Chapter 380: Trapped by love

Translator: 549690339

“Ah Kai, I misspoke earlier. Please, don’t take it to heart. For Yuting’s sake, you wouldn’t kick me out, right? How about this, I’ll take three penalty drinks.”

Although Shen Yulan was angry, she didn’t want to leave just like that.

Just then, Shen Yuting came over and led Shen Yulan away. Gu Kai scoffed, raising his high-stemmed glass and elegantly taking a sip of red wine.

In a corner, Bai Xiaoxiao sat quietly, her eyes filled with amusement as she watched Wen Ran spin.

“Have a drink!”

From above her, a deep male voice drifted down. Without looking up, she knew who it was.

Bai Xiaoxiao bit her lip and said nothing. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. The man who’d been standing straight leaned down, his narrow, seductive eyes fixated on her. “Or how about I escort you over there to get some food?”

“I’ll drink.”

Bai Xiaoxiao met his smiling gaze, taking the drink he handed her.

“Wen Ran dances beautifully, you can dance too, right?”

Luo Haofeng glanced at Wen Ran and Mo Xiuchen, then turned his attention back to Bai Xiaoxiao.

Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t answer. It wouldn’t matter whether she could dance or not.

After a while, Luo Haofeng’s voice came again, stilted and somewhat awkward, “I was a bit rude upstairs earlier. Please, don’t take it to heart.”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s hand, which had been gripping her glass, paused, and she looked at Luo Haofeng in surprise.

His expression was slightly unnatural. She couldn’t tell if he was unaccustomed to apologizing, or if this apology had inadvertently revealed some hidden feelings.

Bai Xiaoxiao bit her lip, lowered her gaze and stared at the liquid in her glass. “You were right in what you said. There’s no need to apologize.”

Something flickered in Luo Haofeng’s eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He tightened his grip on his high-stemmed glass. Just then, a beautiful woman asked him to dance. He gave Bai Xiaoxiao a smile and left with the woman.

Contrary to what he’d claimed, Qin Mu was not in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

He’d made a trip to F City a couple of days ago. Shen Yuting’s words from that evening still resonated in his mind.

Not feeling at ease, he went to find Uncle Ming and inquired about the whereabouts of Xiao Wenqing and Wu Tianyi. The duo, hiding in the shadows, posed a continual threat to Mo Xiuchen and Wen Ran.

Mo Xiuchen was a man: he could handle himself to an extent.

But Wen Ran, a delicate woman, despite being followed by bodyguards, was not under constant surveillance. There would always be moments when something could go wrong.

At the moment, he was at a bar with Uncle Ming and a few of his brothers, drinking.

He’d drunk quite a lot tonight. Observing his troubled look, Uncle Ming asked with concern, “Ah Mu, don’t keep brooding over your drink. If you’ve got something bothering you, speak up.”

Qin Mu gave a self-deprecating smile, swirling the liquor in his glass. “Nothing much, Uncle Ming. Here’s to you.”

With that, he clinked glasses with Uncle Ming and downed his drink.

“You mentioned yesterday about going on a trip. What’s the reason? You haven’t been heartbroken, have you?”

Uncle Ming looked at Qin Mu’s reticent appearance, his eyebrows furrowing. They’d known each other for many years so he had a decent understanding of Qin Mu’s character.

He’d never seen Qin Mu like this. Could a man be tormented to such an extent over…a woman?

As this thought crossed his mind, he blurted out, “Are you trapped by love, Ah Mu? Tell me which woman has caused you such grief that you’re drowning your sorrows. I’ll ask the boys to bring her here and make sure she treats you right.”

Qin Mu just laughed it off and shook his head. “You’re overthinking it, Uncle Ming. It’s not like that.”

Even if he was drunk, he would never do such a thing.

Uncle Ming was about to say something else, when a sudden ring from his phone cut him off. He frowned, took out his phone and answered it, “Hello?”

Qin Mu poured himself another drink, silently toasting ‘Mo Xiuchen, Wen Ran, may you be happy’ before downing the drink.

“Ah Mu, there’s news of Xiao Wenqing.”

Uncle Ming’s words made Qin Mu’s expression change. He had barely drank half of his glass before he stopped, “Really? Where?”

“A girlfriend of one of my boys saw Xiao Wenqing in a beauty salon in City B. But, she doesn’t look how you described.”

Uncle Ming was not entirely certain either.

“In what way does it differ?”

Qin Mu squinted, looking intently at Uncle Ming.

“You mentioned before that Xiao Wenqing’s face was ruined by Mo Jingteng. She should have a hideous scar on one half of her face. But the Xiao Wenqing that the girl saw had an unblemished appearance, no different from before.”

Qin Mu seemed lost in thought, “Unblemished…It’s been a long time. Perhaps Xiao Wenqing’s facial injury had already healed.”

He thought of Mo Xiuchen’s previous suspicions and realized they could be correct.

Qin Mu put down his glass and suddenly stood up, “Uncle Ming, I’m heading to City B right now. Give me the number of that brother of yours. I’ll contact him when I get there.”

Uncle Ming’s expression darkened, “No, you’ve drunk too much tonight. If you insist on going, it should be tomorrow. Besides, his girlfriend only saw Xiao Wenqing at a beauty salon. She has no idea where Xiao Wenqing is hiding in City B. It’s highly likely that she’s with Wu Tianyi. I’m not comfortable sending you off alone.”

“We’re done drinking for tonight. I’ll have someone escort you home to rest well. Tomorrow, I’ll personally accompany you to City B.”

Uncle Ming knew Qin Mu wanted to locate Xiao Wenqing immediately. After some consideration, he made his decision.

Qin Mu nodded in agreement. He’d drunk quite a bit tonight. Although he wasn’t drunk, driving through the night was not feasible, “Alright, I’ll head to City B tomorrow then.”

If he could find Xiao Wenqing and Wu Tianyi, he could finally leave without any worries.

G City, Gu family villa

Wen Ran also had some drinks tonight. Not much, but the liquor made her face flush, making her look even more charming.

After the dance with Mo Xiuchen, she was surrounded by other women, asking her for tips. Everyone present tonight was of the younger generation. Although they didn’t know each other before, they quickly struck up conversations.

Surrounded by women, Wen Ran found herself separated from Bai Xiaoxiao. Finally managing to extricate herself from the group, she let out a long sigh of relief, “Ranran, what sort of women has Gu Kai invited? They all act as if they’re desperate to get married.”

In actuality, the women were not so much asking for her advice as they were trying to gather information about the men around her: Wen Jin, Luo Haofeng, Gu Kai, and Lu Zhiyan who was Wen Jin’s friend from the police station.

Wen Ran chuckled, “From their chats earlier, it seems like Luo Haofeng is the most popular. It could be because of his devilishly handsome face, his captivating almond eyes, and that signature smile of his…”

“Really? I thought the one they were most interested in was your brother.”