readytorunbook Chapter 246 Flowers Bloom in the South of the City, Time to Return 17
Chapter 246 Flowers Bloom in the South of the City, Time to Return 17
The fifth floor's decor is similar to the lower floors, but it has an added touch of inexplicable luxury.
It was probably because the wool blanket on the floor was so soft that it made her feel like she was walking on clouds.
Or perhaps it's those priceless murals hanging in the corridor...
Caixia paused in front of a painting, trying to imitate the demeanor of a noble person and offer her comments, but she opened her mouth and couldn't say anything, so she had to give up.
But that alone was enough to satisfy her.
You should know that any painting on this corridor is worth tens of thousands of silver dollars.
When she heard others talk about it, she could hardly imagine what kind of painting could be worth the hard work of her life, the next life, and even the life after that.
Even now, looking at it up close, I still don't quite understand.
However, if one of these paintings were hers, she wouldn't have to worry about anything for the rest of her life.
Caixia withdrew her almost greedy gaze, clutched her heart which was pounding with excitement, took several deep breaths, and then carefully knocked on the door of room 508.
"Come in."
Caixia pushed open the door and immediately saw Mr. Qian, who looked rather old, sitting with his legs crossed on the sofa.
He was burly, with a stern face, and exuded an oppressive aura.
Several burly henchmen stood behind him, looking fierce and menacing, as if they might pull out their guns at the slightest provocation.
With just one glance, Caixia was terrified. Her face, which had been flushed with excitement, instantly turned pale. "Greetings, Master Qian."
"You're Ruyan? Why are you covering your face? Do you think I'm not good enough to see your face?"
Mr. Qian's voice was also rough, and when he frowned, the dissatisfaction in his tone frightened Caixia so much that her legs went weak and she knelt down.
"I, I..." Caixia couldn't utter a word for a long time. Her mind was blank, and the cleverness she usually had when dealing with some unreasonable customers had vanished at this moment.
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Mr. Qian is asking you a question, is it that hard to answer?"
Qian Ye's subordinate was also hot-tempered. Seeing Caixia stammering, he took two steps forward and ripped off her veil.
The force was so great that it instantly left a mark on Caixia's face.
"Ah!" Caixia cried out in fright, not caring about the stinging pain on her face. She frantically tried to cover her face, but it was too late.
Without the veil covering her face, a rather plain-looking face was directly exposed to them.
Mr. Qian glanced at her hands, which she hurriedly used to cover her face, and said with certainty, "You are not Ruyan."
No matter what, Ruyan was a pillar of the Paramount Ballroom. Putting aside her appearance, her hands couldn't possibly be that rough.
"Mr. Qian, spare my life! Mr. Qian, spare my life!" Caixia trembled as she confessed her identity completely.
"Mr. Qian, how dare the Paramount treat you so disrespectfully! I'm going to find them!" The hot-tempered henchman with tattoos on his hands pulled out a gun and was about to leave.
"Ah Hu, come back." Old Master Qian calmed down. "Didn't you hear what that Xu guy said? The cigarette vendors in the building aren't under their jurisdiction. Even if you call someone, they'll probably just deny everything."
"Then what should we do?" Ah Hu turned around angrily and said to another subordinate, "It's all your good ideas."
Achang's eyes darted around: "Maybe it's because Patriarch Huo values Ruyan that they're making excuses to prevent her from coming. If that's the case, then our trip wasn't in vain."
The Huo family originally made their fortune through the underworld, and it wasn't until Huo Jingchao's grandfather took over that they began to gradually clean up their act.
However, there will inevitably be some under-the-table business dealings that need to be handled.
There is a special secret room downstairs at the Paramount, where Huo Jingchao always handles some shady matters.
As for Ruyan, she had only seen him a few times from afar, but she secretly harbored feelings for him and publicly expressed her love for him many times.
Some people saw Huo Jingchao frequently appearing at the Paramount Ballroom and assumed he was there for Ruyan.
As the rumor spread, it became the story that Master Huo was deeply in love with Ruyan.
But everyone actually believed it to be true.
Ruyan naturally wouldn't offer any further explanation; she was more than happy for the rumors to come true so she could climb this high branch.
As for Huo Jingchao, these trivial matters wouldn't reach him, and even if he knew, he wouldn't have time to care.
Ah Chang gave Master Qian this idea after hearing the rumors.
In this situation, Achang felt he had found Huo Jingchao's weakness.
"What's the use of that?" Ah Hu asked, unable to understand these complicated matters.
Ah Chang explained, "Think about it, if the Huo family really cares about Ruyan, we can capture Ruyan as a threat and maybe make him bow down to our master."
“Isn’t that just a guess too?” Ah Hu scratched his head.
"That would be best, but if not, we won't lose anything, right, sir?" Achang flattered.
Mr. Qian grunted in agreement.
Ah Hu then pointed at Cai Xia and asked, "What should we do with her?"
Master Qian said directly, "Destroy it and throw it out."
Caixia, kneeling on the ground, begged for mercy repeatedly, but she couldn't escape the fate of being dragged out by Ah Hu.
In desperation, she had a sudden inspiration and quickly said, "Sir, sir, I know a girl in the building who sells cigarettes and is as beautiful as an angel. I can bring her here. Please, sir, spare me."
In Hong Kong, he's at odds with the head of the Huo family and his surname is Qian, so he's probably the uncle of the third young master of the Huo family.
Caixia also remembered the rumors that this man loved collecting beauties, and that all of his dozens of concubines were beauties, so she decided to take a gamble.
"Oh?" Master Qian became interested and waved his hand, signaling Ah Hu to let go of her first. "If such a thing really existed, how could she still sell cigarettes safely in the building?"
"She usually covers her face and avoids people. I only saw her by chance. But no girl in the Paramount can compare to her face. Even Miss Ruyan is much inferior."
Caixia was so nervous that her heart was clenched. Fearing that Master Qian would not believe her, she said, "She is downstairs. You can send someone with me to bring her here."
……
Shen Shuwan, who was selling cigarettes, suddenly felt a pang of panic; it was the "peace charm" giving her a warning.
Without thinking about anything else, she immediately walked out.
At this point in time, it was hard for Shen Shuwan not to connect this matter with Caixia, who had just come upstairs.
I just hope she's wrong.
Unfortunately, just as she reached the top of the stairs, she ran into Caixia and her group who were coming down from upstairs.
Caixia paused for a moment, looking at Shen Shuwan with a hint of guilt, but considering her current situation, she still said, "It's her."
Shen Shuwan didn't have time to think about anything else. She threw the cigarette box hanging on her body in their direction and rushed downstairs.
There were quite a few people in the dance hall. Shen Shuwan weaved left and right like an eel, relying on the flow of people to create some distance between herself and the people chasing her from behind.
Just as she ran out the door, she was so focused on her back that she bumped into the person who came in.
"Sorry, sorry." Shen Shuwan didn't see his face, but quickly jumped away from his embrace, dodged his hand that tried to grab her, and ran away faster.
Huo Jingchao looked at her retreating figure and suddenly smiled, "I found you."
Actually, he didn't need to come here today. His men would have handled this small matter properly.
He just suddenly remembered that he had met Shen Shuwan near the Paramount Ballroom that day, so he decided to try his luck.
In retrospect, it was an unexpected gain.