Chapter 38: The Transformation of Two People

At this moment, Zhou Chengwang’s heart was filled only with regret; he had wronged Zhao Kai, wronged everyone. He was the one who had brought ruin upon Zhao Kai, who had caused the Zhao family to become fodder for gossip—he was nothing but a fool!

Seeing Zhou Chengwang’s miserable state, Lin Zhenting felt even more delighted. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you now. There’s a good show coming up. I’ll let you see for yourself how Zhao Kai is defeated at my hands.”

With that, he brought his palm down in a chop, and Zhou Chengwang lost consciousness.

Lin Zhenting arranged for the exchange to take place at an abandoned mansion: the person for the goods, simultaneously. Night had fallen. Lin Fei’er, having eaten bird’s nest soup, soon drifted into sleep. Zhao Yan’er, alert for any sound, pushed open the door.

Lin Fei’er’s delicate features glimmered under the moonlight. Zhao Yan’er steeled her heart, stuffed Lin Fei’er into a trunk, and moved her out.

Fei’er, don’t blame me. I’m only doing this for my brother’s sake, she thought silently.

The carriage slowly left the Zhao residence. Zhao Yan’er arrived at the destination and knocked on the door.

Lin Zhenting, barely able to contain his excitement, glanced at Zhou Chengwang, who was tightly bound and shoved beneath the table, and raised his eyebrows in satisfaction.

“Miss Zhao, at last you’ve arrived.”

Disgust flickered across Zhao Yan’er’s face as she frowned at Lin Zhenting’s leering expression. “Don’t speak to me like that—it makes my skin crawl.”

Hearing Zhao Yan’er’s voice, Zhou Chengwang immediately began to struggle, but his efforts were futile.

“Miss Zhao, we might as well say we’ve collaborated once. There’s no need for such icy words.”

Zhao Yan’er kept her distance. “I wouldn’t call it collaboration. Where are the goods?”

“They’re in my hand. But I want to see the person first.”

She gestured to the nearby trunk. “She’s in there. Now give me what you promised.”

Lin Zhenting stroked his chin. “All right.”

Yet he made no move to comply, his face instead twisting into a sly grin.

“Miss Zhao, I asked you to bring Fei’er, but, well… I like you too. Zhao Kai is now a cripple—you have nothing to gain by staying with him. Why not be with me instead?”

“Get out!”

“Why so angry? I’m just speaking the truth.”

“A treacherous scoundrel like you, speaking of truth? You told me Zhou Chengwang switched the contract, but you were involved as well! You’re both cut from the same cloth!”

So, she knew! Zhou Chengwang’s heart lurched in shock, then burned with rage and sorrow. From the start, he had fallen into Lin Zhenting’s trap.

“I was involved—so what? Not only that, but the assassin sent after Zhao Kai was arranged by me and Zhou Chengwang together,” Lin Zhenting admitted without hesitation. “I know you look down on someone like me, Miss Zhao. But you—aren’t you the same? For Zhao Kai’s sake, you handed your closest friend over to me. How virtuous can you claim to be?”

Zhao Yan’er was instantly thrown off balance, her face flushing with embarrassment and shame.

“If people found out—no, if Zhao Kai found out—do you really think he’d still care for you?”

“Don’t… don’t tell him.”

“Of course, I won’t—on one condition: you do as I say.”

Only now did Zhao Yan’er fully understand—she had been used by Lin Zhenting. He was pulling her down with him, a means to threaten her.

The sky seemed to collapse above her. What could she do? What should she do?

Beneath the table, Zhou Chengwang struggled desperately against the ropes binding his wrists. He couldn’t let Miss Yan’er be used by Lin Zhenting. It was all his fault.

His selfishness and jealousy had led to this moment; he had betrayed Zhao Kai’s trust and made Miss Yan’er despise him even more.

Lin Zhenting moved closer to Zhao Yan’er, his lecherous gaze raking over her. Zhou Chengwang, still beneath the table, could only imagine the humiliation if Lin Zhenting did anything to the woman he loved right before his eyes—a cruel torment.

Zhao Yan’er drew a deep breath, raised her head, and met his eyes. “Lin Zhenting, as if I don’t know what kind of man you are? If you think I would ever—”

Before she could finish, a figure shot out from beneath the table, wrapping her in a protective embrace.

“Well, you managed to break free. Not bad,” Lin Zhenting remarked, eyeing Zhou Chengwang.

“Despicable wretch!”

“If you had no weaknesses, there would be no need for me to stoop so low.”

At these words, Zhou Chengwang’s face turned pale. Swallowing his emotions, he said to Zhao Yan’er, “Miss Yan’er, I know you despise me no matter what I say. I’ve wronged you and Zhao Kai… You should leave now. When you return, please tell Zhao Kai I’m sorry.”

Zhao Yan’er was taken aback by the change in him.

Lin Zhenting drew a knife, his expression wild with glee. “None of you are leaving here. Either do as I say, or lose your heads.”

With those words, he lunged at them. There were guards posted outside—he could take his time and enjoy the game.

Zhou Chengwang dodged and shielded Zhao Yan’er as best he could, but the effects of the drug hadn’t worn off. He had no strength. Soon, a slash opened a wound on his arm, blood streaming down and staining Zhao Yan’er’s dress.

“Are you all right?” Zhao Yan’er asked anxiously.

Her concern brought a small, grateful smile to Zhou Chengwang’s lips. It had been so long since he’d felt this kind of untroubled peace in his heart.

At last, the look she gave him was no longer one of loathing.

“Go… you must go.”

“No! How could I leave you behind? If we go, we go together.”

Zhao Yan’er was not the kind to abandon someone in a moment of crisis.

“Miss Yan’er, the truth is, I care for you deeply. But I have no right to say so… I’ve wronged Zhao Kai. If I can help you escape, perhaps I can find a little less guilt…”

Zhao Yan’er was speechless, while Lin Zhenting, crazed with bloodlust, raised his knife again.

The two of them pressed against the trunk, nowhere left to hide.

That sharp, menacing blade came down directly toward them. As Zhao Yan’er screamed, Zhou Chengwang threw himself over her, using his own back to shield her from harm.

But the expected pain never came. Lin Zhenting’s knife halted in midair, caught in the powerful grip of a broad, steady hand.

Behind them, the trunk had been thrown open, and a man sat inside, perfectly at ease.

Though his hands had seized the descending blade, he still found the time to wave at the two stunned figures.

“Hi.”

Zhao Kai smiled, elegant and bright, banishing all peril and intrigue.

“Brother Zhao… how are you here…?”

Zhao Kai effortlessly wrenched the knife from Lin Zhenting’s grasp and tossed it aside.

“I saw everything just now—you did well,” he said with a smile. “I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.”

Zhou Chengwang stared in disbelief, then tears gushed from his eyes as if a chastened child had at last been forgiven, as if a lost lamb had found its way home.

Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Zhao Kai stepped out of the trunk on long legs, stretched a little, and rotated his arms as if he wished he could break into calisthenics right then and there.

“Finally, I can move freely. I’ve been cooped up for days—it was driving me mad.”

Lin Zhenting stood dumbfounded. The sight of Zhao Kai catching a blade barehanded had already unnerved him, and now here the man stood, entirely unscathed.

What on earth was happening? Was he seeing a ghost?