"Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!" Gunshots rang out repeatedly as bullets burst from the barrel, whistling towards the target.

On any other day, if she heard the continuous gunfire, Huang Yourong would certainly find it unbearably boring, accompanying Mu Lingshan at the shooting range on an empty stomach, watching Mu Lingshan vent her emotions through shooting—wasn't that just crazy?

However, at this moment, even though Huang Yourong's stomach was empty and she had no interest in shooting whatsoever, she didn't feel even the slightest bit impatient. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, eager for Mu Lingshan to waste more time here.

The later it got, the more thoroughly Mu Lingshan vented her resentment, which would make it easier for the plan she conceived to succeed.

Having run through her plan from start to finish once more in her mind, confirming its high feasibility, Huang Yourong's smile widened.

Chu Ge, you didn't dare touch me, did you? Heh, you'll soon pay the price for your arrogance.

Meanwhile, in a private room of an upscale nightclub, two young men were drinking sullenly. Surprisingly, there were no women accompanying them.

A phone rang, and one of the men answered it, hearing a woman's voice. As he listened, his eyes lit up.

"Good! Good! Haha, they say the most venomous is a woman's heart, and today I've witnessed it! Do your best with this matter, and once you've accomplished the first step, leave everything else to me!"

When the first man mentioned a name during the call, the other man suddenly froze. It wasn't until he hung up that the second man asked suspiciously, "The person you mentioned just now, what's his name?"

"His name is Chu Ge. Why, do you know him?"

"Know him? Damn! More than just know! Count me in on this, and... if we're going to play, let's play big. Do you dare?"

"Big? How big?"

"His life!"

"Hiss!"

The first man's pupils contracted as he sucked in a breath, "This..."

The second man snorted through his nose, "One million."

The first man's eyes heated up, yet he remained hesitant, "But..."

The second man lit a cigarette, exhaling through gritted teeth, "Two million."

"Two... two million?" The first man's gaze became greedier, but he still didn't agree right away, quietly lighting a cigarette, quickly calculating in his mind.

The second man casually took out a bank card from his bag, tossing it onto the coffee table in front of the first man.

"Five million. Do you have any objections? Or, name your price."

The first man stared at the bank card on the table, brow furrowed, silent for a while.

Not until the ash on his cigarette grew long and his fingertips suddenly felt hot did he press it out forcefully in the ashtray, exhaling quickly, and turned his gaze aside.

"Tell me, what do I need to do?"

"What to do? You're surely more skilled in these matters than I am, aren't you?"

Time ticked by slowly until it unknowingly reached eight in the evening.

Mu Lingshan put down her gun, exhaling a long breath. Since becoming a police officer, the times she'd fired a gun had been few and far between. Her visit to the shooting range today allowed her to shoot to her heart's content.

She hadn't noticed anything unusual while shooting, but upon putting down the gun, she realized her hands were numb, and her entire right arm felt very sore. Thankfully, after such a release, she indeed felt much better.

"Sister Huang, I'm sorry for making you accompany me on an empty stomach for so long. You must be starving, right?"

Seeing Mu Lingshan walking over with an apologetic look, Huang Yourong gave a very caring smile, "It's okay; we're sisters. Seeing you in a bad mood, how could I have any appetite?"

"Sister Huang, thank you."

"Alright then, let's go eat. I still want to have the barbecue from that place we went to yesterday. You don't mind, do you?"

Mu Lingshan pressed her lips together, "Ah? Going there again?"

"Alright, let's go."

In the end, Mu Lingshan relented and followed Huang Yourong's lead, but she didn't see the fleeting cold smile on Huang Yourong's face.

They hailed a cab and arrived at the barbecue place on the pedestrian street. Huang Yourong entered the hall and went straight to the table where Chu Ge and Mu Lingshan had eaten the day before.

Although a bit conflicted, Mu Lingshan also sat down at that table in the same seat she had occupied yesterday.

This time, they didn't order any drinks. Sitting at the table, the atmosphere was somewhat dull, and Mu Lingshan found herself zoning out.

"Shanshan, if you don't flip these meats soon, they'll burn and be inedible."

Mu Lingshan snapped back to reality, gave an awkward smile, and absentmindedly flipped the beef on the grill. Her mind was filled with images of Chu Ge—smiling at her, getting angry at her, facing her, turning away from her—impossible to shake off.

"Shanshan, if you want to see him, why don't you go find him?"

"I..." Mu Lingshan's hands paused, and it took two seconds before she looked up with a forced smile. "Sister Huang, what are you saying? I'm just a bit tired from target practice earlier, I'm not thinking about him at all."

"Oh?" Huang Yourong dragged out the syllable while looking into Mu Lingshan's eyes. "Shanshan, do you really think I'm blind? You've been listless all day, and now your face is full of anxiety. Who would believe you're not thinking about him?"

Mu Lingshan forced a smile again, turning her gaze back to the grill. She wanted to continue denying it, but in the end, she said nothing.

"Shanshan, I'm speaking from experience. Although I don't know what's going on between you two, I can tell you both care a great deal about each other. Sulking over a small matter and not seeing each other is something only kids do. Whatever you want to say, you can tell me first, and I'll help you analyze it?"

Mu Lingshan was slightly stunned and looked up, "Sister Huang, do you think he cares about me a lot?"

Huang Yourong curled her lips, "Silly sister, can't you feel it yourself?"

"Actually..."

Huang Yourong waited a few seconds, only to see Mu Lingshan's hesitant expression, seemingly unwilling to continue. She smiled and urged, "Actually what?"

Mu Lingshan shook her head, "Nothing."

Huang Yourong smiled gently, "Come on, what can't you tell me? Otherwise, keeping it all inside can be really hard to bear."

After several more attempts to persuade her, Mu Lingshan finally gave in with a slight, bitter smile, "Actually, I think he doesn't want to see me at all. I tried calling him several times today, but the calls wouldn't go through. When I finally reached him, he lied to me."

"Lied?"

"Yeah, he said he got beaten up badly, almost to death."

Hearing Mu Lingshan say this, Huang Yourong was stunned, "This... since he said that, it's even more reason to hurry and see him, isn't it? This is when he needs you the most. Don't you care about him?"

"Care about him?" Mu Lingshan's lips curled in a mocking arc, "Sister Huang, you just don't understand him. When I called him out on his lie, he even laughed out loud. Do you think someone who nearly got beaten to death could laugh so happily?"

Huang Yourong was speechless for a moment. It seemed Mu Lingshan was right; Chu Ge indeed lied. Claiming to be almost beaten to death and laughing it off, what else could it be but a joke?

Despite being at a loss for words, Huang Yourong couldn't voice her real thoughts out loud to get Mu Lingshan to see Chu Ge. After a little consideration, she gave an exceptionally sincere smile and shook her head at Mu Lingshan.

"Shanshan, have you ever heard the phrase 'one cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because one is within it'?"

Mu Lingshan was slightly taken aback, and in a trance, she seemed to realize something and subconsciously furrowed her elegant eyebrows.

"Sister Huang, you mean..."

"I mean, maybe something really happened to him, but he said what he did because he didn't want you to worry," Huang Yourong replied.

Although these were the words coming out of her mouth, Huang Yourong didn't really believe them herself. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a better way to phrase it at the moment, so she played along, thinking about how to spin the next part.

Unexpectedly, as she finished speaking, Mu Lingshan's brows furrowed even tighter, and she seemed completely stunned.

Huh? What's going on? Could it be that this isn't even a convincing lie good enough for young girls, and yet Mu Lingshan actually bought it?

Mu Lingshan indeed took it to heart. The moment Huang Yourong's words reached her ears, it was like a stone cast into a lake, stirring great waves in her heart.

Yeah, she kept saying Huang Yourong didn't understand Chu Ge, but what about herself? Having known Chu Ge for so long, shouldn't she understand him?

That laid-back guy often behaves in a way that defies ordinary logic. When he looks like he's joking, he might actually be telling the truth!

Could it be... something really happened to him?

If that were the case... damn it, did I actually yell at him over the phone?

Thinking of this, Mu Lingshan's face suddenly turned a bit pale, and she shot up from the table.

"Thank you, Sister Huang!"

After quickly thanking Huang Yourong, Mu Lingshan turned and ran out. She had to get to Chu Ge right away to see what was really going on with him.

This time, as long as Chu Ge is alright and nothing has happened, she'd rather he was lying to her.

Even after Mu Lingshan disappeared from Huang Yourong's view, she still hadn't fully recovered from the surprise. Was it really that easy to trick her? Mu Lingshan was too easy to fool!

Ha, they say big boobs and no brains. Not only are mine bigger than Mu Lingshan's, but I'm also much smarter!

Well then... time to move on to the next step.

Haha, too bad I won't get to see this play out in person. I bet Chu Ge and Mu Lingshan's expressions will be quite a sight!

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