Qiu Yizhen stood her ground, her voice rising in defiance as she rattled off her reasons. "Who does she think she is? Acting all high and mighty? And it's her fault that Jian Yunao fell down the stairs and ruined his life forever!"
"You idiot!" Qiu Liyao couldn't hold back his frustration any longer.
"Well, if I'm an idiot, then I'm your idiot!" she shot back, unflinching.
"You!" Qiu Liyao took a deep breath, struggling to control his anger. "Enough with the excuses! You are going to the Jian family tonight to apologize!"
"Not a chance!" Qiu Yizhen's refusal was immediate and firm. There was absolutely no way she would apologize to Jian Yiling!
"What did you just say?" Qiu Liyao was visibly agitated, his chest heaving with barely restrained anger.
"If Old Master Jian and Madam Jian don't even know about this incident, then taking me to apologize would just expose us!"
Qiu Liyao hesitated, realizing that his daughter had a point. The scandal had erupted at school, but it was possible that the Jian family was unaware of the details. If Jian Yiling hadn't discussed the previous incident with her family, then perhaps they had no idea about this situation either…
Seeing that her father was silent, Qiu Yizhen knew her words had struck a chord. "Go ahead and cut my allowance if you want, but I'm not going to apologize. You've yelled at me enough; I'm leaving now." With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of Qiu Liyao's office, unconcerned about further angering him.
---
Meanwhile, Ji Ming's situation was far more dire than Qiu Yizhen's. After a grueling ordeal, he had finally finished his punishment, but not without considerable effort. After struggling through the last jump, he collapsed onto the floor, completely drained and unwilling to move another inch.
The bodyguard nearby announced, "Five thousand jumps, exactly."
Ji Ming shouldn't have been able to reach that number, but the sudden appearance of Luo Xiuwen had extended his punishment longer than expected. Luo Xiuwen had spent nearly ten minutes relentlessly punishing the four thugs, then instructed them to apologize and clean up the mess. After Jian Yiling left, she had even interrogated the thugs further. The entire ordeal lasted almost an hour.
Old Master Sheng was a man of his word; he had insisted the punishment would continue until it was over, and despite the extended time, Ji Ming had still met the requirements.
Once the bodyguards reported the situation to Zhai Yunsheng, they withdrew from Ji Ming's apartment.
Ji Ming lay on the floor for an entire hour without moving a muscle. Typically, he found running even a thousand meters during physical tests exhausting, but now he felt more exhausted than if he had run dozens of them.
Just then, Ji Junfeng returned home. Seeing Ji Ming sprawled on the floor, he picked up a book from the coffee table and threw it at him. "You've been making trouble for yourself, but now you're messing with Master Sheng? Do you think I have nothing better to do? If this project falls apart, you'll be begging for scraps!"
"I didn't know I'd provoke him! I was just targeting that annoying Jian Yiling! It's all Yu Xi's fault. I thought our families were on good terms, and look where that got me!" Ji Ming replied weakly, still believing that his predicament was due to Yu Xi's actions.
"Regardless of whose fault it is, from now on, you'd better steer clear of any girl from the Jian family! If Master Sheng doesn't take you out, I will!" Ji Junfeng said through gritted teeth. "As for Yu Xi, I'll figure that out on my end."
Ji Ming was reluctant but knew he had no choice. Although he wasn't well-versed in the matters of Ji Corporation, he understood that they couldn't afford to botch this project. His future—and possibly his safety—depended on it.