Suddenly, a hand reached out from a nearby room.
It grabbed Shen Nanyue’s arm directly and forcefully pulled her inside.
Startled, Shen Nanyue instinctively prepared to scream, but someone covered her mouth.
A low voice sounded beside her ear.
“It’s me.”
Shen Nanyue immediately stopped struggling.
Her back rested against Zhou Yushen’s chest as both her hands gripped the hand covering her mouth.
Zhou Yushen released her mouth, then pulled her down to crouch beside the wall, signaling for her to stay quiet.
Although Shen Nanyue had no idea why he was here, seeing the seriousness on his face, she stopped speaking as well.
Her hand was completely enclosed within his palm.
The warmth of his hand was scorching, quickly warming her previously cold fingers.
A deep voice drifted in from outside the door.
“Speaking of which, this batch of goods you brought back this time is pretty good.”
“I cast a wide net for a long time before finding this shipment.”
“Well done. Oh, and that Shen An’an who escaped before—you should also have people keep an eye on her.”
“Understood.”
“…”
The voices gradually faded farther away.
But Shen Nanyue’s expression grew darker and darker.
That was Chen Mu’s father’s voice.
And why were they monitoring An’an?
Still crouched by the wall, Zhou Yushen’s gaze landed on the surveillance camera inside the room.
His eyes narrowed before he pulled Shen Nanyue to her feet.
“We need to leave first.”
Shen Nanyue grabbed him in return.
“I haven’t finished investigating yet!”
“There’s surveillance here.”
Following Zhou Yushen’s gaze, Shen Nanyue indeed spotted the camera.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Suddenly, a chaotic series of footsteps echoed from outside.
Judging from the sound, they were heading directly toward their location.
Without hesitation, Zhou Yushen pulled Shen Nanyue out the door and ran straight toward the direction of the approaching noises.
Shen Nanyue widened her eyes.
Was this man dragging her to her death?!
“You—”
Suddenly, Zhou Yushen pulled her around a corner, down a short set of stairs, and hid beside the wall where the corridor connected to the garden.
Although the flowers in the garden were maintained by someone, they clearly weren’t properly cared for.
Thorny vines were tangled among the flowerbeds.
Zhou Yushen raised his arm to block the thorn bushes, shoved Shen Nanyue inside, then positioned himself in front of her with his back pressed against the thorns.
Shen Nanyue frowned as she watched his actions.
Footsteps echoed continuously above them.
“I clearly heard movement over here just now. Why is there nothing?”
“Maybe you heard wrong?”
“I don’t know. But just to be safe, let’s check the surveillance footage.”
Unconsciously, Shen Nanyue tightened her grip on Zhou Yushen’s hand.
If they were discovered now, they would be in a very dangerous position.
And since Chen Mu’s father was involved in some kind of shady transaction—and even targeting An’an—she absolutely could not afford to get caught here.
Zhou Yushen reassuringly squeezed her hand back.
Shen Nanyue lifted her eyes and met Zhou Yushen’s dark, bright gaze.
Leaning close to her ear, Zhou Yushen whispered softly, “Follow me later.”
The familiar cool scent surrounding him filled her nose.
Shen Nanyue struggled internally for a few seconds before finally nodding.
“The surveillance is down!”
A shocked cry sounded from above.
Shen Nanyue only heard even more frantic footsteps rapidly moving away.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yushen pulled her out of the garden.
After weaving through several twists and turns, they arrived at a low wall.
“We’ll get out from here.”
“It’s too high. I can’t climb over.”
The moment Shen Nanyue finished speaking, Zhou Yushen crouched down, grabbed her legs, and lifted her upward.
Instinctively, Shen Nanyue grabbed the top of the wall.
Stepping on Zhou Yushen’s palm, she climbed over.
Once she was seated atop the wall, Zhou Yushen pressed his hands against it and vaulted up effortlessly.
With agile movements, he flipped over to the other side and helped Shen Nanyue down.
Li Che had been waiting outside in the car while working on hacking the surveillance system.
But instead of seeing Zhou Yushen come out alone, he watched him emerge with Shen Nanyue.
Before he could even finish being shocked, the two had already climbed into the car.
“Drive.”
Li Che didn’t have time to ask questions.
He quickly set down the laptop and stepped on the accelerator.
As soon as Shen Nanyue got into the car, she sent Xiao Qi a message.
Before entering the Chen family’s old residence, she had muted her phone.
Now that she turned it back on, she realized Xiao Qi had already sent her a message.
“Sister Yueyue, I just discovered an external signal invading the system. It seemed to be attacking the surveillance system inside the residence. There might be someone else who entered the estate.”
Shen Nanyue’s gaze swept across the still-open laptop on the front passenger seat before she lowered her head and replied to Xiao Qi’s message.
“It was Zhou Yushen. I’m already out. Xiao Qi, leave quickly.”
The moment the message was sent, Xiao Qi immediately called her.
“Sister Yueyue, you ran into that scumbag again? Where are you? I’ll come pick you up right now!”
As soon as the call connected, Xiao Qi’s furious voice blasted through the phone.
The inside of the car was silent, making his voice sound even louder.
Zhou Yushen turned to look at her.
Pretending to remain calm, Shen Nanyue shifted her gaze away and spoke lightly to Li Che.
“Li Che, could you make a detour to the front gate? Xiao Qi’s waiting for me there.”
“Sure.”
Lowering her head, Shen Nanyue said to Xiao Qi, “Wait for me by the roadside. I’ll be there soon.”
After she hung up, Zhou Yushen also withdrew his gaze.
Shen Nanyue had originally thought Zhou Yushen would be angry.
But judging from his indifferent expression, he didn’t actually seem that upset.
She relaxed slightly.
After sorting through her thoughts, she finally asked, “Why were you guys there?”
“There’s a hidden mastermind inside the Zhou Corporation. I tracked his movements all the way to Fengcheng, and eventually the trail led here.”
Zhou Yushen answered half-truthfully.
The man hidden by Han Ping had been targeted by Zhou Yushen’s people after the Zhou family’s issues were resolved.
That was how Zhou Yushen discovered the man had fled to Fengcheng.
Unfortunately, once the man arrived in Fengcheng, all traces of him disappeared.
Until the voice he heard inside just now…
Zhou Yushen’s eyes darkened.
Shen Nanyue frowned as well, though she was thinking about something else entirely.
“It seems like the Chen family is conducting some kind of secret transaction behind the scenes. I also heard Meng Yan’s voice just now. He mentioned some kind of exchange gathering happening next week.”
“Next week’s exchange gathering?”
Li Che suddenly spoke up.
“Could it be the exchange event hosted by the Meng family? The Meng family invited elite figures from both Fengcheng and the capital to attend.”
Li Che looked at Zhou Yushen through the rearview mirror.
“You were invited too. Zhao Xuan has the invitation.”
Shen Nanyue immediately turned to look at Zhou Yushen.
“Can you take me with you?”
She hadn’t been invited, but she wanted to see exactly what shady dealings were hidden there.
Zhou Yushen looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Add three more meals.”
Shen Nanyue froze for a moment before staring at him speechlessly.
“You really have ambition.”
She snorted lightly.
“Deal!”
Three meals in exchange for this opportunity—it was worth it!
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Che stopped the car.
Xiao Qi was standing by the roadside.
Just as Shen Nanyue opened the door to get out, Zhou Yushen grabbed her.
“Let Li Che drive Xiao Qi home. As for the four meals you owe me, you can start repaying one tonight.”
Before Shen Nanyue could even respond, Li Che very consciously picked up the laptop and got out of the car.
Turning her head, Shen Nanyue watched as Li Che blocked Xiao Qi’s path.
Xiao Qi was short and skinny, and Li Che effortlessly grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him into another car.
— The end of the Chapter–
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