Lord, give up! Madam has too many vests

Chapter 385 Fishing in troubled waters

"Snapped--"

The crisp sound of the slap was particularly jarring, instantly waking Liu Shiyu from her daze, her cheek burning with pain.

She shook her dizzy head, her vision gradually clearing. When she saw the man standing in front of her, her face was filled with shock: "Brother? What are you doing here?"

She clearly remembered getting a drink at the bar in Tsutenkaku and exchanging a few words with a female fan wearing a mask before she felt dizzy and lost consciousness.

She was clearly waiting to see Cheng Lingling make a fool of herself after she woke up, but how come she saw her brother the moment she opened her eyes?

Liu Jinnian's gaze behind his glasses was chillingly menacing as he stared at Liu Shiyu, his tone filled with suppressed rage.

"If I hadn't come, were you planning to completely disgrace the Liu family? You were fooling around with a few men in a private room and got caught red-handed by the police. Look at yourself now!"

Liu Shiyu hurriedly looked down and discovered that she was wearing her brother's suit jacket. The collar was open, and she could see ambiguous red marks all over her neck and collarbone. The marks were shocking.

She trembled with fear, her voice shaking, "How...how could this happen? I only had one drink! I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do it?" Liu Jinnian sneered, walked to the sofa, and glanced at the wine glasses scattered all over the floor. "When the people from the Security Bureau came in, you were slumped on this sofa, surrounded by three men, all of them out of their minds. If it wasn't you who did it, was it a ghost?"

"No! It must be Cheng Lingling!" Liu Shiyu suddenly realized, looked up sharply, her eyes filled with resentment, "It was clearly that bitch I drugged and kept in the private room with Director Liu and the others, how could it be me? Where is Cheng Lingling? Where is she!"

“You were the only woman in the private room from beginning to end.” Liu Jinnian’s tone was as cold as ice. “I’ve already asked the people at the club. Tonight, Tongtian Pavilion suddenly caught fire and the power went out. In the chaos, someone called the police. I later found out that Director Liu’s wife got the news and wanted to catch him cheating but couldn’t get in, so she called the police in a fit of anger.”

He paused, looked at Liu Shiyu's pale face, and continued, "As for Cheng Lingling, no one knows when she left. The surveillance cameras lost power due to the fire and didn't capture anything."

Liu Jinnian originally wanted to check the glass of wine you drank from to see if there was anything wrong with it, but the glass had long since disappeared.

Liu Shiyu slumped onto the sofa, her mind blank. She couldn't understand how things had turned out this way.

“And Tongtian Pavilion.” Liu Jinnian’s tone was more tired and solemn. “Although the fire did not reach the core area, it destroyed a lot of things. More importantly, the police department has its eyes on this place. The club must cease operations in the short term.”

He stared at Liu Shiyu, a hint of disappointment in his eyes: "Now all the clues point to you, there's no flaw at all."

I bet you've offended someone in the past, and that's why this whole thing happened. From now on, you better behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble!

Liu Shiyu opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but found that she couldn't say anything.

She genuinely doesn't remember what happened, and can't find any evidence to prove she was framed...

Liu Jinnian closed the door, and staff members were busy cleaning up the mess in the corridor.

Bai Lin was already waiting at the corner not far away. Seeing him come out, she immediately walked forward quickly.

"The police department has already handled it. They didn't let them investigate further; they just registered it as 'fire + drunken disturbance by guests.'"

However, Tongtian Pavilion needs a thorough overhaul right now, and the plan to bring Si Chu over for business will likely be delayed for some time.

Liu Jinnian nodded, his brows still furrowed, clearly still troubled by Liu Shiyu's situation and the club's problems. He looked up at Bai Lin.

"By the way, have you checked the surveillance footage? The footage before and after the fire, the footage of Shiyu entering the private room, and the footage of Cheng Lingling's disappearance—have you found any clues?"

Even though Liu Jinnian verbally scolded his sister, he always felt that something was wrong.

Tongtian Pavilion has always been very private, so why would Director Liu's wife suddenly receive the news? And even more coincidentally, Cheng Lingling was switched at this very moment.

“No, because of the fire, many of the lines in the monitoring room were burned out. We can’t retrieve any footage from the monitoring in any area tonight.” Bai Lin frowned, her tone tinged with helplessness. “I’ve already sent technicians to fix it, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to find anything in the short term.”

Liu Jinnian closed his eyes, raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, his face full of exhaustion.

Today is truly an unlucky day. First, his sister caused such a disgraceful incident at the club, and now his father is being detained in the police station. Even Tongtian Pavilion has to suspend operations for rectification. A bunch of troubles are making it hard for him to breathe.

"I'll go to the police station first and see if I can get Dad out."

He opened his eyes, the agitation in them fading slightly, leaving only a calm and decisive look. "I'm leaving things here to you. Get things sorted out properly. Also, send someone to investigate Cheng Lingling's whereabouts. This matter won't just end like this."

Bai Lin nodded quickly: "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll contact you as soon as I have any news."

On the other side, after Yan Lan and the others rescued Cheng Lingling, they got directly into the car that Qin Shi had parked in advance at the back door of the club.

Qin Shengsheng held Cheng Lingling, who was still not fully conscious, her eyes red with anxiety, and kept wiping her face with a wet towel: "Lingling, wake up, we are safe now!"

Yan Lan sat in the passenger seat, glanced back at the two people in the back seat, then looked at Qin Shi who was driving, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, the switch was done in time. Liu Jinnian is busy dealing with Shen Yunzhong and the club, so he shouldn't be able to trace it back to us for now. Let's take Lingling back to her place first, and then ask her about the details after she wakes up."

The car slowly drove away from the roadside and quickly disappeared into the night.

The Jiahua Building was unusually quiet late at night, and only one incandescent light was on in the small clinic, casting a soft glow.

The small clinic hadn't been renovated yet; the walls were simply white, and several unopened boxes were piled in the corner. It only contained a treatment bed, a first-aid kit, and basic testing equipment, making it look rather empty.

Cheng Lingling was awakened by a faint smell of disinfectant. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her brother Cheng Fei's concerned gaze.

Immediately afterwards, she saw Qin Shengsheng surrounding the bed, and a familiar yet delightful figure, Yan Lan.

"Sister Yan! It really is you!"

Cheng Lingling instantly snapped back to reality. Despite still feeling a bit weak, she excitedly sat up on the examination bed, almost jumping off. "Am I dreaming? How did you get here? Weren't you always abroad?"

Qin Shengsheng quickly helped her up, smiling as she wiped her eyes: "Silly girl, you're not dreaming, your sister-in-law really did go back to Xingzhou! If it weren't for your help and my brother Qin's, you would have been in real danger this time!"

Yan Lan stepped forward and reached out to feel Cheng Lingling's forehead. After confirming that her temperature was normal, she spoke gently, "Don't get excited. You just woke up and your body hasn't recovered yet."

I just got back to Singapore not long ago, and I was planning to tell you when I had time, but I didn't expect to meet you like this.

As Cheng Lingling listened to Qin Shengsheng recount how she was drugged by Liu Shiyu, how Yan Lan and Qin Shi devised the plan to switch her body, and how they rescued her amidst the chaos, a layer of cold sweat gradually broke out on Cheng Lingling's back.

A wave of fear crept up her spine, and her face turned pale.

At this moment, Cheng Fei, who hadn't said much until now, finally spoke, his tone tinged with reproach but even more with heartache: "You, who usually seem so clever, how could you trust Liu Shiyu so easily this time? If Qin Shi and Yan Lan had been a step later, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Cheng Lingling knew she was wrong. She lowered her head and said cautiously, "Brother, I'm sorry. I was too eager to avenge Sheng Sheng. I was also deceived by Liu Shiyu's 'matchmaking' scheme because I wanted to change my career path. I will never be so impulsive again."

But as soon as she finished speaking, a glint of anger ignited in her eyes, and she clenched her fists: "But Liu Shiyu is too wicked! Not only does she want to ruin my career, but she also wants to ruin my reputation. I must avenge this!"

"Don't be impulsive." Yan Lan immediately grabbed her hand, her tone serious. "Right now, you have no evidence to prove that she plotted against you, and judging from the situation at Tongtian Pavilion, Liu Shiyu's connection with that place is definitely not shallow. The waiters there are all professionally trained; they are not ordinary people from clubs."

By the way, have you ever heard of Tongtiange before? Do you know who owns it?

Cheng Lingling paused, thought carefully for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I've only heard people in the industry say that Tongtian Pavilion is a high-end club in Singapore, not a place that ordinary people can enter, but I've never heard of who the owner is... Could there be some extraordinary background behind this club?"

"Such a force has been lying dormant in Singapore for several years, developing in secret, and its associates are all powerful and famous people. If this continues, it will become a force to be reckoned with sooner or later and should not be underestimated."

Qin Shi leaned against the table next to him, his brows still furrowed, his tone full of seriousness.

Yan Lan suddenly had a clear understanding of what Qin Shi had said on the dance floor, combined with Liu Shiyu's carefree demeanor in Tongtian Pavilion.

"What surprised me even more was that this force hidden behind Tongtian Pavilion was actually related to Liu Jinnian."

Cheng Fei was taken aback for a moment, then frowned: "Liu Jinnian? I heard that he has been in close contact with Secretary-General Si in recent years, could it be that..."

Qin Shi nodded: "I saw Liu Jinnian there, and judging from tonight's situation, he has a lot of influence in Tongtian Pavilion."

After Liu Shiyu's incident, he was the one who liaised with the police station and was able to directly decide on the club's closure for rectification; clearly, he wasn't just an ordinary customer.

Cheng Lingling also realized what was happening, her face turning pale: "So, Liu Shiyu dared to scheme against me so brazenly because she, Secretary-General Si, was backing her up? Wouldn't it be even harder for us to get revenge on her in the future?"