Chapter 211: Failed Punishment

Su Ruo calmly looked at Zhou Meng and said, "Since you have no evidence, you claim Qin Xiao assaulted you—where is the evidence?"

After speaking, Su Ruo directly threw the blood-stained sheet she was holding into the nearby brazier, and the flames instantly engulfed it.

Zhou Meng still wanted to step forward, but An'an blocked her; she could do nothing and could only watch helplessly as the sheet was burned.

Zhou Meng angrily shouted at Su Ruo, "You think burning the sheet solves everything! I still have my parents to testify for me—he hurt me, and I will make him pay."

After saying that, Zhou Meng anxiously looked at Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya beside her: "Mom and Dad, you'll support me calling the police and testify for me, right?"

Bai Xinya turned her head away without speaking, and Zhou Feng sighed helplessly: "Xiaomeng, I know you've suffered a lot these years, but Qin Xiao is a good kid; he wouldn't do such a thing."

Zhou Meng's expression gradually shifted from shock to frenzy as she angrily shouted, "You'd rather believe an outsider than me—what am I to you in your hearts! Do you even see me as your biological daughter?"

Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya said nothing, but their attitude made it clear—they didn't believe her and wouldn't testify for her.

Zhou Meng's originally firm eyes gradually turned to despair; she couldn't understand why, despite having everything planned well, the outcome turned out like this.

At this moment Su Ruo spoke: "What exactly do you want? I don't have much patience, so you'd better speak quickly."

Zhou Meng hesitated only a moment, then pointed at Zhou Feng and said, "I want to get engaged to him."

According to Zhou Meng's original plan, after this incident blew up, Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya as a couple would surely break ties with Su Ruo and become enemies.

But the current situation is completely different from what she imagined; Zhou Meng must reconsider her plans—at the very least she needs to continue lurking beside Su Ruo in order to sow discord.

After Zhou Meng finished speaking, fearing Su Ruo might not agree, she continued: "If you don't agree to let us two get engaged, I'll make sure everyone knows about this."

"Even if I have no evidence, so what? Once he bears this stigma, he'll never be able to hold his head up again in this lifetime."

Zhou Meng spoke decisively, but in fact she herself had no confidence; she could see that Su Ruo didn't follow conventional logic, and she had no idea what Su Ruo would do next.

"Okay, I agree!"

Zhou Meng had thought she'd have to wrangle with Su Ruo a bit longer, but she didn't expect Su Ruo to agree so quickly, which let her secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Su Ruo continued: "But you'd better also keep your promise and not spread any bad rumors!"

"Qin Xiao is my child; I am extremely protective of my own—if you lay a hand on my people, I will definitely make you pay."

Qin Xiao's eyes reddened; he hadn't expected Su Ruo to trust him so much, yet he also felt useless, which is why he fell into Zhou Meng's scheme.

At this moment, Qin Xiao's downcast eyes were utterly dim; the last trace of purity in his humanity was completely gone.

Although Zhou Meng was dissatisfied inside, she ultimately dared not defy Su Ruo, so she gave a cold snort as a sign of agreement.

After both sides reached an agreement, Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya then took Zhou Meng away.

"Reflect well on where you went wrong." Su Ruo said that, then turned and walked away without glancing at Qin Xiao again.

Su Ruo had Qin Xiao reflect, and he indeed knelt on the ground to reflect—he had been living too smoothly these days, too lax with himself, which is why he fell for someone else's scheme.

Moreover, he shouldn't have felt pity for Zhou Meng after hearing her tragic experience; if he weren't stupid, he wouldn't have been schemed against, nor would he have these troubles now.

Qin Xiao's heart was filled with deep regret, and he silently vowed in his heart that such a thing would never happen again.

Zhou Meng was taken back by Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya; along the way she felt uneasy, afraid they might beat her, but in fact Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya didn't—except for being even colder toward her, there seemed to be no change.

Even when Zhou Meng suggested going out, the two didn't object.

This left Zhou Meng utterly puzzled; according to her investigation, this couple should dote on their children, so why was their attitude toward her so strange? Zhou Meng couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it—she had more important things to do.

That afternoon after Zhou Meng left, she didn't go look for Bai Mu; instead, she took a winding route to a very secluded house.

Zhou Meng entered a very dim room; upon seeing the black-robed figure before her, she immediately knelt, voice and tears streaming, and told that person about her failed plan this time.

The black-robed person instantly flew into a rage upon hearing it: "Idiot, you can't even handle such a small matter."

Zhou Meng whispered her defense: "Maybe that child is simply too young; it's normal they don't believe he'd do such a thing."

But as soon as Zhou Meng finished speaking, someone kicked her hard to the ground: "Still dare to make excuses—clearly you messed up, failed to gain Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya's trust, and now you're still looking for excuses."

Zhou Meng was knocked down by the kick, but facing the person's fury before her, she dared not resist and could only beg for mercy repeatedly.

The black-robed person said coldly: "I'm giving you one last chance; if you still can't get it right, go back where you came from."

Upon hearing that, Zhou Meng immediately trembled with fear; she never wanted to return to that hellish place again.

Zhou Meng hurriedly knelt and kowtowed: "Please rest assured, I will surely accomplish whatever you entrust me with—please don't send me back to that place; as long as I don't have to go back, I'm willing to do anything you ask."

The black-robed person gave a cold snort, looking at Zhou Meng's eyes full of contempt, then waved a hand and two men walked in.

"This is the punishment for your mistakes—never forget that I pulled you out of that hell; since I could rescue you once, I can also cast you back into hell."

Zhou Meng watched the two men approaching her, she shrank back in fear, and unwanted memories she didn't want to recall surged again in her mind.

She had once thought she had already escaped that purgatory-like life, but she never expected reality to kick her back into hell once more.

Why, even though she now wore beautiful clothes, had parents, and even her grandmother's affection, did she still have to endure all this?

At this moment, Zhou Meng's eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred; she felt that if it weren't for Su Ruo's coldness and Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya's favoritism, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

Yet she never considered that her own motives had been impure from the start.