Chapter 171: Come in and have a cup of water

Early the next morning, Qin Huilian woke up from the sofa, facing the clean and tidy apartment, she felt a bit dazed.

She remembered that two masked men wearing balaclavas had broken in, pointed guns at her, and knocked her unconscious.

After that, she knew nothing.

But when she woke up, she discovered there was no sign of any injury on her.

Everything in the apartment was still there.

Except for a missing rag, there was no sign of a robbery.

If it weren't for a faint pain still lingering at the back of her head, she would have doubted whether those memories were just a dream from last night.

After her doubts, Qin Huilian quickly washed up and went straight to work, with no thought of calling the police.

Even if she reported it, she wouldn't know what to say.

Could it be that last night two robbers broke in and ended up stealing only a rag?

That rag was actually used by Shen Guodong to wipe O's face.

Last night, after Shen Guodong wiped clean the blood on the floor and on O's face, he directly carried O's corpse out of the apartment in a swaggering manner.

Anyone who saw it just thought someone had taken ill and was rushing to the hospital.

O rarely appeared in public and often traveled on business, so the residents here were not familiar with him.

Even if he disappeared for a few months, probably only Qin Huilian would be affected by not getting her salary, while others wouldn't care or notice.

As for where O was taken, of course he was thrown into the sea to feed the sharks!

As for O's employer behind him, Chen Mo didn't need to investigate further; it was almost certainly Jiang Tiansheng who did it.

The people Chen Mo has offended are just that many, and only Jiang Tiansheng would be willing to spend a high price to hire assassins.

During this period, karaoke machine sales have been extremely good.

On Great Prosperity's turf, several KTVs have opened, and many bars and nightclubs have also installed karaoke in their private rooms.

Now Great Prosperity's business is booming, making huge profits; many other triads are envious and also want to buy machines from Chen Mo.

However, the machines shipped in have not yet fully met Great Prosperity's needs, so Chen Mo has temporarily not accepted orders from other triads.

Nevertheless, Chen Mo has already announced that in at most one or two months, he will be able to sell machines to other triads.

This one- to two-month period is the time for Chen Mo's disc factory to install, debug, and begin production.

Although some people have obtained karaoke equipment through smuggling, the discs recorded with Gangdao songs are currently only available from Chen Mo.

Since Chen Mo does not sell the discs externally, other triads' KTV businesses cannot get off the ground.

Now most triads not only refrain from offending Chen Mo, they practically worship him.

At present, the only one who likely does not want Chen Mo to grow stronger is Jiang Tiansheng.

People's prejudices are a great mountain.

For any overt or covert attacks whose hidden mastermind cannot be traced, they are all blamed on Jiang Tiansheng.

This is Chen Mo's current attitude.

"Guodong, what has Chen Hao Nan been busy with lately?"

"Um... he's pretty miserable these days. A few days ago, Jingkun set fire to his little bar, and he's still cleaning up the mess."

Chen Mo couldn't help but click his tongue: "Then he really is miserable."

Chen Hao Nan's little bar was originally set up with money pooled by Da B, Da Tian Er, and a few others, and it's located in a rural place like Sai Kung.

The business was never great to begin with, and now it's been burned down by Jingkun.

It's estimated that Chen Hao Nan is utterly miserable.

"Keep someone watching him to see if he'll retaliate."

"Okay."

Jiang Tiansheng hides in his villa in Repulse Bay and doesn't come out; some hidden forces are extremely deeply concealed, so Chen Mo can only act through Chen Hao Nan.

Chen Mo checked the time; it was almost evening, so he immediately got up and left.

Chen Mo returned to the video store where Qin Huilian works, placed the several rented tapes and the receipt on the counter, and smiled: "I'm here to return the tapes."

Qin Huilian exclaimed: "You finished them that quickly?"

It's only been one night.

Little did she know, Chen Mo hadn't watched them at all; in fact, the tapes had been left in the car since yesterday and never taken out.

"Yeah, I watched them fast; do you have any other good movie recommendations?"

Qin Huilian thought for a moment, then picked out two more tapes for Chen Mo.

When settling the bill, Chen Mo reached out again and took off Qin Huilian's glasses.

"I've said before, you look more beautiful without your glasses."

Seeing Qin Huilian's slightly flushed cheeks, Chen Mo picked up the tapes, smiled, and turned to leave.

From Qin Huilian's reaction, it seems she didn't recognize Chen Mo last night.

Furthermore, she did have a reaction to Chen Mo's flirting.

Over the next few days, Chen Mo went to that video store every afternoon, rented a few tapes, and meanwhile flirted with Qin Huilian.

Their relationship became much more familiar.

This continued until the weekend.

Chen Mo took out two movie tickets, placed them on the counter, and gently pushed them toward Qin Huilian.

"Do you have time tonight? How about going to see a movie?"

As for Chen Mo, a customer who shows up every day, Qin Huilian herself doesn't even know what she's thinking.

She now feels very conflicted inside.

She handles the tapes every day, and she knows perfectly well whether they have been opened or not.

She had already discovered several days earlier that Chen Mo had come specifically for her.

Although she was also attracted by Chen Mo's appearance, Qin Huilian's heart was filled with apprehension and unease.

After all, just by looking at Chen Mo's attire, one could tell he was no ordinary person, not someone a lowly shop assistant like her deserved.

But Chen Mo had been so proactive, she really couldn't refuse!

Moreover, the movie ticket Chen Mo bought was for a late-night show after ten o'clock, and it was a restricted-rated horror film.

What exactly Chen Mo had in mind was completely undisguised.

This woman Qin Huilian, aside from work, usually just went to O's place to clean; besides that, her life had no other socializing or entertainment.

This dull, boring life made Qin Huilian's subconscious very fond of stimulation.

This is also why, in the plot, after she learns that Tuo'er is a killer, she still contacts him.

Faced with Chen Mo's unreserved pursuit, she wanted to give it a try.

After a brief hesitation of just a few seconds, Qin Huilian took the movie ticket.

The subsequent developments were roughly as Chen Mo had anticipated.

After Qin Huilian got off work, the two first went for a big meal, and then Chen Mo took her out shopping.

After a few pieces of clothing and a few bags, the two had already held hands before entering the cinema.

Then, under the stimulation of the film's horrifying scenes, Chen Mo easily put his arm around her.

Chen Mo could see clearly that although Qin Huilian acted scared, there was not a trace of fear in her eyes.

She works at a video store, she's seen all kinds of movie footage!

It was just feigned reserve, going along with the flow.

After the movie ended, Chen Mo saw Qin Huilian to her doorstep.

After Qin Huilian entered, she turned and looked at the Chen Mo at the doorway, with sword-like brows, starry eyes, and a tall, slender figure.

"Do you want to... come in for a glass of water?"

Chen Mo curled the corner of his mouth, "Sure."

He definitely had to drink water; Chen Mo loves drinking water!

Chen Mo stepped inside, put his arm around Qin Huilian's waist, lowered his head, and kissed her.

Qin Huilian did not refuse either; she wrapped her arms around Chen Mo's neck and responded passionately.

She didn't even mind the newly bought clothes and bags in her hands falling to the ground.

Chen Mo hooked the door shut with his foot, then the two kissed as they moved step by step into the room, their clothes falling piece by piece onto the floor of the entryway, living room, and bedroom.