Once a woman becomes truly ruthless...

“Aqi! Aqi, you’re back—why didn’t you tell me? Look, I came straight here as soon as I got off the plane, and our cousin’s here too.”

As the two were talking, the office door was abruptly pushed open. A man walked in unceremoniously, planting himself beside Li Qiyao, his face plastered with a smile, making no mention of the incident on Huangshan where he’d been beaten. Upon seeing their cousin, he greeted her enthusiastically.

“Hmph! Sis, I’ll head out with the teachers first. If you need anything, call me.”

Their cousin, upon seeing the man, snorted coldly, her expression icy. She said a brief word to Li Qiyao and left without so much as a glance at the man.

“Aqi, the studio should have reopened long ago. Those gossipy women outside must be running their mouths again…”

The man leaned in closer to Li Qiyao, chattering away, completely indifferent to their cousin’s departure.

Li Qiyao said nothing, lowering her head to study a document, acting as though the man didn’t exist.

“What’s wrong? Have you forgotten what happened on Huangshan, when Boss Du knocked you out with barely any effort?”

Li Qiyao only spoke when she saw the lights go off in the art studio outside—her cousin had clearly left with the teachers. Her words were laced with sarcasm, but she didn’t even look at the man as she spoke.

“Heh… Haha, that was just me being caught off guard, he ambushed me, you know what I’m like—I’m a sanda champion…”

His face clouded, but he continued to argue, inching closer to Li Qiyao as he spoke.

“Back off!”

Just as she always did, Li Qiyao shoved the man away, her tone full of disdain. Yet this only seemed to encourage him.

“Aqi, don’t be like this. I’ve always only had you in my heart. Let’s get back together…”

The man shamelessly lingered in the office, pestering her relentlessly, even trying to take advantage whenever possible.

Li Qiyao rejected him at every turn, her retorts always striking where it hurt most.

…

“Hey, I forgot my car keys. Wait for me, I need to go back up and get them.”

As they neared the parking lot, their cousin suddenly patted her small bag, realizing she’d forgotten her keys.

“We’ll go up with you. We all rode with you today—it’s so hot down here, and besides… I don’t feel right leaving Qiyao upstairs alone.”

The youngest girl in the group spoke up first.

“Yeah, let’s all go up together. We can call Qiyao down and leave together.”

The others chimed in.

“Alright, let’s all go,” their cousin agreed, and they headed back toward the elevator.

“Sis, I forgot my keys…” Their cousin texted Li Qiyao from inside the elevator.

…

“I told you to get out! I don’t want to see you.”

In the office, Li Qiyao had been enduring the man, but when her phone on the desk lit up, she suddenly stood, grabbed the stack of documents, and flung them at him, scattering papers everywhere.

“Huh? What’s wrong with you…”

The man was caught off guard by her sudden outburst.

“I said get out!”

Before he could finish, Li Qiyao’s pent-up emotions erupted. She kicked at his groin and seized a steel pen from the desk, thrusting it toward his neck.

Had Du Ruo been there, he would have recognized her moves—first, a blow to the groin, then a strike to the carotid sinus—just like his own techniques. But where Du Ruo would measure his force, Li Qiyao clearly meant to kill.

“Are you insane?!”

But Li Qiyao was no Du Ruo; her movements were too obvious. Even if the man couldn’t handle a single round with Du Ruo, he’d trained before. He stepped forward and grabbed her, locking the hand that held the pen.

Her attacks foiled, the man barely considered the possibility she’d truly meant to kill him—she was usually so quiet.

“Let go of me!”

Li Qiyao struggled fiercely, utterly repulsed by his touch.

“Heh, isn’t this nice?”

The man released her hand, but wrapped both arms around her waist, now unwilling to let go.

“Let go!”

Li Qiyao tried to stab his neck with the pen again, but her aim missed as he blocked her with his shoulder. Blood immediately began to flow down his arm.

“Slut! Are you insane since you got back from Huangshan?”

Stung by pain and reminded of the humiliation he’d suffered at Du Ruo’s hands, the man slapped Li Qiyao hard across the face, then seized her by the throat, sending the pen flying from her grasp.

Now weaponless, Li Qiyao stared him down, one hand clawing at his grip, the other quietly tearing open her red dress to expose the corset beneath.

“Help… help me!”

She managed to cry out.

“What are you doing? Let go of my sister, or I’ll fight you!”

Their cousin burst in, shoving the door open with a crash. Several women rushed in after her—one was calling the police and screaming about murder, another was filming, the cousin was wielding a chair, and two older women scratched at the man’s arms as they helped pull Li Qiyao away.

All they saw was a man throttling Li Qiyao, pinning her to the desk, her face swollen, blood splattered all around.

The small office was instantly thrown into chaos.

With a report of attempted murder, the police arrived quickly and in force, soon restoring order and taking everyone away.

At the station, Li Qiyao gave her statement: the man had harassed her for years, and today, finding her alone in the office, had tried to assault her. She fought back, stabbing him with a pen, which led to his violent retaliation. Luckily, her colleagues returned just in time to prevent tragedy.

By now, it scarcely mattered what the man said. Over the past two years, there had been multiple police reports in the area, he’d signed written pledges, even been detained for a few days, and Li Qiyao had been diagnosed with depression brought on by the harassment.

This time, there were witnesses and video evidence showing the man slapping and strangling her. The motives and actions were clear—no amount of explanation could save him.

“Sis, the lawyer’s been contacted. Don’t worry—he won’t be able to bother you again.”

Leaving the hospital, their cousin draped her coat over Li Qiyao’s shoulders, speaking softly.

Their statements had been taken. They’d just been to the hospital for treatment and to have the injuries assessed, and the accompanying police officer had already left. Now, the two prepared to drive home.

“I only regret not killing him with that stab.”

Li Qiyao gritted her teeth.

Du Ruo had underestimated what a desperate woman would do. He’d thought Li Qiyao was too weak, so he’d only mentioned that sexual assault charges could put the man in prison. But Li Qiyao had been aiming for manslaughter in self-defense. Though she hadn’t succeeded, the attempted rape charge was practically certain now.

Combined with two years of harassment and her diagnosis of severe depression, the man would almost certainly receive the maximum sentence for attempted rape—eight to ten years, at least.