Chapter 118: Chapter 118
Ding Meng shuddered instinctively, realizing she was actually being threatened by a kid. The rage surged uncontrollably, but the moment she looked up, she met the icy-cold gaze of the teenager. The words she wanted to spit out got swallowed back.
No, she absolutely couldn’t let this brat lead her around by the nose. He was just bluffing.
Slamming the table hard, Ding Meng glared fiercely. "Rong Xianning, do you know what you’re doing right now? Threatening me? I guarantee you won’t see the sun rise tomorrow!"
A flash of white light cut across her vision. Ding Meng screamed without thinking, only to see a dagger embedded into the table just fractions of an inch away from her finger. Her pinky finger almost ended up severed.
She collapsed back into her chair, drenched in cold sweat, still petrified.
"The knife’s right here. If you’ve got the guts, kill me now."
Rong Xianning grinned, baring his teeth. In Ding Meng’s eyes, this exquisitely beautiful teenager was somehow more terrifying than a demon.
Crazy, he’s absolutely crazy.
Killing someone—Ding Meng certainly wouldn’t dare. At this moment, she was entirely shaken by the boy’s sudden and audacious act.
"I’ve got nothing to lose. If I die, so be it. But you, President Ding—you’ve got your luxury mansion, sports cars, your company assets, and your boyfriends. You’ll lose all of them. After struggling for half your life to get here, are you sure you want to gamble it all against someone with nothing?"
The barefoot fear nothing.
He had nothing to his name, and thus nothing to fear losing.
But those weighed down by desire, those who owned too much, feared death most intensely.
From the start, he had dominated this psychological warfare.
"Fine. Rong Xianning, you’re something else. I give up!" Ding Meng growled through clenched teeth.
Rong Xianning cheerfully pulled a recording pen from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Ding Meng’s pupils contracted. "You dared record this?"
"My recording’s synced to a friend of mine. If one day, I happen to meet some unfortunate mishap—like rumors of me committing suicide due to depression, or a car accident, or perhaps a sudden illness—my friend will hand the recording to the police. President Ding, you’ll be the prime suspect in my murder."
Ding Meng ground her teeth furiously and glared daggers at the teenager in front of her.
"I really underestimated you before. Who knew your mind was so sharp?"
Rong Xianning leaned down and pulled the dagger out.
Ding Meng immediately leaned back in her chair, afraid he’d attack her.
"Can’t help it. When someone’s backed into a corner, they’ll do anything."
With that, he dragged a chair over and sat down. "President Ding, I think now we can have a proper conversation."
Half an hour later, Rong Xianning pushed open the office door and left.
The company’s top executives were all standing by the door.
When they saw Rong Xianning come out, their expressions were remarkably complicated.
The teenager smiled faintly, looking polite and easy-going. "I suppose there’ll be many more times I’ll need your guidance in the future. I hope you’ll all look out for me."
Their gazes were filled with scrutiny and vigilance as they watched him.
Just moments ago, the assistant had redrafted a contract and delivered it inside. Compared to the previous version, it was practically charity.
Of course, given Eternal Century’s shady nature, they’d never admit this was the most reasonable contract.
President Ding had been threatened.
This seemingly gentle and harmless teenager, who appeared as meek as a lamb, had finally unveiled his sharp claws.
Inside the rehearsal room, the boys were half-heartedly practicing their dance routine. The formation was as chaotic as a mess of tangled wires.
"Alright, everyone take a break and collect yourselves. If this keeps up, we won’t even pass the preliminary selection." The vice-captain, Wen Yan, clapped his hands and called out to the group.
"The captain ran off. What’s the point of us even practicing? Might as well just disband." Ge Qi, the group’s rapper, collapsed onto the floor, venting his frustration.
"I heard the captain offended the TV station’s President Han. Looks like we really might be disbanded." Du Yuchun said helplessly.
"It’s infuriating. We’ve been training with him for so long, poured in so much effort, and now he doesn’t want to debut? He shouldn’t drag us down because of it! I think he did it on purpose. What could we have done to offend him?" Ge Qi angrily ranted.
"Aning must have his reasons. As teammates, we should understand him."
"He’s not even here, Feng Cheng. Your bootlicking won’t earn you any points." Ge Qi sneered sarcastically.
"Enough. Stop talking." Wen Yan interrupted coldly.
"No matter what, we and Aning are a team. If he’s not here, then we’ve lost our purpose as a group."
"Brother Yan, I won’t accept this! Why should he just leave whenever he wants, while we risk everything we’ve worked hard for, just to have our qualification revoked? I won’t accept it—I’m going to find President Ding!"
Ge Qi stood up and stormed toward the door.