Wuma Liya glared at him furiously: "This young lady would rather starve to death than beg you!"
"Starve to death? I'm afraid that's too good to be true," Cheng Jinyan said as he put the bread back on the plate and placed it aside. He got up to take Wuma Liya's whip from the table and started swaying it about, making whipping noises while admiring the various torture devices on the wall.
"I'll soak your whip in salt water and whip you hard every day. Don't worry, I'll have a doctor treat your wounds afterwards so you won't die so easily."
"Let me think, what else..." Cheng Jinyan paced to behind Wuma Liya.
"Ah, I remember now. You were so kind to find me all those women. Of course I can't neglect you either."
Wuma Liya's expression changed slightly.
Cheng Jinyan paced back in front of her, holding the whip behind his back. He bent down to look at her closely with a wicked smile at the corner of his lips.
"Since you're a girl, I'll be benevolent. Tell me what type you like and I'll pick for you. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Wuma Liya was itching to claw his face off.
Suddenly she jerked her head back and smashed it forcefully against Cheng Jinyan's with no warning.
There was a loud thud as their heads collided.
Cheng Jinyan staggered back two steps, his head ringing as if his soul had been knocked out of his body.
For a moment Cheng Jinyan saw stars and heard ringing in his ears. When he regained his balance and looked at Wuma Liya again, tears of pain were welling up in her eyes. Her forehead was bright red and she was gritting her teeth hard, choking back tears until her eyes and nose turned red.
Cheng Jinyan touched his own forehead that had turned red from the impact.
He cursed under his breath, "Crazy girl."
Wuma Liya yelled, "Go ahead and kill me if you dare! I'm not afraid of you!"
Cheng Jinyan: "What's the rush? These torture devices on the wall are all prepared for you. After I've used them all on you, I'll drag you off and feed you to the leopards."
Hearing the words "feed to leopards", Wuma Liya's body gave an involuntary shudder.
"I'm my father's beloved child. If you dare treat me like that, my father and family will never let you off."
Cheng Jinyan scoffed: "Your father and family love you? I don't see it. In Suriname, your fourth uncle even wanted to kill you. If it wasn't for me saving you, you'd be dead already."
Seeing Wuma Liya reduced to silence with no retort,
Cheng Jinyan went on: "Your family is capable of every evil and has no empathy at all. They don't hesitate to kill their own for personal gain. Only a crazy girl like you still lives in her own fantasy world."
"I really don't know what kind of ideology your family has instilled in you to raise such a crazy girl."
Just as Cheng Jinyan was speaking, he suddenly noticed tears welling up in Wuma Liya's eyes. He bent down again to get a closer look.
But he didn't dare get too close for fear of another headbutt from her.
"Fool me once, don't try to fool me again with your act," he said.
Wuma Liya glared at him.
Cheng Jinyan picked up the bread from the floor and took Wuma Liya's whip. He threatened her, "I'm in a good mood today so I'll spare you for now. But next time, I won't be so forgiving."
Cheng Jinyan went to look for Qiao Ying but saw her with Huo Jingyue instead.
Cheng Jinyan put on his glasses and walked away.
"Young Master, the Old Master ordered before leaving that you take care of that Wuma girl," his father's right-hand man told Cheng Jinyan.
Cheng Jinyan: "I know."
That night,
Cheng Jinyan came to the basement cell holding Wuma Liya, whip in hand.
Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he heard noises from the torture chamber.
Cheng Jinyan quickened his pace. When he got there, he saw his father's underling holding a gun to Wuma Liya's head.
Wuma Liya was glaring fiercely at the man, without a hint of fear on her face or in her eyes.
"Stop!"
Just as the underling was about to pull the trigger, Cheng Jinyan called out to stop him.
He rushed forward in one swift movement and snatched the gun away: "Who allowed you to take matters into your own hands?"
Cheng Jinyan's expression darkened slightly.
"Young Master, I was just following the Old Master's orders. That woman injured you so badly, she deserves to be tortured to death."
"I'll handle her myself. Take your men and leave," Cheng Jinyan said, throwing the gun back to him.
"...Yes."
After the men had left, Cheng Jinyan looked to Wuma Liya.
Wuma Liya glared back at him.
Cheng Jinyan thought to himself: She really is fearless of death.
Wuma Liya had a rough trip from South America to Southeast Asia after being kidnapped. She was then tied up and held for a full day and night, leaving her lips dry and cracked.
Cheng Jinyan had the guard outside bring water.
But when it was brought to her lips, Wuma Liya didn't move at all.
Cheng Jinyan said impatiently: "There's no salt in it."
Not only was Wuma Liya not grateful, she turned her face away outright.
Cheng Jinyan grabbed her face with his hand and forced her mouth open roughly.
But Wuma Liya resisted stubbornly, absolutely refusing to open her mouth.
Cheng Jinyan didn't use full force. The two struggled like this for a while but Cheng Jinyan still couldn't pry her mouth open.
He could only increase the force until she finally opened her mouth.
Still Wuma Liya refused to drink. Water splashed everywhere. With great difficulty Cheng Jinyan managed to pour some water into her mouth, but Wuma Liya immediately spat it back into his face.
Before Cheng Jinyan could react, she clamped her teeth down hard on the hand he was using to hold her jaw.
Cheng Jinyan yelped in pain: "Ow!"
Seeing this, the underling immediately moved to retaliate against Wuma Liya.
Cheng Jinyan stopped him with a look.
He handed the remaining water, most of which had spilled, to the underling.
With his hand freed, Cheng Jinyan grabbed Wuma Liya's jaw again and forced her to release his hand from her bite.
Looking at the deep bite mark and bleeding tiger mouth print she left, Cheng Jinyan gave a wry laugh.
When he was tied up, he was the one injured.
Now with her tied up, he was still the one getting injured.
Cheng Jinyan couldn't help but curse at Wuma Liya: "Crazy girl, I should've pulled your teeth out first."
Forget making her drink then.
Cheng Jinyan left the basement.
He had intended to return to his room but ran into Huo Jingyue who was looking at the scenery in the hallway.
"Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Jinyan discreetly hid his bleeding tiger mouth behind a handkerchief and maintained his polite smile as he pushed up his glasses: "Miss Huo, you haven't rested yet?"
Unexpectedly Huo Jingyue's eyes were sharp: "What happened to your hand? Are you hurt? And why are your clothes wet?"
Cheng Jinyan: "I'm not hurt. I just got water on me by accident."
Huo Jingyue still had her doubts.
But Cheng Jinyan didn't give her a chance to think further: "I'm going to head back now. Miss Huo, rest early."
Huo Jingyue: "Alright, good night."
Cheng Jinyan: "Good night, Miss Huo."
Qiao Ying, who had been out and about, saw the genteel and courteous Cheng Jinyan and scoffed inwardly: What an act.
"Qiao, where did you go?" Huo Jingyue asked Qiao Ying when she returned.
Qiao Ying: "Just walking around."
Huo Jingyue: "Were you with Mr. Cheng? Nothing happened right? I seemed to see blood on Mr. Cheng's hand earlier."
Qiao Ying: "This is the Chengs' territory. Nothing can happen."
Only then was Huo Jingyue reassured. But she thought of something else and shyly asked: "Qiao, don't we need to change Mr. Cheng's bandages tomorrow?"
Qiao Ying: "Want to watch?"
Once again Huo Jingyue was outwitted by Qiao Ying's perceptiveness and directness: "You win."
Qiao Ying: "Get up early tomorrow to watch then."
Huo Jingyue covered her mouth in excitement: "Qiao, you're the best!"
The next morning, Cheng Jinyan became an object of spectacle.
Qiao Ying refused to do the labor of changing bandages, so it was the Cheng family's private doctor changing Cheng Jinyan's dressings.
Qiao Ying and Huo Jingyue sat on the sofa drinking tea.
Qiao Ying watched TV while Huo Jingyue stole glances, her cheeks flushing from time to time.
Cheng Jinyan said: "I didn't know you cared so much about me to keep watch of my bandage change."
Qiao Ying: "Kneel and thank me."
