"Speak! Where exactly is my elder brother's child?" Jian Shichu grasped Ye Qingci's chin, demanding with a harsh voice.

A muffled voice came vaguely to Ye Qingci's ears, and she struggled to open her eyes for a look but ultimately couldn't hold on and fainted.

"Seventh Master, she's fainted!" the bodyguard responsible for administering torture respectfully reported.

"I'm not blind!" Jian Shichu angrily flung Ye Qingci's chin away, "Wake her up! Can't even handle a little girl, utterly useless, a bunch of trash!"

"Yes!" The bodyguard bowed his head in response, inwardly groaning with frustration.

Forty-eight hours of non-stop grueling interrogation, even a corporate spy couldn't withstand it, yet this girl's lips were sealed tight, refusing to give in.

This girl appeared fragile and slender but had an unexpectedly strong backbone.

They never imagined that the tactics they were so proud of, which had never failed before, would actually come to nothing against a little girl.

Jian Shichu saw Ye Qingci looking down and impatiently slapped her face with his gloved hand, "Stop playing dead! Speak, where exactly is my elder brother's child now? If you don't talk, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"

The pain on her cheek brought Ye Qingci back to some semblance of consciousness.

She glanced around, and after a brief moment of mental blankness, she remembered what had just happened.

She had been hiding in her best friend's house, heartbroken from a failed relationship.

Suddenly, someone broke in and abducted her to this place.

Chains bound her limbs, suspending her against this wall, followed by round after round of relentless questioning.

She'd always been unlucky since childhood, getting instant noodles packs without the flavor sachets, falling into a sewer on a night walk.

Whether pies fall from the sky she didn't know, but what she did know was that bird droppings had hit her countless times throughout her life.

Finally, during university, she got lucky when the boy she had a crush on confessed to her.

But before she could even hold hands with her dream guy, a senior stole him away.

Heartbroken, she sought solace at her best friend's house, hoping to secretly cry it out, but instead, the Jian family captured her, demanding the whereabouts of her best friend and the baby.

In short, her life was like a three-legged coffee table piled high with cups of sorrow.

It used to be just a tragedy, but now it's clearly evolved; her tragedy had turned into a catastrophe.

Without a word from her, Jian Shichu became even more irate and grabbed her chin again, shaking it vigorously, "Speak up! Where exactly is my elder brother's child? Otherwise, I'll have someone slash your face!"

Ye Qingci's pupils shrank, and her slender body shuddered violently.

Jian Shichu was pleased!

Oh!

He realized!

This fearless little girl was actually afraid of someone slashing her face!

He wasn't scum, of course, he wouldn't really let someone disfigure the face of this stranger, Yellow Hair.

But... heh, he had a better idea!

He stared at Ye Qingci, took two steps back, and waved his hand with interest, "Everyone out!"

"Yes!" A dozen bodyguards withdrew silently.

In the luxurious and spacious room, only Jian Shichu and Ye Qingci were left.

"What... what do you want to do?" Ye Qingci looked at Jian Shichu with terror, her body trembling violently.

"What do I want to do?" Jian Shichu leaned closer to her and blew in her ear, "Take a guess."

"You... don't you dare!" Ye Qingci shook even more violently, struggling desperately to distance herself, "This is a society ruled by law, if you dare to bully me, I'll sue you!"

"Sue me?" Jian Shichu laughed as if he had heard a delightful joke, holding her chin and caressing it while laughing, "Go on then! Sue me! Why don't you ask around and see who dares to meddle with Seventh Master Jian's business!"

Oh!

That's right!

He is Jian Shichu!

Jian Shichu, the richest man in Empire Country!

Ye Qingci closed her eyes in despair... How could she forget?

Her best friend Shuijing had given birth to the son of Jian Shichu's cousin, Jian Bai.

Like her, Shuijing was an orphan with neither money nor power, unrecognized by the Jian family because of her status and kept hidden by Jian Bai, who made her his kept woman outside.

Shuijing was a simple and cheerful girl; she didn't ask for much, just to be with her beloved man's son, and to have a place in her beloved man's heart was enough for her.

But even such simple happiness was not granted by fate; recently, Jian Bai had died in a storm at sea while doing business on a cruise ship.

Without their son, Jian Bai's parents were devastated and remembered the illegitimate child of Jian Bai who was left outside.

They wanted to take Shuijing's son back to the Jian family to raise him themselves.

Shuijing, afraid that her son would be taken away, went into hiding with him.

And her, due to such bad luck, wanted to find Shuijing to cry about her heartbreak, but ended up being caught by the bodyguards of Jian Shichu who were looking for Shuijing and was brought here.

So to say, her life is just one big "down on her luck."

No one is the unluckiest, there is only unluckier!

She lowered her head, falling silent.

Jian Shichu pinched her chin, shook it vigorously, "Speak! Why aren't you speaking anymore? Weren't you going to accuse me?"

"I won't tell you!" Ye Qingci raised her head, looking quietly at Jian Shichu.

Jian Shichu raised his eyebrows, "What?"

"I'm saying, even if you kill me, I will not tell you where Shuijing and Jian Bai's baby is!" Ye Qingci shouted fiercely. "Jian Shichu, you might as well give up! Even if I die a thousand times, ten thousand times, I will never tell you where the baby is, never!"

The Jian family looked down on the orphan Shuijing, thinking her lowly status would tarnish their name; they only wanted the child, not the mother.

After Jian Bai's accident, Shuijing was in deep agony.

Now, the baby was all Shuijing had to live for; if she lost the child too, Shuijing would surely die.

How could she betray her best friend just to save herself?

She would not, absolutely not!

Jian Shichu stared at Ye Qingci, a trace of surprise in his expression.

This little girl was truly beginning to impress him.

Those resolute, rough-and-tough corporate spies could not last three hours under his control, but this delicate, frail-looking girl seemed as though she would rather go on for three days and three nights than bow her head to him.

Isn't there a popular saying now?

Beware of fires, thieves, and best friends!

A best friend is there to stab you in the back and betray you; for her to get herself in such a dire situation for the sake of a best friend was also unheard of!

He looked at Ye Qingci for a while, then suddenly leaned in close to her face with a hooked smile, "Are you serious?"

He hadn't noticed before, but this little girl had really good skin, porcelain white and tender, with not a single pore visible.

Leaning in close, there was a faint fragrance too.

It wasn't the nauseating odor of perfume, but a subtle and discreet fresh scent, so tempting that he couldn't help moving closer, wanting to steal a kiss.

As Jian Shichu thought this, his lips had already brushed past Ye Qingci's cheek.