The sun sank below the horizon, and sheets of neon lights came on. The air was still gloomy, as if a torrential downpour might suddenly fall at any moment.
Jing Pei pinched her chin and wondered, Why is it that whenever someone is written to die, it always has to be on a rainy day? Somehow, without realizing it, she had written it that way. Was it because dying in heavy rain looked more tragic, like snow falling in June?
Still, thanks to that, it was easier to determine the time. After all, when incidents happened, the exact time was usually not written in detail, so one could only rely on other clues to infer it.
Just like Wen Yuxian’s time of death before, and now, Mei Yanlan’s time of death.
Jing Pei leaned against the car, thinking. A taxi drove over and stopped beside the Long family’s car.
The door opened, and a man in a suit stepped out. He had a strong, tall physique, the kind that looked like he could take on ten people at once, a sexy and distinctive little mustache, and deep eyes like an ancient well. Yet in his hand, he carried a white first-aid kit. He was a doctor who saved lives and healed the wounded, his whole body exuding a contradictory masculine charm.
Jing Pei turned to look at Tang Woxue and smiled. “Doctor Tang, you’re here. Sorry, I’ll have to trouble you to drive. I don’t have a license.”
After the driver had brought her here, she had already sent him back first.
“Sure. It’s my honor to serve the eldest young lady.” Tang Woxue flashed a row of snow-white teeth and was about to open the rear door for Jing Pei, only to find that she had already opened the passenger-side door herself and gotten in.
He froze for a moment. He had not expected an aloof heir of a Great Family like her to sit beside him as an equal. Then he opened the driver’s door, got in, and placed the first-aid kit on the back seat.
Tang Woxue started the car and drove according to the navigation Jing Pei had entered. As he drove, he asked, “So, eldest young lady, can you tell me now what happened?”
“I’m not sure yet, so I can’t tell you right now. In short, if someone’s life ends up being in danger, I’ll have to rely on your miraculous healing hands, Doctor Tang,” Jing Pei said. “I really do need a highly skilled family doctor.”
“Haha, I told you. It’s not too late to regret it now. My time will always be reserved for you, eldest young lady,” Tang Woxue said with a laugh. His attitude had always been frivolous and teasing, making it difficult to tell whether his words were true or false.
Jing Pei did not seem to take it seriously.
A private hospital.
The high-level VIP ward had an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a full view of the beautiful city nightscape, like flowing magma.
The pale-faced woman sat on the hospital bed, watching the image on the television in front of her. The boy with those beautiful, almost dreamlike eyes was standing on the flag-raising platform, making a loyal-dog declaration to the girl below.
A nurse came in with medicine and carefully observed her expression. Seeing that her mood had already calmed, she smiled as if nothing were wrong and said, “Are you watching this video again? Everyone’s watching Great Families now, or the earthquake situation over in Mingbo City.”
“I’m not interested in any of that.” Yan Jinhua leaned against the pillow, a trace of nostalgia appearing on her face. “When people get old, they like reminiscing about the past. When I see this boy, it’s like seeing Ah Xue back then. He once made the same promise to me, and even now, he has fulfilled it very well.”
The nurse’s smile stiffened slightly, but she quickly displayed strong professional composure. “It’s clear that Doctor Tang is indeed someone who keeps his promises. You should relax. Doctor Tang will definitely do everything he can to save you.”
Although in her opinion, for such a young Doctor Tang to conquer this terminal illness in such a short time was just impossible. This woman was forcing him to do the impossible.
Yan Jinhua looked at the television. Seeing the girl accept the other party amid the cheering, she shook her head with an unreadable expression, coughed twice, and said, “Naive girl. There is no lock. Humans are creatures whose words in youth are even more easily abandoned in the river of time than their original intentions. Then they will say, They were still young back then. How could words spoken at that age be taken seriously?”
The nurse did not understand what she meant by a lock, but she roughly understood what she was trying to express. After all, she and her colleagues had talked about it many times in private why Tang Woxue obeyed this woman in everything, even enduring her occasional insults, when he was clearly such a genius.
So she must have exercised some kind of control over Tang Woxue.
Yan Jinhua closed her eyes. A blurry figure surfaced in her mind. She could no longer remember what he looked like as a child. She only remembered that he had been covered in wounds, with large patches of needle marks and bruises on his arms, looking utterly pitiful. looking pitiful, like a puppy beaten half-dead in the rain, shivering all over.
At the time, she had thought: This is what she wanted.
But it seemed he was still not miserable enough.
Xiao Cheng was seized by the arm and escorted to the side of the bubble. He struggled desperately, his heart burning with anxiety, his entire body feeling as though it were being roasted over a fire. His expensive shirt had become wrinkled, his hair was disheveled, and his handsome face was covered with wounds. He looked utterly wretched.
He had regretted many times beginning his relationship with Mei Yanlan with such despicable intentions, so much so that he had always felt guilty and could never stand in the position of a husband and question her with full confidence. But perhaps because he had fallen in love with Mei Yanlan, he had never regretted marrying her.
Now he regretted it. He should not have married her. It would have been best if he had never met her at all. That way, she would not have to be coerced.
He did not dare imagine what would happen after Mei Yanlan arrived. Just thinking about it a little made his heart feel as though it were about to split apart.
Soon, a faint sound came from outside the bubble. Xiao Cheng had a premonition. It was her!
“Mei Yanlan, go! Don’t come over!” Xiao Cheng immediately roared, the person holding him clamped a hand over his mouth.
Mei Yanlan stood on the cliff. Hearing the sound, she paused. There should be a bubble here.
Sure enough, several people jumped out from the invisible space above the cliff.
“Miss Ling Yilan.” The woman at the head of the group wore a women’s suit, had her hair tied in a ponytail, wore red-framed glasses, and had a strange snake-shaped tattoo pattern at the corner of her eye. She sized Mei Yanlan up. A shirt, jeans, high heels, and a designer handbag. It was a very everyday outfit, as if this trip were no different from any ordinary outing.
“My name is Mei Yanlan.”
Miss Hong went along with the correction smoothly, since it was of no importance. “Miss Mei Yanlan, honored guest, on behalf of the organization, I extend our sincere welcome.”
Xiao Cheng kept struggling, making muffled sounds, urging her to leave. He did not care what would happen to him or what would happen to the child in his belly in the future. In any case, right now, he could not bear to see anything happen to Mei Yanlan. She was more important than both himself and the child.
Mei Yanlan naturally heard his voice, but it was as if she did not hear the urgency in it. “Xiao Cheng is inside?”
“Yes. Mr. Xiao is waiting for you inside. Miss Mei, please come in.”
“Then let’s go.”
Miss Hong and the people she had brought out were stunned. They had originally prepared to negotiate with Mei Yanlan, since Mei Yanlan had surely come intending to trade herself for Xiao Cheng. That was why they had brought Xiao Cheng to the entrance of the bubble.
But they were not going to let either Xiao Cheng or Mei Yanlan go. For the sake of their great cause, naturally the more experimental subjects, the better. So they had assumed a fierce fight would be hard to avoid. The Atavist weapons were already prepared. Xiao Cheng was merely bait meant to make Mei Yanlan hesitate.
Who would have thought that Mei Yanlan would say nothing more and directly agree to follow them inside? That was their base camp, and it was even a bubble with only a single entrance and exit. In other words, once Mei Yanlan entered, she would be a turtle caught in a jar, with no possibility of escape.
“What’s wrong?” Mei Yanlan’s seductive smile took on a trace of mockery. “Regretting inviting me in?”
“Of course not. We could not welcome Miss Mei more. Please come in,” Miss Hong immediately said. She looked at her subordinate, who shook his head. Along the way here, there had indeed been no one following Mei Yanlan. She really had come alone.
No matter what, if they could get Mei Yanlan inside without a fierce battle, that was naturally best. After all, they were currently outside the bubble; if they made too much commotion, it might create hidden risks. Their organization was different from the Atavist Serum Organization. They had always hidden themselves well. Aside from their own people and their clients, almost no one knew of their existence.
Miss Hong wanted their organization to continue developing quietly and discreetly. Making a fortune in silence was her principle for handling matters.
Mei Yanlan followed them and leapt inside, disappearing from above the cliff.
As soon as she entered, Mei Yanlan saw Xiao Cheng, whose eyes looked as if they were about to split from rage and despair.
Miss Hong’s people, along with the muzzles of one Atavist weapon after another, were all aimed at her. The entrance was instantly blocked as well. The flimsy mask they had originally worn was now completely torn away.
But Mei Yanlan paid no attention to this silent smoke of battle or the tense, drawn-blade atmosphere. She walked toward Xiao Cheng.
Her red high heels supported her graceful, curvaceous figure. Every step swayed with charm. Beneath her two horns, small and exquisite golden bells rang out in crisp, pleasing tones. Her seductive red eyes looked at the man, and a sigh slipped from between her full red lips. “Xiao Cheng…”
Miss Hong frowned slightly. She could not figure out what kind of person Mei Yanlan was. There was no helping it. For so many years, Mei Yanlan had hidden herself too well. The little information they had gathered recently was simply not enough to judge her. But this was her territory. Since Mei Yanlan had entered, there was no way she could leave. Therefore, Miss Hong merely ordered her subordinates to stand by, wanting to see what Mei Yanlan intended to do.
If she had understood Mei Yanlan’s personality, she probably would not have relaxed and indulged her curiosity simply because this was her own territory.
Mei Yanlan walked up to Xiao Cheng and stopped. She reached out. “Look at how wretched you are, CEO Xiao.”
Because of Mei Yanlan’s hand, the person covering Xiao Cheng’s mouth from behind withdrew his hand. But Xiao Cheng could no longer speak. He could only look at her with helpless, pleading eyes.
Mei Yanlan’s hand was as cold as ice as it landed on his cheek and gently stroked it.
Her voice was sexy and alluring, very soft, like a whisper in his ear. “You brought this on yourself. If you hadn’t come to provoke me, there wouldn’t be a today.”
Xiao Cheng said, “I’m sorry. I brought this on myself. So go. I’m begging you, don’t bother with me…”
“You’re carrying my child. How could I not bother with you?” Mei Yanlan sighed softly again.
That faint sigh seemed to crush Xiao Cheng’s heart. Regret drowned him once more. He really was scum. He had harmed himself and harmed the person he loved most. This was all retribution.
“Since you understand that all of this is your own doing, then you should be able to accept this ending too.” As Mei Yanlan finished speaking, her hand had already slid down to his chest.
Xiao Cheng’s eyes suddenly widened.
Miss Hong’s expression changed drastically. Everyone was shocked.
Mei Yanlan’s hand had already pierced into his chest. Her ice-cold fingers gripped his heart. The heart pounded hard and fast in her hand, like a small bird caught and struggling desperately.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Those scarlet, beautiful eyes before him seemed to contain an icy, mad, and cruel vortex. They were so beautiful that they made one’s heart tremble and hair stand on end. The corners of her gorgeous mouth were slightly raised in an equally mad and sick smile. In that instant, he completely understood what Mei Yanlan meant.
At this point, if she could no longer protect him, then she would kill him. A brief pain was better than long torment.
Mei Yanlan had not come to save him. She had come to kill him.
“Stop her!” Miss Hong screamed herself hoarse.
The combat personnel prepared for Mei Yanlan were all very strong. Almost the moment Miss Hong gave the order, they moved. Mei Yanlan had intended to crush Xiao Cheng’s heart, but unexpectedly, the instant her hand exerted force, some power seemed to protect that fragile heart. At the same time, a fierce gust attacked from behind. She had no choice but to withdraw her hand and dodge those attacks.
Her hand was covered in Xiao Cheng’s blood. There was a large hole in Xiao Cheng’s chest. If one moved close and looked carefully, one could even see the heart that had brushed past the god of death. The organization’s people immediately dragged him toward the research institute. Xiao Cheng was only an ordinary person; he had to be rescued at once.
Mei Yanlan had not the slightest intention of lingering in battle. She adopted a policy of evasion. Her goal was clear: dodge those people and chase after Xiao Cheng.
Miss Hong had never lost her composure like this before. She shouted, “Protect Xiao Cheng! Protect Xiao Cheng!”
The Seahorse Clan had almost no combat power on land, and even in the ocean, they were creatures with extremely slow movement speed. However, they were able to capture prey that moved very quickly because they were exceptionally good at stealth and ambush, almost completely silent.
Usually, Mei Yanlan did not need to use this part of her ability. But now she used it. While her speed rose to another level, her movements also became difficult for the enemy to detect. She was like a slippery fish, breaking through the encirclement in the blink of an eye.
She was really using all her strength to hunt down Xiao Cheng, as well as the child in his belly.
Miss Hong was thrown into such a panic that sweat covered her forehead. She hurriedly ordered the combat personnel stationed everywhere to come over and encircle Mei Yanlan, while also ordering the medical staff inside the research institute to prepare to rescue Xiao Cheng, afraid that Xiao Cheng might accidentally kick the bucket.
Even if beaten to death, she would never have imagined that Mei Yanlan could be this insane.
Nor could she have imagined that Xiao Cheng, whom they had used to make Mei Yanlan hesitate, would instead become the very person who made them hesitate. Because Mei Yanlan was pursuing closely behind him, they did not dare use highly destructive Atavist weapons against her, afraid that they might accidentally implicate Xiao Cheng, who was already hanging by a thread.
