Chapter 3
Lin Fei staggered to her feet from the sofa. The flush faded from her face as she looked at Shangguan Xuan in confusion. “Why are you here?”
Shangguan Xuan leisurely poured herself a glass of water and took a sip before replying, “This is my room. I haven’t even asked what you’re doing here yet.”
Lin Fei looked startled. “But this is clearly…”
Shangguan Xuan turned her head and gave her an amused look. “Clearly what?”
Lin Fei lowered her eyes slightly and remained silent. A moment later, she suddenly ran toward the door.
“Hey…” Shangguan Xuan failed to stop her and hurried after her.
Lin Fei opened the door and stood in the hallway, checking the room number several times. After confirming that it really was Room 3026, she took out her phone and checked the message again. There was no mistake!
Watching her go through this entire series of actions, Shangguan Xuan could barely suppress her laughter.
Just as Lin Fei was utterly baffled, footsteps sounded in the hallway. Shangguan Xuan’s expression sharpened. She hurriedly pulled Lin Fei back inside and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Lin Fei nervously fiddled with the phone in her hands, then raised her eyes toward Shangguan Xuan. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to ask something, but seemed too embarrassed to do so. The two faced each other in silence for quite some time.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Lin Fei’s heart leaped into her throat once more, and her grip on her phone tightened. Could it be Ye Shen?
“Miss…”
However, the voice outside belonged to A-Cheng.
Lin Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Shangguan Xuan opened the door, extended one hand outside, and then closed it again.
Lin Fei watched as she brought in a takeout order. The delicious aroma continuously drifted toward her, and her stomach chose that exact moment to growl.
Carrying a takeout container filled with spicy crayfish, Shangguan Xuan looked up at Lin Fei.
Lin Fei blushed and looked away.
Before Shangguan Xuan could speak, Lin Fei grabbed the door handle again and said, “I’m leaving.”
Shangguan Xuan hurriedly stopped her. “Why are you leaving? Stay and eat with me.”
Lin Fei shook off her hand and regarded her with an unreadable expression. “What are you plotting now?”
Shangguan Xuan calmly placed the crayfish on the coffee table. “I’m not plotting anything. I just want to fill your stomach. I noticed you didn’t eat lunch. Aren’t you hungry?”
At that, Lin Fei silently prepared to leave.
Shangguan Xuan hurriedly said, “Ye Shen is getting ‘hot and heavy’ with someone right now, so you’d better not disturb him!”
Lin Fei did not understand what she meant and stared at her suspiciously with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
Shangguan Xuan smiled before explaining, “Since he loves fooling around so much, I found him a professional. I guarantee he’ll be ‘unable to stop’ all night.”
Lin Fei stared at Shangguan Xuan in shock. She could not shake the feeling that Shangguan Xuan had changed considerably today, becoming completely impossible to figure out.
While Lin Fei was still stunned, Shangguan Xuan had already turned her around and pressed her onto the sofa. She then opened the takeout containers in front of them, revealing several boxes of fragrant, spicy crayfish. She pushed them closer to Lin Fei.
Lin Fei glanced at her hesitantly.
Shangguan Xuan said, “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t tell me you expect me to peel them for you.”
Lin Fei remained silent and did not move.
Shangguan Xuan sighed inwardly. Just what kind of atrocities had the original character committed to make Lin Fei so wary of her?
Left with no other choice, she plopped down beside Lin Fei, put on a pair of disposable gloves, and actually picked up a crayfish to peel for her.
When the shelled meat was held to her lips, Lin Fei had no idea how to describe what she was feeling. Her emotions had gone through so many dramatic highs and lows today that she truly could not take much more.
She stared blankly at Shangguan Xuan, wondering if she had taken the wrong medicine.
Shangguan Xuan was also slightly taken aback by her own actions. She had never peeled crayfish for anyone before. Lin Fei was the first.
Their gazes met in midair. Shangguan Xuan’s eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly. She cleared her throat and asked, “Well? Aren’t you going to eat it?”
As though compelled by some unseen force, Lin Fei leaned forward in a daze and bit the crayfish meat from her fingers, chewing it slowly.
It tasted pretty good, she thought.
The corners of Shangguan Xuan’s lips curved into a faint smile. She simply sat down on the carpet with her back resting against the sofa, then took out several more crayfish and carefully peeled them. She placed the shelled meat on one of the lids and pushed it toward Lin Fei.
Lin Fei was somewhat uncomfortable at first, but gradually, she also sat down on the carpet. The two sat side by side, quietly finishing the crayfish on the table.
As she ate, Lin Fei occasionally turned to glance at Shangguan Xuan. She had never imagined that there would come a day when the two of them could sit together and share a meal so peacefully. It was completely beyond her expectations.
However, Shangguan Xuan was not treating Lin Fei so well for any other reason. She was doing it to save her own life.
At this time, Lin Fei did not know her true identity. She did not know that Shangguan Xuan was actually Jiang Yiyi, her only friend from the orphanage when they were children. Nor did she know that she herself was Shangguan Sheng’s true granddaughter and the future heir of Hong’an Group.
Shangguan Xuan was not really Shangguan Xuan. She was merely an impostor.
Shangguan Xuan thought that if she treated Lin Fei a little better, perhaps Lin Fei would spare her once the truth came to light.
She admitted it—she was scared.
When they had nearly finished eating, Shangguan Xuan said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let Ye Shen bully you anymore. No matter how powerful he is, Hong’an still outranks the Ye family. As long as I’m here, he can’t do anything to you.”
Lin Fei’s hands paused. She tilted her head and looked at Shangguan Xuan in astonishment, her nose stinging faintly.
Shangguan Xuan did not notice her expression. She continued eating the crayfish in her hands, occasionally using her wrist to push back the long hair falling around her face.
Her hair was chestnut brown and curled. It was still half-damp and hung loosely around her cheeks, giving her an indescribable charm.
Lin Fei had never truly taken a close look at Shangguan Xuan’s face before. In truth, Shangguan Xuan was also exceptionally attractive. She had delicate nostrils and a tall nose bridge that ended in a slightly upturned tip, making her profile particularly beautiful. Perhaps because of the spicy crayfish, her lips were now vermilion, as though she had applied lipstick, glistening like ripe red cherries.
Lin Fei looked away uneasily, removed her disposable gloves, and stood up. “It’s getting late. I’m going back.”
Shangguan Xuan also removed her gloves and pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth. She quickly asked, “Where are you going?”
Lin Fei’s footsteps paused.
Shangguan Xuan continued, “I heard that because of Ye Shen, your landlord stopped renting the apartment to you and already kicked you out. Where can you possibly go now?”
Without turning around, Lin Fei replied, “You don’t need to concern yourself with that. I’ll find a way on my own.”
“You don’t have have a penny to your name. What can you possibly do? Why don’t you—”
Lin Fei abruptly turned around and fixed her with an icy stare.
Shangguan Xuan froze.
Lin Fei said, “You’ve meddled far too much today. I don’t know why your personality suddenly changed, and I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play, but I will never believe you’re doing this for my sake. As for Ye Shen… I have never wanted to steal him from you. If you can make him stop pestering me, I’ll be eternally grateful. I don’t want anything more to do with people like you.”
With that, she left. Shangguan Xuan wanted to chase after her, but when she reached the door, she suddenly realized that she was still wrapped in nothing but a bath towel. She hurried back into the room and changed her clothes.
By the time she left the hotel, Lin Fei was already nowhere to be seen.
A-Cheng approached from a distance. Shangguan Xuan asked, “Did you see Lin Fei?”
A-Cheng replied, “She headed that way ten minutes ago.”
Shangguan Xuan looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a bus stop in the distance.
When she drew closer, she finally spotted Lin Fei pacing back and forth in front of the bus stop sign. After pacing for a while, Lin Fei left the stop, shoved both hands into her coat pockets, and wandered aimlessly along the sidewalk.
Shangguan Xuan quietly followed behind her. She had searched Lin Fei’s pockets earlier. Lin Fei probably did not even have enough money to take the bus.
She sighed softly to herself, then silently cursed Ye Shen again. If not for him, Lin Fei would never have lost her job and her home, leaving her to wander aimlessly through the streets alone.
She thought about how frightened a young woman must feel, penniless and with no one to rely on in this city.
Lin Fei walked ahead while Shangguan Xuan followed at an unhurried pace.
After a while, Shangguan Xuan saw her take out her phone and make a call. She then walked to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and got in.
Shangguan Xuan stared at the taxi. The next moment, her eyes suddenly widened. “That car…” She whipped around and shouted at A-Cheng, “Hurry! Go get the car!”
A-Cheng did not know why she had suddenly become so agitated, but he still ran back to the parking lot beside the hotel to get their car.
Shangguan Xuan waited and waited, but A-Cheng still had not returned. She stared fixedly at the taxi Lin Fei had entered. When fewer than ten seconds remained on the red light, she had no choice but to hail another passing taxi and send A-Cheng her live location.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
Keeping her eyes on the taxi ahead, Shangguan Xuan said, “Follow that car.”
Without asking any questions, the driver started the engine.
Shangguan Xuan took out her phone again and called the police.
“Is this 110? There’s a taxi on Changxing Middle Road that I suspect is connected to violent crimes. Its license plate is XX-0520X. It’s a green Toyota taxi and is currently heading toward Jingyang Road. Please send someone immediately. There’s also a young female passenger inside…”
Shangguan Xuan ended the call.
The driver abruptly slammed on the brakes.
Shangguan Xuan’s entire body pitched forward. Before she could speak, the driver said fearfully, “Miss, you’d better get out. I don’t dare chase a killer’s car! I’m not risking my life for this little bit of money.”
The taxi ahead moved farther and farther away before finally disappearing around a corner. Growing anxious, Shangguan Xuan hurriedly said, “Someone’s life is at stake! Hurry up and follow them. If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late!”
The driver ignored her and reached over to open the front passenger door. “I can’t take you. You’d better hail another taxi.”
Shangguan Xuan became angry. She looked behind them, but A-Cheng still had not arrived. They had already traveled quite a distance from the hotel, so naturally, he could not catch up that quickly.
Gritting her teeth, Shangguan Xuan pulled a stack of cash from her bag and tossed it to the driver. “Give me the car and get out. I’ll have someone drive it back to you afterward.”
The driver held the cash uncertainly. “But… but you can’t…”
“Get out!” Shangguan Xuan shouted impatiently.
The driver jumped in fright. Shangguan Xuan shoved him out, climbed into the driver’s seat, and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Staring in the direction the other taxi had disappeared, she floored the accelerator, sending the car speeding down the sparsely populated road.
The farther she drove, the more desolate the road became.
Up ahead appeared to be an industrial district. The wide, empty road was completely deserted, and the surrounding area was shrouded in darkness, with only a dim streetlight every hundred meters or so.
This made Shangguan Xuan even more convinced that there was something suspicious about the taxi. Otherwise, why would a woman like Lin Fei come to a place like this so late at night?
The car slowly entered the industrial district. Shangguan Xuan parked several dozen meters away from it.
The area appeared to be under construction, with metal sheets and shovels scattered everywhere.
Shangguan Xuan casually snatched an iron rod from the ground and jogged inside.
The taxi carrying Lin Fei was parked beneath an industrial building. Not a single light was on nearby, leaving the surroundings in complete darkness, but a dim light glowed inside the car.
The windows were not covered with privacy tint, so with the faint light, Shangguan Xuan could clearly see everything inside.
A muscular man was leaning over Lin Fei in the back seat, tearing at her clothes.
Lin Fei was not moving. She appeared to be unconscious.
Shangguan Xuan’s heart jolted. She hurried forward, covering the distance in a few quick strides. Using the iron rod, she forcefully pried open the car door and struck the man hard across the back.
The man let out a low howl of pain. Clutching his back, he turned around.
When Shangguan Xuan met the man’s bloodthirsty, hawk-like eyes, she froze and involuntarily took a step back.
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