The night in Lanbin was exceptionally quiet. To the west were mountains, and to the south, the sea. As night fell, a blanket of silence pressed down, covering the land and sky, much like a dark curtain descending, swallowing all sound.
A black, extended private car drove along the winding mountain road. Its headlights cast a patch of light, like a firefly minuscule as dust, crawling on the body of a giant dragon.
The woman in the back seat was very still, facing the window.
Her white shirt was buttoned up to the very top, her dark hair hung loose, and her eyes gazed out the window, yet also seemed to be fixed on some distant point. Her beautiful face was reflected on the car window glass. As they passed a street lamp, the golden light fell, spreading evenly and gently across her face, like an oil painting.
Lan Su’s face was very plain—that was the exact word used by her stylist.
Her brow bones were delicate, her ears extremely small, and she exuded a pale, sickly air. Even the tear mole under her left eye was a faint brown, like a grain of sand.
This face, dissolved in the rich light of the street lamps, rarely had such a sense of detachment.
Huo Yan sat beside her, holding a tablet with one hand, her long fingers scrolling across the screen, reviewing the materials for tomorrow’s bidding conference page by page.
She was focused, as if she were the only person in the car.
In the passenger seat, Xu Panpan gave Jiang Feng, who was driving, a meaningful look, a silent plea for help—
Just moments ago, the boss was spending a fortune; why are they now acting like strangers?
Jiang Feng was concentrating solely on driving, but the person in the passenger seat was too restless, winking and gesturing. Exasperated, he turned his head and gave a sharp look, which silenced Xu Panpan.
His gaze returned to the road ahead, but the seed of curiosity in his heart had been piqued. He tentatively glanced in the rearview mirror. His boss was focused on the documents, and the newlywed Second Miss Lan was also completely composed, gazing steadily out the window.
What a dramatic day: first registering the marriage, then moving, and finally, after a confrontation with the Lan family, acquiring a shopping mall worth hundreds of millions.
And she’s this calm?
In reality, the calmness was all an act.
At least, it was for Lan Su.
The moment she almost revealed her ability to drive, her body temperature dropped from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. In that instant, she distinctly perceived a trace of a predatory look in Huo Yan’s deep eyes.
Huo Yan should have called her out on the spot, or at least asked:
“You can drive?”
But Huo Yan didn’t.
She merely withdrew her gaze and said softly, “Let’s go.”
Let’s go.
First, leave the man-eating place that was the Lan family.
The car drove for a full 20 minutes, and Lan Su’s body remained tense. Although she pretended to look casually at the scenery outside the window, her knees were pressed together, and her hands gripped the fabric of her trousers at the knees. These subconscious movements betrayed her anxiety.
She didn’t know when Huo Yan, this wolf hiding in the dark, would rush out of her lair and bite through her throat.
Tap.
Rustle…
In the 21st minute, Huo Yan finished reading the documents on the tablet, turned it off, and placed it in the pocket hanging on the side of her wheelchair.
Whew…
Lan Su tightened her grip on her trousers. She heard her own breathing become heavy. The air drawn into her lungs seemed to carry thorns, stabbing into her internal organs, needle by needle.
She had finished dealing with her official business; now it was time to deal with her.
Would she start with a couple of questions, or directly take action, just like that day in the Lan family hall when she said she would pull out everyone’s teeth?
Her fingernails dug into her palms, almost piercing the thin layer of flesh.
Given Huo Yan’s methods, Lan Su could imagine countless possibilities.
If she were thrown out of the car, she could walk along the road toward the city center, hail a cab, and stay in a hotel.
Like before in Altay, she jumped off the bus, with no village or shop nearby, and walked for two days and one night to evade the dark forces, eventually buying a motorcycle in a small town to escape.
However, the Huo family was off-limits, and the Lan family was unreturnable. Fortunately, she had a private stash of money, which was enough for emergencies.
If she was taken deep into the mountains to be killed, she would be forced to expose her skills and fight back. Against one disabled person and two seemingly powerless assistants, she could handle the situation.
But if Huo Yan called in backup, and if they had guns…
At this thought, Lan Su paused, her right leg twitching restlessly—since she started pretending to be the Second Miss, the small knife tied to her calf had been removed, and the spot was empty. Furthermore, her skin, having undergone cosmetic treatments, was porcelain white and delicate, leaving her completely defenseless.
This feeling of powerlessness, of being unarmed, had only occurred when she was a homeless child on the streets.
Her breathing gradually froze, her tightly clenched hands began to cramp, and her peripheral vision was focused entirely on Huo Yan, like a prisoner on the guillotine, awaiting the executioner’s blade to end her life.
Her breath had stopped, held in her chest until she was on the verge of suffocation, and white flashes of light began to appear before her eyes. That’s when Huo Yan moved—
She pressed a button on the armrest, reclining the backrest flat, and lay down.
The world went silent at that moment, even the rushing wind outside the car stopped. A full minute passed, and Huo Yan did not move again—
She had fallen asleep.
Huh?
Lan Su was momentarily startled, unable to believe it. She boldly turned her head for a quick look. Indeed, the person had closed her eyes and was lying asleep in the wheelchair.
Phew…
Lan Su felt like she had been granted a great pardon, secretly exhaling a mouthful of stagnant air. Her tightly clenched fists loosened, leaving crescent-shaped nail marks on her palms.
It seemed Huo Yan was not suspicious of her. Everything was her own wild overthinking, scaring herself.
Beside her, Huo Yan, who was clearly lying down, didn’t speak. She merely lifted her eyelids a sliver, catching a glimpse of the hands that were gradually releasing their grip on the trousers. Her eyes paused imperceptibly, but she said nothing.
She was somewhat curious:
What kind of nervous, tense life had Lan Su lived all these years?
Half an hour later, the car finally arrived at Huo Yan’s residence.
Lan Su didn’t recognize the place, only that it was near a river, perhaps in the south, close to where the river flowed into the sea.
Jiang Feng was the next to get out of the car, opening the trunk to release the ramp.
Huo Yan was already awake. She expressionlessly put the wheelchair backrest upright, skillfully backed onto the ramp, and then pressed the speed limit button, retreating smoothly and steadily onto the ground.
It was a detached villa, not as large as the Lan family’s old residence. The front yard was only 60 square meters, unlike the Lan family’s palatial garden that resembled a plaza. It had two floors above ground, taller than ordinary villas, somewhat in the style of 20th-century European imitation architecture. However, the exterior lights were off, and Lan Su didn’t get a clear look.
Having narrowly escaped one danger, it was better to remain well-behaved.
She thought so.
“Welcome back, General Manager Huo.”
The housekeeper, accompanied by two maids, came up and took the briefcase hanging on Huo Yan’s wheelchair.
Huo Yan stopped her wheelchair and introduced plainly, “This is Lan Su. Starting today, she is also the mistress of this house.”
The housekeeper was a woman in her thirties, skilled in maintaining the proper distance between master and servant. She stepped forward and bowed slightly to Lan Su:
“Greetings, Madam. My name is Ai Li. Please feel free to call on me for anything you need.”
Lan Su straightened her back, slightly tucked her chin, and awkwardly played the role of the pampered Second Miss, saying, “Alright.”
The housekeeper smiled, then looked at Huo Yan and asked, “The bathwater is ready, General Manager Huo. Would you like to soak first, or rest for a while?”
Huo Yan pressed the button on the armrest, and the wheelchair slowly moved forward: “A bath.”
“Very well.”
The housekeeper followed, pressing the indoor elevator button first. “We used ebony incense powder today, reduced to 8% concentration as per your preference. The water temperature is also adjusted, ready for you to soak.”
Lan Su lifted her feet, following behind the two. The carpeted floor was very soft, making no sound as she walked, which eased the tension knotting in her heart.
From Ai Li’s words, it seemed Huo Yan’s daily life was one of utmost luxury and indulgence; perhaps even the tomatoes she ate were precisely calculated for their growth period, picked on a specific day of ripeness.
The elevator ascended slowly. Ai Li continued to ask:
“Would you like a massage? You must be tired after a day of traveling.”
Huo Yan, however, said, “No need. You take her to see her room.”
Her, of course, referred to Lan Su.
Room, now that carried a certain implication.
Lan Su’s internal self-preservation system suddenly blared an alarm. Thud. The elevator reached the second floor, and her heart tensed up. She tentatively asked:
“Is it my room, or our room?”
That one-word difference would determine whether she would have to spend a night alone with the beast that was Huo Yan.