Liu Feng's thoughts

Liu Feng's relentless strategy left the project team overwhelmed, and the pressure on schedule was mounting. After Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao's attempts to communicate directly with Liu Feng and to report the situation to the client proved ineffective, he felt helpless when Lan Tongtong again requested help.

He called Lan Tongtong into his office, closed the door, and lowered his voice, saying, "Xiao Lan, you've seen the current situation. Liu Feng is clearly using public power to settle personal grudges and is holding us back. Conventional channels are no longer viable."

Lan Tongtong had a bad feeling in her heart: "Then Mr. Zhang, what should we do?"

Zhang Xiao sighed, a complex expression of guilt and reality on his face. "Right now... I'm afraid I can only put you in a difficult position and try to settle this privately. Find an opportunity, take the initiative to treat Liu Feng to a meal, be humble, and apologize to him sincerely. Just say that you were young and naive before, and ask him to forgive you for any offense you caused, and don't take it personally. You must clear up this misunderstanding and ask him to forgive you."

"Please...invite him to dinner?" Lan Tongtong couldn't believe her ears, her face turning pale in an instant. "Mr. Zhang, this...this is like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. I..."

She remembered Liu Feng's malicious eyes and his previous dirty words, asking her to beg him humbly. This was more painful than killing her!

Zhang Xiao knew this request was excessive. He avoided Lan Tongtong's gaze and spoke in a heavy tone, "Xiao Lan, I know this is difficult for you. But right now, the overall interests of the project are paramount! We can't afford to lose progress. Every day of idle work costs real money! He's got us all in his grasp. You're the one involved, so stepping in and resolving the situation is the most direct solution. Just... just think of it as sacrificing your personal feelings for the sake of the project, for everyone else."

He pressed the two overbearing claims of "the overall project situation" and "the collective interest," leaving Lan Tongtong powerless to refute. Seeing the genuine anxiety and helplessness on Zhang Xiao's face, she understood the immense pressure he faced as the chief engineer. The hard work of so many people on the project team couldn't be undone by her personal grudge against Liu Feng.

A huge sense of grievance and powerlessness overwhelmed her. She had done nothing wrong, yet she had to bear such consequences and admit her mistakes to that disgusting person?

But what other choice did she have? If she pushed through, the entire project would suffer. She could be indifferent, but she couldn't let the entire team suffer.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lan Tongtong bit her lip tightly, trying not to cry. She was silent for a long time, and finally, in a barely audible voice, she managed to utter a few words: "...I...I understand. I...will try."

After saying that, she turned and rushed out of Zhang Xiao's office, running to the corner of the stairwell. Unable to hold back any longer, tears burst out. She felt extremely humiliated and desperate, as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, with the team's expectations behind her and the abyss in front of her.

After crying for a long time, she finally calmed down. Wiping away her tears, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew this dinner was destined to be a "Hongmen Feast" and that Liu Feng would never let go of this opportunity to humiliate her. But she had no choice but to face it head-on.

She pulled out her phone, found Liu Feng's number, and with trembling fingers, typed a text message that was incredibly insincere: "Hello, Mr. Liu. I'm Lan Tongtong. There might have been some misunderstanding at work. I'd like to treat you to a simple meal so I can explain things to you in person. Are you free tonight?"

Not long after the text was sent, Liu Feng replied, his tone filled with undisguised pride and frivolity: "Mr. Lan's treating? Sure! I'll pick the place. I know a good place with a great atmosphere! See you at 8pm, 'Night of Seduction' music and barbecue bar.'"

"Night Seduction" Music and BBQ Bar? Lan Tongtong's heart sank at the name. She knew the place; it was a famous nightclub in the city, with its ambivalent lighting and blaring music. Its main attraction was drinking and dancing. Liu Feng's choice of location was self-evident.

That evening, Lan Tongtong, feeling ready for her execution, changed into her most ordinary, conservative casual outfit (she deliberately avoided a skirt) and bravely made her way to the barbecue bar. As soon as she entered, she was enveloped by blaring music and a heat wave mingled with the smell of alcohol and cigarettes. Under the flashing neon lights, figures swayed, creating a boisterous and ambiguous atmosphere.

Liu Feng was already waiting in a booth, the table laden with skewers and several bottles of beer. His eyes lit up when he saw Lan Tongtong. He looked her up and down, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. He shouted at the top of his voice over the music, "Mr. Lan! Why are you dressed like this? It's so out of place! You should relax in a place like this! Why are you wearing so tightly?"

Lan Tongtong suppressed her nausea and humiliation and forced a stiff smile: "Mr. Liu, I'm not used to this kind of place. Let's just have a simple meal and chat."

"Well, since we're here, we might as well make the best of it!" Liu Feng poured her a full glass of beer without hesitation. "Come on, go first! If you don't drink, you're not giving me face!"

Lan Tongtong stared at the frothy glass of beer, her heart churning. She wanted to turn around and leave immediately, but thinking of her anxiously awaited colleagues on the project and the heavy burden of the chief engineer's instructions, she gritted her teeth and held back. She took a symbolic sip and put the glass down.

"Oh, this won't work! What about raising fish?" Liu Feng insisted and asked her to toast.

Just then, Lan Tongtong's phone rang. It was a message from Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao: "Xiao Lan, how was the talk with Liu Feng? Where did you eat? Did everything go well?"

Lan Tongtong read the message, a pang of grief welling up inside her. She desperately wanted to tell Mr. Zhang the truth, desperately wanted him to come and rescue her. But she knew that if Mr. Zhang knew Liu Feng had brought her to this place, given his temper, he would definitely rush over, and the situation would only escalate, becoming even more difficult to resolve. Liu Feng would only intensify his harassment of the project team.

She took a deep breath, and with trembling fingers, she replied with a lie: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, we're at a quiet little stall, talking, everything is fine."

After sending the message, she felt her heart sink even more. She had isolated herself in this suffocating predicament.

The following hours were pure torment for Lan Tongtong. While Liu Feng guzzled alcohol and ate skewers, he lectured her with all sorts of cheesy language, saying things like, "If you're working on a construction site, you have to let loose," and "Girls who are too rigid have no future." He even tried to persuade her to "relax" on the dance floor. Lan Tongtong was on pins and needles the entire time, barely coping, mostly remaining silent, silently praying that this nightmare would soon be over.

She looked at Liu Feng's face, which looked increasingly wretched under the neon lights, and listened to his shrill laughter. She felt her own dignity and character being trampled upon bit by bit. She didn't understand why she had to endure all this? Was it because she stood up for her principles and offended this villain?

This so-called "apology dinner" did not clear up any misunderstandings. Instead, it made Lan Tongtong see more clearly Liu Feng's despicableness and filled her heart with humiliation and anger.

Under Liu Feng's coaxing, coercion, and combined tactics of persuasion and force, Lan Tongtong, who couldn't handle alcohol, finally drank far more than she could handle. Her consciousness began to blur, her vision became hazy, and the deafening music and Liu Feng's piercing laughter seemed to be separated by a thick layer of glass. She felt dizzy and weak, and her remaining sanity made her cling to a single thought: I must not fall down. I must leave this place...

"Mr. Lan, look at you! You look so good after drinking some wine!" Liu Feng looked at Lan Tongtong's drunken eyes and flushed cheeks, and a hint of greed and pride flashed in his eyes. He felt that the time was ripe.

"I... I want to go back..." Lan Tongtong struggled to stand up, but her legs went weak and she fell back into the booth.

"Why go back? How are you going to go back like this? Come on, I'll take you to find a place to sober up!" Liu Feng didn't say anything. He supported Lan Tongtong, who was almost unable to stand, and half dragged and half hugged her out of the noisy nightclub.

As the cold wind blew late at night, Lan Tongtong regained consciousness. She realized that Liu Feng was leading her towards a nearby motel. A huge fear instantly gripped her!

"No... I won't go... Let me go..." She struggled with all her strength, but her drunken body was soft and weak. Her resistance seemed more like playing hard to get in Liu Feng's eyes.

"Stop messing around, Mr. Lan, just go and take a rest and sober up." Liu Feng had a hypocritical smile on his face, but his arms were holding her like an iron clamp and he quickened his pace.

Dragged into the hotel lobby, Lan Tongtong was blinded by the bright lights. Liu Feng roughly threw her onto a sofa in the corner of the lobby and said, "Stay still!" He then turned and hurried to the front desk to check in.

Sinking into the soft sofa, Lan Tongtong felt waves of nausea and dizziness, but her instinct for survival kept her conscious. With trembling hands, she instinctively reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. The screen's light flickered in her blurry vision. Relying on muscle memory and the remnants of her consciousness, she forcefully pressed shortcut key 1—the emergency contact she had set for Mo Zhichi.

The beeping sound of the phone was like a life-saving straw...

At this moment, Liu Feng came back quickly with the room card. He saw Lan Tongtong holding the phone, his face changed, and he rushed over and snatched the phone away. Seeing the screen calling "Brother Mo", he cut off the call in anger!

"Still want to call?!" Liu Feng growled viciously, throwing his phone onto the sofa next to him. Then, he roughly pulled Lan Tongtong up from the sofa, practically carrying her on his shoulders. Ignoring her faint struggles and sobs, he quickly walked towards the elevator.

The abandoned phone lay quietly on the empty lobby sofa, its screen dimming from bright to dark. The unanswered call for help was like a silent cry, frozen in the cold electronic signal.

The elevator door slowly closed, isolating Lan Tongtong's desperate eyes and her last bit of hope from the narrow space. Liu Feng forcibly took her to an unknown and dangerous room, her fate hanging by a thread.