Volume 1, Chapter 55: (A Major Climax of Crushing the Scum) That Fireworks Display Belonged to His A-Wu

Zhou Jinghuai was gambling. He was betting that Zhou Jingyao would not dare to cross the line.

Countless times they had played this game of wits against each other, and Zhou Jinghuai had never lost a single bet. But this time, Zhou Jinghuai lost to the unexpected.

Zhou Jinghuai gave Secretary Lin a meaningful look.

Startled for a fraction of a second, Secretary Lin understood instantly and immediately made arrangements for people to rescue Ye Wu.

Calming his tone, Zhou Jinghuai spoke coolly to Zhou Jingyao, "I will not give up the contract. Zhou Jingyao, if you let Ye Wu go right now, I will not pursue this matter. But if you persist in your delusion, I might as well tell you—Ye Wu is nothing more than a tool to me for seizing power and competing for advantage. You know it well, Jingyao; there has never been any genuine affection in the Zhou family. I do not love her, so do not even think about using her to threaten me."

Over the phone, Zhou Jingyao let out a scoff. "As expected of Zhou Jinghuai! Truly cold-hearted enough."

Zhou Jinghuai paused.

Knowing that Zhou Jingyao had softened, he hung up the phone directly, intending to sign the contract and return to Beijing to deal with the aftermath.

...

Inside the abandoned warehouse.

Zhou Jingyao looked down at his phone, then turned his gaze back to Ye Wu. "Did you hear what he said? Do I need to repeat it for you?"

Ye Wu did not need him to repeat it, because Zhou Jinghuai's words kept echoing endlessly in her mind.

*[She is merely a tool for me to seize power and compete for advantage.]*

*[There has never been any genuine affection in the Zhou family.]*

*[I do not love her, so do not even think about using her to threaten me.]*

...

Ye Wu smiled faintly—laughing at her own foolishness, laughing at her own naivety.

She had actually expected that Zhou Jinghuai would abandon the contract and choose to return to Beijing to rescue her, Ye Wu.

How laughable! How naive!

During all this time when Zhou Jinghuai uttered so many sweet nothings, how could she have forgotten that the slightest shred of affection he held for her was always the result of a calculated trade-off between pros and cons?

How could there possibly be true love in the Zhou family?

How could she have ever thought that Zhou Jinghuai possessed the emotions of a normal human being, when power and status had always been his absolute priority?

The corners of Ye Wu's eyes were wet with moisture.

Zhou Jingyao's expression was even more complex. He had lost to Zhou Jinghuai's ruthlessness; Zhou Jinghuai's heartlessness truly stood unmatched, and he, Zhou Jingyao, conceded total defeat.

At the entrance of the dilapidated warehouse, a woman stumbled inside, running desperately. "Jingyao, stop this!"

It was Su Qihong. She had secretly followed him here.

Looking at the woman, Zhou Jingyao said with a defeated air, "I've lost."

Su Qihong's eyes reddened. She stepped closer to him and said softly, "Jingyao, you still have me! Go back and sincerely beg Elder Zhou, everything will be fine... Please let President Ye go."

Zhou Jingyao looked at Ye Wu. After a moment, he began to walk toward her.

Inside the empty warehouse, a sharp, piercing female voice suddenly rang out, "Don't you dare come any closer! Take another step and not a single one of you will make it out alive! I've planted bombs all over this warehouse, and they're going to blow in fifty seconds. This bitch can only be blown to pieces; if you don't want to be buried with her, you'd better run now while you still have time."

It was Bai Qianqian.

She was wearing a tattered white dress, her expression wildly abnormal and half-crazed, as she chanted the countdown, "Forty seconds, thirty-nine seconds, thirty-eight seconds..."

Zhou Jingyao's eyes split wide with terror.

Su Qihong clutched his arm, weeping and pleading, "Can't we save President Ye? Jingyao, we can't just leave her behind."

Zhou Jingyao wanted to save her, but as he looked at the flashing red numbers on the bomb, he knew there was simply no time left.

He dragged Su Qihong and sprinted wildly toward the outside. As he ran, what was he thinking? In truth, he hadn't wanted Ye Wu to die...

As the digital numbers on the bomb ticked down to the final few seconds, Bai Qianqian quietly slipped away.

Inside the abandoned warehouse, absolute silence fell.

Ye Wu collapsed against the chair behind her, her entire body sprawled flat onto the cold, grim ground. The thin chain around her neck slipped out—shimmering with a vibrant, emerald green—it was the safety lock Zhou Jinghuai had given her on New Year's Eve.

*[I had it consecrated by a wise master; it's very efficacious.]*

*[I wish Ah Wu safety, joy, and peace through all the years to come.]*

*[Ah Wu, come with me to Yuncheng.]*

*[Consider it giving us a chance, Ah Wu. In my heart, you are still the most important.]*

...

Tears covered Ye Wu's face.

*Safety, joy, and peace through all the years to come.*

Zhou Jinghuai, is this your version of safety, joy, and peace through all the years to come?

She was truly unreconciled. Her birth had been so desolate, and her grandmother had raised her with such bitter hardship—how could she just die here? In the remaining years of her life, who would be there to show filial piety to her grandmother? Who would be there to attend to her grandmother's final rites and send her off?

A single tear fell onto the emerald safety lock.

An explosion roared, and a warm, sturdy body tightly wrapped its arms around her. A low, muffled voice seemed to sound near her ear, "Don't be afraid. I am here."

Who was it?

Who was the one who protected her?

Who was the one who shielded her from the brunt of the flames, who refused to let go even in death, who held her with blood-stained hands and protected her within the fissure of a shattered wall nearby as explosions tore the place apart?

...

Outside the warehouse, Zhou Jingyao stood in a daze.

When that explosion thundered, his face was completely wet with tears. He did not know why he was crying—was it because of his own wickedness, or because of Ye Wu's bleak and tragic end?

He even remembered the day of Jinghuai's wedding, when Ye Wu had so prettily called him Eldest Brother.

Yet now, he had killed her with his own hands!

He had murdered Ye Wu.

In the distance, the wails of police sirens rang out, accompanied by the overlapping sounds of ambulances and fire engines...

Suddenly, Zhou Jingyao felt as though he had lost himself entirely.

...

Yuncheng.

Having finished signing the documents and exchanging polite pleasantries with Mr. Chen, Zhou Jinghuai strode toward the door. He needed to rush back to Beijing immediately.

Secretary Lin followed closely behind him.

Just as they reached the outer area, on the display screen beside the conference room door, a female news anchor switched to a footage of an explosion, inserting a breaking news report with a solemn and tragic tone.

*[At ten o'clock this morning, a major accident occurred in Beijing.]*

*[The wife of the president of the Rong'en Group was caught in an explosion at the Taigu Warehouse. Her current status remains unknown. It is reported that 128 police officers have been dispatched for an all-out search, but no signs of life have been found yet.]*

*[We will continue to closely monitor the situation regarding Mrs. Zhou.]*

...

Zhou Jinghuai stood quietly watching, his face completely drained of color.

After remaining dazed for a long while, he asked Secretary Lin softly beside him, "Is the person they're talking about Ye Wu? Did Zhou Jingyao drag Ye Wu to the Taigu Warehouse? Could there be a mistake? Zhou Jingyao wouldn't dare pull off something of this scale."

He repeated once more, "Is this Ye Wu?"