Hu Wu, one month younger than Hu Si, had his first taste of love five years ago. He ignored the interests of the Hu family, to which he had pledged loyalty for over twenty years, and stole confidential documents related to a major project at that time. This incident caused the Hu family losses of billions, and Hu Li almost lost his qualification to become the next head of the Hu family because of this.

That night, Hu Wu, who had escaped, was personally brought back by Hu Li himself. Hu Li had three severe gunshot wounds, all inflicted by Hu Wu during his resistance. That night, she secretly went to the execution room and witnessed an unforgettable scene. The execution room was dark and had not seen sunlight for years. A century-old kerosene lamp emitted a dim yellow light that could only illuminate the surrounding area the size of a palm. The room's four corners were quietly hidden in darkness.

Hu Wu's hands and feet were shackled in a spread-eagle position against the wall, barely visible in the dim light of the kerosene lamp.

Three slender, attractive young women, each with a demonic appearance, stood before him. One held a steel whip, another held a jar of honey, and the third held a black-sealed jar. Hu Li, shirtless, muscles bulging and bandaged in several places, sat silently on the side, her gaze sharp as she watched Hu Wu.

After Hu Li nodded, the woman holding the steel whip, which emitted a cold gleam and was covered with spikes, began to whip Hu Wu rhythmically, lightly and heavily. After an hour of uninterrupted whipping, the second woman began to spread thick honey on Hu Wu's inner thighs.

Hu Wu, devoid of vitality, noticed the anomaly on his legs and opened his eyes to see honey being spread on them. Initially calm, he suddenly went mad, shaking the chains violently to stop the honey from being applied to his body.

"Spirit is good, but not enough. Give him two more doses of advanced energy fluid!" Seeing this, Hu Si was glad that Hu Li still couldn't bear to torture Hu Wu to death. She couldn't contain her joy for more than half an hour before she laughed again.

After the second woman finished her application, the third woman squatted down and, with her slender, onion-white fingers, peeled off the gauze covering Hu Wu's thighs. Something black, like silk, quickly crawled towards Hu Wu's immobilized thighs, unable to move due to the shackles.

Several seconds later, when those black things began to crawl up bit by bit along the honey, Hu Si finally saw clearly that those black things were ants. They were only the size of millet grains but moved more agilely. They gradually covered Hu Wu's thighs, smeared with blood and honey, in a horrifying black mass.

Hu Wu's screams, pleas, and cries of fear echoed in the room, but Hu Li and the others remained expressionless, not moving a step. Just as Hu Si was about to leave in horror, Hu Li, who had been motionless, suddenly turned her head to look outside the door. Then, with an indifferent tone devoid of emotions, she said, "Bring the person outside in."

The three women in the room were not surprised at all, as if they had known about her existence for a long time.

When Hu Si was brought into the execution room, Hu Li just gave her a cold look and ordered her to be locked in the room overnight. She could only leave tomorrow. That night, she witnessed Hu Wu being gnawed to death by small black ants, leaving only clean white bones. Later, she learned that the torture Hu Wu had received was the most merciful one in the Hu family's execution room.

"Do you think I won't tell the master?"

"The master knows? Then I'm done... Second Brother, help me, please, beg for mercy for me." Hu Si could only hope that Hu Er could help her now. Hu Er was steady in his actions and deeply appreciated by Hu Li. If he spoke up for her, she might still have a glimmer of hope of escaping this disaster.

"Let's see how it goes!" When it came to matters concerning Miss Huayan, he dared not be sure how Hu Li would handle it.

Hu Si was brought to the conference room, where Hu Li appeared on a half-wall-sized LCD screen, seated in her office in Germany. Hu Si recoiled in fear at the sight of Hu Li. Hu Li allowed her to cower and remain silent. She seemed particularly interested in Hu Er's expression at this moment. The silent conference room seemed to transform into the vast African savannah, where a cheetah was hunting its prey, making it difficult to breathe.

With each passing second, Hu Si's heartache doubled. Finally, she knelt on the ground, trembling, and begged, "Master, I won't dare again. Please spare me this time, Master, please..."

"I told you when you came to behave yourself, but unexpectedly, you dared to meet Huayan privately in Shiyu County. Even after coming to Haibin City, you still didn't behave yourself and ignored Hu Er's advice. Not only did you investigate all the information about Huayan, but you also went to Mu Yun Ge and said those things to Huayan's father...

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"I've given you three chances already. During that time, I waited for you to repent, to recognize your mistakes. But unfortunately, all I see now is your fear, without a trace of genuine remorse."

As Hu Si listened, she understood more and more that Hu Li was determined to punish her. She hastily grasped Hu Er's thigh and pleaded, "Second Brother, say something, please beg the Master for me. I won't do it again next time, Second Brother."

Before Hu Er could speak, Hu Li continued, "Hu Er will also be punished for concealing your actions in Shiyu County. He will continue to manage everything there for now. As for Hu Si, confine her, and I will come later."

Hu Si had been locked in this villa for four or five days already. No matter how she begged Hu Er, he refused to let her leave. Her daily meals were not lacking, but her heart had not been at ease since that day. Every night, she dreamed of Hu Wu's lower body, with only white bones faintly visible, and Hu Wu's upper body, covered in whip marks, dripping blood, standing by the bed reaching out to grab her hand.

After a few days of torment, Hu Si's elegant and beautiful face became pale yellow, with dark circles and eye bags accumulating. Her hair was tangled and unkempt. Within two days, Hu Si completely lost her mind. She talked and laughed to herself against the wall, calling men "mother" and women "cat." She tore at her clothes, hair, and bit her nails.

After confirmation from a psychiatrist that Hu Si was schizophrenic, she was sent to a mental hospital for inpatient treatment. Hu Er visited her whenever he had the chance. However, the doctor informed him that Hu Si's condition had not improved and could only continue treatment.

Meanwhile, Huayan, who had started attending classes, finished two sessions of Classical Chinese and went to the library to read. After a while, Wu Lin called her and informed her of some news. Zhang Bing from the border station in Daku City had been arrested. Upon interrogation, he confessed that he had been collecting intelligence for a drug trafficking group at the border station and occasionally helped drug traffickers pass through safely.

He had let four drug traffickers pass through the emergency station, and he was unsure of the quantity of drugs they carried. It was also him who released drug traffickers from the emergency station.

Back at the library, Huayan sat motionless in her chair, lost in thought. Zhang Guangcheng had ignored money in order to combat drugs during his lifetime, but his son had cooperated with a drug trafficking group for money, allowing drugs to flow continuously inland. How would their sick mother and two young brothers survive? How much emotional trauma would they endure upon learning of such things?

After staring at the book for a while, lost in thought, and realizing she had no classes in the afternoon, Huayan packed her shoulder bag and called Cheng Qingqing to go to the martial arts gym. When she was about to book a single training room at the counter, she saw Shang Guanning, who had just finished his workout, coming down from the second floor.

Shang Guanning also happened to see Huayan and, after a moment of hesitation, approached her. "Long time no see, Huayan!"

"Long time no see." Huayan didn't want to talk much with Shang Guanning and was about to leave with her card. Shang Guanning grabbed her and said, "I know my words hurt you last time, so I apologize here."

"Why apologize? Shouldn't you warn me again not to mess with Cheng Qingqing? I think you must have heard about what happened in Shiyu County in Daku City?"

"I've heard, but it's none of my business now."

"Oh? Why?"

"I know some things now, so I decided to give up that feeling."

"Then I wish you luck in finding happiness soon. I'm going to work out now, goodbye!"

"Can we still be friends?" Shang Guanning suddenly asked. Huayan hesitated for a moment and said, "It depends." With that, she left with firm steps.

Shang Guanning, who remained in place, showed a slight smile on his face, hoping he still had a chance to find happiness.

Shortly after Shang Guanning returned to the company, Cheng Cheng stormed in, angrily pushing the door open. The first thing he said was, "Shang Guanning, what were you thinking? Why did Yunqi call me in tears, saying you told her not to bother you anymore? Have you gone mad? And if you think I'm pushing you out, there's really no need for that. I hope we can compete fairly for Yunqi's love."

"I didn't quit because you also liked her back then. Do you think I would now?" Shang Guanning asked seriously, looking up.

"Why then? There must be a reason after all," Cheng Cheng said, sitting on the sofa, hoping for an answer.

"I just realized I was looking in the wrong direction," Shang Guanning explained slowly.

Cheng Cheng suddenly laughed angrily, "You understand that pretty late!" After a moment, he said seriously, "You're not joking, are you?"

"No," Shang Guanning didn't tell Cheng Cheng what kind of woman Yunqi was. After all that had happened, he understood one thing: sometimes, even if you know your love is not the right person, you still keep loving them. He had let go simply because he stopped loving.

"This is quite dramatic. You held on tightly before, and Yunqi insisted on leaving you. Now that you want to find a new woman, she's starting to care again!"

"You've just returned from abroad and may not have heard some things yet. When you find out, I'll have a drink with you."

Shang Guanning's words puzzled Cheng Cheng, who couldn't understand why he would say that. When he tried to ask Shang Guanning, he refused to reveal even half a word. Then, Cheng Cheng remembered Yunqi's request for help. "But it seems like Yunqi needs your help with something. You wouldn't refuse to help her, would you?"

"Is it about her family?"

"It should be. You know how annoying her family is, always making Yunqi beg people for help," Cheng Cheng said with endless disgust in his eyes.

"Tell her to let her family and our company's people handle the business," Shang Guanning replied.