Chapter 76: Outwitted by One's Own Cleverness

Quan Qing’er hurriedly rummaged through her bag and pulled out a handkerchief, pressing it to Fan Chi’s wound. “I have a first-aid kit in my car. Come on, let me bandage your injury.”

“All right…”

Fan Chi was so drunk that his body felt heavy, and as he started to walk, the urge to vomit rose again.

He couldn’t hold it back and threw up—right onto Quan Qing’er.

Fan Chi was terribly embarrassed. “I’m sorry… Xiaomeng, I’m so sorry. Why don’t you go to my hotel room and change? I’ll ask the hotel staff to have your clothes cleaned.”

Quan Qing’er glanced at his hand. “What about your wound?”

Fan Chi replied, “It’s just a scratch. Look, the bleeding’s stopped.”

Quan Qing’er considered for a moment. “All right.”

She lowered her head, a cold smile curling on her lips.

…

Han Ronggui paced anxiously around the hotel room that had already been prepared. Why hadn’t Fan Xiaoyun delivered Lian Youyou yet?

Perhaps he should check in person.

Han Ronggui waddled back to the sixth-floor banquet hall on his short, fat legs, casting glances everywhere as he entered. After searching the hall, he couldn’t find any sign of Lian Youyou. Finally, he spotted Fan Xiaoyun slumped over the table where they’d been drinking. She looked thoroughly intoxicated.

“Xiaoyun,” Han Ronggui shook her shoulder urgently, “where’s Lian Youyou?”

Truly, empty words and unreliable deeds.

Fan Xiaoyun had approached him herself, promising to bring him a beauty tonight—Lian Youyou.

Yet not only had Lian Youyou failed to appear, but Fan Xiaoyun herself was now drunk.

Fan Xiaoyun slowly raised her head, her cheeks flushed and breath uneven. “Yuanye, you’re here?”

Before Han Ronggui could respond, Fan Xiaoyun’s body went limp, collapsing onto his fleshy belly. “I’m so hot… burning up, it hurts…”

Han Ronggui swallowed involuntarily. Judging by her state, she was clearly drugged.

She’d meant to drug Lian Youyou, but had ended up drinking it herself?

“Yuanye, Yuanye… I’m so hot…”

Hearing her murmur, Han Ronggui’s expression darkened.

Wretched woman, and at this moment she calls another man’s name!

Suppressing his irritation, Han Ronggui said patiently, “All right, little beauty, I’ll cool you down right away.”

He knew this hotel well. Supporting Fan Xiaoyun, he led her along a route that avoided the crowds, finally arriving at a special corridor door.

Fan Xiaoyun herself had arranged for this door to be opened beforehand as part of her scheme against Lian Youyou.

Now, it was being used for her own undoing.

Han Ronggui, arm around Fan Xiaoyun, slipped inside. After confirming no one had seen them, he closed the door.

Just then, Quan Qing’er, supporting the still-drunk Fan Chi, happened to pass by and heard the noises and passionate cries coming from the room.

Fan Chi remarked, “The soundproofing in this hotel is terrible—and they call themselves seven-star?”

Quan Qing’er’s scalp tingled. “Let’s go.”

Having left the Newman Hotel, Lian Youyou changed into casual clothes and sat with Lu Ming at a table in Starbucks, enjoying hot coffee.

“If you can’t finish it, take it to the car. They’re about to close,” Lu Ming commented after checking the time.

As Lu Ming’s phone lit up, Lian Youyou caught a glimpse of the time and smiled, her lips curving gracefully. “By now, Fan Xiaoyun’s matter must be settled.”

When Lu Ming didn’t reply, Lian Youyou pouted playfully. “Professor Lu, aren’t you going to ask when I realized Fan Xiaoyun was plotting against me?”

Lu Ming looked at her delicate, palm-sized face and smiled indulgently. “Then tell me.”

Lian Youyou cleared her throat. “Actually, it was when Xiao Shu came to me, sobbing and sniffling. I had my suspicions.”

“Oh?”

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes, gently blowing steam from his thermal cup, his gaze deep and obscure behind the mist.

Lian Youyou continued, “The first time I saw Xiao Shu, I could tell she was the sort who curries favor with the powerful. So when she put on that pitiful act in front of me, I didn’t fully trust her.”

So she’d paid close attention to Xiao Shu’s every move.

After Xiao Shu learned she’d be attending the banquet, she’d become unusually attentive, asking countless questions—especially about her evening dress.

Since Xiao Shu wanted to sabotage her gown, Lian Youyou let her.

Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first drive mad. She pretended to be completely unsuspecting, encouraging Xiao Shu to act boldly.

But she didn’t truly allow Xiao Shu to do as she pleased with her dress.

After noticing the stitching at the waist and hem was coming loose, she realized Xiao Shu’s plan wasn’t to ruin the dress entirely, but to embarrass her at the banquet.

So, she turned the tables—having the skirt altered into a convertible, two-way short dress.

As for Fan Xiaoyun’s drink tonight…

She hadn’t known Fan Xiaoyun had drugged it; she’d only felt she ought to be cautious. While Fan Xiaoyun and Han Ronggui were distracted by Fu Yuanye, she secretly switched the glasses.

Fan Xiaoyun, oh Fan Xiaoyun—too clever for your own good. You fell into your own trap.

You really brought this on yourself!

As Lian Youyou mused, a WeChat message arrived from Quan Qing’er.

“All went smoothly.”

Lian Youyou smiled. “The real show is about to begin.”

Inside the room, Fan Xiaoyun and Han Ronggui were in the throes of passion.

Amidst the heat of their entanglement, the door was suddenly flung open. A flood of light poured in, exposing them completely.

A man at the door shouted, “Lian Youyou, I never imagined you were this kind of woman!”

A flurry of camera flashes startled Fan Xiaoyun back to her senses. She finally became aware of her situation.

“Ah—!”

Seeing Han Ronggui’s greasy face, Fan Xiaoyun screamed and shoved him off.

Lu Feng, upon seeing the woman on the bed, was also dumbfounded. “Xiaoyun, why is it you?”

He was supposed to be catching compromising photos of Lian Youyou—how had he been the one betrayed?

“Stop taking pictures!” Fan Xiaoyun clutched the quilt to her chest, sobbing. “Get out, all of you, get out!”

Han Ronggui scrambled to pull on his pants and pointed shakily at Lu Feng and his group, all carrying professional cameras. “Who are you people? You broke into my room—I’ll have you arrested, I swear!”

Lu Feng snorted, “Like hell I believe you, old man!” He kicked Han Ronggui, sending him sprawling.

Han Ronggui’s blood pressure soared with indignation. “Which paper do you work for, you paparazzo? You’re done for!”

“No, you’re the one who’s finished!”

Lu Feng kicked him again, threatening, “Get out now, or don’t blame me for what happens next!”

Humiliated and battered, Han Ronggui looked at Lu Feng’s crew—each one looked tough and capable.

A wise man knows when to retreat.

He hastily threw on his clothes, clutching the rest under his arm, not even bothering with the buttons, cursing as he fled the scene.

Once his men were gone, Lu Feng closed the door, sat on the single sofa by the bed, and crossed his legs.

“Are you done crying?” he asked, glaring impatiently at the still-sobbing Fan Xiaoyun. “You wretch, you cheat on me and still have the nerve to cry?”

Fan Xiaoyun wailed, “I didn’t! I was set up—Lian Youyou, that damned girl, trapped me! Boohoo…”

Her sobs grew more desperate, and after her frenzied struggle with Han Ronggui, her makeup was a smeared mess, making her look like a tabby cat.

“Set you up? Now you’re just amusing me, Fan Xiaoyun.” Lu Feng laughed in fury, hands on his hips. “You bought the drugs, you brought in Old Han, you asked me to lure Lu Ming away, and you arranged for the special corridor door to be opened. Everything was your own doing—how is this Lian Youyou’s fault?”

Fan Xiaoyun’s crying became hysterical. “Boohoo, even now you’re scolding me…”

Lu Feng lost all patience. “Fine, cry all you want. I must be mad to waste my time with you!”

Ignoring her pleas, he strode out without looking back.

Fan Xiaoyun wiped her tears and cursed bitterly, “Lu Feng, just you wait!”

She grabbed her phone and called Qu Wuyan, her voice still choked with sobs. “Mom, come quickly…”

Five minutes after her call, Qu Wuyan arrived in a hurry, heels clattering.

Seeing her daughter’s state, Qu Wuyan exclaimed, “Xiaoyun, what happened?”

“Mom!” Fan Xiaoyun threw herself into her mother’s arms, weeping. “You and Dad must avenge me! That wretched Lian Youyou has ruined me, sob sob…”

Qu Wuyan’s eyes widened. “Lian Youyou? That damned girl dared—”

Just days ago, her daughter had sworn she’d teach Lian Youyou a lesson. How had things turned out like this?

Fan Xiaoyun, still wiping her tears, asked, “Mom, where’s Dad? I’ve suffered so much—bring him here and make him stand up for me.”

Qu Wuyan replied, “I can’t reach your father. I’ll try again.”

She dialed Fan Chi a few more times. No answer.

“He won’t pick up, and he’s not responding on WeChat either. That old fool is going to be the death of me.” Qu Wuyan stood up in a huff. “He’s probably drunk and sleeping in the hotel room. Xiaoyun, get dressed—we’ll go find your father together.”