The man was Ye Tianbao, and the woman was a stranger. However, judging by their intimate posture, it was clear their relationship was not proper.
Shen Qingqing smiled at Ye Tianbao, a smile that was beautiful yet laced with sarcasm.
Ye Tianbao guiltily averted his gaze.
The woman witnessed this scene and felt even more convinced that there was an illicit relationship between the man and the woman, so she nudged him, "Tianbao, shouldn't we go over and say hello?"
Ye Tianbao glared at her, "Are you crazy? Why provoke her?"
"Are you that afraid of her?" The woman was puzzled. Ye Tianbao had many lovers, mostly fleeting, and she had been the woman who stayed by his side the longest. Yet, even she had never seen Ye Tianbao exhibit such fear towards a woman. Even his so-called "homely wife" at home couldn't achieve that.
"Bullshit, I'm not afraid of her!" Ye Tianbao wasn't afraid. He simply didn't want to go over because seeing Shen Qingqing made him feel a dull ache all over. But he had to go; some things needed to be clarified.
"Shen Qingqing!"
He then walked towards her with the woman. They stopped right beside her. Seeing the children, he felt a bit more at ease. Surely, she wouldn't make a scene in front of her own children!
Shen Qingqing casually raised her eyelids to look at him, "Something wrong?"
Ye Tianbao felt a tremor of apprehension. Before he could speak, his little lover couldn't contain herself. "Who are you? How dare you speak to Tianbao like that?"
Shen Qingqing glanced at her, too lazy to bother. This dismissive attitude infuriated the woman. "What's your attitude? I'm talking to you, can you hear me? Don't you have any manners?"
Shen Qingqing gave her a cool, indifferent glance, then looked at Ye Tianbao. "Is this your little lover? She doesn't seem all that impressive. With that temper and no social awareness, aren't you afraid she'll get you into trouble?"
Ye Tianbao stiffened. He suddenly remembered her past exploits and snapped at the woman, "Shut up!"
The woman felt even more wronged. "I'm doing this for you, Tianbao! Why are you taking her side? Look at her arrogant demeanor. If we don't teach her a lesson, how will she ever see you?"
Her words were strange, as if there was some prior connection. Ye Tianbao frowned. "Whether she sees me or not is none of your business. You're more likely to cause trouble for me."
The woman, fearing him, dared not say more. She shot Shen Qingqing a fierce glare.
"What do you want?"
Shen Qingqing wanted to eat, but these two standing there were truly ruining her appetite. Ye Tianbao was also a bit angry. After all, this was in front of his woman, and she was embarrassing him. Despite his fear, he felt he had some leverage today.
"Shen Qingqing, I'm not here to insult you, but don't provoke me."
Shen Qingqing's lips twitched. "When did I provoke you?"
Ye Tianbao took it as her being scared. "In any case, you are not to mention today's incident to anyone. Otherwise, your fate will be even worse than Lin Wanxin's!"
Shen Qingqing had no intention of paying him any mind, but she paused upon hearing this. "What happened to Lin Wanxin?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. You're very eager for news about her." To frighten her, Ye Tianbao deliberately lowered his voice, sounding sinister. "Her current fate is truly miserable."
Shen Qingqing stared at him intently.
His gaze made Ye Tianbao shiver. The old pain, which had been subsiding, began to ache again. "Why are you looking at me? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Shen Qingqing's lips curved upwards, and she let out a light chuckle.
He froze instantly. "Don't get cocky. I can't do anything to you, but my second uncle is very capable. Lin Wanxin is the best example. If you dare to spread word of my business, I'll tell my second uncle to deal with you."
Shen Qingqing slowly stood up. "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Ye Tianbao took a step back. "Threatening me? I'm not telling you. I'm just not telling you!"
The woman cried out in pain, Ye Tianbao's grip on her hand hurting her severely. What was wrong with him?
"I think you've forgotten what happened before."
Shen Qingqing tilted her head, flexed her wrists, and stretched her limbs. Her peripheral vision caught the coffee shop's camera. Then, she grabbed Ye Tianbao's wrist and pulled him to a corner out of the surveillance range.
He had no room to struggle. Under everyone's gaze, he dared not cry for help; it would be too humiliating.
The woman, however, followed them, looking bewildered. "What are you doing? Why are you pulling Tianbao away?"
The response was a muffled scream. What she saw stunned her. She covered her mouth in horror as Shen Qingqing dragged Ye Tianbao into the corner, pulled his arm open, and with her right fist, the ring on her middle finger precisely struck his elbow.
Ye Tianbao collapsed onto the floor, clutching his arm and wailing.
But Shen Qingqing pulled a napkin from her pocket and directly covered his mouth, muffling his cries. When she looked up at him, the woman instinctively took a step back. This woman was too cruel!
Shen Qingqing lowered her gaze to Ye Tianbao, her voice clear and cold, "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Ye Tianbao was in too much pain to speak.
So she thought for a moment and added, "It seems the bargaining chip isn't enough. Then I'll tell you, if you don't tell me, I'll inform Shen Yaoyao about this."
Ye Tianbao's vision finally cleared from the blackness. "So what if you tell her? She can't control me..."
"Is that so?"
Shen Qingqing crouched down, her gaze meeting his directly. "If you're truly not afraid, why would you try to threaten me?"
Large beads of sweat rolled down Ye Tianbao's forehead. "I'm just... not afraid..."
"Liar." Shen Qingqing had a long history of conflict with Shen Yaoyao and understood her temperament well. "Perhaps she's obedient to you now, but if she finds out you have another woman on the side and that I saw her, what do you think will happen to this woman?"
With her temper, she would go berserk and cause a huge scene at the Ye family's home. The Ye family would never know peace. This was precisely why Ye Tianbao didn't want her to know. Now that it was exposed, he naturally didn't dare to lie further, especially with his arm aching and making it difficult to even speak.
"She talks about the child every day..."
From his broken narration, Shen Qingqing learned about the tragic fate of that unfortunate woman and inwardly cursed Ye Lao Er. Because Lin Wanxin was mentally unstable and often went out to look at other people's children, he found it extremely embarrassing and thus sent Lin Wanxin away. It was called "sending her away," but in reality, it was abandonment. How could a mentally unstable woman survive in this foreign land? After sending her here, Old Master Lin Er no longer cared for her, leaving her to fend for herself. Now, she had disappeared, and her whereabouts, alive or dead, were unknown.