Villain Boss Chapter 179
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 179: Life-Saving Grace
After sending the doctor away, Zheng Li walked to the stairs and looked up to see Shen Yang strolling past in the corridor.
Shen Yang had just woken up, wrapped in a bathrobe, and his steps were a little dragging. He walked past the guest room without looking around.
"Yang," Zheng Li called out to him.
Shen Yang raised his eyelids. "Uncle Zheng."
"I just sent the doctor away. Don't you want to check on that girl?"
"Girl?" Shen Yang then remembered the girl he brought back. He yawned and said lazily, "What’s there to check? She has two eyes, a nose and a mouth."
He continued to head downstairs, feeling sleepy. "Is breakfast ready? I'm hungry."
"Young Master." Hearing his nonchalant words, the old man's face darkened. "You should check on that girl. I've asked someone to clean her up."
It was rare for the old man to lecture him so seriously. Shen Yang paused, puzzled. "Uncle Zheng, why should I check on her?"
Knowing that the old man had misunderstood, he ruffled his hair helplessly and sighed. "She really has nothing to do with me. I just found the girl on the street. When her injuries heal, you can just arrange a job for her."
Just found her on the street? Who were you kidding?
Given the young master's usual dissolute behavior, the old man didn't believe a word of his excuses.
However, the old man didn't insist, merely nodding slightly. "Young Master, you brought the girl back, so please take responsibility—I'm very busy with work every day and don't have the time to care for the injured girl."
With that, without waiting for a reply from Shen Yang, he headed downstairs.
As he walked, he instructed the servants, "Is breakfast ready for Senior Mr. Shen? No? Hurry up, don't you check the time?" He was trying to convey how busy he was.
Left stranded at the stairwell, Shen Yang grew increasingly speechless. After waiting for a moment, with no one paying attention to him, he made his way to the patient's room, dragging his slippers along.
Without knocking, he pushed the door open.
The girl was already awake, staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.
After a bit of washing up, the dirt on her body was cleaned. Her hair was freshly combed, revealing a delicate face—soft lines, delicate features—a typical girl from the Jiangnan water towns. Both her appearance and temperament were as clean, soft, and non-aggressive as the Jiangnan region in April.
Shen Yang didn't approach, but stopped at the door.
Hearing footsteps, she turned to look at him, and her dim eyes suddenly lit up with eagerness.
"..." Silently moving her lips, she struggled to rise from the bed.
"You'd better not move now," Shen Yang watched the girl’s struggle aloofly as he reminded her out of good intentions. "If your broken ribs pierce your lungs, even Hua Tuo wouldn't be able to save you."
The girl stopped moving. She laid on the bed, staring intently in his direction.
"What's your name?" he asked, then remembered she couldn't speak. "Oh, you can't speak, never mind."
He leaned against the wall lazily. "I'm not interested in your past or your name. I saved you purely on a whim. Of course, if you insist on repaying my life-saving grace, I don't mind."
He spoke quickly, leaving the girl's mouth slightly open, giving her no chance to express herself.
"If you can't repay me for saving your life, just stay here and recuperate—afterwards, it's up to you whether to stay or leave."
He finished his monologue and turned to leave.
The girl blinked and pulled the quilt up to hide her reddened eyes.
……
When Shen Yang got down to the dining room, Shen Lang was already waiting.
The old man wasn't as friendly as usual when he saw Shen Yang, staring at him coldly.
As if unaware of the old man's scrutiny, Shen Yang pulled out a chair and sat down. "Good morning, Grandpa."
After saying that, he reached for the steamed bun placed in front of the old man.
The old man, barely suppressing his anger, tapped Shen Yang’s hand with his chopsticks with moderate strength.
Shen Yang quickly retracted his hand, blowing on the reddened back of his hand. "Grandpa, what are you doing?"
Seeing that his expression was the same, the old man's doubts dissipated a little. Then he frowned and asked, "I heard that you went to the dungeon to interrogate Luo Rui yesterday?"
While the old man was asking questions, Shen Yang quickly grabbed a bun and took a bite. "Yeah, I went there."
"The injuries on her body..."
"I did it."
He looked as if it was a matter of course. Shen Lang was so furious that he raised his cane to hit Shen Yang. "That's the person I promoted! You! How could you lay a hand on her? You bastard!"
Shen Yang nimbly dodged the old man's cane and jumped several steps away. "Grandpa, just talk. Don't get violent."
"You'd better give me an explanation!" The cane pointed at him, and the old man gasped angrily. "Otherwise, I'll break your legs!"
Not taking the old man's threat seriously, Shen Yang finished the bun slowly and then sat back in his chair.
"Grandpa, have you forgotten that Si Xu proposed handing Luo Rui over to us?"
Hearing Si Xu's name, the old man, who was overwhelmed by anger, barely regained a trace of rationality. "What do you want to say?"
"Grandpa, did you think that Si Xu proposed to hand Luo Rui over to me to deal with to make it easier for our Shen family to clear suspicion?"
"..."
"He just wanted to drive a wedge between you and those people in the sixth team. Wei Yage was killed this time. No matter how I investigate and what results I find, because the accused person is Luo Rui, our Shen family will never be able to clear suspicion."
"..." Listening silently, the old man's tone wasn’t as fierce as before. "What are your plans?"
"Grandpa, I know you regard Luo Rui highly, but you can't show your favoritism too obviously." After serving a bowl of porridge for the old man, Shen Yang said with a smile, "If Luo Rui comes out of the dungeon intact, you’ll never be able to clear your suspicion. But if she’s treated the same as other prisoners in the dungeon, at least it can show the stance of our Shen family."
The old man seemed to be convinced by him, and pondered. "Then in your opinion..."
"Lock her up for a few days. Once the other guy dies, I'll naturally find a reason to release Luo Rui."
"You've already tortured her to that extent. What's the point in releasing her?" the old man glared at him coldly.
Shen Yang touched the tip of his nose and smiled. "Grandpa, she's a superhuman. She uses her hands and brain. Whether she has legs or not won't matter much."
"You rascal!" the old man cursed, but didn't pursue the matter further.
Shen Yang offered a few more soothing words, finally getting the old man to smile.
……
In the dim dungeon, Luo Rui leaned against the wall, awaiting the final word that would determine her fate.
As she had expected, the man who had left yesterday returned today.
Shen Lang stood outside the dungeon door, gazing at her with compassion.
"Marshal Shen." She looked up at him with hatred in her eyes. "You're back."
Not long after Shen Yang left yesterday, Shen Lang arrived in a hurry, presumably having received the news and come to confirm the situation.
Knowing this was her only chance, she struck a deal with the old man.
She staked her life on this deal—the old man's return meant she had won the gamble.
"Luo Rui, I’ve confirmed what you said." Shen Lang said coldly, "Now, we can cooperate."
