Chapter 47.2: Qian Heng thought angrily, beautiful women are indeed the root of trouble.

“All right, that’s enough. Go back and get some sleep.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

Qian Heng’s thought process was like a tornado—just when Cheng Yao felt like she had finally caught up, he’d already pushed her out and sent her back to her room.

As she was leaving, she instinctively pulled out her phone. It was the lawyer in her—always wanting to keep backup copies of evidence just in case. She tapped into her camera roll, planning to upload the video she had recorded earlier to her cloud storage.

But—

“Where’s the video?! Where’s my evidence?!” Cheng Yao panicked. “Why is it gone? I definitely recorded it—it was right here on my phone! I didn’t drop it, no water damage, no crash… how the hell did it just disappear?!”

Even if Tang Bing was hesitant because she had the video, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t retaliate. And that footage could at least prove Qian Heng only acted to protect her—it could turn public opinion in their favor. But now…

“I deleted it,” Qian Heng said.

Cheng Yao was completely stunned. What?? Did Qian Heng’s hand slip and accidentally delete the most crucial evidence?

“Then what do we do? We don’t have any leverage against Tang Bing anymore!”

But Qian Heng remained as calm as ever. He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d make such a rookie mistake?” He let out a scoffing laugh. “I already transferred the video to myself from your phone.”

“Eh??” Cheng Yao tapped through all her social apps one by one, but there was no trace of any file being sent to Qian Heng.

“No need to look. I deleted the transfer history too.”

“Why?!”

“I don’t want you watching it again,” Qian Heng looked off toward the wall. “There’s no need to revisit something like that. Forget it. I’ve got the evidence backed up—leave the rest to me. And don’t worry. Someone like Tang Bing? I’m not about to let him go free and target another woman.”

“But if you do this, won’t it be risky for you?”

Qian Heng smiled. “So what? A man’s supposed to take responsibility. Better it happens to me than to you.”

For a moment, Cheng Yao’s sense of justice flared up.

“Then should I help too? If necessary, I can come forward as a witness and a victim—after all, I’m directly involved—”

“No, you stay out of it.” Qian Heng’s voice turned slightly awkward. He cleared his throat.

“Isn’t there a saying that watching that kind of footage again can cause secondary trauma? If you get mentally scarred, that’s 100% a work injury. Do you really want to pay out of pocket for therapy?”

Cheng Yao blinked, and it finally clicked—Qian Heng hadn’t just deleted the video from her phone, but had gone as far as wiping out the transfer logs… all so she wouldn’t have to see the footage again and be reminded of the experience.

Even though he claimed it was about avoiding the expense of therapy, Cheng Yao knew—he did it for her .

Classic case of saying one thing and meaning another.

Would it kill him to just talk like a normal person?

Honestly, with this attitude, no wonder he’s been single for so many years. He totally deserves it!

“And one more thing—finish this book tonight.”

Cheng Yao stared, stunned, as Qian Heng tossed a thick hardcover book full of glossy illustrations at her. She opened it—it was a full-color world art compendium .

“After seeing something so vile and damaging to your soul, you need to cleanse your eyes with some high culture.” Qian Heng pursed his lips. “When you’re done, we’ll discuss the history of Western art tomorrow morning.”

“……”

Sure, Tang Bing’s lower half was definitely an eyesore, but diving into Western art history was just plain painful. Also—

Where the hell did this guy even pull that book from?!

*****

Since he had already torn things up with Tang Bing, there was no point discussing that case any further. Qian Heng had originally blocked off two days in City B for the business trip, but now, one day was suddenly freed up. He considered changing his flight back to City A, but unfortunately, due to the ongoing AI tech summit in City A, plane tickets were ridiculously hard to come by—it was practically impossible to reschedule.

Left with no choice, Qian Heng had to stay an extra day in City B with Cheng Yao.

Because he had deliberately cleared his schedule for the Tang Bing case, Qian Heng had spent several days prior burning the midnight oil to finish his other work. Now, with nothing left on the agenda, he suddenly found himself… free.

“Is there any place you especially want to visit in City B?”

While having breakfast in the Intercontinental’s buffet restaurant, the ever-elegant Qian Heng casually extended an olive branch to Cheng Yao.

“Hmm?”

Qian Heng took a sip of coffee, giving her a fleeting glance. “As of now, my schedule for the day is still open.”

So?

“So, I can reluctantly accompany you somewhere.” Qian Heng turned his head away to avoid her gaze, cleared his throat, and added, “And I’ll even grant you one request.”

“What kind of request?”

Still looking anywhere but at her, Qian Heng seemed—was it the heating in the Intercontinental?—a little flushed around the ears. He cleared his throat again and mumbled, “Any request is fine, as long as it’s not too over-the-top. I can reluctantly oblige. Even if it’s something a bit more… personal, I won’t necessarily say no…”

He coughed again. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just sacrificing my time today to compensate you for what you’ve gone through.”

Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up. “Anywhere I want to go?!”

Qian Heng cleared his throat again, a bit awkwardly, and nodded. “Mm.”

“That’s great!” Cheng Yao smiled sheepishly, “There is a place I’ve been dying to visit.”

Qian Heng wasn’t surprised at all by her excitement—he’d more or less expected this. He figured even if he hadn’t asked, he already knew what she was going to say.

City B, being a historic capital, was full of famous landmarks: imperial tombs, museums, the former residences and exhibits of artists, and even a retro street styled after the Republican era. Her choice was bound to be one of those.

Though he’d been to City B a few times for business, Qian Heng had always been too busy to do any sightseeing. Thinking it over, those locations were at least somewhat in line with his taste. Accompanying Cheng Yao to one of them wouldn’t be the worst thing.

“So, where do you want to go?” he asked with a slight smile. “I’ll cover all expenses.”

Cheng Yao practically bounced out of her seat in excitement, her eyes sparkling. “I want to go to the annual carnival!”

Qian Heng thought he’d misheard. “What?”

Carnival? What the heck was that?

Cheng Yao cheerfully explained, “The carnival ! It’s this once-a-year event in City B! Around this time every year, they set up a temporary amusement park near the beach. I heard the roller coaster is amazing! But the best part is the giant Ferris wheel—it’s set up right on the beach, and you can see the whole shoreline from it! If you go at sunset, you can even watch the sun go down from up there—so pretty! I saw pictures in some travel blogs and I’ve been obsessed ever since! This week’s the last chance to go before they take everything down!”

Qian Heng asked through gritted teeth, “So… it’s just… an amusement park?”

Cheng Yao nodded earnestly. “Pretty much!”

“Then no.” The same Qian Heng who had just said “anywhere” without hesitation now shamelessly backpedaled. “An amusement park is way too off-brand for me. I veto it.”

Cheng Yao laughed in disbelief. “But you literally just promised I could go anywhere I wanted. Do all men go back on their word this fast?”

She thought he’d at least look a little guilty. Instead, Qian Heng didn’t even flinch.

“I said that?” he asked flatly. “I don’t recall saying anything of the sort.”

“…”

While Cheng Yao stared at him in shock, Qian Heng calmly continued, “You said I promised you anything. Do you have proof?”

Qian Heng, oh Qian Heng… if you’re going to be shameless, don’t blame me for being ruthless.

Without a word, Cheng Yao pulled out her phone and hit play on a voice recording.

“So, I can reluctantly accompany you somewhere.”

…

“Any request is fine, as long as it’s not—”

It was unmistakably Qian Heng’s voice.

Cheng Yao waited for the recording to finish, then gave him a smug smile—eerily similar to the kind Qian Heng always gave her.

“You wanted proof?” she said sweetly, “Good thing I came prepared.”

“…”

Karma had turned the tables. Finally, it was Cheng Yao’s turn to come out on top. She flashed a devilish grin. “Boss, any final words?”

“…”

Qian Heng had never felt so humiliated in his life. Usually, he was the one throwing evidence in others’ faces. Never had he imagined the day someone would throw his own words back at him— with recordings .

“Cheng Yao, you’ve really got some nerve. Since when did I teach you to start recording our conversations?”

Unbothered, Cheng Yao beamed. “Well, you showed me the door, but cultivation is up to the disciple, right? Ahahaha!”

Qian Heng’s expression darkened. “So what else have you recorded?”

Feeling a bit cocky, Cheng Yao admitted, “Last night too! I was hoping you’d say something like you’d compensate me with a big bonus, so I could use it later to claim it—but turns out you never said it…”

“…You know,” Qian Heng gritted out, “recording someone without their consent is inadmissible—”

But Cheng Yao cut in cheerfully, “Boss, don’t try to scare me. I’ve already looked into the legal admissibility of secretly recorded conversations. According to the Several Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Evidence in Civil Litigation , as long as the recording is obtained lawfully and doesn’t infringe on legal rights or violate prohibitive provisions of the law, even covert recordings are legally valid and admissible in court . Totally legit.” She added cheekily, “And I even double-checked court rulings—so I’m good!”

The girl in front of him was sharp and playful, her bright black eyes sparkling like a fox that had just gotten away with stealing a chicken. Qian Heng was practically shaking with frustration. Cheng Yao, oh Cheng Yao… you’ve really come into your own, huh? Not only did you start secretly collecting evidence, you even did your homework on whether that evidence would stand up in court? And now you have the guts to go toe-to-toe with me ?

Very good. Very, very good.

Qian Heng mentally repeated the words three times. He was just plotting how to settle the score when he happened to glance at Cheng Yao—and momentarily forgot everything.

For a split second, even he had to admit it: the confident and cunning Cheng Yao in front of him was dazzling, even more beautiful than usual. It was as if she were glowing.

“Oh, and by the way!” she added, “That night you promised me—if I managed to save your succulent, you’d waive unpaid overtime, guarantee perfect attendance bonus, give me a raise, outstanding probation evaluation, year-end bonus, early contract renewal, and a shot at big cases—I recorded all that too!”

“… …”

“Well, since that’s all settled,” Cheng Yao said, shaking her phone, “let’s finish breakfast and head straight to the seaside carnival!”

Qian Heng pressed his lips tightly together, his expression the picture of utter despair.

Completely oblivious, Cheng Yao cheerfully added, “By the way, Boss, I actually have medicine for your condition.” She dug through her bag and handed him a small packet. “Golden Throat Lozenges. You totally deserve these! I heard you coughing and clearing your throat earlier, hahaha.”

“…”

Qian Heng’s voice was icy. “My throat is perfectly fine.”

Never had he regretted hiring a junior lawyer more than he did now. So she did notice his coughing and throat-clearing earlier? Couldn’t she tell those were hints ? He’d said she could ask for anything—even something a little personal—and she chose… an amusement park ?

Qian Heng felt like he was about to explode.