After enjoying a sumptuous lunch personally prepared by Old Rude, the two returned to their five-star hotel.
On the way back, Secretary Fang explained her reason for visiting the restaurant that day. It was, as she had mentioned, to meet someone—a fellow compatriot she had encountered months ago in Paris at that very restaurant. The girl's name was Gan Hong.
During her previous visit, Secretary Fang had coincidentally run into troublemakers at the restaurant while dining. Without a certain "maniac" present to intervene, she had endured their harassment. Unwilling to let it slide, she grabbed a plate and hurled it at the leader, a man with a broom-like hairstyle. The plate struck him squarely, leaving a gash on his head. Enraged, he retaliated with a stick. Fortunately, Gan Hong stepped in to shield Secretary Fang, taking the blow herself, which resulted in a deep gash by her eye that bled profusely. The sight of blood frightened the leader, who assumed he had caused grievous harm. Panicked, he and his cronies fled the scene.
Although Gan Hong's injury was promptly treated, it left a faint scar on her forehead. Secretary Fang felt deeply guilty about it and visited Gan Hong every time she traveled to France. Upon hearing this, Xiang Ri was furious at himself for not having taught the broom-headed thug a harsher lesson, earning a glare from Secretary Fang.
"Hey, brother, why don't you come to my room for a bit?" Xiang Ri called to the secretary as they reached their doors.
"No, thanks. I'm too full—I think I'll need some light exercise to digest," Secretary Fang replied with a faint smile, unabashedly.
"Alright then, I guess I'll have to enjoy that 'spectacular movie' all by myself," Xiang Ri said, his gaze suggestive.
Secretary Fang immediately caught on to the innuendo. This time, however, her expression remained calm. "Well, enjoy it at your leisure. Just don't overdo it—it's bad for your health." Without sparing him another glance, she entered her room, leaving Xiang Ri astonished.
He shook his head, though inwardly pleased. Their current relationship dynamic wasn't bad at all. As he unlocked his door, ready to step inside, a sharp cry echoed from the room across the hall. Forgetting his own room entirely, he rushed over.
"What's wrong?" he asked, relieved to find only Secretary Fang inside.
"Someone tampered with my things," she replied, holding a plastic bag Xiang Ri recognized from yesterday's shopping trip.
"Are you sure?" Xiang Ri's eyes narrowed. Had the pursuers already caught up? His hand instinctively went to his pocket, confirming the presence of a certain small item. His belongings had probably been searched as well, but he had a habit of keeping critical items on him. If the blue notebook had been taken, it would mean a financial loss of billions—and a one-way ticket to jumping off a building.
"I'm certain!" Secretary Fang retrieved a red-and-black striped bra from the bag. "Yesterday, I placed it clasp-side down, but now it's clasp-side up. And..."
She walked to the door, picking up what appeared to be a piece of paper from the floor. "When I left, I wedged this paper between the door. The arrow was pointing outward. When I returned, it was pointing inward. At first, I thought I might have remembered wrong, but after checking my things, I noticed their positions had been altered."
"I don't think it's safe for us to stay here. We need to move immediately," Xiang Ri said decisively.
"Why? We can report this to the hotel management. Why should we be the ones to leave? That's unreasonable!" Secretary Fang protested, unwilling to comply.
"This isn't about theft. It's about our personal safety. Do you know how I met that empress? I saved her from an assassination attempt. The people behind the killers now hate me. If you stay with me, they'll target you too."
"And how do you know they'll target me? Or is this just an excuse to shack up with your darling Tru?" Secretary Fang retorted coldly.
"I can't explain everything right now, but that prince we met yesterday—he's the mastermind. He saw you. Do you think he'll let you go?"
"If you knew, why didn't you apprehend him yesterday?"
Xiang Ri nearly lost his patience. "Can you stop asking so many questions? If you're my brother, then come with me!"
"If you're my brother, then stay with me!" she countered, equally unyielding.
Xiang Ri sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll explain everything from the beginning—" He abruptly stopped mid-sentence, his gaze snapping to the door. Through the open doorway, he saw a hotel staff member pushing a food cart into his room.
"Excuse me, have you delivered to the wrong room?" Xiang Ri asked, stepping into the hall.
"Huh?" The man froze momentarily, feigning confusion. "Isn't this Room 5006?"
"This is Room 5009. I think you've made a mistake," Xiang Ri said, his sharp eyes catching a subtle flaw in the man's performance. Would a staff member of a five-star hotel make such a basic error? Even if they did, would they proceed without notifying the guest?
"Oh, my apologies for the disturbance," the man said, hastily pulling the cart out.
"Actually, leave it here," Xiang Ri said, his tone casual but his eyes cold. "Since it's already here, I'll take it. I'm hungry anyway, and I'm sure you can bring another to 5006, right?"
"Of course, sir. If you wish to have it, it's yours," the man replied, his eyes flashing with faint delight as he pushed the cart toward Xiang Ri, oblivious to the predator-like glint in his gaze.
Even Fang Yingying, who had just been about to ask a question, fell silent, realizing the gravity of the situation. Regardless of whether the waiter had genuinely mistaken the room number, his current behavior alone raised alarms. In a five-star hotel, it was hardly customary to let one guest take food meant for another, even if the other guest suddenly expressed interest.
This alone made the man highly suspicious, and it occurred to Fang Yingying that he might very well be the thief who had entered her room while she was out. The mere thought of a strange man handling her personal belongings made her stomach churn with disgust. Resolute now, she decided she would discard anything that had been "contaminated."
The short waiter, oblivious to the glaring flaw in his performance, pushed the cart into the room and said with a polite smile, "Enjoy your meal," before turning to leave. But before he could take a step, the man beside him grabbed the back of his neck with an iron grip and slammed the door shut.
"Who sent you?" Xiang Ri demanded, his voice icy with menace.
"I... I..." The short man struggled desperately, but his opponent's strength was unnaturally overwhelming. No matter how he twisted, he couldn't break free.
"If you don't speak, I'll snap your neck," Xiang Ri growled, tightening his grip. The ominous sound of bones grinding against each other filled the room.
"Stop—!" Fang Yingying screamed sharply, unable to bear the intensity of the scene. In her eyes, this was just a petty thief; surely, it wasn't a matter of life and death?
"You don't understand," Xiang Ri shot her a glance, his eyes suddenly flicking toward the food cart covered by a white tablecloth. An idea struck him. "Yingying, lift the tablecloth."
Though unsure of his intent, Fang Yingying obeyed and lifted the cloth, revealing a spread of French dishes: seared foie gras, andouillette, and a plate of lobster. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
But Xiang Ri's sharp eyes caught the anomaly. The lobster plate was far too large for its contents, and its positioning seemed odd—slightly uneven, as if concealing something beneath.
"Remove the lobster plate," Xiang Ri ordered. At his words, the man in his grasp began to struggle violently.
Cautiously, Fang Yingying moved the plate. What she saw beneath it made her nearly drop the dish in shock: lying there was a black handgun.
Xiang Ri's gaze turned even colder as he noted the silencer attached to the weapon's barrel. "Now, will you tell me who sent you? Speak, or die."
"There's no need for him to speak. I'll answer that question myself," came a voice from outside the door. It was in English.
A glimmer of surprise flashed in Xiang Ri's eyes. Could it be that this man wasn't sent by him? Was it because of that small blue notebook? The thought passed in an instant, and Xiang Ri quickly regained his composure. Releasing the man in his grasp, he snatched the handgun from the dining table, took two steps back, and positioned himself protectively in front of the female secretary.
"No need to be so tense, Mr. Xiang." The newcomer was a white man in his thirties, accompanied by several burly, imposing bodyguards. "I'm merely here to retrieve what was lost. Hand it over, and I believe we might even become friends."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Xiang Ri replied calmly, though his mind was already calculating the enemy's strength. The burly men behind the youth seemed more for show than threat, but the young man himself radiated an aura of danger that Xiang Ri couldn't ignore. Not for his own sake, but for the woman behind him. If he were delayed even momentarily, the remaining men could easily seize her.
"Still pretending, Mr. Xiang?" The young man sneered coldly. Grabbing the metal handle of the food cart, he squeezed with sudden force, leaving five deep fingerprints in the iron. Only then did he speak again. "You may have some skill, Mr. Xiang, but can you guarantee the woman behind you will remain unharmed?"
"Are you threatening me?" A chill ran through Xiang Ri's heart. This was the first time he had encountered someone who could manipulate metal with their bare hands as if it were mere clay. However, he noticed the slight tremor in the young man's fingers, betraying the effort it had taken. In contrast, Xiang Ri felt a faint disdain. If he exerted his full strength, even he wasn't certain of the limits of what he could do.
One thing was clear: the man before him was far from being a match in terms of raw power. Xiang Ri recalled how, in his "former life," he could effortlessly twist an iron rod as thick as a human thigh. Now, with the merged strength of two souls, his abilities had grown exponentially. Just how much stronger he'd become, he was eager to find out.
"Consider it a threat," the young man replied nonchalantly. "Some things, Mr. Xiang, are not so easily taken. Return what belongs to me, and I promise that both you and your companion will remain unharmed."
"Oh, really?" Xiang Ri's lips curled into a faint smile. He wasn't naïve enough to believe such a blatant lie. An object of such importance would never allow its possessor to walk away unscathed. Even if he hadn't looked at its contents, they would no doubt prefer to silence him. "Unfortunately, I truly don't have what you're looking for. As for whatever it is you're referring to, I know nothing about it."
"Then you leave me no choice," the young man's tone turned icy.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to cooperate. I simply have no idea what you're talking about," Xiang Ri said with a casual shrug. However, as he gestured, the handgun in his hand slipped and clattered to the floor.
The young man and his group instinctively shifted their attention to the fallen weapon. Xiang Ri's eyes sharpened in that instant. "Now!" he shouted, grabbing the bewildered woman and delivering a powerful kick to the young man at the forefront.
"Bang!" The young man hadn't anticipated the sudden assault. Barely raising his arms to shield his chest, he felt a sharp pain shoot through them as the force of the blow sent him hurtling backward.