Lin Xiaoqiang, Liu Mei, Yang Chun, and Jin Tie sat around the coffee table in the private room. Yang Chun raised his glass and declared, "To the successful alliance of our two forces, let's drink!" Liu Mei and Jin Tie enthusiastically followed suit, draining their glasses, while Lin Xiaoqiang only wet his lips.
Liu Mei said, "I've wronged you many times before, Mr. Lin. I hope you can forget all of that. Our common enemy now is Guo Xiaopeng."
"Forget? I can't forget," Lin Xiaoqiang replied, wiping his mouth. "But working together against Guo Xiaopeng, that's possible."
"Division followed by unity!" Jin Tie tried to smooth things over, clinking glasses with Yang Chun.
Liu Mei took out a bank draft from her bag, gracefully handing it to Lin Xiaoqiang. He forced a smile as he accepted it. Squinting at it in the dim light but unable to read it clearly, he tucked it into his pocket and stood up, signaling to Jin Tie with his eyes.
Jin Tie understood that Lin Xiaoqiang wanted him, the bank expert, to verify the draft and immediately stood up, "I need to use the restroom as well."
After they left, Yang Chun quickly poured white powder into their glasses. "Top-grade heroin, the king of kings!" he whispered to Liu Mei.
Liu Mei picked up their glasses and shook them vigorously.
Meanwhile, a jeep stopped by the beach. Wang Jingfei was dragged out of the car by Lin Xiaoliang and his men. Her long hair billowed in the sea breeze, her face resolute and calm, her lips tightly sealed. Duan Hai, hands in his pockets, leaned against a Mercedes, watching coldly.
Wang Jingfei walked towards the sea, her face bathed in blue moonlight, the swirling sand around her feet forming a golden mist. She thought anxiously: Could she have been exposed? Possibly. Guo Xiaopeng, with his high intelligence, couldn't have missed her actions. Meeting with Chen Ran, Bi Xu, and Fei Jingwei tonight... What should she do? Risk her life? No! She mustn't act rashly until the last moment...
Guo Xiaopeng finally appeared, his tall, thin silhouette reflected in the shimmering sea. His rust-colored trench coat fluttered in the wind, giving him a sinister charm.
Wang Jingfei confronted Guo Xiaopeng, stopping a meter away, "Why did you kidnap me?"
Guo Xiaopeng, in an overly self-assured tone, replied, "You may know, or you may not, but I have deeply fallen in love with you. Deeply!" He turned his face towards the rolling waves, "But your actions have greatly disappointed me. I won't waste words on minor issues. What I cannot tolerate is your involvement with the police!" His tone grew colder, "I believe that even if you're not an undercover officer, you're certainly not my ally. Therefore—" his cold-blooded nature revealed, "you must leave this world today. If you can tell me your true identity before then, you will live forever in my heart as the woman I loved most."
Wang Jingfei showed no fear, pushing her hair behind her ear. "There's no doubt you're a handsome and talented man. Frankly, I was indeed moved. But your inner world is too dark, too sinister! It's truly regrettable." She pointed to the people behind her, "You don't need to do anything. I'll leave Haizhou and never return. As for taking my life, you don't have that right. If you use force, your end will come as soon as I lose my life. I wonder if you can bear the burden of being a murderer!" With that, she turned and walked away.
Guo Xiaopeng quickly caught up and grabbed her.
At that moment, a Mitsubishi jeep driven by Li Xinjian, its police lights flashing, suddenly burst from around the corner. It screeched to a halt near the water.
Before the jeep had fully stopped, Guo Xiaopeng's men surrounded the vehicle. Li Xinjian, brandishing his police badge, leapt out of the car, "Police! On official duty!"
Everyone stepped back, too scared to obstruct him.
Li Xinjian strode towards Wang Jingfei. Guo Xiaopeng reluctantly released her. Li Xinjian contemptuously said to Guo Xiaopeng, "Do you think you deserve to work with such an outstanding woman?" Then, holding Wang Jingfei's hand, he walked back to the jeep.
Guo Xiaopeng stood stunned.
As Li Xinjian passed Duan Hai, he rebuked, "Birds of a feather, scum!" Duan Hai remained impassive.
The Mitsubishi jeep turned sharply in the shallow water, sending spray and sand flying, splashing Guo Xiaopeng.
Guo Xiaopeng's face was filled with sorrow as he walked towards the shallow water. His shoes splashed in the waves, and under the moonlight, tears glistened in his eyes.
At dawn, Chen Ran sat at his desk. Despite not sleeping all night, he showed no signs of fatigue. He checked each item on a list: three credit cards, three IDs, and fifty thousand yuan in cash. After finishing, he took three disks from the drawer and put them in his bag. He then took out over a thousand yuan from the bag and scattered it in the drawer. Without looking back, he left.
Similarly, Guo Xiaopeng hadn't slept all night. He sat at his desk, staring blankly at Wang Jingfei's photo. After returning late last night, he received a report from Liu Mei. She had hired a private detective to secretly investigate Wang in Beijing and her hometown, confirming that Wang had attended the police academy for two years and making another shocking discovery: Wang's father was a police officer who died in the line of duty.
Although Liu Mei's report had an element of emotional revenge, it also showed her concern for Haizhou Pharmaceuticals, especially for him. Thinking of this, Guo Xiaopeng angrily slammed Wang Jingfei's photo face down on the desk. At that moment, the phone rang. It was Lin Xiaoliang, informing him that Wang Jingfei had booked an 8 a.m. flight to Hong Kong and was already at the airport. Glancing at the clock, which showed 6:45 a.m., he hurried out without changing clothes.
As Guo Xiaopeng got into his Mercedes and Duan Hai started the engine, Wang Jingfei's taxi arrived at the airport. When she entered the terminal, she thought she saw Chen Ran's figure and hurried to follow, but after a few circles, she couldn't find him. With limited time, she gave up and went to the check-in counter. After checking in, she looked at her watch—it was already 7:20. Not daring to delay, she hurried to the security checkpoint and handed over her ticket and passport. Suddenly, a hand intercepted them. Startled, she turned to see Guo Xiaopeng.
The two stood in silence. After a moment, Wang Jingfei reluctantly followed him out of the queue. Guo Xiaopeng handed the ticket to Duan Hai, "Refund this for her." Then, taking her arm, he said, "Since this is a public place, I won't argue with you. Even if you leave, you should at least let me see you off."
With no choice, Wang Jingfei allowed him to lead her to the Mercedes, which then sped away. On the highway, Guo Xiaopeng drove smoothly. Since Duan Hai was handling the ticket refund, Guo Xiaopeng drove himself. Glancing back at Wang Jingfei, he asked, "Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
Looking out the window, she replied calmly, "After last night's events, you shouldn't be asking that."
Guo Xiaopeng casually remarked, "Emotional disputes can happen anytime, sometimes handled in a rather intense way. You should prioritize your career."
In fact, after informing Lin Xiaoliang through certain channels about her return to Hong Kong, Wang Jingfei had been anxiously waiting for his intervention. Her heart was on edge when she boarded the taxi. When that hand finally reached out, her feelings were a mix of relief and excitement.
Seeing her silence, Guo Xiaopeng continued, "Love can make people irrational. Please understand."
Wang Jingfei deflected, "I've already reported to Chairman Dai, and he agreed to my resignation from Haizhou Pharmaceuticals. The Huashan Group board will appoint a new representative."
Guo Xiaopeng smiled, "I also spoke with Chairman Dai. He rescinded the decision and agreed that you should continue in your role."
Wang Jingfei added fuel to the fire, "Your extreme disrespect for me aside, you also lack basic trust and sincerity towards Huashan Group."
Guo Xiaopeng, puzzled, asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Wang Jingfei seized the moment, "You've been producing a new drug on a large scale, yet as the vice chairman of the group, I'm kept in the dark, and Huashan Group knows even less. When I met with President Fei, he was vague. This seriously violates the spirit and purpose of our cooperation agreement. How can we proceed with the second phase of funding under these circumstances?"
Guo Xiaopeng pondered for a moment, "How about we have a heart-to-heart talk?"
Wang Jingfei remained silent.
Guo Xiaopeng continued, "I propose we meet, and you can choose the location."
Still, no response from Wang Jingfei.
"Shall we go to my office?" he suggested.
"Your home," she suddenly said.
Guo Xiaopeng's face filled with surprise, his mouth opening and closing without a word.
Liu Mei and Yang Chun walked into Villa No. 8 at Golden Coast.