Suddenly, a heavy kick landed squarely in her abdomen. Then, Xiao Cheng, like a rampaging jungle beast, roared, "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated? A scholar can be killed but not humiliated?! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!!!"
He repeated the sentence three times.
Every word was squeezed through gritted teeth.
Consequently, his speech was slow.
With each repetition, Meng Jingwei endured two more kicks.
After three repetitions, she had been kicked six times.
Pain.
From the kicks, Meng Jingwei instinctively curled her body. The blows landed on her abdomen, legs, arms, and even her head.
The pain instantly flooded her limbs, making every pore scream.
Even though Meng Jingwei had training, she could feel that Xiao Cheng had poured all his strength into those kicks. They were so powerful that she was unable to move for a long time.
"Hiss… Ugh…"
The beating stopped. Meng Jingwei gasped in pain, pushed herself up from the floor, and slowly got to her feet.
Even standing, her head was still swimming, and a trickle of blood began to flow from her nose.
Meng Jingwei unceremoniously wiped her nose with the back of her hand and looked up at Xiao Cheng, only to realize…
Xiao Cheng's face was flushed red with anger, veins bulging on his forehead, his entire body trembling visibly. He staggered back two unsteady steps, then, like a madman, kicked over the chair he had been sitting on. "Even you know, 'a scholar can be killed but not humiliated'!"
After speaking, he slammed his fist heavily against the wall.
With a muffled thud, Xiao Cheng remained motionless in that pose.
Then, Meng Jingwei clearly saw blood seeping from his fist pressed against the wall, staining the white wall as it trickled down.
The blood was a glaring, crimson red.
No matter how foolish Meng Jingwei was, she understood why Xiao Cheng had such a drastic reaction.
The last time she was injured and sent to the hospital, just before her discharge, Qing Muyue had only said that Xiao Cheng and Xiao Meiyan had been sent away and would never return to Lancheng.
However, Meng Jingwei hadn't known that Qing Muyue had retaliated against Xiao Cheng in such a despicable manner.
Therefore, her single phrase, "a scholar can be killed but not humiliated," had provoked Xiao Cheng, causing him to lose control and go mad.
For a moment, Meng Jingwei felt a mixture of emotions.
She could suddenly imagine how Xiao Meiyan had died and understand Xiao Cheng's hatred for Qing Muyue.
Today, it was likely that Qing Muyue was in grave danger.
Meng Jingwei stood frozen, staring blankly at Xiao Cheng. The words of concern stuck on her lips, unable to be spoken.
She wasn't a saint, but she knew that if Qing Muyue were the one to be humiliated, he would spare no effort to exterminate the perpetrator's entire lineage.
Meng Jingwei wasn't a man, but she could understand that such an experience would likely leave a lifelong scar on a man.
Lost in thought, Meng Jingwei noticed her nose was still bleeding.
She bent down, picked up the tissue box from the floor, pulled the chair beside her closer, and sank into it. Leaning back, she pulled out tissues to wipe her nose and complained irritably, "Are you crazy? You were supposed to teach Qing Muyue a lesson, what's with beating me? Damn it, it hurts so much."
If even Xiao Cheng was so out of control, Meng Jingwei couldn't imagine how she would manage to rescue Qing Muyue from here later.
Xiao Cheng was a vengeful man.
Qing Muyue's past actions had undoubtedly destroyed his future, and Xiao Cheng would surely retaliate in kind.
How could she stand by and do nothing?
Meng Jingwei spoke to Xiao Cheng in a feigned casual tone while racking her brain for a solution, feeling almost split in two.
Tap, tap, tap—
Just then, the sound of high heels echoed.
Meng Jingwei followed the sound and saw Antina jogging towards them.
The woman glanced coolly at Meng Jingwei, her gaze sliding past her to look at Xiao Cheng.
"Shrek, are you alright?"
Shrek was Xiao Cheng's foreign name.
Antina stood beside Xiao Cheng, took his wrist, and examined the hand he had used to hit the wall with concern. "How did you get injured like this?"
"What are you guys standing around for? Go get some bandages! Idiots."
At Antina's command, the stunned bodyguards finally reacted.
Some propped up tables, others swept up broken teacups, and those tasked with bandages went to fetch them.
Meng Jingwei remained seated, her attention divided between Antina and Xiao Cheng, and more importantly, on Qing Muyue, separated from her by a pane of glass.
He was unconscious. All the commotion outside hadn't woken him.
This indicated that his injuries were extremely severe.
"Let's go, I'll take you to rest," Antina said.
After bandaging Xiao Cheng's wounds, she took his hand and they left.
During the bandaging, Xiao Cheng cast a meaningful glance at Meng Jingwei before looking away.
He was led away by Antina, and Meng Jingwei was left forgotten in a corner like trash.
She sat on the chair, gazing at Qing Muyue in the vast, empty room inside, wanting desperately to call out to him.
But before Meng Jingwei could speak, someone approached. "Miss Meng, our young lady wishes to see you."
"Alright."
Meng Jingwei stood up and glanced at Qing Muyue in the room.
She knew that Xiao Cheng would likely not harm Qing Muyue at this moment.
Following the bodyguard, she looked back at the room one last time before walking out of the basement.
She entered a side hall of the castle, the same large hall where she had first arrived.
Seated on the sofa, Meng Jingwei began to wait for Antina.
She waited for an unknown amount of time. By the time night fell, Meng Jingwei still hadn't seen Antina.
However, a bodyguard brought Western food and placed it on the table. "Our young lady is occupied today. She will come to see you tomorrow."
"Where will I sleep then?" Meng Jingwei asked.
"A maid will take you to a room to rest later."
"Oh, thank you."
Meng Jingwei felt uneasy.
Qing Muyue had been kidnapped, and she had been brought here under duress, yet she was being treated as a guest?
Looking at the steak and black pepper pasta on the table, Meng Jingwei had no appetite.
But then she considered that she had things to do tonight and needed to eat.
She figured Antina and the others wouldn't poison the food. After all, on their own territory, killing her would be easy, and there would be no need for such elaborate schemes.
Thus, she ate the Western meal, which tasted like chewing wax, and even managed to have a glass of red wine.
An hour later, a maid came and led her upstairs to a guest room.
After that, Meng Jingwei stood on the balcony of the guest room, anxiously yet quietly waiting for time to pass, like a statue.
Night had deepened, and only small nightlights remained in the castle.
Meng Jingwei also turned off the lights in her room and sat on the bed, slowly waiting.
It was now half past one in the morning. In at most half an hour, she would have to leave the room.
Creak—
Suddenly, the sound of the door lock was barely audible.
Meng Jingwei frowned, closed her eyes, and lay down on the bed, wanting to test what the intruder's intentions were.
The door opened.
The person outside tiptoed in.
In the dark night, Meng Jingwei squinted and saw the figure walking towards her.