Chapter 301: Unease

Amidst the surging crowd, Ning Huaiqing stood there holding a gun, her white dress stained with blood.

Her gentle face was as pale as a soul-snatching Noh mask, and her slender frame trembled slightly, like a vengeful ghost that had just crawled out of hell to claim a life.

Who could have guessed she would successfully reach the Chairman's Office? It was entirely because she had been present when Sheng Hongyao gave orders to his assistant.

She had overheard the information about this escape route.

That was how she managed to find her way here, run up from the stairwell, and pick up the handgun dropped by a casualty on the floor.

She had previously gone to shooting ranges with Sheng Yu and Yuan Fengye; though she was a pampered young lady who could neither carry heavy loads nor do manual labor, she had surprisingly practiced good marksmanship—not quite as good as Sheng Yu, but better than Dong Shu.

Yet she had never touched a real gun with live ammunition before. The moment the bullet fired, her mind went blank, but the thought of wanting to kill Sheng Hongyao cut through that void like a sharp blade, driving her to pull the trigger!

Sheng Hongyao deserved to die!

He should have died three years ago!

A man like this was not worth pitying; he even wanted to kill Sheng Yu. How could she tolerate anyone wanting to kill her lover?

Sheng Hongyao must die!

Thinking this, Ning Huaiqing fired two shots in succession. The webbing between her thumb and index finger felt as if it were tearing apart. She gritted her teeth and watched Sheng Hongyao collapse to the ground, his blood gushing out from his back like tentacles.

She watched this bloody scene, tears falling; though her face remained expressionless, the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile.

Sheng Hongyao finally saw Ning Huaiqing clearly. His face, eyes wide with rage, was filled with fury. "Bitch! You dare to kill me!"

"I am your only man, and you actually dare to kill me!"

"Stop talking!" Ning Huaiqing's hand holding the gun shook, her eyes bloodshot.

Do not say these things in front of Sheng Yu. She had already lost all dignity in front of him; would he not even leave her the last shred of decency?

He really deserves to die.

Sheng Hongyao really deserves to die!

She was about to pull the trigger.

Old Madam Sheng's eyes bulged until they nearly popped out. She lunged to push Situ, but overcome by the sudden, overwhelming grief, her vision went black and she lost consciousness.

The next second, there was another gunshot.

Sheng Hongyao's men did not notice that the moment he fired at Ning Huaiqing, Situ, acting on a signal from Sheng Yu, nimbly knocked the gun from his hand.

The sound of his gunshot was like a command.

The Bodyguards pouring out from the lounge quickly engaged in a chaotic fight with Sheng Hongyao's men.

Ning Huaiqing's body went limp, and she finally felt a sense of relief.

Suddenly, a warm, powerful hand supported her arm from behind.

Through her blurred, tear-filled eyes, she saw the face of a woman with a slightly heroic air.

After shielding Ning Huaiqing, Chu Xin nodded slightly toward Situ across the room.

Situ frowned slightly; hadn't he told her not to come?

Sheng Hongyao's men were quickly crushed by Sheng Yu's forces with overwhelming superiority.

The sound of weapons being dropped clattered throughout the office.

Sheng Yu strode forward with his long legs, walking step by step toward Sheng Hongyao, who was struggling on the floor, dying, as he reached for his cane.

Just as Sheng Hongyao's fingers were about to touch the cane, a black leather shoe stepped on it, even pinning his hand to the floor.

The color had completely drained from Sheng Hongyao's face. He contorted his features, red blood vessels popping out in his eyes, and gnashed his teeth as he tried to pry away the foot pinning his hand.

But he could not shake it even a fraction.

A scornful laugh sounded from above him.

It was too familiar.

He was too familiar with that laugh.

It had started many years ago; every time Sheng Yu laughed at him, it was like this.

Scornful, tinged with a hint of defiance, as if looking at a clown.

Just as Sheng Hongyao looked up, wanting to see the face of Sheng Yu that resembled both him and Yu Lan, Sheng Yu said unhurriedly, "You thought Sheng Hongwei was the paramour of your paramour?"

Two paramours in one sentence made Sheng Hongyao's complexion turn even worse.

Neither of the two bullets had hit his vital organs, but he was already exhausted and had lost too much blood; death was only a matter of time.

Sheng Yu was slowly wearing him down.

"If not him, then who could it be?" Sheng Hongyao's voice was hoarse, like his ebbing life, like a dried-up river.

Sheng Yu lowered his eyes to watch his gradually graying complexion, expressionless, as if looking at a dying stranger.

No, it should be an enemy.

From the time he was very young, witnessing how Sheng Hongyao used cold violence against his mother, how he forced her to speak first and then seized on excuses to start endless arguments, he had hated Sheng Hongyao.

He even loathed that Sheng Hongyao's blood flowed through his own veins.

Such base, filthy blood.

Sheng Yu lifted his foot from his hand, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one, but only held it in his hand without smoking.

His voice was cold as he spoke three words.

Sheng Hongyao's gradually clouding eyes suddenly widened.

It was him!

It was actually him!

Sheng Hongyao's chest heaved violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He opened his blood-filled mouth and laughed hoarsely.

He had calculated everything, but he had overlooked only that person.

The illegitimate son of the Yu Family whom he had once looked down upon, a coward, a useless thing!

For the past dozen years, had that man been hiding in the shadows all along, mocking him?

Large mouthfuls of blood sprayed from Sheng Hongyao's mouth; he collapsed into a pool of blood, suddenly staring coldly at the direction of Sheng Yu.

The Yu Family, his entire life had been ruined at the hands of the Yu Family!

How could he be reconciled, how could he possibly be reconciled!

……

It was nearing dawn.

Zhu Yuan had been lying on a recliner in the courtyard; a month ago, Pei Ling had people plant mosquito-repelling herbs in the yard, so there were no mosquitoes to disturb her.

Yet, she felt restless.

"Go to sleep."

The moment a figure stood beside her, she immediately closed her eyes.

Pei Ling looked down at her, "As I thought."

Zhu Yuan kept her eyes closed, but she could not resist Pei Ling's bait; she slowly opened her eyes, pretending to have been woken up by him, "What do you mean 'as you thought'?"

Pei Ling reached out and brushed away a small moth flying toward her, "Haven't been on stage for a few months, your acting skills have regressed."

The meaning of these words could not be more obvious.

Zhu Yuan pursed her lips, "I wasn't pretending to sleep; I just slept too much during the day and wanted to lie here a while longer, not wanting to be chased back to my room to sleep by you."

"Slept too much during the day?" Pei Ling chuckled, "I thought you were hiding in your room practicing calligraphy."

Zhu Yuan subconsciously looked toward the direction of the main gate.

Although she was facing away from the couplet on the main gate, the things Pei Ling had teased her about in the afternoon, including the reason for how Sheng Yu found this place, made her cheeks feel like they were burning.

Pei Ling stared at her face, which had flushed red from embarrassment and anger, reached out, and ruffled the top of her head, "Go to sleep, or I'll carry you back."

Zhu Yuan was pulled up from the recliner by him; thinking of Pei Ling's character of doing what he said, she had no choice but to return to her room.

But lying in bed, she could not fall asleep no matter what; the news displayed on her phone was still the exposed conversation between Sheng Hongyao and Ning Huaiqing.

She did not sleep soundly all night, waking up suddenly from her dreams several times, only to realize it was because the fetal movement was intense.

At first, she was a little worried, but later, the baby in her belly seemed to sense her nervousness and gradually stopped moving around.

Zhu Yuan glanced at the time; it was three in the morning.

She did not know when her phone had turned off; after she plugged it in to charge, she fell into a hazy sleep again.

When she opened her eyes, it was already bright outside.

She hurriedly picked up her phone and quickly opened the trending topics platform.

As a result, she saw the most explosive and popular trending topic at a glance—a massive explosion occurred at the Sheng Group last night, and the fate of Sheng Yu and others remained unknown.

With a thud, the phone slid to the floor.

Zhu Yuan threw off the thin quilt, holding her abdomen with one hand, and stumbled out of the room, not expecting to see Pei Ling leaning against the wall by her door the moment she opened it.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had not slept all night.

Seeing her bloodless face, Pei Ling frowned.

"I..." As soon as Zhu Yuan opened her mouth, her voice felt like it was glued shut, and tears could not stop falling.

Pei Ling panicked and supported her shoulders, "I have already sent people..."

Just then, Pei Li hurried upstairs, his expression complex, "Second Master, Miss Zhu, someone is here!"

Outside the courtyard gate, an off-road vehicle was parked by the edge of the grass.

In the middle of the open gate, Sheng Yu's clothes were covered in dust, and his exceptionally handsome face was dirty, with dust and blood mixed together.

Only those black eyes were clear and joyful; the moment he saw Zhu Yuan, he said in a soft voice:

"Yuanyuan, Sheng Hongyao tried to blow me up."