I don’t know how crazy I looked, but clearly, the dozen or so guys were intimidated enough that none of them moved for a moment.
I wiped the blood from my nose and laughed:
"Hypocrisy? Cayden, you sure know how to talk."
"Fine, I’m hypocritical, and you’re righteous."
"At least I donated money and saved someone. And our righteous young master, who did you help?"
"Oh, it couldn’t be just your precious little princess, could it?"
Asia, in the distance, bit her lip and moved away.
Actually, she didn’t need to hide. I had seen her already.
Cayden was stepping in to teach me a lesson for her sake. She wouldn’t miss such a spectacle.
The blood kept flowing down my nose, impossible to wipe clean, so I just left it.
I looked at Cayden and then the dozen or so people behind him, smiling calmly:
"Cayden, you brought so many people and made such a big scene. You’d better not let me walk out of here alive today."
"Otherwise..." The smile vanished from my face. "If you let me walk out of here alive, I’ll drag you down to hell with me."
Cayden’s complexion paled.
As Asia once mentioned, Mr. Daugherty was an honorary board member, and the Gus were a powerful family. As long as Cayden didn’t cause serious trouble at school, many teachers turned a blind eye to his bullying.
But Cayden didn’t dare to killing someone at school.
He stared at me, muttering after a long pause, "You manipulative woman, dying now would be too easy for you."
I laughed loudly:
"Is that what you call manipulation? Want to know what real manipulation looks like?"
Looking at Cayden, a thrill of satisfaction passed through me.
Finally, I can tell you.
I said each word deliberately: "The reporters who investigated the bullying incident were ones I brought here."
For a moment, both Cayden’s and Asia’s pupils dilated.
"Do you think it was just a coincidence? A casual mention of bullying, and suddenly the visiting reporters hear about it?" I pointed at myself with a smile. "Because those reporters were ones I brought here."
"I sent anonymous letters to several newspapers, reporting severe bullying at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School. If true, this would be headline news, so they would definitely send people to investigate."
"I knew that with Asia’s limited thinking, after I removed her from the dance performance, she would most likely come to you and claim I bullied her."
"Just as I predicted, she came to you crying, and the reporters were conducting their undercover investigation. It all fit together perfectly, and the reporters were bound to investigate me."
"Of course, I had everything prepared, and I was confident I could clear my name."
"But Cayden, think about it. Once the reporters realize it was a misunderstanding and I wasn’t the one bullying, will they stop, or will they continue investigating?"
Cayden’s face drained of color.
I smiled. "Do you understand? The entire event was set up for you."
"Out of the seven or eight reporters that day, even if only two are still investigating, it’s enough to give you a headache."
"You must have heard the education bureau chief. He hates bullying the most. If your bullying comes to light, even your father won’t be able to protect you."
"See? Young master, this is what manipulation looks like."
I finished speaking with a wide grin, and Cayden’s face was ashen, while the guys around him were growing restless:
"What should we do, bro? Are the reporters still on campus?"
"If they find us, we’re done for."
"If it leaves a record, it’s a matter for life."
These guys mostly came from ordinary families. They dared to follow Cayden in his misdeeds because they thought he had strong backing and that nothing bad would happen.
But the presence of the reporters in the meeting room that day was enough to scare anyone off — I, at least nominally a daughter of the family, nearly had my reputation ruined, let alone others.
I orchestrated the entire thing, using the example of a false case of bullying to intimidate the actual bully, Cayden.
"So, dear brother, please take good care of me, support me in my work at the Daugherty Corporation." I leaned close to Cayden, smiling sweetly. "Otherwise, I’ll drag the entire Daugherty Family down with me."
The smile vanished, and I tapped Cayden’s neck with the broken wine bottle before turning to leave.
No one stopped me throughout the process.
Only Asia’s sobbing voice rang out behind me: "Cayden, how could you let her go like this..."
In response was Cayden’s cold and irritable voice: "Get lost."
