"Liu Lu?"
Wang Yu shook his head. Was he hallucinating?
How could he hear someone calling Liu Lu's name?
Perhaps it was a common name. After all, it was a very popular name.
Wang Yu thought to himself, but he still subconsciously stood up, opened the door, and walked out.
The entire guesthouse of the government reception center was circular, with a courtyard featuring a rock garden in the center. Wang Yu's presidential suite was on the third floor, and the door directly faced the rock garden in the courtyard. From the doorway, he could overlook the entire courtyard.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw a group of people in the courtyard pulling and tugging at each other.
"You ran all the way here from Jiangyang County just to find Wang Yu? What difference does it make? Do you think he can protect you?"
A sharp voice came from a man with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, followed by several burly men.
Surrounded by them was a woman with a tall, hot figure. She was none other than Liu Lu, the dispatcher from the Steel Plant Wang Yu had just been thinking about.
Liu Lu now looked disheveled, her hair messy and her face covered in dust. She was holding her daughter's hand.
The burly men menacingly surrounded them. One of them was pulling Liu Lu's arm, clearly intending to drag her away.
Liu Lu resisted weakly while trying to protect her daughter.
"Strange, why is she here?"
Seeing that it was indeed the Liu Lu he knew, Wang Yu was puzzled.
Why had she suddenly come to the provincial capital, and to this place? From what he heard, she was here to seek his protection?
As for her daughter, Wang Yu had seen her before. She was a very bright little girl, but now she looked terrified and was crying incessantly.
However, none of the adults present had the time to pay attention to her.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Do you know where this is?"
A burly waitress stepped forward. As staff of the government reception center, even though she was just a waitress, she was part of the government, and thus had a certain aura. Coupled with her sturdy physique, she was usually quite imposing.
But that depended on the person. The individuals before her, wearing floral shirts and leather shoes, with tattoos faintly visible and fierce expressions, were practically screaming "villain" on their foreheads.
A fierce glare and a casual display of a dagger at their waists immediately silenced her.
"This is a government... " the waitress's voice weakened. She sheepishly retreated behind the counter, trying to make herself as small as possible, as if she could pretend she wasn't there.
After seeing off the waitress, the burly men turned back and grabbed Liu Lu.
As a former steel plant worker, Liu Lu had considerable strength, certainly more than an ordinary young woman.
But compared to the burly men, she was still at a disadvantage.
Two burly men grabbed her arms, one on each side. No matter how hard she struggled, it was futile.
"You can really run, can't you? Running!"
The short man approached Liu Lu, his expression contemptuous and vicious.
"You're quite capable, running away overnight to the provincial capital, making us chase you like rabbits. No one has ever dared to owe our boss money and not pay! You little slut, you dare to run, and you'll go dance black dances when you get back!"
The short man said fiercely. However, without any warning, Liu Lu spat directly at him.
"Pah, kill me if you have the guts! I will never go dance those black dances!"
Liu Lu looked at the short man with disgust, spitting a mouthful of saliva directly onto his face, which instantly enraged him.
"Good, you little slut! You dare to resist! Watch me..." He raised his hand, intending to slap Liu Lu, but then he seemed to remember something and grabbed Liu Lu's crying daughter instead.
"What do you want?" Liu Lu's previously calm and resolute face instantly became panicked. Her daughter was her only weakness now.
"Hmph, if I ruin your pretty face, who will make money for us? Don't you cherish your daughter?"
The short man said this while taking out his dagger and brandishing it at Liu Lu's daughter.
The little girl struggled, but her short limbs were no match for him. The sharp dagger was now pointed at her face.
"You... you don't mess around! If you have something, come at me!"
Liu Lu's face turned extremely grim.
"As long as you obediently come back with us to dance black dances and repay the debt, I won't do anything to your daughter. But if you don't cooperate..."
The short man's voice stretched out, the dagger swaying in front of the little girl's eyes.
"Then I can't guarantee what regrettable things I might do!"
"You!"
Liu Lu's eyes blazed with fury, but she was powerless. No matter how much she struggled, she was held firmly by the two burly men.
"You win, I'll do as you say!"
After a moment of silence, Liu Lu quickly made her decision.
"Hmph, you chose the hard way instead of the easy way. That's more like it."
The short man sneered, nodding with satisfaction. He casually put away his dagger.
"Let me tell you, I... Ouch!"
Before the short man could finish speaking, he felt a kick in his backside, and then he unexpectedly stumbled forward, falling disgracefully like a dog eating dirt.
"Who? Who the hell sneak-attacked me?"
The short man rolled on the ground, got up in a very pathetic manner, and then looked around.
"It's me!"
Wang Yu walked over directly, pulling Liu Lu's daughter behind him.
"Director Wang!"
Seeing Wang Yu appear, Liu Lu was overjoyed and exclaimed excitedly.
"You are Wang Yu? The Wang Yu from Jiangyang Automobile Factory?" The short man tilted his head, looking at Wang Yu with disdain. At the same time, he drew the dagger from his waist.
"That's right, I am Wang Yu." Wang Yu nodded, casually blocking Liu Lu's daughter behind him, and then calmly stared at the dagger in the short man's hand.
"If I were you, I would put away the dagger now. After all, this is the provincial government reception center.
I don't know who you are, but if you dare to brazenly wield a sharp weapon here, it will definitely be enough for you to spend a long time in the Public Security Bureau."
Wang Yu's voice was clear and steady. Facing the gleaming dagger, he showed no sign of fear.
"This..." The short man hesitated, seemingly finding Wang Yu's words reasonable. He put away the dagger and then spoke to Wang Yu,
"Wang Yu, I've heard of you. I don't know how you got lucky and hooked up with Secretary Yang, but we are from the Red Moon Ballroom!"
The short man said to Wang Yu, "Liu Lu owes our boss money, and she must be taken back."
"Red Moon Ballroom? She owes your boss money?" Wang Yu frowned slightly. He had heard about the background of the Red Moon Ballroom; it was said to be a difficult and powerful gang leader.
Compared to them, thugs like Hu Ge and Yang Song, who were always causing trouble, seemed insignificant. This was evident from the fact that they dared to carry daggers.
"How about this, I'll repay the money she owes you."
Wang Yu did not want to cause further trouble and spoke directly.
It seemed that Liu Lu's runaway husband had also been in a similar situation, with Wang Yu having to repay the debt. This was likely a similar scenario.
"You'll repay it? Heh heh!" The short man sneered. "What will you use to repay it? A full 100,000 yuan!"