She let out a hearty laugh.

“With my current reputation—tattered and tattered, to say the least—and my paltry influence, I’m afraid I’m of little use to you or the Hui Qing Group. So you’d better give up on this idea and look elsewhere.”

Ming Shuo remained silent.

Once again, he quietly surveyed the daughter before him—someone who cared only about money, paid no heed to her own reputation, and could even laugh heartily while proudly boasting about her infamous name. Once more, he felt that she seemed to have been possessed by some other entity, bearing no resemblance at all to the obedient, sensible girl she once was.

Yet hearing her speak in such a way, seeing how thoroughly she understood the situation—far superior to Jiajia, that foolish girl who only knew how to be jealous and made him want to throw her back into the furnace for reformation—Ming Shuo suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

As he watched, his mind grew hazy.

Just as he was about to look away, a familiar, towering shadow flashed before his eyes.

The shadow wavered and shifted, quickly overlapping with the rebellious Ming Yue across from him, then swiftly slipping out of her body and vanishing into the empty study.

Ming Shuo’s heart gave a sudden jolt; every hair on the back of his neck stood on end, beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, his cheeks turned slightly pale, and he instinctively clenched his fists.

But he was exceptionally good at regaining his composure. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to normal, showing not the slightest hint of what had just happened, and he skillfully wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

After steadying himself, Ming Shuo asked his utterly rebellious daughter, Ming Yue, in a deep voice, “Since this approach won’t work, what good plan do you have?”

“I’m no master strategist, so I don’t have any magic solutions. And even if I did, I wouldn’t hand them over for free—you’d have to pay extra!”

Ming Yue let out a cold, mocking laugh, then added, recalling something from earlier:

“And Mr. Ming seems to have a rather poor memory. Just a few days ago, I actually came up with a decent idea, hoping to help you—but you turned it down. Now you can blame me for that!”

Ming Shuo rolled his eyes heavenward. “Then what are you even talking about?”

He rarely swore like this. At least in Ming Yue’s memory, this despicable father was always the epitome of a dapper, degenerate gentleman.

Otherwise, how could Mother have fallen head over heels for him, disregarding everything, even going so far as to turn against her maternal grandparents just to marry him?

Ming Yue curled her lips into a smirk, unwilling to miss a single opportunity to needle this scoundrel. “Oh, so every word you say is basically just farting, is that it?”

“You!”

Ming Shuo’s anger boiled over. His clenched fist unfurled into a ready-to-strike palm—except that a subtle warning from above, telling him his head might start aching, stopped him from striking.

Ming Yue smiled. “Angry? Then I’m happy! Anyway, right now I simply can’t stand to see your family even a little bit happy. When you’re happy, I’m miserable; when you’re miserable, I’m delighted. As for arguing… Mr. Ming, please save it for someone else!”

Ming Shuo wore a dark expression.

But Ming Yue was even happier, gloating as she said, “After all, my powers are so formidable that even I’m scared of them—let alone you, an old man who spends all day pretending to be a gentleman in front of your subordinates!”

Ming Shuo: …

Ming Yue went on, “Since you don’t have the nerve to act shamelessly or the dignity to hold your ground, yet you still want to argue with me? That’s just asking for trouble—like a sheep walking straight into the tiger’s mouth, begging to be torn apart. Got it?”

Ming Shuo: …

Ming Yue stood up from her chair, stretching her limbs.

“Alright, it’s getting late. If there’s business to discuss, let’s talk; if not, let’s disband. Since I’ve accepted your favor, I’ll definitely cooperate with whatever plans you have—no need to worry I’ll stab you in the back. I know the difference between a quick, satisfying blow and a lifelong, crushing one.”

End of Chapter 49: Compensation for Emotional Distress