Chapter 280: A Beauty Scheme Born of Helplessness

Feng Yuxiu clenched his teeth and refused to explain the matter; Lin Dongfan's mood was already not great, but hearing that Gao Lu's life was saved, his anger dissipated by half.

Saving Gao Lu meant preserving the investigative line of the oil case.

Wait until Gao Lu is completely out of danger before taking her statement.

After a day and night without sleep, he was exhausted; Lin Dongfan now wanted nothing but to return to the Clear Lake Guesthouse for a good rest, regain his strength, then tear into these monsters.

Bureau Chief Qi, this is left to you; send people to keep a close watch, ensuring Gao Lu's personal safety.

Rest easy and go to sleep; nothing will happen.

Inform me promptly if anything happens.

Lin Dongfan dragged his exhausted body back to the guesthouse, didn't even bother to wash, flopped onto the bed spread-eagled, and quickly fell asleep.

Elsewhere.

Gao Peng had also gone a day and night without sleep.

But Gao Peng had no mind for sleep.

Upon learning that his sister Gao Lu's life was saved, Gao Peng sat in the living room chain-smoking over a dozen cigarettes, the smoke filling the whole room, his mood becoming extremely complicated.

Now even he himself doesn't know whether this is good news or bad.

Wang Minjuan, wearing silk pajamas, kept him company, also sleepless all night. The coffee she had left sat on the tea table in front of her, and she kept drinking it to stay awake.

At six a. m. in Nanzhou, it was already nine a. m. in Australia, and everyone had started work.

The phone resting on the tea table suddenly rang.

After answering the call, Wang Minjuan simply asked, "Found her?" then just listened silently to the other party's report, saying nothing more.

After the other party finished reporting,

Wang Minjuan hung up directly, her face grim as she reported to Gao Peng: "Yin Qiuhong has been found, hiding in Australia, and she's had a son; I don't know if it's Lin Dongfan's."

Upon hearing this, Gao Peng's eyes lit up, as if he had caught a glimmer of hope from the darkness.

Gao Peng asked: "When can we bring her back to the country?"

"That's probably difficult," Wang Minjuan shook her head, then added: "Last night, as soon as my people approached her, three were taken out on the spot, nearly wiping out the whole team."

"That bitch, is she really that capable?" Gao Peng doubted.

Wang Minjuan said: "She's hired over a dozen bodyguards, legally armed in Australia. She's now no different from an outlaw; anyone who tries to drag her back home will face her deadly resistance."

"Give her some money. We don't need her to return; we just need her to provide evidence, admit that Lin Dongfan raped her and helped her escape. That child of hers is definitely Lin Dongfan's illegitimate son." Gao Peng took a deep drag of his cigarette; now Lin Dongfan was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, threatening him at all times.

Wang Minjuan again shook her head regretfully: "We've tried that approach; it didn't work—she's not short of money. She claims she raped Lin Dongfan, and she also said..."

"What else?" Gao Peng turned his head, staring at the hesitant Wang Minjuan.

Wang Minjuan bluntly said: "She said that if we keep pressing her, she'll give Lin Dongfan evidence to send all the big and small officials of Nanzhou's bureaucracy to join Xiao Yunce in prison."

!!!

Wang Minjuan's words plunged Gao Peng from hope straight into the dark eighteenth level of hell.

He felt even breathing was a little difficult.

Wang Minjuan questioned: "Have you and Yin Qiuhong also had something happen..."

"Nonsense!"

Gao Peng immediately cut off Wang Minjuan's speculation.

Previously Yin Qiuhong was Xiao Yunce's person; how could Gao Peng possibly have any relation with her? However, that doesn't mean Gao Peng can rest easy.

If Yin Qiuhong really overturns Nanzhou's officialdom, Gao Peng will surely not get away unscathed.

This is what they call "pulling up a radish brings up the mud."

If enough people are caught, someone will surely bite back at Gao Peng in desperation; then no one will think they can stay uninvolved.

Gao Peng took another sullen drag of his cigarette.

He stubbed out his cigarette butt hard in the ashtray, then calmly ordered Wang Minjuan: "Since Yin Qiuhong doesn't know what's good for her, let her die in Australia; we just need to keep that child. Bring the child back, and once we do a paternity test, Lin Dongfan will still not get away scot-free."

Upon hearing this, Wang Minjuan fell silent again, looking helpless.

Gao Peng doubted: "Is this hard to handle?"

"She's hiding in Australia, with money, guns, bodyguards, and a public security background; her counter‑investigation skills are exceptionally strong—killing her is harder than killing Lin Dongfan." Wang Minjuan thought, if it were that easy to take her out, she wouldn't have survived this long; all the people in the country who want her dead could form a soccer team together.

After a moment of deep thought,

Wang Minjuan then pulled out a photo for Gao Peng: "I still favor using the beauty trap; as long as Lin Dongfan can't hold himself together, we can ruin him without bloodshed."

Gao Peng took the photo, looked at it, and his eyes lit up again.

"She's really a beauty embryo."

"Not only is she pretty, her looks and demeanor are also excellent—just like a classical beauty stepped out of a painting, elegant and refined."

Gao Peng curiously asked: "Who is this person?"

"It's my sister, Wang Minlan." Wang Minjuan said: "Once I went through her phone, I found Lin Dongfan was her QQ friend; they've kept in touch all along. But they seem never to have met in person, nor do they know each other's real identities—it's just online chatting, like soul‑mates."

"You're really something, willing to push even your own sister forward." Gao Peng laughed.

Wang Minjuan got up, moved behind him, and gently massaged his shoulders: "If you fall, I won't survive either. For you, and for myself, this little sacrifice means nothing."

"That really comes cheap for that brat Lin Dongfan."

Gao Peng stared at the beauty in the photo a while longer, feeling a bit unwilling, as if a good cabbage had been let loose for a pig to root through, but for now there's no better option.

If Lin Dongfan stands firm, then the one who will fall will be him, Gao Peng.

Gao Peng asked again: "Will your sister cooperate with you?"

"Minlan is a bit like Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber." Wang Minjuan admitted: "Although she's a person with strong self‑esteem, she also lacks much social experience. In short, she's absent‑minded, naive and pure, has no friends in life, only chatting and laughing with those she knows. In her lonely world, the online friend Lin Dongfan is her only friend; if I support her in arranging a meeting with Lin Dongfan, she should not resist."

"What a pity." Gao Peng stared at the photo in his hand, sighing again: "Among you three sisters, your youngest has the most spirit—what a bargain for that brat Lin Dongfan."

"If she lacked spirit, this beauty ploy wouldn't work." Wang Minjuan laughed: "Given Lin Dongfan's current status, those superficial beauties probably wouldn't catch his eye."

"That's also true."

Gao Peng thought about the beautiful women surrounding Lin Dongfan, and they really were all not simple.

Among them, the most eye-catching was Ye Jiaying.

After Ye Jiaying resigned from Shangshi Media, she subsequently founded the two major companies, "Fanren Media" and "Fanren Technology".

With one hand she grabbed the entertainment industry, with the other she grabbed the technology industry.

In just over half a year, she thrived; now Ye Jiaying has squeezed into the top tier of the business world, becoming a business queen that many people cannot hope to reach.

Even at the provincial government-business summit, she has a seat.

I heard that her startup capital was all help provided by Lin Dongfan, and I don't know where that brat Lin Dongfan got so much legitimate income—it's uncanny.

The more Gao Peng thought, the more depressed he became.

That brat Lin Dongfan sits on over a hundred million in assets, regularly reports his property to the organization, steady as an old dog!

My administrative rank is several levels higher than that brat Lin Dongfan's, yet my personal wealth is not even a fraction of his; I merely helped my younger sister a bit, but I live each day in anxiety.

It's truly maddening to compare people.

Gao Peng, feeling depressed, urged Wang Minjuan: "Since you plan to push your sister out, do it swiftly. We must settle Lin Dongfan before he makes a move on me."