"Boss—"
The underling clutched his face, staring at Lu Chengfeng in terror.
After just five days, how had the Boss learned to hit people?
Before, anyone and everyone dared to push him around.
But Lu Chengfeng was their Boss, after all. The two underlings wouldn't dare overstep their bounds, so they could only move aside and let him pass.
"Who's making all that noise outside?"
Just then, a cool, magnetic voice drifted out from the villa.
The villa door opened with it.
The first thing he saw was Wen Lanlan's cool, stunningly beautiful face.
Her long, black hair cascaded over her snow-white shoulders.
She was wearing a black silk nightgown.
Her full bust was impossible to ignore.
Her mature, gorgeous body exuded the scent of a fashionable perfume.
"Hus...band?"
Wen Lanlan's first reaction was surprise, but it was immediately followed by immense confusion...
The last syllable was noticeably weaker, more hesitant...
Just as Lu Chengfeng had expected, as a wife, she was extremely sensitive to her husband's appearance and overall presence.
Right now, she felt he was both the husband who had been missing for five days and a complete stranger.
This was the hardest part of an undercover operation.
Lu Chengfeng avoided Wen Lanlan's gaze, his eyes falling on the wine glass in her hand.
Glancing through the doorway into the living room, Lu Chengfeng saw Wen Lanlan's personal bodyguard, A Lun, also holding a half-full glass of red wine.
"Where are my slippers?"
Lu Chengfeng had to quickly pull Wen Lanlan's attention away from her initial impression and redirect it elsewhere.
Wen Lanlan froze, looking at Lu Chengfeng in astonishment.
"What... what did you say?" Wen Lanlan grew even more confused.
Lu Chengfeng's heart tightened, but his face remained calm. "What's wrong? Does my voice sound a little hoarse?"
Wen Lanlan said, puzzled, "Yes. It's just... you never wanted to change into slippers when you came home before. Why are you asking for them now—"
Lu Chengfeng cleared his throat. "I want to take a shower. Am I supposed to wear these worn-out leather shoes into the bathroom?"
Wen Lanlan looked down and was shocked to see that Lu Chengfeng's shoes were tattered and covered in white salt stains, with one or two broken shells stuck to them.
"Where have you been these past few days? To end up like this!"
Wen Lanlan bent down and pulled out a pair of men's slippers.
"We'll talk later."
"You two, come in with me. Don't just stand at the door," Lu Chengfeng said to the two underlings at the entrance.
"Yes, sir."
After changing into the slippers, Lu Chengfeng walked over to the living room sofa and sat down.
"Boss, you... you're finally back—"
The bodyguard, A Lun, put down his wine glass, his eyes a mixture of fear and awkwardness.
"Darling, run a hot bath for me. I'm exhausted. I need to shower first." Lu Chengfeng treated A Lun like he was thin air, completely ignoring him.
"Alright." Wen Lanlan gave Lu Chengfeng a surprised look, then turned and went upstairs, her slender waist swaying.
As Wen Lanlan turned away, Lu Chengfeng quickly strained his ears, trying to determine the location of the upstairs bathroom.
A Lun could only rub his chin awkwardly, rooted to the spot, not knowing whether to stand or sit.
The other two underlings, Tian Ji and Xiao Liu, stood there, not daring to speak.
After pinpointing the bathroom's location, Lu Chengfeng stood up, appearing lost in thought.
But in reality, he was feigning nonchalance as he observed and familiarized himself with this strange house.
The walls were covered with glamour shots of Lu Songwen and Wen Lanlan.
Some of the clothes Lu Songwen used to wear were still hanging on the coat rack.
On the balcony, a pair of Lu Songwen's sneakers were drying in the sun.
The entire villa was still filled with the presence of the mob boss.
Only... the master of the house was now him.
A short while later, the hot water for the bath was ready.
"Come on up and wash up," Wen Lanlan called from upstairs.
"Okay." Lu Chengfeng went upstairs and naturally found his way to the bathroom.
"Bring me a change of clothes," Lu Chengfeng said from the bathroom as he undressed.
"Alright."
Lu Chengfeng listened quietly to the sound of Wen Lanlan's footsteps, judging the direction to figure out where "his" clothes were usually kept.
Just as Lu Chengfeng was about to get in the shower, he was startled to see Wen Lanlan's discarded purple, lace-cutout underwear lying on the washing machine.
The style was so sexy, so daring!
A jolt of heat shot through him...
A little later, Lu Chengfeng finished his shower and changed into a set of Lu Songwen's old clothes.
Thankfully, their height and build were very similar, so the clothes were a decent fit.
When he came downstairs, Lu Chengfeng found Wen Lanlan leaning elegantly against the kitchen island.
Her delicate, slender fingers held a high-end ladies' cigarette, her beautiful eyes watching him with suspicion, as if she had a million questions.
Lu Chengfeng didn't dare meet Wen Lanlan's gaze. Instead, he looked up at A Lun, who was still standing there awkwardly.
"A Lun, have a seat. Don't be nervous," Lu Chengfeng said with a smile.
"Yes, Boss." A Lun started to lower himself onto the sofa.
"A Lun, are you in love with your sister-in-law?"
"While I was gone, did you sleep with her?"
Lu Chengfeng suddenly lifted his eyes and asked nonchalantly.
The words struck A Lun like a bolt from the blue, freezing him in place.
The atmosphere in the villa instantly became tense and awkward to the extreme.
Wen Lanlan immediately straightened up, her train of thought completely derailed.
"Lu Songwen!" Wen Lanlan snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
"You were missing for five days! A Lun has been working himself to the bone looking for you. He didn't even eat dinner tonight. I just asked him to stay for a meal and a drink."
Lu Chengfeng gave a faint smile. "Are you telling me A Lun hasn't been trying to hit on you?"
Lu Chengfeng stared into Wen Lanlan's eyes.
A blush crept onto Wen Lanlan's pretty face.
Her thoughts became even more chaotic.
A Lun was known in the organization for being handsome, a good fighter, and loyal.
Since he became her personal bodyguard and driver, she had indeed developed a favorable impression of him.
And A Lun had never hidden his admiration for her.
They just hadn't crossed that line yet.
But if her husband hadn't returned, they most likely would have.
So now that she'd been called out, Wen Lanlan was overcome with a huge sense of guilt, and her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the window...
At that moment, a cold, almost imperceptible glint flashed in A Lun's eyes.
Since the Boss had laid it all out on the table, it seemed a showdown was inevitable.
"Boss, I won't deny it. I really am in love with her. I hope you can grant us your blessing."
A Lun knew this boss of his was a weakling, so he didn't feel his presumptuous words were out of line.
Lu Chengfeng sounded slightly surprised. "A Lun, I'm still your boss. Are you not even going to pretend to hide it anymore?"
A Lun sneered. "Boss, isn't there a saying? If you can't make her happy, you should let her go."
"Look at you. You have no presence in the organization, no accomplishments to your name, and your territory is shrinking. Life with you is only going to get harder for her!"
"Most importantly, you were injured three years ago. You're useless in *that* department."
"Can you really bear to watch her live the rest of her life like a widow while married to you?"
A Lun looked at his "weak" boss with righteous indignation, launching a direct verbal assault.
"A Lun! Shut up! Are you insane?!"
Wen Lanlan never imagined A Lun would throw her husband's deepest insecurity in his face. She stared at A Lun in shock, not understanding what had gotten into him tonight.
Lu Chengfeng just smiled faintly.
Of course, he knew exactly what was wrong with A Lun.
He had a guilty conscience.
Lu Chengfeng picked up the leather bag he had brought back with him.
Opening the bag, Lu Chengfeng took out a half-empty bottle of foreign liquor.
The moment A Lun saw that bottle, his face changed instantly.
He was exposed!
Lu Chengfeng said calmly, "Five days ago, I was in a bad mood, so I drove to the beach alone to clear my head."
"I wanted to drown my sorrows, so I asked you to buy me some liquor."
"This bottle... you're the one who bought it for me, aren't you? You tampered with it, didn't you?"
A Lun's expression grew even uglier.
His hand instinctively moved toward his waist.
It seemed the showdown was happening tonight, no matter what.
Kill the Boss, take his wife, and get promoted to one of the Five Tigers!
But suddenly, Lu Chengfeng shot to his feet, moving like a phantom to appear right in front of A Lun.
He gripped a fruit knife and plunged it into A Lun's abdomen.
*Shink, shink, shink, shink—*
Four consecutive stabs.
In and out, fast.
Four deep, bloody holes appeared.
Before A Lun could even react, he collapsed to his knees, all fight gone from him.
Four streams of blood gushed out like fountains.
A spray of blood splattered directly onto Lu Chengfeng's gold-rimmed glasses.
Smearing the lenses...
Proofreader: Peter Pan