Stop it, Wanyi Murder is illegal

"Da Huang, bark for me so I can see if I can still hear."

The wealthy woman looked down at Da Huang, who was gnawing on a steak beside her. Da Huang barked once. Well... good. She couldn't hear a thing. She must have gone deaf.

The wealthy woman: "..."

She never would have thought that something like this would happen while she was eating. She'd assumed that once the movie theater incident was over, she'd gotten through the worst of it.

Who knew there'd be more? They'd walked straight into an ambush.

Fortunately, the wealthy woman's ability to handle pressure had improved considerably over this period, and she quickly accepted the fact that she'd lost her hearing. She just quietly ate her steak.

She'd wait for her ears to recover, then find out exactly why her dear best friend had screamed so loudly that it felt like her eardrums had taken an elbow to the face.

Her gaze settled on Du Wanyi, and the wealthy woman furrowed her brows.

What an awful complexion. This was the first time she'd seen her best friend wear such an expression. It wasn't like the despair and weeping from before when she'd been hunted down by the young Miss. No, this... this looked like she was truly out of options.

Beads of cold sweat kept rolling down Du Wanyi's forehead, completely unnoticed by her. The hand holding her phone wouldn't stop trembling.

"Pat."

The wealthy woman reached out and grabbed Du Wanyi's shaking hand, trying to soothe her.

"Wanyi, what's wrong?" The wealthy woman's voice, tinged with confusion, echoed beside Du Wanyi's ear.

"I-it's nothing... nothing." Du Wanyi switched off her phone and set it aside, her voice trembling.

The wealthy woman frowned. "Can you tell me? Maybe I can help."

"Hehe, wait here for a moment. I'm going outside to make a call..." Du Wanyi couldn't sit still, her face pale as a sheet. She left with those words and stepped outside to a secluded spot to make her call.

The wealthy woman thought for a moment, set down her knife and fork, and followed anyway. Da Huang glanced at the two of them, then went back to gnawing on his steak.

The wealthy woman reached the doorway, slowed her steps, lowered her voice to a whisper, and inched her way forward stealthily.

"When did this happen? Why didn't I know?"

"This morning? How could you not tell me something this important!"

"Did you find someone? Did you?"

"Shut down the school forum right now. Delete every single post. Immediately, right now!"

Gone were her usual pleasantries. Du Wanyi had become brisk and decisive. Every word was clean with no waste, only cold orders and purposeful questions, getting what she needed in the fastest way possible.

She'd switched personalities so suddenly that even the wealthy woman, hiding behind and eavesdropping, felt a pang of unfamiliarity. This kind of serious demeanor hadn't been seen in years.

The last time... that would have been when she came to stop her marriage, and she'd thrown a massive fit.

Something big had happened!

At lightning speed, Du Wanyi made one call, and the school forum was shut down. She even had signal jammers activated so that every student on campus lost cell reception.

She had to stop the posts from spreading further. She couldn't let more people see that post, especially not—

Are you kidding me?!

Du Wanyi's expression darkened beyond words. Several times she tried to suppress her rage, but ultimately failed. She lashed out and kicked a nearby car.

"BANG!"

The trunk collapsed inward. The car's alarm blared shrilly, and even the airbags deployed. Plenty of people poked their heads out at the commotion...

The wealthy woman: "???"

"Wanyi, what are you doing? There are people around!"

The wealthy woman frowned deeply, hurried out from her hiding spot, and watched Du Wanyi heading back into the restaurant, trying to avoid the strange looks from everyone around them.

Kicking a dent into a car like that! If someone posted that online, it'd be a disaster!

It would stir up more trouble. Sure, they could suppress it, but it was better to avoid unnecessary problems... First, figure out what was really going on, then address the root cause.

Back at the restaurant, the wealthy woman found the manager to get the security footage, compensated the owner of the car outside, and then moved into a private VIP room.

The two of them closed the door to talk... Oh, right, Da Huang was along too, still gnawing on his steak in the corner, almost finished with it.

Soon he'd have to settle for lobster and abalone to tide him over or something...

Da Huang: chew chew chew...

"What exactly is going on?" The wealthy woman was full of worry as she supported her trembling best friend. She'd never seen her like this.

She was scared...

"It's over... If it's true... then it's all over..." Du Wanyi kept murmuring those words like she was bewitched, and the wealthy woman couldn't make heads or tails of it.

It took a while for Du Wanyi's emotions to finally settle. Just then, her phone rang.

"Patriarch, we found who posted it." On the other end came Niu Fen's excited voice.

What a rare opportunity. After so many years, he finally got to talk to the head of the family directly. When he got home, he had to brag to his mom about it, with a few little "embellishments" here and there.

Like: The Patriarch really values me, she says I have a bright future, if anyone ever bullies you, just tell me. You know... just a "little tiny bit" of embellishment.

"Good work. Bring him to me—no wait, I'll come to you. Keep a tight hold on him. If he dares to run, break his legs!" Du Wanyi's tone was charged with excitement as she gathered her things and headed for the door.

The wealthy woman: "???"

She quickly followed behind. They'd walked quite a distance before the wealthy woman remembered: they'd forgotten something. Something... yellow... and chubby. Da Huang.

The wealthy woman: "..."

Meanwhile.

In the private room, the restaurant waiter who'd come to clean up, along with the summoned manager, and the restaurant's general manager, all stood there in subdued silence, watching Da Huang pawing through the menu at the table, ordering food.

His dog paw kept tapping on the screen, picking a few dishes, then he handed it to the waiter.

Everyone: "..."

"Boss... is it... ordering food?"

Boss: "..."

Don't ask me. I don't know either. In all my years running this place, this is the first time I've seen something this bizarre.

As for this breed of dog Da Huang clearly was—if he wasn't mistaken, it was that type from his hometown, the kind that eats the worst garbage. They had no brains to speak of.

Yet here we are.

Soon enough, the wealthy woman called back. The message was simple: take good care of Da Huang. Don't let him leave the restaurant. Feed him whatever he wants. You can address him directly and he'll understand.

Boss: "???"

"Address him... directly?" The boss's eyes went wide like he'd seen a ghost. He looked at Da Huang, then at the phone.

Who... the dog?

The wealthy woman had spoken. The boss steeled himself and relayed her exact words to Da Huang.

"Um... Mr. Da Huang, your mistress Miss Xia asked you to rest here for a while. If you need anything, just let us know. Want something to eat..."

Stammering, like reading lines from a script, the scene was oddly surreal. The waitstaff and the manager nearby all fell into an awkward silence.

They wondered if they hadn't woken up properly—their boss was actually trying to reason with a dog?

A dog?

Da Huang nodded, then tapped the screen twice with his paw and let out a bark.

Everyone: "???"

Holy crap, it actually understood!

Soon the restaurant sprang into action, serving dishes to Da Huang one after another. To prevent Da Huang from making a run for it, the boss even brought out his own dog, thinking they might find some common ground.

That way, at least he wouldn't just eat and bolt, leaving them unable to find him—wait, unable to find the dog. His job as restaurant manager would be over anyway.

The two people who had just come in to eat were terrifyingly important. One phone call from the wealthy lady had been passed up the chain, through multiple layers and several transfers, until it finally reached his top boss.

Honestly, this was the first time he'd seen his boss act that deferential...

So this was what it meant to stumble into the lion's den?

The restaurant boss glanced again at Da Huang, who was tucking into Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and fell silent. Figures—a rich family's dog was just different!

So... if he secretly tried to get Da Huang to mate and leave some pups behind, nobody would notice, right?

His scheming kicked in. Soon, the private room filled with quite a few little... dogs. Yes, little dogs, all beautiful, every breed imaginable—all grade-A single dogs!

Spotless pedigree, no doubt. Too bad it wasn't working. They barked their heads off, but Da Huang didn't give them a single glance.

Restaurant boss: "???"

This picky?

Yeah, Da Huang had peculiar taste. Known publicly as Da Huang, but his true name... Mengde.

...

Dahai City Noble Academy, Principal's Office.

"Student, just sit here for a bit. Wait a little longer." Niu Fen paced back and forth in the office, restless.

He wasn't sitting in the boss's chair behind the desk—he couldn't sit still. And he didn't dare sit either. When the head of their family arrived, if he were lounging in that chair, what would that look like?

Even though Niu Fen wasn't seated, the chair wasn't empty. A student was sitting there.

His initial excitement had turned into sheer restlessness... He seemed to have messed up big time.

He wasn't stupid. Given the commotion at the school and the fact that a whole crowd had come straight to his classroom to find him, it wasn't hard to guess... he was done for.

But at the same time, it was an opportunity. Forget deputy director—he could go straight for director!

Director of the News Department!

Besides, his reporting wasn't exactly fake news. At worst, it was just an "exaggerated" style of expression. The three pillars of journalism—he remembered them perfectly!

Sensationalize, take out of context, and hook the reader...

Clack, clack, clack—the crisp sound of high heels echoed from the hallway. Niu Fen was about to go open the door, but then—bang!

The door was kicked open. Du Wanyi appeared at the doorway out of nowhere, with the wealthy lady behind her, stumbling in high heels, out of breath.

"Wanyi, slow down, wait for me..."

"Damn it, so it's you!" Du Wanyi looked like she wanted to eat someone alive, eyes wide, fierce and furious, staring at the student still sitting in the principal's chair, daydreaming about becoming a department head.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

Du Wanyi kicked the solid wood office chair, which weighed hundreds of pounds, sending it crashing hard into the wall, splitting it in two.

Then she grabbed the student by the collar with one hand...

The wealthy lady arrived late, panting at the doorway. Before she could even catch her breath, she saw what was happening in the office and nearly lost her mind with fright.

"Wanyi, don't! Murder is against the law!"

Student: "???"

Murder?

Who... me?

The student was completely terrified, his brain still rebooting, stuck on the moment when the lady had kicked that several-hundred-pound solid wood office chair clean across the room.

So... "you're dead" wasn't just a figure of speech after all.

Mom, save me!!!

I was wrong! I'll never eat black current gummies again!