CHAPTER 289: CHAPTER 289: ALL HERE TO BE ACTORS

Sang Ning was utterly convinced this time—the driver was certainly, absolutely, undeniably an ally.

Otherwise, how could he have known the police would be arriving soon?

Qingyue clenched his fists to fight back, but Sang Ning swiftly raised her leg high and drove her knee hard into his stomach.

The force of the knee strike sent his guts churning. Qingyue endured the pain and discomfort with difficulty, gritting out, "My backer is Duan Wenhu..."

Sang Ning grabbed Qingyue by the hair and slammed her forehead against his in a brutal iron head skill. She sneered coldly, "The last person who talked to me like this ended up my grandson after I beat him to a pulp."

She was referring to Lu Ye—he had used the same type of threat against her before.

Being the grandson or making someone else your grandson? She always chose the latter.

Qingyue’s arms went limp, his body crumbling as he tried to reason, "Sang Ning... violence won’t solve anything..."

"Oh, really?" Sang Ning tightened her fist and landed an uppercut squarely against Qingyue’s jaw. "You clearly don’t know me well. Most of the time, I’m patient and easy to get along with, but for trash like you, my motto has always been: if I can use force, I won’t waste my breath."

Sang Ning wasn’t just venting for herself; she was avenging Shen Yi and Wen Jiu too.

Especially Wen Jiu. Sang Ning shuddered to imagine what Wen Jiu might have done after the assault had they not crossed paths.

In the entertainment industry, the simplest and crudest way to ruin a female celebrity was by tarnishing her reputation.

The world is merciless toward women—being a victim doesn’t matter. As long as she’s perceived as "impure," she’s treated as guilty.

A female star branded as "impure" in the public eye will find it nearly impossible to climb back up in the industry.

Sang Ning felt powerless. She couldn’t single-handedly overturn such cruel bias.

But for scum like Qingyue, who resorted to the lowest tactics to destroy women, she had no choice but to make him pay!

She couldn’t shatter the stereotypes of the entertainment industry, but she could at least ensure that scum like Qingyue no longer infiltrated the market.

From now on, Qingyue would rot in her grasp—she wouldn’t let him harm another woman again.

"Sang Ning, if you’re so tough, just kill me. If you don’t have the guts to kill me, I promise I’ll make you suffer beyond your wildest imagination!" Even half-dead from the beating, Qingyue stubbornly insisted on insulting Sang Ning, hoping to vent his rage verbally.

"Alright, sounds good. I’ll grant your wish. If I don’t kill you today, I swear I’m no longer Sang Ning!"

Sang Ning shoved Qingyue to the ground, one hand gripping his neck while the other clenched into a fist, hammering blow after blow into his face.

Blood began gushing out of Qingyue’s nose and mouth. His eyes, battered by the violence, were bloodshot and swollen, veins spreading like cracks across the whites of his eyes, giving him an eerily sinister appearance.

His face was drenched in blood, yet he still refused to surrender, his verbal abuse escalating: "Sang Ning... you bitch..."

"Well, now, you’ve got quite the backbone after all." Sang Ning’s fists felt sore; she loosened her grip, shaking her wrists to alleviate the ache.

During this brief intermission, the driver interjected, "Miss Sang Ning, that’s enough. If you hit him any further, he’ll die!"

Sang Ning glanced around. With so many people here, not a single one had stepped forward to defend Qingyue.

She had heard the driver murmuring to them earlier, but she hadn’t caught the details while preoccupied with pummeling Qingyue.

The driver had quite a knack for persuasion.

"Alright, since our helpful driver is pleading on your behalf, I’ll give you a moment to catch your breath," Sang Ning said, reaching toward Qingyue’s pockets.

Qingyue’s body felt as if it had been torn apart; he was wracked with pain but still gritted his teeth, using sheer willpower to clamp his hands over his pocket, preventing Sang Ning from reaching in.

But even when uninjured, Qingyue was no match for Sang Ning. Now beaten into a mangled mess, he had no strength to resist. He could only watch helplessly as Sang Ning retrieved his phone from his pocket.

Qingyue’s phone had both fingerprint and facial recognition unlock systems. But Qingyue had been beaten so badly his face was unrecognizable; facial unlocking would be tricky.

Sang Ning ignored Qingyue’s futile struggles, yanked up his right hand, forcibly straightened his thumb, and pressed it hard against the screen’s middle to unlock the phone.

"Hmm... since you’re so stubborn, unwilling to admit your mistakes, I might as well find another way to humiliate you," Sang Ning said as her slim fingers deftly swiped across the screen.

Qingyue lay sprawled on the ground, unable to see what Sang Ning was doing, but his gut told him she was undoubtedly planning his downfall.

"Why are you all standing there like wooden puppets? Did Sister Hui hire you just to watch the drama unfold? If you don’t take care of Sang Ning tonight, I’ll make sure Sister Hui fires all of you later!" Qingyue propped himself up on his elbows with difficulty and strained to issue his orders with all his strength before collapsing back onto the ground.

Sang Ning continued fiddling with the phone, not even bothering to look up. She replied nonchalantly, "Work should be done properly, no matter what. How about this? You all can just go through the motions with me, pretend to put up a fight. At least make it look like you’re completing your task tonight."

A task? What kind of task?

The men in black exchanged confused glances—they were just here to act.

None of them had expected Sang Ning to so easily hand herself over after only token resistance in the hotel suite.

"Alright then, we’ll reluctantly put on a show," the driver immediately responded to Sang Ning’s proposal, charging at her first.

The others followed suit, rushing toward Sang Ning, forming a tight circle around her. Each man frowned hard and gritted his teeth, managing to look as though they were putting up a fierce fight, yet every punch they threw was feeble, devoid of any real force.

Not a single hit landed on Sang Ning. She simply weaved through the crowd, taking a few steps to the left then a few steps to the right, her movements rhythmic and lively—almost as if she were dancing.

Watching the black-clad men’s half-hearted efforts, rage surged within Qingyue. The fury overwhelmed him, causing him to cough up blood.

But besides swallowing his anger, he had no other options.

Duan Wenhu’s payment terms prescribed that if the men could successfully abduct Sang Ning from the suite, they’d immediately receive 50% of the deposit. Once Sang Ning was coerced into filming compromising footage, they’d be paid the remaining 50% balance.

Duan Wenhu remained clueless about the current situation. The men had already decided to retire from this dirty business. They didn’t intend to carry out the plan but were keen to extort a hefty sum from Duan Wenhu, the clueless benefactor. Their agreement was clear—once they secured the initial deposit, they’d wash their hands of the whole affair forever.