historical

Shen Qing screamed and hurriedly went to check on him, while everyone was stunned to see what had just happened. How could the usually weak and gentle Shen Minyao manage to kick the stronger and taller Su Yin so easily?

Although there had been rumors about Shen Minyao turning over a new leaf since her return, no one was able to tell how much she changed. The rumors about her beating Xu Shenshen a month ago had been the talk of the school for days. The notorious bully of Spring Hill High had succumbed to Shen Minyao.

Su Yin sat up on the floor with Shen Qing's help. He held the side of his face that was hit by Shen Minyao and winced in pain. He then lifted his gaze and glared furiously at Shen Minyao.

However, he was momentarily startled when he met her gaze. He had to admit that ever since her return, Shen Minyao's looks had become pleasing to one's eyes. Her face looked charming up close, her eyes bright, clear, and a bit mischievous.

How come he never knew that Shen Minyao could be beautiful like this? If he was to compare Shen Qing with Shen Minyao now, it made sense why the other young men in their school named Shen Minyao as their newest campus belle.

"Cousin Yaoyao, why do you have to do this? If you hate me this much, you shouldn't have taken out your anger on Brother Yin. It's me who you should blame." Shen Qing's eyes turned misty as she looked at Shen Minyao who was looking down at her and Su Yin with apparent disgust in her eyes.

"Oh, Qing Jie. What are you talking about? Wasn't it Su Yin who said that I needed to get past him before I could lay a hand on you?" The fox woman laughed as she made her way towards the two.

Shen Qing felt a shiver run down her spine as she looked at her cousin. Something about Shen Minyao was different. She felt like the woman who was standing in front of them wasn't the same person she pushed off a cliff to die.

'You should have made sure I was dead before leaving me behind, dearest cousin.'

Suddenly, she heard Shen Minyao's voice in her head. Shen Qing stared at her cousin with wide eyes, wondering whether it was merely a figment of her imagination.. or did Shen Minyao just speak to her?

The way Shen Minyao looked at her and smiled only made Shen Qing question her reality.

The fox woman knew how to manipulate Shen Qing's emotions. This young woman's hands were tainted with her cousin's blood at such a young age. How could Shen Qing pretend and live her life as if she hadn't done anything wrong towards the real Shen Minyao? Shen Qing had no idea about the gravity of her actions, and it amused the fox woman to know that Shen Qing didn't bother to think of the consequences.

"Y-you.. who are you?" Shen Qing fell on her butt and tried to move away from the fox woman.

Her instincts were telling her that she needed to flee from Shen Minyao, but she couldn't understand the reason for it. It didn't occur to her that the Shen Minyao that returned to the Shen family wasn't the cousin she just killed.

If Shen Qing had seen the horrible situation that her cousin ended up in after hitting the ground several feet below the cliff from where she pushed her cousin to death, the fox woman had no doubt that she would celebrate and wouldn't feel remorse for one bit over it.

"Qing Jie, how could you say that? Am I not your cousin? How could you forget about me? Hasn't it only been weeks since you brought me to go hiking with your brother?"

Shen Qing's face blanched upon hearing it. She didn't miss the tone of Shen Minyao's voice, reminding her of the horrible crime she committed that night. Shen Minyao was blatantly threatening her.

If the authorities knew what she had done that night, Shen Qing was sure that her future wouldn't look so bright anymore. All the things she had done so far would be for naught if she was sent behind the bars and if Old Shen disowned her because of just one discovery.

Su Yin moved to get between the two of them and pushed Shen Qing behind him.

"Shen Minyao, what do you think you are doing?" He wasn't sure what Shen Minyao was talking about, but he couldn't let her bully Shen Qing in front of him.

"Seriously? I thought I am the fiancée, and yet here you are playing as the hero while saving my cousin, the damsel in distress." Shen Minyao scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Anyway, I only came here to get the part of the deal I've won from the bet. You are really making this hard and too complicated for me."

The other students around them murmured in low voices, talking about how shameless both Shen Qing and Su Yin were for showing up in front of Shen Minyao like this. Shen Qing knew that Su Yin was her cousin's fiancé, but she decided to get involved with him regardless of it.

Shen Minyao sighed and shook her head.

"Fine. I'll see you at home instead. Qing Jie, I hope that you wouldn't blame me for this, but since you haven't seen our grandfather lately, I guess I would have to break the good news to you.. that he has agreed to dissolve my engagement to Su Yin."

"W-what?" Su Yin stuttered, his eyes never leaving Shen Minyao.

Those words were enough to shock Su Yin. He stared wide-eyed at Shen Minyao in disbelief.. There was a reason why his family insisted on having him betrothed to Shen Minyao, and if they found out that she insisted on breaking their engagement, then he would be in big trouble.