Inside Chen Laojiu's mansion, the alarm blared wildly. A torrential curtain of rain fell from above, and everyone scurried about in panic.
Li Yishan rushed out of her room. Her clothes were already soaked through, and she held her laptop in her arms.
"Where's the fire?"
The subordinates searched around but couldn't find the source of the fire. They reported, "It might be a false alarm. Miss Li, don't worry."
"Such a nuisance!" Li Yishan grumbled. She was about to take off her wet clothes when Xie Bingxia took the opportunity to knock on the door and ask, "Miss Li, the shower in my room is broken. Can I borrow your bathroom?"
Li Yishan saw that Xie Bingxia also looked in a sorry state, with a red nose. She sneezed, "Achoo!"
"Come in," Li Yishan said as she quickly took off her clothes. Without any hesitation, she said to Xie Bingxia, "If you don't mind, we can take a shower together."
Xie Bingxia quickly shook her head. "I don't mind!"
Li Yishan smiled friendly and turned to run hot water in the bathtub. Considerately, she said, "It's easy to catch a cold when you're wet in this weather. A hot bath would be better."
"Um... thank you," Xie Bingxia replied. She didn't really care about catching a cold. She seized the opportunity to scrutinize Li Yishan's naked body.
Li Yishan was extremely shrewd. She noticed Xie Bingxia's intense gaze and said with a smile, "What's so special about my body?"
Xie Bingxia blushed and turned her face away shyly. "Your figure is so good. I couldn't help but take a few more looks."
"You have the same things as I do. There's nothing to envy," Li Yishan said as she handed her a bath sponge. "Rinse off first, then soak in the bathtub."
"I'll scrub your back!" Xie Bingxia still wanted to take a closer look. Li Yishan teased her instead. "You like my body so much?"
Xie Bingxia didn't give her a chance to refuse. She lathered up some bubbles and got to work right away. The slippery bath ball glided over Li Yishan's fair - as - jade skin. Xie Bingxia scrubbed almost her entire body but didn't see any tattoos.
Then, the two of them immersed themselves in the warm water and sat facing each other.
Li Yishan asked, "Have you remembered anything from the past?"
"No," Xie Bingxia said dejectedly. "Were you and I close before, Miss Li? Could you tell me something about the past?"
"We used to be very good friends," Li Yishan leaned against the edge of the bathtub and slowly began, "We grew up together. We went to the same primary school and the same middle school. We only separated when we went to college."
Xie Bingxia couldn't believe it. "We... were childhood sweethearts?"
"Yes. Later, you fell in love with the boy next door. You two were deeply in love, and there was no longer a place for me."
"Miss Li, is what you're saying really my past?" Xie Bingxia looked at her seriously. By now, it was obvious that what Li Yishan was talking about wasn't Xie Bingxia's story at all, but - Xia Jingwei!
Li Yishan covered her mouth and laughed. "I'm just joking with you. Look how serious you are."
"Then whose past are you talking about?"
"Before you ask me, could you answer a question for me?" Li Yishan suddenly stopped smiling. She reached out to brush a strand of hair behind Xie Bingxia's ear, then traced down and hooked her neck, pulling her close.
With their noses almost touching, Li Yishan whispered, "What are you trying so hard to get from me?"
Xie Bingxia's eyes widened. A powerful and silent sense of oppression crept up from her nerve endings. Her breathing became rapid for a moment. She saw her own face reflected in Li Yishan's pupils and completely lost her composure.
"I..."
Li Yishan put her finger on Xie Bingxia's lips. "Shh, you need time to think. Don't answer me in a hurry." After saying that, she let go of Xie Bingxia and walked out of the bathtub on her own. "The water is getting cold. Remember to get out soon."
Only after Li Yishan left the bathroom did Xie Bingxia dare to relax her tense nerves. She scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her face. There was a helpless bitter smile on her lips.
Why did she mention Xia Jingwei's past? Did she notice something?
The bathroom was filled with mist. After Xie Bingxia calmed down a bit, she shivered. She casually wrapped a bath towel around herself and stepped out of the bathtub.
The huge crystal chandelier hanging above suddenly flickered twice. Xie Bingxia looked up.
Whoosh! There was a faint sound, the vibration of metal cutting through the air quickly. The chain holding the crystal chandelier snapped at that moment, and the whole chandelier crashed down towards Xie Bingxia, who didn't have time to run away.
"Ah!" Xie Bingxia let out a scream and covered her head. A strong force rushed towards her. Then her body flew backward and stopped after hitting a solid chest.
Xie Bingxia scrambled to get up. She saw the big oaf lying beneath her. Looking back, she saw the crystal chandelier smashed into pieces, and the fragments were flying everywhere. If the big oaf hadn't rushed over to be a human cushion for her, she might have been in pieces by now.
The big oaf shook his head vigorously, as if to confirm whether he was awake. Xie Bingxia quickly asked, "Are you okay?" The big oaf's gaze shifted downward, and the area under his eyelids was a bit red. Xie Bingxia looked down following his eyes -
Slap! A clear sound of a slap echoed through the bathroom. The big oaf's cheek was slapped red by Xie Bingxia. He wasn't angry. He picked up the bath towel and wrapped it around Xie Bingxia again. In an extremely low voice, he said, "You're being targeted. Be careful." After saying that, he walked out awkwardly.
Xie Bingxia's heart was pounding fast, and she couldn't calm down no matter what. After all, the big oaf had saved her once. Even though he accidentally saw her naked body, she decided to call it even. Anyway, he was so stupid, like a wooden man. She might as well just pretend she was stared at by a donkey.
She tightened the bath towel around her body and turned back to check the crystal chandelier. Sure enough, there were traces of a bullet hitting the chandelier chain.
- You're being targeted.
At this moment, the previously vague thought gradually became clear. Li Yishan easily got naked in front of her, deliberately mentioned Xia Jingwei's past, and even shot down the crystal chandelier to intimidate her. In fact, it was all a warning.
If she crossed the line again, Li Yishan might get rid of her without anyone knowing!
She had to be extremely careful from now on!
A few hours later, Chen Laojiu rushed home in a hurry. As soon as he entered the door, he started cursing and called all his subordinates to the meeting hall for an interrogation.
"Damn it! Who the hell was smoking? Ah? I've said no smoking at home! No smoking at home! Do you guys just turn a deaf ear to my words?"
Chen Laojiu pointed at his subordinates, furious. A young man named A San stepped forward and showed him the cigarette butt he picked up from the storage room. "Boss, it was that guy Heipi who did it!"
Chen Laojiu stared at the cigarette butt for a long time but didn't understand. "How do you know?"
"Only he smokes this brand of cigarettes!"
"This cigarette isn't strong enough. It's not exciting. We don't like it." "Yeah, I've only seen Heipi smoke it."
Chen Laojiu's eyes turned fierce. "Bring him here!"
Several people pushed and shoved the big oaf in front of Chen Laojiu. Chen Laojiu pointed at the cigarette butt and asked, "Yours?"
The big oaf shook his head. Chen Laojiu firmly pinched his cheeks and roared, "Speak!"
The subordinate beside him jeered, "Boss, he's a mute. He can only work and can't talk. Hahaha."
A San added fuel to the fire. "Boss, it was definitely him who smoked. There's no mistake!"
Chen Laojiu clicked his tongue. His killing intent was palpable. He instructed several subordinates, "Take him down and chop off his right hand. See how he smokes in the future!"