Anger can indeed make one bold. Yuan Lai clutched the spray can in his hand, and suddenly, a malicious idea took root in his mind. Deciding to go all the way, he grabbed the spray can, rushed up to Lin Miaoke, and began spraying wildly right in her face.
Lin Miaoke was in the middle of a phone call and had no time to react. Just as she was about to call for help, her body slowly lost sensation.
Perhaps driven by deep resentment and grievance, Yuan Lai kept his finger pressed on the nozzle, having no intention of stopping until Lin Miaoke collapsed to the ground.
Just as he was frantically spraying the anesthetic, he suddenly heard footsteps. Panicked, he quickly put away the spray bottle, helped Lin Miaoke up, and, mimicking the way he had dragged Song Xinxin, slowly dragged Lin Miaoke out of the school.
He hailed a cab and took Lin Miaoke to a shady hotel—one of those places where no ID registration is required, and guests can check in simply by paying cash. These establishments are generally frequented by people involved in illicit trades.
Somehow managing to pull strings, Yuan Lai easily rented a room upon arrival. He watched with his own eyes as he half-carried the unconscious Lin Miaoke inside.
Meanwhile, Meng Qingyan was already following the van to the outskirts of the city.
The van stopped in front of a dilapidated factory on the city's fringe. Seeing the vehicle halt, Meng Qingyan parked his car about fifty meters away. At that moment, his assistant also arrived quietly with a group of people. Dozens of men lay in ambush all around, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Inside the van, the situation was unfolding quite differently. Because Yuan Lai had used a relatively small amount of anesthetic, combined with the bumpy ride, Song Xinxin and Li Xuan in the back seat had actually regained consciousness long ago.
Given what had just happened, they quickly realized they were in an unfamiliar environment. To ensure their survival, they decided to stay put and bide their time, waiting for an opportunity to act. Using the jolting of the vehicle, they leaned against each other naturally. After all, they were both acting majors, so they had at least that much acting skill. Furthermore, the suburban roads were genuinely bumpy, and the thugs guarding them were too careless to notice the shift in their positions.
The gang leader in the front passenger seat answered a phone call, then sternly told his subordinates, "The boss said we need to make this clean. Once we arrive, you two are in charge of taking photos and recording videos, and you two will guard the door. Brother San and I will make sure these two girls have a good time..."
"Boss, boss, the two of us can't just film, right? Just watching without getting a taste is going to be torture," one of the thugs complained reluctantly.
The other thug guarding the door chimed in, "Yeah, exactly! You even bought the tickets, but you won't let us in? That's a bit..."
"Hahaha... I know what little tricks you're playing. Let me give you the bottom line. The boss said this isn't just about recording videos and taking pictures; the boss wants to teach these two chicks a hard lesson. You all know what that means, right? Even if we play around with them until they're dead, the boss has ways to handle it," the gang leader in the front said proudly, as if recounting a glorious and remarkable achievement.
Listening to the dialogue inside the vehicle, Song Xinxin and Li Xuan felt their hearts plunge into an icy abyss, cold sweat beading on their palms. If they were really taken to their destination, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The greater the fear, the calmer one had to remain! The two women continued to lean against each other nonchalantly, repeating to themselves internally that they had to hold on and not blow their cover, otherwise they might end up being... by these men right here in the van.
They tapped each other's knuckles to pass messages back and forth, then slowly untied the ropes binding each other's hands.
The very second the van stopped, the thug guarding them prepared to pick them up and carry them out of the vehicle. Realizing they had reached their destination and that if they didn't act now, they would have no chance to escape, they exchanged another signal via finger taps. Then, they suddenly kicked out toward the thugs who were reaching in to lift them, aiming straight for their softest and most vulnerable spots. The two men were sent flying, letting out earth-shattering screams simultaneously.
Taking advantage of the thugs jumping around while clutching their groins in agony, the two women quickly bent down to untie the ropes around their shins.
Immediately afterward, they pushed open the doors on either side and leaped out in one fluid motion. Their movements were exceptionally fast, completing the entire sequence in the blink of an eye. Moreover, none of the men in the van had expected them to wake up so quickly, let alone that these two delicate women would dare to fight back. Everyone had assumed victory was securely in their grasp and lowered their guard entirely.
Hearing the screams and feeling the van violently lurch, the driver and the gang leader in the front looked back to see two thugs collapsed on the floor and the two women rapidly jumping out of the vehicle to escape. The front-seat thug and the leader hurriedly tried to unbuckle their seatbelts while pushing open their doors.
In their frantic state, the leader's seatbelt refused to budge. Furious, he yelled, "Whoever invented seatbelts should be shot! They just get in the way!"
"Boss, traffic rules have to be followed, otherwise points get deducted and you get fined!" the thug beside him explained after successfully releasing his own belt, then leaned over to help his leader.
"Hurry up!"
"Alright, boss. But honestly, you really need to watch that belly of yours—watch out for the 'three highs'..."
"Just untie it... you talk way too much..."
Meng Qingyan, hidden in the shadows, was just about to lead his men out the moment the thugs got off, but he never expected to see Song Xinxin jump straight out of the vehicle. Driven by concern and putting everything else aside, he directly ordered his men to surround the van.
His subordinates rushed forward in unison, brandishing wooden clubs.
Song Xinxin and Li Xuan had just jumped out of the car and were holding hands, planning to run like the wind, when after taking only two steps, they saw dozens of men charging toward them menacingly with clubs in hand.
Seeing this scene, the two women mentally composed their own epitaphs. Surviving a fight against those few thugs in the van would have been a miracle already; now dozens more had appeared? Add the men from the vehicle, and there were easily fifty to a hundred of them. Even Ip Man, who could take on ten opponents at once, would have to fight five rounds here!
Besides, the only martial arts training they had ever received was a bit of flashy choreography for period action films. Forget taking on ten; they didn't stand a single chance in a one-on-one fight beyond the most basic level.
As the saying goes, to die before the campaign even begins—leaving heroes' garments soaked in tears. This time, death was an absolute certainty.
Looking at the massive, overwhelming crowd, Li Xuan gave up any thought of resistance. She squatted down on the ground, closed her eyes, and hugged her head.
Song Xinxin also looked utterly terrified. Glancing down at the crouching, head-in-hands Li Xuan, her heart was filled with guilt. If she hadn't provoked Yuan Lai, Li Xuan wouldn't have been dragged into this fatal situation with her.
She had been planning how to save Li Xuan in the future, but now? No rescue needed; they were going to meet King Yama ahead of schedule.
Just as the two women had mentally prepared themselves, closed their eyes, and braced to embrace death, the dozens of men marching forward aggressively suddenly bypassed them. They rushed past and collided directly with the thugs piling out of the van.
The two women waited for a moment, but none of the anticipated club blows struck them, nor were they swarmed and beaten by dozens of people. Instead, the wind suddenly died down, and the entire world grew strangely quiet.
Death? Was it really this silent and soundless?
Song Xinxin slowly opened her eyes and glanced left and right—nobody on either side. Just as she lifted her head to check what was happening ahead and behind, she found herself staring right into Meng Qingyan's smiling face. "Did you just wake up from a nap?" Meng Qingyan delivered a soul-searching question.
Meng Qingyan had been staring at the two of them for quite some time. From the moment they bravely leaped out of the vehicle, he had known these two women were extraordinary. However, he remained quite puzzled as to why they had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and tacitly closed their eyes to go to sleep.
How on earth had they guessed that these were his men, allowing them to close their eyes and doze off with such complete peace of mind?
"Why is it you?" Song Xinxin was the first to snap back to reality. She stared at the man in front of her in bewilderment and asked, "How did you end up out here? You left in such a hurry that day—are your injuries healed?"
Meng Qingyan had expected her to utter words of gratitude, but instead, she immediately picked at his scab. Talk about hitting a sore spot! Fortunately, there was no one else around; if the people in his company ever found out he had escaped danger while dressed in women's clothing, they'd probably laugh their teeth out.
Meng Qingyan gave two light coughs to diffuse the awkward atmosphere. "Let's not talk about that incident anymore."
Seeing his expression and tone of voice, Song Xinxin more or less understood. After all, making a grown man wear women's clothes and hideous makeup wasn't exactly something worth bragging about, so she nodded in agreement. "Alright, alright."
Hearing Song Xinxin's voice, Li Xuan, who had been squatting on the ground with her eyes shut tight, finally dared to open them slowly. The moment her eyelids parted, a handsome, upright, and righteous face suddenly broke into her previously dark world, illuminating it instantly like a ray of sunshine. Not only that, but he was tall, straight, and standing as rigid as a pillar—he looked precisely like an emissary of justice descended from the heavens. That towering, mighty image carved itself deeply into her mind.
Li Xuan stared infatuatedly at Meng Qingyan before her, her eyes practically sparkling with the flames of romance.
Song Xinxin and Meng Qingyan continued chatting and remained completely oblivious to Li Xuan's abnormal emotional state.
"Are those people yours?" Song Xinxin asked cautiously.
"Indeed!"
"I wouldn't have guessed you were so formidable, having so many brothers under your command. So why were you all by yourself last time, and even ended up hurt?" Remembering that thrilling scene in the restroom, Song Xinxin asked out of curiosity.
Meng Qingyan had no desire to revisit the events of last time, but since Song Xinxin had asked, he had to concoct an excuse to brush it off. "Last time I went out for negotiations and accidentally walked into an ambush."
"Negotiations? No wonder you were wearing a suit. But that suit looked expensive. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought you were the big boss of some listed corporation. Turns out you're just a street thug," Song Xinxin said with a smile.
Being labeled a street thug didn't make Meng Qingyan feel the slightest bit awkward; in fact, he felt the persona suited him quite well. Compared to the identity of a listed company's executive, this persona seemed much easier to use when getting close to certain people.
"That's only because I had to negotiate, so I rented the clothes. That suit was quite pricey—is it still at your place?" Meng Qingyan thought about turning the situation to his advantage, figuring he could use the suit as an excuse for their next meeting.
Seeing his awkward expression, Song Xinxin burst into laughter, suddenly tempted to tease him a little. "You didn't even bother to tell me when you left, and now you're coming to ask me for it? Too late!"
"Huh?" Meng Qingyan hadn't anticipated such a reply, nor had he expected her smile to be quite so captivating.
Seeing Meng Qingyan looking stunned, Song Xinxin laughed even harder before giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't panic, don't panic, I'm just playing with you! The clothes were sent to the dry cleaner's; I'll pick them up tomorrow and return them to you." Hearing this, Meng Qingyan felt a bit dazed. Telling him not to panic while patting his shoulder—that kind of casual intimacy felt rather strange to him.
Song Xinxin appeared to be five or six years younger than him. Yet why did he harbor the odd illusion, when she patted his shoulder, that he was the one being protected?
He thoroughly disliked that sensation. After all, in his worldview, men protected women; even if age trumped gender, it should still be him protecting her, not the other way around.
"We don't even have each other's contact info yet. Let's add each other on WeChat, so I can return the clothes once they're washed," Song Xinxin said, beginning to pat herself down in search of her phone.
Hearing her request to add contacts, Meng Qingyan had initially been quite pleased. But upon second thought, how had all his initiative as a man been completely snatched away? Usually, wouldn't the guy be the one asking for contact information? Had he really ended up playing the role of the younger sibling here?
The moment she mentioned adding each other, Li Xuan abruptly snapped to attention and sprang to her feet. "Are we adding each other? Let's add each other too!"
Hearing the voice, Meng Qingyan realized there was still someone crouching nearby. It turned out the entire conversation had been overheard. He felt a sudden urge to find a hole to crawl into and hide his face.
Only then did Song Xinxin remember Li Xuan. "Li Xuan, how are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Li Xuan shook her head, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Meng Qingyan's handsome face.
Watching this, Song Xinxin looked quizzically back and forth between the infatuated Li Xuan and the desperately composed Meng Qingyan, feeling as though these two were operating on an entirely different wavelength.
Sensing the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere, Song Xinxin tactfully stepped away. Figuring that she didn't have her phone on her because she must have dropped it in the vehicle, she ran back toward the van to look for it.
By this time, the thugs who had captured them had essentially been beaten into submission. They were all squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands, while Meng Qingyan's men stood guard nearby with clubs, ordering them not to move.
Song Xinxin hurried over, explaining herself as she ran. "Sorry, my phone seems to have fallen in the car, I'm just going to check..." This was her first time witnessing such a scene. Even knowing they were Meng Qingyan's men, her heart couldn't help fluttering with a bit of nervousness.
Seeing her approach, the assistant promptly instructed the enforcers to clear a path so Song Xinxin could pass through.
Where had Song Xinxin ever encountered this kind of treatment? Growing up, she had never been accorded such deference. She walked awkwardly through the middle of the crowd split down the middle. At that moment, she felt as though the men standing on either side weren't street thugs at all, but rather elite bodyguards protecting an overbearing CEO.