Zhu Qing's face was shockingly pale.
Those posts that had steered public opinion, splashing dirty water on Chi Yue and incidentally cleansing herself, were indeed her own doing.
But how could Chi Yue have possibly known?
Zhu Qing moistened her lips, "You, what exactly do you want?"
Chi Yue: "Don't those keyboard warriors love body comparisons? I previously recorded your full set of videos, and now I'm going to take another one with your face in it. Let those tech experts analyze it thoroughly, shall we?"
"You—" Zhu Qing hugged her arms and squatted on the ground, staring at Chi Yue in disbelief as she shrieked, "You're going to post it online? You want to ruin me?"
"Keep your voice down, shh—" Chi Yue was composed, filming her from all 360 degrees, "Let's shoot one without any beauty filters and post it online for a review. Let's see if a body like this is worth a hundred thousand for one time? What do you think?"
"Chi Yue, don't mess around, I will sue you... I will definitely sue you..."
"Sure thing!" Chi Yue's mocking gaze landed on her. Recalling how she had earlier behaved lasciviously during their video chat, Chi Yue sneered, "But what can you do by suing me? Did I deceive you, or rape you? Oh, filming your little video? Wasn't that with your consent? I paid you after all. Right?"
Zhu Qing's shoulders shook.
As if her whole being had collapsed.
Suddenly, she lifted her head, fixing her gaze on Chi Yue's phone, her tightly clenched lips almost bleeding.
"...Give me the phone, give it to me..."
She lunged at Chi Yue fiercely.
Like a madwoman, completely ignoring the fact that she was undressed.
"Slap!"
A resounding slap echoed.
Following that, Zhu Qing's body was pushed away by Chi Yue and crashed into a chair in the room, creating a loud thud.
The chair creaked as it fell over.
Zhu Qing staggered back two steps before stabilizing, then screamed and lunged over again in a fury to snatch the phone.
Chi Yue coolly held the phone high, capturing the entirety of her manic episode, reacting with swift precision, and while shouting "Don't you hit me," she kept Zhu Qing at bay with a kick that sent her retreating. After several attempts, Zhu Qing was nearly driven insane—
"Bang!"
Another solid kick.
Zhu Qing clutched her waist, moaning in pain.
This time, she fell seated, hitting her head against the bedpost.
"...Chi Yue, you've gone too far! Are you... trying to drive me to death?"
She lifted her dizzy head and glared at Chi Yue.
A few seconds later, her mouth twitched, her eyes closed, and she started sobbing quietly.
"Spare me. Chi Yue, please spare me. I'll return all the money to you, okay? I'll help you clarify the rumors online, okay?"
If being harsh wasn't working, was she trying the soft approach now?
Too bad,
Chi Yue was not swayed by either.
"Nope. Too late."
"...There's still time, Chi Yue, there's still time."
"It's too late. Zhu Qing, everyone has to pay for their actions, and there's no need for you to feel wronged."
"Chi Yue..."
Zhu Qing covered her face, crying inconsolably.
"You think I wanted this? I had no choice..."
"Save your tears, I'm not a man. Your crying does nothing for me."
"Chi Yue, you're a woman too. You know how hard it is for women. Why make it tough for another woman?"
Chi Yue raised an eyebrow, "I don't trouble others unless they trouble me. As for the next two lines, figure those out yourself. Sniff—"
Zhu Qing shook her head as she wept, her body seated on the floor gradually retreating until she finally leaned against the bedpost, her sobs asking, "So you really aren't giving me a way out?"
Chi Yue: "What you think is up to you. I don't care about your life or death."
"Good, you're really something. A despicable, shameless… coward," Zhu Qing bit down on her teeth and suddenly reached under her pillow and pulled out a fruit knife she had prepared in advance, "Then let's end it together today!"
"..."
Another one seeking mutual destruction with her.
In the dim light of the room, Chi Yue observed Zhu Qing's face, almost feral with rage.
"Looks like you're pretty alert. Bringing a knife to a hotel with a man?"
"Don't blame me... Chi Yue, it's you who crossed my line," Zhu Qing said, holding the knife and slowly standing up, "Give me the phone, give it!"
"That's your line. It's mine too."
She knew that once these videos were shot, Zhu Qing would be left with no way out.
But if she did not do this, where was her own way out?
Chi Yue watched the knife in her hand, her expression as calm as if she didn't know that the thing could kill, and leisurely checked the time on her phone.
"Fine! Let's see if you can take me down before the police arrive—that way you might get a chance to spend a few more years in jail without having to sell your body for a living."
The police?
Zhu Qing was taken aback.
"Bang!"
Just then, somebody knocked on the door.
"Open up!"
...
The police arrived just in time.
They took Chi Yue and Zhu Qing to the local police station.
However, the categorization and handling of the incident provoked some controversy.
The person who called the police was Chi Yue. Initially, the police treated the incident as a civil dispute and were preparing for them to settle it privately, but Chi Yue insisted that Zhu Qing was engaging in prostitution and demanded that it be formally recognized. In contrast, Zhu Qing countered that it was Chi Yue who had impersonated a man to entice others into committing crimes and had also cheated her feelings and beaten her up…
Uh!
Beaten up!
Zhu Qing's face, arms, waist—there were bruises all over.
If one were only to look at the injuries on her body, she had indeed been severely hurt in this "fight"...
In the brightly lit police station office,
two officers were mediating for them when Wang Xueya, having heard the news, rushed over.
"Moonlight, are you alright?"
Wang Xueya's frightened face turned pale, and she couldn't help but call out from the doorway.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Chi Yue glanced over, started to speak, but then slowly closed her mouth again.
At the doorway of the office, unbeknownst to her, there was an additional man.
Qiao Dongyang…
...
...