What emergency had happened in the private room?
Qiaoke leaned back.
They had originally planned to sneak the explosives into the club without anyone noticing and blow up Shinai’s territory.
But who could have guessed that a girl delivering drinks would suddenly show up?
Last night, hadn’t he suggested that if Huo Jiulin liked that Chinese girl, he should take her back to Rome?
Didn’t Huo Jiulin remember what he’d said then?
【If you don’t want your tongue anymore, you can throw it in the river and feed it to the fish.】
It had only been a day… Wait! Had a whole day even passed?
And he’d canceled their original plan just for her…
Tsk, tsk.
So whose tongue was it that he didn’t want anymore?
Qiaoke silently rolled his eyes and answered Hailun without addressing the question,
“Something unexpected came up, but… whether it counts as an emergency is something you’ll have to ask our boss.”
As he spoke, he cast a pointed glance at Huo Jiulin.
Hailun’s brow furrowed in greater confusion.
“What do you mean?”
Qiaoke raised an eyebrow and glanced at Huo Jiulin’s clothes, asking though he already knew the answer, “Where’s your jacket?”
Huo Jiulin leaned back slightly. Ignoring Qiaoke’s question, he looked straight ahead and said unhurriedly, “Hailun.”
Hailun nodded respectfully. “Yes, Sir?”
Qiaoke’s gaze settled on Huo Jiulin’s face as well, waiting to hear what he would say next.
Huo Jiulin asked, “Did you get a good look at the girl who opened the window in the private room just now?”
Hailun nodded. “Yes.”
He had been lying in wait across the street from the club, keeping a close watch on what was happening inside the private room.
Of course he’d seen the young girl who went to open the window.
“Look into her,” Huo Jiulin said.
“Yes, Sir.”
Hailun accepted the assignment, took out the laptop he carried with him, and began typing swiftly across the keyboard.
Qiaoke glanced outside, then checked the time. “What now?”
Huo Jiulin didn’t answer. He simply leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed.
The scene in the Elysium Private Room came back to him: he and that girl kissing.
The way she’d stared at him with those innocent, wide eyes and struggled to resist…
Why had she been so adorable?
Those lips.
Soft and sweet.
The man’s striking profile appeared faintly in the glass window.
Without realizing it, the corner of his mouth curved in the slightest hint of a smile.
That barely perceptible shift in his mood was enough to make one’s heart tremble.
They’d only kissed, and she’d already reacted so strongly.
If…
He gently rubbed his chin, continuing the thought.
What then?
He kind of… wanted to see what she looked like when she cried.
In bed.
*
Ten minutes earlier.
While Huo Jiulin and Qiaoke were searching Shinai in the Supreme Private Room, Ji Linlin slipped quietly out of the Elysium Private Room.
She covered her mouth, forcing herself not to look at the bloodied, motionless bodies on the floor.
Suppressing her overwhelming fear, she hurried down the stairs and ran for the club’s entrance with all her strength.
The dance floor, which had been packed with people just moments ago, was now completely empty. Everyone had fled after the sudden gunshots upstairs.
Ji Linlin had no time to think. Hugging herself, she ran frantically toward the exit.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw a blue Bentley Arnage speeding toward her from across the street.
It braked sharply and stopped outside the club.
A flash of hope crossed Ji Linlin’s eyes. She narrowed them, trying to make out the car’s license plate.
Before she could get a good look, the door was flung open.
A young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a white shirt, and black trousers hurried out.
When he saw Ji Linlin rushing out of the club, he strode toward her in quick, anxious steps.
“Linlin, are you hurt?”
His voice was urgent, yet gentle.
Ji Linlin stared at him, her eyes brimming.
The fear and tension she’d been holding back surged out of her like a spring, and tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.
Her voice thick with tears, the girl choked out, “Little Uncle.”
Ji Shutang adjusted his glasses and placed a hand on her trembling shoulder, soothing her gently. “It’s all right now.”
As he spoke, he led Ji Linlin toward the blue Arnage. “Get in first.”
Ji Linlin nodded, tears still streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.
After helping Ji Linlin into the passenger seat, Ji Shutang shut the door and went around to the driver’s side.
He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, kept his eyes on the road ahead, and started the car quickly.
The moment the car pulled away from the club entrance, several police cars arrived at the scene.
The blue Arnage drove through the night.
Ji Linlin sat motionless, her gaze empty, still shaken to the core.
The car was a model from several years ago. Ji Shutang had driven it for years and still hadn’t replaced it.
He switched on the cabin light and looked over at Ji Linlin.
Only then did he notice the men’s suit jacket draped over her.
Driving with one hand, Ji Shutang passed her a tissue with the other. He hesitated for a few seconds before asking slowly, “Did they… hurt you?”
Ji Linlin wiped away her tears and shook her head.
She looked down at the jacket over her shoulders and wanted badly to take it off and throw it away.
But the clothes she wore underneath were too revealing. It would be inappropriate for an elder to see her dressed like that.
In the end, she held back.
Sniffling, she turned to Ji Shutang. “Little Uncle, how did you know I was here?”
“Your mother called me,” Ji Shutang replied. “She said you left the house this morning and still hadn’t come home, and that she couldn’t get through to you.”
“I had people check the city’s surveillance footage. They spotted you on the camera across the street from Enchanted Night Club.”
“What happened?”
Ji Linlin clutched the suit jacket more tightly around herself and began to recount what had happened that day.
“Little Uncle, after my classmate and I finished praying at Jade Buddha Temple this morning, a few people abducted us on the way home.”
“They told me to deliver drinks to a private room at the club. They said they’d let my classmate and me go as long as I did what they wanted.”
The more she spoke, the more anxious she became. “Little Uncle, my classmate is still in their hands. What should we do?”
“Linlin, don’t panic.”
Ji Shutang tried to calm her. “Tell me your classmate’s name and find me a photo of her. I’ll send people to look for her.”
“Okay.”
Ji Linlin nodded at once. “Her name is Jiang Xueli. She’s about one meter seventy, with long hair.”
Halfway through describing her, she suddenly changed course. “I don’t have a photo of her. I lost my phone.”
“Do you have any photos of her saved on your social media account?” Ji Shutang asked.
Ji Linlin nodded. “Yes.”
“The passcode is 001201.” Ji Shutang handed her his phone. “Log in to your account on mine.”
“Okay.”
Ji Linlin quickly took the phone, entered the passcode, and opened the social media app.
Then she turned to Ji Shutang. “Little Uncle, what about your account?”
“Just log out of it,” Ji Shutang replied casually.
“Okay.”
Ji Linlin logged into her own account and found a photo of Xueli in her saved posts.
“Little Uncle, I found one.”
Ji Shutang acknowledged her and continued driving. “Send it to Akai, then call him.”
“Okay.”
Ji Linlin did as he said.
A moment later, Akai’s voice came through the phone. “Brother Tang.”
Ji Linlin handed the phone to Ji Shutang.
Ji Shutang took it and put it to his ear. “I just sent you a photo. Her name is Jiang Xueli, and she’s about one meter seventy. Find out where she is now.”
Akai answered, “Yes.”
Then the call ended.
Ji Shutang looked at Ji Linlin’s pale, tense face. “Don’t worry. Your classmate will be all right.”
Ji Linlin nodded, bewildered and helpless.