Chapter 2342: Not Kind

That night, Chloe could only shuttle back and forth between the bathroom and each single bed, and she had to give at least a half-hour foot massage to every person in the prison as per Ma Lan's request.

Not to mention not sleeping that night, even the next day she probably wouldn't have a moment to rest.

As for her former lackeys and henchmen, each of them could only be forced to lie on the damp beds, tossing and turning.

They dared not stay in one position for too long, because their bodies simply couldn't tolerate prolonged contact with the damp bedding, and after a short while, the parts touching the bed would become ice-cold, piercingly painful, and agonizing.

So the only thing they could do was keep rolling sideways on the beds, just like sausages constantly rotating on a grill rack.

Surprisingly, Ma Lan, who had finally managed to turn the tables and become the master, didn't even fall asleep.

The next morning.

Despite having gone without sleep all night, Ma Lan looked more energetic than anyone in the cell.

When she got up from the bed, Chloe was still straining desperately to massage her cellmates' feet.

By then, she had already come to understand what it felt like for Ma Lan to be so exhausted that her arms felt like they were about to break.

And that night, she finally understood what it felt like to be wantonly bullied and oppressed.

That night, she collapsed from exhaustion countless times, instinctively wanting to stop what she was doing.

But whenever she thought of Ma Lan as someone who must repay every grudge—and not just repay it, but tenfold, a hundredfold—she dared not entertain even the slightest thought of slacking off.

Ma Lan stretched, walked over to Chloe without a word, and stared at her for a while.

Seeing Ma Lan approach, Chloe felt both startled and afraid, merely glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, then quickly lowered her head and continued massaging her cellmates' feet with nervous apprehension.

But Chloe's arms were now so sore, swollen, and painful that every exertion felt like a piercing ache, and her speed and strength unconsciously slowed considerably.

At that moment, Ma Lan suddenly lifted her foot and kicked Chloe to the ground, then coldly snapped: "Damn it, move faster! What are you dawdling for?"

Chloe cried out: "I... my arms and hands really can't exert any strength..."

Ma Lan replied with disdain: "You damned brat! You're making your grandma massage feet—don't you think about how your grandma is over fifty? Where would she get that kind of strength in her arms and hands?"

As she spoke, Ma Lan grew angrier and angrier, pointing at Chloe and cursing: "For someone like you, a lowlife, you've got to be worse and more cruel than you are, or you'll never amount to anything in this life, you bastard!"

Chloe truly regretted it, but it was already too late to regret.

That entire day, Chloe did nothing but eat, take exercise breaks, and otherwise spend almost all her time massaging her cellmates' feet.

Meanwhile, Ma Lan spent the day feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Aside from the three female warriors of Wanlong Hall, nearly everyone else gathered around Ma Lan, constantly fawning over her.

For the first time, Ma Lan developed a fondness for the prison—this feeling of looking down from above, being universally respected, filled her heart with deep satisfaction.

So that whole day, she didn't even call Ye Chen or Xiao Churan once.

Originally, she had planned to call at least three times a day, urging her son-in-law Ye Chen to hurry up and get her out.

But today, she felt that perhaps there was no need to leave so soon.

Experiencing the feeling of being responded to with a single call here was far more enjoyable than going out.

……

The next morning.

Fei Ke Xin personally drove Ye Chen to New York Airport.

Upon learning that Ye Chen was going to Mexico, Fei Ke Xin felt somewhat worried.

She had originally wanted to go with Ye Chen, but he hadn't agreed.

For Ye Chen, many times having no one to help him around is better than having help.

When someone helps, he still has to accommodate them, which is nowhere near as smooth as handling things alone.

Moreover, going to Mexico, he planned to venture into the tiger's den and, by the way, play the pig to eat the tiger—bringing Fei Ke Xin along would inevitably tie his hands and feet.

Fei Ke Xin initially didn't know what Ye Chen intended to do in Mexico, but upon hearing that he planned to substitute for a potential victim and infiltrate the enemy's death trap, she realized that if she followed him, she would only drag him down and serve no positive purpose.

So she could only resign herself to it.

When the car stopped at the airport entrance, Ye Chen said to Fei Ke Xin: "Your identity is special, so just don't get out of the car."

Fei Ke Xin hurriedly replied: "Then Mr. Ye, you must be careful!"

Ye Chen lightly nodded, said his goodbyes to her, and then pushed open the door and got out of the car.

Afterwards, Ye Chen took out a small suitcase from the trunk, didn't look back, and strode into the airport.

The suitcase contained only some everyday clothes he had bought the day before.

Ye Chen also didn't know what awaited him in Mexico, but this time he intended to pose as someone completely unprepared for danger, and since he was traveling far, he naturally needed to bring some personal belongings.

After exchanging for his boarding pass at the counter, Ye Chen went through security alone and arrived early at the designated boarding gate.

Since he had bought an economy ticket, he could only find an empty seat at the gate, waiting to board while also waiting for his target to appear.

Several minutes later, a middle-aged Asian man in his early forties hurried over.

Ye Chen immediately recognized him—he was the son of Zhou Bi Hua, Lang Hong Jun.

Lang Hong Jun, like Ye Chen, carried a 20-inch suitcase, but he also had an additional bulging shoulder bag.

The forty-something Lang Hong Jun looked somewhat aged, not only with graying hair but also with more wrinkles on his face than others his age.

From his overall state, it was clear that Lang Hong Jun was likely at the lowest point in his life—his expression was forlorn, yet tinged with several parts of sorrow and reluctance.

At this point, with boarding only five minutes away, some anxious passengers had already begun lining up at the gate.

Lang Hong Jun thus dragged his suitcase and joined the end of the line.

Seeing this, Ye Chen immediately stood up, pulled his suitcase, and got in line behind Lang Hong Jun.

Afterwards, he feigned curiosity and asked Lang Hong Jun in Chinese: "May I ask if you're Chinese?"

"No." Lang Hong Jun shook his head, very seriously telling Ye Chen: "I'm an overseas Chinese who has already naturalized many years ago."

Ye Chen slightly furrowed his brow, it seemed Lang Hong Jun cared quite a bit about nationality, so he then curiously asked: "Did you come over through work immigration?"

Lang Hong Jun adjusted his shirt collar, spoke with a hint of pride: "I was a government-sponsored overseas student, but back then, because my grades were outstanding, the U. S. side gave me a direct opportunity to get a green card, so I directly chose to stay in America."

Ye Chen nodded.

Actually, Ye Chen had already seen all of Lang Hongjun's materials, and the only reason he asked again was to take the opportunity to get closer to him, and by the way, to learn about this person's character during the conversation.

Ye Chen noticed that on one hand, Lang Hongjun cared a lot about his nationality, and on the other hand, when talking about his past as a government-sponsored overseas student, he was very proud, so Ye Chen inevitably felt a bit of disgust in his heart.

Actually, he didn't really like this kind of person.

In fact, there are indeed many graduates from prestigious domestic universities, as well as those government-sponsored overseas students, who ultimately chose to stay abroad; it is said that the number of Tsinghua graduates who chose to stay in the U. S. Silicon Valley alone exceeds ten thousand.

Of course, whether to stay or leave is entirely a personal voluntary decision, but Lang Hongjun's situation is quite different from others, after all, he was a government-sponsored overseas student, studying abroad with state funds, and should have returned to serve the country after achieving success in his studies, but he chose to stay in the U. S. directly; from a moral standpoint, this behavior is not commendable, so Ye Chen found it hard to feel any fondness for him in his heart.

So, in just a few sentences, he developed a certain degree of aversion toward Lang Hongjun.

However, he did not become overly emotional, but instead deliberately complimented the other party: "The value of being a government-sponsored overseas student is said to be very high; you are truly remarkable!"

Upon hearing Ye Chen's praise, the pride on Lang Hongjun's face was evident, but his attitude toward Ye Chen also became much friendlier, and he said with a smile: "In our era, the requirements for government-sponsored overseas students were indeed very high; a university usually had only a few such slots."

Ye Chen nodded and curiously asked: "By the way, what are you going to Mexico for? Is it for official business, or for doing business?"

Lang Hongjun's expression froze for a moment, then he said somewhat unnaturally: "I... I am going to work..."