Chu Yao was carried out from the woods by Ye Qiu. The girl had been knocked unconscious by an assassin just as Ye Qiu entered the woods.
He checked Chu Yao's breathing—it was steady, fortunately unharmed; otherwise, if she had been injured because of him, Ye Qiu would have felt profoundly guilty.
"It seems my warning had no effect at all!" Ye Qiu muttered to himself.
It was a great surprise to find that someone had sent an assassin to kill him, and honestly, the only enemies he had made recently were those from Rong Group just a few days earlier. As for other old adversaries, they were unaware of his presence in the city, making their involvement highly unlikely. Thus, the conclusion was clear—it must have been a high-ranking member from Rong Group who had acted.
Unfortunately, they had greatly underestimated Ye Qiu's capabilities; the assassin they sent was merely mediocre. Suitable perhaps for killing ordinary folk, but when it came to assassinating Ye Qiu, the difficulty was exponentially higher.
And as for the assassin's body, Ye Qiu did not bother to deal with it. He knew well that an assassin's background would be erased, or they might have an unregistered status, making an investigation challenging. Therefore, even if he had killed the assassin, without direct evidence from a third party, it would be difficult to trace it back to him.
Moreover, having used merely a leaf, how many could achieve this? Based on common thinking, no one would even consider this possibility.
Chu Yao lay there for about twenty minutes before she slowly regained consciousness, feeling a terrible headache and still a bit dizzy. However, as soon as she saw Ye Qiu, she pushed the matter aside and said, "I knew you would come."
Ye Qiu smiled, saying nothing.
"I called you here just to thank you personally, thank you for your intervention that day," Chu Yao said to Ye Qiu with a serious bow.
"You didn't need to do that. They were just a few thugs," Ye Qiu quickly helped Chu Yao up, laughing as he spoke.
"Why does my head hurt so much... Just now, I thought I saw a figure, then I passed out. Ye Qiu, you didn't see anyone, did you?" Chu Yao, touching her head, felt that her passing out seemed deliberate.
"When I arrived, I found you lying here. Maybe you were just too tired and fell asleep," Ye Qiu said nonchalantly.
"Since the thanks are given, you better head back," Ye Qiu decided not to linger any longer, lest the assassin's accomplices notice him chatting happily with Chu Yao and get her involved.
Honestly, the fact that Chu Yao was knocked out by the assassin was mostly due to Ye Qiu, which made him feel somewhat sorry for her.
Ye Qiu turned around, waving his hand.
Chu Yao looked dazed, wishing for Ye Qiu to stay a bit longer, yet not knowing quite what to say.
...
Ye Qiu walked slowly towards the Goddess Villa. Entering the room, he found only Niu Yinyin there.
"Miss Shen and Shangguan Hong haven't come back yet?" Ye Qiu sat next to Niu Yinyin, who was watching TV and munching on chips, engrossed in the show.
Upon hearing Ye Qiu mention Shen Mengchen and Shangguan Hong, Niu Yinyin's head bobbed like a rattle drum.
"No, Yinyin has been in the room all the time, and hasn't seen Sister Mengchen and Sister Shangguan," Niu Yinyin licked her fingers, eating up the chip crumbs completely.
Ye Qiu's heart sank. Oh no, something must have happened.
Ye Qiu stood there, his face showing concern. Looking at the time, nearly two hours had passed without a sign of either Shen Mengchen or Shangguan Hong. Could it be they were out enjoying a ride for so long?
"The lady will be fine. With Miss Shangguan here, let's wait a bit longer," Liu Bo also said anxiously. Although he was extremely worried, he remained calm and not panicked.
Shen Mengchen and Shangguan Hong had been missing for two hours, and Liu Bo dared not tell Shen Tianlong, fearing it would only worry more people.
So for now, they could only hope that the two had simply lost track of time while out having fun and forgotten to return early.
This situation made Ye Qiu somewhat guilty; if he had insisted on following them earlier, he wouldn't have let them drive off alone.
Liu Bo kept calling Shen Mengchen's phone, but it was unanswered. After many attempts, Liu Bo began calling Shangguan Hong.
After about a dozen calls, the previously off phone finally turned on, and a pleasant ringtone sounded.
Ye Qiu's eyes suddenly moved, looking towards the villa's main gate, where the ringing was coming from the phone in Liu Bo's hand.
Is Shangguan Hong outside?
Ye Qiu strode to the main door, and as he opened it, a faint fragrance hit him, followed by a delicate body pressing against his chest.
Shangguan Hong!
Seeing Shangguan Hong faint in his arms, Ye Qiu immediately realized the gravity of the situation. Why had only Shangguan Hong returned, and where was Shen Mengchen?
He hurriedly pinched Shangguan Hong's Renzhong acupoint, eliciting a soft moan from her lips. Without a moment to spare, Ye Qiu asked, "Where is Shen Mengchen?"
A look of urgency suddenly appeared in Shangguan Hong's eyes as she said, "Mengchen... Mengchen... she was taken away by a car!"
Ye Qiu's heart turned cold, as things were indeed shifting in the worst possible direction.
"Who took her? Do you remember the license plate number of the car?"
Straining to recall, Shangguan Hong spoke word by word, "Middle, 2380..."
Ye Qiu noted down the license plate number. Liu Bo immediately had someone look it up while Ye Qiu further inquired about the exact location of the incident.
"Liu Bo, the moment there's any movement from them, notify me immediately," Ye Qiu instructed. He could wait no longer; he had to go and save Shen Mengchen himself.
Liu Bo nodded, his face equally distressed, filled with worry that Miss Shen Mengchen might be harmed.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her," Ye Qiu comforted him with a pat on the shoulder and set off immediately.
If anything really happened to Shen Mengchen, he couldn't bear the thought of explaining to Old Master Shen how he had overlooked it. The consequences were unimaginable.
"A local car from Zhongshan City; seems like a local has made the move. Magnificent, Rong Da, luring the snake out of its hole," Ye Qiu muttered to himself. Considering those who could target the Shen family and had been investigated by him recently, Rong Da came to mind first.
Rong Da United Group, he undoubtedly had to visit again.
"Failed!"
Wang Chenghu's phone received a message with just two words, yet his heart trembled.
The assassin he had specifically hired to eliminate Ye Qiu had failed, unexpectedly.
Why had it come to this?
Wang Chenghu couldn't understand how strong Ye Qiu was. Could he be tougher than an assassin?
Wang Chenghu wavered; he hadn't expected Ye Qiu to be so formidable. Had he known how difficult Ye Qiu was to deal with, he would have been more cautious.
"Could he think it was me who made the move?" Wang Chenghu displayed a trace of apprehension, fearing that Ye Qiu might recklessly come after him. Who then could stop him?
As he pondered, a new security guard suddenly knocked on the door, delivering a message, "Chairman, the person you were searching for the other day has appeared in our company again. Please come and have a look personally."
What!
The lad actually came!
Wang Chenghu realized things were turning sour, telling the guards below to thoroughly secure all the floors on the twenty-first floor, to absolutely prevent the young man from entering.
"Damn it, where does he get the gall to come after me again? This is absolutely intolerable!" Wang Chenghu roared, staring at the monitor, wishing he could eat his flesh and drink his blood.