Chapter 2: Everything Is As Mr. Shen Intended

A hint of surprise flitted across Shen Xiujin's eyes ... Even now, she still strives to maintain her dignity?

Indeed, after all, she is Jian Tong, a woman who has always been bold and imperious, not losing the slightest bit of her pride even when her confession was rejected by him.

Shen Xiujin moved swiftly, catching her delicate chin.

"Ouch—pain!" The hand holding her chin was like a pair of pincers, the force exerted on Jian Tong's chin seemed to be enough to crush it, causing Jian Tong such pain that tears overflowed.

Yet the other party showed no pity, grasping her chin tighter and tighter: "Who would have thought that beneath this pretty face lay such a malicious heart?"

"I really didn't harm Wei Ming!" Jian Tong bit her lip, pain making her complexion turn pale: "You can't just send me to prison without any evidence."

"No, I can," Shen Xiujin sneered, his words spoken ruthlessly: "So, Miss Jian Tong, please enjoy your prison life hereafter." Releasing her chin, Shen Xiujin turned and walked away with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

He was taking revenge on her. Jian Tong's face turned deathly pale; she was at a loss for words.

The women's prison was not as tranquil as it appeared. On her first night there, she was rudely awakened from her sleep.

"What do you want?" Jian Tong looked around warily at the circle of inmates who surrounded her with ill intent, "Don't mess around, or I'll call the guards."

Hearing her threat, the surrounding inmates didn't show fear but instead exchanged glances and burst into derisive laughter. One of the dominant figures among them, a sort of 'queen bee', pointed at Jian Tong's face: "What's that? Call the guards? Ha ha ha... Did I hear that right? You're going to call the guards?" As she spoke, she quickly and harshly slapped Jian Tong, "Go on then! Weren't you going to call the guards?"

Jian Tong was caught off-balance by the slap, her ears ringing from the impact.

Leaning on the wall with one hand for support, Jian Tong managed to steady herself. Then, unexpectedly, she took her own swift action.

"Slap!"

Her hand connected firmly with her attacker's face. The cell fell into a momentary silence, as no one had anticipated that this seemingly delicate woman would dare to fight back.

The burly woman, driven insane by Jian Tong's slap, snarled with bloodshot eyes, "Damn it—you bitch! Sisters, beat her up! It doesn't matter if she's crippled or wasted, Mr. Shen has given the orders, there's no need for courtesy. Just make sure this stinking bitch gets what she deserves, just don't kill her!"

Jian Tong was shocked, a sharp pain spreading from her heart to every limb... Shen Xiujin! Shen Xiujin!! Mr. Shen had given orders... Shen Xiujin!!!

Jian Tong's hands and feet were trembling, her heart frozen solid!

No wonder, with all this commotion, no guards were coming. No wonder, these formidable and imposing female prisoners surrounding her were so bold and fearless!

She looked up at those female prisoners, got up, and ran towards the prison door. Clutching the iron bars of the gate's window, she cried loudly for help: "Help! Someone's beating me! Help me! Somebody, come quick!" Even though she knew no guards would come, she could only engage in utterly useless pleas for help.

She was gambling, betting that Shen Xiujin hadn't ordered these prisoners to "take good care" of her, despite the slim chance of this being true... She still harbored the illusion—that Shen Xiujin didn't completely turn his back on her, that there was still some mercy left for Jian Tong.

"Ah...!" Her hair was violently yanked, pulling her off balance and causing her to fall to the ground embarrassingly, face down. Jian Tong had never been so humiliated!

In the next second, Jian Tong was dragged up by her hair, hit and kicked, groaning miserably on the ground: "Ugh~"

Jian Tong's hope for "Shen Xiujin's mercy" never materialized.

She stopped screaming, letting them beat her as she listened to the sound of their cheerful laughter ringing in her ears.

Her cries for help stemmed not from a fear of being hit or the pain, but because she still clung to that slight hope and illusion in her heart.

Those who beat her tired themselves out and eventually climbed into their beds to sleep.

Jian Tong lay sprawled on the ground, tears mixing with the dust on her face.

She had never been so humiliated, never been in such a sorry state. All because she had fallen for Shen Xiujin, a man she should not have loved.

Why must she bear Shen Xiujin's wrath and hatred the moment something happened to Xia Weiming?

After Xia Weiming's incident, Jian Tong had explained to everyone around her, "I never harmed Weiming."

Despite her exhaustive efforts to explain, no one was willing to believe her.

Her desperate explanation: It wasn't she who invited Weiming to "Night Color"; Weiming, curious about what a "bar" was like, had asked her to go to "Night Color."

In others' eyes, she, Jian Tong, the grandiose young lady of the Jian family, was flamboyant and willful, while Xia Weiming was seen as innocent, well-behaved, and timid—how could she take the initiative to request a visit to a bar, a place frequented by all sorts of disreputable characters?

She claimed that her car broke down on the way, which was why she arrived late to "Night Color."

But no one believed her; they all said she was just making excuses, that she had intentionally allowed Xia Weiming to be alone in "Night Color" to make it convenient for a group of thugs, whom she had paid off, to shame Xia Weiming and ruin her reputation.

However, she herself had no reason to do such a thing. Xia Weiming often told her, "Sister Jian Tong, I don't feel that way about Brother Jin."

If Xia Weiming were Shen Xiujin's girlfriend, she, Jian Tong, would stay away from Shen Xiujin! But wasn't it true that Weiming did not like Shen Xiujin?

In everyone's eyes, Jian Tong is seen as the vicious antagonist, having committed every conceivable misdeed.

She probably realized that a serious incident had occurred when the hooligans vanished without a trace. Who knows into which remote corner they had disappeared? In such a vast country as China, there are certainly killers who have managed to hide away in some uninhabited mountains or forests for decades. Jian Tong, more than anyone else, wanted those thugs to be apprehended swiftly.

She let her tears fall. From the time of the incident to the moment she was imprisoned, Jian Tong firmly believed in her innocence; she had not committed a crime.

But now, she understood that as long as Shen Xiujin deemed her guilty, she deserved to be punished, and any penalty would be too lenient for her supposed crimes.

And all of today's events — they were all orchestrated by Mr. Shen.

Jian Tong didn't know that within her future prison life, there would be countless instances of "Mr. Shen's intentions" waiting for her.

Without the backing of the Jian family, without any records, without academic credentials, having served time in prison... Shen Xiujin had eradicated all evidence that Jian Tong had ever lived! Now, Jian Tong was nothing more than a prisoner, a mere set of numbers: 926.

Jian Tong came to an understanding about everything, hugging her knees and curling up even tighter. ... Shen Xiujin had completely erased every trace of her existence!

Early Morning

"Hey, wake up. Go clean the toilet..." A female prisoner rudely pushed Jian Tong, only to start screaming in fright: "Ah! There's a dead person!"

Another prisoner with more nerve rushed over, placing a finger under Jian Tong's nose, and after a long pause, finally noticed a faint breath: "Quiet! She's still alive! Call the guard quick!"

Jian Tong was lucky; she was resuscitated. But this might not have been a blessing, for endless humiliation and unseeing torture can drive a person mad, can... completely change a person.