The Favored Heiress
Chapter 427: I Can Do Whatever I Want Without Him

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: I Can Do Whatever I Want Without Him

Xia Siyu sat in the car, touching her chin. What on earth had Xiao Qi Zai done to make a police station director so respectful and reverent towards her?

In the corridors of the police station, Li Qiao strolled leisurely alongside Director Wen, the hallway was eerily quiet.

Every now and then, a few curious officers poked their heads out from their offices, but none dared to make a fuss.

Just yesterday, Director Wen had ordered them to seriously deal with the person responsible for human experimentation, but today he completely changed his tune, having stood at the door for over half an hour to personally greet her.

He was slapping his own face, metaphorically speaking.

When they neared the detention area, Li Qiao slowed her pace, "Director Wen, if a foreign friend commits a crime in our country, do they receive any special treatment?"

The meaning of her question was unclear, but Director Wen, having been an official for many years, had mastered the art of reading between the lines.

His eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward to whisper, "If the nature of the case is particularly heinous, we can revoke all rights."

"Kidnapping, threatening, injecting others with drugs... How do these natures..." Li Qiao’s voice trailed off as she drew out her words at the end.

Director Wen immediately understood her implication and pursed his lips in seriousness. "These are extremely heinous indeed, and must be dealt with severely."

Li Qiao had experienced firsthand what he referred to as ’dealing with it severely’. She curled the corner of her lips and nodded her approval, "Then I’ll have to trouble you, Director Wen.

...

In the detention room, Director Wen opened the door for Li Qiao, and as they stepped inside, their gazes met Shang Qiongying, who was standing behind the bars.

For this acting head of the Shang’s Eleventh Family, who had lived her life high above others, it was unimaginable that she could actually find herself behind the bars of a police station.

She stared at Li Qiao unblinkingly through the bars and, upon laying eyes on Director Wen, chuckled, "Old Wen, I’ve been in here for over two hours. Why have you only just arrived?"

There were two other officers responsible for guarding in the detention room. Seeing this scene, they bowed their heads and promptly walked towards the exit.

Faced with Shang Qiongying’s inquiry, Director Wen kept silent.

He pulled a chair over and pushed it towards Li Qiao, with a sycophantic smile, "Please take a seat."

Li Qiao glanced at him, pressed her lips together, and sat down, while Director Wen wisely chose to stand behind her.

The smile on Shang Qiongying’s face stiffened.

She had not anticipated this turn of events.

Li Qiao crossed her right leg over, lifting her eyelids to look at Shang Qiongying who was clearly flustered, "Ms. Shang seems surprised?"

Shang Qiongying knew she hadn’t managed to control her emotions, but she responded collectedly, "Li Qiao, I indeed underestimated you."

"Is there anything you’d like to say to me?" Li Qiao lowered her gaze to touch her fingernails, her demeanor lazy and quite clearly displaying her contempt.

Seeing this, Shang Qiongying still stood with dignified posture in her place, looking straight at her, "You always seem very confident. Li Qiao, do you really think that, with Shang Shaoyan, you can do whatever you want?"

"Of course not." Li Qiao said, her head half-lowered, glancing at her sideways, "Even without him, I can do whatever I want."

Shang Qiongying choked on Li Qiao’s arrogant response, finding it amusing in her heart. She was still young, not knowing the vastness of heaven and earth.

She turned to glance at the barred room of barely a dozen square meters, walked to the back, and sat down, maintaining a proper sitting posture, "You should remember, I said yesterday that I quite admired you.

And indeed, you’ve surprised me. But... rather than coming to see my downfall, you’d better ask Guan Mingyu soon if she still wants her brother to live."

Oh, she still thinks she has Guan Mingchen in her hands?

Li Qiao couldn’t be bothered with empty talk, so she simply took out her phone and tapped it a couple of times. After one ring, the call connected, "Miss Li."

Shang Qiongying’s hand on her knee suddenly clenched tight.

She hadn’t shown her face to Guan Mingchen, but she had heard the voice of Guan Mingyu speaking to him over the phone.

"Guan Mingchen," Li Qiao called out to him indifferently, and Guan Mingchen immediately responded, "Here, here, Miss Li, what would you like to say?"

Li Qiao looked at Shang Qiongying with a smile that was not quite a smile and said into the phone, "Return to the South Sea and resume training as soon as possible; you don’t have much time left to study."

Without waiting for Guan Mingchen to reply, she ended the call.

Li Qiao, holding her phone, leaned forward slightly, her elbow resting on her knee, "Ms. Shang, is there anything else you would like me to ask?"

Shang Qiongying’s clenched fingers already betrayed her surprise, especially considering Li Qiao’s casually understated demeanor, it seemed as if she was deliberately ’clarifying doubts’ for her.

"Old Wen, after all these years of friendship, you’re just going to stand by and watch her flaunt her power in front of me?"

Shang Qiongying didn’t want to waste words with Li Qiao; what she wanted now was to leave the police station as soon as possible.

As long as she could find a way back to Parma, there would still be room for maneuvering; even making a phone call would do.

Director Wen glanced at Shang Qiongying, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and bent over to say, "Miss Li, I’ll go get you a glass of water."

After speaking, he turned and left the room.

By this moment, Shang Qiongying had finally realized that he seemed unwilling to get involved with her any longer.

Panicked and alarmed surfaced in her eyes because to leave the police station, Director Wen was a very important factor.

Unable to sit still any longer, Shang Qiongying stood up, walked to the railing in her high heels, and, gripping the bars tightly, challenged, "Li Qiao, what exactly have you done?"

Li Qiao’s lips curled into a faint, mocking smile, she sighed lightly, and stood up, leisurely strolling up to Shang Qiongying.

They stood opposite each other across the railing, eyes interlocking, but their expressions vastly different.

Li Qiao looked down at her hands tightly clutching the railing, knuckles turning white, a clear indicator of her fury and despair.

Seeing this, Li Qiao slipped her hands into her pockets and casually leaned against the railing, "Ms. Shang, do you really think arranging the conference in Chong City was due to your secretive efforts?"

Without giving Shang Qiongying a chance to speak, she immediately launched a soulful taunt, "Did you seriously believe... that a mere ordinary member of the International Club could help you convict me?"

Did Shang Qiongying think no one knew if she didn’t show her hand?

The decision to hold the conference in Chong City was merely Shang Yu seizing an opportune moment.

At this moment, Shang Qiongying was seething with rage because of her second sentence.

The International Club—she actually knew about it.

Li Qiao, seeing her shocked and incredulous expression, shook her head with a light laugh, "Actually, your methods are far more refined than Shang Fu’s.

At least everything you’ve painstakingly planned would have caught others completely off guard. So, Ms. Shang, even in defeat, you have your dignity."

The unsaid implication was, unfortunately, you’re no match for me.

Shang Qiongying, past her fifties with an elegantly dignified face, had taken good care of her appearance, and it wasn’t an overstatement to say she retained her allure.

Yet, in the span of a few words from Li Qiao, she seemed like a withering flower, visibly fading before one’s eyes.

"Li Qiao, you..."

So many questions she wanted to ask, yet they all choked in her throat, not knowing how to voice them.

Shang Qiongying was as self-assured as she was now bewildered.

She had investigated Li Qiao, who certainly had more capabilities than an average girl.

But that should have been the extent of it.

Shang Qiongying glared at Li Qiao with eyes filled with murderous hatred, "I am the head of the Shang’s eleven families. Are you not afraid of the Elders’ Council making things difficult for you by treating me this way?"