Chapter 57: Trump Card

Clicking the video again, he was greeted by the same flushed, feverish scene. He forced himself to endure the discomfort and kept watching. When the two people in the video finally looked up after finishing, Su Bai’s eyes widened in shock. It was Xu Mingkun and Liu Siyan!

Recalling the earlier images, Su Bai’s worldview was once again shattered—utterly...

“Yan, tomorrow is my talent contest against that Su Bai,” Xu Mingkun said. “Honestly, I have no confidence at all!”

“Do you have any good ideas to make him leave halfway, so others think he’s afraid of me?”

Leave halfway? Liu Siyan took a slim cigarette and Xu Mingkun hurried to light it for her.

“Unless his most important person is kidnapped, there’s really no other way,” Liu Siyan replied coolly.

When Liu Siyan mentioned kidnapping, Xu Mingkun sat up abruptly. “Kidnap the woman who lives with Su Bai?”

Liu Siyan nodded calmly, as if she had already planned it. Xu Mingkun asked, “There’ll be crowds outside the venue that day. How could we kidnap her in front of so many people?”

Liu Siyan sneered, “The more people, the easier. Just surround her with special fans, blocking everyone else’s view and preventing her escape.”

The video cut off abruptly there. Presumably, what followed would be even more disturbing.

Even though he had suspected that Yang Mengke’s kidnapping was orchestrated by them, seeing actual evidence sent Su Bai’s anger soaring. Revenge! He must have revenge! That was the voice echoing in Su Bai’s mind.

Zhou Yanran watched Su Bai’s fury with evident satisfaction. The angrier he became, the harsher the blow would be for Liu Siyan.

Su Bai suddenly looked up at Zhou Yanran. “How did you get the video?”

Zhou Yanran laughed at his naive question. “What do you think? Did I squat beside their bed filming while they slept together? Do you believe that?”

“Besides a pinhole camera, how else could I have gotten it? Don’t bother asking if my methods are fair: my office, my home, I’ve had countless such cameras installed. If Liu Siyan can play with fire, why can’t I light a candle?”

She waved the USB drive in her hand, then looked teasingly at Su Bai.

“So, tell me, superstar—how do you plan to deal with them? My goal is simple: I want them to be utterly overwhelmed. If your plan satisfies me, this USB drive is yours.”

Su Bai laughed loudly, leaning back, arms spread on the sofa.

He looked at Zhou Yanran. “Ms. Zhou, you came to me for cooperation. If you’re sincere, hand me the USB drive and let me decide what to do. If not, keep it—I’ll leave right now.”

Zhou Yanran’s expression changed; her previous confidence evaporated. She glared at Su Bai. “Is this your attitude toward partnership? You know you’re the one who stands to gain here! I’m giving you an advantage!”

Su Bai chuckled again. “If our words don’t align, then farewell, Ms. Zhou.”

With that, Su Bai headed for the door. Zhou Yanran’s expression shifted several times. Just as he reached the threshold, about to leave, she called out, “Wait!”

He turned around as a USB drive was tossed through the air toward him. Su Bai caught it, a faint smile curling his lips. He knew he now held his trump card.

“Su Bai, why won’t you tell me your plan?”

He smiled. “Ms. Zhou, you have many tricks up your sleeve. I don’t want the methods you use against your enemies today to be used against me tomorrow!”

“Farewell, Ms. Zhou!”

With that, Su Bai left, USB drive in hand, leaving Zhou Yanran sitting dazed on the sofa.

After a while, Zhou Yanran burst into laughter, her voice ringing out, “Interesting, very interesting!” In truth, Zhou Yanran hadn’t planned to keep anything in reserve with the camera, nor was she trying to trap Su Bai. Her questions were just to reassure herself that Liu Siyan would be too busy to bother her. She hadn’t expected Su Bai to be so cautious.

But that was good—a cautious partner was better than a careless one. Since Su Bai had his own plans, she would simply wait and see. If nothing happened after a while, she could always arrange for the video to be released herself.

After leaving Zhou Yanran’s home, Su Bai went straight to the train station. He watched as five burly men approached.

Su Bai narrowed his eyes, then suddenly broke into a run and launched a kick at the leader.

The man reacted quickly, dodging aside. The five men responded instantly, forming a circle and surrounding Su Bai.

Without waiting for their response, Su Bai kicked again.

“Damn, looking for trouble? Get him!” the men shouted, charging at Su Bai.

Fifteen minutes later, all five were lying on the ground. Su Bai, supporting his waist, looked exhausted.

He walked over to the leader and extended a hand. “You all have impressive skills. Come on, get up!”

The leader was none other than Wang Yan.

Despite being five ex-soldiers, they were outmatched by Su Bai’s martial prowess.

“Let me introduce you: this is the employer I told you about—Su Bai,” Wang Yan said.

The others stared at Su Bai in disbelief. With such skills, why did he need bodyguards?

Su Bai smiled apologetically. “Sorry about earlier! You’re about to have an important task, so I wanted to see how you handled yourselves. Overall, your reaction time and teamwork are impressive! Against ordinary criminals, you’re quite intimidating.”

Hearing this, the men looked a bit embarrassed. Their employer seemed to imply they could only handle ordinary thugs. If they faced someone truly formidable, would they be helpless? They wanted to protest, but recalling what had just happened, they didn’t know how.

Wang Yan understood their thoughts. “It’s just that we haven’t trained in over ten years! With some practice, our stamina can be improved. But we have another advantage: compared to newly discharged soldiers, we’re more polished and know how to keep a low profile. People fresh out of the army still carry that military aura. The rest of us have been tempered by society for over a decade, so we’ve shed that aura and are better suited to be covert bodyguards.”

Su Bai nodded approvingly; that was precisely why he’d asked Wang Yan to contact his old comrades.

The remaining men looked more reassured. They weren’t useless after all! Years of social experience had dulled their sharp edges and worn away their pride—sometimes, they even doubted themselves.