Volume 1, Chapter 184: That Lou Ye is petty and fiercely protective of his own!

"Lin Zhaozhao! How dare you!"

Her back slammed hard against the wall.
Her throat was gripped.
Lin Zhaozhao's eyes widened in horror.

In the dark of night, Lu Jinnian's expression was dark and his gaze vicious, resembling an evil ghost.

Sang Wan... dead?

Terror mixed with excitement; a myriad of complex emotions surged from the bottom of her heart. Lin Zhaozhao shook her head frantically. "Ji... Jinnian, I... no, I didn't..."

Her throat was squeezed tighter, preventing Lin Zhaozhao from uttering a complete sentence.

A split second before suffocation, Lu Jinnian abruptly released his grip.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Collapsing to the floor, Lin Zhaozhao broke into a violent fit of coughing.

Realizing that Sang Wan was already dead, no amount of regret could save the situation now.

Struggling, Lin Zhaozhao grabbed the hem of his trousers. "Husband, I did all this for you. Please forgive me, won't you? Sang Wan betrayed you and tried to climb up in the world. If she had really appeared among the elite of the Imperial City on Young Master Lou's arm, wouldn't that have been a fierce slap to your face right in front of everyone?"

"Husband, I would rather Sang Wan were dead so you would remember her forever, than watch you suffer such ultimate humiliation! And little Mu... if he were to see his mother with another man, he would be embarrassed and heartbroken!"

"Husband, I did it all for you..."

Lu Jinnian kicked Lin Zhaozhao away and took a step back.

What on earth had he ever seen in Lin Zhaozhao to begin with?

How could he have given up Wanwan for such an absolute fool?

Ever since he learned about Sang Wan's car accident, Lu Jinnian had realized something was wrong.

When he called Teacher Tingting again, he learned that Lu Xiaomu had never mentioned any stomachache to her, and she had never called Sang Wan or Lin Zhaozhao.

Lu Jinnian realized too late that he had fallen into a trap!

By the time he rushed back, Lin Zhaozhao's whereabouts were unknown.

Even the apartment surveillance only captured her returning, with nothing thereafter.

Digging deeper, of the four people in the two cars pursuing Sang Wan, two had disappeared without a trace, while the other two remained in the intensive care unit.

And the black-suited bodyguards at the door of the ICU stood like guardian deities, prohibiting anyone other than doctors and nurses from approaching.

Lu Jinnian knew then that Lou Ye had made his move.

"Husband, I was wrong. Will you forgive me? From now on I'll listen to you about everything, husband!"

The thought that the money she used to pay those people and arrange those schemes had all come from his own pocket made Lu Jinnian clench his fists until his knuckles cracked.

"I originally thought, since we had been together for a while, we could part on good terms."

Speaking in a cold voice, Lu Jinnian looked down at Lin Zhaozhao, who was sprawled on the floor and breathing weakly, his eyes devoid of the slightest trace of warmth. "To think I was the one who was wrong!"

Her hair standing on end, Lin Zhaozhao looked up at Lu Jinnian, seemingly unable to comprehend his meaning.

The next instant, Lin Zhaozhao's body stiffened.

The wail of police sirens grew clearer in the quiet night. Lin Zhaozhao reached out to grab Lu Jinnian. "Husband, no, Jinnian, President Lu... I beg you, I know I was wrong!"

Lu Jinnian turned and walked away.

Lin Zhaozhao's shrill voice echoed behind him. "Lu Jinnian, you can't do this to me! Lu Jinnian..."

The man's steps did not pause for even a second.

***

Anticipating everything she was about to face, Lin Zhaozhao scrambled up in a panic, dug her identification documents and bank cards out of a drawer, and bolted for the door.

Just as she yanked it open, she saw two shadowy figures standing outside.

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, and police officers strode out.

It was the middle of the night when Lu Jinnian received word from his lawyer. "Lin Zhaozhao confessed that she hired those four individuals from a racing club. Her original intention was to follow them all the way to the eastern suburbs to scare Miss Sang and rattle her into getting into an accident herself. She did not arrange the large cargo truck, which matches the truck driver's testimony."

The eastern suburbs were entirely mountain winding roads, and the drivers of those two cars were professional racers with extraordinary driving skills.

Caught between them in a pincer attack, Sang Wan would panic and make a mistake. At best she would suffer a rollover and severe injuries, at worst plunge off a cliff to her death.

Was that probably what Lin Zhaozhao had planned?

She simply hadn't expected to encounter that out-of-control cargo truck midway.

Lu Jinnian's gaze deepened.

On the other end, the lawyer continued, "Lin Zhaozhao's parents hired a lawyer, stating they are willing to settle privately, offering any amount in compensation. Miss Sang's lawyer refused!"

"Her lawyer is..."

"Attorney Gu of the Lou Group."

With Gu Qian making a move, even if Lin Zhaozhao's parents emptied their family fortune, it would be useless.

As for Lou Ye, he was petty-minded and fiercely protective of his own.

Falling into his hands, Lin Zhaozhao would not meet a pleasant end.

With a dark expression, Lu Jinnian ordered, "Keep investigating that hit-and-run truck..."

"Yes!"

***

Buzz!

Buzz...

Her phone vibrated relentlessly, jolting Ming Qing awake from her deep sleep.

Outside the window, pitch darkness reigned.

"Eldest Miss, Lin Zhaozhao has been taken away by the police!"

At those words, all of Ming Qing's sleepiness vanished instantly.

Ming Qing regretted it.

With her capabilities, making someone vanish from the Imperial City was hardly a problem.

Fearing she would startle the prey and draw the attention of Lou Ye or others, she had planned to wait until the storm blew over before dealing with Lin Zhaozhao. Never had she expected that wretched woman to slip away right under her subordinates' noses, leaving her in such a passive position now.

She reminded herself not to panic; after all, she had never revealed that she would lend a helping hand, and Lin Zhaozhao had set out from the very beginning with the intent to kill Sang Wan.

No matter how resourceful the police were, they couldn't torture a confession out of Lin Zhaozhao.

Yet at the thought of Lou Ye, Ming Qing felt a persistent tremor of panic in her heart.

She worried she hadn't considered everything thoroughly or securely enough.

That man was a lunatic!

Heaven only knew what he was capable of doing.

The more she thought, the more terrified she became, as if Lou Ye's men were lurking right outside the heavy curtains, watching her. Ming Qing hastily stood up.

She had already prepared an excuse: several projects at the overseas branch required her personal decision.

Without even bothering to pack her luggage, Ming Qing hurriedly threw things into a backpack and stepped out of the apartment into the biting, frigid wind.

In the darkness just before dawn, everything around her was shrouded in a heart-palpitating gloom.

On the unobstructed roadway, just as Ming Qing managed to calm her racing heart, she caught sight of a black sports car trailing behind her.

Lou Ye's men?

Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs, and Ming Qing stepped fiercely on the gas.

Inside the black sports car trailing behind, Zheng Mingzu's alcohol-induced haze was completely blown away by excitement.

In the past, Ming Qing rejecting him was no big deal; he hadn't taken it to heart at all.

So what if she was the eldest miss of the Ming family?

If the Ming family gave her face, she was an eldest miss.

If they didn't, she was nothing at all.

Ever since Ming Qing had been carried away by Lou Ye, a stifled rage had been burning in his chest.

By the time Ming Qing blocked his number and became unreachable, Zheng Mingzu had already figured out countless ways to torture her to death.

Never had he expected his luck to be so good that the moment he stepped out of the club, he would spot her car.

Running?

Where could she possibly run?!

At the thought of Ming Qing crying out to heaven and earth with no one to answer her soon enough, Zheng Mingzu's eyes gleamed with manic excitement.

Vroom!

The black sports car possessed exceptional performance. Amidst the roaring engine, the distance between them shrank rapidly.

Ming Qing's breath caught in her throat.

Vroom!

Vroom, vroom!

She could see the airport looming not far ahead, and she frantically accelerated.

Yet the car behind her surged even faster.

The two vehicles ran neck and neck. As the window of the black sports car slowly rolled down, Ming Qing caught sight of Zheng Mingzu's ecstatic face.

Not Lou Ye's men.

Hah...

She let out a long breath.

Just then, she saw the expression on Zheng Mingzu's face warp in terror.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zheng Mingzu's car instantly veering away by a massive margin.

When Ming Qing turned her head back, her pupils contracted violently.

Bang!!!