Chapter 30 Explosion.
"We've found out. Lin Yan colluded with our rivals. We warned him before, but he still dared to do this. He either doesn't take us seriously... or he's planning to help our rivals completely destroy us. He's really ignorant of his own limitations."
Li Feiyan listened coldly to her subordinates, casually toying with a **. Six months had passed since the car bombing in L City, and Li Feiyan had long harbored suspicions during that time; her people had been investigating. She knew she was furious when Qi Yi'an entered.
"Let's keep the line going and continue doing business with him without alerting him. Give them a big order."
"Make those people disappear in two months."
-----
Two months later, guests from all walks of life were invited to a cocktail party at a hotel in City B. Qi Yi'an had been involved in the preparations and was now one of the lobby managers. The hotel was owned by Li Feiyan, which made things much easier.
She greeted the guests with a natural smile and practiced ease, looking at their ignorant faces as if they were fish on a chopping board waiting to be slaughtered. But when she saw Lin Yan enter the venue arm in arm with Qin Ruoshui, she instantly felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
What happened? When she was checking the list of attendees and sending out invitations, she clearly changed "Lin Yan and her husband" to just "Lin Yan." She had also specifically confirmed that Qin Ruoshui's itinerary that day was in H City and wouldn't be near this area. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sweating. No, she had to get her out of here quickly.
Qin Ruoshui had come at Li Feiyan's special invitation. She was momentarily distracted upon seeing Qi Yi'an. Assistant chef... lobby manager... Li Feiyan... what was going on? Qi Yi'an had instructed her not to be with Lin Yan today, meaning she shouldn't come to this party. She had assumed there was some kind of surprise. Now, the person before her, dressed in uniform, of unknown origin, with a hint of unease on his face... what could this surprise be?
"Miss Qin, our boss would like to invite you to have a seat at her place."
After entering the venue, Qin Ruoshui was escorted away separately by Li Feiyan's people.
After hurriedly finding a replacement, Qi Yi'an began searching for Qin Ruoshui and Lin Yan. He needed to ensure that everything regarding certain individuals was handled perfectly.
-----
"Miss Qin, it's been a long time." Li Feiyan smiled and shook hands with her. She circled her hand around the back of her hand, gently stroking it for a moment before withdrawing it.
"Long time no see." Qin Ruoshui greeted her with a smile, took a cup of tea, and sat down.
Li Feiyan seemed to be in a hurry and asked directly, "Does Miss Qin usually know anything about Mr. Lin's business?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know much about him. I don't usually get involved in his business." Qin Ruoshui felt that these people were acting a little strange today.
"I heard that the Qin family and the Lin family have a very good personal relationship?" Li Feiyan asked.
"Yes, the previous generation had a very good relationship." Qin Ruoshui thought to herself that Li Feiyan's probing today was a little too inappropriate.
"How are Miss Qin and Mr. Lin's relationship?" Li Feiyan seemed unconcerned, chuckled twice, and continued to press on.
Qin Ruoshui smiled politely but did not answer.
----
Qi Yi'an searched anxiously throughout the venue and hotel. With less than two hours left before the operation, she needed to find Qin Ruoshui first, send her out, and then find Lin Yan.
According to the plan, they were all supposed to leave in a little over an hour, and all the hotel exits would be closed. Any later and it would be too late. The venue, the restrooms, the rooftop... nowhere to be found. All the guest rooms upstairs were empty today; she couldn't possibly be there... Why was she here today... Where could she have gone?
-----
"I'm so sorry to have kept Miss Qin so long. It's almost time, I should go down and 'receive guests' too, Miss Qin?" Li Feiyan stood up.
"Not at all."
Before parting ways at the entrance of the venue, Li Feiyan hugged Qin Ruoshui and whispered in her ear, "Miss Qin, take care."
The atmosphere was eerie and dangerous, and Qin Ruoshui shivered inwardly. Recalling Qi Yi'an's tense expression earlier, she suddenly felt extremely uneasy. She needed to find Lin Yan now and find out what exactly was going on at this party.
-----
Lin Yan received a call and went to the rooftop smoking area outside the venue to meet Qin Ruoshui.
"Lin Yan, what's the story behind this party? What business are you involved in? And who is the organizer?"
"What's wrong with you today, Xiaoruo? You never ask about these kinds of things," Lin Yan asked suspiciously.
“Li Feiyan just saw me and asked me some questions directly, which was a bit unusual.”
"Li...Feiyan? Why would she be looking for you?" Lin Yan frowned.
“My brother mentioned some of your business dealings and told me not to interfere, but I feel something’s off about the atmosphere today. What exactly is going on?”
Lin Yan glanced at Qin Ruoshui, pondering how to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"Xiao Ruo, let me explain..."
"puff!"
With a muffled thud, Lin Yan collapsed to the ground in the darkness.
Qin Ruoshui froze. Before she could even utter a sound, she saw dark liquid flowing from beneath Lin Yan, spreading across the light-colored tiles. She crouched down to check on Lin Yan, her breathing rapid and her hands trembling slightly. Lin Yan seemed to be gasping for breath in pain.
"Forest.."
Just as she reached out to touch him, someone walked up to her side in the darkness.
"puff!"
Without saying a word, the man raised his gun and fired another shot into Lin Yan's head.
Qin Ruoshui stared wide-eyed at Lin Yan's lifeless body, unable to believe what had just happened.
She looked up at the person beside her—their shoes, ankles, clothes, and face. The person was wearing a mask and a hat, and was dressed in the lobby manager's uniform.
She dared not breathe.
It's her. How could this be...?
"Hurry up."
The man spoke coldly, took off Qin Ruoshui's high heels, and pulled her outside.
Qin Ruoshui was pulled away by her in a daze, staring at her back, her mind blank.
As they passed the venue, Li Feiyan had already finished speaking on stage, the lights were off, and the images were being projected onto the large screen. Staff were closing all exits, sealing off every exit from the venue. The corridors were empty, but Qin Ruoshui felt a sense of utter chaos and turmoil.
Because finding Qin Ruoshui had taken too long, confirming Lin Yan's death had already delayed things, leaving only a few minutes for retreat. Qi Yi'an was extremely anxious. No, they had to leave quickly. He had to tell her to leave quickly.
The venue was on the fourth floor. When Qi Yi'an pressed the elevator button, he found it was out of service. He tried the emergency stairwell, but it was also blocked. After trying the other two emergency stairwells, only three minutes remained. No, the stairwell exits were locked.
No. I can't die here.
Qi Yi'an pulled Qin Ruoshui back to the fourth-floor terrace. There was a pool and vegetation on the terrace below the third floor. There was no time to lose, so they had to try their best to jump into the pool below and then find a way to leave the building from there.
There is one and a half minutes left.
Qin Ruoshui looked at Qi Yi'an and smiled at her.
I love you.
----
When the countdown resets to zero.
Several loud explosions and bursts of flame erupted from the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the hotel, and the screams of the guests were instantly drowned out by the collapsing buildings and the flames of the explosions.
Li Feiyan closed the car window to block the shockwave from the distant explosion. The firelight reflected on her face, her expression cold.
"The few who slipped through the net today will be dealt with separately."
"Okay, boss."
Author's Note:
Ah, it's been so long since my last update. Anyway, I still need to finish this. Hahahahahaha.
Chapter 31 Dead Silence.
At the moment of the explosion, Qi Yi'an used all his strength to push Qin Ruoshui away.
Time seemed to stretch out as I was launched into the air; the flowing sparks before my eyes were dazzling, and my past life slowly flashed by.
Have I landed yet? Why can't I feel any pain?
She later learned that she had a brain hemorrhage, three broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a fractured right arm, a concussion, and hearing loss.
-----
"Hello..." A sleepy voice came from the phone...it didn't sound like Zou Yibei's voice. "Hmm? What's wrong? Qian?"
"Your phone call..."
"Who is it that disturbs my sleep in the middle of the night..." Zou Yibei muttered as he took the phone, glanced at the contact name, and said irritably, "Hello, Qi Yi'an, what do you want?"
Wu Qianyue lay back down on the pillow, lazily squinting her eyes, but she watched as Zou Yibei's expression changed from dazed to clear-headed, becoming increasingly serious.
"Wait here, I'll be right there." By the time Zou Yibei hung up the phone, Wu Qianyue had already handed her the clothes.
"Hurry up and put them on, I'll go get the car."
Looking at his calm, composed, and understanding wife, Zou Yibei was so moved that he almost burst into tears. He smiled gently and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, Qian."
Wu Qianyue rolled her eyes helplessly as her chest nudged her: "Stop dawdling, hurry up and get dressed, aren't you in a hurry?" She turned around and walked out of the room, but couldn't help but secretly curl the corners of her mouth into a smile.
-----
In the early hours of the morning, a sharp pain in her shoulder and chest woke Qi Yi'an in a cold sweat. She slowly sat up, each movement causing her to gasp in pain. A white hospital room… Was she in a hospital? She had to get out of here quickly, before the police found Qin Ruoshui to take her statement. She picked up her phone; thankfully, it was in her coat pocket, only the screen was cracked, it still worked. She was about to call Li Feiyan, but then changed her mind and called Zou Yibei instead.
Qi Yi'an got out of bed and walked to the other side of the ward, where her injured and unconscious lover was sleeping. Fortunately, she was not in mortal danger, only suffering some minor injuries. Qi Yi'an stayed by Qin Ruoshui's bedside, making sure her breathing was steady and long, and that her expression was peaceful, before getting up and leaving.
She'll be in this city for at least the time being, and being able to stay by her side is enough. No, she won't be running off all the time anymore. This time, she'll stay by her side, watch over her, protect her, and live a good, peaceful life with her. She'll tell her as soon as she wakes up: I'm not leaving. I'll always be here.
The pain in her shoulder made Qi Yi'an frown, and she couldn't lift her right hand. Clutching her shoulder, she hunched over and limped downstairs. Just as she stepped out of the inpatient building, she saw Zou Yibei, with dark circles under his eyes, rushing towards her to support her.
"How did it get like this???"
"It's alright, I won't die." Qi Yi'an smiled faintly. The chilly air of the early morning was refreshing and comforting; it's good to be alive. The faint light of the rising sun was already faintly visible.
Zou Yibei took her arm and walked towards the parking lot. When Wu Qianyue came running towards them, she asked, "You found someone right after you parked the car?" She stepped closer and helped support Qi Yi'an on the other side of his body.
"Yeah, this guy was just coming out when I got here," Zou Yibei said with a big smile when he saw her. He was about to go up and receive a pat on the head from A Qian when he suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering from the tall building behind him.
The world was so quiet in the early morning. So quiet that it felt as if the sound of every shard of glass hitting the ground could be clearly heard.
Wu Qianyue's hand froze in mid-air, her expression and breath stopping as she looked in the direction from which the sound came from upstairs. Zou Yibei was startled and was about to make a comment when he saw Wu Qianyue staring blankly at the building behind them, her eyes filled with growing fear.
Qi Yi'an forgot about the serious injury to her neck and shoulders, and when she turned her head to look, she almost burst into tears from the pain. She was about to ask Wu Qianyue what had happened.
"Bang!"