Chapter 43 Even if the entire city is searched, ...

Shen Chuqing slowly walked towards Huo Lan. Just as she was about to reach his side, she suddenly put down the fan in her hand and tried her best to look at him calmly.

"Brother Huo Lan, it's me."

She saw the bloodshot look spreading in Huo Lan's eyes, his anger almost bursting forth, yet he still tried his best to suppress it in front of all the wealthy and famous people in the hall.

Huo Lan chuckled softly, his eyes filled with a sinister glint that seemed to want to kill, making Shen Chuqing afraid to take another step forward.

He suppressed the urge to strangle the person in front of him, turned his back, and closed his eyes.

Xu Feixuan, Xu Sinian, and Jiang Shiyuan's family, who were seated at the head of the table, were also shocked, completely unaware of what was going on.

Shen Chuqing knew that Huo Lan was furious, but she still mustered her courage and said softly, "Brother Huo Lan, now that things have come to this, there is no turning back."

Shi Teng also ran all the way to the banquet hall.

He didn't notice at first that someone else had changed into the dress. After changing into the dress, Shen Chuqing put on a mask to cover her face and ignored his questions as she was led to the lounge in the Lotus Hall.

Shi Teng thought the matter was settled, so he stayed at Lingdang Xiaozhu to take care of the tidying up and finishing work.

As he passed the second floor, he noticed that the master bedroom door was not closed. Thinking he would close it, he saw that the window in the master bedroom facing the backyard was wide open.

Inside the room was a set of clothes that did not belong to Jiang Shiyuan. He clearly remembered that it was the dress that Shen Chuqing wore when she came.

He should have been suspicious when the person in the evening gown came out of the house but Shen Chuqing was nowhere to be seen!

Shi Teng understood almost instantly, broke out in a cold sweat, and ran towards the banquet hall, but it was too late.

"Mr. Huo, Shi Yuan...she has disappeared..."

With his back to the guests at the banquet who were enthusiastically discussing their engagement, Huo Lan felt dizzy and everything seemed to be doubled.

Huo Lan shook his head to steady his swaying body and stretched out his arm to signal the lighting and music team to stop.

The lively celebrity banquet instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at the two dazzling figures on the stage, but the bride-to-be seemed timid and hesitated, while the head of the Huo family had his back to everyone, and no one knew what expression he was wearing.

"Today is the auspicious day for the engagement between the Huo and Shen families..."

Huo Lan's expression had returned to normal, but the fierceness in his eyes still made people uneasy. He turned around and looked at the guests attending the banquet, finally fixing his gaze on Shen Chuqing.

"Congratulations to Miss Shen and..."

Huo Lan smiled knowingly, his gaze falling on Huo Qi, who was sitting at the banquet table, gloating.

His second uncle's son really liked Miss Shen, so let him have his way.

"...Congratulations on Huo Qi's engagement."

"I wish all the guests a wonderful final evening at Huo Garden. As for me..."

Huo Lan lowered his eyelashes and smiled gloomily.

"I'm not getting married."

The moment those three words were uttered, the entire hall was stunned, and whispers erupted instantly, plunging the banquet hall into turmoil.

Shen Chuqing's tears flowed instantly, and Huo Qi was at a loss during the banquet, constantly being questioned by the people around him.

Huo Lan seemed to have used all his strength to walk off the stage and into the dimly lit area, but found that the scene in front of him was getting darker and more shaky, and his steps were so unsteady that he felt like he was about to float away.

Shi Teng was really worried about Huo Lan's mental state, so he stayed close by and said, "Mr. Huo, let me accompany you back to rest."

Huo Lan waved his hand and continued walking forward, but then he felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a metallic taste suddenly surged into his mouth. He tried to suppress it, but the metallic heat uncontrollably overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

In an instant, the world spun around him, and he fell straight down.

"Mr. Huo!"

During his coma, he heard Shi Teng's anxious voice, the ongoing uproar in the banquet hall not far away, and the suffocating beeping of the white machines that the doctor rushed to the scene and the cold, icy machines.

All of this is in a blurry scene, but only one person remains clear.

Jiang Shiyuan, with her charming smile.

The way she obediently waits for him to come home every day, the way she sweetly calls him "husband," the way she leans against him, completely attached to him...

He was so infatuated with her that he couldn't extricate himself.

It turned out it was all an act...

When Huo Lan woke up from his coma at four in the morning, the ventilator was still running beside him, and the beeping sound was terrifying in the quiet environment.

He quickly realized where he was, then removed the restraints still binding him, got out of bed, and went to the dressing room to change his clothes.

Shi Teng, who was guarding the outer lounge, was startled awake by the noise. When he got into the ward, he saw that Huo Lan had already dressed and was about to go out.

He quickly blocked Huo Lan's way at the door. "No, you need to rest now. You can't have any more violent emotional fluctuations! The doctor said you have an acute stress reaction caused by excessive anger. If this continues, it will endanger your life!"

Huo Lan ignored him, his eyes like a stagnant pool, as he straightened his cuffs.

"Xiao Lan, if you still consider me Teng Ge, please listen to me this time, okay? Shi Yuan hasn't been gone long, I'll send people to look for her, she should be found soon, you just need to rest now."

Huo Lan then raised his eyes, but did not answer his question.

"Go to Coral Garden and find Shen Chuqing. I need to get to the bottom of this."

Shi Teng already knew what Huo Lan was planning, but he still blocked the exit.

“Mr. Huo, our most important thing right now is to get well. Only when we are healthy will we have more time to look for people. Besides, it’s so late now, Miss Shen should be resting long ago.”

Huo Lan scoffed, his eyes full of mockery. "Rest? You think she can sleep tonight?"

He tried to push Shi Teng's arm away, but then felt a sudden wave of dizziness.

Huo Lan closed his eyes to steady his breathing, then turned around, grabbed an unopened glucose infusion bottle from the table next to him, unscrewed the rubber stopper with his bare hands, tilted his head back and drank the liquid inside in one gulp.

Shi Teng was extremely anxious, "Xiao Lan! Why are you doing this?"

After replenishing his glucose, Huo Lan felt much better. "That's enough. I have enough strength now."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly pushed Shi Teng aside and rushed downstairs to the car parked downstairs.

The engine roared, shattering the stillness of the night, and the car sped off like an arrow toward Huo Garden.

The Coral Garden was completely silent. The bedroom was dark, and Shen Chuqing sat by the window looking at the moonlight, her heart filled with despair.

She thought Huo Lan would be pressured by so many wealthy and famous people present and would agree to the marriage agreement with the Shen family. However, she did not expect Huo Lan to be so crazy. Not only did he casually arrange for her to marry Huo Qi, putting her in a difficult position, but he also announced in public that he would not get married.

This is ridiculous...

Shen Chuqing kept wiping away her unstoppable tears when she suddenly heard the roar of a car approaching.

Several vehicles pulled into the courtyard, startling the servants who rushed out to check. They found Mr. Huo, who should have been lying in a hospital bed, walking toward the living room with a menacing expression, followed by several bodyguards dressed in black.

Shen Chuqing was drawn to the commotion in the courtyard, but by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late to hide.

The bedroom door was kicked open by the bodyguard, startling Shen Chuqing so much that she felt a chill run down her spine.

“Brother Huo Lan..…”

Huo Lan didn't go into the bedroom; he just stood at the doorway. The moonlight outlined his sharp profile, his eyes so dark they seemed to want to devour her.

His voice was soft, yet it was terrifying.

Tell me, where did you take her?

On his way back to Huo Garden, he had someone retrieve the surveillance footage from the direction of the bedroom in Lingdang Xiaozhu during that period, only to find that the video information had been tampered with, and the footage about Jiang Shiyuan had long since disappeared.

He was still burning with anger and felt dizzy, but he still forced himself to return to Huo Garden.

He didn't have a chance to interrogate Shen Chuqing at the banquet, and he also fainted, wasting so much time, which gave Jiang Shiyuan a chance to escape.

Huo Lan laughed self-deprecatingly, not even bothering to glance at Shen Chuqing. He merely tilted his head slightly, his voice low and flat, yet carrying an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"It seems the Shen family's reputation, built up over so many years, is about to crumble... because their eldest daughter is going to elope."

Shen Chuqing's tears fell instantly; she already knew what he meant.

If she cannot reveal Jiang Shiyuan's whereabouts, he will definitely force her to marry Huo Qi.

Huo Lan walked into the bedroom step by step, his leather shoes making a dull sound on the floor.

“Tell me where Shi Yuan is, and I will, as the head of the Huo family, cancel your engagement with Huo Qi. If you say nothing, then prepare to be locked up in Huo Garden for the rest of your life.”

Shen Chuqing quickly stepped forward and grabbed Huo Lan's arm, trying to plead for her, but saw that he was frowning and his eyes were full of disgust.

He shook off Shen Chuqing's hand, then took out a silk handkerchief to wipe the places she had touched, his eyes filled with a terrifying gloom.

"No one can touch me except Shi Yuan." He raised his eyes again, his smile sinister. "Alright, Chu Qing, have you decided where Shi Yuan is?"

Shen Chuqing felt suffocated by his invisible aura and subconsciously took a half step back.

"I...I really don't know, she won't tell me anything."

"have no idea?"

Huo Lan's gaze was like a poisoned ice blade. He remained standing there, looking down at her, as if getting even a fraction closer would taint him.

"You bought her time and kept it from me, and now you're telling me you didn't know?"

"I'm not lying to you! She wouldn't tell me, saying that knowing too much wouldn't do me any good!" Shen Chuqing's voice trembled with fear. "She just asked me to wear the dress in her place at the engagement party!"

He chuckled very softly, his voice filled with endless mockery and malice: "Shen Chuqing, do you think that just because you attended the engagement party, you'll become mine?"

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a fool." Veins bulged on his forehead; he was trying his best to hold back his anger, but he was still smiling. "My Shi Yuan, may you always be this clever."

Seeing Shen Chuqing's extremely terrified appearance, Huo Lan had already confirmed that he could not get any useful clues out of her.

"Since you're so eager to marry into the Huo family, then prepare well and choose a date to marry Huo Qi. Your elders in the Shen family should be very supportive..."

Huo Lan laughed cruelly. As he left, he heard Shen Chuqing's heart-wrenching cries, and his anger only intensified.

Even if he had to turn Wancheng upside down and dig three feet into the ground, he would find her!

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Author's Note: Author: You're not getting married? Don't come back to your true colors later!