Joker is not a nosy person. If the mission target is not someone very important to him, he will not bother to ask let alone issue the mission. Coupled with the task of locating the target, Yan Yuling’s importance to Joker is not just a friend.
As realization struck, Jian Yuan’s heart pounded wildly. Yan Yuling was Feng Zhexuan’s wife and someone important for Joker. That means the possibility that Joker—the legendary hacker—was Feng Zhexuan is almost 100%!
Jian Yuan’s disbelief turned to turmoil. Joker, his closest friend, was the same person to a man he had sworn revenge against. His hands trembled as he muttered, "No... it can’t be."
Overwhelmed by the shock, Jian Yuan felt his vision blur. As his consciousness waned, Gu Jianci, the fragmented personality within him, emerged.
After seizing control of the body, Gu Jianci quickly sent a cryptic message to Feng Zhexuan from Jian Yuan’s phone. When he was done, he quickly deleted all traces of the communication, and then he tampered with Jian Yuan’s watch to obscure the lost time before retreating into the recesses of the mind.
When Jian Yuan regained his senses, he instinctively checked his surroundings and his watch. Seeing no discrepancies, he sighed in relief, unaware of what had happened in that few minutes.
At this moment, his mind weighed heavily with conflict and he didn’t notice anything strange with his desk.
Could he let go of his revenge for the sake of their friendship? It’s a question he doesn’t have an answer to yet.
After a long deliberation, he chose their friendship. If Feng Zhexuan let her go, then he would stop taking his revenge and leave the country with Yan Yuling.
If he refused to let her go, then Jian Yuan would stop at nothing to see his revenge plans through. If Feng Zhexuan is dead, Yan Yuling will become his woman sooner or later.
After he made up his mind, Jian Yuan made a call. The call connected in less than a minute, "Bishop, the plan changed. I will not go back for a while. I will leave everything in your hands."
"How long will you be gone?" Bishop asked.
"I don’t know," Jian Yuan admitted.
"But while I’m away, find out everything about my sister. Start with X—she knows her current identity and location," he added.
Bishop paused for a moment before replying, "Understood."
Before hanging up, Jian Yuan thought of something and added, "When I return, you can step away from this world. Pursue photography, like you always wanted. Live under the sunlight. You don’t belong in the shadows."
Bishop chuckled when he heard his rare caring words and teased, "Getting soft, are we?"
Jian Yuan’s tone softened when he heard his laughter and said with a smile, "Shen Yuwei, even if we are not blood-related, for me, you are my brother, and I want you to live freely as you should. Don’t waste your life in this darkness."
After ending the call, Jian Yuan gazed out the window, murmuring, "Ah Wei, if I don’t return, don’t follow in my footsteps."
When he turned back, the fleeting warmth in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, unfeeling gaze. Sitting at his desk, he began tracking Yan Yuling’s whereabouts.
Joker may have provided a lead, but Jian Yuan intended to reach her first. If he could hide her away, Feng Zhexuan would never find her. Whatever Zhexuan could offer her, he, Jian Yuan, would offer more.
While several parties were busy locating Yan Yuling, she slowly regained consciousness. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a dimly lit, unfamiliar room. A sharp pain in her wrist prompted her to look down, and she noticed a handcuff tightly restraining her to the bedpost.
Blinking to adjust to the darkness, she scanned the room slowly. Aided by the faint light slipping through the cracks beneath the door, she finally saw the room.
Both of her hands were bound, but her legs were free, allowing her to shift into a slightly more comfortable position. Leaning back against the headboard, she sighed in relief as the cramp in her stomach gradually subsided.
While she was recalling what had happened, the sound of a metal door creaking open drew her attention.
A burly man entered the small room, and with a click, he turned on a dim bulb overhead. The warm yellow bulb floods the small room with soft yellow light.
The sudden brightness stung Yan Yuling’s eyes, and she squinted as she adjusted to the light. The man silently placed a bowl of soup and two pieces of hardened bread on the bedside table before turning to leave.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?" Yan Yuling asked, her voice hoarse and shaky.
The man glanced at her coldly and said, "If you want to live, stop asking questions and eat your food."
After he finished his words, he left the room and locked the door with a loud click. The metallic clang suggested multiple padlocks secured the door.
Yan Yuling stared at the closed door and then at the food. Her instincts warned her of potential danger as the food might be poisoned or drugged.
But her hunger and concern for her unborn child outweighed her fear. If she didn’t eat, her unborn baby wouldn’t survive several days of starvation. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to eat.
It’s better to die as a full ghost than a hungry ghost!
Moving closer to the bedside table, she used her mouth to nudge the bowl closer to her. Once it was within reach, she clasped it between her restrained hands and slowly drank the soup.
The bread was hard and with her hands being cuffed, it took her nearly half an hour to finish. Without water, her throat burned painfully as she swallowed the last bite of the hard bread.
As despair began to creep into her heart, the door opened again. The same man returned, this time carrying a bottle of water. Noticing her empty plate, he nodded approvingly.
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