On the other side, Mu Yin Yin was just about to leave the club when Lu Sinian caught up with her.
He was clearly not as calm and composed as he was at first, his palms clenched awkwardly, his clear eyes filled with apology.
"Yin Yin, this was my oversight. I apologize on behalf of my uncle. Please don't take it to heart."
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Mu Yin Yin shook her head.
She just didn't want Fu Zhipeng to keep bothering her, so she used it as an excuse to leave in a hurry. It wasn't that she was upset because Lu Sinian's arrangements were not meticulous.
She didn't say it directly because of their relationship.
She didn't want Lu Sinian to be in a difficult position over such matters, which would affect the smooth progress of the project.
Mu Yin Yin pursed her lips and added softly, "I'm just not used to discussing work in this kind of setting. Let's talk about the specifics later."
Lu Sinian looked into Mu Yin Yin's clear and sincere eyes, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he said nothing.
The two fell into a tacit silence, and a sense of awkwardness seemed to quietly spread between them.
Lu Sinian lowered his eyes and changed the subject, "Well, shall I drive you back?"
"Thank you, but I see they've had quite a bit to drink. You should go help them. I'll just take a taxi back myself."
As Mu Yin Yin spoke, she hailed a taxi and left in a hurry.
She didn't notice the somewhat dejected expression on Lu Sinian's face, nor that he remained standing there, watching the taxi drive further and further away.
And lingered, unwilling to go back.
The KTV club wasn't far from the villa.
It was about a twenty-minute journey. Mu Yin Yin had a headache from the smoke and alcohol fumes in the private room, and felt drowsy the entire way.
After getting out of the car and returning to the villa area, there was still a walk ahead.
It was then that Mu Yin Yin realized something was amiss.
It was already late at night, and the surroundings were incredibly quiet, so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Her excellent traditional Chinese medicine auscultation experience made her hearing several times, even dozens of times, more sensitive than that of ordinary people.
And now, she could clearly hear light footsteps not far behind her!
Someone was following her!
Mu Yin Yin instantly became alert. Her first thought was that she couldn't go home.
Fen Fen was still at home. If the person had a specific purpose, she might not be able to handle it and could even endanger Fen Fen.
Moreover, she could clearly feel the footsteps behind her getting closer.
So, she had to deal with him first.
Mu Yin Yin narrowed her eyes, concentrated her attention, and relied solely on sound to judge the distance between the person and herself.
The silver needles in her hand glinted, and with lightning speed, she flung them out.
"Ouch!"
As expected, a sharp scream came from behind.
But just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a man in black suddenly appeared in front of her.
Mu Yin Yin's attention was completely drawn to the person behind her, leaving her no time to react or deal with the person in front of her.
It was too late to resist.
The man in black took out a spray and skillfully sprayed it onto Mu Yin Yin's face.
The strong smell of anesthetic spread through the air. Her vision went black, her limbs instantly went limp, and she lost all strength.
Except for her consciousness and breathing, every organ in her body seemed to be sealed, soft and immobile.
"Boss, this medicine is amazing! She collapsed after one spray! What was that thing she threw just now? It hurt like hell!"
The man in black pulled a silver needle from his knee and examined it curiously in his hand.
"Of course. Why else would it be so expensive?"
The voices of the two men in black reached Mu Yin Yin's ears, sounding increasingly familiar.
They were clearly the same voices she had heard in the private room earlier!
"Then, boss, let's hurry and take her back. Brother Peng is still waiting. We shouldn't waste time. I'll go get the car."
"What's the hurry! Why are you so timid?"
The man in black, called boss, squatted down and patted Mu Yin Yin's face, "This slut, wasn't she quite arrogant just now? How come she can't move now?"
"Mmm... Mmm!"
Mu Yin Yin desperately tried to call for help, but couldn't make any sound.
The boss stared at her reddened eyes, rubbing his hands lecherously, "Anyway, with a face like this, she's clearly a slut. Why don't I have some fun first!"
Saying that, he roughly lifted Mu Yin Yin from the ground and tossed her into the nearby bushes.
Her head hit the ground hard, and the pain made her vision swim with stars. She could only clench her fists tightly, forcing herself to stay conscious.
The silver needles hidden between her fingers fell all over the ground. Even this last means of self-defense was useless.
She could only watch helplessly as the man in black lunged at her, urgently tearing at her pathetic clothes and savagely assaulting her.
An unprecedented despair instantly engulfed Mu Yin Yin.
She closed her eyes in pain, feeling like a fish on a cutting board, her insides being scooped out at will, and being butchered.
No one could save her, and she couldn't save herself.
"This slut has a great figure! I knew you'd surrender obediently. Let brother dote on you today..."
"Bang—"
"Ah!!!!"
A loud bang suddenly exploded in front of her.
Mu Yin Yin's eyes snapped open, and she saw the man in black with blood all over his head and a ferocious expression. In the next second, he clutched his head, writhed in pain on the ground, and let out a pig-like wail.
The man, against the moonlight, looked down at her. The cold white moonlight made his figure appear even taller, like a god descending to earth.
He hid Mu Yin Yin in the protective shadow.
She excitedly raised her eyes and met those familiar, yet always cold, eyes, like deep pools, which were now tinged with scarlet.
How could it be him?
Fu Si Ye.
Why was he by her side? Mu Yin Yin was a little dazed, unable to believe her eyes.
"Help! Please, spare me, I won't dare again!"
"Spare me, I was also entrusted by someone!"
The screams pierced her eardrums.
The god who had descended from the sky now looked like a brutal lunatic, his eyes scarlet, raising the baseball bat in his hand high, chasing the man crawling and rolling on the ground.
One hit, then another.
The solid baseball bat smashed hard against his head, body, arms, and palms. Each time the bat fell, the crisp sound of bones breaking could be heard.
At first, the man in black struggled to escape and beg for mercy, but soon he was beaten until blood flowed from all seven orifices, and he convulsed on the ground.
The night, once again, returned to silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Mu Yin Yin lay on the grass, unable to move, like a worn-out rag doll.
Fu Si Ye never said a word, only the sound of his heavy breathing could be heard.
He glanced at the bloodstains on the baseball bat and frowned in disgust, perhaps due to his潔癖 (jié pǐ - obsessive-compulsive disorder/cleanliness).
After discarding it, he turned to leave.
"Fu... Fu Si Ye..."
Mu Yin Yin called out the man's name with the last of her strength towards his retreating back.
After that, she lost consciousness completely.