Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Old Zhai, It’s Time to Stop_1
"Mr. Su, I’m actually quite busy myself," Granny Lai said, sizing up Su Xuan. "But Old Liu is like an older brother to me. Now that he’s returned to his hometown, I have to help him out so he doesn’t have to worry about things here."
"I appreciate the trouble," Su Xuan said, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly as he headed toward the children’s room.
"Mr. Su, rest assured, I’ve taken good care of both children. They had a lot of fun tonight and ate quite a bit. They’ve been asleep for a while now," Granny Lai said, following closely behind him.
When he reached the children’s room, Su Xuan found them both sleeping soundly, completely unaware of his presence.
"Mr. Su, will you be needing dinner?" Granny Lai asked with an air of attentive care after he stepped out of the room.
"Hmm..." Su Xuan rubbed his stomach. "I’ve been busy all evening and I am indeed a bit hungry. Is there any food left?"
"Yes, yes," Granny Lai nodded hastily. "But it must have gone cold. I’ll go and heat it up for you right away."
"No need, I’ll do it myself," Su Xuan said, walking toward the kitchen.
"Oh, Mr. Su, don’t!" Granny Lai quickly blocked his path. "How could I let you do it yourself? Old Liu would surely blame me if he found out. Please wait a moment, I’ll have the food heated up for you in no time."
With that, Granny Lai hustled into the kitchen, hips swaying.
"Ma’am," Su Xuan called out toward the kitchen, "once the food is ready, could you please bring it to my room? I won’t eat in the dining room this late."
"Got it!" Granny Lai responded.
In truth, although Granny Lai was no longer young, she had very attractive features and had retained a mature charm. She was more than a match for Butler Liu. Su Xuan then returned to his room to wait for his dinner.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
A few minutes later, his door was knocked upon.
"The door isn’t locked, just come in!" Su Xuan called out.
"Mr. Su, your food is hot. Please enjoy your meal!" Granny Lai said as she placed the steaming dishes on the coffee table in Su Xuan’s room.
Su Xuan sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and put a bite of food in his mouth. He then looked up, glanced at Granny Lai standing by the door, and said, "You can go rest now."
"It’s no trouble. I’ll wait until you’ve finished and clean up the dishes before I go," she said respectfully.
"There’s no need." Su Xuan stood up and walked over to her. He pulled out the hundred yuan Jiang Yan had given him that day and handed it over. "You go get some rest. I’ll give you a big red envelope when Old Liu gets back."
"Oh my, how can I accept this!" Granny Lai took the hundred yuan and turned to leave.
As soon as she was gone, Su Xuan walked to the bathroom and spat out the bite of food he had just taken. He didn’t touch the rest of it.
「Half an hour later.」
A shadowy figure appeared at Su Xuan’s door, surreptitiously pressing an ear against the wood to listen for any sound from within. It was none other than Granny Lai.
After listening for a moment, she raised a hand and gently pushed the door. It wouldn’t budge; it was clearly locked from the inside. Reaching into her hair bun, she removed a straight metal hairpin, bent it, and began to pick the lock.
CLICK!
The securely locked door was pried open.
She opened the door halfway and peeked into the room. When she saw a figure lying on the bed, a sinister smile curled her lips. She stepped inside, drawing a sharp dagger from her robes.
One step. Two steps. Three steps... The disguised woman clutched the dagger, inching ever closer to Su Xuan’s bed.
"Brother..."
"Brother..."
At that very moment, a voice suddenly echoed through the room. If Zhong Huilan had been there, she would have recognized it instantly. It was the voice of Zhai Dean, Zhai Defeng’s younger brother—the leader of the pyramid scheme!
"Huh?!"
Hearing the voice, Granny Lai jumped with fright, nearly dropping the dagger. She quickly calmed herself and looked around, but seeing no one else, she dismissed it as her imagination.
The next second, she reached for the corner of the blanket, slowly pulling it down to reveal Su Xuan’s body. He was lying with his back to her. Looking at his back, Granny Lai’s mouth hooked into a cold smile as she raised the dagger to strike.
"Brother..."
"Brother..."
That same voice rang out again. This time, Granny Lai heard it loud and clear. It wasn’t her imagination, nor was it coming from someone else. The source was Su Xuan himself!
What’s going on?
In a state of extreme confusion, she halted her attack. She reached out and turned Su Xuan over onto his back. The sight of his face made her shiver with fright. His eyes were wide open, and a smile played on his lips. He wasn’t asleep at all.
"Hahaha!" Su Xuan sat up in bed, pointing at her and roaring with laughter. "Old Zhai, Old Zhai, you’re killing me! I can’t take it, I’m going to die laughing!"
"Who are you calling Old Zhai?" she asked in a low voice.
"Haha, Old Zhai, stop pretending!" Su Xuan laughed uncontrollably; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard. He pointed at her and said, "I thought you were a real tough guy, but it turns out you’re a woman! They say Thailand is famous for that kind of surgery, and now I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes!"
"Damn it!" the woman cursed under her breath. She dropped the pretense and spoke in her natural male voice. "You knew it was me all along?"
"I knew, I knew." Su Xuan nodded with a cheeky grin. "Not only did I know you were Old Zhai, I also knew you’d drugged the food. If I ate it, I would have been knocked out cold!"
"But you took a bite, and the dose was heavy," said the figure, who was none other than Zhai Defeng himself.
"I didn’t eat it!" Su Xuan shrugged. "I spat that mouthful out just now."
"Su Xuan, it’s no wonder my brother lost to you. You truly are an impressive person. No, a very cunning one!" As he spoke, Zhai Defeng pointed the dagger at Su Xuan.
"Old Zhai, before we do this, I want to say something." Su Xuan’s smile vanished, and he spoke to Zhai Defeng in all seriousness. "Old Zhai, give it up. I don’t want you to follow in your brother’s footsteps. You can leave now. I’ll let you go."
Zhai Defeng was taken aback. "Why would you let me leave?"
Su Xuan smiled. "Ever since you showed up, my life has become more interesting. I don’t want you to get caught so soon. The police are watching my house tonight, but don’t worry, they have no idea you’re a woman. You should be able to get away."
Hearing this, Zhai Defeng flew into a rage. "You’re insulting me! Prepare to die!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, Zhai Defeng lunged at Su Xuan with the dagger.