The middle-aged man ahead stopped in his tracks. He frowned and turned around, while the subordinate beside him barked with a dark expression, "Kid, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
The middle-aged man smiled and waved his hand. "A-Qiang, don't scold him. This little brother is just joking."
Shen Qing said with a serious expression, "I'm not joking. You must have been having some terrible luck lately!"
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed the middle-aged man's eyes. "How did you know?"
Lately, everything had indeed gone against him, and even his business had been severely affected. That was why he had been distracted and bumped into someone just now—he never expected Shen Qing to hit the nail right on the head.
"Because there is black Qi lingering between your brows, which is a sign of bad luck. Furthermore, there is a flash of ominous red in your physiognomy. I'm afraid you have a disaster involving bloodshed today, and I think you'd better be careful."
As he spoke, Shen Qing retrieved a yellow paper talisman from his pocket.
"Hold onto this talisman, and at the critical moment it will save your life!" Shen Qing said.
He handed the talisman over and slipped it into Chen Feng's pocket.
Chen Feng frowned. "Young man, I don't know who you are, but cursing me like this is going too far!"
"Are you trying to sell talismans? I've seen too many tricks like this."
He had thought Shen Qing was someone of substance, but it turned out he was just a charlatan selling talismans. Irritation welled up in him instantly.
Shen Qing was left momentarily speechless. His kind intentions had been misunderstood instead.
"I'm not a swindler," Shen Qing explained with a wry smile.
A burst of footsteps approached, and Xiao Yuyan hurried over from not far away.
"A-Qing, why are you still here? The banquet is about to start!"
Shen Qing turned around, and his eyes lit up the moment he saw Xiao Yuyan.
By now, Xiao Yuyan had changed into a black evening gown. Her tall figure matched her skin like snow, and her stunning features were breathtakingly peerless.
Her full, proud figure was fully accentuated beneath the gown, instantly making it impossible for Shen Qing to look away.
"What's going on?"
Xiao Yuyan noticed the middle-aged man. Startled, she quickly said, "President Chen!"
"Xiao Yuyan? Who is he to you?" the middle-aged man asked in a low voice.
Realizing something was amiss, Xiao Yuyan said, "President Chen, this is my junior brother, Shen Qing."
"Did my junior brother somehow offend you, President Chen? He just came down from the mountain and doesn't know any better. Please, if there's any offense, be magnanimous and forgive him!"
The subordinate beside him sneered, "Your junior brother has a lot of nerve! Just now, he actually cursed our boss to suffer a bloody disaster today, and even pulled out some crummy talisman to try and swindle people!"
What?
Xiao Yuyan's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly apologized, "President Chen, there's been a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding? I'd say it was intentional!"
"Xiao Yuyan, I thought you were a talent worth working with, which is why I agreed to partner with your company. I never expected you to pull this kind of trick on me!" Chen Feng said with an icy tone, clearly having misunderstood the situation.
Xiao Yuyan hurriedly tried to explain, but Chen Feng had lost his patience.
"You don't need to explain anything. I'm not foolish enough to let myself be made a fool of."
"Your junior brother talks nonsense, and his scamming has actually reached my doorstep. How utterly audacious!"
"I think I'll have to reconsider our business partnership. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to terminate our contract!"
With that, Chen Feng turned and walked away.
Xiao Yuyan turned pale with fright and tried to chase after him to explain. "President Chen..."
Shen Qing grabbed her arm. "Junior Sister, there's no need to chase after him."
Xiao Yuyan turned back, somewhat angry. "A-Qing, why do you always act so recklessly!"
A smile on his face, Shen Qing wrapped his arms around Xiao Yuyan's slender waist. "Junior Sister doesn't need to worry. My eyes cannot be wrong!"
"Could it be that Junior Sister doesn't believe in my abilities?"
This...
Xiao Yuyan was momentarily stunned, only then remembering that her junior brother was no ordinary person.
Shen Qing gave a confident, light chuckle. "Rest assured, he'll be back to look for me soon enough!"
Half-doubtful, Xiao Yuyan then noticed Shen Qing's mischievous hands.
Her pretty face flushed, and she lightly swatted Shen Qing's hands away.
"A-Qing, you cannot take advantage of your Senior Sister like this!" Xiao Yuyan said with a slightly flushed face, and then led Shen Qing away.
***
Meanwhile, Chen Feng and his subordinate prepared to take the elevator to the banquet venue.
The subordinate chuckled mockingly, "Boss, that young man earlier was so foolish. Trying that kind of trick right on you—it's laughable."
Chen Feng didn't speak, but his expression wasn't very pleasant either.
The two stepped into the elevator. After pressing the button, the elevator began to ascend, but just as it reached the eighteenth floor, it suddenly shuddered.
"What's going on?"
The operating elevator came to a direct halt. Before Chen Feng could react, the sound of something snapping suddenly rang out, and immediately the elevator plummeted at an astonishing speed.
"Oh no!"
"Boss, the elevator is out of control!" The subordinate's expression changed drastically, and he frantically pressed the buttons, only to find them completely unresponsive.
"This is Pingjiang Hotel! Their elevators are maintained year-round, how could one suddenly go out of control?"
"Boss, I'm afraid we've been set up. Someone wants you dead!"
Chen Feng was terrified. The weightlessness beneath his feet drained the color from his face.
Successful business elite though he was, at this moment he was utterly helpless.
The elevator plunged madly from the eighteenth floor, the intense weightlessness feeling as though he were falling into hell.
In just a few breaths, the elevator had already dropped to the fifth floor.
"It's over!"
Chen Feng's mind went blank. Falling at such a speed, it was virtually impossible for him to survive.
He closed his eyes and braced himself for death.
Boom!
A massive impact struck, instantly sending Chen Feng airborne. First he slammed violently against the ceiling of the elevator, and then he crashed back down.
"Ah!"
A miserable scream escaped his subordinate beside him, followed by total silence.
The deafening crash echoed through the underground parking garage, lingering for a long time before quieting down.
After a long while, the elevator doors slowly slid open, and a disheveled Chen Feng crawled out from within.
His face was a mask of shock and terror, his expensive suit now a complete mess.
It took him a good long while to regain consciousness, his complexion deathly pale.
"How can this be?"
"Someone tampered with the elevator!" Chen Feng said through gritted teeth.
For an elevator to suddenly malfunction and drop without any safety brakes engaging was clearly abnormal.
Yet, glancing at his subordinate in the elevator who was now in an unknown state of life or death, Chen Feng was even more shocked by his own condition.
"Why am I fine?"
"The impact just now was so immense, yet I actually survived?"
Chen Feng couldn't help but recall the bloody disaster the young man had spoken of earlier.
He never imagined it would actually come true!
Someone really had tried to assassinate him, and with such a lethal method, no less.
He remembered the talisman that man had shoved into his pocket.
Chen Feng hurriedly searched his pockets, quickly pulling out a talisman—though the previously pristine talisman was now tattered beyond recognition.