Under the dim lighting, Zhou Yushen’s face was illuminated with startling clarity.
Shen Nanyue looked at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
Holding her wrist, Zhou Yushen asked in a low, concerned voice, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
His gaze traveled from head to toe, carefully examining her.
His eyes were clear and full of concern, completely different from the leering looks those bodyguards had given her earlier.
Remembering the kick she had taken to the abdomen, Zhou Yushen gently placed his hand over her lower stomach and rubbed it lightly a couple of times.
His warm palm soothed the area through her clothes.
Almost instinctively, Shen Nanyue shuddered.
A subtle wave of tingling numbness spread through her body.
Her cheeks flushed red, and her breathing became noticeably heavier.
Damn it.
Had the drug finally taken effect?
“I’ll help you get revenge later.”
After saying that in a low voice, Zhou Yushen took her hand and led her out of the room.
He hadn’t noticed anything unusual about her.
Meanwhile, Shen Nanyue forcibly suppressed the turmoil inside her.
Whenever she thought of An’an, the fire raging within her subsided somewhat.
The basement was enormous.
A long corridor stretched ahead, lined with numerous numbered rooms on both sides.
The room Shen Nanyue had been locked in was Room No. 1.
Outside the door lay the unconscious bodyguard Zhou Yushen had knocked out.
“We don’t know where An’an is.”
Worry filled her heart.
If An’an had really been taken into one of these rooms and wasn’t rescued soon, something terrible could happen.
“Think carefully,” Zhou Yushen said with a frown.
“Were there any details we overlooked? There are too many rooms to search one by one.”
Shen Nanyue tried to organize her thoughts.
The emotions surging through her body clashed with her anxiety, making it difficult to think clearly.
No.
An’an is waiting for me.
Closing her eyes, Shen Nanyue recalled something Chen An had said.
“Originally, both you sisters were top-tier merchandise. Unfortunately, Shen An’an was caught in a fire. Among this batch, she can only be considered second-rate.”
Her grip on Zhou Yushen’s hand tightened unconsciously.
Bastard.
Once she got out of here, she would make Chen An understand whether a scum like him deserved to exist at all.
Pulling Zhou Yushen along, she headed straight for the very last room in the corridor.
There were no guards outside.
The door was locked from the inside.
Knowing what might be happening within, Shen Nanyue couldn’t help feeling afraid.
At some point, the wire she had hidden in her hand had dug into her palm.
Without seeming to feel the pain, she pulled it free and crouched down to pick the lock.
Zhou Yushen’s eyelid twitched.
How did she know so many bizarre skills?
Ever since childhood, Shen Nanyue had been notorious for avoiding proper studies.
Anything she wasn’t supposed to learn, she seemed exceptionally good at.
Fortunately, she was intelligent.
Even when cramming at the last minute for exams, she could usually scrape together a passing grade.
Before long, the lock clicked open.
“An’an!”
To her surprise, the room was empty.
No bodyguards.
No sign of anyone at all.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them.
From a speaker hidden in the corner came Chen An’s grating voice.
“I knew you wouldn’t be caught so easily. There’s surveillance in this room. Enjoy your live-broadcasted evening together.”
His laughter echoed through the air.
At last, Shen Nanyue exploded.
“You bastard! Where’s An’an?”
Silence answered her.
The room remained filled with that heavy fragrance.
Without hesitation, Shen Nanyue stripped off Zhou Yushen’s jacket and wrapped it around his head, covering him completely.
“Don’t let your skin be exposed to the air. I’ll get the door open.”
She pulled another wire from her hair.
Squatting by the door, she worked at the lock for a long time.
It wouldn’t budge.
This time it was a double lock.
She couldn’t open it.
Her face grew redder.
The discomfort inside her intensified.
Yet she didn’t dare turn around to face Zhou Yushen, afraid she might lose control and throw herself at him.
“Zhou Yushen, did you bring anything useful?”
Even a folding knife would do.
The door wasn’t made of steel.
If they pried at it hard enough, it should eventually open.
There was no response from the man behind her.
Unable to bear it any longer, Shen Nanyue finally turned around—
Only to be pulled into a tight embrace.
Zhou Yushen pressed her against the corner of the wall.
His warm breath brushed against her ear.
His voice carried an almost irresistible temptation as he whispered:
“Nanyue…”
A shiver ran through Shen Nanyue’s entire body, but what she felt most was fear.
Zhou Yushen had fallen into the trap!
No.
This was all part of Chen An’s scheme.
If her guess was correct, the surveillance cameras were connected to a hidden live broadcast.
If she and Zhou Yushen took the bait, their reputations would be completely destroyed.
“Zhou Yushen, snap out of it. If you have to, bite your tongue.”
Zhou Yushen chuckled softly.
“Are you telling me to kill myself?”
His low murmur contained none of the romantic undertones she had feared.
Shen Nanyue looked at him in confusion.
Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “I’m fine. I’m just putting on a show. Wait one more minute, and we’ll be able to get out.”
Though she still had doubts, Zhou Yushen’s words always had a way of reassuring her.
She bit her lip.
The pain helped clear her mind slightly, allowing her to regain some control over herself.
“Don’t bite yourself.”
There was a trace of anger in Zhou Yushen’s voice.
Then he pulled a small bottle from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“Smell it.”
He opened the cap.
An overwhelming stench immediately assaulted her nose.
Shen Nanyue nearly threw up.
This was definitely more effective than hurting herself.
Any lingering romantic or suggestive thoughts vanished instantly.
“Where did you even get this disgusting thing?”
“I picked it up on the way down while looking for you.”
“You can’t just pick up random things down here. Who knows what it’s for?”
Shen Nanyue seemed to think of something unpleasant and shuddered.
“It’s not a corpse. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Shen Nanyue had always been terrified of corpses, ghosts, and anything related to them.
Seeing Zhou Yushen speak so seriously, she wanted to yell at him.
But now wasn’t the time.
She could only lower her voice and warn him.
“If you say one more word, I’ll break your legs.”
Zhou Yushen suddenly felt a chill run through his lower body and wisely decided not to tease her any further.
While the two were talking inside the room, Chen An was standing before the surveillance monitors with Gu Linlang restrained beside him, watching everything unfold.
In the dim lighting, only Zhou Yushen’s back could be seen clearly.
Shen Nanyue, pinned against the corner wall, appeared as though she had been trapped in his embrace.
The occasional sounds reaching the microphone only made the situation seem more intimate.
Gu Linlang clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
She glared at Chen An with bloodshot eyes.
“I helped you come up with the plan to capture Shen An’an and Shen Nanyue, and this is how you repay me?”
Chen An shrugged.
“All you did was provide ideas. The people doing the actual work were ours. What exactly do I owe you?”
He sounded perfectly justified as he sat before the monitors, watching the scene with obvious amusement.
Gu Linlang’s face turned green with anger.
“If you treat me like this, Aunt Han won’t let you get away with it.”
The moment he heard the words Aunt Han, Chen An’s expression darkened instantly.
He turned to look at her.
“Are you threatening me?”
Gu Linlang was about to answer yes.
But Chen An let out a scornful laugh.
“Do you think Ah Ping would stand with you, or with me?”
Gu Linlang’s body trembled.
Then she heard his voice become colder than ice.
“Know your place. Even though you’re sick now, your face and figure are still decent enough. At best, you’d qualify as mid-grade merchandise.”
A wave of cold despair washed over Gu Linlang.
— The end of the Chapter–
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