Chapter 61 Arrested

After a brief meeting, the two hadn't seen each other for half a month. Huo Yizhou was busy with work, and Su Tangtang was equally busy, taking on endorsements, practicing her physique, and learning new skills. She was so tired that she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow every day.

Time flies, and it's already the end of December.

After being busy for more than half a month, Su Tangtang finally got a day off. She planned to rest at home, but then she received a call from Zhou Yan.

"Hot pot? Sure," Su Tangtang readily agreed.

Zhou Yan hesitated for a moment, "Shen Yingying and Meng Meng will also be coming, Tangtang, do you mind?"

Su Tangtang paused, but did not answer immediately.

Zhou Yan explained softly, "I originally only wanted to invite you and Lin Lang, but when I called Lin Lang, Shen Yingying happened to be there. She asked if she could come along, and I couldn't refuse."

“It’s okay,” Su Tangtang said.

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to come."

"It's been a long time since I've seen you and Lin Lang, it would be good to get together."

Zhou Yan was relieved. "Remember to bring your boyfriend along."

"He's too busy lately, he can't come."

"Oh, I see. It's alright."

After hanging up the phone, Su Tangtang finished getting ready and asked the driver to take her to Zhou Yan's house. The two houses were not close, and the drive took almost an hour.

When she arrived, Shen Yingying and the others were already there.

Upon seeing her, Meng Meng said sarcastically, "Oh, so many of us are just waiting for Miss."

Su Tangtang smiled calmly, "That's my honor."

Meng Meng pouted and gave a soft snort.

Hearing this, Su Tangtang frowned and looked at her, "Meng Meng, your boyfriend didn't come either, did you two break up too?"

These words seemed to hit Meng Meng's sore spot, and her face immediately turned ugly, but she still forced herself to retort, "I think it's obvious that you two broke up!"

Su Tangtang looked directly at her, lightly touched her lips with her fingertip, and made a shushing gesture, "Watch your mouth, or you'll get into trouble."

Meng Meng was speechless for a moment.

Zhou Yan quickly tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, it's rare for us all to get together, let's not start off at each other's throats."

Su Tangtang nodded, turned around and went into the kitchen to help, while Meng Meng and Shen Yingying went straight to the living room sofa and sat down.

Zhou Yan sighed inwardly, realizing she should avoid making phone calls in the future, lest she accidentally attract uninvited guests.

She didn't expect to run into Shen Yingying and Meng Meng at the supermarket today. She was on the phone with Lin Lang, telling him to have hot pot together. As soon as she hung up, she saw Shen Yingying and Meng Meng, and they asked if they could come.

Shen Yingying glanced towards the kitchen, then pulled Meng Meng aside and whispered, "Don't argue with her about this, don't let it affect our business."

Meng Meng pursed her lips, but finally nodded, then couldn't help worrying, "Won't they trace it back to us?"

"Don't worry, absolutely not."

"That's good."

After the ingredients were prepared, everyone set the table together. Shen Yingying and Meng Meng also got up to help. Just as they finished setting the table and were about to start cooking, the doorbell rang.

Qu Xian asked in confusion, "Who else will come?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Qu Xian got up and opened the door. He was taken aback to see Gu Qingke standing outside. "Why are you here?"

Gu Qingke smiled and asked in return, "Aren't you welcoming me?"

"How could that be! Now that we're here, we must have a couple of drinks tonight."

After Gu Qingke entered the house, Qu Xian closed the door.

Back in the living room, Shen Yingying pretended to realize something, "Sister Yan, I forgot to tell you, I invited Qingke."

Zhou Yan: "..."

She suppressed her helplessness and forced a smile, "It's okay, we're all friends, after all, we've spent half a year together."

Seeing Zhou Yan's embarrassed expression, Shen Yingying felt secretly smug.

After everyone was seated, Qu Xian enthusiastically raised his glass, "We must drink to our hearts' content tonight! I have plenty of rooms, so please don't be shy!"

Gu Qingke smiled and agreed, "Okay."

Qiu Nan also raised her glass, "Shall we have a drink together first?"

"Okay!" Shen Yingying responded enthusiastically.

Everyone raised their glasses together, creating a lively atmosphere.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone ate and chatted, reminiscing about the moments from the variety show, and couldn't help but sigh at how quickly time flies.

Gradually, many people became visibly drunk.

At this moment, Shen Yingying picked up her wine glass and turned to Su Tangtang, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glazed over. "Tangtang, Gu Qingke and I have broken up. You used to like him so much. I hope you two can be together. That way, my withdrawal won't have been in vain."

Her tone was ambiguous, making it unclear whether her blessings were genuine or if she had ulterior motives.

The once lively scene suddenly quieted down.

Gu Qingke followed up, "Yingying and I broke up amicably; we no longer love each other."

No one present would believe that.

Su Tangtang sized up the two men, unable to fathom their intentions. She raised her glass and said, "It is indeed my turn to apologize for the grudges between the three of us."

Shen Yingying forced a smile. "Sigh, it's all in the past. Now I just want to live my life properly."

Su Tangtang observed the two carefully but couldn't find any flaws. After all, they were actors, and their acting skills were quite good.

"I'll finish mine, you can drink as you like," Shen Yingying said, then downed her drink in one gulp.

Gu Qingke also toasted.

Su Tangtang held her wine glass without moving. She had already drunk quite a bit and was feeling dizzy. In addition, she felt that the two men were behaving strangely, so she decided to be cautious.

"Tangtang, why aren't you drinking?" Shen Yingying asked.

“I’ll drink later. There are some things I want to say,” Su Tangtang turned to Shen Yingying. “I did hurt you in the past, and I’m very sorry.”

Her arrival changed the subsequent course of the book, but the harm that the original owner had caused Shen Yingying could not be changed.

This is a debt owed by the original owner. Now that she has inherited this body, she should settle this grudge for her.

“But I have a boyfriend now, and we love each other, so it’s impossible for me to be with Gu Qingke.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Qingke's expression changed drastically. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wine glass tightly, his eyes fixed on Su Tangtang.

Su Tangtang glanced at him and continued, "From today onwards, I hope we can both be well and have no further connection with each other."

Shen Yingying sneered inwardly.

Do you think a few perfunctory apologies can erase everything? Absolutely not.

On the surface, she nodded, "Okay, I accept your apology. Since Gu Qingke and I are over, how things develop between you two is none of my business."

Although Zhou Yan, Lin Lang, and the others knew about their entanglement, they were unclear about the specific details. Now, after hearing what they said, they finally understood the ins and outs. Outsiders should not say too much about such emotional disputes and can only observe silently.

Shen Yingying poured another glass of wine and looked at Su Tangtang, "Drink this glass of wine, and our grudges will be settled."

Su Tangtang raised her glass with some skepticism and drank it all in one gulp.

The dizziness worsened after drinking the liquor.

This liquor is indeed incredibly strong.

The group continued to drink and chat, and later even played games. Su Tangtang excused herself from participating, saying she felt dizzy, and instead lay down on the table pretending to be asleep until midnight.

Everyone was so drunk they were staggering around. Zhou Yan, barely maintaining her last bit of sobriety, assigned rooms to everyone. After settling them in, she and Qu Xian went back to their room to sleep. Lin Lang and the others also staggered out of the living room one after another.

During tonight's game segment, they were the ones who lost the most miserably, and naturally, they also drank the most.

At this moment, only Shen Yingying, Meng Meng, Gu Qingke, and Su Tangtang, who was lying on the table "unconscious," remained in the living room.

Meng Meng lowered her voice, "You two help her into the room later."

Shen Yingying put her index finger to her lips and said, "Keep your voice down."

Meng Meng immediately fell silent.

A hint of struggle flashed across Gu Qingke's face. Was doing this really the right thing to do?

Shen Yingying noticed his hesitation, "Regretful?"

The image of Huo Yizhou flashed before Gu Qingke's eyes, and her gaze darkened. "No regrets."

"Have you thought this through?" Shen Yingying gently reminded her, "If this gets out, it won't be good for your reputation."

"It doesn't matter."

If he didn't do this, he might really lose Su Tangtang forever.

Now, we have no choice but to take a gamble.

Su Tangtang heard their conversation clearly.

What are they going to do?

She was extremely panicked.

If she wakes up now, will they kill her? Besides, Zhou Yan and the others are probably fast asleep by now.

In the end, she didn't move.

He prayed silently that Huo Yizhou would come soon.

When she realized something was wrong with them, she sent messages to Huo Yizhou and Su Tanghao respectively.

They've been quite busy lately, working until 11 or 12 every day, so I don't know if they saw it.

She doesn't dare look at her phone now, since she's still pretending to be asleep.

As she was thinking, she felt herself being picked up.

Then she heard Gu Qingke say, "I'm taking it. Remember to take pictures later."

Shen Yingying nodded gently.

Gu Qingke said calmly, "I will transfer the remaining money to you after it's done."

Shen Yingying smiled and said, "No problem."

Su Tangtang had already roughly guessed their intentions.

Okay, that's really great.

These three actually plotted to frame her, to force Gu Qingke to have sex with her, and then take photos and post them online to completely ruin her reputation and life.

She couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She shouldn't have stayed out of curiosity to see what they were up to; she should have left as soon as possible.

Just as Gu Qingke was about to carry her into the room, Su Tangtang suddenly opened her eyes and met his astonished gaze.

"Put me down," she said coldly.

Gu Qingke not only didn't let go, but tightened his grip, and Su Tangtang immediately struggled.

Hearing the commotion, Shen Yingying and Meng Meng rushed into the living room.

Meng Meng asked urgently, "What happened? Why is she awake?"

Gu Qingke frowned. "The effects of the alcohol must have worn off."

Meng Meng stomped her foot in anger, "I should have given her some sleeping pills too!"

Su Tangtang's heart skipped a beat. "You gave Zhou Yan and the others sleeping pills?"

No wonder they were all saying they were so sleepy.

Meng Meng revealed an almost ferocious smile. "That's right, just a little bit, enough for them to get a good night's sleep."

Su Tangtang gritted her teeth and said, "You're breaking the law."

Meng Meng smiled nonchalantly, "No one will know."

Su Tangtang trembled with anger and shouted at Gu Qingke again, "Gu Qingke, put me down!"

Gu Qingke hugged her tighter, his voice low and husky, "Tangtang, I really like you... Don't blame me, I just want you so badly."

Shen Yingying remained silent, but simply raised her phone and snapped several photos of them.

Seeing this, Gu Qingke threw Su Tangtang onto the bed and then leaned over and pressed down on her.

Without thinking, Su Tangtang raised her leg and kicked him hard in the groin.

Gu Qingke groaned in pain, her face contorted in agony.

He cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"

Meng Meng said impatiently from the side, "Gu Qingke, are you even capable?"

Gu Qingke glared at her coldly, then pressed down on Su Tangtang again.

Shen Yingying stayed by her side the whole time, holding up her phone to record and take photos.

Just then, there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door.

The three of them were startled at the same time.

Su Tangtang was secretly delighted.

She quickly rolled out of bed, nimbly retreating to the corner by the head of the bed. Grabbing the bedside lamp, she held it high and shouted sharply, "Don't come any closer!"

The knocking on the door grew louder and louder.

"Who's here?" Meng Meng asked somewhat flustered.

Shen Yingying shook her head. "I don't know."

Gu Qingke suddenly looked at Su Tangtang, "You called someone?"

Su Tangtang gripped the desk lamp tightly, her tone icy, "I advise you to stop now. If anything happens to me, none of the three of you will escape."

Meng Meng scoffed, "You're the one who'll be finished."

The incessant knocking made the three of them increasingly panicked. Shen Yingying hesitated and asked, "What should we do? Should we open the door?"

Gu Qingke hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "You two go out the window."

Meng Meng almost cried out, "Big brother, this is the second floor! What if we jump and die?"

Gu Qingke said impatiently, "He won't die, at most he'll break his leg."

Shen Yingying and Meng Meng exchanged a glance, but neither of them moved.

“No,” Meng Meng refused. “We didn’t do anything to her. Just go open the door.”

Gu Qingke lowered her voice, "They're not stupid. Do you think they can't tell what we're doing? What if they bring the police?"

Shen Yingying and Meng Meng panicked immediately. They gritted their teeth and finally walked to the window. But when they looked down at the height, they couldn't help but tremble.

Gu Qingke urged from the side, "Hurry up!"

Shen Yingying turned to look at him, "What are you going to do? Maybe the three of us should leave together."

At that moment, she softened.

Gu Qingke hesitated for a moment, then said, "You all go."

Deep down, he still felt that Su Tangtang wouldn't be that cruel to him, after all, she had liked him so much.

Shen Yingying nodded, moved to the window, looked down, and still felt it was too high. She was scared and dared not jump.

The two looked at each other, took a deep breath, and tried to prepare themselves mentally.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Gu Qingke shouted to them, "Let's go!"

They glanced downstairs again, still hesitant.

Meng Meng said to Gu Qingke in a trembling voice, "No... I really can't!" Before she finished speaking, she turned and ran towards the door.

Unexpectedly, she bumped into a man and fell to the ground.

Looking up, she saw Huo Yizhou's gloomy face, and she trembled with fear.

Huo Yizhou ignored her and walked straight into the room. Meng Meng was about to get up and run away when she saw another man walking over. "Why are you running?"

The man's tone was light, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

Su Tanghao pinched her chin, "Did you do something bad?"

Meng Meng tried to shake her head, but he held her so tightly that she couldn't move. Her chin ached, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Inside the room, Huo Yizhou immediately spotted Su Tangtang being cornered by them, clutching a lamp tightly in her hand.

His gaze was icy as he swept it over Gu Qingke. "You're asking for death."

Before he could finish speaking, a punch landed on Gu Qingke's face.

Gu Qingke was knocked to the ground, and Shen Yingying shrank back in fright, pressing herself against the wall, her face pale.

Gu Qingke's eyes turned red with pain. He struggled to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and gave a cold laugh.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Tangtang climbed onto the bed and quickly ran behind Huo Yizhou, hiding closely behind him.

Huo Yizhou wanted to step forward, but Su Tangtang stopped him, saying, "Let's call the police."

He paused in his movements.

Gu Qingke panicked immediately, "Tangtang, how can you be so heartless?"

Shen Yingying quickly chimed in, "We really didn't mean to hurt you."

Su Tangtang gave a cold laugh, "Save those words for the police."

If the police are called, all three of them will be finished.

Shen Yingying immediately softened, and said in a tearful voice, "Tangtang, I'm sorry, we...we were just joking with you, really."

Su Tangtang didn't look at her again, turned to Huo Yizhou and said, "Let's go."

Huo Yizhou nodded.

The two walked to the door and saw Su Tanghao.

Su Tangtang pouted, and tears streamed down her face. She said aggrievedly, "Brother."

Su Tanghao felt extremely distressed.

She could still be a little stronger in front of Huo Yizhou, holding back her tears of fear, but she really couldn't hold back in front of Su Tanghao.

Su Tanghao felt extremely distressed.

He now wishes he could kill those three people.

Seeing Su Tangtang burst into tears upon seeing Su Tanghao, Huo Yizhou felt very uncomfortable, an inexplicable discomfort.

The three did not leave, but instead locked Meng Meng, Gu Qingke, and Shen Yingying in the room.

They sat in the living room, waiting for the police and paramedics to arrive.

Su Tanghao said with annoyance, "I just didn't check my phone today. I was only thinking about finishing up what I had to do."

He then looked at Huo Yizhou, his voice tinged with dissatisfaction, "I'm very disappointed in you. You're the driver, shouldn't you have plenty of time to look at your phone?"

Huo Yizhou's eyebrows twitched slightly as he looked at Su Tangtang.

Su Tangtang had recovered by now, and her earlier tension and fear had disappeared. She calmly explained, "I never said you were the driver. He misunderstood."

Huo Yizhou replied casually, "Alright."

“Brother, I’m not the driver. It was indeed my negligence this time,” Huo Yizhou said.

Su Tanghao was still puzzled, "If you're not a driver, what do you do? Are you busier than me?"

Su Tangtang interjected, "I told you long ago that he is the boss of Huo's Group, but you didn't believe me."

Su Tanghao was still skeptical; he simply couldn't believe that his sister could find such an amazing boyfriend.

But he still tentatively asked, "Are you really?"

Huo Yizhou nodded.

Because the owner of the Huo family is always mysterious and rarely appears in public, even keeping his name a secret, Su Tanghao was shocked for a moment before reluctantly saying, "I'll trust you this time."

Su Tangtang was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this.

Not long after, the police arrived and took Gu Qingke and two others away. An ambulance then arrived at the scene and took the four people, who were still asleep, away.

Su Tangtang was mainly worried that since they had both drunk alcohol and taken sleeping pills, something might happen, so she felt it would be safer to send them to the hospital for a check-up.

-

Everything was taken care of, and it was already 3 a.m.

Huo Yizhou escorted them to their doorstep. Su Tangtang didn't go inside, but instead held hands with Huo Yizhou and chatted at the door for a while. Finally, urged by Su Tanghao, the two said goodbye.

Su Tangtang went back to wash up and went to bed, but she kept having nightmares. She was woken up by the nightmares after only two hours of sleep and couldn't fall back asleep.

In the pitch-black room, she kept her eyes open until dawn before finally falling asleep.

-

When Zhou Yan opened her eyes, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings, with a cacophony of noise coming from outside the window.

In a daze, she thought she was still dreaming. She subconsciously nudged Qu Xian beside her, and he stirred and woke up as well.

"What's wrong?" Qu Xian's eyes were still closed, and his voice was sleepy.

Zhou Yan looked around, her face filled with disbelief. This place looked like a hospital. She clearly remembered that she had slept at home after drinking too much last night. How could she have ended up outside?

Seeing that Zhou Yan remained silent, Qu Xian finally opened his eyes.

He looked around, closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them and sat up abruptly. "Where am I?"

"It looks like a hospital."

Qu Xian was taken aback. "How did we end up in the hospital?"

Zhou Yan shook her head. "I don't know either."

The two looked at each other and, without prior arrangement, lay back down and closed their eyes.

“I must still be dreaming,” Zhou Yan murmured.

“Me too,” Qu Xian echoed.

A minute later, the two opened their eyes again.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and the nurse walked in. "You're awake."

Zhou Yan and Qu Xian sat up and nodded.

The nurse said, "It's good that you're awake. Last night's tests showed that you have no problems, and you can be discharged now."

Qu Xian pressed further, "How did we get to the hospital?"

The nurse looked at them suspiciously. "Someone called 120 last night, saying you had taken sleeping pills, and there were two other people with you."

Qu Xian and Zhou Yan looked at each other in bewilderment. When did they take sleeping pills?

The nurse continued, "Many people enjoy your acting and the shows you record. There's no hurdle in life that can't be overcome, so why drink alcohol and take sleeping pills?"

Zhou Yan gave a dry laugh, "I probably ate something by mistake. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

"It's alright, just be more careful next time," the nurse said before leaving.

After Zhou Yan and Qu finished packing, they walked out of the inpatient department and encountered Lin Lang and Qiu Nan, who also looked bewildered, at the door.

The four of them gathered together, unable to understand why they would take sleeping pills, and even less why Su Tangtang and the other three were alright.

"Let's make a call and ask," Zhou Yan suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement, found a quiet corner, and dialed Su Tangtang's number. The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

-

Su Tangtang was awakened from her sleep by the ringing of the phone. She answered the phone groggily, "Hello?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, then Zhou Yan's voice came through, "Tangtang, it's me, Zhou Yan."

Hearing the familiar voices, Su Tangtang immediately snapped out of her daze. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine."

"That's good."

Zhou Yan then asked, "How did we end up in the hospital?"

Su Tangtang remained silent for a moment before recounting the events of the previous night in detail.

After listening, the four of them felt as if they were listening to a bizarre story.

Lin Lang said angrily, "This is too much! How could Meng Meng and the others be so vicious? They should be imprisoned for life!"

Zhou Yan echoed, "That's right."

Then she asked with concern, "Tangtang, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Luckily, my brother and Huo Yizhou arrived in time."

"That's good."

After hanging up the phone, Su Tangtang lay on the bed, lost in thought.

Looking back on last night's experience, although it was thrilling, it now feels like a dream.

She couldn't help but wonder what kind of sentence Gu Qingke and the others would receive.

-

Meanwhile, the three men in the police station had long lost their former glory.

After learning the news, Meng Meng's family tried to bail her out, and Shen Yingying and Gu Qingke's agents were also making the same efforts.

Their company is doing its best to suppress the spread of this news.

They were afraid that once exposed, their acting careers would be completely over.

Gu Qingke's agent was heartbroken. "Why didn't you discuss this with me? Do you know how much this will affect the company? Even if you don't care about the company, you should at least think about yourself! Now that they've filed a lawsuit, you're completely finished."

In just a few hours, Gu Qingke's chin was covered with stubble, and his face was full of exhaustion.

He completely ignored his agent's words and said, "Find a way to get me out of here."

The agent was frantic, shouting, "I can't do anything about it! Do you know who you've messed with?"

Gu Qingke panicked. "Think of something!"

The agent sighed, "I've already contacted the boss, but he's abroad and hasn't replied to any messages. I heard he's coming back this afternoon. If he's unwilling to help you, you're really finished."

Gu Qingke frowned. Logically speaking, although Su Tangtang's family was wealthy, they shouldn't have such great power.

Needless to say, Zhou Yan and Lin Lang's family backgrounds are even less powerful than the Su family's.

Gu Qingke suddenly realized something: Could it be that Su Tangtang's boyfriend has a complicated background?

His surname is Huo.

Could it be... that this has some connection with the Huo Group?

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.

Finally, he said, "Brother Zhou, you must help me."

Agent Zhou was extremely troubled. "Let me think of a solution. The boss will be back from abroad this afternoon."

Once inside prison, Gu Qingke's mind cleared up. He said, "Ask the boss if he knows Huo Yizhou."

Although Zhou's agent was puzzled, he nodded and said, "Okay."