Chapter 33: Noisy Pest

“What am I doing?”
Ruan Liuzheng shook her hand and gave a faint smile, her tone full of disdain. “Do you get it now?”

“Ruan Liuzheng! You actually dared to slap me!”
Fu Zhiqing clutched her face, her expression distraught. Her eyes were bloodshot with both pain and fury.

All traces of her usual pride as a spoiled heiress had vanished—she now looked like a complete madwoman.

Ruan Liuzheng stared at her coldly and sneered, “Why wouldn’t I dare? Who do you think you are?”

Fu Zhiqing’s chest heaved violently. She glared at Ruan Liuzheng with hatred and gritted her teeth, “Do you believe I won’t tell my brother about you and that bastard? I’ll make sure you can’t stay in Yun City another day!”

Ruan Liuzheng’s expression remained indifferent. She lowered her eyes and didn’t speak.

What’s wrong with this pair of siblings? Can they not understand plain language? Who gave them this overinflated confidence? They were just…stupid.
Absolutely brainless.

She no longer had the desire to explain anything.

Seeing Ruan Liuzheng silent, Fu Zhiqing thought she had finally seized control and immediately looked smug.

She cast a dismissive glance at Xie Qingcen, who stood behind Ruan Liuzheng.

So what if he was good-looking? He had no power, no background—just a pretty face.
He didn’t even know who held real power here.
What a shallow fool.

Xie Qingcen caught the flash of disdain in Fu Zhiqing’s eyes with razor precision. He raised an eyebrow slightly.
A chilly curve lifted at the corner of his lips.

This was the first time someone had dared to look at him like that. How truly…ignorant of their own limits.

A cold gleam passed through his dark, deep eyes.

Qi Chong, Xie Qingcen’s assistant, also saw right through Fu Zhiqing’s thoughts.
He’d been to enough social functions with Xie Qingcen to read a face from a mile away—especially when that face was practically screaming its intentions.

At this point, he didn’t even know what to say anymore.
All he could hope was that the boss would show mercy… for the old madam’s sake.

Fu Zhiqing arrogantly looked around the room before fixing her gaze back on Ruan Liuzheng.
“Scared now, aren’t you? Ruan Liuzheng, if you kneel and apologize to me now, it’s not too late!”

Ruan Liuzheng lazily lifted her eyes, her voice like ice. “Ugly people are always the loudest. Fu Zhiqing, where do you get the nerve?”

“Ruan Liuzheng!”
Fu Zhiqing’s face darkened instantly.

Her eyes were fixed on Ruan Liuzheng, filled with venomous malice.

As the eldest daughter of the Fu family, she’d always been idolized and flattered. No one had ever dared to humiliate her—certainly not like this, and definitely not in front of so many people.

She was enraged, but also deeply humiliated.

And worst of all? The one shaming her was Ruan Liuzheng—the very woman she’d once looked down on the most.
It was beyond infuriating.

A vicious glint flashed in Fu Zhiqing’s eyes.

She looked at Ruan Liuzheng and clenched her fists. “You really won’t stop, huh? Then today I’ll teach you a lesson. I’ll make you see your place!”

With that, Fu Zhiqing raised her hand, face twisted with malice.

Ruan Liuzheng watched her calmly, her cold eyes brimming with contempt.
She curled her lips in a scornful smile, not taking the threat seriously at all.

Same old trick. This was the only thing Fu Zhiqing knew how to do.

Fu Zhiqing hesitated, seeing Ruan Liuzheng’s contemptuous expression. It only fueled her rage.

She gritted her teeth, fury boiling like waves in her chest—like she could tear Ruan Liuzheng apart at any moment.

Her eyes darkened.

“Still not learned your lesson from that last slap?”

A voice like ice cut through the tension.
Xie Qingcen had run out of patience. He stepped forward to stand beside Ruan Liuzheng, his cold, bottomless eyes locking onto Fu Zhiqing—like he was already looking at a corpse.

He hadn’t been present earlier—fine.
But now that he was here, she dared to lay a finger on his woman in front of him?
Clearly, she was tired of living.

Fu Zhiqing’s body froze on the spot.
She stared blankly at the impossibly handsome man before her. A chill ran through her body like she’d fallen into an icy lake.

Xie Qingcen’s lips curved into a shallow, chilly smile.
He lazily rested a hand on Ruan Liuzheng’s shoulder, his dark eyes coldly watching Fu Zhiqing.

He didn’t need to do anything.
His mere presence was enough to fill the room with a suffocating pressure.

Fu Zhiqing’s heart pounded.
But then she remembered—he was just some pretty boy Ruan Liuzheng had picked up. No background, no connections.

She straightened her back.

She lifted her chin and sneered at Xie Qingcen, “Who do you think you are? You dare to threaten me?”

“You’re good-looking, I’ll give you that.
If you know what’s good for you, maybe I’ll even spare you today.”

Her gaze blatantly roamed across Xie Qingcen, her intentions filthy and undisguised.

Ruan Liuzheng glanced at her with cool indifference, then turned away.
Idiot.

Fu Zhiqing snorted and gave Ruan Liuzheng a contemptuous look before turning back to Xie Qingcen, convinced he was hers for the taking.
Her eyes gleamed with twisted confidence.

Xie Qingcen saw through her thoughts instantly.
He raised his brow slightly, then let out a low, mocking laugh.

So stupid and so vicious.
How could a woman like this exist?

It was like she was begging for death.

His gaze dropped, an icy glint flashing in his eyes.

After a moment, he said coldly:
“Unfortunately, I’ve never been one to know ‘what’s good for me.’”

“You—!” Fu Zhiqing was clearly caught off guard by the rejection. Her face twisted with disbelief, jealousy, and humiliation.

She let out a bitter laugh, her tone sharp.
“You? A powerless, pathetic pretty boy—what gives you the right to reject me? Do you even know who that woman next to you is?”

“She’s nothing but a dog raised by the Fu family!”

“In the Fu household, she has no voice—she just clings shamelessly to my brother! Following her will get you nowhere. But if you come with me now—”

Xie Qingcen’s eyes turned pitch-black.

He could not tolerate anyone humiliating Ruan Liuzheng.

---

Especially when it was an insult right in front of him.

With an impatient look, he interrupted coldly,
“Noisy!”

“Qi Chong, throw this eyesore out for me!”

Xie Qingcen’s jaw tightened, his voice steady and calm, without a hint of emotion.

But Qi Chong instinctively tensed—he knew this time, Mr. Xie was truly angry.

And honestly, no one could blame him. Miss Fu had really gone looking for death.

With a serious expression, he nodded, “Yes, Mr. Xie.”

Without another word, Qi Chong strode toward Fu Zhiqing without hesitation.

Fu Zhiqing glared at Qi Chong furiously. “You dare!”

Then she turned to Ruan Liuzheng, her voice shrill,
“Ruan Liuzheng! If you really dare let that kept man of yours lay a finger on me, believe me, I’ll make sure you’re kicked out of the Fu family tomorrow!”

Earlier, when Fu Zhiqing was cursing and humiliating her, Ruan Liuzheng had merely listened quietly.

She was used to it.

After all, you don’t argue with a rabid dog.

But now, hearing such an empty threat, Ruan Liuzheng suddenly chuckled.

With cold indifference in her eyes, she said,
“I’d love nothing more.”

If Fu Zhiqing really could get Fu Yanci to divorce her, Ruan Liuzheng would genuinely owe her a thank-you.

Seeing Ruan Liuzheng unmoved, Fu Zhiqing struggled even harder.

“Get off me, you lapdog! Do you know who I am?! Don’t you dare touch me with your filthy hands!”

She shouted and cursed nonstop, her eyes full of disgust as she glared at Qi Chong.

Qi Chong’s face also darkened.

He had been holding back, but now his grip tightened, and without giving her any choice, he was ready to drag her out.

Fu Zhiqing clung desperately to a nearby column. Her once-pristine makeup was now a mess from her wild movements.

She stared viciously at Ruan Liuzheng, spewing vulgar, filthy insults.

There was nothing left of her noble heiress image—just a crazed shrew.

At first, the store clerks had recognized her and wanted to step in, but the moment they saw Xie Qingcen’s cold expression, they backed down immediately.

They lowered their heads, pretending to see nothing.

After all, anyone who could afford to shop here was either rich or powerful—none of them were people the staff could afford to offend.

Xie Qingcen had no interest in anyone else’s thoughts. At that moment, his lips were tightly pressed together, his brows furrowed, and his icy gaze fixed on Fu Zhiqing, still struggling in Qi Chong’s grip.

The chill in his eyes deepened with each passing second.

At last, his patience ran out.

Xie Qingcen strode forward, his polished leather shoes clicking crisply against the sleek floor—tap, tap.

His eyes were dark and deep, his aura sharp and commanding.

Seeing him approach, Qi Chong immediately released his grip and stepped aside, standing respectfully.

But Fu Zhiqing misunderstood, thinking Xie Qingcen was finally scared and had come to apologize.

She scoffed, raised her chin arrogantly, and sneered at him,
“What, finally realized you should be flattering me? Let me tell you—ah!”

Before she could finish her sentence, she let out a sharp scream.

The store instantly fell silent.

In the same moment Fu Zhiqing went quiet, everyone else looked at Xie Qingcen with a mix of shock and fear.

No one expected him to actually make a move.

Except two people—Qi Chong and Ruan Liuzheng.

Qi Chong remained calm—he was used to Mr. Xie’s methods.

As for Ruan Liuzheng, she only frowned slightly, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, and nothing more.

Xie Qingcen had been watching her reaction the entire time. Seeing this, he curved his lips slightly, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his deep, ink-colored eyes.

No wonder she was the one he had set his sights on—she never disappointed.

“Mmmph!” Fu Zhiqing sat on the floor, tears in her eyes from the pain, glaring at Xie Qingcen with hatred.

But she could no longer speak.

Xie Qingcen raised his brows slightly, his expression calm.

He reached into the side pocket of his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief—dark blue, smooth silk, exuding elegance and class.

Leisurely, he began wiping the hand that had touched Fu Zhiqing, carefully cleaning every inch.

His deep eyes were filled with pure disgust.

After a long moment, he tossed the now-dirty handkerchief at Fu Zhiqing’s feet and lifted his eyelids lazily.
“Since you don’t know how to shut up yourself, I thought I’d help. See? It works—quiet in an instant.”

“Mmmph—!” Fu Zhiqing’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with resentment and humiliation.

Xie Qingcen let out a cold chuckle. He lifted his leg, and his black leather shoe deliberately stepped onto the back of Fu Zhiqing’s hand, grinding down firmly.

But his eyes turned to Qi Chong.
“Do I really need to teach you what to do next?”