Chapter 48: Banquet

Ah——!

The psychological defense line collapsed completely at this moment, a piercing scream tore through the silent night sky!

Hua Jie turned and ran, her high heels tapping a panicked rhythm on the icy ground; her mind held only one thought: flee!

Behind her, a strange sound came.

Swish...... swish......

It sounded like something rough being dragged and scraped across the ground.

Hua Jie dared not look back; she could feel that thing chasing her!

She exerted all her strength, her lungs aching from the inhaled cold air, but the sound behind her grew nearer and clearer!

That wasn't footsteps.

It was the sound of something crawling on the ground with its limbs, its twisted limbs scraping against the floor!

Panic made her lose her sense of direction, and she recklessly charged into a dark alley.

The alley was deep, with no lights, only a cold wall at its end.

A dead end!

Hua Jie stopped in despair, then suddenly turned around.

At the alley entrance, that smiling dummy was blocking the way.

It no longer crawled, but slowly rose to its feet, moving with a terrifying, malfunctioning-machine-like gait, step by step, approaching her.

That smiling face looked extraordinarily ferocious in the darkness.

"Don't...... don't come over!"

Hua Jie's voice trembled uncontrollably; she had her back against the cold wall, with nowhere left to retreat.

The dummy did not stop.

It drew ever closer to her.

Five meters.

Three meters.

One meter.

Hua Jie could even smell the strange odor it emitted—a mix of cheap plastic and dust.

Besides that, there was an indescribable...... cadaverous stench.

In Hua Jie's extreme terror, the dummy stopped right in front of her.

It slowly raised a cold plastic arm, extended its stiff fingers, and lightly touched her body.

It had no strength, even bordering on gentle.

Hua Jie's scream cut off abruptly.

Her pupils dilated in an instant, then lost all luster.

Her body, at a speed visible to the naked eye, turned stiff and waxy white.

Her skin lost all color and elasticity, becoming like the plastic in a store display.

Finally.

On her face, too, gradually solidified into a smile identical to the dummy's, a grin that chilled the bone.

Jiang Hai City, Cloud Top Restaurant.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows lay a dazzling city nightscape.

Inside the private room, glasses clinked, perfumes and silks filled the air; the atmosphere was lively and extravagant.

Chu Che wore a proper casual suit, sat in a corner, and quietly sipped the lemon liquor in his cup.

His gentle smile contrasted with the noisy surroundings, yet oddly blended in, making him stand out like a crane among chickens.

"Little Chu!"

Li Chengxian approached, his face flushed, holding a wine glass, with Vice President Wang beside him wearing a strange expression.

"I'm so glad you could come today! Really!"

Li Chengxian patted Chu Che on the shoulder, adopting an air of "I value you highly."

"From now on, if anything comes up at the hospital, come find me directly! Though you're young, talent is good, but you must also understand the rules, learn more from your seniors, got it?"

Vice President Wang beside him immediately spoke in a sarcastic tone: "Dr. Chu is our hospital's genius, wielding the scalpel better than anyone! But sometimes he's too set in his ways, unwilling to adapt, which isn't good."

Chu Che pushed his glasses up; the lenses reflected the restaurant's splendid lights.

He stood up, still appearing warm and jade-like, and raised his water cup.

"Thank you, Vice President Li and Vice President Wang for your advice; I will certainly learn more from both of you in the future."

Li Chengxian and Vice President Wang exchanged a glance, a flicker of barely concealed contempt and malice flashing in their eyes, and they burst out laughing.

After three rounds of drinks, Li and Wang excused themselves to the restroom and met at the smoking area at the end of the corridor.

"Is the drug potent enough?" Li Chengxian exhaled a smoke ring, lowering his voice to ask.

"Rest assured!" Vice President Wang fished out a small paper packet from his pocket, his face breaking into an unrestrained grin: "You know, this stuff can knock down an elephant!"

He slipped the packet into the hand of a female doctor already waiting there, her face pallid.

It was Xiao Wang.

"Seize the moment, pour it into his wine, and make Chu Che drink it!" Vice President Wang stared at her, voice sinister: "Remember, after you get him to drink it, just take him to the lounge. You don't need me to tell you what comes next, do you?"

"Tomorrow morning, you'll go to the police and accuse him of rape! We'll arrange everything so you can serve as the witness!"

"If you dare mess up......" Vice President Wang leaned close to her ear, his voice like a venomous snake's hiss: "I can't guarantee I won't send the video of you at the hotel last week to your parents, post it in your family group. And your job at the hospital......"

Xiao Wang's body shook violently, her eyes brimming with fearful and humiliating tears; she clenched her lips and forced out two words from between her teeth.

"Understood."

As it turned out, she had already been toyed with and had her body played with by those two beasts last week, completely under their control.

Just then.

On the other side, at the restaurant entrance, a small commotion was heard.

A figure walked in.

The visitor took off their usual stiff uniform and changed into a casual jacket, revealing a beautiful collarbone and slender neck; their black hair was tied up in a high ponytail, looking spry yet icy.

It was Qin Zhixia.

As soon as she appeared, she instantly drew everyone's attention.

Those doctors and young nurses all subconsciously stopped talking, their eyes all turning toward her.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Qin Zhixia ignored all looks and walked straight to Chu Che's side.

"Can we leave?" she said concisely, smiling.

Chu Che chuckled, stood up, and said: "Almost done, the face that should be shown has been shown. Prepare a bit and we can leave."

The couple's intimate behavior, as if no one else was around, made the surrounding coworkers all reveal gossipy looks.

This scene was also clearly seen by Xiao Wang, who had just walked out of the smoking area and was about to bring over drinks.

She stood there helplessly, then, as if thinking of something, turned and hurried back to the smoking area.

"Vice President Li! Vice President Wang!"

Xiao Wang hurried back, saying, "Chu Che...... Chu Che has brought a very beautiful female companion! It seems to be his girlfriend!"

"What should we do? The original plan......"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengxian and Vice President Wang not only did not become discouraged, but their eyes instantly lit up, gleaming with greedy and lecherous light.

The former licked his dry lips, a sickly smile appearing on his face.

"This kid has quite the fortune with women!"

Vice President Wang understood, his Adam's apple bobbed once.

"Chengxian, this......"

"The plan, change it a bit."

Li Chengxian fiercely pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, his eyes flashing with crazy and vicious light.

"One dose of medicine isn't enough."

He turned his head to look at Vice President Wang, the smile on his face becoming more twisted and gleeful.

"We not only want to frame Chu Che for rape, but also rape his girlfriend!"

Vice President Wang's face also showed an extremely excited and lewd smile.

Li Chengxian once again looked at the pale-faced Xiao Wang, his tone becoming unquestionable.

"Give you another dose of medicine."

"Send a drink to each of them!"

"Hurry up and go!"