"Sheng Haoguang! Why are you targeting me? Why are you arresting me?" Huangfu Shaohua recognized the middle-aged man's voice as Sheng Haoguang.
Sheng Haoguang slapped him personally and said with extreme hatred, "You ask me why? I should be asking you! Why did your Huangfu family try to exterminate us? Zhuzhu was sincere towards you, and it's one thing if you didn't take it seriously, but you trampled her sincerity like mud!"
Huangfu Shaohua said with a laugh, "Was her sincerity towards me genuine, or was it because of my status as the second young master of the Huangfu family? You've been pushing me, yet you accuse our Huangfu family of trying to exterminate you. Are you even making any sense?"
"You want to talk sense with me?" Sheng Haoguang asked with a laugh. "My factories abroad had accidents, and it's related to you, isn't it? Was it you or your parents who wanted to exterminate us?"
"What factories abroad?" Huangfu Shaohua feigned ignorance.
He saw that Sheng Haoguang only suspected that the Sheng family's bankruptcy was related to the Huangfu family but hadn't confirmed it.
"It seems you won't tell the truth unless I teach you a lesson." As he spoke, Sheng Haoguang grabbed a wooden stick from a burly man beside him and struck Huangfu Shaohua several times on the chest.
Although Susu couldn't see what was happening to Huangfu Shaohua, she knew he was being beaten.
"Stop! The Sheng family's bankruptcy is due to your own management and operational issues as the chairman of the group. How can you blame others..."
"Muzzle her mouth, she's too noisy." Sheng Haoguang stopped and ordered someone to gag Susu.
Before her mouth was gagged, Susu reminded him, "What do you want with Huangfu Shaohua? If something happens to him from the beating, you'll get nothing..."
Before she could finish, her mouth was covered.
Sheng Haoguang would not let Huangfu Shaohua go because of her words. A few blows were not enough to vent his anger.
Just as he was about to continue teaching Huangfu Shaohua a lesson, the door was pushed open again, and Sheng Zhuzhu ran in, shouting at Sheng Haoguang, "Dad, don't hit Shaohua Gege. Hand him over to me."
"Nonsense, why are you here? Get out!" Sheng Haoguang put down the stick and motioned for someone to escort Sheng Zhuzhu out.
But Sheng Zhuzhu completely ignored Susu and ran to Huangfu Shaohua, staring at him.
Seeing that the corner of his mouth was bleeding, she quickly reached out to wipe it, looking at him and smiling, "Shaohua Gege."
However, her smile sent a chill down Shaohua's spine.
Sheng Haoguang personally grabbed her arm, intending to pull her out.
Sheng Zhuzhu screamed hysterically, "Don't hit him! Hand him over to me! Dad, if you don't hand him over to me, I'll die for you to see!"
As she spoke, she pulled out a small knife and was about to cut her wrist.
Sheng Haoguang was used to her behavior; she would have occasional hysterical outbursts like this.
He had taken her to see a psychiatrist before. The doctor said her mental problems were incurable and could only be managed with medication, and that her family needed to keep a close eye on her.
Sheng Haoguang approached her and said, "Give me the knife. Huangfu Shaohua is right here. Do you want to do something foolish in front of him?"
Sheng Zhuzhu paused. Sheng Haoguang seized the opportunity to knock the small knife from her hand, firmly grasping her arm and saying, "We'll keep Huangfu Shaohua locked up here. You can come see him anytime you want. But there are more important things to do now. You need to help me, come out with me, okay? You're my only daughter, Dad. If you don't help me, who else can?"
"Okay, I'll help you." Sheng Zhuzhu seemed to calm down a bit. She glanced at Huangfu Shaohua again and went out with Sheng Haoguang.
Now, only Huangfu Shaohua and Susu were left.
Susu's mouth was gagged, and she couldn't speak for a moment, but she realized that the place they were locked in was an unfinished apartment.
The windows in the apartment were sealed. It was likely in the same condition as when it was handed over, unfurnished.
When Sheng Zhuzhu opened the door earlier, Susu saw that there were three other units outside, likely in a building with four units per floor and two elevators.
She guessed that Sheng Haoguang dared to lock them up here because the other three units were also his properties.
He and Sheng Zhuzhu, along with their subordinates, were probably hiding in the other three units, meaning they had taken over the entire floor or bought it.
So they were likely in a residential complex and hadn't been taken to some suburban location by Sheng Haoguang.
Susu suspected that this complex was in the center of Lan City. The more conspicuous a place was, the less likely it was to be found.
Sheng Haoguang was indeed clever, hiding in plain sight. With so many residential complexes in Lan City, it would be difficult to find them.
As she was thinking about how to escape, she heard Huangfu Shaohua cough twice. It seemed he was injured from Sheng Haoguang's beating.
Susu wanted to ask him how he was, but she forgot that her mouth was gagged. She could only make muffled sounds and tried to spit out the cloth gag.
Huangfu Shaohua understood her intention and said, "Don't worry, it's just a few blows. I'm not going to die."
Susu felt a little relieved and made another muffled sound.
Regardless of whether Susu could respond, Huangfu Shaohua said, "Sheng Haoguang should have sent Zhuzhu to a mental hospital for treatment, not kept her with him and made her do bad things."
Susu thought that he still had the mood to consider Sheng Zhuzhu. She felt that both Sheng Haoguang and Sheng Zhuzhu had fallen into madness.
Huangfu Shaohua thought of something and reminded her, "Sheng Haoguang dares to act like this because he has a criminal syndicate behind him. It's by relying on this criminal syndicate that he dares to return to Lan City and commit evil deeds."
Susu's heart skipped a beat. Did Sheng Haoguang have more formidable figures under him than just two burly men?
She recalled that when she was drugged and put into the van, she felt someone else in the car. That person was directing the two burly men from inside the vehicle.
But she vaguely felt that the person in the car was not Sheng Haoguang, and certainly not Sheng Zhuzhu. This person had yet to show themselves. Who could it be?
...
Tianyi waited at home until past ten o'clock, but Susu hadn't returned. He couldn't help but call her mobile phone, only to find it turned off.
Could the battery have died?
If Susu were staying overnight with Daisy, she would at least have sent him a text message.
It was unlikely that she wouldn't call or text him, and her phone would be turned off.
He felt something was wrong and called Daisy.
...
After Susu left, Daisy sat for a while, then went outside the hospital to buy some food and brought it to the ward.
She put down the packed food and drinks without disturbing her father, who was guarding the bedside, and then went to sit outside the ward.
By ten o'clock at night, her father's attitude finally softened a bit. He came outside the ward and said to her, "I'll stay here to watch over your mother tonight. You should go back and rest. There's no need to sit here anymore. Don't you care about your own body?"
"Dad, I'll stay up tonight. You go back and rest." Daisy was overjoyed that her father was willing to talk to her properly.
Her father waved his hand and said, "You can't stay up late. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the child in your belly."
The thought of the child in her belly made her mood turn heavy again. She responded with a soft "Oh."