C8 Chapter 8

Bai Nuochu was shoved into the car. Curled up tight, she looked like she didn’t have a shred of strength left to move. The way her trembling body lay there, completely unable to fight back, made the man’s eyes roam over her with greedy interest. But tonight, Bai Nuochu belonged to Mr. Tong. He forced himself to look away and stopped paying attention to her.

“Such a pretty girl. Young, and she’s already running a medical company that’s blowing up. What a waste,” he muttered as he drove. “Once Mr. Tong’s done with her, if she doesn’t end up dead, she’ll end up losing her mind.”

No one noticed that beneath Bai Nuochu’s slender frame, a faint glow was blinking—Ni’an’s phone.

When Bai Nuochu had lunged at Ni’an like a cornered animal pinned to the ground, what she’d actually snatched in her palm was Ni’an’s phone.

“Which room did Mr. Tong say again?” the man holding her up asked as they hauled Bai Nuochu into a grand hotel.

The moment he finished speaking, a text chimed in.

Bai Nuochu was shaking all over in his grip. The man pulled out his phone and swiped to read it. Bai Nuochu kept her head down, her face drained of life, her heart pounding like a drum as she waited for her sentence.

“This Miss Bai is really in a hurry,” he said with a laugh. “Afraid her little sister won’t get ruined fast enough. She texted again—1808. We’ll take her up to Mr. Tong right now.”

Bai Nuochu let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

The man had received a message from “Ni’an”: Send the bitch to 1808. Mr. Tong doesn’t want to be disturbed—toss her in and come collect your money.

That single line took everything Bai Nuochu had left. It was her only hope. She knew that if she was delivered to Boss Tong, she wouldn’t be able to resist him—not even with a finger.

When Bai Nuochu was shoved into Room 1808, she locked the door immediately. Then she collapsed onto the floor, feeling like she’d been saved.

Logic told her she needed to call 911 right away, to call Song Qi—but right now she couldn’t even manage to pick up her phone, let alone lift it. If Mr. Tong realized she hadn’t made it to 1808, Bai Nuochu’s mind filled with terrifying what-ifs.

But she hadn’t realized the most immediate danger was right here.

“Who’s there?” a rough, low voice snapped.

Gu Lijue’s breathing was heavy, his eyes hard with fury. At dinner, his cousin Gu Zongyue had insisted he have a drink. After he swallowed it, something in his body had felt wrong.

In Gu Lijue’s eyes, his cousin’s business skills were nothing special, but his talent for running with socialites and celebrities seemed almost natural.

And during dinner, Gu Lijue’s thoughts had been stuck on that little woman at school who’d dared to toy with him. One careless moment, and he’d fallen for a cheap trick like this.

“Get the hell out!” Gu Lijue roared, even more violent.

There was another man in the room? Bai Nuochu had barely managed to breathe again when her heart lurched right back up into her throat.

If she’d had any strength left, she would’ve yanked the door open and run. But when she tried to push herself up—twice—she failed.

“Sir.” Bai Nuochu tried to explain, but the moment she spoke, her voice came out damp and sweet, so soft it startled even her.

Gu Lijue was already burning, and that one wet, breathy sound made him realize—furious—that the desire he’d been forcing down was instantly hooked by her fragile little plea.

A woman this good at getting a man’s attention—Gu Lijue turned toward the sound, savage.

The sharp sweep of his gaze caught Bai Nuochu’s slender outline, and the brutality in his eyes tightened into something far more dangerous.

Bai Nuochu felt a tall figure moving toward her. Step by step, the pressure of him spread through the room, until his shadow swallowed her whole.

“Please—let me hide here for a minute. Please help me…” Help me call 911.

Bai Nuochu forced herself to lift her head, trying to make him see how desperate she was—only to slam straight into a pair of eyes like a hunting wolf’s, razor-sharp and hungry for blood.

Was it him? The rest of Bai Nuochu’s words caught in her throat.