Chapter 139: Intrusion

Half an hour later, the driver, Xiao Wang, called Shang Yucheng back.

"Mr. Shang, I found Ms. Liang at the airport. She seems to have bought a ticket for the earliest flight back to Jincheng."

Shang Yucheng leaned back in the sofa and let out a scoff that sounded like a mix of mockery and indifference.

Xiao Wang cautiously added, "That flight is about to take off. I bought you a ticket for the next flight. It departs in two hours."

There was silence on Shang Yucheng's end for several seconds, which made Xiao Wang's heart sink—had he overstepped? Just a moment ago, his boss had told him to bring Ms. Liang back, but that woman had simply walked out and hailed a taxi to the airport. He had followed her all the way there and could tell she had left in a fit of rage. They must have argued. Now, by buying a ticket without consulting his boss, wasn't he essentially forcing him to lower his head to his girlfriend? Since when did Shang Yucheng ever do anything that diminished his own status?

Just as Xiao Wang was about to apologize, Shang Yucheng gave a noncommittal hum. "You're clever."

...

Liang Jinshang was so anxious to return to Jincheng partly because she wanted to be as far away from Shang Yucheng and Yuan Xi as possible. On the other hand, she had received a call from the property management office of her apartment complex, claiming that there was excessive noise coming from her place and that she had been reported for disturbing the peace.

Normally, it was still daytime, and if it were just standard noise, the neighbors wouldn't have gone to the property management. What was Nan Yi doing in her apartment that was causing such a ruckus? To make matters worse, Liang Jinshang had been calling Nan Yi’s cell phone repeatedly, but she wouldn't answer.

Liang Jinshang had no choice but to apologize to the property office, ask them to check on the situation, and book the soonest flight back. As a result, her phone remained busy whenever Shang Yucheng tried to call her, which nearly drove him to smash his device in frustration.

When Liang Jinshang finally rushed home, the sky was already growing dark. She stopped by the property office first to get the details. They told her that a group of people had been gathered in her home, drinking and partying in broad daylight with the speakers blaring. They had issued two warnings, and the noise had stopped.

Liang Jinshang did not feel relieved at all. She apologized to the property staff once more and hurried toward her home. The phrase "a group of people" made her heart sink with every step she took. Aside from Nan Yi, her mother, and Shang Yucheng, no one else had keys to her apartment. None of those three would ever invite a crowd over to throw a wild party. What on earth was going on?

Liang Jinshang stood outside her door, took two deep breaths, and pulled out her key. When she opened the door, the scene before her was nothing short of devastating. It wasn't just that her living room had been trashed like a dumpster.

There, on her sofa, were two people tangled together like stray dogs on the side of the road.

The man and woman were so caught up in their act that they didn't even notice Liang Jinshang opening the door, still making sounds like wild beasts. Liang Jinshang stood in the entryway, her head swimming with rage for a few seconds. Fortunately, her rational side compelled her to calmly take a video for evidence before calling the police.

It wasn't until Liang Jinshang began speaking to the police on the phone that the woman pinned underneath finally realized there was someone else in the room. The woman poked her head out from behind the man’s shoulder and saw Liang Jinshang standing there, tall and straight, watching them coldly without the slightest flicker of evasion.

"Ah!!"

With screams and chaos, the two naked people tumbled off the sofa. The man, clearly drunk, began cursing as he scrambled to put on his clothes, pointing a finger at Liang Jinshang. "Who the hell are you?! What are you doing? Delete whatever you recorded on your phone!"

Liang Jinshang took a good look at their faces. She didn't recognize them. That meant she didn't need to be polite. She gripped the baseball bat she had been holding since she walked in. Trespassing and engaging in illicit acts in someone else's home—if she beat them up, she could just call it "self-defense."

Liang Jinshang tucked her phone into her back pocket, threw her bag on the floor with a cold face, and swung the bat at the man charging toward her. He couldn't dodge in time, and the bat connected solidly with his shoulder. For her next swing, she aimed for the back of his knees, forcing him to his knees before her.

Liang Jinshang pointed the bat at his face. From the moment she saw the absurd scene upon entering, she had been expressionless, but now, that icy mask cracked, revealing her fury. "You're asking who I am? I haven't even asked what kind of animals you are!"

What kind of sick person breaks into someone else's home to do something like that? The more Liang Jinshang thought about it, the angrier she became. She raised the bat to strike again, but the woman, who had been hiding on the side, screamed a warning: "Wenqian, watch out!"

The sudden, piercing scream made Liang Jinshang hesitate. The man seized the opportunity, grabbed the other end of the bat, and yanked it hard, pulling it out of Liang Jinshang's grip.

This man, Wenqian, had flushed cheeks and a lecherous expression. He looked Liang Jinshang up and down with malicious intent. "You bitch! I'll give you two choices: either you let me hit you twice, or you strip naked and I'll record a video of you too!"

Liang Jinshang took two steps back, unafraid. "I choose neither. The police will be here soon. If you think you haven't spent enough time in a cell, you can help me pick one."

Upon hearing this, the man’s face turned vicious, and he lunged to grab Liang Jinshang's phone. In the ensuing struggle, the door, which had been pulled shut, was opened once again.

The person who entered was Nan Yi. When Nan Yi saw the mess in the living room and the couple, her lips turned deathly pale. "Wenqian, you... why are you here?"

Hearing this, Liang Jinshang realized immediately that this man was an acquaintance of Nan Yi. For Nan Yi's sake, she had originally intended to stop and give them a chance to resolve the situation. But the man called Wenqian, having heard her call the police, had completely lost his sanity.

At that moment, having snatched the baseball bat back, Nan Wenqian swung it with full force toward Liang Jinshang’s head! If that blow landed, she would at least be crippled, if not dead.

*Thump!* The sound of bone fracturing under a heavy blow was enough to make one's skin crawl. Liang Jinshang turned abruptly to see Nan Yi clutching her arm, sliding to the floor in agony.

"Nan Yi!"

"Sister!"

Liang Jinshang was a split second too slow. As Nan Wenqian helped Nan Yi up, the two faces aligned, and it finally clicked: Nan Yi had a younger brother.

Liang Jinshang was silent for a moment. "Take her to the hospital first."

She reached out to help Nan Yi, but was pushed away by Nan Wenqian. "Get lost! We'll go to the hospital ourselves!"

Liang Jinshang sneered. "It's not 'you' who are going; I am taking Nan Yi. As for you, go report to the police station yourself later!"

Nan Wenqian’s expression was ugly. "Sister, who is this person?!"

Nan Yi’s face was twisted in pain; being as thin as she was, she had no muscle to cushion the blow. Since Nan Wenqian hadn't held back, the bone was definitely broken. Yet, Nan Yi couldn't even care about her own pain because the police had already arrived outside.

With tears and sweat streaming down her face, she pleaded, "Jiabao... please, I beg you, don't have my brother arrested."

Liang Jinshang had always been tolerant toward Nan Yi, but that didn't mean she would offer unconditional forgiveness to someone who was "merely" Nan Yi's brother.