Chapter 18: Stripping Away the Garments

He immediately prepared to fight back.

It was a pity. His hand had not yet fully healed, and he was facing two people at once. His counterattack ended before it even began. Qin Jiu held Sheng Ting down firmly while Jiang Nanxing moved with lightning speed to strip him.

The onlookers widened their eyes in shock. How thrilling. One truly sees everything if one lives long enough. For instance, two high-and-mighty CEOs engaging in a catfight. This was far more entertaining than any corporate war. Some people, unable to resist the temptation, raised their phones to film the scene in secret. How could one let such a rare spectacle pass without recording it?

Sheng Ting was so furious his face turned beet red and his neck swelled. He roared, "You pair of scoundrels! You will pay for this!"

However, his protests could not change the fact that Jiang Nanxing had stripped him of both his jacket and his shirt. Sheng Ting was left bare-chested. From his clothes, Jiang Nanxing actually produced a bracelet. She had prepared it in advance.

Holding the bracelet, Jiang Nanxing slapped Sheng Ting across the face. "And you say you didn't steal it!"

After the slap, she pulled Qin Jiu away. "I never expected that CEO Sheng would not only use such underhanded tactics but also lack the courage to admit to them! Let's go!"

Qin Jiu followed her lead.

[Heartbreak Value +25, Total Heartbreak Value: 78]

Jiang Nanxing’s lips curled into a wild grin. It seemed she had truly humiliated Sheng Ting. How delightful!

Once they were at a safe distance, Qin Jiu said helplessly, "I thought we agreed to make it less awkward."

Jiang Nanxing waved her hand. "I was going to strip him regardless, so what difference does the excuse make?" She paused, then added, "Oh, right, let's be careful when we leave. I'm afraid Sheng Ting might be so enraged he'll try to ram his car into us."

Qin Jiu smiled. "I guessed as much, which is why I had someone bring a different car to pick us up."

He had been just as worried that Sheng Ting would do exactly that. Beyond that, he found everything that had just happened quite incredible. It was novel, and it carried a sense of reckless, unadulterated joy. Before this, no matter how bitterly he and Sheng Ting had clashed, he would never have resorted to such a thing. Or rather, he had never seen anyone in this circle—CEOs—abandon their dignity to strip someone else. It was so humiliating.

Qin Jiu and Jiang Nanxing drove off in the other vehicle. Not long after they left, Qin Jiu received the latest news.

Sheng Ting had indeed been so furious that he rammed his car into Qin Jiu’s original vehicle, totaling it.

Jiang Nanxing sighed, "It’s a good thing CEO Qin had the foresight."

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you afraid? If we had still been in that car tonight..."

Jiang Nanxing replied nonchalantly, "What is there to be afraid of? Now that I know what kind of person he is, there are plenty of ways to avoid him."

Qin Jiu was not surprised by her answer and chuckled. "Miss Jiang is truly fearless."

Jiang Nanxing offered a shy smile and waved her wrist. "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Upon returning home, for the sake of safety, Jiang Nanxing hired several muscular bodyguards for herself and her mother overnight before she could finally sleep in peace.

The next day, when Jiang Nanxing opened her phone, she saw the names of Sheng Ting and Qin Jiu at the top of the trending topics. She clicked on them to take a look. It turned out that when she and Qin Jiu had stripped Sheng Ting the night before, someone had secretly filmed the incident and posted it online.

The content was quite amusing. It claimed that Sheng Ting, driven by hatred that turned into obsession, had attempted to win back his former flame by stealing a bracelet, only to be held down and stripped by his romantic rival, Qin Jiu, losing all his dignity in the process.

Any of these names or events alone would have been explosive, but combined, they were a sensation. The netizens were in awe.

"Is this what the elite world is like? I don't believe it."
"Isn't this just elementary schoolers fighting?"
"What I thought the elite were like: throwing thousands of dollars around. What they are actually like: a CEO stealing a bracelet and getting stripped."
"They say the world is just a giant, amateur theatrical troupe, and I believe it now."
"Is Sheng's 'incompetence' the kind I'm thinking of?"
"Yes! Exactly! That kind of incompetence! I heard he even went to see an andrologist!"
"Oh my! An insider? Tell us more! Hurry, hurry!"

As everyone was engaged in a heated discussion, the trending topics began to drop, and the video suddenly vanished. Without a doubt, Sheng Ting had intervened. No one could handle being humiliated in front of the entire internet.

Jiang Nanxing was laughing hysterically. She would bet that this over-masculine CEO must have smashed quite a few things in his rage. She happily prepared to visit her mother at the hospital, but just as she got into the car, she noticed the trending topics had returned.

The video had reappeared as well. Jiang Nanxing was surprised, then called Qin Jiu. "Did you do this?"

Qin Jiu sat in his chair, toying with a fountain pen. A faint smile graced his lips, and his voice was deep and resonant. "Of course. I’m more than happy to add fuel to the fire when it comes to his humiliation."

Jiang Nanxing tutted. "You’re the one who had the video released, aren't you? CEO Qin, you really are wicked."

Among those present last night, while they enjoyed the drama, none would have dared to release the video. They knew full well they couldn't withstand Sheng Ting's wrath.

Qin Jiu admitted it. "Naturally. Since it was filmed, it should be enjoyed by everyone."

Jiang Nanxing felt that Qin Jiu was quite different from how he was portrayed in the original plot. "Then has CEO Qin forgotten? The video doesn't just feature him; it features you too."

"Does a dignified CEO like yourself not feel ashamed about stripping someone in public?"

Qin Jiu replied indifferently, "What is there to be ashamed of? Besides, the one who looks the most foolish is someone else. And you, Miss Jiang, don't seem to feel ashamed either."

Jiang Nanxing replied as a matter of course, "I have no shame to begin with, so what is there to lose?" She had never cared about such things.

After they finished speaking, both burst into laughter, perhaps feeling that the other was quite similar to themselves.

Once the laughter died down, Qin Jiu asked casually, "Lunch together?"

Jiang Nanxing replied, "We'll see. I'm not sure if I'll be busy." She might be having lunch with her mother.

Qin Jiu said, "Then I shall await Miss Jiang's reply."

After hanging up, Qin Jiu toyed with his phone, his smile deepening, though he didn't even realize it himself.

Jiang Nanxing didn't end up eating with her mother, nor with Qin Jiu. Sheng Ting had finally discovered that her mother was no longer in the hospital under his control and had tracked them down. This happened because, after losing so much face the previous night, he had intended to use her mother to severely punish Jiang Nanxing, only to realize the truth.

He was truly arrogant; he brought bodyguards straight to her mother's ward, attempting to forcibly take her away. Jiang Nanxing had hired bodyguards the night before, who temporarily blocked the aggressive Sheng Ting and his men.

Sheng Ting didn't take them seriously and threatened them viciously, "You had better step aside now. Whatever Qin Jiu is paying you, I will pay you double." It was clear he assumed Qin Jiu had hired them. "If you don't step aside, you’d better weigh whether the money Qin Jiu is giving you is enough to cover your medical bills!"

Jiang Nanxing felt like applauding him. How arrogant.