The hushed whispers of Lawrence and Ye Qingning did not escape another pair of eyes. However, these eyes held only disdain.
"Truly foolish pigs, as if they could deal with Zhou Jinbai?" The woman's voice was laced with a hint of languor. She wore a red halterneck dress, her skin as white as snow. The bright red lipstick amplified her powerful aura.
Her eyes darted around, and a contemptuous smile played on her lips. She took out her phone and dialed a number.
At the same time, Oriental Junze, standing beside Lin Xingwan, heard his phone ring. He glanced at it, and his expression immediately turned cold. He didn't want to answer, but a text message appeared on the screen: "Do you want me to appear before you directly? Or, you come to see me."
The brief message made Oriental Junze's gaze grow colder and colder. Even Lin Xingwan, standing beside him, felt the change in his demeanor.
"Mr. Oriental, what's wrong?" Lin Xingwan couldn't help but look at him and ask.
Oriental Junze's expression instantly returned to normal. He said to Lin Xingwan, "I'm going out to take a call." He quickly walked away.
"Your boss seems to be in some trouble. His expression isn't right," Lin Xingwan commented, noticing the urgency in Oriental Junze's steps.
Chen Yuchu was also puzzled. Who could be calling their young master to make him leave the young madam to take the call? As Chen Yuchu pondered this, she felt a sharp gaze fall upon her. Following her intuition, Chen Yuchu looked up towards the upper floor. However, in this incredibly luxurious palace, everyone she saw was a stranger. Was she being too sensitive?
"It might be some business matter. Our boss is extremely busy," Chen Yuchu suppressed the unease in her heart and continued chatting with Lin Xingwan.
Lin Xingwan nodded. "In that case, I'll go chat with other bosses and see if I can secure more deals."
"Alright," Chen Yuchu replied with a smile. Lin Xingwan then walked in another direction.
Due to Oriental Junze's departure, fewer bosses approached Lin Xingwan for conversation. However, even a little was better than nothing, and Lin Xingwan managed to secure several tens of millions in cooperation. Just as she felt thirsty, a waiter holding a tray of juice appeared in her line of sight. Without a second thought, Lin Xingwan picked up a glass of juice from the waiter's tray and drank it.
After finishing the entire glass, she felt as if she had been frozen by magic. The waiter holding the tray wore an emerald ring on his ring finger, surrounded by a small circle of diamonds. In Lin Xingwan's memory, Hao Manqing had a similar ring.
"Lin Xingwan, was the juice tasty?" At the same time, Hao Manqing's eerie and terrifying voice echoed in Lin Xingwan's ears. Lin Xingwan stiffly turned her neck and saw Hao Manqing's face, contorted in a maniacal smile. Just as she tried to escape, Hao Manqing quickly grabbed her by the neck with one hand and held a gun with the other.
"Lin Xingwan, let's see where you can escape this time, hahahaha..." Hao Manqing's voice was sharp and piercing, especially as she spat out the words through gritted teeth. Lin Xingwan tried to resist but found her limbs weak. That glass of juice was definitely tampered with!
Despite all precautions, who would have thought such an incident could occur at a high-end banquet like the Blissful Feast? Even if Lin Xingwan racked her brain, she couldn't fathom how Hao Manqing would be present at the Blissful Feast.
The scene of Lin Xingwan being held hostage by Hao Manqing, with a gun to her head, quickly terrified everyone around. The guests retreated, fearing stray bullets.
"Where did this woman come from? Where are the security guards? Hurry and save Miss Lin!"
"Help! There's a shooting! Help!"
"The Blissful Feast isn't blissful at all. Even the waiters are carrying weapons. Everyone be careful, maybe other waiters have them too."
The guests fled in panic, and Chen Yuchu couldn't find an opportunity to save Lin Xingwan. When Oriental Junze returned after his call, he witnessed this scene. His cold, deep eyes instantly turned icy, radiating a chilling aura that inspired terror. Seeing Lin Xingwan utterly defenseless in Hao Manqing's grasp made him even more anxious.
"Hao Manqing, let Lin Xingwan go, and I can spare your life." Oriental Junze stood tall, his deep, dark eyes unreadable, yet his entire being exuded a powerful killing intent.
Hao Manqing laughed even more wildly. "Let her go? I went through so much trouble to find this opportunity, and you tell me to let her go? This bitch caused my son to be imprisoned. I wish I could grind her to dust."
Lin Xingwan wanted to speak, but her body was too weak. Her heart raced, and she felt on the verge of passing out.
"It wasn't her who caused Cheng Yanzhe to be imprisoned, it was you. Hao Manqing, don't be so stubborn, or you'll only end up harming yourself and others." Chen Yuchu couldn't help but try to reason with Hao Manqing, unable to comprehend the woman's mindset. She had made a mistake but, to alleviate her guilt, was shifting the blame onto others.
"Shut up! Or I'll blow this bitch Lin Xingwan's head off right now." Hao Manqing glared fiercely at Chen Yuchu. Although Chen Yuchu was a strong fighter, and ten Hao Manqings wouldn't be her match normally, the young madam's life was in this woman's hands, so she dared not speak further.
Hao Manqing, holding Lin Xingwan hostage, walked towards the exit of the banquet. The surrounding bodyguards watched her menacingly, but without Oriental Junze's command, none of them dared to act. Otherwise, they would have been eliminated before they even had a chance to touch Hao Manqing.
"Hao Manqing, what do you want?" Oriental Junze's gaze was fixed on her. The madness in her eyes had not subsided, making her seem somewhat deranged.
"I don't want anything. I just want this bitch to die! Her birth mother, Tao Xian, was a great bitch, and she is a little bitch. The great bitch seduced my husband, causing him to always have reservations about me over the years. Not only did Tao Xian, the great bitch, ruin my love and marriage, but her daughter, Lin Xingwan, this little bitch, also tried to seduce my son and caused him so much harm. My family is gone, my son is gone, what else do I have? Hahaha... What else can I have?"
Soon, Hao Manqing dragged Lin Xingwan to a viewing platform at the banquet. From this platform, one could see two-thirds of the island's scenery. Above was the bright moon and starry sky; below, the dark sea shimmered with waves. If one ignored what was happening on the viewing platform, it was a truly beautiful night.
"Young Master, this Hao Manqing seems deranged," Chen Yuchu said to Zhou Jinbai, observing the frenzied Hao Manqing. Zhou Jinbai, of course, had noticed it as well.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingning and Lawrence, hidden outside the crowd, had witnessed the entire spectacle.
"I truly didn't expect you to bring this madwoman, Hao Manqing, to the Blissful Feast in advance. It's exactly what I had in mind," Ye Qingning said. She had wanted Lin Xingwan dead quickly and wished Hao Manqing could be present. Who would have thought Lawrence would fulfill her wish?
Lawrence embraced Ye Qingning and kissed her cheek. "This proves we have a telepathic connection. I had originally planned to lure her into a trap at my own banquet, but this Lin Xingwan is a nuisance alive." In the past, Lawrence had never paid much attention to Lin Xingwan, but at some point, he began to see her as a threat. A woman with so many unpredictable possibilities should be eliminated sooner rather than later.
Ye Qingning, in a good mood, didn't mind Lawrence's intrusive hand. She focused all her attention on Hao Manqing and Lin Xingwan. This time, she wanted to see how this bitch Lin Xingwan would escape.
Lin Xingwan's head grew increasingly heavy. Hao Manqing pressed her firmly against the railing of the viewing platform. Looking down at the dark sea, which seemed to hide terrifying monsters, she felt an inexplicable fear. She wanted to push Hao Manqing away, but she didn't even have the strength to lift her arms.
"Hao... Hao Manqing... Do you know what you're doing? Cheng... Cheng Yanzhe took the blame for you... so you could live out your years in peace. If you do this, won't Cheng Yanzhe have gone to prison for nothing?" Lin Xingwan exerted immense effort to utter these words, leaving her gasping for breath.
Hao Manqing's eyes, burning with rage, regained a sliver of clarity upon hearing the words "gone to prison for nothing," followed by a pang of heartache. She had wronged her son, but now she was at a dead end.
"Don't mention Yanzhe. You're not worthy of mentioning Yanzhe. If you hadn't seduced him, our family wouldn't be like this. You bitch, die for me, die!" Hao Manqing's reason was ultimately consumed by intense hatred and jealousy.
"Enough!" Oriental Junze's cold, desolate voice rang out. He took three or four steps forward, stopping only when Hao Manqing warned him not to approach further. "The one who ruined your family was you, not someone else! In the past, to gain Tao Xian's business management methods, you deliberately befriended her. If you hadn't repeatedly brought your husband to meet Tao Xian, your husband wouldn't have fallen in love with Tao Xian. Tao Xian was intelligent and capable, while you were jealous and insidious. No man would choose you. And your son, he repeatedly harassed Lin Xingwan, yet you kept telling yourself that Lin Xingwan seduced Cheng Yanzhe. The tragedy of the Cheng family is because of you. Don't always blame others; dirty shoes mean you walked on unclean paths."
Oriental Junze's words made Hao Manqing even more agitated. "It wasn't me... it wasn't me, it was Tao Xian, it was Lin Xingwan..."
"No, I only wanted to learn how to manage a company back then. I truly wanted to be friends with Tao Xian. But she was too outstanding, so outstanding that I was jealous. Standing next to Tao Xian, I was completely overshadowed. I wasn't even a supporting character."
"Did I really ruin the Cheng family? Did I ruin my son? I don't want this... I don't want this... It's my fault..." Hao Manqing was consumed by her pain. Her gaze towards Lin Xingwan softened slightly.
Zhou Jinbai seized this opportunity and rushed towards Hao Manqing. Ye Qingning anxiously shouted, "Hao Manqing, don't be fooled! Be careful!"
The gun in Hao Manqing's hand was knocked away by Zhou Jinbai. Just as everyone thought Lin Xingwan was about to be saved, Hao Manqing leaped from the viewing platform. She tightly grabbed Lin Xingwan's hand, and the already weak Lin Xingwan was pulled down from the platform by Hao Manqing.
At the critical moment, Zhou Jinbai grabbed Lin Xingwan's hand. He clung to the other side of the railing, preventing himself from falling. Both hands were being pulled, and a tearing pain shot through Lin Xingwan, making her feel as if she were being ripped in half.
"What are you standing around for? Save her!" Zhou Jinbai roared at the group behind him. Bodyguards quickly moved to help pull Lin Xingwan up. But Hao Manqing, like a vengeful spirit, was determined to take a life before finding peace. She laughed wildly, twisting her body in mid-air. "You want Lin Xingwan to live? Dream on! Even if I die, I'll take this woman with me!"
Lin Xingwan's body ached more, but Hao Manqing continued, "Lin Xingwan, Lin Xingwan, do you think Tao Xian was a pure woman? She slept with countless men. And she once told me that you are not Lin Hanhai's daughter at all. Hahaha, Lin Hanhai schemed his whole life, lived his whole life with abandon, never imagining that neither of his children were his!"
Hao Manqing's words shocked Lin Xingwan to her core. But she had no time to think. The hand holding hers was slowly losing strength. She watched as their clasped hands gradually separated, followed by her body plummeting rapidly.
"Wife—" Just before hitting the water, Lin Xingwan heard someone call her wife and saw Oriental Junze leap from the viewing platform.
Her body slammed heavily into the sea, the water bone-chillingly cold. Endless seawater flooded her nostrils. Lin Xingwan desperately wanted to save herself, but she had no strength in her body. Even opening her eyes, she saw only darkness. Her consciousness gradually blurred. Lin Xingwan finally closed her eyes in despair.
Little did she know that after she lost consciousness, Zhou Jinbai had already wrapped his arm around her waist and was swimming towards the shore. Even though, in Zhou Jinbai's vision, the shore was nowhere to be seen. But he refused to let the woman in his arms die before his eyes. He swam with all his might. More often than not, Zhou Jinbai lifted Lin Xingwan out of the water, allowing her to breathe as much fresh air as possible. As for himself, he had lost count of how much seawater he had swallowed, how many times he had choked. He only knew that this woman absolutely could not be harmed!
Time felt long and slow in her pain and despair. Zhou Jinbai, using his last ounce of strength, finally carried Lin Xingwan to the shore.
"Wife, wake up... Wife..." Zhou Jinbai pressed on Lin Xingwan's abdomen with both hands, intending to squeeze out the water she had swallowed. However, after only a few compressions, he passed out.
In her unconscious state, Lin Xingwan felt a heavy weight pressing down on her. She spat out a lot of water and struggled to open her eyes. She found herself lying on the shore of Blissful Island, with... Oriental Junze lying on top of her? This man had saved her! Lin Xingwan immediately flipped the man on top of her over and gently patted his face, but there was no response. Moonlight shone on the man's cold mask. Lin Xingwan suddenly looked thoughtfully at his face. Her hand moved uncontrollably towards the mask.