Chapter 46: Confrontation

Zhou Jinye and Xu Wu remained on the phone call. Upon hearing what he had said, her hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

Her worries went unspoken as Zhou Jinye was driving from LUNAR to reach her. The phone line carried the distant sounds of car horns from his end and Xu Wu’s faint, almost imperceptible breathing from hers.

Neither of them spoke, yet the call interface remained open for several minutes.

Zhou Jinye had already arrived downstairs. Thank goodness, nothing had happened to him.

Xu Wu grabbed her belongings and headed toward where Zhou Jinye was waiting. “Do you know Qin Shili’s exact location now?”

“The police have been alerted, and they are conducting a citywide search,” he replied while still on another call.

As she approached, Zhou Jinye ended his conversation. She didn’t know who it was but assumed someone had brought him updates. Without hesitation, Xu Wu embraced him in full view of others, speaking softly as if to comfort herself: “We’ll find out together.”

The car ride back was silent. Beyond offering simple reassurance and comfort, Xu Wu could do nothing else at the moment. But emotionally, she resonated deeply with Zhou Jinye’s current state.

It reminded her of when she was seventeen, sitting in class and learning that her father was being rushed to the hospital. Her school was several kilometers away from the hospital, and the three-hour drive there had left her feeling powerless and heartbroken, unable to truly calm down.

She gripped her phone tightly, her gaze fixed forward like Zhou Jinye’s. However, this road wasn’t the usual one leading home.

Realizing this, Xu Wu turned to Zhou Jinye: “Where are we going now?”

“Stay quiet. You’ll know soon enough.” Zhou Jinye didn’t look at her, keeping his focus on the road ahead.

When the car entered the villa’s courtyard, she saw two people waiting for some time through the windshield. Behind them stood a sea of black-clad figures, and she suddenly realized something.

Zhou Jinye had already parked the car, and the two figures were approaching.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The faces of the man and woman in her peripheral vision became clearer, and she confronted Zhou Jinye: “Are you planning to leave me behind?”

Wei Ming and Xiang Rui hadn’t yet reached them.

Zhou Jinye avoided looking at Xu Wu. “Uncle Xu has been captured by Qin Shili. You can only stay here, and I trust your brother to keep you safe.”

Wei Ming and Xiang Rui were still far off.

“And what about you?!” Xu Wu, who usually kept her emotions under wraps, let her feelings flow freely now. Like the seventeen-year-old girl who had gradually opened up to Zhou Jinye, the water sealed within the mountain’s stone walls began gushing outward, eroding the rock. All her emotions, once contained, now spilled forth. She had finally taken the shape of someone who had been loved.

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Rarely had she raised her voice so emotionally. Outside the car, the two figures had stopped moving.

The car fell silent. Even the fine dust in the air seemed frozen. The atmosphere inside grew unbearably heavy.

In the rearview mirror, Zhou Jinye noticed tears welling up in Xu Wu’s eyes. He glanced briefly before averting his gaze: “I’ll be fine.”

Hearing him speak like that only made Xu Wu angrier.

She did something utterly childish—something completely unlike her usual self.

Leaning forward, she stretched her hand across the center console and pressed a button she’d been eyeing. Then, ignoring the people outside, she climbed over the center armrest and sat directly on Zhou Jinye’s lap. Pinning his hands behind his head, she pressed her entire body against him, disregarding the slight pain from the steering wheel digging into her waist. She held him firmly in place on the driver’s seat.

Xu Wu blocked Zhou Jinye’s view, casting a shadow over him, but he could clearly see the tears streaming down her face.

Still stunned by her actions, Zhou Jinye heard her speak. Her voice was soft but tinged with restrained sobs, and her words were firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

“First, you promise me right now that we’ll drive back to our neighborhood, and we’ll solve this together. Second, I’ll stay seated on you like this, and we’ll sit here until you agree to take me with you. Otherwise, I won’t move.”

The meaning was clear—both options demanded that he not push her away. Zhou Jinye still tried to reason with her: “You should first…”

Before he could finish, her soft, salty lips pressed against his, silencing him. She stared at him, refusing to let him speak further, her actions domineering and unreasonable.

Their lips parted briefly, and Xu Wu spoke again: “If you dare give me any excuses that don’t align with my conditions, I’d rather not hear them at all.”

“When did you become so stubborn and unreasonable?” Zhou Jinye tilted his head to look at her. Her hair clung to him after leaning over earlier. “Xu Wu, at least listen to reason…”

Her lips pressed against his again, then pulled back. He called out to her, holding back his emotions. Xu Wu knew he was restraining himself, just as she was: “Zhou Jinye, I told you not to waste my time with useless words. Since when did you start being the reasonable one? First, you ignored me without explanation, then came back to care for me. Wasn’t it you who apologized to me? Did I not endure silently, feeling wronged?

“But after we got back together, I felt both guilt and love for you. Yet you hid things from me, refusing to let me know. You’ve done so much for me, and you told me it was all voluntary. In the same way, I don’t want to be apart from you. I’m willing to stay by your side because I can’t bear to leave or push you away anymore.”

Xu Wu rarely lost her temper like this. “I promised you I wouldn’t push you away. So what about you now?”

By the time she finished, her emotions, like a river, flowed freely, unchecked. Her face was streaked with tears, an unfamiliar sight.

Her strength was no match for the man before her. When her grip loosened momentarily, he reversed their positions, pinning her down.

Before she could speak, his scorching kiss melted her entire body. For a fleeting moment, Xu Wu felt as though she had returned to the day Zhou Jinye took her to celebrate her birthday—the fiery passion of their embrace and kiss in the chilly autumn breeze.

Now, Xu Wu was breathless from his kiss, but they weren’t done yet. Under Zhou Jinye’s relentless and untamed advances, she eventually surrendered.

With no energy left to resist, she watched as Zhou Jinye pinned her down with one hand while using the other to wipe away the traces of her tears.

“I choose neither option,” he said casually, tugging at a smirk. “Xu Wangshu, you may be willing, but I can’t bear to put you through this.”

“But I’ll promise you this: Once I handle everything, I’ll come back for you.”

The car door opened, and the fierce autumn wind rushed in. Zhou Jinye handed her over to Wei Ming, still restraining her.

The car windows were tinted with privacy film, so only those close by—Wei Ming and Xiang Rui—could guess what had transpired through the blurred reflections.

Xu Wu’s flushed cheeks confirmed everything. Wei Ming had never seen her act this way in a car before, and even Xiang Rui was shocked for a moment outside.

“She’s in your care now,” Zhou Jinye said, tying her up with a scarf—the very scarf Xu Wu had knitted for him. Recently, he had worn it every day to and from work.

He tied it tightly, and before she could react, Xiang Rui pulled her away.

“Don’t leave me,” Xu Wu shook her head, meeting Zhou Jinye’s eyes, searching for any sign that he might take her with him.

Wei Ming looked at Xu Wu and said to Zhou Jinye: “I’m coming with you.”

Zhou Jinye started to refuse, but Wei Ming cut him off: “Not just for my sister, but also for you. We’ve been friends for so many years. Don’t try to reject me.”

He gestured toward the bodyguards. “These people are more than enough to protect them. I have connections and resources that could help you.”

Xiang Rui had already prepared luggage for Wei Ming, who took it and gently patted Xu Wu’s shoulder.

Xu Wu sobbed uncontrollably as Zhou Jinye gave her one last glance before getting into the car with Wei Ming.

The sky had been overcast with thick clouds since morning, dark and gloomy, yet no rain fell despite the gusts of wind sweeping through.

As the car disappeared into the distance, Xu Wu’s vision blurred. It was nearly winter, and the biting wind turned her rosy cheeks pale.

Xu Wu didn’t remember passing out, but when she woke up, she was lying in bed.

She tried to get up, but Xiang Rui walked in just then, carrying a tray of food. “Perfect timing. It’s evening now, and you must be hungry. I made something for you to eat.”

“Where are they now?”

Seeing Xu Wu’s intent to go after them, Xiang Rui set the plate down and sat beside her. “Wei Ming just called me. He said we can rest assured.”

Then she brought over a steaming bowl of food. “We’ll stay here and wait for updates. Following them won’t help us.”

“But…”

Before Xu Wu could continue, Xiang Rui lowered her head and said: “Don’t worry. Wei Ming said he’ll check in with us regularly.”

Xu Wu almost forgot that Xiang Rui was just as worried as she was. Wei Ming had done a lot for her. Looking at Xiang Rui holding a full bowl of food, Xu Wu whispered: “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. You’re Wei Ming’s sister, and mine too. Let’s wait for them to return together.”

Over the next week in Wei Ming and Xiang Rui’s new villa, Xu Wu struggled to sleep almost every night. Xiang Rui had mentioned it to Wei Ming, who arranged for someone to bring medication, but she still couldn’t sleep well. Her insomnia had worsened, reverting to how it had been before.

She hadn’t called Zhou Jinye during these days, but Pudding had been brought over to keep her company. Her room had a balcony, and below, guards hired by Wei Ming stood watch day and night.

The weather was rarely sunny, and the nights remained heavily clouded. Only faint moonlight pierced through the layers of clouds.

Pudding could sense Xu Wu’s recent emotional state and stayed close to her. She held the necklace around her neck, her thoughts hanging like the moon concealed behind the mist.

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Meanwhile, at Yiming Garden, Zhou Jinye and Wei Ming had already gathered information. Over the past few days, the police had been relentlessly tracking Qin Shili. His company’s stock prices plummeted, and numerous issues with his businesses had surfaced.

Someone who had accidentally spotted him in the outskirts reported it.

The place Zhou Jinye was heading to hadn’t been visited in a long time. He prepared everything and set off.

After thorough consideration, the police had been lying in wait for three days, observing Qin Shili’s movements. By late afternoon, when Qin Shili was absent, they moved in.

The long-abandoned house no longer resembled a villa. Uncle Xu was in Qin Shili’s hands, and armed police were now concealed around the property.

Wei Ming joined the operation as well.

Inside the house, vines had overtaken the walls, breaking through the windows and spreading throughout the rooms.

Each floor was familiar to Zhou Jinye, but it was no longer the same as before.

Step by step, he approached the second floor. Bloodstains from a fight marked the walls, urging him to quicken his pace as he searched each room.

“My dear son, welcome home.”

Behind him came a voice Zhou Jinye had grown to hate with every fiber of his being.