Yan Xia frowned and dodged to the side, hiding behind the potted green plants in the lobby. She quietly put on her baseball cap, took off her coat and hugged it in her arms. Holding her phone as if answering a call, she covered half of her face with the phone and walked out of the Shengshi Building with big strides, head down.
She walked very fast, striding across the square in front of the special assistant. Before she had walked a few meters, she suddenly heard someone call her from behind.
"Miss Lu."
She paused for a moment and then walked a few more steps. Sensing that the person behind was quickly catching up, she suddenly took off running. She managed to hail a taxi on the road, and the car sped away in a cloud of dust.
The special assistant quickly got into a car and told the driver, "No matter what, we have to catch up with that person!"
The two cars moved forward in the congested traffic after work, driving at a speed as if in a drag race.
Finally, with their excellent driving skills, the special assistant and the driver caught up with the taxi Yan Xia was in and forced it to stop by the roadside. A sharp screeching sound of brakes rang out.
Yan Xia was sitting in the back row. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get the reclamation approval document today.
The special assistant opened the car door from the outside. Seeing Yan Xia, his attitude remained respectful. "Miss Lu, no matter what, General Manager Lu must see you today."
She got into the car with them. The driver locked the door tightly, leaving her no chance to escape again.
Looking at the serious expression on the special assistant's face, Yan Xia already had an answer in her heart, but she still couldn't help asking.
"What does Third Brother want to see me about at this time, personal business or official business?"
The special assistant said, "You'll know when you get there, Miss Lu."
Moreover, at this point, shouldn't she already know it well? Asking others was not as clear as asking her own heart.
Yan Xia said in a chatty tone, "It must be a very urgent matter if it can trouble you, the special assistant, to come and pick me up in person."
Since the last time she had tricked him into getting the Changling project plan under the pretext of an allergy, the special assistant had known one thing: Lu Sheng was definitely not as simple and amiable as she seemed on the surface. In fact, she was very smart and full of ideas.
Every decision and every word of hers must have a purpose. The more you said, the more mistakes you would make. So keeping silent at this time was the wisest decision.
He lifted his eyelids slightly, his eyes hidden behind the lenses. "Miss Lu, you'd better stop making useless struggles. You should know why General Manager Lu wants to see you. We can't change General Manager Lu's decisions. After all, you are his younger sister. I believe General Manager Lu won't do anything out of line."
But Yan Xia didn't think so.
She was afraid that this time she was going to be in great danger.
The car drove for a long time and finally stopped outside a secluded artificial lake.
This was an artificial lake built by Lu Qianzhou. There were no outsiders within ten miles.
She followed the special assistant through the long corridor that was like a maze. Above were all gray - green glazed tile roofs. After passing through the corridor, they walked along a small path to the lotus pond. In the pond, only the white - headed reeds were set against the slanting rays of the setting sun. The reed flowers were fluttering in the wind, desolate and quiet.
From afar, she finally saw Lu Qianzhou.
There was a small path about two meters wide by the roadside, leading to the middle of the artificial lake. Lu Qianzhou was standing at the end of the path, waiting for her arrival.
Seeing him and Mu Rui and others standing on the path from afar, as if they had premeditated something, her heart suddenly tightened.
The special assistant stopped by the lake and let her walk over alone.
The ten - meter - long path seemed to take her a long time to walk.
Finally, when she came in front of Lu Qianzhou, she saw ropes, lassos and other tools on the ground.
What were they going to do... kill her and cover up the evidence?
When she got out of the car, she didn't take her coat and was only wearing a thin white shirt. The shirt was extremely thin and was blown against her fair skin by the cold wind. Her lips were tightly pursed, and her short hair was in a mess in the wind, falling on her shoulders.
Lu Qianzhou had his hands in his pockets, and there was a bit of unruly coldness in his eyes.
His figure was shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun, and his face was clean and handsome.
After a moment, he finally glanced at her and curled his lips. "Cheng Yan Xia, have I spoiled you and given you too much face?"
Mu Rui stood silently beside them. He came for no other reason than to prevent any life - threatening danger to her when Lu Qianzhou ordered someone to take action later, to keep her alive.
Yan Xia's small face was pale from the cold. "I was considering the long - term plan. Losing this one project..."
Lu Qianzhou said, "I've told you what you can touch and what you can't. Your memory seems to be a bit bad. Or do you think you can manipulate me at will just because I'm a bit interested in you?"
Yan Xia shook her head.
She stared at Lu Qianzhou's tense facial outline and thought that his reaction at this moment seemed too calm. Wasn't he so angry that he had already thought of a way to kill her in his mind and was just waiting to take action?
In either case, speaking now would only make him more annoyed. Keeping silent was the wisest choice.
Lu Qianzhou took out a cigarette, and his assistant silently lit it for him.
The water surface was sparkling. It was the early winter, and since it was already evening, the temperature was very low.
He took a few puffs of the cigarette and looked at her sideways. "Let's settle the matter of Xinghai Bay and the previous time you used your little cleverness to take advantage of me together today."
The key point was, how was he going to settle it?
Yan Xia knew that he would be angry, definitely angry, but she didn't expect him to be this angry. Sometimes, when a person was extremely angry but remained silent, it was the most terrifying, because you didn't know when he would explode. Maybe never, or maybe the next second.
After he finished smoking the cigarette, he flicked the cigarette butt into the water to put it out.
As if it was a secret signal, the next second, the assistant beside him stepped forward, connected the rope to the lasso, and neatly tied it around her body.
Yan Xia glanced at the lake beside her and probably already realized what was going to happen. But she didn't want to plead with Lu Qianzhou. Pleading at this moment would be useless. She could only wait until he calmed down and laughed, then she would be safe.
So she couldn't help taking deep breaths, her chest rising and falling rapidly, trying to calm herself down.
Lu Qianzhou looked at her coldly. "Miss Cheng, you're not fun and you're very disobedient. I'm getting a bit tired of you. You should know that if I abandon you, what kind of situation you'll be in. So don't always be so smart and play a double - agent in front of me. Once I stop protecting you one day, you'll die an ugly death."
As soon as he finished speaking, the assistant beside him suddenly reached out and pushed her. With a splash, she fell into the cold water. She was completely unprepared and let out a panicked scream.
The posture of falling face - up into the water made the cold water continuously pour into her nose and mouth. The cold water instantly wrapped around her whole body, freezing her brain in pain. Her scream was swallowed by the water.
All she could hear in her ears was the gurgling sound of the water beside her. Fear made her forget the swimming skills, and she could only flail around in the water.
On the small path by the shore, Lu Qianzhou ordered someone to tie the rope that was tied to Yan Xia to the guardrail beside it to prevent her from sinking deeper into the water.
The fear of suffocation swept through her brain.
Yan Xia finally opened her eyes. The water kept pouring into her nose and mouth, and a long string of bubbles came out of her mouth.
Finally, she desperately waved her arms and swam towards the water surface.