Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this moment, everyone who came to attend the event tonight had already sat down. Everyone was whispering and discussing the auction items tonight.
The assistant was a little anxious. “Miss He is too domineering, and we don’t dare to be rough with her. Little Boss, please go backstage and settle it.”
“He Xi?” Duan Linbai looked around and saw He Shiqing and Old Madam He.
“Yes.”
“What video is she going to show?”
“I’m not sure. Besides…” The assistant lowered his voice. “Half of her face is swollen. She even asked us to find an ice pack for her. She looks like she was hit.”
“Ah…” Duan Linbai glanced at Yu Manxi, who was chatting enthusiastically with Song Fengwan. Something must have happened between them.
What dirt does she have on Yu Manxi?
He Xi was famous in the circle for being arrogant and deliberately finding trouble with others. She was probably doing it again.
“Promise her first. Then check the content of the video and tell me,” Duan Linbai instructed.
The assistant immediately nodded.
Duan Linbai watched He Xi walk back with her back straight, and a smirk appeared on his face. The auction was about to start, and the lights below the stage were dim, so he couldn’t see He Xi’s face clearly.
“Where did you go? What took you so long to come back?” He Shiqing was suspicious. She stared at her face and frowned slightly. “Little Xi, your face…”
“The heating is too high, and it’s a little hot, so I just went to take a breather.” He Xi reached out to rub her face. It still hurt slightly when she touched it.
She was too ruthless.
I’ll make you cry later!
***
Not long later, the assistant ran back and whispered into Duan Linbai’s ear…
“What the hell?” Duan Linbai was stunned.
“It’s about Miss Yu…” The assistant was dumbfounded when he saw the video. “I’ve already gotten someone to stop it.”
“Play it.”
The assistant was surprised.
“What? Go do it.” Duan Linbai had always been someone who liked watching the show and didn’t mind getting into trouble.
“Still playing it? The He family and Eldest Young Master Fu are still here?” Isn’t he deliberately blowing things up?
“So what?”
“Aren’t you friends?”
“Huh? That’s right.” Duan Linbai nodded. “Hurry up and get to work. Don’t talk so much nonsense. By the way, help me with something else…”
The assistant had no choice but to resign to his fate and return backstage. He asked the staff to arrange to play the video. When he returned and replied to Duan Linbai, he still found it unbelievable.
Isn’t Little Boss deliberately causing trouble?!
“Say, if someone wants to court death, how can I stop her?!” Duan Linbai tilted his head and looked at him. “Besides, if we don’t broadcast it, we’ll let down her good intentions.
“And if we don’t…
“How can we press her to the ground and rub her? Don’t you think so?”
The assistant lowered his head and didn’t say anything. So, you really want to cause trouble.
“Then, will this matter affect Miss Yu…”
“What could happen? She already hit her. Isn’t she mentally strong?”
“Are you saying that Miss He’s face was hit by Miss Yu?” Actually, the assistant still didn’t understand why He Xi would target Yu Manxi. It was baffling. “Why did she…”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Duan Linbai glared at him angrily. “It’s not good for you to know too much.”
The assistant lowered his head and didn’t say anything. After this matter is over, you can leave without saying anything, but we have to clean up your mess.
At this moment, Fu Chen and Jing Hanchuan sat in the empty seats in the last row under the dim light.
***
The auction started, and the host gave a long and official opening speech.
“… All the proceeds from the auction this time will be used for the construction of mountain infrastructure and Hope Primary School. Last year, we held the first charity auction, and all the funds have already been settled. Now, let us see what changes have happened over the past year.”
The host retreated to the side, and the large display screen behind him instantly lit up.
Song Fengwan was texting Fu Chen when she was suddenly frightened by the sound of an intense slap.
He suddenly looked up and saw a slender girl kneeling on the floor with her hand out…
Before she could react, the woman standing in front of the girl picked up a feather duster and hit her hand.
The camera was shaking. From the angle, this should have been taken secretly.
The entire auction hall was silent until someone said, “Isn’t this the He family?!”
Everyone was in a daze. They noticed that Old Madam He, He Maozhen, Madam He, Zou Li, and even He Shiqing were all in the video. He Shiqing looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old. Compared to now, she hadn’t changed much.
Meanwhile, the girl kneeling in the living room had her head lowered. Her hair was messy, and it covered her face, making it difficult to see her face clearly.
“… Let me ask you again. Did you steal anything?” The person holding the feather duster was Old Madam He.
“I didn’t!” The girl’s voice was weak and trembling.
“If you didn’t steal anything, why was it with you?!
“You didn’t learn anything good and became a thief?
“I found so many teachers for you, but all of them ran away in anger. What else do you want?”
“Grandma…” He Shiqing, sitting at the side, ran over and held her. “Don’t hit Big Sister anymore. There must be a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding could there be? She stole something from me and brought it out with her to meet people. How dare she steal?!” She raised the end of the feather duster and slapped her hand hard. “She’s utterly disgraced our He family.
“People were kind enough to take her out to play, but what did she do?
“She can’t even read a single word. She’s really not presentable!
“He Shiman, be honest. Did you take it?! As long as you’re willing to admit your mistake, I will let you off this time…”
“It wasn’t me.” The girl was trembling.
“The thing was found on you, but you still refuse to admit it. I originally thought that by teaching you properly, you could become a proper adult even if you weren’t talented. There’s something wrong with your character!”
Next, it was almost always Old Madam He hitting the girl. Even until she was beaten to the floor, no one stopped her. Throughout the entire process, there were only the sounds of smacks and the girl’s muffled groans. There was no sound of crying the whole time.
There was a suffocating sense of oppression.
The video was from many years ago, so the scene wasn’t very clear. The girl was dark and thin, and her head was lowered the whole time, so it wasn’t very clear who she was.
This process made everyone feel extremely uncomfortable. Instead of saying that they were punishing the child, it was more like one-sided abuse.
Old Madam He’s hands were sore from the beating, and the girl finally resisted. She jumped up and pushed Old Madam He down. “I already that I didn’t steal it!”
The girl’s face in the video became clearer. The most shocking thing was that her lips were covered in blood.
The living room of the He residence instantly fell into chaos.
“You wretch! What are you doing?!” He Maozhen rushed over and slapped her face hard.
The slap was so strong that she fell to the floor.
“What are you all still standing here? Lock her up! Without my permission, no one is allowed to give her a sip of water or a bite of food!”
“She’s simply revolting…” Old Madam He had suffered a serious fall. “This girl is really a scourge. She’s a jinx. Hurry up and send her away!
“We can’t let her stay in China. The rumors outside will be too strong. I plan to send her overseas…”
…
After the video ended, everyone was silent.
This was because some sharp-eyed people at the scene had already recognized that the girl beaten up was Yu Manxi. Her bright and charming peach blossom eyes were scorching and stunning.
“It’s Yu Manxi, right? In the video, Old Madam He called her He Shiman?”
“It should be. Have you forgotten that more than ten years ago, when the news of He Maozhen having a second child was exposed, he was stripped of his party membership and lost his government job? I heard that he brought the child back, and afterward…”
“If Host Little Yu is from the He family, why didn’t she say anything? Why didn’t the He family acknowledge her?”
“The He family hasn’t acknowledged her all these years. They might have severed ties long ago.”
“You don’t have to beat her to death for stealing. They’re too cruel.”
…
Yu Manxi didn’t expect there to be a video of what had happened back then. At this moment, she clenched her fists tightly, and she was trembling from head to toe.
Fu Sinian held her hand without saying a word.
Fu Chen and Jing Hanchuan looked at each other. This was the first time they had seen this thing.
The information they could find was that Yu Manxi had an argument with someone. In order to prevent her from getting into trouble, the He family had sent her overseas. But they didn’t expect her to be beaten up like this before leaving the country.
It was really crazy.
The He family members below the stage were also dumbfounded. This was a family scandal. Moreover, many people had appeared in the video. The only one who didn’t appear on screen and could have possibly recorded the video was…
He Xi!
Old Madam He suddenly turned her head and glared at He Xi angrily. “You did it?”
“Grandma, I…”
He Xi had taken the video and kept it until Yu Manxi appeared again. Only then did she take out the video. Since Yu Manxi didn’t want to give her face, then she would ruin her.
An abandoned child, stealing, poor conduct, pushing elders, kicked out of the house…
There were a lot of scandals.
With so many people present, Old Madam He couldn’t flare up on the spot. Her face turned pale from anger.
Actually, the He family was already thinking of ways to acknowledge Yu Manxi and get her to come back. But with this video broadcasted, it cast a shadow on their already strained relationship.
At this moment, Duan Linbai raised his hand and signaled his assistant to play another video.
The video showed He Xi backstage.
“… What’s wrong with me asking you to play a video? It won’t affect your work. I know your Young Master Duan. We’re friends. Why aren’t you willing to do such a small thing?
“Let me tell you. If you don’t broadcast this video today, I won’t let you survive in the capital!”
“Miss He, you’re making things difficult for us.” The staff looked helpless. “Why don’t you tell our Little Boss? As long as he says so, we’ll definitely help you!”
“Do you think I’m deliberately causing trouble?”
…
This video wasn’t long, but it directly showed that the person who got the video to be played was He Xi.
While everyone was discussing, the lights in the entire venue turned on. Duan Linbai had already jumped on the stage. He raised a microphone and looked at He Xi.
“Miss He, when did we become friends? You forced my employee to do things for you and even used personal threats. Do you treat me as a dead person, or do you not take our Duan family seriously at all?”
He Xi didn’t expect Duan Linbai to be so ruthless.
After helping her play the video, he immediately exposed her!
He slapped her hard, catching her off guard.
At this moment, everyone’s focus was on He Xi.
“No matter what, Miss Yu is your cousin. What deep hatred do you have for her that you have to publicize this kind of thing? Besides…
“It’s on my territory. You clearly know my relationship with Fu Sinian, but you bullied his girlfriend like this. If others didn’t know better, they would think I condoned it.
“You pushed me into a fire pit! Who gave you the f*cking guts?!”
Duan Linbai had always been arrogant and didn’t care who she was.
Moreover, the video made him furious. His assistant had only said that it was about Yu Manxi being beaten up, but he didn’t say that the scene was so tragic.
“Young Master Duan, I…” He Xi originally wanted to use this video to embarrass Yu Manxi. But at this moment, the most discussed topic was not her poor conduct but the He family being too much.
He even started attacking her. This clearly shouldn’t have happened.
“What about you? How old were you back then? You were already so scheming at such a young age. You’re really vicious.” Duan Linbai continued to add fuel to the fire.
“She was the one who stole something back then. It was…” He Xi opened her mouth to explain. But unexpectedly, Old Madam He, sitting beside her, suddenly stood up and slapped her.
“You reckless thing! You dare to release anything!”
How was this trying to embarrass Yu Manxi? She was pressing the entire He family’s face to the ground for others to step on.
Jing Hanchuan sneered. “He Xi is going to be abandoned. She’s as stupid as a pig.”
“She wanted to use the video to bring Yu Manxi down. But during the entire video, everyone only saw how the He family abused her. She’s really stupid.” Fu Chen scoffed and looked at Fu Sinian in the distance.. At this moment, he probably wants to rush over and kick this family to death.
