Chapter 5: Forcing Her to Perform a Striptease

“Speak. What right do you have to marry?”

The sharp rebuke snapped Jiang Li back to her senses.

She lifted her head, her hand clutching the wine bottle trembling uncontrollably.

“Mr. Qin, I truly apologize for what happened back then, but I really don’t know why the chairman’s car was…”

Suddenly, her neck was gripped tightly, veins bulging on the furious arm restraining her.

Chen Shaojie looked utterly bewildered.

This situation was spiraling out of control. Mr. Qin’s attitude toward Jiang Li resembled that of a man confronting the murderer of his father.

What to do?

He couldn’t afford to lose his job!

Chen Shaojie stepped forward hastily. “Mr. Qin, she’s just a despicable woman, she—”

“Insult her? You think you’re worthy?” Qin Mu’s eyes burned red as he glared at Chen Shaojie, then threw him backwards onto the sofa.

The wine bottle fell to the floor. Jiang Li collapsed onto the sofa, gasping heavily as she looked toward Qin Mu.

He was dressed in a deep gray suit of fine fabric, exuding the domineering aura of a man in power.

Jiang Li knew his cruelty was something she could never bear—just like that year, that night…

The cigarette he smoked was special. She didn’t know much, but she could detect a faint aroma of coffee mixed with the tobacco.

It was the same cigarette she used to prepare daily for him when she was his secretary.

Chen Shaojie trembled in fear, utterly at a loss.

Qin Mu drew in a slow drag of smoke, exhaled thoughtfully, then slammed the cigarette butt into the ashtray.

“Weren’t you going to toast? Why aren’t you coming over?” His commanding presence silenced the room; everyone held their breath, afraid to make a sound.

Chen Shaojie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stepped forward resolutely.

There was no other choice—he was the one who brought her here.

“Y-Yes! We’re here to toast! Mr. Qin is right. Oh, and Jiang Li can dance, too. She even won a dance award. I’ll have her dance to entertain Mr. Qin.”

After Chen Shaojie finished, Qin Mu’s voice turned cold: “Oh? Then dance. Since you have no self-respect, why not perform a striptease?”

Humiliation flooded Jiang Li’s chest. She admitted she still didn’t know who the man was that took her innocence that night at the hotel.

But her daughter was Qin Mu’s own flesh and blood!

No, that was wishful thinking. Qin Mu would never acknowledge that.

Yet now, he was the only one who could save her daughter. How could she make Qin Mu save Youyou and her mother?

“A striptease?” Jiang Li steadied herself, but those words still unsettled her.

She glanced at the men beside Qin Mu—his assistant Li Fei, and company partners General Manager Chen Chong and General Manager Xiao Wentao, all familiar scions well acquainted with Qin Mu.

They took deep breaths, wearing complicated expressions.

It was clear they didn’t know whether to stay or leave.

After all, they had been present when Qin Mu and Jiang Li displayed their public affection at the company.

“Dance! A striptease! Don’t you enjoy messing around and destroying what you can’t have? This striptease should be your forte!” Qin Mu suddenly roared, making Jiang Li shudder.

Chen Shaojie gripped her tightly, whispering in her ear, “If you anger Mr. Qin, don’t expect your mother and that bastard to live.”

Jiang Li swallowed her tears. Chen Shaojie’s threat forced her to set down the wine bottle and speak through teary eyes, “Fine, I’ll dance! As long as Mr. Qin promotes and raises my husband’s salary, I’ll dance!”

The words “my husband” shattered Qin Mu’s last shred of restraint.

Faced with Qin Mu’s wrath, Chen Shaojie forced an awkward smile to save himself. “Mr. Qin, I will work hard from now on.”

Qin Mu clenched his fists and fixed his sharp gaze on the woman before him. She was already beginning to strip off her dress.

Assistant Li, embarrassed, stammered, “I—I’ll get some calming tea for you, Mr. Qin. I’ll be right back.”

Her dress fell to the floor, revealing a fiery red bikini that startled Chen Chong and Xiao Wentao.

They quickly stood, turning their backs to Jiang Li. “We—we’ll step outside for some fresh air.”

As they took a step, seeing Chen Shaojie dazed nearby, they immediately retreated and each grabbed one of his arms, pulling him outside.

They even closed the door behind them.

The room fell silent, so quiet that even a pin dropping could be heard.

Jiang Li remained still, but Qin Mu’s hand gripped her neck once more.

“You despicable woman! Jiang Li, you truly are shameless.”

Jiang Li gave a bitter smile. “In your heart, Mr. Qin, I have always been a shameless woman—and a murderer.”

The suffocating grip turned her face crimson.

“Alright, Jiang Li. Four years ago, I was careless and let you escape.

But now that you’ve fallen into my hands, do you really think you can get away?

You think that by marrying some man and hiding your old address I won’t find you? That you’ll be safe?

Let me tell you, today, you won’t escape.”

Her breathing became labored.

Jiang Li closed her eyes. If she could die like this, it would be a release. But Youyou and her mother…

Suddenly, Qin Mu’s phone ringtone sounded.

“At three years old, one learns to speak; a lifetime is spent learning silence. I believe I have wronged no one, yet life is so wretched…”

Was that his ringtone?

Qin Mu released his grip. The thin air made Jiang Li realize she was still alive.

“Listen well. If I can’t find a kidney donor for my son, Jinchen, none of you will live.”

“Really found one? No matter the cost, make sure the other party signs the donation contract. Whether ten million or twenty, the Qin family will pay! Jiang Xue must obtain the kidney source. If anything happens to Jinchen, she won’t live either.”

The violent coughing that followed broke the call’s content into pieces for Jiang Li.

But one thing was clear: Qin Mu had a son named Jinchen.

He was married and had a son with Jiang Xue.

Jiang Li smiled bitterly.

Qin Mu poured himself a glass of wine and, in an unexpected good mood, looked at Jiang Li.

“Don’t think that by marrying, you’ve escaped paying for your past deeds.”

Jiang Li lifted her eyes. She didn’t want to argue.

But why did this man refuse to believe her?

He admitted she had worked as a secretary at Jiang Corporation for two years, and even the chairman trusted her deeply. He also admitted Jiang Xue was her cousin, and everyone believed she wouldn’t harm her.

But the chairman had gone to sign the contract because Jiang Xue sent her. Originally Jiang Xue was supposed to drive, but because she felt unwell, she asked Jiang Li to take her place.

Jiang Li was just a university graduate with two years’ experience and knew nothing about cars. How could she have tampered with the brakes to cause an accident?

She accepted responsibility for the chairman’s death and felt guilty, but…

“Dance! A striptease! Tonight, I want to see just how seductively you can dance yourself into a man’s bed!”

Qin Mu’s words brought tears to Jiang Li’s eyes. She knew he was humiliating her, but her mother and Youyou urgently needed saving.

With a sudden thud, Jiang Li knelt before Qin Mu, tears shining in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Qin Mu, I know you hate me, but my mother and my daughter Youyou are innocent. I offer my life to you—please, can you save them?”