Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Mo Bing looked at a few of the scratch marks Jiang Bomei had left on her arm. Spoiled? Are you sure Bomei isn’t actually fierce and malicious?
Mo Bing was not concerned in the least. “Don’t worry,” she said. “That little dog’s claws aren’t clipped. It’s an impressive specimen.”
Still, Jiang Jiusheng was distressed.
Just then, Jiang Bomei’s howling drifted to them from the corridor. It sounded hysterical—abnormally vocal. Following that was a woman’s pitiful cry that was equally heart-wrenching.
Mo Bing felt that a pet would take after its owner. Jiang Jiusheng was trained in mixed martial arts, and Dr. Shi was a surgeon; Jiang Bomei was not the kind of dog to be easily beaten by just anyone.
The sounds were coming from Liu Xu’s dressing room. They really were enemies on a narrow road. Liu Xu wouldn’t even spare her dog.
“What’s going on?”
Liu Xu’s manager, Liu Ling, was one step ahead of Jiang Jiusheng and Mo Bing. She entered the dressing room. Cosmetics and clothes were strewn all across the floor. The entire room was a mess, and Liu Xu was currently lying on the couch, sprawled on her back. A white Pomeranian was biting her pants. Bomei bared its teeth as it bit her.
Liu Xu tugged her pants forcefully and casually grabbed a pillow from the couch to whack the dog. Bomei stumbled, and she took advantage of that chance to stand up and glare at the dog arrogantly.
“That little beast scratched me,” she said, stretching out her arms. On the backs of her hands were a few bloody scratches.
Liu Ling still didn’t understand what was going on. She glanced at the dog baring its teeth at Liu Xu, then said to the assistant: “Catch it first.”
The assistant was about to step forward when Jiang Jiusheng’s voice was heard coming from the door. “Bomei, come here.”
Bomei turned its head and saw Jiang Jiusheng, then dashed into her embrace and started whimpering. It lifted its head and scratched itself. A huge chunk of fur was missing from its head. Jiang Bomei started wailing to the heavens.
Jiang Jiusheng smoothed Jiang Bomei’s fur. She didn’t so much as even lift her head as she said, “Sister Ling, this is my dog.” It was considered polite of her to address Liu Ling as Sister Ling’.
As the saying went: Destiny will make enemies meet. Liu Ling was very awkward and gave an embarrassed smile. When she looked at Liu Xu, her tone was much more reproachful. “What’s the matter with you?”
Liu Xu’s face grew cold as she stated with indignation, “I wanted to touch it because I thought it was cute, but it suddenly went crazy.” She spread her hands. “Look at how it scratched my hands.”
Her soft hands were bloody beyond recognition.
Jiang Bomei barked at her twice, looking as if it wanted to pounce on her and scratch her again. Jiang Jiusheng remained silent as she comforted the little thing in her arms.
It was Mo Bing who spoke. “You wanted to touch it?” She snorted and glanced at Liu Xu. “Is there a thorn or a knife in your hand? Or is your touch alone enough to shed her fur everywhere?”
Woof! Jiang Bomei succumbed to crying, as if to say, What a tragedy! My fur!
Liu Xu couldn’t have denied it even if she wanted to. “The dog wasn’t careful and got itself caught on the clothes hook,” she said.
Jiang Bomei wanted to pounce over and bite her to death when it heard that!
“Be good.” Jiang Jiusheng coaxed it gently, and Bomei went back to behaving. It sprawled there without moving.
When she looked up, the gentleness between her eyebrows instantly dissipated. There was no trace of sternness in her eyes. In fact, her gaze was rather casual. Still, her aura was imposing.
“Why don’t you hide the evidence first—before you start lying?”
Liu Xu’s expression changed slightly.
Jiang Jiusheng picked up the dog and took two steps forward. She glanced heedlessly at Liu Xu without a word. In fact, she merely squatted and picked up the pair of scissors lying at the foot of the sofa. Some white dog fur still clung to it.
Liu Xu’s face instantly changed.
Jiang Jiusheng waved the scissors in her hand as she asked the little fellow in her embrace, “Was this it?”
Jiang Bomei shuddered. It was that evil woman who used that pair of scissors to cut off my fur!
Jiang Jiusheng flung the scissors onto the sofa and sat down with the dog in her arms. She lifted her head to regard Liu Xu. Her gaze was cold.
“Are you still going to deny it?” she demanded.
Liu Xu’s face and ears were flushed, but she was not to be outdone and rebutted, “Well, it scratched my hands, too.”
She stretched out her arms. The backs of her hands featured bloody scratch marks and were indeed a ghastly sight. Evidently, she hadn’t gotten the best of Bomei.
Jiang Jiusheng merely glanced at her hands. She leaned back against the sofa and stretched out her long and slender legs, placing them on the coffee table. “Sister Ling.”
Liu Ling hummed self-consciously.
“Since my dog hurt someone, it’s natural for me to compensate that person. I’ll have to trouble you, Sister Ling, to take your celebrity to the hospital later. When you get the bill, hand it over to Mo Bing. If that’s not enough, name your price.”
Liu Ling’s face was filled with astonishment.
Jiang Jiusheng’s tone suddenly changed. It was slightly cold now as she lifted her gaze and glanced at Liu Xu. When she spoke, her words were well-paced. “I’m compensating you for your hospital expenses. Now, count how many strands of my dog’s fur you have to repay me for.”
Is she comparing a dog to a human? Liu Xu’s face dropped. “You—”
Liu Ling cut her off. She stepped forward and tried her best to lower her posture as she said in a small voice, “Miss Jiang, I’ll apologize on behalf of Liu Xu. Consider it giving me and the Qin Group some face. Don’t hold it against her.”
Jiang Jiusheng retracted the legs she had placed on the table and sat up. She lifted her eyelids. “Your beloved Qin Group has such a high standard—I can’t afford to give you face.”
She looked lazy and crazy at the same time; it was an infuriating combination. Liu Ling was speechless.
Liu Xu couldn’t put up with this any longer. She glared furiously at Jiang Jiusheng. “What do you want?”
Jiang Jiusheng curled her lips. She put down the dog, lifted her head, and said simply, “Pay.”
Liu Xu blanched.
Jiang Jiusheng laughed. She picked up the scissors, toyed with them for a few seconds, then got up and took a few leisurely steps toward Liu Xu.
Liu Xu backed away, panicking so greatly that her face went completely pale. She forced herself to pretend to be composed.
“Jiang Jiusheng, you—” she stammered. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
Jiang Jiusheng said nothing else. She blew off the dog fur still clinging to the scissors, then grabbed a handful of Liu Xu’s hair.
“You—!”
Without hesitation, Jiang Jiusheng snipped off the hair.
Liu Xu’s fine black hair fell to the ground. She was flabbergasted. She lifted her hand and touched the hair beside her ear while trembling, only to realize that she was almost touching the roots.
Liu Xu grabbed her head and let loose an uncontrollable, ear-piercing scream.
“Ah—!”
“Liu Xu!” Jiang Jiusheng called out.
Liu Xu returned to her senses. She raised her hand, aimed straight for Jiang Jiusheng’s face.
Jiang Jiusheng didn’t even dodge. Rather, she lazily snatched Liu Xu’s hand out of the air as if she barely put any strength into it. Her intonation was gentle as she pinched Liu Xu’s wrist and said, “You should know that I’m someone who has never liked being at a disadvantage. You should also understand that our past debt has not been cleared. I’m not a magnanimous person, and I’m rarely benevolent. I will eventually settle this debt properly. But, before that happens, I think that you should be smarter and do a better job of avoiding me.”