CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 198: FIERCE AND FRIGHTENING

Shenghai, a certain villa

"Xiao Ning, aren’t you really disappointed about not landing that role?" Zhang Shuya wrapped her arm around Lan Yening’s neck, her big, watery eyes brimming with sympathy as she gazed at him.

Lan Yening had just returned from recording a variety show at 3 a.m. yesterday. Afterward, Zhang Shuya, who missed him, had been endlessly preoccupying him until morning. Now, he felt physically drained and wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Zhang Shuya noticed his silence for quite a while and shook Lan Yening’s shoulders. "Xiao Ning, I’m talking to you. Are you still dwelling on what happened with that drama?"

Lan Yening pulled himself together and smiled, "No, it’s all in the past now."

"Liar."

"No really, it’s just... I was noticing how much softer your skin looks lately and wondering if you’ve been using some secret beauty product."

Even Lan Yening himself felt nauseated by his own words.

Zhang Shuya, however, was delighted. "Haha! What secret product? Maybe it’s because you’ve been rejuvenating me since you got back. Look at how much livelier I’ve become!"

She pulled away from his embrace, stood in the morning sunlight, and twirled in place, her black hair fluttering in the breeze coming through the window.

"Haha, am I gorgeous or what!"

At forty, Zhang Shuya had indeed maintained herself well. Her figure hadn’t gone out of shape, though her age still betrayed itself—some irritating stretch marks were clearly visible.

Lan Yening, after all, was just a twenty-year-old pretty boy, and he couldn’t muster any real interest in this aging "dry meat."

Due to Yezi’s involvement, he couldn’t have genuine feelings for this woman, either.

Moreover, Lan Yening understood that aside from basic physical needs, Zhang Shuya mostly wanted to exploit him for profit.

Recently, he had become astounded at how easy it was to make money in the entertainment industry.

Fans were nothing but brainless fools, shelling out heaps of cash to buy things for him, calling out about their love for him.

"Xiao Ning, you’ve been gone for a few days, and I’ve been dreaming about you every night." Zhang Shuya twirled a lock of her hair with her fingers and leaned in closer to him.

Seeing Lan Yening appear slightly interested, she continued with her coquettish demeanor:

"In my dreams, you were terrifying. Not only did you despise me, you wanted to abandon me—and even kill me. It broke my heart."

"Shuya, how could you have such a dream? Killing someone, me? I feel faint just seeing blood."

Lan Yening pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek softly.

But he noticed Zhang Shuya had developed a slight breath odor—something inevitable with age and slower metabolism, an affliction of the elderly.

"I knew you wouldn’t do that, Xiao Ning. What I love most about you is your kindness, your innocence." Zhang Shuya traced circles on his pale skin with a fingertip.

Her nails were sharp and long, like the blades capable of clawing someone’s heart out.

Lan Yening forced himself to stay composed—this woman was capricious, ruthlessly cruel, reminiscent of the "White Bone Demon" from Journey to the West.

"I’ll always stay by your side," Lan Yening said with a strained smile.

Zhang Shuya smiled back, batting her large eyes coquettishly at him.

She leaned in so close that her breath blew directly onto Lan Yening’s face.

This made Lan Yening deeply uncomfortable; he had no desire for any contact with her at all.

Still, he was painfully aware of his role—he was merely her "pet."

In the middle of the night, Lan Yening woke abruptly from a dream. Staring at the pitch-dark room around him, he couldn’t fall back asleep.

He got up and walked into the garden downstairs, gazing at the twinkling stars in the sky. An uncontrollable wave of sorrow overwhelmed him.

In this world, people are as insignificant as ants. Many times, fate isn’t in their own hands.

Even wanting to live as a clean, ordinary person was an unattainable wish.

While Lan Yening was immersed in melancholy,

Zhang Yuzhe, dressed in black, was quietly descending the staircase.

The hallway lights flickered eerily, and the surrounding silence was deathly.

He approached a door, pulled out a key, and unlocked it.

A heavy smell of alcohol instantly wafted out from inside.

He saw Li Jiaqi sleeping on the sofa in the living room.

This apartment was one Zhang Yuzhe had paid for and rented for Li Jiaqi. Although she had changed the locks, he still easily obtained a spare key.

Drugged by substances hidden in her food delivery, Li Jiaqi had no way of knowing Zhang Yuzhe was standing right beside her.

Tonight, she wore a floral short skirt. Her jacket and socks were casually tossed on the other side of the sofa.

Her silk blouse was unbuttoned slightly, revealing slender, voluptuous legs resting unintentionally on the floor.

She reclined there, her breathing even, like a tempting pink fruit.

Under the soft, warm light, a few stray strands of hair scattered across Li Jiaqi’s exquisitely beautiful face, adding a unique allure.

Zhang Yuzhe stretched out his hand, wanting to touch her face, but just as his fingers reached her flower-like cheeks, he hesitated and slowly pulled back.

After an internal struggle, he finally yielded to his torment and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Jiaqi, just wait a little longer. I’m almost done saving enough money. When that time comes, we can fly away together." Zhang Yuzhe’s face lit up with joy.

Clatter!

He heard the sound of plastic bag rustling in the corridor, his heart seized with panic. Pulling out his phone, he checked—it was someone on the same floor opening their door.

Zhang Yuzhe had installed cameras inside and outside Li Jiaqi’s place.

As time passed minute by minute, he wiped his hands clean with a napkin and got up to leave.

But as he left, he didn’t notice a skinny man with a center-parted haircut and wearing beach shorts peering at him through the peephole across the hall.

The man’s emaciated, almost skeletal face was etched with lecherousness.

Zhang Yuzhe got back into his Passat.

"Drive. Go back to the company," Zhang Yuzhe said grimly to Luo Ning.

Luo Ning, sitting in the driver’s seat, didn’t dare speak. He started the car and drove toward their so-called company.

After a three-hour drive, the two arrived at a decrepit factory with heavy gates.

Luo Ning took out his phone to call someone inside, then opened a video chat for verification before they opened the gate.

"Where are they?" Zhang Yuzhe asked a tall man who greeted them upon entering the factory premises.

This man was one of his subordinates, nicknamed "Dazhuang."

"Inside," the rough-looking Dazhuang replied, lowering his head.

Zhang Yuzhe strode forward into one of the workshops.

Inside were three men and one woman.

One man wore glasses and looked unremarkable, though his shifty eyes occasionally revealed flashes of cruelty.

Another had a menacing facial scar, giving him an intimidating presence.

The third man was slightly hunched, had a crooked nose, and large, rugged hands like those of a seasoned boxer.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties, quite beautiful, but her eyes carried a chilling coldness.

In the corner, five people—three men and two women—were bound tightly.

The two girls were young, their dyed hair suggesting they weren’t the sort you’d find in any decent crowd.

The three men, also young, had a sleazy, street thug demeanor.

Their mouths were taped shut. On seeing someone approach, some of them even displayed looks of defiance and hostility.

"Glasses, was the job clean?" Zhang Yuzhe asked.

"Clean. These bastards set up a honey trap operation at some cheap apartment building. The cameras there were all busted. We took care of them inside one of the rooms." The bespectacled young man quickly replied.

Zhang Yuzhe nodded, "The USB drive?"

"Recovered. The encrypted files were untouched and unread." Glasses added.

"Boss, what should we do about these folks?" Dazhuang asked quietly, following behind him.

Zhang Yuzhe stepped closer and examined the captives.

"You were running honey traps to squeeze some money out of my guys, and I might’ve overlooked it. But you got greedy—you stole their stuff. You’ve brought this upon yourselves."

Hearing this, the captives widened their eyes. They had thought they might just get a beating and then try to settle the score later. Now it seemed this man was serious about killing them.

It wasn’t a bluff; they instinctively understood that.

Panic filled their faces, and they struggled violently, their earlier defiance replaced entirely by pleas for mercy.

"Throw them all into the concentrated sulfuric acid," Zhang Yuzhe said flatly.