With utmost seriousness, she challenged him, "Shen Xiujin, you're too strong, too excellent, with so many enemies. Surely, you have no vulnerabilities. Most of all, your woman cannot be your weakness. Wei Ming is too fragile, she won't do. I, Jian Tong, am fit for the role!"
Every time, he would berate her with contempt, "Lowly, coveting even what belongs to a friend!" But every time, she would retort with her head high, "Shen Xiujin, you're single now. Since when did Xia Wei Ming become your girlfriend? I, Jian Tong, will walk away from you!"
Such a proud woman!
"Please, return my money to me," came the humble plea of a woman in need.
Shen Xiujin's face turned an iron blue... Was this really Jian Tong? That proud and confident woman?
Abruptly grasping Jian Tong's wrist, Shen Xiujin dragged her towards his car.
"My money, let me go. Without the money, I can't leave." The woman's voice lingered in his ears, darkening his already cold gaze... She indeed planned to escape!
Shen Xiujin abruptly halted, scanning his black-clad buzz-cut bodyguard, "Check her luggage. Confiscate all cash and bank cards."
Upon hearing this, Jian Tong's expression turned instantly anxious, "What are you planning to do?"
Shen Xiujin sneered, "Thinking of escaping? With money, you believe you can get away? Oh, Jian Tong, how naïve you are, or perhaps I've grown too kind."
His breath tickled her ear as if in a nightmare, "Why would I let you off so easily? After getting out from prison, you should go as far as you can, never to be seen by me again. Once I have my eyes on you, Jian Tong, you cannot escape."
With a look, Shen Xiujin signaled to his man Shen Yi, who nodded back, understandingly scanning the taxi driver beside them.
Without a moment's delay, Shen Xiujin roughly shoved Jian Tong into the car and swiftly followed after, "Drive."
The driver responded with respect, "Yes, Mr. Shen."
Throughout the journey, Jian Tong dared not speak. Sitting beside an ice block, she clung tightly to the car window. Shen Xiujin's silent presence next to her filled her with dread.
Since entering the car, he had said nothing, his long legs crossed elegantly, eyes cast down expressionless. The man's imposing aura contradicted the calm spectacle-framed face above the roiling dark tides in his eyes.
Unaware of how much time had passed, the car stopped. Jian Tong's glance out the window turned her complexion pale.
"This... this is Dong Huang? Mr. Shen, why have you brought me here?"
Throughout the trip, Shen Xiujin had not glanced at Jian Tong. Hearing the fear in her voice, his eyes narrowed with thoughts unknown and suddenly turned to face the frightened, tense woman, lifting a brow in mocked amusement as he said offhandedly,
"What do you think?" His smile mocked as his eyes glanced over her, "Ms. Jian, such a 'grande dame'?"
Jian Tong gasped for air, trembling lips pleading, "I beg you, let me go, Mr. Shen. Whatever I have done wrong, I will apologize, I will kneel, I will kowtow..."
"Be quiet!"
Jian Tong could never have anticipated that the always composed Shen Xiujin would be infuriated to the point of rage! Her face turned even paler, "I, I..." She didn't know what to say, knowing any words now would be wrong. Clenching her teeth, she bent her knees within the confined space of the car...
His eyes, deep and enraged, bore into her... She actually knelt as commanded. Had she truly lost all her dignity?
Shen Xiujin's anger was unabated. He opened the car door and dragged Jian Tong out, "You want to kneel, is it? So ready to bow down?" The muscles in his handsome face were taut with fury as he dragged Jian Tong to the entrance of "Dong Huang Entertainment Club" and threw her to the ground, "Since you like kneeling so much, perform it here, Jian Tong. Show everyone how the great Miss Jian of the Jian family loses face!"
Why was he so angry? This woman had always been insufferable, arrogantly invincible. Now stripped of her pride, she seemed even more contemptible!
Jian Tong? Was she really Jian Tong? That defiant woman who once professed her love to him?
Jian Tong took a while to fully process Shen Xiujin's words. She turned a deathly pale towards the man, "Mr. Shen, I know my mistakes now. Please spare me, I beg you, after three years in prison, I..."
Her unspoken words were - once her debts were cleared, she'd give her life to him, to Xia Wei Ming in exchange.
"Do you love to kneel that much? Kneel down!" The icy countenance of the man grew even colder, "Since you like it so much, let the public see how the 'esteemed' Miss Jian from the Jian family dishonors herself!"
Jian Tong staggered, believing she would no longer feel such pain, thinking she could calmly accept everything.
She was wrong.
Miss Jian of the Jian family... is that a joke?
Who gave the order that, without Jian Tong, there would be no Jian family? From this day forth, there would be no Miss Jian of the Jian family?
Kneeling... did she want to kneel?
She did not want to!
But who was she?
She was nothing but a series of numbers "926"! She had nothing left. Dignity? Pride? Hah, what pride when the very Shen Xiujin could send her to jail with a mere displeasure? Not even a chance to argue her case.
Now she was nothing. Without her dignity, she had no bargaining chips left to negotiate with him.
Shen Xiujin, it's not that I "love" to kneel; I simply have nothing left to offer.
You took my past, erased Jian Tong from the Jian family. You annihilated a person's existence and their history. I am worse than a homeless wanderer on the streets; at least they have a past, but what about me?
Dignity? Jian Tong lowered her head, disregarding the bitterness in her mouth, trembling as she raised her eyes to meet Shen Xiujin's dark ones, slowly kneeling... The Jian family's Miss Jian might have kept her dignity and her pride, but what of a reformed prisoner like me?
With lips tightly sealed, the man approached in silence, amidst the whispers of the crowd. He looked indifferent, walking forward. No one knew his intentions.
Jian Tong saw a pair of long legs in front of her, shiny leather shoes reflecting meticulous ownership. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight, only to see those long legs squat down slowly in front of her. Reflexively, she glanced up to find an extraordinarily handsome face, confronting hers.
"Are you truly Jian Tong?" The man's deep, inquisitive eyes contained a touch of severity as he interrogated her. Jian Tong felt as though a heavy hammer struck her, her body swaying slightly. After a long pause, she remained mute, with no answer to give. Shen Xiujin stood up slowly, looking down at what seemed like an ant beneath his feet, and coldly commanded, "Come with me."