As for how to win over the Male Lead, Sun Hanyue didn’t know the specifics. She was still in the exploratory phase, having never done anything similar before. But one thing she was certain of: to win over the protagonist, she had to make him abandon his heart’s infatuation—namely, the Doctor.
To be honest, when she heard from a certain friend that the Male Lead, Lu Liangting, hadn’t been seduced by the Female Lead but was instead attracted to that old lunatic Doctor, she doubted whether her ears were working properly.
This kid, he really has some guts.
But even if it was the Doctor, the method was the same: find a way to make Lu Liangting forget her in his heart!
Xia Qingrong’s recent action gave her a glimmer of hope. She had intentionally mentioned Zhao Mingyue, not expecting Xia Qingrong to act directly. So she simply decided to go with the flow.
The men Xia Qingrong sent would be 100% killed by the Doctor. When the time came, she would arrange for Lu Liangting to coincidentally witness it. She didn’t believe a righteous, Mr. Nice Guy protagonist, filled with a sense of justice, could hold himself back after seeing such a scene.
He would definitely have doubts and then completely sever ties with the Doctor!
During this time, he would certainly experience a period of inner emptiness—a very normal psychological phenomenon. Weren’t women always easiest to pursue right after a breakup?
Then she could take advantage of this opening when Lu Liangting was “heartbroken.”
At this thought, Sun Hanyue’s smile deepened. She continued holding Lu Liangting’s hand. “You deal with ghosts often; it’s impossible you don’t understand. Ghosts are very difficult to communicate with. Their obsessions run too deep, leading to their inner madness.”
“On the surface, they might seem normal, some even more ‘normal’ than actual people.”
“But it’s all false. It’s all a facade they put on.”
“Beasts in human skin—you know what that means, right?”
“So, listen to me. For you, this might not be a bad thing. Right?”
How could Lu Liangting listen to any of this? Gritting his teeth, he swung his other fist at her. “Shut up!”
Sun Hanyue dodged easily, taking half a step back. “It seems the Young Master hasn’t calmed down yet.”
“How did she find out about Mingyue? Who told her? Who exactly are you?” Lu Liangting felt like a boulder was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe. Years of missions had toughened his spirit.
“Didn’t I say? I’m Qiangwei, the Madam’s newly hired bodyguard. Since even the Madam has no suspicions, what could I possibly be?”
“You’re one of them.” Lu Liangting also stepped back, clenching his fists. “If you are, you must know Mingyue is different from all of you. She’s innocent. Don’t lay a hand on her again.”
“Hehehe, what is the Young Master talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You know everything!”
“Know everything? If you’re talking about Zhao Mingyue being targeted for assassination, I have nothing to say on that matter. I can only say it has nothing to do with me.” Sun Hanyue spread her hands. “If I were to act, I wouldn’t use such a low-grade method, understand?”
“Besides, the Young Master has no actual evidence, right? It was originally just a bunch of thugs. It’s perfectly normal for them to be eyeing Zhao Mingyue’s beauty.”
Sun Hanyue finished speaking. Lu Liangting didn’t reply. Another voice rang out from behind him. “Young Master, what are you doing here? Who is she?”
Gardenia strode in. She was in her maid outfit and black stockings as usual, dressed maturely. Her cold, proud expression was a perfect match, especially today with the addition of black-framed glasses.
“Gardenia.” For some reason, seeing Gardenia approach made Lu Liangting’s heart settle a bit. He knew Gardenia was also a member of them, but in comparison, Gardenia was far too gentle and considerate.
“Oh my, should I call you Senior? I’m Qiangwei, the newly arrived bodyguard here.”
The gazes of Sun Hanyue and Gardenia instantly clashed, neither backing down. Both had sharp intuition and judgment; they immediately understood the other was a “kindred spirit.”
“Since you’re a security guard, have some professional awareness and self-respect. You were hired to watch the gate, not to cause trouble for the Young Master. Understand? Do your designated job. If you don’t know how to speak, then learn from Mianmian. Don’t bark when you see the Young Master; just wag your tail.”
Gardenia pushed up her glasses, her voice and tone devoid of any emotion. “Oh, by the way, Mianmian is the purebred Samoyed the Young Miss keeps. In other words, a dog.”
Sun Hanyue’s expression didn’t change, but the smile vanished from her face. “I am a bodyguard, the Madam’s personal bodyguard. And, if you keep talking to me like that, I will kill you.”
“Essentially, there is no difference. In fact, in my view, a personal bodyguard is even worse than a security guard. You claim to be the Madam’s personal bodyguard, but you’re clearly negligent. The Madam has been out of your sight for at least five minutes. If someone attacked her now, you wouldn’t even see her one last time.”
Gardenia sneered. “What, are you in the business of providing bodyguard services for ashes now too?”
“That’s not called a bodyguard. That’s called a grave keeper.”
“You!” Sun Hanyue’s face shifted from expressionless to a glare filled with murderous intent.
“Me? I’m Gardenia, the Young Master’s maid. Furthermore, I doubt your identity. Please present your credentials and contract. If you have neither… then get lost.”
A cold gleam flashed. A sharp, icy blade stabbed toward Gardenia’s chest, deliberately avoiding the vital throat area, aimed specifically at her left breast.
Lu Liangting saw this scene, but his eyes only captured it; his body and mind couldn’t react in time. He couldn’t even react to warn Gardenia. If this blade had been aimed at him, he would surely be dead.
Clink!
Gardenia easily caught the short blade between two fingers. The tip of the blade was no more than three centimeters from her chest. With a ping, she snapped off a small section of the blade tip with her two fingers, then flicked her wrist. The tiny fragment shot out, flying straight at Sun Hanyue’s face.
Sun Hanyue quickly turned her head and caught the flying fragment between her teeth.
In the blink of an eye, both threw several punches simultaneously, fist meeting fist. Gardenia took a step back, while Sun Hanyue retreated only half a step.
“Hahaha, I thought you were something special, but this is all you’ve got!” Sun Hanyue laughed coquettishly. Suddenly, her laughter stopped as she raised her arm and saw blood streaming down it.
“A hidden weapon?”
Gardenia flicked her sleeve. The cold light of a sleeve sword flashed menacingly, a few drops of fresh blood faintly visible on its edge.
“Get lost!”
Blood flowed from the wound. Sun Hanyue shook her hand, ignoring Gardenia’s words. Her smile had completely vanished; her eyes were terrifyingly fierce, veins bulging on her neck.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll definitely kill you.”
She unwrapped the bandages on her arms. As the white strips fell away ring by ring, they revealed arms covered in some kind of drawn runes. She clenched her fists, and her slender arms swelled in muscle mass, the runes inscribed on them twisting and writhing as if coming alive.
“Think carefully before you start something here,” Gardenia warned one last time.
“It doesn’t matter. Killing you won’t affect anything!” A straight punch shot out, its speed more than double that of before. Even Gardenia’s pupils contracted. She hastily retreated, not daring to block it directly.
Sun Hanyue’s speed was astonishing. Gardenia saw a blur as Sun Hanyue appeared before her in an instant.
A flurry of punches and kicks, purely offensive with no defense. Every punch unleashed the full power her body could muster. The speed was terrifying, and the force was even more horrifying.
Gardenia only intercepted one punch, actively leaning back to dissipate the force, but her fingers were still struck and slightly deformed by the impact.
One punch to the face, one to the lower abdomen. Gardenia thought she had seen through the attack pattern, but in the next instant, Sun Hanyue’s fist suddenly and bizarrely changed trajectory, smashing into her chest from an awkward angle. As Gardenia was sent flying backward, Sun Hanyue leaped into the air, landing a whip-like kick to Gardenia’s cheek.
Gardenia flew back, slamming into the wall. The glasses on her face were shattered, a piece broken off.
“Miss Maid, I’ll give you a chance. Don’t let me see you again. Otherwise, I’ll definitely gut you and hang you from a lamppost.” Sun Hanyue’s smile was wildly unbridled. At this moment, she bore no resemblance to a young girl. No young girl would wear such a terrifying grin.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you think you’ve won?”
Gardenia stood up, dusting off her skirt and habitually pushing up the black-framed glasses on her nose.
She flipped the exquisite scissors in her left hand. Sun Hanyue saw a few drops of blood flicked off them.
Realizing something, Sun Hanyue hurriedly retreated, only to find that the left leg she had used for the whip kick earlier wasn’t obeying her properly.
She quickly glanced down and saw blood flowing from the Achilles tendon area of her left foot. The problem was, she hadn’t felt a single shred of pain and, as long as she didn’t move that foot, not the slightest hint of abnormality.
Not feeling pain could be the effect of a toxin or drug, but for a close-quarters combat master like her not to feel any abnormality—that meant her opponent’s skill was simply too superb.
“Hehehe, interesting. Very interesting. I think I know who you are now. That lucky woman who used a scalpel. So you’re still alive. Where’s your brother? I remember he had a grudge against the Doctor. I’m surprised the two of you weren’t chopped up by her.”
Sun Hanyue slammed her left foot down hard. Blood spurted out, diluting the toxin’s effect, and she began to feel pain.
Gardenia began her main offensive, targeting her injury. Sun Hanyue was forced into a passive defense. Still, due to the clear difference in their abilities, Sun Hanyue managed to cope relatively easily.
Lu Liangting stood to the side, unsure of what he could do. His own strength was decent, surpassing ordinary people and even professional boxers. The problem was, with these two fighting, he truly wasn’t confident enough to intervene.
He could, of course, jump in, but his main concern was accidentally hindering Gardenia.
It was also broad daylight, the sun scorching, otherwise he could release a ghostly monster to help.
“Young Master, don’t worry. Leave this to me. Trust me.” Gardenia glanced at Lu Liangting, guessing his thoughts.
Sun Hanyue didn’t dare to let her attention slip, cursing inwardly.
She needed to scrape the runes off her arm and apply them to her Achilles tendon wound to heal it.
Her strength was primarily in her fists, but that didn’t mean her legs were unimportant. On the contrary, her legs were extremely important, second only to her fists.
Knowing Gardenia had seen through her plan, Sun Hanyue abandoned the attempt to heal and continued her primary attack.
However, she now had to be much more cautious. That scissor strike just now had taught her a lesson.
Everyone had new identities now. Apart from those three monsters, no one else should take the Ranking List as absolute truth. Everyone was on a new starting line. Even a nurse ranked in the thirties could threaten the life of her, the sixth ranker.
The Ranking List was a thing of the past, only useful as a reference at best.
Both were now fighting with genuine anger. Gardenia refused to yield half a step. Her reason for fighting Sun Hanyue was simple: this woman had threatened her relationship with Lu Liangting, acted high and mighty, and didn’t take Lu Liangting seriously. These were things she could not tolerate.
When masters clash, the duration is often short. Three minutes later, Sun Hanyue punched Gardenia back. Seeing Gardenia’s sister, Rose, rushing toward her, she quickly used her knife to scrape off a piece of flesh inscribed with runes and slapped it onto her injured tendon.
“I’ll remember you! Just you wait! Let’s see if you two can always stick together forever!”
Guessing that this maid, Rose, was likely Gardenia’s old-identity brother and new-identity sister, Sun Hanyue was wary. She could only glare fiercely at the sisters and flee.
Compared to the Nurse, this older sister of hers was a notoriously scheming bastard.
“Gardenia, are you hurt?” Rose didn’t bother with Sun Hanyue, first checking on Gardenia’s injuries.
“I’m not hurt. Sister, don’t let that damn bitch get away!” Gardenia had truly been infuriated. That lunatic hit nothing but her chest! Absolutely detestable!
“Not urgent. We can’t catch up now, and even if we did, we can’t be sure of keeping her. We’ll plan for the long term.” Rose examined Gardenia’s injuries, then began asking about the cause and effect.
Lu Liangting gave a rough account, starting from Xia Qingrong hiring people to hunt Zhao Mingyue.
Hearing that Xia Qingrong had done this, even Rose, who had seen all kinds of storms, was momentarily stunned, shocked to her core.
Had she gone insane? Hiring these people to kill Zhao Mingyue?
And that woman just now, daring to speak about the Doctor like that… wasn’t she afraid of being paid a visit?
“Liangting,” Rose said softly.
“What is it, Sister Rose?”
“Don’t you have Zhao Mingyue’s contact info? Give it to me.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a small matter.”
Rose took out her phone and, through Lu Liangting’s phone, added Zhao Mingyue’s contact. As soon as the friend request was accepted, she quickly typed out a message and sent it. After sending it, she couldn’t help but glance in the direction Sun Hanyue had fled.
Gardenia leaned in and asked quietly, “Sister, what are you doing?”
“Nothing much. Just briefly explaining the situation to the Doctor. The culprit’s got blood on her hands no matter how you look at it. Let the Doctor, if she has time, go have a little talk with her, exchange some feelings, something like that.”
“Coincidentally, I accidentally figured out that woman’s location.”
Gardenia’s eyes widened at this. “Sister!”
“Don’t be surprised. I’m just letting the person involved know a bit of the truth.”
“Alright, come back with me to apply some medicine. Look at you, always causing worry.”
Rose greeted Lu Liangting and then took Gardenia away.
At that moment, Gardenia still turned back to say, “Young Master, rest assured! With me here, no one can harm you! Please believe in me!”
“Gardenia, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“No need. They’re just minor injuries. Thank you for your concern, Young Master. I’m very touched. But I hope the medicine application… can be done by the Young Master himself.”
Lu Liangting wanted to say something else, but Gardenia’s words choked him back.
