Chapter 147: Sparring

"Your bodyguard?" Liang Jinshang instinctively raised her eyes to scan the leading car.

However, the car carrying Nan Wenqian had already sped away and was long out of sight.

Yet, prompted by Shang Yucheng, she realized that the bodyguard did look somewhat familiar.

It was just that because they had crossed paths so abruptly earlier, she hadn't placed him and had assumed he was a member of the Zhong family.

Liang Jinshang asked, "You haven't told me yet, why did you happen to show up here so coincidentally?"

She was utterly puzzled. No matter how omnipotent Shang Yucheng was, he couldn't possibly be clairvoyant.

"It wasn't a coincidence."

With those three words, Shang Yucheng started the car and drove off.

Liang Jinshang wanted to ask further, but Shang Yucheng turned the tables and questioned her about the events of the past two days instead.

Things having reached this point, she had no choice but to recount all the sickening things Nan Wenqian had done at her home yesterday.

Naturally, this included her suspicion that he had stolen the old agarwood carving.

Shang Yucheng drove her to a spacious, isolated one-story house.

When they arrived, Nan Wenqian looked as though he had just been given a thorough beating.

Clutching his stomach, he curled up in a corner, groaning in pain.

As he raised his head, he saw Shang Yucheng and Liang Jinshang walking in side by side.

His gaze involuntarily fixed on the tall man.

Upright and emanating a cold, stern aura, Shang Yucheng imposed a daunting sense of oppression on Nan Wenqian without uttering a single word.

Trembling, Nan Wenqian stammered, "What are you people trying to do?! Dragging me here is illegal! Let me go right now, the Zhong family will be looking for me immed—smack!"

The burly bodyguard's fan-like palm swept through the air with a forceful wind, slapping Nan Wenqian's face to the side.

It swelled up instantly!

"Which Zhong family are you talking about?" the bodyguard mocked. "Could it be the Zhong family that dragged their daughter out of the police station only to place her under house arrest, strictly forbidding her from associating with scumbags ever again?"

"No way! They just got me out today..." Nan Wenqian widened his eyes in disbelief. "Wait, it was you?!"

When Zhong Yue left, she had clearly said three days.

According to her, she needed to pacify her parents first before they would even consider helping him.

After all, when he visited them bearing such an expensive gift, the Zhong parents hadn't thought much of him to begin with.

Not to mention the uproar this incident caused—it was utterly humiliating. The police record clearly detailed everything he and Zhong Yue had done at someone else's house.

Therefore, the Zhong family couldn't possibly act with such efficiency...

Having spent a long time by Shang Yucheng's side, Shang Yucheng's bodyguard had also picked up a fraction of his aloof demeanor.

Seeing Nan Wenqian figure it out on his own, the bodyguard let out a cold snort that shattered the last shred of courage Nan Wenqian had left.

"That's right. If we didn't get you out, how could we 'spar' with you?"

Having been fiercely "sparred" with by the bodyguard, Nan Wenqian collapsed onto the floor.

The bodyguard cracked his knuckles. "Well, do you remember now which items you stole from Miss Liang's house?"

Nan Wenqian muttered, "I... I just took a necklace... and a lump of wood."

Stumbling over his words, and facing the bodyguard's newly raised fist, he pulled a long, mournful face and made excuses for himself, "That really was just the two things! My girlfriend took a fancy to them, and since she thought they were my own possessions, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and give them to her! But I've already returned the necklace to Miss Liang's boyfriend, Miss Liang can vouch for that herself!"

Boyfriend, my foot...

Under Shang Yucheng's inscrutable gaze, Liang Jinshang pursed her lips.

She had definitely never mentioned to Nan Wenqian that Chao Jingyu was any kind of boyfriend.

It was probably just Nan Wenqian's single-celled brain wishingful thinking that only a boyfriend would give away such an expensive necklace.

Although explaining things to Nan Wenqian was a complete waste of breath, she couldn't afford not to speak up.

Shang Yucheng's eyes were practically burning holes through her.

"Stop talking nonsense, he is not my boyfriend." Having said that, Liang Jinshang refused to look at Shang Yucheng's expression and instead changed the subject, "What I'm asking you now is where that piece of wood went. Can you remember that now?!"

"I... I remember..." Nan Wenqian rubbed his face hard. "I sent it to my girlfriend's house as a welcome gift for her father. I'm sorry, Miss Liang, I really didn't know the thing was worth that much!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he dropped to his knees, looking utterly defeated as he awaited his judgment.

The bodyguard waited for Shang Yucheng's ruling, but Shang Yucheng simply lowered his eyes to look at Liang Jinshang.

Liang Jinshang stepped forward and asked coldly, "You didn't know it was valuable? I think you knew all too well how much it was worth!"

Judging by his sycophantic desire to climb the social ladder, how could he possibly have brought something worthless to the Zhong family to ingratiate himself with them?

Shang Yucheng gave the bodyguard a subtle cue, and the bodyguard promptly dislocated one of his arms. "I'll give you one day! Get Miss Liang's property back from the Zhong family, completely undamaged!"

"Ahhh!!! This..." Clasping his arm, Nan Wenqian broke out in a cold sweat. "A gift that's already been given... how could I possibly have the ability to ask for it back?"

When it came down to it, he still harbored ambitions of latching onto the Zhong family; how could he possibly dare to offend them?

"If you don't have that ability," Shang Yucheng said indifferently, "A-Kuang, let him experience what ability looks like."

The bodyguard named A-Kuang possessed a physique of solid muscle, and an aura of lethal intent seemed to faintly emanate from him like a reek of blood.

With a single kick, he knocked Nan Wenqian flat onto the floor, hovered the sole of his shoe over Nan Wenqian's thigh bone, and deliberately asked Shang Yucheng for instructions, "Mr. Shang, how broken would you like this to be? I suggest Miss Liang step aside first; the scene might get a bit bloody."

Liang Jinshang glanced at Shang Yucheng without batting an eye.

She wasn't afraid of gore, but Nan Wenqian's background was still somewhat special.

Even with all four limbs intact, he was visibly a piece of societal trash.

If his legs were broken, the only person left to bear the burden of dragging him through life would be Nan Yi.

Still, upon reflection, she really had no reason to show him soft-hearted mercy.

Everyone must bear the consequences of their own actions; perhaps with a broken leg, he might behave a little more quietly for the rest of his life.

With a discerning gaze, Shang Yucheng looked at her, as if he had already read through all her internal struggles.

Just as he was bracing himself for her to say something that would let down his meticulous arrangements for the day, Liang Jinshang spoke first, "Then I'll step aside for a moment. Just leave him with a breath left."

Good grief...

Listening to them decide his fate as if they were discussing a cut of pork, Nan Wenqian lost his mind with terror.

"No! Don't, don't, don't... don't hit me!" Nan Wenqian howled. "I'll go get it back! I'll definitely find a way to get Miss Liang's things back!"

Like lifting a torn sack of rags, A-Kuang hauled Nan Wenqian up and threw him into the car.

"Shang Yucheng, do you think he can get my things back from the Zhong family?"

Unlikely.

Before today, Shang Yucheng hadn't even heard of anyone named Zhong.

He had only had people run a background check on the way to the police station.

Greedy, useless, and vain.

How could a family like that ever willingly spit out something so valuable once they got their hands on it?

Instead of answering right away, Shang Yucheng pushed the question aside, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips as he asked, "First, tell me what this is about Chao Jingyu giving you a necklace?"