CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER 318: SUCH A BIG GREEN HAT (5)_1

The night grew increasingly dense. The sounds of a man’s ragged breathing and a woman’s delicate moans kept emanating from the room. Afterwards, Shen Congming looked at the soundly sleeping Wanqian on the bed. He got out of bed quietly, wiped away all traces of their lovemaking, and helped Shen Qian dress to look as though she was simply drunk. He then carefully closed the bedroom door. Shen Congming sat in the living room for half an hour to rid himself of any lingering scents and calm his recent passion before he re-entered the bedroom and lay down beside Duan Mei.

Duan Mei’s arms encircled Shen Congming. "Where on earth did you go in the middle of the night?" she whispered.

"I was thirsty and went to get some water. Go to sleep," Shen Congming replied, his heart almost leaping out of his chest as he patted her shoulder.

"Mhm," Duan Mei murmured and once again fell into a deep sleep. Shen Congming looked at his wife in his arms and let out a long sigh of relief. That was close. If Shen Cheng knew I’d been with his daughter, he’d never let me get away with it.

His recent encounter with Wanqian had ignited his passion. He felt he had regained the vigor of his youth, making Wanqian, that enchantress, cry out incessantly beneath him. The thrill of this illicit affair reignited a long-lost excitement within him. With that sensation still coursing through him, Shen Congming drifted into a deep sleep.

Filled with fury, Shen Cheng drove his sports car at over a hundred miles per hour. He initially planned to head to Shen Po’s place in the suburbs. But recalling the events of the previous night, and the words Shen Po had said as he left, he slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt by the roadside.

After leaving the Shen Family and Shen Po’s place, he suddenly realized he had nowhere to go. Shen Cheng pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and began to chain-smoke, the cold wind gradually dispersing his intoxication.

Wanqian’s recent words, like daggers, pierced his heart. The memories he had tried to suppress regarding that incident were dragged, bloody and raw, back into his mind, alongside Shen Po’s words from the previous night.

Enemies?

The thought made him burst into laughter. A year ago... Wanyou’s despairing eyes before her death, her stubborn words... they all surfaced in his mind again.

"Shen Cheng, did you ever love me?"

"Love?" He scoffed. "Wanqian has always been the one I love most. Without Wanqian, I wouldn’t be who I am today. You are my enemy. Would you fall in love with your enemy?"

"Shen Cheng, why? Why?"

Wanyou’s dying words echoed relentlessly in Shen Cheng’s mind. BANG! He slammed his fist into the car window, and blood streamed down the glass.

Shen Cheng took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. He leaned against its body, chain-smoking, his silhouette engulfed by the darkness. Suddenly, several figures caught his attention.

A petite figure was being relentlessly chased by several men in black. The cleavers in their hands glinted with a silver light, stark against the dark night.

"Little girl, where do you think you’re running?" the men in black shouted malevolently, waving their cleavers.

"That’s right, little girl," one of them sneered. "Considering how tender you look, why don’t you have some fun with me? Maybe if I’m pleased, I’ll spare your life and even leave your body intact."

"Just look at that waist and those cheeks," a third man chimed in, leering. "Utterly irresistible. I wonder what she’d feel like beneath me?"

"HEHEHE, the mere thought is enough to make a man lose his soul!" a fourth added with a vulgar laugh.

As the four men shouted obscenities, they quickly closed in, tightly surrounding the young woman. The silver glint of their cleavers flashed in Shen Cheng’s eyes.

Shen Cheng continued to smoke, taking deep drags, as he passively watched the four men encircle the helpless woman. He had no intention of intervening.

"What do you want?" Shangguan You’s voice trembled with fear. Her pale face was a mask of panic, and her body shook like a frightened deer, evoking pity.

"What do we want?" one of the men retorted. "You overheard something you shouldn’t have, so naturally, we’re here to silence you. Still thinking of running? Do you really think you can escape?"

"But before we silence you," he continued with a smirk, "we’re going to have a little fun. We’ll make you so delirious with pleasure that you’ll remember us even in the underworld."

"Look at her, clearly an untouched little thing. Such a waste for a beauty like this to die so soon," another added.

"HEHEHE!" The men’s lewd laughter filled the air as their circle tightened around Shangguan You. I really enjoyed the show tonight, watching one drama after another, Shangguan You thought ruefully. I was planning to find Ye Shaoshao afterwards, but it seems I’ve become part of the entertainment myself. I never expected this. I just picked a random place to show up, how could I have known I’d run into these thugs, or overhear things I shouldn’t have? Now they’re trying to silence me.

Damn it all, Shangguan You sighed internally. Her eyes darted to Shen Cheng, who was a shadowy figure not far away, almost swallowed by the darkness. A flicker of calculation in her deep eyes, and then, with a sudden feint towards one of the men, she twisted, her body a blur as she dashed out of their encirclement, heading straight for Shen Cheng.

"Help! Please, help me!" Shangguan You cried, grabbing Shen Cheng’s arm. Only then did the four men in black react. She had moved so fast, reaching another man’s side in the blink of an eye.

"Kid, you’d better not meddle in our business, or you’ll regret the consequences!" one of the pursuers snarled.

"Consequences?" Shen Cheng scoffed. "Hmph. Four grown men ganging up on a defenseless woman? What kind of achievement is that?" He glanced at Shangguan You, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. What’s someone from the Shangguan Family doing out here alone in the middle of the night? Still, whatever the reason, if this gets me involved with the Shangguan Family, it might not be a bad thing.

He pulled Shangguan You behind him and shoved her into the car. Then, he snuffed out his cigarette, cracked his knuckles, and fixed a cold gaze on the four men in black.

"Listen, kid, this is our business. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong," another of the men threatened, "or you’ll go in clean and come out red."

"She’s my friend," Shen Cheng stated coldly. "If you want to get to her, you’ll have to go through me first." With that, he threw a punch straight at one of the black-clad men’s eyes.