"My daddy is supposed to show up, save Lily here, and then propose to her in return for saving me!" Roland Rong wailed, waving his fists at me. "You ruined everything! You fucking bastard!"
I couldn't believe I was hearing a five-year-old kid swear at me. Or was he three? Whatever, he was too young to be swearing like that. I could only gape at him for a moment before my attention was forced back toward Veronica Vang.
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am!?"
"Yeah, you are Veronica Vang," I replied. "The agent of Linda Ling."
"I have Linda Ling and the Ling family behind me!" she snapped. "If you don't let go of me right now, I'll sue you!"
"Uh, you do realize that you're currently arrested for physically assaulting Lily? And that your act of shoving her into a storage room and locking her inside constitutes abduction? You're the one in danger of being tried as a criminal."
"Hah! I have the backing of the Ling family!" Veronica Vang jabbed a finger at me. "Don't you know who the Ling family is? They are the second sponsors for the drama series, The Emperor's Pampered Concubine! The Ling family is not people that someone like you can afford to offend!"
"Heh…" I watched her for a moment, and then nodded. Gesturing to one of the staff to let go of her, I then beckoned for her to take back her smartphone. "All right then. Go ahead and call the Ling family. I assume you will be contacting Mr. Leon Ling?"
"That's right! Afraid now?" Veronica Vang sneered. It took everything I had to stop myself from bursting out in laughter. Even the staff were struggling to conceal their amusement, turning away to snort in laughter. Lily Ling, on the other hand, looked utterly stupefied at what she perceived was Veronica Vang's sheer stupidity.
"Is she serious?" she whispered. I shrugged and shook my head.
"Let's play along for now."
"Hah! It's too late now! Even if you beg for forgiveness, I won't let you off! Not until I have you kowtowing to me in public!"
Veronica Vang crowed arrogantly while dialing the number in her phone. A few moments later, she conversed with Leon Ling, filling him on what had happened.
"I need your help! Some idiots in the studio are trying to apprehend me just because I followed your daughter's instructions to get rid of a competitor."
I could almost hear Leon Ling face-palming on the other side of the phone. Who the hell would blatantly admit to "getting rid of a competitor" right in front of everybody? Did she really think she was above the law? That the Ling family would protect her from everything.
"Huh? Yes, we are currently at the studio in the Shen Entertainment building. Eh? You're personally coming over right now? Thank you! Thank you so much!"
After nodding vigorously, Veronica Vang turned to gloat over me. Crossing her arms, her lips curled to a sneer.
"President Ling is coming over right now, to deal with you personally! Prepare to be destroyed! Ha ha ha!"
Was she serious? Why the hell was she behaving like some villainous caricature from some kid's cartoon show? Who the fuck laughed like that?!
Honestly, I had better things to do than to wait around like Li Xiao Fan or any one of the secret son-in-law or urban cultivator fools. Shaking my head, I decided to proceed back to work, but Veronica Vang barred my way.
"Running away now? Too late! I won't let you escape!"
"Look, lady, you might have a lot of time to waste, but I don't. I have a company to run and projects to supervise. Can you afford to pay for the losses I sustain while delaying me from my work?"
"Stop bluffing!" Veronica Vang stormed at me. "A loser like you owning a company and supervising projects? If you really have a company of your own, I'll strip naked and run across the roads here in broad daylight!"
"You said it yourself," one of the staff members said, holding up his smartphone. "I recorded it."
"Hah! But he's not! So I want him to kowtow to me in public! I expect an apology and a handsome compensation! I'll sue you until you go bankrupt!"
Wow…this lady was deluded.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. Leon Ling finally showed up, running down the corridor. Veronica Vang spun around happily.
"President Ling! You're finally here! Excellent! Put this loser in his place! This guy has the audacity to dare apprehend me even though I told him that I have the backing of the Ling family! I want him to issue me a public apology and kowtow to me in front of everybody! If not, I'll sue him until he's bankrupt! You can help me with the legal matters."
"So she says, Mr. Ling." I shrugged. Leon Ling paused and lowered his head.
"I'm so sorry about this, Trevor. I swear, I had no idea. Lily…I'm very sorry. If I had known what your sister was up to, I would have…"
"Eh? President Ling? What are you doing? Why are you apologizing to them? That loser isn't worth your time! He should be the one apologizing to us!"
In a single motion, Leon Ling spun around and slapped Veronica Vang so hard that she flew against the wall. Slamming into the concrete with a loud thud, Veronica Vang slumped down in astonishment. She stared up at Leon Ling, not comprehending.
"President Ling…? Why…?!"
"Shut you, you bitch!" Leon Ling stormed at her. He proceeded over and kicked her so hard that she doubled over. "Do you know who you have just offended?"
"That loser? And that slut who Linda hates and wants revenge on?"
"What?! That Linda…! She has gone too far this time! Does she want revenge because her mother took the company shares back from her and returned them to Lily?!"
Leon Ling's face contorted in fury. He kicked Veronica Vang in the face, almost knocking out a tooth. Veronica crashed onto the ground, clutching her swollen cheek, stunned.
"What…? Why are you protecting that loser and slut…?"
"SHUT UP!" Leon Ling roared before slapping her again. "This so-called 'loser' is Trevor Shen, the CEO of Shen Industries! The inventor of the energy shield generator and developer of the latest war walkers for the military! Do you not know that Shen Entertainment is a subsidiary of his Shen Industries?! He's the main sponsor for The Emperor's Pampered Concubine! He contributes more money to the show than the Ling Corporation! And this is my eldest daughter, Lily! Did Linda really hire you to get rid of her own sister?! I'll definitely not let her get away with this!"
"…eh?"
Tears were leaking from Veronica Vang's eyes as she gaped at us in disbelief. She began shaking her head in denial. "No way! That's impossible! You're lying! There's no way that loser can be a CEO!"
"Stop calling him a loser!" Leon Ling slapped her so hard she crashed against the wall again. "Even if you want to die so badly, go die by yourself! Don't drag others down with you!"
"Heh, it's time for you to keep your promise." One of the staff members held up his smartphone and played the recording. "You said that you'll strip naked and run across the streets in broad daylight if President Shen was really a CEO of his own company, right? Now do it!"
"Do it! Do it!" the rest of the staff chanted, goading her. Veronica Vang looked at them in fright, still not comprehending.
"T…this can't be real!" she wailed.
"Shut up, you ignorant woman! For someone who doesn't know anything, you sure are arrogant!" Leon Ling slapped her again. He then turned to me and bowed his head. "I'm very sorry, Trevor. I swear, I didn't know what my mischief younger daughter and her agent were up to. I'll definitely take the appropriate actions and satisfy you."
"Just stop them from ever bothering Lily again," I told him. He nodded frantically, stealing a glance at his eldest daughter.
"I definitely will. And I'm very sorry, Lily. I didn't know your sister was harassing you this badly. Your mother mentioned it once or twice, but even she didn't think Linda would go this far."
"She's not my mother," Lily said automatically. Leon Ling's face fell, but he didn't push the issue. He knew he was in no position to.
"I'm confident that your stepmother knows nothing about this as well."
"Oh, I trust Ms. Lim. But that doesn't absolve her of responsibility. Isn't it a mother's duty to watch over her daughter?"
"You do realize that Linda Ling is an adult now? You can't expect Ms. Wendy Lim to watch over her all the time." I shook my head. Lily glared at me, as if to ask me which side I was on.
"Well, you can start off by getting this bitch to keep her promise," one of the staff members suggested, waving his smartphone – where he had stored the recording.
"Good idea." Leon Ling nodded to the men he had brought along. They were grim men in suits and sunglasses, the typical bodyguards that all rich people hired. They hauled a stunned Veronica Vang to her feet and marched her down the corridor.
All of us followed. Even Roland Rong, who continued to cling to Lily for some reason. I wasn't sure if the next scene would be appropriate for him, but there wasn't anything I could do to stop him from coming along. I wasn't his dad, after all.
"No, please! I was wrong! I'll apologize!" Veronica Vang was struggling against the grip of her captors. She turned to me, tears glistening across her face. "I'm sorry, President Shen! I'll never look down on people again! I'm very sorry for calling you a loser! I will apologize to you in public! I will kowtow to you ten times! No, a hundred!"
"Why the fuck would I want you to kowtow to me for? I'm not a god." I sounded disgusted. "What's with you people's obsession with kowtowing?"
"It has something to do with pride and dignity," Lily explained. I rolled my eyes.
"What is pride? What is dignity? Can they be eaten? Used to develop technology?"
"No! Please forgive me! I'll do anything!"
"Then start by keeping your promise!" One of the staff members taunted, clearly enjoying the show.
"That's right." Leon Ling nodded to his men. They began tearing the clothes of Veronica Vang off and stripping her. She screamed and flailed about wildly, struggling against them, but they were too strong. Within moments, they tossed the shreds of her clothing about and threw her buck naked into the streets.
Pedestrians stopped to stare at her and drivers almost had accidents when they spotted her. Veronica Vang screeched, covering her breasts with one hand and her privates with the other. Looking around in panic, she then shrieked before running down the streets, as if trying to find shelter.
All the while, the staff members filmed the entire thing.
"…what did I miss?"
At some point, Riley Rong had turned up and he was watching the amazing spectacle with a slack jaw, unable to believe what he had just seen.