CHAPTER 354: CHAPTER 354 UNFORTUNATE IN A ROW

"Your acting skills are quite impressive; not joining the entertainment industry is really their loss. If the actors on screen had even half of your skill, how could the film and television industry in China not thrive?" Xu Jiahui sneered, smiling as she spoke.

"I really don’t understand what Miss Xu is saying. Is there some kind of misunderstanding between us?" Sheng Hong asked stiffly.

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? You borrowed money from me a few days ago, and I didn’t lend it to you. So today, you stage this whole drama to take revenge on me, then appear heroically at the crucial moment to save the day. It’s quite a strategy. If I were an ordinary girl, I might have been fooled by you. But unfortunately, since childhood, I’ve seen all sorts of intrigues and schemes, let alone such a clumsy plot," the mocking glint in Xu Jiahui’s eyes was blatantly obvious on her face.

"You want to teach me a lesson and be a hero to win my favor so I would lend you money to get through this crisis? Let me tell you, there’s no such good thing in the world. Moreover, what I, Xu Jiahui, hate most in this lifetime is being deceived by others," Xu Jiahui’s gaze grew vicious, her beautifully shaped eyes now seemed like two massive black holes, as if about to suck Sheng Hong in and grind him to pieces.

"Miss Xu, this is really a big misunderstanding. I genuinely didn’t know she would come to you. The reason I rushed over is not because I orchestrated this, but because someone sent me a message, and that’s why I came," Sheng Hong’s expression was one of deep grief. Perhaps his attitude was too evident in his brows and eyes, causing a slight hesitation in Xu Jiahui’s stance, but this hesitation was only as thin as a strand of hair.

"Since you say someone else sent you the message, let me see it," Xu Jiahui extended her hand, looking at Sheng Hong as she spoke.

Seeing that Xu Jiahui was willing to listen to his explanation, Sheng Hong immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead secretly, offering a flattering smile to Xu Jiahui. He picked up his phone, ready to show Xu Jiahui the message he had received, only to find that the message was nowhere to be found on his phone, as if everything he had seen earlier was a mistake. A trace of astonishment and fear appeared in Sheng Hong’s eyes, not only did sweat once again seep from his forehead, but even his hand holding the phone was trembling.

"What? Can’t find it? Sheng Hong, how long are you going to keep pretending?" Xu Jiahui looked at Sheng Hong with a world-collapsing expression and felt only how deceived she was once again by the man in front of her. This feeling turned into anger that melted into her gaze and words.

Sheng Hong heard the forcibly suppressed anger in her voice, and the phone slipped from his trembling hand and fell to the ground. "I really didn’t lie, someone really sent me a message, but I don’t know who deleted it. I honestly didn’t deceive you, Miss Xu. You know me, even if I borrowed courage, I wouldn’t dare," Sheng Hong defended loudly.

"At first, I thought you wouldn’t dare either, but now it seems that you’re extremely bold, teaming up with your wife to scheme against me, and then trying to deceive me when things go down. Impressive, indeed. How did I not notice before how brave you actually are," Xu Jiahui laughed lightly, touching her aching cheek.

The bodyguards brought by Sheng’s wife had already been beaten to the ground by the two bodyguards beside Xu Jiahui and couldn’t get up. Now, the only ones still standing in the venue were Xu Jiahui’s two bodyguards and Sheng Hong, a man.

"Have you considered the consequences of deceiving me, plotting against me?" Xu Jiahui gently stroked her swollen cheek, speaking in a voice so gentle it seemed to echo from Hell itself, sending chills straight through skin and into bones.

As Xu Jiahui’s words ended, the two bodyguards standing behind her moved forward, advancing towards Sheng Hong in tandem.

Sheng Hong involuntarily retreated, but the path inevitably had an end. When he felt the cold wall against his back, Sheng Hong’s body instinctively trembled, gazing at Xu Jiahui with a plea in his eyes, while his mouth spoke in his own defense.

"If you were a handsome guy, I might even consider it, but you’re just an unsightly old man with such a disgusting face," Xu Jiahui looked at Sheng Hong, her face inevitably showing a look of disgust, looking at him as if he were trash.

The light of hope in Sheng Hong’s eyes disappeared in an instant, turning into a gray despair.

"Drag him away and beat him, don’t make any noise. I want to take a beauty sleep and don’t want to be disturbed, understand?" Xu Jiahui said, touching her face, her eyes carrying a cold glint. As she passed by Sheng’s wife, she glanced down at her face, wearing a mocking smile, and directly stomped on Sheng’s wife’s face as she stepped over her.

As she used all her strength to step on Sheng’s wife’s face, the pain of the nose bone breaking roused her from unconsciousness in an instant. She wanted to open her mouth to scream, but her mouth was under the woman’s shoe and couldn’t open. She could only widen her eyes, groaning, her already bruised face becoming even more horrifying.

"Hmph, that’s all," Xu Jiahui stepped over Sheng’s wife’s face, looking at the woman clutching her face crying and wailing behind her. Xu Jiahui’s eyes showed a look of enjoyment and disdain.

"I thought you were something remarkable, but you’re just wasting my time." Xu Jiahui flirtatiously flicked her hair and walked into the room. Before entering, she spoke to the bodyguards behind her, "Make sure this woman’s mouth stays shut too, it’s really noisy." Xu Jiahui’s voice was filled with deep impatience.

"Yes." The two bodyguards said expressionlessly, looking at Sheng’s wife like she was a dead object. Seeing this look, Sheng’s wife immediately covered her mouth, sealing all sounds in her throat. Upon seeing her compliance, the two bodyguards withdrew their gaze from her, even ignoring her efforts to escape, and fixed their eyes on Sheng Hong.

"Keep your mouth shut, don’t make a sound and disturb our Miss, understand? Otherwise, we’ll let you know what a fate worse than death is," the bodyguard admonished Sheng Hong with a cold smile.

Sheng Hong widened his eyes and nodded, knowing there was no escaping this calamity today. Surprisingly, he didn’t resist but instead sensibly pulled his tie from his neck, folded it several times, and stuffed it into his mouth, ensuring that his voice would be completely locked in his throat.

The two bodyguards were quite satisfied with Sheng Hong’s sensible behavior, yet they didn’t show mercy because of it. The sound of bones breaking echoed in the corridor, accompanied by the sound of fists striking flesh and the occasional groan from Sheng Hong. But each time he made a sound, he was met with an even harsher beating until he finally passed out.

The two bodyguards, seeing that Sheng Hong no longer responded, just gave a slight nod at each other and entered Xu Jiahui’s room.

The three people lying in the corridor appeared quite peaceful. A gust of wind blew by, ruffling a few strands of their hair. Sheng Wenhao, who had been hiding next door, watched through the crack in the door at Sheng Hong lying not far away, his eyes gradually turning red.