Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xi Bolai was deep in his merry thoughts. Little did he expect that Jin Qingyan would arrive with a bunch of bodyguards after receiving the message he had sent him.
Xi Bolai had weaker forces compared to Jin Qingyan. Moreover, it was more than easy for the latter to defeat Xi Bolai with the help of Byron, who had a powerful authority in Y Nation.
Soon, Xi Bolai’s den was surrounded by Jin Qingyan’s men.
They could not enter, but Xi Bolai’s men could not exit either.
The two waging parties continued to remain that day.
At last, Jin Qingyan let out a warning, threatening to destroy Xi Bolai’s territory and annihilate him should he still refuse to hand An Xiaoning over.
Xi Bolai was not flustered at all and instructed his men to tell Jin Qingyan to go ahead since An Xiaoning was still inside anyway.
They would at most perish together.
That was Jin Qingyan’s main concern and exactly why he had been delaying his attack.
He absolutely regretted not getting rid of Xi Bolai the previous time he’d managed to rescue An Xiaoning.
He should not have given Xi Bolai the chance to act all haughty and arrogant.
It was unlike him to sacrifice his men to annihilate his enemy.
However, he had already decided that Xi Bolai must die once he managed to rescue An Xiaoning.
The two parties continued to be on guard day after day.
Soon, two weeks passed.
There was no progress at all.
An Xiaoning had yet to regain consciousness while Xi Bolai could finally get down from the bed and move about.
“Master, Jin Qingyan’s bodyguards have surrounded us, and the food supply in the storeroom is running low. I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it past another few days if we still don’t go out to restock.”
Gripping the surface of the table tightly, Xi Bolai instructed, “Tell him to prepare to collect An Xiaoning’s corpse if he doesn’t transfer the 500 million dollars to my bank account today.”
“Got it.”
His subordinates hurried downstairs to inform the bodyguards outside.
Surprisingly, Jin Qingyan asked to speak to Xi Bolai instead.
Xi Bolai agreed.
“Transfer me the money and I’ll hand her over,” Xi Bolai said over the phone.
“What happens if you go back on your word?”
“Then that’s too bad. It’s up to you to decide if you want to believe me,” said Xi Bolai, who had the upper hand. He was not afraid that Jin Qingyan would not pay up since he was holding An Xiaoning hostage.
Having already guessed what Xi Bolai had up his sleeve, Jin Qingyan asked, “Are you going to extort me for more money in the future after I give you the 500 million dollars this time?”
“Hahaha, I haven’t thought about the future, I’m talking about now. You have half an hour to decide. If I still don’t receive the money by then, you know what’ll happen. Don’t think I’m afraid just because you’ve surrounded my house. There are many secret passageways here. Don’t underestimate me,” Xi Bolai sneered.
Gritting his teeth in anger, Jin Qingyan answered, “Is that so?”
“Of course.”
Xi Bolai ended the call in high spirits. He was exceptionally thrilled to know that he had managed to anger Jin Qingyan.
“Master, Ms. An has come to.”
“Excellent. I’ll go have a look,” said Xi Bolai as he made his way upstairs.
He pushed the door open, and seeing him, the servants inside left.
Xi Bolai stared at her with raised brows and said, “You’ve finally come to after sleeping for half a month. I would’ve really treated you like a vegetable if you woke up any later.”
“Xi Bolai, do you know how utterly shameless and despicable you are?”
“You may say what you want for all I care. An Xiaoning, didn’t you say that night that I wouldn’t win? But the truth has proven that I won, hasn’t it? Since you’ve landed in my hands once again, you won’t be able to escape so easily. I won’t allow history to repeat itself.”
An Xiaoning looked down to see that she had been changed out of her clothes. “Is that so?” she asked.
“Jin Qingyan is going to give me 500 million dollars very soon. You’re very valuable, eh? Other men would never be willing to give up so much for a woman.”
“Xi Bolai! Just what do you want?” An Xiaoning snapped in uncontrollable rage.
“Isn’t it obvious enough? I’m after money, of course. What else? I’d also like to know what it’s like to sleep with Jin Qingyan’s woman,” he answered, clucking his tongue.
Noticing how nervous An Xiaoning had gotten, a malicious smirk formed on his face. “Rest assured, I don’t feel like touching a patient who just regained her consciousness. I will treat you well, just relax and recuperate. You don’t have to worry about that bit yet,” he added.
An Xiaoning closed her eyes and remained silent.
All smiles, Xi Bolai exited the room.
An Xiaoning opened her eyes again. Her arms and legs were all shackled.
The bed she was laying on was one meant for elderly and immobile patients. There was a round hole in the middle of the bed to allow her to answer nature’s calls conveniently.
She was laying in bed just like a vegetable.
She knew that she was not wearing any bottoms, without even having to touch herself.
Once again, she was plagued with the feeling of being trapped and humiliated.
She deeply resented Xi Bolai to the core.
She must find a way to escape.
However, given the current situation, Xi Bolai must have tightened security around her. Fleeing was almost a far-fetched idea.
Yet, it was not like her to give up.
——
The film An Xiaoning invested in was screened on Christmas Day.
The box office sales hit over 100 million within the first day of screening.
It should have been a piece of joyous news for An Xiaoning, who was the sole investor of the film. However, she was unable to celebrate at this juncture.
Mei Yangyang was also in a state of worry and panic. She could no longer tolerate it any further after hearing that Xi Bolai had greedily extorted Jin Qingyan for 500 million dollars, followed by another billion dollars.
She decided to go undercover and infiltrate Xi Bolai’s den to rescue An Xiaoning.
Long Tianze did not support her decision.
“That’s an extremely dangerous place. You definitely can’t go alone. The consequences would be dire if you get exposed,” Long Tianze objected.
“I’ll wear Sis’ mask,” Mei Yangyang insisted.
“Forget it, even Jin Qingyan’s secret agents failed to do so. What makes you think you’ll succeed? If anything happens to you, Qingyan and I will be grief-stricken,” said Long Tianze, expressing his strong disapproval.
“It’s settled then. Stay out of this,” Mei Yangyang said, refusing to give in.
“Mei Yangyang! Don’t try anything funny and just stay put here,” Long Tianze snapped in a bid to stop her.
Upon seeing how adamant he was, an idea popped up in Mei Yangyang’s mind.
“You look so stern and austere. Fine, I won’t go, okay?”
“Yes. There’s no way you can go alone. It’s not a place anyone can enter easily. Don’t be so reckless,” Long Tianze lectured her.
Although Mei Yangyang responded by nodding fervently, she actually thought otherwise deep down.
Mei Yangyang headed to An Xiaoning’s home in Dongpo Road to retrieve the human mask and An Xiaoning’s gun. She also armed herself with a knife before heading to the underground black market to buy some gas that would knock someone unconscious with just one spray.
Mei Yangyang did not adopt the standard protocol of going through immigration and boarding a commercial plane. Instead, she chose to cross the border to Y Nation sneakily.
Before leaving, she informed her father that she would be going on a vacation. Her father agreed right away, thinking that she must be going with her boyfriend on a trip to relax after being so busy lately.
Mei Yangyang arrived at the ferry terminal with a backpack strapped across her back.
