It was currently afternoon on Jijing Island.

  Things had been tense in the Elders’ Association ever since Huo Zhi failed to return from Mingyu Island with Gu Si half a month ago. They were prepared to send people straight to the capital to capture him.

  But because Gu Mang had never been reasonable and merciful toward the Elders’ Association, they dared not act rashly, so they were feeling very vexed. Every day, they held meetings to discuss how they could deal with Gu Mang and Gu Si.

  To them, Meng Jinyang’s case was akin to a breakthrough. They wanted to make use of her to get at Gu Mang.

  The moment Huo Zhi exited the meeting room, he contacted Gu Mang right away, but she never bothered to reply.

  Just when he was about to put his phone away, the screen suddenly lit up.

  [Courting death, huh? I’ll play along.] ……

  Ye residence’s living room.

  “Madam, the people from Red Flame came to Jijing Island looking for something some time ago. I think they found what they were looking for, but they didn’t leave after that. On the contrary, their influence is slowly growing.” Elder Ye reported the current Jijing Island situation to Ye Junci.

  Sitting on the sofa, Ye Junci furrowed her eyebrows slightly and turned to look at him. “They didn’t leave and are actually bringing more over?”


  Elder Ye nodded. “The Elders’ Association has been very busy lately, so they didn’t have the time to take care of this matter until now.”


  Ye Junci lowered her eyelids in contemplation.

  Previously, when Lu Zhan had told her that Lu Chengzhou was planning to deal with Jijing Island, she did not take it to heart at all. It was only now, after hearing what Elder Ye had just said, that she realized that her son meant business.

  She couldn’t come up with an answer even after mulling over the question for a long time. “I got it. If there’s any unusual activity, inform me immediately.”


  “Yes,” responded Elder Ye before suddenly looking at her upon recalling a certain matter. “One more thing. Shadow League has ruined many of Huo Zhi’s and the Elders’ Association’s businesses over the past few months. I haven’t found out what feud they have with the Elders’ Association.”


  There were a lot of matters the Elders’ Association had to handle lately, so they did not have the time to care about other affairs.

  “Was it Arctic Fox’s doing?” Ye Junci was surprised to hear the news.

  “I doubt it. After accepting Country K’s mission at the start of the year, Arctic Fox hasn’t appeared since,” said Elder Ye with a shake of his head.

  “Someone might have ordered Shadow League to mess with the Elders’ Association, or maybe they offended a higherup in Shadow League.” Ye Junci picked up her cup of tea after that.

  The only external organizations that Jijing Island dared not underestimate were Red Flame, Shadow League, and the Killer Alliance. The former two used to keep to themselves, but things were different now. On top of that, the influence the Killer Alliance’s big boss had on Jijing Island was considerable too.

  The two of them began talking about other things, but Ye Junci seemed distracted throughout the entire conversation. Elder Ye thus tactfully took his leave a few minutes later.

  Ye Junci sat alone on the sofa for a long time, thinking about how Lu Chengzhou wanted to deal with the Elders’ Association. Upon deciding that he should not act rashly, she pursed her lips and picked up her phone to call Lu Zhan……

  The next day.

  Gu Mang felt a little tired because she had woken up earlier than expected, so she lay in bed for a little longer before finally crawling out of bed and going to the bathroom.

  Standing in front of the sink, she looked at herself in the mirror. From the faint red marks underneath her collarbones, she could tell that the culprit had restrained himself when leaving them on her.

  She then took her toothbrush and toothpaste from the side. When she was squeezing the toothpaste out onto her toothbrush, she tilted her head slightly and tutted.

  It was ten minutes past seven when Lu Chengzhou entered the room to wake her up. She happened to be leaving the bathroom at that moment. Her pajamas were slightly opened, revealing the faint hickeys on her fair and delicate skin. The sight of them satisfied Lu Chengzhou very much and put him in a good mood. “I’ll go get your clothes.”


  He was in such a cheery mood that Gu Mang sensed it too. She gave him a bland look in return, but he merely smiled and went to pick out her clothes from the closet.

  Gu Mang’s clothes were all very simple and of the same style. All she had were black and white jackets, sweaters, and t-shirts. Lu Chengzhou chose a top for her with a smaller neckline to hide the marks at her collarbones.

  When Gu Mang was almost done getting ready, she turned her head and saw Lu Chengzhou bringing her clothes to her. As he passed them to her, he said, “Come out for breakfast once you’re done changing.”


  “Mm,” replied Gu Mang lazily.

  “Are you not feeling well?” Noticing that she looked somewhat tired, Lu Chengzhou frowned and bent down slightly to take a closer look at her.

  Without even lifting her head, Gu Mang turned around and changed her clothes at the bedside. “I’m fine.”


  “So you’re feeling good?” asked Lu Chengzhou with a straight and concerned face.

  thought Gu Mang as she threw her pajamas at his face……

  After breakfast, Lu Chengzhou dropped Gu Mang off at school before instructing his driver Lu Yī, to take him to the Blood Institute.

  “Yes,” replied Lu Yī respectfully.

  The car had just come to a stop at a traffic light when Lu Chengzhou’s phone suddenly rang. He answered it when he realized that it was a call made from his father’s office.

  “Come over to Red Scorpion.” Lu Zhan’s voice boomed across the speaker.

  However, Lu Chengzhou was only concerned about the progress of the Blood Institute’s research right now. Since there was nothing much going on at Red Scorpion lately, he saw no need to go over.

  “I’m busy,” he told his father as he leaned back against the seat.

  “No matter how busy you are, you have to come and meet this person.”


  Hearing that, Lu Chengzhou froze. “Who is it?”