Chapter 51: Who Sent You?

I pressed myself against the door, eavesdropping on the conversation inside. After listening for so long, I still hadn’t caught a single useful piece of information. My legs had gone numb, and just as I was considering the straightforward approach of asking Kirin for help, a voice sounded behind me: “What are you doing?”

Four men in black stood at my back. Instinctively, I ran. But after a few steps, I realized the building’s staircase was single-sided—I’d dashed straight into a dead end.

The four bodyguards closed in, a wall of dark figures. I heard Luo An’ge’s voice: “A’mu, what’s going on?”

The lead bodyguard replied, “Young master, it’s nothing. Seems like a paparazzo.”

I wanted to protest—couldn’t he see I didn’t have a camera or anything? I didn’t look like a paparazzo at all.

Luo An’ge’s voice came again: “Bring them in. Let’s see what they’ve managed to get.”

I surveyed my surroundings—the terrain was hardly in my favor. Below was an enormous pond, ringed with trees, but too far for a safe escape.

The bodyguard called A’mu reached out. “Hand it over.”

Feigning bravado, I clutched my bag protectively. “Come and get it if you can.”

He gestured for the others to surround me. I grasped the railing, swung myself over like a child on a swing, and with a few heart-stopping arcs, landed unscathed on the corridor of the second floor.

I didn’t dare linger. I sprinted toward the stairs, footsteps thundering behind, mingled with A’mu’s shout: “Block her! Don’t let her escape!”

I practically flew down the stairs, but more people surged in from the courtyard—bodyguards and even kitchen ladies wielding spatulas. I vaulted over the shrubbery by the steps and dashed for the gate. With my skills, slipping past them wouldn’t be easy, but it shouldn’t have been impossible.

But I’d underestimated human ingenuity. They loved training animals to do their dirty work. Just as now—seven or eight Tibetan mastiffs burst out ahead of me.

Terrified, I skidded to a halt, scanning for a tree to climb. But the fastest mastiff had already seized my bag in its teeth.

I screamed. At that moment, someone upstairs whistled. The mastiffs, impeccably trained, instantly released me and sprinted off, disappearing within seconds.

I breathed a sigh of relief—until the sunlight vanished. A looming shadow swept over me.

A dozen people had encircled me in a pincer movement. The kitchen lady, still brandishing her spatula with the air of a conqueror, jabbed her finger at me. “Speak. Who sent you?”

I turned my head. Luo An’ge was standing by the railing, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking on with amused interest.

A’mu twisted my arm and shoved open the door. The previously raucous private room fell silent. Except for Luo An’ge, everyone stared at me in surprise.

I met their gazes without flinching.

Apart from Luo An’ge, the man facing the door looked to be just over thirty. He bore a resemblance to Luo An’ge, and I felt I’d seen him somewhere before, though I couldn’t recall where.

Next to him sat a strikingly handsome man in his late twenties, reminiscent of the lead actor in a hit Korean drama—his eyes especially captivating.

And then there was someone who, at first glance, could have been mistaken for a woman: delicate features, luminous skin, eyes brimming with allure. I suddenly remembered—recently, Jiang Chenghuan had been enamored with a certain actress who’d been photographed in Japan with a young heir from some conglomerate. It was him.

Seated beside Luo An’ge, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking every inch the university student, was another man who waved at me.

Luo An’ge asked A’mu, who still held my arm, “What’s going on?”

A’mu glanced at me. “No idea how she got in. Looks like she’s been listening for quite a while.”

Luo An’ge set down his cards. “You know what to do, right?”

A’mu hesitated. “Yes, the usual.”

“Hmm, go on.”

At that moment, the man in glasses clicked his tongue. “Uncle, such a pretty little beauty—are you really willing to let her go? Why not give her to me instead?”

The slightly older man spoke up, addressing me, “Miss, who are you looking for?”