Zhao Jingwan watched the man’s disappearing figure, pulled at the collar he had yanked open, and sat up from the bed. After a moment’s thought, she quietly got out of bed, tiptoed barefoot to the door, and gently twisted the door handle.
It opened! Thank goodness… thank goodness, she almost cried from relief.
She was so tense she didn’t even dare breathe loudly, and only after covering her head with the scarf and fleeing the club did she finally dare to let out a sigh of relief.
Looking out the taxi window, she was almost certain that Chu Ning had disappeared there.
Following her mother’s dying wishes, she had come to Dubai to find her father, whom she had never met.
When she got off the plane, a man around her age came to pick her up, claiming to be her half-brother.
He took her to a hotel, saying he would bring her to meet their father once he finished his business.
Zhao Jingwan waited for him at the hotel for over half a month, but he never showed up again.
Then, a week ago, she received a distress call from Chu Ning.
The other party’s voice was urgent, her words panicked—clearly someone was chasing her. She only managed to give her location before the call was cut off, with no time to say anything more.
After the call ended, she had contacted the local police, but the final response was that they hadn’t found anyone at that club.
Dubai had no entry records for Chu Ning.
Unable to contact the embassy for help, she could only go to that club and work under the table, hoping to find some trace of her.
She was young after all—she never imagined she’d encounter something like this.
She didn’t dare think about it—if she hadn’t escaped, would her final fate have been to disappear silently in a foreign land just like that?
That club definitely had something wrong with it. Maybe they were in the human trafficking business—who could say?
She didn’t dare rashly contact the police again. Zhao Jingwan was afraid that if the police already knew about those dealings, she would fall into even more dangerous territory.
But now, what other options did she have?
Luo Jin never expected that he’d been played by a little girl.
Coming out of the bathroom and seeing the empty room, his face darkened as if it were about to drip water. His jaw was clenched tight, and his eyes were filled with a bone-chilling coldness.
When the manager was called over, he was trembling with fear.
As for the girl who had run away, he knew absolutely nothing.
Zhao Jingwan had been at the club for less than a week—she was just an undocumented worker. The information they had on her was limited; aside from her identity, they knew nothing else.
Manager Kevin’s forehead was covered in cold sweat as he stole glances at the man’s unpredictable expression, his heart full of anxiety.
Luo Jin sat on the sofa, pinching a few ID documents in his hand, one of which was a student ID. It was obvious who had dropped it.
Zhao Jingwan had fled in such a panic that she hadn’t even noticed things falling out of her bag.
The man’s slender fingers flipped through the documents.
A messy assortment of IDs with plenty of information—name, age, address, school name, student number—and attached to it was a photo.
It looked just like her, clearly a recent photo.
Looking at the innocent face in the picture, Luo Jin felt his teeth itch again.
The little thing looked harmless, but she was actually full of schemes, a belly full of little tricks.
She’d dared to slip away at a time like that—nothing like the timid and naive act she put on.
But in Luo Jin’s eyes, he just thought she was too naive.
Did she think that just because she escaped this place, he wouldn’t be able to find her?
Tucked among the student IDs was also a group photo…
The other girl in it seemed somewhat familiar…
Saito’s expression turned grim. He hadn’t been able to find any useful information about that girl.
Clearly, her records had been tampered with—deliberately erased.
That meant the woman had some kind of background. If she was sent by a rival…
“Keep digging.”
Luo Jin’s tone was casual as he tapped the photo lightly against the table a few times, lost in thought. When something clicked, a flicker of interest passed through his eyes.
“Pull up the surveillance footage from that day.”
Interesting. It seemed this girl’s identity wasn’t as clean as her student ID suggested.
That night, Zhao Jingwan was jolted awake by a nightmare. She sat up and glanced at the phone on the nightstand.
It was only 1:30 in the morning. The empty hotel room made her feel inexplicably afraid, as if there were eyes watching her from somewhere.
Frightened, she turned on all the lights in the room, making sure every corner was illuminated before she felt at ease.
Just as she lay back down, a call came in—an unfamiliar number.
Unsure whether it was her half-brother calling, she answered but didn’t speak first.
Soon, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came through the line, scaring Zhao Jingwan so badly she nearly threw her phone.
“Pretty quick on your feet, aren’t you?”
It was him…
Her breath seemed to freeze. She gripped the phone tightly, not daring to make a sound.
“You left your things here with me. Aren’t you coming back to get them?”
What things? She didn’t even think about what the man was saying.
Her mind had only one thought—this man knew her phone number. Did that mean he also knew where she was staying?
No, if he knew, he would have come straight to her instead of making this call…
The terrifying, chaotic thoughts sent cold sweat running down her back.
Just as she was about to hang up, the person on the other end seemed to anticipate her intention and said something that made her entire body go rigid.
“What is Chu Ning to you?”
Zhao Jingwan’s hand gripping the phone suddenly clenched tight. He knew… How did he know about Chu Ning?
“Your classmate? Good friend? Or blood sister? You came to me looking for work, claiming it was for a job, but you’re actually here as a spy?”
The man’s voice was deep and low, carrying a hint of mockery.
But she found it terrifying. Her throat felt tight, and she couldn’t produce a sound. Her conviction grew even stronger—Chu Ning hadn’t just disappeared from that entertainment club; it was very likely connected to this man.
“Not talking?”
When there was no response from the other end, Luo Jin frowned, a look of impatience crossing his face. The little thing had quite the composure.
His gaze turned cold in an instant. He didn’t like her habit of playing dumb.
“Is she in your hands?”
A slightly trembling female voice came through the line. Hearing her voice, Luo Jin’s brow arched slightly.
This time, it was his turn to deliberately ignore her question.
Zhao Jingwan assumed his silence was an admission. Her breathing grew short and rapid. After a moment of thought, she asked again.
“Why should I trust you?”
Maybe this was just an excuse to trick her into coming back. Zhao Jingwan had no idea how much of what this man said was true or false, and she didn’t dare to believe him rashly.
“Heh.”
A cold laugh came through the phone’s speaker, jolting her heart with a tremor.
“Come back obediently and kneel before me. If you satisfy me well, I might consider not killing you. Don’t wait for me to find you…”
“Brother Luo, we’ve located her—SL Hotel…”
Hearing another person’s voice from the other end of the line—faint, very soft, but she caught it—
She realized in an instant: he was using the call to trace her location!
Zhao Jingwan immediately hung up, scrambled off the bed to pack her things, and prepared to head to the airport.
While organizing her suitcase, she dialed a number saved in her phone. Once, twice—no one answered.
She had no choice but to compose a text message and send it, then snapped her luggage shut and quickly left the hotel.
On the other end of the line, Luo Jin stared at the disconnected call, his face dark enough to be frightening. He lifted his head to look at the subordinate beside him, his gaze cold and heavy.
The subordinate, trembling under that stare, saw the man beckon him closer and quickly bent down to lean in.
In the next instant, a crystal ashtray smashed violently into his head.
The man’s large hand seized his blood-stained jaw with enough force to render him speechless.
“Say what you just said again—louder.”
The subordinate, shaking and barely managing to squeeze out a weak voice, repeated the address he had just reported.
Then came the sound of a jaw dislocating.
His body collapsed to the ground instantly. The searing pain blurred his vision, and all he could see was the man’s back as he rose and walked away.
Saito glanced coldly at the figure groaning on the floor, then waved a hand at the two black-clad subordinates standing nearby, signaling them to drag him away.
A hint of contempt flickered in his mind.
How did such an idiot climb up the ranks?
It had been a long time since Luo Jin had gone through so much trouble playing a game of cat and mouse for anyone.
Let him think—when he caught that little fox who’d run away, how exactly should he punish her?