Chapter 33 Confrontations Everywhere

Xiao Hui hurriedly rushes to the laptop at the counter, recalling the room number where she found the woman loitering. It was near Sun Jingwei's reserved room.

Of course, there was no guarantee that she wasn't deliberately hanging around Sun Jingwei's room on purpose just to cause trouble.

'Dimitri Von Holson'

She stares at the name given in the reservations. It was a male English name, which could mean that it might not have even been her reservation to begin with, or she was just the plus one. She didn't recall any Europeans entering her restaurant, so maybe he didn't even show.

Either way, she would bring this name and phone number to Sun Jingwei and Xue Ning - hopefully they would forgive her for her earlier actions. She couldn't afford to be sued, and it would have been fine if she had just kept her mouth shut, but her guilty conscience reared its ugly head at the worst time.

She could have ignored it, but then Xue Ning had to be understanding and forgiving and it made Xiao Hui feel like the worst sort of scum. It would be easier to live with herself if Xue Ning had been angry, had been upset, had been the gold-digging bitch she painted her as.

Now she could only try to make amends. She should know better than to come between a couple as in love as those two, unlikely as they seemed. Sun Jingwei's possessive protectiveness was so like a male lead in a drama; she would have swooned, but then his anger had been squarely directed at her.

If Xue Ning had not interfered, Xiao Hui would have been cuffed in a police car on her way to prison right now. Just for that alone, Xiao Hui owes her a debt of gratitude!

She takes note of the name and phone number on her phone, and makes her way back to the washroom.

=

Target spotted. The woman in red smirked as she saw the little mouse scurry suspiciously back to what must be her nest, the restroom. After some thinking she guessed that Sun Jingwei's woman must have remained in the toilet to clean herself up, so Sun Jingwei must be somewhere close.

All she had to do was tail her and keep a watch to see if anyone was leaving the restroom. It was almost too easy. She patted herself on the back for a job well done - she had done a good job in making this server do her dirty work. Poor, jealous people were all too easy to manipulate.

If not for the fact that Sun Jingwei had gone off script, she would have accomplished her mission much earlier. But that's not a big setback, merely a tiny hiccup in the grand scheme of things.

By tonight, Sun Jingwei will be in her hands for good.

Oh look, speak of the devil. It was the server, walking quickly, too fast to be anything but suspicious. She smirked and raised her hand to pull at the server's shoulder, causing her to jump and scream in panic.

Xiao Hui had just been making her way back to the restroom before she got ambushed by the last person she wanted to see - the very woman that threw her into this mess!

"Hello there, remember me?" The woman smiled sweetly, but Xiao Hui wasn't fooled.

"It's you!" Xiao Hui pointed a shaking hand at her. "I did what you said, don't bother me anymore!"

"Oh? You're not even going to ask for the second part of your payment?" The woman asks in mock surprise. "Don't tell me you're actually sorry?"

"What if I am?" Xiao Hui tilts her head up, trying to seem braver than she felt. "Why did you want to hurt Sun Jingwei's date so badly?"

"I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you," was her cavalier answer. "Now answer a simple question of mine and I won't have you fired, where is Sun Jingwei?"

"I don't know!" Xiao Hui panics, shaking her head frantically.

"Oh really? I beg to differ," the woman stalks closer while Xiao Hui inches back slowly, trying to find an escape. In a broad deserted walkway, Xiao Hui somehow still had the feeling she was cornered.

"Let me go!" Xiao Hui exclaims. The woman had grabbed Xiao Hui's arm, smiling while Xiao Hui struggled to escape. She looked at her the same way a cat would gaze at a flailing mouse, with condescending amusement.

"Sure, you just need to tell me one simple thing," her fingers tightened, gripping Xiao Hui's wrist hard enough to leave bruises. Her long painted nails dug themselves into the soft skin, leaving crescent marks. Xiao Hui stifles a faint cry of pain as she tries to flee, with no success.

"Now… answer me when I'm still being nice: where is Sun Jingwei?"

=

At the sound of the door opening, Xue Ning gives Jingwei a harsh shove back into the cubicle. Xue Ning ignored his indignant face and merely closed the door, mouthing the words 'lock the door' before the door slammed shut. And not a moment too soon, because the person who came in wasn't their apologetic server Xiao Hui, it was a tall woman in red in stilettos.

"You!" Xue Ning exclaimed, immediately standing in front of the locked cubicle, preparing for a confrontation. This must be the woman that bribed Xiao Hui. Her face seemed vaguely familiar.

"Oh look, guess you're still alive, what a pity," The woman scans Xue Ning from head to toe, sniffing dismissively at her lacklustre outfit. Xiao Hui had provided her with a thin cotton shirt and a new pair of pants, but she hadn't changed into it yet.

"I could say the same for you," Xue Ning retorts, hackles raised. "Getting Xiao Hui to do your dirty work is just pathetic. If you have the guts, go after me yourself!"

"Xiao Hui? Ah, was that her name? God, she was such a sniveling wimp." The woman looks at her nails, already bored. "Never mind about her, I have bigger fish to fry."

"Sniveling?! Hey! What did you do to her?" Xue Ning yells angrily, but the woman ignores her question, merely looking around the restroom.

"None of your business, now get out of my way." The woman scoffs and raises a hand to shove Xue Ning aside, only for Xue Ning to bat it out of the way.

"Or what?" Xue Ning retorts, refusing to back down. "I don't know who the fuck you are, but you're a real despicable bitch!"

"You don't know who I am?" The woman screeches. "How dare you say this, after ruining my attempt to be Sun Jingwei's new bride!"

"Huh? What the flying fuck? Are you his stalker?" Xue Ning asks, hoping that Sun Jingwei hears this and has the common sense to call the police, while still staying in the cubicle.

As the woman's face begins to resemble the colour of her dress, Xue Ning suddenly remembers where she saw her from.

"Wait, wait wait, I remember you! You're that bitch that tried to drug Jingwei!" Xue Ning exclaims, "You're… Xiumin! You put me in hospital, you fucker!"

"Me?! You put yourself in the hospital! Who asked you to drink it?" Xiumin screeches back in return. "It was meant for Sun Jingwei, you bloody idiot!"

"And I was just supposed to let you drug him?" Xue Ning asks, confused and angry.

"You should have," she replies imperiously. "That man is not worth your loyalty!"

"I can decide that for myself, thanks," Xue Ning scowls. "Besides, I'm not taking life advice from someone who just admitted to attempted drugging."

"Suit yourself! You'll regret it in future!" She yells, striking at Xue Ning's face. Xue Ning barely managed to dodge it, grabbing her wrist.

Xiumin easily slides out of her hold and goes for a second strike, this time punching her in the chest. Xue Ning stumbles, but luckily she catches herself in time to grab Xiumin's fist, pulling her close to headbutt her under her chin.

It makes a satisfyingly loud crack, but Xiumin wasn't down, she reached for Xue Ning's hair and gave it a harsh painful tug. Xue Ning screamed in pain, but she remembered her teachings from her old teacher - when your hair gets pulled, you shouldn't struggle against the hold. So Xue Ning leans in and used her legs to deliver a swift kick to her stomach.

Xiumin lets go of her hair, shrieking. Xue Ning immediately uses the chance to land a fierce palm strike straight at Xiumin's nose. Xiumin screams like a banshee as she falls to the floor, crumpled in a heap as she holds onto her nose.

"My nose! You bitch! You'll pay for this!"

"No thanks, I'm poor." Xue Ning isn't dumb enough to wait for Xiumin to get up and try again, so she immediately pins her on the floor with her body weight, twisting one of her arms behind her back.

"Let me go!" Xiumin screams, writhing on the floor like a dying tuna. "You'll regret this!"

"Shut up! Your screaming is hurting my ears!" Xue Ning screams back. "I didn't get to have a good dinner because of you! You bitch!" Xue Ning deliberately twists her arm further back with more force, just to get her to stop yelling.

"Sun Jingwei, you'd better be calling the police!" Xue Ning exclaims. "If you don't I'll really just sic her on you!"