Chapter 45: Putting on a Full Show

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Putting on a Full Show

The satisfaction in Sheng Hui’s eyes instantly froze, turning glacial.

He had expected to see tears, pleading, a complete breakdown.

But what he saw was a smile.

The kind of smile that could still fight back from the brink of death. It ignited an offended rage deep within him.

"What makes you think you can defy me?"

The entire room fell deathly silent, broken only by the sound of her ragged, gasping breaths.

But her mind wasn’t in chaos at all. Instead, a fire ignited within her.

’Here we go again...’

’That feeling of being trampled underfoot, toyed with at someone’s whim!’

After her rebirth, Sheng Hui was the first person to make her taste the humiliation of having her dignity ground into the dirt.

"Sheng Hui..."

Song Yao spoke slowly, her voice hoarse.

"I’m going to kill you."

Sheng Hui’s face darkened instantly. He narrowed his eyes, his breath catching for a moment.

"Tired of living?"

Song Yao’s fearless, defiant attitude almost made him laugh with rage.

She was just some country girl who had been in the city for a few days. What right did she have to act like this in front of him?

Did she think she could get cocky just because she had Shen Zhenwu backing her up?

She should take a look at where she was!

This was an interrogation room in the Special Operations Department—his turf, where his word was law!

He made the rules. He decided who lived and who died.

But her?

She didn’t even blink, her gaze so clear it was as if she didn’t see him at all.

Rage churned in his chest, gradually overwhelming his reason.

His fingers tightened abruptly, pinning her entire body against the wall.

Song Yao’s feet left the ground. Her struggles grew weaker as her face quickly turned blue.

He stared at her convulsing face and felt a sliver of twisted pleasure.

With just a little more pressure, she would stop breathing entirely.

Just a country girl. No one would investigate if she died.

"GHK..."

Before the muffled sound could even fade...

BANG! The door was kicked open!

Sheng Hui abruptly let go. Song Yao went limp, collapsing to the floor and gasping for air.

"Sheng Hui! Have you lost your mind?!"

An enraged roar erupted from the doorway.

Sheng Zhanhong, the head of the Special Operations Department and patriarch of the Sheng Family, walked in, his face ashen.

His gaze swept over the curled-up Song Yao on the floor before landing on Sheng Hui, his brow furrowing into a tight knot.

Sheng Hui was just about to offer an explanation.

"Direc—"

SLAP!

A sharp slap landed squarely on his face.

His head snapped to the side, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!"

Sheng Zhanhong roared, the veins on his neck bulging.

Two more minutes and she would have been dead!

He had been on his way over when he heard that Sheng Hui had taken a woman for a private interrogation and sealed the records. He knew immediately that something was wrong.

But he never expected to arrive and witness this scene.

The young man following behind him silently shrank back, sighing with relief in his heart.

’Thank god I ran fast enough to get the Director.’

’Otherwise, if word of this got out, it wouldn’t just be a matter of disciplinary action. The entire Special Operations Department would be implicated.’

Sheng Hui wiped his mouth, straightened up, stood at attention, and saluted. His voice was steady and devoid of emotion.

"Reporting to the Director. I was conducting an interrogation of a person of questionable identity."

Sheng Zhanhong pointed at Song Yao, who was on the floor coughing until her face was beet red, and sneered.

"The ’person of questionable identity’ you’re talking about? You mean the daughter Mr. Shen vouched for and personally brought back from the countryside?"

Sheng Hui remained expressionless.

"The knowledge, methods, and reactions Song Yao has displayed far exceed the level expected of someone with her background. I suspect she is an enemy spy planted here, with Shen Zhenwu as her direct target."

"Shut up!"

Sheng Zhanhong cut him off sharply, his eyes bloodshot.

"Spare me the fancy excuses! Don’t think I can’t see through your petty schemes. Shen Shuangshuang doesn’t get along with her, so you use your position to settle a score, using an ’investigation’ as your weapon, is that it?"

Sheng Hui lowered his gaze and said nothing.

As the standoff continued, a messenger burst into the room in a panic.

"Reporting to the Director!"

The soldier stood ramrod straight, his voice booming.

"A call from the Military Investigation Division! Leader Shen Zhenwu knows his daughter was forcibly taken by Sheng Hui! He said that if anything happens to his daughter, he’ll personally flay Sheng Hui alive and use his bones to string up your entire Sheng Family!"

When he finished, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a two-second pause, the soldier weakly added,

"The leader specifically emphasized that this message must be conveyed verbatim... or I’m the next one to be skinned..."

Sheng Zhanhong’s face was as black as ink.

"Was that all?"

The soldier immediately spoke up.

"Report! He mentioned that Comrade Song Yao’s file was submitted long ago. If Sheng Hui had paid even the slightest attention, he would have found that Song Yao’s background was already verified and cleared. Mr. Shen also said..."

At this point, the soldier faltered, stammering, not daring to continue.

Sheng Zhanhong’s gaze darkened as he glared at him.

"If you have something to say, spit it out! Don’t stand there like you’re constipated!"

The soldier straightened his back, squeezed his eyes shut, and grit his teeth.

"Mr. Shen recommends that Director Sheng be removed from his post!"

The moment Sheng Hui heard this, his anger flared.

"It’s not Mr. Shen’s place to meddle in my affairs!"

Sheng Zhanhong let out a cold laugh and stared at him.

"That’s right. And I’m the one who decides whether or not you have a place here."

"Some people are just so lucky. Born a boy, with a father who’s a high-ranking official, everything goes smoothly for them. Not like my dad. He doesn’t have a son, and the daughter he worked so hard to raise wasn’t even his by blood. Then, just after he finds his real daughter, she gets bullied to the brink of death."

Song Yao had just recovered a bit. Hearing all this, she interjected in a hoarse voice.

Sheng Hui immediately whipped his head around to glare at her.

He knew all too well how silver-tongued Song Yao could be.

But right now, he didn’t dare to roar "Shut up!" at her.

Sheng Zhanhong’s tone softened slightly.

"Comrade Song Yao, today’s incident was a misunderstanding. The Special Operations Department will certainly provide an explanation and clarify the situation with Mr. Shen."

Song Yao used a chair to pull herself up, but her body was swaying violently. She had just managed to prop herself up on her elbows when she uncontrollably slid back down.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as her fingernails dug into the wooden armrest.

"Director, I’m just a powerless girl. For you and Director Sheng, making me disappear would be as easy as crushing an insect. I only ask one thing. If I really don’t make it, please tell my dad for me... his daughter... isn’t afraid to die!"

With that, she closed her eyes, her head tilted to the side, and she promptly "fainted."

’If I don’t take this opportunity to play it up, wasn’t all the suffering I just endured for nothing?’

Her collapse caused a stir among the onlookers.

When news reached Shen Zhenwu’s ears, he was in a meeting in the war room.

After hearing the report, he shot to his feet and kicked over the chair in front of him.

"Who gave them permission to touch my daughter?! Are they trying to force me, Shen Zhenwu, to rebel?!"

Soon, pressure began to mount from all sides.

Public opinion fermented quickly, and an internal briefing was sent to Central Command overnight.

No matter how much Sheng Zhanhong wanted to protect his son, he couldn’t withstand such intense scrutiny and the raging storm.

In the end, Sheng Hui was taken down!

He had been on the verge of being promoted to Deputy Director, but after Song Yao’s dramatic display, it was all over.

On the day the disciplinary notice was issued, everyone in the Special Operations Department was on edge. Many who had previously latched onto him submitted transfer requests overnight.

Who didn’t know by now? Sheng Hui was ambitious, throwing his weight around before his official appointment was even announced. He had abused his power for a personal vendetta against Song Yao over a woman, even attempting murder.

Keeping a person like that around was just asking for trouble.