Mind your own business

The moment she saw the time clearly, the last trace of illusion in Xu Mingyao's heart was completely shattered.

A heavy surge of breath suddenly condensed in her chest, rushing straight to the top of her head without warning.

For a moment, Xu Mingyao only felt her scalp go numb. Her head burned with a pain so intense it felt like it was going to explode.

Her hands and feet, however, were freezing cold, trembling uncontrollably.

She used all the strength in her body to tightly grip the phone in her hand.

The next moment.

The luxurious hotel suite was filled with her hysterical curses and roars.

Xu Mingyao spat out every curse word she had ever learned in her life.

She didn't stop to catch her breath until she was gasping for air, until her heart began to ache and twitch under the stimulation of her rage.

She used rapid, trembling breaths to steady her near-collapsing emotions.

"Are you done cursing?"

The voice coming through the phone was gloomy and steady, though the long barrage of insults clearly hadn't been pleasant for him either.

"Motherfucker!"

Overcome with anger, Xu Mingyao had completely lost the ability to communicate rationally.

Her chest heaved violently. As the rapid airflow passed through her throat, it made a rasping sound like a broken bellows.

However, after that single curse, she had nothing more to say.

Her ears were filled with a deafening clamor. Her heart felt like it was beating right against her eardrums, the forceful and rapid thumping making them ache.

It almost drowned out all external sounds.

But ultimately, she still heard the male voice coming from the phone.

"Done cursing?"

After waiting for just a few seconds, the male voice sounded again.

"Good."

"Then it's my turn."

After saying this, the man's voice suddenly grew quieter and his tone turned icy, as if he had turned his head to speak to someone beside him.

*******

For a moment, Xu Mingyao's breathing completely stopped. Using her last shred of reason to analyze it, she quickly understood what that sound was.

She was very familiar with this sound; after all, she used to do this kind of thing often herself.

It was very hard to produce such a crisp sound by slapping someone's face. Even if an occasional slap could produce it, it was hard to make it this loud.

Not to mention that every single sound coming from the phone was just as crisp...

...

It was like pouring a bucket of hot oil onto a roaring fire. Upon realizing this fact, Xu Mingyao could no longer tolerate it. She took a deep breath, forcefully suppressed the loud beating of her heart in her eardrums, and started cursing aggressively once again.

However, her voice couldn't mask the crisp smacking sounds from the other end at all.

In comparison, her angry yet powerless curses even seemed somewhat ridiculous.

Her furious curses gradually became mixed with a slight tremble, and slowly, they were tainted with a crying tone.

In the end, she was almost crying and cursing at the same time, making even her anger seem pathetic.

Suddenly.

A delicate, pained female voice on the other end let out a tremble, seemingly on the verge of crying from the beating.

Xu Mingyao's heart trembled, and she quickly fell silent.

Subsequently, the sounds coming from the phone became even more distinct.

That pitiful female voice began to sob. Whenever the deafening smacks rang out, her cries would suddenly grow louder, making anyone who heard it feel a pang of heartache.

Xu Mingyao was somewhat stunned.

It was as if the fury in her heart had suddenly been placed in a vacuum, instantly unable to burn any longer.

Qing Mo... was crying?

She, she...

How could she be crying?

Xu Mingyao instantly became panicked.

She had never seen Qing Mo cry before.

Let alone seen it, she hadn't even heard of it happening.

But now...

She was actually bullied to tears by this bastard?

Emotions like heartache, panic, astonishment, and pity surged up all at once.

Xu Mingyao could no longer bother with her anger. The remaining bit of toughness in her heart supported her, allowing her to muster her breath and command Lin Yu on the other end of the phone:

"Lin Yu!"

"Stop it right now!"

"Don't hit her anymore!"

Lin Yu didn't reply with even a single syllable.

Qing Mo's crying also became increasingly out of control.

Her breathless, delicate sobs were like sharp little knives, slicing back and forth across Xu Mingyao's heart, leaving it dripping with blood.

Finally, amidst Qing Mo's endless cries, Xu Mingyao abandoned all her bottom lines.

With a crying tone in her voice, she began to humbly beg the enemy whose flesh she had wanted to eat raw and whose blood she had wanted to drink just moments ago.

"Lin Yu."

"Please stop."

"Don't hit her anymore."

"I'm begging you."

"Please don't bully her, okay?"

"If you have the guts, come at me."

"Don't bully her!"

"Lin Yu, I beg you."

"Just stop."

"She won't be able to bear the pain..."

"..."

Xu Mingyao sobbed, crying as she pleaded.

She finally managed to persuade Lin Yu.

Or rather, she had annoyed Lin Yu.

The sounds from the phone finally stopped.

She heard Lin Yu let out a displeased click of his tongue.

"Tsk!"

"Aren't you annoying?"

"You're never going to end this, are you?"

"You want me to stop hitting her?"

"Fine."

"Why don't you ask for her opinion?"

After Lin Yu's words fell, another female voice came from the phone.

Her voice carried an unmistakable tone of crying, yet one could also hear a hint of gritted teeth in it.

"Mind your own business!"