Chapter 555: Her Performance of Intimidation

Chapter 555: Her Performance of Intimidation

An Menglan and Wu Chen had not finished their late dinner until past one in the morning, after which they showered and retired to bed. Before turning in, Wu Chen had reapplied ointment to her bruised knee. Between the injury and her emotional state, the pair had had no bedtime activities.

Wu Chen had simply held her close as they slept.

Even so, sleeping from after one until past six afforded An Menglan barely five hours of rest—nowhere near enough. Abruptly dragged from the depths of slumber, her head spun, and her vision swam in a blur.

She couldn’t even determine what had broken her sleep.

Lifting her head drowsily from Wu Chen’s chest, she took in his handsome profile and jawline, letting out a sleepy “Mm?” before murmuring vaguely, “What is it?” As she spoke, she reached an arm back, twisting to pat the space beside her pillow, easily retrieving her phone.

She brought it before her face to check the hour.

“It’s so early… You’re so annoying, always wanting to fool around…” An Menglan assumed Wu Chen was angling for morning playfulness, murmuring her protest in a spoiled, affectionate purr.

Her thoughts were clearly hopelessly muddled.

She had forgotten entirely that Wu Chen had merely held her throughout the night, doing nothing else.

Of course, having experienced his morning appetites before, the teasing complaint had tumbled out on instinct.

Still murmuring under her breath, An Menglan slipped her phone beneath the pillow, looped her arms around Wu Chen’s neck, and leaned up to press a soft kiss to his cheek. Then she buried her head back against him, her body going limp as her voice faded into a barely audible murmur. “I’m so exhausted. Let me sleep a little longer… Please…”

Wu Chen watched An Menglan drift back off with an enigmatic smile, then turned his gaze toward Li Ruobing standing beyond the footboard. Li Ruobing was visibly fuming, glaring daggers straight at him.

You’re so cute, Wu Chen mouthed silently, offering her a deliberate, teasing grin.

Furious, Li Ruobing flashed a small, clenched fist at him, her expression screaming: Want me to hit you? Yet an instant later, she couldn’t resist turning her head aside, raising the back of her hand to hide the faint curl of her lips. Her emotions were beginning to bleed through her icy veneer, a rare trace of bashfulness flitting across her features.

Under normal circumstances, this scene possessed not a shred of comedy. Nor was there anything humorous or bashful about Li Ruobing’s original blueprint. It was designed as an unadulterated act of intimidation—crafted to leave An Menglan with a psychological scar she would never forget!

That had been Li Ruobing’s original design!

Yet the moment Wu Chen saw through the maneuver and articulated every beat in advance, the dynamic had fundamentally shifted! Li Ruobing knew with absolute certainty that Wu Chen could have neutralized the entire affair. He could have explicitly demanded she stand down, warned An Menglan ahead of time, or simply lost her tailing operatives on the road. Any single measure would have shattered her plan to pieces.

Li Ruobing possessed confidence that, given Wu Chen’s abilities, if he chose to deny her success, she would never achieve it!

Yet Wu Chen had neither blocked nor sabotaged her!

He had deduced her game in advance, spoken it aloud, and still permitted every last phase to unfold exactly as intended! He had handed her the stage to catch the pair in bed together, gifting her complete leverage over An Menglan. From this day forth, An Menglan could never pose an threat to her.

From Li Ruobing’s vantage point, Wu Chen was indulging her—actively cementing her position as the principal woman! This was likely the very first instance where he had permitted one of his women to take such forceful action against another!

Wu Chen favored her above the rest! That was how Li Ruobing saw it!

He was even… doting on her! Granted, the very reality of Wu Chen having so many women seemed inherently antithetical to the concept of devotion, yet… that was precisely how she felt.

Thus, when Wu Chen silently mouthed You’re so cute once more…

Li Ruobing felt genuinely moved. His teasing left her equally embarrassed and exasperated.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sharp cadence rang out.

Standing beyond the foot of the bed, Li Ruobing hardened her features, striking the metal rail repeatedly with her pistol, every blow echoing with a loud clang.

An Menglan’s eyes snapped open once more.

This time, consciousness returned in full force. Discerning the precise origin of the noise, she whipped her head toward the foot of the bed—only to behold the silhouette of a shapely woman clad in a black dress, sporting an elegant lady’s hat and sunglasses, a handgun clenched firmly in her grip!

Dark tresses, crimson lips, black gloves!

She looked precisely like a cold-blooded assassin stepped straight from a cinematic frame—radiating the despair of a woman so shattered by her husband’s betrayal that she had embarked on a murderous path with no return!

Li Ruobing!

“Ah—” An Menglan choked out a clipped gasp. It was a sharp intake of breath rather than a true scream, the sheer shock momentarily short-circuiting her mind.

On pure instinct, she tried to burrow back into Wu Chen’s embrace and yank the duvet over her head.

Yet an instant later, realization struck like a thunderbolt!

Clinging to Wu Chen now? Wasn’t that asking to die? Who knew what impulse might overtake Li Ruobing? What if she simply raised the barrel and squeezed the trigger?

An Menglan had engaged in no complex deduction; the terror had simply materialized unbidden.

Rolling sideways, she scrambled out of bed wrapped tightly in the duvet, retreating toward the corner by the window, putting desperate distance between herself and Wu Chen. She stared at Li Ruobing in terror.

“M-Miss Li, please don’t… W-we can talk… I-I wasn’t challenging you yesterday… I… Mr. Wu and I… we…” An Menglan desperately sought to explain.

Yet as the words tumbled out, she realized yesterday’s provocation was no longer the primary issue!

What mattered was that she had been caught in bed with Wu Chen! Paired with yesterday’s public declaration on Weibo, it left An Menglan feeling as though no explanation on earth could save her!

“Miss An, have you forgotten what you promised me?” Li Ruobing rounded the footboard, her heels clicking softly as she advanced upon An Menglan, who remained huddled in the corner wrapped in the quilt.

The carpet muffled her footsteps to a whisper.

Yet in the suffocating stillness, every muffled thud sounded like a heavy blow against An Menglan’s heart. Li Ruobing held the handgun down at her side, the frame unconsciously tapping against her thigh with every slow step.

“It is not as though I failed to remind you! It is not as though I failed to warn you! I believed we had arrived at a crystal-clear understanding! Yet what have you done? Just what do you take me, Li Ruobing, for?!” Li Ruobing spoke as she advanced, while An Menglan trembled uncontrollably against the wall.

An Menglan understood nothing of Li Ruobing’s true nature.

Had she known her, she would have recognized that had Li Ruobing truly harbored an intention to harm her, she would never have wasted her breath on words!

This was purely a performance of intimidation!

“That’s enough! What are you actually going to do to her? At this hour of the morning!” Wu Chen’s voice cut through the air, his eyes flashing a subtle, loaded signal toward Li Ruobing.