After much deliberation, He Meiwei finally conceived what she believed to be a flawless scheme.
Her fingers trembled with exhilaration as she flung open her laptop, her mind alight with visions of Gu Lili's scandal plastered across headlines, of Long Yubei striking her in humiliated fury—
…
Dusk had settled when Gu Lili's drive back to Qinyuan was abruptly interrupted. An elderly woman darted before her car, sending a jolt of terror down her spine. She slammed the brakes, her palms slick with cold sweat.
A hair's breadth—that was all that had spared the woman.
Yet instead of retreating, the stranger slumped against the hood. Gu Lili's eyes narrowed. A staged accident?
She stepped out. "Leave now, or I'll summon the police. Surveillance cameras cover every angle here—there, there, and there."
"You nearly killed me, girl! Think I'm blind to the cameras?" The woman spat. "Call them if you dare. If not, I will!"
Gu Lili scoffed. "The guilty barking first?"
Without hesitation, she dialed emergency services. But as the call connected, a cloying fragrance flooded her senses—
Darkness swallowed her.
Her slipping phone was caught midair by another hand.
Within moments, her limp form was hauled into the backseat. The car sped away as the "victim" ambled off, unhurried.
The vehicle veered toward the desolate outskirts, its occupants well aware of the city's omnipresent cameras. Murder wasn't the aim—only photographs, swiftly taken before the sedative wore off.
An abandoned factory loomed ahead.
Two men transferred Gu Lili through dense, unmonitored woodlands flanking the site, their path swallowed by interlocking trees.
At the mountain's base stood a derelict house, long vacated.
No neighbors stirred in the ink-black night as the men dumped her onto a mildewed bed.
"Brother… she's Long Yubei's wife. If we touch her—"
"Who's cracking? The higher-ups will shield us." The leader leered. "Look at her—those legs. This'll be worth it."
"Aye, stolen fruit's sweetest."
As they adjusted the high-definition camera, Gu Lili stirred—
But kept still. Kept her eyes shut.
Their voices sharpened her focus to a razor's edge.
Finding her limbs unbound steadied her pulse.
*Firearms?* She waited.
The moment a calloused hand grazed her waistband, she acted.
A warm flood soaked the mattress.
The man recoiled. "She—she pissed herself!"
"Clean the sheets then! How're we filming this?"
Grumbling, he hoisted her over his shoulder, avoiding the dampness—
Her dangling hand slipped to her bodice. Steel flashed.
The dagger plunged deep into his kidney.