After two hours of waiting, Tian Lingyu and Huang Shenghao arrived at the same inn where Shen Yi and his brother were staying. There weren’t many words uttered between them, although they came into the same decision to head directly to the campsite where the students of Silver Leaf were staying.
Arriving around the same time at the campsite, Proctor Xuan started to sweat. The news about Lu Xinyi’s disappearance had reached the Demon King too soon. She hadn’t thought that it would be reported at once to President Shen.
Was it someone from the academy?
“We weren’t informed that President Shen will arrive today. Please excuse us for not being prepared.”
Proctor Xuan’s knees trembled. President Shen was an unpredictable person. Who knew if he would blame her for what happened to Lu Xinyi?
With Lu Xinyi’s disappearance, the academy had forced her to return the students back to the Capital City today. Everyone was ready to leave when President Shen, Tian Lingyu and Huang Shenghao came.
“We are here to find out what happened to Lu Xinyi.”
Shen Yi sat opposite across Proctor Xuan leisurely, like a relaxed cat, albeit a predatory cat. For when he uttered those words, his tone was filled with such deadly coldness that was enough to send shivers down someone’s spine.
Proctor Xuan wiped the sweat from her brow. She had no idea that President Shen could be this intimidating in person!
“I’m afraid this subject doesn’t know what happened to Miss Lu.”
“Hm?”
Shen Yi crossed his leg and straightened his back before leaning forward. “How can that be? Aren’t you the proctor who was assigned to supervise the students? How come our sponsored student got lost under your protection? Or is it that you’re thinking the Shen family will overlook this matter?”
“This one wouldn’t dare!” Proctor Xuan panicked. “If there’s someone who knows how Miss Lu got lost in the mountain, it would be her partner, Miss Meng.”
“Oh?”
Shen Yi stared at her coldly but didn’t say another word. He just sat there, waiting – making the atmosphere more awkward for the proctor.
The proctor felt helpless. She dared to seek Tian Lingyu’s help, but the man had a grim expression on his face that she couldn’t understand. Even Huang Shenghao refused to extend a hand to help her and only shook his head.
She quickly called Meng Jiao to ask what had occurred back on the mountain. Proctor Xuan had pushed all the blame to Meng Jiao and refused to take responsibility much to Tian Lingyu’s chagrin.
Tian Lingyu decided that he would talk to the headmistress with regard to this matter. Silver Leaf Academy didn’t need a proctor who had no idea how to handle tough situations like this.
Meng Jiao arrived and greeted Shen Yi with her head lowered, not meeting his gaze.
“Greetings, President Shen. My name is Meng Jiao. It’s an honor to meet you,” she said coyly as she slightly raised her head to stare at Shen Yi’s face.
She held her breath as the man regarded her. No wonder Lu Xinyi refused to be together once again with Gong Yijun, Shen Yi’s face was enough to make any woman go insane with his devilish beauty.
With his wealth and looks, how could Gong Yijun even compare to Shen Yi?
Meng Jiao cursed Lu Xinyi in her heart. How could this woman be so lucky to meet someone like Shen Yi? He wasn’t Lu Xinyi’s husband, right? He couldn’t be! Lu Xinyi didn’t deserve to stand beside President Shen!
Lu Xinyi’s husband must be Shen Yi’s subordinate that sought him to sponsor Lu Xinyi’s studies at the academy. Yes, that must be it! It was impossible for Lu Xinyi to become Shen Yi’s wife. The man who claimed to be Lu Xinyi’s husband back then at the Amusing Plate Patisserie couldn’t be the same person as Shen Yi.
While Meng Jiao deluded herself into her thoughts, Tang Lilou arrived and greeted President Shen. Following behind her was her twin brother, Tang Liang. She didn’t say any word to Shen Yi but the helplessness and despair in her eyes told Shen Yi that she was worried about her elder cousin.
“Quick, Miss Meng! Tell President Shen what happened back in the mountains and how Miss Lu got lost!” Proctor Xuan made Meng Jiao remember why she was summoned.
Meng Jiao gritted her teeth. This proctor was surely passing the hot potato from her hands to her. She then started recalling what she and Lu Xinyi did back in the mountains. Before going up the terrain, the two had decided to catch fish for lunch. Lu Xinyi did all the fishing while Meng Jiao was assigned to keep the catch. It was only after they fished that the two decided to survey the mountain for other edible goods they might use.
Shen Yi hadn’t said a single word throughout her explanation. He only stared at her with a blank face. Meng Jiao stood awkwardly as she waited for his reaction. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Being stared by the opposite sex wasn’t new to her. Meng Jiao was aware that she was born pretty. Men flocked around her and even fought each other to get her attention. Men couldn’t resist her charm; otherwise, Gong Yijun wouldn’t have fallen for her.
This sort of thing boosted her ego and self-confidence that she could win any man’s heart with her appeal and innocent look. How could they resist falling for her when her gentle appearance and soft gaze made men want to protect her?
She thought that by using the same tricks, President Shen would fall for her allure. Even if she couldn’t wrap him around her finger, the mere thought of getting his favor would be enough for her to use against Lu Xinyi. If this man fell for her, it would be much better as Lu Xinyi only dared to act arrogant because she had President Shen as her backing.
Thinking of snatching Lu Xinyi’s advantage as her own, Meng Jiao couldn’t help but grin inwardly as a thought crossed her mind.
Oh, Lu Xinyi, you can burn in hell and never come back. This man will be mine!
“I was really scared when Sister Lu didn’t show up. What if something had happened to her?” She started to sob, making sure to appear distressed over the incident. “It’s my fault that she got lost. I shouldn’t have brought her with me…”
Meng Jiao chewed her lower lip and gave Shen Yi a shy look. She hoped that President Shen would take pity on her. Tian Lingyu’s hands balled into fists on his sides as he watched Meng Jiao’s audacity to play an innocent woman, worried about Lu Xinyi’s whereabouts.
Unfortunately for her, Shen Yi wasn’t a normal man. Meng Jiao’s acting and charm wouldn’t affect him at all. He had long known about her identity and what she was to Lu Xinyi. How could he take pity on a woman who seduced her best friend’s man? If she was able to seduce Gong Yijun before, she surely could do the same thing again. A cheater would always be a cheater until she learned a lesson the hard way.
In his mind, he wondered what Gong Yijun saw on this disgusting woman. Really? This was the woman Gong Yujun chose over his precious Lu Xinyi? He must have been really blind to pick up an ordinary stone over a diamond in the rough.
What was so good about Meng Jiao that Gong YIjun disregarded Lu Xinyi over her? Shen Yi then thought that it was Gong Yijun’s loss. If they hadn’t cheated on Lu Xinyi, she wouldn’t have decided impulsively to take the cruise vacation alone, leading her to him.
“Hm? You say your name is Meng Jiao?” Shen Yi asked.
“Yes, this one is called Meng Jiao,” she replied.
“Oh?” Shen Yi raised a brow. “No wonder Xinxin did the fishing alone. You aren’t fit to do it.”
His tone was neutral with no hint of malice in it. Meng Jiao’s eyes lit up. Of course, she couldn’t fish. For someone who highly regarded herself, why would she do such a menial task deemed for a lower class like Lu Xinyi?
Tang Lilou who was watching on the sideline felt disgusted with Meng Jiao’s attitude. How dare this woman to seduce her Xin Jiejie’s man in front of her? What a slut!
Meng Jiao started to plan how to curry Shen Yi’s favor now that she had a chance to finally meet him. Even if Lu Xinyi came back alive, she wouldn’t let her live peacefully. Thinking like this, Meng Jiao’s smile became wider.
Too bad for her, Shen Yi didn’t plan to get along with her. He would rather crush her dreams on the spot.
“You are so ugly, the fish will choose to drown itself once it sees you. No wonder they chose our family’s Xinxin. They couldn’t help but be attracted to her beauty and wouldn’t mind being caught by her.”
“Pft!” Huang Shenghao tried to suppress his laughter but failed. Ah, this demon king was so ruthless.
Well, he was not the only one amused by the woman’s embarrassment. Tian Lingyu’s sour mood had improved somehow.
‘Serves you right, bitch!’ Tang Lilou snickered while her brother covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.
Meng Jiao’s face went beet red. She was mortified, frozen on the spot. She felt traumatized and couldn’t believe what happened – and in front of everybody too. Her eyes filled with tears, her hands balled tightly on her side. No one had dared to call her ugly until today!
If she was ugly, then what about that country bumpkin, Lu Xinyi? A clown?
She stood there, soaking in the cruel laughter. Her head began to spin. She’d never live this down as long as she’s alive. Her face radiated heat like a hot pan. One could cook a three-course meal on her face.
No one could have missed it. She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. She wished someone would step up to save her face but there was no one to rescue her from this embarrassment. It was absolute torture – utter humiliation. The memory would be seared into her brain forever, ready to pop up and torment her again whenever she’s in a quiet moment.
Shen Yi stood from his seat and adjusted the lapel of his coat. With his duties as the head of a company forgotten, he headed to the campsite without changing his clothes.
“I had enough of this nonsense. The Shen family will be taking over the search and rescue mission for our family’s Xinxin since Silver Leaf has proven to us how useless you are on protecting the safety of your students.”
