At 7 pm, the photo shoot for Li Ruonan finally came to an end, and the group quickly left the photography studio, driving towards the seaside restaurant.
Leng Lingxiao had already arranged everything, so they began to enjoy the feast as soon as they arrived.
During the meal, the four of them sat around a round table filled with various kinds of seafood, everyone having been busy all afternoon and indeed feeling very hungry.
But what attracted Tang Xiaowan the most was the roasted whole lamb Leng Lingxiao had specially prepared for her.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, the fragrant aroma was tantalizing.
The drinks were also quite plentiful, with a wide variety of flavors. Tang Xiaowan pondered that she couldn’t handle the high alcohol content of the foreign liquors, so she and Leng Lingxiao opted for the mellow red wine, while Li Ruonan, due to her pregnancy, chose fresh-squeezed fruit juice.
"Drink less, it’s quite potent," Leng Lingxiao turned his head and whispered in Tang Xiaowan’s ear.
He was worried she might become drunk and feel unwell in her stomach.
"Oh, okay, just this one glass."
The two shared a smile, then covertly hooked their little fingers under the table and sealed it with a stamp.
Immediately afterward, Li Ruonan excitedly looked at everyone, "I’m so happy today, thank you all for taking so many beautiful photos, thank you."
She followed this up with a toast to finish her drink.
"Miss Nannan, it’s an honor to serve you," Tang Xiaowan replied earnestly.
Shen Yiming wasn’t to be outdone, immediately beaming at Li Ruonan: "Wife, you were truly beautiful today, like a goddess of the sea!"
Li Ruonan gave him a direct glare: "Just eat your shrimp, stop the chit-chat."
"It’s not nonsense, it’s the truth."
"I wonder if you are..."
Seeing his wife about to lose her temper, Shen Yiming hurriedly called out to Leng Lingxiao, "Ling Xiao, there’s no delay for tomorrow, right?"
Shen Yiming asked in surprise, "I mean, you didn’t forget because you were too... what?"
"No, of course not, at ten o’clock."
Tang Xiaowan’s eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Wow, that’s great, we’re going in the morning, then tomorrow we can eat the seafood we catch ourselves!"
Leng Lingxiao smiled and passed over a freshly cut slice of lamb: "Yes."
With such a firm answer, Shen Yiming then grinned at his wife, imitating what Leng Lingxiao had just done, and placed a piece of tender fish onto Li Ruonan’s plate.
"Wife, tomorrow you’ll be able to eat the seafood I catch with my own hands, I will definitely..."
"Safety is most important, understand?"
"I know, thank you, wife."
The young couple was finally back to being on good terms.
The meal was both sweet and warm until half an hour later, when Tang Xiaowan was dragged by Li Ruonan to the seaside, leaving the two men to their own devices.
Shen Yiming raised his glass, a mischievous smile on his face as he clinked it with Leng Lingxiao: "Happy honeymoon!"
"Haven’t we already said that?"
"Ling Xiao, come on, with our relationship... still playing coy with me?"
"Just eat your shrimp."
"Come on, spill it, did you already consummate the marriage last night?"
At that, Leng Lingxiao hastily cleared his throat, took the opportunity to take a quick sip of his drink, and swept a glance at Tang Xiaowan, who was playing in the water with Li Ruonan, feeling much relieved to see she was far enough not to hear.
"Don’t worry, she definitely can’t hear from so far... hurry up and tell me, did it happen or not?"
Seeing Shen Yiming was being so gossipy, Leng Lingxiao didn’t feel like entertaining him and took a sip of red wine, but the undeniable smile on his face said it all.
It was a happiness he couldn’t hide.
"I just knew it, booking the presidential suite and not staying there, you must’ve gone home to do naughty things," Shen Yiming said, followed by a hearty laugh.
"When Tangtang comes later, don’t talk nonsense, or... be careful I spill your secrets."
"I know, I know! When I saw her today... I knew something was up, she kept her distance, not saying a word to me, kind of like..."
While Shen Yiming was still immersed in jest, Leng Lingxiao suddenly became serious.
"Yiming, let’s talk business," she said.
"Just say it, why are you making it so tense!" he retorted.
"The equipment company in Country D that Li Zishen collaborated with has already signed a contract," she pondered aloud, "I was just thinking, what if we..."
The two of them thus entered work mode, figuring out how to cut off Li Zishen’s retreat.
Meanwhile, in Jin City, it was just the span of a meal, and the news of the two hundred million ransom on the dark web was already buzzing.
It was undoubtedly spread by Second Aunt Lai.
The socialites were only busy with their chatter and sighs, naturally unaware that the kidnap victim was Yuan Min, also known as the esteemed Madam Lai.
"Look at this dress... it looks familiar, like someone I’ve seen wearing it. Who was it?"
"Could well be someone keeping mistresses in secret, nameless and hidden from the light. Losing some money is nothing; it’s better than losing face."
"Hmph, definitely no good stuff!"
"Bad or not, they are now worth two hundred million and even have personal services, getting help with body painting, haircuts, and such."
"If it were me, I’d just hit my head and die. A woman’s reputation is so important."
"Keep it down, walls have ears."
"By now, it must have spread everywhere. Maybe the person themselves doesn’t even care, hahaha."
Indeed, just as Second Aunt Lai wished, the gossip reached Madam Lai’s ears. But just then, Yuan Feng woke up, and without time to be upset, she rushed to the hospital.
Beside the hospital bed, she held her brother’s hand, calling him softly with tears welling in her eyes.
When Yuan Feng slowly opened his eyes and saw his sister by his side, he too was moved, as the two hadn’t seen each other for many years.
"Brother, you’re finally awake!"
"That incident, was Zishen..."
Before he could finish, Madam Lai shook her head, and Yuan Feng understood without her saying more.
"Xiao Min, actually Mr. Li... has already passed away... It’s been many years now, it’s not a big deal to know it. Zishen wouldn’t..."
"Brother, focus on healing. Don’t worry about the other things," Madam Lai interrupted, wiping her tears.
Just then, her phone rang.
Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling...
Madam Lai took it out from her purse. It was Lai Jingshan. She quickly smiled, stood and went to the balcony, then closed the sliding door gently. For more chapters visıt NovelHub(.)net
After she answered, Lai Jingshan’s deep voice came through, "Is the rumor true?"
You can’t wrap fire with paper.
Without guessing, Madam Lai knew what it was about and simply replied, "Yes, the person in the video is me. It was last week. Zishen gave them two hundred million for my release."
"Didn’t expect... it’s true."
"Yes, I was kidnapped," Madam Lai said with a wry smile, glancing over at her brother in the hospital bed.
"But at that time... weren’t you hospitalized? Didn’t Zishen arrange for someone to stand guard at the door? How could... they have caught you? Who’s the mastermind behind this, and how was it dealt with?"
Even now, Lai Jingshan found it hard to believe, but the clothing was familiar to him.
It was an early autumn gift from Li Zishen to Madam Lai, a haute couture, the only one of its kind in Jin City.
As a mother, Madam Lai was happy.
But who could have expected, right after Nanny Wu had ironed the clothes and delivered them to the hospital, within minutes of her departure, Madam Lai was duped out of her hospital room.
One trap after another, all carefully designed.
"Tell me, who is the mastermind?"
Madam Lai gave a faint smile and took a deep breath, "It’s okay, it’s all in the past."
Her implication was clear: let’s not talk about it anymore.
"I can understand not calling the police, but why not tell anyone, with such a big incident..."
"Jingshan, my brother is awake."
As soon as Madam Lai uttered those words, the other end of the phone went silent, suffocatingly so.