Chapter 32 Part 2

But in those ten seconds, there had been no sound of moving glasses or stirring—just the pop of caps and tear of bags, followed by the splash of the two drugs.

Aphrodisiac.

It had once tormented her unbearably, leaving her on the brink of death.

She never wanted to relive that excruciating agony.

Brushing aside the woman’s right hand, Chi Yumo chose the glass on her left. This past year, chronic insomnia had her relying on sleeping pills to sleep anyway.

She’d taken up to three at a time on heavier nights.

The highball glass held about half a cup—around 150 milliliters of juice. Chi Yumo drained it in one go.

She picked up the tablet and showed Li Longfeng the protected screen: 2:36 p.m.

Li Longfeng clapped twice. “Forgot to mention, my drugs are stronger than the common stuff on the market.”

With that, she slipped back into the water.

While Li Longfeng’s back was turned, the woman lifted her finger toward the pool beyond the floor-to-ceiling window.

Two pools: one indoor, one outdoor.

Separated by a glass wall with a door in between.

Guessing it was a kind gesture, Chi Yumo signed: [Thanks.]

The indoor one was a heated pool; the outdoor one was likely cold.

Chi Yumo typed for Li Longfeng to see: [For these two hours, I can stay anywhere here, right?]

“Suit yourself.”

Li Longfeng’s tone was indifferent. She pulled the woman down with her, not caring that Chi Yumo was there, and kissed her, her hand pressing onto the woman’s curves.

The woman let out a muffled grunt but didn’t resist.

Chi Yumo averted her eyes from the impropriety and walked along the pebble path to the right toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

The woman hadn’t lied.

The outdoor pool held cold water.

To keep both her body and mind sharply alert, Chi Yumo set a two-hour alarm, placed her bag and tablet by the poolside, and immersed herself in the icy cold water.

If she held out until 4:36 p.m., she’d win the bet.

If not, she’d use the ring midway to call Chen Qiuxue and the others to pick her up.

Shen Muxi had said it herself: even if the sky fell, she’d hold it up for her.

Li Longfeng fooled around with another woman in the warm pool, emitting all sorts of ambiguous sounds.

She even called out loudly, “This one in my arms was just as stubborn when she first came—like you. Now look at her, all obedient and begging to be played with.”

—Fifth Miss, this little fish isn’t simple. She’s got Shen Muxi behind her, plus Shifeng Group and Shengshi Group. If you’re really interested, take it slow—train her, tame her, let her bite the hook and enter the net herself. Don’t force it. Listen to big bro: better safe than sorry.

Those were Xiao Wei’s cautionary words to Li Longfeng over the phone before Mo Yu arrived at the villa.

Shen Muxi alone wasn’t a threat. But the colossal commercial empires of Shengshi and Shifeng? Even Li Longfeng had to tread carefully.

Otherwise, she’d have force-fed Mo Yu the drugs by now. No way she’d let some little model haggle with her and ruin her mood.

…

At 3:55 p.m., at Lingjiang International Airport, the plane carrying Shi Youwan and her group landed on time. VIP passage was smooth sailing.

The hour-and-a-half flight had Shi Youwan inwardly tormented, as if roasting on a spit. She wished she could teleport to Xiao Mo’s side.

“President Shi, Miss Shen’s assistant replied: no abnormalities with Mo at the moment.” As soon as her phone powered on, Qiao Ke checked WeChat and reported to Shi Youwan.

“No abnormalities?” Shi Youwan’s heart raced; she couldn’t calm down. “To the villa.”

The white sedan they’d rented had been parked at the airport these past couple of days. Once inside, Zhang Kai opened the navigation with the location Sheng Yingfei had sent and headed straight for Li Longfeng’s villa.

On the way to the airport, Shi Youwan had called Xiao Wei too.

She’d made it clear in no uncertain terms: she and Shen Muxi were family by marriage, partners with Sheng Yingfei, and their trip to Lingjiang City for the competition was at Shen Muxi’s gracious invitation—to cheer for Mo Yu.

Then she’d “humbly sought advice,” asking him as a fashion industry veteran to briefly evaluate Mo Yu’s potential, whether she was worth investing in. For the “Oriental Nevernight Harbor” jointly developed by Shifeng Group and Shengshi Group, what factors should they consider in selecting a spokesperson?

In just a few minutes of conversation, she’d placed Mo Yu under the protective umbrella of Shifeng and Shengshi.

“Don’t you have Xiao Mo’s number? Give it a ring.”

“Got it.”

After her texts and friend requests went ignored by Chi Yumo, Qiao Ke hadn’t “harassed” her further, fearing she’d upset her and ruin the faint good impression she’d left.

She called twice: “No answer.”

So where did their “no abnormalities” claim come from?

Shi Youwan grew uneasy. “Send Xiao Mo a message: I want to talk about renovating the deaf-mute school, need to learn about its basics. When is she free?”

Xiao Mo wouldn’t ignore that if she saw it. If no reply… then…

“Okay.” Qiao Ke composed the message and sent it. She hadn’t been that nervous before, but her boss had her on edge now. She silently prayed: please, please, no trouble.

The scenery outside the car window shifted endlessly, but the one constant was the oppressive dark sky.

In the outdoor pool at the suburban villa, before the alarm sounded, heavy raindrops began pouring down.

On a lounger by the indoor pool, the woman lay in a stupor, a white bath towel covering her vital areas, while crisscrossing red marks adorned her exposed skin—long stripes, circles, irregular shapes.

Li Longfeng, wrapped in a bathrobe, held a cigarette as she sat on the ground platform by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Just dipping her feet in the cold pool made her shiver uncontrollably.

Less than ten minutes in, she yanked her feet back, cursed “fuck,” and angrily tossed the half-smoked cigarette into the pool.

The outdoor pool had about a third shaded near the window, two-thirds exposed.

Chi Yumo soaked in the exposed section. The first hour indoors had been intense; she couldn’t even tell if the woman’s sounds were pain or pleasure.

During that time, Li Longfeng had taken a call.

Chi Yumo heard her fly into a rage, cursing the caller for being cowardly, dismissing Shen Muxi as nothing, then venting her fury on the woman.

The downpour came right on time. The raindrops slapping down jolted Chi Yumo’s waning focus back into the water.

She tilted her face to the sky.

Letting the rain lash her consciousness.

Heaven was helping her this time, right? It had to be.

But why hadn’t the alarm gone off yet?

Were two hours really this endless?

Finally, the soothing melody rang out. In her excitement, Chi Yumo reached for the tablet, but her waterlogged arms and stiffened fingers caused it to slip into the pool.

The movement sent her whole body sliding uncontrollably down the pool wall.

In an instant, pool water flooded her nose.

Chi Yumo coughed violently, water surging into her mouth too. The drowning suffocation panicked her; she tried to save herself, to grab the edge and steady her body.

But her limbs were stiff and weak, powerless.

In the crisis, she remembered the custom ring on her left hand and shook it up and down as best she could, slapping the water.

It was only after hearing Chi Yumo’s splashing in the water that Li Longfeng inside noticed she was “drowning.”

She sauntered outside leisurely, sat by the edge, and watched the disobedient little fish struggle pathetically.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Li Longfeng kicked underwater, her toe nudging Chi Yumo’s shoulder. “Beg me. Beg, and I’ll pull you out.”

Under the covered corridor in the front yard, Chen Qiuxue—who’d sat for two and a half hours, nursing two cups of coffee—reacted instantly to the phone’s “alert” tone. She ordered the bodyguards: “Go get Miss Mo out. If they block, force your way in. Hurry!”

The manager received the gravity sensor anomaly alert simultaneously and called: “Qiuxue, what’s the situation?”

“I’ve sent the bodyguards in. Hold on; I’ll call you back.”

“Beating people is minor—ensure Mo Yu’s safety above all! If needed, call the cops. Let them worry about the fallout at the station, not us. Stay sharp.”

“Got it, Hua Jie.”

Outside the first-floor door, both sides’ bodyguards—four against four—traded blows in the pouring rain, neither yielding.

The white car pulled up at the gate. Qiao Ke got out with an umbrella and peered through the iron bars. She’d planned to use the rain as an excuse to scout inside, but seeing the black-clad men brawling in the yard, she knew it was bad.

She rang the doorbell while shouting back: “Kai Ge, there are two groups of bodyguards fighting inside. Can you flip over first and check?”

Without asking, Zhang Kai unbuckled, got out, and went to the gate.

“Stick with President Shi. I’ll go in.”

Zhang Kai handed Qiao Ke his suit jacket, vaulted fluidly over the side of the iron gate.

The guard post usually had a gate button; he hit it and charged toward the villa.

The eight-man melee was deadlocked. Dodging attacks with agile moves, he spotted Chen Qiuxue confronting a man in the hall and yelled: “Assistant Chen, I’m here to help.”

His shout let Shen Muxi’s bodyguards identify his side.

One more ally boosted their odds by more than ten percent. The four coordinated seamlessly, holding off opponents to let Zhang Kai through.

In the hall, Zhang Kai wasted no words, flooring the butler-like man with one punch, then bounded upstairs.

“Miss Mo’s inside,” Chen Qiuxue said, showing the location on her phone. “But this door—smart recognition system. That butler can probably open it.”

Zhang Kai was about to drag him when the door swung open from inside.

“Don’t dirty my floor.” Li Longfeng tossed Chi Yumo’s backpack and tablet out like trash, then stepped aside to reveal her to Zhang Kai and Chen Qiuxue. “Take your people and get out.”

“Miss Mo!”

Chen Qiuxue ignored the bag. Chi Yumo lay awkwardly on her side on the floor, soaked through, water pooling around her.

Zhang Kai burned with fury too.

But Li Longfeng was a woman; he couldn’t bring himself to strike despite his rage.

“Miss Mo, wake up… Miss Mo…”

Chen Qiuxue knelt beside Chi Yumo, tears streaming in worry. “Are you okay?”

Chi Yumo twitched her hand and erupted into violent coughs.

Without a word, Zhang Kai scooped her up in a princess carry. “Miss Mo, I’m taking you out. We’ll settle the score here later.”

But Chi Yumo grabbed Chen Qiuxue’s clothes, coughing as she signed with great effort: [Contract.]

“Contract? What contract?” Chen Qiuxue glanced at the floor around them.

The contract lay pinned under the tray.

Li Longfeng was extremely frustrated. She didn’t want to look at these people for another second, nor did she have the mood to fetch it for her. “A bet’s a bet. Someone will deliver the contract to you tomorrow.”

The heavy rain had been falling for nearly half an hour, showing no signs of letting up.

Outside the courtyard wall, the red and purple triangular plums had been knocked down by the downpour. Vibrant flowers lay scattered on the black asphalt road—fallen petals and broken fragrance, beauties perishing in an instant.

Shi Youwan’s clothes were wet at the shoulders. She wanted to get out of the car and head into the villa, but Qiao Ke stopped her and pulled her back inside.

—President Shi, in this situation, you going in won’t help. It’s dangerous inside, and the circumstances are unknown. You shouldn’t show yourself yet.

Qiao Ke held an umbrella as she stood by the car, her legs soaked from the knees down. Both women stared intently at the gate until they saw Zhang Kai carrying someone toward them. Qiao Ke hurried over at once.

“Kai Ge.”

Chi Yumo’s face was frighteningly pale, her lips drained of all color.

Qiao Ke took just one rough glance, and her heart clenched.

“She… what’s wrong with her…”

“Get in the car and talk.”

Shi Youwan had already opened the rear door, her own face ashen. She reached out to take Chi Yumo from Zhang Kai’s arms and pulled her close. “Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo.”

Chen Qiuxue chased after them and handed Chi Yumo’s bag to Qiao Ke. “Mo Yu just told me herself—she only soaked in the cold water because she lost a bet. That person didn’t harm her in any substantial way. Don’t pursue it.”

She had followed Chi Yumo to Yinzhou City and had met Shi Youwan and the others before. Knowing their connection to Shen Muxi, she felt assured letting them take Chi Yumo away.

It was safe for Chi Yumo to leave with them.

Qiao Ke’s face was icy. “Tell Miss Shen that we’re taking Mo Yu with us first.”

Chi Yumo looked half-dead already—and she calls that no harm?

Right now, the most important thing was getting to the hospital.

Qiao Ke didn’t waste any more words with Chen Qiuxue. She shut the car door, folded her umbrella, and climbed into the passenger seat. The vehicle sped off.

The sedan raced down the rain-slicked road, puddles splashing everywhere. Zhang Kai hesitated for a few minutes before recounting everything he’d witnessed after entering the villa, telling Shi Youwan every detail.

After hearing Zhang Kai’s account, Shi Youwan ground her molars and took several deep breaths to force the surging rage back down inside her.

“Xiao Mo, it’s okay now.”

Shi Youwan touched Chi Yumo’s cheek, then leaned down to kiss her forehead. She added, “Turn the heat up higher.”

Qiao Ke cranked up the temperature. Just hearing Zhang Kai’s description had her itching to carve that woman Li Longfeng into pieces—President Shi must have been even more furious and heartbroken.

Chi Yumo hadn’t fully lost consciousness yet.

She could smell the familiar fragrance of Shi Youwan’s body. She could feel Shi Youwan warming her with her own warmth, kissing her, comforting her.

But how was Shi Youwan here? Hadn’t she left Lingjiang?