingyang needed to talk to assistant Yu to teach her a few things.

    "Yes, Young Master Yu has helped me out a lot," Mei Qingyang replied politely. She did not show much excitement nor any negative emotion. If this girl had approached her for gossip, she had already got enough with Mrs. Zhao''s demeanor. Mei Qingyang did not need to add fuel to the fire.

    "Oh? Is this a maiden in love speaking? Kyaa~ Are you truly the chosen one?" Ma Shuxin was too excited. She stood up from her seat and walked to the seat just beside Mei Qingyang. She held her hands in excitement.

    "M¡­ maiden in love? What are you talking about? Are you believing all those rumors?" Sweat appeared on Mei Qingyang''s forehead. It was quite tiring to be talking to this too nice of a person. With others, she at least knew their intention, so she could keep her conversations short and sweet.

    What was this feeling? It was like she was entertaining someone of importance as a wife of a duke or something.

    "I mean, think about it rationally. If he were not interested in you, why would he keep you here with him and hide you from the world? Did you know, there was a time when the pictures of your scars were circulating around. And then, within a day, it all went poof! Who do you think did that? Young Master Yu must care for you so much!" This girl didn''t know when to stop, did she?

    On the other side, Mrs. Zhao''s face was getting darker and darker. Young master did all that for this lowly commoner?

    "He is probably helping me out because he was kind of involved, it must just be guilt. He is such a mighty person, he can''t really be interested in me," Mei Qingyang dodged the topic with ambiguous attitude, dropping a hint to both Ma Shuxin and Mrs. Zhao that the Young Master Yu was an incredible celebrity out of her reach. She was still not sure how her words were going to spread around after this conversation.

    The boys arrived in the meantime.

    "Gosh! That was tiring. What do you think she is planning?" Su Lang asked Yu Tian as they entered his house. Then they saw an unfamiliar face and they shut up immediately.

    "Oh, young master Yu, young master Su, my name is Ma Shuxin. Nice to meet you both," she bowed courteously to both of them. She could not believe her eyes, she was seeing the two most beloved celebrities in the school right here, in front of her eyes, standing a few feet away.

    Yu Bufan whispered in both of their ears about the history of how she came about to be. They both nodded their heads, as aloof as ever. They both left for Yu Tian''s bedroom since Yu Tian had given away his guest room to Mei Qingyang. He did not want to invade her privacy.

    "Wow, they look so much handsome in casual clothes. In the classes, they only wear formal clothes. You are living in a heaven Qingyang!" she commented.

    "Haha, I don''t know what to say," Mei Qingyang ignored the comment. From the conversation of the two guys earlier, she had gotten the permission but there were conditions. She had expected this much.

    She kept looking towards their direction throughout her conversation with Ma Shuxin. Ma Shuxin was the only one speaking, giving her updates of what was happening in their classes. The three TAs had stopped coming, so quite a few girls had stopped going to classes too. There was no policy regarding compulsory attendance in this college anyway.

    "Hmm¡­ It seems like you are not interested in talking to me anymore. Fine, I will take my leave for today. I had got you a few notes for past two weeks, since all our courses are common and final exams are right after the tournament. I hope you get permission to attend that tournament though. Wish you good luck," Ma Shuxin then left the house.

    Mei Qingyang hurried into the room where the two guys were in a very serious mood.

    "What happened?" she asked curiously.

    "She agreed but will be coming with us", Su Lang told her with his hand on his forehead. What should they be looking out for? How could that witch harm Mei Qingyang again?

    "That could definitely be a problem but we need to focus on the tournament now. I was looking at the videos from previous matches. It should not be hard but I can''t guarantee anything to be honest," Mei Qingyang tried to shift the topic. She would need to watch out for her, otherwise she would not be able to contact her family.

    "Ah, cousin, did you tell dad about what is happening here already?"

    "We¡­," Su Lang hesitated a bit but he knew he could not hide anything from this clever little lass, so he explained honestly, "He has been calling me almost every day. He is very worried about you."

    "Ah damn! I had wanted to hide Yu Rong''s incident from him but I don''t think anything escapes him. Unfortunately, his network here is too strong too, he must have gotten the information anyway," she sighed. Having a powerful dad was also a problem. Her every move would be monitored by her dad. He would definitely blame these two guys for the shame that was brought to her honor.

    "Young Masters, everything is ready," Yu Bufan appeared to inform the guys that they were ready to leave any moment for the tournament now.

    "The matches start on Monday. We will be travelling today and resting for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a snow forecast at that place, so we are leaving early," Yu Tian explained Mei Qingyang, who obviously, looked perplexed. They had not told her to pack or anything. Neither had she gotten her official uniform yet!

    "Oh, and here is a gift for you," Su Lang took the box from Yu Bufan and gave it to her.

    "Is¡­ is it what I think it is?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes shone with excitement. She looked at the exquisite box with moist eyes. She had always wanted to go on field trips and club outings with friends. Unfortunately, her dad had decided to homeschool her. It did pay off, she learnt way more than what she could have in a traditional school.

    She opened the box and a fresh scent of new clothes hit her nose. A navy-blue colored uniform with the school''s logo was beautifully wrapped. She wiped her tears of happiness.

    "Jiu Jitsu gi? Are you putting me in Jiu Jitsu team?" To be honest, they had not discussed any details about what martial arts she would be competing in or what would be her level. Now that she looked at the uniform, she realized these guys really knew how to play to the strengths of their teammates.

    Su Lang and Yu Tian both nodded at each other.

    "Yeah, we determined that would be the best. We do not have anyone else competing in Jiu Jitsu in men''s team either. Feng Yue was the one best in this, we have decided to keep his spot empty this year," Su Lang informed. They both sighed together since they missed their friend.

    Ah! I brought down the mood again!

    "A¡­ and, black belt? I just learned it for fun, I never appeared for any exams," Mei Qingyang wasn''t sure if she could get the black belt directly.

    "Don''t worry about it. We are official teachers as well. We can award you that based on your skill. You were great that day. We have already taken care of registration and all, you are officially a black belt," Su Lang cheered her up.

    "Don''t think about much and just try this on. We still have time, we will get it fit if it is not already. We leave in two hours," Yu Tian declared.

    Oh, then it was finally time for the tournament then¡­

 Chapter 116 - A Small Detour

    As soon as the whole team left the college campus, it started raining once again. They had hired a big bus for the teammates, adequate with all the supplies for a six-hour travel. Yu Tian, Mei Qingyang and Su Lang followed the bus in a separate car.

    They had wanted to hire a limousine but there were none available, so they had to make do with a normal car. Su Lang was sitting at the front while Yu Bufan was driving them. Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian sat at the back.

    "Why did we not go in the bus?" Mei Qingyang was not aware of how things happened in the sports club but it was weird that they all went separately from the actual team.

    Sure, those two girls did not get to participate this time, so she was the only female here but that would not be the reason for this move, right?

    "Oh, we thought you would not feel comfortable with so much testosterone around," Su Lang stuck his tongue out cheekily.

    So, it was the reason!

    "Seriously?" she hit his arm slightly to stop him from making these non-funny jokes.

    "Su Lang, I think it''s been some time since you got some beating from me," Yu Tian joined the two bickering people.

    "Tsk, you''re no fun bro," Su Lang pouted.

    There was nothing else to talk about so Mei Qingyang ended up sleeping in the car. When she woke up, she saw everyone seemed restless.

    "It''s raining too heavily, it will be hard for the car to move. The bus is also out of our sight now," Yu Bufan was informing the two young masters about the situation.

    "What happened?" Mei Qingyang rubbed her eyes and realized her head was resting in Yu Tian''s l.a.p. Upon the realization, she got up wide awake. When had she made such a bold move? She looked at Yu Tian with apologetic embarrassed face.

    "You looked uncomfortable, so I shifted you like that. It was not your fault," Yu Tian told her, while using the gentlest tone. Even Yu Bufan got goosebumps, he could never get used to seeing his master like that.

    "Bufan, drive to the nearest hotel, otherwise there should be one of dad''s cabins here. We might have to stay there," Yu Tian gave orders. They were almost halfway to the place and it started raining cats and dogs suddenly. It was mountainous area, so it was dangerous to drive with such a low visibility.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang had been visiting this place since their childhood. Most of the national tournaments in M nation used to take place at this big gymnasium, surrounded by big hills from all the sides. It was not just martial arts, all kinds of matches used to take place here. This place also attracted a lot of attention because of national coaching and training sessions for all kinds of sports.

    It was a tourist place as well. Interestingly, it was built and maintained by the three ric.h.e.s.t families ¨C Yu, Su and Feng. It was also a symbol of peace and cooperation among the three empires.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang knew the place very well. There were quite a few hotels nearby but they all required at least half an hour of detour. With the rain pouring, they could either wait in the car for the rain to slow down at the hilly edge, which would be very dangerous since there were always chances of landslide. Or, they could just find the log cabin Yu Tian was talking about. It should be somewhere in about five minutes vicinity of the place where they had stopped their car.

    "Will assistant Yu be alright? It seems like a rough climb," Mei Qingyang said worriedly while looking out of the window. Small waterfalls had formed along the slope of the hill and she was worried the poor assistant might get injured while looking for the place.

    She did not mind waiting in the car. They did not know how much time Yu Bufan would take to find that cabin. But given that the rain was not reducing at all, they could not drive in such treacherous conditions.

    "Are you concerned about another man now?" Yu Tian suddenly spoke up with a frown on his face.

    What was up with him? Why was he using such a stern tone? Was he not bothered about his assistant at all?

    Su Lang guffawed at his friend''s statement.

    "Oh my God Yu Tian ah! Did you really say that? I wish I had recorded that. It would have been such an entertainment for coming few years for me. I could share it later with Fan Ruyi too. We could laugh at it together then," Su Lang laughed some more.

    "Shut up!" Yu Tian harrumphed while turning his head away from both Su Lang and Mei Qingyang. He looked out of the window with his ears red. He himself was embarrassed about his involuntary statement, okay? And how could he not worry about his assistant? He was like an elder brother to him. But he sent him because he was confident about his memory and his skills.

    "I have found the cabin master, the key worked too. It was exactly in the direction you had said. I have turned on the heat as well. The place is a little dusty but we will have to make do with it," Yu Bufan took out the big umbrella from the trunk of the car.

    "Accompany the lady, we two will be alright," Yu Tian was still worried about her wounds. He let Yu Bufan put the umbrella over Mei Qingyang while the two guys ran away in the rain while covering their heads with their coats, Yu Tian leading Su Lang.

    It was a rare occasion for Mei Qingyang to be alone with Yu Bufan. The assistant was even quieter than Yu Tian and seldom spoke, unless he was giving out some information to his master.

    "I am sorry assistant Yu, you have to be taking care of me where you could be helping out your master," Mei Qingyang spoke very politely. She really admired this guy who could understand what his ever mood changing master thought all the time. It must have required spending all their time together to come to such sync. And now, he was practically working for her. She felt sorry for him.

    "I am just carrying out master''s orders." Short and to the point, as usual.

    "Still, it must be hard on you. And I am worried that ultimately I belong to your class, you still have to¡­ have to¡­"

    "Serve you?"

    Mei Qingyang was struggling to find the word. She did not want to use that one particular ending but Yu Bufan was indeed a sharp person.

    "I did not mean it like that," Mei Qingyang fumbled.

    "You do not need to worry about that. You are someone our master treasures and thus you are precious to us servants too. We do not have the right to judge your background unless you are out there to harm the master, which I don''t see in you. Here," Yu Bufan offered her his hand as they started climbing uphill. His words put all of Mei Qingyang''s worries to rest.

    She avoided taking help from people under Yu Tian as much as she could. She also tried to do her chores on her own, unless Yu Tian would be mad at her. But they had to still follow their master''s orders. She did not want to come off as arrogant or anything for using their services.

    "Assistant Yu, thank you," she smiled kindly to the guy. They were almost at the door of the cabin. Seeing such a happy future mistress, Yu Bufan''s lips also curved upwards. In looks, he could really compete with his master and he had the manly charm to him due to his age as well. Mei Qingyang got bedazzled for a bit, and her smile deepened. Like master, like servant.

    "Are you not jealous this time Tian?" Su Lang was in the mood of more teasing. They were looking at the two climbing the last hill towards the gate. It had been a long while since Yu Tian had seen his assistant smile too.

    "I think this girl might bring salvation to all of us. Don''t you feel so too?"

    Su Lang nodded. Mei Qingyang''s kindness had touched hearts of all of them. They all had tragic pasts. A few had a tragic future written in their fate. But the presence of this girl had really brought so many changes in not just their personalities but their relationsh.i.p.s as well.

    Good or bad, she had transformed all their lives. And she continued to touch their hearts, one way or other. Feng Yue had finally found a closure to his past love. What he was going to do with it was up to him. Then Fan Ruyi had discovered the hidden demons inside her heart too. She had filled the hole Jiang Bo had left in Su Lang''s life and connected him back to his beloved uncle. As for Yu Tian, she had brought a silver lining on his cloudy gloomy being.

    Such a precious girl was to be treasured indeed. Yu Tian knew his assistant well too. He was not worried about their interaction that they had seen just now. He wished to protect that kind smile of hers forever. He needed to become stronger, strong enough to overturn the world of a.d.u.l.ts. He needed to get out of his family''s clutches!

 Chapter 117 - Meeting Her Spy

    "Cough cough! This is so much dust, eww." Mei Qingyang had started helping Yu Bufan with the cleaning. There was a large vacuum cleaner available in the small cabin. Yu Bufan had started to take out dust from most accessible places while Qingyang thought of dusting the bedsheets, in case they would need to stay overnight.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang went to check the condition of electricity and water. They had brought ample food with them, thanks to Yu Bufan''s flawless arrangements.

    Well, the cabin actually was anything but small. It was luxuriously built at one of the most scenic places. From the front, it did look like a tiny cozy little place. But inside, there were two stories. The ground floor was just a living room with a big kitchen adjacent to it while the second floor was two bedrooms. The living room had a big book stack as usual, and was full of both fiction and non fiction.

    It was the first time Mei Qingyang had seen fiction in any of these places of wealthy people. Neither in their hostel building nor in Yu Tian''s room could one find any novels. Yu Ming must have been an avid reader.

    The other side of the cabin was all glass, opening up to a patio. The patio had a view of the whole valley.

    If given a chance, Mei Qingyang could probably spend rest of her life at this place. She was stuck to the glass since she stumbled upon it after finishing her dusting. The water droplets against the glass and the fog outside despite it raining so heavily made it all so surreal.

    In all honesty, Mei Qingyang had not seen much world. First she was in hospital for an eternity, without her memories and then, all she did was train with her friends. In her five years alive, she had never been on a vacation.

    That way, she had not seen any ocean or mountains. The first time she got to see the sea was during her hospital visit. She had made all the plans to just relax on the beach but that bloody incident happened.

    And now, she had given up hopes of enjoying anything since Yu Rong was going to be with them. But unexpectedly, she got such a chance.

    "Have something hot to drink," Yu Tian brought a mug of hot chocolate from the kitchen to her. It would have been perfect if he could just hug her petite frame from behind. This would have been the ideal scenario. Her small back looked so lonely for some reason.

    "Oh! Oh! Is this what they say feels like heaven? Cold rains and hot chocolate and perhaps a book? I have heard so much about it!" Mei Qingyang had a child like excitement that she had never shown anyone before. Her curiosity and happiness were so contagious that all three men in the house were smiling unknowingly.

    "Have you never seen this kind of place Qing Qing?" Given that her dad needed to roam around the whole country, she should have definitely seen mountains before? As far as Su Lang remembered, Jiang Bo was quite the wanderl.u.s.t and that was only because of his dad. Minister Jiang used to take his family with him on his official trips quite often. How come Mei Qingyang was behaving as if she never got to go out?

    "Well, after my treatment, I was still a sickly child, so dad did not let me out much. Later, all my time was spent in train¡­ ahem¡­ studying since I did not remember much. I needed to catch up with high school students. So, I never went outside," Mei Qingyang recalled with an awkward smile on her face.

    Why did it sound like a sad story? She was not much bothered by it though. If she had not put her all in that hellish training, she would not have been able to survive the actual hell of this school.

    The boys, on the other hand, did take it as a heartbreaking story. Yu Tian patted her head from behind while he and Su Lang, both promised themselves in their heart that they would take her to all the beautiful places in the world someday.

    Were they trying to comfort her? Mei Qingyang''s smile turned into a genuine one. Even Yu Bufan was full of pity in his eyes. Ah! These guys were so cute. Mei Qingyang giggled to herself.

    "Anyway, I am sure Yu Rong will be furious once she learns we had to take a detour. When do we anticipate getting out of here?" Mei Qingyang looked at Yu Bufan. He was the assistant; he would have updated information for everything.

    "We will keep monitoring the weather. For now, forecast says the rain will stop at night and then snow will start falling early morning. We will need to leave in that time period," Yu Bufan gave his report.

    "Sounds like a plan. Oh, by the way cousin, how come you don''t bring your assistant around? I have never met her. Even senior Fan doesn''t bring brother Z much. What''s the secret?" Having no better topic to discuss and curiosity getting better of her, Mei Qingyang ended up asking the question.

    "I don''t know about Ruyi but my assistant is hella clumsy. I don''t even know why I have kept her employed till now. But she is a very sharp girl and learns really fast. Just that she is really tactless sometimes," Su Lang bumped his fists in frustration on the glass. The two boys were standing adjacent to Mei Qingyang on either side.

    "Hmm¡­ sounds like something else to me, hehe," Mei Qingyang gave him a mischievous smile. "Do you like her, eh?" She poked his arm with her finger in a teasing manner.

    Mei Qingyang, no filter¡­

    "You¡­ you ah! Don''t leave any opportunity to tease me, you¡­," Su Lang caught her hand and started tickling her.

    "Ahahaha, cousin, stop. It''s really ticklish haha." They had never seen Mei Qingyang so carefree and happy. She must have been really ecstatic for leaving the campus. The other guys also started laughing with her. This small moment would perhaps go down as one of the most delightful in the history of these four people. The ringing of laughter in the house was really ironic against the gloomy weather that day.

    Later, all the guys decided to take some rest. Yu Tian and Su Lang went in the two bedrooms above while Yu Bufan got busy in the kitchen. Mei Qingyang opened the glass door and sat down under the temporary canopy which could be automatically opened by a button of remote with a book and hot chocolate. She closed the glass door so that the cold from outside did not replace the heat inside.

    -----------------------------------------

    "How is the situation at home?" There was an indifferent expression on Mei Qingyang''s face. The guy in front of her was one of the spies given to her by Li Hanyu. She trusted Li Hanyu more than anyone in this world. This guy had sworn her as his master and was free from the influence from her dad or anyone as a matter of fact.

    "Nothing unusual to report master. Just that, Minister Jiang has been looking into Yu island," he stood under the canopy, barely hanging to the protective railing. He had chosen that position to not be spotted by anyone inside. Due to the cloth extending to form the roof, no one from the windows above could spot him either.

    "Yu Island? You mean the place where Yu Ming is thought to have hidden himself for eternity? Rumors say even Yu family does not know where this Yu island is," Mei Qingyang turned her head to check if Yu Bufan could see her speaking with someone. Her back was facing the glass door, so unless someone came in person and heard her talking, no one would know. She just needed to ensure.

    Why would her dad look into Yu Island though? Was he planning to find Yu Ming?

    "How many people know this?" Mei Qingyang was worried about her dad. If he was caught snooping around by Yu Rong, she would try to shred him to pieces.

    "He has been keeping it under the wraps quite well. Even Master Li doesn''t know," the spy finally found a footing down. His climb up this hill wasn''t easy. But he was trained enough to take the challenge. With the heavy rain, everything was slippery but he had braved it all just to meet his mistress.

    "That''s good then. You must keep an eye on him. You must have been following me since the time the car left the school?" This guy had practically been living just outside the school for any information from her. He was different from the communication she used to send to her dad via library.

    This trustworthy guy had a network of his own who would give him the information he needed. Whenever he would get a chance to meet her, he would report to her everything she needed to know. Rest, he would take care by himself.

    During the hospital incident too, he had tagged along in the shadows with them. However, given how busy Mei Qingyang was, he could not meet her. Now he was talking to her in person after almost four months.

    "Yes, I followed you all the way here and climbed up the hill to reach the front of this house. There was a small steep trail leading to here, so I waited for you. It is good you took a rest here, there have been several landslides on the way. The bus is also stuck somewhere, they were lucky enough to be close to a hotel," the spy explained.

    "Very well. Pass this along to brother Hanyu. No one else should see it. If it falls into someone else''s hand, just destroy it," Mei Qingyang passed a paper to the spy.

    "With your hacking skills, why can''t you just transmit your messages electronically?", the spy was curious. He knew all the skills of his mistress, another reason why he revered her so. In return, he received a frosty stare from Qingyang.

    "It''s not your place to question me. No matter how skillful a hacker is, they always leave a trail. Right now, no one except brother Z can trace my steps but who can say there won''t be another hacker Z in the future? What if he takes Yu Rong''s side? All my hard work will go down the drain. Moreover, it gives me an excuse of keeping the communication to the minimum. I don''t want to be opening up channels of free talking and then making my dad ask me for detailed reports every day," despite scolding him, she did explain her reasoning. Well, he was her subordinate and if he were to work with her, he needed to start thinking like her.

    "Understood, I will take my leave then." This was a very opportune moment. Now she would not need to look for him at the gymnasium and fear that Yu Rong was coming after her. Her work was done for now. She stretched her arms in the air.

    "Who were you talking to?" she heard Yu Tian''s voice from behind.

    "Oh, did you hear? I was just chanting the dialogues from this novel I was reading. Pretty embarrassing," she pointed to the book on the table. There was nothing out of the place with her manner, perfectly calm and unusually chirpy. But she had been in this jovial mood since they had arrived here.

    "The rain has completely stopped, so let''s leave from here."

    "Coming," Mei Qingyang heaved a sigh of relief. He did not suspect her at all.

 Chapter 118 - Green Eyes

    And the group of four finally headed to the tournament location. Mei Qingyang was at peace after talking to her trusted aide after so long. It was pitch dark and there was not even a soul to be found on the road, giving it very spooky feeling. Somehow they reached the venue.

    They came to know that their peers had checked into the hotel some two hours away from the tournament location and would be mostly traveling on the day of tournament itself. Thankfully, Yu Rong had not arrived yet.

    "There are hot springs at this hotel, you can go and enjoy once you settle down," Yu Tian told Mei Qingyang. She had long dreamt of this, so she was uber excited. Unfortunately, she did not have any female friends to enjoy it with.

    How she had wished that she would go to hot springs with her friends and discuss spicy gossip with them. It did not seem she had any fate with girl friends at all. Back home also, her dad never got her to train with women. He wanted her to get as strong as possible so that she could defeat males even. She had fought with her dad for one week straight because of his s.e.xist ways, but her dad had not budged.

    Anyway, she just wanted to sleep for now. It was almost dawn and she had not slept at that cabin either. She went ahead and slept like a log, disregarding anything and everything around her.

    Late in the morning, she heard a knock on the door.

    "Qing Qing, did you sleep well? You will miss breakfast if you don''t wake up," Su Lang was at her doorstep. She had not paid any attention to her room at the night.

    This was again a luxurious place. Her bedroom had one full sized bed for her and a huge study table at the corner with a desktop on it. The bathroom was also attached to the room, with a Jacuzzi looking over to the mountains outside. It felt more like a honeymoon destination than a sports facility. No wonder this was owned by the three families.

    Mei Qingyang suddenly had a realization, that she was indeed connected with quite some powerful friends now.

    "Cousin, I will be out in ten minutes," she opened the door to let her cousin in. Yu Tian was not with him today. Su Lang had gotten ready to go out somewhere it seemed. He was smelling so fresh, that Mei Qingyang could not help but raise an eyebrow.

    "Are you going on a date or something, elder brother?" she asked while grabbing her towel.

    "Date? Hmm¡­ it''s a good idea, I could look for a few girls. With my looks, I should be able to score a few," Su Lang considered seriously.

    "Tsk, shameless," she threw a pillow on her cousin and headed to the bathroom. Su Lang laughed from behind.

    After having a sumptuous breakfast, the three guys started giving Mei Qingyang a tour around the place. It was a good idea to finish everything before the meddlesome party of Yu Rong arrived.

    "It''s Yu Tian and Su Lang!"

    "Who is that girl with them?"

    "Have they brought a girl to compete in girls'' competition this time?"

    "Is she a girlfriend of one of them?"

    "Oh God! Yu Tian is as hot as ever!"

    "That plain looking girl? Pfft"

    "Her green eyes are a bit eerie, don''t you think?"

    "She must be a servant to one of them. Don''t you know the system of their school?"

    Mei Qingyang heard whispers while walking around, and somehow, she had once again become the talk of the town. Ah! She should have known better and not walk with these guys.

    Yu Tian and Su Lang were listening to the same things as Mei Qingyang. They knew it would not adversely affect her because she was mentally strong. If things like these would have hurt her, she would not have lasted in the college till now.

    Now that they thought, she was just a girl who was probably like sixteen or seventeen years old. Even then, she had such mental fortitude that she had still been persisting on. Did she really love herself enough or did she cry in a corner in her room after hearing all the nasty stuff from her classmates?

    Suddenly, the temperature around them dropped by a few degrees. How dare these unknown entities pass comments about their Qing Qing? They would let them have a taste of their ridiculousness the next day in the matches.

    Mei Qingyang sensed the change and abruptly held hands with both of them while walking in between them. She mumbled in low voice, "You guys don''t need to worry about me, okay? These comments mean nothing to me."

    The two guys were so touched, they both hugged her from the side. If one was not aware, they would think that these three were practicing for three-legged race. But everyone saw how close this girl was to both the guys, so everyone shut up.

    Yu Rong spotted them from her car from far away.

    "Wang Hao, you never told me that they are getting so chummy together. If I hadn''t seen it myself, I would not have believed you. This witch has really cast some spell on these guys. I need to talk with Yu Tian," she rolled down her car''s window in the distance and clicked a few pictures.

    This person was one of the spies Minister Jiang had sent to keep an eye on his daughter. Now that she was playing hooky, no wonder he sent people to spy on his own daughter, the daughter whom he loved and gave all facilities including a second chance at life. She was growing a mind of her own?

    When the group reached back to their hotel rooms, Mei Qingyang was greeted by several notes on her doorstep. Here too?

    She had initially thought that the guys had called her to go over some strategy or they would have given her some information about her opponents or something. But they were so lax as if they knew they were going to win. That was fine, but what about her? She should have had some information. She was directly competing in a national championship.

    But if she thought about it, her challengers would be as clueless about her as them. All she needed to do was to remember what martial arts she was supposed to use. If she used mixed martial arts, she would be disqualified.

    Anyway, she started going through the letters one by one. She was really surprised by the power of fans to find her information so fast. Most of them were the usual ''stay away from our princes'' letters.

    There were two particular letters that did catch her attention though.

    First one reminded her about her duties as Minister Jiang daughter. It stated that she was being very casual about her mission and that she should be working hard to stay away from the rich people. But she was too intimate with them, worrying the author of the letter if she was taking her duties seriously. There was an exquisite penmanship used to write the letter, which was what had intrigued her in the first place. She was not bothered about the contents.

    With the letter, there were a few pictures of her and the two boys, laughing and chatting and enjoying food, while Yu Bufan was always in the background, aware of his surroundings.

    If even assistant Yu could not sense the presence of this photographer, then this person was too good in their work. The angles the photos had been shot from were all suspicious too, a few of them made her and Yu Tian look more intimate than she had recalled.

    At the end, there was a request for a reply, asking her for stating her oath to her dad and her mission once again. They had asked her to put her reply at one of the specific hotel lockers.

    She laughed at the immaturity of the person. They had the audacity to threaten her and then suddenly request a congenial reply. Who did they think they were dealing with?

    She connected to her desktop and hacked into the hotel''s camera system. She was glad she had acquired these skills before leaving her house. And she was thankful for these cameras, they were her ultimate weapons.

    Unfortunately, the sender of the letter was smart too. They had covered their face with a mask and black sunglasses. From the persons stature though, she could guess the identity of the person. That was one of the paparazzi her dad had contracted once. She did not know they had deep enough relationship for this guy to be reminding her of her own duties.

    How did he know why she was here in the first place? Her dad, of course!

    She closed the desktop and tossed the letter on the side table. She would reply when she had time, she was under no obligation to reply to him instantaneously.

    The second letter was the one that really piqued her interest though. It stated, "Green eyes! Your eyes are so beautiful, they look like marbles and I am really curious to know. I have met only one other person with such a unique shine as in your eyes. Could you grant me a meeting at the hotel lounge tonight for dinner? I swear I am not a creep. If it puts your heart at ease, I am a girl too. Will you please meet me? Head to table 7, I will meet you at 9 pm."

    Would she get to hear the secret behind her eyes from this person? Get a clue may be?

    Someone once had told her that her eyes were not her own and she had always wanted to know about the owner of those beautiful eyes.

    This person was a long shot, she could be someone fake too, just trying to get her attention. Green eyes were not all that rare to begin with, she had no idea what this person meant about the ''unique shine''.

    On second thought, should she consult with the boys? Oh wait, when did she become so reliant on them that she needed to run all her ideas through them? No, no. She would meet this person by herself and see what the story behind this person''s letter was.

 Chapter 119 - An Unusual Encounter

    Mei Qingyang freshened up and changed her clothes to a monotone comfortable t-shirt and jeans with it. She wanted to be able to move easily if that letter was, in fact, a scam.

    She first informed the guys that she was going to have some alone time. Since she did not know anyone, the guys did not think much of it. They understood that she was not used to being around people at the school. Add to it her aloof nature similar to theirs, they really understood her need to be alone more often than not.

    Finishing the essential part, she headed to the dinner lounge. During the championship, all the participants got to eat for free, so she was also covered with respect to the bills at the lounge.

    "May I know which is table number seven please?" she asked for help from one of the waiters.

    "Oh! Are you the esteemed guest at table number seven? Please come with me."

    This respectful behavior kind of surprised Qingyang. Who was this bigshot that the waiter was behaving this way?

    "Here you go. Your host would be here in five minutes," the waiter smiled and bowed politely.

    However much curious she was, she remained still in her seat, without looking around eagerly. The person would come to her anyway. The waiter came and asked multiple times for anything to eat or drink, she refused them all.

    "Well, it never is a bad idea to be too careful," she heard a sweet, very kind voice in front of her while she was fiddling with the menu. She saw an elegant lady in her mid 40s perhaps, standing before her. Her presence was very striking. But she had seen in her memories, as well as, in pictures but could not remember this person anywhere.

    "Ah! Hello," Mei Qingyang got influenced by this lady and stood up to greet her. The lady had aged quite gracefully. Unlike Yu Rong, who always liked to put on gaudy make-ups, this lady had very light make-up on her face.

    "Such a good child you are! Sorry to call you like here. My name is Chen Xinyi," the lady introduced herself.

    Chen Xinyi? The name did not ring any bell in her mind at all. The most mind-boggling thing Qingyang, however, noticed that this lady also had green eyes similar to her. Were they related by any chance?

    "I guess you must be quite confused about why I called you here," she looked at the girl giving her a perplexed look.

    Now Mei Qingyang wasn''t sure. Was this lady here to ask her to forfeit her match or something? Because she was definitely not ready to do so. This lady did look like someone from a wealthy house. Having encountered both kids and a.d.u.l.ts from that spectrum of people, she knew almost all of them had this arrogance and pride about their money. She would not be surprised if this lady would ask her of something ridiculous like that.

    "I will have some wine, what would you like miss?" the lady ordered the waiter and questioned Mei Qingyang.

    "I would not have anything, thank you. I have my first match early in the morning, so I had an early dinner already. I am sorry if it seems inappropriate," Mei Qingyang hinted that she would not back out from her match.

    "Oh! Right! I am sorry, I went out of line there," the lady apologized very sweetly.

    Mei Qingyang became more dumbfounded as the time passed. This lady¡­ was not here to harass her about her matches? She was even apologizing?

    "No, it''s okay. It is something I prefer to do," Mei Qingyang waved her hands in embarrassment.

    "So, your purpose of calling me?"

    "Oh yes, silly me. I have this bad habit of forgetting things," the lady fidgeted with her phone. The elegant lady was unusually¡­ clumsy?

    "Anyway, I was just surprised to see another person with green eyes. Statistically, did you know, there are only 2% people with green eyes in the world? From what I know, our country has even less percentage of people with green eyes, I think it is somewhere near 0.2%? So, I was curious," lady Chen explained.

    Oh? So, that''s it? She was intrigued with someone having same eye color as hers? Tsk, this was rather disappointing. Qingyang was not even sure why she felt this way or why she had expectation about finding some clue about her eyes.

    "Actually, these eyes are not originally mine," Mei Qingyang decided to take the risk and probe this lady a bit further.

    "Oh?" the lady took the bait. She was interested in the topic for sure.

    "Yeah, I had an eye surgery after an accident and was donated these eyes by some unknown person."

    "Do you know the identity of the person?"

    "No. I have tried to find out but it was an anonymous donation," Mei Qingyang looked at the lady. How would she respond?

    "To be honest, I had a twin brother. We were separated at birth due to my parents'' mistake. I was given up for adoption while my brother grew up with my parents. Chen family is quite famous, you know?" the lady''s wine had arrived. She started sipping her wine slowly. Sometimes, she would stare in distance as if she was reminiscing about her past.

    "Oh!" Mei Qingyang had no idea why lady Chen was telling her her story. But then, she did not have anything better to do before her match. Might as well listen to this lonely lady.

    "And so, by the time I was found, my brother had already started his own family. Unfortunately, he passed away soon after," lady Chen looked sorrowful. If she had no idea about her twin brother before his marriage, and he died shortly afterwards, did they develop a bond in that short period of time? What was this duration? Hundreds of questions ran through Mei Qingyang''s mind. But she found it wise to not interrupt this lady.

    "He had beautiful pair of eyes, just like yours. You know what they say right? Twins share this weird bond where they can sense each other''s emotions even when they are apart? Looking at you, I just felt like my brother was looking at me, so I sent you the invitation right away. I am sorry if this is awkward for you," lady Chen''s head was lowered, as if she was regretting her decision to disturb the peace of this little girl.

    She just missed her dead brother and probably any green pair of eyes would look like peering into her brother''s eyes to her, perhaps. However, what were the chances that she would find someone who would have gone through a whole iris transplant, which was also quite rare?

    Mei Qingyang finally found a lead. She should look into Chen family.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, when did your brother¡­ umm¡­ pass away?"

    "It''s been quite few years. I know he had abandoned our family empire after our parents'' death. He had fallen in love with some vicious unknown woman. After their marriage some ten years ago, we never heard from him. Our family''s butler had brought me to the house in the meantime, to take care of the empire. After not hearing from him for so long, and all our attempts to find him coming up futile, we declared him dead some eight years ago," lady Chen explained.

    "Hmm¡­ my transplant happened some five years ago, so I cannot be sure either. But I will look into it. You could try at your end too. I can send you the hospital details," Mei Qingyang had this sudden vigor. Without her dad telling her, she could find what she was looking for. This was what one called fate. She had been longing to pay respect to the person who enabled her to see. The opportunity presented itself.

    "That sounds wonderful. Is there any way to contact you?" Lady Chen found this girl to be lovely, so she did not mind making a relationship with her at all. After all, she did not have children of her own either.

    "I will contact you myself if I have an update. My circ.u.mstances don''t let me to communicate with outside people," Mei Qingyang scratched her head.

    "That is okay. I will leave you to your devices then. Good luck for your matches tomorrow. I shall cheer for you. Wish we could share a proper meal next time, before you go?" Lady Chen got up from her seat. She only had some wine and did not take dinner at all. It was not polite for the host to eat when guest was not eating.

    "Thank you very much mam. If my team is staying for one-two more days, I will definitely let you know. Please tell me your room number?" Mei Qingyang took out her notepad to jot down the details. Lady Chen provided the necessary details and then left. Mei Qingyang spent her rest of the night trying to make connections.

 Chapter 120 - Tournament

    Finally, the day of tournament arrived. Mei Qingyang woke up nice and early and went to her balcony to get some fresh air. Her room happened to be adjacent to Yu Tian''s room (author''s note: it was no coincidence you foolish girl) and he was just standing there, doing some stretches.

    Qingyang had no idea that her room shared a wall with Yu Tian''s, so she did not pay much attention to the guy who had retreated in a corner when he had heard her balcony door being opened. She inhaled the fresh air in, filling her lungs to the maximum capacity. She was feeling herself in quite good condition today. She was sure to win her matches.

    Yu Tian was just mesmerized by her smile and her flowing hair in the morning breeze. She had a coffee mug in her hand and she tucked her hair behind her ear. Yu Tian loved this habit of hers. Whenever she was in a good mood or doing some deep thinking, that''s when she used to do this action.

    Ah! When could he make her his? Sometimes he could not just believe himself. He had always thought that since he belonged to such a prestigious family, he was different. His emotions, his responsibilities, his soul, his family, his relationsh.i.p.s, everything was supposed to be different. But now, he was just a normal man, an ordinary man in love. With a very extraordinary woman.

    If he looked at it rationally, this girl came from a very normal family. They did not have as many means as he had available to him. Even then, this girl was obtaining quite some feats. And he was proud to call her friend and to have fallen in love with her. In his some twenty odd years, he had never ever felt like this towards another human being.

    Su Lang tapped the shoulder of an infatuated Yu Tian from behind.

    "Bro, give it a rest already. I know you are madly in love with her but this is too much okay?" Ah! What fun in teasing this newbie guy.

    "And how''s your life going with you assistant?" Yu Tian knew how to strike back.

    "You! You are learning wrong stuff from your girlfriend!" Su Lang was flabbergasted. This guy, who was always serious, was teasing him back! But given that everyone was this relaxed, they all were sure of their victory.

    All three were heading for the gyms where the matches were to take place when they bumped into Yu Rong. She gave a hateful glance to Mei Qingyang, then addressed the boys, "I know you both will do me proud."

    Their mood turned pretty sour seeing the face of the witch first thing in the morning. The two boys did not even acknowledge her presence and went ahead straight.

    When Mei Qingyang passed through her, Yu Rong whispered into her ear, "Are you enjoying your co-mingling with the boys? Trust me, it won''t be for long," and then she grinned. Mei Qingyang shook her head.

    "Empty threats," she said and walked away as well.

    Mei Qingyang had been analyzing past events for quite some time now. And the conclusion she had reached was that Yu Rong herself did not seem to be very bright. However, Yu Rong was perhaps just testing the waters, that''s why her schemes looked childish or not so effective. It was also the reason Mei Qingyang had been winning or drawing their match offs. But she could not take risk to underestimate her opponent.

    On the surface it looked like Wang Hai was actually pulling the strings from behind. But she had done thorough background check on him and nothing jumped out. So then, was Yu Rong just pretending to be dumb? Or was she making her take out all her cards while Yu Rong herself was hiding her innate intelligence?

    All three people, having different distracting thoughts in their mind, arrived at the gym. The gym was huge and Qingyang had seen it the day before, just to get the feel. However, today the gym was jam packed with the audience. Supporters from different school were chanting their teammates name. Their team had also arrived. Vice captain Xu was not as lucky as her. He did not get treatment from Fan Ruyi, so he was not able to heal in time, thus withdrawing from the competition.

    Vice Captain Xuan was still locked in the private dungeon of Su Lang where he was being thoroughly tortured to give out information. Everyone knew it was Yu Rong but they needed to know what she was offering him, so that they could counter her in the future.

    "Captain!", everyone hollered.

    The first matches were of Su Lang, team members of vice captain Xu and Mei Qingyang. Yu Tian''s matches were later in the day.

    "Don''t be nervous. Everyone is far below your level in this tournament. You anyway, just need to defeat four people," Yu Tian explained to Mei Qingyang. Since everyone was so lax, no one had discussed the matches or their format with her. She had looked up some information on internet last night but that was about it. Now Yu Tian said it like that, her heart instantly went at ease.

    "If you say so," she shrugged. Everyone took the seats near the mats. Yu Tian went to cheer for Mei Qingyang while others went to Captain Su and other team members. Su Lang w.h.i.n.ed the whole time that his best friend did not support him and had an eye only for his girlfriend. Yu Tian heard about it later and rolled his eyes.

    Their first matches were quite easy. Both Su Lang and Mei Qingyang won them easily. However, they were just courtesy matches and did not count towards the competition. Their next matches were scheduled for the next day. In the afternoon, Yu Tian also won his match easily. Both Su Lang and Yu Tian had registered for at least two different categories, and their matches next day were going to be hectic.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was relatively free. She watched the courtesy matches of her to be opponents. And also cheered for her friends. She spotted Yu Rong and Lady Chen quite a few times throughout the day.

    In the evening, they all met at the dinner table, this time the whole team together. After a hard-working tiring day such as today, every one ate to their hearts content. The food was made by best chefs in the nation and Yu Tian had made sure that there were suitable things for Mei Qingyang to eat.

    "Mei Qingyang, how was your first experience today?" One of the vice-captains tried to strike up a conversation. Suddenly, everyone on the table was staring at her. Yu Tian noted in his mind that he needed to give some good talking to this guy.

    "It was fun. First day being for courtesy matches, there was not much pressure. Real deal is tomorrow," Mei Qingyang replied.

    "Nice! From your previous display of power, we all are confident that you will get us gold medal for sure!," another person chimed in.

    "That I cannot guarantee. My ways are just simply barbaric. They are too crude for this competition world." What she meant to say was that she knew the arts only for self defense. A lot of competition rules for martial arts matches made them just for show. And if someone, just like these guys, was training for just competitions, then they might or might not be able to get by in a real life dangerous situation.

    She was not taking a jab on anyone though. She had no such intention. Everyone looked weirdly at her and then went back to eating without anyone furthering the conversation.

    "I do wish Feng Yue was here, and vice captain Xu too," Su Lang mumbled under his breath. The people who heard him suddenly started feeling downcast. This year, their team was almost reduced to half in terms of strength and they were not happy about it. It did not matter much with respect to number of medals they were going to win. The other two captains were working hard enough, registering for more than two categories each. Their matches were going to be back to back the next day.

    Everyone started feeling sorry towards their captains. They were doing so much for their team while these people had suspected them when they had brought this powerful girl with them at first. Now they knew.

    "Sentences like these don''t look good out of your mouth," a familiar voice appeared from behind Su Lang. No way! Feng¡­ Feng Yue? Had he not disappeared? They had tried so hard to find his whereabouts but in vain. Everyone stood up from their chair, unable to contain a mix of emotions.

 Chapter 121 - Feng Yue Returns

    "Why are you like this?" Feng Yue sat down at the head of the big table while all his teammates were standing in shock except Mei Qingyang who was drinking her juice in peace.

    He had a healthy complexion on his face, unlike how everyone would imagine a heartbroken person would look like. Everyone was struggling to find any words. A myriad of questions were swirling around in everyone''s mind, where was he, how was he, what did he do?

    "Jeez, will you guys sit down? You guys are behaving as if I am coming back from dead," Feng Yue chuckled.

    He¡­ he had changed too? The previous Feng Yue would not even utter those words, much less laugh in such a situation.

    Mei Qingyang looked at the guy sitting at the head of the table. She had anticipated his return. No matter how much the ''Li Sibao'' in her hated him for not helping out when she needed support, and in the process, lost her family too, in the end, the guy was a child too back then.

    It was her fault of being too na?ve and relying on her partner, who by his behavior, always shunned her. How would have she known his inner feelings if he never expressed them then?

    She still could not say whether this person was acting or if he had really healed from his heart ailment. If she were him, she would have taken a year or so to come out of such a big incident, that too with right support.

    These rich brats, however, were almost always alone. And given that his grandmother was involved in extermination of her whole family, and who knows if it was someone from his family who tried to kill her too, she would never be able to reconcile with him.

    Forgiveness? She had come to the terms with the fact that he was not to blame.

    Now, for the current Feng Yue, she felt like he had reconciled with himself too. But again, she was not sure. Anyway, it was good to give it a try.

    "Welcome back senior Feng," she toasted her juice glass to him, smiling courteously. He returned the gesture and toasted his soda can he was about to chug.

    When everyone on the table saw the congenial atmosphere between the two, everyone snapped out of their surprise and came back to reality.

    His teammates cheered ''Captain Feng'' while both Su Lang and Yu Tian, who were sitting on either side patted his back silently.

    Feng Yue had left to visit his two brothers to investigate the truth about the Li family. He wanted to get to the bottom of it but his brothers were tight lipped. He tried persuading them, even went as far as begging them, but none of his two brothers budged.

    Their response was that it was all in the past, and even if the girl had come back, there was nothing she or they could do. So, it was better for their family to remain intact that they gave the topic a rest then and there and never bring it back again.

    This implied that his family was indeed involved in Li family''s disappearance. In the end he asked if Feng family was also involved in the accident that Mei Qingyang was into, where Minister Jiang found her. His brothers had no idea about it.

    But just the fact that he was the cause of all the pain in the world to his beloved was devastating to Feng Yue. If he was not engaged to her, if he had not taken a liking to her, perhaps all this would have never happened. Then, wasn''t Mei Qingyang correct in treating him in such an indifferent way?

    She did not even recognize him when they first met. He went to a few neuro doctors as well. Every doctor told him that if she really had any feelings for him, positive or negative, her subconscious would have shown her that. She could have reacted violently or in an infatuated manner, depending upon what she had associated with him in her heart.

    But she had only acted indifferent towards him. That means she never kept him in her mind. Neither love nor hatred. However, repressed her memories of his were, she should have given him some signal, but there was nothing. It was like, he had never existed in her life.

    Her rejection, perhaps, did not hurt him as much as did this realization. She literally did not want to do anything with him anymore. How much despair must have she gone through because of him? It was all his fault all this time and he had taken his own anger out on her, even putting her in danger.

    He had heard everything that had happened in the past few weeks. His assistant had even recorded her fights with the vice captains. He was ab.r.e.a.s.t to all the events.

    And he had not given up on finding out the truth. If his brothers were not opening their mouth, he would ask his sister-in-law. She pampered him like her own brother. Only problem was, she was busy with her model shoot overseas, so he could not reach her. He would take his time to make it up with Mei Qingyang. In the meantime, he would help her as much as he could, from behind the shadows.

    Thus, he had decided to appear here. He could take part in his matches as well, relieving some burden from his brothers'' shoulders.

    "Thank you, guys. It''s good to be back." Which was the truth for him. He had terribly missed his real family here. The two brothers, who were not related to him by blood but were ready to live or die with him and for him, what would he ever do without them?

    "Are you participating tomorrow? I did not see your name on the roster," Su Lang asked excitedly. There were only a few who knew what had happened, so it was not appropriate to question him here. And the next day were important matches, so they could not bug him at night today. That meant, they would have to hold off their meeting with him for later. Perhaps they would talk while going back.

    "Ohho, I see everyone is gathered here," Yu Rong also appeared from behind. Today she was dressed more conservatively, since she was to appear in front of so many people, including the chair of the tournament and different sports academy. She had a professional, not so tight, turtleneck dress on, which was reaching her knees. On the top of that, she had worn a longer trench coat.

    Mei Qingyang''s first instinct said that she was hiding something. This was too conservative, even for herself. Did she indulge in some activities last night again? Damn this lady had some stamina.

    Yu Rong''s arrival had different reactions from different people, unlike for Feng Yue earlier. Mei Qingyang and the four friends frowned while the two vice captains felt it was their honor that Principal Yu had come to see their matches. Other team members were not too bothered about her presence.

    "Principal Yu! Did you come here to cheer for us?" One of the vice-captains asked flatteringly.

    Yu Rong turned her head in the direction of voice, with daggers in her eyes. She smiled politely, eyes remaining cold, as if someone had interrupted her talk with someone mid-way and replied, "Of course. You guys bring honor and glory to the school, why would I not come and cheer for you guys?"

    The vice-captain in question regretted his question, seeing so much pressure coming his way. It was like a tigress was speaking to a lamb. No wonder she was the school Principal. Everyone shut up after that and concentrated on their food. It was apparent that she would only talk with the three guys at the head of the table.

    "Young Master Feng, it''s nice to see you back with the two. I hope you remember how I helped you get into the competition, right?"

    Mei Qingyang got alerted as soon as she heard this. What was this? Had Feng Yue joined Yu Rong''s camp? Should she assume that? She could not ask him directly; one she was still awkward with him due to their previous relationship. Two, why would he answer her correctly to begin with? He was going to deny it, whether true or not.

    It was a matter of grave concern for her. She looked at the other two guys, they seemed pretty relaxed. Was it okay to be this unconcerned about the conversation going on right now ah?

    "Many thanks to Principal Yu for pulling some strings for me. You were not thinking that I could not have done anything if you had not helped me, did you?" Feng Yue said sarcastically, coldness emanating from his whole being. Here it was, the cynicism from the original Feng Yue.

    This was what made him Feng Yue, damn that burn! Mei Qingyang gave thumbs up to him in her heart.

    "I was just kidding, do not be so serious Young Master Feng. I hope you are enjoying your stay?"

    "Thanks to you." Feng Yue nodded and concentrated back on his food.

    Yu Rong was perhaps waiting for the guys to invite her to sit down and have dinner with them. Unfortunately, no one said anything even when Yu Rong tried stalling for time. As shameless as she was, she sat down on the table by herself.

    "Let me have dinner with you. It''s been a while since I have interacted with my students. You guys, after all, are just like my own children."

    It was very apparent on the guys'' face that they were trying to bear her presence. Unfortunately, it did not last long, and they three guys stood up and left as soon as their dinner got finished. They also dragged Mei Qingyang with them, even when she had not finished her meal, leaving Yu Rong all alone with the other team members at one side and her side of table being empty.

    Ah! She really hated the guts of these guys, that had grown quite a bit since that b*tch had arrived on campus.

 Chapter 122 - Can I Sleep In Your Room Tonight?

    "Soooo? What''s the story?" Su Lang put his arm around Feng Yue and dragged him along in the hallway. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were walking behind the two guys.

    "Yue feels different this time," Yu Tian whispered to Qingyang on the side while Su Lang was forcing Feng Yue to tell them the truth about his disappearance.

    "Hmm¡­ I don''t really know. Even if he is a guy, he recovered way too fast," Mei Qingyang put her hand on her chin and went into deep thinking. She was still not sure if he had really gotten over it or if he was just acting it out. Plus, his conversation earlier with Yu Rong, although he gave her a scornful reply, she was still not sure if he was suddenly in cahoots with her.

    Ugh, she could not really trust anyone, could she?

    But then, if she thought rationally, it would be too drastic to suddenly change his behavior of undying love for Li Sibao to getting vengeful over a rejection. What did she have anyway, to take revenge on? And if he really wanted to do something like that, why join Yu Rong? His one flick of a finger would be enough to take her whole family down.

    Was she concerned for nothing?

    Feng Yue finally got out of Su Lang''s clutches. He glanced at the girl who seemed to be in her own world, and replied in a loud voice, "I can''t be sulking over a girl all the time, can I? I have important stuff to do in life. If she can''t reciprocate my feelings, I need to move on and find true love too."

    Mei Qingyang heard his thoughts and stared at him wide eyed. Did¡­ did he really say that? A month ago, he was practically forcing his feelings on her. He had been doing that for a long, long time actually. In their childhood, from her perspective, he had never even been at her side.

    All he did was act frustrated with her. Children can be cruel, but her confidence had already hit rock bottom in her pre-teen years. The person whom she was engaged to, the person who she looked up to, that one person was the reason for her lack of self-respect. She had always thought of herself as a useless little girl, as he used to tell her. No matter how much she had tried, she was never good enough.

    These are the things, usually parents do with their kids, knowingly or unknowingly. In her case, it was not her own parents, not her future parents-in-law but the person she was to spend her life with. What was her fault? Nothing. She had enrolled herself in so many classes, had overloaded herself with so much work, that she had remained sickly for a long time, without any idea of what was ailing her.

    While her parents and future in-laws were quite encouraging, Feng Yue always mocked her. He made fun of her if she put in efforts and more so, if she stopped trying. Later, even in her early teen years, her life had started revolving around how to make him happy. She would come up with silly stuff just to see the guy smile once. But no, he was just always annoyed with her for some reason.

    She had gone as low as doing slapstick comedy for him, just so that he squeezed out one smile. All she got were eyes telling her that she was disgusting for trying to get his attention.

    When she had seen those memories vividly for the first time in the school prison, she had felt like a pathetic fool. She had all the means and talents to rise to the top of the world. Yet, she chose to spend all her efforts for one guy, who would not even respond to her feelings, much less reciprocate.

    And so, when Feng Yue had declared that she was his first love and he was doing so in the past because it was his way of showing affection, she had felt regretful and ridiculous. Her parents had cursed her in their death because she had failed to get Feng Yue''s enough attention. She had tormented herself over being the reason for her parent''s misfortune.

    It took her almost losing her own life to realize that botching down of her being, her soul was definitely Feng Yue''s fault. She did her best. She went into depression because of all the ridiculing. And she did not have anyone to turn to either. She did not have friends because she was shunned for claiming one of the most prized families in the country.

    And Feng Yue never introduced her to his friends. Her family would not believe how she had felt. It was just her imagination, or she just needed to try some more.

    She only had one friend in form of her maid. Her maid was two years older than her. She had brought her as an assistant to the school with her. She wondered how she was doing and where she was. She remembered that she had to fire her whole staff at the end, but she could not bear to let go her best friend. Her maid was also an orphan to begin with, so she was okay remaining with her mistress. She needed to remember what happened with her in the end.

    After going through so much, was it not okay for her to attempt suicide that time? To draw attention of media towards the heinous ways of the school and the wealthy? Towards the very people who destroyed her life? To take revenge on those outrageous people, on everyone, on the world?

    Mei Qingyang''s heart raced as her aura became darker and darker. Did she just regain another fragment of her memory? What were those dark emotions? If she would not stop herself, she would fall deeper and deeper in the blackhole of those feelings.

    "What are you thinking about so deeply?" Yu Tian flicked her head with his finger. Mei Qingyang had a deep frown on her forehead and her nose had scrunched up thinking about her past. Her mind, that was struggling to come back to present, instantly calmed down.

    "Uhh... nothing really," Mei Qingyang rubbed her head. Did she not have him now? What was there to be afraid of? But, she was scared. And scarred; and needed help. Li Sibao was part of her after all. There was a high chance that she would slip back into that loophole of self-deprecation and think of herself as worthless.

    This won''t do.

    "Senior Yu, can I¡­ can I sleep in your room tonight?" she asked Yu Tian shyly.

    Yu Tian''s mind went blank on her question. This girl, who had been resisting all his advances for past three weeks at his home, was being so bold right now. Had she¡­ had she finally made up her mind?

    Both the guys who were bickering at the front, stopped at once. Su Lang''s jaw dropped to the floor at his cousin''s question while Feng Yue just stood there blankly. In the time he had not been there, had their relationship advanced so much, that there was no space for him anymore?

    Although he had said it was time for him to find new love, but how could he really forget the girl he had for over twenty years in his heart? And that girl was now drifting towards one of his best friends. Should he congratulate her or should he go to a corner to cry?

    "Qing Qing, are you okay? No fever or anything right? I could keep you company if you wish so," Su Lang became gravely serious.

    "You are correct haha, I should have asked you first," she broke into a nervous laughter. She knew Su Lang was trying to help. But the question was, was she okay with anyone out of her closest people, or did it have to be this guy?

    She looked at Yu Tian once again and then at the two guys. It seemed everyone was waiting for her answer, with concern written for her all over their faces. That was enough to touch her heart. She sniffled a bit. The feelings of emotions the had washed over were still lingering, and so it was easy to get emotional over the support she was seeing right now. This¡­ should be enough for her to pass tonight at least, right?

    "Uhh¡­ never mind. I think I was not in the right state just now. I shall be okay in my room," she changed her mind. She could not be inconveniencing her friends over her. Furthermore, they all had important matches the next day.

    "Are you sure? I don''t mind it," Yu Tian asked once again, taking her hand in his and squeezing it a bit. His big broad rough hand compared to her small palm made her feel secure further. It would be okay, he was with her.

    "Yes, I am okay."

    She scolded herself. Why did she have to do such drama in front of everyone? What was this showing vulnerability to her friends. She was supposed to be the modern strong female lead of a . How was she getting so weak as she was discovering her memories?

    Later in the night, while she was struggling to sleep, her memories still haunting her, she heard a soft knock on her balcony door. She got scared. Who could climb her balcony, she was on eighth floor with her room facing a deep valley? Did her spy friend visit her again?

    "How did you come in here?" she asked, puzzled.

    "My room is this one. I just needed to cross the wall," he grinned.

    There was about three feet gap in between the two walls separating the two rooms. Once she realized this, she could not help but worry.

    "It is so windy here! What if you, by accident, got yourself knocked over? What would have I done then? Could you not use the normal way?" she hit his c.h.e.s.t slightly. She had enough worries of her own, how dare this guy make her more worried.

    Yu Tian felt exhilarated about the fact that she was so concerned over him.

    "See? I am here with you now though. Why are you so sweaty though? I knew something was wrong. Want to talk about it?" Yu Tian checked her fever by keeping his palm on her forehead.

    "No, I am really fine. Go back to your room, from the front door. We have a match tomorrow," she shook her head.

    "Nothing is more important than you to me. The match can wait," he took her hand once again in his own and kissed her palm. Mei Qingyang''s body went soft. She really liked the fact that only she could see his gentle side. Even his three friends must have not seen him like this. She was thoroughly enjoying this realization.

    "Let''s go. I will keep you company tonight," Yu Tian dragged her with him inside the room.

    Once they lied down on the bed, Mei Qingyang fell asleep instantly in his arms. She had been on tenterhooks the whole day, first because of Yu Rong and then Feng Yue. Now she had her safety net with her, she did not need to think about anything. Come to think of it, she had developed too much trust for this guy. But in the back of her mind, she had not forgotten the face that she was dealing with Yu Rong''s nephew.

    They said keep your friends close, your enemies closer. She would say, keep your enemies'' weakness closest to you.

 Chapter 123 - Be Extra Careful

    Mei Qingyang woke up in the morning to find Yu Tian gone. Today was the day of the match. She really had a good night sleep and was feeling much too refreshed, all thanks to Yu Tian. Her darkness inside had reduced quite a bit too, for now. She would need to sit down and sort her feelings out. Yesterday was just too much to handle for her. Her head throbbed even thinking about it.

    But wait, did he sneak out back from the balcony again? She needed to give him a piece of her mind later.

    She got ready and had a light snack before heading out. She opened the door her room and found Yu Rong standing in front of her door.

    "Principal Yu," she greeter Yu Rong but rolled her eyes inside. Why was this lady here so early in the morning, to ruin her day? She needed to stay calm.

    These days, she had started to express more of her emotions through her expressions, thanks to the changes she was experiencing because of the boys. But she had no problems in reverting back to her cold aloof self, especially in front of people like Yu Rong.

    "I came to especially wish you good luck," Yu Rong smiled.

    "You don''t need to be courteous with me Principal Yu. I know how much you like me after you threw me in the prison. You can just outright say whatever you want to," Mei Qingyang glanced at the devil before her. It had been long since she had stopped thinking of her as a human. If she could not spare her own only nephew, how would she expect anything else from her?

    "Oh, you don''t need to be that distant with me Ms. Mei. I need to ay special attention to you since it seems like my dear nephew is preparing to take in a servant after all."

    "Servant? Are you talking about me?"

    "Do you see anyone else in here?"

    Mei Qingyang burst out laughing at her comment. If Yu Tian would have said that, she perhaps would have even considered it for once. It seemed like Yu Rong was just probing her for more information.

    "You make me laugh Principal Yu. Are you running out of your information sources?"

    Yu Rong gritted her teeth at her crass comment. This girl really did not have anything to lose. That''s why she could b.a.r.e her fangs like that.

    "It''s okay my child. You can say whatever you feel like. I really had come with good intentions. Just be extra careful today, okay?" Yu Rong whispered into her ear and walked further ahead to knock on Yu Tian''s door.

    Extra careful! She had some more scheme up her sleeve then! Did she buy another one of her opponents? But this time, she was limited by the type of martial arts she could use. She had to be really careful if that witch had come out to warn herself.

    "Aiyya, my nephew is looking as great as ever in the gi," Mei Qingyang heard Yu Rong complimenting Yu Tian from behind. She had seen him once wearing his uniform when she was fighting her matches and then second time yesterday. She had to agree with Yu Rong on this one, he looked especially great in his garb.

    She turned around to meet Yu Tian''s eyes. Yu Tian confirmed that Mei Qingyang was looking well and not weak like the day before, so he nodded to her. Yu Rong was seeing that he was not focusing on her, which fueled the sleeping fire inside her.

    She grabbed the collar of his uniform, pulling him towards himself and slowly and steadily whispering into his ear, "Yu Tian, I did not lay a finger on you because it was an important period for you and the school. Just you wait after this, we will be back to our schedule." She grinned on seeing the expression change and fear and hurt taking over his eyes. That did not escape Mei Qingyang''s eyes either.

    "Senior Yu, they are asking us to hurry up in the gym," she called him from her position, waving her phone at the two, indicating that she just got a call from someone. It was fake, of course. But Yu Tian helped her last night, it was just right that she lent him a hand in his difficult predicament.

    "Hmm¡­ your little girlfriend has taken the role of being your savior eh? I think she would be too busy after today to take care of you. You will have to come to me again anyway," Yu Rong released his collar and strutted in the opposite direction. Yu Tian turned his head as he could not maintain eye contact with Qingyang anymore.

    If he had to take help from his girl for his problems, what kind of man was he? Why did she always have to be present to see that witch threatening him like this. And he did not even control over it. He clenched his fists and his heart hurt. He could not even protect himself, how was he to provide happiness to this girl like this?

    He had his eyes closed in shame. He knew that the girl already had a hint of what was going on. If only, he could keep his secret safe as with his friends. But this girl seemed to be able to see through everything. What was he going to do now?

    He felt a soft touch on his hand.

    "Senior Yu, let''s go. We need hurry up!" Mei Qingyang had reached his spot and was holding his hand tenderly in hers. Those small hands seemed to channel so much kindness into his body, he started feeling relaxed. This was what it meant to be more than friends? Even a small touch was enough to fade away all negative emotions?

    No wonder she was willing to sleep in his room last night although she had been pretty reserved about it till now. Her aura yesterday was so disturbing that he could not help but worry about her. After pacing in his room for about two hours, he had decided to just jump into her balcony. He could have come through front door too but there were so many eyes and ears around, he did not want to take the risk.

    Last night, he slept so soundly for the first time in so long, without any nightmares to disturb him. Her presence itself was a huge comfort for him. Did she have a similar experience?

    "Did you have a good night sleep?"

    "Yes, thanks to you," Mei Qingyang grinned. She was not lying, she was really thankful to him for his abrupt random visit.

    "I am glad then," he dragged her with him towards the venue, hand in hand with her.

    "Whistle~ Bro, are you officially announcing her as your girlfriend, walking like this?" Su Lang and Feng Yue were walking towards them in the hallway itself. Whole floor was reserved for them and other team members had already reached the gym, so there were only these four here at this time.

    Yu Tian immediately let go of her hand. He had forgotten that he was walking like that in the public. He had almost exposed himself and put Mei Qingyang in harm''s way once again. Would she ever be able to find happiness with him if this continued on?

    Mei Qingyang had not said anything either. She just had her head lowered, like a shy maiden in presence of her crush. In all the four months the three guys had known her, she had never been this meek. Su Lang suddenly got worried that his cousin would change too much and lose herself if she were to continue with Yu Tian, He needed to talk to them both separately.

    Feng Yue was not even looking at these two. In reality, his heart still ached with jealousy whenever he saw them both together. He had still decided to come back for Mei Qingyang''s sake. He had to be her support pillar.

    "Come on cousin, it''s time we focus on the matches. The other things can be discussed later on," Mei Qingyang chided Su Lang softly. She took the lead for the group and walked ahead of everyone. She could not hide her red ears from anyone now.

    "Hey, hey! Look at you! You are not even denying it! You¡­" Su Lang chased after her, shouting in the empty hallway.

    "Are you really serious about her?" Feng Yue was the one who was dying to know the answer to his question. All his future actions would be determined by this reply.

    Yu Tian nodded. "I am, I am indeed very serious about her but sometimes I think that as broken as I am, will she be able to accept me like this? Even if she does, would that be best for her whereas she could find anyone better than me."

    "If she really loves you, yes. If not, then accept that you both were not meant to be, just like me." Both the guys sighed and walked to catch up with the other two.

 Chapter 124 - Injured

    Feng Yue''s and Mei Qingyang''s matches were in the same gym building while the other two had their matches in different buildings. Feng Yue decided to accompany Mei Qingyang. Yu Tian did give him a glare but then he also knew with Yu Rong''s present on the scene, this was the best choice for now. They wished each other all the best and headed to their respective arenas.

    It was still awkward for the two people to be alone, so they walked half way without saying anything.

    "Mei Qingyang," Feng Yue broke the silence first.

    Mei Qingyang could see his effort. He had dropped from adoring ''Qing Qing'' to her full name. That meant he was trying to make her comfortable. Although she had labeled the guy as a jerk for doing all that in her past, she could still give him a chance at being a friend, right?

    She knew he wasn''t inherently bad, it was just the environment he had grown up in. Having seen all the schemes in his house and having no real connection with family members, except perhaps his siblings, he did not know how to behave with outside people.

    She could make hundreds of excuses for him. But she also knew that the guy was hurting as well. She would try and then see if this guy had really changed or not.

    "I just want to acknowledge the fact that I haven''t really been¡­ kind to you in the past. I will try my best to be better," he continued. Mei Qingyang had lifted her head to look at the tall and handsome face which was much too familiar to her now. Most of her past memories she had gotten a peek into were full of him. Her mind back then was just filled with him, from nothing to love to resentment to nothing again.

    But it still felt like she was seeing a stranger. Her heart bubbled up with emotions. All along, was she just looking for an apology? Was this enough to quell her anger of so many years? She felt like breaking down then and there. A single tear rolled out of her eye, taking her and him, both by surprise.

    "I¡­ I am sorry, I did not mean to," Mei Qingyang wiped her face hurriedly which had turned red in embarrassment. Her doe like eyes wrenched Feng Yue''s heart. How much he would have hurt her for her to be in such a mess?

    "No, I should be the one apologizing. I really was such a bad person," Feng Yue lowered his head. If he kept looking at her, he would end up just embracing her. He had lost the right to do so, so he needed to hold back.

    Mei Qingyang steeled her heart. She could not get into the self-pitying loop again; she had a match to fight in couple of minutes. If she went in with such a mindset, she would definitely lose. But she also knew that Yu Tian had sent her with Feng Yue for protection purposes, so she could not just go somewhere on her own to calm down.

    "I will try my best to put it all behind senior Feng, but know that that many ears of abuse will be hard to erase. Not to mention I was a kid back then. The effects of this kind of trauma are more profound at that age."

    "Yes, I am sorry. I know I cannot bring your childhood back and I cannot make any amends. But please give me a chance. I will¡­"

    "Please senior Feng, do keep in mind that anything more than friendship is impossible between us. I did never admit before you that I was Li Sibao. But know that she feels liberated somewhat, thanks to our conversation just now."

    Feng Yue heaved a sigh of relief. At least this was a start. He was too ashamed to look at her face anymore. He could not see her in pain yet he was the reason for that very thing for her. His heart dropped further.

    "Senior Feng, we have our matches to fight. You can''t go into the gym with this mindset. We can take our time to figure this out. Please do not ruin your mindset for now, your friends will be sad," Mei Qingyang was done for now, too much emotional drama early in the morning.

    She was Mei Qingyang now, she had to leave the whole persona of Li Sibao behind. There were people who loved her and respected her for who she was. Most importantly, she had come to love herself, thanks to her family. She did not need validation from anyone, her past lover or ex-fianc¨¦ or whatever.

    Sensing the sudden change in air around him, Feng Yue looked at the girl once again. Her pace had quickened and she was two steps ahead of him. Her petite frame was still the same. But her back was much straighter and she looked more independent. He was happy that she was blossoming into a great young lady. Unfortunately, he was not part of her life anymore.

    Moreover, he was competing with a charming guy like Yu Tian. Did he even stand a chance then? He traced her silhouette through his hands as he longed for her. His mind was going through such a duality. He still wanted her but he knew he had to let her go and move on. The heart he had ''devoted'' to one girl for so many years felt empty, even more so now that she had finally admitted that she was indeed his Sibao.

    Feng Yue clenched his fists. They had time to figure this out. She was right, he had to focus at his present.

    Both the people entered the gym. There was not a lot of people in the audience, perhaps because people were not aware that Feng Yue was suddenly participating in the match. Otherwise he drew as many girls as Su Lang and Yu Tian.

    "Okay, I will see you after our matches. Please do not get distracted senior Feng. Good luck," Mei Qingyang waved a goodbye to him. She had gone back to her zone. She needed to win for the two people she held most important here now.

    "Mei Qingyang reporting here for the match," she announced to the referee. It seemed that everyone else was already present there. People gave her all kind of looks seeing the big logo of her school at her back. Few were curios about her skills but mostly people were looking at her weirdly.

    "It''s that girl the one who was with Yu Tian and Su Lang the other day."

    "It seems she was here to participate after all."

    "Did you not see her match yesterday? Her movements are so smooth."

    "I did not pay attention to her."

    "Courtesy matches are all fixed anyway, her school must have bribed the other party for sure."

    Her referee took her and her opponent on the mats. He explained the rules to both of them. This was cursory. But she had to go through the rules when she was recovering at Yu Tian''s place and her head ached with all the things she had to keep in mind. Her matches with the vice-captains were not the normal matches at all, they were just freestyle. But when it came to actual rules for matches in Jiu-Jitsu, she was not confident at all.

    Anyway, even before they could start, she heard a loud thump from the other side where men''s matches were taking place, and then people''s ''Ouch''. Feng Yue must have won already. She felt proud inside. She would be doing the same in a few minutes or so. But wasn''t this too early for him to win?

    She saw people rushing towards the that side of the building. What happened?

    Suddenly, a bad feeling washed all over herself. Since everything had become haphazard, her match was postponed for the time being. She ran towards the crowd and found a Feng Yue lying down on the ground with his head bleeding profusely. She rushed towards him but people held her back.

    "Who are you?"

    "I am his friend, let me go."

    "Yeah, right," the authorities did not let her enter at all.

    "We belong to the same school! See the logo here. Let me go and check," Mei Qingyang pleaded.

    On the radio transmission of one of the people holding her back, she heard another news.

    "Critical injury to one of the contestants, Su Lang. Head injury, profuse bleeding."

    Her heart throbbed once again. What was happening? Even cousin? Was this a coincidence that both of them got injured in the same way? Yu Rong''s face and her warning flashed before her eyes. Oh God! She dared attack the young masters of Feng and Su family? She needed to pay for it.

 Chapter 125 - Feng Yue or Su Lang

    Mei Qingyang cursed that witch in her heart. If she had to do something to someone, why did she not target her once again? Why go through the trouble of making enemies out of the two young masters. Unless she had enough faith in the people who did injure her two friends.

    She had not even assessed the situation with Su Lang but she knew in her heart, this was another stupidity from Yu Rong. Sometimes she believed that someone behind the scene was helping her making Yu Rong muddleheaded. She had known of her ac.u.men as a businesswoman. For sure she did not save the whole Yu empire all alone if she was this idiotic.

    Doctors were here to check the damage for Feng Yue. Yu Tian must have already reached Su Lang by now. He must have remembered that she was in the same room as Feng Yue. Her predicament was totally something else though, these security people were not believing her. They were keeping her behind the circle they had formed by linking their arms.

    She looked for Feng Yue''s assistant around and finally spotted him at the back. He was inquiring the security people about the attacker. Mei Qingyang ran towards him. Feng Yue was being taken on a stretcher.

    "Assistant Feng! What happened?" A panicked Mei Qingyang asked Feng Yue''s assistant who was also adopted in Feng family similar to the other three.

    "Ms. Mei!" Assistant Feng saw how the girl was being held back in the crowd by security people. He called out to her and asked the security people to let her in the circle with a sharp look in his eyes on having insulted her by not letting her in earlier.

    The security officers looked at each other with a pitiful look. They were just doing their jobs. Anyone could wear their dress and would want to come close to the celebrity guy. On the top of that he was a famous model and girl had previously tried this tactic. Who would have thought that this plain looking girl was actually acquainted with young master Feng?

    The poor guys were going to get fired if this kept on. If this girl tattled out how they had behaved with her earlier, they would definitely be losing their job. They looked at her with fearful eyes but she did not even look towards them. They instantly relaxed; perhaps she did not even remember their faces.

    The whole crowd in the gym had surrounded the area to watch the show.

    They had no courtesy towards the person who had been injured. All the wanted was gossip. If this were a commoner, he or she probably would have died eve before getting medical attention.

    "Ms. Mei, I don''t understand this. They are saying that master''s original opponent ran away somewhere and someone else took their place. How could that really happen? Did no one notice that it was a different person? It was a semi-final for God''s sake," A frustrated assistant Feng told the whole story to Mei Qingyang.

    What? The original competitor was switched with a thug? How can that be, unless¡­?

    She looked around and from the look in eyes of the organizers of the competition, she knew! She knew Yu Rong had bought each and every person there. Their eyes full of greed for money and happiness over their victory, she knew it all well. This time Yu Rong pulled a really big one.

    "Assistant Feng, I heard over the radio about elder brother getting injured in a similar way. Is his story the same?"

    Assistant Feng nodded his head. "I confirmed from Assistant Su and it does seem the case. But who could be so cruel and bold to take this step?"

    Mei Qingyang''s brain was working at lightning fast speed. Connecting all the dots, it was pretty easy for her to deduce that the story behind Su Lang''s injury would be the same. And it was even easier to know who was behind it all.

    The girl gritted her teeth. What was Yu Rong planning?

    "Qing Qing, are you okay?" Yu Tian had taken care of Su Lang and had now come to see how Feng Yue and more importantly, Qingyang was holding up.

    Mei Qingyang turned around and her heart calmed down quite a lot seeing Yu Tian and his assistant. Assistant Su was with them too, who was still sobbing while Yu Bufan was comforting her.

    "Mmm¡­ I am okay, nothing to worry about. How is elder brother?" Now that her mind had calmed down too, she had even clearer picture of what was happening. At this place, right now, it seemed like everyone was their enemy. From their eyes, she could even point out who was having bad intentions towards them.

    Her only choice would be approaching Feng and Su family now.

    "He is okay. The injury is not that bad but he won''t be able to participate anymore," Yu Tian was very perplexed with sudden turn of events too. What the hell was happening. Unfortunately, he did not have anything to make connections to Yu Rong.

    Yu Bufan and assistant Su left to take a few calls to know the truth behind this whole fiasco. The two guys were taken to their respective rooms and Fan Ruyi was called. She was being flown via a helicopter, she would be present here in an hour or so.

    In the meantime, first aid was given to the guys.

    "Wait a minute. Not be able to participate? That''s it. That is what will be the excuse! Yu Rong is smart after all," Mei Qingyang blurted out. She had not planned on telling Yu Tian that she was suspecting his aunt over this too. Damnit!

    "Yu Rong? What has my aunt got¡­? You are not thinking she is behind all this, do you?" Yu Tian could not believe his ears. No matter how stupid she was, she would not dig her own grave by making Feng and Su families her enemies.

    "Sorry Senior Yu, I could be wrong but that is what I think."

    Yu Tian patted her head. She must be feeling so guilty right now. He knew she would think herself as the cause but he was as responsible for this mess as her, may be more.

    "Young Master Yu, I am sorry we had to postpone a few matches because of the two incidents. You won yours already but this lady here, her match will be rescheduled for the afternoon," an anxious organizer greeted them both while rubbing his hands.

    Mei Qingyang knew nothing would come out of pressurizing this person. He might be one of the leading people here since they could not just send any assistant to talk to ''Young Master Yu''. But just scaring him would not accomplish anything.

    "Thank you for the update sir. I will prepare for the match accordingly," Mei Qingyang interjected. The plump old guy left as soon as he heard the answer.

    "Senior Yu, let Senior Fan come. We will have to brainstorm ideas together. This is not right. Us five would be able to get more idea what really happened. We also need to know from senior Feng and elder brother what exactly happened. They are veterans of various martial arts, they should have defeated the other party easily."

    "I think so too. Let''s head back. Yu Bufan, assistant Feng and assistant Su are investigating this incident. We should be having a report soon too.

    They both left for the room that was prepared exclusively to house the two patients. It would be easier for Fan Ruyi to take care of them both at the same time that way. Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian entered the room, only to find Yu Rong chatting with Su and Feng seniors there.

    "Ah! Here they are. My dear nephew, how did this happen?" Yu Rong ran forward while dabbing her non-existent tears. Her action made her look especially sympathetic to everyone but she was smiling towards them both. Her expression was only visible to the two who were facing her.

    "We are finding it out," Yu Tian gave a meaningful look to her and glanced at the seniors behind.

    "Hello uncle Su. Hello elder brothers," Su Lang''s dad and Feng Yue''s elder brothers were present. Even with such a grave incident, Feng Yue''s parents did not show up. And everyone seemed very accepting of the fact too. How was this normal in anyway?

    "I must say Tian, how many years have we known each other? Has anything like this happened before? My poor Lang, why was he hurt like this?" Mr. Su stated with a stern face as soon as he saw Yu Tian. Only two people were hurt, why did this guy here come out unscathed? That was his first thought.

    "And this. This girl must be my late wife''s foster niece. I have heard a lot about you. Are you involved in all this too?" he continued with eyes full of contempt and hatred. Was this the rumored girl his son was involving too much with? That Jiang bastard, to have gotten a girl to seduce his perfectly well son!

 Chapter 126 - Su Family and Their Assistants

    "Uncle Su, please calm down. Qingyang has nothing to do with it," Yu Tian tried to explain. He could bear anything but wrong accusations on his kitten. But Uncle Su was a senior he respected and had to obey. So he came out of his character for the time being to answer politely to him.

    "Calm down? Calm down? I have only one son. He is my only remaining family. And you are asking me to calm down?" Uncle Su stepped forward and grabbed Yu Tian''s collar. He had let his son run around for quite long now, especially after he had almost lost him with that Jiang bastard''s son''s death.

    His son had stopped eating because Mr. Su would not help him investigate his real cause behind death. He had promised him in the end that he would get it looked into but he trusted Yu Rong enough to agree with her and her search party''s analysis. Moreover, if he sent anyone to probe into the case, it would be like stepping on Yu Rong''s authority, which he did not want to get into.

    He was proud of his son''s achievements as a business whiz but ultimately, he was a kid. How intelligent could he be to navigate this world at his age? Haizz, it was his fault for not meddling much and letting him grow by himself. He had thought that with the company of the two genius kids from Feng and Yu family, his son would do some good.

    If only he had cut his son''s relationship with that commoner back in the day, none of this would have happened. Yet, this guy in front of him was still defending that commoner''s daughter.

    "And, you are using just her name, is she intimate with you as well? This s.l.u.t!" Mr. Su raised his hand to hit Mei Qingyang.

    As bold and calm as she was, she did not want to upset her ''uncle''. She decided to be quiet for the time being and take it. She was sure once her elder brother woke up, he would resolve any misunderstanding they had. Plus, it wasn''t good to aggravate an already fuming person.

    "Dad!" Su Lang yelled from behind stopping his father mid-way.

    "Lang! My dear Lang, are you okay?" Mr. Su suddenly did a 180 degrees turn in his voice and manner and hastily stepped towards the bed his son was lying in.

    "Who I associate with has nothing to do with you. Can you please not hurt or insult my friends? Why are you here anyway?" Su Lang''s head was paining from the impact earlier. On the top of that, his dad was making a ruckus in a room with two patients together. He had never paid any attention to him until now. Why sudden interest in his life?

    "Son, I was worried about you," a hurt expression flashed through Mr. Su''s eyes. Mei Qingyang had no idea that her foster cousin''s relationship was this strained with his dad. She could not bear to watch it. It was like looking at her own past. Her parents had certain expectations from her too and when she failed to meet them, they took it out on her.

    But still, it was not her place to speak between father and son.

    "Young Master Su, glad you woke up! Police is here to take your statement. If I have your permission, I could invite them in," Mr. Su''s assistant broke the father son duo''s verbal argument, who were glaring at each other like two wolves ready to do a territorial fight.

    "What is this woman doing here?" Su Lang got angrier, a frown appearing on his face. He had not seen who all were present in the room till now, hence he was not aware of her presence.

    Su Lang''s dad, just like Yu Tian''s dad, did not remarry after his wife passed away. But who in this circle did not have a mistress or two? Su Lang happened to know that his dad had illicit relationship with his assistant and he did not like it at all. Which was also the reason that although his own assistant was a female, he did not want to look at her as more than an aide.

    "Lang, use some respect, she is still an elder to you!" the dad continued scolding his son.

    "I don''t care. I don''t want to see anyone, everyone can go out. Only Tian and Qing Qing get to stay, and Weixi as well," Su Lang passed the order. Su Weixi was the name of his assistant.

    "Never mind, it was futile to come here. We are leaving," Su Lang''s dad announced.

    "Young master Su, your dad''s health hasn''t been the best, he still flew all the way here. Please reconsider," Mr. Su''s assistant spoke up once again.

    "Impudent! Who asked you to speak? Am I talking to you?"

    The assistant quivered from fear. She knew very well that it was not her place to speak. But she had been really worried about her master and her master''s son. She knew she had been ridiculed by almost everyone for giving away her body to the handsome yet twice her age man. Many people claimed her to be a gold digger. But she needed to survive too and she genuinely liked the man.

    Mei Qingyang nudged Su Weixi to speak up for him. Since Mr. Su''s assistant was talking, she had the right authority to speak up on her master''s behalf as well. Su Weixi shook her head multiple times but gave in under pressuring gaze of Mei Qingyang.

    "Ahem, I am sorry Ms. Hu, but master needs some rest. Why don''t we arrange master''s and your accommodation in the meantime? Mr. Su, now that you have come to this resort, why don''t take this chance to unwind for one or two days?" Su Weixi adjusted her glasses and got into the secretary mood.

    Perfect professional answer! Mei Qingyang applauded her a hundred times in her heart. Su Weixi had invited Su Lang''s dad to calm down and have a chat later, even invited him to stay for a short duration, enough for the talk but not long enough lest it angers her master. She also politely pushed him out of the room for the time being.

    "Hmph! Another commoner and her glib tongue. Su Lang, you are my son after all. Are you sure you are not playing with your assistant?" Su Lang''s dad took a jab at him, smiling sardonically.

    Ms. Hu, his assistant was shocked from her master''s comment. He still thought of her a mere commoner? So, he was just enjoying being with a young girl, was that it? She hid her disappointment for the time being but she needed to talk to Mr. Su about their future together. No wonder he had never promoted her to his official second wife. Everyone in their circle knew of their relationship.

    "What are you guys doing, disturbing the patients like this?" Fan Ruyi had finally arrived! "I need everyone out, now!" she yelled at everyone.

    "Ruyi, let my friends stay, everyone can go," Su Lang clutched his head in his hands, the pain he was experiencing was splitting. But he still needed to protect his little sister. If he let her go outside, his dad would chew her out.

    Fan Ruyi clenched her fists, why were her friends so willful?

    "Fine, you guys can stay but I need everyone else out."

    "Ruyi, please take care of our brother. Anything you need, please let us know, we will arrange it all for you," Feng Yue''s charming eldest brother clasped the girl''s right hand in both his hands and pleaded to her. He had lines of worry over his forehead. They had just been waiting for Ruyi''s arrival for long long time. The both elder brothers were well aware of Fan Ruyi''s feelings for Feng Yue. They knew she would not let any harm come his way.

    "Eldest Brother, please do not worry, I will do my best," Fan Ruyi patted the hands that were holding hers and assured the guy that everything would be fine. She was almost similar to a miracle doctor for her friends, she even made heavily injured Mei Qingyang stand up in two weeks, what was this small head injury?

    "Thank you!" The guys left at once.

    "Hmph! This is not over Mei Qingyang, you will have to pay the price for taking advantage of my son," Mr. Su also left.

    "Bufan, take care of everything else," Yu Tian sent Yu Bufan out. He would arrange for the accommodation for the elders and investigate the whole thing.

    "So, who was behind all this?" Su Lang questioned while Fan Ruyi started working on him.

    "Can you shut up for some time Lang? Don''t agitate yourself. It''s a wonder that you are sitting here talking with your head split open. Let me take a look," Fan Ruyi rebuked the chatterbox. This guy could not rest or what?

    "Ah, come on, let me hear it. Who could be so bold to make this move? I hope it was not Yu Rong because if she was, she is gone," Su Lang yawned. He was being too casual about his injury whereas others present in the room were so nervous for him.

    "Elder brother, your dedication skills are the best. It indeed is Yu Rong. And to be honest, the way this is going, her plan is succeeding," Mei Qingyang smiled with a sharp gaze in her eyes.

 Chapter 127 - Her Purpose

    "What do you mean?" Now Mei Qingyang had everyone''s attention. Feng Yue was still lying unconscious. They were yet to hear from Su Lang what had happened at the gym. But it was more concerning that Yu Rong''s schemes were winning here.

    "See, even if we investigate, we will only get to know who said what to who. The only problem is, she might look stupid to us but she would not have given out commissions by herself. Even if Wang Hao did it, she could always deny her involvement, that Wang Hao was acting on his own." As Mei Qingyang was analyzing the situation, everyone''s face was growing anxious. She was correct, it won''t take much for Yu Rong to throw anyone under the bus, she was selfish anyway.

    "But Wang Hao has worked with her for so long, will she still give him away?" Fan Ruyi raised her question. She personally would never trade her assistant away for anything in the world. It took her time to train him according to her needs and ethics. How could anyone dream of giving up on their closest aide just to save their asses?

    "Yu Rong is that cruel. She doesn''t spare her own family members, who is Wang Hao then?" Mei Qingyang threw in a careless comment to see everyone''s reaction. Yu Tian stared at her in shock and nervousness while Su Lang and Fan Ruyi gave her a confused look. What was she talking about?

    Yu Tian fidgeted a bit but since he was standing behind Fan Ruyi and Su Lang and they were focusing on Mei Qingyang, they did not see him. But it did not escape Mei Qingyang. She glanced at him and then gave him a reassuring smile.

    "I mean, look at her how she had snatched away portion of businesses when Mr. Yu Ming was not in his right state of mind. She rules this school like she owns it and people inside it," Mei Qingyang explained her earlier statement.

    "Ah! That way? I thought she was doing something to Tian. Don''t scare us like that Qing Qing," Su Lang patted his c.h.e.s.t and then realized his head was still hurting by any movement. He g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain.

    Fan Ruyi slapped his back. "Mr. Hero, can you take it easy for some time?"

    "Ugh Ruyi, why did you hit me? It just increased my pain," Su Lang glared at his doctor.

    "Don''t be such drama queen, it is indeed a superficial wound. I can already see it did not affect your brain at all."

    "Qing Qing, Ruyi is bullying me sob sob."

    Mei Qingyang shook her head. At least this guy knew how to lighten the atmosphere. Yu Tian did not like how casually Mei Qingyang had brought up his subject like this. He knew she had her own thoughts but he needed to talk to her later.

    "Alright, we need to brainstorm how to counterattack. If it keeps going this way, she will surely get away with this easily," Mei Qingyang proposed. She put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose but she was out of ideas.

    "Why do you think she did this though?" Su Lang had the excuse of damaged head so he did not really want to think much about it. Moreover, they had a person with clearer head than any of them in the room, why do extra labor?

    "Hmm¡­ Well, this move serves multiple purposes if I am to look at it from all angles. She took out her frustration of past incidents on you both. She angered the two families enough that they would all want me out of the group. And probably driving a wedge between you guys and your families? I don''t know," she threw her hands in the air. There were so many things Yu Rong got out of this that her would explode if she started doing an in-depth breakdown. This was completely a win-win situation for her.

    "But most importantly, no one will believe us even if we say Yu Rong is behind this, notyour dad senior Su and not senior Feng''s family."

    "Right, so what to do next then?"

    "First of all, Qing Qing needs to focus on her match," Yu Tian spoke for the first time in the whole ordeal.

    "Oh, you did not have your match yet?" Su Lang was not updated about the events, he just woke up like a couple of minutes ago.

    "Matches remind me, what exactly happened? How come you guys did not know that your opponents were fake?" Mei Qingyang was slightly confused about this aspect. She herself had made sure to check all her potential opponents out, so she at least knew them from their faces. Why did these guys not know that? With their network, they should have gotten their whole history dating generations back in a few minutes.

    They all looked at each other and then at Mei Qingyang flabbergasted. What was this girl saying?

    "Do we¡­ do we have to check out our challengers before the match? We know we are going to win anyway," Su Lang scratched his chin in embarrassment. This sounded too arrogant but they did have that much confidence in themselves. Others just shrugged their shoulders.

    So she was the only one who was too anxious since it was her first time to participate in a tournament like this. These guys were way too cool. The four people in the room suddenly were sparkling too much in Mei Qingyang''s eyes, blinding her a bit. If she remained with them some more time, she would become as shameless as them.

    It was not that she was not confident in her own abilities. But they say proper research and knowing your enemies beforehand are half the battle won. But these guys¡­

    "It is okay, it is your first time here. We are not undermining our opponents, we know they have some great skills and they work hard. But we work harder than them and are much more confident." Su Lang saw that Qingyang looked a bit down, so he could not resist but console her a bit.

    "Okay, you are done. You definitely can''t participate any further. But this should be okay in like two weeks." Fan Ruyi had finished with her diagnosis for Su Lang.

    "I am worried about senior Feng though. He had just joined us and now he is in bed. How did she even think of reeling him into her plans as well?" Mei Qingyang glanced at the other person lying in the bed with bunch of bandages around his head and body hooked to different wires. Her heart ached for the guy who was trying to start anew in life. Fan Ruyi''s heart felt a pang of jealousy once again despite knowing that Mei Qingyang was not interested in him.

    "Oh yeah, Yue had said that Yu Rong had helped him get into the competition. That means she knew he was coming back. We had no clue!" Su Lang had an idea.

    "Elder Broher! That''s amazing! It could be a convincing argument to Feng family if not anyone else," Mei Qingyang clasped her hands with excitement. It depended on Feng Yue waking up in time but this was a start.

    "I personally think it is a futile attempt to be convincing Su and Feng family that Yu Rong was behind this. Even if they know it, they probably won''t do much about it since their majority of business dealings is among themselves only," Yu Tian also had his own thoughts and he knew the dealings of these three families well. Mei Qingyang''s earlier excitement was doused instantly.

    "I do think there could be some merit for us if we rope in senior Feng''s brothers to our side. They are the people inheriting Feng empire, they would know better to get away from Yu Rong,"

    "But doesn''t that mean Yu empire will suffer losses? If they start shunning Yu empire slowly, other companies would follow suit and then no one would do business with them." Fan Ruyi did not have much idea about business since she had put all her hard work in medical field. Her business advisor was her assistant who had much knowledge in this field.

    "You make a valid point Ruyi, but that is way into the future. By that time, hopefully, Tian would have taken over," Su Lang pointed out.

    Fan Ruyi nodded and walked towards the bed Feng Yue was in. He looked much thinner and his features had sharpened even more. He did have a healthy complexion on his face, that meant he had taken his meals properly at least and was not wasting himself away while he had disappeared.

    Fan Ruyi touched his cheek longingly. Now that everything was over between him and Qingyang, could she still have a chance? Would he look at her once he woke up?

    "It''s again a superficial wound, a bit deeper than Su Lang''s but still, the damage did not reach his brain," Fan Ruyi announced to the group. Everyone else relaxed as well.

    "Why is he not waking up then?"

    "Probably the shock of having hit his head. He should wake up in a couple of hours. I will still need to monitor you both for any internal damage and have a few tests done."

    Someone knocked softly on the door. Yu Tian opened the door to find Yu Bufan outside.

    "What''s the news?" Yu Tian let him and Su Weixi in.

    "Master! Master, are you alright? I could not even ask after you earlier. I am so sorry, I should have paid more attention," Su Weixi started crying. Mei Qingyang observed her closely, she had sat down on her knees and was holding her master''s hand. Su Lang patted her head affectionately.

    "It''s okay Weixi, am I not alright?" Mei Qingyang raised her eyebrows. This guy was definitely interested in her, but he was not giving her any hopes. The look in his eyes were the same when Yu Tian looked at her. It could not be just a master servant relationship.

    "Master, my investigation led me to Wang Hao but there is no direct connection to Yu Rong. Also, she is creating a ruckus outside, fanning the fire against Ms. Mei. I am thinking she is going not only after Ms. Mei but after Minister Jiang too," Yu Bufan told everyone the current information.

    Everyone looked at Mei Qingyang who was smiling but not smiling at the corner. This girl was frighteningly smart. She predicted each and everything exactly right!

 Chapter 128 - Yu Rongs Acting

    "I am just so sad that your son would do something like this Mr. Su. Now you see what I was talking about?" Yu Rong was pleading her case to Su Lang''s dad outside the room where the boys were getting their treatment. It seemed like Mr. Su and Yu Rong had some conversation earlier as well and the subject was most probably Mei Qingyang and how she was getting chummy with everyone here.

    "I have always known that that man is trouble. My wife only did not listen. What ''our bond is greater than real brother sister''? He only knew to take advantage of my darling. Now he has sent his daughter to do the same to my son." Mr. Su was quite frustrated.

    "I am really sorry Ms. Yu. I should have heeded your advice earlier. I had not thought that my foolish son would be bewitched by that snake." Mr. Su was hoping to talk to his son some more before leaving for his room and have a rendezvous with Ms. Yu. They could talk some business then. But he needed to knock some sense into his son about this girl Yu Rong keeps talking about.

    "You are not alone Mr. Su. My dear nephew is already so far away from me that he doesn''t even greet me anymore. I don''t know what I could do to bring him back to me," Yu Rong sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. Everyone who looked at her felt pity and cursed Mei Qingyang on her behalf.

    A commoner was managed to strain the relationship between the mother like aunt and her nephew. This is why you could not really raise the status of a commoner. An ugly duckling thinking of herself as a phoenix! Yu Rong had been too merciful to her till now, sparing her on account of her friendship with the boys.

    The martial arts team members were also present there, they wanted the news of wellbeing of their two captains. They had no idea till now that something like this was happening with their captains. Now they thought about it, it did seem like their captains were dancing around her whims and wishes all the time.

    Everyone had also noticed less involvement of Fan Ruyi with the group. There were four legendries of the school in reality, fourth one being Fan Ruyi. She was out of the school most of the time, so she was not really counted as such. And then the sudden disappearance of Feng Yue too. Could it be that that girl was responsible for all of it?

    "I have been telling the same thing to Mr. Feng but he is not listening to me. You brothers should also talk to Feng Yue. He had even confessed that he liked her directly. My, my, what kind of times are we seeing!" Yu Rong pointed to Feng brothers and then dabbed her tears once again.

    Feng brothers already knew everything because Yue had gone to them for consultation about Li Sibao and her history. They had their own intel too on what was going on. They were open minded people of current generation, ready to take over the reins from scheming a.d.u.l.ts like these.

    Moreover, they had faith in their little brother. They did not need to hear stuff from outsiders, they knew their little brother told them everything. In all the dysfunctional families, theirs was perhaps the most normal one.

    The two Feng brothers had known early on what their lives would entail. Everyone in the Feng family had started to egg them on since they could understand things about inheritance.

    The eldest brother Feng Qinming was raised as the heir of the Feng empire. Everyone would try to curry favor of a ten year old boy so that they could get into good books of Feng couple.

    Then the middle brother, Feng Helin was chased by a few extended Feng family members to become their representative and fight for inheritance with his elder brother. Thankfully, his brother had never treated him unfairly. They were a loving pair of siblings. Feng Qinming had already promised his younger brother that if it ever comes to it, the inheritance will be divided into half.

    But then Feng Yue came into their life. It was fine too. But both the brothers had decided that they would keep him away from all this politics between family members and others. They did not let the grime of the higher society come in contact with their youngest brother. And that earned them his loyalty.

    Their parents were, for most part, absent from their lives. They were always busy with their work. Feng Qinming did not want that to affect his brothers as it did himself. So he made sure he was always present for his brothers. Feng Qinming was a calm and cool person and he had seen much in his 30 years of life.

    "We are sorry Ms. Yu. I don''t know about our dad, but we trust our brother. We will go with what he says," Feng Qinming stated with coolness. He had a sharp glow in his eyes, telling Yu Rong that her lies would not fly here.

    "Hmph! Guess I will have to talk to your parents only. You guys don''t seem to understand the consequences of what has been going on here," Yu Rong replied and went back to fueling Mr. Su again.

    "This lady is trouble. Feng Yue was right. We need to look into Sibao more too," Feng Qinming whispered to his younger brother.

    "I don''t care about all that. You can take care of the investigation. I am only waiting for Yue to wake up. We need to take care of whoever did that to him." Feng Helin was too worried about his little brother,

    "My assistant is on it as we speak but the guy who injured Yue would be a small fry who would not know anything. We need to talk to Tian and that girl. That girl seems quite intelligent to me. She would know what is up with all this." Being in business for so long had honed people''s skills of both the brothers.

    They had an idea that this Mei Qingyang, or Li Sibao as Yue called her, was not a simple girl. She was hiding much more than she had let on. They also needed to block information from Yu Rong to their parents. Their parents were very well capable of taking Feng Yue out of the school forever and lock him at home if any of his behavior irked them at all.

    ----------------------------------------------------

    Inside the room, Yu Bufan apprised Mei Qingyang of the fact that her match was starting soon.

    "There is no pressure, if you want, you can forfeit. There is much risk of going into a match anyway, so I would rather insist you not go," Yu Tian grabbed her hand and pressed a bit on it to make sure she understands how reluctant he is to let her enter the match.

    "It will be okay, I, at least know the faces of my opponents," she stuck her tongue out and made a funny face towards Su Lang.

    "You!! I will be happy if you come out of it unscathed. And that''s the only thing I wish for right now. But I will agree with Tian, you don''t really need to participate," Su Lang turned his back towards both Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian for he did not want to disturb their sweet moment.

    As clueless as she was, she got out of Yu Tian''s grip and strode towards Su Lang''s bed.

    "Elder brother, don''t get angry please. We already have two captains out here resting, if I also drop out, then your whole team will suffer losses. Let me take on some risk for you guys. You guys have done so much for me over the past months. Can''t I just help you out with this? Please?" Mei Qingyang knew how to use her charms.

    Su Lang looked pitifully at Yu Tian who was standing at the corner like an abandoned puppy. This girl was just so nonchalant. Poor guy was trying to make a somewhat romantic atmosphere over there.

    "Even if we stop you, you will still do what you want, so there is no use. Go, I will cheer for you from here," Su Lang shook his head.

    "Yay! Thank you elder brother. Hope that by the time I come back, Senior Feng is awake. Anyway, senior Fan is with him, so I should not worry," Mei Qingyang glanced at Fan Ruyi who was sitting beside Feng Yue, c.a.r.e.s.sing his hair like she had met her long lost lover after years. She only had eyes for him and was unaware of her surroundings at the moment.

    Fan Ruyi had flown in quite a hurry. She was excited on one side because Feng Yue was back. No one was able to find out his location till now, so she was quite worried if he had done something to himself because of heartbreak. As a doctor, she had known how much pain Feng Yue was in because of Li Sibao; first her death, then re-appearance and now her rejection.

    Although Feng Yue was a kid loved by his siblings, he still did not have any idea how to deal with these types of emotions, because his brother did not know either. Feng Qinming was learning it slowly with his wife, who was highly emotionally intelligent person. Everyone among the three brothers looked up to her for any problem regarding their relationsh.i.p.s.

    And thus, there was a real concern in Fan Ruyi''s heart that Feng Yue could go back to his drinking habit as he had once done when Li Sibao was declared dead. This time, he could really take some extreme action. Thankfully, he coped with it well. She would stay by his side to further help him out.

    "Can you just worry about yourself?" Yu Tian spoke from behind snapping out both Fan Ruyi and Mei Qingyang out of their own worlds. Fan Ruyi got embarrassed once she realized Mei Qingyang was staring at her. She touched her face in hopes of determining what kind of face she was making.

    Mei Qingyang chuckled lightly at her reaction.

    "Senior Yu, I will be off. Please cheer for me," she spoke in high spirits. She could take out all this frustration on her opponent now.

    "I will accompany you," Yu Tian replied, walking towards the door and opening it for her.

 Chapter 129 - Finally, Time For The Match

    "There is the witch!" Yu Rong pointed out towards Mei Qingyang as she emerged with determination in her eyes from the room. She did not have time to even bother about Yu Rong and her schemes. Right now she needed to focus on her match.

    "Running away?" Su Lang''s dad blocked her way furiously. How dare she girl leave the premise while his son was wounded because of her?

    "Sir, I respect you on account of being elder brother''s father. But now I need to get going to do something for my school and elder brother''s team. Would you want to be in my way for that?" Mei Qingyang said coldly. Her teammates suddenly flipped their minds again. This girl was still going to fight for their team even when there was such a big risk? They did not know if the whole school was being targeted for being on the top or if there was some personal vendetta involved.

    But right now, going to that arena and representing their school was basically a death risk. But then again, when had she feared such a thing? She just always jumped into it. They had a newfound respect for the girl, despite whatever they were thinking earlier.

    Everyone was now looking at Mr. Su for he was blocking the path of a girl who was almost sacrificing herself for school''s honor. Under pressure, Mr. Su had to give her way.

    "Ms. Mei! How is our brother?" Feng brothers also caught up with Mei Qingyang from the side. Mei Qingyang had a good feeling about this pair of brothers. She knew they would become her good allies in the future. They were compassionate people and it could be seen from how Feng Yue had turned out better than his parents.

    "Seniors, senior Feng is fine. He should wake up by evening per senior Fan. You should be able to visit him now if you want to," Mei Qingyang replied them politely and smiled. This was drastic change from how she treated Mr. Su. The nerve of this girl!

    "Commoners will remain lowly commoners. She does not even know how to treat her elders properly," Mr. Su took a jab on her which she ignored.

    Feng Qinming nodded to her, relief sweeping all over his face.

    "Thank you Ms. Mei. We will go see our brother then. Best of luck for your match," Feng Helin stretched his hand towards Qingyang.

    She took his hand and shook it lightly. She realized the brothers were already extending their cooperation to her. And also showing Yu Rong and Mr. Su that they were ready to stand opposite to them. "Qingyang is fine. Please do not be so formal and consider me as your little sister."

    She then walked away towards the arena.

    "Yup, she will be worthy of our cooperation. Still can''t believe she is our timid Sibao. I wish Yue had treated her better. I would have loved to have her in our family," Feng Helin remarked while looking at the girl walking with straight back and confidence.

    "But you also need to understand Lin Lin. If Yue had treated her better, then she might not have gone through what she did and might not have become what she is now. Experiences in life shape us to become what we could perhaps not even imagine a few years ago. It is the same with this girl," Feng Qinming explained to his younger brother. He glanced at the girl and pitied their youngest brother in his heart. He did miss out on a gem and now she looked great with Yu Tian.

    Well, Yu Tian was like their brother too, so he should be happy. But then he also noticed Yu Rong who was seething in anger at the corner, gazing at the couple rushing towards the gym. It did look like an ideal pair. Although the two people were walking apart, their chemistry was undeniable and unignorable. No wonder the possessive aunt was furious with the girl.

    --------------------------------------------------

    "Next match between Mei Qingyang and Wei Qiqi," the announcer announced.

    "It''s time. I know you will do us proud," Yu Tian patted her head once again, earning a slight blush from the girl. So¡­ so cute! At least she was not rejecting his advances now.

    Now that he thought about it, she had herself wanted to sleep in the same room as him last night. And then when he went to her room because he was just so worried about her behavior at the dinner and afterwards too, she did not send him back. Rather she let him sleep in the same bed as her.

    It was such a fluffy feeling to have his girl in his arms for so long. He could actually get addicted to it. His heart raced once again, from the feelings of last night as well as how shyness had overcome his kitten.

    Ugh, why could he not just hug her like any other normal couple? Why did he need to have this special identity? Could he just renounce everything and be together with his kitten? This thought had crossed him mind multiple times but he did not even have verbal confirmation from this lass in front of him if she wanted to be together with him or not. Ugh, so frustrating!

    "I will be off then," Mei Qingyang looked into his eyes and then left.

    Mei Qingyang and Wei Qiqi from another school entered the match area. They still had some time while the organizers were setting up some stuff.

    "Hello, I am Wei Qiqi. I heard about what happened to the two guys from your team. Are they okay?" Wei Qiqi was almost a head taller than Mei Qingyang but she looked like a warm personality. According to Mei Qingyang''s stats she was ranked number one in previous competitions. So, she was number one ranked female Jiu-Jitsu player in the nation. Damn, why did she need to face off this girl at the beginning?

    Fortunately, Qiqi was a famous personality and her face was widely known. There won''t be any mistake here at least, unless Qiqi herself was involved in something like that attack. But that would mean throwing her career as the celebrated Jiu-Jitsu player away.

    Qiqi belonged to a humble background and she supported her family of four with the money she earned from these competitions. Her dad was paralyzed and needed constant treatment. Her mother worked in a company, so they were able to get by easily.

    Now Qingyang felt sad that if she defeated this girl, she would lose her money. But there was no place for such pity in the matches. She would later establish some scholarship kind of thing with Su Lang or Yu Tian for her, so that she would not lose much. But that was for later.

    "Mmm¡­ they are doing okay. Thank you for asking. I am Mei Qingyang," she bowed down in respect.

    "Honestly, I tried finding some data on you but you are not anywhere! I know this is a national championship, so you should have entered on account of the school directly in the finals. But it feels like I will be fighting against a totally unknown person," Wei Qiqi scratched her head. She was too honest.

    "Don''t worry, I also did not get much time to research on you. I am in the same position as you. Let''s make the best out of it and have fun," Mei Qingyang smiled. Who would tell their competitors their own weakness or disadvantage like this? She knew it was very obvious. But this girl was na?ve beyond anything. Well, she would be delighted to fight such a brutally frank person.

    "Ah! Why are they taking so much time? I thought we would start right away! I am sorry, they are taking extra precautions it seems. It is your first match and so many delays are happening. I am sorry about that," Wei Qiqi continued as the two people watched people bustle about checking and rechecking the mats and equipment and cameras.

    "Why would you be sorry? I understand their concern. Their reputation would be ruined if another incident were to happen. They are already being questioned about such lax security that they let two strangers take the place of actual fighters," Mei Qingyang waved her hands. What was this girl? She was not even part of organizing committee, why would she apologize?

    "Oh, that''s true."

    "You girls, we are doing final checks. Be ready. Your match starts in five minutes," the referee informed them both who seemed to be happily chatting even though they were opponents.

    "Roger that!" Both girls said in unison and smiled at each other. It was finally time for Mei Qingyang to shine on the national stage.

 Chapter 130 - The Winner

    "Hey, just so you know, I won''t go easy on you even though I don''t know anything about you," Wei Qiqi said to Mei Qingyang with determination in her eyes. She had her whole family to support, how could she lose here?

    "Be my guest," Mei Qingyang smiled with confidence as well. So what if this girl was ranked number one in the country? She had trained with people who never participated in these matches and were far superior when it came to martial arts abilities.

    Wei Qiqi returned the smile. She liked this no name girl who was challenging her, the top female in Jiu-Jitsu in the nation. But this kind of threats were too common for her.

    "Do you see? That famous Yu Tian is here. He came with that girl," a girl started chatting behind them.

    "Seriously? He should be around here then? Where is he?" the other girl jumped with joy. It seemed to Mei Qingyang that everyone was fan of this guy.

    "Did he come here to cheer up for his teammate?" the first girl wondered.

    "How could it be? His two friends are lying in the hospital bed and you are saying he came to support his teammate? There should be something going on between the two. Perhaps she is his girlfriend?" a third girl interjected the conversation.

    "Have you even seen how plain that girl looks? Plus, she does not even belong to the high society, otherwise we would have known who she was," another girl explained as a matter of fact.

    "Hey you guys, it''s not good to gossip behind a person''s back, especially if they are literally standing there," Wei Qiqi chided the people who were mere meters away from the two girls standing facing the mat. The girls in the back lowered their head in embarrassment.

    Mei Qingyang was shell-shocked over Wei Qiqi''s behavior. How did it matter to this girl what they were talking behind her back? But then, she turned around and looked the reddened faces of people and she could not help but giggle.

    "Thanks," she had to show her appreciation. This girl stood up for her for nothing.

    "I just cannot see two-faced people like these. By the way, is Yu Tian really here?" she looked around.

    "Yeah, over there, he is wearing a hoodie because he doesn''t want people to recognize him. Unfortunately, he did not employ that tactic earlier, so a lot of people saw him hehe." When Mei Qingyang was saying this, she felt like a girlfriend bragging about her boyfriend to others. She also realized how incredibly popular the guy was.

    Yu Tian waved his hand towards her and she waved back.

    "Oh God! Are you guys close? Can I have his autograph please, I have been a big fan of his since forever! Actually, do you know Su Lang? I am not that interested in Yu Tian''s autograph than Su Lang to be honest," Wei Qiqi rambled on. Mei Qingyang found this very amusing. Should she set her up with her elder brother? What about that assistant Su Weixi then? But a mere autograph did not really mean anything, right? She would just let them meet.

    "Senior Su is like my brother. I can get you his autograph, rather how about coming with me later to meet him?" Mei Qingyang winked towards this girl. She was liking her personality more and more. Given the people she had met in past few months, this girl was like a breath of fresh air in all that dirt.

    "Are¡­ are you sure?" Wei Qiqi grabbed Mei Qingyang''s hands in gratitude and shook them violently. This girl was so excited just thinking about Su Lang. Mei Qingyang nodded and gave her a mischievous smile. She had totally different idea in her mind.

    "We will start now, please come forward," the referee called them. They both stepped forward and shook hands with the referee and with each other.

    Yu Tian mouthed ''All the best'' from afar which Mei Qingyang caught just in time. She was so ready to win this match.

    The bell rang and the girl started feeling out the distance and height from each other. Wei Qiqi had a slight advantage with her taller height but Mei Qingyang did not feel it much for she had taller limbs. Finally, the girls decided it was time to start grappling each other.

    Mei Qingyang got the first successful grab of Wei Qiqi''s gi and she put her in a chokehold. Wei Qiqi struggled for a bit. She had never imagined that this tiny girl (compared to her anyway) would pack so much strength in her. She had unconsciously underestimated this no name opponent of hers.

    Nonetheless, she successfully got out of the hold and both of them struggled for some time to get a good hold at each other. One was counterattacking other and there was no concrete win or lose.

    The competition was becoming intense and everyone in the gym was paying attention to this new girl in the area. Even the people who were watching other matches got attracted to this side of the gym. It was becoming a nerve-racking match even for the judges, let alone other spectators.

    Wei Qiqi finally managed to trap Mei Qingyang passing her guard. Mei Qingyang glanced at the scores and she realized she was trailing far behind, even though she had been in the dominant positions till now. Ugh, this was her real weakness. She had tried to cram up the ways to earn points in Jiu Jitsu matches but she still could not wrap her head around it.

    And this was the disadvantage that would bring her down in the match. She was not the one to give up though. She swept Wei Qiqi around and finally gained the control once again. The crowd cheered from behind. This match was turning out to be thrilling. Yu Tian at the back, could not help but facepalm for he had no idea Qingyang was this bad in keeping track of points. If he had known, he would have taught her or gotten her a coach to explain.

    They had only tested her freestyle, so they knew she was great in her skills. In a real life situation, she would almost always win. But this was a match and a match was totally different from real life.

    He did give her thousand points for not giving up though.

    After some more pushing and entangling, Mei Qingyang managed to bring the score to a tie. The audience cheered some more. Where would you find a person who was giving such a tough competition to number one girl in the nation? This was a totally unexpected situation.

    In the blink of an eye, the ten minutes got over and the score still remained tied. The judges then took some time to decide who had a bigger advantage. It was a nail-biting moment for both the girls and everyone else was holding their breaths for the result as well.

    Yu Tian, on the side, was completely chill. He knew his kitten had won. This was a close call but she did manage to turn it to her advantage.

    In the end, Mei Qingyang was declared the winner. The two girls, with sweat dripping from their whole body, shook their hands. "Plop," a few hot tears embraced Mei Qingyang''s hands when she was shaking hers with Wei Qiqi. She could not hold herself back on having lost the money she was pegging her hopes on.

    Mei Qingyang had no idea how to console the girl. Should she have let her win after all? But Wei Qiqi was a champion, she would have known. Then she would have felt more indignant.

    "Wei Qiqi, let''s go see Su Lang, how about it?" Mei Qingyang took her rival in a big hug. Wei Qiqi did not reject it and then burst out crying even more. Mei Qingyang patted her back. She knew how poverty felt, she had experienced that first hand in the last moments as Li Sibao. And she experienced it everyday at her school.

    Mei Qingyang took Wei Qiqi with her down the stage. There was a thunderous applause for the pair. Everyone was praising them for such a great match and the sportsmanship they had shown. Mei Qingyang signaled Yu Tian and the guy nodded. They were to meet near the door, because none of them wanted to reveal his identity.

    Before they could reach the door, Mei Qingyang was surrounded by reporters and other people who wanted to congratulate her.

    "Ms. Mei, could you tell us where you got your training from?"

    "Ms. Mei, how does it feel like to defeat the number one player of our nation?"

    "Ms. Mei."

    "Ms. Mei."

    Mei Qingyang was finding it difficult to swim through this sea of people with Wei Qiqi still in her arms. Wei Qiqi got a hold of herself and led Mei Qingyang by her hand through the scores of people trying to push them.

    "Phew! What would you have done without me girl?" Wei Qiqi came back to life and scolded Mei Qingyang a bit.

    "Pfft, ahahahahaha," Mei Qingyang''s laughter rang like a melodious bell in the area. Wei Qiqi beamed as well.

    "This was hilarious, especially how you went from all snotty to taking me out like a bodyguard. I am sorry but it is just so funny hahahaha," Mei Qingyang loved the sudden transformation of this girl.

    "Geez, you really would have drowned there if not for me," Wei Qiqi joined in the laughter. She had forgotten how she would be looking right now with a tear stained face and cracking.

    "Ahem! Wei Qiqi, for your performance today, my Yu Capitals has decided to give you a scholarship which would cover all your tuition fee for till wherever you want to study. You will also get a monthly allowance which we will decide later. Thank you for such a great match," Yu Tian would have given her money just for letting him see his kitten laughing so merrily. He knew what would have into this girl''s mind when he saw how she was helping her opponent off the mats.

    "No way! Scholar¡­ scholarship? For what? I did not even do anything. Young Master Yu, I cannot accept your money without any rhyme or reason," Wei Qiqi outright refused. Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was very grateful to Yu Tian. She was going to discuss it with both Yu Tian and Su Lang, but it would have been difficult to come up with an excuse for such a righteous person.

    "As I said, let''s just say, I am paying you to keep your friendship with my kitten. How does that sound?" Yu Tian whispered quietly to Wei Qiqi while Mei Qingyang got distracted talking to someone who had come to congratulate her.

    "Oh! So, she has not accepted you yet? She is worthy to make friends with, I don''t need your money for that," Wei Qiqi replied back.

    Girls were really a trouble. Why could she not accept it quietly?

    "Fine then. How about we want to sponsor you for the Olympics team later when you are ready. For that, we want to make sure you are getting proper meals and do not have monetary stress in life. Does that sound reasonable?"

    "O¡­ Olympics team for M nation? Are you serious? But I just lost to your ''kitten''!" Wei Qiqi could not believe her ears. She earned a spot for losing? She even forgot her manners in front of the prince of the nation and blurted out non-sense. Realizing her mistake, she bowed her head in embarrassment.

    "Yes, I am serious. It is the fruit of your labor. Qing Qing is certainly good in skills but she lacks experience of matches. You would be a better choice for competitions," Yu Tian nodded.

    "I¡­ I will take up the offer. Thank you very much," she bowed multiple times, not able to wipe her silly smile off her face.

    "We will see you around then," he shooed her away for now he needed his alone time with his kitten.

    Wei Qiqi felt like she was the true winner of today''s match as she slipped away in the crowd, her head at cloud nine.

 Chapter 131 - Wei Qiqi Meets Su Lang

    "How did you know what was going on in my mind?" Mei Qingyang asked Yu Tian in hushed tones. They were heading back to the room.

    Mei Qingyang''s final match was the next day. She had caught eyes of everyone now, not just because of her match but also because she was casually walking with the guy who was like a proud aloof prince. He never even glanced at any person, he was walking beside a girl and talking gently to her too. The girl must be special!

    Wei Qiqi, for not wanting to disturb the couple, and also because she had gotten the hint earlier, remained at the back, following the two people faithfully. She had earned quite a bit today, she got her education free, till whenever she wanted to study, on the top of that, she would get an allowance too. She also was getting a chance to meet her idol.

    More than anything, she gained a new friend, a friend who would inspire her to do greater things in her life. They say you are an average of five people you interact with the most. If she could be friends with this little girl, she would definitely achieve greater heights.

    "If I can''t even know that much, what is the use of me liking you?" Yu Tian replied to Mei Qingyang, his face clear of any expression.

    However tough the girl was, she could not help but blush over such a cheesy confession. Had this guy gone mad? Was he not a demon of some sort, he could still spew non-sense like this? She decided to ignore the comment and just walk silently.

    Yu Tian looked at her reddened face. He found it so cute that he just wanted to kiss the nape of her clear neck. These days, it was getting harder and harder to control. Given how quiet she had gone just now, he though it would be better to just shut up or change the topic.

    "By the way, good job with the match. Why did you not tell me that you did not know the rules of the matches?" Yu Tian really did not know what went in the mind of this lass. She refused to ask for help for herself but would not even bat an eye when asking favors for others.

    "I¡­," the red color deepened on her face. How to tell this guy that she was just ashamed of the fact that she defeated a big hunk out there but did not know official rules?

    "I just thought I could learn them by myself, how difficult it would be?" She had her head lowered. Yu Tian knew she was just making up excuses.

    He flicked her head. "Now that you have learned your lesson, will you allow me to get you a coach?"

    "Yeah, I think I will need one," she agreed without hesitation. She needed to correct her mistakes in order to truly help these guys. She should have done this from the start, her stupid pride.

    They walked rest of the way silently, much to the relief of Yu Rong who was still waiting outside the room with Mr. Su. Feng brothers were nowhere to be seen, so Mei Qingyang had assumed that the guys had gone inside to be with their brother. After the insult to her parents, she did not think Su Lang would talk to his dad at all.

    "Congratulations on wining the match injury free girl," Yu Rong started again, this time with a sly smile.

    "Thank you, Principal Yu," Mei Qingyang just smiled politely and accepted her wishes gracefully. She was not the one to make a scene for nothing. Even if this witch was provoking her, she would just ignore her.

    "I did not think you would really do it, you even defeated the number one player in the nation," Yu Rong glanced at the girl behind. She had done a background check on her as well. She would have loved to use her as her pawn, since she was in need. But then she was a person too much in limelight, this girl even had done a few commercial for sports product.

    Thus, she would become a huge risk. If one day, she would decide to spill the beans, Yu Rong would have no choice but to shut up. But then, why to take such gamble to begin with? So she had given up on the idea. But now this lowly commoner had followed the other commoner. Who knew what these two filthy poor people were planning?

    So she would use her age old trick, pitting them against each other. Humans were very simple minded. All she needed to do was just plant some seeds of discord between them and sit back and just watch the show.

    Unfortunately for her, she had only had encounters with greedy people. Or one could say she attracted that kind of characters because of her own nature. How would she know of real emotions between humans, loyalty, friendship, love?

    "It is all thanks to your teachings and encouragement Principal Yu. However, I did earn a friend too, so I am really thankful for this opportunity. Thank you for letting me attend the competition," she bowed respectfully to the witch. If Yu Rong could play games, she could too. What did she think, she could sow friction between her and Wei Qiqi? Not that it mattered to her but these petty tricks would not fly with her.

    She could always strike back with kindness and it worked always, without exception. Right now, Yu Rong would be in a bind for she would not be able to rebuke her for anything. There were still so many people in here, including her own students from the school. How could she talk back after getting such a heartfelt gratitude from her student?

    Yu Rong still needed to maintain her image so she swallowed the bitter pill.

    "Hope you take ample rest and make us proud tomorrow as well," is what she could manage. This girl knew the political tactics. Then all that was left was to do a character assassination for her.

    Mei Qingyang bowed once again and entered the room. Yu Tian had already gone inside for he did not want to face his aunt. She was going to take her time with him later anyway. It was better for him to not think about it for now.

    "Hey hey, we have our champ here!" Su Lang saw Mei Qingyang entering the room and he put down the book in his hand. He could not contain his excitement on his sister winning. A stranger also followed the couple.

    "Is she¡­ is she Wei Qiqi? Your opponent?" Su Lang could not understand why this girl would come here. Was she trying to exact revenge for her defeat?

    "Relax elder brother. She is here to meet her idol. What''s wrong in that?" Mei Qingyang chuckled how easily this guy got worked up when it came to his friends. Otherwise he was just the cold and wise CEO of his companies and the devilish handsome unapproachable guy of the school.

    "Her idol? Then it''s fine. I hope you don''t have any ulterior motives of approaching our Qing Qing," Su Lang chattered as he ate an apple slice his assistant had cut by his side. Wei Qiqi felt insulted with such scrutiny, especially by the person she wanted to meet. How could he be so cruel, he did not even ask whom she had come to meet.

    Mei Qingyang shook her head. This was going to be a long road for her if she wanted to make any progress with Su Lang. She went ahead and brought Wei Qiqi towards Su Lang''s bed. Then she signaled her to go ahead and talk. Sweat poured out on Wei Qiqi''s face. She was already sweaty from the match. She realized what a bold step it was for her to come here just like this. She was apprehensive about offending the young master with her grimy appearance.

    "Umm¡­ young master Su, if you don''t mind, can I get your autograph please?" She still decided to go ahead and ask her question. Mei Qingyang was just by her side, she should be fine, right?

    "What? Autograph? Say Qing Qing, I don''t happen to be her idol, right?" He looked at the tall girl first and then his cousin. She knew he was not into this kind of stuff, why would she bring a fan here like this? Did she think his brother had enough time on his hands?

    "Hey elder brother, look. You are not doing much right now, how does it matter if you give some fan service. Plus, don''t you trust me? Why are you being so hostile towards my friend?"

    "Trust you? With people? You also trusted someone very recently, look where it got you," Su Lang put another apple slice in his mouth. He was talking about the doctor who had just treated her. On the side, Fan Ruyi was busy with Feng Yue and explaining his condition to Feng brothers. She clearly heard the remark and her face went crimson red from anger and indignation. She still did not win Su Lang''s heart it seemed, although he had appeared neutral towards her since the beginning.

    "Brother!" Mei Qingyang yelled. She had not thought he would blurt out something like this. Now it would look like she had instigated him to say something like this to Fan Ruyi. Wei Qiqi was just standing there, mouth agape. Hoe could her handsome quiet idol be a monster like this?

 Chapter 132 - Get Out of Here

    "Umm¡­ I don''t think I am welcome here. It is okay, I will not bother you anymore," Wei Qiqi spoke suddenly, with disappointment very apparent in her voice. She really admired this guy, he was her inspiration. Whenever she had thought about giving up in life, this guy had unknowingly encouraged her to keep going on.

    How did she come to know about him? One of the Su household maids was given an opportunity to study and she had become her classmate at her school for sometime. That girl would compliment this young master all the time. First she thought that this guy was a player to have made the maid sing praises for him left and right. Then she started reading on him, getting more interested in his life by the day.

    Aiyya, no one told her that the celebrities always put on a mask in front of the world and could be completely opposite in real life. They were public figures, thus they had to be on their best behavior when in the eyes of the public. At home, they could all behave as spoilt as they wanted.

    Now, Wei Qiqi was also a celebrated person in the nation, sure. But she did not have luxury to put on airs like this guy in front of her.

    Today''s incident was a real eye opener for her. All her perceptions about this guy and a celebrity in general were broken. She left the room in almost tears.

    "Elder brother, why did you do that?" Mei Qingyang did not chase after the girl. This would be the chance for Yu Rong to misunderstand the relationship between the two. If Wei Qiqi fell for her tricks, then she would know that they were not meant to be. Otherwise, she would have gained a true ally.

    "Are you blaming me? If she can''t even bear this much, how is she national champion?" Lines were slowly forming between his eyebrows. His sister was defending a girl she had just met, while he was even fighting against his own dad for her. These days, one''s goodwill gesture was hardly appreciated by anyone.

    "But she was here just as your fan. She would have left after the autograph. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Mei Qingyang pressed into he matter. She now had everyone''s attention in the room. The Feng brothers, who always thought of the girl as a calm and expressionless person, were now seeing a whole new side of the girl. She was capable of showing her emotions! Or perhaps she was just like them, not showing her vulnerabilities to the outside world. But with her own people, she was herself.

    At least she was not like Feng Yue who had shunned the emotions after he lost his fianc¨¦e. They took some delight in witnessing the bickering and liveliness that was missing from their own home. They both were trying hard to hold back their laughter.

    Fan Ruyi from the side was observing both the brothers too. She again felt a pang of jealousy against Mei Qingyang. Why could this girl make any atmosphere not gloomy? Earlier, everyone was just so serious and her entry perked up the mood, effortlessly at that. She could never do it. These two brothers were people she wanted to call brothers-in-law in the future. But they were again being enamored by this girl unconsciously. Why could she not be like her?

    She had probably forgotten that she was the sophisticated young miss of Fan family. That''s how she ahd grown up, in a scheming world, devoid of real affection. How did she then, think that she would be able to change suddenly? How would she able to cultivate these traits? In that moment, she had just wanted to be a normal girl. There were not many occasions after all, where a rich kid would envy a poor one.

    "Anyway, you did wrong to my friend. Make up with her. Take her out on dinner some day otherwise I am not talking to you," Mei Qingyang really threw a tantrum this time. Even Yu Tian was surprised to see this side of her.

    "Not talking? Fine, I will apologize. Don''t know sometimes what happens to you. Seriously, you are going to make your brother do manual labor for you?" Su Lang sighed. He did not have any siblings so he just wanted to spoil his cousin rotten. Moreover, she was little sister of his favorite brother, Jiang Bo. How could he say no to her?

    "Thanks brother, you are the best," Mei Qingyang finally rested easy. She went ahead and hugged his arm in a cute manner. While Su Lang was flattered, Yu Tian shot daggers at him. When would she act spoiled like this in front of him?

    "What is this ruckus?" Suddenly everyone heard Feng Yue''s voice. Everyone was looking at Su Lang and Mei Qingyang earlier, so no one realized that Feng Yue had finally gained consciousness. He clutched his head because of the pain and tried sitting up.

    "Little Yue, you are awake! Thank God!" Feng Qinming helped his little brother up.

    "Eldest brother, what are you doing here?" Feng Qingming was surprised to see his ever so busy brothers to have visited him.

    Feng Helin just took his little brother in his arms. "Little brother, do you have any idea how worried we were?"

    Feng Yue''s heart warmed up. His eyes wandered around to look for two particular people but of course, they were not here. Why did he even try to look?

    "They have been constantly asking about you. They had important meetings, so mom and dad could not visit," Feng Qiming stroked his brother''s hair. He knew what was going through his mind.

    Feng Yue was an a.d.u.l.t now, he understood what was possible and what not. Even asking after him was a lie. He sighed and dismissed his brother''s statement. He grabbed his brother''s hand and removed it from his head.

    "It''s okay brother, you don''t need to lie on behalf of them." Feng Yue scanned the room. All were familiar faces and Su Lang was in the bed too. It dawned upon him what might have happened. He nodded his head and was about to speak when he had sudden pain in his head once again.

    "Are you alright Yue? Let me check," Fan Ruyi hurriedly stepped forward and examined his head once again.

    "I think we should get you MRI and other tests done. Lang, you too!" Now that both the guys were awake, she could do her test in peace.

    "Senior Fan, it would be better to take them with you. Let their assistants with them all the time. And yours too. Although this whole area belongs to all the three families, if Yu Rong could pull something like this, she definitely has much more influence than other two families," Mei Qingyang spoke up. If these two needed to be in a hospital, then they needed to get out of here. Then it would be easy for her to focus on other things.

    "I agree. Once you guys get out of here, it will be less headache," Yu Tian readily chimed in and supported his kitten. Mei Qingyang punched him in his arm secretly and glared at him. Who had asked him to be this blunt? Idiot!

    The two guys on the bed chuckled seeing the fl.u.s.tered expression on Mei Qingyang''s face. They knew she did not mean it. Yu Tian, on the other hand, was treating them as a hurdle in his romance. The two looked at each other and nodded. Yep, they needed to run away from here.

    "I guess I will treat it as a vacation then," Su Lang raised his hands in the air, giving up for the time being.

    "You guys, on the other hand, will need to be extra careful," Fan Ruyi interjected the conversation and stared at the couple. It would be better for her if Mei Qingyang got together with Yu Tian. Feng Yue would finally give up on her then. She needed to create more opportunities for them.

    She called up a few people and made arrangements of transferring the two sick people via helicopters. Yu Rong and Mr. Su were informed at the end of the process. Mr. Su chased after his son but by the time he could really see him, Su Lang had already flown away. Mr. Su was still pretty upset over the whole thing, so he lashed out at Mei Qingyang once again.

    Mei Qingyang heard everything very patiently and did not talk back. It was a good show to watch for a lot of people. Yu Rong seethed in defeat once again. Finally, everything ended for the day and Mei Qingyang went back to her room. She was so exhausted that she went to sleep as soon as she took a bath.

    Tomorrow was her last match and she would need to give it her all.

 Chapter 133 - Am I A Trouble?

    This time, truly, it was final matches for everyone. Early morning, Yu Tian came to wake Mei Qingyang up. She could not sleep properly last night for there was much thinking to do. Such a big thing had happened in the day. She did not even have a chance to celebrate her first victory. Yu Rong was becoming a bigger hurdle than she had thought. And it was becoming difficult to be dealing with her with conventional methods.

    "What are you thinking so hard?" Yu Tian could make out that his kitten did not sleep well. Her eyes were puffy and she was lost in her own world. She was not even acknowledging his presence by her side.

    "Oh¡­ Nothing," she replied dazedly. Focus Mei Qingyang, focus!

    "How are the two seniors by the way?" she tried changing the topic.

    "Hmm? They are improving fast. They had their MRI done yesterday. Seems like Yue had some internal bleeding but it''s not life threatening. Ruyi is taking their care, you need not worry about them," Yu Tian assured her. She still was not looking at him and was walking with her head down. It seemed like she was hell bent on making holes with her gaze in the ground.

    "Also, the guys who injured them have been snubbed by us and are undergoing interrogation. Hopefully something will come out of it," he continued his report because he was sensing some unusual air from his lass.

    "Say senior Yu," she halted her steady steps in the empty corridor and then looked at Yu Tian straight in the eye, dead serious, "Am I causing you guys more trouble by being here?"

    Yu Tian got goosebumps from how clear and limpid her green marble eyes were. It felt like she had been doing soul searching for quite some time now. Yesterday''s event must have been a shock to her for his strong lass to have asked this question. Was this what was keeping her awake all night?

    He tilted his head for he did not know how to answer her. If he said yes, there was a high chance she would stop associating with them completely. If he said no, then she would jump in for more trouble to herself rather then them. Either way, he would push her away from himself.

    "How about, I give you an answer after our matches?" After racking his brain for a while, he decided to delay it a bit.

    "Are we going to stay afterwards?" Mei Qingyang had no idea that they would still be enjoying being outside of the school campus some more. She had thought that they would leave within an hour or two after the last match would end.

    After all the ruckus, she could finally try to contact her dad later today. She knew Su Lang had been giving him reports but she had been out of touch with him since Yu Rong caught her. She could not use Yu Tian''s phone for his phone was tapped too.

    She could have used Su Lang''s phone, but again, they had to be outside of Yu empire''s buildings. She did not know what kind of technology that witch might employ to track her activity and everyone around her. She suddenly felt conceited, was she so important to Yu Rong to track her every activity? Wasn''t she being too narcissist right now?

    Yu Tian looked at her and she had drifted off to her la la land once again.

    "We throw an after party for all the players who participated regardless of whether they won or not. It is to show appreciation to their sportsmanship," Yu Tian still answered her question.

    "Oh! A formal party? I should have brought some clothes for the occasion. I did not bring any!!" she replied alarmingly. She had no idea something like this would take place. Why did the guys not tell her this beforehand?

    "You do not need to worry about that. I have everything arranged," Yu Tian lightly laughed at her scrunched up eyebrows. She was worrying for nothing.

    "Oh? Now you are acting like a real CEO, I guess you must have prepared a couple of dresses and a few make-up artists for me then," Mei Qingyang instantly relaxed on hearing that he had prepared stuff for her. Guess this is what they called having a rich boyfriend? Although, she still had not made her intentions clear to him, it was pretty much obvious that she had accepted him in her heart. Now his presence was just comfortable, as much as it was heart-pounding, of course. Sometimes, it was hard even to look towards him without getting her face red.

    "What kind of novels are you reading these days? Do you think those types of things happen in real life?" he tucked her loose hair behind her ear. He loved doing that for her. A small gesture which was intimate just to them. This time, however, his hand lingered on her cheek, suggesting how much he had been holding back, just because she had not explicitly said yet. Mei Qingyang ah! Why were you leaving him hanging, hasn''t it been much time already?

    "Hmph! I won''t accept anything less than that, okay?" she acted cheekily. Yu Tian was kind of surprised because she was finally acting spoiled in front of him. So then, she was opening her heart more to him, wasn''t she? An elation rose in his c.h.e.s.t. He was probably going to crush his opponent today.

    "I am just kidding. Don''t worry. I''ll accept whatever you have for me," seeing that he was not withdrawing his hand and was just staring at her foolishly, she thought he took offense over something. How she wished she could hold his hand right now!

    "Hey, by the way how did you get my sizes?"

    "We have already slept together now, why do you think I would not know your sizes?"

    "¡­"

    ----------------------------------------

    Wei Qiqi was already waiting for Mei Qingyang in the arena. Yu Tian''s gym building was first, so he had gone to his gym on Mei Qingyang''s insistence. He had still sent Yu Bufan with her.

    "Qingyang! I have been waiting for you. They will start the matches in about half an hour," Wei Qiqi updated her as soon as she entered the building.

    "Thank you," Mei Qingyang nodded. It was great to have another female friend whom she could talk equally. She did not need to feel any inferiority complex with her. They were at the same level and she found it was way better than having friends from upper class. It was a relationship free of those things, looking down upon each other did not happen.

    "Qiqi," Qingyang adjusted Wei Qiqi''s collar a bit, "Please win the match. I would like to share the stage with you during the medals ceremony."

    Wei Qiqi''s heart warmed up. She had a lot of female friends in her team. Her team was there in the arena too. But they all treated her with respect as their captain, there was no one whom she could talk to freely. Now she thought she had found someone as well.

    "Mei Qingyang, don''t underestimate me, okay? You are the only special case, otherwise no one has been born in this country who could defeat me yet," Wei Qiqi replied, smiling ear to ear. Guess she could not hide her excitement over how dearly this girl in front of her was treating her, although they had met just one day earlier.

    "Rather, you should be prepared to defend my honor, you know? You defeated the Jiu-Jitsu champion yesterday, surely you won''t lose to anyone else?" Wei Qiqi had this weird feeling in her heart that Mei Qingyang wasn''t in her top form today. Did yesterday''s incident shake her this much? But her own match was after the incident, she should be fine, right?

    Mei Qingyang looked around and spotted her opponent for today''s match. Her challenger''s eyes very clearly told her that she was up to a few tricks. She suddenly interlocked both her hands with Wei Qiqi and whispered, "I cannot guarantee my win today, there is more probability that I will lose. But I will still get a silver medal. So, don''t worry about me."

    "Do you see? That girl did defeat Wei Qiqi but it felt to me more like a fixed match." Mei Qingyang and Wei Qiqi heard a whisper from the back. So now people were openly gossiping about her?

    "Fixed match? I do trust Wei Qiqi. I know she is poor but she would not do something like that," another girl replied to her in hushed tones as well. Guys, if you really wanted to gossip, could you not keep your voice down?

    "We will see in today''s match if she really has talent."

    "I just think it was a fluke."

    A few more whispers and then Wei Qiqi''s teammates came to defend her. They gave Mei Qingyang a glare because she overthrew their queen from her throne. They all were saying ''you better win the next match, otherwise you won''t hear the end of it''.

    "I am sorry, my frien, I mean teammates can be a bit excessive. Please don''t take it to your heart and play freely. I personally don''t care whether you win or lose, it''s a fact that you are better than me and I need to improve," Wei Qiqi accepted gracefully. By the time she finished her sentence, she was being hugged by Mei Qingyang in a sudden display of endearment. What had come over this silly girl? Wei Qiqi closed her eyes, she knew she had found a gem in this place. She reciprocated her future best friend gesture and patted her back to calm her very evident turbulent emotions.

 Chapter 134 - Final Match

    "I hope you are ready," Mei Qingyang''s last opponent by name Ms. Hu stepped on the mat. The audience cheered for her but there was greater cheer for Mei Qingyang. She had really become popular in one day.

    "I hope you are not going to use petty tricks?" Mei Qingyang bit back. She could see in this girl''s eyes, she was going to create mischief.

    "I don''t think I would need to. You might be a great fighter, that does not translate in being a good competitor when it comes to matches like these. I watched your match yesterday, you are definitely losing today," Ms. Hu slightly yawned, showing how easy it was going to be her.

    Mei Qingyang did not get angry because this Ms. Hu was telling the truth. That was her biggest weakness. She had probably best techniques here, but how to earn points in the match? She did go over certain rules yesterday with Yu Tian once again but her brain and body both were so tired that they all went ''whoosh'' over her head.

    Right now, it felt like the days when she failed to finish her homework and now, she was going to fail on her test. But she did not show her anxiety at all. She just smiled and nodded, acknowledging her challenger''s comment.

    "Good that you know," Ms. Hu harrumphed. The girl in front of her did not get riled up at all. That''s what she had heard from the rumors too. But what use was that when she would not be able to show her talent in the match. She needed to strategize around penalties now. She would make this Mei Qingyang make mistakes. And get her negative points.

    The referee came after making all the checks and called them up. The girls shook hands with the referee and each other and the match started with thunderous claps from the spectators. In a similar fashion, for first few seconds, they took a feel of the distance from each other. This time, Mei Qingyang was acting more on defense.

    Ms. Hu took it as Mei Qingyang afraid of her. There was definitely slight apprehension in her regarding her weakness but it was not enough to overwhelm her.

    Ms. Hu attacked first. She tried to grip Mei Qingyang into one of the holds and make her submit but Mei Qingyang successfully evaded her attempts. The girls rolled on the floor, trying to gain advantage over each other.

    At about two minute mark, Mei Qingyang finally reversed Ms. Hu from top to bottom position, freeing herself from her lock. Ms. Hu was now unable to defend herself or break out of Mei Qingyang''s grip, thus, Qingyang earning a few points.

    Ms. Hu had thought it would be easy to take down the girl just because she did not know the rules. Unfortunately, she had no idea about this girl''s strength. Her grabs were so powerful that it felt like her bones would be crushed.

    Now she finally realized how this girl managed to defeat Wei Qiqi. It was not just luck, it was pure hard work. But it still did not mean that she could not win. If worse came to worst, she always had her tricks.

    In a struggle to get out, Ms. Hu pulled Mei Qingyang''s belt revealing a completely black innerwear complete with half sleeves. Ms. Hu took a big gamble at this time, it was at referee''s discretion if they would ask her to tie her belt or not. And then again, if this girl knew about tie your belt within 20-second rule or not.

    Mei Qingyang might have been new to the competition, but she was with best people, competing here for ages. How would they not tell her such a trivial thing. Sure, it could be one of the most overlooked things but that was why she had to pay attention to such rules.

    The referee ultimately did ask her to tie her belt but she smoothly did it in twenty seconds, much to chagrin of Ms. Hu who was depending on her inability to do so for a few penalty points. After that, the struggle started again.

    The girls had reached the corner of the mat, while entangled with each other still. One more step and they would have fallen down the stage. The referee asked them to stop midway. Mei Qingyang thought she had committed some mistake and almost left her position of advantage. The referee gave her a look. What was this fool doing?

    He just dragged both the girls with their gi to the center of the mat and asked them to continue from their original position. This, unfortunately, broke the rhythm of Mei Qingyang for she had seen it just once in a video. This was her first experience like this and it took her some time to come into focus. Ms. Hu took advantage of that and stole a few points from Mei Qingyang in the meantime.

    "Mei Qingyang, you can do it!" When Mei Qingyang was almost in despair, making futile efforts to gain an advantage, she heard voices from behind. Were these not her teammates? She did not have the luxury to look towards them but she could clearly make out the distinct voices. It seemed that those guys had run here to support her. Half of them were out of breath.

    Damn! What was this embarrassing display of hers? She defeated all high and mighty people previously and now, she was unable to deal with this girl, who did not have many plus points when it came to her height or strength. All she did was, playing by was her experience.

    Mei Qingyang gritted her teeth and in one last minute, flipped Ms. Hu around to sit on Ms. Hu''s torso. She could not get complete advantage, but her one knee and one foot were on the ground. She completed a move called ''mount'', gaining a whopping four points in an instant. The bell rang and the ten minutes got over just then.

    Mei Qingyang was so exhausted that she had no idea what was happening all around her. She could not hear anything except her heavy breath. All she needed was water for now. It did not matter if she had won or lost, this was more intense than yesterday''s battle.

    She regretted not practicing enough. If only she had been inducted earlier, if only she had not got so injured, if only she had watched more videos. The referee stood her up by her wrist and announced the winner. Mei Qingyang finally came back and realized she had lost the match by mere one point.

    Ms. Hu gave an arrogant smug look to Mei Qingyang. She did not know when her sweat started mixing with her tears. She only wished that no one was aware of her state. When she was walking towards her team, she saw Yu Tian and Wei Qiqi standing there, looking concerned for her.

    Yu Tian helped her down and the whole team and Wei Qiqi walked away hurriedly. Mei Qingyang had her head hung low all the while.

    As soon as they reached a somewhat secluded area, Yu Tian took Mei Qingyang into a hug. He knew she was disappointed and he knew her tears were flowing. He had been in such a predicament before too. But he also knew that his kitten would not want anyone else to see her like this. He had hoped others had not seen her.

    Mei Qingyang finally snapped back to reality and took in Yu Tian''s odor. He had just fought a match too, both of them were smelling like salt. She was worried he would find her sticky and disgusting, for he had his haphephobia too. But he was the one who took in first, so she would take advantage of this hunk.

    "I am sorry senior Yu, I did not win," Mei Qingyang spoke without lifting her head.

    "You did more than enough. This was perhaps the best result," he stood still without any movement. The team was surrounding the two, so no one from outside could see them. But their eyes popped out when they saw the display of affection from their unsympathetic cold-blooded captain once again.

    He had a tender look on his face, only for this girl. His eyes were full of guild and heart ache, only towards this girl. If it were in their hands, they would have clicked pictures of this handsome guy with finally some emotions on his face.

    "Qiqi, where is Qiqi? I need to apologize to her!" Mei Qingyang suddenly became aware of her situation. What if Yu Rong was around? She frantically separated from Yu Tian and looked around.

    "I am right here and you don''t need to say anything. As I said earlier, I don''t care," she grabbed Mei Qingyang''s right hand and wiped her almost gone tears from her face.

    "Silly girl, look at you. That was an amazing match! I finished mine sooner because I wanted to see yours! That last move was sick!" Wei Qiqi started blabbering once again. She was so happy for her friend.

    "Let''s go take some rest. We will have medals ceremony after afternoon matches, we still have a few people competing," Yu Tian went back to his cold demeanor and instructed everyone. Everyone nodded and dispersed.

    "Qiqi, can you come with me to my room for some time? You can grab your stuff and inform your teammates as well. This is my room number," Mei Qingyang asked Wei Qiqi.

    "Sure, I will be right there. You guys go ahead, I will be back." A smile blossomed on Wei Qiqi''s face. After today, she did not know when she would get to meet her. So why not spend some more time hanging out with her first real friend now?

 Chapter 135 - Phone Call

    "Are you sure about her?" Yu Tian asked Mei Qingyang as they walked back to their rooms. He did not know why his kitten had developed such sudden fondness towards this girl whom she had met just one day ago. More than that, he was jealous that she had grown so close to her after one match while she had not invited him to her room anywhere for more than three months. Hmph! What sisterhood and what friends?

    "With humans senior Yu, one can never be sure." Mei Qingyang replied mysteriously, shrugging. Yu Tian peeked at her from the corner of his eye. She was looking much better than a few minutes ago. Her weak moments were for him only. The world did not need to see them.

    If only they were at more secluded place, he would have never let her go. She could cry all she wanted, he would be her shield. Even now, all he wanted was to comfort her. To have said that sentence, how much had she suffered by the hands of other humans? He knew she had gone through hell as Li Sibao but what after that?

    Their circ.u.mstances did not even allow for them to hold hands in public. He would take the risk for all the abuse from Yu Rong was his to take. But now that this girl had an idea, she would never say yes. Her awkward face trying to hide her pain, he did not like it at all. He did not like that she was suffering so much, and part of it was himself.

    His heart ached for this girl. He should not have gotten involved with her. But she would have still jumped right into the trouble anyway, right? She would have implicated herself anyway. So then, was it okay if he enjoyed her company, her kindness and her love? He felt so selfish but he could not give up on her. She was the only joy in her life right now.

    "Where are you lost?" Mei Qingyang was waving her hands in front of him. They had already reached the door of her room. He, for once, could not believe that she was the same cold girl who would kill for her friends. Her tear-stained face, tilted in confusion was just so adorable. He could not resist the temptation.

    She was standing on her door, perhaps asking if he was leaving or coming inside. He was not paying attention earlier so he had no idea what she had asked or said. He was facing her, ready to enter her apartment. He gave in to the demon inside his heart and pushed her into her room.

    "Wait, what?" Mei Qingyang was surprised to have been shoved against the wall. What was wrong with him? She looked at him like she did not recognize this forward guy anymore. Was it that strange for him to have done this to the girl he liked? He slammed his arms into the wall on both the sides, trapping her between himself and the wall.

    Another kabedon! It had been four months already. She was scolded so much when he did that last time. How did she offend him this time? Yu Tian grabbed her chin with one of his hands. Today would be the day when he would let her know how much she meant to him.

    "Did¡­ did I do something wrong again?" Her marble like clear eyes looked at him, a worry washed over her face. Her hands fidgeted, for she had no idea what had happened.

    What! Was she afraid of him? The girl who would stand ramrod straight in front of any obstacle, any trouble and face them head on, was afraid of him? And did it not defeat the whole purpose of doing this? She did not even flinch or blush. How clueless could she be?

    "Pfft!" Yu Tian suddenly released her, giggling to himself, confusing Mei Qingyang even more. This girl, became dumb in most crucial moments.

    "What, why?"

    "Nothing, just take some rest," Yu Tian smoothened her wrinkled sleeves and turned around to leave. This guy was one fickle minded person.

    As soon as he left, Mei Qingyang''s whole being became red. He was so close, if she did not have enough self-restraint, she would have herself initiated the kiss. Oh wait, was that his intention from the start? She blushed furiously just thinking about it. At that particular moment, she was very calm, yes, because the realization had not dawned upon her.

    She slapped herself twice. He definitely looked mad when he trapped her. Did she really do something wrong? She was probably misunderstanding him, he did not look like in a mood for romance.

    A soft knock came through her door. Mei Qingyang was standing in the doorway anyway. But she took a few seconds to calm down before opening the door.

    "Oh, Qingyang, do you have a fever, you are so red," Wei Qiqi spoke from outside the door.

    "Shhh¡­," Mei Qingyang asked her to keep silent but unfortunately for her, Yu Tian was just opening his own door. He heard Wei Qiqi loud and clear. He laughed some more, she was not as clueless as he had thought after all, just a little slow. Oh his adorable kitten.

    "So, what did you need me for?" Wei Qiqi went straight to the point.

    "Umm¡­ I know this will sound weird but would it be possible for me to borrow your phone?" Mei Qingyang hesitated before she put forth her request.

    "That''s it?"

    "Yeah. Just so you know, I might be putting you in danger by doing this. But then, you are also the safest person." Mei Qingyang did not want to give out too many details. The less this girl knew, the better for her.

    She was going to make sure to delete the records of her call from all the databases. Because Wei Qiqi came from outside, it would be hard for Yu Rong to monitor her activity. By the time she would think of checking Qiqi''s records, Qingyang would have wiped her trace off.

    "Sure!"

    "You won''t ask anything?"

    "Qingyang, I do not know your position in your college. Just know that we students are quite aware of what goes in that school. It is such a famous place, there would be no way we would not have an idea about it," Wei Qiqi explained her rationale behind her decision. Oh, so they knew bits and pieces.

    "Of course we do not involve ourselves precisely because it does not really concern us. If people inside the school are not interested in change, what can outsiders do? So, I surely won''t ask about anything. You seem to be working for a greater cause, and I won''t question it." Wei Qiqi handed her phone to Mei Qingyang, without any question.

    Mei Qingyang tried looking for any deceit in her eyes, just to make sure but the girl''s eyes were so crystal clear that she could not help but trust her.

    "Thank you Qiqi, you understand me quite a lot. I also have another request. To keep this off the record, I would need to alter a few things in your phone. It won''t affect how you use it at all," Mei Qingyang connected the phone to the desktop in her room.

    "Go ahead. If you need privacy, then I could go out too," Wei Qiqi stood up from the sofa she had taken a seat on earlier.

    "No, no. You can stay. I need you in the room to not arouse any suspicion."

    Mei Qingyang started on her computer once again. After about half an hour, Wei Qiqi''s altered phone was ready. Mei Qingyang thanked her once again before heading towards the bathroom to call her dad.

    ------------------------------

    "Hello, who is this?" Minister Jiang was very upset with all the calls he was getting these days. For some reason, work was piling up. He could not work on his important matters because of that. And everything in the Ministry required his attention.

    "Dad!" A familiar voice spoke from the other side.

    "Qing Qing! Is that you? Really? Where are you calling from?" Minister Jiang got excited. He was hearing her voice for the first time after he visited the school. Even then, he did not get to talk to her much.

    "I am in clear for now. How are things over there?" Mei Qinyang started with some idle chit-chat before her dad would blast her off.

    "Qing Qing ah! Just come back home, okay? Let''s forget about bringing justice to whoever. I am begging you!" Minister Jiang pleaded to his daughter.

    "Dad! I am halfway through, you cannot ask me to give up now!"

    "Fine, then just stay away from that Yu brat. That will be your condition for me to let you stay there," said a resolute Minister Jiang.

 Chapter 136 - Not Another Ally

    "Dad, are you spying on me?" Mei Qingyang was slightly startled. She knew her dad had this hatred towards Yu family, but she did not know that he would outright meddle in her affairs like this. Moreover, how did he even know that she was getting closer to Yu Tian?

    "I am just looking out for you my child. You could have chosen Su Lang, I would not have minded at all. Why must you even befriend that scion of Yu family?" Minister Jiang''s voice was aggrieved. The Yu family was his biggest enemy, wasn''t his daughter betraying him by doing all this?

    Mei Qingyang sensed the distress in her dad''s voice and her memory went back to the days when she had seen him silently cry at nights, clutching her foster brother''s photo to his heart. She had woken up to fetch water when she heard some voices. Out of curiosity, she had gone to check since the voices were coming from Jiang Bo''s empty room which had not been disturbed since his demise.

    The door was ajar, so she took a peek and found her dad, mourning and talking to his dead son''s picture in between. She understood how much he was suffering. But he did not have a right to punish her, or Yu Tian as a matter of fact. He had nothing to do with it. Why would he question their friendship?

    "Dad, I understand your concerns but¡­," Mei Qingyang tried to reason but was cut by her dad midway.

    "You listen young lady, I don''t think you really understand and I am not even asking you to. But as my daughter, the least you can do is partake in my schemes, right? And there is no Yu family member in my plan. So, chuck him while I am being polite. You know I do not tolerate rebellions," Minister Jiang became stern suddenly leaving Mei Qingyang speechless. Just how far did he know? And where was his confidence coming from? Did he get his hands on something that could be fatal to Yu family?

    "Dad, I think I have met enough people to be able to judge them. And my judgement for Yu Tian is that he is a good guy. Moreover, there is so much than meets the eyes. You can keep an eye on me all you want. But please let me do things my way," Mei Qingyang calmly explained to him. She was dying to know what was happening on outside. She needed to get her hands on the information, otherwise she would end up making a fool out of herself.

    "I have warned you my child. Rest will depend on your behavior now. I don''t want another incident like you baring your body in front of lecherous old men to save yourself. That guy could not even protect you that much, do you have any idea how much my heart hurt when I heard about that incident?" Minister Jiang''s anger had melted and there was grief in his voice again.

    "I am sorry dad, there were a few hiccups but I managed to get out of it. And it''s not like I haven''t been in active u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r in front of my trainers. This was nothing." Mei Qingyang was quite unreserved that way. There was a reason she could take that bold step. But that was also in past. She had only called him to let him know that she was doing fine, in case he was worried. But it seemed he already had all the news. What was the use of putting her friend in danger?

    "Also, I did mask the device that I am calling you from. Please do not dig deeper into it lest you put the owner in danger, okay? I know you care about common people. And take care of yourself and mom," she cut the call after saying this. She dropped a few hints for her dad to not trace the phone, telling him that she was using some ''commoners'' phone, obviously outside of school. And if he tried searching, it would put this person in danger.

    She had thought she could bounce a few ideas off her dad. But it seemed like her dad was going further and further away from what she had seen him as in past four years.

    "Qiqi, thank you. Let me just do last few changes and your phone will be same as before you gave it to me," Mei Qingyang smiled sadly to her friend.

    "Oh Qingyang, do you want to talk about it?" Wei Qiqi did not even question what she was doing with her phone. Was she a great judge of character or just too gullible?

    "Don''t worry, I am good. I am more concerned about you. Why do you trust me so much that you would give me your phone like this? What if I do something to you?" Mei Qingyang asked curiously.

    "Well, it is easy. You and I both know that I do not have anything that you could take advantage of. Apart from my family, I do not have anything to lose either. Plus, the blows we exchanged yesterday, I know you are an honest girl." Wei Qiqi explained her own stance. Mei Qingyang''s green eyes stared at her in disbelief, this girl was too good. She knew her own position, and her own place in society.

    "I do not know what situation you are in. But if I can help you out anyway, I will. You solved such a big problem for me, I have never felt such stress free in my life when I don''t have to think about money. It is only fair that I get to return the favor as much as possible, although I know I would never be able to repay you," Wei Qiqi played with her hands while looking down. It was embarrassing to admit but she was also doing it for herself, for not feeling too guilty about taking the money from her friend.

    Mei Qingyang chuckled hearing her words. No wonder they clicked as soon as they met. She had similar philosophy of life as her. Giving and taking was all part of maintaining her relationsh.i.p.s. She squeezed Wei Qiqi''s hand while handing her phone in the other.

    "You don''t need to look so serious. I understand your rationale. Thank you so much for being my friend,"

    --------------------------

    Yu Tian came to call the two girls for the medal distribution ceremony. When they opened the door, Yu Rong was with them. Mei Qingyang instantly got nervous because Wei Qiqi was also there.

    "Ah, I just came to congratulate you but I had no idea you had a guest," Yu Rong measured Wei Qiqi from head to toe, and she was not hiding it at all. Any wrong step, and Wei Qiqi would be complicated.

    "Hello Principal Yu, my name is Wei Qiqi. I just wanted an autograph from Su Lang which I failed to obtain yesterday. I was just trying to pester Mei Qingyang here to get me one," Wei Qiqi tried to handle the situation by herself.

    "Wei Qiqi? Are you not the person who Mei Qingyang defeated yesterday to go into finals? Why do you think she would do that favor for you?" Yu Rong crossed her arms in front of her c.h.e.s.t, trying to gauge the relationship between the two. They must have hit it off or something for Mei Qingyang to have personally invited her in her room.

    "Yes, I was just trying to curry some favor hehe. She studies in such a big school, I thought she would have connections. I did bag a scholarship from young master Yu here, so I thought I could persuade her too," Wei Qiqi laughed with a smug smile. She could act alright. Her palms were sweating big time though. She glanced at Yu Tian and realized her revealing so much information could not have been a good idea. But this was also a tactic to get Yu Rong to think what a fool she was to give away all this info. And perhaps she would brush them off?

    She had no idea what was going on their school. But she could see that everyone''s relation with this Principal of their school were strained. She had observed from another table what happened during the dinner two days ago. Everyone had left her to alone eat with other teammates. And she did not speak to anyone on the table after the four people had left. So, the four people of importance in the school, including Mei Qingyang, were definitely not fond of this lady.

    Plus, she did not give very good vibes to begin with. She did not need any hints from any of the people present, she had enough understanding.

    "Oh?" Yu Rong did put her guard down a bit. She already had information on her and it seemed like she had not judged her wrong. The girl was after money and she had gotten it from Yu Tian first. If she had gotten her hand on the girl before her nephew, she could use her.

    Now, there was less chance but at least this b*tch did not gain another ally. Not that this girl could her the b*tch a lot, she was another person with no background, nothing.

    She whispered to Wang Hao, "Keep an eye on this girl for some time. If nothing substantial, you can let go. I don''t want to be killing people unnecessarily."

    "Understood," he took the instructions. Yu Rong looked at Wang Hao. This guy had gotten too quiet for past few days. He was not even suggesting her tweaks in her plans now. If it were a few days ago, he would have provided some input to her and told her that they should continue monitoring this girl more. What was going on in his mind now? Perhaps it had been too much time since they last did it and he was missing her? She would find it out when they would reach back.

 Chapter 137 - Getting Ready

    "Anyway, we ought to go. The ceremony will start soon," Yu Tian urged everyone to stop throwing daggers at each other. Half their teammates who had late matches were already in the gym, but the other half had slowly gathered here while Wei Qiqi was trying to sell Yu Rong her greedy character.

    Yu Rong was not as clueless and she decided to tail the party, maintaining her distance. Mei Qingyang was mingling with other boys quite well, which filled Yu Rong with envy. How did this girl pull off charming all the people around her?

    "How are the preparations for tonight coming along?" Yu Rong asked Wang Hao in hushed tone.

    "Everything has been set, the success is guaranteed," Wang Hao replied back. There was no emotion in his voice which irked Yu Rong. Why was this guy suddenly acting so distant?

    "Who did you hire?" Yu Rong was curious, who was going to complete today''s scheme?

    "Don''t worry about it mistress. I have hired experts, Mei Qingyang won''t be able to get out of it," Wang Hao finally made a smug face. Yu Rong was quite satisfied with her assistant''s confidence.

    "I can''t wait to see Tian''s expression when he sees her ripped up body, we do not want her alive, okay?" Yu Rong giggled to herself just imagining the look of horror and despair on her nephew''s face. This was what he would get if he deviated from her plan for him.

    Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian both felt chills from behind. They both turned around to find Yu Rong trying to stifle her laugh in the back. They signaled each other with their eyes. She was definitely planning something, either for now or tonight. There were not many things she could really spoil in the medal ceremony, then she was going to target one of them tonight. They needed to be cautious.

    The medal distribution ceremony went without a hitch. Mei Qingyang and Wang Qiqi felt proud to be standing side by side on the podium. The crowd especially cheered when Mei Qingyang''s name was called. Ms. Hu, who was standing smug the whole time because she came first, had her happiness fade away instantly when she realized Mei Qingyang came out to be the real winner.

    Mei Qingyang also had felt happy after a long time. If only, right now, Yu Rong did not exist, how easy her life would be? She also realized that in this whole mood of cheerfulness, her eyes were only looking for one person all the time, Yu Tian. How had they gone from strangers to being attracted to each other so much? She herself did not know.

    Everyone went to their own room exhausted after the lunch. The party was at 7 in the evening, so everyone decided to rest up a bit.

    Yu Bufan knocked on Mei Qingyang''s door two hours before the party.

    "Assistant Yu! What happened?" For once, Mei Qingyang panicked because Yu Bufan would not meet her until and unless absolutely required or on Yu Tian''s orders. But why would he send him here? She looked behind, there was another girl standing with him.

    "I am here to deliver the dresses. This will be your make-up artist for today," Yu Bufan explained the reason for his visit.

    "Oh! Is¡­ is senior Yu alright?" She still wanted to confirm.

    "Master is sleeping for now but he instructed me to send you all these so you can choose. Ms. Cai here will help you with fitting too, although I don''t think there should be any mistake," Yu Bufan scanned Mei Qingyang from top to bottom and nodded. There should not be any mistake in Master Yu''s judgement.

    Mei Qingyang covered her upper body with her arms. This Yu Bufan¡­

    "Do not worry Ms. Mei, I am not interested in you," a laugh passed through Yu Bufan''s eyes. No wonder this girl had charmed his master. She was too innocent. But then again, he still could not tolerate how she sometimes behaved with his master. That was for another time though.

    He shoved multiple bags to Mei Qingyang and signaled Ms. Cai to enter her room.

    Mei Qingyang trusted Yu Bufan, so she let Ms. Cai inside and took the heavy looking bags from Yu Bufan. Ms. Cai already had a lot of boxes with her, perhaps her tools etc.?

    "Hello Ms. Mei. I will help you out today," Ms. Cai started unpacking her bags as well as the bags Mei Qingyang had just transported from outside. As the boxes opened, exquisite dresses started popping out of them. This was not some gala, it was supposed to be an afterparty after a big sports festival. Mei Qingyang looked confusedly at Ms. Cai.

    Ms. Cai lightly laughed. "Ms. Mei, I understand that this is your first afterparty. Basically people wear their best clothes for this party because they need to show-off. It is a place where a lot of couples form, you see? So at the end, this party is more to give them an everlasting memory. It was started by Young Master Yu''s dad, Master Yu. He had met his wife in such a party only. From then on, it became a tradition."

    "Oh!" This was the first time Mei Qingyang was hearing anything about Mr. Yu. Yu Tian never mentioned about him although he was his last blood family alive. Nor did Su Lang or Fan Ruyi mention him at all. Were they distant like Su Lang''s or Feng Yue''s or Fan Ruyi''s parents?

    "But Ms. Mei, we have such beautiful bright colors here. This lime color dress will absolutely look good on you!" Ms. Cai cried incredulously. Did this girl not know that her golden wheatish skin would look great with other bright colors? Why would she wear the plain dress close to black color with hues of purple and pink here and there?

    "Ms. Cai, I don''t really like these colors. And I do not want to stand out much, so I would like to blend in with the night, let''s say it like that," Mei Qingyang replied coldly. She did not plan to stay the whole time. She would just show her face, and then disappear for some freedom for she had no idea when she would get any, once she reached the school.

    "O¡­ okay. I will do as you say," Ms. Cai got spooked by the chilly aura same as Young Master Yu. This girl was much more than what she had heard from Mrs. Zhao. She was a distant relative of Mrs. Zhao and was someone whom young master trusted. She had run petty errands for him and his assistant before, especially gaining information from her customers at her salon. But this was the first time he called her, and even provided a chauffer for her to arrive here.

    Her aunt had already filled her in with the details, stating that young master seemed to have his heart stolen by this girl. But she also warned her that he was momentarily blinded by her fakeness and that he would wake up from his dream one day or other.

    But the way he had been spending fortune on this girl, it did not seem like fleeting love to her. Who was she to judge the lives of wealthy anyway? She would just shut up and work her best.

    "Could you please change in your dress, I could start your make-up then?" Ms. Cai looked at her watch. It was 5 p.m. already, she was to be ready by 7 p.m. She would need to do her hair, her make-up and decide on suitable jewelry too. It seemed like as if the girl liked plain things than flashy stuff.

    The dresses on the bed were best of the best. He had probably sourced them from private high-end boutiques. He was young master of Yu family but she knew that he was not taking any monetary help from his family. All his servants'' salary and everything in his house came from his own pocket.

    Most of the dresses had beads and pearls and other gems and feathers adorning the dresses. But the girl chose the dress with nothing on it, just a few frills. The dress was nothing like others, there was not even a belt on the dress'' waist. Ms. Cai sighed to herself for she was not confident in this girl''s choice at all.

    As soon as Mei Qingyang stepped out from the bathroom with her dress on, Ms. Cai''s jaw dropped. The dress looked absolutely gorgeous on the girl.

    Why did she even think those other bright colors would suit her better? Indeed, young master''s choice was the best. She failed in her own art and learned a new lesson!

    "Ms. Mei, since you would rather keep things simple, I have selected this very simple necklace with a stud locket and these earrings to go with your dress. I see matching ballerinas with the dress here," Ms. Cai handed over whatever she had chosen. Mei Qingyang nodded. This Ms. Cai learned fast. She approved of whatever Ms. Cai did next easily.

    "Now, done!" After an hour, Ms. Cai announced. She had put Mei Qingyang''s medium length hair in a bun. Putting her hair in bun was an everyday thing for her. It was easy and convenient. Ms. Cai did take out a few strands and put stylish yet simple pins on both sides of her hair giving a look of tiara on her head.

    Mei Qingyang looked into the mirror and could not recognize herself. Ms. Cai had kept her everyday look yet it was so vastly different. No wonder she was brought in by Yu Tian.

    "Ms. Mei, please call me again, I would love to style you once again. There is just so much difference from before that you could walk out and no one would believe that you are Mei Qingyang," Ms. Cai smiled. She was very proud of her work. She had used minimal basics for her face and neck. Her arms were covered with the transparent sleeves of the dress, so she did not need to do anything there.

    "And now, my work is done. I will let young master know and take my leave," Ms. Cai packed up her bags hurriedly.

    "Ms. Cai," Mei Qingyang called out. She could not keep her eyes away from the mirror. Ms. Cai paused, waiting for any more orders. Mei Qingyang turned around, "Thank you very much for this. I was rude to you earlier and I apologize for that."

    "Ms. Mei, I am just a servant. You do not need to apologize for anything." It was the first time someone other than young master Su, Feng and Yu had treated her with respect. Since she came under Yu Tian''s company''s umbrella, she would receive all wealthy snobbish customers. Now this girl was thanking her for her services. Her eyes moist, she decided to dispel the misunderstanding her aunt had for this girl.

 Chapter 138 - The Afterparty - I

    "Young Master Yu, Ms. Mei is ready. I will be taking my leave," Ms. Cai promptly informed Yu Tian via her phone.

    "Very well, thank you for your help," Yu Tian personally expressed his gratitude over the phone. He had also dressed up in a dark blue tuxedo. As soon as he put the phone down, he had an urge to just run to see his kitten. Each dress he had chosen, he had envisioned her in them. Only after he determined what all would look good on her, he bought them all.

    However, he had no idea what she would like. He prepared the usual bright colors she used to wear and threw in a few light-colored dresses too, just in case. And then he saw that one dress which he knew would look best on her, the plain dress with exquisite design. It came with matching pair of shoes, so he did not even need to think about it. He wanted her to wear that one.

    But again, the decision was hers. He paced up and down, excited. Would she have chosen what he thought would suit her? Would their thinking match at all?

    "Master, Yu Rong is on the move," Yu Bufan informed Yu Tian. Yu Rong was the host here, along with other representatives from Feng and Su family. They themselves were not present because the two young masters were injured. Now Yu Rong being the main person, she needed to see to the preparations.

    "Good. We can leave in half hour from here. She will be busy with last checks," Yu Tian got up from his seat and headed towards the door.

    "What about her scheme for tonight?" Yu Bufan asked. Was his master not concerned about what she was going to do?

    "We just need to be careful. I will tell Mei Qingyang to not eat or drink anything without my approval. You keep an eye for any suspicious activity. Sneak in a few more guards, I want one with her all the time," Yu Tian gave a few instructions. This is the master Yu Bufan liked, ruthless and decisive. He delightfully accepted the command.

    Yu Tian then visited Mei Qingyang''s room. The moment she opened the door, he could not take his eyes off her. He did not have words to describe her innocent beauty. Even Yu Bufan was stunned for a moment. Was this the same sweaty girl from hours ago?

    Her dress was a snug fit on her upper body. Then her make-up highlighted her pretty green eyes with matching eye shadow. Her sparkly eyes were perfectly matching with the dress. Her lips now had a color of the pinkest shade in her dress. The frock covering her knees made her look much taller than she already was. She was barefoot for now but Yu Tian knew that the shoes he had chosen would complete her look perfectly.

    Mei Qingyang''s ear tips turned red from the sudden attention.

    "I hope I am over or underdressed for the occasion," She turned around and invited them both in, also to hide her slowly heating up face.

    "You don''t need to care about others. You look¡­ beautiful," Yu Tian hesitated before finally saying it out loud. Mei Qingyang nodded and decided to dodge the seriousness of the atmosphere by joking a bit.

    "I should really thank Ms. Cai, she did a splendid job."

    "And what about me?" Yu Tian spoke with very serious expression on his face.

    "Ah! Senior Yu, I was just wondering it would be great if you would not eat or drink at the party. I do not have great feeling about how Yu Rong looked today," Mei Qingyang changed the topic abruptly. Yu Tian was still staring at her, making her nervous.

    He was gleeful about the fact that they were too much in sync today but why did she noe answer his question? He, nonetheless, nodded.

    "I was going to warn you the same thing. It''s not like we should not eat at all. But we must avoid anything brought by waiting staff, especially if there are just one or two drinks on the tray."

    "That makes sense. Anyway, I would not have many dishes to eat since I am a vegetarian but you also need to take care." Mei Qingyang sat down on the sofa and offered the seat to the two guys too. Yu Tian sat down opposite her while Yu Bufan chose to stand.

    "Assistant Yu, there are no outsiders here. Please have a seat," Mei Qingyang looked at Yu Bufan, who was standing behind Yu Tian as if they were doing some professional meeting. Since Mei Qingyang had lived at Yu Tian''s room for about a month, she knew that when they were not working, they were mere friends. And she wanted to make sure that whenever he was with her, he still felt the same.

    Yu Bufan looked cautiously towards his master who signaled him to sit down. He sat down on the armchair between the two sofas. This girl was working hard to gain his approval, he was happy about it. He had already approved her for his master except the rudeness she sometimes showed.

    "Okay, I have few trustworthy people who would be around. If, by any chance, you are stuck somewhere and I am not around, they will be there to help you out," Yu Tian gave a few more words of caution before the clock struck seven.

    "Time to go," he got up from his seat. "Will you be my date for today?" he offered her his arm. Mei Qingyang was startled once again. What if they bumped into Yu Rong?

    "Don''t worry, she is busy playing the host tonight. She will be busy talking to the sponsors and other people the whole night," Yu Tian observed the concern in her eyes and gave her an assuring look. She took his arm and headed out.

    ------------------------

    Wei Qiqi spotted Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian arms in arms, so she just waved to them and did not disrupt their evening.

    "Qingyang! Captain Yu!" Their teammates recognized them and surrounded the couple in the hall.

    "Qingyang ah! Now I know why Captain Yu is so head over heels for you. Who are you?" One of their teammates started teasing. Now that their suspicions had been confirmed by their public display of affection in front of them, they had stopped holding back with their teasing.

    Captain Yu was a scary person but Mei Qingyang was very sweet and kind to everyone. She always played along with their jokes and so, a few young ones had become braver even in front of the captain.

    "Aiyya, who hit me?" the brave kiddo rubbed the behind of his head. Vice-captain Xu Yang had arrived, with a lot of bandages over his arms and upper body, which were very well hidden beneath the suit he was donning.

    "Can you see the place to make such jokes first?" Xu Yang scolded his teammate. Just because he was not here to monitor them, his own team members were taking advantage like this.

    "Sorry captain, I was wrong," the young kiddo apologized.

    Mei Qingyang was in a happy mood, so she just laughed.

    "You guys take care of her, I need to meet a few people," Yu Tian handed over Mei Qingyang to his teammates and left for the networking.

    "I must say Qingyang, you are so pretty that you could easily defeat the white lotuses in out campus in a beauty competition. I don''t understand what those girls are so proud of!"

    "Yeah, yeah. Your raw beauty is much better than them. If anyone gives you hard time about anything, just show them pictures from here. They would be ashamed to compare themselves to you."

    The team was busy joking with each other when Yu Rong arrived with Wang Hao. She looked at the b*tch laughing and smiling from the first floor. How it hurt her eyes and heart. How did she transform into a beauty? Was age defeating her after all?

    "Wang Hao, how''s the plan going?" she asked her assistant whose eyes were also fixed on the girl.

    "Mistress, we have been trying to sneak in a drink but she is refusing to eat or drink at all."

    "Don''t worry. Once the dinner starts, we will have opportunity then. These people are just too cautious. But they don''t understand that they could still get caught in our trap."

    "I will take my leave and try all the possible routes," Wang Hao replied.

    "Hmm¡­ I will be at ease if you take care of it yourself," Yu Rong sipped some wine from her glass and relished the impending doom for this girl. Another inspiration struck to her. She headed towards the group Yu Tian was talking to. There were two other fine gentlemen who were working with Yu empire as well as businesses by Yu Tian.

    "My sweet nephew, how dashing you are looking! Just like your dad!" Yu Rong brought in a waiter with her and served them some wine. She let the other two guys choose first and last glass went to Yu Tian.

    He took the glass but did not drink.

    "I will make a toast to your victory Tian! I am so happy that you brought so may laurels to our school once again," she clinked the glass in his hand. Yu Tian stared at her but still did not drink his wine. The two guys sensed some tension in the atmosphere and excused themselves.

    "It seems you do not trust me anymore. I don''t know what that b*tch has told you but I just want the best for you my child," Yu Rong took his hand in hers and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. It had been so long since she had felt his touch. It was so electrifying as usual.

    Yu Tian did not react at all. He just stood there, looking right ahead like his aunt was thin air.

    "Fine, how about this? Waiter!" she called a waiter who was passing by.

    "Can you go to the table and bring us fresh glasses of red wine? Make sure you are pouring it in front of us, okay?" she instructed the man. He obliged.

    "Now you can see it with your own eyes. I would not tamper with your drink, trust me." She squeezed his hand tight.

    Yu Tian observed the waiter from start to finish, he indeed had not done anything with the wine.

    "Now, will you give me the benefit of doubt? You can choose the glass too," she pointed towards the two glasses on the tray. Yu Tian looked at her, then the waiter. The guy did not look nervous at all. So he was innocent? Yu Tian took the glass near Yu Rong and gulped the wine down in one go.

 Chapter 139 - The Afterparty - II

    Trigger warning for this chapter: It implies a guy forcing on a girl, please read with caution.

    --------------------------

    "Good boy. To victory!" Yu Rong smiled coyly. He was her nephew after all. He would have to trust her no matter how many times she would break it.

    "Ah! I will greet a few more guests, you take care, okay?" Yu Rong patted his shoulder and then left with her glass of wine. Yu Tian observed that she had not taken even a sip from her glass and had directly placed it on one of the trays. Ah damn! He was screwed!

    On the other side, Mei Qingyang was still with the team but the guys had started dispersing a bit. Wei Qiqi was also with her group. Mei Qingyang tried looking for Yu Tian but he was nowhere to be found. She sneaked out in the dinner area to look for him.

    "Hey, you look stunning," a guy approached Mei Qingyang.

    "Uhh¡­ thank you," Mei Qingyang was still distracted. She just wanted to find Yu Tian. She was afraid her fears had already come true.

    "Won''t you come and drink with me a bit?"

    Mei Qingyang finally looked at the guy. Oh, so this is what Ms. Cai had meant. This guy looked outright creepy though. He already had a wine glass in his hand.

    "No thank you, I''m still a minor." Technically she was a minor according to her birth date registered. She herself didn''t know her exact age though.

    "Hey, you can''t lie like this. This is a college championship. How can you still be a minor?" The guy dismissed her reason. Mei Qingyang got slightly irritated by the attitude of the guy.

    "Listen mister, I don''t think you''ll find any girl here if you act this snobbish. If I said I''m a minor, do I need to show you my ID card now to prove it?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes went cold. It seemed like everyone was the same everywhere. This guy was definitely not from their school. But from the attire, he definitely belonged to another wealthy family.

    Now, she had already gotten used to seeing so many beautiful specimens in her training and the college, that even an above average face didn''t seem good enough. Sure, the face was the first impression right? And the weird persistence of this guy was not helping him either.

    "Hey, hey. Don''t be so mad now. I will get you some juice then." The guy signaled a waiter and instructed him to bring non alcoholic drinks.

    "I''m sorry good sir, but you need to take a hint that I''m not interested. Moreover, I already have a partner. Now if you''ll excuse me," Mei Qingyang turned around to leave. Her heart was panicking. The two guys had already been targeted, was it Yu Tian''s turn now? She could not spot even Yu Bufan!

    If Yu Rong needed to tell her how powerful she was, she had already done it. Why would she attack Yu Tian now? Unless¡­ Was she taking him for some kind of abuse again?

    "Hey! Hey! Listen, I did not approach you because I was interested in you," the guy chased after Mei Qingyang.

    "What is it?" Mei Qingyang was irritated to the point of frustration now. She had other important works to do. Her rage was very apparent on her face.

    "I am interested in designing, and I loved your dress, so I just¡­," the guy spoke shyly. Mei Qingyang realized she had judged the person too hard too early.

    "I am sorry. I do not know the origin of the dress, it was as gift. I really need to go, thanks for the praises." Although she wanted to help the guy, she had no idea how to. And so, the best thing she could do was brush him off. After saying her part, she took off without even listening to what the guy was saying.

    The guy pulled out his phone with a smirk. ''I stalled her quite a bit, she won''t be able to find him,'' he texted to someone.

    --------------------------

    "Ugh, can''t even call him, this brick of a phone!" Mei Qingyang was full of anxiety. She approached Wei Qiqi and took her away at a corner.

    "Qiqi, I can''t find senior Yu, and I am afraid something might have happened to him. I need your help. I can''t tell this to my teammates lest they panic and tell everyone about it. Right now, I only trust you. Can you help me expand my search area and see if you can pick up any gossip along the way?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes were pleading Wei Qiqi. Her friend could not help but agree.

    "You eat or drink something first. Why don''t you ask your principal over there? She is his aunt no?" Wei Qiqi pointed to the lady standing in the middle of the hall, laughing and talking to other big shots in the room. Wei Qiqi was not aware of anyone''s situation in the college, so she suggested so innocently.

    Oh wait! So, that means Yu Rong did not do anything? If she is still here, Yu Tian must be safe, right?

    The heaviness from her heart lifted a bit. Worrying would not accomplish anything and she was letting emotions getting better of her. She even involved Wei Qiqi once again.

    "Okay, you are correct. Never mind, I will go ask her. You enjoy the party!" Mei Qingyang squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

    "Are you sure? I could still help you¡­" Wei Qiqi saw that her friend was back into her groove, so she was not concerned anymore.

    "Yeah, you should find yourself a good guy, who knows you really might find someone everlasting here," Mei Qingyang teased her a bit. It was also her way to tell her that she had completely relaxed. Seeing her jolly mood, Wei Qiqi left her to her own devices. Mei Qingyang, once again with sharp look, decided to go back to the rooms upstairs to search for him. She would start with the floor that they had rooms in. Perhaps he was feeling tired and just retired. But he would have sent her a message if that were the case.

    She climbed the stairs in the hall and went into the elevator. She had not even reached the first floor, she detected a weird smell in the elevator. Dismissing it, she continued on to the seventh floor, where her whole team was residing. By the time she left the elevator, her head had started spinning and her body had started feeling hot. She was dizzy but she continued towards Yu Tian''s room with staggered steps.

    The door nearest to her suddenly flung open and a hand dragged her by her arm. Mei Qingyang was not in a condition to fight back, her body was feeling heavy and limp. Her eyes were going teary and she was feeling like removing all her clothes. She tried to focus hard but it was dark and she could not see who it was. She was definitely screwed today.

    Her and Yu Tian both had taken so many precautions, yet one was missing and one did not know where and with whom she was. The people she could really trust were not even in the area, let alone help them.

    "Hehe, finally caught you," she heard an all familiar voice. What was this guy doing here?

    "Assistant Wang? What are you¡­" Mei Qingyang, still had a few of her senses working. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

    "I have been waiting for this moment. You slipped away from me that day too. Now I can finally do what I started. That old hag gets all the fun and I am only stuck with her. Why don''t I get to experience some young blood too?" Wang Hao had dragged Mei Qingyang to the bed directly. From her memory, this room was not being occupied earlier. So, they had already planned all this? But would Yu Rong agree for Wang Hao to be personally involved in assaulting her.

    Although Mei Qingyang could not see much, she could hear the excitement in Wang Hao''s voice. Like master, like servant. He was as pervert as his mistress.

    Mei Qingyang felt like puking. She could feel Wang Hao''s hands all over her body. He licked the nape of her neck. She was feeling disgusting and her heart was racing due to anxeity. She tried pushing him away multiple times but her body was not cooperating.

    "Pfft, you are so cute Qing Qing! Isn''t that what that guy calls you? I have been obsessed about you since the day you entered that old hag''s office with your suitcase. If I had not known already who you were and how you were to be treated, I would have already asked you out that day." He plopped down into the bed beside Mei Qingyang. Then he started tucking loose strands of her hair on her forehead away. She was sweating due to heat of the aphrodisiac she had inhaled in the elevator. He had made sure to use enough to have instant effect.

    "If only you had looked at me with affection once, I would have made your life so much easier. I am Yu Rong''s assistant after all. Everything in the campus goes through me," he kissed her forehead and her body shuddered.

    Wang Hao brought a few napkins and started wiping Mei Qingyang''s forehead.

    "Are these the kind of reactions you give to that damn Yu brat when you are with him at nights? The nerve of that guy that he brought you at his own dorm room! It took me so much effort to fuel Yu Rong''s jealousy towards you. Still I had to wait one whole month after that day. Do you have any idea how much I have been suffering?"

    Mei Qingyang was still out of it. She could feel her body repulsing to the advances but she was unable to do anything. Was she really going to lose herself today? Tears formed in her eyes. This kind of thing was somewhere in her equation, that this might happen but when it was seeming to become reality, she wanted to run away. She did not have strength to fight back.

    In that moment, her conversation with her dad came to her mind. He had asked her to leave everything behind and come back. Should she have done that? What about Yu Tian? And Jiang Bo? And her Li Sibao avatar? Was she not betraying them all? Then was she to just accept this painful event which would scar her for life and think of it as part of her revenge? Did it not mean that she was going to lose herself in the name of revenge?

    She laughed at herself in mockery. Who was she trying to fool? This was the end, really the end. This was Wang Hao, the crafty assistant to Yu Rong. He would have prepared everything. There would be cameras all around and he would blackmail her later with those.

    While Wang Hao was talking to an incapacitated Mei Qingyang and trying to delicately remove her dress, his phone rang. Mei Qingyang''s mind was slowly regaining consciousness. Her training all these years did help her in wearing off the effects of the drug sooner than anyone would have expected.

    "Wang Hao! Where is Yu Tian? I thought you had sent him to my room?" A furious Yu Rong was at the other end of the phone. Wang Hao, for some reason, had kept it on speaker. He had the phone face Mei Qingyang so she could hear it too.

    "Mistress, I personally delivered him to your room. Probably he went to washroom to take care of his business himself?" Wang Hao replied her coolly, He had wanted to do his deed in peace, why did this old hag need to come in between himself and his Qing Qing?

    "Where are you right now? Find my nephew for me, do you understand? Right this moment!" Yu Rong ordered from the other side.

    "Mistress, I am busy handling Mei Qingyang''s case. There was a hiccup there and I needed to intervene," he looked at Mei Qingyang softly. Then he put his phone back to his ear and turned around, sitting up in the bed. Perhaps he did not want her to hear rest of the conversation.

    "What? There too? Damn! Okay, you take care of her. I will put people to look for Yu Tian," Yu Rong retracted her previous orders. Wang Hao smirked, there were definitely benefits of having absolute confidence from the highest person.

    Now he could go back to do his Qing Qing and no one would disturb him. As soon as he turned around, a heavy lamp hit his head and he fainted on the spot.

 Chapter 140 - Finding Yu Tian

    Mei Qingyang had regained almost half of her senses when she heard the phone conversation between Wang Hao and Yu Rong. She was still in heat, she needed to cool that off. She also needed to look into what kind of drug she had inhaled. Not only was it aphrodisiac, it had some hallucinogenic properties too.

    They got her big time. She had known about how l.u.s.tful this guy was towards her since her prison incident but she had no idea that he would deceive his own master for obtaining her.

    She had heard him before the call saying how he didn''t mind her scars and that her cold gaze always sent down pleasing shiver down his spine. She felt like she could throw up right then and there.

    And he licked her nape, licked! Yuck! It would not go away even if she took a bath multiple time.

    As soon as she heard Yu Rong mentioning Yu Tian, her senses heightened further. He was in danger after all. Her hunch was right!

    She needed to get out of here and find him, find him and save him before Yu Rong reached him. She still acted half unconscious while gaining alertness in her mind and body.

    Her chance arrived when Wang Hai turned his back towards her. He had let his guard down thinking that the girl was unconscious. She had been acting for a while now. She had to act quick. It was nighttime already and Wang Hao had kept all the lights of the room turned off, perhaps to not arouse any suspicion.

    However, there was some light seeping in from the bottom of the main door, illuminating the room dimly. When Wang Hao was busy feeling smug over how he had fooled Yu Rong, she scanned the room quietly and quickly. Thankfully, the room''s set up was similar as hers. She did not need to fumble around to find the metal lamp with a heavy base on the side table of the bed.

    She just needed to act stealthily and fast. Thank God for her training, she did not have much problem with that. She crawled on the bed to grab the metal lamp and next thing she knew, she hit it hard on Wang Hao''s head.

    "You piece of shit, you deserve this." Mei Qingyang looked coldly at the bloodied head of the guy before her. Her heart was so chilled at the moment that it did not matter to her if this lecherous guy lived or died. She left him just like that on the bed, the red blood of his trickling into the bedsheet.

    She had made sure to not hit him too hard. If he died on her, she would become a murderer, although, with how her rationality was almost gone in the moment, she would have not minded killing him.

    Now, she wanted to get into the cold shower right away to cool off, but she could not risk getting into the bathroom of this room. If Wang Hao woke up during this time, she would not be able to escape as easily as she had now chance to.

    It was best for her to leave this room. She stumbled a bit, her nervous system was still not cooperating. She went into the lobby and took a breathe of fresh air to calm herself down and then headed towards her own room.

    Her whole body was full of sweat, she was so regretful and apologetic to Yu Tian for have practically ruined the dress. She had liked the dress so much too. But right now, her life was more important. And Yu Tian''s!

    She had two choices, to go to her own room or go to Yu Tian''s room. He had left his access code to her, just in case something happened. Yu Tian''s room would be a dangerous territory because that would be the first place Yu Rong would search. It had been about ten minutes since the phone call, so she was not sure if Yu Rong had already been to his room. It could also be that she had laid some trap for him.

    Less dangerous would be her own room. Wang Hao could come in, so then she would need to secure the door with that heavy table. They would surely not make a whole lot of ruckus with so many people just seven floors down. The only problem was, how to get into her room without being noticed.

    There were a few people on the floor, in the clothes of waiters and bodyguards. Seemed like Yu Rong had already started search for her nephew. Mei Qingyang''s eyes were still far from focused. There was an adrenaline rush in her body. So many chemicals were working together and she had no idea what her actual condition was. The aphrodisiac was also working against her.

    Almost getting discovered twice, she somehow managed to reach her room. She moved her table to secure the door shut, so that no one would dare disturb her for the night. She hurriedly removed her dress and u.n.d.e.r.g.a.r.m.e.n.ts and headed towards the shower. It was cold now, it had already snowed a few days ago. But she had to go into ice cold water just because of that l.e.w.d Wang Hao.

    She did not even check anything and just entered the bathroom. As soon as she opened the lights, she found a person in her bathtub.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaa"

    "What? Who?"

    "Senior Yu?"

    ---------------------------

    "Where is this Wang Hao? I cannot reach him at the right time," Yu Rong threw her phone away in rage after calling Wang Hao for tenth time. It had been half an hour and there was no update from him about that b*tches situation.

    "Find his coordinates through his phone," she ordered one of her trusted servants. Yes, she had a few other men whom she had kept for two purposes, serving her and serving her. As much as she trusted Wang Hao, she would never ever give the reins to her life to just one person, not to Wang Hao at least. There were only few men who deserved her and Wang Hao was not one of them. He was more of like a pet?

    "Master, he is on this floor itself. We will search the rooms in the area of hid approximate location," the guy reported.

    "Good! He has been here all this time and he had the nerve to tell me he was taking care of the business. This guy, he is slowly losing my trust," she lamented.

    "Look at CCTV for finding where he went and with whom he went," she sent out instruction once again.

    "Master, CCTVs were disabled on order from Mr. Wang. His reasoning was that he did not want to leave any evidence behind. He said this was still the building owned by three owners, so as to not get any proofs to Young Master Yu or Young Master Feng¡­" the guy trailed without completing his sentence. He was bowing, waiting for his punishment.

    "Hmph! At least he is thorough. Why could he not record them and delete them later? It would have been so easy."

    "Master, I have found an intel that Hacker Z is somewhere in their circle and has been helping them behind the scenes. I would not take the chance."

    "So now, are you taking his side too? Good, very good. Just don''t let me see your face for today, just find him and my nephew. There is no way that medicine would have worn off so easily. He must also be taking care of his business somewhere," Yu Rong smacked her lips. It had been a while and today was the perfect opportunity.

    She did not have any thoughts about Yu Tian earlier. She had only wanted to see Mei Qingyang''s demise. But then suddenly her d.e.s.i.r.es woke up and she decided to add Yu Tian into the mix. Best way for them to part ways and her celebration with a sweet dessert!

    And thus, she got the bartender himself to add this super powerful aphrodisiac in his drink. He obviously did not see it because it was in that bottle of wine itself. Ultimately, no matter how much he avoided drinking or eating, he still had to give face to her. Poor guy! Yu Rong laughed at her victory.

    At the same time, she sighed. Her nephew was so close, so close to be in her grasp, yet he managed to escape. Sometimes she felt like Wang Hao was sabotaging her plans on purpose. That jealous little bastard.

    Anyway, she sat down on her bed that she had gotten especially prepared for tonight. Who would have known her plans won''t bear the fruit?

    "Why the hell are these guys taking so much time?" she mumbled to herself.

    "Master, Mei Qingyang''s room is not opening. A heavy thing is behind the door," one of her servants reported.

    "A heavy thing? I thought she was¡­ Did her assaulter put it on purpose? Wang Hao made the arrangements, so he would know. I still need to find him."

    "I did hear a scream some time ago from the room," the servant continued his explanation.

    "Oh? I guess she must be enjoying the night of her life. I heard Wang Hao had hired an expert. Let that room be, I don''t think we should be disturbing that lass with her partner," Yu Rong guffawed at her imagination. Right now, someone must be banging that b*tch hard. No one could escape her clutches, not even this s.l.u.t, who had become a thorn in her life.

    "Understood, we will keep searching the other room."

    "What about Wang Hao?"

    "We are still looking. The only two rooms left are the ones that were not occupied on this¡­"

    "Master, we found Wang Hao in one of the unoccupied rooms, he has been injured, " another servant of hers came and informed her.

 Chapter 141 - Cool Off

    "Take him to the hospital. He only can tell whatever is happening here," Yu Rong flared her nose in anger. Why did all her plans get foiled, always? Why was it that whenever that s.l.u.t was involved, she was always defeated? How could her stars be so damn good?

    "She is finished today anyway. I am just hoping Hao had good arrangements," she sighed to herself. It seemed like the luck wasn''t on her side these days, especially since she had started going head on with the b*tch. Would it turn around now?

    -----------------------

    "Senior Yu! What are you¡­? Why are you¡­? Wait, wait!" Mei Qingyang was very startled. In her bathroom, in her bathtub, just nonchalantly sitting there with his shirt and pants on was this guy. What was going on here? She hurriedly grabbed the nearby robe she had hung up in the bathroom. Thank God for bathrobes!

    The chemicals in her body were trying to lure her into the trap. The guy was just sitting there, literally. Each and every muscle in her carcass was telling her to attack the guy. His white shirt was see through and in the water, that shirt stuck to his body, showing up his built muscles, was s.e.xy as hell. Mei Qingyang bit her lip, she was trying very hard to resist the urge.

    Yu Tian''s eyes were out of focus. He did not register that his kitten was standing there just staring at him, n.a.k.e.d! When she went to grab her robe and wore it, that is when he realized what was happening. They were separated by just a translucent glass. His subdued d.e.s.i.r.e woke up again! There was a lamb right in front of him.

    "Wha¡­ what are you doing here?" He suddenly got up from the tub and opened the glass door. Mei Qingyang stepped back seeing his flushed face. Would she be able to hold it in?

    "Uhh¡­ my room, remember? Are you alright by the way?" The effect of the drug was mostly gone for Mei Qingyang but now that she had seen him, her heartbeat quickened. She did not know if the drug was affecting her again or if this guy was the one causing her pain. Anyway she had no idea what she had inhaled so she could not make any rational decisions right now or think of an antidote for the drug.

    "Se¡­ senior Yu, can you please get out. I need to get into water," Mei Qingyang looked at the tub. There was no steam coming out of it. Either the water had already turned cold or it was cold to begin with. Realization dawned upon her.

    "Did you get a dose of some aphrodisiac from Yu Rong?" She was curious. Also, if that were the case, then they needed to be apart. Emotions heightened at this time for both of them, they would cross the boundary they were not supposed to and take the step that they might regret for life. They needed to give their relationship more thought before anyone committed anything.

    Yu Tian nodded, heat rising from his cheeks, flushing his skin once again.

    "Se¡­ senior Yu, I am in the same situation, and¡­ and it is a bad idea to be in the same room. I will just go stand outside in the cold wind. I need to cool this off," Mei Qingyang turned around. She was stammering because m.o.a.ns were ready to come out of her mouth and she did not want to have an embarrassing display right in front of him.

    "Wait," Yu Tian hurriedly took large strides and reached for her hand. The touch sent a jolt to both of their bodies. Bad idea, this was a bad idea!

    "Let me be the one to go. You stay here," he reluctantly removed his hand but still lingered around.

    "But¡­ you will catch a cold if you go out now, you are all drenched," Mei Qingyang chose her words carefully. No, the drug was starting to come back. Tears formed in her eyes. This drug was trouble. She panted heavily, d.e.s.i.r.e taking her eyes over. Yu Tian seemed to be already wanting to hug her but he was trying to hold back too.

    Yu Tian was the first to give in. He inched closer to her and then saw red marks on her neck.

    "What is this?" Did she get into scuffle with someone? She did not have any scratches anywhere else though.

    "Uhh..." How would she explain to him that in her disgust for Wang Hao, she had scratched the area he had licked till she almost tore her skin off the flesh?

    He touched the area with his thumb and then kissed it lightly. Wherever he was touching, he was setting that area on fire!

    "Mmm..." Oh God damnit! Why did that feel so good? She wanted more, more of it. It seemed like the chains she had put on herself were breaking one by one.

    "No..." She pushed him, collecting last of her remaining sanity. But before she could say something else, Yu Tian locked his lips with her in a passionate kiss, rendering her weak in the knees.

    "Wait!!" She finally shoved him aside. They were not in right mind, both of them.

    "Senior Yu, not yet. It''s not right time nor right mentality. Please do not do this," she pleaded. Yu Tian had disappointment in his eyes but he was also surprised to see how easily he was able to touch this girl when he would still flinch even on his brother like friends'' touch!

    She fled towards the exit. Yu Tian wanted to follow but he knew he would not be able to control himself as usual. He went back to the bathtub once again, sighing to himself. That Yu Rong! He would take an account from Qing Qing later about what happened.

    ------------------

    After an hour, both of them finally felt okay. They met in the bedroom, not daring to turn on the lights or talk to each other for some time. There was an awkward silence in the room. Yu Tian finally broke the silence, pointing to the table at the door.

    "What happened?"

    Mei Qingyang explained the whole thing to him in detail. They needed to understand what exactly was going on and respond accordingly.

    "When did you get drugged?'' Mei Qingyang looked at the handsome guy sitting in front of her. She did not dare let him go to fetch any clothes from his own room for she was afraid Yu Rong might still be looking for Yu Tian there.

    "I would think it was the wine Yu Rong gave me. Before the drug took effect, I had already contacted Bufan. He helped me get here. But again, we brainstormed about what place would be the best to hide and only your place was safe. She would not have thought that I would go to your room in¡­ that condition," Yu Tian explained his side of story.

    "Shit! I had thought she would only target one of us but turns out, we both got reeled into her plans." She banged her fist on the table.

    "Hey, there are noises coming from inside. There are definitely two people in," someone at the door spoke in a low voice.

    "Shhh¡­!" Both Qingyang and Yu Tian signaled each other. It seemed like Yu Rong''s agents were trying to get inside scoop. For them, the original target was Mei Qingyang. If she was successfully assaulted, then their mission was complete. They just needed to confirm it.

    Someone knocked her door.

    "Hey, are you done? Is the girl alive still? If yes, you are free to kill her," a guy instructed from the door. Ah f*ck, this place had become their battlefield today. What were they supposed to do?

    "I was given time till morning. I need to have my fun with the flower here," Yu Tian changed his voice and replied. Mei Qingyang was flabbergasted hearing such words, her cheeks went red. Thank goodness for the darkness, otherwise she would have died of embarrassment.

    "As expected of Mr. Wang, he did hire an expert," the guys whispered to each other, glee in their voice. Most probably, at this time Yu Rong must be fuming. If she did not get any good new right now, she would kill a few people.

    The agents outside left them alone. Both of them sighed a breath of relief.

    "What if someone recognized your voice? You could have just not answered them!" Mei Qingyang rebuked him quietly. She was sending daggers to him through her eyes but he was perhaps not able to see her. Yu Tian''s eyes wandered to the source of the voice. Their eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so they could at least make out each other''s silhouette.

    "But we are good till morning now. Hopefully someone will see our plight."

    "Where did assistant Yu go?"

    "He went to look for something to cure this, whatever. Don''t think he got a chance to come back after all those servants sprawled out to look for you and me."

    "Ugh, this is just so¡­ Anyway, I will go wash up now that bathroom is empty."

    "Hey remember, I gotta take my time with you, you understand that right?"

    "Shameless!???

    ------------------------

    "We got confirmation from the guy inside, he said he wanted to take his time," one of the agents informed Yu Rong, trembling. The lady was, once again, sporting her whip. On the side, was Wang Hao, lying on the bed, with bandages over his head.

    "Oh? Did not know Hao knew a pervert like that. Good good. For now I will give up on Tian, I am quite tired. You guys continue the search and text me. I am retiring for the night," Yu Rong glanced at the man in her bed. If not Tian, then Hao. It was just so convenient. She had this whole supply of different variety of boys to satisfy her needs. She could do a few more days without her nephew. And then it would be a surprise for him. She laughed to herself, thinking about the day in the future, and unbuttoning the unconscious guy over in her bed.

    She s.u.c.k.e.d on his lips like she had been thirsty for years.

    "Hao, your loyalty to me is what turns me on the most. But now that you are slowly entering your rebellious phase, what am I supposed to do? Have you also fallen for that s.l.u.t? I have seen the same l.u.s.t in your eyes for her that I had seen for me when I took you in. Damn, I am getting aroused just thinking about it. Why do you not look at me like that anymore?" Yu Rong clenched her teeth.

    Young fresh blood was always more tempting, she understood that. But would all these playmates of her abandon her once she reached a certain age? She did not want that, no!

 Chapter 142 - Am I A Pushover?

    In the morning, Yu Rong got to know from now conscious Wang Hao that the guy he had hired never showed up. Well of course, he had not hired anyone in the first place but he needed to tell his lies to keep his life. The closer it was to the truth, the better.

    Then he convinced her, how out of loyalty to her, he had decided to take care of it himself but that girl got out of it by injuring him. There was no evidence because he himself had turned the camera system in the lobby off. The thing with Yu Tian, he wasn''t involved, so he got out of it easily.

    Yu Rong gritted her teeth hard. Her plan had once again failed. But why was that b*tch''s room not opening at night? What was she doing inside? An idea flashed through her mind. Did Yu Tian take refuge in her room? That was not right, she had seen Yu Bufan walking around in the party, very calmly, without any hint of panic. If Yu Tian was in trouble or in Mei Qingyang''s room, then he would not be out there without being restless.

    Yu Rong had known long ago that Yu Bufan had switched sides. That nephew of hers was able to enchant one of her most loyal men to his side. But Yu Bufan could not really go against her so he would send her reports about Yu Tian from time to time, especially when something important happened in his life. She always trusted the information with a grain of salt.

    Once bitten, twice shy. She had seen the results when she had trusted him blindly, one of the deals that she should have gotten for Yu empire was snatched by Tian for his own business, all because of false information from Bufan. Thus, she knew. But she had no idea that he could be a great actor too.

    "Did we find Tian? Where did he hide from me last night?" she asked one of the servants. Her servant told her that he could not find him anywhere and Yu Bufan was spotted this morning in the lobby without Yu Tian around.

    She had gone back to her room leaving Wang Hao alone in frustration. Her last plan failed too. It seemed that her next chance would be only at the new year''s trip.

    -----------------

    "Did none of you see her coming out of the room?" Wang Hao flung the papers in his hand towards the two subordinates he had. Since he was assistant of mighty Yu Rong, he had a privilege of having his own subordinates. No one could be as good assistant as him but he still could have some use of people under him. He had a whole gang like that. But for now, he got his top two underlings to answer a few questions.

    "Sir, we mixed with Yu Rong''s agents to look for her but she slipped past us. By the time we thought of checking her own room, she had locked it shut. However much we tried, it seemed she had put some obstacle behind it," one of them answered with his head lowered.

    Wang Hao kneaded his forehead with his hands. These all idiots were useless.

    "And you guys could not access her balcony from any of the side rooms? What are your f*cking skills for?" he yelled at them. Did these people not have brains in their head or what?

    "Sorry sir, hers is a corner room and the place from where we could easily access her balcony would be Yu Tian''s room. We did not have permission to enter his room," the subordinate explained.

    Wang Hao sighed. How would he explain to them that they could get into her balcony from rooms above or below hers? He waved his hands and dismissed the two people. So, she had gone to her room, in her condition? She should be a beast of a person if she managed to walk without being noticed with that heavy dose of his drug. His only chance was gone. What if she told Yu Rong about this? He knew she was already growing suspicious of him. Was the only way for him to get out of here helping them? He would be taking too big of a risk though.

    He had a lot of things to consider now. It was fortunate that he had this injury, he could take some time off and seriously think about which side he should choose.

    ----------------

    The two people in the room did not know when they had drifted to sleep sitting on their respective sofas. No one of them had dared to get into the bed or lie down on the sofa for they were afraid of what they had experienced in the bathroom last night.

    For most part, they were just staring into the space, not knowing what to do. They did not have any strength to talk about them. Or Yu Rong and her plan against her own nephew. Or Wang Hao and his interest in Mei Qingyang.

    In the morning, when Yu Tian woke up, he found that he had been covered by a blanket and Mei Qingyang was nowhere to be found. He searched around but she was not in her room. The table had been removed from the door as well. He panicked. He did take a hasty decision last night but he also was unable to hold back because of the drug''s effect.

    Was she that offended that she decided to leave? His heart dropped at this thought. She must have hated it so much. This place was in the wilderness, how would she go back? What if Yu Rong plotted another scheme?

    The door suddenly flung open and Yu Bufan was standing there with breakfast in his hands.

    "Master, you are awake," Yu Bufan brought the plate inside. He saw there was something wrong with his master''s expression. Why did he look so dejected?

    "Master?" he called.

    "Bufan, am I pushover?" Yu Tian looked at Yu Bufan with his eyes so full of sorrow that his heart ached for his master. Had his love life encountered some kind of problem?

    "Is this about Ms. Mei?" he inquired. His master had never been interested in affairs of other people. But he was unusually attached to this girl who had entered the school just a few months ago. Now she could affect him this much, him who never showed his emotions to even his own assistant.

    They had been good friends since the time he had truly accepted Yu Tian as his master. Yu Tian sometimes tried to open his heart but he was not always very forthcoming with his feelings. Now he was asking this question, that meant he really needed some advice.

    Yu Bufan was a great strategist and he knew how to read people. He had to ask right questions here to understand what was going on.

    Yu Tian nodded, his head hanging low. He narrated what happened last night to his assistant and now he could not find the girl. She could be out meeting Wei Qiqi too or she could have gone for breakfast as well. But given how things unfolded last night with Wang Hao and Yu Rong, she would not be going out without telling him or leaving some note for him or something right?

    Yu Bufan laughed in his mind. This side of his master was adorable. Now he was actually behaving like a college going kid. He had met Mei Qingyang earlier in the breakfast hall with Wei Qiqi. Her new friend was lamenting how Qingyang had left the party earlier and how Qiqi could not find any guy at all.

    Looking at her, no one could tell that something so horrendous had happened to that girl, an attempt of assault?

    But he did not want to break this news to his master just yet, he decided to tease him a bit and squeeze some more information and emotions out of him.

    "That is trouble master. You basically forced yourself onto her, especially when she had just escaped that situation. She has every right to be angry," Yu Bufan kept the plate in his hand on the table and took a seat on the opposite sofa. He had a serious look of contemplation on his face, as if all hell had broken loose.

    "What should I do? It took me so such effort to get close to her. Will I need to start from scratch now?"

    "Master, I think you should just be truthful to her. If you want her to open her heart to you, why don''t you start by revealing things about yourself? Something that no one knows. Of course, I know everything about you," Yu Bufan grinned while serving the food to his master. In his mind, he just could not stop chuckling. His master was indeed acting cute.

    When Yu Tian saw the mischievousness on his assistance''s face, he understood that he was being tricked at once.

    "Bufan ah! I am being serious here and you are joking with me? Where is she?" He shot up from his seat, blanket still on him and clutched his assistant''s shoulders in fake anger.

    "Pfft," Yu Bufan finally could not hold in his laughter.

    "Master, my suggestion to you is genuine. You both have gone through much in your lives. She has her wounds and you have yours. And these experiences make you what you are today. You both have come to be lovely people. But like it is not easy for you to tell your side of story, it might be the same for her. Is it not something to celebrate that you both have come so far along?" Yu Bufan really wished happiness to both of them, even if it was not together. Everyone had their own fate and the fact that these two guys met like this, there was definitely some meaning behind it.

    "What I mean to say is, just be honest with her. I know you think that she is the only one who has been hanging you in the middle but what are you doing to solve it? Just fulfilling her every wish is not enough. You have to understand her true being. That is something only she can help you with, by opening up to you. And first step would be doing the same from your side."

    "Bufan, for a person who has never been in love, you do give sound advice, eh?" Yu Tian understood what Bufan wanted to say.

    "Who said I have not been in love? But again, I treat love all the same, you see? For me any and every relationship is the same, the same rules apply to parents, siblings, friends, lover. And most fundamental rule about any relationship is honesty. And communication," he sipped some tea from the cup for he suddenly felt like his lecture had gone far too long. He looked at Yu Tian who was staring at him with worship in his eyes. His eyes were twinkling as realization was dawning upon him.

    "Ahem, of course, I am not saying you need to tell everything to everyone. There comes tact into play there. But whatever is out there, it needs to be the truth. Once and for all, tell her how you really feel, not in vague terms, not just by being by her side in her times of difficulty, but in proper words," Yu Bufan was embarrassed by how attentive Yu Tian was being to him. His master was ruthless when it came to business but in the matters of the heart, he was still a kid.

    "Okay, I have decided then. Right now is not the right time, we all are exhausted and exams are coming up soon. On the New Year''s trip, I will confess to her, properly!" Yu Tian made a resolute decision.

 Chapter 143 - Back Home

    Everyone slowly left for their schools and homes from the championship. Yu Tian took Mei Qingyang with him once again in the car while other teammates went by a bus. The whole journey also was silent and painful, especially for Yu Tian. He still did not know if she was mad at him for the other night.

    Mei Qingyang was also feeling the tension in the air but her mind was too occupied with all the things happening around that she did not speak either. Yu Bufan, who was driving the car in the front, sighed to himself.

    When they reached at the school, Yu Tian headed towards his room nonchalantly, like it was normal for them to be at the same house.

    "Senior Yu, I would like to go back to my own room." Mei Qingyang stopped when she realized that they were heading towards his room on the top floor.

    "But¡­ you will not be safe over there," Yu Tian got concerned but did not show it up. He still could put up the fa?ade of being cold. Yu Bufan at the side shook his head. Master ah! How will you ever learn to appease the heart of a woman ah?

    "That way, I am not safe anywhere. But I would feel more comfortable at my own place now," Mei Qingyang looked at the floor, not daring to meet his eyes. She knew he was going to be very angry. But it was high time, it would be very difficult for her heart to remain at the same house as him. It was suffocating, in a good way.

    It was so difficult for her to manage her feelings now. She especially realized that during that kiss. He was such a seasoned kisser that she had sent her mind in a frenzy. She had accepted it at first, even reciprocating back. But she knew if she did not stop herself at the moment she did, they would have gone all the way.

    And if she stayed with him now, that day would not be far away when they both end up giving in to their d.e.s.i.r.es. She did not have any qualms about it. But she did not think that Yu Tian was ready for it yet. She still needed to solve his problem.

    Yu Tian sighed. It meant that he had agreed to her request. He signaled Yu Bufan to fetch her stuff from the room and give them some privacy as well. However, they were standing before the hostel building, how could they have any privacy? Hoards of people stared at them from every direction. It seemed to be an interesting show.

    "Look Qing Qing, I am sorry for the other day. I did not mean it to be like that. I just¡­ anyway, I sincerely apologize, I was the one who cross the boundary. But please don''t be mad at me, okay?" He had tender affection in his eyes.

    Mei Qingyang raised her head to look at the poor guy with puppy eyes. He should be the one to be mad on her for her crazy abrupt demands, why was he apologizing? She gave him a confused look, none of them registering what was happening.

    "I¡­," before continuing, she put a lot of thought in her words. It seemed like there was some misunderstanding going on here.

    "Why would I be angry about other day when I enjoyed it as much?" she mumbled a bit under her breath. For a moment Yu Tian did not believe what he heard. He asked for confirmation but Mei Qingyang was so embarrassed that she wanted a dig a hole in the ground to bury herself in. That was not something she would say after putting thoughts in, that was an impulsive statement. She wondered if she was possessed or something.

    "But then¡­"

    "Listen Senior Yu, there are a lot of factors at play here and you must understand I can''t give you a straight answer right away. If you are ready to wait, it is up to you. All I know is, my mission comes first for me. For that I need my peace of mind. Apart from Assistant Yu, I do not trust anyone in your household," she somehow managed to utter half truth to him. Yu Tian was reassured inside, it was not him!

    "You tell me who, I will fire them right away," he told her with confidence. Even if it meant severing ties with Mrs. Zhao, that was fine for him. She had been giving him troubles lately anyway.

    Mei Qingyang shook her head sideways. "You need to keep those servants around and find the mole. That way we can use it to your advantage. I have been doing whatever I can behind the scenes, including manipulating those hidden cameras in your house. Rest is up to you," Mei Qingyang had a full grasp on who could help her how. Yu Tian would probably never fully go against his aunt.

    And she did not need him to. But he was also a person who definitely had an animosity against her. His two friends on the other hand, displayed open hostility towards her. That meant, for the tougher tasks, she could take their help.

    For now, establishing right communication channels was important for her. And she needed her own room to plan things for that. She could also use her own devices over there rather than depending on gadgets from Yu Tian. There was always a risk of getting caught without proper security measures.

    After saying her piece, she left for her own room. Later she would need to go visit both Feng Yue and Su Lang and see how they were doing.

    As soon as she stepped into the room, she saw her whole room in a mess. It seemed like her place was searched thoroughly when she was not here. She looked around and found that there were more than one person to go through her stuff.

    She hurried towards her bed and opened the cover of her mattress. Her computer ch.i.p.s and USBs were safe. No one would have thought to open that cover and check in between the mattress foam. She had sandwiched all her devices between a cut into the mattress. It would not be observable to anyone except people who knew or were trained enough.

    She then checked her drawer and closet. She had taken her laptop with her, so then everything was safe. The only thing missing was the books she had borrowed from library. Hmm¡­ was someone onto her method of communicating with her dad? Anyway she had not sent him any message these past few weeks because she was holed up in Yu Tian''s penthouse.

    And given how her communication with her dad went last time, it did not seem she would be sending any other message any time soon.

    "Yu Rong ah! What are you so afraid of this time? You have been so bold till brother Bo, why are you not taking right steps? What is up with this sneaking around?" she spoke into the camera. She had just turned on the live feed.

    Yu Rong was not monitoring her feed as of now but the moment her subordinates watched this, they got shocked. She knew about the cameras? Then all her actions till now would have been biased. They informed Yu Rong right away.

    "I knew it! I knew there was something going on in her room. No wonder we never caught anything. Ah f*ck! Another strategy of mine failed," Yu Rong heard the news on the phone and slammed her hand on the table in front of her. This girl was way more cunning than she had initially thought.

    "She is directly challenging me. Send a few assassins to her room, now she is provoking me this way," Yu Rong ordered her subordinate on phone.

    "Understood," the person on the other side replied and went ahead to look for a suitable person.

    "Wang Hao, did you know?" she looked towards him from the corner of her eye to judge his reaction. The she again played the clip sent to her by the security person. That smug face of hers, she wanted to break it into two.

    Wang Hao went into deep contemplation. If she had known since the beginning, then all the information they had gotten till now would have been her deliberate actions.

    "Master, this just means one thing. We have been tricked in a very similar fashion as what Yu Bufan did in the past. We acted on her actions that we observed through these cameras. They were all to throw us off," he put forth his analysis. Judging by his reaction, he did not know.

    Yu Rong nodded in satisfaction. "I get that much. What to do about it?''

    "You have already sent the assassins after her. Would she be able to escape?"

    "And what if she does? She has been foiling my plans since the beginning. She does not break under pressure, she is not afraid of bullying. What else could we try apart from directly killing her? She even came out of the molestation part. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect plan to blackmail her," Yu Rong played the video again. Her blood was boiling.

    "Get more information about her. I am not very confident that assassination attempts would work well with her. Look at it from the angle of her relationship with Su Lang and Feng Yue rather than just Tian," Yu Rong instructed Wang Hao. She still had not gotten the information on why Feng Yue had left and why their relationship had suddenly strained.

    "Okay, I will get to it," Wang Hao nodded. They should definitely find something in there.

 Chapter 144 - Cruelty

    Free from any pressures, Mei Qingyang had a good night sleep. She had heard a few people trying to enter her room stealthily but she had very simple traps laid out for them on her door. Her windows were far too small for letting a human enter. So, should she be thankful to Yu Rong for giving her such a dingy room?

    In the morning, she woke up totally fresh. She decided to visit library first. She needed to visit the old man and see if he had some interesting news to tell her. She had been gone from the campus life for about a month. Her suspension had been lifted just yesterday, so she was free to go back to her classes. But her semester final exams were starting the next day, so classes were already over.

    People had thought she would fail this time for she practically missed the majority of the classes everyone would be tested upon in the finals. However the lass Ma Shuxin got her notes from time to time and she took full advantage of her rest to catch up on her classwork on her own.

    Yu Tian was also there to solve any doubts for her. That was also a reason how they had become closer.

    Now was the time to finally go to her favorite place and may be have some tea with the old man. The librarian, also known as old man around the whole school was a neutral party, an observer. He never interfered in anything going on and was expert in his work of maintaining library. He knew every nook and corner of the library.

    From the way he was so passionate about his job and the place, Mei Qingyang had a feeling that he knew about her seniors'' hidden place too. He had been here for a long long time. He had known her dad from his childhood days and they were pretty close, so close for the old man to risk his life and help her dad out currently. Library was the place she used to send messages to her dad, through books.

    When she reached the library, old man was busy reading some book in his private garden, as usual. He was a learned man and the only source of information her had was his books. He could recite half of the books from his memory, and the total collection of the books with the school in the library and on off-site storage locations was in millions.

    "Did you find something new to read old man?" Mei Qingyang greeted the librarian cheerfully.

    "Qing Qing! It''s been long time since I saw you. I thought your dad withdrew your admission," the old man was also happy to see the girl. She was a regular customer here and she also happened to be Jiang Nuo''s foster daughter. He closed the book and stared at the chess spread in front of him.

    He had received a letter from his son-like pupil, Jiang Nuo a few months ago that his daughter was taking admission in the college here and he would need to look out for her. The old man was a lecturer in this very college in his prime days and Jiang Nuo was one of his favorite students. Later he had decided to retire from his job as an active teacher and become a full time librarian. He still maintained great relationship with Minister Jiang.

    He had asked the same thing for his son a few years back. Old man did not deny requests from Jiang Nuo for he had helped him numerous times in the past. If he could repay anyhow, he would. And it was no trouble to look after his kids, after all they were like his grandchildren.

    Old man never married and these books were his only family. Then Jiang Nuo introduced Jiang Bo to him and then rest was history. Jiang Bo would sit in the library for hours, just chit chatting and reading with him. And then when he passed away, old man''s world shattered. Not only he failed to protect him, he lost his only companion. Loneliness engulfed him and Jiang Nuo also became busy and was in grief.

    Old man had a lot of shame regarding that incident, so he never contacted Jiang Nuo again. So, he was surprised to get that letter from him after so many years of no contact.

    "How are you doing grandpa? It''s been indeed a while," Mei Qingyang would call the old man grandpa in endearment.

    "Same old, same old. Come sit down. Do you want to have some tea?" he pointed to the chair in front of him. The invitation was also to play his opponent in chess. Mei Qingyang chuckled and took a seat.

    "Anything new in the campus?" she asked while playing the next move.

    "Hmm¡­ nothing interesting in the past few days. Oh yeah! They dug up a few dead bodies near the lake," old man said nonchalantly, as if this was everyday occurrence. Mei Qingyang''s eyes widened in shock.

    "Dead bodies?"

    "Yeah, they were all kids, somewhere between nine to fifteen years old," the man took a puff from his cigar wile contemplating his next move.

    "Who dug it? If it was Yu Rong''s work, then why would she dig up her own dirty deeds out in open?"

    "Because no one cares? Really, as long as it is not someone famous''s son or daughter, no one would bat an eye on what''s happening. They all happen to be poor kids, so forget it," old man waved his hands dismissing any ideas Mei Qingyang would have.

    "Then, I would assume, no investigation?"

    "Why would an investigation be required? It was a dump land for the people who killed their trial servants. Won''t a lot of people be implicated if someone is to look into it?" he scoffed. Who had time for that anyway?

    "Okay, anything else?" This lead seemed like a dead end, nothing she would get out of. She would later go to pray for the dead souls. But to think her favorite place, that lake, was a dumpster for unknown bodies, her heart ached.

    "Hmm? Oh yeah, a poor kid escaped from the torture prison, was caught and shot on the spot," the old man again said nonchalantly.

    What was with his carefree attitude? Did he also not care at all?

    "Grandpa! Why do you not seem concerned at all? Don''t you think these incidents have suddenly increased in the past month?" Mei Qingyang was agitated. It was not just Yu Rong, each and every person was culprit here, including this old man in front of her. It seemed like they were just gossiping about what was happening on campus, these were serious things, these were human lives!

    "Girl, calm down. Nothing will come out of being angry," he took another puff from his cigar.

    "Listen girl, you are misinformed. These are actually very common things here, you perhaps did not get to hear them much earlier. Now me as your information assistant, how could you not know about these things? I understand your frustration, it took me years to come to terms with my incompetence. It''s just been few months for you," he sympathized with her. He knew exactly how she felt.

    Years ago, when he was lecturer, the school was still fine. Since the day Yu Rong took over, it was game over for the poor kids. He had wanted to resign from his position but because he had been taking care of the library for years already, and it was under his autonomous control, he decided to make it a safe haven for everyone. At least people could find some respite here.

    "Then, what about torture prison? What is that? How many kids are there?" Mei Qingyang asked seriously, her sharp eyes filled with a determination. The old man shook his head, this girl was going to do something beyond her power.

    "I will tell you, but you have to promise you won''t meddle. It is not your place Qing Qing, you just need to¡­"

    "Grandpa," she cut him off before he could finish, "I am here to take revenge for my foster brother. More than that, I am here to bring justice to my previous family and my current family. It is exactly my place to meddle here. So, please just tell me. I won''t implicate you," she pleaded to him. These were just excuses though, she could absolutely not let anything horrendous happen to those kids under her nose, kids who should be playing out in the fields.

    "Fine. You went to the prison already. There are two levels to it. The one you saw is for punishing anyone by the school laws. Beneath that exists the place where poor kids are brainwashed into becoming the servants and maids. They are fed medicines and what not and beaten black and blue. I have never been there but I am pretty sure how Yu Rong is, she might be doing some human experiments in there as well," the man with a wrinkled face raised his head to look at the girl. He could see the anger and frustration on her face. He was like that too, when he came to know about these things.

    "Even animals get much better treatment than this, what to do grandpa?" If in her hands, she could just get them all our right this instant. Or perhaps, if she was not indulging at Yu Tian''s place during that month, she could have fostered the child in her own room. She was regretting agreeing to Yu Tian''s suggestion of staying at his place.

    "Don''t beat yourself up. These things can''t be solved in a day. Take your time. Countless lives have already been sacrificed, a few more is nothing. Whoever you are able to save, that is still saving them. So, Qing Qing, don''t torture yourself over this okay?" the old man patted her hand on the table, reassuringly.

    It was like a heavy stone was lifted over her heart. Of course, she needed to remind herself again and again that she was not a savior, she herself was a human being. And her work would start in small steps, she could not save everyone at once. She went back home without visiting the two patients and re-strategize. If she was able to save even one kid, they would become a key witness in her grand scheme.

 Chapter 145 - Torture Prison

    "Elder brother, I need your help." After thinking the whole day and night about it, she concluded that she needed help from her friends. There was still some sort of tension between her and Yu Tian, so the next best possible person she could approach was her cousin.

    "Hmph! Why do you think I would help you? You have been here since yesterday, but you did not even come to meet me. Now you need a favor, you are here. How selfish of you!" Su Lang threw another childish tantrum drawing a stifled laugh from his sister.

    "Alright brother, I am sorry. I was just so exhausted for past few days that I had to rest too. Especially after the night incident, I was quite shaken up." In all honesty, she was just using that night as an excuse. For one, she knew Su Lang and Feng Yue, even Fan Ruyi would have already heard from Yu Tian what had happened.

    But Yu Rong ang Wang Hao would have kept it all hush because of different reasons. The former would be hiding her failure while the latter did not want the actual truth behind it all come out.

    She was definitely affected by it. Whenever she thought back, she would shudder over the fact if she did not have enough training, she would have definitely got molested that day. No wonder Jiang Bo was unable to see through the tricks. No matter how mentally strong he was, he was ultimately, just a na?ve scholar. How would he know of the tricks all around?

    He did not have martial arts training either, so he could have definitely been in compromising situation, just like her that night.

    So, she was very thankful that her dad had prepared her enough for being the second sacrifice. At least, he had faith in her that she would come out of it alive. But it was definitely her mistake that she did not visit them yesterday. How could she tell poor Su Lang that she had prioritized her mission over everything, even Yu Tian?

    "Oh! I am sorry I did not consider that. Did going to the library help you calm down?" Su Lang looked like he was making a sarcastic remark but he was genuinely concerned. He was ashamed that he did not consider her side of events at all.

    The other people in the room where Su Lang was now resting snickered. They thought the girl was caught red handed making excuses. These were all Su Lang''s people but they did not see Mei Qingyang in high regard. She belonged to their category, so she should know her place. She was not even real daughter of Minister Jiang but she behaved as if she knew Su Lang for years.

    Mei Qingyang did understand the meaning behind her brother''s words. She nodded.

    "It did help me out. This time I decided to devour some fiction. It always helps, transporting to another world. Anyway, my favor!" she went back to the topic.

    "Oh yeah, tell me!" Su Lang was sitting with his back against bed support.

    "So, I came to know yesterday about this place called torture prison," she raised her eyebrow towards Su Lang who was drinking water from his mug. Suddenly he spurted it out on Mei Qingyang and had a coughing fit.

    "Cough, cough, where do you keep hearing about such non-sense?" Su Lang scolded her. She was keeping more secrets from them! She was meeting people behind their backs. Were they not already there to help her out?

    "Isn''t your reaction a bit too exaggerated? I am in the company of all wealthy people who get their servants from that place only. It should actually be a surprise that I am hearing about it after four months of me being here." Mei Qingyang was handed a towel by Su Lang''s assistant. She wiped down her face, she needed to wash it afterwards, this dirty brother of hers!

    "Uhh... that''s correct. Yeah. Anyway, what about it?" Shame filled Su Lang''s eyes when he saw his assistant standing behind Mei Qingyang obediently. He had gotten her from that prison too, rather saved her.

    The methods of this school were just too cruel. He was a kid when he had been deliberately taken to the place by a few higher ups in the school who wanted to curry favor with his dad and had asked him to choose any of the person as his servant. Again, they had only shown him small girls in ragged clothes.

    Although he was just a kid at that time, he had seen quite a lot already in his life as the sole heir of Su empire. But this was something beyond his comprehension, he was a small kid after all. He had begged those uncles to let him go as soon as he stepped into the building. No one had listened to him.

    The scene he had seen would haunt him for his whole life. The kids were kept in separate cells, probably just for the sake of displaying them for potential ''buyers''. Their life was worse than animals in rescue shelters!

    He visited quite a few kids of his age before he stumbled upon his current assistant. Her eyes were dead, she did not even respond to multiple calls from the people accompanying him. Those old men had thrown a piece of food to her and she did not react even then. It felt like she had just given up on life and he, as a kid, could not bear to see that.

    "I... I will take her," he had said loudly through tears while hiding behind his dad''s secretary. Everyone had cheered up and clapped. The girl would be delivered to him a week later.

    When she was delivered to his dorm room, which was the same as now, she had been thoroughly cleaned and clothed in new clothes. She had beautiful features, big eyes, perfect nose and think pink lips. If she did not belong to the disadvantaged section of the society, she would have been the top beauty of the school.

    It took Su Lang over six months for her to even utter his name. She was always listless and Su Lang was often chided for making wrong choice with such an important decision. But she had gradually warmed up to him. He would play with her, personally teach her reading and writing. They would have their meals together too. He never treated as his unequal and thus, had earned her utmost loyalty.

    He had, for quite long, wanted to know what exactly went in that facility. But he had been unable to procure that information and did not want to hurt his assistant by bringing up the past. So he had given up.

    Right now, if anyone looked at his assistant, no one would say she was like that before. She was very open with her emotions and was very efficient in her work, albeit a bit clumsy.

    He glanced at her assistant once again but could not read the expression on her face. It had seemed like the distant memory had resurfaced once again. But he could not tell all this to his clueless sister either. It would be a long story, a story that would hurt his assistant.

    "Well, I heard a kid was shot yesterday because he tried to escape," she started slowly. Mei Qingyang had been observing her cousin and realized she should have looked for an opportune moment before bringing up the topic. Unlike Yu Tian, who was ''gifted'' an assistant from his aunt, the same might not have been the case with her brother.

    "And?" Su Lang was still confused where the girl was going with her statements.

    "Can you just send out everyone from here first? I see everyone is staring at me, wide eyed on that," Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore. It was like everyone had dropped their work just to listen to what she was saying.

    "Sorry," he signaled everyone to get out. His assistant stayed and Mei Qingyang did not mind.

    "I want to save the kids in there," she completed her sentence finally, after everyone had left. There would be spies in his cohort too. She had already spilled so much anyway. But her plan had to be a secret.

    "Ms. Mei, I would advise against that," his assistant spoke up before Su Lang could reply.

    "Assistant Su, I do not understand," Mei Qingyang was confused. Did she calculate incorrectly?

    "Even if you save them, where will they go? At least they have food there to eat, and a roof over their head. They might look forward towards being hired as a servant and living a normal life afterwards," she said choked up a bit. Su Lang clenched his hands.

    "Do you think Ms. Su, that everyone gets as good a master as yours? What about the s.e.x.u.a.l abuse they take after they get bought? You must have been the lucky one no?" Mei Qingyang crossed her arms. What did this girl want to say?

    "But we are already used to it. Do you even know what goes in there? We have already been subjected to everything we might face. That''s how kids are conditioned there!" the girl dropped the bomb on everyone.

 Chapter 146 - Su Weixis Story

    "Wha¡­ what are you saying?" Mei Qingyang''s hand slumped down. Su Lang''s eyes also widened with shock. Su Weixi, his assistant never talked about her past. But her outburst today and the shocking revelation was just too much for both the people in the room.

    "You mean to say¡­ but we are talking about pre-teen year kids!" Mei Qingyang could still not believe her ears. Subjecting them to s.e.x.u.a.l abuse at the age where they did not even understand intimate contact, what was Yu Rong trying to achieve?

    Su Weixi''s face contorted with grief. She did not want to relive those horrible moments. And as much as she liked this girl that her master was so fond of, she wanted to make sure she had no false idea about that place.

    She turned her head away, as if, she did not want anyone to see her expression at the moment. Closing her eyes, she continued with a tremble in her voice, "So you see, they bring in the kids and in the name of training, they beat them with hot metal rods. It''s been so many years, I still have marks from the beating," she rolled her sleeves over, just to give them a glimpse of the marks.

    Su Lang suddenly realized he had never seen the girl out of her ''work clothes''. Even in her childhood, that was one thing he could not make her budge on. She had to wear her work clothes, the butler uniform: a full sleeves white shirt and black pants at a minimum, then it could be a vest and a coat over the shirt. He had relaxed enough rules for her, so she was okay with just the shirt and formal pants.

    However, she never deviated from that garb. He had bought her so many clothes, but she never wore them. Now he knew the reason.

    Mei Qingyang felt guilty after seeing the scars. Everyone had a past, a pain they wanted to hide. She was taking it too lightly earlier. But it made her more determined to save those kids.

    "Go on," Su Lang wanted to hear more, hear about her suffering and embrace it all. His heart ached for this girl. She had really been pitiful, hadn''t she? And he never took more pains to know about her past. When he saw that his path was being blocked, he backed off very easily.

    "We¡­ we are not allowed to talk about it. It is part of the training," Su Weixi covered her face.

    "And? You are under my wing, no one can even touch a hair on your body. So, won''t you tell us everything?" Su Lang, involuntarily, got up from his bed. He limped a bit but reached Su Weixi. He took her into a big hug and stroked her head.

    Mei Qingyang wanted to give them a room but then it was also important for her to hear the details. Unexpectedly this time, Su Weixi did not cry. She found such security in her master''s embrace that she let go of her fears. But she also knew her limits as a servant, so she did not hug him back.

    "Su Weixi, that you are able to bear my elder brother, I know you are pretty strong. So, do not hesitate. Please tell us what happens in there. We will formulate a strategy accordingly," Mei Qingyang tried to lighten the mood a bit.

    Su Weixi did not know how persistent this girl was. Why would she try to disrupt the lives of people of her cohort? She needed to knock some sense into this girl. She raised her head and looked disdainfully at Mei Qingyang.

    "I can tell you. But I need you to give up the idea of taking kids out from there. It is their last surviving hope. Out of thousands, at least one would get a good life like me. Otherwise, all thousand would end up dead," Su Weixi told her in an indifferent tone, earning a glare from her master.

    "Elder brother, it''s alright. I understand her apprehensions. I won''t promise you anything assistant Su, but please rest assured, I only have best interests in my mind," Mei Qingyang also replied apathetically to the assistant.

    Su Weixi had thought that Mei Qingyang would get persuaded but it did not seem the case. She glanced at her master once, who just nodded. Concern was apparent on his whole face. She felt happy inside that her master was worried about her, at the same time, she did not want to take responsibility for destroying the kids'' future. Why did she have to open her mouth in the moment of agitation earlier?

    "Fine!" Su Weixi admitted defeat and sighed to herself. She was a servant after all, she had to listen to the master and their friends. Su Lang guided her to the nearby sofa and sat her on it. He then went back to his bed and paid utmost attention to what she was about to say. Mei Qingyang was sitting in the side chair, eager to hear all about it.

    "Basically, after the kids are sourced from their parents or streets or orphanages, they are first put into the house at the far end of the campus. There, they start learning from the nannies who take care of teaching them basic etiquette; table manners, greetings, behavior." Su Weixi started from the beginning of her journey. She was sold by her parents for some puny money.

    Another reason she had opened up to her master was also because he had as messed up a home as hers. And that was why she was quite tolerant of this girl on the chair, because her master seriously considered her as a family.

    "Kids spend about a year or two there. It is grueling time because of long hours. They have to wake up at like 4 am and the day finishes at like 12 midnight. But it is still better than their original condition. So, they are always thankful for the opportunity."

    "You mean the labor work is done by four to ten years olds?" Su Lang could not wrap his head around it. He knew Yu Rong was cruel, but this was brutality!

    "They are evaluated monthly and whoever shows good aptitude, they are sent to torture prison. The kids in those houses have no idea what is in store if they do better than their peers. They only look forward to graduate from there and start working for real life masters."

    "And then the actual training starts. The kids are subjected to all kinds of torture there, true to its name. It is to make sure they can serve their masters perfectly, since they never know what kind of master will come to fancy what kind of servant." Tears started pooling at the bottom of Weixi''s eyes as soon as she reflected back on her days in that prison.

    Mei Qingyang was still calm, she had guessed that much. If they were able to shoot a kid who was just trying to escape, then anything was possible. Anyway, nothing was surprising about this school anymore. These were cheap laborers who could be replaced any time. There were just too many unfortunate kids out there, so they did not even need to think about their lives at all.

    "Now, if I were to glance over the types of treatment kids get, it would be something like heavy lifting of iron blocks for increasing the strength, then beating from different kinds of objects and then later comes s.e.x.u.a.l abuse. I would not really elaborate on it but they have used inserting foreign objects in their small bodies and up to BDSM too, sometimes." As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Weixi gagged and ran towards the bathroom. Both of the people left in the room were sitting seriously, not knowing how to react on the situation.

    This was too much even for Mei Qingyang. Why would Su Weixi still advocate for them to not take any action.

    "These are such young kids, I reckon half of them don''t even survive," Mei Qingyang surmised, keeping her hand on her chin.

    Su Weixi replied from the bathroom, agreeing to her speculation. "The mortality rate in the torture prison is about 65%."

    Sixty five percent kids never got to see the light! That was ridiculous!

    "Assistant Su, then why...," Mei Qingyang wanted to understand the rationale behind her reasoning.

    "Look Ms. Mei, I understand your heart. But do realize that for those kids, who have been brainwashed into subservience, there is no life outside. Even if you save a few of them, there would be more to replace them. And do you think after going through this much, they would be able to lead a normal life?" Su Weixi emerged from the bathroom after emptying her stomach. She was feeling much better now. It was also good that she got to tell her story to someone.

    Although, after this, her master might think of her as disgusting. If that would happen, she would just join the maids in main Su family and get out of his way. She was ready to sacrifice that much. When she came out, she saw Su Lang was standing there at the door.

    "Master," she looked towards him. She could not see into his eyes, she had no idea what he was thinking. But if he was going to banish her, so be it. She would still stand her stance.

    Unexpectedly, once again, she was pulled into a giant hug from her master. Did he not think of her as defiled character not fit to be by his side? Why was he doing this?

    "Weixi ah! You have suffered so much and you never told me all these years! Why would you do that to me?"

 Chapter 147 - Still Adamant

    "Master," Su Weixi choked up again. She had nothing but gratitude in her heart for her master.

    Mei Qingyang was not feeling like a third wheel. She also realized her brother''s feelings for his assistant were deeper than she had thought.

    *Sorry Wei Qiqi, you will need to find someone else. I cannot bear to part these lovebirds.*

    "Ahem," Mei Qingyang coughed lightly. Su Weixi separated from her master right away as she realized she was overstepping her boundaries. Su Lang''s longing gaze lingered over his assistant but he let her go.

    "Assistant Su, I appreciate the fact that you are thinking of the kids'' future there. And I will admit it was a hasty decision on account of myself. But I don''t think I cannot not save them. We will see how to condition them later. Right now, their lives are of utmost importance," Mei Qingyang calmly stated.

    Although Su Weixi was quite against it, she knew ultimately those children need their childhood back. They had a right to better treatment, poor or not.

    "Do know Ms. Mei then, if you fail, all those kids would die," Su Weixi nodded and gave her silent blessing to Mei Qingyang. A warm feeling enveloped her heart. Perhaps, even during her time, someone was thinking of her and the other kids. Her master did take her out of that misery. Although a lot of her friends died, they were probably in better places than the ones who survived.

    "Please be assured assistant Yu, I would not do anything at such a large scale without a plan. Okay brother, this idea gets pushed for another month then. We will take action after New Year. I guess I will go and study for the exams," Mei Qingyang abruptly ended her visit. She thought these two people needed time to talk it out perhaps. The tender look in her brother''s eyes was something she had not seen for herself even. It meant that his assistant meant a lot to him.

    "Qing Qing," Su Lang called her as she was stepping out of the door of his dorm room. She turned around with curiosity, what did he have to say now?

    "Thank you!" He was just so grateful to this lass that she made Weixi open up to them. Sure, the method was not the best one, but he had tried to breach the topic so many times, only for her to retreat into her shell more than before. If love did not work, agitation did. And he really appreciated her intervention in this.

    It was a coincidence that Weixi came from that place. A lot of servants in most of the households, especially for a lot of students here who could afford it, back from their homes. Yu Tian''s almost whole fleet came from his aunt and dad.

    Mei Qingyang just smiled and left.

    For the rest of the day, there was in itch in her heart to go and visit that place. But the gruesome details that Weixi had provided her made her want to put it off after her exams at least. Her information seemed to farfetched to Mei Qingyang.

    No one would be able to do that to small children, would they? She wanted to visit and see it for herself. This was too large scale an operation for it to go unnoticed by everyone, unless they were just feigning ignorance or were really unaware like Su Lang.

    For now, she needed to focus on surviving the semester.

    Next day, the exams finally started. Interestingly, it seemed like people had forgotten her existence. No one snarled any bitchy remarks to her, not there was any bullying. Even Gu Layue seemed to ignore her. Did her reputation become good after her tournament? Or was it that they realized that she knew some combat arts and had just not been taking any action against them?

    She saw Ma Shuxin sitting at the back of the class, their usual place.

    "What is going on, there was no reaction on my entry in the classroom?" Mei Qingyang whispered to the other person.

    "Oh! It is probably because they are just too stressed out to notice your presence. Not everyone is a prodigy like you. They need to study to pass the exams," Ma Shuxin replied. She was a scholar student too, so she seemed quite prepared.

    Mei Qingyang nodded and then went quiet. It was good that it was peaceful and she did not have to deal with some more snobbish brats.

    The exams went on over the course of four days and only Yu Tian was handling the exams for first year students. Su Lang and Feng Yue were still recuperating. They did not even need to appear for the exams, so both of them were enjoying rest from everything.

    Nothing extraordinary happened during this time, which Mei Qingyang was really thankful for. Yu Tian kept quietly looking out for her, without much conversation between them for a whole week. This change was noticed by everyone, including the staff at Yu Tian''s room. He was always annoyed with one thing or another and would find faults for no reason.

    He had reverted back to his cold ruthless self, much to chagrin of everyone. Only Yu Bufan knew what kind of turmoil his master was going through.

    "Master, please do not vent out your anger on poor souls. You made that maid cry earlier," Yu Bufan would tell him in between, to ask him to keep his behavior in check.

    "They should be scolded for what they did wrong. I should just fire them, they all are incompetent fools," replied Yu Tian, carelessly, as he was going through some financial statements.

    "Bufan, why have we made this much loss for last quarter? Is the business not going well?" Yu Tian asked his assistant as he was still sifting through the papers on his table.

    "That was Yu Rong blocking our resources. It was taken care of later. We must start posting profits next month," Yu Bufan explained. Yu Rong had been meddling in their business quite frequently now. And this had been a headache for Yu Bufan. He had been withholding the news from his master, taking care of everything on his own.

    "Hmm? Why did you not tell me earlier?" Yu Tian finally looked at his assistant who was standing at the side, guilt in his eyes.

    "I just did not think you needed to know," he averted his gaze.

    "If you have been able to take care of it, it''s fine. Has there been any summons from her yet?" Yu Tian asked.

    "Not yet. Master, why don''t you tell her straight away that you are now a grown up? She does not need to do that to you."

    A pained expression painted over Yu Tian''s face. If only it were so easy. Who, in their right mind, wanted to be bullied, especially by their own family member?

    "If I had a choice Bufan, I would have done that already! Why do you think I jumped at the first opportunity to go away from here that year? If it were not for that incident, I would have never come back," Yu Tian sighed.

    "Abroad was so nice. I did not have anyone to hinder on my path. And I found you there. I don''t think I needed anything else," he put down the papers in his hands and went to rest up. Yu Bufan regretted bringing that up, he knew it was one thing that pushed his master''s buttons. If only, he could solve this problem for him.

    -------------------

    On the following Monday, everyone was excited. The semester was over, they would post the exam results today. The people who failed would need to stay behind and attend extra lessons. But rest of the school would get to go to New Year Trip.

    This was a tradition in the school. Each level of school and college got to go to different place, it was the most anticipated event of the year for everyone. The decision of places was made by popular vote online. This time, the high school and middle school were going to south, a warm place on beach while the college had chosen a winter resort with popular sports like skiing and snowboarding.

    In actuality, no one wanted to remain in the snow, everyone would have chosen the beach. But for some reason, the result came out to be so. The college students unanimously g.r.o.a.n.e.d. How would they be able to show off their accessories and perfect bodies now? But the final results were final results, they had to accept.

    Everyone started getting ready for the trip. Snow shoes, snow jacket, so much preparation was required. The whole campus market buzzed with activity for two days. Mei Qingyang remained holed up in her room for the winters were unbearable to her. Added to the fact that people in the bas.e.m.e.nt did not have adequate heating, she had no choice but to be in her blanket the whole day.

    The day just before the trip, a soft knock on her door finally made her get out of the bed. She opened the door and found Yu Tian standing on the door, chattering in the cold.

 Chapter 148 - Wang Hao Tells The Secret

    "Why is it so cold here?" Yu Tian frowned. He felt like he had come from summery heaven to coldest hell on earth. He did not even wear any sweater because the whole building was centrally heated, till he had arrived here, at least. It was freezing in here.

    Mei Qingyang shrugged her shoulders. Given that there were boxes on the ground and Yu Bufan was nowhere to be found, he probably left to fetch him a coat.

    "Come on in senior Yu," she made way for him. Although it was embarrassing to invite such a rich and wealthy person in her room, she had no choice. She made him sit near the heater and brought him hot ginger tea to drink.

    "Here, this will warm you up," she put her blanket on him. Yu Tian was still trying to adjust to the temperature when he was wrapped in the blanket which smelled like her. It felt much more comfortable than his own room for some reason. He had not been here before, so he realized how her small room with nothing to boast of, was so cozy.

    It was decorated with love, although it was minimalist in style. There was just a small bed with a side table, nothing else. He was seated on the bed too. He suddenly felt like he was violating her privacy, sitting on her bed.

    "What are these boxes for?" she dragged them inside one by one.

    "Oh, just leave them there. No one will take them away," Yu Tian got up from where he was sitting to help her out, but she had already finished.

    "That''s fine. What are you doing down here?" He had personally never taken initiative to come here, why suddenly.

    "I felt like seeing your face, it had been too many days since I properly talked to you," he said with a poker face. His straightforward answer made her blush furiously. She scurried off to the kitchen.

    "Would you like to have a bowl of hot noodles?" she asked, with her back towards him. She had no idea what kind of face she would end up showing, so she tried to calm down.

    "I got you some clothes for the trip. If I knew this is how you are living, I would have got you even more clothes. I will ask the maintenance to crank up the heater here," he said rubbing his hands together to make them warmer.

    "Senior Yu! You don''t need to do all this, I feel bad," Mei Qingyang turned around, looking at him from a distance. She was always a girl or financial integrity and her principles did not allow her to take unnecessary gifts. Unfortunately, Yu Tian did not have any sister or girl friends. They would go to waste, so she had to ultimately accept them.

    "What''s there to feel bad about. A guy can always buy stuff for his girlfriend," he peered into her eyes while sipping the tea in his hands. Mei Qingyang blushed even harder.

    "Don''t get ahead of yourself senior Yu!" she turned around again, embarrassed and started pouring the noodles in the bowl to serve to him. Had not this guy become too shameless these days, blurting out those cheesy remarks ever too often?

    Yu Tian grinned seeing her reaction. She wasn''t denying it. But he knew the concept of consent, so he would still restrain himself.

    Then, there was a knock on the door again. Yu Bufan had arrived with his master''s coats. When he saw his master all wrapped in the blanket, a chuckle left his mouth. His master looked like a bundle. He would definitely take a picture of him secretly later.

    "What are you laughing at? Why are you not feeling cold?" Yu Tian glared at his assistant. His assistant was so amused that he did not even offer the coat to him.

    "Assistant Yu, would you care for a bowl of noodles?" she offered the food to the assistant too. She was not sure what they had come to talk about to her. Yu Bufan nodded, looking at the way his master was relishing the meal, he gulped his saliva.

    "I heard from Lang you wanted to raid Torture Prison?" Yu Tian finally raised the topic.

    "Ugh, he can''t keep his mouth shut, can he?" Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes. "Well, we have Christmas in two days and then this whole trip is going to start tonight, so I don''t think we have a chance before new year to do anything."

    "Why did you not come to me first?" Yu Tian raised his head from the bowl and looked at her once again.

    Mei Qingyang was surprised. Was he sulking because of that? How would she explain to him that she was literally avoiding him?

    "Uhh¡­ I just thought, it would be better to hear it from Su Weixi," she quietly glanced at Yu Bufan who was busy devouring the noodles as well. He had positioned himself comfortably on the carpeted floor near the heater. Qingyang did not really have a space to offer to him, so she sat down too, with her bowl of hot piping noodles.

    Yu Bufan did not react, he was only concentrating on the noodles. Mei Qingyang heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Okay, what about after that? You could have called me to discuss?" Yu Tian argued again.

    "Are you in a mood to fight right now?"

    "No, I am just upset that you would not involve me in such a big plan! I have been helping you all along!"

    "Which is why I am trying to reduce your load. Do you want to die with overwork?" Mei Qingyang raised her voice a bit and then realized she was talking to the legend of the college. She could not be disrespectful towards him, especially him being her senior.

    Yu Tian got stunned for a moment. Should he think that the girl was acting more intimate to him or was she just becoming sassier?

    "Fine, fine. From now on, just keep me looped in, okay?" he gave in. Before his kitten, he was helpless. "So, what do you want to do?"

    "I have not decided yet. I need to visit the place first. For that, if I could get security plan, then that would be great. Otherwise is also fine."

    "Okay, done. You would have the plans before we come back from the trip," Yu Tian signaled Yu Bufan who, in turn nodded, accepting the command.

    "How were your results by the way?" he continued the conversation. It, somehow, felt awkward.

    "You checked half of my exams, how could I not pass?" Mei Qingyang beamed. He would also already know that she aced her classes. People online already had made a ruckus that she had good relationship with all the three Tas and thus, it was unfair to other students. She had already asked her professors to get her exams checked by themselves as well, shutting up everyone right then and there.

    "Well then, now that my work is done, I should leave," he got up from the bed and stepped towards the kitchen. Mei Qingyang knew he had not done much work in his life, so she insisted to take the bowl from him, lest he breaks it or something. He also was not haughty about it. He should just learn the household work from now on.

    Just as they were stepping out of her room, Yu Tian turned around and patted Mei Qingyang''s head, "Good job on the exams," he praised.

    Mei Qingyang could not help but give him a warm smile. He was truly the person who rooted for her the most!

    ----------------------

    "Master, master!" Wang Hao huffed as he frantically looked for Yu Rong.

    "What is it? Why are you screaming so early in the morning?" Yu Rong was in her robe, she had just woken up. When Wang Hao reached her bedroom door, she had a man in her bed. Wang Hao abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked at the person covered in sheets curiously. The face was not visible.

    A smirk formed on Yu Rong''s face.

    "What are you gazing at? Jealous?" she grabbed her assistant''s chin in her hand. This side of Wang Hao was very cute. Wang Hao snapped back to reality and lowered his eyes. How was he showing his emotions, that too about this old hag?

    "Master, I just got to know something. The four people in the group are suspecting Mei Qingyang to be Li Sibao!" Wang Hao just decided to change the subject rather than entertain his master''s thoughts.

    "Li Sibao? Why does it sound so familiar?" Yu Rong instantly changed her mode hearing her assistant''s intel. No wonder, there was definitely something wrong with that girl. She had no history available or anything. Who was Li Sibao though?

    "The girl related to the incident five years ago! The girl who became such a big threat to us, to you!" See? He knew, this hag was getting old, she did not even remember her name.

    "What are you saying? That Li Sibao? Impossible! I, myself identified her body. I can guarantee it''s not her," Yu Rong trembled slightly on the revelation and tumbled back. It could not be her, no way!

    "My source of information is reliable master. She is even refusing to go through a DNA test. We need to verify this and take necessary actions," Wang Hao persisted. If his master went into denial over this and they did not do anything about her, then it would be dangerous to not only his master, but personally to him. After all, he was the one who murdered her himself.

 Chapter 149 - The New Years Trip - I

    "Everything is set," Su Lang grabbed Yu Tian''s shoulder from behind and urged him to board the bus. They could have gone in their own private car for the trip but Mei Qingyang said she wanted to be go with her class this time. Don''t know what was in her mind, but the guys did not question her. Even if they heard and stopped her, she would not have listened to them anyway.

    The reasoning of Mei Qingyang was very simple. She had not seen any retaliation from Yu Rong yet, especially after she had declared war on her that day, looking straight in the camera. And now she just thought that witch would get more agitated if she remained much with Yu Tian. She must have had the news of him visiting her in her dungeon too. Even after that, she did not see Yu Tian disappear or another assassination attempt on him.

    Ma Shuxin was with her for the time being. The guys had put one or two of their people too, for her safety.

    There was one bus for each department and year. So, engineering first year was in one bus. Gu Layue was leading this group, despite almost failing her class. Mei Qingyang was at the back of the queue, not caring about anyone else.

    People were still giving her glares for once again standing first in the class. Everyone had already made so much chaos online because of her result. Unfortunately for them, her rechecks were also flawless.

    The professors tried very hard to deduct the points on her exams, even after making weird arguments, they could not change her rank. The difference between her the second place was just too much.

    Mei Qingyang, as usual was cool and calm. Ma Shuxin on her side was chattering continuously.

    "Look how Ma Shuxin is l.i.c.k.i.n.g her boots. She does not leave her side at all. Otherwise we could smooch off some intelligence from her too," one girl whispered to another.

    "Intelligence? It is all the game of seducing the TAs to get what questions would be on the exam and then cram the answers. We must smooch off her seducing skills to charm the TAs in the future," another girl scoffed behind.

    Ma Shuxin was enraged. "How dare they talk like that?" she exclaimed in anger.

    "It''s okay Shuxin, let''s go. We need to find seats in the bus," Mei Qingyang tugged her arm and took a fuming Ma Shuxin with her. She had been observing this girl since the time she had approached her. There was something about her that just did not sit right with her, it never had. Even now, something about her irked Mei Qingyang.

    "Why? Why do they have to think like this?" she looked at them with extreme hatred, which was something Mei Qingyang had not seen before. Was she really angry at them for her? It did not seem like it.

    "Shuxin, calm down. They are talking about me, and I do not really mind whatever they say," she grabbed her shoulder and dragged her to the bus. They needed to grab some seat at the back, otherwise no one would let them sit anywhere. These types of small bullying tricks had not stopped.

    "No!" Ma Shuxin slapped away her hand, stunning Mei Qingyang for a moment.

    "I am sorry Qingyang, I was just very angry how they are slandering you," realizing what she had done, Ma Shuxin came back to her normal cheery, bubbly self.

    "Hmm¡­ okay." Mei Qingyang did not dwell on it, or she did not show it on her face.

    "Come on, let''s find seats, I will find one without opposite to the sun," Ma Shuxin jumped up with excitement.

    "Sure!" Mei Qingyang remained her neutral self.

    As soon as Ma Shuxin dashed, her face darkened. Those bitches, they thought she was lackey of that lowly commoner. She chewed her thumb anxiously. Hope Mei Qingyang did not see her expression then. She found a seat and waved to Mei Qingyang to come sit with her. When Mei Qingyang nodded and started walking towards her, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

    Then she heard snickers from around and she realized, she was actually behaving like a lackey. This was not what she was aiming for.

    She needed to change her strategy.

    They sat together but since Ma Shuxin was busy thinking about her schemes, Mei Qingyang ended up sleeping throughout the journey.

    When they reached, the buses and just pulled over and the professors were busy calling the students for a general overview of the trip.

    "You guys are all free to enjoy the place on your own schedule for next ten days. There are adventure sports available. Before going anywhere, you have to sign this waiver for releasing the school of any liability about your lives," the professors had huddled the herd of students to the big hall in the resort.

    To be honest, Mei Qingyang was getting tired of the snow. She had already seen it so much during her championship. Now she had to spend her time here for next five days. Unfortunately, she did not have even an option of declining.

    They had put up two girls per room. This resort again belonged to Yu family. They did not accept any guests during these five days of Christmas and New Year. This was exclusively booked for the college students and school children.

    "This is too big a scale for a trip, don''t you think Qingyang?" Ma Shuxin whispered. Both of them were in awe of how big the hotel was. This was on the same scale as the gym hotel. Mei Qingyang tried calculating the worth of these buildings, and her brain failed her. These guys'' wealth was enormous, much more than she had imagined. The other one was still in partnership with Su and Feng family, this was just Yu family''s property.

    Yu Tian was observing her from the corner of her eyes. He smiled seeing her dazed from all the glamor around her.

    Wang Hao was also in the crowd and his only goal was to keep an eye on the girl. He had informed Yu Rong what he was going to do because if she was truly Li Sibao, then both of them were in trouble. She had been here for five months now, and the fact that she could hide her true identity from them for so long, she looked like a veteran player of the game.

    "What are you looking at dear nephew?" Yu Rong creeped up from behind Yu Tian and whispered in his ear. Yu Tian''s heart jumped out of his c.h.e.s.t but he did not show it on his face.

    "Aunt," he acknowledged her presence.

    "Do you see how she is gawking at your wealth, don''t you? Trust me my child, she is just another money grubber. As soon as she gets some piece of it, she will leave you," Yu Rong whispered once again. Yu Tian''s ear was getting itchy. He looked at Su Lang who was standing beside him for help.

    Su Lang put his arm around his friend''s neck, creating some space between him and his aunt. "Principal Yu, we will take care of the money grubber, you don''t'' need to worry. See, they are calling you on stage for a few words. Why don''t you let the excited students go on about their own way rather than stalling them?" he smiled.

    Yu Rong tsked and went on the stage. She dismissed the assembly promptly and the guys fled from the place.

    "It''s okay my child. Your time has come," Yu Rong smiled to herself.

    -------------------

    "Wang Hao, I think the place is good. It is time to summon Tian. I am just tired of everything," Yu Rong ordered her assistant who was handing her papers in her room. He had thought he would be able to go after that lass by himself but his master insisted on accompanying him. Now he understood her motive. No wonder she was so excited.

    "What date master?" he asked coolly.

    "I don''t see any hints of jealousy now. I was hoping you would show me some good expressions," Yu Rong intertwined her fingers and a mischievous smile floated on her face.

    "I am used to it, he is not someone I can compete with," Wang Hao replied plainly.

    "Good good, you know your place. That is what I like about you my dear Hao," she grabbed his hand and slowly made circles on his palm with her thumb.

    Wang Hao did not answer anything.

    "Fine, this time I want to start my year with him. Call him on New Years then. I have already waited more than a month, one week is nothing now," she sighed and let him go.

    "Understood."

    "Now he will understand what actual love looks like. That phony s.l.u.t is not the one for him. I need to make sure to drill the truth in his brain. And New Year''s night will be the one for it."

 Chapter 150 - The New Years Trip - II

    "Qing Qing, come with us, we will have fun together."

    This was their first day in the snowy and extra cold resort and Mei Qingyang was especially reluctant to go out. She had been put up with Ma Shuxin on her request.

    After Ma Shuxin''s outburst in the morning, Mei Qingyang had to be extra careful. How she was going to spend next ten days with her was beyond Qingyang. Anyway, as soon as the room was allocated to them, she scanned the whole room. Having found nothing, she relaxed.

    Yu Rong was certainly becoming a bit lenient with her. That meant she had big plans for either her or Yu Tian. Or perhaps she was getting tired of her and waiting for her to finish one year? No, no. That would be her own death and she would not be that big of a fool.

    They then looked out of their windows. It was a vast snow land out there, with pine trees lining the area. It was perfect area for skiing and sledging. They could already spot the students playing in the snow. With such a scene, even these ''a.d.u.l.ts'' became kids. People were having snowball fights. Fresh snow had just fallen out there, so it was more fun.

    People were also building snowman and snow angels, shunning their images. She guessed that these people did not get to ''play'' much in their lives. They had to grow up earlier than other kids, to start taking responsibility for their households at as young an age as ten. Then, they had to follow certain rules and etiquette because of their lineage.

    Someone, pity filled Qingyang''s heart. In a way, these guys were as miserable as their counterparts.

    She could hear peals of laughter out there and she also could not help but smile. These things were okay to look at from her room''s window, but she needed to be in the warm heater inside. Finally she had ample heat in her room.

    "You are not going outside, it looks so much fun?" Ma Shuxin asked her with scrunched up nose.

    "No, I want to rest. We are free to do whatever right?" she replied nonchalantly. Ma Shuxin flared her nose unconsciously. Why did her behavior suddenly change? Was she onto something about her?

    "That¡­ that is true. Well, I will go outside and see," she made a puppy face to convince her ''friend'' to go with her but Mei Qingyang did not budge. So, she left her alone. Ma Shuxin was regretting the fact that she did not associate with other people. Now she would have to wander around alone.

    When Mei Qingyang was about to fall asleep, the bell of her room rang. People could not just let her enjoy her peace eh? When she opened the door, she found whole group was there, including Fan Ruyi.

    "Qing Qing, come with us, we will have fun together." The peeps were all packed with their snow gears. Mei Qingyang was wrapped in her blanket when she opened the door. Everyone just barged in and made themselves at home. She g.r.o.a.n.e.d for she had just wanted to relax. Su Lang knocked on her head.

    "You sleepyhead, get ready. What''s the use of coming here?" He dragged her sorry figure going towards the bed and sent her to bathroom to change.

    "Do you even see how many big personalities have come especially to escort you? You can''t disregard us!" he yelled to the girl who was locked in the bathroom by him to force her to change.

    "Fi~ne," she prolonged the word, making sure that everyone heard her reluctance and rolled her eyes inside. But it was good to see all four of them together. She was happy about that at least. For the time being, Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi would just focus on evaluating their positions in the group. But their presence and participation were enough for her to feel relieved for somewhere in her mind, she was not over the guilt of breaking the group apart.

    If she had not come here, things would have been normal among them. So then, somewhere she was to blame and she knew it in her heart. If they learn from this experience to deal with their own conflicts, that would be some good result out of the drama.

    "She is becoming c.o.c.ky, I tell ya Tian. You are spoiling her too much," Su Lang looked smugly at his friend who was glaring at him for dragging him here. He was going to do the same thing as his kitten, just lie down in the bed.

    "It''s okay. All my money is to spoil her. Anyway, what is the plan?" he replied with a poker face.

    "See? See this guy? Our friend is not recognizable anymore. Forget about him not mincing his words anymore, he has just turned into a wife doting husband. What is this?" Su Lang made a screaming face and pretended to be angry.

    Fan Ruyi, who was just standing at the side, being all awkward as usual, could not help but laugh at the antics of the preppy boy. He had always been the clown of the group.

    But he was also nailing the teasing in the head. She had certainly changed the most icy person among them. They had not seen this side of his all these years. But this person now was showing them emotions. Now he was claiming for his money to be hers. He had become too dedicated to her suddenly. Would that be a good thing for him, everyone had to see.

    "Let''s go," Mei Qingyang came out in ten minutes. Might as well be done with it.

    "Let''s go skiing first," Sul ang was the most excited out of the lot. He took Mei Qingyang''s hand, regardless of protesting glares from his best friend and signed the waiver on her behalf too.

    "I¡­ I have never done this. Someone needs to teach me," Mei Qingyang saw the cliff and an adrenaline rush went through her whole body. She loved adventure sports but she had not gotten exposure to snow sports at all. But she had seen people getting into accidents as well, so she would have loved to get proper training before she would venture on her own.

    "Here, here. Take your guy. He is expert in skiing. He can teach you," Su Lang pushed his friend ahead and then signaled other two to leave them alone. Yu Tian, in his heart, resolved to reward his friend for being the best wingman.

    Yu Tian nodded and went on to tell her the techniques. Mei Qingyang was again worried, she had purposely avoided him on the way here but Su Lang was ruining her plans. It was sweet of him to give them alone time but rather than concentrating on her training, she was more busy in looking around for Yu Rong''s spies. And she already spotted a few.

    He obliged for her and made sure no one was getting the wrong idea. In half an hour, Mei Qingyang was touching the fast winds and howling with happiness. This was something which was missing in her life. People saw her expert moves and they were awed how she was ruling the whole slope.

    If Yu Tian did not know her before, he would think she was just a normal kid who was given a favorite toy. But this was the first time he had seen her so happy. He made a mental note of it. When this all is over, if and when, he would bring her here more often.

    "Are you tired?" He asked her after doing the same thing again and again for an hour. She was sweating from top to bottom.

    She panted some and then shook her head. She could do this all day.

    "Want to go back?" They were at the bottom of the slope. They would need to take a snow lift and go back to the top of the hill.

    Earlier she had thought he was going to end the session. She was still not an expert so it would be better to have some kind of supervision. Her eyes sparkled when he asked her if she was interested to continue.

    She nodded vehemently. Yu Tian smiled, he would have loved to walk hand in hand with her. But he had to restrain back as usual. Why were there so many hurdles in his love story?

    Mei Qingyang still had her eyes around, she saw a few more people looking at them. To have so many people pursuing after them, she could not really do anything.

    "There is a barbeque later in the evening, a lot of people will be there. But we four have a hidden corner here too. Come with us then," he told her when they were on the lift.

    Barbeque? It won''t do any good to her because she would not get the vegetables. But she would accompany them if it meant doing this more. She found her thing to do for next ten days.

    "You have hidden corners everywhere eh?" she chuckled.

    "In our field, we need to. Otherwise we would never have any privacy at all," he replied stoically. They had reached the top. Wang Hao was waiting for them on the top.

    "Young Master Yu ," Wang Hao greeted.

    "What do you want?"

    "Master wants to see you on New Years eve at 9 p.m. in her office here," he said bowing.

    The alarm bells went wild in Mei Qingyang''s heart. Her happiness did not even last two hours!

 Chapter 151 - Stressed Out

    Mei Qingyang grabbed his hand subconsciously and gave it a tight squeeze. Was it because of her? Did she flare her anger once again?

    Yu Tian''s expression did not change. He was expecting this sooner or later. But with Mei Qingyang by his side, he felt stronger and more secure than ever before. It felt like this hurdle was very small before anything.

    Wang Hao saw how the girl had, very naturally, slipped her hand in Yu Tian''s. A pang of jealousy ran through his eyes. Once his master finished the boy, the girl would be hers to devour. That was the only thought running in his mind. His eyes again filled with l.u.s.t which did not go unnoticed by Yu Tian. He also stepped ahead to hide his kitten behind his own body. Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, had her head lowered, she was still thinking about what would Yu Tian''s fate be.

    Wang Hao left after giving the news but the two people lost the mood to continue with the activity. Mei Qingyang was stealing glances towards Yu Tian their whole way back to the hotel.

    "It''s okay, do not worry so much about it," Yu Tian could not bear the fact that the girl was just losing her shit over him. It was his problem to begin with, he did not want to involve her. And the fact that she was this concerned was also worrisome. How much did she know?

    "But¡­," she finally had a chance to ask him about it.

    "No buts. This is a trip. Today is Christmas eve. We can''t be upset over such a small thing. And it is a week later. We will take it as it comes," he put his arm around her shoulder to assure her¡­ and himself. Mei Qingyang was just so upset that she did not register his embrace at all. There was no reason for her to reject him anyway now. That witch had already given her verdict.

    Yu Tian was also not sure what was going on in his aunt''s mind. Why would she announce it a week before, that too in front of Mei Qingyang? Was she claiming her right over him? Then his life was not his own at all? If him being this girl was a dream, he did not want to wake up from it.

    "I will see you at the barbeque then," Mei Qingyang bud him farewell, with disappointment and sadness plastered all over her face. Why could she not do anything for him? What would it take for him to actually open up to her? She did say she would wait for him to tell her everything, but this was too much.

    Yu Tian sighed. He was of two minds. On one hand, he wanted to tell all his stories to her, reveal everything about his past, his present. On the other hand, he was afraid, of losing her. He had tried it just once, but it had led to heartbreak which took him four years to overcome. He did not want to repeat the same mistake. He was going to take his time to tell her the truth. It seemed like she already had some inkling anyway.

    Worst of all, she knew it was not the issue of trust. It was something, which was perhaps, shameful to him. How would he tell that his aunt would beat him to the point of him having scars all over his body? If it were her, she would hesitate too. She covered her eyes with her arms but her tears would not stop.

    "Qingyang? Qingyang?" Ma Shuxin tried to wake Mei Qingyang from her sleep.

    "Hmm? What is it?" she asked Shuxin in a hoarse raspy voice. She was perhaps exhausted by her skiing and the whole stressful situation.

    "What are you doing here sleeping? The barbeque started an hour ago! Young Master Yu sent me to look why you were so late.

    "An¡­ an hour ago?" Mei Qingyang sat up in her bed. She slept so much?

    "Yeah, the food is already over. I guess Young Master Yu must have prepared some food for you. Are you two really dating?" Ma Shuxin asked excitedly.

    "Dating? What are you talking about? He is way out of my league. If I were dating him, do you think other girls would have left me alive?"

    "Hmph! Do those girls dare do anything to young master Yu''s girlfriend? Once he gets a girlfriend, that girl would be off-limits, to both boys and girls. Now come on, get up and get ready," Ma Shuxin dragged the lazy girl out of the bed.

    Mei Qingyang changed her clothes rapidly. She had made the whole group wait! It was deep in the night, and the sky was quite clear now. Stars were quite visible. She did not see a lot of people at barbeque. She suspected it was due to night being quite romantic, couples would have wandered around the nearby secluded places to get some alone time.

    "Where were you? We have been waiting for you girl!" Su Lang stood up from his seat. Yu Tian had brought her from the barbeque area to their hidden place. It was some fifteen minutes walk and it did not seem like anyone had followed them. It was indeed an isolated area which was not easy to accessible. No wonder it was their secret place.

    "I am sorry, I had fallen asleep," she shrugged her shoulders. She was still not in high spirits but the guys had earlier heard the stories of the couple being jolly, enjoying skiing earlier in the day. Did they have a fight or something? Everyone in the group sensed the girl did not seem well.

    "Qing Qing, are you okay?" Fan Ruyi finally asked the question. She looked a little pale under the light emanating from the bonfire they had prepared and were sitting around. They had set camping tents around the fire. This area was on a height and was surrounded by the hills on all four sides, so even with the fire, it would be hard to discover them. Thus, they had left their assistants behind too, to give them some time to unwind themselves as well.

    "Yeah, I think I am still sleepy," she rubbed her eyes.

    "Come sit here. We got some food for you." There was space between Su Lang and the seat where Yu Tian sat after escorting Mei Qingyang. Su Lang patted on the space to signal that she could sit there. Mei Qingyang suddenly realized they were near fire. A weird feeling crept up in her heart.

    She did not have any problems with fire anymore, she had trained hard for fighting her urge to run away from even a spark. It had something to do with her scars. She had almost died due to fire and she did not have memories of it. But her subconscious used to go into hysteria whenever she would see fire, even from a small lighter. She was that afraid.

    She had worked around it with her dad, he would deliberately take her near fires, starting with small ones. She had gotten accustomed to it and could even cook on fire now. But this big fire was starting to suffocate her already. She looked at the fire and then at Yu Tian.

    Thinking that she was with people she trusted, she sat down beside Su Lang. Everyone started chatting and eating happily, Su Lang was especially excited. He started with a few horror stories but Mei Qingyang was not listening anymore.

    She was just starting at the fire like it had possessed her.

    "Don''t do it Mei Qingyang, don''t unlock your memories," she heard her inner voice once again.

    "Why do you keep telling me it is not time yet? When would be the right time anyway?" she retaliated.

    "Not now. You might be prepared but I don''t think the occasion is right. Do you want everyone to see your pathetic condition once you learnt he truth? I don''t want anyone outside of your circle to be present when that happens," Li Sibao''s voice explained.

    "What do you mean? These are still the people¡­"

    "Not those two," the voice interjected before she could finish.

    "Then, what do you want me to do? I can''t help but feel restless with fire so close to me. Should I just leave?"

    "You have trained yourself so hard, why don''t you think of it as your training session? Yu Tian is here, reply on him. Everything will be okay, trust me," the voice then faded in her mind. She glanced at Yu Tian who was looking at Su Lang who was chattering away. His face, glowing in the fire, did bring her extreme comfort.

    Unfortunately for her, God did not want her to have peace, did he? The wood crackled when Feng Yue from the other side added some firewood to the bonfire and a few sparks jumped out of the it towards Mei Qingyang.

    This was the trigger point and she started hyperventilating. But Li Sibao was correct too, she did not want everyone to see her. She just got up and ran behind the hill, startling everyone. Yu Tian chased after her. She threw up in the nearby bushes whatever she had eaten.

    "Are you okay?"

    "Don''t¡­ don''t come near me Senior Yu. Not only it is disgusting here, I don''t want you to see me right now," she waved her hands, signaling him to stop right where he was. Unknowingly to her though, he ran towards her and hugged her from behind, since she was not looking anyway.

 Chapter 152 - Confession

    "What are you doing Senior Yu? This is so dirty!" She separated forcefully from Yu Tian. She had just stopped throwing up when she felt the warm embrace from behind, enveloping her whole being.

    "It does not matter, here take some water," Yu Tian offered her a water bottle. He should have known the fire could have been traumatic to her. He did not consider her at all.

    Near the bonfire, Fan Ruyi got up to check on her but Feng Yue grabbed her hand and stopped her from disturbing the couple. He shook his head which convinced Fan Ruyi to sit down.

    Feng Yue wanted to run to the girl too. But he knew he wasn''t the one, he could do nothing for her now. All he could do was just see her recover by someone else''s side. Su Lang was also looking at the direction of the two again and again.

    "Senior Yu, I will be fine. Please go back," Mei Qingyang had wanted to vent out her feelings by herself. It felt like needles were pricking her heart. She had not remembered much but she had flashbacks of her fleeing with some man with green eyes in a car, which then was shot down by some unknown pursuers of her.

    And then she saw the car in flames, with the man with her saving her from the impact of the fall. His body was full of glass from the windows. Someone she did not even remember had sacrificed his life for her. She had even inherited his green eyes. But who was the man? She had looked at the Li family''s albums and he definitely did not belong to Li family. She had to dig some more.

    But then, what was she supposed to do with the emotions these images triggered? She already had puffy eyes because of what happened in the afternoon. And she wanted to just burst out right now. It felt like her whole body was on fire, and she could scratch her skin off.

    She remembered her initial days at the hospital where she had to be put in water because her brain would not let her rest. The nightmares about the fire would make her feel like she was reliving the moment again. And that was what was happening right now.

    She rinsed her mouth with the water Yu Tian had given her. She was staring at the snow beneath her feet, just looking at it was giving her some relief. Once she thought she had cleaned her mouth and face enough, she looked at Yu Tian.

    Under the moonlight and twinkling stars, she saw how concerned he was for her. His eyes never left hers and she could not bear to send him away. Her thoughts, which were filled with the incident all those years ago, were slowly replaced by him. She did not feel so bad right now. But her body was still itchy. The d.e.s.i.r.e to scratch was still taking over.

    When Yu Tian observed how uncomfortable she looked, and how she was starting to unzip her coat in this cold, he took steps towards her and hugged her once again.

    "But senior Yu¡­," Mei Qingyang wanted to retaliate. The clean freak was not afraid of the smell on her body? She had just puked!

    "Shh¡­ stay like this alright? There is no one here and you definitely can use one right now," he whispered to her slowly in his magnetic voice. Mei Qingyang melted in his arms , he definitely was her security net. Her d.e.s.i.r.e to cry it all out increased but she held back. She buried her face in his c.h.e.s.t, giving in.

    "Senior Yu, you have seen my scars and you know about my trauma as much as I do. Do you not feel disgusted by it?" After a few moments of silence, the question popped out of her mouth. This time, there was no blushing, no heart racing, it was just comfortable, for both of them. It felt like at the moment, they were the only ones on this planet, no worries about the future, nothing.

    She raised her head and looked at the guy who was staring at her and struggling to find the words to describe what he felt for her. Those scars were nothing in front of the courage she gave him to face Yu Rong.

    Since the day when she stared straight into her eyes when her hair was being ripped off from her head, without even a scream, he had known that someone to challenge his aunt was here. And she had kept dealing blows to her left and right. She had no idea how easy she had made for him to bear with all the tribulations and cruelty. Because there was something to look forward to after that.

    "Those scars ah! Do they even count before the mental scars you and I have? What is there to be disgusted about?" he finally uttered a few words, staring into the space above them. He wanted to say a lot more but had no idea how to put them into words. He fidgeted a bit while holding her in his arms still.

    "Pfft¡­ ahahahaha," Mei Qingyang guffawed at his uneasy and cute expression. He handled businesses in millions, dealt with international clients but was struggling so much right now. She could not help but laugh over his failure. He turned his head away in embarrassment, never letting her go.

    She ended up putting her hand over his face, gently stroking his stubble, taking him aback. Her gaze was soft and under the bright moonlight, she looked like she was drunk, although she had not had any sip of single alcohol drop from the crate these guys had brought.

    It might have something to do the way her vegetarian dishes were cooked with wine, but Su Lang would never tell her that.

    Yu Tian really did bring her heart at ease, and she had no idea why. Was it because they were in similar circ.u.mstances, puppets of their families, unable to break free from their fates? Or was it something more? She felt like she clicked with him at spiritual level, but how?

    Yu Tian moved his face to bring her hand close to his lips. He kissed them slowly and then took his head closer to hers. He was leaning in for a kiss but Mei Qingyang stopped him in between.

    "I still need to cleanse myself. Next time?" she said with her face heating up slowly. So then, wait what?

    She was saying it was okay when she had had a bath? She was not denying it now? Did he hear it right?

    In his elation, he stole a kiss from her forehead. She was indeed okay with it!

    For her, his acceptance was what was consoling. She was fully at peace now. He saw right through her insecurities and accepted those, despite being such a mighty person. He was humble yet not easily taken down. He had his own flaws too, he was not the perfect CEO kind of guy, he was an ordinary human being at the end.

    "Are you sure Qing Qing?" Yu Tian believed her but wanted to make sure at the end.

    "About what?" she asked him, the stars in the sky reflecting in her sparkly eyes. There was mischief in there. She was teasing him.

    "I¡­ I am really not bothered by your marks. What matters to me is your heart. And for me, your heart is pure and courageous. Your intelligent mind, your tit for tat personality is what draws me to you. And so, I love you. But I do not know if you feel the same about me," he stuttered much in his sentences but he managed to bring on his lips what was in his heart.

    "Senior Yu, I am very grateful you feel so about me. I love you too¡­," she trailed her sentence. Yu Tian''s heart sank once again. She was going to reject him again.

    "But?" he asked impatiently.

    "But, there is too big a difference between you and me."

    "I have said this before, I can abandon everything for you," Yu Tian said anxiously. This woman was the only one who could make him go through so many emotion changes in an instant.

    "I am not even talking about wealth," Mei Qingyang shook her head sideways. She herself had not let him go from the hug. She wanted to be with him more and more. It was hard to control her own heart. But she still had to steel it.

    "Then what is it?"

    "I am talking about here," she pointed to his heart. "We have many obstacles to overcome. I am not saying I won''t be with you. I am truly happy by being at your side. But we need to conquer what has been plaguing us here. I would like to help you in that as you have been helping me throughout these past months. Won''t you really let me in?"

 Chapter 153 - Interruption

    Her earnest speech moved Yu Tian very much. This was what Yu Bufan was talking about? Opening up completely, laying all his insecurities, his emotions in front of her?

    The two people were still in each other''s embrace, not wanting to let go. Where would they get such an opportunity to be this close to one another, without any restraints and have a heart to hear talk?

    Mei Qingyang was looking at him, but hearing no words, she nestled her head in his c.h.e.s.t once again. This was reassuring to him that she was not angry or upset over the fact that he was still not ready to open up. Or was just trying to decide where to begin with. She had given him quite a few chances and all her knowledge about his own circ.u.mstances were self-attained.

    He cleared his throat and was about to speak when Su Lang approached from behind.

    "Ahem, I really did not want to disturb you two but we need to get going. There is a storm coming in and we need to reach the hotel within fifteen minutes," Su Lang tried talking to them from behind the hill but he had to come forward to tell them to evacuate immediately. No wonder it had started snowing. Ah! They both were regretting the short amount of time they got to spend together.

    Yu Tian nodded from the side to let Su Lang know that they would be leaving soon. He whispered in Mei Qingyang''s ears, "I am ready to tell you my side of story. If we get any time like this anytime soon, I will definitely tell you," he lingered a bit near her ear.

    Why was the timing of everything so bad? He had made up his mind but he had to wait now, for the right moment. Mei Qingyang nodded her head. "Whenever you feel comfortable."

    It was a great step for him to admit that he was ready. That was enough for her. They were making progress, taking steps in right direction. It certainly felt like a heavy load got off of her c.h.e.s.t. She could put more trust in this guy now.

    The five people left their place as secretly as they had come. Wing had started howling by the time they reached the hotel. The professors did the counting and everyone was present. Thankfully, no one was stuck in the storm.

    "Tsk, now we have to spend the time inside the hotel. What is the use of the vacation? I was spending time with my boyfriend too," people had started murmuring, everyone was gathered in the hall.

    "I know right! It is Christmas eve too! I was going to finally propose to my girlfriend outside, not it''s all ruined!" another guy was frustrated as hell. This irritation was widespread among the students.

    Soon, Yu Rong came up on the stage and sensed the atmosphere. She calmly smiled and spoke in the mic, "Dear students, I understand your Christmas seems ruined. But worry not, we have plenty to do in the hotel itself. If you do not get top notch facilities here, then it''s a disgrace to Yu family," she elicited a few cheers here and there.

    "We are opening all the bar lounges for today. You can choose wherever you want to go, there are private soundproof spaces as well. There are multiple karaoke rooms and other games. You guys can enjoy all you want. The booze will be on us," now this was what was exciting to everyone. A loud cheer and clap thundered across the hall. Okay, there were things to do inside as well. Yu Rong did know how to appease her audience.

    "And lastly, merry Christmas everyone. Hope you guys enjoy your stay here," she clapped twice and there was confetti shower in the whole hall. The students went into the mood of celebration once again, dancing to the music. A few eager couples left the hall and headed towards the most private spaces they could hag.

    Since this was all arranged by the school, and the trip fee levied by the school was quite hefty but the same amount for everyone, all facilities here were first come first serve. At least, just at this point, no one was discriminated based on their wealth.

    Yu Tian also wanted to find a private room with Mei Qingyang but looking at the hawk eyes of Yu Ring that were always following the movement of the two, the girl declined his invitation. She could finally go and sleep. And may be her secret agent might come and contact her again.

    Although she had met him very recently and she liked to keep the contact minimum, she was not sure what was happening with her dad at all. Her worries never went away, did they? She had to see what vicious planning her dad was doing behind her back.

    She retired to her room which was very obviously empty. She had no idea which faction Ma Shuxin belonged to, still. Or if she was working on her own. Anyway, she had time to figure this girl out since she had done no harm to her, yet.

    "I am really not sure what I should do. I miss him the moment he is out of my sight," she took her pillow and opened her old laptop. She needed to distract herself, otherwise she would end up thinking about him again. She was a big fool, falling for Yu Tian so hard, what if it did not work out?

    She hacked her dad''s computer to search for what he was up to. She knew her dad did not keep anything on his computers because he had so many capable subordinates and enemies. He always liked to keep paper copies. But however careful he was, in this digital age, there was no way to not leave a trail behind.

    She looked here and there for a few deleted records. It seemed her dad had hired another computer expert to really hide what he was doing. But she was also his dad''s daughter. She carefully dug around and found a few obscure records of an unknown place.

    "Yu Island" it said.

    Was the name not familiar? From what she knew, Yu Tian''s dad had established his base there and secluded himself with just one maid and one assistant. Even Yu Rong was not aware of the exact location of the place. And it did seem like she was not in touch with her brother for quite a few years now.

    It was a passing thought but it shocked her to the core. Of course she was aware of the hatred her dad carried for the Yu family. But, it did not mean that Yu Tian was wrong. She did not even know Yu Ming''s role in her brother''s death. His main enemy was Yu Rong for which he had sent her here. Why was he prying into the whole Yu family?

    No matter what, she had to make sure to protect Yu Tian. She would make him come out of it unscathed. That being said, she needed to research into this Yu island. She needed to remain one step ahead of her dad.

    Perhaps asking Yu Tian would give some hint? But then, he had not talked to his dad in long either, or it felt like so.

    "Tighten the watch on my dad," she sent an emergency message to her agent through her laptop. She usually did not do this, but she had to alert her people now. Her dad was definitely up to something and she needed to know what it was.

    ---------------------

    "So then, what were you doing for half hour stuck to each other??? Su Lang started his teasing again. This time Yu Tian did not bring other two with him.

    "It was just comfortable like that," he replied, whiskey in his hand.

    "What! Don''t tell me you guys did not even kiss. Oh wait, she was not in the condition. Have you guys even kissed yet?" Su Lang frowned. What was up with this slow couple? They had admitted their feelings like hundred chapters earlier. Why had there been no progress till now? (Authors note: This author is as frustrated ah!)

    "We¡­ we have," Yu Tian had his face reddened when he thought about that night where both of them had almost lost themselves. It was just her rationality that saved them.

    "Ohho. And then, after that?"

    Yu Tian shook his head. But he was growing fonder by the day, that was a fact. It was hard to be separated from her. And although Yu Bufan had told him what to do, it was always better to take opinion from more experienced friend.

    "Enough about me. You anyway know almost everything. How are you doing with your assistant?" Yu Tian had always felt the vibe but her suspicions were confirmed by Mei Qingyang.

    "What about her?" Su Lang made a poker face.

    "You can deny it all you want man, in your heart you know whom you like," Yu Tian gulped down the contents of his glass and slammed the glass on the table.

    "Me? Weixi? Are you blind? Why would I be interested in her?" Su Lang was not sure how this guy got the idea.

    "Qing Qing is very sure of it," he hinted his source of confirmation.

    "That chit. Don''t get any wrong ideas and tell that to your girlfriend too, okay? Weixi is my childhood friend. There is no way¡­" Su Lang denied fervently.

    "If you say so," Yu Tian shrugged his shoulders and went back to work on his laptop, to distract himself from the thoughts of the lass.

 Chapter 154 - Break-up?

    Christmas came and Christmas went. The storm did not stop for next three days, as if announcing impending doom of a few people. It also so happened that Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian never found a lone corner, so he was not able to tell her his story.

    They did meet in group setting and Yu Rong was quite quiet for the time being too. Mei Qingyang had tried hacking into the system but again, that cunning witch had a separate network just for her office, in a similar fashion as the school.

    Mei Qingyang was unable to locate her office too, she had no idea which dungeon that witch had made her office in. This was so frustrating and today was New Year''s eve, the day she had summoned Yu Tian. That guy would not be going home with them definitely. The trip was ending in two days and she just wanted to see the guy very badly.

    She could not sleep the whole night at all. She tossed and turned in her bed. Even though she had done skiing the whole previous day, even the fatigue could not help with her stress. If in her hands, she would have just taken off with the guy, run away to a far off place where Yu Rong could not find them at all.

    Amidst all this thinking, Mei Qingyang found herself in front of Yu Tian''s room. The four legends of the school were the only people who had been given their own rooms. It was 5 am and she was about to knock the door when it opened automatically, spooking her out a bit.

    "What¡­ what are you doing here?" Yu Tian was startled too. Wearing a casual t-shirt and sports shorts, he looked ready to hit the gym.

    "Did I interrupt your schedule?" Mei Qingyang looked at him, her face was still full of concern. He was going about his day like nothing was going to happen. But her heart could not stop worrying about him. Yu Tian was a perceptible person, he instantly knew what was going in the mind of his kitten. His heart warmed up on seeing how concerned she was for him.

    "I will take care of myself, you don''t need to worry. This is very normal," he put his arms on her shoulders and tried cajoling her like a child in distress.

    "It is not normal senior Yu! Punishment is one. You are an a.d.u.l.t and she dare beat you¡­" she moved her head sideways and closed her eyes in agony. What kind of aunt was that?

    Yu Tian realized that the girl knew quite a bit by now. But he was thankful for the girl for not hating or feeling disgusted by him.

    "And you are still concerned? As you said, I am an a.d.u.l.t. If she can be okay after venting out on me, then it is good for me and everyone else too, right?" he was smiling when he spoke those words, shocking Mei Qingyang. This was what you called brainwashing! She had full control over his mind if he could say such non-sense. She had no idea what kind of or how much of psychological damage that witch had done on her own nephew.

    She could not take it anymore. She hung her head low and came out of Yu Tian''s grip. She turned around and was about to leave when Yu Tian grabbed her arm from behind. Was this the time for their break-up already?

    The last girl he had tried to reveal the truth to had also left him, with utter disappointment on her face. That was when he had vowed that he would take his secret with him to his grave. And he would not fall in love because he would run out of excuses for his disappearance sooner or later and then his beloved would need to know the truth.

    This girl happened to chance upon his truth just like that. She had slowly entered his heart and started peeling off the layers of the wall he had built. Starting from small dents, she definitely had already made a big hole in the wall, the wall, which had taken him years to steel.

    And now this lass was also leaving him without plugging the big hole. What would he do now?

    "Are you leaving me right now?" an anger rose in his c.h.e.s.t. But he knew it was his own fault and the girl was not to blame. If in the end, she chose to really abandon him, he could only curse his fate over that. His rising hopes with this girl would be squashed but he could not really do anything about it.

    "I¡­ I need some time to process this senior Yu. You continue with your day," she did not even see him in his eyes. How could she? She had tears welled up in her eyes. She felt so upset for him. That witch needed to meet her end sooner than later. She clenched her fists in anger.

    Yu Tian''s heart broke into two. So, this was indeed goodbye then. His grip loosened on her arm, he was waiting for her to flee or rather hoping that she would turn around and hug him and console him. But if this was what fate had for him, then he would accept it. But he would not repeat the mistake ever again, nope.

    Mei Qingyang indeed walked away, without realizing how much she had impacted the other person''s heart. Yu Tian lost his drive to go the gym and went back to his room, slamming his door. Mei Qingyang heard the noise but still continued walking.

    The two people, once again, had no idea how to deal with their aching broken hearts.

    Mei Qingyang went into her room and plopped into her bed, tears finally running out of her eyes. She had become such a crybaby. Why had she changed so much, that too because of just one person? Was she not supposed to be the strong female protagonist who would win all the battles of her life? Then why was she experiencing this kind of scenario.

    She so wished she had someone to discuss this roadblock with someone. And get some advice from their experience. She wished the brother she never had a chance to meet, was here with her. She could go to Su Lang but from her observation, he did not have any clue of his friend''s condition. And unless Yu Tian spoke of it himself, she had no intention of revealing his secret to anyone.

    No, she could not just waste her time in the bed. She needed to find Yu Rong''s office, and take action, tonight! He could not be in this condition forever?

    She wiped her tears and opened her laptop with determination. Since it was morning, and Ma Shuxin had partied till late last night and was completely out right now, she could work in peace. She stretched her hands and neck before she started.

    Her old laptop came to life and her fingers clacked the keyboard like anything. Even she was astonished with her own speed under stress.

    She found quite a few suspicious spots. Her next plan was to check them out. She had to do it all very fast for she did not even have one day. Plus, since it was a regular thing for Yu Tian, in the summon order Wang Hao had relayed to them, he had not given any detail at all, no time, nothing.

    By the time she was done with her research, it was already breakfast time. Su Lang came to fetch her for the same. He could tell that the girl was not in a good mood.

    "Did something happen between you two?" he asked. Mei Qingyang tilted her head, looking at him quizzingly. Why would he mention Yu Tian?

    "He was not in a good mood either. He even refused to come for breakfast. Did you two fight or something?" he asked again. To think the two people would have bad mood at the same time, it was definitely connected.

    "I am not sure. I just could not sleep well last night, that''s why I am like this," she averted her gaze.

    *Definitely, there was something going on!*

    "I don''t know what happened but it would be best if you resolve everything soon. He does not look like it but he is a fragile soul behind that tough cold exterior, okay?" Su Lang advocated about his friend.

    Mei Qingyang was happy that Yu Tian had such a friend. She dearly wished she could share the details but unfortunately, Su Lang was his friend too.

    "Brother, sometimes, I just feel so helpless. I know it is not my place to try to solve the family problems of you guys. I am not a saint or anything. But it breaks my heart to see you people in pain, especially because of your families. I sincerely want to help, especially because God gave me a second chance at life with such loving people around me. I want to share that love with you guys, but I can''t go past the walls you people have built around your hearts. What should I do?" she started rambling suddenly. Su Lang heard the message loud and clear.

    "Sometimes Qing Qing, just being there is the biggest comforter for the other party. Knowing that there is someone out there who loves them to trump all the pain they go through, sometimes, that alone is enough. Personally, Jiang family treated me like their own son when my own dad was having affair with another woman. I don''t think I could have dealt with the loss of my mom if not for them. Their love was enough for me, but they never said even a single comforting word throughout the time I was under their wing," Su Lang explained.

    Ah! Such great words. Just the presence was enough? Then that''s what she would do. Now her mission was to follow Yu Tian at night, the last resort she had not wanted to take. She would still try to find the office on her own before lunch. But if not, then that was what she was going to do.

 Chapter 155 - Plan To Rescue - I

    After breakfast, Mei Qingyang hurriedly sneaked out and tried checking out the places she found suspicious from the site drawings she had been comparing in the morning. She was able to access the locks for a few, unfortunately all of them were storage spaces with some very questionable contents.

    One storage room had boxes and boxes of some kind of medicine. Another one contained some weapons. In retrospect, Mei Qingyang did not really know what Yu empire actually did business in. She had seen their school, their hotels, but what else? They could not just be in real estate business for them to be this big. There were other things going on behind the scene.

    Again, where was Yu Rong''s office? Should it be at some very inconspicuous place which no one would think of as her office? Her own room? Ah dang! Why did she not think of this before? Perhaps, her office was on the top floor since that whole floor was sealed and only someone with access could go there.

    She took out her old phone and headed to the last floor she could access without the access card, which would be the second topmost floor. The rooms were empty there, the students had been accommodated pretty easily within lowest five floors. They had that many rooms at each floor!

    She checked for the stairs to top floor, but the stairs also halted at the one she was currently at. Then definitely, that top secret floor was the one. She had wasted her whole morning for nothing then. But lunch time, she had already scouted everything. All she needed now was an access card from somewhere.

    So then, she had to finally steal it from somewhere? She felt like she was in a James Bond movie or something. Even if she tailed Yu Tian at night, she would not necessarily get into the place unnoticed. And she could see there were biometrics available, so she had a hunch that Yu Tian would perhaps only require his fingerprints for accessing the floor.

    This was all still a speculation on her part. But now that she had a lead, she could work with it.

    She went back to her room and looked into the camera records for Yu Rong''s movement for the past days since the beginning of the trip. Indeed, her videos always stopped at that elevator and she would never get out at any of those floors.

    She nailed it! Now all she needed to do was get an access card for the floor. Her first thought was to ask Su Lang. But again, she knew he would have too many questions for her, even if he did possess the means.

    Then her next best bet was the girl of the group, Fan Ruyi. She had an idea about Yu Tian''s condition too, wasn''t that what Yu Rong used to threaten her?

    She went ahead and knocked on Fan Ruyi''s door. Thankfully, she was in her room.

    "What do I owe this p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e?" Fan Ruyi was not expecting any guests, and especially Mei Qingyang, so she was stunned looking at her guest.

    "I need your urgent help," Mei Qingyang replied.

    Fan Ruyi scoffed. She was not giving her any importance these past few days and she felt more guilty over what she had done because of that. Now she wanted her help, she shamelessly showed up on her door?

    Mei Qingyang looked around before murmuring to Fan Ruyi, "I know I am being shameless. But if you do not help me, then whatever you did for senior Yu would go to waste. You know what I am talking about right?" She looked straight into the eyes of her senior, and she was right about her hunch. Fan Ruyi indeed knew about it.

    Fan Ruyi abruptly covered her mouth and looked around, she also did not want anyone to know anything about it.

    "How did you know?" she asked as she dismissed her maids and only had her assistant with her in the room.

    "It does not matter how I know. Important thing is I need to know where Yu Rong''s office is," Mei Qingyang took a seat on her elegant sofa nonchalantly. She knew Fan Ruyi had to listen to her.

    "Did Yu Tian tell you himself? Did he start trusting you so much that he would hide such a big thing from us and tell you, a girl who has been in his life less than six months?" Fan Ruyi was saddened, but she did not know if it was him or herself. They had been friends since childhood, and he never told her or the closest person to him, Su Lang anything. But he would share such gruesome details with her? Did she hold this much importance for him?

    "Listen senior Fan, you are deviating from the topic and I do not have time," Mei Qingyang rubbed her forehead in frustration. How did it even matter who told her what? They could sort it all out later, right? "Yu Rong is going to strike today again, and I do not want him to suffer anymore. I will crash her party myself and I need access to her office. There is a reason why I came to you."

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes were full of heartache and agony, but also braveness and determination. Fan Ruyi felt ashamed of herself, why could she not be courageous like her? Why did she not do anything for her friend? Also, tonight? That was in a few hours!

    "I¡­ I will help you as much as I can!" Fan Ruyi exclaimed suddenly.

    "Haoran, let''s get to work," she directed her assistant, whose real name was Fan Haoran.

    "Tell us what all you have done so far and what assistance you need from us," she asked Mei Qingyang and got up to get to work herself. Mei Qingyang nodded and started telling Fan Ruyi her plan.

    -----------

    "See this frog, jumping from place to place, what is her motive?" Yu Rong got a call in the morning from the security system that they had spotted a little bird on the empty floors, sneaking around.

    "Master, I think she is trying to look for your abode here. I did announce your summon to Yu Tian in front of her as you had told me. She might be looking for your office now," Wang Hao smiled. Poor girl.

    Yu Rong guffawed at his response. She knew this was going to happen. To take such risk for the guy, she had really fallen hard for him eh? But that guy was off limits since the beginning. She chose the wrong person.

    "This girl, she does get on my nerves. Because of her, poor my nephew is the one who is going to suffer," she was watching a video of the girl checking the rooms at the second topmost floor. She took out the knife from the fruit plate in front of her and licked it, anticipating the night activities.

    Mei Qingyang was smart enough to hide her trail when she was checking out those storage rooms though. So, Yu Rong only thought she was just looking at the empty rooms. This was a deliberate attempt on Mei Qingyang''s part to let her know in advance that she was onto her. Instead, it increased the l.u.s.t in Yu Rong''s mind.

    The best way to punish that girl was to torture not her, but her beloved. And that was what was going to happen tonight.

    "Go make the preparations, I am very excited. Not only has it been a while, I can already see my victory from here. Ah, sweet revenge!" Yu Rong laughed once again creepily.

    Wang Hao shook his head and prayed for Yu Tian in his heart. Perhaps, if the girl saw his condition with her own eyes once, she would be disgusted by him and leave him? Then, he could take her as his from there. This plan of his master''s was good for him too.

    So, he conducted all the preparations himself, very enthusiastically.

    ---------------

    "I won''t be in the room tonight Bufan. I need you to keep an eye on Mei Qingyang," Yu Tian was sitting on his sofa listlessly. He had not been able to focus on anything for the whole day. The way she left him was so painful that he felt numb inside. Why? Why did she need to be so smart that she figured out his secret so easily?

    But he was not a normal case either, was he? To be asking her to be kind to his broken self, was it not asking for too much? Every person had different preferences and likes, and from his personal experience, no one liked to be associated with an a.d.u.l.t male who was victim of abuse. So then, what was so special about her? She was a normal human being too. Why was he expecting her to be any different? He had no idea.

    What he knew was that he still wanted to protect her. He wanted to make sure that, just in case, she takes some extreme step. Although, even that was hoping for too much.

    "Master, are you sure about this?" This was a question Yu Bufan would ask him every time Yu Rong summoned him. It had become a ritual.

    "I do not have a choice," Yu Tian sighed.

    "Master, you always have a choice, the only thing is, are you ready to face the consequences of it? This is something you only have taught me. Anyway, I always look forward to the time when you would reply to me differently. But I see that your answer hasn''t changed. I will follow whatever you say." Yu Bufan did not usually show his emotions but this time, but he kind of choked today. His master had been so disheartened since the morning. He did share to him whatever transpired between him and his little girlfriend. He had really wanted to punch that girl, how dare she break his heart like this? He had no idea why his master and he, himself had pinned all their hopes on this one little girl.

    But somewhere in the corner of his heart, he really wanted the things to change. Probably, he was still hoping for a miracle for his master, the miracle named Mei Qingyang.

 Chapter 156 - Plan To Rescue - II

    "Then what is your plan?" Fan Ruyi asked. Mei Qingyang and her had undergone a lengthy discussion about what she had observed and if Fan Ruyi could confirm her suspicions. As she had thought, indeed the whole top floor belonged to Yu family only. Yu Rong and Yu Tian had free access to that floor.

    "Unfortunately, she only gives out limited time access cards, only when she needs to see someone, which is quite rare," Fan Ruyi had informed Mei Qingyang.

    "Then, do you not have any old ones? Pretty sure with Brother Z''s skills, we could duplicate or reactivate some old ones," Mei Qingyang''s hope of even following Yu Tian at night was diminishing by the moment. If nothing, she would need to climb a few walls and windows to enter that floor. But again, doing that might trigger some alarm she might not be aware of. Ugh, why was this proving to be so difficult?

    Fan Ruyi replied to her in negative. "I haven''t ever been called to top floor. Nor have I ever gotten access for there. I am sorry," she told her pensively.

    "Anyone else you would know of? Do you know of any servants who would be allowed to go to top floor and might be somewhere at lower levels right now?" Mei Qingyang was desperate and she was not afraid to show that. How did it matter at this point? All she had in her head was to save Yu Tian.

    "I don''t think Su Lang or Feng Yue were ever called either. Wang Hao is the only person I can think of," Fan Ruyi wanted to help too, but she had no idea how. She looked at her assistant but he also shook his head. He was out of ideas too. If Mei Qingyang had already looked into the networks and everything, then he could not do anything either.

    He was the one who taught her all this to begin with, and as a teacher, he knew her skills were at par with him.

    Mei Qingyang went into thinking mode once again. She showed herself out from Fan Ruyi''s room.

    "Thank you very much for entertaining me as a guest. I know things have been weird among us lately but I hope things will be return back to normal in due time. And Brother Z, now that I have met you in person, I still owe you a treat. When everything is over, please do let me treat you somewhere good," Mei Qingyang said her farewell in a tired tone. She was indeed exhausted, this one day was taking her full power and she still did not have a solution.

    "This girl is more loyal than any of us," Fan Ruyi leaned against the door looking at the retreating sad back of the girl.

    "I am sure it is just love. She might not have done the same thing if it was for, say, you," Fan Haoran tried to console his master. He knew she was going through complicated emotions and reflecting on her past behavior, but she was loyal to her friend too. That was another story that she had to sacrifice one to save another.

    And now this burden was with her for her whole life.

    Fan Ruyi glanced at her assistant in surprise. "What are you saying Haoran? You know her better than me! You have personally taught her, don''t you think the same?"

    Fan Haoran shrugged his shoulders. He knew her well, pretty well. She had never done any unethical hacking, not on his insistence, not for experience. How could such a pure girl do anything wrong? Too bad she was stuck in this filthy world of rich and she had to get involved with that messy Yu Tian on the top of that.

    He just wanted his master to feel better. For a moment he had forgotten that his master was the epitome of intelligence and nothing would get past her.

    ------------------

    "I see that you have been looking for clues?"

    Mei Qingyang was walking with her head low, without paying attention to her surroundings. She needed to think more, she unconsciously started chewing her thumb. Should she approach Yu Bufan? He would definitely have something for her, or should she duplicate Yu Tian''s fingerprints?

    But she had fought with him in the morning, how would she go and ask for his fingerprints? She knew the theory of forging fingerprints but had not had a chance to try it in real life. This was not a foolproof method then. When she was heading back to her room, she heard an all familiar voice.

    "What do you want?" Mei Qingyang had a disgusted expression on her face. How could she forget that this guy tried to r.a.p.e her?

    "Don''t be like this Qing Qing," he stepped forward and tried to stroke her cheek when Mei Qingyang blocked his arm.

    "Dare to touch me and you know what happens," Mei Qingyang pointed to her head, reminding him how she had injured him last time and he had not been able to do anything about it.

    Wang Hao withdrew his hand and threw them in the air, showing the sign of surrender.

    "Don''t you want to know the whereabouts of your poor boyfriend tonight? I have the way," he took out an access card from his pocket and dangled in front of her. She sneered, she was not going to take the bait.

    "Did Yu Rong order you to do this?" Mei Qingyang had her guard up and was ready to punch and throw this guy whenever required.

    "As I said Qing Qing, I only have your best interests in my mind, I don''t want to see you sad," he grabbed her hand and slowly put the card on her palm. Then he kept holding that hand, making circles on her tender soft skin with his thumb. There was an eerie affection in his voice.

    Mei Qingyang looked at the card and then looked at him. She looked around and found that this alley really was not covered by any camera. This sneaky bastard was doing this because of his own personal agenda. Then, if the opportunity was arising, why not take advantage of it?

    "What is in for you in it?" she asked, removing his hand from hers forcefully. Wang Hao''s stance softened immediately. The girl had bit the bait.

    "Now you are asking right questions, you are quite smart. Another reason why I feel so attracted to you," he stepped further, trying to invade her personal space. She stepped back to avoid him but there was not really much space in the narrow hallway.

    It was not that she was scared, but she was really desperate at this point. If his offer was reasonable, she might actually be able to take this from him.

    Seeing her reluctance, Wang Hao sighed and started pacing back and forth in front of her, eliciting an impatient grunt from the wary girl.

    "How about becoming my woman?" he stopped abruptly and smiled, anticipating the answer. He had planned this from the beginning.

    Mei Qingyang chortled. Had this guy gone mad?

    "Mr. Wang, I don''t think you understand your position here. You are just a pawn for that witch. You think you can throw your weight around here? Or do you think if that possessive master of yours got even a wind of it, she would leave you alone?" Mei Qingyang could not stop laughing at the delusional life this guy was living. Just because he was a minion of the top of the chain here, he thought he was the same?

    Wang Hao''s face scrunched, for once he had forgotten his position. This girl was right, she had nothing to lose. But what was the guarantee that she would not leak the news to Yu Rong herself?

    But he was also obsessed with this girl. He just wanted to have her, for himself. Ah! What a life of slave he was living!

    No wait, how did she know that Yu Rong would not let him have a girlfriend? If he thought from the perspective of an outsider, it would be beneficial for Yu Rong to have her nephew''s girl taken by someone else. Then her path would be clear. But this speculation was also built on the fact that Yu Tian had told her everything. Which did seem like the case. Interesting that the girl did not run away.

    "So, you are saying, you know everything about Yu Tian and master and then master and me? If that''s the case, what really is the difference between us?" he asked her, tilting his head. If she knew that both the guys were treated the same way, why would she not accept him but was okay with Yu Tian?

    "What do you mean? How do you even compare to senior Yu? Seriously Mr. Wang, I had thought you were more intelligent than this. Anyway, what is your final condition?" Now Mei Qingyang was dangling the access card in front of him. This was a risky transaction for the guy. She could always tattle about his deed to Yu Rong. And she knew Yu Rong would believe her first than her own assistant. She was a distrusting person.

    So, it would be the best to finish this transaction here and now, rather than keeping tabs.

    "Spend one night with me. You still owe me from that night," Wang Hao thought for a bit and then answered. He was rattled by the insulting comments she had just issued to him. She thought he did not have any authority? He would show her what it meant to be Yu Rong''s all powerful assistant.

    "Just one night? I do not owe you anything Mr. Wang, that was a r.a.p.e attempt. But if it is spending one night with you, that I can do. No backing out of it now," Mei Qingyang readily agreed.

 Chapter 157 - Rescue With Fierceness

    Wang Hao had left her alone after getting his promise. Mei Qingyang still thought it was too cheap a price to pay for saving Yu Tian. She went into her room and started preparing for her last adventure before she needed to hide from that witch forever. But it was also not a very high price to be paid for saving him. She had backing of her dad, at least.

    She had not intended on using her weapon but it seemed like it was the right time to brandish it. She took out a pocketknife as well, just in case. Thankfully, Wang Hao had revealed her the exact timing of the aunt nephew rendezvous too. He had told her Yu Tian would head to her office at 9 p.m. and other details.

    She would nab them at exactly at that time, so that he would not be harmed at all. She could definitely go earlier, but she needed to tell Yu Tian that it was not his fault.

    She went in a corner near Yu Tian''s room at exactly 8:30 p.m. Each and every passing second was hard one her. She could hear her own heartbeat in nervousness. If Yu Tian discovered her by any chance, he would never let her go with him.

    She had hidden very well, but she had not tampered with the cameras this time. She could not because Yu Tian was involved too. If she were to put on fake feed, then Yu Tian''s presence from the videos would be erased too and her secret of hacking feeds would come out.

    Mei Qingyang was sweating, this was a life and death situation. Any wrong step could affect Yu Rong''s temper and put Yu Tian in harm''s way.

    She looked straight into one of the cameras. She had a feeling that she was being monitored currently.

    "Haha, do you look at her my dear child? I told you she would look out for you, you only did not listen," Yu Rong laughed looking at the big home theater screen in front of her. She glanced at Yu Tian, who was lying down on the bed, his body full of fresh bloody scars. His hands were tied to the top of the bed.

    "I can''t stand you looking so painfully at her. This time I won''t do anything to her. All my anger will be in the form of my love to you," she ran her hand through Yu Tian''s sweaty hair, then stroked his n.a.k.e.d perfect waist.

    "It is all your fault anyway, why did you have to resemble your dad so much? If there was any trace on your face of that b*tch who ultimately married him, I would have killed you long ago. Weren''t you lucky?" she slowly started kissing his top of forehead, then eyes, then nose and then, the l.u.s.t took over. She ravaged his lips like she had not had his taste for years.

    "Ah brother, you are the best!!" her ecstasy had reached the peak, especially when she saw how anxious that b*tch over there was looking.

    Mei Qingyang checked her watch, it was already 9:05 p.m. Yu Tian was no where to be found. Did Wang Hao play trick with her? How did she even believe him? This was not a fool proof method either. But she also knew that that guy was too interested in her to play a game like this. She left her position and headed towards Yu Rong''s office, her whole being full of rage.

    She would take care of Wang Hao later, but right now, Yu Tian was more important.

    She entered the elevator and tried the access card. It did work, it took her to the top floor. Her heart pounding too fast, she slowly came out of the lift. She was worried that Yu Rong would have sent security people after her, so she secured her gun in her hand. It was finally time to use it.

    "How¡­ how did she come here? This was not the part of the plan! That¡­ that stupid Wang Hao!!" Yu Rong''s eyes widened, she had not expected Mei Qingyang to actually arrive there. She continued with her activity while Yu Tian lied down there in her office, no life left in his eyes.

    When he heard that his kitten had come upstairs, there was a dual reaction in his heart. He wanted to see her, very badly, and hug her and just be with her. But then he was afraid if she really saw him in his current condition, what would she think? Why did she come there in the first place? Wasn''t she disgusted by what he had wanted to tell her?

    "You¡­ you only react for her eh? I don''t think I can let you go today. My whip alone is not enough, let me humiliate you through and through. Only then that s.l.u.t will understand that you are just used goods," Yu Rong took out a few tools, too gross to be mentioned, to insert into different places of her own nephew.

    Outside, Mei Qingyang was still being careful of anyone she would encounter but she did not really find anyone. According to Wang Hao, she needed to keep walking and take a few turns before she would arrive to that bloody office. But the floor was too big to maneuver, it seemed like eternity before she reached the hall leading to the office on left hand side at the end of the hall.

    She gulped her saliva, she was not sure what to expect. But she steadily and bravely, again looking around for any ambush attacks, kept moving. Her steps were heavy, she had a really bad feeling about all this. She jumped the gun too early, she should have first knocked on Yu Tian''s room''s door. Yu Bufan would have been there perhaps. And who knew if Yu Tian never went?

    She walked and walked and then she stumbled upon the gruesome sight. She halted her steps and looked at the sorry figure before her, crouching down, leaning against the wall, his head in his hands, his clothes all ripped. The blood was oozing out of his fresh wounds which were visible through his tattered clothes. How painful it must have been. The scene was heart wrenching as it was appalling. That witch did not know how to treat human beings as human beings.

    Mei Qingyang could not look at him anymore, her eyes teared up once again. This was definitely just not physical abuse. What was happening here? Her heart broke, is this what he would go through every time he did his ''duty''?

    This is what he had not wanted her to see, him being so pathetic, and feeble. It was okay as long as she thought he was going through only physical abuse. Today, she was seeing the real thing, the real pain he was hiding. A tear rolled down his cheek, he was not sure if it was because he was too ashamed to even look into her eyes or if it was his pain or relief over seeing the person he wanted to see the most.

    Mei Qingyang silently made him get up, without uttering a single word. She knew his condition right now was indescribable and perhaps, silence would be the most comforting. She was regretting trusting that bastard Wang Hao, she was one hour too late. She would kill him, really kill him!

    Yu Tian refused to budge from his place but Mei Qingyang dragged him by the sleeve of his threadbare shirt. As soon as she crossed the door of the office with the wounded guy behind her, the door flung open.

    "You b*tch, you are finally here. See what you did to my nephew? It is all your fault," Yu Rong started yelling at the girl who was so pissed off that she took out her gun and pointed it on her head directly.

    "I am a civil person, that''s why I am leaving you today. Do remember justice will be served to you very soon. In the meantime you dare touch him again, I will personally come kill you. Then I will forget that you are my elder or that murder is illegal," Mei Qingyang''s being was emitting a menacing aura but her words were very calculated and slow, like a snake was slowly gripping her prey. It felt like she was some angry goddess that would devour the whole world.

    Yu Rong became a bit frightened, not only did she only have a knife in her hand, which she though she had advantage of before she saw the gun in the girl''s hands, the green marble eyes full of madness were very scary to her.

    She had only heard of the intensity of this girl when a few of her sources had reported how she had beaten the servants of the Zhang family. Of course, it was never confirmed because Hacker Z had blocked all the feed and her agents never got a clear picture. Now she could really see it. But she could not back down here.

    "Hmph! What can you do anyway? Flaunting around this toy gun won''t scare me," Yu Rong smirked. This little girl, who would think she would know how to fire guns? That Jiang guy needed to teach her better tricks.

    Mei Qingyang smiled but her eyes were dead calm at this point. She clicked the gun, without removing it from her head, spooking Yu Rong more. She then pointed it to the light in her office and bang! A shot echoed through the floor, the glass shattering everywhere. Mei Qingyang knew that the whole floor was soundproof. It would not alert anyone anywhere in the building. This should be enough for scaring her now.

    She fell down on her b.u.t.t with shock.

    "How¡­ how dare you fire a gun at me, I could prosecute you for attempted murder¡­"

    "Before that, how about I prosecute you on the charges of physical and s.e.x.u.a.l abuse? You think you would be able to explain the circ.u.mstances leading to me firing that shot? Oh yeah, you can forget me being minor and stuff, I have a license to carry a firearm," Mei Qingyang cut her in between. She knew she had won this round.

    But at what cost? She looked behind her, Yu Tian was not looking at them at all. He was still in trauma and she needed to tend to him immediately. Before Yu Rong could argue some more, Mei Qingyang dragged Yu Tian with her and left the suffocating place.

 Chapter 158 - Tending The Wounds - I

    The two people walked silently till Yu Tian''s room. Mei Qingyang was finding it difficult to even initiate the conversation. It was almost 10 p.m. now and there was no one in any of the hallways. She was making sure no one noticed the two of them, so she would stop and hide with the guy if she would suddenly encounter anyone.

    Yu Tian was not in a state to think anymore. He was just a walking zombie, acting like a dog who was following his owner wherever she would take him. Slowly and carefully, they finally reached Yu Tian''s room. She looked at him, and without a word, the guy punched in the pass code for the room.

    Mei Qingyang opened the door only to find a dark room. She realized Yu Bufan was not there. She kept it open for Yu Tian to enter. Once inside, she slammed the door and supported Yu Tian to the couch.

    "Ugh," he recoiled with pain as soon as he sat down, wrenching Mei Qingyang''s heart. She removed his shoes meticulously, making sure to not touch his skin. He had come back from a huge incident and he would probably hate even her touch for now.

    Sitting on the couch Yu Tian covered his eyes with his arm, wanting to forget wherever he was. He was exhausted, he just wanted to coil himself and sleep.

    "Senior Yu," Mei Qingyang softly called. Yu Tian removed his hand and looked down, his eyes still listless. Mei Qingyang was sitting on her knees, her eyes full of affection. There was not even a trace of disgust on her face. Had she not left him earlier because it was too much to take in?

    "You need to take a bath okay? I will prepare one for you, just wait here, okay?" Mei Qingyang was struggling to keep herself calm. She was so enraged, especially since Yu Tian looked like he had just accepted everything as it is. She wanted to hug him and ask him to let it all out. But how could she? She wanted to cry, scream, break things on his behalf. That cruel witch! She deserved death!

    She got up from the floor and was about to turn when she felt a tug at her shirt from behind. When she looked at the back, she realized Yu Tian had grabbed the end of her shirt. She gazed at him, waiting for his explanation. She had to work patiently here, he was unstable.

    It took some time for him to even raise his head but he stared at her and shook his head. He did not want her to leave, even for a moment. He was afraid that she would leave him, this time for good, because she had really seen his weak side. He was supposed to be the male protagonist of a romance novel, how did he turn into a pathetic weak human being?

    Mei Qingyang grabbed his hand which was holding her shirt''s hand, instantly getting her hand slapped away. The sudden touch did startle Yu Tian and he could not control his reaction. Then his eyes looked at her red hand, his expression turning painful, like he had committed some crime. It was an involuntary reaction, he did not mean it. His regretful eyes met Mei Qingyang''s who was not a least bit offended.

    "Okay, how about I get a bucket of warm water? We do need to wipe down your wounds," she again spoke very gently, bringing comfort to Yu Tian. She was not upset.

    "I¡­ I am sorry," he finally uttered a few words for the first time since she had found him in that corner.

    "I will be back in one minute, okay?" She did not directly respond to his apology. She needed to drill into his head that it was just natural reaction at that moment.

    "Here, drink this," she handed the glass of water to him and sat down by his side. She wished she could c.a.r.e.s.s his head but given how extreme his reaction was earlier, he probably still did not want anything to touch him.

    Yu Tian took the water and gulped it down, invigorating his dehydrated body. He was now feeling much better, especially since he had company of his special person. He did wish that it was under different circ.u.mstances though.

    "Senior Yu, do I have permission?" Mei Qingyang looked at his half-buttoned shirt full of red stains. She needed to take his shirt off to disinfect the injuries. Yu Tian tried unbuttoning his shirt himself but his quivering hands failed him. In the end, he gave up and let Mei Qingyang take care of it.

    She drenched a small towel and started wiping his perfectly built body. The marks were not only from a whip, there were nail scratches all over. She could spot a few bite marks and hickeys too. What kind of treatment was this?

    She took extra care to not touch him directly. But whenever it did happen, he would wince. He was trying to endure so much that Mei Qingyang was feeling scared for him. When she asked him to sit sideways so that she could work on his back, he refused.

    "Senior Yu, please let me. If any of the wounds fester, it will be much painful," she pitifully tried to convince him. She had already seen almost everything, why was he shying away now? Yu Tian hesitated for a bit and ultimately, did move his a.s.s.

    Mei Qingyang gasped as soon as she looked at it. Apart from the wounds she had encountered earlier, there were quite a few burn marks there.

    "Did¡­," she gulped her saliva before asking the question, "Are these from a hot rod or something?"

    Yu Tian did not say anything and just sat there. His silence confirmed her suspicions. Oh my God!

    She¡­ she burned him? It felt like the marks were in letters. What did it say? ''Rong''? What the f*ck? She sealed her name on his body, like this?

    Mei Qingyang threw away the towel in her hand in extreme frustration. What kind of woman, no human being was that witch? She had run out of curse words in her mind for that Yu Rong.

    Yu Tian glanced over his shoulder seeing that she had not started with the wiping yet. She was mad, definitely mad. He saw the towel on the floor which was now sullied under her foot. He actually had no idea that the marks that had formed on his back were his aunt''s name. How shameful!

    Mei Qingyang got another towel and started wiping his back, cautious to not touch the burn marks. She then got a few ice cubes from the fridge and made an ice pack to subdue the hot places.

    It was a whole night ordeal. And much of their time was spent in silence, except the occasional groan from Yu Tian when she touched some part on his body which would hurt.

    "Won''t you ask me any questions?" after a long while, Mei Qingyang was finally done with his upper body. She had just sat down to take some rest and then she would start with his legs.

    Yu Tian had suddenly looked into her eyes, just to get a hint of what she was thinking. He was slowly getting into his strong personality mode, and Mei Qingyang could sense this change already. She needed to get to the bottom of why he would become so meek and resigned in front of his aunt. What was she holding against him?

    "I have a clear picture of what is happening here. I would be lying if I say I am not curious. But as I have told you previously, I will wait for you to open up. I don''t know, me now knowing your exact situation would help you more. I do hope it does!" She sighed. For her, he was still a hero, he was fighting a brutal war against his own family. And she wanted to be by his side.

    "Will you leave me now that you know of my secret?"

    So, this was what was on his mind the whole time?

    "You should understand one thing here senior Yu, it was not your fault. There is no way my feelings will change for you after this. You are mine and will always be."

    By the time she looked up to see how he would react on her shameless words, she had been pulled into a giant embrace.

    "Thank you, Qing Qing, your support all these months has been very helpful in enduring my pain. There is nothing that I look forward to in the day other than meeting you. You have brought colors to my otherwise monochromatic dull life. And I have no idea how to repay you," he said such heartfelt words with a trembling choked up voice that Mei Qingyang could not help but hug him back. She silently patted his shoulders, comforting him as much as she could. Her eyes and heart, both softened.

    So this was her answer! He knew he should have trusted her, he was silly in thinking otherwise. He probably would die because of heart ache if they had that kind of fight again. A big grin formed on his face realizing that she had still accepted his broken heart, soul and body.

 Chapter 159 - Tending The Wounds - II

    "Senior Yu, we still need to tend the wounds on your legs. But before that, would you like to eat something?" Now that she knew Yu Tian had finally come to his senses, she tried to take his mind off the things.

    He was still hugging her tightly, afraid to let go. Her embrace was so soothing to him, he could spend his whole day like this. Guess they would end up talking through the whole night then.

    "I don''t feel like eating anything. You should take some rest. You have been working on me for quite some time now,'' he spoke over her shoulder, his enchanting voice reverberating through her ears. Mei Qingyang blushed, what were they doing deep into this long night?

    Plus her own shameless cheesy words earlier, she could die of embarrassment somewhere. You are mine? Seriously? Did she not have better words to frame it? Aaarrgghhhh, what happened to the always cool and calm and composed Mei Qingyang? She ruffled her own hair inside her mind in more shame.

    She also did not dare to let go. She could tell how much she was valued just by how he was snuggling against her. In sometime though, her back started hurting. She tapped on his arm encircling her body.

    "Okay, senior Yu, let''s finish this work, okay? I have just wiped your wounds, I need to dress them too. Quite a few of them will leave scars¡­" she informed him regretfully. That witch had to ruin such a perfect body.

    "Qing Qing¡­," he called her gently, separating himself from her. He could sense her discomfort for sitting like that for so long. Her petite frail body felt like it would break if he kept at it for long. To think that this tiny creature packs so much courage in her that she would threaten with a real gun!

    "Hmm?" she asked confusedly. He had zoned out in his own world once again.

    "Thank you," he held her hands and tenderly brought them to his mouth, kissing them. Her face turned read once again. Jeez, was this the time to be romantic?

    She hurriedly withdrew her hands and grabbed fresh towels again. His pants were frayed as well. Now that she looked at him, he really needed a bath. His hair was sticky, his face still sweaty. Because Yu Rong had, once again, made sure to not touch his face, she had not paid any attention to it.

    Her hands reached out to his face and wiped all the dirt completely off. Yu Tian also let her do whatever she wanted, patiently. He was enjoying the feeling. Her touch made him forget the ordeal he had gone through earlier that night. How could she have such magical healing powers? His heart gradually, completely dropped the guard.

    He put his head in her l.a.p, lying down on the couch. He was so tired that sleep came over and he slept like a baby in his security bubble. He knew his ordeal, at least for a month, was over and he would have peace.

    Mei Qingyang let him sleep, c.a.r.e.s.sing her hair which she had tried cleaning using the wet towels. She did not have any other means for now, unless she forced him to wake up and take a bath. She could not bear to do so. She cleaned his whole body slowly and then ended up wrapping bandages around his wounds.

    When she was finally done, she came back and put his head in her l.a.p once again.

    As soon as she sat down and looked at the haggard face, her tears started plopping once again, dropping at Yu Tian''s face, who was so deep in sleep that even drums could not wake him up.

    "Senior Yu, I am so sorry. I could have been there in time. But my neglect, I still can''t forgive myself. I promise to you, I won''t let any harm come to you now. I will work on getting her to jail more rigorously now." She wiped her tears from Yu Tian''s face.

    The warm liquid on his face reminded him of warm rains he had experienced with his first love. That girl was not a tomboy like Mei Qingyang. She was more lady like, belonged to wealthier category too. Their love at that time, was more innocent.

    And then he had told her about his condition. He could never forget the contorted face of hers as she had left him, questioning him, "How could a man be under his aunt''s thumb like this? Could he not just use force, Yu Rong was a woman after all? Could he just no go may be?"

    He had asked those questions to himself so many times. But he never had an answer for them. Why would he always comply with the summon? Why did he feel overpowered whenever he visited those offices of hers? Why could he just not leave?

    But this girl was different. She, perhaps, understood him. Or pretended to understand at least. She was not judgmental. He was far more grown up than that puppy love time. But there was still someone out there who was ready to accept him as he was.

    He opened his eyes to see the girl bawling on his behalf. She had her eyes closed and her hands clasped together. He felt more heartache for her than him. Why did she need to take so much burden for him? He raised his hand and gently c.a.r.e.s.sed her cheek, wiping her tears. Mei Qingyang looked at him through her doe like eyes, water still floating around the corner of her eyes.

    "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

    "No, it is okay. More importantly, what do you think we should do about our relationship status?"

    "What about it?" she asked, tilting her head.

    "I¡­ I thought since you had claimed your ownership over me, you would want to accept me as your boyfriend?"

    "Senior Yu¡­," she hesitated before proposing, "Take me as your servant."

    -------------

    "How did she get the access card?" Yu Rong, who was still trembling over the threat she received and that gun shot, asked a very calm Wang Hao, who was standing over the shattered glass of the light.

    "Master, you yourself wanted her to see him in that condition. I thought that would be the best course of action," he stated as a matter of fact.

    "And so you just gave the card to her?" she clenched her hands. That b*tch dared threaten her with her life. If this Wang Hao had not meddled, she would still be having her fun.

    "Master, I know your tendencies. Were you not enjoying the show when she was sneaking around? I anyway changed the time and she was one hour late. I was only thinking about you," he made it look like he was doing it for her, with an earnest expression on his face, which was Yu Rong''s weakness.

    In his multiple years with Yu Rong, he had determined what worked with her and what did not. Handsome men were always her weakness. He knew since the beginning that one of the reasons she had initially chosen him was because of his face, which also bore some resemblance to love of her life, Yu Ming.

    Now he could use his charm whenever he liked to get out of sticky situations like this. He did give that card for his own personal gain but he had to make sure he was not doing anything which could really go against her. What a harmless little girl could do even if she got the access card? She was too much in love with that bastard, she would not bring people to help him out. All she could have done was play a few petty tricks to let Yu Tian escape.

    Who would have thought that she would directly charge on the floor, with a gun in her hands? He had no idea that Jiang Nuo had trained his daughter to kill. She even possessed license to carry and fire arms. What kind of beast had that minister produced? Was this his revenge for his dead son?

    Anyway, it worked out good for him. He would first check if she had some dangerous toy with her when she would come to fulfill her part of deal. Now he knew what to look for.

    "Forget it. I need to lay low for sometime, lest she comes with her gun again. Wang Hao, tighten the security around me. I need the top notch people, even if you have to hire veterans, just do it. I can''t back down against a puny girl," she ordered Wang Hao.

    "Understood master," Wang Hao grinned inside. It seemed like Yu Rong was becoming foolish as she was aging. Or perhaps she had just gotten too many emotions involved. His sharp mistress was shaken to the core. She had thought no one else could use brute force other than her. Now she really had a challenger.

    -------------

    "Master, I saw them safely entering the room," Su Weixi reported to Su Lang.

    "How did he look?" he asked, gulping down the beer in his hand.

    "He¡­ the damage was much more than usual," Su Weixi sighed and sat down just beside her master. She put her arms around his head and pulled him to her shoulder.

    "It''s okay master, I know you are not trying to meddle because you don''t want her to hurt your best friend even more. But I should say your foster cousin has much more guts than any of us," she patted his head because she knew he was in pain too.

    Su Lang closed his eyes in frustration and let Su Weixi stroke his head. He nestled against her neck. "I am so upset that I have been watching him for years but I can''t do anything. If only, if only I could break away from my family, if only I was that powerful. All my hard work has been for him since the beginning. I have seen him in pain for all these years. Even then I could not do anything. And I am still so powerless," he rambled, a bit drunk.

    His hot breath tingled Su Weixi''s skin. She tried getting away but Su Lang put his arms around her waist, tightening his grip on her, not letting her go.

    "I am sorry Weixi, let me be like this for some time," he let out a sigh, full of regrets and anguish.

 Chapter 160 - Be Your Servant

    "What are you saying? I asked you to be my girlfriend, not my servant!" Yu Tian got up from her l.a.p immediately. This girl had a knack for ruining moments. He would have loved to steal a kiss there but she said such words, destroying all his d.e.s.i.r.e.

    Wait, d.e.s.i.r.e? In the past, whenever he came out of Yu Rong''s office, he felt repulsive. He would not even want to see any human, much less touch them. Yu Bufan was the only he would keep by his side, that too out of necessity. Which is why he would always flee away to a nearby property Yu family had and not come in contact with anyone for two weeks.

    He would drown himself in his work to forget his pain. He could not afford to lag on his work but occasionally, he would indulge himself in excess alcohol to deal with his circ.u.mstances. But today, this girl, who worked like a drug to him, had completely changed how he would usually behave in such situation.

    He even wanted to just cuddle with her, he slept peacefully on her l.a.p, without any abhorrence of the touch too. On the top of everything, he still had a d.e.s.i.r.e for her? And her one sentence was so agitating too, his whole being rejected her idea. He was really changing! This girl really did something to him.

    "Senior Yu," she held his head between her hands to show him how serious she was, "Think about it. Can I be your girlfriend under these circ.u.mstances?"

    She meant to say, until they resolve their enemies, it was impossible for them to have a normal relationship. How much would they hide, especially from Yu Rong? And although she was ready to protect him from her with her life, could she always be with him as his girlfriend?

    On the other hand, if she were his servant, she could live with him without restraint. She could support him in circ.u.mstances like these, although she was going to make sure nothing like this happened to him again.

    Although Yu Tian knew what she was thinking, this was a bad idea on so many fronts. Her status in her class would drop were they to announce a servant master relationship. No one would respect her. Why should she sacrifice herself for him? Even if she was madly in love with him, was it okay to let go of herself for him like this?

    "I understand your point of view but I cannot accept this," he crossed his arms and looked straight in her eyes. The idea was ridiculous.

    "Senior Yu, listen to me. In this lifetime, before Yu Rong is gone out of your life, I cannot be your girlfriend by normal means. There are so many ways she could kick me out because there are no rules about dating in the school," Mei Qingyang massaged her temples. It would take too many efforts to convince him.

    "See, it is very easy. We beat the system through the system itself. Technically, you do not have an ''official'' servant. She won''t be able to say anything if you do get one, because rules. I would be by your side and the people in your household would be at peace too as well as people outside your household."

    ??I know! I know all this. But I don''t want you to sacrifice your dignity for me. Why are you not thinking for yourself?" he clasped her shoulders with both his hands and shook her a bit, making her dizzy. She already had no sleep the whole night and now Yu Tian was not ready to see her point of view. So much frustration ah!

    "If I were to think about myself, I would not have stepped in here, at this school in the first place. You think I am afraid of anyone slandering me? We are way past that point Senior Yu, and you know it too," she tried one more time to persuade him. She really did not care about trivial things like dignity and stuff, as long as her conscience was clear. And she knew for a fact that she needed Yu Tian''s support to deal with Yu Rong. Because she could not discuss the details with others, it was the best that they brainstorm together.

    From what she had gathered about Yu Rong, if they were to be separated now, she would use full force to make sure that they do not meet often. Even if that witch would be scared of her threat to her, she could legitimately ask her to now assume her superintendent duties and drown her in work so much, she would not have time for herself. And Yu Rong was capable of doing that.

    Over the years, the superintendent was just a watchdog for Ministry of Education and to keep them away from whatever was happening in the school, Yu Rong would not give them many responsibilities. The less they knew, the better. But now she would have excuse of keeping them apart.

    Yu Rong was definitely petty that way. She did not mind being called that, as long as her purpose was being fulfilled.

    "I personally don''t want you to do it, but if it makes you happy, I will comply," Yu Tian saw her serious face and got convinced once again. Rather he gave up because he knew she would not listen to him. Once this woman made a resolve, even she herself could not stop then. It seemed like she was very determined on this.

    "Yes, you are the best Senior Yu!" she hugged him tightly.

    "Come on, it''s going to be sunrise soon, let''s watch it together?" she enthusiastically took him to the big window of his room. He had a balcony too but no one was clothed in winter clothes so she chose to sit on his bed''s corner facing the window.

    Her face glowed with the golden sun rays and Yu Tian could not help but get mesmerized by the raw beauty of the girl. She felt his eyes on her and tilted her head towards him, smiling brightly.

    "I wish I get to spend many more new years with you like this Senior Yu," she said her wish out loud. With the warm rays and the warm words, his heart, cheeks, even his eyes warmed too. He could die of happiness today.

    He leaned in for a kiss, and for the first time, Mei Qingyang gave her consent to him. The golden rays illuminating their behind was the perfect background for the perfect lovely moment. They both will remember this beginning of their relationship for years to come.

    -------------

    Su Lang was woken up by the New Years sun directly hitting the light on his face, to find himself in arms of Weixi, who was also sleeping on the couch. He was shirtless. Panic struck his heart, he did not do anything to his assistant right?

    He looked at her face and her lipstick was smudged. What happened last night? He was drunk, he remembered hearing about Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang from her and regretting the face that he could not really do anything for his friend.

    And then nothing, he was drawing a blank. At least Weixi was fully dressed, so he definitely did not let d.e.s.i.r.e take over. D.e.s.i.r.e? Were his cousin and best friend right after all? Was he interested in his assistant?

    He looked at the innocent face, sleeping without guard. He knew they had been together since childhood, but he was also a man! How could this girl not think of her own safety? He scratched his head and then brought a blanket to cover the girl''s body.

    Did he want anything more? He had not given it a thought. Also, because he knew she came from a rough place. He did not want to be brandished as a person who also worked their ''servants'' s.e.x.u.a.lly. He never considered as a servant in the first place, she was his subordinate, his colleague and his childhood friend. She knew more about him than anyone else. How did they skip the part that he liked her then? Or was it just because those two had put this idea in his mind? It was more likely that.

    But he still needed to ask her what happened last night. The movement due to the blanket woke the girl up. She rubbed her eyes and the view of the most handsome face appeared in front of her. Startled, she pushed her master back with force.

    "M¡­ master!" she stuttered.

    "Weixi, did you have a good night sleep?" Su Lang asked her awkwardly. How should he bring up the topic?

    "Yes master, as long as you had a good night sleep, hehe," she replied and then the events last night started playing in her mind. She blushed furiously, hinting that something had definitely happened when he was drunk.

    "Weixi! I am so sorry! Did I do something? I won''t be able to forgive myself if I even tried to violate you. This is just¡­ I am so sorry. I probably lost control. I¡­," he was out of the words, especially because he was still clueless.

    "What are you talking about master? What happened last night?" Su Weixi blinked her big eyes in confusion.

    "Your lipstick¡­ I thought¡­ Why are you so red then?" he was perplexed too.

    "You¡­ you said the color did not suit me and rubbed it all with your coat," she replied, a realization dawning over her. Her master had misunderstood her. But somewhere within her heart, a pain crept in. Did he not see her as a woman at all, why was he apologizing so frantically?

    "After you had the drinks, you were feeling hot, so you removed everything. You were about to remove your pants too, but I stopped you. And this is not the first time you have slept like this, so¡­," she shrugged her shoulders and Su Lang heaved a sigh of relief.

    "If I ever do this again, you have the right to refuse and just walk away, you know that right?" he knelt down on the floor in front of the girl sitting on the couch and told his sincere words.

    "Master, don''t worry, if you try to do anything, I have better skills than you. I will knock you out before you know it," she smiled.

    Damn that couple, they had really made him conscious of this girl. Now that he looked at her sun-lit face, he felt like he was actually falling for her.

 Chapter 161 - His Story

    "And so, the story starts when I was really really young, like eight years old," Yu Tian finally decided to open up. They had quite some time to kill and now that she had seen everything anyway, it would not really matter if he told her his story. He sat down on the sofa and started narrating the story. Mei Qingyang sat beside him, to patiently listen.

    "You don''t mean¡­," Mei Qingyang''s jaw dropped. Seriously Yu Rong? You did not spare a child even?

    Yu Tian shook his head, defending his aunt, "She did not start right away. I am just building up the story here."

    Mei Qingyang understood. He was still psychologically attached to his aunt, otherwise he would not defend her like this, especially what happened last night.

    "And?"

    "She entered my room one day and turned off the lights. I was watching the TV then," he recalled exactly how it all started. It was supposed to be childhood trauma, he could have easily blurred it with time. But it was so vivid in his memory, that he would have nightmares about it.

    "Before that she had already conditioned me, I was already developing Stockholm Syndrome. She would shut me in dark rooms after telling me scary stories for hours, even days, without food and water. And then she would shower me with treats. That was just a trivial example but I really grew dependent on her."

    "I thought a lot of Asian parents did that. So, perhaps I was the one who was not good enough. I would study things at length, just to get her approval. But again, I was never good enough."

    Mei Qingyang sympathized. In the whole group, everyone''s parents treated their children like shit, expecting more from them at each step of their life, forgetting that they were their own beings. Yes, Yu Rong took it a notch higher, but they all were broken souls like this, without their parents realizing.

    It did not seem like their parents ever understood that they were own individuals and not just their puppets or reflection or their unachieved dreams and hopes.

    "That one day, she had brought a wooden stick with her. She made an excuse of me humiliating her by doing something that I had not done. She beat me up with that. While I was crying and screaming, she was laughing. Her smile, only lit by the TV in that dark room, still haunts me to the day," he put his head in his hands once again, that first night was too painful.

    Mei Qingyang closed the gap between them and took him into her embrace once again.

    "If it is too painful to recollect, you don''t need to force yourself. It can wait, trust me," she consoled him. Her eyes and voice were very gentle, making him want to melt into her and become one being. His heart throbbed, it seemed like his painful memories were being enveloped with light of love from this girl. Perhaps, perhaps h would be able to let them go if he shared everything with her?

    "No, I think I need to do this. I feel like there is light at the end of this, and I really want to see through it," he replied. Mei Qingyang was all ready to listen to him and let him pour out his feelings, even if it took him days. She gave a nod to let him continue.

    "This whole thing went on for about two to three years, I do not remember exactly. Apart from that one night, the details are kind of hazy. I spent a lot of time in tears, as a kid I did not have any confidence at all. I only remember dark dingy places, homeschooling, strict teachers, my aunt and more tears."

    "I do not have any happy memories at all," he abruptly stopped.

    "What about your friends? Elder brother and others, you guys are childhood friends right?" she inquired. She needed to ask right questions to make sure everything would not just be dark.

    "Yeah, I was too quiet of a kid, precisely because I did not know how whatever I spoke would incense people around me. So, I just kept to myself. Su Lang was the one who approached me first. We became friends around the same time when she started introducing me to s.e.x. I wanted to ask him if it was normal but I was too ashamed to even tell it to everyone."

    Mei Qingyang stroked his hair, comforting him. Yu Tian felt like his heart, that was always bound by shackles, was finally beating. How long had it been since he had felt like this? Wasn''t it the first time?

    "She tried all her kinks on me, since I was eleven years old. I don''t even want to mention, handcuffs and vibrators were normal days but her fascination with bondage and sadism were something, I do not wish to furnish the details," he closed his eyes, he was leaning against Mei Qingyang. The two sat in silence for some time, Mei Qingyang taking in whatever he had told her. That woman was despicable! To be doing this to a kid and robbing him of his innocence like this, she was a monster. The most powerful heir in the country had such a painful past and present, who would have thought?

    "She sometimes treated me as a pet who needed to be tamed. She would put me in chains, cage me, tease me and then shower me with so much love that I could not see my life beyond this whole cycle," his voice choked ultimately and Mei Qingyang''s grip around his shoulders tightened. He must have been completely broken by the time he grew up.

    "Then I got to go abroad, thanks to Lang. And I jumped on that opportunity as soon as I could. I jest needed to run away and start my life. These three were achieving so much while I was just sitting, wallowing in my sorrow. I went there and with peace of mind and help from Bufan and Lang, I was able to start a few ventures on my own. That really gave me a boost. However, there was a huge incident some five years ago and to save the reputation of the school, we both had to come back and the cycle started again, because even after going independent, I just could not say no to her," he sighed. What kind of coward was he? Even after undergoing so much psychiatric treatment when he was abroad, he was at square one still.

    "Again senior Yu, it was not your fault. Do not blame yourself. Man or not, anyone can be a victim of abuse, there is nothing to be ashamed of," she told him softly and kissed his head on the side. Flowers bloomed in his heart, replacing the heavy feeling he was feeling right now.

    Another period of silence ensued when the main door opened suddenly and a haggard Yu Bufan appeared, halting in his steps when he saw the scene before him. He startled the couple who frantically separated from each other, shock registering on everyone''s face.

    -----------

    Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian spent the whole day together. Yu Bufan had arrived in the afternoon and cried silently on seeing the damage to his master. He was surprised to see the girl and his master being upbeat, even after yesterday''s activity and they explained to him everything.

    "Should we be wary of you now that we know you know how to use weapons too?" Yu Bufan joked. This girl never failed to surprise them. She had arms training and license! What was Minister Jiang thinking making such a frail girl go through such a tough training?

    "Hmm? I thought you were wary of me since the beginning. Why would a gun add increase or decrease anything to that?" Mei Qingyang retorted. She had always been aware of Yu Bufan not trusting her completely. He was always on an alert around her.

    "You can''t blame me for this. This is the first time I have seen master so infatuated with someone. I need to make sure they don''t have ulterior motives," Yu Bufan said sulkily. When these days happened in his master''s life, he always tried to be a friend rather than an assistant. And thus, he was in that mode currently. He had sat down on the sofa with his master while Mei Qingyang prepared lunch for them.

    She had strictly forbidden Yu Tian to move around, after she accidently reopened a wound during their passionate kiss. He could only be a good boy and listen to her. Thus, he was currently resting on the big couch.

    To Yu Bufan, it looked funny but was a novel experience. In all honesty, he was happy for his master. From the story that they both told him, it seemed like he could really trust the little lass.

    "Anyway master, the vacation is ending tomorrow. Where do you plan to go after this?" Yu Bufan asked. The pair had not really thought about the next steps when Mei Qingyang had charged at Yu Rong.

    "We absolutely cannot go to school. I can still use an excuse, but what about Qing Qing?"

    "I don''t want to miss the new semester to be honest, but if you go to your usual place, won''t it be easy for her to access you?" Mei Qingyang asked while cutting the veggies.

    "I am guessing she will take it easy for a while, she would not disturb us. You, on the other hand, I am not really sure about," Yu Bufan replied with a worried expression. Should he ask his minions to tighten security around her? He had gotten a few people on her tail to protect her. But it did seem like a waste because she had better skills than the people he had sent for her aid.

    "That is fine. Her attacks have been foiled till now, she would have enough estimation of my and her own abilities by now. I can take care of myself. I need you both out of way though, otherwise I won''t be able to protect all of us at the same time," she was confident that she could get out of it if it was just herself. She pleaded them both to take one month off.

    "Okay, it is decided then. We will leave you alone for a month. But if you ever need our help, you can use one of your secret ways to contact us," Yu Bufan smirked.

    "You knew about it?" Mei Qingyang replied in a smile. She had known about their agents for quite a while so she had an idea they would also know a thing about her or two.

    "You don''t look surprised," Yu Bufan laughed. The cat was out of bag. Yu Tian, on the other side, grunted. He had just started his relationship with this girl and he had to now separate from her for another month? Guess it was revenge for the month he had kept her by his side permanently. He cursed his stars once again, why did it have to happen to him?

 Chapter 162 - New Semester Starts

    The new semester started with a bang. The news that Yu Tian had taken Mei Qingyang as an ''official'' servant spread like wildfire throughout the school. A strange phenomenon was observed. Students, even professors came to check Mei Qingyang multiple times out. Who was the girl who could break twenty one years of streak in the life of most eligible bachelor of the nation?

    She had already made a name for herself with her ''baring the body'' and ''getting a national medal'' incidents. But people did not really know her face then. They would hear about a nobody called ''Mei Qingyang''.

    But this was a huge issue. The legend had registered her as a servant, something even the other three had not done. And that girl was a normal student of the college. What had transpired during the winter trip?

    On the other hand, a lot of girls heaved a sigh of relief. At least the position of his girlfriend was still empty. Wang Hao clenched his teeth when the news came out.

    Anyway, the whole campus was abuzz with gossip and conversation and speculation about how finally, Yu Tian might have done it with this random girl.

    "Qingyang, is it really true? I would have never realized that you would become our God''s servant," Ma Shuxin placed her books on the table, an envy and pity spread on her face for her friend. If she was able to win any of the three legend''s favor like this, her life would have been set.

    "It is indeed true," Mei Qingyang gave a curt reply while observing Ma Shuxin with her piercing eyes. Ma Shuxin got nervous and started looking in front of the classroom. It seemed like this girl had started suspecting her, otherwise her behavior would not have changed so drastically in the past few days.

    Or perhaps, this girl had already been in discussion with Yu Tian about the servant thing and had suddenly started acting arrogant. Yeah, there was definitely more likelihood of this.

    "Is your dad not against it?" she whispered her question. She was very curious about the events that led to this. They were roommates during the trip but this girl never came back after the night of New Year''s eve.

    Wait, was it like a shotgun marriage? Perhaps they did it during that time and this girl was found pregnant or something? She made a note in her mind, she had not heard any rumors like this but how much time would it take to make one up?

    "He does not need to know. Although, he would ultimately get to know it."

    "Then, did you guys¡­ do it?"

    Mei Qingyang laughed in her mind. Oh this girl, collecting information for gossip. Should she play along or what?

    She started acting all shy, smiling at Ma Shuxin, without giving her an answer. Her bashful smile was enough for Ma Shuxin to take the hint. Oh God! This was an explosive news!

    Su Lang entered her classroom with a loud noise. She was about to greet him with a smile when he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the roof, under puzzling looks of everyone, including hers. She had this close relation with the second God too? Damn this girl was popular.

    "What the f*ck were you both thinking?" He was angry. Such a big decision and they did not think to consult with him at all? How would she endure all the pain that was to come because of this?

    "Relax elder brother, it is a very calculated move. You don''t need to worry," Mei Qingyang looked far into the distance on the roof. She would perhaps need to explain it to a lot of people, not just him.

    "Fine, I won''t interfere in your matter. Your dad has been calling me non stop since the news. How do you want me to handle it?" He suddenly felt like he did not really know his sister. A disappointment pierced his heart. Fine, if she was not going to explain, then that was it.

    "Just tell him to talk directly to me," she replied with no emotion in her voice. Her dad had interfered too much in her life and wanted her to keep away from Yu Tian. Not possible. Now he was hounding her cousin for answers.

    "Mei Qingyang, you have a visitor," Wang Hao called her on her old cellphone and informed her that someone wanted to meet with her.

    "What? Me? Who could it be?" she spoke. Su Lang was surprised that she was even sparing words for that heinous guy at all. Did their relationship change in the course of two days? Why did he not know about this?

    "You can just come and check," Wang Hao remained mysterious. Mei Qingyang grew suspicious, was he luring her out to talk about their deal? She still had to keep her side of the bargain.

    "I''ll be there in a minute," she cut the call.

    "Do you need help?" Su Lang raised an eyebrow. He smelled something shady here.

    "Hmm¡­," she thought for a bit then shook her head. She could sense how much in despair Su Lang looked. He seemed like an abandoned puppy. She sighed and before leaving, placed her one hand on his shoulder, "Elder brother, you will come to know when the time is right. There is a reason we did not discuss this with you.," she patted it lightly before leaving the premise, relieving his worries somewhat. Probably they took the drastic decision because of that. In that case, he definitely did not deserve the truth at this point.

    ---------

    Qingyang hurried to the outer office of the school and jumped with joy when she saw a very familiar face.

    "Qing Qing! Long time!!" A very excited Wei Xix came and hugged her friend tightly.

    "What are you doing here?" she saw a suitcase behind her and got curious.

    "I suddenly got an invitation for a semester exchange at the college. I thought I would join you in your adventure," she grinned.

    "Tell me Xixi, you can for cousin, right? Why are you making me an excuse?" Mei Qingyang teased. "Anyway, I am glad it is just one semester. I do not want you to be here more than that."

    Wei Xixi nodded. She just wanted to live the life in the school where she could only dream of going. Now she could fulfill that and see her idol every day. Mei Qingyang inferred a headache coming. She had started rooting for her brother and his assistant but now her good friend was here, would this turn into a love triangle?

    "Ah! Qing Qing! There you are!" she heard Wang Hao approach from behind. Why was this guy here? Also, could he stop with the endearment for God''s sake? Mei Qingyang felt curious gaze coming from her friend but how would she explain it to her?

    "Let me help your friend settle down, okay?" Wang Hao insisted on helping. Mei Qingyang squinted her eyes, what was this guy''s deal now?

    "No thank you Mr. Wang, we will deal with it," she replied coldly. Had he suddenly switched his target from her to her friend? Damnit!

    "No, let me help you both. I am the one who is assigning you the room. Why are you being so distant Qing Qing?" he asked her gently. Wei Xixi was alarmed, why was this guy suddenly acting like he was courting her friend? How come things changed so much in short one month? Where was Yu Tian?

    "Mr. Wang¡­,"

    "Qingyang, is anything the matter?" another character appeared out of the blue in the office. Mei Qingyang thought about it, why was Xu Yang here? But perfect timing!

    "See Mr. Wang? I had called senior Xu to help us out, you don''t need to worry," she laughed awkwardly and then handed over Wei Xixi''s luggage to him. She had a look of ''please help me out'', which Xu Yang understood clearly.

    "Assistant Wang, I will see you around then," he said his farewell and escorted the two ladies out. Wang Hao gritted his teeth. They had especially offered this scholarship to her friend so that they could take advantage of their bond. But if she was going to guard her like that, then they would need to come up with a different strategy.

    "Senior Xu! Thank you so much. What were you doing there?" Mei Qingyang was curious. He glanced at the girl by her side and cleared his throat, "I actually followed you here because I thought I would ask you what was going on with the rumors. It had been quite some time since we caught up too. Then I saw you in a pinch."

    "Oh, thank you! By the way, this is my friend Wei Xixi. Xixi, this is my senior Xu Yang," she introduced them both. They both being in the martial arts teams of their respective schools, knew each other very well. Wei Xixi was the Jiu-Jitsu champion of the nation while Xu Yang ranked up pretty high in his fields as well. They greeted each other politely. And thus started another eventful semester for the students of this elite school, where fun and ''fun'' never stopped.

 Chapter 163 - Moonlight Bar

    "What was your plan to bring here?" Mei Qingyang decided to confront Wang Hao. It was quite suspicious that Wei Qiqi would suddenly show up like this and even agree to a semester exchange. She was angry that they would use even people outside of school like this. She had already heard from Wei Qiqi how they had tried to offer her more money than Yu Tian and tried to bring her on their side.

    Fortunately, she was a loyal and conscientious person. Even if she needed large sums of monies, she would not betray her friends for those corrupt dollars, especially since she was already being adequately provided for by her friend''s arrangements.

    "When are we going to have our date?" Wang Hao smiled, he had his heart racing when the girl called him herself to have a talk. He was expecting her to initiate that conversation but it seemed like she had completely forgotten about their deal. But the frown he was seeing on her face was so adorable for some reason that he could not stay angry with the girl.

    "I never agreed to a date, I agreed to spend a night with you," Mei Qingyang smiled innocently as if she had no idea what he had in him mind. This guy definitely had ulterior motives and it would be interesting to see what she could accomplish during this one night.

    "So, you know eh?" Wang Hao stepped in front, trapping her against the wall once again. Mei Qingyang was quite aware of his antics but Wang Hao was also wary of her, especially since the time he heard about her carrying a gun. He still maintained a proper distance rather than sticking his body close to her. Who knew if she damaged a few parts of him here and there? Mei Qingyang also noticed the distance. Seemed like the guy learned his lesson.

    "Tonight, I want you to come to the Moonlight bar. I have reserved a private room for us there. I will give all your answers there," Wang Hao handed another small access card and then left hurriedly, lest his master saw him flirting with this lass.

    Mei Qingyang flipped the card to scrutinize it. This worked out great! Moonlight bar was the bar at campus and the owner was great friends with the four people. She could manipulate a lot of factors in her favor this way.

    Darn, why did she have to depend on her friends again, for every single thing? But over the course of past few months, she had learned that asking for help was not a sign of weakness. Just the fact that she had people she could ask favors for like this, in itself was a huge blessing. How many people in this world had that?

    She headed to Su Lang''s room and bumped into Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue coming out of Feng Yue''s room.

    "Hello!" Fan Ruyi greeted first. Feng Yue just bobbed his head for a greeting.

    Mei Qingyang raised her eyebrows. These two, when did they get this close that Feng Yue would let Fan Ruyi in? She knew they were friends before, but because of her feelings, Fan Ruyi had always maintained a distance from Feng Yue, she was much closer to Yu Tian.

    She stared at the boxes in Fan Ruyi''s hands.

    "I¡­ I just came to deliver cakes to everyone. Here, would you like a box?" Fan Ruyi waved her other hand, slightly embarrassed. It was true she had not given up on Feng Yue still, but until Mei Qingyang didn''t disappear from his life, she would never have a chance. Even now, the earlier coldness at the bottom of his eyes had disappeared at the sight of Mei Qingyang.

    She knew he was trying hard to forget her, especially now since she had been officially accepted as Yu Tian''s servant. But to have complete control over his heart, she had to go.

    Before she could decline, Feng Yue stepped ahead, slightly shoving Fan Ruyi behind, "Is the rumor true, have you really become Yu Tian''s official servant?"

    Mei Qingyang was slightly puzzled at his question. This guy had all the resources in the world, she was pretty sure he must have gotten the absolute confirmation with the help of his assistant too. Why was he suddenly asking this from her?

    She remained neutral however, not showing any signs of discomfort or thoughts on her face. She nodded. Fan Ruyi at the side relaxed after hearing it from the person herself. Feng Yue, on the other hand, had no idea how to handle this news. Somewhere in his heart, he was definitely hoping it wasn''t true.

    Sure he had decided to move on. But was it easy, especially since he kept meeting the girl all the time? He had tried to even think of Fan Ruyi in the positive manner, since he had heard rumors that the one she liked was him. And the extra gentle care she was providing him, he definitely wanted to think of her in that direction. Even a marriage would be good for both of their families. But he just could not let Li Sibao go from her heart.

    A dejection flashed through his eyes before he went to his quiet and cold self.

    "Oh by the way, where is Yu Tian, I haven''t seen him since the vacation got over. Do you have any idea?" Fan Ruyi asked. She had wanted to ask her about that night since she was aware of what was going to happen. But she never found Yu Tian after that, nor could she get a hold of this girl. And then that news broke out.

    Fan Ruyi was not sure how it all went. But she was really worried about her friend. She ahd tried really hard to contact Yu Tian and Yu Bufan but it was like they had disappeared from the face of earth. Even her assistant could only tell that their last location was some remote forest, nearby.

    Before she could mobilize anyone to find them, she thought of asking Mei Qingyang. But she was looking so relaxed, it meant they were alright.

    "Uhh¡­ he is out on some business trip with a partner. I myself do not know many details, but that is how it is," she scratched her cheek in awkwardness. *Take a hint girl, everything is alright. And don''t ask more questions.*

    "What kind of business would that be, that you can''t even contact them?" Fan Ruyi put her hand on her chin.

    *Damnit!*

    Mei Qingyang cried silently in her heart. Why would the most perceptive people around her become dumb at the crucial moments?

    She shrugged her shoulders, not knowing how to answer.

    Hearing the commotion outside, Su Weixi opened the door. As usual, she had the face of the professional assistant, indifferent and cool. She saw that the three people were chit-chatting, so she invited all of them together. There went Mei Qingyang''s mission.

    "Ohho, how rare! This combo is definitely something I haven''t seen," Su Lang laughed. He had come outside because Feng Yue declined the invitation. He had other things to do apart from idle chit-chat.

    Seeing that she might interrupt the conversation between Su Lang and his sister, Fan Ruyi also just handed one box to Mei Qingyang and Su Lang each and then left.

    "My sister, you finally remember your brother eh?" As usual, Su Lang was in the mood of playing around. He had been trying to contact Yu Tian too, to no avail. So, everyone''s last hope was Mei Qingyang only. And if she could be this calm and composed, it meant he was safe wherever he was.

    "Brother, I know I keep asking for favors, but is it possible for you to help me out once again?" she asked seriously.

    "Before that, how does it feel like becoming an ''unofficial'' girlfriend of my dear friend? You have gotten a really great guy for yourself, but I am more envious of him to have such a dedicated girl by his side," he himself poured the tea for his little sister.

    Mei Qingyang smiled, small dimples forming on her both cheeks.

    "It was your idea to be his servant, wasn''t it? Knowing him, he would have never accepted it."

    "One cannot hide anything from you, eh?" Mei Qingyang chuckled. This guy, as frivolous as he looked, he had much more smarts than her. Sometimes she was afraid of this guy, what all he knew. There was a high chance that he knew about Yu Tian''s actual condition.

    "To be honest, it does feel great to have your feelings accepted. But there is just so much blood between us, that I am not sure how much this will last. Anyway, I will enjoy what I can. Now he has gone for a business trip, I miss him so much. He might be cruising somewhere with his clients while here I am missing him like this," Mei Qingyang shrugged, a weird longing in her heart rising up. She really did miss him, which was very bizarre for her. She had always been a lone wolf, it was so funny that she would really fall in love this much.

    Su Lang saw her condition and decided to change the topic.

    "I am very happy for you both. Don''t think about anything else. Fate has very strange ways of working, I am sure everything will fall into place. So, what help do you need?" He provided a few comforting words and abruptly steered the conversation in another direction.

    "So, I want to talk to the owner of Moonlight bar. I was not sure if I should approach her myself. But she is a mysterious lady, so¡­,"

    "So, you are not sure if she would even agree to meet you?" Su Lang completed her sentence for her.

    Mei Qingyang nodded.

    "No problem. When do you want to meet her?"

    "Tonight, before 7 pm."

 Chapter 164 - Meeting With Moonlights Owner

    "Hey, would you be willing to meet today, as soon as possible?" Su Lang dialed the number of the owner of Moonlight bar as soon as Mei Qingyang had raised the demand. Over the months, he had grown accustomed to this sister of his not telling him anything but asking for favors. Not that he minded. She came to him because she knew he had the capability and that just meant that she trusted him. Wasn''t that the biggest compliment?

    "Oh, young master Su! Yes, I am free today, want to grab lunch?" the voice on the other side sounded really sweet and melodious. It sounded very familiar to Mei Qingyang but she was just hearing it from faraway, through the phone, so she could have been wrong.

    "Uhh¡­ actually, my cousin is the one who wants to meet you, is it fine if I bring her along?" Su Lang hesitated and then asked. Who the heck was this girl that even Su Lang was being so polite and humble suddenly?

    "Your cousin? Of course, I am willing! She''s such a lovely girl, I have always wanted to meet her!" the voice sounded excited. Always wanted to meet? Did this lady know her?

    Mei Qingyang analyzed the voice and it did seem like this girl should be in early twenties. Was she one of her seniors'' classmates? Su Lang finished his call and asked Mei Qingyang to get ready. They were going to have their lunch at Moonlight Bar.

    --------------------

    At the bar, Mei Qingyang entered, her heart pounding. She had tried to look into the information for the bar but the identity of the owner was just so mysterious. She did not have enough time to employ her hacking techniques. She was meeting her anyway, so she did not put much efforts either.

    She had been here before with Fan Ruyi. The bar used to open at night but since her four seniors were the owner''s friends, they got to eat there anytime they wanted. During the afternoon, if they would decide to eat, it would be like the whole bar was reserved just for them. This kind of privacy was certainly required for their day to day operations.

    As soon as they entered, they were greeted with illuminated moon and tiny dots on the roof and walls, it really gave the illusion of a moon lit serene place.

    "Welcome," Mei Qingyang hear the same familiar voice.

    The girl stepped ahead and hugged Su Lang. Then, another lady followed from behind in very beautiful dress, shimmering in the light emanating from the moon. These people really took the theme of ''moonlight'' too far.

    The girl clapped and the normal lights got turned on, blinding the guests for a moment. As soon as her eyes adjusted, Mei Qingyang found a smiling Lady Chen in front of her.

    "Mrs. Chen, it''s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you after so long! You did not have to come personally!" Su Lang spoke excitedly. There were only so many times anyone got to see Mrs. Ling.

    Lady Chen smiled and then glanced at Mei Qingyang who was staring at her, dumbfounded. A chuckle left her mouth.

    "Ms. Mei, long time no see," Lady Chen addressed Mei Qingyang to bring her back to the world.

    "Ah! Nice to meet you too," Mei Qingyang suddenly woke up and greeted her back.

    "I have been waiting for you to contact me all this while. Did you forget about me?" Lady Chen made an aggrieved face like she had missed out on interaction with a very dear person. No wonder she was owner of the bar in the school and business was booming, she had a knack for making people very warm and d.e.s.i.r.ed.

    "I am sorry Lady Chen, I was not able to gather much information. But I did promise you to give hospital details. I did forget about it, so I apologize," Mei Qingyang bowed in front of the elegant lady who had stepped forward and taken her right hand in her soft yet aged hands. How did this lady maintain such a youthful appearance?

    "Don''t worry about it. Come on, let''s sit down. Oh, by the way, this is my daughter, Chen Jie. She is the true owner of this bar, I just help from sidelines. I happened to be with her when she got call from young master Su. I thought I would catch up, I hope I am not making you uncomfortable," Lady Chen replied politely, with her voice dripping of doting affection.

    The two hosts led the two guests towards the back of the bar.

    "How do you know Lady Chen?" Su Lang whispered to Mei Qingyang.

    "I met her briefly during the tournament. But I did not know they own shops at the school. I also did not know they let a.d.u.l.ts other than professors, teachers, staff and board of directors in the campus.

    "She technically is a staff at the school. Also, she is the parent of a current student, she got rights to enter the campus," Su Lang explained in a hushed tone. "Also, they are the people who have information on everything and anything at the school. They trade the information apart from this bar and restaurant. A lot of people use their services."

    They reached the room that was reserved for the four. Chen Jie explained to them that it was soundproof room and the dishes would personally be served by the two hosts.

    "Lady Chen, we do not deserve such treatment. Please, let me help you out," Mei Qingyang interjected.

    "It''s okay Ms. Mei, I want to do it. Let''s just treat it as a mother feeding her babies. Would that ease your mind?" Lady Chen had a very amicable personality and she was an elegant speaker. Mei Qingyang could not retort and just sit down.

    "I hear you only eat vegetarian dishes, so I got you all vegetarian stuff. Please try and let me know if it is to your taste," Lady Chen uncovered four dishes with tantalizing aroma, that Mei Qingyang could not help but gulp her saliva.

    After the dishes were served, they dug in. Mei Qingyang initiated the conversation.

    "It is like this Lady Chen. I am to visit this place as I have some work with Mr. Wang Hao. We will be meeting in a similar setting as right now. There are a few questionable parts to this story but I want your help with setting up the meeting room in accordance with what I am about to tell you," Mei Qingyang nibbled on a piece of tofu as she spoke.

    Damn the dishes were too tasty, she could not put her chopsticks down at all.

    "Whatever support you want Ms. Mei, you will have. However, we cannot give you information about the type of reservation that has been made. That counts as guest''s privacy breach. I hope you understand," Chen Jie replied to her request. Mei Qingyang finally had a good look at the girl who was not much older than them. Her brother said she was a student there. How could she juggle owning the bar in this chaotic place and then study as well?

    "Okay, I can do without those details. I just need the hardest liquor when he calls for alcohol. And here is a drug, I need it put in in one of his drinks," she handed a small white packet to the girl. The hosts opened the packet and found a white crystalline powder in it. They both raised their eyebrows in surprise.

    Mei Qingyang giggled, "It is not a dangerous drug, do not worry. It???s a special type of formula that cannot be detected in the system, so you will be safe. It is just used to intoxicate people faster."

    "What do we get in return Ms. Mei? I understand that you are young master Su''s cousin. However, we don''t really have anything to gain out of this transaction," Chen Jie looked at the girl, who seemed quite resourceful.

    "Jie, you can''t be rude to our guest," the mother reprimanded the daughter lightly. "However, Ms. Mei, Jie is correct. I would rather have a guarantee than now."

    "Lady Chen, I heard you have the biggest network of information inside the country. What could possibly, I, a girl from humble background, possible give you?" Mei Qingyang smiled. She really liked straightforward people.

    "If you do know we trade in information, then you have your answer. You are a walking treasure of information, gossip and news. Let''s make this exchange against that. How about starting with Li Sibao?"

    Both Mei Qingyang and Su Lang were puzzled at her statement. How did she know about that? One could not really underestimate people.

    "Don''t worry, none of your friends revealed it. I just accidently came across the information when I was digging for information about your eyes," Lady Chen realized her daughter had spoken too soon, taking their guests by surprise.

    Mei Qingyang waited in silence. She needed to have more explanation from the mother-daughter pair but no one spoke for next ten minutes. Now she had no idea whether she liked this lady or not.

 Chapter 165 - A Night With Wang Hao - I

    "To be honest, I think I can handle this myself. I even revealed such a precious drug to you, which is not available in the market anywhere. If you''re still looking for more information, I don''t think this is a fair deal," Mei Qingyang fiddled with the last of her dish in her plate. The conversation had steered to a place she was not liking. The hosts seemed reluctant to negotiate. From the way they were talking, they already had most of the information, they were just looking for her confirmation about things.

    And she was in a pretty bad position right now. Her not telling them the truth already was a silent confirmation. The other choice for her was to tell them everything, again confirming the truth about Li SIbao. Nonetheless, she never lost her cool. She had a feeling these guys were testing her.

    The two hosts looked at each other and then laughed out loud, making most elegant movements. Even their laugh was pleasant to the ears, like bells chiming.

    "Ah well, we did not want to offend you but your principles really impress us. We will do it. All we need from you is background information. I told you I am looking for whereabouts of my brother, right? Your eyes seem to be the only clue to me. I would love to sit down with you and know whatever you remember from your past," Lady Chen''s face beamed with a beautiful smile as she peered into Mei Qingyang''s eyes.

    Su Lang on the side felt he was an outsider. What these ladies were talking about, he had no clue. He only chewed on his dishes and silently listened. He was also not sure of her connection with Wang Hao for now. He would ask her later.

    Interestingly, Chen pair did not ask her the purpose of making Wang Hao so. Nor did they ask what she was doing meeting him in the first place. This piqued quite some interest from Mei Qingyang. It was as if they knew everything already. Were they some kind of oracles or something? But she herself did not want to bring the topic to the light. She was already getting nervous that after this meeting, her cousin would bombard her with questions.

    "Well, now that I know how to find you, I will do that soon. In the meantime, I will look forward to your cooperation tonight," Mei Qingyang nodded with having closed the deal successfully. She knew it! They were really testing her. The rest of the lunch went with trivial talks. Mei Qingyang remained silent mostly, as she started planning about her move tonight.

    --------------

    Wang Hao dressed his best, in the only tuxedo he owned. She had finally said yes to spending time with him, so he had made quite a few arrangements. Thankfully, his master was out on a business trip for next two days, and she chose to not take him this time.

    Must be one of her those secret visits to look for Yu island, since she wanted to meet her brother so desperately. He knew a lot of stuff about her, since he was her personal secretary. But there were a few things that were out of his scope of duties.

    Everyone had secrets they wanted to protect and Yu Rong was no exception. There were times when she would visit places all alone. That had nothing to do with Wang Hao though. He just wanted to savor this night together with that young fresh blood.

    He arrived at Moonlight bar at 7pm sharp. Although his appointment with Mei Qingyang was at 7:30 pm he wanted the arrangements to be impeccable. He checked and rechecked everything.

    Mei Qingyang also arrived at the given time. She wanted to be done with as soon as possible. As soon as she arrived, she was rushed to a soundproof private room at the top floor of the building. This guy must have spent a lot of money to book that suite. She entered and saw a roundtable at the corner, decorated with balloons and stars, dinner was already served on the table. On the side, there was a big bed, decorated with rose petals. Mei Qingyang puked inside, did he really think he was going for honeymoon or something?

    Wang Hao was sitting at the round table, waiting for the girl. Once he saw her, a disappointment flashed in his eyes. She should have put some effort at least. She was standing there, in a tee and jeans, her old side bag hanging on her shoulder. He was not expecting something like the afterparty at the national games, but she could have at least put on a dress.

    "Mr. Wang, what is this over the top arrangement?" a mockery floated in Mei Qingyang''s eyes. She was looking down on him!

    "Well, it was an attempt to woo you, since now you can''t be Yu Tian''s girlfriend," Wang Hao replied. He knew the girl was trying to provoke him, but he knew the game well too.

    Mei Qingyang chortled at his remark. "I think you are mistaking something Mr. Wang. I am his servant, you should be well aware what servants are to their masters," she winked, hinting that she knew Wang Hao was also a s.e.x toy for his master.

    Wang Hao clenched his jaw in rage but decided to change the topic. He had put too many efforts and did not want them to go waste.

    He stood up, and like a perfect gentlemen, took out the seat for the lady, signaling for her to sit down. Mei Qingyang took large strides and sat down at the chair. She felt Wang Hao lingering over her body behind her back but he did not dare to do anything.

    He went back to his seat, and ordered the server behind to uncover the dishes. They were all meat dishes. Mei Qingyang stared at the assortment, then guffawed.

    "Mr. Wang, I thought it was a common knowledge that I was vegetarian. If you are really trying to woo me, please put in more efforts. No wonder you are only stuck with your master," she rubbed salt on his wounds again. Poor guy, she somehow, really felt pity for the guy.

    It worked out in her favor though. If the dishes were already here, there was high chance something was mixed in them. Now if the new ones were served, she would be in a better position.

    Wang Hao whispered into the ear of the server and he left at once. He wiped his hands with the napkin and started pouring drinks. Mei Qingyang took the juice that was served for her.

    Wang Hao raised his eyebrows in suspicion but at least he got this part right. After tasting the juice, Mei Qingyang felt something odd again. So, he had come prepared eh? Thank God for the anti dote of the drugs she had already taken. It was an anti dote for the drug she had provided Chen Jie earlier but it worked for all the common drugs in small doses. Wang Hao would be in for further disappointment.

    "So Mr. Wang, what is your purpose calling me here and all these¡­ shenanigans?" Mei Qingyang started the conversation.

    "I am just here for a date with you. Since you understand my position too well, let''s just say, today I am a free man and am spending time with the girl I really like," Wang Hao raised his wine glass to toast and then gulped it down in one shot. Today, there would be no one to disturb them. He had asked their server to lock it from outside as he was going out. Furthermore, he had taken her bag away. Arms were not allowed in the bar to begin with.

    "Date?" Mei Qingyang scoffed. Where was her consent? It was trickery only.

    "You did agree to spending one night with me, of your own accord. Is this not what you call date? I guess I might be out of touch living with a hold hag all the time," Wang Hao replied, smirking. He definitely knew how to rile people up. But he was against Mei Qingyang, and he perhaps was forgetting how patient this girl was.

    "Okay fine. But I was not expecting all this. Anyway, I have made my position clear. I am, and will be serving my master and only him. Also, I just said spend, and you are correct in that. I did not agree to that ever," she pointed to the bed at the side.

    Wang Hao grinned, "You do not need to worry, in some time you will be begging me screw you."

    "Haha, you overestimate yourself Mr. Wang. How many times do you think this trick would work? You failed even the first time, so I don''t know how you are expecting that you will succeed," Mei Qingyang exposed his scheme with one little sentence.

    "You talk like you know something. But I personally don''t know what you are talking about."

    "We will see in a few hours."

 Chapter 166 - A Night With Wang Hao - II

    Mei Qingyang''s dishes were served soon and the server excused himself once he made sure that the two people would not need anything else.

    It seemed like the two people sitting at the table opposite to each other were not very compatible. The guy looked shrewd. On the other hand, the girl looked like a ball of fury, burning in fire over anything the guy said. Was the guy right or just delusional in calling this a date? But then, the server did not have right to judge. He would just go and tell his mistress about the happenings in this room.

    -----------

    "What did you say? She practically sold herself for some favor from that bastard Want Hao?" Su Lang bumped his fists on the table loudly when he heard from Chen Jie what was going on. Why would she not tell him anything?

    Today, when he had asked her the question, she had brushed him aside saying she had to hurry up and complete this mission. He couldn''t ask much then because she would just not give him the time.

    If he had known something like this was going on, he would have never allowed her.

    Chen Jie and Su Lang were also having dinner at the time. Chen Jie played with the shrimp in her plate.

    "I think you should trust her more. Now that you know the context, don''t you understand what she was talking about today during the lunch?" Chen Jie was just an observer. She would not meddle in any of the cases like these. However, she was also fed up with this brutal system of the school. And she wholeheartedly supported Mei Qingyang''s endeavors. It took serious oppression for rebellion. And Mei Qingyang was just that person who could take over this task.

    Otherwise, Chen Jie herself was too privileged to even think about going against Yu Rong. She would have to think about their business relationship and whatnot. On the other hand, Mei Qingyang by herself. As long as she could separate herself from the emotions and humans around her, and keep that goal in her mind all the time, there was nothing she could not achieve.

    "Still, we are dealing with Wang Hao here. However much she is capable, that bastard is definitely a cunning person. He will definitely have a trick or two up his sleeve," Su Lang was very concerned. Yu Tian was also not here to stop her. Did he not know about it?

    No way! Did she tell him or not? He needed to call him right away.

    "Lang," the phone was received as soon as Su Lan dialed the number.

    "Bro, do you know what your girlfriend is doing right now?" Su Lang hurriedly tried telling him everything. But before he could even start the story, he was cut off by his friend.

    "Whatever she is doing, she will handle it. Did you call me just for that?" Yu Tian replied coolly. That meant, he knew?

    "Are you annoyed at me while your girlfriend is enjoying a date with Wang Hao?" Su Lang decided to put oil in the fire. How would this issue pick his interest otherwise?

    Yu Tian clenched his teeth. He knew exactly what she was doing. She had already told him on that day about her deal. He had been reluctant at first but had given in once again when she assured him that nothing bad would happen.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t even in the campus to help her out. All he could do was believe in her.

    "I am aware. Don''t worry she can do it," his voice softened on her mention. Su Lang was moved by their faith in each other. She could just be cheating on him but she also made sure to communicate her plan properly to him. He had seen numerous couples in his life but this was first one which was so communicative. He prayed for them to never separate and then continued the conversation.

    "So, what is up with you? Qing Qing said you would be unreachable?"

    "I have only one number with me right now, which is yours. I know you would not call me if not urgent," there was a similar bond of trust and understanding between these two friends. Su Lang smiled at his words. This guy had become more expressive. He could not imagine the Yu Tian a few months ago saying something like this.

    "Fine, fine. You knew I would contact you only if she was involved. You are not worried about me but your little girlfriend. I get it. I will go and worry about her alone," Su Lang was about to put down his phone.

    "Lang!" he heard from the other side.

    He brought the phone once again to his ear.

    "Take care of yourself and her too," then he cut the call. Su Lang was flabbergasted. What was this emo Yu Tian? This change was too much!

    Chen Jie had a laugh in her eyes. Boys, she shrugged.

    -----------

    "And right about now, Mr. Wang, the liquor should kick in," Mei Qingyang smiled, with the glass of juice in her hand. Wang Hao widened his eyes. He had gotten alcohol mixed into her drinks too, why was she okay and only him becoming intoxicated?

    "Did you mix anything?" he spoke through slurs. He was so drunk that he could not even speak properly. His head was buzzing and he was feeling drowsy.

    "Haha, you are not the only one who can mix drugs. I know you mixed alcohol in my juice. Unfortunately for you, I had already taken all the anti-dotes I could take. Nothing is gonna affect me," she spoke, relishing another sip from her glass.

    "You¡­," he could not find any words.

    "I told you, one night. It doesn''t matter how we spend it right? You can go to sleep and I can do my work. It is still spending night together, right?" she smirked. Wang Hao''s eyes were closing. He saw the image of the girl laughing through his blurry eyes. What was going on? He only had two glasses. He had quite much capacity after several years of drinking because of his master''s circle.

    And she was talking about some drug! What drug? He had so many questions but his brain had stopped functioning at this moment. However, his vision got really clear suddenly. He moved his eyes, he could see the girl sitting, and then the surroundings were the same too.

    "Oh, this is the wanted effect. Nice! By the way, you can speak too. Only thing you cannot do it move your limbs. I got a custom drug for you," Mei Qingyang grinned. What the hell?

    "What do you mean by custom?" Wang Hao spoke and was surprised that his voice was coming out of his mouth. A second ago, he could not even utter a few words or form a coherent sentence. Why was everything clear so suddenly.

    "Nuh uh Mr. Wang. I am the one who asks questions. It''s not your turn yet."

    "Hmph, if you do this, are you any different from Yu Rong? Who do you think you are anyway?"

    "Let''s just say you are my hostage at this moment. If you spill some dirty secrets of your master, however, I might let you go," Mei Qingyang clapped her hands. The door opened and the same server who had served them food came inside with a whip in his hand.

    "I heard Yu Rong likes to use her whip a lot, especially on you. Do you really enjoy this?" she opened the brand new whip in her hand and untangled it to reveal a shiny long tail to the equally shiny handle. Wang Hao''s eyes became fearful. Was this girl going to do the same thing as her? He had also used the whip on this girl when she was imprisoned by Yu Rong. Would she take revenge for that?

    "So? What''s your choice then?" she asked once again.

    "You¡­ you can''t do this. This is practically kidnapping. What if I tell Yu Rong about it?" his fear got expressed through his trembling voice.

    "Oh you can certainly do that. But, one, would she really believe you? Two, if she does, you can''t even defeat a frail girl like me, what''s the use of having you as an assistant? Most importantly, would you even be willing to let go of your image?"

    "I guess you will have to make excuses after tonight, to deny her advances. What will you do?" Mei Qingyang was really enjoying this. She was not going to do anything to him, it was just a scaring tactic. More importantly, she just needed some information about some proofs that she could gather. Only then this would be considered a successful night.

    "If I tell you some unrevealed information, would you let me go?"

    "If you give me proof about whatever you are going to tell me, sure. I need to make sure that you are telling the truth," the girl smiled amicably but she looked like a goddess from hell to Wang Hao. He swore he would never get tangled with this girl. She was beyond him. In a span of five months, she had gotten even the mysterious owners of Moonlight Bar on her side to help her like this!

    "Okay, I will help you out," he finally admitted defeat.

 Chapter 167 - Turned Tables

    "I will start with my story then," Wang Hao thought that if he told her his own past, she might understand how oppressed he was and that he was just a pawn for his master.

    As savage as Mei Qingyang was, she stopped the guy right there.

    "Listen, I am not interested in your story, you see? I only need to hear a few of massive examples and then their proof. Let''s start with torture prison," Mei Qingyang shifted her legs to sit in a power pose, intimidating Wang Hao some more.

    "What about it? You sound like you already know about that place?" Wang Hao questioned her.

    "I do know about it. You tell me how I enter that place and how I can prove it''s Yu Rong?" Mei Qingyang was in a no bullshit mood. Now Wang Hao had seen her reach, he would think twice before taking any step. So she decided to spill the beans.

    "Once you leak it out, it should be pretty easy to make her take responsibility. Even if she shifts the blame later, it all happened under her nose, she would not be able to shrug that charge." Wang Hao shrugged. He was a pretty good strategist too and always had an exit strategy prepared. And Mei Qingyang was quite aware of it. Which was why she had directly started asking him questions. She knew he would have back up data about Yu Rong somewhere.

    "Good, that''s what I thought too. Now what is the way in? That place is like a fortress in itself." Mei Qingyang nodded. She had the same idea in her mind. If Yu Rong could think about character assassination, she could too. And she did not even need to produce nay facts.

    "You visited it?" Wang Hao was surprised. Even he did not dare visit it alone. Those kids, the dead kids, he could not take them out of his mind, how would he have heart to visit the place? Was it because this girl did not know the real intention behind it?

    "I did. It was easy to get to the level where I was kept. But after that, there is a very complex alarm system. I could break it if I wanted to, but then you guys would know someone infiltrated it. And you''ll end up changing the system. You guys have a few pretty talented programmers in your team and I don''t want to be wasting my time for all this stuff when I can have direct access," she laughed.

    "Who is going to give you direct access?" Hopefully she was not thinking him. This girl had no idea how boundaries worked with Yu Rong, or she probably really did not know how that place worked.

    "You," came an expected answer.

    "Hahaha, you''re asking me for access to that place? Impossible. Even I don''t have access to that place. It''s Yu Rong''s personal playground. I am sorry, I can''t help you," Wang Hao shrugged again. This girl had overestimated him.

    "I did not think so either. But you also have access to a lot of stuff which Yu Rong does not know about, don''t you?" Mei Qingyang smiled eerily.

    "How¡­ how do you know that? Anyway it does not matter. That place is off limits. I do not have any information on that," he stared right into her eyes confirming that he was speaking the truth. But Mei Qingyang was not convinced.

    "Fine, I need any and every information you have of that place. Including drawing plans," she finally asked.

    "Seems like you want to infiltrate and then do what? Half of the kids there would be brain dead. You will end up choosing between alive and half dead, I don''t think you are yet capable of making that decision," Wang Hao giggled. Despite being such a headstrong girl, she was na?ve after all.

    "Brain dead? What do you mean?"

    "See? I knew it, you did not know how the place works. Why do you think only a handful of kids come out of that place?"

    "Because training is too harsh?"

    "Or that they don''t make the cut to be successful ''servants''. You understand? They need to be perfect, like robots, uncapable of much emotions but emotionally intelligent enough to aid their masters in real world. Do you think there are many kids in the world who can bear that kind of pain?" Wang Hao became emotional. He always thanked his stars whenever he visited that facility that he was not sent there and Yu Rong personally trained him. Her methods were not as cruel as that prison. There was a reason it was called prison.

    "And why would they keep brain dead children there?"

    "Yu Rong has an illegal business for organs and she also provides the carcasses for human experimentation."

    Mei Qingyang''s jaw dropped. What the actual f*ck.

    No wonder Yu empire was making so much money without much interference from Yu Ming. She ahd always thought that Yu Rong was not a better business person than her brother but the Yu empire flourished way much more than when it was really under Yu Ming.

    "Where is the proof?" she asked again.

    "Why do we need to maintain any records when the kids are from unknown origins, sold for profit. This whole industry is like that, from parents to her, everyone is equally involved," Wang Hao spoke in a flat tone. Finally this girl would realize who she was going against. It would not take much time for Yu Rong to find someone to kill this lass.

    "Is that so? What about medical records and transaction records? How does the money move?"

    "She has multiple aliases and paper companies under different people, half of whom don''t even exist. She pays a cut to the government to keep everything hush too. You should understand that this kind of large scale operation is not possible without involvement of everyone. Heck, even you are involved by paying the hefty fee of the school. And you draw salary from the same money she earns through illegal means," he smirked. How would she answer now? Her principles were at stake.

    "That''s fine. I don''t care. I am just more concerned about the lives. Brian dead kids are actually dead, so I will not bother about them. I need the live ones out. They don''t need to go through more torture. So you provide me access to business records, otherwise I get them from somewhere," she replied in rage. That wench really went over the top now.

    "You can get them from anywhere you want, I am not getting involved. I can give you information, how you arrange proof, is up to you."

    "Okay, that''s also fine. What next? I need sources of kids too, pretty sure some orphanages and big names would be involved. I am going to take this whole system down." She declared.

    "Big dreams, but would you really be able to do it? Anyway, I have been thinking of changing camps. I cannot go back after this. So I can act as your spy. The condition is, I need to come out unharmed," Wang Hao decided to make a deal with the girl. He was screwed either way, why not take a chance on this girl and do some good for once. May be, just may be he could be saved?

    "Oh? Deal. I will try as much as I can to keep you unscathed," Mei Qingyang replied. She had long known this was going to happen. Now he finally came around and made a wise decision.

    "I also need you to stop chasing me. Find someone for yourself, I cannot be with you. I don''t even know what attracts you to me, but this will be final warning," she extended her hand for him to take and then realized he was still paralyzed. She laughed but then bumped her fists with him.

    "Truce," he replied smiling.

    ---------

    "It''s been too much time, why is she not coming out?" Su Lang was pacing up and down in the room while Chen Jie was sitting peacefully, leisurely browning through he magazine in her hand.

    "Calm down, she will be here," She replied.

    Su Weixi was serving the tea at the moment, when the door opened.

    "Mission successful," Mei Qingyang beamed.

    "Ohh my God, I was so scared, you silly girl. Did you really have to do it?" Su Lang ran towards her and pulled her in an embrace. Mei Qingyang looked at Chen Jie confused. What was he doing here?

    "What can I say? You have too many people who love you," she smiled.

    "Okay brother, it is done. Wang Hao is our camp now," she patted his shoulder.

    "This is Wang Hao, he is only in his own camp. He doesn''t care about anything else, okay?" Su Lang pouted. This girl did not understand anything.

    "Don''t worry. I have confirmed it," she replied.

    "What did you do to him anyway to make him like this?" Su Lang was really curious. He wanted to know the methods of this girl. What did she use to make him submit to her?

    "Hehe brother, that is for another day," she replied mysteriously.

 Chapter 168 - Jealous

    "And so? You had a long dinner date with that wretched s.l.u.t eh?" Yu Rong started questioning Wang Hao as soon as she arrived at the campus. "Two days! Two days I am not here and you go around cheating on me like this?"

    "Master, you are misunderstanding. I had gone to collect information from her, which ultimately failed. But I thought if I go after her when you are not around, it might give better results," Wang Hao fidgeted with his hands. Submissive people with enchanting faces were Yu Rong''s weakness. How could she keep scolding him once he made a puppy face?

    "And so? Did you find out anything?" she asked with interest.

    "Not really. I do know she seems to have big plans regarding us, but she is like an ant anyway, what power does she have?" Now that he had spoken it out loud, he was suddenly questioning his own decision to follow her.

    "Hmph! Yet she was able to enamor so many people including that mysterious Moonlight Bar owner. I should not have given permission to establish that facility. Who knew they would bring board members in between and got an approval, even though I opposed? And then she got your too!" Yu Rong showed fake anger to see her assistant''s reaction.

    "Master, whatever I say you won''t believe because this is something I didn''t discuss with you. But trust me, I''ve been loyal to you for so many years, why would you doubt me now?" he cried incredulously. This placated Yu Rong''s heart a bit. He was her cute little servant after all, who could not do anything without her. For the first time, he had taken a step without her consent. She should have been proud but her heart was pricking somewhere.

    "What are you acting so cute for?" She giggled. "hat wretched s.l.u.t did, guess it was not bad for me since you''re suddenly being this sweet. I had missed this feeling," Yu Rong smiled bashfully. Given how monotonous and ''professional'' he had become, she had almost thought that he had gotten bored of her.

    "Come on. Sit over there. I want to try something new," she pointed to the table in front of them.

    "Try something¡­ new?" Wang Hao asked, puzzled.

    Freedom, this was for freedom. He had already started looking forward to his free days after his conversation with Mei Qingyang. He clenched his teeth and obeyed the orders, not knowing what was to come. This s.e.x fiend was going to get her retribution, he would make sure of that himself.

    ----------

    "Master, she indeed is trying to find Yu island. I have been trying to look into it. Apart from the place being home to Yu Ming, I''m not sure why the place is so mysterious and untraceable on the map."

    "I''m sure that guy paid a lot of money for that to happen. I don''t suspect any breakthrough technologies in use here that it would be invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eyes. But why is everyone after it?" Yu Tian adjusted his glasses and looked more closely. Where was this mysterious property? He was Yu Ming''s son, how could he not leave any hints for his own son?

    "Should we tell this to mistress? Or maybe ask help from young miss Fan? She has Hacker Z with her, he could find something," Yu Bufan tried brainstorming ideas with his master. They needed to get to bottom of this. From his intel, even Minster Jiang was after it.

    "I like how you have switched from Ms. Mei to mistress. Have you really accepted her so?", Yu Tian chuckled, amused by how his assistant had addressed his kitten. Just the thought of her filled his heart with warmth and happiness. The coldness in his eyes subsided. The faint glow from the fire in the fireplace in their room twinkled in his eyes.

    "After that incident? Yes. She cared for you like her own. I have never seen you this calm, especially first two days. I don''t think you''ll find anyone better out there." Yu Bufan was really happy for his master. The struggle of next few days that usually happened didn''t see to exist anymore. How he wished she had been in his master''s life sooner. The fact that he was happily listening to her was also amazing. He did not even need to give much thought to her ideas, she was pretty easily able to convince this paranoid guy. Whate else could he say then?

    The psychological problems of his master also seemed to be subdued in her presence. It also looked like that his master was slowly building mental resilience. Through her conversation itself she seemed to alleviate so many burdens of his master. He was indeed grateful to her. Just that, he sometimes feared how long this happiness would last. What if it was all a farce and everything shattered to nothing? His master would be heartbroken for life!

    "Fine fine, are you still my assistant? Why don''t you just associate with her then?" Yu Tian looked up from the doc.u.ments. When did his assistant started taking side of his kitten? How was she so charming that everyone would just listen to her like this?

    Yu Bufan was surprised. Was his master, jealous? Over him? When was the last time he showed an emotion like this? Probably never. He suddenly dabbed his non existent tears, he felt too blessed.

    ----------

    "What are these guys up to these days? I have no news from any one of them at all!" Feng Yue was asking his assistant while he was trying to focus on reading the book in his hands. Fan Ruyi was sitting in front of him, eating strawberries. Over the past few days, they had gotten quite close.

    Fan Ruyi had worked day and night to nurse him back to health, which did move his heart a little bit. They both were people with broken hearts, unsuccessful in their loves. But Fan Ruyi still had a chance, did she not? He was not looking for any relationship at the moment, and that''s what he had told her too.

    She had gracefully accepted remaining friends since she knew it was not easy to forget past love. She had told him that she would wait for him. Her dedication was amazing.

    "I myself am not sure. I have not seen Tian myself. Lang is there but he is busy too," Fan Ruyi spoke while taking a small bite from the fruit with her luscious lips. Feng Yue looked at her and then tried concentrating back on his book. Was he¡­ becoming aware of this girl? Why after so many years?

    "Can you blame them? We have not been that great with them that they would share everything as they had done in the past," Fan Ruyi continued.

    "That is true. I miss my days before Mei Qingyang to be honest. But I can''t blame her either. It is just how fate works. She was a knot in my heart that got resolved at least," he sighed.

    "I am sure you can still help her by determining how her accident happened. I mean, there is your family involved in her family going bankrupt, but I doubt they would kill a harmless girl," Fan Ruyi analyzed.

    "My grandma was dead by then, and my parents were pretty neutral about them. So yeah, you are correct," Feng Yue finally threw the book on the table in front of him. He was not able to focus at all.

    Fan Ruyi on the other hand, was just thinking about how to not reveal the truth. She sure did not know what was happening right now but she had a general idea. She had stopped looking into the matter of Yu Tian once Mei Qingyang got involved.

    "I think we should talk to Lang, he might tell us something. It would be great if we could help him out somehow," Feng Yue proposed. Their dorm apartments were adjacent, so they could definitely go and ask.

    "Let''s go then," Fan Ruyi got up as soon as she heard the idea. In the meantime, the bell of Feng Yue''s apartment rang. Assistant Feng opened the door to find Su Lang standing there.

    "Dude! Listen," Su Lang entered the house all hyper but his excitement died down as soon as he saw Fan Ruyi. Oh? This was an odd combination. The other day Qing Qing had come to visit him, then also these two were together.

    "Oh my God, Lang! We were just going to visit you!" Fan Ruyi was already standing, she jumped a bit in delight.

    "Oh! What''s up?" Su Lang answered plainly.

    "Well, it''s been a while since we have seen you guys, so we were thinking what was going on with you three," Feng Yue helped Fan Ruyi who was feeling all awkward because of Su Lang''s tone.

    "Oh well, you are correct, it''s been a while," Su Lang took a seat comfortably., "Let me tell you a story."

 Chapter 169 - Yu Rongs Accomplice

    Fan Ruyi gave Su Lang a mysterious look. Did he know too? But did he have any idea that she already knew?

    "Ah never mind actually. I cannot be bothered. We are just doing our own work. Although Qing Qing has been visiting me quite a bit lately, I guess she is a bit lonely since Yu Tian is God knows where," Su Lang ultimately decided against it. Even Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian themselves did not know that he knew about Yu Tian''s condition, how could he reveal such a big thing nonchalantly?

    Fan Ruyi heaved a sigh of relief in her mind. Although it would be only Feng Yue now who did not know anything about Yu Tian but se still needed to confirm if Su Lang knew it or not.

    "But you can''t leave us hanging like that," Feng Yue complained, stunning both Fan Ruyi and Su Lang for the moment. This guy was not the one to meddle in other''s affairs, how come he was asking such question? Was he really the Feng Yue they knew?

    "Uhh¡­ actually, I was going to tell you that Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian are an official couple now, I thought it would hurt you, so I retracted back my words. But I have told you anyway," Su Lang made a lie up. He had almost axed his own feet but hopefully this was safe.

    Fan Ruyi looked at Feng Yue who returned her gaze.

    "This is such an old news. I mean, I could gather where they were coming from when they registered officially as master servant," Feng Yue wanted to show his brave attitude but the sadness in his eyes betrayed him. He also knew that Su Lang was not telling him what he ahd intended to tell him initially. And there was a knowing look in Fan Ruyi''s eyes, as if she also already knew what Lang was going to talk about. Friends hiding things like this, he did not like it at all. He was upset not just only because of the very obvious news, but also the attitude of the two people in front of him. Sometimes he just felt like a stranger amongst them, especially now.

    "I am sorry Yue, I wish I could do something about it. But now you finally can look around and recognize the beauties," Su Lang hit his shoulders multiple times and signaled towards Fan Ruyi who was busy gulping down some fruits

    "Fine, fine. I haven''t become so downtrodden that you will need to console me, okay?", Feng Yue showed a face full of disdain towards his friend. Fan Ruyi giggled at the side, it had been so long since she had seen these people bickering.

    ----------

    "And so, your boyfriend asked me to tell you to communicate with him through your secret code, whatever that means," Su Lang informed his sister later that evening on dinner. They had been having their meals together more often now that they were alone.

    "Secret code? Don''t tell me you don''t know what he''s talking about already. I mean you know about his condition too," Mei Qingyang put her chopsticks down, a frown appearing on her face.

    "What condition? What do you mean?" Su Lang made a poker face. Was he caught already? Why did this girl know everything? Had she put a bug in his house, she had been visiting quite often too. He looked around in confusion, giving away the fact that he indeed knew about Yu Tian''s affairs.

    Oops, the cat was out of the bag.

    "Look at you brother, are you looking for a listening device? Because there is none. Don''t you make your maids survey your whole house every day for potential bugs like that? How would mine be not caught!" Mei Qingyang was exasperated. The nerve of her cousin, rather than explaining to her, he was busy thinking about something else.

    "Don''t be mad Qing Qing, you are correct, I do make my maids do that. But I also trust your skills and that you could have developed something which could... anyway, whatever. How did you figure out?" Su Lang softened his tone quite a bit, almost in a flattering manner.

    "With my martial arts skills, do you really think I would not have been able to discover Weixi who was following us all the while? I am really sad over the fact that you never came to help. He was in so much pain, could you not just?" her big marble eyes got all misty just even thinking about the condition she had brought him in.

    "Qing Qing, it is different among guys, you won''t understand. If I had stepped in, then he probably would have hated me," Su Lang sighed. He really wanted to help, he had always wanted to get his friend out of the situation. Which is why he made him go abroad when the opportunity arose. He had always known something was wrong. And he had gotten to the bottom of matter when his friend was about to go to the foreign country. The day he had announced his decision, he had suffered just like this time.

    He did not show up when they had decided to see off both Feng Yue and him. He had actually left even before Feng Yue, in his private jet. Unfortunately, he had thought it was all good now that he was far away. Who would have thought that he would need to come back in just couple of years?

    And the whole cycle started again. He had wished he could just save his friend, but he knew the pride of a man. Yu Tian would have become an empty shell if he had known that his friends knew. He would never be able to raise his head with pride, especially in front of them, no matter how ''normally'' they would treat him.

    "And so? His friendship was more important to you than his being? I would have risked it older brother. I risked my relationship and my feelings for him when I took that step. And I have known him just for a few months. Don''t you become an accomplice of Yu Rong when you did not raise your voice when you could?" Mei Qingyang gave him a harsh scolding.

    She was correct. It was not that there were too many things bogging them down. Those were just excuses. How important for him was his family to begin with to talk about spoiling business partnership? He could have just severed the ties. They had become successful enough by the time the two guys came back from abroad, to go independent. Why did he not take the first step then?

    These people were closer than family to him, yet he never thought of it that way. But accusing him of aiding Yu Rong was a bit too much.

    "Qing Qing, it''s not like this. I regret it, I certainly do, especially now you put it in this way. But what was I supposed to do?" his voice went higher in pitch, expressing his frustration and agony with himself. Su Weixi had gone to run an errand in the kitchen when she heard her master''s screaming. She abruptly left everything in the middle, even getting cut by the sharp knife in the process that she was holding.

    "Master, are you okay?" she asked, seeing an agitated Su Lang with his fierce eyes staring at the lamb like little girl, who was calmly sipping her tea. Su Lang was huffing because of all the yelling. He looked at his assistant and then saw the blood dripping from her finger.

    He ran to put her bloodied finger in his mouth, taking aback everyone present.

    "What are you even doing, cutting your finger like that?" he yelled some more. He was not able to do anything for one best friend of his, at least he could protect the other one he had and cherished.

    "But master. Also, what are you doing? We have guests!" she panicked. She looked towards Mei Qingyang, who was staring at them curiously. She was quite used to things like these since her childhood, since her master had taken care of her always. But this looked l.e.w.d to her for some reason and slowly, a blush appeared on her face. She kept checking out for the change of expression in their guest from the corner of her eye, but the considerate girl had averted her eyes and was now staring in space.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, confirmed that Wei Qiqi did not have any chance with her cousin at all now. His heart had already been promised to someone else, that was a different thing that he himself did not know it.

    After s.u.c.k.i.n.g some on his assistant''s finger, Su Lang realized how he had reacted. He let go of her hand and slowly turned his neck to look at Mei Qingyang. He wished he had not become impulsive lately, but it was too late.

    "Ahem, I am sorry about that," he coughed twice.

    "No, no, you can continue. I can see it''s quite a deep cut. Do you want me to call the doctor?" Mei Qingyang asked seriously, although there were crackers bursting in her heart. Finally, her playboy brother had realized the ways of life.

    "N... no! I think I''ll be fine," Su Weixi said bashfully. How understanding of this cousin of master''s!

    "Alrighty, I feel like I have overstayed. You guys continue, I will take my leave," Mei Qingyang got up. She felt like a third wheel and suddenly, Yu Tian flashed in her mind. Damn, she was missing him too much.

    "But Qing Qing...," Su Lang tried to explain.

    "Brother, I will say something. You do not need to explain. Who you like does not matter to me, as long as she is good to you. I don''t even know what is so difficult about accepting her, she is your family already. Who would be against you two except, may be your father?" Mei Qingyang left with the words of wisdom to her brother and quite some food for thought.

 Chapter 170 - Targeted

    "How is your stay here Qiqi? Are you enjoying the classes?" Mei Qingyang visited her friend whom she had not been able to entertain properly all these days. Wei Qiqi was put up in the same hostel building as her, albeit she was given quite a normal room. Qingyang was afraid that they would treat her friend like her but it worked out fine. And thus, so she had finally decided to meet her one of the evenings while she wanted to take her mind off of Yu Tian and his request to talk to her through her secret code.

    This was the worst timing for those top management guys to bring her here. She was a busy person ah! How could she be with her friend and solve Yu Tian''s issues at the same time?

    She reflected over the coming days and realized she had too much on her plate. If she did not delegate stuff to other people, her head would explode some day. What was she supposed to do, seriously?

    "Hmm¡­ it feels like you have certainly abandoned me. I have not been called by anyone up there, so I guess their focus is not me as of now. Other than that, Xu Yang has been showing me around," Wei Qiqi shrugged her shoulders. She needed some orientation to the place for sure, and also needed to know where she could step in and where not. Xu Yang has been quite helpful over the past few days.

    "Xu Yang? That day it felt like you did not really like him, but now look at you, roaming around with him¡­," Mei Qingyang teased her friend a bit, she had a smirk on her face.

    "Hey, stop it, if you say out loud, people will misunderstand," Wei Qiqi covered Mei Qingyang''s mouth with her hands. Why did it always become a romantic thing between a male and a female? Could they not be just good friends?

    Mei Qingyang giggled, "I am just kidding. It is up to you guys anyway. If you want me to play the matchmaker, I can certainly do."

    "Jeez, you will leave no opportunity eh? I won''t get interested in him unless he himself shows interest in me. I have had enough heartbreaks to go through one again. So, I am telling you in advance, don''t expect anything." Wei Qiqi had always felt used by the guys, and they did not particularly liked her because of her athletic body. She did not have any body image issues of her own per se, but guys¡­ Well, everyone had their own preference and she was happily single.

    "Oh well. I won''t meddle. You guys take your time. Also, he is a truly great guy, it''s hard to find such principled people," Mei Qingyang was trying to sell her one friend to another.

    "Okay, okay. Are you done? Let''s get to the topic," Wei Qiqi interjected.

    "Oh yes, what did you get?"

    "I don''t know why your agent contacted me rather than you directly. But since he took your name and you work in mysterious ways, I accepted whatever was handed to me. Here, I got it for you," Wei Qiqi took out a thick envelope of doc.u.ments and handed over it to her.

    "You were not curious? You did not open it even," Mei Qingyang was surprised. No wonder her agent did not come directly, this was too much information. It would have taken more than an hour for him just to summarize this, but she wanted details. The time was a risk, she could not take. It was a great move, she praised her agent for his quick thinking.

    "What if it was a bomb or similar exploding information? I didn''t want to put myself at risk doing so," Wei Qiqi smiled awkwardly. At least she could be honest with this girl without offending her.

    "Bravo! You know me very well by now Qiqi. You are the best," she lightly pecked her friend''s cheek, for she was very happy that she had such sensible people around her.

    "Hey," Wei Qiqi protested cutely. She was not used to having such intimate friends. This was totally out of her expectations, but her heart did end up melted.

    "So, what is it about?" Wei Qiqi still could not resist asking to the girl who had eagerly opened the envelope right then and there. A frown appeared on her face when she glanced over the doc.u.ments.

    "Hmm¡­ Not sure if I should really tell you. But you are a person who has access to outer world more than me. There is bunch of information here, the topics I have been coming across again and again. But again, although you are already involved in my problems, I do not want to get into trouble further." Mei Qingyang bundled them and put the pages back in the cover.

    "Ah damn, I wanted to know what it was all about. It''s okay though, I trust your judgement," Wei Qiqi''s eyes were still fixed on the brown cover which Mei Qingyang had put on the table.

    Mei Qingyang chuckled again, "I think I shall take it with me, otherwise you will die of curiosity."

    "You definitely ought to take it out of my sight. Keep it somewhere else, and we can still talk some¡­ Oh, Xu Yang is calling me," she showed the screen of the phone to Mei Qingyang, which was buzzing with one of the latest songs out there. Mei Qingyang raised her eyebrow as Wei Qiqi picked up the phone hurriedly.

    "Hey, yeah, I do remember. We can do dinner tonight, I will also bring Qing Qing with me. It''s been a while¡­"

    "Yes, okay, see you later then," Wei Qiqi cut the call.

    "Heh? Dinner? You go enjoy it with him. I want to look at these doc.u.ments while also not disturbing you two. Plus, it will be good if I am seen less with you. I don''t want anyone to be thinking you are my spy or something. Let me go, you get ready," Mei Qingyang slowly got up from her seat and hid the doc.u.ments under her tee. Then she completely hid the bulging packet from beneath her t-shirt with an overcoat. She hit the place of packet twice to further thin it out.

    "I would have liked you to say but I guess you would want to look at them immediately. I won''t keep you then. Since we are in the same classes, let''s just meet there tomorrow," Wei Qiq also stood up to see her friend off.

    "Thanks so much Qiqi, you are so understanding," with this, Mei Qingyang left and went back to her room. She wanted to open the packet in her shirt there itself but she did not want to take the risk. She headed out to library to go to the friends'' secret place.

    "Qing Qing, it''s been a while," the old librarian perked up as soon as he saw the girl. It really had been a while since he had seen her. First she was holed up in Yu Tian''s apartment, then she went on vacation. Old man had been feeling quite lonely.

    "Old man, I am so sorry. I have been caught up in bunch of things. I have too many updates for you I wish I could talk right now, but I still have a pressing matter to attend to," Mei Qingyang wanted to hurriedly go off.

    "But I have a message from your father," he yelled at the figure which was retreating fast.

    She halted her footsteps. Her dad contacted the old man and not Su Lang to give her the message? Then it meant he either would be telling her off on becoming Yu Tian''s servant or perhaps ask her to meet him.

    "What is it?"

    ??He said he knew how your status has changed in the school. He said he was very disappointed with you and that he is taking matters in his own hands. You won''t be contacting him from now on and that he is breaking this point of communication," the old man narrated her the full message.

    "Is that so?" Mei Qingyang was quite calm. She had known this day would come. Her dad was not very happy with how she was doing things. Now it had come to this. This was their only communication channel and he was breaking that too. It meant, he was practically severing ties with her for the time being.

    Did her mother know? She guessed that her foster mom had no idea what was brewing. But Mei Qingyang had a bad premonition about her dad acting this way. He was acting crazy last time too, when she had phone conversation with her. Had he finally lost it? Also, what did it mean matters in his own hands?

    He was frustrated on his son''s death. Did it mean he was targeting Yu Tian then? Was he in danger? Yu Rong had targeted her too, for taking out her frustration. But that was because she had become horn in her path.

    Yu Tian had nothing to do with Jiang Bo''s death, yet common sense dictates he should be the first person to be exacted revenge upon, just to make Yu Rong and Yu Ming understand what loss of a beloved child meant. But her dad did not even know the dynamics of Yu family. Yu Tian was already a victim, he could not be targeted any further. Leaving the doc.u.ments aside, Mei Qingyang started working with old man to help Yu Tian understand her secret code, so that she could talk to hi frequently and urgently.

 Chapter 171 - Secret Code - I

    "Old man, you might have to personally go and meet him. How would I tell him otherwise how he must read it?" Mei Qingyang was suddenly very worried. Her heart was racing because she had no idea how far along her dad was in his planning already. What if she was too late?

    "How do I contact him? Anyway, I have seen him grow up here, I know he is intelligent enough, he will be able to crack it. Send a simpler code to throw anyone off who wants to intercept. Make them instructions on how to read yours," the old man suggested. He was full of wisdom owing to his age and experience in life.

    "You are not suggesting that other people are that stupid that they won''t figure such an obvious thing out?" Mei Qingyang stifled her laughter. Was this old man implying that all the intelligent people around Yu Rong, in case her codes were indeed intercepted, wouldn''t be able to crack it?

    "Humans, my dear child, look for patterns in everything, it is their nature. But you, you think differently. And Yu Tian knows that. He won''t overthink things unlike the smart people out there who want to make everything overcomplicated," old man gave his wise advice to her.

    Mei Qingyang really learned something today. Her heart felt lighter after hearing that. People had more faith in their relationship than herself. It felt as if everyone was rooting for both of them, except her own family. Once she remembered her father''s message, she felt depressed again.

    It seemed like, in the end, she was not really their daughter but a pawn for revenge. Is that why he had raised her all these years? What about those tears he had shed begging her to not go to the school and not take up the position? Were they all acts too?

    "Girl? Girl?" The old man touched her hand slightly who was dazedly staring in space.

    "Focus, okay? I see how you left the work you had come to do and are now trying to let someone else know about your secret code. I am pretty sure it is critical to you. So you need to work hard and not think about anything," the old man insisted. He understood the human nature very well, having dealt with so many different people over the years.

    He had always been able to see through this girl, she was so pure and honest. She didn''t mind dirtying her hands for her loved ones and right things. On the top of that, she did not brag about it or claim to be a hero of justice or anything, although she was doing exactly the same. What else would one require from a human being?

    His stance had always been soft towards this girl, though he scared the heck out of other people. Yu Tian was one of his favorite children too, but there was a bias in it. He also happened to know his circ.u.mstances in Yu family. Haiz, he was a pitiful child indeed.

    "Ah! Yes, thank you. I do need to focus. I do not have time to wallow in my sorrows. There is a life I need to save. Yes, I will go with your suggestion. You know him better than me," Mei Qingyang shook her head. She really needed to not let anything distract her.

    The old man had been a particularly reliable person over her stay in the campus, she decided to reveal her secret.

    "So taking the ISBN number, last digit meant the version of dictionary we were going to use. This meant, all the books that I ordered had same ending digit."

    The old man tried to recall her orders. Having a good memory, he realized that it indeed was true. She would order ten to fifteen books at a time and all had the same ending digit. Furthermore, all the books she ordered were with the ten digit barcode on it, not the thirteen digit one. Genius! This was simply genius!

    "Then?" he asked curiously, a glow of reverence on his face.

    "Then, the first three digits and fifth to seventh digits and eighth to ninth digits corresponded to the words in that version of dictionary," Mei Qingyang could see how impressed the old man looked and she could not help but grin. This method was something that she had come up with. It was time consuming but so rewarding that she had patted her back for days when she finally finished it. It was difficult to solve because first of all, someone would need to know the dictionary versions her and her dad had, and then their corresponding numbers. Otherwise it would not make sense to anyone.

    "Wasn''t it difficult to find books with a particular barcode number like this, having the words you needed?" old man pointed out the flaw in the method. This was too much effort for just communication.

    "It was difficult. But I had already taken out a lot of numbers of common words from those dictionaries, then I just needed to find the books with those ISBN. I had already hacked and worked out the numbers that were all on off-site storage, so it was much easier," Mei Qingyang scratched her head embarrassingly.

    "So then, your dad only needed to know the numbers of the books you ordered? They were sent to the system over there and then the truck boy would get them. But there were other people who would order books too, how did they segregate? The system here only sent the full list without telling who was ordering what," the old man raised another question. This was tricky, they just sent the orders in total.

    "Oh that, if you noticed, I always ordered only ten or fifteen books. They would pick all the numbers with same ending digit. If it was more than ten or fifteen, then they would look at the fourth digit. All my books had same fourth digit too. The probability of someone ordering a book with same fourth and last digit is very less," she shrugged her shoulders.

    He had seen Jiang Nuo in despair over his son''s death. But his eyes said something else, revenge. When Mei Qingyang was revealed to be his foster daughter, he had wondered if Yu Rong was stupid to admit this girl. But he knew, she also did not have a choice because this was something written in the school rules, rules she herself had made. At that time, al the higher up ministers, including the president of the country, were under her palms, how could have she foreseen someone like this rise in power? Now he had really become trouble for her.

    That is why they say, the problem should be solved from root. She managed to eliminate Jiang Bo, the immediate threat but what about the future? Had she not calculated it or had she thought that she could suppress the guy at a smaller post all his life?

    And now if she found out whatever had been happening in her own yard, she was going to regret letting Jiang Nuo go.

    Anyway, none of his business. He was here to see the show, and he was expecting a great ending to this whole ordeal.

    "Yeah, I am glad our country''s ISBN system is great in that manner, it was easy to segregate words. Then my dad would make sense of the words to get the info. One book meant one sentence, it was telegram format of writing, no helping verbs, nothing. Short and concise," she concluded.

    "I am guessing your dictionaries would be very peculiar ones too?" the old man asked again He had so many questions about this, he was dull knowledge buff. And this was not the first time someone had used books like this. But just to get those sentences to her father, she went through so much, what was the use? She would need to make so many permutations and combinations, just for a message!

    "Yes, they were not only English dictionaries, there are a few foreign language dictionaries as well, making it more complicated to crack. Fortunately, only I and my dad know about this."

    "Then, how are you going to relay this to Yu Tian?"

    "I was hoping you could explain to him personally. But I don''t see that possibility. I am not sure what I could do, and thus I explained to you the whole thing. Can you help me come up with a solution?" she pleaded. It would take her a few days if she were to do this alone. But this knowledgeable old man could definitely help her.

    "He is being monitored in the similar way as I am. I cannot contact him by normal means. If I could, I would have done it already," Mei Qingyang explained. Yu Rong had a lot of good system in place. Unfortunately, she was not a great manager. She had put people to check on the calls and messages and the cameras 24*7 for Yu Tian and her. She could have used the encryption on her phone whenever she needed. But putting a permanent bug was risky and she did not have access to Yu Tian''s phone.

    Now she needed to just think how to tell all this to Yu Tian, she really regretted not teaching this to him earlier.

 Chapter 172 - Secret Code - II

    "Ah young lady! You are going to make this old man work. Really!" the old librarian complained but he still did not want to turn her down. "How about you teach this to the driver? That could solve the whole problem."

    "But, he is my dad''s man. If I give him away the code, not only will he tell my dad, he will also end up decoding the messages I send to senior Yu. I don''t think I would want that," Mei Qingyang surmised. This was a tricky thing.

    "Fine, I will have to use my weapon then," the old man pulled out an old brick phone from his back pocket.

    "This? Is this one of the first cell phones ever made? How do you have this?" Mei Qingyang was surprised. She knew this man was resourceful, but he had an ancient device and he was calling it a weapon?

    "These ah! I have a bunch of these with me. I used to love to fiddle with them, I wanted to be an engineer after all. But it never happened, so I just kept all my tools and toys with me," he touched them tenderly, as if an old memory was tugging his heart. A beautiful smile appeared on his face.

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes lit up with excitement on seeing the two phones.

    "What is in your mind?" she asked.

    "Haiyya," he pulled out another one from his drawer.

    "Wait a minute, you''re not saying¡­," Mei Qingyang looked at him. He nodded. Such a simple solution! Given the old technology, it would be so hard to hack into this device unless the people knew the stuff behind it.

    "You know it right? You can program them however you want!" he handed her both the mobile phones.

    "But how are you going to make sure it reaches him?" You do not want to go out and you do not want to personally teach him anything," Mei Qingyang was confused. How the heck was he thinking to transport one of them to him, all the way, somewhere unknown.

    "I have way more freedom than you young lady," the old man laughed. "I can always parcel it out."

    "This old man ah, is a harmless person to Yu Rong. I have been diligently doing my duty for past fifty years. You do not need to worry," he calmed her down.

    "Okay. But old man, I am telling you all this assuming you are not involved with my dad and are working independently. I know I cannot give you anything, and I shall be forever grateful to you for your help," Mei Qingyang held his hands in hers. He was truly like a grandfather to her, becoming partner in crime all the way.

    "What are you talking about? I am getting such an entertainment out of all this. Life had been pretty boring before you. Now I see changes everywhere. And I don''t think I want anything more than that before dying. My child, you are the one who is going to change this place. And yes, the beginning will be from the scion of the one who is responsible for all this mess," the old man dabbed his old wrinkly eyes with his hands.

    He had been here for years, observing, taking in all the injustices, writhing in pain when his favorite people left for heaven and just praying that someday, someone would come and let Yu Rong taste her own medicine.

    Mei Qingyang also got emotional just thinking about what all this old man would have witnessed in his life. She herself had seen so much in her six months here, he was talking about half a century.

    "Old man, I can''t promise you that your intended outcome will occur. But I will try my best to give you best possible show," she grinned through her tears. She had hopes of so many people riding on her shoulders. How could she not give it her all?

    "Thank you, old man. Let me take these with me. I will program them in an hour and keep one with me," she got up from her seat and took the two heavy mobile phones with her and the packet of doc.u.ments her agent had sent. She had much to do. With the added load from classes, it was going to be really hard. These were going to be a few sleepless nights.

    ---------

    Mei Qingyang entered the secret place and headed directly to Yu Tian''s room. At least she could feel his presence here. It had been almost a week since she even heard his voice. Was she missing his this much? Every moment was spent thinking about him these days. Unexpectedly, her whole life had started revolving around him. She still had her freedom which was good. So, this was what a true relationship was like?

    "Hoho, so the girl has really fallen for the guy," the very familiar crisp sound came from the door. She abruptly got up and found the three people standing on the door, Su Lang having a teasing expression on his face. The other two were neutral as usual.

    "Elder brother!" she got up and jumped out of bed to hide the things on the table behind herself.

    "Sorry for hearing your rant, it was quite cute," he teased her again. Everyone noticed her action but did not say anything.

    "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. She had not realized but she really had almost drifted to sleep.

    "Well, we were just discussing some usual stuff, how are you doing? Missing your bae?"

    "Can you stop it already? It''s been a while since you have known," Mei Qingyang rolled her eyes. Why was her cousin so childish? A mischievous smile appeared on her brother''s face.

    "I can do whatever I want," he crossed his arms to show domination.

    "Now that we are here, I would like to congratulate you. You have conquered the heart of one of the most difficult people I personally know of. It''s a great feat," Fan Ruyi smiled behind and stepped ahead to give Mei Qingyang a hug.

    Mei Qingyang did not reject it this time, she knew Fan Ruyi was sincerely congratulating her, although her remark did seem a bit sarcastic.

    "Let us help you out. We know you are doing something big. We want some piece of action too," after observing for quite a while, Feng Yue finally broke his silence. He really needed to leave behind the shadow of Li Sibao, by hook or by crook.

    "Haha, what are you talking about? Something big? Nothing like that?" Mei Qingyang shook her head sideways. Guess, one could not really hide anything from these rich brats.

    "Oh come on, do you think you being this secretive will do anything? What about whatever was on the table earlier?" Feng Yue called out.

    Mei Qingyang stared at the handsome guy for a moment. She had known him since childhood, right? He had never spoken a full sentence before her, ever. His cold monosyllable answers were very frustrating to her, always. How come he was demanding an explanation like this when he was in normal mood? Did he really change?

    Fan Ruyi and Su Lang gave each other look and then burst out laughing. They knew Mei Qingyang was as shocked as they were when they heard a full proper sentence from Feng Yue''s mouth.

    "Ahem," realizing that he was becoming center of attention in the room, Feng Yue cleared his throat.

    "So?" he asked Mei Qingyang once again.

    "Fine, I need help from brother Z," Mei Qingyang looked at Fan Ruyi first. The girl nodded readily, calling her assistant from outside.

    "He will be at your disposal from now on," Fan Ruyi declared. In reality, they all knew what the girl was up to and wanted to help as much as they could, since they could not really contribute directly.

    "Done!"

    "As from senior Feng¡­," Mei Qingyang thought about it hard, "ah yes! I should be getting a few doc.u.ments from Wang Hao soon, like within next two days. I need you to check their authenticity, if possible." Feng Yue was in entertainment business. He would have the biggest circle out of the four. She could definitely get much more information via him than anyone else, although she did not have doubts about capabilities of other people.

    "Okay."

    "So then, Brother Z, please help me out with these," Mei Qingyang took out the two cell phones from behind her and waved them in front of the audience.

 Chapter 173 - Conversation After Days

    After setting up the devices, one of them was sent to Yu Tian via the old man. Don''t know h transported them, it took full four days for the phone to reach the obscure place Yu Tian was staying at. However, discretion was more important here, so Mei Qingyang waited and waited. And on fifth day, her own phone buzzed with activity.

    "Hey," she picked up excitedly but words did not come out of her mouth when it was actual time of taking.

    "Qing Qing, is that really you? The note did say it was from you but I was so suspicious before I took the chance. Not many people know of this location anyway, so I had to give it a try," YU Tian rambled on the other side. Hearing him all fine and chirpy, Mei Qingyang was very relieved. She had no idea how he was faring all alone there. He was in a vulnerable state when she had let him go. But he sounded fine over the phone.

    "Yeah, senior Yu, it really is me. I''m glad you''re doing good. You wanted to talk to me?" she went straight to business.

    "Of course I''ve been wanting to talk to you the moment you and I parted after our trip. But you''re so heartless, you didn''t even write to me!" Mei Qingyang could hear him pouting through the phone. It seemed like he was doing too great over there to make such a cheesy joke.

    "Ahem ahem," she heard another voice in the background, most probably Yu Bufan. Mei Qingyang could not help but snicker at the pair. A shy smile floated on her innocent face. She wished she could see them in person but it was impossible as of now. She had to wait two more weeks.

    "Cough, anyway, Qing Qing, have you shifted to my house already? Just so you know, you can directly take my bedroom, okay? You do not need to be in that servant quarter." Now that she had officially accepted the title of Yu Tians ''servant'', she was entitled to stay at his place.

    Furthermore, each wealthy kid''s room had a small room attached to it, which was designated for their official servant. Apart from that, the rooms were made in such a way that there were more quarters for other maids and butlers. Just like Yu Tian''s room, where Mrs. Zhao and other people had their own rooms.

    But she would also get a separate room of her own, which would be just a door away from Yu Tian''s. Now, this was done so that there were no ''inconveniences'' at night, and the master could easily ''access'' their servants whenever required.

    Mei Qingyang hesitated a bit before answering the question carefully.

    "Umm¡­ I actually have not. I have been pretty busy lately, so I did not get time at all. Plus, I don''t think Mrs. Zhao would be very happy if I just barged in your house like that," Mei Qingyang replied. Truly, she did not care about them. But she had a suspicion on Mrs. Zhao as well and she did not want to be reporting everything to her as the head maid. She had much work to do, and she required peace for that. Her heart did warm up on hearing that she could take his bedroom.

    "That Mrs. Zhao. Are you afraid of her? I will fire her if you want," Yu Tian wanted nothing but best for his kitten. If that Mrs. Zhao was a nuisance to her, he would fire her on the spot. He had already seen her attitude towards Mei Qingyang. He just needed an excuse to let her go.

    "Oh no, no, I don''t want anyone to be fired because of me. She would be a good pawn for us to use. Do not take any decision in haste. Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something urgent?" Mei Qingyang replied hurriedly. She was confident he would have ordered Yu Bufan already to go ahead, so she had to stop him in time.

    "Have you heard anything about Yu island?" he asked.

    "I have been coming across this term quite frequently lately. Why do you ask?" She had already told him about it when she saw her dad looking into it. But he was bringing up the topic again.

    "Apparently, Yu Rong is also searching for dad. I had always thought she was the only one who knew his location and was in touch with him. Despite her being adopted into the family, she was doted upon like a real member. My grandpa really adored her, so did my dad. I don''t know why he would cut his relations off with her as well." Yu Tian was not very well versed in his own family''s history.

    He had not seen his grandpa and his dad had shut himself off after his mom had died. He was only one years old then. He never had even the shadow of his own dad in his life. He was actually raised by Yu Rong and Mrs. Zhao. Mrs. Zhao was the one who told him stories of his past family when he was young. From her stories, Yu Rong was very well loved, although no one knew why she turned out to be such a pervert.

    "Oh? So, they both happened to be looking for your dad at the same time? Is there anything going on with the company?" Mei Qingyang asked after thinking about it a bit. Why else would everyone be looking for the owner of the Yu empire otherwise? Why the sudden interest?

    "There is some movement, yes. But if I see, you mean to say¡­ people are planning to fight for the ownership?" Yu Tian was confused. By right, everything was supposed to be his. And he was an a.d.u.l.t already. It was true that he had neglected Yu empire for far too long in favor of his own endeavors. But to think people would fight over his birthright.

    "I mean, that is the only thing that is coming to mind. You dad has been away for quite some time and he has only been working behind the scenes. No one knows if he is really dead or alive. And who is handling everything in his absence, if he truly is not there. Shareholders might be anxious. Anyway, your dad should be at about his retirement age, I would assume?" she explained her rationale, which made perfect sense to Yu Tian. God, why was this girl so smart?

    "Okay, Bufan will look into this. But is this going to be a race between your family and mine to see who can find that person first?" Yu Tian chuckled lightly.

    Mei Qingyang knitted her brows. If she knew her dad well, he would have already discovered the island and perhaps gotten his hands on Yu Ming too. That would be dangerous, not only for the man himself, but for Yu Tian too.

    Yu Tian heard her serious tone. He was not sure what was going on in her mind once again. Why did she need to keep him in so much mystery?

    "Can''t you tell me your reason this time too?" Yu Tian would believe her nonetheless, but could she really not share anything with him yet again?

    "Do not worry, I will tell you the whole thing when we meet in two weeks. I will have to give a lot of backstory to you. That is why I do not want to alarm you right now. I know you trust me wholeheartedly, and you are free to look into it. But I will just say, it is a dangerous situation for you, otherwise I would not have warned," she tried to tell him in roundabout way.

    Sure their devices were not being monitored. She had made everything secure about their little transmission. And she was in their secret place right now, with no one else present there. But she was still not trusting of the fact that Yu Rong did not know about this place. Fan family might have been the one to build this place, but the relationship between Yu family and Fan family were especially great.

    "Fine, you have my full trust. Let me know if you need anything else. When will we talk again?" now that their conversation was coming to an end, Yu Tian did not want to let go. Mei Qingyang was feeling the same. She could just listen to his s.e.xy voice forever.

    She laughed on hearing his question. Their minds and hearts were so much in sync that it wasn''t even funny.

    "These phones are our own, no one can trace them. You are free to call me whenever. I have this phone with me all the time, because I cannot let anyone discover it. I will answer or reply as soon as I can," she replied in her melodious voice.

    "Then, just don''t put it down. I am okay without you speaking, but I want you to be present," Yu Tian said in a slightly pleading manner. Mei Qingyang sighed, she did not want to part either. But they had work to do.

    "Senior Yu, I will look into this Yu Island some more. You please keep an eye on the company situation, okay? I will talk to you as soon as I can," with this she cut the call. She had to be the brave one if he was not willing. She stretched her arms and went back to her old laptop to look into the doc.u.ments her agent had sent her. There was so much information in there that she was only halfway through. Now she could solely focus on that part.

 Chapter 174 - Call My Name

    Finally, after a week of analysis of the doc.u.ments, Mei Qingyang came to know what was happening in the real world, with her parents, her brothers and, most importantly, Yu Ming.

    "Senior Yu," she called Yu Tian right away. They had been in touch quite frequently now that they had the means. They would converse in the morning, just before Mei Qingyang would head to her class and in the night, just before retiring to the bed.

    She had been visiting the library quite often, mostly to spend time at the secret place. That was one place where no one could disturb her at all. Of course, she had not forgotten about Wei Qiqi, they would attend the classes together and eat their lunch together.

    "You called early today. Did you find anything?" Yu Tian spoke in his sweet s.e.xy voice from the other side, melting away all the tiredness in Mei Qingyang''s body. She had been sleeping less and less these days. Only Yu Tian''s voice could provide the healing effect.

    It was so funny though, if she were to think of something like this a few months ago, she would not believe that she would be so head over heels for a guy, that too her apparent nemesis, Yu Tian. It''s not like their relationship had started on a wrong foot, he had been helpful to her since day one.

    But she had no brains to give it a thought. And now? Look at her now!

    "How do you know I found out something? It seems that Yu Island is closer to us than we thought." Mei Qingyang started with a shocker.

    "What? Did you find it already?" Yu Tian was surprised once again by the resourcefulness of this girl. She was a trained fighter, a hacker and on the top of that she had smarts. She was always on the top of what was going on around. How did he even stumble upon this gem in his life? Should he consider as a reward from the Gods for whatever he had been suffering till now?

    "I do not know the exact location, but I have an intel that my dad might have already found it. I can only be sure once I go and take a look," Mei Qingyang put forth her suggestion. She did want to go out to check. And now that she was Yu Tian''s servant, it would be easier for her to move around, especially out of the campus.

    "Ah yes, I could take you there," Yu Tian replied.

    "Oh by the way, about the Yu empire, I did see a power struggle brewing in there. Yu Rong has her own faction and the strongest support to be the next CEO of the empire. But there is a mysterious investor in there, who has been buying shares from small time holders past few years and gaining more and more percentage stake in the company. I have been unable to find the identity of this person," Yu Tian informed her about whatever information he had been able to gather.

    "How many people support you though?" Mei Qingyang counter questioned. She was not much worried since Yu Tian had his own line of business. But it would be a shame if Yu empire really fell into Yu Rong''s hands. She had already been dealing with weapons and drugs it seemed, if she had absolute power, she was capable of destroying the whole business.

    Plus, Yu Tian was the rightful heir. But she also knew, Yu Tian did not really care about Yu empire.

    "I do not even place anywhere. It''s been a while since I have even visited the headquarters, much less people knowing me. Moreover, Yu Rong has replaced most of the old people with her own," Yu Tian shrugged his shoulders. There was a dejection in his voice. His last tie with his dad was breaking soon too. Then he would be a complete orphan, just like the kids in the torture prison.

    "It is already underway, I am meeting them all next week just before the board meeting of the company. It will help me gather more evidence."

    "Sometimes, I just forget you are the ever intelligent and mighty Yu Tian. Of course you would have come up with this strategy already. Silly me, hehe," Mei Qingyang hit her head lightly.

    "Can¡­ can you say that again?'' Yu Tian stuttered, his whole face red.

    "Say what? I knew you would come up with the strategy?" Mei Qingyang had already realized she had spoken his name for the first time in front of him. She also turned red on this side realizing the kind of pandora box she had opened.

    "No, before that," his tone suddenly turned serious. He gulped his saliva, anticipating her answer.

    "Yu¡­ Tian?"

    Oh God, if he was here, he would be able to see such awkward side of her. Her face was emitting steam out of embarrassment. She rolled in her bed, she could not calm down. She had always been calling him Yu Tian in her head but speaking it out loud was an emotion in itself.

    Numerous flowers bloomed in Yu Tian''s heart while Yu Bufan was experiencing second hand embarrassment on the side. Was his master always like this? Damn! His friends were missing out too much in life. The guys'' stance relaxed. Yu Tian felt like he could die with happiness right about now.

    "Yup, that sounds about right. You can use that from now on," Yu Tian did a little dance in his mind. Another hurdle crossed! He would not ask her to say anything like ''elder brother'' or just his first name, not yet. But this was a big step, especially since he had been calling her with endearment.

    "Qing Qing, is something wrong? Why do you keep talking about your dad like this? Any problems back home?" For the past few days, she had been talking about her dad like he was some villain. Why did this change happen? He had been trying to pick up hints from her conversation but he never asked directly. But today, he just had to.

    Mei Qingyang massaged her temples. She knew this would bug him sooner or later. She had dreams of taking her boyfriend to her home, introduce him to her family and perhaps, show him the warmth of loving people around. But now that things had come to this where her dad had decided to cut ties with her. All she could do was try to contact Li Hanyu. She had not received any reply yet.

    "Uhh¡­ let''s just say, the situation back home has become complicated. I myself am not sure what is happening, but the message I got from dad was that he wants to cut his ties with me. He has not been picking up elder brother''s phone either," Mei Qingyang explained in few simple sentences. Yu Tian picked up everything he needed to.

    "Is it because of me? Is he unhappy that you are involved with me?"

    "It does not matter. Who I get involved with, is my business. He doesn''t get to say anything in that. And he should know I would not make a bad choice. But it feels like he is dead set on revenge. And he has stopped caring about right and wrong. He does not even know half the truth about you, how can he say that just based on the fact that you are part of Yu family?"

    "Qing Qing, he is an old man, who was deeply hurt. He lost his a.d.u.l.t son. You should understand where he is coming from. And I happen to be a son too, to his enemy. I would not blame him. And they say, blood is thicker than water. I think he goes by that. Do not be mad at him, okay?"

    Mei Qingyang was the only one with a ''normal'' family. Yu Tian did not want that she lost hers because of him. Sure, he was selfish enough that he won''t let her go under any circ.u.mstances. But he also could not see her suffer. She sounded angry but he could not tell if she was angry with her dad or him.

    "Uhh¡­ we will see. Anyway, I will go back to work, or may be catch up some sleep. Long days are head of us. And I could finally see you in around fourteen days," Mei Qingyang put everything past her for now. She was exhausted, and she needed a break. She would perhaps focus on Ma Shuxin and her problems for now? This was another character she needed to resolve. Why were there so many weird people around her to begin with? (Author''s note ¨C Sorry bruh!)

    "Okay, then good night Qing Qing."

    "Did she really¡­" Yu Tian trailed off, staring at the phone dazedly. In one phone call, she went from his name to first name! He¡­ was at a loss for words.

    "Hahahaha, she really is amusing. She suits you perfectly. I will have to thank her later since she lets me see all these expressions you make for the first time," Yu Bufan laughed hard, so much that his eyes started tearing up. He left the room patting his master''s and friend''s shoulder.

    "This girl will surely be a death of me¡­ by diabetes," Yu Tian ran his fingers through his hair, mumbling to himself.

 Chapter 175 - Weixi Is Sick

500

 Chapter 176 - Yu Tian Returns

    "What are you doing here?" Yu Rong saw a proud Mei Qingyang strutting towards the gate of the school.

    "I am just here to receive my master, is there any problem?" Mei Qingyang replied back politely, a fake smile pasted on her face. Now that she had some status as a personal servant of Yu Tian, she could go around with authority too, right?

    "Girl, I think you should focus more on your classes, rather than our family''s business. It could be harmful to you, if you meddle too much," Yu Rong scoffed. This b*tch was way past her tolerance line. She had hired a few bodyguards for herself, who were standing with big rifles in their hands on either side of her. But she had seen this girl''s skills with the gun that day and still feared for her life.

    "Yes, you are correct. But I happen to have been chosen by your nephew, what can I say?" Mei Qingyang gave him a provocative look. At this point, she could basically see through the witch peering into her eyes. She was still afraid, and Mei Qingyang could take advantage of that, for some more days at least.

    Thus, she was not afraid of putting Yu Tian in more danger at this time. He was far more vulnerable to outside forces than inside ones as of now.

    "You? Chosen? I am pretty sure he was just feeling the lack of single girls around him and you happened to be one. He is just at that age. Trust me, he will get bored very soon. Which is why I am letting him play for some time. I have practically raised him, I know him the best!" Yu Rong retaliated. Wang Hao at the side wanted to die somewhere. Why was it that when it came to her nephew, his master became really childish?

    Mei Qingyang chose to ignore her retort. Whether she knew him the best or not, it was none of her concern. She was just looking towards the gate silently, her heart beating loudly, when she saw the car driven by Yu Bufan stop in front of the gate and the big iron gate opening automatically.

    Yu Bufan noticed the people standing on the gate. Was this a period drama where people were waiting for their carriage or something? He would have to let his master step down here.

    He stopped the car and let You Tian go out of the car. Yu Tian nodded to his aunt first but went to Mei Qingyang''s side.

    "Oh my dear nephew! Let me see you! It feels like you have lost some weight. Certainly your servants are not taking enough care of you," Yu Rong made another remark. She was pretty jealous of the fact that her own nephew would not even so much hug her, they were meeting after a whole month!

    Mei Qingyang stepped in front of him, once again to save him from the trouble. Her eyes fierce, shook Yu Rong''s heart once again. Those bloody green eyes, she wanted to gouge them out. She still was unable to figure out why they were so familiar.

    "Anyway, Tian, you look you have recovered quite well. I am sure you would be ready for a round two of your duty now, haha," Yu Rong joked around.

    Yu Tian''s face twitched. She was cowering in fear but still talking like this?

    Mei Qingyang slightly touched her waist where a small leather bag was quite visible. This alarmed Yu Rong even more, she hid behind her bodyguards in an involuntary response.

    "I think now that I have seen that my lovely nephew in good health, I could take my leave. You guys go ahead, you must be tired from your long journey. I will meet you later," Yu Rong clenched her jaw and took her leave as proudly as she could be. She was definitely not in her right mind, but she could not show it. The moment that b*tch put her hand on the bag in a very obvious manner, Yu Rong knew she was in danger.

    "Wang Hao, you need to do something, I can''t live in fear like this," she told her assistant who was standing straight as if this didn''tconcern him and he was all safe and sound.

    Yu Tian saw Yu Rong leaving just like that in astonishment. He knew that bullet had affected her, but this much?

    He looked around twice, there was no one around, and this place did not have any cameras around. Yu Bufan had gone to park his car.

    Mei Qingyang had just turned around to take a look at her boyfriend when she suddenly found herself in air. Yu Tian had picked her up by arms and was swinging her around, very effortlessly at that.

    "Yu Tian!!!" she squealed, having taken up by surprise. She was not light by any standards, but this guy was strong enough to swing her like a child.

    "You¡­ you are just amazing! Driving away my aunt like that, it''s the first time I have seen," he put her gown on the ground and hugged her tightly. He was just too happy. Would his free days be coming soon? He had gone to recuperate but how could the fire of revenge against the humiliation in his heart be doused just by going away?

    "Oh," Mei Qingyang was pretty unstable after three rounds in the air, so she just took the support of the guy''s body, before starting to think straight again.

    "How are you now by the way? Did your injuries heal?" she asked, trying to check his neck, which was the only part visible as of now. Her sudden touch did send sparks through his whole body. If she continued like this, he would not be able to stop. He ended up holding her wrist, stopping her shameless movement.

    "Ahem, we can check that in the room," he stated, averting his gaze.

    Mei Qingyang realized what he meant and her face grew hot, just thinking about it. What kind of non sense he was talking about?

    "You started it first. But I''ll listen to you, as I usually do," he looked at the girl whose face was still in the process of turning into brighter shade of red.

    He held her hand and started moving towards his dorm.

    "Is¡­ is this fine?" she asked. What if Yu Rong was looking at them again? She knew for sure she was monitoring them.

    "If you''re doing so much for me, isn''t it time that I try to change too?" he answered her, with an unusual confidence that she had never noticed from him before. The gloomy aura around him had also become quite subtle than before.

    ---------

    "Did you just see that? Are they not being too intimate?" Gu Layue was hidden beneath the trees, angry at her assistant who had told her to help the couple rather than sow discord between them.

    "Miss, you should understand. They are too much in love right now. That does not mean it won''t fade away. You know how Yu Rong is. You are the most suitable candidate for him. But you also need to capture his heart. Once Yu Rong drives that lass away, you will be only suitable candidate around him. At that time, you also need to make sure that he likes you. As of your image right now...," her assistant shook his head. How could he tell her that that guy was dead set on that girl and she did not have any chance right now?

    But then, what he said also made sense, so he had to console his miss with anything. The girl twisted the handkerchief in her hand. She could not bear seeing him with another girl. But her assistant was stating the truth too.

    "Fine, I will help them against Yu Rong but if she goes down, who will stop these two?" Gu Layue was still not convinced. Her eyes teared up with envy. That position should have been hers, what was that girl doing there?

 Chapter 177 - Shifting To Yu Tians Home

    Now that Yu Tian had arrived, he swiftly got Yu Bufan to transfer Mei Qingyang''s stuff to his apartment. While he and Yu Bufan were celebrating in their hearts, Mrs. Zhao was throwing daggers to the girl through her eyes since she had stepped in the house.

    Yu Tian already had an assistant, why did he need an additional servant? He had number of servants under him as well. On the top of that, this girl was not a person who had undergone rigorous training like other servants in the house, nor did she belong to a bigger house, to perhaps make her his mistress. What qualifications did she have to enter his home as a servant?

    "Aunt Zhao, is there some problem? I see that you''re not really happy with my decision," Yu Tian had been observing her for past one hour through the corner of his eyes. She had been staring at his kitten since then. It was not a pleasant feeling. Who was she to scrutinize the person he had chosen like this?

    "Young master, it is not my place to say who your hire and who not. But then, I''ve been raising you like a mother since your beloved mother passed away. Won''t you believe me when I say this lass is a trouble? That she won''t do you any good?" she wiped her fake tears, putting forth her grievances to Yu Tian. If someone outside were to see the scene, they would surely think that Yu Tian had done grave injustice to the old lady.

    "Hmmm? So, you''re questioning my judgement then?" Yu Tian kept his voice incredibly low, giving it an eerie feel. Other servants were standing nearby, keeping their heads down but watching the show. As soon as the pressure in Yu Tian''s colder than ice voice increased, everyone started trembling.

    Since the day this girl had come in his life, he had calmed down quite a bit. He was not as scary as before. But today it seemed like that he had reverted back to his old self. However, Mrs. Zhao was still confident in her bond with the young master, even though she was thoroughly rebuked last time.

    "That is what not I meant young master. What I am saying is, it is my duty as your elder to remind you what is right and what is wrong. And as a person who has seen you grow up so closely, I know what suits you the best. This lass is not even worth your shoes!" Mrs. Zhao looked at the girl haughtily. Sometimes, people just didn''t know when to shut their mouths. If this was some old era, she would have been sentenced to death by beating ten times by now.

    Mei Qingyang, who was standing behind Yu Tian''s chair, looked at her pitifully. Then, in an act of defiance, she stepped ahead and sat down in Yu Tian''s l.a.p. A surprise flashed through his eyes but he decided to play along. When would he have a chance to be this intimate with her when alone?

    Mei Qingyang, very boldly, placed one hand on his c.h.e.s.t and the other one around his neck. She could clearly feel his heartbeat increase rapidly.

    "It seems to me Mrs. Zhao, you''re either insulting young master''s intelligence or you''re questioning his mother and aunt, who are the people who actually raised him, don''t you think?" she had a provocative look in her eyes. If this old lady really thought she had a loose character, then she would just give her what she wanted.

    Although Qingyang had been avoiding her since the official announcement, she did not know that this old lady would exercise her right as his nanny like this. She did not care about her own reputation but she could not hear her speaking non sense about him or his mother.

    But really, whose side was she? Wasn''t this old lady from Yu Tian''s mother''s side? Why was she behaving like she was in cahoots with his aunt?

    Mei Qingyang was puzzle by all this. She could not understand why every lady in Yu Tian''s life was trying to be dominant over him, like he was some toy. Could he not just be a normal human being?

    Mrs. Zhao felt quite humiliated like this. It was hilarious how many expressions the old lady''s face went through. She first had shock on her face by Mei Qingyang''s move, then disgust and then anger. Not only was this girl slandering her, but she was also behaving as if she was mistress of the house. Taking a jab on her while sitting in such a compromising position, that too with her young master, it was outrageous to Mrs. Zhao.

    The old lady meekly replied, "That was not my intention at all. Young master, this girl is putting words in my mouth. How could I ever speak against your mother? She was the one who gave me a second chance at life!" This time, real tears started flowing through her eyes, even unknowing to her.

    Mei Qingyang felt sad. She was indeed their elder. But did the age give her the right to do whatever she wanted?

    Yu Tian was holding Mei Qingyang by her petite waist, lest she fell down. His grip around her waist tightened. He was enraged over Mrs. Zhao''s behavior too. He had been giving her quite some freedom. But the water was over the head now.

    "Aunt Zhao, from today onwards, you won''t be supervising the work in my house anymore. But I also don''t want to abandon you on account of your services all these years. Nonetheless, I think it is time for you to retire. What do you think?" Yu Tian told her coldly.

    "Are¡­ are you sending me away?" she asked shivering in fear.

    "No, especially since my girl here doesn''t want to hurt your feelings. You will still manage the kitchen. I will give you two people under you for that. Apart from that, you won''t be able to command anyone here. Do you understand?"

    Having her authority taken away like this, she dropped down to her knees, her heart hurting. She had no idea how she had provoked the anger of her young master. Whatever happened to that cute little boy? She had no idea that the cute little boy had died that one day when she had personally delivered him to Yu Rong''s doorstep even though he had shared with her how his aunt had been inappropriately touching him.

    Aunt Zhao wept sitting on the floor while Yu Tian got up and took Mei Qingyang with him to his bedroom.

    ------

    "Do you think I was too harsh?" he asked the girl, who was staring at her hand intertwined with his. This guy had become too shameless. At home, he would not even let go of her hand. Although, she didn''t dislike the feeling, but it was still too weird.

    She raised her head towards him who was nonchalantly looking at her like it didn''t concern him.

    "Uhh¡­ I didn''t want her to go away because she has much more knowledge than us about Yu Rong and your mother. She also might have clues to your dad. She will definitely contact Yu Rong soon. We need to keep an eye out," Mei Qingyang stated. It did seem plausible but her confidence always put him at ease. She was much better than him in judging people.

    "That was one bold move out there though. What were you expecting?" Yu Tian started teasing her.

    "What do you mean expecting? I was just showing her that I indeed seduced you, as she was expecting. Now I become the bad person. At least let her remember you as a kind boy," she looked into his black hole like eyes. She could drown in them anytime, they were like a bottomless pit. At least now though, they were regaining their shine. His eyes, with its original glow, must truly be beautiful.

    How could God make someone so adorably handsome? Then she felt the eyes inching closer to her face. This guy! He was taking too many liberties!!

    "When you put her in charge of food, did you not think she could poison it?" she asked while covering his whole face with her palm. Yu Bufan just entered the room and he could not help but snort. This lovey dovey couple was making him too envious.

    Mei Qingyang got up abruptly from Yu Tian''s l.a.p as soon as she spotted Yu Bufan.

    "That''s why I am replacing the people under her. They are my trusted people, they will see to it nothing happens," he shrugged his shoulders. If he had thought it through, then it was fine. Guess, her life in coming days would be easier from this aspect at least.

 Chapter 178 - Going To College Together

    "Ready to face the world?" Yu Tian asked Mei Qingyang the next morning. This was the first day they were going to attend the college together. Mei Qingyang had been successful in driving people away with questions about her being officially recruited as Yu Tian''s servant.

    It was natural for everyone to be curious, especially the girls. If the most eligible bachelor had really taken in a servant, that meant, he was ready for the main girlfriend too. Wouldn''t their chances be increased thus? Plus, it seemed that Yu Tian had gotten over his disgust towards touch?

    Well, whenever anyone approached Mei Qingyang, she either only smiled to their question without answering them or just did not reply at all. After a few days, people just stopped asking.

    Mei Qingyang batted her big eyes in confusion. Face the world? What had she been doing till now then?

    "When you are there, do I need to worry?" she spoke with a serious expression while fixing her clothes. She would let him do the answering. She was just a ''servant'' after all. Yu Tian took it the other way, his heart warming over her trust in him. If she knew what he was thinking, she would have laughed.

    "Young master, your breakfast," Mrs. Zhao came with milk and French toast with her. She put down the plate on the table, all smiles. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang glanced at each other, what happened to her suddenly? Did she finally decide to act as if she had given up? Then her time of contacting Yu Rong was way near than they had thought.

    The resilience and survival instincts of older generation was incredulous.

    "What about Qing Qing?" Yu Tian looked at the table with just one plate and one glass and felt another headache coming.

    "It''s okay. I am on diet anyway. I will eat something later," she replied. Mrs. Zhao gave her a look of disdain, she was just trying to look good in front of the master.

    "You don''t need any diet, here take this milk. I will only eat the toast," he passed the glass to her as he was sitting down on the dining table.

    "Young master, please do not ruin your breakfast, I will get her another glass of milk. What else would you like Ms. Mei?" Mrs. Zhao was enraged once again. Did she, as a senior servant, need to serve this junior servant? She clenched her teeth, but because she did not want to be thrown out, she decided to be more amicable.

    "Mrs. Zhao, please do not be so formal. I am fine without the breakfast. You can continue on with your work," Mei Qingyang waved her hands and refused again. She was worried that if she ate anything made by this old lady with a grudge, her stomach wouldn''t be able to handle such beautiful emotions.

    "Then, I will take my leave," Mrs. Zhao bowed and left. The two people in the room did not bother to call her or stop her. Mrs. Zhao''s expression twisted as soon as she turned around. How dare she? Would it be humiliation everyday now?

    The two people left after Yu Tian finished his toast and insisted that Mei Qingyang drank the milk. He could not offer her toast because she wouldn''t eat eggs. The two stepped out of their house when they found the three people, Su Lang, Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue waiting for them.

    "Ready to rock it Qing Qing?" Su Lang asked, sticking his tongue out.

    "Always," Mei Qingyang smiled.

    --------

    "This confirms it! She really is the servant!" another girl screamed.

    "But these five people were already roaming around together. Wasn''t she inducted in their group long back?" a guy from behind put forth his theory.

    "That is also true, but also servants are not allowed to accompany the masters in the classes. Does her becoming a servant not disqualify her from being a student? How has she been attending the classes till now then?" another student analyzed the situation. The crowd nodded at this conjecture. How was she still attending the classes if she had become a servant, unless, Yu Tian had specially requested for it.

    Wait, why did anyone not think of that? He was the master of the school practically, so he could definitely do that. There were no rules against servants enrolling as students as long as fees were being paid. But everyone was aware of Yu Rong''s unusual love towards her nephew. Many thought it was just because she was more like his elder sister than aunt or brother. She was only in her teens when Yu Tian was born after all.

    "Hmph! He only made her a servant, not his girlfriend. That seat is still open," another senior girl from third year spoke up. Everyone was so jealous right now that that girl from poor background could even breathe in the same air as those four legends of the college.

    Other girls gave solace to their hearts thinking that as well. Those four were still not taken. If Fan Ruyi were to get committed to one of the three, none of them could compete with her. But Mei Qingyang was not even equivalent to a fly. They could definitely overpower her. No one was aware of the power struggle behind the scenes anyway.

    "Let me accompany to your class," Yu Tian kept moving with Mei Qingyang even though they had already reached his classroom first, under the envious gaze of everyone. No one had ever heard such a gentle tone from this incredibly handsome guy. He was always cold and aloof. Who was this new person? He was not even this soft with his own friends, why her??

    "Should not I be doing that? That should be my duty!" Mei Qingyang replied, puzzled. Was he trying to help her out so that her classmates understand her position?

    "You do not need to worry, young master Yu. I will take her with me. If someone tries to bully her, I shall report it to you right away," they heard a very chirpy voice from behind. Mei Qingyang knew Ma Shuxin had been following them for quite a while. Now she had a chance, she suddenly pounced on that.

    "I guess it is my cue to take my leave then. I will see you back at home," he casually threw the remark and left, his voice full of irritation.

    ''Home''. Everyone heard that word. Then! He confirmed it!!! He did confirm it himself!!!

    It became a hot topic instantly on all their group chats. The news spread like a fire and in an instant, everyone knew for sure that she was indeed his servant now. Mei Qingyang could not help but facepalm. She could not really have peace in her life, could she?

    -------

    "Qing Qing, I got another packet for you," Wei Qiqi was supposed to be welcome to Yu Tian''s house but Mei Qingyang changed the location of their meeting because that menacing Mrs. Zhao was still there. These days that lady did not have any other work but to keep an eye on her.

    Thus, Mei Qingyang called her at the library. Library was so big that it was the safest haven for her.

    Wei Qiqi was allowed to meet her family once a week, owing to the fact that her mother was quite sick. She was allowed to leave under heavy scrutiny but Wei Qiqi was smart too, she knew how to deceive the system. Under the guise of her mother''s doc.u.ments, she was also working as an information exchanger for Mei Qingyang.

    "Qiqi! I had told you it could be dangerous. Why are you not thinking of your family? What if Yu Rong does to you?" Mei Qingyang worriedly pounded her small fists over her arms. Why would this girl put herself in danger for her? She had not really done anything for her.

    "I owe you so much in this life Qing Qing, if I am able to help you out like this, it would be my blessing," Wei Qiqi replied, handing over another packet, this time much thinner.

    "Ah f*ck!" Mei Qingyang yelped. This won''t do! This information was too critical.

    "Here, take my phone, I already dialed the number," Wei Qiqi handed over her phone swiftly, which was monitored less by any of the authorities here.

    Mei Qingyang nodded. "Hello, it''s time to take the action," she spoke to the person on other side. Wei Qiqi grinned widely, hearing her instructions.

 Chapter 179 - Invitation

    "Qing Qing, your mom called," Su Lang informed Mei Qingyang when he had come with Yu Tian to pick her up from the class after first day of college when they put the rumors to rest.

    "Why are you guys coming over here, I should be the one going to you," Mei Qingyang rubbed her temples in frustration. Weren''t these guys being too overprotective even though she was the one with lower status?

    "No one bullied you, I would assume," Yu Tian spoke in a slightly louder voice so that everyone in the class could hear him. He was just declaring that anyone who dared put even a finger on her would get to know their place. Everyone in the class looked at him with pin drop silence and then lowered their heads. They had heard his message loud and clear.

    "Come on, he is doing so much for you, why are you not appreciating his efforts?" Su Lang prodded as he saw some disappointment in Mei Qingyang''s eyes. It was not that she was not grateful, but she did not want this much help. This was kind of suffocating her.

    She had her own ways to deal with people. If everyone started thinking that she was there not because of her own merits but because of Yu Tian, who would really believe her when she would say that she was their ally? It was very easy to manipulate her reputation like that and her efforts to reach out to poorer folks and gathering evidence would all be hampered.

    "It''s okay, we will talk about that later," Mei Qingyang hung her bag on her shoulder in slight anger and started walking. Wei Qiqi was with her as well. She, on the other hand, stayed behind with the boys who were confused and whispered to Yu Tian, "You are taking away exactly what she is striving for senior Yu, and that is freedom. Please talk to her before you take any steps like these."

    With these words of wisdom, she trotted towards her friend, who was still feeling irritated. The two boys looked at each other in shock. Was that how it felt to the girl? Damn! They were so used to doing things their own way that they never thought about her feelings. They needed to correct this behavior!

    "Oh come on, give him a break. This might be his first relationship for all you know. He needs time to understand things. Just talk to him straight, okay?" Wei Qiqi walked arms in arms with Mei Qingyang, while giving her the advice.

    "I am not worried about that. I will definitely have a proper conversation with him about this. Only problem is, I cannot share everything with him. And that makes me more frustrated because I don''t know how to approach something I cannot share with him," Mei Qingyang shifted her gaze to her shoes, unable to meet her friend''s eyes.

    "You should trust him more. I know you already have faith in him but you should really give him time. He comes from a totally different background. He has his set of problems. I am sure it won''t take him much time to change. But that change should be voluntary, right?" Wei Qiqi knew that her friend already knew all this, she just needed to reinforce and reiterate it all to her friend in trouble.

    "Fine, I understand. But I must say Qiqi, you are quite wise in this area. Have you already experienced all this senior Xu? Tell me, tell me!" Mei Qingyang wanted to tease her friend a bit but seeing her flushed face, she realized that she had stumbled upon the truth. Oh damn! When did they become so close?

    "You¡­ don''t put it on me, okay? I am wise beyond my years," Wei Qiqi chortled to avoid the topic. Su Lang helped her out as well.

    "Qing Qing, your mom heard about you and Tian and she is asking you both for dinner at home," Su Lang informed her from behind.

    Wait a minute, did her dad not cut ties with her according to the old man at library? She trusted that guy, so then¡­ But it was also weird that the invitation came from her foster mother and not father. That just meant one thing, perhaps her mom had heard it from one of the guys discussing it. What did it mean by her knowing about her and Yu Tian? What did she know?

    "Give me details elder brother, there are too many fishy points here. Has my mom ever called you before by herself?" Mei Qingyang asked curiously.

    "No, actually Li Hanyu called, not me, but Weixi. I guess I would not have picked up the call from an unknown number anyway. And so, Aunt Jiang said that she came to know about you two and how excited she is but also sad that you did not get to tell it to her in person," Su Lang explained to his sister. Mei Qingyang also felt heartbroken. Her mother was her only solace now that her dad had decided to abandon her, although she had always felt closer to her foster dad. Also, her mother was the only one capable of bringing her dad back from the path of destruction.

    She realized she had not given enough credits to her mom. Anyway, she was more interested in hearing the plan. Now that she was a servant, she could easily accompany Yu Tian on his trips. Wang Hao really played the game well, for he had a major hand in making this possible. Yu Rong would have never allowed it, but that guy and Yu Tian too, engaged the board members. No one could reject the plea.

    "And?" she asked Su Lang to continue.

    She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

    "Well, this time Yu Rong can''t accompany you, nor Wang Hao. So, it is basically a free trip. The only thing is, you won''t be allowed to go out till the end of year after this," Su Lang smiled embarrassingly. Mei Qingyang was still not convinced.

    "Anything for him?" she pointed to Yu Tian. There was no way Yu Rong would not put any restrictions on him as well.

    "Same for him," Su Lang shrugged his shoulders. What the¡­! She knew exactly how crucial it was for him to get away from her when he was recuperating. Although she had sworn to protect him, and he was showing improvements, there was guarantee that she would not threaten him or lure him again into her den and do her deeds. And Mei Qingyang was sure Yu Tian would not be able to say no so easily. He was taking slow steps towards recovery but it was too soon. He was too vulnerable.

    She glanced at her boyfriend but he was not showing any expression right now. He was still his cold self. Ugh. But if they had already gotten permission, then it meant he was okay with it. Then, she also would not interfere in this decision of his.

    "Okay, let''s go tomorrow then," she replied, this time her resigning to whatever conclusion the boys had arrived at.

 Chapter 180 - Familial Warmth

    "Mom!" Mei Qingyang finally reached her home with Yu Tian, Yu Bufan and Su Lang. She was not sure how her mom would react since she was now with the scion of the Yu family. Nonetheless, her mom welcomed her with a warm smile and hugged her as soon as she called out.

    "My sweet child! How are you? It''s been so long since I have seen you," Mrs. Jiang took her daughter''s face in her hand and examined her from top to bottom. "It feels like you have lost weight. Are you eating properly?" she asked worriedly.

    "Mom, I am fine. Look, I have these two to take care of me, how can I not be eating properly. Rather, you look you have lost quite some weight," Mei Qingyang looked at her mom''s sagging skin and sunken eyes and cheeks. She practically looked sick. Was it something serious?

    She glanced towards Li Hanyu who was standing at the side and then her eyes shifted around. Her dad was nowhere to be found. Her mom noticed her gaze and slight disappointment right away.

    "Your dad is running late but he will be here. Don''t worry," she patted her shoulder and then looked towards the three boys behind.

    "Young Master Yu, what an honor!" she stepped ahead and opened her arms for she had no idea of Yu Tian''s condition. She just wanted to give the boy, who had conquered her daughter''s heart, a courtesy hug. Mei Qingyang looked at him from behind her mother and realized it might not be too comfortable for him.

    "Mom, I think we should go inside, it''s a bit cold in here," Mei Qingyang tried to deter her Mrs. Jiang and make her go in. She went and took her mom''s right arm in her arm and tried to act a bit spoiled. Yu Tian, on the other hand felt relieved. If not for his condition, he would have loved to be in an elder''s embrace for he had never experienced it in his life. From as far as he could remember, he only knew Yu Rong holding him in her arms, and that was not a pleasant feeling at all.

    Mrs. Jiang did not think much of it. She put down her arms and patted her daughter''s arm. She nodded towards Su Lang and Yu Bufan and invited them in. She directly took them all to the big dinner table outside in their small garden. The table was surrounded by heaters as they could not really use fires for the fear of Mei Qingyang relapsing into her

    "I did not know what you guys liked, so I ended up making too much," she smiled warmly again and displayed a table full of delicious looking dishes. Half the table was just the vegetarian dishes, which showed her affection for her daughter.

    "Mom! This is so good! How much time did you put in in just cooking?" On the table, all her favorite dishes were present. Seemed like her mother had put in quite some effort in the feast. Plus, there were some fancy dishes for boys too.

    "What effort for my daughter, this is all so worth it!" Mrs. Jiang made an angry face. She then turned to Yu Tian who was sitting in front of Mei Qingyang and took out a few spoonsful of rice to fill his bowl.

    "Young master Yu, I hope you won''t mind," she passed the bowl to him. Yu Tian had, for the first time, experienced the fondness from an elder. He accepted the bowl gratefully and comped down the food like he had not eaten since ages. The food tasted especially delicious today, although they were of simple preparations, not even befitting of what he has been eating as a young master. Mei Qingyang put a few side dishes on his portions as well.

    "So then, you both are official couple now?" Mrs. Jiang asked inquisitively. She looked very excited by the prospect of her daughter brining her first boyfriend home. Mei Qingyang coughed twice in embarrassment. Jeez mom, how could you be so direct?

    Yu Tian glanced at his bashful kitten and then looked Mrs. Jiang straight into her eyes, nodding his head slightly.

    "That''s wonderful. I had always wanted to treat the man she brought home. I did not realize he would be closer than I thought. Say Lang, tell me stories about them. I want to hear them all," she was just excited like a child who had found a new toy. Su Lang started telling stories about them, making the whole table laugh with his wit and quirkiness. He did have a way of telling stories.

    Li Hanyu was the only one who did not seem too happy. He was just observing the two who could not get enough of each other.

    Yu Tian just wanted to sit there whole night and take this new warmth in. He, for the first time, felt like a part of family. His friends were his family too, but for the first time he understood what familial love meant. If he ever ended up marrying his kitten, would he be able to become a real part of this family? Her mom was already treating him like a son. She was occasionally feeding him, stuffing him like a pig to be sacrificed. But his heart was just so filled with cozy feelings right now, that he did not refuse her at all and ate whatever she was offering him.

    "Mom, don''t overstuff him!!" Mei Qingyang protested on the side.

    "You both ah! You both are so skinny, I am so worried about you. You also eat some more," she filled her daughter''s bowl as well. Mei Qingyang g.r.o.a.n.e.d, eliciting a laugh from everyone on the table.

    "It''s okay, he will come, he is just stuck in a meeting," Mrs. Jiang c.a.r.e.s.sed her daughter''s hair who was impatiently looking at the head table.

    "Here, I made your favorite dessert. Let''s celebrate," she got a huge fruit cake for her daughter, who was looking downcast because of her dad. Mrs. Jiang did not understand that Mei Qingyang was not even worried about him showing up, she would probably be relieved if he did not. But if he did join the party, who knew how he was going to explode?

    "Sir!" Li Hanyu suddenly got up from his seat. All his comrades also stood up. Mei Qingyang''s worst fear had arrived.

    "Dear! You are late, dinner is almost over!" Mrs. Jiang left her seat and dragged her husband by his arm on the table. Mei Qingyang and the group also stood up to welcome the head of the family. The girl did not want to look at him but she still greeted him.

    "Dad!" she called out but got no response. She knew he was angry, angry at her betrayal. She saw him giving a nasty stare to both Su Lang and Yu Tian. Without saying anything, he sat down at the table. Li Hanyu and others followed suit.

    "Guys, sit down and have fun. Hanyu, go bring some more wine. I was waiting for him to arrive. We are still in the middle of dinner, so it should be okay no?" It seemed like Mrs. Jiang failed to read the mood. She was still jolly and trying to make best out of the event.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was feeling a bit nervous. Her palms were sweaty. She was praying in her head that her dad would not insult the guests in front of everyone. The two guys were intelligent enough, that they did not say anything to the host. They just ate silently.

    Mrs. Jiang, as usual, kept stuffing her husband''s bowls as well. The cold expression on Minister Jiang did not melt at all, even though his wife was trying very hard.

    By the end, everyone who had been frol.i.c.k.i.n.g had calmed down as Minister Jiang''s energy washed over the whole table.

    What was he going to say to her? To break up with Yu Tian? Would she have to follow? What would happen to him then?

    "Coming," Mei Qingyang followed him right away. Mrs. Jiang also accompanied the father daughter duo. Everyone prayed that Mrs. Jiang would help them out.

 Chapter 181 - Et Tu Mom

    Jiang Nuo took his daughter to his own office room in the house. Mei Qingyang wasn''t feeling very confident, how was she going to face him? Then she saw her mom following the two, so she relaxed a little bit. As soon as the trio entered the room, the door was shut tight. Her dad had made sure that his office was soundproof, since he had many private and national security related conversations with other ministers and government employees. This was convenient for everyone.

    Outside, with the thump of the door, Yu Tian''s heart sank. Would she be alright? Should he not have let her go? But what could he do in the front of that tiger of her dad? He looked at Su Lang worriedly, his palms started sweating. What was going to happen to them?

    Su Lang patted his back, he knew his friend was struggling. He had never seen his uncle that serious. He was not like that even when his own son died. That time, he perhaps had no idea what had happened, really. Now he knew well what would happen to mingle with Yu family. No wonder he was so against this relationship.

    Su Lang sighed inwardly and patted his friend''s shoulder again. This was the only way he could provide his support right now.

    "She''s not coming back, you do understand that right?" Li Hanyu suddenly spoke up seeing how tensed the guests were. He did not want to give them false hopes who were just staring at the direction Mei Qingyang had left, like she would come back within minutes.

    "What do you mean not coming back?" Yu Tian''s nerves were fazed some more. He felt like he had already lost her and it was not a great feeling. He could kill someone right about now. That sense of loss he once had experienced with that one girl, he did not want to go through it again. But this girl was way more special than that one. If he really lost her, he would probably never recover. She had become such a huge support system to him, that he could not really imagine his life without her now.

    "That''s exactly what I mean. I haven''t seen her dad this pissed off, ever. And I have spent more years with him than even Qing Qing. The way I see it, he''s probably planning to pull her out of the college and lock her in the house," Li Hanyu stated the facts in front of the boys.

    "Pulling out? Is he so against their relationship? He, the most open-minded person I know, is going to lock her up?" Su Lang could not believe his ears. Why would his uncle do that?

    Okay fine, he had a grudge against Yu Rong, but how was it connected to his friend? Just blood?

    "Qing Qing, I''m so disappointed. I had told you to stay away from him. Why does it have to be him?" There was sadness and anguish in Jiang Nuo''s eyes. He really felt betrayed. When he had heard the report, he had dismissed it as false. He had even scolded his underling for lying to him.

    He had faith in his heart that his daughter would not do something like that although he had been hearing about it quite often. His heart had broken into thousand pieces when he saw the video of these both not denying their servant-master relationship. What did it mean for them? Young foolish love perhaps? Or probably that Yu guy had trapped his daughter in his honey trap because that Yu witch was afraid of his revenge.

    Whatever the reason, these two could never be together.

    "But dad, you''re not even hearing Tian''s side of story. He''s himself a victim," Mei Qingyang tried to persuade her dad. They had just started their relationship. It seemed like her dad wanted to nip the problem in the bud.

    "Victim? That guy belongs to Yu family. YU FAMILY! What victim? They make others victims of their vicious schemes. How can they be victims of anything?" Jiang Nuo lost his cool and started yelling at his daughter.

    "Dear, calm down. We can talk this out," Mrs. Jiang interrupted the two. Mei Qingyang finally saw her ally. She tried to appeal to her mom.

    "Mom, listen, he might be heir of Yu family but he is nothing like his aunt, please trust me," she tried her best with her puppy eyes. She knew if she was able to get her mom on her side, then it would be easy to handle her dad. Plus, didn''t she like him very much just now? Her eyes were shining like she had found her son when she was interacting with Yu Tian earlier. Mei Qingyang really had put all her hopes in her mom.

    "Qing Qing, my child." Mrs. Jiang called out gently. She was standing earlier, but now she stepped ahead and took her daughter''s hand in her own hand. Then she made her sit down on the nearby sofa, sitting beside her.

    "Mom," Mei Qingyang was almost sure that her mom was going to ask her a few questions and then she would make her dad understand that it was okay for them to be together.

    "My child, his family is a bunch of murderers. Why do you want to be associated with them?" Mrs. Jiang dropped the bomb.

    "Mom?!" Mei Qingyang could not really believe what she was hearing. She thought¡­ just now her mother was so courteous with Yu Tian. Could she really change her mind now that those words had come out of her mouth?

    "No Qing Qing, I know what you are thinking. But you should understand our plight too. Why would you think we would care for an almost dead child? We have been burning in this fire of hatred since our son died. Who will give our souls justice? Why do you think we put so much time in you my dear?" Mrs. Jiang said all this with a smile on her face. She still had ''we are the only ones suffering right now'' expression. As Mei Qingyang was listening, her eyes started growing cold.

    "So you mean to say, all that ''do not go to that school, we do not want to lost our second child'' yada yada, they were all a farce?" Mei Qingyang first looked into her mother''s eyes and then glanced at her father. Their demeanor did reveal that she had hit the bull''s eye.

    But her mom continued, "No, we were really attached to you. We would not really want to put you in danger. But seeing your determination, we really thought we had a chance. And that''s why you got our support. But now that you are doing this, you think you have the right to tell us that you are going to bring justice to our Bo?" Tears had formed at the corner of her mom''s eyes.

    But it did not faze Mei Qingyang at all. She was seeing through their real nature just now. Where was this countenance for all these years? How did she overlook this whole thing? It was like her whole life was a lie, not once but twice!

    Mei Qingyang''s body slumped backward on the sofa. She started recollecting her life as Mei Qingyang. Slowly, all her memories with her parents started shattering like glass. She pinched herself but she was not in a dream. Her foster parents were basically telling her that she was a tool of revenge since the beginning. On the top of that, they were putting it all on her!

    "Mom, I am just a few steps away from taking Yu Rong down. Do you really want to drag Tian into this?" Mei Qingyang asked her mom giving up.

    "Look at you! You ungrateful child! You are on first name basis with him now? Don''t even take his name in front of me," Mrs. Jiang started bawling. Her red eyes were full of pain and anger. Why? Why did she decide to take this child in? If she knew this was going to happen, they would have rather trained Li Hanyu more and sent him. It was not like they had scarcity of orphan children around.

    "It''s okay. I am okay being ungrateful. I am telling you right here and right now, I will get you what you want from right people. Leave Yu Tian alone. I do not have anything else to say," Mei Qingyang suddenly got up from her seat and started to walk out. She was done here.

    "Wait right there, young lady" Jiang Nuo thundered. He had not given her permission to leave yet. They had not even reached the part of her leaving the college right away.

    "I am not staying anymore. It is suffocating being in the same room as you two. I am out," as soon as she started walking out, she felt her arm being grabbed and the next thing she knew, she was being flung around and suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her right cheek.

 Chapter 182 - Same As Others

    "I never knew I would be raising such a snake in my own house. Tell me, tell me what magic that guy has done on you?" Mrs. Jiang started screaming at her daughter in her husband''s stead. That was correct, they had only one son and they lost him because of their own mistake. Their role in their own son''s death was that they let him go on that assignment.

    But they would not admit their own fault. That''s how just it was. It was so difficult for some people to admit their own shortcomings and they would take out their frustrations on others. A.d.u.l.ting was not easy and these guys royally failed at it.

    Mei Qingyang held her cheek that was stinging with pain. She felt slight liquid as well on her palm, perhaps she got a cut from her mom''s nail. She cleared her mind from stray thoughts and then scoffed.

    "You are saying you want me to let the guy go, just because he has Yu blood running through his veins but otherwise there is no fault of his. And then you are implying that because Su Lang or Feng Yue or Fan Ruyi have not personally killed your son, they are okay to be associated with? But their parents have committed murders too, are they not going to be the same in the future? Heck, you have taken part in people''s demise, then how am I or brother Bo, as a matter of fact, different?" Mei Qingyang was dead calm at this moment. She knew her words would not have any effect on anyone here. These people had gone mad.

    "You¡­ you¡­" Mrs. Jiang pointed her finger at her daughter in extreme rage. Was she calling her and her husband murderer as well? The nerve of this girl! She was comparing her to that witch Yu Rong?

    "Please mom, don''t tell me you don''t know the deeds of father. I know you have maintained the image of na?ve, innocent wife of the person who does all the dirty deeds without affecting his family, but I know you are aware of everything," Mei Qingyang continued. Yes, her dad, after her foster brother''s death, had developed a huge network of assassins, informants, diplomats and other big people. He had really gotten his hands dirty. But because they were all in the name of justice, no one questioned them. Now she was truly contemplating if it was right to call all those deaths justified.

    "MEI QINGYANG! We let you do everything you wanted since the beginning, never questioned your decisions, fully supported you, especially financially. Do you know how much goes into paying the fee of that school? But now you are throwing childish tantrums like this? What are we even asking for? Just leave that guy and we can all go back to our peaceful lives. You can continue taking down Yu Rong for us and we will keep supporting you. How hard is it? Do you really want to make this such a big deal?" Minister Jiang finally broke his silence after seeing how she had made his wife speechless.

    This was what came with raising another''s kid. He wished he had been stricter with this girl, perhaps brainwashed her a bit more against Yu family. But what''s done was done.

    "Is that it? Do you even see yourself? Are you not becoming exactly like the very people you hate? Right now, I only see the reflection of cousin''s, Senior Feng''s, Senior Fan''s, Yu Rong herself and countless other parents who only see their children as a medium to fulfill their own dreams and d.e.s.i.r.es. If that was what you wanted, why did you not hire a robot?" she huffed for she had been speaking for far too long. This was the thing that she wanted to tell them the most. They were exactly the same as those parents she had once laughed at.

    And this family she had once been very proud of? Crumbled right in front of her eyes. She had been wrong again, she had trusted wrong people again. How would she ever be able to put her faith in humanity ever? She stormed out of the room after saying her piece, leaving her dumbfounded foster parents in the room. They did not even chase after her.

    She coldly reached towards the group anxiously looking towards her direction. Yu Tian finally heaved a sigh of relief as did the other two guys. Li Hanyu, on the other hand, frowned deeply. He had really thought that they would contain this girl but even they could not do anything. It was just so sad that she was going against her parents. She had no idea how big Minister Jiang had become in all these years.

    "You are picking wrong side Qing Qing," Li Hanyu called out to her in one last attempt to bring her back, or rather save her from her own parents. They had the power to destroy her.

    "Brother Hanyu, it is high time that I decide for myself once. I think you should also reflect on who you are really supporting. I do not know them anymore and do not want to associate myself with them in any manner," she glared at him with her dead eyes. Tonight had been too much and her mental capacity had exhausted. This was the first time she had truly felt alone. Even as Li Sibao she had her loyal maid.

    Wait, loyal maid? How come she was remembering her just now? She would search her memories about her later. She just wanted to get out of here.

    "But they were the ones who saved you. And me," Li Hanyu replied but his eyes were really just pleading to her to stay back.

    "Sure. In the end, I am just a pawn for them. This is too big a price for saving my life brother Hanyu. They are asking me to break up with him now. Tomorrow they will ask me to kill him as well. Then what? Am I going to just stand by and let it happen? No. I can make my own decisions, and I know he is not that kind of person. Period," Mei Qingyang took Yu Tian''s hand and dragged him out. Other two guys followed suit without saying anything.

    Once they were outside the house, Yu Tian gently clasped her face in his hands.

    "Did someone strike you?" he asked, his aura becoming icy. He wiped the blood with his thumb. No questions were asked about their exchange although everyone could guess what had happened. Not a tear was shed either, for Mei Qingyang knew, this time, she had really cut ties with her family and that her biggest backing because of which she had been taking the college through storm was now gone. This time, she was truly on her own.

    "Just a small cut, nothing to worry about," she finally softened her stance. With this guy and her friends around, she still had strength to go on and see whatever she had started till the end.

    Yu Tian gently pulled her in his embrace. No words exchanged, but just the familiar smell was enough for Mei Qingyang to completely calm down. She really wanted to mourn her loss but she did not even have time or strength for that.

    "You know what''s the most frustrating part, Tian? I cannot even resent them for not only they gave me a second chance at life, I know of their sorrow, their intense pain of having lost a son. But that does not give them a right to do the same to any other person. I am not going to be part of this household anymore. And we will need to watch out for them, you are the most vulnerable one right now," Mei Qingyang snuggled herself some more into Yu Tian. Yu Bufan had brought the car by now.

 Chapter 183 - Welcome Back

    "Welcome back buddy, been a while, hasn''t it?"

    Mei Qingyang woke up and rubbed her eyes. She just went to sleep, didn''t she? Who was this now? But it was a familiar voice!

    "Am I in my subconscious again?" Mei Qingyang slowly focused on the figure in front of her. Similar face, flowy white dress, looking like an angel, this was original Li Sibao.

    "Ahahaha, so you''ve finally accepted me as a part of yourself? Well well, I''m so glad." Today, this girl looked like in a very good mood. On the other hand, Mei Qingyang was feeling like her whole world was coming crashing down. What kind of subconscious was this? She had always felt like Li Sibao was a totally different soul, a separate entity inside her. It was as if two souls existed within her body.

    "Did you just¡­ grow up?" Mei Qingyang looked at her once again. Last time she had met her, she was just a kid. Today, she looked like a teenager, close to her age actually.

    "Subconscious doesn''t ''grow'' my dear. What are you talking about? I am but a figment of your imagination. I am just manifesting as my previous self, because you want it so," the white figure floated in the air, giving this meeting an ethereal experience. If this were a cultivation novel, this place would be some ring space or something. Mei Qingyang smiled, getting affected by the playfulness of her ''subconscious''.

    "I guess I m.a.t.u.r.ed because over past few months, your thinking has m.a.t.u.r.ed too. I really loved the way you handled this devil couple. You didn''t get angry, you didn''t burst out in tears. You were calm and composed and really showed them their place," Li Sibao clapped happily while showing her appreciation and acceptance of Mei Qingyang''s smart move.

    "Did you just praise yourself for being smart?" Mei Qingyang chuckled. She wished she knew how she had this ability of talking to her self that was before her accident and separate herself into two.

    "What secrets are you revealing today?" she ended up asking. If Li Sibao had called her here today, then it was perhaps time to reveal a few more stories from the past.

    "How does it feel to see their true colors?" Li Sibao yawned as if she had seen this coming already.

    "You knew?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes widened with shock. But from her previous memories, she never had crossed paths with Minister Jiang or his family, how would she know what kind of people they were? Oh wait! She had definitely met Jiang Bo in her time as Li Sibao. She did not remember exactly but she did have some distant memory of having met him.

    "How many times do I need to tell you? I am a part of you. I knew it because you knew it. What''s so difficult to understand?" Li Sibao frowned. She herself was so intelligent, why did the actual person behave so foolishly?

    "Alright, don''t get mad. Just tell me why I am here," Mei Qingyang said impatiently. Did she have time for all this? She would rather sleep peacefully than be here, if she was not required.

    "So well. I thought it was time to unlock a few other memories but looking at your attitude, I wonder if you are ready," Li SIbao contemplated.

    "Ready, very ready. Just show me, okay?" If it meant getting even a small hint to her next strategy, she would bear any kind of pain.

    "Fine, let''s see. Still too early for the eyes. Oh yeah, you have been curious about this person, so let''s see. Yep, she is alive and in this school only. You''ll perhaps meet her soon too," Li Sibao grinned and then a few memories played out in her mind.

    "Ugh," Mei Qingyang felt her head hurt. She was looking at an adorable girl who was always with her, in most of her memories. It was like they were inseparable. It was her maid! She had been remembering about her here and there. Wasn''t she supposed to be dead? Did she survive just like her too?

    In the car, Yu Tian saw her being uncomfortable in her sleep. She had started sweating profusely. His heart ached seeing her like this, it was all because of him. She even broke ties with her loving family for him and what did he do apart from depending on her love and kindness? Was he taking too much from her?

    In the initial months, he was skeptical because this girl was always relying on his friends for favors. In his heart, somewhere he did feel that she was perhaps taking advantage of him and his friends. But then, slowly, she crept into his heart. And in no time, he was the one who had become dependent on her. If not for her, he would not have taken the first step to get out of his aunt''s clutches. He did feel freer in his life, although he could slip back in his old habits anytime. But he trusted that his little kitten would be there to bring him back.

    He c.a.r.e.s.sed her hair and then put a slight kiss on her forehead. The crease on her forehead smoothened a bit.

    Inside her head, she felt a strange warmth enveloping her.

    "Ohho, looks like someone is worried about you," Li Sibao teased.

    "What about the maid?" Mei Qingyang, though happy, was not in the mood to play around. This girl was her own subconscious, how could she be this playful?

    "Okay okay, you are too serious Mei Qingyang, enjoy the life a little bit," Li SIbao still stalled.

    "I do not need any life lessons from you, who was always gloomy and looking for validation from others," Mei Qingyang looked at her with disdain.

    "Now you have done it. I am done with you, bringing up my past wounds like this. Here, take your memories of Fangyan and get out of here," Li Sibao pouted a bit and opened a small wooden box in her hand. Multiple memories of her and her maid came out all at once and entered Mei Qingyang''s head.

    Fangyan, she was her maid and best friend. An adorable girl who was not afraid to do anything if it was for her miss. She had not seen much world but she was quite well aware of schemes among the maids and servants in Li household. Li Sibao had hired her as her personal maid because her eyes had a spark, to shine amongst everyone.

    Mei Qingyang did remember that after her family had become bankrupt, Fangyan was the only one who stayed beside her loyally. After trying everything and getting a few clues about how her family was destroyed by Feng family, Li Sibao had decided to bring everything to media''s attention. This was the first and last bold decision she ever took in her life.

    But this was the school she studied at. How could she get around the tight security and bring media people here? Thus, the maid and master duo concocted a plan which led to their doom.

 Chapter 184 - Li Sibaos Plan That Backfired

    *Trigger Warning: Contains stuff related to attempted suicide, please read with caution.*

    Li Sibao, having no backup at this point of time, was at the end of her wits. Feng Yue had been long gone to abroad by this time and her family was already out of the wealth scene. Her parents were dead for quite a while as well. With no support, the ever kind Li Sibao just could not sit still.

    Having been oppressed for so long, by her family, by her fianc¨¦, by her classmates, and by the system, she had decided to do something worthwhile with her life, even if it meant losing it. And thus, she, by herself decided to expose the dirty deeds of this place.

    Since she lost her backing, she had experienced the torture poor kids went through here firsthand. Not only people had made fun of her, the bullying was extreme, especially because she had fallen from a high position. Her maid had it worse for everyone would order her around and try to take her away for themselves.

    Two innocent kids were so frustrated and tormented, that they decided to stage a suicide, an open suicide. It was going to be a good show for everyone who did not care about them but only entertainment. But if they were able to film it themselves and get their hands on the clips from other students, it would be easier to gain media''s attention.

    And media was a powerful weapon since everyone cared about their public image, especially the kids here and their parents, and that Principal Yu. Unfortunately, they forgot to take into account the fact that the kids here would never leak anything like that out. Did they not know what could be good or bad for them? Why would they even care to share it outside of their circles?

    But worry not, Li Sibao''s maid, Fangyan could have done that easily. Or so they thought. They had no idea that as soon as their status had dropped, their phones and other devices had been bugged. And as soon as their suspicious activity had been detected, the security around them had been tightened even more. Thus was this school.

    Li Sibao was also a na?ve person for her family also did not know how to navigate the scene of the wealthy people. She never had any education in scheming, she was purest of the pure people. Fangyan was the same, although she did have a few tricks up her sleeve. But they were not good enough before all these people, who, it seemed like, had been scheming against each other since their birth.

    Anyway, Li Sibao took her time to convince Fangyan, that she would be the one to take the most difficult step and that Fangyan would take care of the aftermath. In the process, if Li Sibao really died, that was okay too. Then, Fangyan was tasked to continue her master''s legacy and wait for a chance to take revenge.

    On the decided day, Li Sibao climbed the highest building of the school which was the current hostel building. She had the guts and resources to arrange the keys for the roof. When it was the busiest time for the school and the college, that is morning classes, she screamed in her top voice, "Guys, I think I am so fed up that I am ready to take this step now."

    She crossed the last line of defense, the fence across the boundary and stepped on the thin canopy. She was so scared that she did not even dare to look down. The wind blew, now making her realize the gravity of decision she had made. She did not really want to die, she just wanted to scare people into apologizing to her, treat her better.

    Tears formed in her eyes and she started rethinking her decision. Was it worth it to make these people understand her agony? To give up her life? If she was able to escape from this school, would it not spell better opportunities for both her and her maid. Her only problem was how.

    She finally gathered courage and managed to look at the teeny tiny figures on the ground. All those people were looking at her, with their phones on. The crowd was slowly gathering around. But this feeling was great too. In her life, for the first time, she was the dominant one, she was the one looking down upon people. It gave her a sense of achievement.

    Still holding the fence for support, she yelled once again, "You guys, who thought I do not have any guts, I will show you my determination today. It seems like you people take particular interest in torturing the people who are on their own. But mark my words, there will be a time when you people will be in my position too. I am talking to those of you who have been particularly nasty to me, you will get your retribution," and then she laughed like a madman.

    She finally felt free. Earlier she was just feeling afraid because she had not seen the path before her, the road to freedom. She was very grateful but sorry to her maid in her heart. She had already spotted her filming everything on her phone. From somewhere, she had also brought a tabloid reporter with her, who had been investigating the school because of bizarre disappearances of random people. This reporter was going to be their ticket to the media coverage of this incident.

    But what about her maid? Was she allowed to be selfish just this once? She was so tired of thinking about people around her all the time. First it was her parents, then Feng Yue and his family, then the finances, then when everything was already taken away from her, she had to worry about this other life attached to her. Could she not just think about herself just once? Freedom from all this burden was right in front of her.

    She prayed to God that her maid would find something better than this and if there were a next life, she could be free of this high society.

    Even so, her tears never stopped flowing. People below were pointing fingers at her. She laughed some more because it did not matter anymore. She closed her eyes and let go of the fence. Initially, this was going to be just a farce. But now, she was going to see it through. Ultimately, she jumped.

 Chapter 185 - That Incident A Few Years Ago

    "Aaaaaaaaa," a few weak hearted people had screamed seeing the girl jump, but most of the people had not even batted their eyelids. This was an everyday occurrence for them, why would they be bothered? People saw the body, people noticed the pool of blood and then people moved on.

    Fangyan ran to her mistress screaming in distress. Why did her miss had to take the step? Wasn''t this going to be her miss screaming a few words and then she herself and may be some teacher or someone going to the top and talk her out of it? It wasn''t true, was it? Her eyes were wide with shock, her brain not even registering what had happened.

    Nearing the limp body, Fangyan realized that she might not be dreaming. But she still wanted to confirm. When she finally saw that it was indeed her miss''s carcass, she broke down right there. She then clutched her miss''s body and cried so painfully that it shook the people around more than the girl jumping. That''s when Yu Rong had arrived running with school doctors.

    They took her miss away by force, the doctor whispering that despite the girl jumping from such a tall building, she had not died. This was something Fangyan had heard with her own ears.

    But again, with the amount of blood that had poured out of her body, there were very few chances of her surviving.

    Miraculously, she did survive but Fangyan never came to know the truth. For the world her miss was dead. For revenge, Fangyan made the tabloid reporter publish her suicide story with video evidence on his website. Since it was an actual suicide and the video was right there, it gave the story more credibility.

    The country shook with how apathetic these rich brats were. No one even came to check or talk to the girl. Plus, she was pointing fingers to all the students there, wasn''t she?

    There was a lot condemnation to the school throughout the nation. None of the scandals had ever exploded like this. Even that small tabloid became famous for releasing such an explosive news. The school, which was revered by whole of the country, the students who were idol of so many students outside, they all lost their name within a matter of few days.

    Not only did it affect the school and the people associated with it, hardest hit was taken by the Yu empire. Their shares fell down. Worst of all, Yu Rong was put in a situation where she was being made to resign as the Managing Director of Yu empire. Even Yu Ming had called her for once to scold her for her bad management.

    And then, in two weeks, the two hottest guys of the country arrived from abroad. After achieving much success in the US, they had come back to enroll in the very same school which was being shamed for such a brutal incident.

    Feng Yue and Yu Tian were called back to save the reputation of the school which was in shambles. And they succeeded. People forgot about one poor girl and went on to celebrate these two guys.

    Then a few more big scandals here and there and Yu empire was back in business.

    "How do you know all this?" Mei Qingyang who was listening to the story very intently, asked Li Sibao, who was choking up at the moment reminiscing about the time when she had made that one firm decision. She did not feel much other than sympathy for the gullible poor past self of hers because she had not recollected the incidents yet. It was just like she was listening to a tale from a third party.

    But even from a third party''s perspective, what she did not understand was how Li Sibao knew everything, even after almost losing her life like that. And was it this incident that got her adopted into Jiang family house? But what about burn marks on her body?

    Li Sibao smiled through her tears, "Let me show you."

    A number of images flashed in front of Mei Qingyang''s eyes once again.

    "Oh, you''re so cute, trying such a stunt. Did you think I wouldn''t have any problem suppressing this drama of yours? Ah! Such an irony," she heard Yu Rong''s evil laugh in the background.

    "Aaaaarrrgghhhh," she woke up with a jolt, screaming, her eyes dead. She looked around and realized she was still in the car and the other three were staring at her. Yu Bufan had stopped the car since he was shocked by her scream.

    "Are you okay?" Yu Tian asked worriedly, promptly wiping her sweat with his handkerchief. Mei Qingyang realized that she had sweated so much that Yu Tian''s leg, where she had unintentionally put her head while sleeping, had a huge patch which was wet.

    "I¡­ I am sorry, I didn''t mean to startle you guys," she spoke remembering what she had just seen.

    She then looked at Yu Tian. The cause of his lifelong misery was her. He had to come back because of her stupidity. Did she have a right to love him knowing that the past six or seven years, the abuse that he had suffered by Yu Rong were all her fault?

    She relaxed a bit seeing the familiar people and rubbed her temples. This complicated things quite a lot now. How would she even face him? How come Feng Yue did not know it was her? He would have instantly recognized his fianc¨¦e. Why did he do nothing about it? She had so many questions.

    "Miss, we still have time before we reach the school but we can definitely take a break somewhere. Do you want to eat something?" Yu Bufan had not started the car for he wanted to make sure that the girl was alright.

    "No I''m fine, I just want to go home," Mei Qingyang said in a sleepy voice. She wanted to go back to sleep and ask more questions from her alter ego before she could make any decisions regarding Yu Tian.

    This time she did not use Yu Tian''s shoulder, she decided to maintain her distance, taking support of the window. Soon she met Li Sibao again.

 Chapter 186 - Li Sibaos Past

    "Didn''t know this would happen. But well, it wasn''t unexpected either. When I faced it in reality, I had the same reaction. All I was thinking was why she saved me. She could have just let me die, did she just want to tell me that all my efforts were in vain?" Li Sibao welcomed her grown up amnesiac version back in the same space in their head and then started the story once again, where she had left it.

    "She let me hear all the details. Worst part was, Feng Yue never got a wind of the fact that it was I who made the scandal." Li Sibao had sat down cross legged in a comfortable position, as they went through the memories gradually. It was like Mei Qingyang was watching a movie.

    "All the videos from the internet were deleted, students were hushed with threats of severe punishment. Guess you can do anything if you have money," Li Sibao shrugged as she helplessly watched her own pitiful self in the recollections.

    "You mean to say they all know about this incident and no one cares to talk about it?" This school never failed to surprise Mei Qingyang. None of the people, not a single person? It was such a huge incident that brought down Yu Rong on her knees and everything about it evaporated in one day? How much power did that person wield to do this? Or was it really Yu Ming behind all this clean-up?

    "It was very bizarre. Everyone forgot it all like a bad dream. Well if you''re criticized by the whole nation at once for apparently no fault of yours, I guess everyone would do the same. After all, Yu Rong was successful in restoring the peace here. The kids came to know her power and influence as well as the fact that she was not to be trifled with. It was an easy decision between power and honesty, power won hands down.

    "Very cleverly, she brought the two guys only after dust had settled down. She had only made the headlines with the news that the two were coming back. She brought them only when she had made all the arrangements," Li Sibao continued the story while Mei Qingyang kept listening while assimilating the memories her other half was showing. Her heart was aching for herself, she wanted to go and slap Yu Rong. She wanted to know why Feng Yue did not really did deeper into this, even after he came to know that she was missing.

    "Yes, Feng Yue had no idea. His family fed him some lies and whatever information Yu Tian got was from his aunt. They did not look deep enough until it was too late," Li Sibao was part of the same mind, so she just answered her question.

    "Too late?" A fear crept in Mei Qingyang''s heart and she prayed what she was thinking was not true. But her thoughts were on the right track.

    "Yeah, Yu Rong killed everyone involved, including the reporter. People who had later pledged their allegiance with her were also not spared," Li Sibao replied. At this moment, there was a calm on her face. It was as if narrating the whole incident to herself was liberating her from all the hatred she had nursed all these years. But she would not go down just making peace with it. Yu Rong needed her just punishment. Otherwise there was no meaning in telling and prepping Mei Qingyang for upcoming battle. Might as well give up on it.

    "What about us?" Feng Yue did what he did, but in all this story, where did her own story fit? What happened to her after the attempt?

    "After narrating everything, she made one of her people take my paralyzed body and dump it somewhere." At that time, because her lower half body had become paralyzed, she could not do anything.

    "That cruel witch," Mei Qingyang exclaimed suddenly. Her blood was boiling inside. So many people died just because of one incident and just one person. She was partially responsible for death of everyone involved. Would have things been different had she not taken that step?

    "She had made arrangements to dispose of the person who took us with him as well, she made some connection issue in the car deliberately." Yu Rong had fool proof plan. There was no one to stop her or obstruct her path to more fame and wealth.

    "But if I was paralyzed, how was I saved?"

    "The guy who was transporting you happened to be a miracle doctor."

    "What are you talking about? Wasn''t he some servant of Yu Rong''s?"

    "Yes, a servant was supposed to take you away but the driver got replaced by that doctor because he found your case really interesting. Unfortunately, the doctor died in the car that was blasted off."

    "Died? How did I survive?"

    "Let''s just say God heard our wish of ''next life'' and granted us a new family."

    "And the doctor was the one who gave me my eyes?" Now was the main issue. Who was this doctor? If possible, she needed to pay him respect at his grave some time.

    "Cannot tell you anymore, my quota for the mystery is over. If I tell you anymore, you''ll get overburdened emotionally. You''re already quite unstable. Please have some rest, we really need it." Li Sibao could not unlock the pandora box of her memories fully right away. She needed to unravel the mysteries slowly, so that her own self could bear it much more easily.

    "Say, I don''t think I recall the feeling yet but did you feel liberated when you jumped?" Mei Qingyang was okay with whatever her subconscious said. After all, her brain knew the best about her body and trauma tolerance.

    "Honestly, before I jumped, I couldn''t wait for it all to get over but in that one moment, when I took that step, I just wanted to live," Li Sibao''s eyes had a pain flashing, her state completely pensive.

    "And here we are," she finished her conversation with a smile.

    -----------

    "We are here," Yu Tian saw that the girl in his arms was slowly waking up. He had been sitting in the car for almost two hours.

    Mei Qingyang woke up completely and instantly knew this guy had just not woken her up. They were all alone in the car, all wrapped up. The heater was on, so even in the middle of winter, they did not feel any cold.

    "Why did you not wake me up?" Mei Qingyang frowned. Both Su Lang and Yu Bufan would be now asleep in their cozy beds. And here she was, letting Yu Tian suffer through.

    "You were going through so many expression changes, I felt as if you were having a long long dream. It was quite interesting to watch," Yu Tian replied innocently.

    "Ugh," Mei Qingyang separated herself from his body and then slightly pushed him playfully. When she saw his face, that night played in her mind, his tears had haunted her relentlessly every night.

    "Haha, let''s go now," Yu Tian had no idea what she was dreaming about. But his kitten was back, nothing else mattered.

    "Tian?" Mei Qingyang finally gathered courage to ask that one important question that had been swirling around in her mind.

    "Hmm?" Yu Tian replied while bundling her up with winter clothes.

    "If you come to realize tomorrow, that the cause of all your misery was me, what will you do?" she asked him seriously. Yu Tian did not try to brush it off, instead he thought for a bit. He wanted to make sure that he tells her the right answer, without sounding ignorant suddenly.

    "Silly, the permanent solution to that misery is also you, so I am always grateful. But don''t think nonsense stuff okay?" He poked her forehead. What kind of silly thoughts this lass was having.

    "Nevermind then," Mei Qingyang''s heart finally relaxed having the assurance from her guy. She nodded to him with a smile.

 Chapter 187 - Mei Qingyang Got Disowned

    "Bahahaha, seriously? He did what?" Yu Rong was sitting in her koi garden, to enjoy the full moon with her green tea inside the heated area and waiting for her nephew to return. She was eagerly waiting for the news. She already had this intel that the guy was really furious with his daughter because she decided to hook up with Yu Tian. ''Serves her right'' is what Yu Rong had thought when she had first come to know about this.

    "He has disowned Mei Qingyang," Wang Hao repeated the information with his usual poker face.

    "And his wife supported him in his decision?" Yu Rong took a sip from her mug, completely enjoying the moment. It had really been long since she had heard some good news.

    "My report says she was the one to suggest it," Wang Hao replied.

    "He is throwing away a pawn so easily, I don''t believe it. Is this another one of his strategy?" Yu Rong, although happy, was still skeptical of what games that Jiang Nuo might be playing. It was very well possible that this all was acting to outsiders, so that people would let their guard down.

    "According to my spy in their house, it was a huge mess. He did not even talk with anyone including Yu Tian, just directly took his daughter inside the room. After that a very furious Mei Qingyang was seen coming out of it," Wang Hao still elaborated for he also really wanted Yu Rong to have her defenses lowered now. But there was no direct way to negotiate on that with her.

    "And then?" Yu Rong was enjoying it too much.

    "Then she did not even talk to her brother, Li Hanyu. She just directly took the boys and left the place, of course in rage,"

    "Knowing him, he is very capable of faking it all. But taking this big a step when he had announced her adoption with so much vigor, we should safely assume that it is true then," Yu Rong finished her tea.

    "I agree with your analysis," Wang Hao concluded.

    "She was all acting superior because of her backing. We will see now what she''ll do. Who is she going to depend on?" Yu Rong guffawed in self joy again. She herself could not believe how much of a relief this was to her mind that had been under constant stress lately.

    Wang Hao felt sorry for the girl and then realized he had joined her camp very recently. Was he doomed again? Should he come clean to Yu Rong right now? But what would be the use? His miss would end up killing him either way. Should he take the chance and keep \with it?

    But again, what would Mei Qingyang be without her dad''s backing? But then, she had never used her dad to deal with Yu Rong before. Not like Jiang Nuo could take his daughter''s skills away.

    Wang Hao kept his poker face while all these conflicting thoughts were running through his mind.

    "You look distracted. Are you finally thinking of confessing your crime of colluding with her?"

    Wang Hao got flabbergasted inside. Did she already know? But he decided to feign ignorance and made such an expression of being wronged that if Yu Rong did not know how sly he was, she would have really believed him.

    "Master, I don''t know what you need me to do in order to you to prove my loyalty. It''s just so heartbreaking that you keep accusing me like this." He took out handkerchief from his pocket and lightly dabbed his non-existent tears. This person in front of him, she was also as capable of pretending to believe his repot.

    "Then, go there," she pointed to a very expensive looking leather chair in a corner. It was actually not a chair but somewhere between a massage chair and a normal chair. It was big enough for two people to use together.

    "There?" Wang Hao was really afraid to know what was coming next. He had an inkling that they were going to do it right now.

    "Yes, you''re the only one I haven''t experimented this with. You''ve had easier life than Yu Tian even. I guess I''ve really been liniment with you. Take off your clothes and lie down here. I want to ride you," Yu Rong fired the orders one by one. She just waited for her assistant to obey them obediently.

    "Ma¡­ Master?" Wang Hao was still confused. Wasn''t this all a joke to determine his loyalty? Why was she asking him to do all this humiliating stuff?

    "What? I haven''t even asked the main thing yet. Are you defying me already?" Yu Rong was losing her patience. First, he would not admit his wrongdoings. Then her would refuse to do what she had kept him for. His efficiency in his work apart, what did he really have? Of course his pretty face. Even at the age of later twenties, he looked as young as a fresh a.d.u.l.t. And she herself loved handsome faces. Why else would she keep him with her, when she had already some information that Wang Hao had joined that b*tch''s side? Now all she needed to get this guy under her thumb was concrete proof.

    He was a prideful man, so all she could do for now was pressure him. But it wasn''t helping.

    "N... no," Wang Hao glanced at the chair, then his master. Did he really need to do it?

    "I am really annoyed now for some reason. I think you''ll need the same treatment as my nephew." She took out her whip from behind her. It had been long time that her whip had tasted some blood. She grinned seeing her favorite tool. Pairing it with her third favorite person was not a bad idea.

    Till now Wang Hao had been the one to torture others. This old hag had never used her extreme kinky tendencies on him, their s.e.x was always just normal. But he had no idea how he had incurred her ire so suddenly.

    Was she already on to him and his plans? He had known what all she used to do with her own nephew but to think that one day he would be suffering the same. In reality, this was something that confused him a lot. Why was he the only one spared. He knew this day would come sooner rather than later, but for Yu Rong, this was actually quite late.

    He hesitated quite a bit but when he saw how fierce the lady was being, he had no choice but to start unbuttoning his shirt.

    "So, you will rather be tortured than admit your crime? Good, very good. I will show you today what actual punishment looks like," she whipped the ground, producing a loud sound, shaking Wang Hao''s heart. That night, one could hear screams of a certain man all the way to the dorm building.

 Chapter 188 - Do I Deserve This?

    "So, how about accompanying me tonight?" Yu Tian had supported Mei Qingyang in her sleepy state all the way to his own room. He already knew that Yu Rong was still keeping an eye on him, perhaps she had already seen them entering through the gate at night. She would have also known by now what had happened at the dinner. Was she already anticipating all this, and thus, let them all go alone, without any supervision?

    If that were the case, he had to give her a hats-off. To think and correctly judge that far ahead, she was a true businesswoman.

    Although Mei Qingyang was still half asleep, Yu Tian''s question jolted her awake from her slumber state.

    "What are you saying?" she blushed furiously. Did he mean that? No, right?

    "I just meant you should talk it out. The event itself must have been so traumatic although you are not telling us anything. And you kept having nightmares the whole journey back. What did you think?" he poked her forehead lightly. This girl was definitely getting weird ideas in her head.

    "Oh¡­ nothing¡­ I thought¡­ Never mind," she tried to brush off his question but he already had a smirk on his face. Mei Qingyang turned her head to hide her heated face. This guy was all shameless and corny once he was in good mood. She liked him aloof better.

    "Fine, I will stay in your room. I feel quite refreshed now that I am fully awake, thanks to a certain someone," Mei Qingyang sulked slightly while glaring at Yu Tian, squeezing out a chuckle from him in turn.

    "Alright, I will take the sofa, you can use the bed," Yu Tian wanted to respect Mei Qingyang''s wish. He would only give in when she was ready, and from her reaction currently, she was not very interested in anything beyond hugs and occasional kisses.

    But he did not know how much she herself was holding back. She did not know how his past experience with his own aunt would affect them as a couple. She wanted to erase that trauma from his mind first before taking their relationship any further. But for now, she would act that she was the bad person for his sake. She could not directly tell him it was for him, lest it hurt him even more.

    They had finally reached the door of their home, Mei Qingyang hugging him from the side for support. As soon as they entered the home, smiling to each other, they saw Mrs. Zhao standing, waiting for them. She dropped her demeanor of arrogance the moment she saw them and politely bowed down. However, Yu Tian still did not like how she had glanced with disgust towards Mei Qingyang.

    The girl pinched Yu Tian''s waist slightly to indicate that she was not interested in bantering with the housekeeper. They both just ignored her and left fort he bedroom. Their action and the fact that both headed for the same room made Mrs. Zhao''s jaw drop.

    She immediately dialed a number on her phone.

    "Yes, I am confirming that they seem to have plans to spend the night together." After this brief monologue, she cut the phone. Yu Bufan was monitoring Mrs. Zhao from behind. He grinned, she had finally taken the bait. Mei Qingyang was a genius indeed!

    -----------

    "You must be tired, you should go to bed. I am okay taking the sofa," Mei Qingyang just plopped down in the sofa in his room and laid her upper body, while her legs were still dangling. She was still not sure how to process all the information she had got, including her parents being staunch opposers of Yu family and then the truth behind her and Yu Tian''s past.

    When she thought about Yu Tian''s misfortune once again, she just sat up straight and looked at Yu Tian who was just standing there and observing a very restless her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down to sit with him on the sofa.

    She looked at his palms, they were beautiful hands, long slender fingers, perfect shape of the hand. Yu Tian let her play with his hand for a while.

    "Is there something on your mind?" Yu Tian asked, after he patiently looked at what she was doing.

    "Nothing much," she suddenly kissed his hand, "I really love how pretty they are." Yu Tian looked at her gently. He wanted to take his hand away because of his usual behavior but her soft lips sent a different kind of sensation through his body.

    The slight change was quickly noticed by Mei Qingyang. She hurriedly wiped down his hand with a tissue from nearby table.

    "I am sorry, I am so sorry. I sometimes just become impulsive," Mei Qingyang apologized realizing what she had done.

    It was true that they already had their first kiss. But, given his situation, it was more normal for his body to flinch rather than like her touch. Yu Rong had inflicted a great deal of damage to both his body and mind and it was going to take good effort to reverse it all.

    "Qing Qing, it''s okay. You don''t need to say sorry every time. I should be the one apologizing. You are basically picking my broken pieces after me. I feel sorry," he finally said the words he had been wanting to say for so long. Mei Qingyang looked at him, his eyes were glistening once again. He could the coldest creature on earth to everyone, but he was such a cute person in front of her.

    She shook her head frantically. If she were embarrassed by him or his past, she would have never accepted him in the first place.

    "When you are with me, why do you degrade yourself so much. To me, you are still the amazing human being, who is hardworking and kind. Please don''t do this to yourself Tian," she dropped his hand and put hers on his face, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. She had a tender affection in her eyes, something Yu Tian had rarely experienced from any of the female figures in his life, save for, perhaps Fan Ruyi.

    But she was also a person who did not know about him. But this girl was different. She was trying to accept him for who he was. He grabbed her wrist and made her pat him some more.

    "Then, do you think I deserve all this love? I personally don''t get that feeling. I feel like everything wrong in my life is all my fault. And I should be punished for that," his expression was heartbreaking for Mei Qingyang. He said all this with a poker face, like he had never really known what love was.

    "Yu Tian, I will say this again. It was never your fault. Victims should never ever think it was their problem. The crime is of abuser. We all are human beings and no one has authority on another, especially not like this. It is true for you and it is true for all the kids in the academy who are going through all that inhumane torture. So, don''t think you do not deserve love," she complied with his subtle request and pulled his head in her embrace. Then she patted his head till she was sure that he had calmed down. This time he did not shed tears and just kept listening to her like an obedient child.

    "Mei Qingyang, I don''t think I can live without you anymore," he spoke without looking at her, a slight smile floating on his face. Yes, she was the only one who could be his solution.

    "But then I also don''t want you to wait too long. I am not sure when I will be cured of this," he hugged her petite waist, not wanting to let go ever.

    There was a sudden bad feeling in Mei Qingyang''s heart. She had had enough bad things happening today. She did not want to deal with anything else right now. She was yet to think of their future, yet it seemed like Yu Tian had already come to a conclusion.

    "I¡­ I will wait. No matter how much, I will wait for you, to be ready," she hastily replied before he said anything else.

    Yu Tian raised his head to look at her anxious expression and then went back to her embrace once again, relishing the moments that might not be so easy to get in the future.

 Chapter 189 - Lets Discuss Business

    The next morning, the two people woke up very refreshed. Mei Qingyang had concluded last night that whether she was the source of all problems in Yu Tian''s life or not, after their last conversation, it seemed that he still needed her help. It would be very cruel to abandon a person who had finally started knowing love. At least she had some fake love from her parents till now.

    Yu Tian had also resolved his heart to prove to her that she was the only one for him. He seriously could not imagine his life without her anymore. Inadvertently, he had ended up confessing the same to her yesterday.

    Now that they had talked with each other heart to heart, their relationship had become more profound. Basis of all great relationsh.i.p.s was great communication after all.

    Now that they had resolved the tensions in their hearts, they were enjoying a chill weekend day at home. They did not have any plans to go outside anywhere, and they did not really have any other work. Seeing that no one was around, Mei Qingyang, who was drinking milk for the breakfast, brought up the topic she had asked Yu Tian to look into quite a while ago.

    "Tian, what is going on with that thing that I had told you a few days ago?"

    Yu Tian was reading a few business articles on his iPad when he raised his head and looked at her quizzingly. She had asked him a bunch of things to do, which one was she talking about.

    "I am talking about the Yu Empire," she looked around and slowly whispered to him who was sitting at the opposite side.

    "Oh that, I think I''ll call Bufan before we have this conversation. He could explain you much more thoroughly," Yu Tian dialed Yu Bufan''s number and asked him to come home. He had sent him on an errand earlier but now that his kitten had brought up this serious topic, his errand was not very significant.

    Yu Bufan arrived within a few minutes. Both of them asked him to sit down at the table. They had already arranged for Mrs. Zhao, the most suspicious person in the house, to be outside for some work. Yu Bufan sat down on the dining table comfortably, popping a gr.a.p.e from the fruit plate in his mouth.

    Over the past few days, he had become especially casual with the two. He knew that the end was nearing and perhaps, he would be able to earn some freedom as well?

    Mei Qingyang found it quite surprising but endearing at the same time. She had long wanted to befriend Yu Bufan, not as Yu Tian''s assistant, but as an individual. Out of all the people here, he was the one with most experience with life. Anyway, now that everyone was in position, it was time to discuss the good stuff.

    "So, assistant Yu, please tell me what all you have gathered from the old crooks who were driven out of the Yu empire by Yu Rong?" Mei Qingyang went straight to the questions.

    Yu Bufan nodded at the no bullshit attitude of his future mistress.

    "There are quite a few who are very dissatisfied with the way they were cut off from their cushy employments. But they still fear for their lives, so they are quite hesitant to open their mouths," Yu Bufan started off with the most critical and basic part.

    "Of course they are not happy. It''s actually quite a surprise that Yu Rong did not kill them," Mei Qingyang surmised while nonchalantly spreading butter on the bread. She was quite enjoying this atmosphere, it made her feel like part of the family. Just a regular routine of chit-chatting about global events happening in their dining room on a Sunday.

    "Well, it would be weird if all the ex-executives of Yu Empire suddenly dropped dead. That would point the needle of suspicion towards Yu Rong," Yu Tian commented. Both Mei Qingyang and Yu Bufan understood this and nodded.

    "Then she must have promised something to them to keep their mouths shut," Mei Qingyang continued her analysis.

    "Yeah, she is paying them out a hefty monthly salary still, plus they got to keep the houses they were provided with by the company. This is valid till they die, the agreement says Yu Empire will take care of their kids as well but¡­," Yu Bufan expanded further on his research.

    "But she is already planning to ditch them once she becomes the official head," Mei Qingyang completed the sentence.

    "Correct. We already have some evidence that she has stopped paying them out since last month and the old folks are getting anxious because of it."

    "Do they have any kind of agreement in written?" Mei Qingyang asked. She knew the world of law all worked on physical proofs. There was no way those old thieves did not take any guarantee from Yu Rong. The question was how valid it was.

    "Yeah, they do have a physical agreement with the company, but interestingly, I got the doc.u.ment checked with a trusted lawyer of ours and it won''t hold out in court," Yu Bufan looked at the girl who was listening with interest. It seemed she had knowledge about laws too. He understood that she had come from Jiang household, but Li Sibao herself was not very great in studies. She was barely holding out. However what no one knew was if it was because she was not very intelligent to begin with or if she had so much stress in her life that she could not really concentrate on her studies.

    But suddenly, how did she become a genius? If one really looked at the timeline, Mei Qingyang only studied for three to four years before she graduated the high school and took a gap year. In that time, she learnt coding, she had some forensic knowledge too, her martial arts was impeccable, she knew handling firearms too and now she was showing potential in law as well? Did she not surpass all the four legends of the school all alone like this?

    "Oh? Is it that the language is too vague?" Mei Qingyang could guess what was going on. The old crooks were very crafty and had been handling such doc.u.ments all through their lives. She was talking about anyone above vice-president and directors positions. These guys were eyes and hands of Yu Ming, how would they not know what Yu Rong had done to them? But they let it continue in the name of faith. Plus, they were getting free money without any hassle. Why would they go into depths of the matter of vague agreement, as long as they had something to threaten her with?

    Moreover, if they insisted for more clarity from Yu Rong, what if they would lose whatever she was offering? She was not obliged to do all this.

    "Did you check that cash flow route by any chance? She would not be able to justify taking the money from company. Did she take it out from her side hustles?" Mei Qingyang winked towards the two boys sitting on the table.

    Both of them looked at each other, this girl knew about her side businesses too?

    "Hehe, I stumbled upon them by chance," she scratched her head in embarrassment. This was when she had been looking for her office at the hotel on New Year''s. Although she was looking for Yu Tian, in the end she did end up seeing something she was not supposed to.

 Chapter 190 - Preparing For Board Meeting

    "Your speculation is correct. She is channeling the funds from her side businesses to this to avoid any funds manipulation," Yu Bufan responded, eyeing his master from the corner of his eyes. He still did not know how much he should reveal but it seemed like his master did not intend to hide any information they had uncovered. Yu Tian was sipping his tea at one side, just listening to the conversation. He was just interested in his kitten''s opinion. She had amazing foresight and Yu Tian valued her thoughts a lot.

    He had always respected his aunt for the same, although she had quite deviated from her usual sharpness since Mei Qingyang had arrived. He had even noticed a subconscious fear in her eyes sometimes, whenever she encountered Mei Qingyang. It was pretty funny to him, for the person, who was not even afraid of the president of the country, was afraid of a mere girl who did not measure anywhere to her.

    Initially he had thought he was seeing wrong. But after witnessing the same thing again and again, his belief had gotten quite strong. This girl hid some another secret that no one was aware of which was probably related to his aunt. He bobbed his head in satisfaction. He had finally found someone with similar or actually, superior smartness of that of his aunt.

    "I wonder why she had to get into weapons and drugs. Weapons I still understand, it''s a lucrative business with high chance of monopoly, but drugs?" Mei Qingyang mumbled to herself but everyone heard her. It was an empty room without much happening, so it was not really hard to deduce.

    "Yu Empire does have a small pharmaceutical division, although not a lot of people know about it. But ultimately, it comes to human nature. Greed knows no bounds," Yu Tian replied, keeping his cup down on the table and folding his hands to stare sharply at Mei Qingyang. This girl knew how to ask right questions.

    "So then, were you able to convince even one ex-executive to help you out?" Under hot gaze of Yu Tian, Mei Qingyang felt pleasantly uncomfortable. She decided to change the topic.

    "We actually have several of them. Once we showed them how they could be implicated they came forward," Yu Bufan answered and pulled out a list on the iPad he was holding. He showed the list to Mei Qingyang.

    "Good, did they reveal anything we could use?" She checked the list. They were all previous hotshots of Yu Empire. They held so much power that they themselves were famous in the business world, independently. A few had started consulting businesses where they would give services and mentorship to the budding entrepreneurs. Mei Qingyang scoffed at the information she was reading. These greedy people not only were drawing a free salary from Yu Rong, but they were also using their so-called expertise to fool people out as well?

    "That¡­ that is a problem. These guys have become too smart. Their excuse is that master does not have any standing amongst the board members, so there is no use of supporting him," Yu Bufan hesitated a bit for he did not want to put down his master. But he had to be truthful. This was a brainstorming session, and the girl was brilliant in coming up with solutions. But it was the truth as well. Yu Tian really had no influence at the Yu Empire. He had left early on to make a name for himself, which he ultimately did.

    He had toiled so hard abroad, he would do modeling gigs to earn enough money for capital of his business despite having haphephobia. Ultimately, he had bootstrapped his company, without having the need to ever raise any funding.

    "Who dare say that? Assistant Yu, share the list with me. We''ll see on the day what the guys have to say. Anyway, how were they even planning to help Tian then?" Mei Qingyang got angry on Yu Tian''s behalf. What was this attitude, was he not their next master? Oh yeah, they had already been fired.

    "They are ready to be witnesses on the day of meeting itself," Yu Bufan again replied unemphatically.

    "Bastards trying to cover all their bases. Let''s change our angle then. Let''s get into how Yu Rong started with her businesses and who all are involved. Once we get the big politicians into the dirt, we will have our leads," Mei Qingyang had to change her strategy now. If those uncles would not help then she had to directly attack Yu Rong.

    "Here is the list of the politicians involved," Yu Bufan pulled out another list on his iPad. There were names of most of the top notch politicians involved with her one business or other.

    "Hoho Assistant Yu, you''re ever ready!" Mei Qingyang praised this assistant in her heart.

    "Well, I also want to end this war as soon as possible. And it is my feeling that we are near the finish line already" Yu Bufan responded rather bashfully, he scratched his head from the back in a silly manner.

    "Oh? Does your intuition say anything about what kind of outcome we''re going to have?" Mei Qingyang teased him a bit.

    "Hehe, I only have good feeling about it but who knows the fate. There might be twists at the end,"

    "Hoho there will definitely be twists. Okay Tian, we need to get ready for the board meeting," Mei Qingyang became serious suddenly, after all th banter.

    "You want me to attend the upcoming board meeting?" Yu Tian was rather surprised. She had talked about this earlier too, but he did not know that she was serious!

    "What? They are going to choose next head of Yu empire, and your birth right is going to be taken away from you and you''re asking me this question?" Mei Qingyang almost cried incredulously. What was wrong with this guy?

    "I have never had any interest in Yu Empire, and you very well know that," Yu Tian looked right into her eyes to tell her that he was confident in his own abilities. She did not need to worry.

    "Yeah but that aunt''s weakness. We take that down, the school and its system will crumble down on their own. I won''t have to lift a finger, and you will get your justice."

    Yu Tian''s eyes shifted a bit on hearing this. He hesitantly asked the question in his heart for sometime.

    "Will¡­ Will she go to jail?"

    If it were someone else, Mei Qingyang would have shredded him to pieces. Was this the time to be worrying about that? If she counted the human lives damage, that torture prison was enough to give her lifetime worth of jail.

    But she saw a painful expression on Yu Tian''s face and realized that he still was in the clutches of that old hag. She still had so much work to do with him, it was not even funny.

 Chapter 191 - Bringing Friends Into The Mix

    "To be honest, I don''t want to break your heart. But you are well aware of her crimes," Mei Qingyang replied in all seriousness. She pitied him, truly.

    Yu Bufan also looked at his master with concern. After Mei Qingyang had come to his life, he had improved considerably. Even his psychiatrist was very happy and surprised with his sudden improvement. Till now, his master had not shown any signs of recovery, his first and last thought still went to Yu Rong. All his emotions started and ended with her. This was the case even when they had been abroad for so many years. It especially worsened when he had to come back.

    The psychiatrist had also wanted to meet this girl who had brought about such drastic changes in his client. But after that one incident on the New Year''s night, which was so scarring to Yu Tian that he had nightmares almost every night about it, except the days when Mei Qingyang was with him, he had relapsed to his previous condition.

    To think Yu Tian was still this concerned about his aunt, Yu Bufan could not help but furrow his brows. He wished that his master could come out of this hellhole as soon as possible. However, he had no idea when his master would be able to come out of his stupid psychiatric condition.

    Mei Qingyang could read what was going through the assistant''s mind, so she looked towards him with assurance and addressed Yu Tian, "It''s okay to think about her."

    She took a dramatic pause to gauge what kind of reaction she would see from Yu Tian. She gained attention from both the guys instantly because neither of them had expected these words to come out of her mouth. Wasn''t it opposite to what she should actually be advising?

    Mei Qingyang could read their thoughts on their faces. She giggled in her melodious voice and continued, "What I mean to say is, you also need to know that even if it was me who committed those crimes, they cannot be pardoned. If I was the one who did all this, I would still need to get punished. As a family, it is certainly good to be filial. But you need to love yourself first. Although, whatever stand you take, just know that I am with you. I will not judge you on your choices. I will still wait for you to understand what is right and what is wrong."

    After her little speech, her c.h.e.s.t swelled with pride and her eyes became hot and glistened. She had just thrown random ideas into whatever she had said but it did seem like it was having a profound effect on the two people. That was her only aim.

    Yu Bufan was shocked on seeing how this girl was treating his master like a child and he was also listening to her obediently. Was this the method she was using? It felt indignant to him but if it was working, then it was great.

    He personally never had seen what his master went through. But he had seen the cuts and the bruises and it was not a pretty sight. He could not even imagine what his master had to go through on those duty nights that he would spend with his aunt.

    Anyway, Yu Tian stared at Mei Qingyang foolishly while not knowing how to answer her. He was well aware that his question had annoyed her, but he could not help his habits. Imagining Yu Rong in an environment like prison, his brain would go into a weird mode where it would think that it all was his fault. He never had his father in his life and he could not risk losing his only family member. At this point, he did not know if it was his heart that ached for his aunt or if it was his brain that just wanted to keep his familial ties alive.

    He was disappointed in himself because he could not even understand¡­ It was not even the problem of understanding. He knew in his heart well that his aunt was a criminal on so many levels that even if he did not count the abuse on himself, that Lady would still get the death penalty. He absolutely hated her, but then why did he feel all these emotions when he thought about her ending? Who could answer him? Who could help him out?

    Seeing the conflict on Yu Tian''s face, Mei Qingyang smiled. If he could think for himself at this point, her love for him was working. Yu Bufan, on the other hand, could not understand why the girl would laugh at a time like this. His master looked in such a dilemma.

    Mei Qingyang put her hand on Yu Tian''s hand that was on the dining table and comforted him, "It''s okay to be in two minds. This means that you are starting to think about yourself."

    "Also understand that it is not just about you anymore. You have so many people around you who are more than family. Think about all those people who have been affected by your only family member. Think about those whom you love and were affected by your aunt In a negative way. If you think like that, it would be much more impactful than just being sad for your only family member."

    Yu Tian was still listening to her quietly, his eyes staring at the ground. There was an awkward silence for some time. Mei Qingyang wanted to give him some space and time to reflect upon himself, however the matter at hand was very pressing. She could not delay the discussion anymore.

    So she continued explaining, "Okay, I have another request."

    The change of the subject brought the tension in the atmosphere down and both the guys heaved a sigh of relief. Yu Bufan eagerly asked her, "What is it? As long as it is not unreasonable, we will accommodate it."

    She still replied, addressing Yu Tian, "How about bringing your friends into the mix?"

 Chapter 192 - Bring Friends Into The Mix - II

    "What do you mean by bringing the friends into the mix?" Yu Tian finally spoke up, keeping aside his worry for now.

    "My research says that your friends have part of shares in Yu empire. I want them to transfer those in your name."

    Yu Bufan guffawed.

    "You want master to establish a majority in the board meeting using small percentages of shares? We had already thought of the strategy long time ago. Realizing that master does not have any connections in the current company, we gave up the idea." Was she mocking their intelligence? This was most basic thing that anyone could think of.

    "And that was your mistake." Mei Qingyang pointed her finger towards Yu Bufan.

    Everyone knew Yu Tian was a genius when it came to business. He had started his businesses when he was a mere teenager. It helped that he was in a foreign country which encouraged people to start by themselves. Once his business idea got traction, he got so much investment that he did not even have to think about raising money when he entered M nation''s market.

    Of course, the first investment was the hardest. He had so many rejections before his first set of investors really showed any enthusiasm for his idea. It was so much effort and learning on his master''s part and his own part that Yu Bufan would never forget those days.

    So how this girl could think of such a trivial strategy and then go on to tell them how to do business?

    Mei Qingyang waved her hands because she knew that Yu Bufan had misunderstood her. It was not her intention to make fun of them or put them down.

    "I know it''s a simple solution to a big problem. And that the board meeting is in a month. And if you start collecting the shares right now, you will not be able to manage even 10% in total," she shook her head explaining herself.

    "Then why¡­" Sometimes, it was just hard to understand this girl. Yu Rong had already established a majority at 30%. Yu Ming only owned 10% shares of the whole Yu Empire. Over the years, Yu Rong had gotten him to sign away most of his shares to her. Plus, she had seized the parts from a few higher level executives she drove out on various charges.

    There was a recent mystery buyer who had been buying shares from small time shareholders and even that person had got a whopping 15% share. Yu Tian, on the other hand, owned a mere 5%. His friends might have owned a few shares here and there. But it was not enough to even surpass his dad''s total.

    "It''s always better to have as much as you can and I am pretty sure, your friends will not mind. They are your real family after all. This is also where those old folks come into play. If you can convince them to sell their shares to you by hook or by crook, that would be the best. Elder brother is already ready to give away all his fortune for you," Mei Qingyang further explained her reasoning.

    "Did you already talk to him?" Yu Tian asked. He did not like the fact that she was dragging his friends into his familial war. These guys did not need to participate at all.

    "Yeah? And so?" Mei Qingyang scratched her head. Weren''t they all childhood buddies? It was once in the lifetime thing happening here, and he was still hesitating?

    "Why bring them in this mess?"

    "Would you not have helped them if they were in such a predicament?"

    "Yeah, but¡­"

    "So how is this different?" She shut him up with just a few words. He, again, did not have an answer to her question. Why did she have to be so logical all the time?

    He would be ready to give his life for his friends. Although he did not show it through his actions or words, but in his heart, he did regard them very highly. But now that his Qing Qing was comparing them to his family, he could definitely see the difference of perspective in his mind.

    "Okay, I will convince them," Yu Tian sighed, and as usual, gave up. He understood that Mei Qingyang was more familiar with people and how their minds worked. They would probably say yes.

    "You don''t even need to convince them. They will readily agree," Mei Qingyang said confidently. Her faith in his friends was very amusing to him. Although she had a fallout with two out of three, she still believed they would help him out. He smiled in his heart, feeling the black gloomy clouds disappearing. This girl was really something.

    --------

    "What do you think? Who is this mystery buyer?" Everyone at this moment had this one question only in their mind. Who was this mystery buyer of Yu Empire who had been steadily increasing their shares since past six months? It was quite puzzling to say in the least. No one could find any information about them.

    Yu Rong was sweating looking at the graph.

    "They still do not have even half of mine but they managed to go from zero to this much in just six months. What is this person''s motive?" she chewed on her thumb. Wang Hao on the side was happier about the fact that this person was keeping her busy for the time being and she was not targeting any of the kids as of now.

    There was a full team of financial analysts and her investment experts sitting in front of her but no one could dare to say anything.

    "I am asking something, who is this person?" she yelled at everyone. Each person shrunk back in their own chairs. Right now, this lady was ready to do a bloodbath. Last time something big had happened, half the people had ended up losing their livelihoods and a few lost their lives. When it came to human life, it was as cheap as an ant for her.

    "Miss¡­ Miss Yu, whatever the identity, we have come to the conclusion that this person is planning to do something in the board meeting," one person spoke up with some courage. It was better than losing his head.

    "And? Give me something better than this! You think I don''t know this already?" she threw her pen in the direction of the person who replied.

    If she, as the Yu Empire top person could not get any information on this person, how could the people sitting on the table could?

    "Master, let''s say he is able to get more than your share, you still have 15% share from other family members. You should not really be worrying about it. I don''t think they''ll be able to go beyond your share, much less Yu family''s total," Wang Hao placated her from behind, as usual.

    "You can forget Yu Tian''s share. He has been bewitched by that b*tch, so I doubt he will contribute. But I can definitely think about brother''s share. Go contact that secretary of his," she stood up and donned her blazer to leave the room in a hurry.

    "Understood," Wang Hao affirmed the orders and gave the signal of meeting dismissal to everyone in the room.

 Chapter 193 - Valentines Day - I

    In the blink of an eye it was middle of February. Love was in the air and one could spot couples roaming around in the whole campus, hands in hand. It was an exciting time but one girl was lamenting about the season to her friends.

    Ma Shuxin looked at Mei Qingyang and Wei Qiqi, who were sitting across her on the small table in the cafeteria, doing their assignments, paying her no heed. She had just suddenly spotted the two and decided to join them without their consent.

    "I feel like I am wasting my youth here. There are so many good looking guys here but no one has approached me yet," she said while stretching her arms on the full table, annoying the heck out of Wei Qiqi.

    Mei Qingyang looked at her from the corner of her eye and said, "It''s no more the era that boys will always approach the girl. If you are interested in someone why don''t you try yourself?"

    Ma Shuxin raised her head. This poor girl''s words seemed too crass for her ears. "I am just a lowly peasant among all people here. Even my foreign upbringing is not good enough to entice guys." She just shrugged her shoulders.

    Hmph! No wonder these two girls had managed to seduce a good catch, Mei Qingyang especially. This was the first goal of any poor person here anyway. But what these two did not understand was that they could only ever be the servants. They could never dream of becoming the empress, they were only fit to be the lowly concubines. Her face contorted into evilness.

    The two other girls noticed the change and could really tell what this person was thinking. Xu Yang approached from behind with a few cups of fragrant coffee.

    "Here you go," he handed one to Wei Qiqi and one to Mei Qingyang.

    "Ah! I am sorry, I did not see you there," he looked at Ma Shuxin apologetically. She had just arrived a few minutes ago while they had already placed the order for quite some time.

    Ma Shuxin was shocked seeing that Xu Yang, the young master of Xu family was serving coffee to two lowly girls.

    Incidentally, Xu family was very easy going. They were not top family from any angle, but still were considered quite influential. Xu Yang had already told them about Wei Qiqi and they were happy that their burly exercise nut son finally found a girlfriend, that too such a sweet girl. He had not introduced her to his family yet though. It was too soon about it.

    Listening to his tactless response to this annoying fly made Wei Qiqi chuckle. She understood she was in no position to talk back with this girl, she was neither higher in status than her nor she was a friend to her. Her only connection to Ma Shuxin was through Mei Qingyang. Thus, she was just sitting silently there, trying to focus on her assignment.

    Ma Shuxin glared at the laughing girl, feeling insulted.

    "It''s okay young master Xu, I just barged in anyway. I will take my leave then," she stated and made herself scarce. She was a bit afraid of the big guy anyway.

    "What is her problem? She came like a wind and left just like that. What was the purpose of her coming here anyway?" Wei Qiqi scoffed.

    "It''s okay, we will know soon," Xu Yang sat down on the chair the girl was occupying earlier. A warm seat was the best in this damn cold.

    "Oh? Senior Xu does things behind the scenes, not even letting us know," Mei Qingyang teased him. She had long known that this guy had been silently handling a lot of stuff she would not even think of. He had become part of her think tank, which also included Wei Qiqi. They had been doing their best to make her life easy. And both of them were rarely under the radar of anyone, so she had easier access to her agent as well. If only she could tell all this to her other group.

    "That is all my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e," he did a curtsy bow to both the girls, winking towards his girl. Wei Qiqi blushed slightly.

    "Ahem, okay. I think I should leave," Mei Qingyang closed her laptop and glanced at the couple who were not even hearing her.

    "So, you guys got plans for tomorrow?" Mei Qingyang let go, she was not in a mood for assignment anyway.

    "Of course. Unlike you, we do get to go outside whenever we feel like," Wei Qiqi took a jocular jab on her best friend. Xu Yang''s jaw opened wide and he elbowed her below the table, how could she tease her on something like this?

    It was between the two friends who were like sisters now. Wei Qiqi was risking her life many a times to help Mei Qingyang out. She had earned that right and so, Mei Qingyang did not say anything. She also knew that her friend did not have any bad intentions.

    "What can you do when you are committed to the top guy here?" Mei Qingyang bit back with her own jocular super proud expression.

    "Ho~~ You sure know how to answer back. Fine, I lose," Wei Qiqi threw her hands in the air. The three people smiled and peals of laughter could be heard from the table. The other people in the caf¨¦ were only sitting there because they still regarded Xu Yang with good manners. Although a lot of girls had been heartbroken since he decided to spend most of his time with this new girl of lowly birth, they still could not disregard Xu family.

    "I think we are being too loud. Want to go take a stroll?" Mei Qingyang suggested.

    As they were coming out of the caf¨¦, Wei Qiqi out forth the same question to her friend, "You got any plans for tomorrow?"

    The next day was Valentine''s day. Mei Qingyang had no good impression of the day. She remembered from her Li SIbao days that she used to prepare handmade chocolates for Feng Yue only to be rejected again and again. He would not even show up and just send his servant to fetch whatever she made.

    Obviously she had no idea that that guy used to wait for this day for the whole year and never let anyone else touch those most delicious chocolates in the world. And thus, she had always associated Valentine''s with low self esteem and heartbreak.

    She shook her head. "I don''t think I am interested in doing anything special, nor does he seem like it. Plus, we are quite busy as is," she replied.

    "This won''t do. I am pretty sure young master Yu would be happy to receive even something small from you. He has been getting a lot of chocolates and roses every year. But none of them were from the girl''s heart. You should try it, it would really form a great impression on him," Xu Yang explained and subtly hinted that he was looking forward to Wei Qiqi''s gift for the next day.

    "Uhh¡­ Okay, I will see," Mei Qingyang nodded, accepting the advice from her friend.

 Chapter 194 - Valentines Day - II

    Thinking about what Xu Yang had said earlier in the afternoon, Mei Qingyang sighed. She knew anything she does would make Yu Tian happy but what if he had any bad memories related to the day? She had not even asked him much about his actual history for she was not really sure if he should bring up the topic just yet. They did need to talk though. Should she also contact his psychiatrist and ask for advice?

    In her thoughts, she reached the top floor of the dorm building. She paced back and forth in front of Yu Tian''s room, but ultimately she went to Su Lang''s place and flumped into the sofa.

    "What is it my little sister? Why do you look so troubled?" Su Lang came out with Su Weixi who had her expressionless face on as usual. She had heard of the details from her brother the day Weixi had gotten sick. Since then, there was no progress between these two, although she had told those words so coldly to her clueless brother.

    "Uhh¡­ You have known the cause of your best friend''s condition for quite a while, right?" she just decided to cut the chase and ask directly. She knew the topic was uncomfortable for Su lang, especially after she had told him off so harshly for not helping Tian when he could.

    Their society worked like noblemen''s society from the past or imperial courts from the history. Even as kids, for them, their family honor came first. And thus, Su Lang''s hands were tied in how much he could help Yu Tian. And she understood this perfectly. But even now, when she remembered that New Year''s day and how dejected and lonely and heartbreakingly sad Yu Tian had looked, she could not help but lash out on Su Lang.

    And so, now she had to let her cousin know that she could actually use the information he had gathered on him to her advantage. And that she was not really angry with him per se, she was just frustrated with this whole wealthy-poor system where they could not even help their own friends out, even when heinous crimes were taking place against them.

    "Why¡­ why do you ask?" Dark lines appeared on Su Lang''s face. Was she going to scold him again? He had already enough guilt regarding the whole situation, why did she have to humiliate him at every point?

    "Brother, relax," she smiled. She had to make him more comfortable in talking about this. This was another major problem, people could just ignore talking about important issues in the society.

    Everyone knew about torture prison, but no one would bat an eye. As long as it did not concern them, it was alright.

    "I just needed some information, is it too much to ask?" she made a pitiful face. This brother of hers was also foolish to fall for her charms. But then, he was also receiving her friendship and love, so she also understood why he was ever ready to help her out. Ultimately, this is what their society had taught them, hadn''t it? Spending monies on the people you care about is the best way to take care of them. Where were feelings and emotions? These guys had no clue about it.

    "You need information from me? One of the nest hacker in the country? Don''t joke with me," he scoffed but could not hide his pleased expression. Mei Qingyang laughed, how simple was her brother. He could be the craftiest guy when required, at least with her, he had his guard down.

    "I need to know what Yu Tian used to do on Valentine''s day in the past. Would Yu Rong call him every year?" she asked hesitantly.

    "Hmm¡­ I personally don''t remember anything special on Valentine''s. I do know he receives a lot of chocolates, as do I. But, other than that, he only goes for an hour long tea time with his aunt. And¡­" he paused and then looked at Mei Qingyang.

    She raised her head from the tea she had been served by Weixi, "And?"

    "And he has never gone on the leave after that," he finished. Meaning, she does not abuse him that badly. But since the tea-time is one hour, she does something after all. Damn it, chocolates were out because he would receive too many and what would she do if she were to just spend time with him?

    "Okay, thank you," she answered gloomily.

    "Why, were you thinking of doing something for him?" Realization dawned upon the guy finally as he inquired his sister who was just sipping the tea, lost in her own world.

    "Yeah, but I don''t really know what to do," she had a sulking tone.

    "Oh? So there exists something that even you cannot figure out? Interesting," Su Lang said in a joking manner. Now that he had touched a hornet''s nest, would he be spared?

    "Oh? And what have you thought about your day dear brother?" Mei Qingyang counter questioned him, her muscles twitching on his jab and then she purposefully looked at his assistant standing behind him.

    A tinge of pink started coloring Su Lang''s cheeks. Why would this girl embarrass him again? He had already told her he had never considered Su Weixi as a woman. Although, his thoughts were definitely changing but she could at least stop mentioning it in front of the girl in question herself.

    He coughed twice, "Weixi, why don''t you my doc.u.ments from the library?" he ordered her.

    "Understood," she replied in her robotic tone and headed outside. After closing the door, she looked behind. There were no doc.u.ments to fetch from that place! Why could he just not tell her to go outside? Why was that girl so important? Moreover, she had wanted to listen in on her master''s plan. Why did he have to leave her out? She would also love to know which girl he was going to spend time with this year! Su Weixi tsked and then left the apartment.

    "Ahahaha, brother, why did you not see that you hurt her feelings?" Mei Qingyang was observing both of their reactions. One was cluelessly spouting anything that came to his mind and one could just not do anything because she did not have authority.

    "Hurt her feelings? What feelings?" Su Lang''s ears instantly perked up. Did his sister really think that his assistant was interested in him too? He had thought that that girl would hesitate because of the difference between their backgrounds. Was he the one holding himself back?

    "Aiyya, you really are so stupid. Never mind. I am not playing the cupid here. Just tell me ideas about what I could give him," she waved her hand. She was so done with this frustrating couple. Why could they just not sit down and talk about themselves to each other? Although, she needed to do the same with Yu Tian.

    "I would say just make him something homemade. It does not necessarily have to be chocolates. Even if you feed him some meal made by yourself, he would be happy. Yu Rong is busy preparing for the board meeting, I doubt she will have time to spend with him. So, you can relax," he answered her question first.

    "Is that source of information reliable?" Mei Qingyang asked.

    "Yes. She has been really baffled by that mystery buyer. You sure you are not the one trading the stocks behind everyone''s back?" Su Lang and everyone else was puzzled about the identity of that mystery buyer but Mei Qingyang had vehemently denied her own involvement.

    "You think I have got that kind of backing or money? I could certainly do all this unethically but what''s the use if I can''t use any of those when the actual time comes?" Mei Qingyang has wished she knew this person too. It would be so much easy to work her plans then. This third party was proving to be headache. She had tried hacking into the relevant systems but to no avail. And if her hacking attempts also came to light, then her work till now would all go to waste. She would rather not take the risk.

    "Fine, I understand," Su Lang stopped the topic right there. The girl''s logic did make sense. She really did not have anyone behind her. Him and Yu Tian were the only people who could help her and if they did not know about it, then no one did.

    "So, then brother. I need to borrow your kitchen. I will work based on your lead and let him have a feast tonight!" Mei Qingyang got up from the sofa and pulled her sleeves so that they would not interfere in her cooking.

    "Tonight? But the day is tomorrow!" Su Lang exclaimed.

    "Yes, we will start at midnight. I want to stuff him with food and love," Mei Qingyang smiled in a silly manner. The moment she imagined his lit face, her heart started racing. She prayed in her heart that Yu Tian would be happy with her efforts.

 Chapter 195 - Valentines Day - III

    "Hey, it''s smelling so good in the hallway, is Weixi cooking something?" Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi could not resist the tempting smell and came over at Su Lang''s. They halted their steps when they saw Mei Qingyang cooking up a feast.

    "Aren''t you busy with the board meeting? Why are you in Su Lang''s kitchen?" Fan Ruyi asked suspiciously. Both of them had been contacted by Yu Tian two days ago where he told them the whole story and asked for their cooperation. They obliged instantly, they did not even need to think about it. Feng Yue even offered to talk with his brothers to help out. They definitely could not do anything with their parents but at least they could be of help with their own parts. They had also heard that Mei Qingyang was leading the operations for him.

    Both of them had already seen her capabilities so they were not very surprised on hearing the fact that Mei Qingyang was handling it. What was more interesting was the trust Yu Tian was putting in her and how Yu Bufan was not objecting it. So, after all, this girl had managed to win the assistant as well?

    Fan Ruyi was not much affected since she also had a grasp on Yu Tian''s circ.u.mstances with his aunt and how Mei Qingyang had been providing him support all this time. As a doctor herself, she had approved the existence of this girl in his friend''s life as soon as she had seen how it was positively affecting her friend.

    "Oh, that? I also need to take my mind off of things. The stress is killing me," Mei Qingyang massaged her own shoulders slightly and then went back to cooking. She put her heart and mind in the dishes. Since she was the only vegetarian in the group, she did not have much idea what all Yu Tian liked. So she prepared variety of dishes from various cuisines around the world.

    Everyone was so focused on the kitchen that Mei Qingyang felt that they all were salivating right there. By the time she finished preparing everything, it was already 11 pm. She glanced at the group who were staring at the counter with the dishes present with sparkle in their eyes.

    "I¡­ I think I would like to see what all you have come up with," Su Lang could not resist and got up from his seat to see the covered dishes. He opened up one of the lids and a delicious smell wafted throughout his apartment. His stomach grumbled as well.

    "Alright, I guess I cannot let you guys go hungry too. Let''s share the food when the time comes, okay?" Mei Qingyang sighed. Eyes of all the people who were present in the house lit up, including the assistants of all the masters. From what Su Lang had told them, she was cooking up a feast for Yu Tian, so they had already thought in their hearts that they would just be able to see her take it all away to Yu Tian''s house.

    "Is¡­ the quantity fine? Including the servants, there are quite a few of us," Fan Ruyi asked with a troubled expression. If they had to count Su Lang''s house servants, the party would become more than fifteen people.

    ??There is enough. I prepared more to begin with for I needed to thank elder brother for his help," Mei Qingyang smiled. Although the four people there were an addition, she had thankfully made enough food.

    "Shall we call Yu Tian then? Let''s put the food on dining table as well," Su Lang signaled his servants and they swiftly placed everything with newest crockery on the dining table.

    "The assistants will eat with us. The servants can use the table in the servant quarter," he ordered and went ahead to call Yu Tian.

    Yu Tian and Yu Bufan arrived at 11:45 p.m. and were surprised to see such a large gathering, happily chatting away. They did not know the occasion and just arrived when Su Lang called them over.

    They had not expected the full force and Mei Qingyang over there. She had informed him that she was going to do her assignments with Wei Qiqi and never questioned it. He looked at her confusedly.

    "Come on man, your girlfriend put so much effort here and you are just staring at this dumbfounded," Su Lang pulled him inside and made him sit with Mei Qingyang. Yu Bufan followed. The four assistants decided to sit at the end of the table. The five friends sat together at the other end.

    "Is this late dinner or what?" Yu Tian was still oblivious.

    "Gah! Can you stop frustrating a single person like me? It is Valentine''s tomorrow, actually it''s already midnight, so yeah. And so, our Qing Qing has prepared all this for you," Su Lang opened the lids for all the dishes and a mixed fragrance spread all over. Suddenly, everyone''s stomach growled and everyone laughed in embarrassment.

    "Since I wanted to show my appreciation to everyone, and support you guys have shown for both my and Tian, please enjoy this food as my thanks to you," Mei Qingyang clasped her hand. She had no idea how it became a thanks to everyone, but she took the opportunity anyway while she was at it.

    Fan Ruyi nudged Yu Tian, "Look at her, already doing the wife things for you. You must be happy."

    Yu Tian started to eat. He nodded and then whispered to Mei Qingyang, "Thank you."

    Mei Qingyang''s face turned hot. Other people ignored what happened and buried their faces in eating. It was this warm atmosphere again which filled everyone''s heart. These days, everyone had been on tenterhooks because of various reasons, but mostly because of large impending changes in the business world that were going to affect everyone present.

    No one had any idea what was going to happen but it was just exhausting gathering and analyzing information and making plans accordingly. Right now, all the four people, and their assistants could use this kind of break where there were no work discussions and no brainstorming. It was just free time for everyone, which was very relaxing.

    They did not even realize this, but next morning everyone got up completely refreshed despite having heavy meal just before bed.

    ------------

    After a tiring but enjoyable night, when the three people entered the house, Yu Bufan scurried away as soon as possible. It was time to give their master and future mistress some privacy.

    Yu Tian held Mei Qingyang''s hand and twirled her and then brought her close to himself, dancing without music.

    "Are you happy?" Mei Qingyang asked smiling. It seemed like her plan was a success? Although she did not prepare an individual gift for him, this was still good.

    "Yeah, very. Thank you," Yu Tian also smiled, humming some random tune softly. Mei Qingyang did not know what it was but she also felt soothed and went with the rhythm. They hugged each other and just lightly waltzed in the living room without speaking any word. Seeing that his body was not opposing hers, Mei Qingyang relaxed quite a bit. Otherwise, she was worried that if she got too close, YU Tian would have another reaction.

    She had been able to get more comfortable with him before but after New Year''s, he had started having extreme reactions more often than not.

    "I also have something to give you," Yu Tian took out something out of his pocket. "I was not sure what you would like, so I got you this." He opened the small box and a shimmering locket with a pair of matching earrings peeked out. There was a small jewel of green color in each piece.

    "Yep, the color matches your eyes so perfectly," he smiled once again. Mei Qingyang did not know what was more charming, the set or his handsome face with that genuine smile. There were only rare occasions when she had seen him smile this sincerely, it did seem he was in a good mood.

    He stopped dancing and took the girl to his bedroom. Then he sat her down in front of the mirror and put the necklace on himself.

    "Happy Birthday," he whispered to her once again, his breath tingling the ears, rendering the tips red.

    "How¡­ did you know?" Mei Qingyang was astounded. This was not Li Sibao''s original birthday. She would not celebrate her previous one because she had long abandoned that life. This was the date when she was saved by her dad all those years ago. So, they had always celebrated it on Valentine''s at her home. But she had not told it to anyone, so how?

    "I have my sources too," he smirked proudly. Mei Qingyang did not inquire further. She was touched at his thoughtful preparation. She abruptly pecked his cheek and wished, "Happy Valentine''s Day."

    For now, this was enough to fill her heart. She did not need anything more than that. Yu Tian was also satisfied with the return gift. He needed to work more on himself so that he could give her all the happiness in the world. That night, they slept hugging each other, without an iota of worry over their faces. This was how true bliss looked like.

 Chapter 196 - Xu Yang and Wei Qiqi

    "Ah! What to do, young master Su was inviting us to the dinner made by Qing Qing," Wei Qiqi was nestled into the arms of the burly man who had finally convinced her to go out with him. Poor guy courted her for a whole month before she said yes.

    "It can''t be helped. We are not even in the campus right now," Xu Yang shrugged his shoulders.

    To say that their story was interesting would be an overstatement.

    Mei Qingyang practically abandoned Wei Qiqi since she was so busy with her own affairs. Xu Yang was a mere coincidence, he just happened to be at the right place at right time. Wei Qiqi needed someone to show around and Xu Yang took the lead.

    She had no interest in the guy at first whatsoever. But then, just through conversations and seeing that both of them had quite similar tastes, including their passion for martial arts, Wei Qiqi developed a good impression of Xu Yang over the course of time. He was kind and would arrive as soon as she needed help. Of course, he was perhaps driven by his d.e.s.i.r.e to date her and might not have done the same for everyone. But who did not like being special to someone?

    At times, Wei Qiqi debated if her social status, or lack of it, would become a hindrance. But by the time she actually realized it, she had already fallen for him. Thankfully, he had never made her feel like he was the superior one just because of his money.

    For Xu Yang, it was perhaps love at first sight. No, he had been interested in the girl since long back. He had seen her spar at a few tournaments and had been enamored with her ever since. Who would have thought that he would just get to meet her at his own school?

    He was so thankful to Mei Qingyang that he was ready to lend a helping hand whenever required. It was also to leave a good impression on Wei Qiqi since she and Qingyang had a good relationship. When he had heard what all Wei Qiqi was doing for that girl, he had readily provided his services to best protect Wei Qiqi. She was involved in something dangerous after all.

    He truly thought of Mei Qingyang as their matchmaker from heaven. After harboring feelings for Wei Qiqi for years and only being able to see her once a year at the national tournament, he finally got his chance. How was he to not grab it?

    And so, this Valentine''s, he decided to finally flaunt his wealth. He was not a materialistic person by nature and was not super proud of his family''s money either. He truly understood that the money was not his own, and that he had to earn by his own merit to call himself rich. But once in a while, he could take advantage of it, right?

    His parents were super happy when they heard his request. This guy was a proud personality, so apart from the fee for the college, he earned all his pocket money by winning the martial arts tournaments. He was very frugal and diligent with his money. He had invested all his extra change in stocks; thus, he had no money for the little extravagant trip he had planned. He had no choice but to ask his family for support and they were ecstatic to oblige.

    Since it was heavy wintertime, he decided to book a resort known for hot springs in south. It was a five hours drive, so both of them had taken two days off to celebrate the festival of love. They finished all their assignments at once and hurried out. They had already informed Mei Qingyang that they wouldn''t be in the campus, so they were not feeling much guilty. After all, they needed a break from high stress environment too.

    Right now, they were just enjoying the stars in their private lounge which was surrounded by the trees. There was only one lounge chair, and in a very bold move, Wei Qiqi had just sat on Xu Yang''s l.a.p and buried herself in his c.h.e.s.t and covered herself with the blanked Xu Yang was using. This was pure bliss for her.

    Since the beginning, she had to fend for herself. Her mother''s illness had taken quite a toll on her own childhood. Her family was a warm one, her mother regretted taking her youth away from her own daughter quite a bit. But Wei Qiqi had gritted herself and that was what made her strong.

    Xu Yang had then remarked that it was that surprise of element in her not so refined techniques that made other people lose in the matches. It was quite some advantage.

    Anyway, sitting like this, Wei Qiqi felt quite secured. This was the most spoiling she had ever experienced in her life. It was not overly sweet, and it was not cold, just the perfect amount of pampering. The two sat on the chair for quite a while before Xu Yang broke the silence.

    "Say, you have been gathering much intel for Qingyang. Do you not feel tired?" Xu Yang took a sip from his beer can. He had been very curious about this ''second'' life his girlfriend was living. He knew about her financial situation and how Qingyang had helped her. He could offer the same, it was not much money, but he had to worry about her pride as well. So, he had never asked her to tell Yu Tian to stop the scholarship and that he could support her on his own.

    "What tired? Everyday is so exhilarating. I have always wanted to go into police, so I think of this as a practice drill for that," Wei Qiqi chirped with happiness whenever she talked about her dreams. This was the first time she was revealing what she aspired to be.

    "Oh? So, you like playing detective games eh? No wonder even that lass hears and agrees with your opinions when you guys discuss any issue," Xu Yang chortled at how excited she had suddenly become.

    "Well, her life is full of mysteries too. Poor girl still can''t figure out half her past," Wei Qiqi stated pitifully. She had known about the girl''s real identity for quite a while now. It was great that Mei Qingyang was very forthcoming about her secrets. Whatever her other group knew, Wei Qiqi also knew. Perhaps, she knew more than them. Mei Qingyang discussed all her strategies with her.

    Thank fully, her association with Xu Yang did not put her much under Yu Rong''s radar. If she was on her own, then she would be scrutinized by them every single moment. It also worked in her favor that Mei Qingyang had managed to bring Wang Hao on their side. That also relaxed her conditions considerable.

    "Oh? I thought she was almost there," Xu Yang had also heard about her being Li SIbao. He could not believe it at first. She was that missing heiress all this time. If news got out, Mei Qingyang would not know a moment of peace. It was an explosive news.

    He had actually suggested to tell her story to media and all the digging into Yu Rong would be done by them. But she had rejected the idea stating that she Yu Rong had enough resources to block out the news and the history would repeat itself once again. Plus, apart from her memories, she really did not have any evidence that she was Li Sibao. Would they do a DNA test on her or something?

    "There is still a big chunk that she needs to figure out. She still ahs no idea how she was saved and who really saved her. Poor girl is losing her hair because of all these secrets in her life," she lamented.

    Xu Yang tightened his arms around the girl in his grip. "As long as you are not putting yourself in danger, I am all up for helping her. She is my benefactor too. But it goes as long as you are okay," he said kissing the nape of her neck.

    "What are you saying? She is basically my life savior. I know if I were to die, she would take great care of my family. I don''t have any regrets in doing this work for her," Wei Qiqi felt really selfish in saying this but she was indebted to Mei Qingyang for life now.

    "Don''t you dare talk about dying! Why would you say such ominous things? Do you even think about me at all?" Xu Yang was enraged a bit. At the end, that lass was more important to his girlfriend than even her own life?

    "Don''t be angry, okay? I am not saying it lightly. I am truly that grateful to her. Not only that, I really do relate with her and that boyfriend of hers. They both struggle in having real friends. I have faced so many difficulties as well. I was the tomboy, without a father, then interested in fighting skills. Was I less than a penniless otaku? Girls were afraid of me, so no one really became a real friend. They only came to me when they needed protection. Do you know how lonely it becomes, especially once you get good at something?"

    "She was the first person to extend that warm hand. Even if she did not provide the financial support to me, just that genuineness about her makes me want to help her."

    "I know I seem very self-centered for only thinking about myself and her, but please try to understand my situation. You will have to accept her as part of my life if you are to be with me," Wei Qiqi finally gave the ultimatum.

    Xu Yang sighed. "If I had not already accepted that, we would not be together like this in the first place. But I promise you, one day I will be the one to pay those debts for you. Then you can live your life freely," he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. It was just so funny that a girl, who entered all their lives not too long ago, bound them all so tightly like this.

    Wei Qiqi felt especially touched and warm in her heart hearing her boyfriend. It was a good decision to accept his proposal. She could not help but peck his lips hearing such sweet words. It broke the dam and heat increased. Xu Yang grabbed her chin in his hands and leaned in for a passionate kiss. The romantic night under the stars ended up in a night in the bedroom with heightened emotions and love.

 Chapter 197 - Someone Wants To Meet You

    "Aiyya, Qing Qing, you are finally here? I have been waiting for you for so long. But I just could not leave the library to contact you," the old man welcomed the girl very enthusiastically. It had been a while since she visited the old man. She was so devastated after the whole home scenario and then got busy with trying to tackle Yu Rong''s advancement, that she completely forgot about here.

    Plus, not that she did not need to contact her dad secretly and that Wei Qiqi was here to help her with her agent, she really had no purpose of coming here anymore. But to not make anyone suspicious of her relationship with the old man and not implicating old man for helping her, she had to maintain her frequency of visiting this place.

    "I am sorry old man. Whenever I come here, I end up thinking about dad. You know what happened at the dinner he called us on?" Mei Qingyang narrated the whole incident.

    "Haizz, that bastard! I never knew he harbored such ill intentions. I would have never agreed to his request otherwise," the librarian commented.

    "I can''t think anymore. He was my greatest support and it crumbled just like that. I have been basically avoiding thinking about it, just in case I become weak," Mei Qingyang choked up a bit remembering the hatred in her foster parents'' eyes. She could not recognize them anymore. In the nightmares that followed, she only saw a big full moon, the two silhouettes that belonged to her parents and their red bloody dead eyes that were hauntingly crazy.

    "Qing Qing ah!" The old man patted her back, "You need to remember the people you have gained here. The God closes one door but opens a number of them. Look around yourself and gain strength from the love you have. Forget about those traitors," the old man consoled the girl who was obviously upset.

    "It does make me question my choices, grandpa. Was I really unfilial in getting together with Yu Tian when I know he is not involved in the feud between two families whatsoever?" she buried her face in her hands. She wanted to cry but tears would not come out. Deep in her heart, she was very sure of her decisions but every now and then, a seed of doubt would creep up.

    The old man''s heart ached. It was not like he was not familiar with her former self. She also used to come and vent out her feelings then to him. He had a special connection with this girl and loved her like his own granddaughter.

    Unable to do anything, he just sat down there beside her in his small office and patted her till she raised her head.

    "Ah! I am sorry old man, I just lost my cool," she realized where she was. This old man was eager to meet her, so he definitely had something to discuss. And here she started her own sob story.

    A slight disappointment passed through the old man''s eyes. "You have already called me grandpa, do not become a stranger now. And here I thought you had finally remembered me," he sulked.

    "Oh! It''s been quite a while since I remembered you grandpa. I have seen you a number of times in my memory. I was just not sure if you still remembered me," she scratched her chin in embarrassment. She never talked to him about her memories but did mention to him in passing that she was Li Sibao. The old man was a lonely figure and did not have a lot of people to interact with. Plus he was a discreet guy so she was not worried about her secret being leaked out.

    "This child ah! How would I not remember my Bao Bao? She was the only one to give me company all those years. Such a stranger, such a stranger," he beat his c.h.e.s.t in agony. Why would this child say something so awful?

    "Okay, okay grandpa, I was wrong," she grabbed his hand and stopped him from injuring himself. Now that they both knew who each other was, there was a tranquility in the atmosphere.

    "Oh yeah, why did you want to see me?" she remembered him mentioning that he was waiting for her. Did he have some lead or something?

    "Uhh¡­ a few days ago, a girl approached me. She looked quite familiar but I was not sure if you remembered her yet, so I did not bring her up. But last time she came, I just told her that you have been looking for clues and she said she would testify," the old man told her the gist.

    "You mentioned to her I am looking for people as witnesses?" she was surprised. She had no idea at this moment how many people were helping her behind the scenes. Even this grandpa, who could easily retire and live the rest of his life peacefully, was participating in such a dangerous thing.

    "What if she was a wrong person and told everything to Yu Rong?"

    "Do you think Yu Rong is stupid? Does she not already know your plan? She is not doing anything because she is that confident in her abilities of tying loose ends. She thought she had gotten rid of everyone, because her ultimate weapon is killing. A dead person cannot talk, as simple as that."

    "And what do you think all this white hair is for?" the old man ran his fingers through his almost balding head. "Would I judge a person wrong like this?"

    "No, I do not doubt your experience, I am just saying Yu Rong is much more cunning," she smiled awkwardly.

    "You give her too much credit. Your problem since the beginning is that you idolize that person in her heart. She is nothing by herself, she just had good people surrounding her, that''s all. Just like you. You already have much better cohort than hers. And she does not know how to treasure people, which will lead to her downfall very soon. It was a matter of time anyway. Her power status has gotten to her head. She used to be such a good girl, it is such a waste of talent," the grandpa went into a pensive mood suddenly. Given his age, it was easy to understand that he had been here for a long long time. But he was talking as if he had seen Yu Rong grow up.

    Mei Qingyang did not pursue her line of thought. If the old man was someone related to Yu Rong, he would have told her by now.

    "Anyway, I think you should meet her," the old man switched back to the topic.

    "Don''t be so mysterious grandpa, at least give me some hint," Mei Qingyang swung his arm around in a spoiled manner. He was a person who had acted as her real family when her own family was not there for her. Sure, it was a bit awkward after all these years but the familiarity was still there. The old man also liked how the girl was behaving like a child and for a moment he went back to the past, reminiscing old days with Li Sibao.

    "Haha, I think it would be better if you just see her," the grandpa signaled the person standing outside to come in. Mei Qingyang turned around and looked at the weak girl who was trembling.

    "I¡­ I heard you are looking for witnesses. I have a story to tell and I am¡­," as soon as the girl started speaking, Mei Qingyang got up from her chair, stunned. She could not believe what she was seeing. She did not even let the frail girl complete her sentence, she jumped up and hugged the girl.

    "Fang¡­ Fangyan, isn''t that you?" Mei Qingyang got emotional suddenly. Her companion, her friend, it had been, what, six years since she last saw her? She was so glad that her maid was doing alright.

    The trembling girl instantly relaxed with the familiar warmth and fragrance. But her mistress was dead. It was impossible! Would her miss have looked like this girl if she were alive today? Fangyan took the thought out of her mind, she had seen the lifeless body of her miss after she jumped off the building herself. Had not Yu Rong told everyone that she had tried hard but her miss had been declared dead as soon as she arrived at the hospital? There was anyway no way that her miss would have survived that fall.

    "Umm¡­ Miss¡­ I am sorry, could you please let me go?" Fangyan tapped on the arm of the girl who was hugging her very tightly.

    "Ah! I am sorry, I got so emotional to finally meet you. I heard about you from Li Sibao," not wanting to give away her secret, Mei Qingyang made up another lie.

 Chapter 198 - Who Helped?

    The maid eyed the girl in front of her suspiciously. Surely she had never met her nor did she remember her in her miss''s life. Why was she acting so casually with her?

    "Did¡­ did you know my mistress?" the girl was confused.

    "Ah! I am sorry, sorry," Mei Qingyang separated from Fangyan and contained her excitement. "Yes, I was with her in her final moments." Mei Qingyang wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. She was so grateful that she had not died a painful death somewhere. But how was she able to survive? She looked well fed as well.

    "Final¡­ final moments? But she had died when she jumped¡­," Fangyan''s sentence trailed off. She knew it! She could not trust that b*tch Yu Rong, could she? She lied to the whole world? But then, if this girl was saying final moments, then did it mean that she was really not alive? Moreover, how could this girl be with his miss then and was now standing opposite to Yu Rong now?

    "I understand you are confused. Let''s sit down. I also want to know about you, what you have been doing and why you are here," Mei Qingyang sat the puzzled girl down and offered her a bottle of water which she had not touched.

    Fangyan looked hesitantly at the old man and then glanced at the girl in front of her. This girl resembled her miss so much that it was uncanny. But her eyes were green, her miss''s eyes were black. So, she should give up hope right? But she could not help but ask, "Miss, are you wearing contact lenses by any chance?"

    Mei Qingyang looked amused. She did not realize that her maid would recognize her instantly. Thank to her savior who have her these eyes, it was difficult to say she was really Li Sibao. That''s how she had fooled everyone till now. Otherwise, her identity would be so easy to determine.

    "No, these are my natural eyes," she said confidently. Fangyan deflated in the chair, her eyes losing the hope.

    "Anyway, you wanted to talk to me?"

    "Ye¡­ yeah. I actually wanted to be a witness and tell the story of my miss, but it seems you already know her," Fangyan''s voice became quieter as she started losing confidence.

    "Do you have any kind of evidence with you? Or any information that could lead to gathering some physical evidence?"

    "Physical¡­ evidence? I do not have any. I just can tell the story of me and my miss," Fangyan fidgeted with her hands. She was being rejected, right? Where would she get the evidence from? She was just a small time maid.

    "Okay, how about you tell me your story, right after¡­ ahem¡­ Li Sibao''s suicide attempt? Then I would tell you her last words for you as well," Mei Qingyang gave her former maid a small bait.

    "Last words? She left last words for¡­ me?" Fangyan''s eyes welled up with tears. She sobbed with her face buried in her hands.

    "I¡­ I will tell you everything. It could take some time, so please listen," the maid urged earnestly.

    "I have all the time, let''s talk then," Mei Qingyang took a fresh cup of tea and sat down comfortably.

    "I was taken in by young master Feng after the incident," she started. Mei Qingyang spurted her tea out, spraying it all around.

    "Who?" Mei Qingyang was shocked. Feng Yue helped Li Sibao''s maid and could not help her when she was alive.

    "I was actually just wandering the streets listlessly, when the old sir here took me in for a few days. The master Feng arrived from abroad and he questioned me very rigorously. I was pretty scared for next few days, plus I was mourning for my miss as well. I was not in my right mind. That was when master Feng decided to hire me in his household, one to help me hide and then know the truth about her death."

    "You mean to say he already knew everything?" Mei Qingyang''s eyes went wide open. That day he had seemed like he had no idea what had really happened to her. But according to Fangyan, he knew everything.

    Fangyan shook her head, "I pretended to have forgotten everything. No one had believed me earlier, all the news had gone away, so I was not sure why he would believe me."

    "And he kept you around for all these years just so that you could remember and tell him the truth? What a na?ve person," Mei Qingyang scoffed. Although she had forgiven him in her heart, these kinds of truths really enraged her still.

    "Okay, after that?"

    "I¡­ I tried recruiting a few people like me who were being oppressed. I mean, I did not face anything at master Feng''s place. He is really a sweet guy, he also paid for my treatment to get my memories back. Of course, I did not take any medication because I never lost my memory to begin with," she replied. She was not sure why she was telling the truth to a stranger where she would not even tell her story to her own savior. But the conversation was just flowing and she did not think it was a good idea to stop now.

    "Recruiting few people? You mean you have a whole group of people who would testify against Yu Rong?" Mei Qingyang praised her little maid in her heart. She had finally done something good.

    "They will testify against their masters. I know it is not directly related to Yu Rong but it does say something about the system when a lot of people would stand against their own masters," Fangyan finally found a certain confidence when she saw how the girl''s eyes before her shone with excitement.

    "I would still need physical evidence though. Like you know, anyone can stand up and say anything, how will other people believe that it is just not a slander? Plus, the rich kids can always make a pitiful face and say this is all fake because a few people are not satisfied."

    Fangyan went into thinking mode. "Would the bruises on their bodies also not prove it?"

    "They could always go, get themselves beaten up and claim it was done by their masters."

    "S.e.x.u.a.l abuse?"

    "Now we are talking. Are they ready to get tested then?" Mei Qingyang spoke with interest. The DNA and forced entries would be irrefutable evidences.

    "This¡­ It will take some time to convince them, since it also means losing dignity¡­," Fangyan spoke and then felt like the temperature around her had dropped a few degrees. She raised her head to see that there was a cold aura coming from the girl.

    "Heh¡­ Dignity? Are you sure they have any dignity left after being repeatedly abused like that?" she looked at the girl who had timidly scrunched back into the chair. What naivety. Just because she had it easy, did she think she could speak on everyone''s behalf? Sure, it might take some time to convince those poor souls but to bring up dignity?

    "I¡­ I am sorry, I did not think before speaking," Fangyan gulped her own saliva. This could never be her miss, this girl was so cold that her bones were shivering.

    "Yes, yes Fangyan. You have still not grown enough. I guess Feng household was too good to you," Mei Qingyang spoke coldly, she took a strand of hair of the maid in her hand and looked directly into her eyes.

    "Enough, come back to the topic. You need to collect evidence for yourself and those you are planning to bring. She does not have much time, so you need to be prioritizing this. Do you understand?" The old man intervened for Fangyan''s sake. The girl nodded and made herself scarce. As she reached the door, she looked back courageously and asked, "What about the last words?"

    "Oh that? She just wanted to see you live happily and not think about revenge or anything. She had gained her freedom and she wanted you to be free too. But I guess, her wish did come true, seeing how your condition has been much better than previously," Mei Qingyang still had not snapped back to her normal mode. The maid bowed and left at once after hearing the caustic remark.

    "Did you really want her to live a life of misery that you would spew such hurtful words? She was here to help you, what if she turns away now?" old man rebuked Mei Qingyang slightly.

    "Grandpa, I know her the best. Old Li Sibao and current me, both would have really loved for her to gain true freedom. But if she had decided to actually work to take revenge, she should not have done it so half heartedly. To be honest, I am disappointed. I was truly happy seeing her. And she will prove to be useful. But you know what my fear is? She might lose her life in the process and I am still not powerful enough to do anything," Mei Qingyang sighed. People all had their selfish reasons to do anything they did in their lives. Fangyan was the same.

    It was her fault too, for not teaching her properly. She just hoped that the dormant fire within her would awaken and she would do better job now, although she did not have much hopes from her.

 Chapter 199 - Triple Date - I

    "And so, we are back!" Wei Qiqi had just returned with Xu Yang, hand in hand. They looked much more in love than ever before.

    "I wanted to apologize Qingyang, we could not come on the dinner that night," Xu Yang scratched the back of his head.

    "Of course you did not. I guess the party must have been steamy," Mei Qingyang cheekily stuck her tongue out, making the couple flush red with her remark.

    "What are you saying Qing Qing! Let''s go, we need to talk!" Wei Qiqi dragged her friend by her hand. Why could this girl not mince her words, gosh that was so embarrassing.

    "Ah! Qiqi, I need a bit of help from you. My stupid brother is not progressing with his assistant at all. I want to organize a date for them. Since the time is opportune and atmosphere is tense, I think everyone could enjoy some relaxing activities right about now. What do you think?"

    "You mean like organize a date for them? They have not even admitted their feelings, you think it would work?" Wei Qiqi was, more or less, updated about everyone''s situation in Mei Qingyang''s circle.

    Mei Qingyang was very clever in that sense. She only talked about certain topics with certain people. For example, the old librarian knew her situation back home, so she was more comfortable only sharing that with him. Wei Qiqi knew about her friends and her feud with Yu Rong. She was not much informed about her situation back home.

    "Have to do something about it. How about you approach him as his fan again?"

    "But¡­," Wei Qiqi glanced behind her, Xu Yang was looking at the two girls curiously, "he doesn''t like it when I talk about young master Su with admiration," Wei Qiqi admitted shyly.

    Mei Qingyang guffawed, bursting out in laughter. People around paused and looked at her for a second, then continued. She strode towards Xu Yang.

    "You got a problem if she goes, meets my brother?"

    Xu Yang frowned but did not say anything. If it was for some mission or something, he was okay. But otherwise¡­

    Mei Qingyang laughed loudly again.

    "Aiyya, I got to see something truly incredible today. I know you are not as expressionless as Tian, but to think you would be jealous like this, cannot," Mei Qingyang patted his shoulder and laughed till her eyes teared up.

    "Is it that funny? Why do you need the two of them to interact?" Xu Yang could not remain angry. If the request was reasonable, obviously he had no right to question.

    "I am setting him up with a girl. Does that ease your worry?" Mei Qingyang smiled. Xu Yang was surprised that this girl would meddle into other people''s lives like this. The Mei Qingyang he knew only kept to herself. But well, they were talking about her foster cousin, guess their relationship was as good as people said.

    "Fine. I don''t care, you guys can do whatever you want," Xu Yang closed his eyes and waved his hands in dismissal.

    "He said yes," she turned back and replied to Wei Qiqi.

    In the evening, the doorbell of Su Lang''s house rang. Su Weixi went to open the door.

    "Ah! Is young master Su at home?" Weixi was surprised to see Wei Qiqi standing at the door. Did they let anyone in these days? She never received a request from her for entry on the floor. Perhaps her friend brought her in.

    "Why do you want to meet him?" she asked in a stern voice. She was well aware of her being a big fan of her master. She had behaved in such an intimate manner with him in the hospital last time. But if she recalled correctly, did they not have a fight? Did the girl not leave in anger then? She had not returned ever since. Why was she here now?

    "Uhh¡­ so I was just wondering if he was interested in going to the campus amus.e.m.e.nt park this weekend or something?" Wei Qiqi was feeling very awkward but she had already observed that the little assistant was not looking very good. She was definitely eating vinegar right now. She could not help but tease her.

    "I thought you already had a boyfriend, why are you interested in going with my master?" her voice turned colder as she spoke.

    "Weixi, who came? Oh!" Su Lang came out his bedroom, donning just a bathrobe. He had just taken a bath. Since Weixi had not called him out, he thought the guest had left. He had not anticipated that Wei Qiqi would be standing there.

    If he ran back to change his clothes now, that would be embarrassing to the guest. So he decided to continue in the same attire. The bathrobe was giving a great view of his abs. His wet hair made his look extra s.e.xy. Even Wei Qiqi gulped as she saw him coming towards the sofa and her face grew hot. Su Weixi did not like this at all.

    "Ms. Wei, how come you are here?" his question snapped her back to the reality.

    "Ah, yes. You see, I was looking for people to go with me to the amus.e.m.e.nt park," she dangled two tickets in front of her.

    "And how did you decide that I should accompany you?"

    "You are misunderstanding me young master. I never said you are accompanying me. You see, I don''t know a lot of people here and I won six tickets in a draw to the park. I asked Qing Qing and she said yes, but I did not want to bother her. Poor girl is so busy as is. So, I thought I would come find you. How about it? I have two tickets to give away. How about bringing your assistant along?" she spoke it all in one breath.

    Oh! Both of them had truly misunderstood her.

    "Qing Qing said yes? Isn''t she having too much fun these days? I don''t think she should be going out like this so often," he got suddenly concerned. Was she under so much stress that she was procrastinating her work? Or was she breaking down and running away from her tasks?

    "You don''t need to worry about her. She has stuff under control. You just say yes or no," she waved the tickets again.

    "Fine, I don''t mind. When are you guys going?"

    "It is Saturday tomorrow, so how about it? We checked the weather, it is going be a warm sunny day, so it won''t be a nuisance in this cold." They had done their homework and the Saturday was the perfect day for this.

    "Alright, leave them here. Weixi, clear my schedule for tomorrow," Su Lang did not even ask who else was coming. He decided to give it a try. The campus had a small pretty amus.e.m.e.nt park and kids went there pretty often. Of course, the prices of the rides were as exorbitant as the fee of the courses, so poor kids did not have access to the rides. This was the motivation behind him saying yes. It had been quite some time since he had taken Su Weixi out to play. She looked like she had forgotten the joy of childishness and had become too strict lately.

    "But master¡­," Weixi protested.

    "It''s okay to play once in a while. This week is going pretty slow. Let''s have some fun before everything becomes serious.

    "Understood," Su Weixi instantly went inside to do as instructed.

    "If there is nothing else, then I will take my leave. Thank you accepting my invitation, young master Su," Wei Qiqi danced in her heart. The mission was too easy, even Mei Qingyang would be surprised. It was good that she mentioned to bring the assistant, otherwise she would have gotten the question of what the single man would do there.

    She reported right away to Mei Qingyang who sang praises for her friend. This girl was too resourceful, "I shall look out for if you also pull me into one of honey traps with your sweet words," Mei Qingyang teased.

    "Oh, come on," Wei Qiqi rolled her eyes happily.

    ---------

    The next day, the three couples met in the amus.e.m.e.nt park in the morning. Both Qiqi and Qingyang had dolled up prettily, and the two guys were also wearing casual wear, just like for dates. Su Lang was also in his casual wear and had made Weixi wear normal clothes as well. He did not want her to go as his assistant today, but a normal girl.

    It was very crowded today because everyone had come out after the Valentine''s day to play. For winters, most of the rides were inside but due to good weather, a few outside rides were also opened just for today.

    "I want to do go karting!" Wei Qiqi already picked.

    "Oh, are we going separately?" Su Lang asked confusedly. He had agreed to the trip abruptly but it seemed like the two couples before him had different plans.

    "We could go together, I don''t mind," Mei Qingyang wrapped her arm around Yu Tian''s arm, taking him by surprise. But he was much comfortable with her for now, so he did not mind.

    "Okay, how about we go in turns then? Qiqi picked go karting, I pick roller coaster, and what about you two?" Mei Qingyang asked?

    "Weixi, how about you choose?" Su Lang gave the choice to his assistant.

    "I¡­ I want to do Merry Go Round!" her eyes sparkled as she pointed to the ride in front of her.

 Chapter 200 - Triple Date - II

    "Merry Go Round?" Su Lang''s eyes widened and then softened. This girl was a child at heart after all. He should have realized that he could have brought her out to play more often. Once her training as his bodyguard and assistant had started, they really never had come out to play like this. He was skeptical to have accepted Wei Qiqi''s invitation on a whim but it seemed like it was not so bad after all.

    "We will do merry go round then," Mei Qingyang extended her hand and smiled gently. She wanted the two of them to have as much fun as possible, and perhaps, in this atmosphere, come to the terms with their own feelings.

    "Then, let''s go for go karting first," Su Lang grabbed Weixi''s hand and followed the two couples.

    "Tch, they are so happy over there, I don''t understand how the master is going to play with his own servant," Ma Shuxin was sitting in a caf¨¦ outside the park and enjoying her morning coffee with a few other girls from her class when she suddenly noticed the three pairs heading towards the park.

    Her heart became full of jealousy. Not only those two poor lasses Wei Qiqi and Mei Qingyang had got themselves rich boyfriends, even this servant Su Weixi had better life than hers.

    One of the girls in the group was former lackey of Gu Layue and always loved to find trouble. She had gotten Ma Shuxin into her group because her former team leader Gu Layue had become quiet like Buddha. Since the day the news of Mei Qingyang becoming servant of Yu Tian came out, she had just stopped mocking and playing with that girl.

    She had already started softening her stance towards that wench but now had given up completely. Was she that afraid of Yu Tian? There was also a rumor that this whole servant-master thing was a fa?ade and they were actually going out as lovers.

    Heh, who would believe that? No matter what, their statuses did not match at all.

    And since this girl was the number one lackey of Gu Layue, she had developed keen observational skills. She had caught early on what Ma Shuxin really felt towards her only ''friend''. This lass before her was not lacking money for sure, but she had an inferiority complex, which was very obvious.

    After Gu Layue''s almost departure from the scene, this girl had really helped her and her group keep entertained. She was planning a bit surprise for Mei Qingyang with the help of her only friend in the rich circle.

    Would definitely serve her right for stealing all the good men at once. She could not have Xu Yang for herself, so she made him couple with her equally poor friend. And then she was trying to set up the second most eligible bachelor in the school with his own assistant?

    From how those both guys looked at Mei Qingyang, there was no way they did not harbor feelings for her. Probably that''s why they did not say no to her when she was giving away females from sewers to them.

    Unfortunately for these rich girls, they did not really know the meaning of platonic friendship. For them, it was either a group of same gender or l.u.s.t between opposite genders. How could they understand the meaning of real friendship?

    Real friendship was never a function of genders. Unfortunately for them, they would never get to experience real friendship unless they changed their attitudes.

    "It''s okay, that is the role of a servant after all. Master Su rejects all females to begin with. That Wei Qiqi is also one of those rejects. So, for now, the servant has to fulfill his needs. There is no use in fuming at that," the girl sipped her tea elegantly, emulating Gu Layue herself. This person thought of herself as a goddess or something, that after Gu Layue, she was the number one.

    "Hmph! I am definitely more suited for young master Su, in face, even for young master Yu. I don''t know how those rats got to them first," Ma Shuxin wrung her handkerchief.

    "Aiyya, we believe in you Shuxin. I thought you were great friends with Mei Qingyang. Why don''t you ask her what is going on? Perhaps she would help you out and set you up with one of the guys she has in her life? Young master Feng is still single," the girl chuckled. She loved putting ideas in gullible people like Ma Shuxin. This is a trick she had learnt from observing the two cousin sisters, Gu Layue and Gu Jiujiu.

    That fool Gu Jiujiu used to do everything her sister would tell her. Guess it was time for her to rise in the ranks and have her own lackey group. The other girls in the group also snickered but deep within their hearts, they were also taking notes. Perhaps, if they did ask Mei Qingyang, they might be able to score better guys than their current boyfriends?

    "I think I do need to talk to her," Ma Shuxin looked into the distance and found that the couples were gone. Most probably, they were already enjoying the rides hand in hand.

    "Let''s go to that biggest roller coaster." The six people had just come out of go karting arena. It was so much fun that the adrenaline rush made Mei Qingyang choose the longest roller coaster ride out of the five coasters that were there in the park.

    "O¡­ okay," Xu Yang was a bit hesitant.

    "Are you afraid of heights, Xu Yang?" Wei Qiqi asked with concern.

    "Uhh¡­ I am not most comfortable, but let''s try it out," Xu Yang did not want to disappoint his girlfriend. They had a quiet time on Valentine''s, so this was perfect day out. He did not want to ruin it for her.

    "Guys, we will sit this one out," Wei Qiqi informed seeing how uneasy her boyfriend looked.

    "Hoho~, Qiqi is being a great wife eh?" Mei Qingyang teased her friend. "Are you both okay with it?" she looked behind and saw that Su Lang and Su Weixi were standing apart very awkwardly. Did something happen?

    "Ye¡­ yeah, we will go," Su Lang made the decision. The assistant had to follow the orders, so Weixi did not say anything.

    "Alright, you two guys can take a rest here, or you can ride something else. The line looks long, I guess¡­," Mei Qingyang was about to say something when Xu Yang interrupted her and insisted that they should also experience it after all.

    "If you are okay," Wei Qiqi handed her water bottle to her beau, before they all headed to the long line. When people saw mighty Yu Tian and Su Lang coming with their friends, people made way for them. Su Weixi was very used to it, so she followed the two. The other three, on the other hand were dumbfounded. What was the use of coming to play if they were going to get special treatment anyway?

    In a moment, they were at the front of the line. Since a few people were not familiar with each other, they ended up sitting with their respective counterparts.

    "Are you having fun?" Mei Qingyang asked Yu Tian.

    "You are here, so yeah," Yu Tian smiled curtly while giving her a short cheesy answer. Mei Qingyang slapped his arm hearing the reply and chuckled, making her eyes into two crescents. She was truly happy today. As long as Yu Rong was busy with her work, she could take him out to relieve some stress from his mind.

    The roller coaster started. Wei Qiqi had never been on one, so she was especially thrilled. Xu Yang, on the other hand, was scared. Wei Qiqi put her arm around his, and he was comforted enough to enjoy the ride.

    "Oh my God! Master, can we do it again? Please?" Su Weixi''s child mode was suddenly turned on. She loved it so much that she tucked his sleeve and jumped up and down. Su Lang could not help but give in to her earnest request.

    The others laughed at how helpless Su Lang looked. The two couples decided to give this day to Su Weixi for she looked so happy, she went on different rides multiple times. By the evening, they decided to go to the giant wheel, which would give them a great view of the romantic sunset.

    Although there was space for more people in each cabin, Mei Qingyang and Wei Qiqi made sure that only the couples went together.

    "Oh God, today was so much fun," Wei Qiqi stretched in her cabin and then put her head on Xu Yang''s shoulder. Everyone was quite tired but this was one moment that everyone wanted to see. The sunset in the distance over the mountains was breathtaking.

    Yu Tian had made special arrangements for the three respective cabins to stop at the top for two minutes each.

    "I wish we do not have any other problems cropping up from now on," Wei Qiqi wished earnestly. It ended up in them kissing each other at the top, the orange rays illuminating their whole beings.

    In the other cabin, Su Weixi and Su Lang were staring at each other, awkwardly, their hearts racing. Over the course of the day, they both had become certain own feelings but were still not sure about each other. Su Weixi could not take the first step for she would be overstepping her boundary as the servant. She did not want to sour her relation with her master because of her stupid feelings. Su Lang, on the other hand, did not want to be the same as other masters in the school, taking undue advantage of his own assistant.

    "Weixi¡­," Su Lang cleared his throat but words would not come out.

    "Ye¡­ yes master," Su Weixi stood up suddenly, not knowing hat to do, bumping her head to the top of the cabin. She lowered her stance, clutching her head. Su Lang took her head in his hands intantly, pressing at the place which bumped.

    "Silly girl! What are you doing!" he rebuked. Their positions became a bit awkward, the girl sitting between his legs. They did not realize that and just kept staring at each other, Su Lang still tending to her head.

    Su Lang sighed.

    "Weixi, I think I cannot take this anymore. I have been realizing for past few weeks that I truly might have something more going on for you than just friendship. And I would like to take this further if I have your permission. But I do leave the decision to you,?? he said staring into her eyes. Weixi went back to her assistant mode, with her poker face on. She had no idea her master felt the same. But still, she was not sure about her status.

    She just nodded to his statement, they had time to figure this out. If it did not work out, she would just leave his side and start a new life. She had gained enough knowledge and was perfectly capable of thriving on her own. Probably, in a few months, her master''s fascination towards her would die down too?

    In the third cabin, Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian were sitting facing each other. Qingyang was still wary of Yu Tian''s condition, although their sweet moments were increasing by the day too. She looked at the sun with her face in her both hands.

    "Tian, this has been one of the happiest days of my life. Thank you," her angelic smile mesmerizing Yu Tian.

    "You were the one who planned it, why are you thanking me," he was still bedazzled by the girl''s simplistic charms. Because of winter, the girls had worn simplistic clothes rather than wearing cutesy short clothes and die in cold. But still, his girl was the prettiest.

    "No, you were the one who made it possible. And you still said yes to accompany me. I know you are busy with your business endeavors but you still do whatever I ask you to. So, I can''t be grateful enough," Mei Qingyang thanked him sincerely. Half of her plans against his own aunt were happening because of his support. If he had not taken the first step to change, she would not have made so much progress. Now the last battle was coming up and she would be very busy for next fifteen days or so.

    And then their fate would be determined.

 Chapter 201 - Why Is Yu Rong Quiet?

    "It''s been a while since I have seen her face, is it just me?" Everyone was sitting in the library secret base, discussing about their progress with the preparations for the board meeting. As usual, Mei Qingyang was leading them.

    Mei Qingyang was going through some doc.u.ments when Fan Ruyi raised the question. She glanced at Yu Tian who was sitting by her side and realized he was as usual being a stone tablet, cold expression donning his face.

    "My sources say she is too busy figuring out the identity of the mysterious buyer, that she has been unable to focus on anything else. Plus, it''s a big even for her, that board meeting. Pretty sure she wants to eliminate any obstacles in her way to become the Yu Family head," Su Lang yawned. They had been at it for quite a while now. Mei Qingyang was going all out for this particular event. It would be very interesting to see the final results.

    "I am guessing we all are putting our everything on line for this board meeting. If she wins, then we all are goner. If we win, then I can guarantee the peace in the whole academy," Mei Qingyang went back to her doc.u.ment review.

    "How are you connecting her not winning to peace in the academy?" Feng Yue asked. He was very curious to know how this girl''s brain worked. If she had thought that far ahead, then this girl definitely had a plan. They all had looked over and over again but no matter how much they tried, their share count was not crossing 15%.

    They had also managed to convince, actually threaten, a few of the ex-executives of the company to sell their shares for a greater cause.

    Feng Yue and Su Lang had got long scoldings from their parents about the same. But the guys would not take it anymore and retaliated saying that those shares were a present from Yu Ming to them and they could do whatever the hell they wanted to do with them. They were a.d.u.l.ts after all. Both their dads had scoffed saying they were siding with wrong people.

    This is what happens when parents only like to give ultimatums. Had they had a civilized discussion with the kids, without thinking of them as kids, but properly treating them as a.d.u.l.ts, would they not have come to peaceful conclusion? Haiz, sometimes parents would go too far with their ''a.d.u.l.t'' act forgetting that the person before them was a human being too, perfectly capable of thinking on their own.

    Yu Empire''s shares were not cheap. They were one of the biggest companies in the M nation and they were rolling in profits. The previous performance of the school in national tournament had further boosted their image, instantly increasing the share prices.

    And now the rumor had floated around that Yu Ming was whole heartedly supporting his sister for takeover. This was probably a media tactic by Yu Rong herself. Internally, people knew she was not that great a manager. And recently, she had been having emotional bursts, she would fire people on whim and even talk rudely to the clients.

    She was no longer the ruthless businesswoman she once used to be. But the rumor was enough to further increase the prices of their shares because the public image was good. She had even started doing some charity events to showcase her good image. No wonder she was busy running around.

    Did she have aspirations to become president of the country or something? At least Yu Empire was raking in monies, due to her extra efforts.

    In reality, she did not even have any rivals. But she was very fearful of this new person in the race who had been giving her tough competition. Everything aside, showing ownership of majority of shares of total Yu Business was something by a third party could really ruin her plans.

    She had really been running around, trying to buy the shares herself. She had already snatched the ones from her immediate subordinates.

    "Ah! She seems really desperate," Mei Qingyang looked at the chart of fluctuation between the percentages.

    "Are you sure you don''t have anything to do with this new contender?" Su Lang posed the question again. Mei Qingyang laughed, "Brother, you are overestimating me. I do wish I had that kind of power and money. But that kind of thing for me is only possible through hacking. I do not want to use underhanded methods. If we are fighting, we will fight fair and square. I don''t want anyone coming back later and telling us we used illegal ways to obtain the power," Mei Qingyang did not even lift her head from the doc.u.ments.

    From her manner, it did seem like she was hiding something. But her reasoning was quite solid too. Where would she get the capital for all that investment?

    "I don''t know if you have noticed this yet, but what are these small small cl.u.s.ters?" Feng Yue was looking at the chart when something struck him and he pointed it out to others.

    "Cl.u.s.ters?" Everyone asked curiously.

    "Yeah, like this. There are other people who are buying the shares and although they don''t look like significant portions, if one were to combine them, it would take over even us," he circled a few numbers over on the chart.

    "You are correct. These are like 0.2-0.5% shares, no one would even look at them. But if you consider that they are being bought by the same person, then it''s going to explode," Su Lang agreed with Feng Yue.

    "Do you think it is that mystery buyer again?" Fan Ruyi also suddenly became interested.

    Mei Qingyang at this point was quiet and just staring at the chart. Yu Tian glanced at her and realized something, so he remained quiet as well.

    "Qing Qing, have you looked into this?" Su Lang turned around and saw that the girl behind him was frowning.

    "I did look into it but the identity was unknown as well. I reckon this is the work of that third contender as well. I feel like they are trying to distract us with something. I just don''t know what," she put her hand on her chin in the thinking mode.

    "Is there a problem then?" Su Lang posed the question.

    "I don''t know, to be honest. We have to just keep working on whatever we are doing right now. If we keep working hard, we will definitely get some result. Let''s get back to work," Mei Qingyang mysteriously shut everyone down and went back to her own doc.u.ments.

    "What the f*ck is happening? What is this new problem now?" Yu Rong threw the papers in her hand towards Wang Hao, who got a few paper cuts on his face. His miss had really been frustrated these days. The mystery buyer was already keeping her awake at night, this new person buying the small cl.u.s.ters was another headache that popped up just days before the meeting.

    She had really been eyeing that position, he had no idea she was that ambitious.

    "Why is everyone trying to get into my way? All I need is ownership of Yu Empire, then neither my brother, nor my nephew would be able to do anything against me. I will have them both in my grasp," she slammed her hands on the table in her office.

    Oh, so this was what she was after?

    "Miss, you need to relax, I will prepare tea for you," Wang Hao went ahead and brewed soft refreshing tea.

    "You only understand me Hao," she went and hugged him from behind. Nothing was surprising to him anymore. This lady was too lonely in her journey, she had cut her ties with almost everyone in her pursuit of power, thinking that she had already become the almighty. Not the reality was proving something else.

    People were not coming forward to help her. Her abusive nature in the school had already spilled out in the business world, driving away a lot of her allies. The only people sticking to her were the people who were after materialistic gains. As soon as their purpose would be fulfilled, they would leave her too.

    "It is just so lonely at the top Hao. I don''t really know where I went wrong. I have been doing it all for these f*ckers, they have gained so much because of me all these years, and now they are behaving like this with me," she said dejectedly. These were the times when she felt like just a helpless woman than her tyrannical self.

    But for Wang Hao, there was no pity left in his heart. If needed be, she would throw even him away at the drop of the hat. Who had he been kidding all these years?

    "Miss, there is still time. If you are feeling too much stress¡­," Wang Hao stopped in between. He knew if he suggested her to surrender, he could even lose his life. So, he decided against it. Then he realized his miss had just drifted to sleep, standing against his back. He turned around and carried her to her bed, tucking her in the blanket and coldly leaving her alone in the room.

 Chapter 202 - Ma Shuxin Shows Her Colors

    "Qing Qing, why have you been so cold to me lately?" Ma Shuxin suddenly stopped Mei Qingyang in the hallway when she was going to meet Wei Qiqi after her class got over.

    "What do you mean Shuxin?" Mei Qingyang had certainly been ignoring this troublesome person but what was she to do when she came and confronted her directly. If her memory served correctly, was this the second time she came to her like this? What was this passive aggressive behavior?

    "I don''t mean anything, it''s just that since the day Wei Qiqi has come, it seems my importance in your heart has reduced," Ma Shuxin made an expression of agony, like she was the person being bullied by Mei Qingyang. The people around looked at both of them in disdain. Mei Qingyang had no idea what to do with this girl.

    "Are you jealous of my friend?" Mei Qingyang chuckled. What was this ridiculous situation suddenly?

    "You¡­ you have never called me your friend. But that Wei Qiqi, she came after me and you are treating her so warmly. Is this what you call association by statuses?" Ma Shuxin suddenly went in a mocking mode.

    "Association by status? You might be correct. We both are from poor backgrounds after all. What about you though? I don''t understand your motive to be chasing after me," Mei Qingyang thought it was better to deal with her like this, rather than talking in circles.

    Ma Shuxin could not find words on her retaliation. She had come here to humiliate her in front of others but it seemed like she was the one being snickered at.

    It was weird, she belonged to higher status but it seemed like this girl was the one who was enjoying the real company of wealthy people here. Was she not supposed to be ridiculed?

    "I¡­ I just wanted to be friends with you because no one was looking out for you. Guess my good intentions were not being taken seriously," she yelled in the corridor. The class had just gotten over and a lot of students were switching their classes to prepare for the next class. They all stopped in the hall and circled around the two girls, who it seemed were fighting.

    Everyone knew Mei Qingyang by now. And because she was the servant of Yu Tian, people had really stopped bothering her, although she did get contemptuous look from a few girls, who were a big fan of the legends. But then, those girls also stopped after there was no reaction from Mei Qingyang to their provocations. People really get bored easily, once one fun activity stops entertaining them, they move on very fast.

    What she did not realize was that Ma Shuxin had become a target of bullying now since she also belonged to the lower rung of the social ladder. But she was not prepared for this change. She was the one who should be bullying the two girls, how did she become a victim. Plus, Wei Qiqi was not touched at all. Was it because of her status as a former national champion in martial arts?

    Previously, Mei Qingyang could not really figure out the motive of this girl. But now she was beginning to understand.

    "Ms. Ma, are you, by any chance, saying that you were just doing charity or taking pity on me because I was being bullied?" Mei Qingyang smirked as she crossed her arms.

    "You are taking it all wrong, I did not mean it like that!" Ma Shuxin defended. Why was she getting into the trap of this girl? Wasn''t she just a nerd who avoided people like a plague?

    "I don''t really understand what you want to say," Mei Qingyang shrugged her shoulders. Either this girl needed to tell her what she wanted, or she needed to f*ck off.

    Suddenly, she plopped down on the floor in front of the onlookers and buried her head in her palms and started weeping.

    "I thought¡­ I thought we were good friends. When no one wanted to be your friend, I had lent you a hand. When you were being bullied, even then I did not leave you. Now you don''t even recognize me as your friend. It feels like you have discarded me after getting a sister of your own status."

    Mei Qingyang massaged her temples in irritation. What was this? A palace drama? Why was she behaving like a child?

    Did she want to slander her in front of the crowd? Guess this girl had not learnt anything in the past few months. When had she, Mei Qingyang, worried about the sentiments of the crowd or her own image?

    She smiled coldly, she had spotted those Gu Layue''s lackeys in the crowd, snickering. It seemed like they did not learn their lesson either.

    "Tsk tsk, poor girl had even thought that she would be able to ease down the tension between two groups. She should have known poor people belong to their own community only," the leader of the lackeys shouted from behind. Too many people had surrounded them for anyone to understand who passed the snarling comment.

    A few people agreed with the person but most of the people had far too become accustomed to Mei Qingyang''s indifference. Soon the crowd dispersed once they understood it was no use standing here. They had many more important things to do. Although it was fun in their otherwise busy lives, they already knew the outcome. It would have been better if there was some substance to this act.

    "Everyone is gone, you can stop your act," Mei Qingyang remarked coldly.

    Ma Shuxin indeed looked above and was startled seeing only her backers and herself there.

    "I¡­," she bit her lip but nothing was coming out of her mouth.

    "Aiyya, poor little girl got trapped into her own trap. You like feeling above others, right? See, how these girl manipulated you into doing this, so embarrassing," Qingyang sat down and raised the girl''s chin using her index finger.

    "What do you mean manipulated?" Ma Shuxin was seething with anger inside. She was the one who was manipulating them, not the other way round!

    "I feel so sorry for you girl. Rather than putting your focus into your studies, you decided to try your hand at bullying. When it seemed like you are at the bottom, and there was higher chance of you being bullied, you came to me," Mei Qingyang started unraveling the motive behind Ma Shuxin''s approach.

    This girl had not been able to do real harm to her because she herself had no idea what to do. She was torn between saving her a.s.s from other kids and trying to ''prove'' herself to that very group that she could be a part of them.

    "Do you have proof?" Ma Shuxin clenched her teeth.

    Mei Qingyang laughed. "This is not a trial Ms. Ma. There are no judges here. I am just telling you, how miserably you failed at something which you should not have indulged in in the first place. I kept you beside me because I really wanted you to understand your place. But guess your inferiority complex was way greater for me to help you out," she patted her head and then glanced at other girls sharply.

    "You still have time, there had been no harm. Just work hard, you will gain good friends and recognition. These kind of ways do not work in the long run. You need to accept yourself first, otherwise why would anyone be interested in you?"

    Ma Shuxin gave a hateful glance to Mei Qingyang. Her eyes had gone red with madness.

    "Who are you to tell me what to do? You are just a sewer rat who climbed the ladder because she managed to seduce Yu Tian. Otherwise what are you?" she commented. "Yes, I envy you, for you have such a great group. And those people seem like they could do anything for you. And here I am, a person with actual credentials and nothing to show off."

    "Why do you get to experience stuff that should have been mine to begin with? All those rosy friendsh.i.p.s, all those high profile relations, I was the one who deserved them. Plus, you are not even pretty. I have all the qualities, why can''t I get what you have?" Tears started flowing down Ma Shuxin''s face. That was it? Her jealousy was so overwhelming that she did what she would not normally do.

    Mei Qingyang sighed. She had thought at least this girl would have high EQ but guess that was not the case after all. She had concealed her mentality for so many months, why did it all spill suddenly? Was someone setting people up?

    For past few weeks, she had been quite busy, but now she looked at it, there was a weird restlessness in the atmosphere. Had people gotten a whiff of the change that was coming and they were afraid for themselves? Was this making them irritated for some reason?

    Before she could really think or answer Ma Shuxin, she heard a yell from afar.

    "What are you guys doing?"

 Chapter 203 - Gu Layue Helps Out

    "Do you guys not feel ashamed of yourselves?" a crisp female voice with mockery hidden could be heard.

    Everyone turned around and saw Gu Layue was standing there cross armed, with confidence. Ma Shuxin was still shocked at how her whole persona was demystified by Mei Qingyang in minutes, that too like she knew everything from the beginning. She herself did not understand her own feelings as clearly as that lass told her in few sentences. She could not wrap her head around it and was sitting listlessly on the floor.

    The other girls standing there flinched on seeing their former leader. They knew how cruel Gu Layue was. It was also one of the reasons they followed her, in fear. She had money and power, and thus, it was so easy for her to bully anyone without thinking of consequences. However, the actual deed was done by her group, she just had to lift her finger.

    She had all the information on them. If she wanted, she could report them easily. They had no idea that she really had switched sides and was siding with Mei Qingyang. If they had known earlier, they would not have even come close to this girl.

    They had just thought she was giving face to her childhood sweetheart by not touching that wench herself. Turns out, she actually was trying to protect this Mei Qingyang, in front of everyone too. She was declaring her support to her indirectly?

    Now that she had suddenly turned peaceful, they had no idea what kind of face to show to their former leader.

    "Ms. Gu¡­," the new leader of the lackeys addressed her respectfully..

    "What? Don''t you see she is Yu Tian''s person now? No matter how much Yu Rong hates her, do you think he will spare you if you harm even one hair on her skin?" Gu Layue was truly annoyed.

    She herself did not have any intentions to save this girl. But going by what her assistant had taught her, it was indeed a good opportunity to show her that she was on her side. Would she be able to reap any rewards? She was yet to see that.

    More than that, she was disgusted by the petty tricks of these girl under her. She truly did not cultivate them well. If they really wanted to rebel, they should have taken extreme measures, a cut or two on this wench''s face would have been much better than trying to insult her in front of the crowd. Had they not tried it already so many times? It failed every single time.

    It was as if pride and image did not matter to this girl at all. Was it something every poor person had? She had analyzed all the poor people around her and it was true for most of the people. They only knew how to work hard, they would not even shy away from ruthlessly clinging to someone for survival. Yes, that''s what they were striving for, survival. She was amazed at their resilience.

    Guess she had never sat down and thought about people before. Her rose tinted glasses were finally coming off, thanks to this girl. But she was still not going to forgive her for stealing her guy. She hated her the most.

    Gu Layue should have been the one lamenting instead of Ma Shuxin, what was that chick doing anyway?

    "Now get out before someone report you girls and Yu Tian himself comes here and skins you alive," she yelled. The girls hurried and dispersed, just like that. They were afraid of Gu Layue but everyone was terrified of young master Yu.

    "I¡­ I did not do it for you, I did it for the safety of those girls," Gu Layue found Mei Qingyang staring at her, an amusing look donning her face, so she hurriedly explained her behavior.

    "I am not going to thank you then," she smiled congenially. Suddenly, Gu Layue did not seem that bad anymore. Her impression in Mei Qingyang''s heart had instantly improved for some reason. Perhaps, perhaps, she had turned into a better person too? She looked more m.a.t.u.r.e in her thinking as well, especially since the new semester started.

    "Those girls do need to learn by now who to fiddle with and who not. Please don''t pursue them after this," she still tried to make a small conversation.

    "Don''t worry, today''s matter does not matter to me. The guys won''t do anything either," she was referring to Su Lang and Yu Tian.

    "About her, I am not associated with her," she pointed to the girl still kneeling down.

    "Yeah, I will take care of her, you can go ahead," Mei Qingyang replied and kneeled down herself to come to her level.

    "See? You are useless to them as well. They left as soon as they heard the name of someone more powerful," Mei Qingyang lifted her head once again, so that she was peering into her eyes. The girl looked around in horror and found she was alone with this nightmare.

    "I¡­," she wanted to say something but what?

    "Since you did accompany me for so long and kept the pests away, I would not say anything. You are not worth my time anyway. But let me give you a tip. You ended up being one of the people you hated the most. Isn''t that ironic?" Mei Qingyang smirked, her cruel personality coming out with ease.

    She had to behave like this, otherwise this girl would not understand. She was coming from a very protected environment, even more so because she was living in a foreign country. Her parents had spoiled her rotten. And so she thought everything in her grasp belonged to her. Now that she could not even make friends here, she was devastated and ended up using such childish tactics.

    "You¡­ What did I do to deserve this?" her tear stained face was full of hatred still.

    "You did nothing wrong. In fact, your parents are the people who should be repenting for this. Thank your stars that I am not as cold hearted as before. You would not even know when you would have dropped dead otherwise," Mei Qingyang was done. There was no regret on Ma Suxin''s face, she was probably still now realizing her own predicament.

    She got up and looked behind once again. She really had thought the girl would change.

    "Listen Shuxin, I will still say this, there is still time. Nothing has gone wrong. We are just in first year. All these people, they will forget this incident within a matter of few days. It would be the best if you could reflect a bit. I am not the one who should be telling you all this but¡­,"

    "Breeding more hatred will result in nothing for you, just more time wastage and pain in your heart. Please, just please, focus on what you can do rather than what you can''t, what you have rather than what you don''t. I know these words won''t do much. If you need help, just ask for it, okay?" Mei Qingyang turned around and left.

    She did not have bad feelings for this girl for she had never harmed her. She had actually helped her at times, no matter how annoying she was.

    "I¡­ think I shall heed to her advice," Ma Shuxin got up and headed back to her dorm room.

    She had a lot of thinking to do. In the future, she would turn a new page in her life and leave engineering. She would end up becoming a lawyer, a very celebrated one at that. It was all thanks to this one incident but it shall be in the future.

    ---------------

    "Did Gu Layue talk to you by any chance?" Mei Qingyang went back and put her bag down on the sofa.

    "Why would she talk to me? I have never given her any importance, nor talked to her before," Yu Tian looked at her quizzingly. Although he had already gotten the report of today??s events, he faked not knowing about it.

    "Oh, I see," Mei Qingyang thought about her behavior for some more time. Could she ask her for her part of shares too? Then she decided against it and went back to her work.

    ------------

    "I think she trusts me now, I could see in her eyes," Gu Layue was happily chatting with her assistant, narrating him the whole story.

    "I am so proud miss. I guess, next step would be to put distance between the couple." The assistant was not very happy upon hearing what had happened. He had thought his miss would never overcome her pride and go after Mei Qingyang than Yu Tian, but she did it. What brought this change though, he had no idea.

    "No, she is too busy these days. She cannot be found around the campus. I got someone to check but she is spending almost all her time at home," Mei Qingyang was still chirping. Her little interaction with that lass felt like a win. But she was not sure what was there to be so happy about.

    She just felt her shoulders had less burden suddenly. Was it relief over the fact that she said she would not pursue anything? So, was she forgiving her for all that she did previously? Was it too farfetched to think like that? But she was also being pretty sweet to her.

    What was this feeling? Like she had met an old friend?

    Old friend? No, no! She was an enemy, one she needed to conquer. Why was she having these kind of thoughts then?

 Chapter 204 - Another Nightmare

    "Ugh, ugh," Yu Tian was squirming in the bed, sweating profusely. It looked like he was in excruciating pain.

    "This is what happens every night," Yu Bufan said helplessly.

    "Bu¡­ But," Mei Qingyang hesitated a bit before continuing, "It did not happen when he was with me." She was very concerned about the person she was looking at. She sat down on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through his silky soft hair. His hair was drenched but it did not matter to her.

    She had been called in the middle of the night by Yu Bufan on this particularly cold day. It was later half of February already and it should have started to get warmer. But today, it was another stormy night.

    By the time she went to sleep, she had not heard anything from Yu Tian''s room. Remembering the last time, she was worried if stormy weather had some particular connection with Yu Tian''s nightmares. But there was not enough data, so she had left that line of thought. And she decided to head to her own servant quarter.

    Yu Tian did not like she insisted on sleeping in that small room. But when she said it looked cozier to her, he had agreed. In reality, she wanted to put up some appearance in front of Mrs. Zhao for the time being. They had already almost pin pointed her master, but there was still some merit in making her believe a few things that were not true.

    Yu Tian and she had been pretending to fight over small things in the house, which made Mrs. Zhao much happy. She would happily report all their daily activities to her agent. And on the days they would fight, they had to sleep in separate rooms. They were not spending their nights in the same room all the time to begin with. Mei Qingyang was very afraid of losing control over her emotions, so she maintained some distance.

    Tonight, when she was deep into the sleep, she suddenly heard frantic knocks on her door. At first, she thought something happened in the house. May be some maid was caught doing something she was not supposed to do. Or some fire broke out. She put on her robe hurriedly and opened to door to find a very scared Yu Bufan. He told her how his master''s nightmares are really bad tonight for some reason and he had not seen him like that before.

    "Why did he not tell me?" Mei Qingyang looked at the assistant with accusing eyes. It was one thing that Yu Tian did not tell her, but at least Yu Bufan could have informed her.

    "It¡­ It was master''s wish," he replied with a wrong expression. If he had sold is master out, he would have never heard the end of it. He knew she was the only medicine for him. But to trouble her every day was not something that any of them wanted.

    Mei Qingyang shook the uncomfortable Yu Tin, who was also convulsing in between, multiple times but he would not wake up.

    "Why is he not waking up?"

    "Unfortunately, this is how it is. He will not wake up easily."

    "Anything from his doctor?"

    "He was having a severe headache, and he took a painkiller for it. Then sleep Just washed over him. And he forgot to take his sleeping pills," Yu Bufan dropped his head as he was speaking. It was all his fault. Pain killer also provided much required sleep to Yu Tian. But he had no idea this would happen tonight.

    How was she to solve this? She was not a professional psychiatric, although she had read tons of books on psychology as a part of her training.

    She nodded to the assistant, "Understood. You may leave now,"

    Yu Bufan was as worried as this miss here on his master''s bed. He did not want to leave to be honest, especially looking at his master in such a vulnerable condition. But the girl''s command was cold and absolute. He knew he did not have a choice. The way she told him to leave was in similar tone to his master when he was angry. He was screwed.

    He reluctantly went out of the room and stopped in front of the dining table. He slammed his hand on the table and then clasped them together to helplessly sit down, supporting his head with his fists. He should have taken better care, he was the only one to blame. He should have brought this issue to her sooner.

    Today was actually a special day. Not only it was Yu Tian''s mother''s death anniversary, it was that unfortunate day when Yu Rong had got the funny idea and decided to visit the kid''s room. This day was usually traumatic for his master but not to this extent. He knew it, it was all because of the New Year''s incident. It was especially traumatic to him and this was the result of that

    "Leave me alone, I don''t like it," in the bedroom, Yu Tian was shrieking, pulling the bedsheet underneath him apart. If he were conscious, he would have torn it apart already.

    "Tian, won''t you wake up please?" Mei Qingyang stroked his head with love. How she wished she could take all his suffering onto herself. But there was no way. The street lights outside were pouring in their shine inside. The lights of the room were turned off.

    "Get out of here, I don''t want you!" he slapped away her hand with force.

    "Tian, please, wake up," she did not give up. Grabbing his hand again, she tried to comfort him.

    "Go away!" he yelled again. Tears welled up in her eyes. What should she do now? So, she did what she could do the best, she climbed into the bed and hugged him. This was counterintuitive, he flinched. His body trembled.

    "No, no," he cried.

    "It''s okay Tian, it''s okay. I am here, no one will harm you," she consoled him.

    "I hate this, I hate this," he moved his arms desperately, "no, not the belt, not the belt, noooo."

    "Tian, Tian, there is no one, no one, okay? I am here, listen to me," Mei Qingyang was also getting desperate to save the guy. She had no idea what he was going through right now. His body was trembling very badly, and he was rejecting her again and again. Last time it worked, why was it not working this time? And she finally knew his condition better, she should have looked into this matter harder. She had thought just her being with him was working enough. She took this too lightly!

    She did not even have any medicine handy. Should she ask Fan Ruyi to get some anesthetic injection? But then she would come to know about his condition. She could not have that, she understood Yu Tian cared about his image. Otherwise, he would have got a solution to his problem long time back.

    She had no choice now, she tried to hug him again, cajoling him slowly and steadily. She stroked his head again and again and tapped his hand slowly on a comforting manner. She crushed the sleeping pill by his side into powder form and mixed it with water. Drinking it in herself, she fed it to him through a kiss.

    "Please work," she mumbled. But Yu Tian was throwing that out as well, rubbing his lips in disgust whenever she touched them.

    Looking at his and her own pathetic state, she could not help but shed her tears. In her last desperate attempt, she touched her forehead with his.

    "Tian, please, I am here. I won''t let anyone harm you, so please open your eyes," she whispered softly.

    "I said no, why can''t you understand?" he growled in his low voice.

    "Are you awake?" she asked him smiling, through her tears. Her pearl like tears struck something inside Yu Tian''s heart. What was this? Who was she? Wasn''t he being beaten by her aunt just now?

    Realizing he was in his own room, he stared at the girl beneath him incredulously. Who brought her here? Did Yu Bufan not know how violent he usually became when he was in such state. Of all days, he had to bring her today?

    "Are you okay now?" she wiped his sweat with a clean cloth she had brought with her.

    He still was staring at her.

    "Why are you crying?" he questioned. He had finally, slowly come to his senses. But the pears from her eyes, illuminated by faint glow from outside, her big green marble eyes, reflecting that light, they were so blinding that he could not help but keep staring.

    "What¡­ do you mean? This must be sweat from all the tussle we had just now," Mei Qingyang made up an excuse. The thing she hated the most was crying in front of him and showing her own vulnerable side.

    She had trained so hard to steel her mental attitude, even so, she would give in so many times. Her mom would have scolded her so much, "You are such a big girl now, why do you cry like this?"

    In that helpless state, what else could she do? Did she have any choice? She laughed at her own silly excuse.

    He released her from his trap and laid down beside her, feeling exhausted.

    "I am sorry."

 Chapter 205 - Yu Tians Psychiatrist

    Yu Tian sighed. He did not know how to face this girl. He had hurt her again and again, knowingly or unknowingly. But this is what they were best at right? Communication.

    "I am sorry you have to shed tears for me like this. I am such a hopeless person. I should be the one doing all the great things for you, but here you are protecting me time and again," he covered his eyes with his arms dejectedly.

    Mei Qingyang turned sideways to face him and removed his hand from his face. Then she turned his face towards herself. Their eyes were shimmering due to the light from outside. None of them spoke for a few minutes, just gazed in each other''s eyes.

    "It does not matter. You have other things to handle in life, you are already doing great. I will take care of protecting you," she smiled again, cheerfully claiming her own duties. This made Yu Tian chuckle. The person in pain a few minutes ago was completely gone.

    "Tian," Mei Qingyang called him again.

    "Hmm?" he was still looking at her.

    "I want to meet your doctor," she requested, taking him by surprise.

    --------------

    Yu Bufan had instantly arranged for the meeting. The psychiatrist had wanted to meet this girl for far too long too.

    "Ms. Mei, it is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e," he extended his hand for a handshake earning a glare from his client. Mei Qingyang cordially obliged. He took them both to his office while Yu Bufan stayed outside. It was the first time he was not accompanying his master to the cabin of Dr. Chen.

    "My surname is Chen," he said.

    "Are you by any chance, related to the Chen family?" she joked, unknowingly, it was the truth. Dr. Chen nodded.

    "What!"

    "I am the second uncle of Chen Jie, younger brother of Lady Chen," he explained bashfully. He had heard of this girl from his sister and niece too. They sang praises about her. His inquisitiveness about the girl had increased from there.

    "It''s a small world, I see," Mei Qingyang glanced meaningfully. Interestingly, she had encountered Chen family so many times but they did not seem to be contributing significantly to her life. There was a disconnect somewhere. They should be more substantial than this.

    "Anyway, I heard you were looking for me. Did something happen?" Dr. Chen asked curiously. To think the girl would approach him first.

    "Uhh¡­ I know it would breach your client confidentiality, but I want to know the contents of your session. At times, I do not know how to help him out, so I was hoping to get professional advice," Mei Qingyang scratched her head. She wanted to consult him alone but Yu Tian had tagged alone anyway.

    "It does not break anything if I have permission from my client. Plus, since you have been aiding him so much for past few months, I would rather make it a collaborative effort. What do you say?" Dr. Chem smiled towards the girl. It would be very interesting to involve this girl in his treatment. He could make a paper out of this. He personally had not tried this method before. If it worked for them, he could try it with other patients as well.

    "I would love to contribute," Mei Qingyang chirped up, her eyes sparkled with excitement.

    "Deal then," they shook hands once again, delightfully.

    ---------

    "Why did you not tell me such an important detail?" She was talking about Chen Jie''s uncle being Yu Tian''s doctor. She should have known, it was how Chen family was in the spotlight.

    "It never came up," he shrugged his shoulders.

    "Okay, I am not blaming you, just that, it took me by surprise, really," she told him the truth.

    "He is a trustworthy man otherwise. He would not find fault with such a minor detail," Yu Tian consoled her. Should he have told her about him? He was not very clear with her relationship with Chen family to begin with. Apart from the meeting at Moonlight bar, she had never interacted with them to begin with. He paid no heed to it.

    "I understand, he seemed very learned too. He does not have green eyes though?"

    "He did not inherit them. I am surprised you know about¡­ oh wait, yours are green too. Is it that rare?"

    "I guess so. I don''t know. But not many people have them for sure, especially this color," she pointed to her own eyes. That''s when Yu Tian realized it was a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e topic for her indeed.

    "Anyway, are you happy that you will be part of my treatment?" he tried to change the topic.

    "Of course, when will I ever get to take part in a study like this? This is going to be very fun," she jumped up again. So, she was more excited to be part of an experiment rather than him. Yu Tian seemed disappointed when Mei Qingyang stuck her tongue out cheekily. Oh, so she was joking eh?

    "What did you talk about at then end though? You even asked me to get out?"

    "Hehe, that is our client confidentiality agreement, so I cannot tell.?? It seemed like this girl was in mood for jokes.

    "Fine,'' Yu Tian rolled his eyes.

    "Okay okay, I am sorry. We discussed about your dreams and how they have been affecting you. I thought you would have told him everything and he should have a log of it, even if you don''t remember. Does it¡­ does it hurt when you relive all those moments?" she asked him seriously. This is something she had been wanting to ask him for very long. She had encountered him with his wailing twice. And both of the times, she had felt helpless for she was not sure what to do. This time she even tried feeding him pills.

    Dr. Chen was correct. Her methods were bad for him. He would regress further psychologically, even if she didn''t mean it like that. The better method was to treat him when fully conscious. Otherwise, it would become a hinderance in their own relationship. She had considered that possibility before but in the moment of desperation, she did not have any choice.

    "It is much worse that that," he admitted. "I see all these fantasy things in my dreams. Like I am always running away, and I am always n.a.k.e.d and this black shadow is just steps short to catch me. I know if it catches me, I will be tortured with these vines with thorns surrounding me. And these small ant like creatures which will crawl over my body. I feel disgusted," he described to her in detail what he would usually see. Every time, the methods of torture changed but one thing remained consistent, the shadow, and his feeling of disgust.

    "Hmm¡­ a lacking sense of security I guess, and then all that abuse all those years. I am sorry Tian, I should not have handled it the way I did then," she looked downcast.

    "No, you helped me a lot the first time. When I sensed you being there, it was a huge relief. It was like, even if that shadow caught up to me, nothing would happen. This time¡­ it was a bit more complicated," he responded. They had started walking towards their home and Yu Bufan was following. He had never heard all these details from his master. He only knew bits and pieces, plus he was not allowed to sit in their sessions.

    To say he was not jealous of this girl was definitely untrue. But he had to admit he could not always be there for his master. Plus, any doubts in his mind about this girl''s motive of approaching them were all gone after last night.

    "I am glad. We will rework something out. He is going to change your prescription as well. When he does, assistant Yu, I want you to look into those meds before we start feeding him," she glanced at the assistant from over her shoulder and ordered.

    "Are you suspecting him of something?" Yu Tian was surprised. He had never thought about it and believed him in the first stance after he found him. Yu Bufan had done a thorough research on him.

    "No, but it is always good to cover our base," she said thoughtfully.

    "Understood," Yu Bufan took the order gladly. He knew this girl knew her stuff.

    "I think I should pay a visit to Chen Jie too. This Chen family is too mysterious. I still don''t know their position in the whole game," she mumbled to herself and took a mental note. It felt like anywhere they would go, it would be a win-win for Chen family. Like they were just being bystanders for a reason. She had to get to the bottom of this too, although she had given up on that lead earlier.

 Chapter 206 - Meet Me Alone

    "A secret code came from your dad," the old librarian had to contact Mei Qingyang himself to give her this urgent information he had gotten from his underling.

    "Dad? What does he want now?" Mei Qingyang frowned. Had he not disowned her already? Did he create more trouble now? What could it be? That revengeful couple needed to be dealt with soon too. At least he had not touched Yu Tian for now.

    She had made a haste when she got the message from Yu Bufan earlier in the day who was the one contacted by the Xu Yang. Xu Yang had a reputation of keeping away from all the affairs of the rich. That''s why he was not under anyone''s radar as of now, despite having Wei Qiqi as his girlfriend.

    Xu Yang was a good choice for the messenger. He also made a smart move of not contacting her directly but rather looking for Yu Tian or Yu Bufan. They were teammates for martial arts, so again, not a suspicious behavior.

    "I am not sure either, but here it is," the old man informed her.

    "Let me see," she took the slip from the grandpa''s hands.

    "I have got the necessary books for you to decode it," he handed her the books as well. It was definitely useful to teach the grandpa her secret code. If she had remembered him earlier and how he was always on her side, she could have saved so much time like this.

    "Did you try cracking it?" she asked as she was flipping the pages of the dictionaries in her hands.

    "I did not get time to sit down and look at it. But it looked like fairly simple. And you did not tell me which dictionary was what number, so I got them all," the old man was busy too and lacking complete information to crack the code.

    "Alright, this is a big help too, thank you grandpa," she smiled.

    After half an hour, she was able to finally write down what the code meant.

    "I need you home tomorrow by hook or by crook. I need to show you something. Come alone."

    "All alone? Does he not understand that I would never get permission for that?" she surmised. She could sneak out if she took help from Wang Hao but she did not want to take unnecessary favors from him. She would need to repay him for all of them.

    "Tomorrow is a weekday. If I am absent from class, that would arouse curiosity from people and she has spies all around. I can only do this at night," she sighed. She would need to contact Wang Hao and make arrangements as soon as possible. She still could not think of any reasons why her foster dad would call her like this. If he really wanted to show her something, then he could have just told her, why was he being so mysterious?

    "Qing Qing ah, be careful, okay? I smell a trap in here," the old man was very worried about this girl. She was at the point where everyone was her enemy. She had only her friends remaining as her allies but in reality, they were powerless beings too, especially in front of their mighty parents. If any one of them were to take any action, she would really be doomed.

    "Yeah, I cannot fathom his intentions at this point either. Do you have any idea?" she thought since the old man had known their whole group in their youth, and then he had been in touch with him now, he might be able to throw in some ideas too.

    "I am drawing blanks here. What could he really want from you? And calling you alone as well. Is he going to kidnap you and put you at house arrest?"

    "I don''t think he would need to call me out like this on his own for that. He could actually have directly contacted Yu Rong and made a deal with her for that," she was just a pawn for him. He would not take these kind of steps for her. If she was being real hindrance for him in his plans, he would just get her killed by some means. He had enough spies in this school for that. Which was also a reason why she had to be discreet in all her plans.

    "Then, I have no clue," the old man massaged his temples. Should he contact Yu Tian about this? That guy needed to know for this girl would be contacting Wang Hao, so she would probably not tell him what was going on.

    "I will need to tell this to Tian too. He will get worried if he does not see me in the house at night," she muttered to herself but the old man heard and heaved a sigh of relief. These two were really working great on their relationship eh?

    "Okay, thank you grandpa. If I come out of this unscathed, I will tell you what he wanted," she laughed bitterly saying this. She had no idea what to expect anymore.

    "Take care," the grandpa bid her farewell and prayed for her in his heart.

    ----------

    "No! You cannot be going alone. He is a dangerous man," as soon as Yu Tian heard that she was to go there alone, he instantly rejected the idea. They were having a close door discussion in his study for they did not want any of the servants to hear it. Yu Bufan was keeping a guard outside, so that no pesky pest could come around and hear them.

    "But he won''t show me whatever he wants to if I don''t show up alone!" she protested. Her dad did not take any meaningless steps. And if he went as far as to tell her that he wanted to show her something, then it must be important. She had that much faith in that man at least. She had spent last five to six years with him.

    "If he has a problem with me, just take Bufan with you. You will need someone to drive you anyway. He can wait in the car. I would just flare his temper, so Bufan should be fine right?" Yu Tian insisted on this.

    "But Tian, if I leave in a car, we will need permission and I won''t ever get it, especially if I were to leave the premises alone. I need to go without being discovered," she proposed.

    "Without being discovered is impossible. Are you a ninja going to jump over the walls now?" Yu Tian made fun of her. Mei Qingyang glared at him.

    "I have my own sources, okay?" she stuck her tongue out in anger.

    "Pfft," Yu Tian could not help but laugh. It was good to see her childish side sometime. "I cannot allow you to go alone though. Take Bufan or don''t go," he gave her an ultimatum.

    "Fine, I will see what I can do," Mei Qingyang was not happy with this coercion but her heart still warmed seeing how much he cared.

    --------------

    "That can be arranged. Yu Rong is having another conference tonight with her advisors. The monitoring would be lax," Wang Hao got the message from the girl through Wei Qiqi this time under the guise of her scholarship discussion.

    "Would two people be okay?"

    "Yeah, but the car will need to be arranged by themselves. I won''t be able to help out once they are out of campus," Wang Hao said.

    Wei Qiqi noted it all and reported back to Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian. After going back and forth for two days, they finally decided to leave at 8 pm. Since it was still February, most of the people would go back home by 7 pm and hide behind the warmth of their heated houses.

    Two inconspicuous shadows left the campus, disguised in all black. Su Lang had arranged for a car one mile away from the campus. Yu Bufan took his miss and returned to her home. From there, Mei Qingyang was blindfolded by her dad''s agents and taken to another place, leaving Yu Bufan all alone outside the house. No one came to entertain him as a guest. He reported this directly to his master but he was unaware of the face that the girl had been taken to another place.

    -----------

    "Are you guys kidnapping me?" she had seen two of her ''brothers'' who had asked her to take a seat in the dining hall. Her senses were alert but she never thought that they would just spread chloroform gas in small amounts in the whole room. By the time she realized something was wrong, she had already lost consciousness.

    When she woke up, she found herself in the car with darkness in front of her eyes. Her hands were tied and from the motion and sound, she knew she was being taken away somewhere.

    "Where is dad?" she kicked around the seat but no answer came. She had not seen Li Hanyu anywhere, so she was not sure what was going on.

    "Miss, could you please not create this much fuss? We are not kidnapping you. We are taking you to the place where Minister Jiang is," she recognized the voice. He was one of the brothers she had trained with during her training.

    She did not find any traces of panic or fear or lie from the guy, so she decided to trust him for the time being. In the meantime, she started thinking of ways to cut the rope tying her hands.

 Chapter 207 - Truth Behind Yu Island

    Unable to find anything, she gave in and waited for the car to reach the destination. She was still vigilant all the time, giving attention to even slight sounds and conversations that happened in the front in whispers.

    From what she gathered, the drive was going to be long. The two people in front were whining about the road ahead being arduous and she really understood the meaning when they came across a long stretch that was not an asphalt road but just rocks. But they still did not reveal the purpose of this activity or their destination.

    Thoughts were running in her mind. Her dad''s everything was in that house if not in his office of Education Ministry. The way they were going definitely did not seem like the way to the headquarters, then where were they taking her? What could it be? Was it that he had found something so superior that it could destroy Yu family? What could it be?

    Suddenly, a light bulb went on in her mind. He had blindfolded her, that meant, he did not want her to know the location. What location was so hidden that even he would not want her to know the way? Was it not Yu Island? Then, did he really find it? Damn that old man, he had really upped his game after the departure of his son, had he not? He even found something that Yu Rong did not manage to!

    "Are we going to Yu Island?" she suddenly asked amidst the two people talking in the front? They were idly chit chatting once they realized that a girl with superior intelligence was sitting behind. But she still figured it out!

    Although the two people had trained with the girl for years together, they all were wary of her. She had begun so late in her life, yet she had caught up with them within months. Was she not totally incapacitated when Minister Jiang had saved her? What magical potion did she eat that she became like that suddenly? Everyone was all praises in front of her but behind her back, they were jealous and scared.

    And now that her sharp brain had already deduced their destination, what were they supposed to answer her. They looked at each other in confusion but chose to ignore her question. There was no use in denying her anyway. From the silence, she understood, she was on right path. And so, she also chose to remain silent for the whole journey.

    After about four hours, the car finally stopped. Mei Qingyang''s b.u.t.t had been hurting sitting in same position for too long, so it was a relief. They removed her blindfold as soon as she was pushed out of the car by the two brothers. They were frustrated that she had already determined the secret, thus they took a small revenge on her for being too smart. Now that she was on the opposite team, they could anything with her, right?

    Understanding their intentions, she snorted. Now that she was in weaker position, they decided to bully her. Otherwise they would not even dare to raise their heads before her. Rather than paying attention to them, she looked around. She was indeed on an island that was connected to the main land through a sturdy bridge. The bridge could bear the weight of a truck even.

    If she was here and her dad was here, that meant Yu Ming was in his hands? Was her dad threatening him for some reason? Why would he specifically call her though? She wanted to hurry inside and check what was going on. She looked at the two guys who were snickering between themselves.

    They took her inside the mansion. It took her some time to adjust to the bright lights inside. There was not much decoration inside the house, minimal furniture for daily use. Everything was a pair though. Yu Ming must have a maid or a servant to help him out.

    Apart from the cameras outside the building, she did not see any security measures. There were no bodyguards, no protective fence, nothing. Was Yu Ming foolish or was he confident about the location that no one would discover?

    The two guys made her climb a few stairs and then stopped in front of a room. They untied her and then signaled her to go in.

    "Oh, you are here?" Jiang Nuo suddenly jumped up from the sofa he was sitting in. The d¨¦cor of the room was almost similar to Yu Rong''s office and the sofa where Jiang Nuo was sitting was being lit by a small light above it. The whole room, otherwise, was dark.

    "Why have you called me here, that too in such a low profile manner," Mei Qingyang spoke in an annoyed tone.

    "Don''t be so impatient my child, we will slowly unravel the mystery. I have so much time on my hands that it''s not even funny," he spoke in a cheerful manner. Mei Qingyang realized his dad had finally lost it. Was getting into Yu Ming''s house such a big deal?

    "Is mom here?"

    "I wish she was for she does not know this either. But I am pretty sure she would be very happy to know what I have accomplished all these years. She is the best partner one could ever ask for," Jiang Nuo chuckled while his eyes showed a deadly bloodthirst.

    "What do you want me to see?" she decided to take it relaxingly and sat down in front of minister Jiang, crossing her legs as if in the position of power. If she provoked him, he might harm the denizens of the place. She had yet to come across any of the two people. Had he tied them up and beaten them till they were at their last breaths. Nah! He wouldn''t do that. He needed the people of Yu family to suffer, he would not grant them death so easily.

    "I would love to play the guessing game a bit. I heard you already realized you were coming here?"

    Mei Qingyang smiled. This guy had always been interested in her thought process. He would always ask her how she deduced something. It was true that she was dumb as Li Sibao. But since she had awoken back, her intelligence had increased. It was perhaps the result of her hitting her head when she jumped off that building and luckily activating some part of her brain. Though it was just a speculation, she never got it checked.

    She smirked on hearing his question. He wanted to play games? Sad for him, she was in no mood. She just looked at him directly, not giving him any face.

    "Oh? Just because I disowned you, you think you can just do whatever you want and be disrespectful to me?" he got from his chair and stepped forwards, maintaining the eye contact with the girl. He was really furious how defying the girl was being.

    He grabbed her jaw and squeezed the heck out of her face. Mei Qingyang did not react to it and kept staring at him coldly. The person in front of her was no stranger yet, what she had seen him doing to others was now happening to herself. Now it was very clear that she had always been just a pawn to him, and perhaps her mom too. She also knew everything since the beginning.

    "You are not worthy of my respect Minister Jiang," she said through muffles.

    It infuriated him so much that he raised his hand and slapped her tightly.

    "How dare you talk to me like that? I spent so much money and time on you, yet you are behaving like this?" he roared.

    "And? Had I asked you to do that? Or did you think that now I am in your debt, I would do anything and everything you ask me to? Should have bought a robot rather than trying to turn me into one," she spat the blood that had formed a pool inside her mouth because of the slap.

    "Bahahaha, that''s the girl I raised. You wouldn''t give in eh? Do you really think you have a chance against me? My final aim is doom of whole Yu family. Your little boyfriend counts in that. I won''t spare anyone," he laughed maniacally.

    "We will see," she retaliated back, not afraid of another beating. He had never raised his hand on her, ever. But to see that he had fallen so low, he was definitely not her dad. It was good in a way, so that if she had to fight with him as well in the end, she would not be emotional.

    "Fine, fine. My little girl, I have achieved that no one else has. Let me present to you," he suddenly calmed down and then appeared with a person in a wheelchair from behind. The person did not seem conscious although his eyes were open. There were no signs of abuse to him. He looked a similar age as her dad, had aged gracefully. On a closer look, he looked an older version of Yu Tian.

    "Yu¡­ Yu Ming?" she gasped.

 Chapter 208 - Yu Ming

    Even after calling his name, the body on the wheelchair did not move. Or it looked like it could not move. The lifeless jet black deep eyes though, they looked at Mei Qingyang when his name was called out.

    "Why¡­ why is he like this?" Mei Qingyang was beyond shocked. He was supposed to be the mighty leader of Yu empire but he looked like a sick uncle in need of medical attention.

    "Hahaha, I like the look on your face. Imagine when I show this guy to Yu Rong and Yu Tian, how would they react. Ahh! I am getting excited just thinking about it," Jiang Nuo danced a bit saying this. He was truly experiencing ecstasy at this moment.

    Mei Qingyang did not move from her seat. She could tell from Yu Ming''s eyes that he was in pain. She needed to do something and snatch him from her dad. But how?!

    "Don''t get any ideas. I have very tight security around. None of your tricks will work. And if you get caught, he is not in a position to flee to begin with. So, just give up, okay?" an evil smile spread across Jiang Nuo''s face.

    "But how did he end up like this? And why are you showing him to me, are you not afraid I will tell the world and police would¡­" Mei Qingyang needed as much information as possible right now if she were to help this man.

    "Oh that? Well, let me tell you a story then. We have plenty of time anyway," Jiang Nuo stifled his laughter and sat down. He was relishing his victory and Mei Qingyang''s miserable expression.

    *Now you will know little girl what happens when you choose the wrong side.*

    "This started exactly one year after Bo''s death. I was desperate to find any evidence for the culprit. And I was going to train you by the side," Jiang Nuo started reminiscing about the events all those years ago.

    "You had just started recovering, and were quite good at grasping the concepts, so I started with what you could do with that weak body of yours, coding, reading, politics, history, I put you through all that till your body was fit enough for physical training. It took another one year for that¡­"

    "Enough of telling me about myself. I already know you never thought of me as your child but just a sacrifice," Mei Qingyang slammed her fist on the table in front of her. Why was he blabbering so much? Could he just not get to the point?

    "No, I am trying to tell you your contribution toward my discovery of Yu Ming," Jiang Nuo wanted to take his time but this girl was much too impatient.

    "My¡­ my contribution?" Mei Qingyang could not believe her ears. She never came across the term ''Yu Island'' even during her training, how could she be responsible for this?

    "You accessed a few maps recently from my computer, did you not?" Jiang Nuo smirked proudly.

    "You even know about that?"

    "See? This is what you get for training a soldier. I trained you so I know how you think. I put them there on purpose because I knew you would get there. There is no way to track your hacking movement, I give you that. But I don''t need to do anything like that precisely because I know your next steps."

    "You¡­," she felt so humiliated and indignant at this moment. She had tried to be one step ahead of this guy always but it turned out she underestimated him. To have changed so much after his son''s death, how much resentment did he have in himself?

    "Yes¡­ Makes you speechless no? I was also speechless when I discovered that you had got that guy as your personal agent. I had tried to recruit him so many times, that Shadow. But he always refused. But he decided to do all the grunt work for you? I still can''t catch him but now I know what cards you have."

    "You know about Shadow too?" Mei Qingyang trembled. They were straying astray from the story but at least now she knew that her secrets were no secrets anymore. This guy knew about everything. She clenched her hands. Where did she go wrong?

    "Hahahaha, this is good, this is very good. Yes, so when we first started your training in geography and simulation softwares, I made you do certain exercises which might have been trivial for you, but your brain looked at them differently. I don''t think you would even remember them. But those exercises were part of the project to locate Yu Island. And as expected, you delivered! We discovered it by the end of your training."

    Mei Qingyang could not contain her rage anymore. She knew her brain worked a bit differently, perhaps because of the injuries but he took so much advantage of that, without her knowledge. True, she did not remember any of those puny exercises now, but to think that all led to this.

    "Yes, yes. I am a genius in using people, no? And so, within one year, you had found the island for me. But I did not approach Yu Ming directly. Even if revenge was boiling in my heart, I did not want to do anything that would dilute my efforts towards my final plan. Once I located the place, I slowly started working with the people who supplied materials to this place."

    Mei Qingyang was listening to this devil''s scheme and thinking how much patience this guy had. He must have truly lost his soul when her foster brother had died. She could not help but look pitifully at this guy. The change in her gaze rattled Jiang Nuo a bit but he continued.

    "I disrupted that supply chain and introduced a special compound developed by the army into his special sugar since he was suffering from diabetes."

    "How was he procuring his supplies if the island is so hidden and no one is allowed here?" Mei Qingyang was a curious being and she needed to understand the full picture.

    "Good question! He had made Hacker Z to make an automatic drone system for him. The suppliers had to send out a particular amount of stuff on every 5th of the month. That was set in their contract and Yu Ming bought those supplies at ten times higher rate, so the suppliers were always happy to fulfill the order."

    "Talk about money wastage," Mei Qingyang scoffed and earned a glare from the lifeless body sitting over there. If he was responding to the conversation, then he was conscious for sure!

    "I know, these rich people. Before money, nothing else matters to them. Anyway, he would get those supplies through special drones. People did try to follow them multiple times to learnt he identity of the owner but Z was too smart. He had already put the system in there to make the followers lost. Anyway, I had already discovered the location, so I did not need to look much into that," Jiang Nuo was becoming happier and happier as he was revealing the secrets.

    "Anyway, the compound was a slow acting poison and in next three four years, it reduced him to this state. His only doctor, and he had hired the best one even, could not identify it no matter where he got his samples tested. I was following all this and it was so much fun to see everyone fumble around," the mad man laughed once again.

    "And so? What''s the next step now that you have snubbed your greatest enemy?" Mei Qingyang smiled bitterly too. This was not the end and Yu Ming was not his main enemy. What was he going to do next?

    "My next target is Yu Rong and she is coming down soon too. And you would once again help me out in that."

    "Don''t put me in the same basket as you. I will certainly take her down but my reasons are different. And she indeed is a criminal, this guy, I am not very sure," Mei Qingyang pointed to YU Ming with a blank face and saw some sympathy in the uncle''s eyes.

    "Pfft, dream on!" Jiang Nuo got up from his seat once again and strode towards the sitting girl. He really wanted to shred this ungrateful b*tch to pieces right now but he controlled his urge. She was going to be his ally for Yu Rong.

    "You can say whatever you want girl, but in the end, I will win out of this. You just wait and watch," he waved his hand and came back to his seat. There was no use of flaring his temper in front of a little powerless girl.

    "If this is what you wanted me here for, I guess we are done. Let me leave now," she stood up hurriedly. She needed to go back and do something about this. This man was too sly, it was impossible for her to tell about this place and everything to police or Yu Rong or anyone. He could always spin the story to him helping Yu Ming when he discovered how sick he was.

    "Hmm¡­ yeah. My goal of bringing you here is achieved. I just wanted to see you in despair, you need to have power girl. Unfortunately, you learnt the lesson too late. Let''s just call this last one from me? From now on, we will meet as enemies in the battlefield," Jiang Nuo pressed a button and a few guard came in from outside.

    "Oh yeah, I shall do you this last favor too. Spend a few minutes with your future father-in-law, won''t ya? Oh wait, there is no future for Yu family hahaha," he moved out of the room with his people, laughing, leaving the two people alone in the room.

 Chapter 209 - I Cant Be With You

    Yu Ming raised his eyes to look at the girl in the dim light. Did he hear future ''father-in-law''? Then, was this girl his son''s girlfriend? Fianc¨¦e? His eyes softened and then suddenly became moist. It was so unfortunate that he could not even greet the girl properly. From the information he had, would this girl not be his first proper girlfriend then? How he wished he could meet the girl his son liked under better conditions.

    "Uhh¡­ sir, can you speak by any chance?" Mei Qingyang asked him suddenly. She was not really sure what all bodily functions were still working for him. He definitely could not use his limbs, but could he use his mouth for anything at all? If not, then how was he eating?

    Yu Ming shook his head sideways. So, he lost his voice as well? How could she communicate with him? He could not use his hands either. All the roads seemed to be blocked. Her dad must be laughing outside. She looked at the spot she had found a camera earlier, her face full of bitterness. Her dad definitely knew how to make one feel especially useless like this.

    "Uncle Yu, I cannot promise if I will be able to save you. But rest assured that I won''t let any harm befall Tian. I wish I could talk to you for a while but now I see how futile it is," she closed her eyes in despair and left the room.

    Yu Ming heard her words and silently wept. He had done very wrong to that child. If someone could stand beside him like this, then he was assured. He suddenly remembered his dead wife whom he loved dearly and shed a few more tears. He also closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

    "Aiyya, leaving so soon? I thought you would have much to tell Mr. Yu. It''s okay though, you would not get any answer from him anyway," Jiang Nuo intercepted the girl who had just come out of the room. She glared at the man with fury very apparent on her face.

    "Where is the maid? At least let her go," she inquired angrily. From the d¨¦cor to the feel of this mansion, she believed it was done by a female. He could not have had hired a butler, there was definitely a maid here.

    "She knows too much, I can''t let her go. It''s okay though, I won''t kill her before Yu Ming perishes. After that man is done, then I will see what to do with that female. Till then, she is my captive," he replied arrogantly. Right now, all the good cards were in his hands. He had prepared for them for years after all. What could a mere girl do to counter him? She did not even know about his plans.

    "Suit yourself," she clenched her jaw and left.

    "I already know the location of this place, you guys don''t need to blindfold me," she looked at her two brothers disdainfully and sat in the car at the back. The two guys were puzzled. Was Minister Jiang letting her go just like that? They had thought she was not coming back alive.

    "Let her go. I will see you very soon my child," Jiang Nuo had mockery in his eyes. He made a complete out of her. What would she tell Yu Tian? How would she face him now?

    In the car, the three people were completely silent. Mei Qingyang could not think at all. What was she supposed to do? Where was she to go from here? She felt utterly defeated at this moment. She had overestimated her abilities.

    When they reached Minister Jiang''s house, she saw two people standing there beside Yu Tian''s car. She did not even need to tell who the taller one was. From faraway she could recognize the silhouette belonged to the one she wanted to see the most right now.

    Instinctively, she ran and directly went into the guy''s embrace. She did not need to think, all she needed to do was calm down. But her thoughts were so turbulent, that only one person could help her out.

    "Tian, what should I do?" she sniffled.

    "Are¡­ are you alright? Did he do something to you? Let me see¡­" he separated her from himself and checked her for wounds. When he saw rim of her eyes red with grief, his heart almost jumped out of his c.h.e.s.t. Her expression did not look too good.

    "What happened Qing Qing? Talk to me!" he looked into her eyes.

    "Qing Qing," another guy called from behind the couple. She had already spotted him from the corner of her eyes and probably that''s why she was holding her tears back.

    "Li Hanyu, what did your master do to my Qing Qing?" Yu Tian thundered before Mei Qingyang could reply. He had released his cold aura already, and he looked like he was ready to rip apart someone.

    Li Hanyu was taken aback. He was talking to his Qing Qing. Why was this sissy boy butting in between?

    "It does not concern you, you should step out for a bit," Li Hanyu replied caustically.

    "I do not have anything to talk with you," she replied to Li Hanyu. She was furious. In the whole cohort, he was the one she trusted the most, yet he did not tell her anything about Jiang Nuo''s discovery of Yu Island and Yu Ming all these years. If she had known beforehand, so much headache could have been saved. But no! She did not even want to see his face.

    "Qing Qing, listen to me. I did not know it would come down to this. I admit I should have told you earlier. I am sorry," he apologized but he knew his crime was not forgivable.

    "What''s done is done Li Hanyu, I do not care about this house or its people anymore. Please do not contact me from now on. Even if you try to help me, I can''t acknowledge it anymore," she tugged Yu Tian''s hand and he opened the car door for her, helping her sit down. Then he glared fiercely at Li Hanyu who stayed quiet on the side after Mei Qingyang declared her intention.

    In the car, everything was silent once again, except Mei Qingyang''s sobs. She was nestled in Yu Tian''s arms, who was patiently stroking her head. He was waiting for her to tell what exactly happened. He was so worried about her well being.

    "Tian, I cannot be with you like this. There is too much blood between us. I know we have talked about this before but¡­," she choked on her own words again, he tears flowing. Yu Bufan had rarely seen his miss so weak, so he knew something very devastating must have happened.

    "You cannot take that decision alone Qing Qing. At least tell me what happened," Yu Tian pleaded. If she had brought up the topic again, that meant she encountered something too horrible. Did she say blood? Was it related to his family then?

    "I¡­," she bit her lip, hesitating and still debating whether to tell him or not. But when had she hidden things like this from him?

    "I met your dad¡­," she revealed.

    Yu Bufan was so shocked that he almost derailed from the road but controlled the car in time. He slammed the breaks and let the car come to stop.

    "You¡­ what?" Yu Tian was stunned as well. It was hard to wrap his head around this, it was too shocking. Wasn''t she called by Jiang Nuo, how did his dad come into the picture suddenly?

    "My lady, this is???where is he? How is he? If Jiang Nuo is involved, I don''t think he is in good condition then?" Yu Bufan put Yu Tian''s concerns in words. Was he even alive?

    "My dad¡­ Jiang Nuo discovered his abode a few years ago, that too because of me. And he introduced some medicine in his diet by some means and now uncle Yu is totally disabled. He cannot move his limbs, nor can he speak. He understands everything though," she summarized everything for the two guys between her sobs.

    She separated herself from Yu Tian and looked directly into his eyes.

    "Tian, it seems like the root cause of all your miseries is me. Because of me you had to come back, because of me you had to endure all those years of abuse, because of me your dad is in danger, so then, how could I be with you?" she said, bursting into tears once again.

    Yu Tian did not know about Li Sibao''s suicide yet, so he could not make out what she was trying to say.

    But more than her being the cause, her saying that she could not be with him anymore was more painful. This was the second time she had brought up breaking up and his heart was broken into a million pieces. And he could not afford it, he could not afford losing her at all. His expression was that of hurt and betrayal. He did not care about the past but how could this girl say this so easily, as if it was child play.

    "What do you mean because of you I had to come back?"

 Chapter 210 - They Dont Matter

    "I¡­," Mei Qingyang did not even feel like continuing. But she had to tell the truth to Yu Tian. Otherwise, her decision to make him leave her would not make sense to him. It was complicated, but both the guys were eager. Even Yu Bufan was staring at her from the driver''s seat.

    She ended up telling them the whole story of how her memories has returned and what all she knew now. The two guys had no idea Li Sibao had gone through so much. They also did not know about this maid called Fangyan. Also, the fact that Feng Yue was hiding Fangyan till now was also very amusing.

    But more than anything, the guys were in awe of Yu Rong''s prowess in how she made such a gruesome event disappear within days.

    "And so? That day when you asked me if I would leave you if all my miseries were because of you, did you ask me because of this?" Yu Tian did not know whether to laugh or cry.

    Mei Qingyang nodded.

    "And you think I would blame you for difficulties in my life?" he tilted his head looking at Mei Qingyang as if she had been joking this whole time.

    Mei Qingyang shook her head. "It is not about you blaming me. I am indeed the culprit. Every time I think about that night, I can''t help but feel guilty Tian. You have been suffering every day. If I had not done what I did back then, you would still be enjoying your life in US," Mei Qingyang was still weeping, her voice choking from time to time.

    Yu Tian''s heart ached for this girl. She must have been so overwhelmed since then and she did not share her burden with him. A look of disappointment also flashed on his face. But she had been so patient with him, she had been helping him out since they had met on that fateful day. Of course she would not know that.

    And those little moments were not because of her guilt, she did not even know about his condition or her past. Then those were real feelings. How could she deny them just because of her past? She would not know Yu Rong would call them back just because of her action.

    Yu Rong was anyway looking for opportunities to bring him back anyway. She had been trying for a long long time. But he never heeded her instructions. He had to go back because Feng Yue''s family had also urged him to come back. If that were the case, there was something really serious happening here. Su Lang had also called them back.

    Unfortunately, Su Lang was also on an assignment at that time but their families did do a great job in suppressing the news, so much that they never came to know all that had happened to Li SIbao. That did not make sense at all, until and unless, the two other families lent a hand to Yu Rong too.

    "I cannot spend my whole day thinking about the endless possibilities if not for my su¡­ suicide attempt then. And¡­ umph," Mei Qingyang had lowered her head, and she was pouring her heart out when she felt her lips being smothered by his, a familiar scent enveloping her whole body, relaxing her mind instantly.

    They were still in the car, which was parked on the shoulder of the road. It was a relatively busy highway but Yu Tian was not bothered about it at all. At first he just wanted to shut her up but his feelings took over and he pulled her body on his l.a.p.

    The tongues intertwined and Mei Qingyang shivered from the heat. He had never been this passionate. She was trying to make him go away, what was this opposite reaction? Her thoughts became muddled and she melted in his embrace.

    She pounded his c.h.e.s.t a few times, but he did not let her go. In the moment, she ended up letting go and he pushed her on the seat of the car. Yu Bufan at the front was flushed red because of the sensual display behind. He could not find the right timing to leave the car and had to hear the noises in the back.

    When Yu Tian left her lips, her whole face had turned crimson red. But Yu Tian did not leave there, he kissed her head, and then licked her tears, working his way downwards slowly, till he kissed her collarbone. A sweet m.o.a.n left Mei Qingyang''s lips. She was surprised at her own embarrassing display. Realizing they were still in the car, he stopped.

    "I am telling you one last time, to me, neither my aunt nor my dad matter. Yu Rong has always been like that and Yu Ming has been absent my whole life. They are not part of my life anymore. What is precious to me is you, who has been by my side even in worst of the situations one could imagine. So please, I beg you, if that is the only reason you want to break up, don''t even think about it," Yu Tian''s domineering aura was slowly seeping out, overpowering Mei Qingyang for the first time since they had met.

    "They are definitely my family but valuing the people who really matter in my life is something I have learnt from you."

    He was still waiting for her answer but her mind had drifted to some other direction. She did not want to stop right now. If¡­ if there was a chance to go all the way¡­ she wanted to have him.

    She grabbed his collar and pulled him towards herself, entangling him in a kiss once again. Yu Tian caved in happily and they had another intense kiss, putting them both out of breath.

    "Qing Qing, if you keep seducing me like this, my body will stop rejecting you soon," he was feeling the reaction already. His body was finally starting to react to her. To think that the day she brings up separating is the one when his body would tell him to be one with her. What was this irony?

    "I¡­ I am still not convinced. I feel like every time I see you, I would remember your face that night again and again. How would I be able to live in peace then?" Although her mind was saying all this, her heart was longing for him. He was half laying on the top of her in the car seat, looking into her eyes. She felt like he was making her reveal all the inner d.e.s.i.r.es she had. But there was still some rationality left in her mind so she voiced her concern still.

    "Aren''t you being selfish right now? How about this, let''s just say that is your punishment for making my life hell all these years?" Yu Tian used her own tactic on herself. If she felt so guilty, she needed to pay for it. What better punishment than seeing his face every day?

    "You," she laughed lightly. If that was what he thought, she would gladly accept the punishment.

    "Thank God," he suddenly plopped down, covering her body with his, relaxing when he saw her chuckling. "Please don''t bring this up ever again. It makes my heart die a slow death. I have told this before to you, but I really cannot live without you anymore Qing Qing. You have become such a drug to me. I don''t know how to coax a girl, I do not have any experience like that. I feel lost when I see your tears. I don''t really know when I became so dependent on you but¡­," he stopped his rant and just enjoyed the moment.

    Mei Qingyang wrapped her arms around him. He was her best support pillar too. Perhaps she was too stupid to do this on her own. Or she had no choice but to go along with the flow, for now. She had promised herself that she would help him overcome his problem. This was what always made her hold back her decision. Then, she would let him get cured first. She will see afterwards, what to do.

    "Sorry, I won''t bring it up this casually," she agreed.

    "Talk to me if you remember anything else okay? Don''t make the decision, seriously, don''t give me heart attacks like these. I won''t be able to survive next one," he heaved a sigh of relief. He understood her concerns, he really did. But he had never felt bad about her being the one calling him back. Otherwise, he would have never got a chance to meet her.

    He would still be living in constant fear of his aunt, even if he was abroad. And she would have called him back through one reason or another anyway. It was pure coincidence that Li Sibao happened to be the reason.

    "Bufan, let''s go back," he finally got up, his heart lighter than ever. There was a huge burden in it ever since she had asked him that question. Now he knew the reason behind it and had resolved it in time. If the thorn wasn''t pulled out in time, it would have festered the wound later.

    Bufan started the car on the instruction and drove them home. The two people in the back never let go their hands intertwined with each other. Yu Tian felt closer to her than ever before. He smiled looking at the girl who was still in deep thought. A lot of his psychological barriers had broken today.

    But their bodies were not calming down by any means. Mei Qingyang could not even look at him right now, slight extra touch would send electric shocks through her body. What was she to do now that pandora''s box had been opened?

 Chapter 211 - Love You A Thousand Times

    "I think¡­ I will sleep in my room in the bas.e.m.e.nt," Mei Qingyang''s eyes darted everywhere, she was not able to look straight into Yu Tian''s eyes, her face was flushed. The kisses were all that were occupying her mind right now. But the board meeting was in two days, she did not want to be distracted by anything at the moment.

    Yu Bufan had just dropped them in front of the hostel building and it was about 3 am. The assistant had gone to park the car in the garage. The two people could not decide what to do next. Their racing hearts, these emotions were exhilarating yet very awkward.

    Yu Tian was really enjoying this side of the usually cold her. It was really amusing to him how his kitten was trying to hide. Their conversation earlier had finally made him realize her role in his life. Not that he did not know of it, admitting it loud helped him put his mind at ease. She was the only one for him.

    "Isn''t it so cold down there?" the corner of his lips curled up in a smile slightly. Today he was going to see through it.

    "I need some space to think clearly and prepare for the meeting," she still had her face away from him.

    Yu Tian laughed. He put his arm around her shoulder and led her by force. Mei Qingyang glanced at his face, he looked in a good mood and¡­ determined. She was going to be the lamb tonight, there did not seem to be any other way round to it. Her heart raced some more.

    She had suddenly become too aware of his features. His arms were strong and muscular, his jaw line was so sharp, his c.h.e.s.t was bulging under his shirt, she really had scored the most handsome guy she had met in her life. She could feel his heart pound as fast as hers.

    "Can you stop staring at me, it is making me conscious," he spoke when they were in the elevator. Ack, she was gawking at him openly.

    "Sorry," she dropped her head down, his hand gave a tight squeeze to her shoulder. Mei Qingyang was still wary about his condition though. She had her hopes, for sure, but she had already prepared herself for a rejection from his body.

    Soon they were standing at the door of the house. Yu Tian stopped there for a few moments, not punching in the numbers for the door.

    "Qing Qing, before we go through that door and I lose my rationality, I just want to know if you are okay with it," he looked at her very seriously. She blushed hard and nodded her head bashfully. Gosh, what was wrong with her? Was she not the strong and rational girl? Dr. Chen had also said that too much skinship would be counterintuitive to his recovery. Was it okay to give in to these emotions right now?

    But she should trust him. Whatever decision he had made, he knew himself the best.

    He kissed her forehead and opened the door. He grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom directly, not even paying attention to Mrs. Zhao who had felt asleep at the sofa, perhaps waiting for the two of them. They had not even entered the room properly and all hell broke loose. He ravaged her lips, quickly putting her out of breath. Pushing her against the closed door, he slowly worked his way towards her neck.

    "T¡­ Tian, slow¡­," she tried speaking but this p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e was too much. Wherever he touched, it burned hot. Was he worried about his body protesting in the mid? Before she knew it, they had already removed the clothes on their upper bodies. He went back to her soft lips, this time entering her mouth with his tongue.

    From her point of view, Yu Tian looked like an experienced man. But when she thought about how his experience only involved his aunt, a sense of fury raged inside her. She was not the one to be led by nose and her anger took over.

    She put her arms around his neck and reciprocated his kiss strongly. She pulled his handsome face towards her and matched her rhythm with him. But she made sure to keep it in her mind all the time that he was the one being dominated when he was with his aunt. She could not do the same for it could evoke his past memories. She let him evade her mouth, their tongues intertwining, sending waves of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e through her.

    Seeing her return his feelings made him more aggressive. Her arms around his neck sent jolts through his body.

    Once they separated, Mei Qingyang asked him with concern, "Tian, are you feeling alright? Uncomfortable anywhere?"

    Yu Tian felt pathetic. He was the one supposed to be asking that question but this girl was still worried about him. But her adorable face melted his heart. How could anyone resist that expression?

    He was not sure why people had said that he was losing out when he had made his intentions to court this girl clear. Sure, there were prettier girls out there but who had a heart like her, brave and strong yet empathetic? And who was as cute as her?

    He leaned in again for another kiss but ended up nibbling her ear lobes that had turned red.

    "Thank you," he whispered in her ears. In a bout of impulse, she kissed the nape of his neck and then replied, "I love you Tian."

    Hearing her sudden confession, Yu Tian''s body became stiff and he froze at the spot. He could not believe it, this was the first time she had said those words. And there she was talking about breaking up a few hours ago. Was it all a farce? But knowing her, he knew she was just always thinking about his feelings. At that time too, she had never mentioned what she wanted but what he would have felt looking at her all this time while knowing that she was the reason behind his pain.

    He grabbed her h.i.p.s and lifted her to take her to the bed. She yelped at once, knowing that it was finally the time. Those words she had uttered spontaneously, the words she had saved very preciously to not overwhelm him with her own emotions, they did break the wall in his heart. His mind filled with her being, pushing out every other worry he had, from his doubts about his performance in bed to how disappointed she would feel if his body were to decide to act up again.

    He gently laid her down on his bed, covering her petite frame with his own sturdy build. He stared at her for a few moments. Her upper body was full of burn marks but they provided meaning to their union. His body wasn''t better either, he had all the old and new marks from abuse covering his body.

    He c.a.r.e.s.sed her hair while she raised her hand and touched one of the nastiest scars he had from Yu Rong''s whip. It ran across his c.h.e.s.t and burned from time to time. But her slightly warm hand was working like a soothing balm. Her eyes were misty, he was not sure if it was from earlier or if she was sad looking at that huge scar.

    His skin tingled slightly, he took her wrist touching his muscular c.h.e.s.t and s.u.c.k.e.d its inner part, leaving a small hickey there. Whenever he touched her, a slight tremble went through her body, exciting him more. His lower part was throbbing at this time.

    His leg had already invaded the space between hers, it was as if his body had a mind of its own.

    "Are you still good?" he asked her, just wanting to confirm once again. He was not sure why a pure girl like her would ever want to be together with a broken soul like him. And helping him out so much. He still could not believe he was so lucky to have found her. What would his life be without her?

    Which was also the reason that she would doubt a lot of times how she had been able to get this handsome hunk for herself. When those other girls said that she had seduced him through something, she would laugh at them. What did she have? Neither good face nor connections to fare through this world.

    But over the course of time, and through their frequent conversations about anything and everything, they had understood a lot behind each other''s words, especially since they had started living together. In their case, she was the one restraining, waiting patiently for him. And it told a lot about her loyalty. Yu Tian understood that perfectly. Mei Qingyang also understood that despite seeing her ugly body firsthand, he still had not rejected her.

    They did not need to connect at physical level, there was something more between them. And she was happy to have found that someone, even though their families still stood on opposite sides.

    "Tian, you do not need to doubt yourself. If I already promised myself to you, that means I am willing, a hundred, a thousand times. Your past, while is a big chunk of yourself, it does not matter to me," her eyes grew hot after she said so. Tears welled up, she did not know her heart had so much fondness for him. How would have she survived if he really had said yes to them breaking up? Her steeled heart could not have helped her then.

    Yu Tian also could not hold himself back anymore. It seemed like her words had a very profound effect on his psyche, especially today, when they were at the height of their emotions. It felt like some invisible force was destroying one wall after another in his mind, he had never felt this light before.

 Chapter 212 - All The Way

    "Uuuh," Mei Qingyang shivered as Yu Tian prepared to enter her. He had left hickeys all over body. After getting her consent in the emotional speech of hers, he just could not control himself. This girl drove him crazy. She had such a lovely expression right now, that no one could resist it.

    He leaned to suck in her lower lip again, it was as sweet as honey.

    "Does it hurt?" he was as careful as he could be.

    "N¡­ no," Mei Qingyang''s whole body was flushed. She was so embarrassed but had nowhere to hide. They were going all the way tonight, there was no doubt.

    Mrs. Zhao outside was grinding her teeth. She had woken up with start when she heard the bedroom door close with a thud. She jumped up and tried hearing with her ear stuck to the door. Then she heard the smooching voices right behind the door, her suspicions were confirmed. There could be no one here, that wench had finally managed to seduce her master to the end.

    She called someone again to report when Yu Bufan walked in. He snatched her phone from her and smirked.

    "You do not need to know this information, it was already a miracle that they had been together all this while and had not done the deed," he spoke on the phone and then cut the call.

    "We gave you a chance and you still did not choose your sides correctly Mrs. Zhao. It is unfortunate that such an experienced lady like you ended up in someone else''s trap," Yu Bufan threw away her phone on the floor, shattering its screen.

    Mrs. Zhao sat down on the floor, clutching her head. By the way he was so calm, they already knew it, did they not? They were just waiting to ambush her. This¡­ what would be her fate now?

    Yu Bufan grinned in satisfaction when he left for his room. Who dared disturb his master when he was finally taking the most important step in his life? Some people did not have any tact at all.

    "Ack¡­," being her first time, it was bound to hurt. She tried to bear it nonetheless but a small shriek did escape her lips. Yu Tian was already concerned, her painful expression made him gentler.

    He stroked her hair, "I will stop, you just need to say it."

    She shook her head. They were already here, it was a done deal now. "Hurry," she said through tears. More than her not wanting to bear the pain, it was her wanting him inside her. She had waited far too long for him to adjust to her.

    Her call from those soft marshmallow lips, her eyes almost ready to spill tears, plucked a few strings inside his heart. Yu Tian obliged and finally thrusted himself into her. The acute pain that shot through her body suddenly changed into ecstasy. She dug her nails into his shoulders, leaving marks there. She had become breathless and quite fatigued too by now. But they had not really reached the end part yet.

    They intertwined their hands again, Yu Tian l.i.c.k.i.n.g her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Both were completely drenched but this feeling of connecting with each other and finally being one was most amazing to both of them.

    Since they had started late, the sun had already risen by the time they finished the first round. But again, neither Mei Qingyang, nor Yu Tian were satisfied with just that. Both of their bodies were screaming for more. After going for a few more rounds, Qingyang fell asleep, cursing herself for not focusing on the main event the next day.

    Yu Tian stifled his laughter when he heard her and agreed. When she slept, she affectionately cleaned her body and kissed her forehead once again. This new start with her was like erasing everything from a whiteboard and writing a new story again on it.

    In the evening, Mei Qingyang got up and realized she had lost the whole day. She looked beside her, Yu Tian was awake, staring and smiling at her.

    "How do you feel," he was stark n.a.k.e.d under the sheets. Looking at his abs, Mei Qingyang''s mind went into overdrive again and she flushed. She rolled to the other side and realized she was not dressed either. She covered herself to the top with the blanket.

    Yu Tian chuckled behind then pressed his body from behind against her, taking her into a back hug.

    "Not again Tian, we have important meeting tomorrow," she protested.

    "Yes, yes, as you say," he did say that but he was slowly fondling her waist, arousing Mei Qingyang again. Thankfully, her stomach grumbled, otherwise, she would have been the first to give in to her d.e.s.i.r.e.

    Even though Yu Tian had wiped her down, just to get cooled down, she took a cold shower in the cold winter. When she came out, Yu Bufan had brought their meal into the room. He glanced at them both teasingly. The couple averted their eyes, this assistant had to do it.

    "You did not experience any bad dreams again, did you?" Mei Qingyang had completely calmed down by now. She had to check upon his condition and report this to Dr. Chen later.

    "Nothing at all. If I were to describe it, I think it overwrote my bad experiences somewhat?" he replied, tossing a piece of veggie in his mouth.

    "Just like that? Then I should thank you for being so mentally strong. If you were not, I think you should still be flinching over it," the brain worked in mysterious ways. She had thought it might not work after all but it seemed like he had been half cured of his condition. If she knew this earlier, she would have never restrained herself to begin with.

    "You are the one who makes me strong Qing Qing. If you were not here, I probably would not have overcome it so easily," he took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

    He was very grateful to her and was not sure how he would ever pay this debt.

    "Anyway, we should go through the final numbers right about now. It is time to call others as well," Mei Qingyang concluded. She was in the work mode right now. This was something everyone in the group admired about her. She separated personal and professional life very smoothly.

    "Alright, I will arrange for it right away," Yu Tian finished his supper and left. Mei Qingyang plopped down in the bed, she was still aching from all that activity till late morning. If she walked weirdly, it would be so embarrassing in front of the group. What was she supposed to do now?

    Suddenly she had an idea. She hurriedly got ready and went outside before anyone arrived. Unfortunately for her, her cousin was already there.

    "What happened? Why are you walking so funnily?" Su Lang had no idea what transpired last night. He had gotten the information about Yu Ming being in the hands of Jiang Nuo from Yu Bufan as did the others. But no one knew about their night activity.

    "Uhh¡­," Mei Qingyang looked pleadingly at Yu Tian for help.

    "Nothing, just normal stuff," he replied shamelessly. Su Lang got the hint and punched his buddy in shoulder.

    "You¡­ you dare lay a hand on my sister?" he teased them both in mock anger.

    "Cough¡­ She was the one who was more aggressive," Yu Tian pointed out coolly, Mei Qingyang''s face went beet red again. She decided to not talk about it and just sit down on the sofa.

    "How is the status brother? How much are we hitting?" Mei Qingyang changed the topic nonchalantly.

    "Including everything from us and the small number of shares we were able to acquire, we are somewhere at 18%," Su Lang gave them the bleak numbers.

    "Oh? This is more than what we had projected?" Mei Qingyang was quite satisfied with this.

    "But it is still not enough. Why do you look so calm and contended? The meeting is tomorrow and I am freaking out! So are Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi. Even at this moment, they both are trying to get a few more shares. Why do you two look like you have already won this?" Su Lang frowned. This couple was too much really. They were the ones who needed it and in the face of adversary, they were not saying anything. This was not the time to be the Buddha, they had to take an aggressive stance.

    "How much is Yu Rong at? And the mystery buyer?" she asked again, ignoring Su Lang''s questions.

    Defeated, he just replied to her questions. "Yu Rong managed to get at 31% and mystery buyer is at 21.5%."

    "At this point, I think Yu Rong is thinking she is winning. She is also probably thinking that she could use Yu Ming''s shares for herself because he is her brother. But I have a feeling this mystery buyer would end up snatching that 10% of Yu Ming somehow," Mei Qingyang put her hand on her chin. By this time, the other two had arrived. When they heard the girl''s analysis, they were stunned.

    "Do you, by any chance, know who the mystery buyer is?" Feng Yue asked her.

    "I have my doubts. But I can''t say for sure," she replied mysteriously.

    "What about Tian then?" Fan Ruyi asked. They had just managed to acquire a few more shares but it did not budge the numbers.

    "Do you guys believe in me?" Mei Qingyang asked, looking straight into the eyes of everyone. Yu Bufan and other assistants were standing at the back too. Mrs. Zhao was also listening quietly.

    Everyone nodded in confusion.

    "Then leave it up to me," Mei Qingyang replied confidently.

 Chapter 213 - Board Meeting - I

    Overnight, a rumor spread around the campus. There was a huge fight between Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang and now they are not even seeing each other. Since Mei Qingyang had abandoned her earlier room, she had shifted at Su Lang''s house for the time being.

    Next day in the morning, the girl called out sick and did not attend her classes, giving some credibility to the rumors. Yu Tian went to the college but he was especially frosty towards everyone.

    "At least some good news," Yu Rong finally relaxed. Having run around behind the investors all this while herself, she had become haggard. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin finally looked her age.

    "This means if our speculation of mystery buyer being her is correct, then she won''t get any of Yu Tian''s shares," Wang Hao put the tea in front of Yu Rong.

    "Hmm¡­ your tea is the best Hao," she took a sip and began to relax. Wang Hao went behind her and started massaging her shoulders.

    "After tonight, everything will be mine. Then we will see how she can take my nephew away from me. Hmph! I will have absolute authority," Yu Rong felt like victory was in her grasp, especially now that those two had separated. That b*tch had put such a show gathering all her friends'' shares and giving her a fright. Yu Tian would have never done that if not for her idea.

    She herself was planning on coaxing those brats and getting their shares, but she was still in the lead. And if she added Yu Ming''s shares into hers, which she was sure her brother would support despite their somewhat sour relationship, no one would be able to beat her. She finally got into good mood after days.

    Wang Hao sneered at the back. If that mystery buyer was not Mei Qingyang, and they were able to get more shares, then this lady was doomed. What if they contacted Yu Tian and got his shares? What if they were really Mei Qingyang? But ultimately who would get the shares that Yu Tian bought from his friends? Would he have already given them to Mei Qingyang? There were so many possibilities and his head hurt thinking about them all. But all in all, it seemed like Qingyang''s odds were better here. He was not sure how his miss was so confident.

    -----------

    "Qing Qing, would it work?" Su Lang was anxious at the moment. His sister was being too mysterious and would not reveal what she had in mind. If not Yu Tian, she should at least tell him.

    "Relax brother, everything has been taken care of," she tried to calm him down.

    "How can I relax? This is¡­ this is¡­ Ugh, I don''t want Yu Empire to go to Yu Rong''s hands. It will not only be bad for Tian but the whole generation of ours. I had not really meddled till now because I had thought we were goners anyway. But now you have given us hope and I can''t stay still unless I know," Su Lang sat down then got up from his seat again.

    Mei Qingyang did not reply and just waited for the fated hour of the meeting.

    In the evening, she got ready in the power clothes. She wore a lavender colored turtleneck sweater, white formal pants and blazer. She kept her jewelry minimum, to just earrings and a matching locket and tied her hair in high ponytail. With a stark red lipstick, she looked ready to kick a few asses in the board meeting. When she came out downstairs, no one could believe it was that girl. Half of the students roaming about in the building did not even recognize her, they thought it was some new student they had never seen before. Yu Tian and Feng Yue, both were mesmerized as well.

    Of course, to keep up the appearances, the couple did not talk to each other. The friends decided to go together. Mei Qingyang was accommodated in Su Lang''s car. She accompanied them till the Yu Empire building but did not go inside with them, earning curious gazes from the group.

    "I did not realize the headquarters was such a majestic building. I am finally here," she muttered to herself.

    She spotted a familiar car going inside the parking lot. It was her dad''s car. She frowned, what was he doing here?

    In the meeting room, Yu Rong was welcoming all the major board members and shareholders in the big auditorium kind of room. It was a big affair, Yu Empire was such a giant conglomerate, it could not be small.

    When Yu Tian and the group arrived, her muscles twitched. She shook hands with her nephew, who was much calmer and did not flinch at her touch for the first time. Yu Rong was surprised on not getting any reaction from him. He suddenly looked different to her.

    Not spotting the girl, she smirked. "Where did your little servant go? Was she so afraid that she ran away with her tail between her legs?" she laughed lightly on her joke. Other people just stared at her dumbfounded. Yu Tian ignored her and directly entered the room.

    He scanned across and found a lot of familiar faces. These bastards had refused to give him their shares even when he was buying them a fair price. Now he would see what they were going to do.

    "Oh, Young Master Yu, you are here as well?" he heard a familiar voice and turned around. Jiang Nuo was standing tall and confident in front of him. Everyone was taken aback, including Yu Rong.

    "How come you are here?" she almost screamed at him.

    "I own the shares in Yu Empire, I am not here illegally Ms. Yu," he smiled very gently, giving goosebumps to the Mei Qingyang''s friends. He seemed more psychopath than Yu Rong at this point.

    Yu Rong heaved a sigh of relief. He must be a small time shareholder and perhaps came to make a ruckus. Her victory should be flawless. She did not want any hurdles. If in her hands, she would have thrown this person out from here.

    "Oh? I did not know a government employee like you would invest their money in us. We are honored with your presence. Please take a seat," Yu Tian came forward and shook his hands, giving it a tight squeeze on Mei Qingyang''s behalf. In the terms of strength, both of them were at par. So when Jiang Nuo felt the pain, he just looked coldly at the impudent brat. All these Yu family people must be destroyed.

    He left them all and took a comfortable seat in the corner. There was not much lighting there and he was monitoring everyone like a hawk. Today, everything would crumble down.

    After everyone had entered the hall, Yu Rong went up to address the audience.

    "Dear esteemed guests, it is my honor to welcome you all on behalf of my brother Yu Ming. He was not in best of his health, thus, I have to lead this meeting. My brother has truly been devoted to Yu Empire. He built it all from scratch and I am so proud to be part of his family," she smiled to everyone.

    People started whispering amongst themselves. It was not a secret that she was adopted in the family. But how come she was ''part of his family''? It felt like she was declaring her position as his wife of something. Plus, where was this Yu Ming? Was he even alive?

    This was something Yu Rong thought about every day. He had not contacted her in over five years. But given how smoothly the business was going, it seemed like he was indeed doing fine. But then, why would he not answer her at all? Even her business-related questions were never replied to. She was frustrated as hell.

    "But now he wishes to retire and it is time that we decide on the new leader of Yu Empire. By the line of succession, I would be the one taking over. But I wanted it to be fair to everyone. Since, our dear shareholders are the people who basically run this company apart from our customers, I decided to let the majority of people decide who they want to support. I am glad that the decision was welcome by everyone." She continued her long winded speech.

    "Anyway, I will hand over to our Financial Director and he will inform you the results," she handed the mike to a person in his early 40s who came out with a few doc.u.ments and started presenting about history of the company and all.

    "And now, there are still ten minutes left before the trading for the day ends. After that, we will see who has the most shares for the company. Right now, we have the following contenders," he put up a live chart on the screen. The top one was obviously Yu Rong at 31%. She was already celebrating in her heart. What could anyone do in 10 minutes?

    Then there was the mystery buyer. His number had not budged from 21.5% since yesterday. Then was Yu Tian with 18% and then Yu Ming at 10%. Others were not displayed because they all had percentages less than 1% and at this moment, they would not be in the race.

    At the last five-minute mark, suddenly, the mystery buyer''s bar shot up and took over Yu Rong''s, Yu Ming''s bar disappearing. The mystery buyer had gone now to 31.5%. Yu Rong started sweating. Someone got to her brother before her? Even the audience gasped at this change. Guess Yu Rong''s claims of her having the support of his brother were all false. He gave away his shares to someone else. Plus, everyone was so curious about the identity of this buyer.

    "Congratulations to the mystery buyer. Since this is a done deal, could you please show us who you are. From past so many weeks, you have kept your identity hidden. Kindly stand up if you are here and let us know who our next leader is," the Director addressed the audience. The people started looking around and from the darkest corner, rose Minister Jiang, taking aback everyone present, including Yu Tian and his friends.

 Chapter 214 - Board Meeting - II

    "You¡­ you are the mystery buyer?" Yu Rong, no, everyone present could not believe it. What kind of interest did Minister Jiang of Education Ministry had in Yu Empire? Where did he get so much money from? Why did Yu Ming''s share go to him? All these questions were swirling in everyone''s mind.

    Yu Rong was so shocked that her steps staggered. Over! It was over!!

    He went up on the stage among the claps that someone in the audience had initiated. This was very amusing turn of events for everyone. A politician owning the whole of Yu empire?

    Yu Rong was already on the stage for she had believed she had this in her hands. Jiang Nuo whispered in her ears, "This is just the beginning Ms. Yu, please do not let your jaw fall to the round so soon." And then he chuckled. This was what he was living for. He would slowly take everything from Yu family and leave them in ruins. Then they would know what it feels like losing their most precious thing in life.

    They dare kill his son; they would need to pay in blood.

    "How did you get brother''s shares?" she asked him daringly. Who in the world would believe it was not deception? He must have threatened brother with something.

    "Oh, don''t you worry. He gave them to me willingly. Why did you think I had stopped procuring more shares since a week ago?" he laughed triumphantly again. The crowd was seeing their interaction with interest. Yu Rong was unable to hide her fury while she had to control her speech for she was talking to her future boss. What an irony!

    "Where is Qing Qing? Why is she not here yet?" Su Lang was concerned that this turn of events would break her heart. They had already heard about her dad treating her like shit suddenly. Now they knew, he was after revenge since the beginning.

    His presence at this meeting was suspicious enough, but this was way out of normal.

    "I have no clue, I cannot even reach her," Yu Tian spoke stoically, but he still believed in his girl. There was still time. She would perform a miracle as she had been doing. He kept his eyes peeled on that monitor that was showing live counts of the shares.

    "Would you like to say something Minister Jiang?" the Financial Director handed over another mike to the giddy man who was relishing in the glory. There were only four minutes left, what could happen now? Jiang Nuo was the winner here. He felt like he had won the presidential election.

    The President of M nation was sitting right in front of him as well who was frowning. If such a big power tipped into this guy''s favor, then his own position would be threatened. Mr. President started counting all the times he had treated Jiang Nuo badly. There were plenty of instances and he was feeling very regretful right now.

    A lot of people at the back were in the same quandary. They had really disrespected this guy who would not do anything for money, and especially when he had begged them all when his son had died at that school. If only they had provided him words of comfort at least, rather than outright dismissing him, perhaps they would have been in better position today.

    He began to address the audience.

    "Yeah, hello everyone. I know you all must be wondering where I suddenly popped up from," he giggled happily. He himself was overwhelmed with emotions. Although his revenge was not complete yet, this was a major victory and time when he would actually start to uproot those bastards one by one.

    "It''s moving again!" someone shouted from the back, interrupting Jiang Nuo who was still reveling in his victory. He gave a look full of disdain to the guy who shouted. Everyone''s eyes moved to the screen behind the minister. There were only two minutes left and the bars were moving faster and faster.

    Another player had come into the game. Yu Tian''s name had disappeared from the screen and this third person was gaining the shares much too fast.

    "What is happening? I thought you had your shares," Feng Yue whispered to Yu Tian who was helplessly looking at the screen. Who was this third person now?

    Yu Tian shook his head, "Qing Qing started it, so I decided to give them all to her."

    "Are you f*cking kidding me? Despite her proving that she is Li Sibao and now an integral part of our circle, what were you thinking of handing over everything to an outsider, that too an inexperienced little girl like her?" Feng Yue yelled at his friend but kept his voice low so that other people would not hear it.

    "I trust her," Yu Tian declared, but he was mostly consoling himself. She would not take such a big step without telling him. Did she sell his part abruptly and made some shady deal with someone or had she planned this from the start? If she had planned this from the start, why did she not tell him that?

    "You and your trust can go to hell. I agree with Yue here. No matter what, she is still Jiang Nuo''s daughter," Fan Ruyi chimed in, but her thoughts were in completely different direction.

    The two guys glared at her, asking her to shut up. She felt wronged, she was just agreeing with what Feng Yue had said. Why was he also blaming her?

    "Oh?? Who could be this person? The identity is unknown as well!" The Financial Director was a dramatic guy too. He was creating more suspense.

    Yu Rong and Jiang Nuo both started dialing their phones to different people to see what was going on. But it was too late.

    The wheels of fate were already in motion. This could not be stopped no matter what. Someone had managed to get their hands on those 18% share from Yu Tian. Who else could it be other than Mei Qingyang?

    They both just wanted to know her sponsor. To have completely eradicated the name of the heir of Yu empire, this must be some well established person. The people down were finally smiling. Someone else was slowly over. That meant, they did not need to fear Jiang Nuo, did they? But then, he might still be in the lead by the end.

    The third person''s bar shot up to a whopping 34%, confirming that this second mysterious person had already won.

    "Could we have the glorious person on the stage please?" Mr. Financial Director called once again. The crowd again looked at each other in confusion. Who could be this big to buy this much of shares in such less time? No one came forward though.

    "Excuse me mystery buyer no. 2, could you please step forward?" the Financial Director wiped his sweat. What was this arrogance? Not only did this guy win abruptly, but they were also late to the meeting? What insolence!

    ------------

    "It is already time, why is he not here yet?" she muttered to herself. She was waiting to see shocked expressions from everyone, including Yu Tian. She had finally done something with her own abilities, without depending on her friends. She was so ecstatic, this surprise would be the best gift for him.

    A black car pulled over just then. The door opened and the driver brought out a wheelchair.

    "Butler uncle, let me," she took the wheelchair from the driver and helped the man inside the car on it. Then she bowed in respect.

    "We finally meet again Ms. Mei. I was so surprised to get your message. I did what all I could. But you did great in getting them to hand over their shares to you. The victory today, is yours and yours alone," the man smiled towards this ambitious little girl.

    "I did not judge you wrong. I knew you had a penchant for business," the man in his 40s applauded the girl for her guts and intelligence. If she had not contacted his that day, he would not have even taken interest in this whole thing. But not only did she manage to convince him, she actively took part in convincing the other shareholders to give up their shares.

    "Then, shall we go?" she asked the man, who nodded. She started pushing the wheelchair to take the man of honor to the meeting.

    ------------

    "Are they still not here yet?" people started becoming impatient. The markets were closed, the winner had been announced. Where was this person? Or was it fake? Jiang Nuo and Yu Rong were standing on the stage awkwardly, yelling at whoever on their phones. Both their schemes fell apart in just five minutes.

    "Could you please step up sir or madam, who ever you are?" the Financial Director called out again. At this moment, the gate to the hall opened and a meek figure on wheelchair entered with the girl at his back. Everyone turned around to look who the person could be.

    "Is¡­ isn''t that Bai Yuchen?" someone exclaimed, recognizing the man in the wheelchair.

 Chapter 215 - Ulterior Motive

    "Bai Yuchen?" Feng Yue poked his head from his seat to look at the new entries in the room. Everyone was curious about this guy. Did he not only invest in start-ups? What was he doing here in the meeting?

    Mei Qingyang at the back was pushing his wheelchair with confidence. She had never been so proud of herself being two steps ahead of everyone. No one would have imagined that a small encounter at the hospital would rescue her later in life.

    It was also magnanimity of this man in front of her that he had decided on a whim to lend his hand to her. Of course, he would not do it for free. The condition he put, she had refused first. But later, when there was no choice, she had to take the offer.

    Anyway, although she was pushing the wheelchair, when she came in front of Yu Tian''s chair, her steps halted and their eyes met. Mei Qingyang wanted to see the overjoyed expression on his face but all she saw was disappointment¡­ and hurt.

    Why? She had done whatever she could, why did he look like that? Somewhere along the line, the audience had started clapping for the newcomer. But it all did not matter to those two. In the noise, the flashes of the camera, it seemed like there were only two people.

    "Why did you take his help?" he asked her from far away. It was like she could hear his painful screams.

    "I did it for you," he could hear her reply too.

    They were simply looking at each other, but they could hear each other''s thoughts. And they were struggling internally. Yu Tian did not like the fact at all that his kitten took help from such a high profile stranger without consulting him.

    Mei Qingyang on the other hand could not understand the problem. She had wanted to surprise him but it seemed like she hurt him in the process.

    "Qingyang, why did you stop?" Bai Yuchen''s voice brought her back to her senses. She glanced at her helper and nodded her head in apology. She went ahead without looking at Yu Tian again.

    They reached the stage where Jiang Nuo was gnashing his teeth.

    "How dare you go against me like this?" he whispered to her in anger.

    Mei Qingyang smiled indifferently. "You should have done your due diligence."

    "Mr. Bai, how did you manage to all this, that too in last few minutes?" the Financial Director asked the question that was on everyone''s mind.

    "It is all thanks to this girl," he patted her hand lovingly. Yu Tian clenched his knuckles. This guy had improper intentions towards his girl! He would not let him go. He would deal with Mei Qingyang later but this guy was danger. He knew it from the moment he had met him during that time at the hospital.

    This Bai guy had this weird aura towards Mei Qingyang which irked him even at the hospital. But now, just for him¡­ this guy who only knew profit, what did his kitten had to give up to get that guy''s help?

    Even the thought of someone else touching her enraged Yu Tian''s heart. He wanted to rip the guy then and there.

    Bai Yuchen could sense hatred coming from a corner of the room towards him. He looked at the area and found Yu Tian sending daggers towards him. He still smiled and continued the story.

    "She convinced me to invest in the Yu Empire because I heard young blood was going to run this place. I thought it would be great opportunity to mentor them," he winked in Yu Tian''s direction. Yu Tian could not take it anymore and walked towards the stage.

    He climbed up and took Mei Qingyang''s hand in front of everyone, stunning everyone present.

    "Young ones sure are eager," Bai Yuchen laughed. But his smile did not reach his eyes. Mei Qingyang refused to go with Yu Tian although he was trying to drag her off the stage.

    "Tian, why¡­ this is final moment that we have been waiting for. It''s done, we have won," she said in hushed tone. Only three of them could hear it.

    He looked at her in disbelief. What their victory? This was scam, this guy was not as pure as he looked.

    "Qing Qing, it''s not us, it''s this guy who has won. Do not make excuses for him. What did you promise in lieu of his help?" he asked straightforwardly, although the topic of slander could hear it clearly.

    "Tian, what are you saying? How about this, we will talk about this later. Let him finish his interview," Mei Qingyang pleaded to Yu Tian with her whole being but it did not look like he was happy about it. He jus left the stage in rage.

    "Mr. Bai, what is your future plan? Are you going to lead the Yu Empire?" a reporter asked from behind. This explosive news had created buzz in the whole nation. Everyone on the street was discussing how the organization was taken over by an outsider.

    "I do not have that much time nor strength," he pointed to his legs. "I will keep it for younger generation," he glanced at Mei Qingyang who was in a daze and looking in the direction of Yu Tian''s departure.

    "It is your time to shine girl. You should take the stage," he took her hand from the handles of his wheelchair and brought her forward. Mei Qingyang came out of her stupor at once.

    "I¡­ Although Mr. Bai was generous enough to hand me over all the shares, this is something that belongs to my boyfriend, Mr. Yu Tian. He is the rightful heir to the Yu empire and he deserves it. He is running so many successful businesses, thus, he is more qualified for these. I will transfer them right away to him," she declared with everyone widening their eyes in shock. Boyfriend?

    Everyone in this circle knew how cold and aloof that guy was. He had decided on dating this lowly peasant? Although now she was the most powerful woman in the nation, her background was still questionable.

    "You wench!!" Yu Rong came forward and grabbed Mei Qingyang''s collar.

    "Please refrain on causing a scene Principal Yu. It might come to bite you in your a.s.s when I start dividing the roles for everyone here present, including you," Mei Qingyang slapped her hands away and smoothened out the creases formed on her collar.

    "Hmph! If my nephew becomes the CEO, he will definitely treat me right," Yu Rong smirked. This idiot did not even know how much she loved her nephew. He had to respect her after all she had done for him.

    "Oh? Then you should also remember how many times your whip had made contact with his skin. And then how many times you had made contact with his skin. Then ask yourself if you treated him right for him to do so for you," Qingyang whispered these words slowly and gravely in her ear for her to hear the weight in her words.

    "Shut up you ugly b*tch," Yu Rong yelled loudly. Mei Qingyang nodded to Wang Hao and he took her off the stage and away in her office to rest.

    "I am sorry, she was too much in shock. We will sort it out." Yu Rong''s calm and composed interim CEO of Yu empire suddenly shattered in front of everyone. She was a much more affected by the turn of events than she had imagined.

    After answering a few more questions, Mei Qingyang stepped out to find Yu Tian. She needed to find out what was going on in his mind. Way was he so furious for no reason? He should hear her side of story before deciding if she did okay or not.

    "Qing Qing!" Su Lang called her from behind. Fan Ruyi, Feng Yue and all the four assistants were with him.

    "Brother, where is Tian?" she looked at him, worried sick for Yu Tian.

    "You did amazing my little sister. This was the trump card you were hiding?" Su Lang ruffled her hair. "But you forgot to consider Yu Tian''s feelings this time," he suddenly turned serious against his chirpy spell a few seconds ago.

    "Feelings? Do you think we had time for that? What if he lost it all to that witch? Would he have been able to survive after it?" she could not hold back any longer. What was with everyone today? Why were they behaving like she had committed some crime?

    "And this something you need to get across him. He is pretty hard headed and we understand why. He has his pride and no one in our circle really likes Bai Yuchen. Go and explain it to him properly," he patted her head once again, sorting out the hair he had messed up earlier. He signaled her towards the balcony just up ahead. Mei Qingyang ran towards it.

    "Tian!" she opened the door to find Yu Tian staring at the city down below. The building was amazing in that sense. This auditorium was located at the top floor which boasted the full city view. The horizon was visible as well, making a person feel insignificant.

    Yu Tian did not turn around and still stared in the space.

    "Tian, if there was a problem in my method, please tell me. But don''t suddenly go silent on me, okay? This is what we do best right? Talk?" she buried her head in his sturdy back. Yu Tian finally gave a reaction.

    "What did he ask for in return? Was it your body? Have you seen how he looks at you? He might be a man in his 40s but he has been lonely pretty much all his life. Any girl would excite him, why does it need to be you?" he choked on his own words.

 Chapter 216 - Negotiation - I

    "What, are you jealous right now?" Mei Qingyang was still confused.

    "Would you please just answer me?" he turned around and put his both hands on her shoulder and shook her a bit. Seeing how serious he was, she did not want to hide it anymore. But the transaction had already happened.

    She averted her gaze without answering, pain flashing through both their eyes.

    Yu Tian sighed, his head dropped low.

    "Qing Qing, you know what my biggest fear in life these days is? It is not losing my dad and it is not losing Yu empire, but losing you! You have given me so much happiness these past few months, I have never ever experienced such emotions before. And I feel like you are slipping away from me, for my sake at that," he looked at her, pleading with his words, silently crying inside his heart.

    He was, after all, a college kid. He had grown up too fast not knowing love. And when someone was now willing to love him as is, it felt like all these feelings would make him go crazy. He was obsessed with the girl. Perhaps it came with the fact that she was the only one willing to accept him? He did not know and he did not want to know. All he knew was that he could not live without her anymore.

    And for sure, his hurt was not coming from jealousy, but fear. Especially that guy. He had too many hidden motives. He was an alumnus of their school but quite less was known about his history. If that guy was in his 40s he would have been in the college somewhere in the middle of his dad''s and his aunt''s time.

    There was no history available for him, he practically had remained hidden int eh school during his whole time. Not that records of servants were really maintained at that time.

    "Tian, let''s discuss about this when the time comes. Why don''t you go and see your aunt''s face right now? That abuser of yours finally got served what she deserved. Let''s not dive into trivialities right now, okay?" Mei Qingyang was still not revealing the true contents of the condition.

    At this point, Yu Tian knew he had already lost. His arms dropped, like someone had sapped out the energy out of them. What was he to when she would not budge and decide to keep all the burden to herself?

    "Am I not even this much reliable to you then?" he looked up to the sky and mumbled.

    "It''s not that Tian. Look, look at me. Fine, I will tell you. He asked me to study business under him and become his apprentice. He has been offering me that since we met the first time. I am not interested in Yu empire but I do want to stand on my own two feet. And, so I had to accept his offer. He said we will figure out details once this all is taken care of. I am not going anywhere, okay?" Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore.

    She tried to explain her position to him. Bai Yuchen had promised her that she would not need to leave her friends behind. After all, now that her family had abandoned her, they were the only ones she had.

    "That''s it? I still don''t believe it. And he is returning all the shares to you?" Yu Tian was still suspicious. "He is not threatening you or anything, right?" he took her in a tight embrace, her soft body slamming into his. Despite the thick layers of clothing, they could hear other''s heartbeat, that helped both of them calm down.

    "He never bought them in his name. Essentially, I am the one who bought them. I did not want him to directly transfer the whole thing to you. Yu Rong might have staked a claim," she returned his hug with wrapping her arms around him once again.

    Yu Tian ran his fingers through her hair. He needed to talk to Bai Yuchen directly. What did he want in return for helping them out like this? Apprenticeship? No way!

    "Ti¡­ Tian?" a very weary voice came from behind them. Yu Rong was standing there with Wang Hao behind, both donning a twisted expression. The couple separated but Yu Tian did not let her hand go.

    Looking at Yu Rong''s pitiful state, Mei Qingyang felt quite proud at her artwork. The lady looked like she had aged a few years in few minutes.

    "Tian, Tian, I have raised you for so many years, you will give me a way out right? You did all this because you wanted to surprise me right? I know you are very sweet nephew of mine," she took his other arm and was almost begging him.

    Mei Qingyang looked at Yu Tian and his eyes had already gone soft on this wench''s pleas. That bloody Stockholm syndrome. Was it going to grip him even now?

    She removed Yu Rong''s hand from his arm.

    "You have got some nerve coming here Principal Yu. Please stop asking for favors in the name of your ''perfect'' care all these years. What about the pain you inflicted on him?" Mei Qingyang''s blood was boiling inside but she chose to remain her calm and cold self. If she were to lose her temper here, all her hard work would be for nothing. The best remedy for people like these was to just show them your happiness.

    "How¡­ how could you call my love for him abuse? Do you have no shame? First you stole him from me, and now my company. Is that not enough? Now you want to slander me like this?" Yu Rong shook her head in disbelief. How could someone brandish her emotions towards her nephew like this? What right did this b*tch have?

    "Tian, I would not tell you what to do, the decision is up to you. But as your girlfriend, I will say only one thing. All those people who say forgive your abuser for your own mental peace are all wrong. She has already destroyed your mental peace, you would be haunted with those memories for long long time. So, I hope that you would give her a befitting punishment," she turned her head to not look at him anymore.

    If she were to keep looking at his conflicted expression, she would take the decision on his behalf. But she wanted to give him that power, the power to choose the future of his own abuser.

    Yu Tian looked at his aunt. She looked so terrified and helpless, her hair was disheveled, her make up was ruined, black streaks were running on her face. She had perhaps cried and her eyeshadow had run down, or it could all be an act.

    He suddenly realized that the monster in that office room was just a small harmless pitiful woman. He had never seen her in this fragile a condition. She was always confident and ready to kick asses. This was his aunt he had always feared and admired. Until that one day of course when she touched him for the first time and he felt so uncomfortable but he did not have anyone to share his tragedy with.

    Even now his heart was torn into two pieces. One told him to go with what Mei Qingyang had said. This witch really did not deserve any respect or leniency. She had destroyed enough lives, homes and himself. The other part still wanted to remain filial and give her some face. Despite everything, she was still his family.

    Yu Tian spotted Bufan behind the gate to the roof. He had a few doc.u.ments in his hands. The master nodded and Bufan entered the area.

    Yu Tian took the envelope from his assistant''s hand and tore it open. He smirked as he looked at those, then glanced at Mei Qingyang who was standing at the side. She had relented the whole thing to him, but it was still her blood, sweat and tears.

    "Aunt, no, Yu Rong," he spoke coldly to the lady who was falling on the ground.

    "You will be handed to police for embezzling company''s funds to burn money in your private drug and weapon adventures. This will be it for now," he finally gave in to his black heart and said coldly.

    Mei Qingyang, on the other hand, was not happy. Embezzling funds was not a big crime. She could always throw the responsibility on someone else. Drugs and weapons might get her a few more months of jail but after that, what?

    "Tian, nephew. Please, anything, I will disappear from your life but not jail, okay?" she dropped down to her knees and held one of his legs, groveling her head on the floor. Yu Tian sat down and raised his aunt by her shoulders.

    "Sorry aunt, this is the best I could do. A few months there should give you enough taste of what you did to me. I am also doing this out of love for you," he whispered these words into her ear. A chill went through her and Mei Qingyang''s spine who was standing beside him and happened to hear those words. This guy was not famous for being ruthless for no reason. This was what she wanted, she was glad to be the part of his change. Tears welled up in

    "Qingyang, Qingyang. He listens to you. Can you please not ask him to give me lighter punishment? Are you guys not being cruel?" she looked towards the girl who was standing with crossed arms, staring at her from above.

    Qingyang scoffed coldly. "From my point of view, this is already too light for what all you have done. Do you see he did not even talk about the whip, the toys and your kinky tendencies yet? But don''t worry, once the investigation starts, a lot of stuff will come out. That torture prison, and so much more."

    "But¡­ if you admit a few of your wrongdoings in public, I might be willing to help you out," an evil smile spread across Qingyang''s face. This was the time to get all of the truths out of this wench.

 Chapter 217 - Negotiation - II

    "What¡­ do you mean?" A terror enveloped Yu Rong''s heart after seeing the cruelty in Mei Qingyang''s green marble eyes.

    Yu Tian on the side frowned. This was not part of his plan but he was going to hear the girl first. It would not look good to counter her here.

    "Hmm¡­ there are a few particular incidents I am looking for. How about you start with death of Li Sibao?" Mei Qingyang looked at a trembling Yu Rong in front of her and dropped the bomb.

    "Li¡­ Sibao?" Yu Rong acted as if she did not remember. How would she? She had ruined so many families, Li family was quite insignificant in front of them. But Li Sibao did ring a bell in her mind.

    Mei Qingyang scoffed again. This wench was really frustrating. Now she was claiming to not remember. She leaned in for more terrifying impact of her aura on the criminal. She had to thank her dad for that though, he taught her the art of interrogation.

    "Let me jog your memory a bit then Principal Yu. It''s just laughable that you don''t remember me, the girl who made such a ruckus out there, enough to have made you call two legends of the school back from abroad. You don''t remember the Li''s whom you and that Feng grandma slandered so much that the parents were driven to commit suicide?"

    "You¡­ you are Li Sibao?" Yu Rong picked up the most important thing from the b*tch''s speech just now. Li Sibao? Did she not die? She made sure that that bastard of a guy and this b*tch would die together. How was she here?

    "Surprised?" Mei Qingyang smiled bitterly. All the pain she had locked away in her memories came flooding in once again, but this time she was better equipped to handle it.

    "So, we will start with that incident. Then will be torture prison, and then your nephew," she declared solemnly. The two guys standing at the side were taken aback by the declaration. Her incident and torture prison were okay but bringing Yu Tian personally into this? How did she think of that? Was she not concerned about his image at all? She was acting too selfish right now.

    Yu Rong sensed the two guys in the back were angry. She decided to take this one last chance and still sow discord between the two. If she could not stay happy then these two also did not deserve any happiness. Her love was just insulted as abuse, what else was remaining? She had nothing to lose.

    "Hmph! I did not do anything in Li Sibao''s case. It was Wang Hao who acted on his own. Then, torture prison is nothing but a place to groom the talent. You can go and check, there is nothing wrong in there. And about Tian, what proof do you have? Even if you had one, would he be willing to give up his spotless image?" she pointed out to her nephew standing behind.

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes twitched but the most shocked was the guy staring dumbfounded at his mistress. He had long known that he would end up taking fall for all her deeds one day. But to think that she would throw him under the bus just like that, it was amusing to see. Qingyang giggled at Wang Hao''s reaction.

    Wang Hao also sat down, now it was time to reveal his cards as well.

    "Mistress, I am just so sad that you would do this to me. I was just following the orders," he looked at his mistress with a wronged expression. Yu Rong loved this cute puppy like man who would follow her around after all. His pitiful state tugged at her heart but right now, her survival was the most important. She apologized to her servant in her heart and then angrily pushed him back.

    "You¡­ you unfaithful bastard, you did all this, and now I am being blamed for your behavior. Hurry up and apologize, she might let you off easily too," she spoke in a hurry, giving him signals with her eyes. She knew from the way she had trained him all these years, he would understand her intentions. Once she would get her power back, she would rescue Wang Hao instantly. Who knew that this guy would refuse to be pushed around?

    "Aiyya mistress, I had thought you would help me out here for I acted just you liked. But of course, for human beings, their own lives are much more important. Why would they reward the loyalty of a poor servant under such circ.u.mstances? I should really thank this little lass for waking me up sooner. Otherwise, I would have been the one being tortured here," Wang Hao chuckled as Yu Rong''s eyes widened with shock.

    "You¡­ you!!" she got up and charged towards the assistant only to have her body failed her. She stumbled upon her own foot and kissed the floor with a thud.

    "Spare the effort my lady, your body is not what it used to be anymore," Wang Hao grinned.

    "Did you do something to her?" Mei Qingyang glanced at a panting Yu Rong and realized there was something wrong with her.

    "Well, you see. She had started mixing this weird drug in the water of the school which attacked the students'' nervous system and make them feel restless. All because she wanted them to incite more incidents against you to distract you," Wang Hao confirmed Mei Qingyang''s suspicions. She too had noticed people''s aggravated anger towards her for no reason. She knew Ma Shuxin would not have her true colors so soon without some external force inciting her.

    "What about us?" she recalled that these guys were safe, she did not have any brawl with any of the legends or their assistants.

    "They source extra purified water. Who drinks normal tap water out of these guys?"

    Mei Qingyang looked behind and both the guys shook their heads, confirming that the source of their water was different from everyone else''s. Then why not drug their water as well?

    "Anyway, going along the same lines, I started adding this powerful slow acting neuro drug in her tea for past two months and now she is in this condition," Wang Hao concluded his story and then looked at his mistress coldly who was trying to pound her fists on his t.h.i.g.hs but he felt like a mosquito was biting him.

    "Mistress, you have no idea how much hatred I have in my heart for you. You have never used your usual means on me. My rage cannot compare to what your own nephew must have felt. I have heard his shrieks myself. You call that love? What kind of love was it again? Parental? Romantic? No love gives you the right to do what you did to him. I am disgusted beyond words, always have been. I finally got a chance to strike you back," he nodded thankfully towards Mei Qingyang.

    Mei Qingyang was happy that this guy delivered and did not change back at the last moment. Wang Hao also understood that Yu Rong was almost over. Whether she admitted her crimes in public or not, this would become a high-profile case because of media anyway.

    "Oh, and by the way, I did make backup for all your conversations and everything. Even if you say it was all my doing, I have all your orders to me recorded," Wang Hao stated.

    Yu Rong slammed her hands on the floor and then fainted in her fit of rage.

    "Coming back to Yu Tian''s case, I personally think that he should reveal this all to public. He has the Yu Empire in his hands, and he has such a loving girlfriend, what else will he do with his image?" Wang Hao looked straight at the guy standing behind the girl. He knew that it would be a painful experience for him, but it was better than this boss of his not going to jail for long.

    "What give you the right to talk about master? Your work is done here, you can leave," Yu Bufan glared at Wang Hao and asked him to scram. Wang Hao lifted Yu Rong and turned around.

    "Another advice for you young master Yu. You need to look beyond your own needs and see how others have put effort for you. You are very lucky to have people like that around you. Consider cherishing them," Wang Hao looked calmly over the shoulder. Noticing that his message had gotten across, he left with the lady in his arms.

    There were a lot of reporters out in the hall, waiting for the people to finish so that they could interview them. But they had already seen a great show through the gates. The whole thing was being live broadcast, although it was impossible to hear what the people were talking about.

    As soon as Wang Hao entered the hall, he was surrounded by the reporters suddenly and bombarded with questions. He was not in a position to answer anything, so he made an excuse of taking his mistress to hospital. The reporters were, once again, left dry.

    "Why would you want his ordeal to be revealed to everyone?" Yu Bufan gritted his teeth and asked the question to the girl.

    Mei Qingyang''s eyes softened. She knew she would get resistance on this idea. They had already fought once over it. But now it was time to not hide anything from the media. It was to make sure that there was a transparent investigation. Otherwise, police were in cahoots with all these big shots anyway, who could predict which person would come forward to save that damsel in distress behind the scenes?

 Chapter 218 - Negotiation - III

    "I personally feel it will also give boost to other men to come out," Mei Qingyang thought it for a bit and then replied.

    "You see, men abuse is not widely talked about, there is women abuse and there is children abuse. But the stigma associated with men abuse is so high. He is supposed to be strong, how can a weak woman overpower a hunky guy like this? It must be fake."

    "But this school has seen multiple cases of that. Wang Hao is there, but the case that could really impact the world would be yours. Again, I am not saying it is your responsibility and you should not feel pressurized by my urging," She paused to glance at the two men. Yu Bufan had his jaw open wide while there was no expression on Yu Tian. She had no idea what he was thinking.

    "I definitely do not know all the details of what you have gone through all these years. To have seen you that one day, I do not even have the heart to ask you and make you live through all that again. But I do think that it could be healing to you to find support in other people who have gone through a similar situation."

    "What I mean to say is, there are a lot of reasons behind my statement. It will also help in getting Yu Rong better punishment for her crimes. People might look down upon you for this but know this Tian, I will always be supporting you. You are still my number one. Then I don''t care what world thinks about you," she took his hand in hers gently.

    What else could she do to give him courage to overcome this problem? Talk about it so that there is no resentment left? There will be people who will sympathize, may be even relate. It will give a platform to all those men and boys who have been asked to toughen up or man up and just bear it all.

    And a genuine case would appeal more to the masses. And somewhere, it might lead to heal him. If that does not happen, she would still remain with him, helping him slowly and gradually to overcome it all.

    "Master, I apologize in advance for saying this but miss has gone mad. I do not agree. It will just make people think of you as a weak person. What about your businesses? What about Yu Empire?" Yu Bufan protested. His master was not responding at all, he was just in deep thought.

    The door to the balcony clicked again and the whole group reunited at the arrival of the other three. They could sense the tension in the atmosphere.

    "Aiyya, my sister, you are amazing huh. Where did you get this idea to collaborate with Bai Yuchen?" Su Lang gave her two thumbs up and joked a bit about it. "Now that you are owner of the Empire, will you give us a few shares?"

    Mei Qingyang changed her attitude instantly, projecting a beaming smile. "What are you talking about brother, I will make you second largest shareholder in the company," she also replied jokingly.

    "Ohho, to think I will become such a rich person overnight," his jocular nature helped tone down the seriousness of the mood. "I heard Yu Rong fainted? She deserved it. She had been such a tyrant over so many years. Now she will know the taste of her own medicine."

    "Oh, by the way, your dad has been looking for you," he informed Mei Qingyang. "Or should I say ex-dad?" he laughed out loud at his own joke.

    "Oh? I see him coming here," she signaled towards the door, seeing the man coming through with his wife. There was one more person accompanying them in the back.

    "My daughter!! You did great! I knew my training would help you out. I am so glad, I finally got revenge on my son!" he laughed heartily like he had gotten his own victory. He hugged Mei Qingyang and patted her back in a gesture of praise. The four friends and their assistants got alert, for there was no knowing what this old man might pull. He might even stab the girl from behind.

    "No worries kids, I am here to congratulate her. She is my daughter after all, to think she could achieve something so big without my help. I am so proud of you Qing Qing."

    Everyone present was weirded out by such behavior of the couple. They had suddenly made a 180 degree turn now that they had lost. What a cheap show! To think one of the most beloved politicians of all time in the country was such a bastard.

    "What do you want Minister Jiang that you have come out of your way to visit me?" Mei Qingyang wriggled out of her former foster dad''s embrace and asked sarcastically.

    "Qing Qing Is this the way to talk to your dad? Show some respect," her former mom chided her n front of everyone.

    "I am sorry Mrs. Jiang. If my memory serves me right, I was thrown out of the family register. Currently, I do not have a mom and dad. Also, your schemes have broken my heart enough times. Even if you take me back, I am not coming to you," Mei Qingyang declared coldly.

    They did raise her for five years, but it did not give them any right to do what they did. She could not hate them but she definitely despised them.

    "Qing Qing, you misunderstand us. We only did it all to motivate you to think beyond. And see, how well you did," Mrs. Jiang shamelessly kept clinging. Mei Qingyang''s head hurt dealing with these people. She massaged her temples.

    "Then, since I have won, will you release Mr. Yu? Will you stop asking me to break up with Tian? Will you give all the shares you have back?" she kept asking tough questions, questions the two people did not have any answer to. They still did want whole Yu family ruined and they had no idea that while they were talking, Mei Qingyang had already transferred everything in Yu Tian''s name. They had approached her because they thought she was the new leader of Yu Empire.

    "We¡­ we will release Yu Ming. We will also give the shares back to you. After all, what we own is all yours," Jiang Nuo rubbed his hands together and tried negotiating. He had a wicked smile on his face. He thought, a bit of emotional torture should be enough to pull this girl back to his side. They could always kill Yu Ming later, he had worsened since then anyway.

    Mei Qingyang sneered. They only accepted what they wanted to and left Yu Tian completely out of the conversation. She was not going back to them anyway, so she took whatever she could get.

    "He is here, isn''t he? Assistant Yu, could you please transfer uncle Yu to the best hospital nearby? He needs medical attention right away," she urged Yu Bufan for help. Since it was his master''s dad, he had no choice but to oblige. He was not happy being ordered around by this girl anymore though. His qualms about this person proved right after all.

    "I¡­ I will take him there," Li Hanyu, who had accompanied the couple stated, he was trying to hide his face in shame. He had no idea that the people he had followed for so many years, basically worshipped them, would pull something like this. He was grieving too for his best friend''s death. But he did not take any drastic actions like these. He was even furious when Mei Qingyang had stated she was joining the school for revenge.

    Mei Qingyang just nodded and then turned her head to the couple again. She noticed they suddenly looked aged and meek. The always imposing Mr. Jiang, who could instill fear in any person, was just an ordinary man who had failed in his grand scheme. Mrs. Jiang, who was he very definition of gracefulness had her hair disheveled and pleas in her eyes. Was this something that Yu Tian realized about his aunt too?

    She glanced at the guy standing beside her who seemed disinterested in her family drama but had instinctively come closer to her to protect her in case Jiang Nuo did something. To show his stake on her, he pulled her from her waist towards himself.

    "I don''t care if you give us your permission or not, but this girl is mine. You can keep your shares as well. I personally don''t care about Yu Empire. I have my own ventures and am perfectly capable of supporting her throughout our lives," Yu Tian spoke calmly and collectedly to the couple. At this point, he did not care. If the girl was ready to be with him despite his flaws, he would listen to her. He had made that decision in his heart already.

 Chapter 219 - Meeting Dad

    "So? How did everything go?" Bai Yuchen, who was still in the meeting room, met Mei Qingyang again. There were a lot of people surrounding them, majority of them being the ones who wanted to suck up to Bai Yuchen for favors now.

    "Well, it is an ugly picture indeed. Both Yu Rong and Jiang Nuo are out of their senses right now. Guess this was too crushing a defeat for both parties. After all, they were not anticipating a third party to take over," Mei Qingyang shrugged her shoulders.

    Bai Yuchen took Mei Qingyang''s hands in his, gently, and then looked into her eyes. "Why do you look so sad though?"

    Mei Qingyang retracted her hand back from his grip. There were so many reporters around and it was not like they were in a corner or something. Yu Tian was already angry, what if he misunderstood? They again had a stall in their relationship because of this. She knew this guy treated her just like a younger sister. But Yu Tian would not understand that.

    Plus, she was not really sure what animosity was there between these two.

    "I am not sad Mr. Bai. What do you want to do next?" Mei Qingyang dismissed her mentor''s question and looked at him with bright stars in her eyes. She had finally achieved a major part of her goal.

    Yu Tian had gone to meet his dad in the other room. He needed to be transferred to the hospital right away. Mei Qingyang had wanted to accompany him but she was also the caretaker of Bai Yuchen here, so the guys told her to stay here. She would go and greet uncle Yu once she sent off Bai Yuchen.

    "Me? How about coming with me to celebrate? We can go on lunch, it''s actually the perfect time to do so," Bai Yuchen smiled once again.

    Mei Qingyang sighed. She did not want to decline but there were more pressing issues at hand. And should he not be inviting Yu Tian who had just become the real heir of the Yu Empire?

    "I will have to say no to that Mr. Bai. Unfortunately, I need to take care of a lot of aftermaths of our surprise to everyone. Would you like to stay here more or would you like to go?" she looked at her watch and realized it had already been an hour since the guys left. She needed to hurry up too.

    "Qing Qing, you are no fun at all," Bai Yuchen had a mischievous air about him, Mei Qingyang for some reason, could not help but shudder. Now that the seed of doubt had been sown about him, she could not help but notice these weird vibes from him. No, he was definitely not romantically interested in her. What was it then? What was his interest in her?

    "I shall help you with the departure then," she made the decision on his behalf, otherwise he would just keep stalling.

    "Fine, if you have said so, let''s go then. There is no one I want to meet here anyway," a disappointment flashed in his eyes and then he looked away.

    Mei Qingyang said her farewell and then hurried to the hospital where they had transferred Yu Ming.

    Yu Tian had rushed as soon as his assistant had called him.

    "Master, this couple really did injustice to your dad. He looks like a living corpse! He cannot move his limbs at all!!" Yu Bufan had called after retrieving the old man in the wheelchair. He was so thin that you could see his bones. No wonder Mei Qingyang was so agitated that day after she had come back from Yu island. And the reason for her bringing up that topic.

    "I will be right there," although Yu Tian did not have any good memories from his dad, he still wanted to see how he looked now. And he wanted to make sure that his dad saw how he had grown up.

    When he finally reached outside the building where Yu Bufan was helping him in the back of the car seat, his heart thumped loudly. What kind of expression should he make? What would his dad think? Would he shun him again as he had done before? He was not ready to be abandoned yet again.

    Then, Mei Qingyang''s words echoed in his mind, "I will always be there for you!"

    Yu Tian realized he really did not have any emotions towards the man he was looking at from the distance. Since he had no recollection of that man, he was practically a stranger to him. So then, was he just doing charity here? What thoughts should he have?

    "Tian, you accompany your dad, we will follow you behind," Su Lang put his hand on the shoulder of his friend, to give him some reassurance and encouragement. It was a broken relationship for himself and his dad, but for his friend, it was absolute absenteeism. It was going to take a lot of time for both men to even be comfortable with each other, the time they did not have.

    Yu Tian just nodded silently and took large strides to reach the car and help Yu Bufan with putting his dad in the car. As soon as Yu Ming saw his son, his eyes got wet and tears rolled down.

    This sudden reaction was too unexpected. Yu Ming wanted to say so much to this young man, who was a reflection of his late wife. How he had neglected him for so long just because the kid reminded him of his dead wife. Was that an excuse to abandon the little guy? But he had indeed committed the crime against his own son.

    And see how fate plays the game. His girlfriend was the one who saved him from that place and reunited him with his son. How could the destiny be so cruel? It was his last wish to see his son once, but this was not definitely the way he wanted to see him.

    The memories of the one year old child giggling when in his arms started rushing to his mind. They were such a happy family. He was the one who destroyed the happiness by his own two hands. If he had kept Yu Rong in check, if his wife had never come to know about the truth, they would still be a happy and cheerful family. It was all her fault, yes, all because of that stupid adopted sister of his.

    He closed his eyes in grief. Those memories were too painful. And then his haggard body and mind drifted off to sleep. He had gotten quite to see quite a few people these days but his health had deteriorated quite a bit. It was hard to sustain even a small amount of excursion.

    Yu Bufan had already started the car. Yu Tian was sitting with his dad in the car behind. He looked at the peacefully sleeping man beside him. His pale face made him look like a carcass. It seemed as if this man had not eaten any food for days.

    Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wished he could take him out for a sumptuous meal. But again, this man did not feel familiar to him at all. Guess his feelings were just coming from the blood that they shared.

    "Mr. Yu, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked, checking his pulse and eyes.

    Yu Ming nodded his head, he was feeling much much better. Guess they gave him some medications as well.

    "Can you try moving your fingers?" the doctor asked.

    Yu Ming tried but there was no response. He shook his head. Oh! At least he could move his head willingly now. Earlier, all he could do was move his eyes.

    The doctor nodded and signaled Yu Tian towards the side.

    "I am sorry young master. It will be hard to restore him to fully functional being. This drug that was given to him is very potent, it has destroyed a lot of neural network in him. I am afraid, he might not have much time left either. Once the tests results come out, I will be able to tell you more. But please be prepared," the doctor patted the shoulder of the young man.

    Yu Tian was all over the news and this was Fan family''s hospital, so everyone was familiar with Yu Tian''s story more or less. He had just gotten the Yu Empire snatched away from him and then this devastating news. How could a 21 year be able to bear it all?

    "Tian!" Mei Qingyang cried from behind. She had heard the conversation just now when she was rushing in. Yu Tian looked at her and then walked up to her. He kept his head on her shoulder and sighed.

    "Let me be like this for a few minutes," he said in a very exhausted tone.

 Chapter 220 - Jiang Couple Under House Arrest

    Mei Qingyang understood the turmoil within this guy''s heart. She stroked his back to placate him, her touch arousing his emotions once again. There were just so many things happening at once that he really felt tired and wanted to run away. So much for being the high and mighty boss.

    The person on the bed started a coughing fit suddenly, startling both the people who were trying to enjoy a moment of peace. They both ran towards the sickly man, to check what was wrong.

    The man had blood all over his face but he was able to move his head finally. Me Qingyang grabbed some towel and helped the man to wipe his face while Yu Tian picked up the bowl of water to help him feed water with spoons.

    Yu Ming was unable to sit without support, so Yu Tian had to be very careful. He would ask the doctor to put the tube for feeding him through his throat later.

    "I¡­ I¡­," Yu Ming tried speaking slowly. His voice was hoarse, it seemed like he had not uttered a word for months.

    ???Uncle, don''t strain your throat for now. As soon as some detoxification happens, you will regain some of your functions, if not all," Mei Qingyang calmed him down for the time being.

    Yu Ming nodded, indicating he had understood. How he wished he could pat his child. He had done such a huge crime against his own kid and he was still being filial. He had even brought his girlfriend here, who was such a caring kind kid.

    Haizz, he really wanted to talk to these two. This stupid brain of his.

    "Uncle, Yu Tian has become the President of Yu Empire, you do not need to worry about the company. Just focus on recovering, okay?" Mei Qingyang just rambled so that this could remain current over what was happening and not worry unnecessarily. Hearing this, Yu Ming closed his eyes in peace, like he was happy that it happened.

    With Mei Qingyang wiping around his face and neck with warm water and the towel, Yu Ming felt good and drifted off to sleep once again.

    "Have we recovered the maid on Yu Island?" Mei Qingyang asked Yu Tian. She had left the handling of rest of things on him and Su Lang. They had come out of the room after tucking Yu Ming in the bed.

    "Yeah, we found her and she is being transported to the same hospital at the moment," he replied.

    Mei Qingyang had been exhausted herself for the past few days, she had used so much brain of hers to come up with this whole plan, that she needed some relaxing getaway.

    "Tian, now that this is almost over, do you want to go on a trip? Just two of us?" she put her head on Yu Tian''s shoulder as they sat in the car to take them back.

    "Mmm¡­ We will see once I take the rein of everything. The school is still not under me," he slightly adjusted his position to let the girl be more comfortable.

    "Tian, I think I am ready to visit the places," she sat down with a jolt and looked at Yu Tian who understood her meaning. She was LI Sibao, the girl who had jumped off the school building. She had not shown any signs of being afraid of height, rather roof of the classroom building was one of her favorite places. But the part where Li SIbao had jumped off from, it was an area which had been barricaded and no one was allowed there.

    She would have wanted closure now that she had the real culprit behind the bars.

    "Will you be revealing your identity to the world now?" Yu Tian asked her softly.

    "Yes, I will stand as witness too. Whether you decide to help me out or not, I am okay with your decision. But one of the major reasons I am accepting it is, because the biggest witness in this whole case is me, myself. I will make sure she gets maximum punishment."

    "As for her behavior with you, although I did have ulterior motives at first in asking you to reveal it all, now I think it is not necessary. My testimony, Wang Hao''s testimony and then torture prison should be enough for her to get a life sentence," Mei Qingyang put her hand under her chin and looked outside in contemplation.

    She hoped she was right in conceding to Yu Tian this time. She did not want to put him under pressure, he was a victim. She had not gone through all that, so she did not understand his pain properly. She could only be an aid. Asking him to do something he was not comfortable with was too much. She had to respect his boundaries.

    Now last issue between them was Bai Yuchen. Yu Tian had become especially quiet since the board meeting. Although they were still loving in the same day, it felt like an eternity had already passed after that meeting.

    In the meantime, she had already taken care of handing over the shares and Yu Tian was the new President of Yu Empire. By now media must have known about this and must be swarming around the school like flies for more scoop right about now.

    "Assistant Yu, could you please take us to some warm beach? I really want to relax, even if it is for an hour or so," she suddenly had an idea in her mind and requested Yu Bufan who was driving the car.

    Yu Tian checked and found that the temperature was warmer at the Yu private beach 4 hours drive away from the place.

    "I think it is indeed time for celebration. Let''s go to our private beach," Yu Tian instructed Yu Bufan and texted someone to make necessary arrangements. Yu Bufan instantly turned his car around and they left for the beach.

    --------

    "Honey, it is all over the news, what will we do? We handed over Yu Ming as well, our last bargaining chip!" Mrs. Jiang was fretting. They had not been implicated in the case yet. No police had come to take them away, nothing. Did Mei Qingyang really take pity on them?

    They were sitting in their living room, all lights turned off. It felt like they were criminals in their own home.

    The surrounding darkness brought some solace to their dark hearts. They were beyond the point of redemption. But they would do as much damage as possible before they were taken away.

    "It is all your fault. My scheme of making her do the deed on our behalf was going so well. But you had to incite me to get involved myself. Once the hatred that I had suppressed for so long took over, I could not control myself!" Jiang Nuo started scolding his own wife. Their loving relationship was on testing grounds right now. It was failing in epic way.

    Old people had this problem all over the world. They could not admit their own wrongs, they had to blame anyone and everyone if something went wrong. Although this couple displayed a higher EQ, but they were ordinary people after all.

    Now that their lives were about to be ruined, all they could do was scold each other. Jiang Nuo''s accusation incensed the wife.

    "You can shut up. I had warned you to control yourself when you started messing with Yu Ming''s supply chain. Now it is my fault? That bastard guy definitely deserved it. He still should not be in the hospital but rotting in jail. If he had not raised his sister like that, my Bo would have been alive!" Mrs. Jiang choked up on remembering her sweet son.

    "Haaizz, no one would believe us even if we were to reveal what cruelty he did to his own sister," she lamented on having lost trust from everyone.

    "Let''s tip the media. It is already in uproar anyway. Anonymous tip should blow it up right away," Jiang Nuo still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He called his servant and handed over an envelope to him and whispered a few words. The servant nodded his head and left.

    -----------

    "Why are you bringing me this?" Li Hanyu was surprised to have received a package from the old man standing in front of him. He was the trusted servant of the Jiang family.

    "Young Master, our master has done too many wrongs, especially to that child. To think I have always been helping them in their wrongdoings, I am ashamed," the servant explained.

    "Don''t you think that I would hand you over to them or I might still be in their camp?" Li Hanyu inquired out of curiosity. Why him?

    "Young Master, it also happens to be my honor to have seen you grown up with young master Bo. I know your character very well. That aside, even if you were the bad guy, I do not have much time left anyway. If I was to be beaten to death, then so be it," the old servant smiled. He wanted to redeem himself and this was his last chance. He trusted the character of this guy.

    Li Hanyu reviewed the contents of the package and was shocked beyond belief.

    That night, an explosive news came out in the world. Yu Ming had illicit relationship with his own adopted sister before he got married to his wife!

 Chapter 221 - The Beach Date

    Unaware of everything happening in the real world, the three people were traveling to the beach. Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian had shut off their phones for media houses had been hounding them since morning. Yu Bufan was driving, so he could not pick up any calls at the moment.

    Except the noise from the engine, there was no sound in the car, at all. Everyone was so engrossed in thinking of the future from here onward that no one uttered a single sound throughout the journey.

    "Seems like we have entered the warm weather," Mei Qingyang suddenly removed her jacket. She still had a sweater on but it was growing hotter by the kilometer.

    "We will have suitable clothes in the villa," Yu Tian said while turning on the AC. Mei Qingyang nodded and went back to her thinking.

    Within 10 minutes, they were at the place. It was Yu family''s private beach in a very secluded place. It seemed like all of the Yu family liked the quiet, away from the eyes of the public. The beach had a majestic villa, standing tall, facing the ocean.

    Mei Qingyang had her mouth open wide at the old building. Yu Tian smiled softly at her and then explained, "This was built by my grandfather. Apparently, he gifted it to me on my birth."

    "Have you ever met him?" It looked like his grandfather really loved him to have given this whole villa to him as a gift. But then, why was Yu Tian subjected to the abuse still? It was much later after the death of his mom, but if his grandpa was still there, why did he not protect him?

    "My grandfather passed away within one year from my mother''s death. They say it was a heart attack. I was too young to know." If only he could be under his grandfather''s care, it would have been a life changer for him.

    "A¡­ anyway, let''s enjoy the place, shall we?" Mei Qingyang regretted asking the question and evoking the painful memories in him once again. He had grown much since the day she had met him. Even Dr. Chen had praised him on how much progress he had made in last year. This was not the time to be sad. They were here to celebrate after all.

    They went inside the villa, only to find it quite dusty and neglected. At least, the walls weren''t falling apart.

    "Where is the caretaker? Were they sleeping on this place all this time?" Yu Tian thundered, his coldness flaring up once again. Mei Qingyang just stood aside for this caretaker person did make a mistake.

    "Master!!" a person from behind came in trembling. "Master, I am so sorry. I just covered everything with sheets to protect them. I have prepared what you had asked me though. Everything is in the bedroom upstairs."

    "You better clean up everything before we come back from the beach," the master ordered the lone servant who heaved a sigh of relief on not having received the death punishment.

    The couple headed to the bedroom, Mei Qingyang snickered. Yu Tian looked at her with curious eyes.

    "Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking you have become soft. If it were one year ago, that servant would have been ousted."

    "You were the one who taught me the value of lives. He is a lonely person, keeping an eye on this mansion for so long, without any companion. If it had been some other person, they might have been calling their families over for vacation. But that guy is loyal to my grandpa. I should be rewarding him, right?" he pulled her into his embrace from the waist.

    "Glad to hear that," she placed a kiss on his cheek. Yu Tian stared at her in surprise, her face grew hot.

    "Do you want to go to the beach or remain in the bedroom?" he asked before swallowing his saliva. His throat suddenly felt dry.

    "We came for beach, we will go to beach," Mei Qingyang blushed even harder. Had this guy suddenly become too shameless?

    "As you command madam," he suppressed the naughty thoughts in his mind and conceded to whatever his kitten wanted.

    They went into the bedroom and found it freshly cleaned. The linens had just been changed and there was a fragrance of carpet shampoo in the air. That servant indeed needed to be rewarded. The villa was too big to have been cleaned every day.

    They both looked around, there were variety of summer clothes in the closet for both of them. Mei Qingyang went inside the bathroom to change.

    She chose a cute two piece, with cherry blossoms. The top was a perfect fit. Then there was a small skirt beneath. For the first time, she was not embarrassed of her scars, because there was no one to see them and judge her here.

    Thus, she, for the first time as Mei Qingyang, wore the short clothes. When she got out, Yu Tian had also changed into his shorts and white tee. When he saw Qingyang, he was stunned for a moment. Apart from that one incident, she had never bared her scars for others to see like this. He knew she still had complex about them, although it was not as big as his own. Mei Qingyang also looked at him bashfully.

    Qingyang had decided on this particular outfit because she wanted to show him that through him, she had also found courage to embrace herself. That they completed each other this way and he should not worry about being apart from her.

    She just wanted to take his hand to go out but suddenly her lips were taken by the soft lips of his. She was not expecting it at all! Did he just not promise that they would be going to the beach?

    She pounded her hand on to his sturdy c.h.e.s.t for a few times but ultimately gave in. This guy knew how to make her weak in her knees. He became bolder every time he went in, now his tongue was playing a dance with hers.

    Yu Tian was checking each and every corner of her mouth, adoring the play of hide and seek her tongue was playing with his. He separated from her and laughed at her muddled cute face.

    "Come on, let''s go," he tapped her head from behind. She felt relieved, for she had thought they were going all the way.

    "I am not done yet though," Yu Tian whispered in her ears, turning her face and neck to beet red color. Mei Qingyang glared at him angrily, this man was becoming shameless by the day.

    They went outside with relaxation on their minds. Mei Qingyang directly went to the water. This side of the ocean was rather calm and waves were small as well. Perfect place to take dip!

    Yu Tian followed her into the water as well. They dived and played, forgetting everything that had just happened and was about to happen. In this moment, it was just them and this water.

    Hand in hand, they just swam on their backs in the water. Yu Tian just wanted the time to stop.

    "Tian," she changed her position and was now standing in the shallow water. Yu Tian, who was still lying on his back, looked at her. She touched the big scar on his c.h.e.s.t which was not visible through his wet t-shirt. They looked deeply into each other''s eyes. But the words did not come out.

    "Tian, I am sorry about taking this decision on my own. I know I am a willful person," she pecked his forehead lightly.

    "And I am so glad you have always been supportive of whatever I do, even if it does not make you happy. I am aware that you don''t particularly like him but he came to our help when we needed it the most!" She was trying to explain to him about Bai Yuchen.

    "Correction Qing Qing, he came to your help, not ours," Yu Tian felt the anger bubble up from the bottom of his heart but he decided to listen to her patiently. Her decision was going to prove disastrous to their relationship, he was sure of that. No one invests so much money in anyone without expecting anything in return. But in hindsight, it did save him and his friends a lot of trouble.

    "Alright, he helped me. But it became win-win for both of us," she took Bai Yuchen''s side once again.

    "We are yet to see that Qing Qing. Again, I do not have any problems with what you did. You were correct in not consulting me because I would have never agreed. I have followed that guy since his rise in start-up world. But he has no flaws so as to speak. And that is more dangerous," Yu Tian also explained his point of view gently to her. Mei Qingyang understood where he was coming from.

    But this was the first time where none of them was conceding and the conflict would remain unresolved. She felt sad and disappointed, in herself, for not being able to do enough.

    "Alright, don''t fret so much over it, you will ruin your health if you think so much," Yu Tian got up as well and hugged the girl. Now the Yu Empire was in his hands, he had the power to save his girl, did he not? Did Bai Yuchen not count this in his calculations? He still could not figure out this motive but at least, he knew that Mei Qingyang would not willingly leave him.

    "But¡­," she still did not feel convinced that there was no crack between them.

    "It is okay to have different opinions, right? I don''t like him and I will stay away from him. But if you feel like he could be a good mentor to you, why not learn from him, while you can? My only condition would be to have Bufan by your side when you meet him. Can you do that much?" he placed a kiss on her forehead. This was the only solution he had come up with after scratching his head for so long.

    "Master!!" Yu Bufan did not want to disturb them during this time but he had no choice. "Master! Something has happened!!"

 Chapter 222 - Yu Ming Speaks

    "How¡­ how is this possible?" Yu Tian exclaimed as he watched the exclusive news replete with photos of his dad kissing his aunt passionately. Not only was his aunt lecherous, even his dad? What kind of reputation was left about him then? His whole family was this disgraceful.

    He could not peel his eyes off the screen. The only respect he had for his dad dissipated into the thin air at that moment. He closed the TV in the villa coldly and threw the remote into the TV, shattering its screen, scaring the servant and Yu Bufan out of their wits.

    Every time Mei Qingyang looked at the picture, she wanted to puke. It must be so traumatic for Yu Tian. She went ahead and tapped his shoulder in condolence.

    Yu Tian so wished he could just hide somewhere and not come out forever. Actually, this place would be the best for that.

    Mei Qingyang whispered to him, "Tian, this is not the time to be sitting down here. You have just won Yu empire, people will have a reason to say no to you now. We have to go and fight another battle."

    Yu Tian closed his eyes and clenched his hands. His kitten was right. He had to handle this right, otherwise all her efforts would be in vain.

    "Bufan, check who leaked this information without giving it to us. From their action, it does not seem money or fame is the motive. They would have come to me to bargain otherwise. Then their target could be anyone of Yu family,"

    "I am already on it. The car is waiting downstairs," Yu Bufan informed.

    "Sorry, we have to leave. Before we come next time, you can call your family members or friends on vacation if you like," Yu Tian instructed the servant and stuffed some extra money in his hands. He then left with Mei Qingyang.

    The servant wiped his tears away, this was the first time he had been treated so nicely by the master. He went ahead to make calls right away.

    The journey back was quite an ordeal. They did not know what to talk about. Yu Tian was just so disgusted by his lineage, why did it have to come to this?. He massaged his temples, another headache was coming.

    As soon as they arrived at the hospital where Yu Ming was admitted, they were swarmed by the reporters.

    "Did you know about this?"

    "How do you feel now that the truth about your dad has come out?"

    "Have you participated in a similar activity with your family members?"

    "Did you follow the footsteps of your dad, ever?"

    "Do you think you might have born out of the relationship between your aunt and your dad rather than your mom and your dad?

    "We have investigated and found out that the reason of your mother''s suicide was this exact photo, do you have any comments?"

    Yu Tian did not have any memories of this parents anyway. When he heard the last reporter, no emotions stirred in his heart. How could they, for a woman whose face he did not remember?

    He just glared coldly at the crowd taking in the faces of whoever was present. He would deal with everyone later.

    Mei Qingyang followed him closely, with a similar cold and aloof aura. None of them answered any question and just straight up headed inside.

    In the hospital, as soon as anyone spotted Yu Tian, they would start whispering among themselves. He had never experienced such mocking gazes in his life ever. He wanted to punch each and every face present. But Mei Qingyang, as usual, held his hand tightly, urging him to stay calm. They first needed to hear from Yu Ming himself.

    "We just sent him into the surgery, his vocal cords will gain function after this," the doctor informed them.

    "Tian! Qing Qing!!" Su Lang came rushing in with Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi.

    "Oh my God, guys are you both okay?" he hugged both of them one by one.

    It was almost dawn when everyone had arrived. They were all exhausted from the meeting last morning but after the news was released, none had gotten even a wink of sleep. Who would want to slander the Yu family so badly?

    "This is just awful," Fan Ruyi mumbled and looked at both of them with pity in her eyes. There was nothing but obstacles in their lives. It made her wonder if they were really suitable for each other or if fate had something else in its mind for them.

    They had not come to convince Yu Ming to speak against it and claim it all was fabricated. But they had come to ask him to admit the truth in front of everyone. They could only bet on people favoring the honesty and sparing them in the process.

    "He is out!" Su Lang saw that the lights of the operation theatre had just turned off and the doctor had just come out.

    "Well, the surgery was a success. We should hear some sort of words when he wakes up," the doctor informed the group.

    "How much time till he wakes up?" Mei Qingyang asked.

    "Well, he should be waking up in about an hour or so. But I do ask of you to not strain him for the time being," the doctor replied.

    "Thank you Doctor," Yu Tian bowed to him in respect when the doctor clapped his shoulder in sympathy.

    When Yu Ming came to, he was surrounded by everyone. He had not seen or heard the news, so he was not sure why the atmosphere was so tense.

    "Mr. Yu, how are you feeling?" Mei Qingyang was the first person to notice that the man had opened his eyes.

    "Wa¡­ter¡­," he uttered his first words in months. A tear rolled down his eye when he heard his own raspy voice. He had felt so handicapped when he was at his home. Mei Qingyang brought the warm water, helped him sit up on the bed and slowly fed the man with spoons. Once the man was satisfied, he nodded, "Thank¡­ you¡­"

    He could not really make out why everyone had this strangeness in their eyes, and it seemed to be towards him?

    Yu Tian got up from his seat and threw his iPad in front of him with the picture of the lecherous couple, "What is this?"

    Yu Ming looked at the photograph and his eyes went wide with shock. Where the hell did this come from? Who took it at such an angle? It was the garden of their big old house, was someone spying on them? Was this a news article? Then, it leaked to the whole country? He dropped his head in shame. This was the only mark on his life he had wanted to erase.

    "I asked what is this?" Yu Tian raised his voice.

    "I¡­," Yu Ming turned his head, not wanting to face whatever was in front of him. And to explain something so shameful to his own son? How could he?

    A storm of rage was brewing in Yu Tian''s heart. "It does not matter to me what you did in past for I don''t care. But this is affecting Qing Qing''s hard work in acquiring Yu Empire for me. She has made so many sacrifices for me, so if you don''t correct this situation by yourself, I do not know what I will do, with you and with that witch," he burst out in rage.

    Mei Qingyang was touched by his words but this was not the time.

    "Call¡­ a press¡­ conference," Yu Ming replied.

    "Bufan," Yu Tian just said one word and the press conference was arranged for next day. The reporters had calmed down for the time being and had stopped hounding the group for answers.

    Mei Qingyang tried to catch some as well but the sleep would not come.

    "Are you awake?" Yu Tian, who was lying by her side, cuddling with her in his arms asked.

    "Mmm¡­ With all this situation, I don''t think I have heart to sleep. I am afraid as soon as I close my eyes, the world will change again," she buried her head into his sturdy c.h.e.s.t some more. He c.a.r.e.s.sed her hair gently. There was so much on their minds that there was no space for anything else for now.

    "Tian, do you want to go visit Yu Rong too regarding this matter?" Yu Rong was his weak spot, and if in her hands, she would not want them to meet. But he deserved the truth. And who knew what Yu Ming would say. He was a businessman, he could easily manipulate the media to sympathize with him.

    "Should I?" Yu Tian glanced at her and was surprised to see she was staring right at him. How did she always manage to sense what he was thinking?

    "Then, let''s go in the evening," Mei Qingyang replied and nestled her way into his c.h.e.s.t once again.

 Chapter 223 - The Press Conference

    The two people looked really tired, as if they did not catch even a wink of sleep last night. By the time they felt drowsy, it was already time to get up and get ready. They did not even any appetite.

    Apart from Su Lang, Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue, Wei Qiqi and Xu Yang had arrived too. They both were worried about the girl and how she was handling this all.

    Thankfully, both of them looked in their top conditions, despite the exhaustion. It was more like, both of them were so done with their families that they did not care anymore.

    All of them headed to the press conference that had been arranged in haste. Since after the surgery, Yu Ming had started speaking again properly, although his bodily functions were still limited.

    A few servants from Yu Tian''s house helped the old man dress up in nice suit. His imposing aura was back just with the change of clothes and gain of some strength in his body after a day of treatment. Yu Bufan was tasked to take Yu Ming to the conference.

    There were hundreds of reporters who were clamoring to get front seat in the hall. The conference was arranged in one of the big auditoriums in Fan family''s hospital itself. Thus, there was no rush and no problem of travelling.

    Yu Ming arrived with his IV drip mount in his hands. His pale face and eyes full of regret made everyone feel pity for him. He had been out of public eye for so long that as soon as he entered the hall, the reporters started cl.i.c.k.i.n.g pictures fervently, like they would not get a chance to see him again.

    Yu Bufan positioned the man in front of the mike. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were already standing on the side, hand in hand. Now they did not have to fear anything and were always seen together. A lot of news had been about uncovering the identity of the girl as well, but no one had succeeded yet.

    "Ahem," the hall full of whispers suddenly quietened down as Yu Ming cleared his throat. There was a pin drop silence. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the man to speak.

    "First of all, I am glad to be back after so much time in seclusion. A lot of people have supported me behind the scenes, and I want to thank them all," he bowed down. Someone in the audience yawned, they were not here for personal ramblings of this guy. Could he just speak already?

    "Second, I am ashamed of the fact that I just came out to recuperate and someone has already decided to slander me with such baseless and shameful accusations. Who this person is, I don''t know. But please, do not try to project your own fetishes on an innocent man like me," Yu Ming continued, exploding the hall into murmurs. Wasn''t this guy going to admit it? Why was he denying it at this moment? The evidence was conclusive.

    "I understand that you guys are looking at that picture but I can be sure, that is fabricated," Yu Ming smiled. Both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang looked at each other, dark lines forming on their face. Was it possible that he had employed one of his tricks and switched out the real picture with a fake one?

    But that was too big an operation, changing the picture on the whole internet. What about the physical copies? Where did he get the resources for it? Unless¡­

    Both of them had an epiphany. It was quite possible that he had snubbed the picture at its source itself. Damn it, they should have never underestimated this guy''s connections.

    "I would like to plead to the person who started all this to come out. I am not looking for apology, I just want to know what grudge against me you have and how I could rectify it. Now that I have decided to hand over everything to my beloved son and retire peacefully, I do not want ill will from anyone," the old man dabbed his fake tears on the TV. The opinion of the whole nation had changed with a few words from him.

    Everyone had started cursing whoever undertook the operation. Defaming a frail old man like this, it was horrible.

    "Ahhh¡­ my hearts ache so much. To think they would associate me with my own beloved sister. What have I not done for her? Even though she was adopted by my dad against my wishes, and a lot of people had questioned him if she was his illegitimate child, I never cared about it. I always treated her as my own. But now people are coming to throw this much shade on me, even implicated my son," he suddenly started wailing in front of everyone. The reporters'' sympathy suddenly increased for him and his family. Even the stock prices for Yu Empire started rising up. Such was the prowess of the topmost businessman in M nation.

    The journalists swallowed the row of questions they had prepared for him as the whole hall burst out into heated discussions. Yu Ming was smiling through his tears, having achieved his goal. Why should he, the actual ruler of the country bow before these peasants, especially because of his peasant sister?

    "Have you uttered enough bullsh*t?" a wooden stick clanged with the floor and a very authoritative voice came from behind. Yu Ming flinched at the voice.

    The hall quietened down again. Everyone turned around to look who this person was who could shut Yu Ming as well.

    They could see a lean figure with hunched back, supported by the stick that had just vented its rage on the ground and Su Lang at the back.

    "Librarian grandpa?" Mei Qingyang muttered to herself. What was the old man doing here? Yu Tian also recognized him in an instant.

    Yu Ming could not get up from his chair, otherwise he would have fled away by now. Where to hide? He looked down at the table. The moment his old friend, Jiang Nuo, had re-entered his life, his life had turned into bad luck. Could he just kill his sister and that bastard? They were all going to meet in the jail anyway. He would take his revenge then.

    He had all kind of connections everywhere. What had he not dealt with in his life before?

    The old man came forward with his stick making a loud this every time it touched the ground, creating a terror in everyone''s heart with the man''s each step.

    Su Lang helped the man climb the stage. Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian also came forward.

    "Grandpa, what are you doing here?" Mei Qingyang asked in a hushed tone amidst the suspicious and curious gazes from the audience below.

    "You will see," the Grandpa smiled and patted her hand in reassurance. Then he charged forward to be behind Yu Ming.

    "You brat! You have been indulging yourself all these years and now you are creating all this drama. Do you have any idea how your one mistake took so many lives? And you dare shed tears here?" he raised his wooden stick and hit the wheelchair hard, shaking the person sitting on it to the core.

    What kind of display was this? Yu Ming suddenly became a scaredy cat. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang looked at the pair with their jaws wide open. It was like a parent was scolding their kid. But in front of everyone, it was too embarrassing for Yu Ming

    "U¡­ Uncle," he muttered.

    Uncle? What Uncle? Yu family knew the old man? He seemed like a powerful personality too. Mei Qingyang looked at Yu Tian quizzingly but he shook his head. He had no idea about the man as well.

    "Hey, is that the chief of staff of Yu patriarch?" someone in the crowd whispered. When everyone looked at the old man properly, they realized it was true. The crowd burst into discussion once again.

    " Ch¡­ Chief of staff? The Grandpa? Impossible!!" Mei Qingyang exclaimed.

    Su Lang hopped on to the stage. "I was surprised too when he called Weixi out of the blue. I verified his claim, he is telling the truth," he explained.

    "Wasn''t my grandfather''s chief of staff and aloof man of unknown origins and strength? Not ,any people knew him, how come someone out of these people recognized him?" Yu Tian frowned.

    "That was one of my people who let that information out," Su Lang chuckled, "It was on Grandpa''s order."

    "I suddenly feel like this explains a lot of things, including him agreeing to help Jiang Nuo. Why did he need to hide his identity from us though?" Mei Qingyang could not really come to terms with the whole situation.

    "Now explain them properly your deeds, otherwise I have enough ''real'' evidence against you," the grandpa yelled at Yu Ming again

 Chapter 224 - The Inheritance

    "I¡­ I am sorry. I wanted to experiment and Yu Rong was the most easily available girl around me and so¡­," Yu Ming swallowed his saliva, his voice getting smaller and his head dropping lower by the moment.

    With this monster standing behind him, he could not dare utter a single lie. This guy was the right hand man of his own dad. His dad trusted the man with his life. His dad had picked him up from underworld, he was one of the most powerful people at that time.

    Having joined hands with his own dad, the Yu name had flourished significantly after that. This guy could kill very easily, without hesitation. Yu Ming knew, even in seventies, that man''s stick was not a normal wooden stick. It must be hiding a weapon or two. Anyway, this guy had enough strength in his prime to crack a skull with just that frail stick.

    Yu Ming''s dad''s heart attack that year was indeed due to him discovering the truth about his own son and Yu Rong. He was not sure who had leaked the information after all those years to his wife a year before and then to his dad.

    His secret, that had buried with his dad and wife, eventually came out. He had never to worry about his sister leaking it because she never thought of him as wrong. She worshipped her own brother like a God.

    He was the one who gave confidence to that introvert and shy girl. If not for him, she would have just been sitting at home, waiting for someone to feed her. He made her independent. She would never betray him.

    "I¡­ Did not assault her. It was all consensual," he spoke up again.

    The audience gasped at the revelation. Did this man even understand what he was saying? Calculating their ages, she would have been a minor when they had done the deed. Was this something to say out loud? What would the child understand?

    The stick made a contact with the chair again. Yu Ming shrieked in fear. He looked behind and saw the face of the devil. His mental fortitude was already weak because of Jiang Nuo and this man was behind his a.s.s.

    ???It seems like grandpa must have been a terrifying man in his youth. Even your tyrant father is nothing before him," Mei Qingyang whispered to Yu Tian who was watching the show unfolding with disgust. Now he understood why his mom committed suicide.

    He had always been resentful towards his parents for abandoning him. But now he was thankful for his mom''s early departure. How could she live after knowing that she had fallen for a pedophile? He did hope there was a better way or place for her. But it did not matter anymore.

    "Talk about your wife and dad, and wrap it up. I have already called police, you will be treated in their custody from now on," the grandpa thundered.

    "Ye¡­yes," sweat rolled down Yu Ming''s forehead but there was no one to take care of him. He was just making fool out of himself.

    "Yu Tian''s mom came to know about it somehow. We fought, I tried convincing her that it was a one time thing, but that girl would not believe me. I tried pleading to her but she was intent on leaving me. I loved her too much so I mixed poison in her drink. The maids in the house knew about her mentally unstable condition even if they did not know the reason. So they testified in my favor, not knowing the actual cause. I made the police close the case as suicide," Yu Ming spoke once again, his voice trembling. Next thing he knew, he had flown from his chair onto the ground.

    Yu Tian huffed as he shook his aching hand. All this while, he had thought his mother left him behind for no reason. She had not even taken her own life? How could he have cursed her so much in his thoughts? His poor mom, why did she even look at this guy, much less love him?

    He looked coldly at the guy lying down on the floor, bleeding from the corner of his mouth. He felt so much rage that he wanted to punch him some more. Qingyang ran to him to stop him. The cameras flashed again and again to capture the whole family drama. This story would be talk of the nation for years to come.

    "He has just undergone surgery and he is a weak man. Why waste your breath? He will die otherwise!" Mei Qingyang placated Yu Tian, patting him again and again.

    "I am disgusted beyond words to call myself your son. Even if you get out of here alive, you are dead for me," Yu Tian spoke with so much coldness that everyone in the crowd felt chills in their spine. If there was no one to stop him here, Yu Ming might not have made it alive. The son on the stage looked like king of hell. No one dared move even their finger.

    "Puhahahah, I knew it, you are my son after all. Patricide is fine too, come to my league. Experience the rage. You can''t get rid of your blood my boy. You, the girl over there, you are his girlfriend? See how deceiving I was all this while? Your boyfriend here will be the same, you will never find happiness as long as he has Yu name" Yu Ming laughed and cursed them both at the same time.

    The grandpa''s stick slowly approached Yu Ming''s neck. When he saw he could be killed any moment, he laughed even louder, like a maniac.

    "I will give you a befitting ending dear nephew, even before any accusations touch this fine young man. It is a pity that he was born to you. This couple''s kindness was wasted on you. Take him away," he ordered the police that was on standby near the stage.

    The brought in a stretcher and handcuffed him with it.

    "So now you guys know the truth behind Yu family. The Yu patriarch, my best friend, had a heart attack after he got to know the real reason of his daughter in law''s death. Yes, he knew the truth, and could not believe that his own son could do that. He took grief over the fact that he failed to teach both his children and passed away," the grandpa addressed the crowd of reporters.

    "If you knew the truth, why did you not come out earlier?"

    "Why was the reason for Yu Ming''s wife death not revealed earlier?"

    "What other things are you not telling us?"

    "How does this affect young master Yu''s inheritance rights?" A rally of questions followed after the story got over. The grandpa was not in the mood to answer anything, this he waved his hands and dismissed everyone. But he did answer the last question.

    "Yu Tian''s grandfather never handed the inheritance to Yu Ming. After he had become bedridden, he had gotten two wills made. One was given to Yu his own two children and it was take. The lawyers are aware of it. The whole Yu Empire and the Yu assets unless purchased by those two personally, all belong to the grandson since the beginning," he announced and moved slowly towards the couple who were standing there expressionless. No one had any idea how to reach anymore.

    "I am sorry it took me so long to come out. Given the old age, I had no idea so much had happened behind my back. When Jiang Nuo contacted me, that was when I realized the water had crossed the limits. I still did not want to reveal it because, you my boy, were not ready. Qing Qing, I am so glad you are with him now," the grandpa softened immediately seeing the two people in front of him.

    If everyone had not witnessed him just now, no one could say that the old man a few minutes ago and the old man now were the same people. The crowd was dragged out by the men old man had brought with him. The hall became empty in a few minutes, except their friends and their assistants.

    Yu Tian bowed to the grandpa. "I am sorry you had to come out like this. We were incompetent. It must have brought bad memories," he was still in his business mode.

    The old man smiled and stepped forward. He patted the guy''s head gently, with much love, as if he was his own grandson. "Tian ah! It''s not good to bottle up your emotions. Why don''t you let it out now?" His words struck somewhere to the kid and a dam broke.

    Hot tears started rolling his cheeks but he had no idea what had just happened.

    "Tears? I¡­ I am sorry, I didn''t mean to¡­" Yu Tian mumbled, touching his own face unbelievably.

    "It''s okay. We are here for you," the grandpa pulled him into a hug and let him cry all he wanted.

    That day, Yu Tian''s sorrow, resentment, sadness melted like thawed ice. He had no use holding onto those emotions.

    That day, the auditorium in the hospital witnessed a guy releasing his pain forever and ever. His screams of relief and regret made everyone present shed their own tears, including the grandpa himself.

 Chapter 225 - Visiting Yu Rong

    "Ahahaha, I was expecting you guys. Did you see the reality finally?"

    Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang had gone to meet Yu Rong in the evening. She had been taken to jail after the doc.u.ments related to her drugs and weapons businesses were handed over to police by Yu Tian himself.

    Although, the librarian grandpa had made Yu Ming spill all the beans before the press, Mei Qingyang still thought it would be great for Yu Tian to see her one final time.

    "He¡­ he was the one who ruined me. All I did was love him, and then love you." Behind the glass, Yu Rong raised her hand and traced Yu Tian''s face line, longing in her eyes apparent. What was so wrong in loving them?

    "He¡­ he was the one who approached me first. When we first did it, I felt on the top of this world. Brother loved me and I loved him. We sealed our love that day. And it continued from there on. And that wench came into his life," Yu Rong started rambling her story without even asking. It was good that they did not need to ask her for none of them was in the mood of talking to her. They just wanted to see where this woman stood after all the revelations.

    "I hated her to the core. Because of her, brother started avoiding me. Whenever I wanted to touch him, he would ignore me like a plague. I missed that feeling so much. And when I would see your mother hands in hands with him, I would go cry in my room. He hurt me so much," Yu Rong dabbed her tears, reminiscing in the past. Yu Ming was supposed to be his since the beginning. That wench was the one who came in between the two.

    "And so, I leaked hints about my and brother Ming to her. I had no choice, I wanted him back. I was jealous, jealous of how happy they were, while I was just waiting for him to even spare a glance for me," Yu Rong sobbed but no one was really sympathetic with her. It was true that she was exploited by Yu Ming, and there was no one to teach her that it was not right. But that did not give her the right to destroy so many lives because of that.

    "When she grew suspicious enough, she started investigating and sure enough, came to know the truth. Who would have thought that brother would kill her just because she wanted to separate from him and then turn to seclusion after that? If I had known I would lose him forever, I would have never done it," Yu Rong continued her story.

    "But the only good thing that wench did was leave you with me. You were the very reflection of brother. If not him, then you would be my perfect partner. But again, I had to hide our relationship too. And so, I even married this guy who claimed to be in love with me. He also died a tragic death," she laughed manically at the thought of that guy dying.

    Wait, why was his face so hazy to her? Did she forget her ex-husband''s face? Anyway, she needed to drive her point across, she knew her love would reach her nephew.

    "So¡­ what was wrong in doing all that just to protect my love for you both?" she asked, her eyes tinging and turning red with tears.

    Mei Qingyang looked at the woman in front of her coldly. This woman¡­ was a black mark on whole human species. She had no regrets whatsoever about whatever she had done. She was even justifying her actions in the name of love.

    She glanced at Yu Tian sitting sideways who was sitting there as if he had a fool was speaking in front of him. He looked disinterested but at least his aura was not unstable.

    Now that he had seen her in the condition she was, there was a weird solace in his heart. Her words did not matter anymore. She was separated from them by that glass wall. She could not reach him. She could not touch him. She could do nothing to him.

    Is this what they called inner peace? He did not take revenge for himself. A revenge would have been destroying her without her fault. But she was behind bars for legit reasons. Would it douse the fire in his heart more if he were to come out and be the witness?

    Yu Tian was in another dimension altogether. All these thoughts were running in his mind. He just did not want to have anything to do with Yu family anymore. A fresh start would be great.

    "Tian ah! Say something. Your aunt really loves you, okay? Brother Ming has already abandoned me, please you also don''t leave me here," Yu Rong pleaded.

    The once graceful lady had been reduced to such state. She was in the prison clothing, her hair was disheveled. She had no make up on, so all the years of heavy make-up was clearly visible on her bad skin. Her lips were dry and cracked. She also had a few bruises on her face, perhaps she got into some scuffle with someone in the prison.

    "They¡­ they do not treat me well here, please take me out my dear nephew," she started wailing at this moment, like this was a hell.

    She was still locked in with the inmates that had not been trial yet. So, she had not even experienced the real harshness of the prison yet.

    A cold and sinister smile appeared on Yu Tian''s face. His heart might have been taken over by the devil which could have been the reason he was relishing every moment of Yu Rong''s misery. And the only words in his mind right now were, ''she deserved it.''

    Mei Qingyang nodded her head. They were not any saints or messiah. They were normal human beings and the feelings this guy was going through was what made him human. His relived expression told Mei Qingyang that this trip they took was worth it.

    "The real deal has not even started yet, and you are already asking me to get you out?" Yu Tian spoke up.

    "The real deal?" Yu Rong had thought that because these guys had no evidence apart from her embezzling funds, which was the crime she was in prison for, she would get one year of jail at maximum. There would be hefty fine but she had a personal hidden stash as well, so she could still live in the l.a.p of luxury after she got out.

    But from her nephew''s words, there was more coming?

    "Aunt, what do you think about me testifying against you?" Yu Tian never broke his smile. He was grinning from ear to ear as if he had found a toy to tease this woman in front of her. He had not told his decision to even Mei Qingyang yet so she looked at him, stunned.

    This was something Dr. Chen needed to know! This would be the biggest step Yu Tian would take in his journey of healing. It did seem like he was going to do it out of spite, but whatever soothed his heart.

    Yu Rong''s eyes also went wide. "Testify against me? For what? What did I ever do to you that you would want me to send to prison?" she yelled at him and hit the glass wall with her fists forcefully. This ungrateful bastard that she had provided for, all these years, was talking about going against her? The nerve of this guy!

    "Don''t scream," the constable behind Yu Rong warned her in a loud voice. The woman had to sit down in her chair, but she was looking at Yu Tian, dumbfounded.

    Yu Tian slowly got up from his seat and started unbuttoning his shirt. Mei Qingyang sat down silently at the side. This was between the aunt and the nephew, she would not interfere. She did not need to. Yu Tian was an a.d.u.l.t, he would know what he was doing.

    "What¡­ what are you doing?" a lecherous look suddenly donned Yu Rong''s face.

    Mei Qingyang could see drool on this l.e.w.d woman''s face. She turned her head, otherwise, she would smash that glass and that woman''s head who was coveting her boyfriend like that.

    Yu Tian removed his shirt, and his perfect abs came into light. Even the constable behind, who was male, could not help but stare at the fit body he was seeing.

    There were multiple scars on his c.h.e.s.t, the biggest one being very ugly. The constable thanked his stars to have not been born in a rich family. Which person would be cruel to beat this a.d.u.l.t like this?

    "Do you see this aunt? This should be enough reason to speak against you, what do you say?" Yu Tian pointed to the scar on his c.h.e.s.t. Yu Rong swallowed her saliva.

    Mei Qingyang did not know if the woman''s action was out of l.u.s.t or she was truly scared.

    "That¡­ I might have gone overboard but it is the way to discipline kids who are rebellious. Did my teachings not get you where you are?" Yu Rong still did not back down and protested.

    The constable behind was shocked to hear the words. This woman was the one who did that to the perfectly sculpted body? He would need to pay extra attention to this woman even if she was not in the prison for child abuse.

    Yu Tian scoffed. "My achievements are a result of Yu Bufan''s teachings and Su Lang''s, Feng Yue''s and Fan Ruyi''s constant support. My courage is thanks to this lass here," he leaned against the glass and bent to the level of the woman he hated. Then he looked straight into her terror filled eyes.

    "What you did was break my confidence and give me Stockholm syndrome. You call that upbringing?"

    Yu Rong started trembling. She¡­ she did it for all his sake. How could she be wrong? No, it was this wench in front of him that had brainwashed her sweet nephew. She needed to claim him back.

    "N¡­ no nephew. If someone instigated you against me, know this, I had your best interest in my mind. I could not have beaten you up for no reason. I do not remember exact incidents, excuse this old lady''s memory but¡­"

    "So, you don''t even remember the moments while I keep replaying all those nights again and again in my head? And beating myself up for being weak and not refusing you? Every time you touched me, I felt like worms were wriggling on my whole body. You were the reason that I started fearing touch from people, especially women. Every time a human brushed past against me, I felt needles pricking my skin. I would always to puke. And you claim you don''t remember?" Yu Tian''s voice became colder by the minute. Yu Rong was shaking so badly that it was visible.

    "I¡­," Yu Rong tried to speak up but was shot down by Yu Tian each time she tried.

    "Shut up! Just shut up and admit it okay? I am not looking for apology, your crime is too heinous to even think about apologizing. But if you still can''t understand your wrongs, then you are beyond redemption. Qing Qing, let''s go, we are done here," Yu Tian pounded his fist very hard on the glass in frustration, his skin cracking and bleeding.

    Mei Qingyang got up and put the shirt back on Yu Tian on their way out.

    "Nephew! Don''t go! I will admit my wrongdoings, please just get me out of here. I will change¡­"

    The couple did not even look back to the crying Yu Rong. It was befitting end. Yu Tian decided that he would personally see to it that she rotted in here for all her life.

 Chapter 226 - Mrs. Zhao Is Gone

    After settling everything, the couple finally landed at their home. Mei Qingyang sat down at the sofa and immediately dozed off. Too many things had happened in last two days. But after all this, both of them felt much lighter. It was like, the heavy burdens from their hearts had just evaporated into thin air.

    Yu Tian looked at his kitten. The ever present lines of concern on her forehead were finally smoothened out. She was sitting with her head resting on the back of the sofa, which looked really uncomfortable.

    Yu Tian sat down at the other hand, and then slowly lowered her head into his own l.a.p. Mei Qingyang moved around in her sleep and found a comfortable position to settle in, her face facing Yu Tian''s stomach.

    The sudden movement did excite Yu Tian a bit but he decided to suppress his d.e.s.i.r.e. The poor girl was so tired that she had let her guard down for the first time since she joined this school. If it had been before, she would have woken up with even the tiniest movement around her.

    But today, she was sleeping like a child. And she deserved it too. She had solved all the problems she had come here for and saved her boyfriend from his own tyrant aunt.

    Yu Tian tucked a lock of her hair that had fallen on her cheek behind her ear lovingly. How could he be so lucky to have found her? She had changed his life in less than a year. He c.a.r.e.s.sed her cheek gently and then placed an affectionate kiss on her thin lips.

    "Master, Mrs. Zhao is not in the house," Yu Bufan came back and whispered in Yu Tian''s ears.

    "Why? What happened to her?" Yu Tian kept running his fingers through Mei Qingyang''s soft hair, as if Mrs. Zhao''s disappearance did not concern him at all. He was nonchalant and uncaring.

    "She saw the news and made a run," Yu Bufan explained, also expressionless.

    "Pfft, to be honest I don''t care about her. She was a pawn for different people all along. But she never remained loyal to me. Even though she came from my mom''s house, she never trusted me and treated me as a kid," Yu Tian chuckled over how silly the old lady was. She was spying on him all her life for different people. If only, she had put some faith in her own master.

    "Then?" Yu Bufan knew that his master hated people like these. But he was also a person who valued relationsh.i.p.s. So, most probably he was going to let her off easily.

    "Let her be. She would have gone to that Bai Yuchen to reap her rewards for all her spying. Unfortunately, that guy is a crude man, he would only kick her out and probably kill in case to avoid the trouble of her opening her mouth," Yu Tian shrugged.

    "If only we had known miss''s association with Bai Yuchen. I never understood his interest in hiring Mrs. Zhao to spy on the family. Now it all makes sense."

    "Go find what his motives are behind helping Qing Qing. She refuses to tell me, or probably, she herself does not know. I don''t want to not trust her judgement, but I have seen too many men like him," Yu Tian''s aura started to get colder as soon as he thought about that man. He had ulterior motives and Tian hated to be in the dark.

    Mei Qingyang on his l.a.p trembled a bit, pursing her lips, as if she could sense the change in him even in her deep sleep. Yu Tian instantly changed back to his doting self and rubbed his hands on her arms to warm her up.

    "Understood," Yu Bufan sensed that it was time for him to go.

    "Actually, you know what? She has served me for so long, I do think we should spare her life," Yu Tian suddenly looked at his assistant and blurted out straight words.

    "Master?" Yu Bufan was confused. His master had never pardoned any betrayer before. Did he have a soft corner for that old hag after all?

    "Don''t misunderstand. I am not going soft on her. But let''s just say, she was trying to survive in her own manner. She does deserve to live her last days freely, don''t you think?" Yu Tian lifted his chin to signal his assistant that he should hurry up.

    "Then I will arrange for it accordingly," Yu Bufan left the couple alone.

    ---------

    "Mr. Bai!" an old lady yelled while she was trying to get past the security outside a fancy city building. The men in black suit had easily stopped the plump old woman who was flailing her arms as if the action would magically make the men back off.

    "What is she doing here?" Bai Yuchen, who was leaving his office building to head to an appointment, turned to look at the source of the voice. Dark lines appeared on his face. This old hag!

    "Sorry master, apparently she has left Yu Tian''s place now that everything is over. And she is demanding the ''promised'' compensation," Bai Yuchen''s assistant behind heard the information from his earpiece and relayed the information to his master.

    "Promised?" Bai Yuchen guffawed. He had just said one day randomly that he would help the old lady settle after her work is done. But he had never asked her to leave that house. Had she panicked after he came into the limelight?

    "Tell her to get out of here. I did promise it after everything was over but I never told her it was time," Bai Yuchen instructed his assistant who told the same to the security guards.

    "I have a recording of him agreeing to it verbally. He can''t back out of the deal," the assistant heard a piercing voice from his earpiece. When he told what he heard to Bai Yuchen, the man''s anger flared up.

    What he hated the most in his life was when people threatened him. He dragged his wheelchair himself to the security.

    "Master Bai," Mrs. Zhao smiled politely, she thought her scheme had succeeded, that Bai Yuchen got scared because he did not want his name sullied.

    "So, you have learnt a thing or two when helping that person rotting in jail eh?" Bai Yuchen tilted his head without acknowledging the old lady''s greeting.

    "Hehe, Mr. Bai, I am not here to extort money from you. All I want is my fair share of work. What is this sudden hostility?" she finally separated herself from the two bodyguards and rubbed her hands greedily.

    She had been spying for this man since that lass made a contact with him at the hospital. All he had told her was to become his eyes and ears. And that she was free to give information to Yu Rong too. She had reported each and everything to both parties while her hatred for that wench kept increasing.

    That lass was not suitable for his na?ve master. He needed someone from the social circle, with good head on her body and influential background, someone like Fan Ruyi or Gu Layue. Thus, she had always favored the little misses and disdained this lass always stuck to her young master Yu.

    Then when this crippled man approached her, she thought it was good that another man was interested in that lass. She did not deserve any better than a double in age crippled man. Bai Yuchen would be a good match. Thus, she had agreed instantly to his request. Of course, there were benefits too like money and that promise to get settled comfortably.

    Bai Yuchen narrowed his eyes at the old lady, looking a bit nervous. The more he acted that way, more Mrs. Zhao rejoiced in her heart. Good thing she had a habit of recording all the calls in her phone.

    And then suddenly Bai Yuchen burst out in laughter. He laughed for about a minute, puzzling the old lady. An unknown fear crept up inside her heart. Did she commit some mistake? Why was this man laughing, should he not be thinking of ways to negotiate with her?

    "Aww, thank you for such comedy late at night. My day was so boring, now I feel refreshed," he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

    Mrs. Zhao still did not understand where this man was going with his antics.

    "I am sorry, your statement was just so funny to me. So yeah, you got a recording? So what?" Bai Yuchen''s eyes went cold but a mischievous smile floated on his face. He loved playing with people like this and the change in expressions this old hag was going through was just very amusing.

    "I will send it to the media. That you have been employing illegal methods to obtain private information from Yu family''s household," Mrs. Zhao declared boldly.

    "Oh? And implicate yourself in that process? Come on old lady, I thought you were more intelligent than this," Bai Yuchen said frivolously.

    "I¡­," Mrs. Zhao was speechless. She had not thought till here. And she just realized, her evidence was illegal too since Bai Yuchen did not know she was recording. So she could not go to court either.

    "And, do you think, you, a small time maid, has more power over media than me?" Bai Yuchen''s face was suddenly devoid of smile and looked very dark. He was very pissed. She had provoked the wrong person!

    "Throw her out, do remember to teach her a lesson for wasting my time," he ordered the two security guards coldly. The two acted even before the assistant started pushing his master''s wheelchair towards the car.

    ----------

    "Mrs. Zhao," Yu Bufan had finally found the old woman at one of small clinics at the roadside. She had been beaten black and blue and was bandaged over several places.

    She was lying on the bed motionless, her face tear stained. Where had she gone wrong? Neither Yu Rong nor Bai Yuchen helped her in the end. She bore so much humiliation from not only young master but that lass as well just for getting them useful information. Why did they treat her like a used rug suddenly?

    Mrs. Zhao''s heart hurt so much. She had no money at the moment apart from her meagre savings. She had no family that could help her out since she devoted all her time to young master Yu and had no time to make a family of her own. Where was she supposed to go now?

    "Mrs. Zhao," she heard a familiar voice. Tears rolled down as soon as she saw the assistant standing at the side, crossing his arms against his c.h.e.s.t, a mocking smile on his face. She did not know whether she was relieved or embarrassed to the right hand of the very guy she had plotted against. Had he come to take revenge against her?

    Yu Bufan handed an envelope to the old woman, "This is your parting gift from master." He then left without even asking after her. Mrs. Zhao made an angry face. She had served that house for so long and they did not even have that much courtesy? She felt she had failed herself.

    In a fit, she crumpled and threw the envelope down on the floor. The attending nurse came and picked it up. She opened it curiously and screamed, "Grandma! You are rich! It''s a one million USD check for you!"

    Mrs. Zhao buried her head in shame as more tears of regret rolled down her cheeks.

 Chapter 227 - Gu Jiujiu Is Back

    "We need to collect more evidence against Yu Rong. Brother, can you call our trump card back?"

    Mei Qingyang was having a meeting with all the friends at Yu Tian''s house. With all the obstacles gone, they did not need to think even once about the place. They did not need to hide nor did they need to worry about the cameras.

    Fan Ruyi''s assistant and Mei Qingyang had taken down all the spy cameras from Yu Tian''s home. They did not really need to do it, but it just felt natural to do away with the past.

    Su Lang nodded at her suggestion, Su Weixi went right away to arrange for it.

    "Do you think she would help us though?" Feng Yue expressed his concern. Gu family was famous for being snakes. And all of them knew Gu Jiujiu was a dumb girl.

    Mei Qingyang smiled. "You will be surprised at her transformation," she giggled. Apart from Su Lang, who was the provider of the girl, everyone else looked at the two in confusion.

    "What else?" Fan Ruyi asked.

    After the whole truth came out, everyone had calmed down and suddenly m.a.t.u.r.ed. Fan Ruyi, Su Lang and Feng Yue had decided to investigate their own parents too. Who knew what kind of secrets these guys were hiding? Their dads were all from the same batch, so the three friends suspected for them to have similar twisted mindset.

    It was not necessary but since the four dads stuck very close to each other, there were quite high chances of them being as psychotic as Yu Ming and Jiang Nuo. But right now, they just needed to take care of Yu elders.

    "Pretty sure librarian grandpa has quite some stash too. The way he made Yu Ming tremble on the stage where he was so confident seconds before, he definitely has something over him," Yu Tian surmised. They had to talk to the grandpa.

    Grandpa had finally started visiting him and Mei Qingyang often at their place. He would join them for meals and tell them stories from Yu Tian''s past. They could talk for hours, that old man was walking treasure of knowledge.

    He knew about business, he knew about people, he knew about life. It was such a delight to be in his company. Yu Tian had expressed his jealousy towards Mei Qingyang in having better relationship with the old man than him in less than a year.

    Well, he was so busy in running away from Yu Rong that he never got involved with other people anyway. In that sense, even the old man was a neglected soul.

    In his own words, the grandpa was just passing his time, waiting for death to knock on his door. But then Mei Qingyang ended up filling his days with work and joy, which he had long forgotten.

    "Okay, we will talk to grandpa then," Mei Qingyang noted down the discussion.

    She looked outside the window. The trees had started sprouting new leaves, flowers had started adorning the branches. The birds were flying around, busying themselves with making new nests in preparation for spring.

    She felt refreshed, this meeting also looked like a business meeting rather than a place to discuss criminals. She was in high spirits for sure. A smile floated on her face.

    Everyone realized that they were losing focus, so they decided to leave. Mei Qingyang bade them farewell, but she was still interested in looking outside.

    "What kind of plan did you concoct with that cousin of yours? Are you thinking about the results? That''s why you are in good mood?" Yu Tian came back and hugged the girl from behind. Mei Qingyang was still sitting but she really liked the secure sensation with Yu Tian.

    "Tian, thank you for being born?" she placed a kiss on the strong arms that were covering her.

    "What has come over you? It''s not even my birthday," Yu Tian was surprised but he was also enjoying the moment. He kept his chin over her head, trying to spot what was it that his kitten was finding so interesting outside.

    "No, I am just thankful. If I had not encountered you, I would have never known what hypocrite my foster parents were. Nor would have I ever be able to determine who I really was," she rubbed her cheek cutely on his arm.

    "Uh-huh, I should be the one thanking you. While I was wilting away due to my problems, you solved them all," he looked at her from the top, her green marble eyes were sparkling with happiness. It was really the end, wasn''t it? It had not sunk in yet, that they could just be together like this, without any interruption.

    Mei Qingyang also looked into his ocean deep eyes. So many emotions were swirling around in them. The cold apathetic eyes, that could pierce a being, were dancing with peace.

    "Will you really not tell me about Gu Jiujiu though?" Yu Tian insisted in knowing the surprise. Mei Qingyang chuckled mysteriously again.

    -------------

    "Welcome back Ms. Gu, I hope you enjoyed your vacation?" Mei Qingyang opened the door of the black car that had halted in front of Yu Rong''s office.

    "I heard about your achievements Ms. Mei. I am glad I did not make enemies out of you in the end," Gu Jiujiu walked out of the car in a very graceful manner and handed her handbag to her assistant. She was so full of noble manners, her each movement was calculated.

    The change was really too drastic. Earlier, she was just a pet of Gu Layue, she did not have any dignity. Within a few months, she had transformed into a beautiful butterfly. She could take on all the ladies at the school in etiquettes and still win, except from may be Fan Ruyi.

    Mei Qingyang had asked Su Lang to enroll Gu Layue into some classes for nobles. Although Gu girl had grown up under Gu family''s tutelage, she was still from only a side branch.

    Thus, all the resources had gone to the next heir of Gu family, Gu Layue, and other children in the family got to learn whatever etiquettes their parents knew. Which was why, Gu Jiujiu had grown up as a crude lass.

    Even if Jiujiu had wanted to imitate her cousin, it was just that, imitation. No one would teach her the nitty gritty of it. And so, Su Lang had arranged special instructors for her on Mei Qingyang''s urging. Qingyang was really striving for improving the quality of that lass''s life.

    And now, they had a totally transformed girl before them.

    Yu Tian had also come with Mei Qingyang for he was very curious. This kitten of his had really hyped it up and she did deliver. He could not recognize the Gu girl at all, not that he had paid much attention to her before.

    "Thank you for agreeing to testify," Mei Qingyang finally said to Gu Jiujiu.

    Jiujiu shook her head. "If not for you, we would have never found peace Ms. Mei. Even my family is all safe. If I can do anything to repay this debt, I shall. You are my benefactor, I will feel embarrassed if you thank me like this."

    Mei Qingyang smiled. Circ.u.mstances do change people. Having her life in danger had made this girl in front of her a calm and grateful person. Mei Qingyang was happy for her and would provide any resources for her to go on and succeed in life.

    "After everything is over, we will arrange for you to come back and unite with your family. They still don''t know you are alive and well," Mei Qingyang had made this decision long ago. Gu Jiujiu was also the victim of the system, although she did take part in bullying.

    Gu Jiujiu suddenly stopped and knelt down on the floor. There were tears of regret and gratitude in her eyes.

    "I don''t know why you are being so nice to me, but I have always wanted to apologize to you. In the first few days, I cursed you a lot. If only you had investigated properly. And when I heard that the right culprit was someone else altogether, not my cousin, I had thoughts of revenge in my mind," she started crying, her head down in shame.

    "I was always getting updates of things happening here. At times, I also wondered if you just gave me false information about my family. I had so many doubts and all I did was regret and despair. The I started the classes which really cleared my mind and I could see things objectively. I just wanted to meet you and apologize for my behavior. I am so sorry," Gu Jiujiu spoke it all in one breath.

    Even her assistant at the back knelt down, the couple was really grateful.

    Mei Qingyang had turned around and she just gave a pitiful glance to the two people. What was she supposed to do with them? They were all peers, was there any need of so much formality?

    "Ms. Gu, please stand up. A person of your standing kneeling before an orphan like me does not go with your noble bearing. That being said, since we are working to abolish this whole system of elites and non-elites anyway, I think you will be a great contribution to the cause. What do you say?" Mei Qingyang grinned while she also came to the same eye level as the two people.

    "Yes! Of course!! I will help you in whatever way I can. Just give me the command!?? Gu Jiujiu also smiled through her tears. She finally could do something for the person she was eternally grateful for.

    "Pfft," Mei Qingyang laughed. The girl used ''command'', such an irony. They went ahead and started preparing for the upcoming trial of Yu family.

 Chapter 228 - The Man With The Green Eyes

    "Did you get any leads on that thing?" Mei Qingyang finally invited her agent to Yu Tian''s place. She wanted to introduce him to everyone on the team.

    After getting Gu Jiujiu comfortable, the group of friends was going through each and every piece of information they had come across throughout their life times about Yu Empire and the sadistic activities in the corporate.

    A lot of people had been implicated. But it was indeed time for a thorough clean up. They were discovering higher ups who had taken part in Yu Rong''s schemes in different capacities. Not only the Yu Empire, but all big businesses were affected. This had really become a high profile case.

    Even the President of the M Nation was not spared, not to mention other politicians in power. The media had their eyes on the case like a hawk. Whole nation had been swept away in this controversy. It was total chaos.

    However, who had time to be thinking about the mess out there? In the peaceful house of Yu Tian, the friends, their assistants and the agent were sitting down in the living room, discussing a topic, that had been overlooked by everyone but had been poking Mei Qingyang''s heart for a very long time.

    "Yes, it is very weird that none of us knew about it," the agent replied. Mei Qingyang''s agent was a quiet guy in his 20s, who always had his face covered with big black sunglasses. No one, except Mei Qingyang, had seen his full face, not even anyone in Jiang household.

    Li Hanyu had first assigned this guy to her to follow her and keep her safe. But Mei Qingyang had been very blunt with him since the beginning and it was a character that the agent liked. She had told him from the get-go that she would not tolerate him suffocating her with his 24x7 surveillance. And nor she would be happy with the agent spying on her and reporting her every move to her dad or her brother.

    Later during one of her solo training sessions, the agent had got hurt and Mei Qingyang had tended to him selflessly, as if he was her family. Since then, he had regarded her as his true master.

    Mei Qingyang did have this quality in her, she ended up winning everyone, whether through the kindness in her or through her boldness.

    Anyway, they were here, discussing this one fact that Yu Rong had uttered when Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang had gone to visit her in jail. The fact that she had married someone in her life.

    "We had no idea. Su Lang, you were here, you did not hear anything?" Feng Yue was very intrigued by this turn of events. It happened when he and Yu Tian had gone abroad. But Su Lang had been here all this while, and he had no idea either?

    "I don''t think even our parents know. It must be one of those behind the doors deal. She did say it was because her husband had confessed and she probably wanted to forget uncle Yu?" Su Lang shrugged his shoulders. It was a big thing. She married just anyone without announcing it anywhere. Everyone wondered how it ended. And so, they were looking forward to Mei Qingyang''s agent''s report.

    "So, I had to really dig into this, since there was such less information. But I also brought Mr. Wang here because he helped me the most," the agent had brought Wang Hao with him.

    Wang Hao bowed before everyone. If everyone had not known about his contributions to Mei Qingyang''s single handed win, they probably would not have welcomed him. But right now, everyone was curiously looking at him.

    Wang Hao was a bit nervous because he had no idea how this group of scions would treat him. He had made their lives hell as Yu Rong''s assistant. And then, he had done that to Mei Qingyang in the prison. He could not really lift his head in front of the group.

    But the agent started telling the story without paying attention to the mood of the group.

    "My findings say that the man who married Yu Rong was not just anyone ordinary. It is just that he had left his family for the sake of Yu Rong because he was out there to prove that Yu Rong was not materialistic. He did end up marrying her without revealing his background," the agent passed around a few doc.u.ments to everyone with the detailed timeline.

    "But Yu Rong is a thorough person, she never checked?" Mei Qingyang expressed doubts.

    "It so happens that the man was introduced to her by Yu Ming himself," the agent stated. Mei Qingyang was, perhaps, the only calm person in the room. Everyone else had not even recovered from the shock of the fact that Yu Rong was once married, let alone all the news afterwards.

    If Yu Ming was the one who introduced the guy to her, then one, he knew the man well and two, Yu Rong would never say no to her older brother. So, she did accept the proposal then.

    "Apparently, the man was Yu Ming''s classmate. He had seen Yu Rong during his college days and wanted to pursue her since then. But she never even threw a glance at the guy."

    "And so, she just wanted to get rid of him. When the guy saw how cruel she was in real life, his heart was broken. They had gotten married about five years before the Li Sibao''s incident," Wang Hao continued the story and cast a meaningful glance towards Mei Qingyang.

    Although it was not announced officially, most of the people in Qingyang''s circle now knew that she was originally Li Sibao.

    "Why did you bring Li Sibao up suddenly?" Su Lang glared at Wang Hao. It was a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e issue for both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang.

    "Well, that was the time when she got rid of him," Wang Hao answered to Su Lang coolly.

    "You mean¡­," Mei Qingyang finally realized the connection.

    "Yes, he was the man who took out Li Sibao of the hospital facility where she was being treated. The girl was tenacious and even though she had incurred major injuries and the doctors initially had said that she would not live for much time, she had a great recovering speed."

    "When the man found the right time, and Li Sibao''s condition was much stable, he just took off one day with her, thinking he would be able to save her. He did not know it was all Yu Rong''s plan," Wang Hao replied to the girl.

    Mei Qingyang clenched her hands. She was finally looking at the whole truth. Her Li Sibao persona had told her majority of things but this was the only mystery that was remaining and was killing her from inside. How was she saved? Who was the angel who really took her out?

    Yu Tian looked at his tensed kitten, so he took her hand in his for providing her moral support. She was finally going to learn the truth. She put her head on his shoulder. She had thought she was ready for this but it was still painful.

    During the time she was under Yu Rong''s care after her suicide attempt, she was mostly under influence of drugs, so she did not remember anything at all in her hazy state.

    If someone lost their life for her, then it would be devastating for her.

    "Yu Rong had tampered with the brakes of the car the man was going to drive. When the car was in a secluded area, the man lost control of the car and it crashed, causing an explosion. The man died on spot but Minister Jiang happened to be there. He knew the man, so he took care of the girl in the car who somehow survived, thinking they were related. The dead man also ended up donating his eyes to you," Wang Hao concluded.

    "From what I know, full eye transplant has yet not been achieved. How did her eye''s color change?" Fan Ruyi asked curiously. She was a top notch medical student who had already achieved so much in her field. She was up to date on all the technologies and she had not heard about this at all.

    Everyone looked at the two guys questioningly as well.

    Mei Qingyang''s agent chuckled, "Miss would know this but Minister Jiang has very strong affiliation with army. He was himself in the army before he came to Ministry of Education. And you know there is nothing the military has not achieved here, right?"

    "You mean to say¡­," Fan Ruyi got really excited, her eyes shining with inquisitiveness. She knew that the military of most of the nations were first to achieve tough procedures like these but to think that they had already successfully cultivated the technique was beyond her belief.

    "You have the successful specimen in front of you," the agent pointed to his miss, who suddenly became the center of attention in the room.

    So, this was it?

    "But who was the man? You say he is from wealthy circle. Then, at least, these people should know him." After listening to the story, Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore. The man who had donated her his eyes needed a better place to rest. She had no idea where the man''s grave was. And his family needed to know too. And she needed to pay her respects to him.

    The agent nodded his head. "It was the first son of Chen family, and Chen Xinyi''s twin brother. He had abandoned the family once he knew there was another legitimate heir to the Chen clan and he could freely pursue Yu Rong."

 Chapter 229 - Thankful To The Chen Family

    "Qing Qing, it is okay, it was not your fault," Yu Tian felt her petite body tremble when her agent confirmed that it was Mr. Chen.

    Qingyang had told Yu Tian about her encounter with Lady Chen in detail when they had started their relationship. She had asked him and Su Lang to look into Mr. Chen before. He could understand what she was going through at the moment.

    "I¡­ I need to inform Lady Chen and Chen Jie," Mei Qingyang''s voice quivered, her knees felt weak. How would she tell the truth to the two? How would she face Lady Chen?

    "Qingyang, if Mr. Chen had taken the drastic step of taking you out of there, then he would have done it voluntarily. In his five years of marriage to Yu Rong, she did not even once look at him. Of course, he was not aware of her kinks but he was also fed up of trying to woo her and change her for five whole years," Wang Hao glanced at Yu Tian as he mentioned ''Yu Rong''s kinks''.

    Apart from Feng Yue, everyone understood his meaning. But the two friends, Fan Ruyi and Su Lang could not show it on their face. So, they decided to feign ignorance.

    Yu Tian, however, was not ready to reveal his past to his friends just yet. Thus, his anger flared up on the indirect mention of his name, his eyes became fierce and sharp.

    Wang Hao flinched back and became quiet. He was still not used to not throwing around his weight. He had to be a humble person right now since he lost his power as Yu Rong''s assistant. He was an ordinary man now.

    Mei Qingyang nodded gratefully towards Wang Hao. His words were indeed comforting but Chen family deserved to know the true end of their son.

    Su Lang dialed the number of Chen Jie immediately and asked for an appointment in their bar. The whole group decided to go, for Chen family needed support too.

    Later that day, everyone arrived at Moonlight Bar.

    "What do we owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet all the legends together? What was so urgent that you called mom and I both?" Chen Jie was pretty excited to see so many people at once. Since Yu Rong was sent to prison, she had been dying to hear the updates.

    Chen Jie was not close to anyone particular here but she was usually up to date on everything.

    "Lady Chen¡­," as soon as Mei Qingyang started, her voice choked up with emotions. She had no idea how to break the news to this person.

    It was evening and the bar was going to open in an hour but it was plenty of time to hear what the girl had to say.

    She gently took Mei Qingyang''s hands and pulled her towards the big lounging area. After making her comfortably sit on the giant sofa, she took the seat right beside her. Everyone else followed and sat around.

    Lady Chen gently c.a.r.e.s.sed the girl''s eyelids and said, "You bring the news for me right?" Lady Chen smiled, tears already welling in her eyes. Mei Qingyang looked down but getting courage from the lady in front of her, she nodded.

    "I¡­ I am sorry lady Chen. I do have your brother''s eyes it seems," Mei Qingyang''s face grew red, her eyes brimming with tears as well. She narrated the whole incident to Lady Chen and her daughter.

    "I am glad," Lady Chen''s smile became even more deep, but everyone was stunned at what she said. Did they all hear right? Confusion clouded the mind of the girl. Was lady Chen being sarcastic.

    "I already knew what a fool he was, to have left the family for an incorrigible person. At least, in his last moments, he could be useful to someone for once," as soon as the words left her mouth, everyone seated gasped.

    "Then, did you already know who he was married to?" Mei Qingyang was caught unawares by her words. If she already had the idea, why go around in circles?

    Lady Chen shook her head, her eyes full of grief, "If I had known earlier, I would have certainly done something about it. That snake! I was always right here, she must have been laughing at us all this while," lady Chen cursed Yu Rong so much in her heart. Now it fell on her shoulders to deliver this unfortunate news to the elders in her family. Her parents would be so sad on hearing his tragic end.

    "Qing Qing, will you accompany me to my home? At least my parents could console themselves by the fact that their son is seeing the world through others. It could help them reduce some pain in their heart," Lady Chen looked at Mei Qingyang earnestly.

    And so Mei Qingyang had thought that the lady would probably never talk to her again. This graceful lady took it better than what the lass had thought.

    "It''s the least I could do Lady Chen!" Mei Qingyang wiped her tears and patted the lady''s hand in a comforting manner.

    "Now that I know you have a part of my brother, how about you call me auntie? We could actually adopt you in our family, now that you are no longer part of Jiang family," Lady Chen beamed on getting the girl''s confirmation. In her heart, she truly admired the character of this girl. She was righteous and knew what to do at the right time. She was not arrogant but also knew how to navigate the world. This girl would be a gem if adopted into her own family. Then she could train her in the ways of high society.

    "You know about that too?" Mei Qingyang''s was struck dumb.

    Lady Chen laughed. "Of course it is my duty as the person in charge of information network. Your friends have availed the services of Chen family quite many times. I am not sure why you are surprised."

    The others heaved a sigh of relief. They too were scared for Mei Qingyang when she had said she would personally go to Lady Chen and tell her the truth.

    It would absolutely not be easy for the family of victims. In their minds, they were imagining something similar to what had happened when Mei Qingyang had stepped into the school. Yu Rong had hurled so much humiliation to her, not sparing even her hair. But nothing like that happened.

    Well, all anyone wanted was closure. It had been far too long for anyone involved, to hold on to the anger and pain. Anyone with high emotional intelligence understood to let the negative emotions go.

    Lady Chen was perhaps just relieved to have known that, in the end, her brother did a brave deed. He had finally come out of the disillusion in his last moments.

    No one, in reality, knew that he was headed to the Chen family only because they were the only ones with the resources to help the girl, who was victim of love of his life, with the medical care.

    ----------

    "Oh! Same!! They are the same!!" the Chen matriarch started touching the eyelids of Mei Qingyang as soon as she saw the girl.

    "My Liuwei ah!" she clutched Mei Qingyang and mourned loudly, remembering her son.

    Chen Xinyi had informed her family about her brother''s passing away and they had arranged for his funeral right away. Right now, they were in the middle of the ceremony when Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian had arrived in traditional garb.

    Patriarch Chen tapped his wife''s shoulder. "Wife, you are scaring the kid. Let her go," he told her softly. The old man in his 70s was much more composed in handling the truth. Mei Qingyang observed the couple. She finally understood, lady Chen must have gotten her beauty and elegance from her mother but her temperament was closer to her father. She had been as calm as her dad when Mei Qingyang had broken the news to her.

    But again, this was not the time to be thinking about that. She had to look for an excuse to turn the Chen family down regarding her adoption.

    "Girl, we are very thankful that you could attend. Would you like to pay respect to Liuwei?" Patriarch Chen held his wife, who was still wailing while he invited the guest couple inside.

    Mei Qingyang nodded her head somberly. She stepped into the room, that was decorated with white flowers all around. The ceremony was smaller than she had anticipated. She could only spot house servants and Chen family members she knew.

    The youth''s eyes were shining as if they were full of dreams and ambition. His green marble eyes looked best with his soft golden hair which was shining in the sunlight. His features were so soft, that he must have been apple of the eye of everyone around him. He looked like an utterly kind soul.

    Mei Qingyang lit the incense and offered a flower from the pile of flowers at the side and bowed to him. "Thank you so much for giving me a second chance at life. If I had remained there, I would have definitely died. So I promise this to you Mr. Chen, I will live my life to the fullest and see good in everyone just as you did."

    Yu Tian, at the side, entwined her hands with the lass, who bobbed her head slightly to him in gratitude as well.

    They talked to the Chen couple for quite a while. Matriarch Chen kept reminiscing about her son''s childhood, with Mei Qingyang by her side. Later in the evening, the couple went to the room for paying respects to the dead one last time.

    "Liuwei ah! Mom is so proud of you! I hear some of your other organs were donated to other people too. Mom will make sure those people are living their lives well. My son still lives on like this ah!" Matriarch Chen wiped away her tears once again. However, after a few moments, she broke down once again.

    Mei Qingyang personally escorted the Matriarch to a corner and fed her some water. Dr. Chen was present as well, he gave some hydration solutions to his mom, in case she lost too much water from crying.

    Thanking both Mei Qingyang and Yu Tian for having made time to go there, the Chen elders bid their farewell to the couple. Of course, they loaded both of them with gifts. Patriarch Chen did raise his intention to adopt Mei Qingyang into the family but the girl refused, promising them to visit from time to time and treat them as a family without any legal procedures.

    That day, Mei Qingyang gained another loving family, thanks to her benefactor. And that day, whole Chen family slept in peace, having finally learnt the truth.

 Chapter 230 - Friends Know It All

    "Listen you Mr. Wang. You can taunt me all you want. And I am just tolerating you because of Qing Qing, but if you ever cross the line, then I will have to do something about it," Yu Tian was sitting at the corner in an imposing manner. His cold and handsome face was fierce.

    Wang Hao was standing on the side with his hands clasped together in the front. He had suddenly been summoned in Yu Rong''s office by the Yu Tian the day after they had visited Chen family for the funeral.

    They were near the koi pond, so the atmosphere was tranquil. But the two people in the room were quite tense while the third one was in rage mode.

    "I¡­ I don''t understand what you are saying young master," Wang Hao stuttered when he finally got to experience the real pressure from the raging young master.

    "You are an intelligent person Mr. Wang, you should know what I am talking about," Yu Tian raised his chin and glanced coldly at the man in font of him. Yu Bufan at the side threw a few pictures on the table.

    Wang Hao picked them up and saw clicks of Yu Tian and Yu Rong in an intimate position. These were Yu Tian''s shame. He seethed with anger whenever his eyes fell on them. That b*tch was filming them whenever she did her deed and then threatened him to submit more to her.

    And now these pictures were in hand of this untrustworthy bastard.

    "But¡­ what did I do?" Wang Hao scratched his head in confusion. He did not remember offending this tiger in front of him.

    "If these pictures go out by any source, only you will be held responsible for that," Yu Bufan spoke from behind.

    Wang Hao suddenly broke out in laughter, taking the two by surprise.

    "Oh my God young master Yu. You still remain na?ve, don''t you? I had thought you would notice this, but your friends already know about it. I understand it''s a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e issue for you. But if you don''t solve it yourself, then you can forget about your chick," Wang Hao moved around and left the venue directly, without waiting for any reply from Yu Tian or Yu Bufan.

    "¡­."

    "That guy gets on my nerves," Yu Bufn picked up the pictures from the table and threw them in the pond.

    Yu Tian closed his eyes. Was it true? Did his friends know it all this time? No wonder he had seen pity in their eyes so many times. He was fooled by them all, wasn''t he? He cupped his forehead with his palm and laughed at his pitiful state.

    "Master?" Yu Bufan was not sure what happened to Yu Tian but he did not look in a really good state.

    "Bufan ah! What kind of life is this? What should I do? It must have been so awkward for them to face me. Even so, they have been helping me out all this while. Am I not the most pathetic person on earth?" Yu Tian was frustrated at his weakness. Why? Why him? Why did he have to be born in Yu family? Why did he have to go through all this?

    "Master, I don''t think you should trust that Wang man. He might have said it just to rile you up," Yu Bufan hurriedly consoled Yu Tian.

    "Think about it rationally, Bufan. Why did they never ask me about my long trips out of the campus? We have done business for so long, and they would not, even once question me. I understand about Fan Ruyi and Feng Yue. They both always make sure to not pry in the personal lives of others, but Su Lang is not like that. Unless he already knew about it, there is no way he would not hound me about it. I never noticed it till now," Yu Tian opened the bottle of beer in front of him and gulped down the whole thing in an instant.

    "Master!! It is still afternoon!!" Yu Bufan took away the empty bottle from Yu Tian''s hands and called Mei Qingyang right away.

    ---------

    "That was scary," Wang Hao''s legs went weak as soon as he came out of the building. He had never thought he would be interrogated like this by that young master.

    How could he ever betray him or Mei Qingyang since his life was almost in their hands now? He had gained the freedom but there was another controller of his fate now. Perhaps he should just pack his bags and leave this place for good.

    He would talk to Mei Qingyang about this. He called her number and updated her about his meeting with young master Yu.

    ---------

    Mei Qingyang was already on her way to that filthy office when Yu Bufan called her. From her conversation with Wang Hao, she knew Yu Tian was unstable again.

    "Tian!" she saw Yu Tian downing another bottle of beer when she snatched it from him and asked Bufan to clear off the table.

    "Qing Qing, why did you not tell me that Su Lang knew? Since when have you been hiding it from me?" he looked at her, his black eyes a bit hazy by God knows how much alcohol he had already consumed.

    "Tian, do you not trust us?" Mei Qingyang sat beside him on the sofa and cupped his head in her both hands.

    "I trust you! I trust Su Lang too!! But I cannot believe you guy deceived me for so long!" he pouted and threw a tantrum. He was clearly drunk.

    Mei Qingyang smiled and signaled Yu Bufan to leave them alone. Then from his head, she dropped her arms on his shoulder.

    "Would you like to try and understand the precarious situation of your friends?" she asked him, while maintaining her smile and eye-contact. Yu Tian looked at her confusingly.

    "Okay, let''s say elder brother was in same situation as you, what would you have done?"

    "Of course, I would have supported him from behind the scenes. I would have also confronted anyone who tries harming my friend," Yu Tian answered without thinking.

    "Correct. Now think if the person who wanted to harm you was uncle Su himself, what would you do?"

    Yu Tian''s lips parted as if he wanted to say something but words did not come out. Correct, there were so many things to consider if it were a family member, especially a family member in power. They were just college kids. Even with all the businesses and money they had, they were not powerful enough to counter Su, Feng or Fan elders.

    "Right. Would you want to hurt your friend by offering him two words of sympathy that would do nothing for him?" Mei Qingyang leaned in, her forehead touching his.

    "I¡­" Yu Tian was speechless. How could this girl make it so easy to understand?

    "Tian, in my second life, I have only learnt one thing. Nothing comes out of being emotional. I think I am very thankful for big brother. He has been taking care of cleaning up after Yu Rong hurt you again and again. But if it was real help, you should know by yourself how much you have appreciated it if he had come forward. Even with his family situation, he did his best, don''t you think?" she asked again.

    Yu Tian, now quite sober, nodded. It made sense. It was true, he had become too emotional. It was a touchy subject for him. Perhaps it really was time to confront it for once and all.

    "Tian, I cannot guarantee that it will go away, but your pain will become manageable over time. This is what Dr. Chen said too. If you keep doing negative self-talk, it will only become worse. And I think your friends can help you share your burdens. I have seen you guys for past eight months. Even if they hurt me, it was all out of love for you. Fan Ruyi sacrificed your friendship, just to protect you. Despite everything, I trust in their love for you," Mei Qingyang''s big green eyes were full of confidence, energizing Yu Tian''s faith in his friends too.

    It was news to him that whatever happened between Fan Ruyi and Mei Qingyang was because of him. How many more debts would he need to repay his kitten?

    "Call them here. I will tell them myself," he said with determination.

    "Are you sure about this?" she asked him once again.

    "I think I should do it before I change my mind."

 Chapter 231 - Confrontation

    "Umm¡­ so¡­?" Su Lang was not sure how to start the conversation. They had all gathered as Mei Qingyang had called them. She had even briefed Su Lang and Fan Ruyi, who already knew about Yu Tian''s condition.

    Feng Yue had no clue what was going on. The whole room was silent for about half an hour before Su Lang finally spoke two words and went back to his awkward self. Fan Ruyi took the glass of whiskey in front of her and dumped it down her throat in one shot.

    "Oh gosh! I have been dying to help with your therapy Tian, but I just did not know how to bring up the topic. Plus, I thought it would hurt your pride as a man¡­," Fan Ruyi, with her straightforward personality and finally getting some courage from the whiskey, spoke first.

    "Therapy?" Feng Yue was stunned. What was going on?

    "You knew about it too?" Yu Tian also spoke up in surprise. There was very much confusion in the atmosphere.

    "Okay guys, I will start here.," Mei Qingyang saw it could turn into a chaos, so took the lead and clapped her hands to get everyone''s attention. "First of all, Tian has something to say. He will explain why he has called everyone here. Please relax and enjoy your drinks for you would need them. It''s going to be a long night, so please be ready."

    She glanced at Yu Tian who was still hesitating but had a determination in his eyes. He also downed his glass of wine and narrated his past with Yu Rong.

    Everyone at the table gasped after knowing the details except Mei Qingyang. She could only turn her head and shed tears for her man who had been subjected to so much abuse by that wench.

    But this time, both Su Lang and ever icy cold Feng Yue as well, could not help but clench their hands and break out in tears for his friend.

    "You¡­ you were going through so much and you decided to hide it?" Su Lang got up from his seat and hugged his friend. It was the first time in years when Yu Tian had not rejected him. With a straight face, he just tapped his shoulders lightly, as if he was the one comforting his friends.

    At least there was no judgement from anyone here. No one asked him why he could not retaliate against the weak woman. And no one told him he was disgusting like that girl he had tried to date in that past.

    "It was Mei Qingyang who has been taking care of me and gave me courage to come forward. I¡­ did not want to live like a person running away from his past. So, I thought I would start with you guys, since I plan to reveal it to everyone too," Yu Tian heaved a sigh of relief. It did feel good after talking about it.

    If, even one of them had said something unpleasant to him about his situation, his heart would have broken completely. The confidence he had gained in himself till now would have been shattered as well.

    "And so? Is Dr. Chen trustworthy? I could introduce you to better doctors," Fan Ruyi suggested.

    "He has been my therapist for almost ten years now. I don''t think I require anyone else. His sessions with me and Mei Qingyang together have been very successful," Yu Tian was slightly touched over the concern his friends showed. He had really found the gems to keep for a lifetime, right?

    Mei Qingyang was also very happy with the progress. And she was happy for Tian too. More support meant more courage in his case.

    "I don''t care, I need to go and kill that Yu Rong right now," Su Lang spoke.

    "You are being the lion now because she is in a weak condition. You knew it all this while," Fan Ruyi chided the guy.

    "It does not matter. If I had known the gruesome details before, I would not have cared whether she was my dad''s business partner or what."

    Yu Tian looked at the girl, who was sitting at his side and just listening intently to everyone talking, smiling from time to time. His heart warmed up to the core. She had even become a deep link for him to his friends.

    He could feel a soft glow around the girl, who was wearing a white dress. Was she an angel? How did he even stumble across this girl? What could he do to be thankful to her?

    Mei Qingyang, feeling his gaze on her, turned her head and found him staring at her intently. Looking into his deep eyes, she only found serenity. Oh! He had finally made peace with it in his heart. She could not be happier for him, she smiled gleefully, spreading a smile across the guy as well. Yu Tian''s heart filled to the brim with bliss.

    Now the only thing remaining was the final verdict for that lecherous woman. He could not wait for her to go to her final destination.

    "What is your plan after this? Just let us know if you need anything, okay?" Fan Ruyi spoke, bringing the two people back into the real world. The three friends had just finished their bantering.

    "I think, our next step is just to put people who deserve jail behind the bars and make sure that they remain there. I am curious about the interactions between Jiang family and Yu Rong," Mei Qingyang filled her wine glass and toasted it to the friends.

    "I should say Qing Qing, sometimes you are very scary. Five years they took your care, do you not feel anything for your poor foster parents?" Su Lang asked her in an abrupt question answer session.

    Mei Qingyang glanced at her cousin. Oh wait, he was not her cousin anymore.

    "Senior Su, you have known my parents for far more than that. Did you not feel anything?" Mei Qingyang had a devilish smile on her face. She rolled the ball in his court.

    Hearing ''senior'' from her mouth, a disappointment spread over Su Lang''s heart. It did not have the feel. She did not feel close anymore. He loved the ring of ''elder brother'' in her voice.

    Su Lang pouted. "Don''t you dare call me senior, okay? Even if you are not on Jiang family registry, you are my little sister, and you remain one. As for your question, I do feel anguished. Sorry that I could not be there when they needed me. And they turned into these monsters, without my knowledge," he swirled his wine in his hand, thinking back to the time when they took him in when his mother had passed away.

    They had helped his little heart to cope with the loss. Brother Bo was always there for him. But he could not save his favorite person''s most beloved people in the world. He was to be blamed for having neglected them in their most vulnerable state.

    The moral of the story then was that revenge not only consumed the perpetrator but the victim too. But was forgiving the offender the solution at all?

    They would never know all this because they never went through it. But these questions would haunt every single person in the room for a long time.

 Chapter 232 - Media Attention

    The reporters had been hounding Yu Tian and Bai Yuchen all this while. Thankfully, some attention from these two was diverted when scandals of other people involved started coming into limelight. However, Yu Ming and Yu Rong''s case brought back the attention to Yu family.

    Within three days, one of the major media houses had managed to sniff Yu Rong''s abuse towards Yu Tian as well. Another explosive news came out right after Yu Tian revealed about his condition to his friends.

    "The scion of Yu family, a weak man"

    "Yu Tian victim of abuse by his own aunt"

    "Is Yu Tian capable of running Yu empire?" were a few headlines in the newspapers and on the TV. Suddenly, Yu Tian had become a hot topic.

    He had managed to remain in the school campus and avoid any unpleasant encounters with media people but till when could he remain quiet?

    An emergency board meeting was called at the Yu empire to question the claims of the media since Yu Rong was in jail, refusing to see anyone and Yu Tian had holed himself up in the school.

    Yu Tian had to show up, since it would determine his future as the heir and leader of Yu empire. Mei Qingyang got him ready personally.

    "We will get through this Tian. Do not seek sympathy, but do not show any signs of rage as well, okay? We will be our cool selves," Mei Qingyang gave a few tips to the guy. He was best in remaining neutral at times like these because of his exposure to the cameras and media but she still wanted to remind him.

    Yu Tian''s eyes softened at all her nagging. He stole a kiss from her lips in the meantime.

    "You¡­," Mei Qingyang became fl.u.s.tered and then, in a bold manner, she pulled his tie towards him and went in for a passionate kiss. Yu Tian smacked his own lips once they parted. She had smeared her lipstick all over his lips.

    She brought in a tissue, rubbing her hand gently over his lips, both giggling at their silliness.

    Before they even arrived at the Yu Headquarters, their car was surrounded by a swarm of reporters. Everyone wanted to know the truth behind the rumors.

    Both of them took a deep breath and got out of the car. Their hearts were thumping loudly, enough that they could hear their own heartbeats.

    Mei Qingyang confidently put her arm in his arm, and they headed inside the building. The journalists wanted to interview them then and there but Yu Tian commanded them in a smooth manner with one sentence, "We will have a full press conference regarding the situation once we resolve it here. Please wait."

    The power couple was so badass in front of the crown that everyone themselves parted and made way for the two people.

    Inside, they came to halt in front of the board meeting hall.

    Both of them took a deep breath in. "Let''s do this," Yu Tian spoke to Mei Qingyang who nodded in encouragement.

    "You got to resign. Your reputation has hit rock bottom. Ms. Yu was still the best person to lead the Empire," one of Yu Rong''s supporters started as soon as they entered the room.

    "Are you kidding me? She is behind the bars precisely because she was not fit to run the company," another board member yelled.

    And the war of words started. A few were opposing Yu Tian, few loyal dogs were still favoring Yu Rong and another few asked to bring in Bai Yuchen to replace Yu Tian.

    The battle had become intense, people blaming each other, getting up from their seats and pointing fingers.

    The couple kept sitting at the head of the table quietly, letting people take out their frustration on each other. After they grew tired of the drama, Yu Tian hit the table loudly with his palms. Everyone went quiet once the leader had taken action.

    "I do not care whom you support. The fact is that I won''t resign. Because I did nothing wrong," Yu Tian started speaking slowly, addressing the crowd which was looking at him with disgust.

    "You¡­ could not even save yourself from your own aunt, do you think you would be able to run the empire?" an old board member questioned him from behind.

    "Yeah, you are weak. You should have manned up and slapped the woman. They need to be shown their place," another old man with conservative thinking reproached the young man standing in front of them.

    A few more showed their agreement to these two people.

    "Ahem," Mei Qingyang coughed when she heard these misogynistic remarks for no reason. "This is why our society never progresses. You think his is the only case? Young boys are bullied like him all the time. Pretty sure there are a few of you here who prefer fragile young men than women," a sarcastic smile spread across her face, indicating that she had intel on a lot of people here.

    The earlier crowd all went silent and started looking here and there. There were quite a few old perverted uncles and aunties in the crowd who enjoyed the company of young men.

    "Now look at the circ.u.mstances of the young ones you pick for your p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. Everyone has their own reasons. So, I would ask you lot to shut up. The pot is calling the kettle black. You guys make me laugh," she spoke coldly. These lechers were themselves involved in the exact same activity they were showing disdain towards.

    After her blow out, she had full attention from the people there. Everyone gulped few sips of water, they had been exposed. With the hammer of police and common masses going down on their own peers, it was a better choice to join Yu Tian''s cohort to save their own asses.

    Once this realization dawned upon them, they silently made the decision to support the new leader.

    "You guys don''t understand the situation you are in. We have all the information about your dirty deeds. Do you know why you guys are here but your peers have been sent with Yu Rong behind the bars?" she stood up from her seat and went around the room, slowly. With each clack of her heel, the hearts of people around trembled with fear.

    What was this lass going to do? Point a few more people out and ask them to go home forever?

    "You guys are obviously here because we have blocked the dirt on you to come out in open. Once your information leaks, no one would be able to save you. So, we do expect cooperation from you guys. The decision is up to you people," she threatened everyone present boldly.

    The board members looked at each other in fear. This mad couple could actually do it. They had to make a wise choice.

    "Ah! Young master Yu, you do not need to worry, you have our full support," a person, who had been criticizing him vehemently just now, said while wiping his head with a handkerchief.

    "Good that you guys understand," the viciousness in Yu Tian''s eyes retracted a bit but he still looked like a ferocious beast with his cold handsome face.

 Chapter 233 - Proposal

    "We are going to announce that there will be no change in the Yu Empire''s personnel appointment," Mei Qingyang announced to the press which broke into a fervent discussion as soon she spoke those words.

    "But won''t young master Yu be deemed as an incompetent person now that his dirty secret is out?" a female reporter asked to them.

    Mei Qingyang looked at the girl sitting in the crowd, asking the question with a straight face, with disdain.

    "And? How does him being an abuse survivor make him incompetent? Please explain?" Mei Qingyang yelled at the girl. It was very easy to spout non-sense about others when they had not experienced it themselves. The reporter girl could not answer the question. She looked at others for help but they were in the same situation.

    "Now, it''s very easy to blame everything on him because he, being a man, could have easily shaken away that woman. But why is that an expectation? Because he practices martial arts? Because he has a lot of strength? Or because he is a male?" she asked everyone crudely. The press conference was being broadcasted live. Her words resonated with a lot of boys out there, not only in the country, but in the world, who had been victims of their families and friends asking to ''man up''.

    "I will explain to you guys each and every single detail. I want to serve this as a reminder to all the victims out there, that you are not alone. Even a high and mighty person like me can be abused into submission, it all depends on circ.u.mstances. And it is not victim''s fault, ever," Yu Tian spoke confidently. After speaking the last sentence, he smiled towards Mei Qingyang. This was something she had taught him and it was time he should reinforce it to other victims out there.

    The press also captured this moment, the two love birds, confirming their feelings for each other, once again. And this is how Yu Tian''s story went out to the world. It was especially amazing because Yu Tian''s and Mei Qingyang''s bond on the TV looked something out of fairy tale. It also meant that the victims of abuse could find a true love for themselves too. There would be someone out there who would accept them with their scars, just like Mei Qingyang accepted Yu Tian.

    "After this, I would like to announce that Yu Empire has established an anonymous hotline for people like me, who can call, talk about their problems if they are being abused, vent out their frustration and ask for advice. This is the first new project that we are developing under my command. There will be no discrimination of gender for this hotline. For now, it is available nationwide, but we are in talks with other countries as well," Yu Tian announced, an angelic smile on his face.

    Suddenly the whole hall went into an uproar. Not because of the hotline, but how handsome Yu Tian looked when he genuinely smiled. No one had ever seen him in a good mood, he was always cold.

    "In the end, I have the last thing to announce," Yu Tian spoke once again. Mei Qingyang looked at him quizzingly. She did not know there was something else on the agenda.

    "Mei Qingyang. You have been the sunshine of my life for past few months now. I know I might be rushing it but, since I have already told you my intent to spend my lifetime together with you, I would like to ask you this question. Will you marry me?" he took out a small diamond ring from his pocket and knelt down in front of everyone.

    Even Su Lang, Feng Yue and Fan Ruyi had no idea that he was planning to do this. Right in front of the whole world? For the girl who was so lowkey? Aaarggghh, why did he not discuss it with them? What if she turned him down in front of everyone? His reputation had already hit rock bottom and they had salvaged it just now a bit but this¡­

    Mei Qingyang sat there on the chair dumbfounded. What happened just now? Did she just got proposed to? Like this? How? Why? She had not even achieved anything yet. She was not supposed to be happy about this but why did she feel so giddy?

    Why was her heart wanting to jump out of her c.h.e.s.t? Why did tears want to escape her eyes? Why was her face feeling hot? She wanted to be in a cute dress but why did she have to be in business attire at this point? Wait, she had already decided that in her heart? How? When?

    Countless questions ran through her mind. Not hearing any answer from the kitten, Yu Tian stared becoming anxious. Was it too soon? He should not have taken the impulsive decision. He was beating himself up for having done this. But again, he already had no reputation left, so another rejection would not matter.

    This was too out of the blue. Mei Qingyang did not have even an inkling of this. What would be the right decision here?

    "Silly girl, there are no right or wrong decisions in love. Go with what your heart d.e.s.i.r.es," she heard the voice of the baby girl Li Sibao in her mind who was mocking her at her ''too practical a mind''.

    "Anyway, this was what I was living for. Now that you have heard everything and assimilated the truth, I think it is time for me to go as well. Say goodbye to your trauma Mei Qingyang and accept that guy. It would do you good," the girl clad in white appeared before Mei Qingyang on the stage. The turbulence about this girl was gone. She had the aura of peace about herself as well.

    Mei Qingyang pursed her lips as she finally focused on the guy in front of her who was looking at her eagerly for her reply.

    "Thank You Li Sibao. And goodbye," she said in her heart.

    "Qing Qing?" Yu Tian looked at her whose whole face had gone red. She did not look too good. Was it too overwhelming for her? Did he make it too burdensome?

    Mei Qingyang did not say anything still. She just stared at the man in front of her, her tears had finally rolled down her cheeks.

    "I¡­ I am sorry. We can talk about it. Don''t take too much stress," Yu Tian fumbled as soon as he saw her tears. He¡­ made a wrong decision after all.

    Mei Qingyang, in a bold move, just held his neck and kissed his lips, her hands trembling. She did not know if it was because she was too happy or if it was the fear of getting into something she had no idea about.

    But heck, they will figure it out later. All she knew was that her heart had only space for him at the moment and she was all up for it.

    "It''s a hundred time yes Tian. I was just too shocked earlier because it was really unexpected, haha," she smiled embarrassed. The crowd cheered for both of them, Su Lang jumping high in air with excitement.

    "You gave my heart attack for once," Yu Tian put the ring on her finger and swept her in his arms, twirling around in happiness.

    "Thank you, Tian," she buried her head in his shoulders, sobbing. This was too much happiness and she was afraid of it for once, since she never had been so happy in her life.

    But again, she was a warrior. She, together with him, had overcome so many obstacles, she could overcome more.

    In another house, Bai Yuchen threw away the glass in his hands, shattering it all on the floor.

    "This girl! Does she not understand her own talent? It will all be wasted if she gets married at such young age. This is the problem with women, as soon as they fall in love, they lose rationality. Idiot! Assistant, make the arrangements. We are getting out of here soon."

 Chapter 234 - More Witnesses

    "Oh my God, congratulations!!" Su Lang was even happier than the couple. They finally headed home but the friends could not just leave the two alone.

    "Did you ever expect it all?" he asked.

    "I had not even a tiny speck of idea that he was going to do this. I wanted my proposal to be¡­ Ah! Never mind. I am just thankful he finds me worthy of him," Mei Qingyang waved her hand nonchalantly. In reality, her blush had not left her face, she could die from glee right now.

    "You¡­ you did not accept it under pressure because of all the eyes on you right?" Yu Tian was having doubts right now. He hoped dearly that that were not the case.

    "What if were to say yes?" Mei Qingyang saw how cutely Yu Tian was behaving. His eyes had turned into puppy eyes, glistening with emotions, as if he was unsure of her answer now, even after she had the ring on her finger.

    "Qing Qing!" Yu Tian protested. Then he crossed his arms and pouted, "Whatever. You have accepted it in front of national TV, so there is no backing out anyway."

    Mei Qingyang laughed at his antics. She had never seen him like this in her months of association with the group. On the side, the three friends wanted to puke out of sweetness overload. These two could make all the singles feel envy and despair.

    Words were failing at the shameless display of their friend, whom they had never known capable of such emotions. What were they seeing ah!

    When the guys reached the school campus, they found a few kids at the gate. Most of them consisted of middle and high school students who were yet to be sullied by the school''s rules.

    As their cars entered the premises, the kids cheered for them, especially for Yu Tian. The couple rolled down the windows and asked one kid why they were here. The kids, mostly on poor side, told them about how Yu Tian''s speech today encouraged them to face their own ordeals that they have been going through.

    They both were glad that Yu Tian could finally see the positive change he was bringing to the country.

    "I am so so happy for you Tian. I hope this has helped you recover, even if a little bit," Mei Qingyang hugged Yu Tian as soon as they boarded the elevator.

    "Mmm," Yu Tian agreed. The kids from earlier did help him placate the anger and resentment he had towards his aunt, and the system in general. This was even more effective than seeing Yu Rong behind the bars.

    The door to the elevator opened and they saw a girl standing in front of their door.

    "Ms. Gu! How come you are here?" Mei Qingyang was surprised seeing Gu Layue.

    The girl in front of them, one of the most elite females, was just standing with a haughty expression on her face. She did not even look at Mei Qingyang but was staring at Yu Tian all the while.

    Qingyang did not like it at all. Her eyes twitched with a weird jealousy in her heart. Why did this girl have to stare at someone else''s fianc¨¦? A tinge of pink started spreading across her face when she thought of the status change they had just gone through today. She left Yu Tian''s side and took a step to position herself in front of him.

    Mei Qingyang glared at Gu Layue fiercely. If this Gu girl needed to talk, she could just talk to her. Or if she needed to gawk at some handsome man, she could just go leer at Su Lang or Feng Yue.

    Gu Layue finally gave a look of annoyance towards Mei Qingyang.

    "Don''t misunderstand, I am here to set the record straight," she spoke with her chin up, as if talking to these two was beneath her status. The couple looked at her in confusion. What was she saying? Nonetheless, they invited her inside.

    "I want to offer my help in standing against Yu Rong," Gu Layue spoke while delicately sipping her tea. Her movements were so graceful yet arrogant that it seemed like she was doing a huge favor to these two by offering her help.

    "..." The couple looked at each other. Well, the more the merrier?

    "What kind of proofs can you provide us?" Mei Qingyang was still unsure of Gu Layue''s motive. So she had to ask intelligent questions.

    "I can give you recordings of the orders she gave to me in order to eliminate the girls around Yu Tian. In order to consolidate my position as his fianc¨¦e, I had no choice. In return, I want you to promise me I and my family will be kept out of the investigation," she stated as a matter of fact. She had accepted the fact that Yu Tian could not be hers.

    Mei Qingyang suddenly felt the world of rich was scary. They had proof of everything with them as a backup for getting out of situations like these. Would she also need to deal with all these schemes in future?

    "I don''t think you are in a position to negotiate with us Ms. Gu. We already have enough evidence against her to convict her for life sentence. What special do you bring to the table?" Mei Qingyang stated calmly. She did not want to give any advantage to the girl who once ogled after Yu Tian. What if her interest in him woke up again?

    "I¡­," Gu Layue went into deep thought. That was correct. She had come around too late. What new information could she offer? She gulped down her tea before she made a decision.

    "I will get Gu Jiujiu out of the accusation of murder of that thug. I met her on the campus. I have all the proofs that it was a scheme by Yu Rong to put you in trouble," she said, a vague determination shining in her eyes.

    "But if retrial for that case happens, you would become a prime suspect too."

    "But I am not the criminal," Gu Layue smiled confidently. The actual murderer was dead.

    "Very well. We will take the deal. However, I cannot save your family if they are involved in any illegal trade or anything," Mei Qingyang gave her word. Gu Layue nodded. She knew her parents could not really avoid the responsibility for the deeds they had done in collaboration with Yu Rong. But a lighter punishment would be great.

    "Are you giving up on chasing after my fianc¨¦ Ms. Gu?" Mei Qingyang asked her last question. She raised her eyes from the cup of tea in her hands to look straight at the Gu girl who was taken aback by the direct question.

    Gu Layue put down the porcelain cup in her hands gently on the table and smiled. "I had already heard a few rumors about Yu Tian and Yu Rong. I don''t think I have as much courage as you to accept the whole truth just like this. So, I would just say you both are a match made in heaven?"

    Mei Qingyang nodded with her poker face. She neither smiled nor frowned. She only rejoiced in her heart at gaining another ally.

    -----------

    "Young miss, I have brought a few more people to testify," Fangyan had requested an audience with Mei Qingyang and was finally granted permission to see her former mistress.

    "Oh?" Mei Qingyang fiddled with her hair while Fangyan just stood at the side.

    "Good work. You may leave," she picked up the doc.u.ments on the table with list of people and their testimony. Fangyan was thorough after all.

    "Miss¡­," Fangyan''s voice shook a bit. "Could you¡­ could you please give me chance to come back and serve you?"

    Mei Qingyang glanced at Fangyan who had ambition to climb the social ladder all over her face.

    "Do you think this is enough to prove your loyalty to me? Are you unhappy in Feng residence?" she asked.

    "I¡­ I just miss you," Fangyan replied tenderly, her eyes glistening with tears.

    Qingyang''s lips curled up in a slight smile. This girl had learnt the acting she should have learnt all those years ago.

    "I am sorry, once a dog leaves their owner and becomes loyal to someone else, no one knows where their loyalty lies after that," Mei Qingyang yawned a bit. She was uninterested in any more drama in her life.

    Fangyan went down on her knees. "Please miss, please do not abandon me. Now I know it''s you, I just want to be with you and serve by your side. I do not have nay grievances there, but¡­," she finally started crying.

    Well, Mei Qingyang''s heart did move a little bit but she was still not sure about this girl. Should she give her a chance?

    "You are a maid at Feng residence now. I will talk to Feng Yue but I make no promises, so don''t keep your hopes up, okay?" Mei Qingyang gave in. She knew Feng Yue would not agree to it anyway.

    "Thank you so much miss! I will take my leave now!!" breaking out in a smile, Fangyan left excitedly.

    Well, at least she gained more witnesses and proofs against Yu Rong in one day. That witch was definitely going down this time.

 Chapter 235 - Court Trial - I

    "You are here?" Yu Rong stopped Mei Qingyang at the side while they crossed paths in the court. Yu Rong had parted ways with her former well-maintained image. Her hair had grown white, her cheeks had sunken in, she had dark circles around her eyes, her face was pale. One thing that did not change about her though, was her elegance. Straight back, confident gait, it was as if she knew she was going to come out of it unharmed.

    "I need to see the person who destroyed my and my fianc¨¦''s life behind the bars, don''t you think?" Mei Qingyang''s lips curled up in smile. She knew what Yu Rong was proud of and she was just waiting for her break down slowly. Poor woman did not even know what all surprises were coming for her today.

    "You still are na?ve. I, Yu Rong, has never lost a battle. You know how I have been able to fare thus far?" she clenched her teeth while talking to the girl, whispering next to her ear.

    "I bet your answer would be something like money, right? I know it''s the capitalist world. But even money can''t do anything before concrete evidence. It is time for the end Ms. Yu, or should I say Mrs. Yu?" Mei Qingyang slowly spoke each and every word in a hushed tone and then stepped back to see the shocked face of the lady.

    "How¡­ do you know about that?" Yu Rong''s face paled even further, she felt weak in her stomach. Almost falling down, she had to take support from one of the policewomen by her side.

    "Don''t you remember these?" Mei Qingyang pointed to her eyes, blinking them multiple times.

    "Chen¡­ Liuwei?" Yu Rong finally remembered them. "But how? He was supposed to be dead. I personally sent him to the heaven¡­," Yu Rong could not believe this at all. She had tried to make the connection since she had come to know that Mei Qingyang was Li Sibao.

    But she had never believed in the story. It seemed too farfetched for this girl to be actually that Li girl.

    "So then, you were telling truth eh?" A few words came out of her mouth but her eyes were darting here and there. Her mind was overloaded with the information. No wonder! No wonder those eyes haunted her like a plague.

    Those green marble striking eyes, how could she forget them? That guy, who had tried to make her, the lady of Yu family, the one who only belonged to Yu Ming, his. He was a persistent guy. She hated him to the core. He was the reason, her brother went too far away from her. That despicable man.

    "Should you not be asking about the final moments of your late husband rather than confirming the truth from me?" Mei Qingyang had given up on this person. She looked like a psychopath right now. There was not even an ounce of empathy in Yu Rong''s eyes.

    Yu Rong just scoffed. "You are too emotional Ms. Mei. Why would I care about a guy who was nothing to me?"

    "And yet, those emotions took you down Ms. Yu. Oh yeah, look, I got you a present," Mei Qingyang turned around, her back facing Yu Rong. She pointed in front of her.

    Yu Rong suddenly ran towards the person in wheelchair incoming. Yu Tian was pushing Yu Ming on the wheelchair. Although his condition had gotten worse, he had stabilized enough to attend the trial.

    Yu Tian halted and stepped back from the wheelchair slowly. He really wanted to witness the drama of his family reunion. Abhorrence took over, he did not even want to be in the same room as these two.

    "Brother! Brother!! How are you? I am seeing you after so long. I have missed you so much," she touched his face and fumbled as she tried to reminisce her days with him. The warm feeling returned to her heart and a tear rolled down her cheek.

    "Don''t touch me, you disgusting woman. I had thought you would not betray me but you ended up telling about us to my wife and dad. You destroyed a family just like that," Yu Ming could not move his limbs, so he could not really push her away.

    But her touch made him feel like ants were crawling over his body. How could he have raised such a sister like her? She came from unknow backgrounds, she truly belonged to the filth.

    "B¡­ brother?" Yu Rong stopped dead in her tracks. All her excitement of seeing her God, her beloved, faded away in an instant. Did he not whisper sweet nothings to her whenever they got together? What happened to all those precious memories? Why was there so much hatred in his eyes?

    "Yeah, I did a mistake when I approached you as a man. But was it not your duty to stop me? Even if we were not blood related, you still were my sister!" Yu Ming put all the blame on his sister. Till the end, he did not regain his senses.

    "What about me then? What about my innocence that you destroyed? And then you ran away to that s.l.u.t, even impregnating her. And then you avoided me just because you what? Fell in love with her? What about my feelings?" Yu Rong''s voice became louder and louder, until she screamed out of frustration and betrayal.

    "Why are you blaming me? Did you not enjoy it as well?" Yu Ming also yelled at her, only to get a coughing fit afterwards. His health was deteriorating, he was not supposed to put strain on his vocal cords.

    Yu Rong popped out her eyes in disbelief. This was it. She clutched her own hair and her tears would not stop. She wanted to kill this man on the spot. Her hateful glare was a cue to the policewomen beside her to take her away before she actually took the step.

    The policewomen also looked at the guy weirdly. These rich people really had weird ideas of love and consent. They were glad to be born commoners.

    Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang grinned towards each other. Their plan of divide and conquer was a success. Although Yu Ming had admitted his misconduct of s.e.x.u.a.l abuse towards Yu Rong on national TV, they still needed proof for it to stand in court.

    Yu Ming did not have anything with him. He was in it for pure l.u.s.t. But Yu Rong was different. She might not have recorded anything when she was young, but she might have had some kind of proof after she grew up. Having s.e.x with a minor was a very huge crime in M nation.

    Earlier, it would have been impossible to get it from her. She would rather take the blame herself than let her God, Yu Ming, take the fall. But now, it was almost guaranteed that she was going to reveal the details. That testimony would be enough then.

    "You really are a sc.u.m Mr. Yu. I am ashamed to call you dad," Yu Tian still handled the wheelchair, taking his dad to the court. The man did not budge and remained haughty till the end.

 Chapter 236 - Court Trial - II

    The trial started. The judges and the lawyers felt a headache when they saw the amount of evidence. The lawyer defending Yu Rong was the top notch lawyer in the country. He had decided to remain loyal to her in the hopes of reaping huge rewards. Unfortunately, he did not realize he had boarded a sinking ship.

    The amount of evidence in front of him was not something he had been told about. Wasn''t opposition supposed to reveal all the evidence before they went to court. He would make this his weapon and ask for more time.

    After the opening statements, the defender decided to bring this up. "Your honor, this is just so wrong. I have not seen and analyzed even one fourth of all this evidence. I would like to request more time to go through each and every piece of evidence here to come up with counter strategy," he bowed before the judge.

    The lawyer from Yu Tian''s side stood up. He was a small time lawyer and had been contacted by Mei Qingyang herself. He was not sure why she had decided to go with him while she could hire anyone with the money from Yu Tian.

    But the evidence she had provided for each and every charge was so clear, that he did not need even half of the evidences in that pile. With a bunch of them, he could get Yu Rong a death sentence.

    But Mei Qingyang had one condition. She did not want a death sentence but a life sentence for the criminal. Okay by him. He readily accepted the job. But since he was curious, he asked her the reason for her to have come to him.

    "You were the only one who had no record of behind the scene deals in your ten years career. I thought people like you should get more exposure," was what she answered.

    "Your honor, I know it is a bit of surprise. However, that big pile is for additional charges we have filed against Yu Rong. That pile also ties a lot of crimes to three more people, namely Yu Ming, Jiang Nuo and his wife. We will request for more time for these as well but that pile with evidence of embezzlement of money for drugs and weapons has been thoroughly examined by my colleague. I don''t think we need more time for that," he spoke confidently.

    Sweat poured down the defender''s forehead. New charges? Three more people? He knew this was a high profile case and he knew that there was no way Yu Rong was clean. But she was known to hide her shit properly. Why was there so much evidence against her? He quit on the spot and after that no one came forward to help her.

    For Yu Rong, most shocking thing was when Yu Tian came forward to testify against her for abuse. She was filing the same case against her brother but now she was going to stand in the court answering the same questions her brother was going to answer.

    "You bastard. It was all for love. I have always loved you but what could I do if you would not obey me? As your guardian it was my duty to bring you on right path. This is unnecessary slander!" she had screamed on Yu Tian who was sitting in the audience in the court during the trial.

    "Now you know why Yu Ming was saying what he was saying? Pfft, birds of a feather flock together. You guys are siblings after all," Mei Qingyang had taunted her when she met Yu Rong again after the break.

    Yu Ming got it easy on account of his poor health. For s.e.x.u.a.l abuse of the minor, he got 5 years in prison and a hefty fine. But he remained cuffed in the hospital for the time being.

    The whole nation rejoiced with the punishment. A few more politicians and businessmen went to jail for helping one of these four out. Others had to pay hefty fines.

    Many big businesses had to shut down because of the aftereffects of the case. Yu Tian had managed to steer the Yu Empire out of the storm with minor losses. Mei Qingyang was by his side the whole time. She took advices from Bai Yuchen as well, who, selflessly, helped them out for the time being.

    This case served as a warning to everyone in the country. It helped clean the whole environment and big corporations from outside saw this as a big opportunity to invest. Young blood took over.

    Su Lang and Feng Yue inherited the corporations from their fathers respectively who decided to retire in haste to save their own businesses.

    "Yahhhh! Does it not feel like there is just a fresh current in the atmosphere? I feel like I would enjoy more running the businesses," Su Lang toasted to everyone while they were having party after the case ended.

    "All our peers are now heading their respective businesses suddenly. The rivalry will increase now," Feng Yue clinked his whisky glass with his friend, and both gulped down their drinks.

    "I hope young masters are enjoying their night," Chen Jie came with a special wine and poured each one of them some. She joined the group afterwards.

    "Ms. Chen knows we require strong drinks. This is the best alcohol," Su Lang was a little tipsy. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were sitting silently in the corner.

    "Why are you guys so quiet. This is the time to celebrate guys! You did it, you were able to break the shackles of family and all that burden. You guys should be happy now," Feng Yue was also little bit drunk so he started chattering.

    The couple was so dazed that they did not know what to say.

    "It is over for real, isn''t it?" Mei Qingyang said, still lost. They were exhausted beyond imagination. Now they just wanted some rest. The college had been going on still and Mei Qingyang was really falling behind in her coursework. Now she had to start thinking about getting life back to normal.

    "It does feel unreal, doesn''t it?" Yu Tian also chimed in, as he also stared towards the blinking disco lights in the room.

    "In such cases, you guys should drink some more. Forget about the day and the past and let''s start anew, okay?" Su Lang spoke as he picked up the karaoke mic and started singing his favorite song.

    The groups partied the whole night when in the morning Yu Bufan came running to the couple.

    "Master, there is news from hospital. Your dad is no more."

 Chapter 237 - Yu Ming Passes Away

    In the hospital, a lifeless body covered with white sheet was lying on the bed. Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang were just standing there doing nothing. Why was everything happening all at once? Could they catch their breath at all?

    Mei Qingyang held Yu Tian''s hand which was just cold. She understood he had no feelings for his dad whatsoever. He had abandoned him for a long long time.

    Both of them stood there for about an hour without saying anything.

    "He got away too easy. I do not feel satisfied at all," Yu Tian finally sighed after an hour of staring at the body covered with white sheet. He had not even seen the face of the dead body.

    "It''s okay Tian, it was his fate. We cannot do anything about it. Pretty sure he got his divine punishment when Jiang Nuo snubbed him," Mei Qingyang consoled him tenderly.

    "Yeah, the whole drug thing must have been painful. Anyway, let''s just cremate him quietly and be on our way, we have too many things to take care of," he held her hand and left the room. He could not stand the hospital smell at all.

    Dr. Chen and the grandpa attended the funeral with Yu Tian''s friends. Press came to know about it but the mourning area was off limits. No one actually was in mourning though.

    "Your grandfather must have died a hundred times in heaven seeing you so tortured so much. I am sorry young master, I should have intervened earlier," Grandpa came and patted Yu Tian''s shoulders.

    He shook his head. "It''s okay grandpa. I am just glad that you are here for me. After your lesson that day, I do feel much better. I would be lying if I still do not have negative feelings towards this whole thing. But with her by my side, I think I shall cope with it well."

    The grandpa smiled. *Master, your grandson is true heir of yours. He talks like you too.*

    "It is very necessary to have a great life partner young master. And I think she complements you very well. Please, do not leave her hand even if something happens in the future, okay?" Grandpa went ahead and sat down with Mei Qingyang.

    "I offer my condolences," he went directly to Yu Tian and spoke sympathetically. Right now, Yu Tian did not have any strength to pick a bone with the guy in front of him, however much irritated he was. He just bowed to him and pointed him to sit at the corner for the meal and the drinks.

    Bai Yuchen ended up going to the same table as Mei Qingyang and the grandpa. Seeing that, jealousy exploded in Yu Tian''s heart. He knew no one else was coming, so he also went and sat down right beside his kitten.

    "Do you need help? I could stand there if you need," Mei Qingyang asked him affectionately.

    "I heard you guys got engaged, congratulations!" Bai Yuchen spoke as he picked up some rice and stuffed it in his mouth.

    Although Yu Tian was not happy with the interruption, he genuinely smiled and accepted the wishes.

    "Oh my! Young master, you are so handsome with that smile. I feel complex here. It would be hard to woo your girl to my side now. No wonder she is so smitten with you," Bai Yuchen sneered provocatively at them.

    Mei Qingyang could not understand why Bai Yuchen was always like this towards her man. She had never got to ask about it but today''s behavior was rather inappropriate. She frowned.

    "Many thanks for your compliment," Yu Tian also replied in a provocative manner, taking her hand in his and showing off the ring on her ring finger.

    "You! Can you stop teasing the children?" the grandpa hit the man in the wheelchair with his stick.

    "Grandfather! I am very serious. I need to steal this girl from him," Bai Yuchen rubbed his arm where the grandpa had hit him.

    Wait, what? Grandfather?

    "Young master, I apologize for my grandson''s impudence. He is my only family, I hope you will forgive him. And you, get your act together right now, alright?" The grandpa revealed another shocking truth.

    Interestingly, the two had just accepted the grandpa as grandfather Yu''s butler since Yu Ming acknowledged him that day. They never ever got to even ask for his name. He happened to be real grandfather of Bai Yuchen?

    "Why do you both look so shocked? Don''t tell me you guys did not do any background check on my grandpa? You guys are still noobs, aren''t you?" Bai Yuchen teased again and ended up getting another hit from his grandpa''s rod.

    "Grandfather!"

    "If you have this much time to fool around, go and make more businesses. Your work here is done," Bai grandpa scolded him again, making him leave the room.

    "That impudent kid. Just because he is a little successful," the old man lamented.

    "Why did you not tell us your relationship? I would have not been this hostile if I knew he was just joking," Yu Tian finally relaxed. That Bai Yuchen always left him in tenterhooks.

    "Tian, Qing Qing, listen to me. He might not really be joking, okay? When he sees talented people, he goes crazy. I have never seen his eyes sparkle as much as when he sees Qing Qing. I cannot say why he is so fixated on you. Trust me when I say he would bring no bodily harm on her, if he does end up taking her away. But he definitely has the capacity to take her away," Bai grandpa was very serious, which brought a weird ominous feeling in their hearts.

    "Grandpa¡­ In exchange of his help, I ended up signing an agreement with him. It''s a five year contract where he will mentor me to become a successful businessman. Do you think he will really separate me from Tian?" she asked the grandpa separately when Yu Tian had left for restroom.

    "Did it have any condition like that?" the grandpa was very concerned. He knew how obsessed his grandkid was about nurturing talents.

    "There was none. I had thought I would be able to persuade him to let me live here and I could just attend the sessions from him here. But then, I am not sure how not mentioning anything about the venue could be incorporated," Mei Qingyang rubbed her nose.

    She was desperate at that time. Despite the repeated warnings from Yu Tian, she had basically signed her away.

    "Qing Qing, even if he takes you away for five years, don''t misunderstand him okay? I will try to talk to him," he reassured the girl in front of him but he knew in his heart that Bai Yuchen had made his decision. His visit when he had no reason to be here, was a proof of that.

    Would they be able to overcome this last hurdle called Bai Yuchen?

 Chapter 238 - Left Alone

    Two days later, Yu Tian woke up with the sun rays hitting his face. Did he not put up the blinds on the windows last night? It must have been his kitten. He smiled to himself thinking about his time with her last night.

    Although it was supposed to be a sad moment for him, he saw off his dad without any emotions two days earlier. In the end, he could only thank him to have provided for him all these years. He could not even bring himself to waste a single tear for that man.

    Yu Tian could not bring himself to forgive that man either. It all had started with him. If only, he had not laid his hands on his aunt, she would not have evolved into such a twisted personality.

    Anyway, after they came back in the late afternoon, both of them decided to give themselves a break. The first day went only in sleeping and resting. They ate food in their bed and just lazed around, even turning away all the guests.

    Last night though, they had a very sizzling time. They had been so busy with other things that they never got a chance to be together all this while. Yu Tian wanted to make up for it so he ended up going for three rounds after which already exhausted Mei Qingyang could not take it anymore.

    And now, it was almost afternoon of the next day, which was why the sun had come over to this side of the building and hit Yu Tian''s face with harsh sunlight.

    He rolled over his arm in his groggy state to feel the warmth of his kitten once again, finding the other side of the bed cold. His heart sank for some reason. Even though he did not want to get out of bed, his eyes opened up instantly. Any remaining sleep had gone far away, he just ran out of his room in his n.a.k.e.d state.

    The maids had been given an off in celebration, so he did not need to think about being inappropriate. No, there was no time for it.

    He saw Yu Bufan sitting on the dining table, a piece of paper in his hand. When the assistant heard the footsteps from the bedroom, he looked up and found an anxious Yu Tian standing there.

    "Master," his eyes were red, hopelessness clouding them. Yu Tian''s heart started beating furiously. Even before he went around to look for his kitten, he just took long strides and snatched the paper from Bufan''s hands.

    ''Dear Tian,

    It has been great ten months with you. Unfortunately, your worst fear came true and I have to leave you behind because of my contract with Mr. Bai. Do not worry though, I will take care of myself and make sure he does not take advantage of me. The contract is for five years. I know you are disappointed and hurt. If you cannot forgive me for this rash decision, I will not stop you.

    I might sound selfish, but, I will come back, okay? Wait for me, if you can. But again, I do not want to bind you. If you find someone else along the way, I will give you my blessing. I cannot be giving you more details but I am leaving my agent with you. He will answer your questions, if you need.

    I trust in you, Tian. I have seen your progress all this time, so please do not regress back, okay? Even if I am far away, I will always remain yours. Please do not forget me.

    Love,

    Qing Qing''

    The ink was smudged on the paper, perhaps due to her own tears. That heartless woman, how could she do this?

    Yu Tian could barely stand due to shock. If there was something like this coming, she should have discussed it with him! Why did she leave without saying anything?

    But again, she had said she would return back, so he should trust her, right?

    "Bufan, prepare to go to headquarters," he instructed Yu Bufan while he ran back inside to get ready.

    Yu Tian opened up the cupboard and found her half empty. His eyes turned red, his heart shook with uncertainty. Five years was such a long time, how were they going to manage without contacting each other?

    Even in shower, his hot tears would not stop. He felt like going back to his shell. He felt betrayed, he felt heartbroken. It felt like someone was ripping his heart with a huge claw. He pounded the wall of the bathroom multiple times with his fist, injuring the hand badly.

    That bastard Bai Yuchen, he had his eyes on his woman after all.

    The two guys hurriedly went to Yu Empire''s headquarters. Because Bai Yuchen retained some percentage of the shares, he was given a small office in the building. The man had shifted majority of his own work there. He was regularly working from his small office space. His reason? The place had everything to offer.

    Yu Tian stormed off in Bai Yuchen''s office. He found the guy overlooking the river from his office on 17th floor.

    "You bastard, just where did you send her off?" Yu Tian grabbed the collar of the guy. He did not have heart to attack this man thoughtlessly, just in case this f*cker would go and harm his kitten.

    "Don''t be so emotional Mr. Yu. She will come back, it is just five years. Although, I cannot say if her feelings will change during this time. She has immense talent and I cannot see it going wasted," he replied very calmly to the young person in front of him.

    "You could have done her training here too, why send her away?" he clenched his teeth, his eyes stung.

    "Tell me one thing Mr. Yu. She did everything for you. She cleaned up after your mess, she supported you emotionally. She brought back your whole inheritance back to you while you were just being busy trying to float your own agenda. What did she get in return? Do you know what people will say down the line?" Bai Yuchen looked at Yu Tian, cruelty reflecting in his eyes.

    "A few years later, it will all be, ''Yu Tian, Yu Tian''. There won''t be any Mei Qingyang. Why? Just because she is a female and then she comes from disadvantaged background. Do you know how many such people just end up blending into the background of rich heirs like you? Countless!"

    "That girl has potential to disrupt the whole business world. Not only she has education in different fields, she possesses something called empathy. You lot only think of how to make money. She will think of how to do good, through making money, not charity. That is how the businesses should be. I was so against her giving all her back shares to you but she still did it because she thought it all belonged to you. But who decided that? Just this f.u.c.k.i.n.g society?" Bai Yuchen screamed and threw away the book in his hand on the floor with a thud.

    When Bai Yuchen started speaking sensible things, Yu Tian could not refute him at all.

    Mr. Bai was correct. In the end, she could only be recognized as his girlfriend, his fianc¨¦e, his wife. He wanted to punch himself. Why did he not realize how selfish he himself was?Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/left-alone_50118457735314228">/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/left-alone_50118457735314228</a> for visiting.

    Yu Tian walked out of the office, dejected. Disappointment in himself plagued his heart. Mei Qingyang had really been selfless. And he had, unconsciously, taken undue advantage of it.

    They were still young. He could wait for her if she was willing to. He went into the office and called an emergency board meeting. The decisions he made on the spot, not only shocked all the board members but even Bai Yuchen.

 Chapter 239 - Five Years Later

    "I can''t believe you are getting married!!" Fan Ruyi came trotting in her high heels and teased Su Lang.

    "Come on Ruyi, you can get married, I cannot? This is not fair!" Su Lang rolled his eyes. All the friends were sitting at the Moonlight Bar once again. It had been five years.

    After the whole incident with Yu family, everyone had decided to fast track their education and graduate within three years rather than four, so that they could focus on handling their family businesses.

    It was an unusual period of lull for everyone, especially since Mei Qingyang had disappeared overnight. Most of them had blamed her for being too cruel but Yu Tian knew what had really happened. He had actually made peace with it.

    "Hmph! I did get married to Feng Yue, so what? My love call was finally answered. Why would I not take advantage of it?" Saying this, she nudged her husband, who stifled his laughter.

    Once Mei Qingyang was out of his sight, he finally opened up to Fan Ruyi who was like a constant presence in his life. She was one aggressive woman, she did not let any other female flick even a shadow in his life. While some could call it toxic, he started finding it endearing. Ultimately, he decided to give them a chance and he ended up falling for her.

    They got engaged within a year of officially dating and got married a year later, much to the delight of Fan and Feng elders. The whole town was invited on their grand wedding which went over for almost a week. Two years later, the people of M nation still talked about their ceremony.

    Su Lang had finally realized his feelings for his assistant and the girl who was always hesitant about her status had finally let go of her apprehensions, taking inspiration from Mei Qingyang. It did take some time for her to get used to it. Which was why it took almost five years for them to take the final step.

    "And why did you guys have to call me and my wife when she needs to be in bed, resting," Xu Yang stroked the protruding belly of Wei Qiqi. They were in second trimester, and Xu Yang was not happy to be called, that too in a bar. What if the smell made his wife sick?

    Wei Qiqi giggled due her henpecked husband''s behavior. "It''s okay. You have been making me sit in the house all this while. It is a good change of pace," she sipped the juice she was served.

    "Are you sure this is okay to drink? Chen Jie, you should get her something warm," Xu Yang took the glass from his wife''s hand and inspected it with his hawk eyes.

    "My God Xu Yang, I would have never thought you would be such a worrywart. I understand it''s your first child, but you this is way too much, okay?" Chen Jie toasted to the heavily pregnant girl.

    They all had formed a close knit group by now. They were probably all bound by Mei Qingyang''s absence.

    "What about Jie? Who is the one in your life?" Fan Ruyi asked.

    "Hmm¡­ my dream guy is right there but I have been trying to get him out of the rut. But that saintly guy, don''t know what kind of meditation he is practicing, he just does not get enticed by my charms. I feel so lonely," she thumped her head on the table. Sigh! Finding love was just too hard.

    "Why did Tian not join?" Feng Yue posed the question to the group.

    "He must be busy with his kids somewhere," Su Lang, who was celebrating his Bachelor Party currently, shrugged his shoulders. Since Mei Qingyang had left, the greatest impact obviously happened to Yu Tian.

    Su Lang sighed. No one could understand the reason behind Mei Qingyang''s decision.

    "Oh, by the way, did you know there is a CEO has been appointed at Yu Empire?" Su Lang informed everyone.

    "Well, after Yu family fell down, the Yu Tian became the president of the company. But the CEO''s seat was kept empty for so long. Now that we are not shareholders, we don''t even attend their board meetings and everything. But I wonder who is taking the role on. I heard they are the youngest CEO appointed till now," Feng Yue also chimed in.

    Everyone kept discussing the everyday news and stuff.

    In other corner of the school, which had now become an open campus, Yu Tian was playing with a few kids.

    "Uncle Tian, uncle Su is getting an auntie, when are you getting one?" one of the kids asked the guy innocently, blinking her large eyes, quite similar to his beloved except the green color.

    Yu Tian picked up the kid in his arms and touched her nose with his finger, "You have become quite c.o.c.ky lately, asking your uncle such questions." The girl burst out in peel of laughter when the guy tickled her.

    He put her down after some time and stared in space. There was not a moment when he did not miss his kitten. Although it was the time for emails and phone calls and text messages, she only sent postcards from somewhere different every time so that he could not trace her.

    He had initially tried looking for her everywhere. But after he got a few more lectures from Bai Yuchen, he had stopped. The only thing that kept him going till now was her letter promising him that she would come back, and her postcards.

    He sighed to himself. "Do you miss me as much as I do too Qing Qing?" he mumbled.

    "Tian! Why don''t you come join us for bachelor party? We have been missing you dude!" Su Lang came from behind and put his arm around Yu Tian''s neck. "Kids, stop bothering your uncle and go play by yourselves, okay?"

    "Lang, I think I will pass. The new CEO is coming tomorrow. He and Bai Yuchen are coming together," Yu Tian massaged his forehead. Having delegated most of his work to his carefully selected executives, he had put much time in getting the school back in shape. The whole system of rich and poor was abolished and the education till high school was made free for everyone.

    Yu Empire had enough money to support anyway. Other big companies also donated huge sums of monies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

    "He? For once I had thought that if Bai Yuchen is bringing in someone it could be Qing Qing. Guess I was wrong," Su Lang also sounded disappointed.

    "He won''t do that. There are still almost eight months in her five years getting over. I don''t think he will send her back this soon," Yu Tian replied coolly, as if it did not bother him at all.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/five-years-later_50124310685208271">/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/five-years-later_50124310685208271</a> for visiting.

    But only Yu Bufan knew how his master would wake up each day and cross the day in the five year calendar he had prepared. He had been counting days since day 1, while just getting involved in charity. He had seemed to have given up on worldly possessions.

    "Oh yeah, today you have that save environment initiative press conference no?" Su Lang changed the topic.

    "Yeah, I have to go near the river. They are doing some cleaning drive over there, and we are also testing the new water bodies cleaning up machine as well. I will go get ready. I will, may be, join you guys after that event?" Yu Tian replied and left to get ready.

    A few older kids were experimenting on something in another part of the garden.

    "Oh Tian, strolling again?" Bai grandpa waved his hand from the gate of the library which had now expanded double fold to its original size.

    "Grandpa, how many times I have to tell you to retire?"

    "Even after retirement, this is my home. How can I go away from here? Then, why not work while I am at it?"

    "As long as this feels as home to you," both of them grinned. Yu Tian had also gained an elder in his life, who loved him as his own grandfather.

    After chitchatting a bit, Yu Tian finally headed out for the event. After the successful party, he just decided to stay at the waterfront, listening to the calm waves, which soothed his lonely heart too.

    He suddenly felt like a push from behind, and then two arms wrapped around his waist. Spooked, he hurriedly tried removing the God knows who. But the person was stubborn too, they would not leave him but they also buried their head in his back.

    "Tian, I missed you!"

 Chapter 240 - Falling Dreams, Rising Hopes

    Yu Tian froze at his spot. It had been too long, he was perhaps just hallucinating. His arms wanted to touch the persona and confirm if it was her but they would not function. He could not utter a single word. But his mind was racing fast, and so was his heart.

    There were still eight months left in her coming back. There was no way she could come this early. This must be some imposter. When he thought till here, his sudden excitement changed into fear, and anger. Why would someone play such a cruel joke on him? Same voice but not her?Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/falling-dreams-rising-hopes_50125202427795854">/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/falling-dreams-rising-hopes_50125202427795854</a> for visiting.

    "Tian?" the girl left his body and appeared in front of him. The girl before him, with striking green marble eyes that were hard to miss, had grown more beautiful. Her skin had become paler, perhaps due to living in cold climates all this time.

    Her jet black long locks had become quite short but her hairstyle did suit her. Her thin red lips were even more tempting than before. His excitement from before returned back. The girl was looking at him in confusion but the guy could not just take his eyes off her.

    She waved her hand before her eyes, without any response. And then he caught her hand in the air.

    Was that really her? He was not dreaming right? If he could touch her, then it was definitely her. Without saying anything, he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips.

    The sweet scent he had missed so dearly assaulted his nose. The sensation of her marshmallow like lips made him feel complete. Her long eyelashes, that fluttered as she went out of breath, tugged the strings of his heart.

    He really went out of control. He had abstained for far too long. But he also knew this was not the place. They needed to catch up. He needed to know if she was here just for some time or if she was back permanently. What she did for so long, where she went.

    Mei Qingyang also gave in and put her arms around the guy''s neck. She had missed running her fingers through his soft hair so much. His tall, lean sturdy body was still as ripped as it was when she had left. At least she did not come back to someone who had given up on his health.

    As the panting of two individuals became one, Yu Tian could not really control his emotions. He looked at her again and again, just to confirm if it was her. He hugged her multiple times and Qingyang let him do whatever he wanted.

    "Did¡­ did you miss me at all, you heartless woman. Why could you not give me your address? Every time you sent me that f*cking postcard, I always sent Yu Bufan to search for you but you always would have already moved from that place. Was it fun teasing me for so long? Playing the game of cat and mouse?" the guy just kept scolding the girl. The people around had stopped and were pointing fingers at the couple but Yu Tian did not care.

    "Listen mister, I had that contract to fulfill. A part of the condition was that I could not tell anyone my whereabouts. Even my agent did not know. What could have I done?" Mei Qingyang was relieved to see him thus.

    She had really thought he would be very angry with her. And that she would have to work to make him fall for her again. Of course, if he had found someone else during this time, then she would have just smiled and buried the pain in her heart.

    But from the lonely back she had seen earlier, she just could not control herself. She was not planning to show him her face today. But her heart just filled with elation on seeing the familiar back, that she just ran towards him.

    The summer breeze was slowly flowing. It was almost the time when they had first met. Had it already been five years? Time flew too fast. But they both only knew how much they had suffered and how much they had to endure when they were apart.

    Mei Qingyang''s hair waved with the wind. Yu Tian helped her tuck her stray strands as he used to do in the past.

    "But¡­ how come you are here? Were you not coming in April next year? It is just August right now," Yu Tian could not help but ask as he lifted her in his arms. Mei Qingyang naturally put her arms around his neck once again, for support. The familiar most secure corner of her world.

    "Your girlfriend is just so smart. She finished her sessions almost a year early. So, Mr. Bai let me off and here I am," she beamed.

    "Then, are you here just for a few days? Will you go back?" Yu Tian asked anxiously. No, she should not have just come to meet him like this if that were the case. What was this torture?

    Mei Qingyang giggled and nestled her head into his c.h.e.s.t, "Not going. I am not leaving you now. I toiled like a slave just to get through his teaching faster. Now whatever he says, I will not go," she replied. His c.h.e.s.t reverberated as he laughed in joy.

    "Then I guess, my plan for tonight is set," he spoke mischievously.

    "You¡­ are you sure? You are not going to ask me anything?" Mei Qingyang closed her eyes and asked him slowly.

    "What, did you cheat on me?"

    "No!"

    "Then I don''t need to know anything. I am just glad you are back. My patience was running out anyway. But, were you able to successfully make your career?"

    Mei Qingyang nodded. She had sacrificed too much for this opportunity but no more.

    "Then it''s all good. I am sorry, I was always selfish. I did not know I was only thinking about myself until Bai Yuchen made me realize how offensive it was to the love of my life. In order to fulfill my hopes, you were sacrificing your dreams. Which is why I did not make much fuss," he kissed her eyelashes, just to make sure she was really here once again.

    "It''s exactly the same," Mei Qingyang looked around and found that not even a vase had changed its place.

    "I wanted you to come back to the same home. How could I bear to change it?" Yu Tian hugged her from behind.

    "You did great Tian. I knew you were strong enough that even if I left, you would be able to cope. Thank you for that."

    "You did leave me that big letter. Did I have any choice?"

    "Miss!!!" a cry came from the kitchen and a glass shattered on the floor. Yu Bufan also stood frozen on the spot when he noticed the guest in front of him was none other than Mei Qingyang.

    "Aiyya assistant Yu, seems like you are losing your touch," Mei Qingyang teased but stopped after she saw tears had escaped Yu Bufan''s eyes. She had never taken him as the sentimental type but now she knew he held her in important regard.

    "Miss, is that really you? Are you back for good?" Yu Bufan asked, his voice choked. Yu Tian found his assistant''s over the top reaction really displeasing.

    "Yeah, I am back for good," she replied.

 Chapter 241 - Happily Ever After?

    "Do you, Ms. Su Weixi, take Mr. Su Lang as your lawful husband?"

    "I do."

    "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

    The whole hall thundered with claps.

    "Congratulations elder brother," Mei Qingyang went on the stage as the only remaining relative of Su Lang and hugged him tightly.

    "Qing Qing ah! This was the best surprise, okay? Not only have you come back for ever but you are also now the new CEO of Yu Empire. I had told Tian that I had an inkling that it might be you. But that Mr. Bai is just too sly. He told Tian that it was a guy," Su Lang glanced over the shoulder at his best friend. He was just too pitiful ah!

    "Oh, that might be a misunderstanding on Tian''s part. In Mr. Bai''s camp, he addresses everyone as ''he'' because he focuses on instilling similar values and traits into the females in his camp as the male counterparts." Mei Qingyang replied nonchalantly.

    "Aiyya my foolish sister. You are still taking that Bai Yuchen''s side? Do you not understand my bro''s heart? He is eating vinegar over there while you praise your Mr. Bai," Su Lang teased both of them together.

    "Master¡­ I mean Lang, can you just stop with your jokes, at least for today? Spare them with the torture," Su Weixi came from behind. The bride, wearing a very beautiful while gown, was glowing with happiness.

    "Ah! Weixi ah! You have no idea how much my heart breaks for my bro. Please, let me toast some¡­ouch," Su Lang grabbed another glass of wine from the waiter''s plate when Su Weixi pinched him on his waist.

    "He had too much to drink today, so I will take him to sober up a bit," Su Weixi apologized to Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang and dragged the groom away.

    "You have really grown much more elegant than I remember you," Fan Ruyi came from behind with a plate of cake in her hand. She was looking at the perfect curves of the girl in the navy-blue gown she was wearing. Tsk, this girl, who had just entered a.d.u.l.thood then, had now bloomed into a beautiful woman.

    While she made herself busy to make a career in medical field, she had gained some weight around her waist. Feng Yue did not mind but losing to the young blood hurt her pride as a woman.

    "Many thanks for your compliment, senior Fan. I heard you got married as well. Congratulations! Finally, your love came to fruition, I am so happy for you," Mei Qingyang greeted Fan Ruyi sincerely. Having such pure energy around, Fan Ruyi could not even retaliate. She just accepted the wishes and left.

    "Oh! So, you were finally able to get out of clutches of my trainers eh?" Bai Yuchen finally found the girl he had been looking for. For some urgent matter, he had to miss the meeting where Mei Qingyang was introduced as CEO of Yu Empire. He had not met the girl since she had landed in M nation. Now he finally had time to meet the lass.

    "It''s all thanks to your teachings," Mei Qingyang bowed. Bai Yuchen had managed to recover from his illness and could now walk freely. The tall man had decided to remain a bachelor and devote his life in training the young blood.

    His story of being bullied at the school, then taking the servant job and then running away, was published in several magazines after the Yu school''s case was tried in court. It had sent another shockwave throughout the nation. Bai Yuchen had become an overnight hero to those who wanted to rise from their own circ.u.mstances.

    "Tsk, I wish I could keep you there some more. But since you passed everything, I can''t complain¡­ ouch!" Bai Yuchen was struck in arm by his grandfather from behind.

    "When will you stop bullying the two eh? Is it fun? At your age, do you think you are young, messing with poor kids?" the grandpa yelled, making both Yu Tian and Mei Qingyang laugh.

    "Mr. Bai, I am very grateful to you for taking care of Qing Qing for past four years. Thank you for making her capable enough to have entered Yu empire on her own merits. Now, no one would be able to question her," Yu Tian came ahead and bowed slightly in respect to the tall man.

    "As long as you understand," Bai Yuchen patted his shoulder. "Take good care of her, okay? She is my precious student. If you dare make her cry, I will take her away again."Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/happily-ever-after_50126100361176071">/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/happily-ever-after_50126100361176071</a> for visiting.

    "I won''t give you a chance," Yu Tian replied, sparks flying between two men.

    After the wedding ceremony, the couple went home, drained. These kinds of functions were really toiling on the people who already worked 16 hours a day.

    "It''s not easy at all," Mei Qingyang pounded her shoulders with her fist. Her jet lag had also not gone away.

    Yu Tian lifted her up in his arms once again. Mei Qingyang screamed by sudden attack.

    "What! Why!" she protested.

    "Shhh, I got a gift for you," he whispered in her ears, the heat from his breath lingering. All the lights of the house went off. Small rice lights suddenly came to life, illuminating the whole house with romantic atmosphere.

    "What¡­ is this?" Mei Qingyang was delighted but she had no idea what was going on.

    "You looked so beautiful today Qing Qing, do you have any idea how tempted and tortured I was?" he whispered once again, making her blush over his words. Did the wedding atmosphere get to him or what?

    They halted in front of her old servant quarters.

    "Here?" Mei Qingyang''s big eyes blinked in curiosity. What surprise was going to be here?

    "Open the door?" he asked her while he was still carrying her. Mei Qingyang obediently complied. The door opened and she realized the painted walls were gone. Very pretty tiles now adorned the walls. The room even looked much bigger and there was a big tub full of scented water sitting in the middle of the room. Steam was rising through the water, rose fragrance in the air.

    "You¡­ remodeled it?" Mei Qingyang was pleasantly surprised.

    "Yeah, like it?" he placed her on the platform and slowly opened the zipper of the dress she was wearing.

    "Yes, hot spring feels are the best," she did not even wait for him to remove the dress completely and jumped inside the tub. She was a rich and powerful lady now, she did not need to think about a designer dress being ruined.

    "Are you not coming in?" she asked Yu Tian, who just saw a goddess floating into the big tub, thoroughly enchanted by her magic. She had become so bold suddenly that she would even invite him in by herself.

    "Coming," he smiled as his ears turned red and the heart filled with warmth and love for his kitten. Who would have thought the journey that started as almost enemies would turn them into lifelong companions?

 Chapter 242 - Epilogue

    "Granny, what are these?" a kid about five years age approached Mei Qingyang. She was sitting on the sofa, reading a few doc.u.ments. Even after 40 years, she just could not put down all the business work she had.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/epilogue_50153342533420928">/book/falling-dreams-rising-hopes-saving-mr.-boyfriend_16077138105820405/epilogue_50153342533420928</a> for visiting.

    After having a successful run as the CEO of Yu Empire, taking it further to unimaginable heights, and becoming one of the ric.h.e.s.t couples on earth with Yu Tian, she still did not want to retire, much to the chagrin of her husband.

    Since she was so busy with her career, Yu Tian and she had decided to not have children of their own. Yu Tian had seen Fan Ruyi, Wei Qiqi and even Su Weixi go through the pain of childbirth. He could not bear even imagining Mei Qingyang going through the same ordeal.

    Anyway, there were so many kids to take care of from the prison. They needed to nurse them back to health. Thus, they ended up adopting all the 30 or so kids as their own children.

    It was difficult at first, but with right help, they were able to provide them all with good lives. Yu Tian was the person who was majorly taking their care because he had stepped away from the business world after hiring competent people for his company. He would rather dote on his wife while she went ahead and earned money with her sharper brain.

    She also supported him in his decision. Mei Qingyang knew how much it brought peace to him when he was doing volunteer work. And their kids brought him the most happiness.

    And so, some forty odd years later, their house was always filled with multitude of grandkids. The life was fulfilling for sure.

    She put her doc.u.ments away and lifted the girl, bringing her into her l.a.p.

    "What did you find?" Mei Qingyang chuckled and looked at the familiar Doraemon band aid box in her hand. A distant memory was evoked seeing the box.

    "Waaaah~ This all is so pretty," a five year old Li Sibao was frol.i.c.k.i.n.g around with the butterflies. She had just gotten admitted to the school, so she was in the mood of exploring on her own. The school was pretty tolerant and safe for the rich kids, so no one really bothered her. Seniors even cutely pinched her cheeks when they found this super cute girl running around on her own.

    She had run and run and found this lake in the corner of the campus. This would become her comfort corner in the future. Once she would get a maid from the school, then she would be able to come here with her friend. Thinking till here, the kid was dancing with joy.

    "Huff, huff," another small kid of similar age arrived at the scene, looking all haggard and nervous. The kid had very pretty eyes. He was wearing navy blue shorts with suspenders and a white shirt underneath. Li Sibao noticed bruises all over his body.

    "Hey, are you alright?" she went ahead and asked the other kid.

    "I¡­ I am okay, what are you doing here?" the kid was surprised to find another soul at this place. This was his secret place, why was another kid here? Had they discovered this place too? Where would he hide now?

    "I don''t think you are okay? Let me see," she extended her hand to touch the cut on the boy''s neck but he slapped her hand away.

    "D¡­ don''t touch me," he yelled.

    Li Sibao came from a very protected environment. She had no idea why this kid would look at her with such resentment. What did she do? She was just trying to help him.

    "Umm¡­ I am sorry. Does it hurt too much though? I have perfect solution to it," she fidgeted a bit and looked at him with anticipation. Perhaps, he would like to take a helping hand from her after all.

    "S-olution?" he asked curiously. Did she really have a solution to his tyrant aunt? This kid who looked even younger than him?

    "Yes, here," she took out a box with cartoon character band aids in it and cutely offered it to him.

    "What is this?" the kid in front of her was bewildered. Was this girl joking?

    "So¡­ You know, when I get hurt and am in pain, I just put these on my wounds and then ask my friends on these band aids to heal them fast. They work wonders. You should try it too," she smiled genuinely, like she was sharing her secret with her best friend.

    The other kid was first stunned at her naivety and then broke out in laughter.

    "Pfft¡­. What is this logic? Weird girl," he still took the box.

    "I am not weird. It really helps, okay?" she puffed her cheeks at the insult but her heart relaxed seeing the kid in front of her laugh. The melancholy around him seemed to have faded a bit. She sat down near the lake. The kid followed.

    "Do you want to be my friend?" the girl asked the kid. She looked up at the white clouds floating. This place was really the best. But if this guy claimed the stake at this place, then she would need to find a new one. Would it not be better to make friends with him and share this wonderful space?

    "Hmph! Who needs friends like you?" he looked at her from head to toe and then just lied down on the green grass.

    Stretching his hand out toward the clouds, he knew he could not reach them, just like anyone else outside his circle, he could not reach anyone else. He could not let this pure and innocent girl into the dirty world of his.

    "Oh," she spoke, with much disappointment on her face and her voice, crushing the heart of the boy too.

    "But, thank you for this. I will cherish it very much," he pointed to the box she had just given him. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over to the girl. "I don''t have anything to give you in return, so please accept this."

    A smile of joy spread on Li Sibao''s face, she accepted the piece of satin cloth gratefully. If this were not him accepting her friendship, what was?

    She never saw that kid again. As she grew up, she got engaged to Feng Yue but she could not forget that one encounter. Eventually, she forgot the face of the kid. They were very young anyway.

    "Grandma? Grandma? Where did you get lost?" the kid in her l.a.p brough Mei Qingyang back to the real world.

    "Where did you find this?" she asked the kid.

    "It was in the drawer that grandpa always keeps locked. Oh, I also found your pictures in there," her grandkid sure was feisty.

    "Hey, you can''t be taking my things without permission," Yu Tian came and grabbed the band aid box which was in tattered condition by now from her hands.

    "I also told grandma how you secretly have a stash of her pictures in your drawer," the girl cheekily stuck her tongue out and ran away.

    "That little rascal," Yu Tian cursed and then looked at his wife who seemed to have realized something.

    "I am sorry Qing Qing, I¡­," he tried to explain but the words would not come out of his mouth. How could he tell that this small thing and that one interaction with an unknown girl brought him much comfort during his hard times in his childhood? How could he tell his wife that there was someone else in his memories other than her?

    Ugh, should have revealed such a small thing to her in the beginning itself.

    "I did not know¡­," she started speaking, her each word weighed heavily on his heart. He had hurt her once again.

    "¡­ that you were the kid back then. I wish I had known sooner," she took out a beautifully crafted block wooden box. Yu Tian looked at her in confusion. She slowly opened the box and a satin handkerchief peeked out.

    "You mean¡­how did you¡­," he could not even finish the sentence. Did their fate really start from that time? How could that be? Was she really the girl? They had never exchanged their names because he was taken away by his aunt''s goons in the end. As they grew up, even though they met once or twice due to Feng Yue, he never paid attention to her, nor did she.

    "I had got it stored after asking my dad at a very remote location. I retrieved it a few years ago when I received a letter from the place holding it through Li family''s lawyer. Turns out, the storage place was shutting down and they were returning the things they had held for many years to their respective owners," Mei Qingyang smiled, c.a.r.e.s.sing the soft cloth lightly.

    Yu Tian took long strides and took Mei Qingyang in his embrace, putting his chin on her head. "You have no idea how much valuable that one box was to me. After every incident with my aunt, I used to pray to those characters you told me about. It helped me get by for many many years," he kissed her forehead. Even after so many years of marriage, they kept discovering new things about each other every day.

    "Hehe, well, guess I was your salvation since the beginning then," Mei Qingyang laughed. After so many years, Yu Tian had finally gotten comfortable enough to laugh about it. It was great that her memory of so long back was still tied to this person in front of her.

    "Mom, dad, time for dinner," their children called from the yard outside.

    "Let''s go," they held each other''s hand and walked out of their room. A few of their grandkids gathered around them and took them to their seats by dragging them. A big table, a big feast, their lives were now full of happiness and bliss. They could not ask for anything more.