Xu Yueyao strained her ears to listen. There did seem to be a man’s breathing. She looked around—no one was on the road. Were people having a tryst here? Could it be the male and female leads? They were known to do it anytime, anywhere… Ahem! Probably not. By the timeline, they should still be in the ambiguous stage.
Xu Yueyao’s timid yet curious nature surfaced again. Summoning her courage, she walked toward the nearby alley. Suddenly, a man emerged, one hand covering her mouth, an arm locking her upper body, and his legs pinning hers so she couldn’t move an inch. Then, she heard the sound of running footsteps on the road.
“He’s nearby. I shot him—he can’t have gone far,” one of them growled. The sound of footsteps pacing back and forth followed.
Xu Yueyao was too terrified to breathe. As the footsteps gradually faded into the distance, she struggled, suffocating under his grip.
“I’ll let you go, but don’t make a sound, or I’ll kill you,” a magnetic, raspy voice whispered in her ear.
Xu Yueyao nodded. He released the hand covering her mouth and, seeing she remained silent, slowly freed her upper body and moved his leg away.
Only then did Xu Yueyao catch the scent of blood. “You’re injured.”
“Heh, even injured, I can still kill you,” he said, gripping her neck again.
Damn it, Xu Yueyao cursed inwardly. “I can help you,” she managed, her face flushed as she tried to pry his hand away.
Her fingers accidentally brushed against the ring on his pinky. Unable to resist, she traced it briefly. He released her at that moment. Xu Yueyao rubbed her neck, her eyes fixed on his pinky. Could he be the villainous big shot Zhan Rong Xuan? In the book, Zhan Rong Xuan wore a ring symbolizing his status as the heir of his family.
Zhan Rong Xuan was the only son of the Zhan family, the wealthiest and most powerful clan in the country. Not only were other prominent families eyeing him, but even his uncles within the Zhan family wanted him dead. Surviving until the end meant he had clawed his way out of hell.
Xu Yueyao looked at him with mixed feelings. In the darkness, she couldn’t see his face clearly, only the outline. His features were sharp and clean, with no excess flesh, giving him a refined and striking appearance. Remembering the various intimate scenes between her character and his in the book, she felt uneasy.
Wait, Xu Yueyao, snap out of it. The book mentioned he was being hunted and had been shot—once in the shoulder and once in the abdomen. She glanced at his shoulder—already wounded. She gave him a sympathetic look. Soon, he’d be shot in the abdomen too, though he wouldn’t die. This time, the one hunting him seemed to be his second uncle, who had been secretly manufacturing and selling firearms—something forbidden in the Zhan family. His second uncle wanted him dead to cover it up.
No, she had to find a way to escape. “I’ll go get help,” Xu Yueyao said, starting to rise, only to hear the two men running back toward them.
Zhan Rong Xuan covered her mouth again and locked her tightly in his grip. “Trying to run? Too late.”
“Search more carefully. Third Master said he must die today,” the assassin’s voice echoed in the night.
“Third Master? That’s not right. Shouldn’t it be Second Master?” Xu Yueyao was lost in thought when suddenly, her hair stood on end. She sensed someone approaching them.Suddenly, Zhan Rong Xuan wrapped his arms around her and rolled, dodging two gunshots. After several more rolls to evade further shots, he pulled a knife from his leg and threw it, taking down one assassin. Seizing the opportunity, they ran deeper inside and hid in a dilapidated, abandoned shack.
Xu Yueyao watched as his entire shoulder was soaked in blood. Would he bleed out and die before help arrived? No, if he died, what would she do? She had to stop the bleeding first. Looking down at herself, she was still in her nightclub outfit—a crop top and miniskirt. The fabric of her jacket was too stiff; after trying and failing to tear it, she thought for a moment, then unfastened her bra. Ignoring his stunned expression, she wrapped it tightly around his shoulder to stem the bleeding.
“Sorry, Young Master Zhan, I’m just doing a job for money,” an assassin spoke from outside the wall, footsteps growing closer.
Xu Yueyao watched him nervously. Zhan Rong Xuan raised his right index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, while his left hand picked up a piece of scrap metal from the ground. Xu Yueyao felt a gust of wind brush past her face, followed by the sound of the assassin collapsing. Trembling, she stood up and walked around the corner to find Zhan Rong Xuan leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. The assassin lay on the ground with that unremarkable piece of metal lodged in his throat.
Xu Yueyao stared at him and asked, “Is he dead for sure?”
“Are you doubting me?” Zhan Rong Xuan replied coldly.
Xu Yueyao fell silent, though unease still gnawed at her. There was still one more shot—could there be another assassin, or had she accidentally altered the course of events?
Leaning on his injured shoulder, Zhan Rong Xuan slowly made his way outside. Anxious, Xu Yueyao couldn’t help but step forward and urge, “Maybe we should wait here for backup. Your people should be here soon, right?”
Zhan Rong Xuan turned to look at her, his gaze as cold as if he were staring at a corpse. “My people? Who are you? Do you know me?”
A chill ran down Xu Yueyao’s spine as she sensed danger. Suddenly, she saw the assassin lying on the roadside raise his arm. Without time to speak, her hand moved faster than her mind or mouth, shoving Zhan Rong Xuan aside. Then, a numbness spread through her shoulder, followed by intense, searing pain.
As the assassin fell, Xu Yueyao slowly collapsed. In her final moment before hitting the ground, Zhan Rong Xuan caught her. Looking up at him, she thought, What a cursed fate, truly cursed. “My name is Xu Yueyao. I saved you, so you have to protect me from now on.” Just before the pain overwhelmed her into unconsciousness, she made sure to secure her own benefit. “Remember, my name is Xu Yueyao.” She emphasized her name again—in this pitch darkness, she didn’t want anyone else claiming credit for her actions. That would be utterly infuriating.
In the last second before Xu Yueyao completely blacked out, she heard someone running toward them, shouting, “Young Master Zhan!” Once again, Xu Yueyao cursed the author in her mind: Damn it, couldn’t they have arrived just a little earlier?
At Capital Hospital, Zhan Rong Xuan stared at the woman tightly clutching his ring, his brow deeply furrowed. When they brought her to the hospital for surgery, she still held onto his pinky finger so tightly it couldn’t be pried loose. In the end, he had no choice but to slip off the ring to free his hand. Now, even unconscious, she gripped his ring as if her life depended on it.”Zhan Shao,” Zhan Feng walked in quickly, holding a file folder. “We’ve investigated. She’s a student at the nearby Imperial Capital University, living in a basement nearby. Her parents died early, and she stays at her uncle’s house. Because of her excellent grades and being classified as a socially disadvantaged individual, she was exceptionally admitted to Imperial Capital University.”
Zhan Rong Xuan flipped through the records and photos of her from childhood to now. Zhan Feng continued, “Her background is simple, with no connections to any prominent families. Her history is very clean. She was likely there because she wanted to go home—that road is the only way to her place.” Zhan Feng cleared his throat and went on, “Her clothes were the uniform for promoting drinks at a nightclub. Today was her second day working there, and for some reason, she sneaked out. But I’ve clarified everything. Aside from interacting with Fu Xiao Si, the young master of the Fu family and her classmate, she hasn’t had contact with anyone else at the nightclub.”
“Fu Xiao Si from the Fu family?” Zhan Rong Xuan had no impression of this person.
“He’s Fu Zheng’s half-brother,” Zhan Feng added.
“Fu Zheng’s brother,” Zhan Rong Xuan said disdainfully, then asked, “Anything else?”
Zhan Feng thought for a moment and said, “She’s never had a boyfriend. She’s pure in body and mind.”
Zhan Rong Xuan looked up at him, puzzled, his brow slightly furrowed as if asking, “Is this important information?”
Zhan Feng coughed uncomfortably. “Nothing else, Zhan Shao. Her background is just too ordinary, too clean.” He thought to himself, even mobilizing their most important covert division to investigate—this might be the most wasteful and least significant investigation since the division was established.