Chapter 95: Falling Into a Trap

We should hurry.

What are you panicking for? Finish your meal first.

A human life matters more than dinner.

Zhong Huayan put on her coat. In her bones, she still carried a streak of rebellion; she had to light a cigarette, take a sip of wine, and only then set out.

In the night wind, the two of them moved one after the other. The woman always seemed the more alluring and decisive of the pair.

The man’s eyes, meanwhile, kept drifting to her.

The ones who suffered most were still the driver and the mercenaries kneeling on the ground. The weather was about to turn to rain, but if their boss gave no order, they would have to keep kneeling there.

Several vehicles slowly passed the outer road of the villa, through the garden, and only then reached the streets of Ao Meng.

It would take about another twenty minutes to get to that restaurant. She casually rested her legs across his.

Before Fu Yanyan left, his assistant had helped him into a suit jacket.

He smiled with indulgent warmth, then laid a hand on the woman’s calf and began to knead it without thinking, his pressure just right.

They had often done this in the past. Ah Hua’s legs and shoulder blades were prone to cramps, and he would always secretly fight for the job of easing them for her.

Gradually, she half-closed her eyes for a while.

Fu Yanyan tapped the assistant in the front passenger seat, then made two gestures with the hand that wore his prayer beads. Behind the lenses of his glasses, there was a hidden killing intent.

The assistant nodded.

Then he sent the order by phone.

No matter what happens later, ignore the hostage. The lady’s safety comes first.

The assistant could not help grumbling inwardly. This is no lady. This is the ancestor from hell.

Do we need to surround the place with more men?

The assistant first turned back to ask his boss for instructions.

Fu Yanyan got a headache the moment he saw the questions. His fingers were long, and he simply pressed the phone’s voice function and rattled off a string of words.

You lot are good for nothing. You only know how to block the entrance. All of you get in there today. If anything goes wrong again, go back to your hometowns.

The other side replied almost instantly.

Yes. I’ll have people form a team at once. I’m sorry. We are willing to accept punishment.

Keep that for later. You people need to be remade from the ground up.

Fu Yanyan had mercenaries in more than one place. He had spent a great deal of money and worked through many connections to raise these orphans from impoverished regions into what they were today, feeding them a life of revelry, wine, and lavish feasts.

Of course, the rules inside were also severe. The so-called remaking from the ground up meant being sent to the most remote country, to undergo three years of inhuman training. Only if they passed in the end could they return. For those accustomed to being treated like human beings, it was hard to accept the kind of daily running, boxing, and various physical training that made them live like pack animals. There wasn’t even a supermarket there, let alone women. Life and death were both uncertain; anyone who went once would never go a second time.

But for Fu Yanyan, that place was nothing more than a different training ground.

Whether there was food to eat or women to enjoy, he did not care.

For example, fasting and chanting, turning away from worldly affairs, boxing in winter, extreme sports... these had been his everyday life for many years.

Zhong Huayan knew the car had arrived, so she wrapped her coat around herself and walked in.

The restaurant was enormous, no smaller than a giant shopping mall, with six floors in all. That was only what the eye could see. When she had gone to find Xu Yaochuan before, it was only after the manager led the way that she learned the restaurant also hid groves, inner courtyards, and even reinforced bombproof walls. No wonder the assistant had searched for so long before finding the place; even if someone stormed in, without knowing the layout, it would be difficult to find their way.

Most of the diners inside came from all over the world. Talented and unusual people, many of them backed by powerful families, and the prices were exorbitant.

She saw an advertisement at the front desk and only then learned that this restaurant had not opened recently; it had been renovated many times. It had been established as early as sixty years ago. After looking up the records, she discovered that the founder back then was Nian Qingqing, later Fu Honglie, then Nian Yuetong, and now Xu Yaochuan.

Fu Honglie!

Zhong Huayan nearly cried out.

She did not know the other two with the surname Nian.

But how could Fu Honglie appear in the history of this restaurant’s changes?

Fu Honglie was Fu Yanyan’s biological father, and he had died more than twenty years ago on a tomb-robbing expedition!

What story on earth did he have with this Xu family?

The diners all turned to look at her.

Even the waiters carrying dishes avoided her.

Zhong Huayan could not make sense of it. Did she really look that frightening?

Only when she turned back did she realize that Fu Yanyan had simply sent mercenaries to block the entrance. There were also six mercenaries following behind her. With a scene like that, it would be hard for anyone not to be afraid.

She was baffled too.

The Fu Group was just an investment and trading company, so how could it keep finding so many mercenaries? Ordinary bosses hired security firms; she had never seen anyone travel with so many mercenaries from different countries.

This time, the manager led them tremblingly into the bamboo grove.

Fu Yanyan and the assistant went in first, followed by a crowd of dark-clad figures. They did not look as easy to talk to, nor as courteous as last time.

They looked more like people here under rightful orders to seize kidnappers, impossible for anyone to stop...

Last time, there had been no reasonable excuse. This time, it was much more open and aboveboard.

As Zhong Huayan turned a corner, she suddenly caught sight of a figure in black.

She thought it suspicious, and quickly ran a few steps with several mercenaries beside her, then entered the room.

Thinking that nothing would go wrong anyway, since the mercenaries were all behind her, the thief in black had no chance of success.

Who would have thought that before she could even make out the other person’s face...

The rosewood beneath her feet suddenly split with a crack. The sound of machinery operating rose all around her, and she hurried backward.

In the end, the thief in the darkness shoved her straight into the opening that had appeared beside her!

An unseen secret door had opened there at some point.

In an instant, the world spun. Darkness crashed down. Just when she thought she was going to fall to her death, she landed on something soft... something like a bed.

She even suspected she was dreaming.

Then she pinched herself and felt pain. She was not dreaming.

Falling with her was that thief in black.

She immediately stood up. All around her came the heavy, dusty sounds of machinery shutting down.

She could not find her phone by touch on either side, and could only guess that the thief in black was nearby.

Then she heard a breath, and afterward, the man asked in a low voice,

“Are you all right, Li Yanyan?”

She was truly speechless. “Xu Chuyin! Are you crazy? This is your own restaurant. Why are you wearing a mask and a hat, sneaking around like a ghost?”

“Don’t be angry. My brother has gone mad. He wants to kill me.”

“Why does he want to kill you?”

“Because he thinks I’ve betrayed him, that I never listen to his orders and spend all day causing trouble. Every time there was a chance to deal with you and the Fu family, I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I was softhearted. I even saved you several times. I ruined his plan! That’s why he wants to kill me!”

He turned on his phone’s flashlight, but unfortunately there was no signal here.

When she saw the young man take off his mask, his face was handsome and innocent, his figure tall and slender, his skin fair and clean, with broken fringe falling across his forehead. Though he was a bit disheveled from the fall, he still looked every inch the refined young gentleman.

It was this face that had fooled her again and again.

“I won’t believe you. Last time, in that kidnapping case, you sent people to abduct me, and even tried to act your way into it yourself. Later, when you saw that I didn’t even think about running away on my own, you were moved. So, feeling guilty, you didn’t force yourself on me and ended up getting me pregnant. It all started with that little joke of yours and your brother’s. You two are the source of all evil.”

Xu Chuyin looked somewhat exhausted. His features seemed even more alluring, though now they held a trace of helplessness. The young man pleaded patiently,

“It’s not like that. My brother can’t be trusted. I’m a good person. I’m just the one taking the blame for him! Think about it, wasn’t I the one who dealt with those bastards from the hotel hidden cameras for you before?”

“I don’t want to hear this bullshit! Xu Chuyin, this is your family’s restaurant, and you’re telling me now: how are these mechanisms so outrageous, so sinister? What on earth was your family researching before? Were these mechanisms designed to kill people? Too exaggerated. Having money with nowhere to spend, and you all think of this nonsense. What trigger did I just set off, and how am I supposed to get out?”