chapter 13
Cheng Yuâs heart bled with rage; a monstrous fury devoured her last shred of reason.
Her eyes burned red, and her vicious gaze could have skinned the young girl alive.
âGu. Qing. Ning!â
Gu Qingning lazily lifted her eyelids, her tone cool and calm, carrying an indescribable chill.
âYou get angry that easily?â
Having lost two of her most precious treasures, Cheng Yu wanted nothing more than to kill her in a fit of rage.
She turned to the guards and barked, âWhat are you standing there for? Grab her!â
âYes, maâam!â
Snapping out of their daze from Gu Qingningâs reckless act, the guards rushed toward her.
But before they could reach her, the girl sitting calmly on the sofa suddenly moved.
A blur flashed past them, lightning-fast.
The guards froze, staring wide-eyed at the figure now standing outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
An illusion.
It had to be an illusion. No human could move that fast.
The only one still relatively calm was the butler.
Looking at the girl standing outside the window, countless questions churned in his mind.
Had Miss Qingning been hiding her strength all along, pretending to be weak?
Even so, no one could change this much in just three days.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yu was so furious she was practically steaming when she saw the now-empty jewelry box.
Pushing aside the guards in front of her, her eyes locked on the jewels clutched in Gu Qingningâs handâand she stopped dead in her tracks.
She screamed hysterically, âGu Qingning, are you insane?!â
âInsane?â
Backlit by sunlight, Gu Qingningâs lips curved into a faint smile, her tone indifferent.
âThereâs something even crazier. Do you want to see it?â
As soon as the words fell,
she raised her hand.
The luxurious jewelry caught the sunlight, scattering dazzling flashes of brilliance.
These jewels were Cheng Yuâs pride and joyâshe cared for them meticulously.
Now, watching Gu Qingning handle them so roughly was like having her own flesh carved off.
She shrieked, half-mad, âGu Qingning, if you dareâif you dareâI swear Iâll never forgive you!â
Gu Qingning glanced down. Below, the gardener was pruning and fertilizing.
She looked back up, raising an eyebrow at Cheng Yu, her expression cold and cocky.
The next second, she loosened her grip.
The expensive jewelry fell, tumbling through the air.
âNo!â
Cheng Yuâs eyes widened in horror as she bolted forward, nearly tripping over herself.
Grabbing the railing, she watched helplessly as her jewels dropped straight into the stinking pile of fertilizer below.
Her whole body trembled, fury clogging her throat.
âHeh.â
A low laugh escapedâmuffled yet defiant.
Cheng Yu whipped her head around, glaring daggers at Gu Qingning.
âGrab that wretched girl! Dead or alive, I donât care!â
She had destroyed her jewelsâand still had the nerve to laugh!
Cheng Yu would not rest until sheâd flayed her alive.
The guards surrounded Gu Qingning, blocking the window.
But Gu Qingning only sneered, her next move stunning everyone.
She grabbed the railing, stepped up lightly, andâ
Leaped.
A clean, effortless motion.
The butlerâs eyes widened as he rushed forward.
âMiss Qingningâ!â
He had already informed Third Young Master.
If something happened to her, how would he ever explain?
Peering down, he saw the girl land gracefully on the ground below, using the railing to slow her fall.
No injuries. No harm.
He exhaled deeply and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Sheâd scared him half to death.
Everyone else looked at each other, utterly shocked.
It might only have been the second floor, but that was still quite a dropâ
and sheâd jumped without a scratch.
Unbelievable.
Gu Qingning bent down, picked up her fallen cap, and brushed off a few blades of grass.
Sensing the furious gaze from above, she looked up and gave Cheng Yu a lazy wave with her hatâcarefree, arrogant, and untamed.
Cheng Yu nearly spat blood.
âGo after her!â she screamed. âAlert the guards at the gate! Lock down the whole house! If anyone lets her out, theyâll answer to me!â
She wanted to see just how long this girl could stay so cockyâ
how many arms she thought she had to fight them all.
âYes, maâam!â
The guards scattered in panic. Fearing worse trouble, the butler hurried after them.
Once sheâd caught her breath, Aunt Lin hobbled over to Cheng Yu.
âMadam,â she fumed, âthat wretched girl Gu Qingning is completely out of control. You mustnât let her off easy!â
âAs if I would,â Cheng Yu growled, her eyes full of venom.
âHow did she suddenly start talking again?â
âI donât know,â Aunt Lin replied. âSheâs been able to speak ever since she came back. I was shocked too.
If you ask me, she mustâve been pretending all along. This is her true nature!â
âHow did she open the safe?â
âWhen we got there, the jewelry box was already in her hands.â Aunt Lin lowered her head quickly, terrified of getting caught in Cheng Yuâs rage.
Hearing that, Cheng Yu stormed out of the room in fury.
In the courtyard, chaos reigned.
Guards lay groaning on the ground, all sporting bruises and scrapes.
A closer look showed that none of the injuries were seriousâjust superficial wounds.
Gu Qingning scanned the few still standing, calm as ever.
âMove, or get beaten. Your choice.â
Silence.
The guards exchanged nervous glances.
Move and die; stay and die.
Life was hard.
The butler stood stiffly to the side, trying to make himself as invisible as possible.
Then Cheng Yu arrived, seeing Gu Qingning standing victorious. Her face twisted with rage.
âYou useless trash! So many of you, and you canât even handle one little girl?â
âGet herânow!â
The guards looked resigned, ready to charge againâ
when a roaring engine suddenly broke the tension.
The butler turned toward the sound and saw a blue sports car speeding toward them. Relief flooded his face.
Like seeing salvation, he ran toward it at once.
âOh no,â Aunt Lin muttered beside Cheng Yu. âMadam, Third Young Master is back.â
Cheng Yu recognized the car too and scoffed.
âSo what if Gu Zhaoâs back? Gu Qingning caused this disasterânothing can save her now.â
It wasnât her whoâd made the mess.
What was there to be afraid of?
Gu Zhao wouldnât dare play favorites that blatantly.
The car door opened, and the butler hurried up.
âThird Young Master, thank goodness youâre here!â
As soon as Gu Zhao stepped out, he saw the mess in the courtyardâguards injured, chaos everywhere. His dark eyes flickered with surprise.
âDid we get robbed?â
âWhat happened here?â
The butler gathered himself and lowered his voice.
âMiss Qingning had a dispute with Madam. These men were all injured⌠by her.â
Gu Zhao frowned.
âYou mean all of them were taken down by her?â
According to the reports, Qingning was supposed to be a fragile, quiet girlâsomeone who wouldnât even hurt a chicken.
The butler nodded, knowing how unbelievable it sounded, and pointed toward a figure not far away.
âSheâs right there, sir. You can ask her yourself.â
Following his gaze, Gu Zhaoâs eyes landed on the girlâs tall, slender back.
All black.
Her baseball cap tilted slightly to one side.
Even from behind, she radiated a wild, untamed pride.






