Ninghai City, inside the Hengji Hotel, preparations for a large-scale banquet are underway.

This is the engagement party of Sun Ronghe, a prominent figure in Ninghai City. Many people from the political, business, and underworld circles will be attending the event. Sun Ronghe has also announced that he will unveil an investment plan at this banquet, which is rumored to bring revenue of five to twenty billion to Ninghai City.

The banquet has yet to begin, but various people have already appeared in the banquet hall. At this moment, on the twelfth floor of the hotel, Sun Ronghe, escorted by several bodyguards, arrives outside a lounge.

The lounge is tightly guarded. Sun Ronghe, nearly fifty years old, with a face full of sheen, displays a cold smile. With a wave of his hand, he gestures for the guards to open the door.

He enters the lounge.

The lounge is also an office. Upon entering, he sees a graceful woman standing by the window, looking outside. The woman, wearing an evening gown, turns her head upon hearing footsteps, and looks at Sun Ronghe with disdain.

It is Hu Jing.

"My dear niece, no need to be nervous, haha." Sun Ronghe says as he walks in and sits on the sofa, "After tonight, you'll get what you want."

Hu Jing grits her teeth and says, "Despicable, my father trusted you so much back then, and now you're using that trust against him?"

"Haha, in this world, it's all about the victors and the vanquished. Your father failed back then, and handed you and your mother over to me. Do you think by running away, you could forever escape me? But I still found you, mother and daughter. Don't worry, as long as you comply with me today, after the engagement party... the room upstairs is prepared, and by tomorrow morning you can reunite with your mother. I'll even return the thing your father left behind, as it's of no use to me anyway!"

Hu Jing grits her teeth but is helpless. At this moment, the door opens and a guard comes in saying, "Chairman, most of the guests have arrived, and a few political and business figures would like to meet you to discuss the specifics of the investment."

Sun Ronghe's face shows a hint of impatience. He initially intended to get closer to Hu Jing but was interrupted.

He thinks to himself, "This niece really is a sly fox. I guess not a few men have died in her hands; it's a pleasure dying under a peony. I'll just have to wait until the engagement ceremony is over to enjoy her."

With this in mind, Sun Ronghe sinisterly laughs, "My dear niece, wait here. I'll be right back... or rather, I should call myself your husband. Your future husband needs to meet some political and business people first, and then we'll spend this beautiful night together. Soon, you'll have to accompany me to receive the guests. If you dare pull any tricks, not only will you never get your father's thing, but also your mother... hmph hmph!"

With that, Sun Ronghe leaves with a flourish of his sleeve.

Hu Jing stands by the window, almost wishing to jump and end it all. Being possessed by a man old enough to be her father, her future life equates to hell.

Meanwhile, in an empty room on the fifteenth floor, Li Zhaojun is observing the situation below and softly says to Ye Fan, "It seems she's being forced, not willingly fallen."

"Who knows?" Ye Fan is also conflicted. It's said that Sun Ronghe forced Hu Jing, but if she hadn't shown herself willingly, even with his powerful connections, he couldn't have found her. Even with Sun Ronghe's public announcement of their engagement, it was only through Tantai Wanrong's political ties that they learned of it.

Li Zhaojun says, "She might be doing it to save her mother, or perhaps Sun Ronghe has some compromising hold over them."

Ye Fan doesn't say much. His spiritual sense reaches the meeting room on the ninth floor, where Sun Ronghe is now greeting some political and business bigwigs.

"...A real estate project, a chemical project, both with investments exceeding three billion, could earn Ninghai City about fifty billion in the next decade or so. You are all shareholders and investors, and from now on, we'll make money together..."

Although Sun Ronghe has great influence, he operates much like a speculative conman. He uses his connections to get bank loans, and through government relationships, he secures approvals, then reaches agreements with investors. During the project's construction, he uses some tactics to falsify accounts, gradually seizing shares and profits for himself. Sun Ronghe has done many unscrupulous things over two decades in Ninghai, including murder, arson, and arms smuggling. As for how Sun Ronghe originally gained prominence, no one knows, but it seems it has something to do with Hu Jing's father.

Among the three women accompanying Ye Fan, aside from Li Zhaojun who is knowledgeable, Min Shang and Lan Jing know little of human relationships and grievances, unable to offer Ye Fan advice.

Li Zhaojun says, "Ye Fan, you should go down and see her. If you can help, then help. After all, you've known each other."

"Hmm." Ye Fan nods.

In the twelfth-floor lounge, as Hu Jing is resting her eyes, she suddenly senses a presence approaching her from behind. She thinks it's Sun Ronghe returning and pulls out a small handgun from her bosom. When she points it at the figure, she realizes it's Ye Fan.

"You..." Hu Jing is taken aback, and once she recovers, she quickly hides the gun behind her, "Why is it you?"

Ye Fan shakes his head and says, "You want to kill Sun Ronghe?"

"This has nothing to do with you. We've severed all ties!" Hu Jing grits her teeth and fiercely says to Ye Fan.

"We never really had any ties, so how can they be severed?" Ye Fan, not one to waste words, walks over and sits on the sofa where Sun Ronghe had just been, crossing his legs, "Actually, I just wanted to see how you die. Or maybe you won't, and perhaps you'll be violated by Sun Ronghe; that would be quite a show."

"You pervert?" Hu Jing directly insults.

"Think whatever you want." Ye Fan shrugs, "In my estimation, Sun Ronghe is a cautious man. He's likely wearing a bulletproof vest. Unless you can hit his head... a headshot, or his neck, only then would it be lethal. Otherwise, his men would storm in and subdue you in an instant, and then you'd be a lamb to the slaughter... Imagining that scene, it's indeed rather exciting."

There are indeed some grievances between Ye Fan and Hu Jing. Hu Jing had previously done some provocative things to him, but time has passed, and now they seem more like enemies.

If Hu Jing knows she'll be in trouble, the last person she'd want to see is Ye Fan, because she wants to leave the best impression or perhaps make him feel guilty for a lifetime, which would give her some comfort.

She vaguely hoped Ye Fan would find her, but certainly not in this situation.

"You like watching me get violated, so be it." Hu Jing directly throws the handgun out of the window, "I won't resist. I'll just wait here for that bastard to come back and do as he pleases. You like watching, right? Better find a place to hide and watch all you want!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.