Chapter 296
Luna White saw the situation with perfect clarity. Shang Kaijie had to return to the Shang family unharmed—so that if anything happened to him later, it wouldn’t be traced back to them.
"Jiang Shaoqing, I need your help with this," Luna said, locking eyes with him. "It's serious, and the methods might not be... entirely ethical. But Shang Kaijie is someone I have to deal with."
Jiang Shaoqing frowned. If Luna was calling it "unethical," this was no small matter.
Andrew Smith spoke up, his voice heavy with displeasure. "I'm better suited for this than Jiang Shaoqing." It stung—his fiancée turning to someone else for help.
Luna gently squeezed Andrew’s hand. "You're not the right person for this." She turned back to Jiang Shaoqing. "Only you can handle it." This was her test for him—if he helped, they’d be bound together.
Jiang Shaoqing studied her with deep, assessing eyes. She was being brutally direct, testing his limits. Was she really asking him to gamble the entire Jiang family?
"The Jiang family promised to support you," he said carefully, "but only if it doesn’t cross moral lines." Their principles were what kept them standing.
"Don’t worry. It won’t." Luna’s tone was ironclad. A man like Shang Kaijie deserved death a thousand times over. How many lives had he ruined in her past life? How many innocent girls had suffered?
"Oh? Explain." Jiang Shaoqing raised an eyebrow.
Luna leaned in and whispered a few words. His expression darkened instantly.
"And you don’t call that crossing a line?" he hissed. "Shang Kaijie is still a human being, no matter how vile! You’re a doctor—how does this align with your oath?"
Luna smirked coldly. "I’m not the villain here. But Shang Kaijie has to die."
"At worst, he’s violent—not deserving of death!" Jiang Shaoqing struggled to contain his anger. She was far more ruthless than he’d imagined.
"Violent?" Luna’s voice was eerily calm. "If you hadn’t arrived in time, what do you think would’ve happened to my family? Jiang Shaoqing, are you really that clueless?"
Her words struck like daggers. Jiang Shaoqing fell silent. If it had been his family, he’d have already ensured the perpetrator’s demise.
"You might not know this," Luna continued, "but yesterday, Shang Kaijie assaulted a ten-year-old girl. Ask his men—do you think she’s still alive?"
A storm brewed in Jiang Shaoqing’s eyes. The Shang family meant nothing to him. If Shang Kaijie was truly that monstrous...
"Take him away!" Jiang Shaoqing barked. Those who knew him recognized the fury in his voice.
Luna and Andrew got into the car. Her sister fretted over them before they left.
The convoy moved slowly through the snow. Andrew gripped the steering wheel, his expression dark.
The silence inside the car was suffocating.
Finally, Luna spoke. "It’s not that I don’t trust you. Jiang Shaoqing really is the better choice here. You’re a soldier—I can’t let this stain your honor."
"I’m not angry at you." Andrew slammed a fist against the wheel. "I’m angry at myself. I swore to protect you, but I’m always powerless when it matters. This helplessness—"