Chapter 32: Regret
That night, Gu Xinglan was gentler than on any previous night.
It left Qin Wan feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, and he found it incredibly surreal.
Early the next morning, in his groggy state, Qin Wan felt someone gently kiss his forehead.
However, by the time he slowly opened his eyes, Gu Xinglan’s shadow was already gone from the room.
So he assumed that hazy kiss was just his imagination.
He closed his eyes again.
Suddenly, he remembered that Gu Xinglan had allowed him to go out.
Today, he was free to leave.
Ever since Gu Xinglan brought him to that mountain villa a few days ago, he hadn’t had any freedom. He had just managed to escape, only to be caught by him again. He lay in the hospital for three days, and then was brought to this new cage.
Regaining his freedom felt truly wonderful.
Qin Wan sat up in a flash.
His gaze fell on the platinum bracelet on his wrist.
If one didn’t know the inside story, looking at it purely as a piece of jewelry, it was actually quite beautiful.
Gu Xinglan had told him that when the little red dot on the inside lit up, it meant the listening function was activated.
Right now, the little red dot wasn’t lit.
Speaking of which, that male ghost was truly interesting. If he wanted to eavesdrop on him, why tell him so explicitly?
Thinking about it, he probably wanted to use this method to humiliate and tame him. Just as he said, whatever he wanted to do to him, he could. Even if Qin Wan knew, he was powerless to resist.
Qin Wan sighed softly.
He touched the cold, ice-like bracelet on his wrist.
But then again, even though Gu Xinglan put this monitoring device on him, as long as it meant he could go out, it didn’t really matter.
Thinking like this, Qin Wan cheered up again.
After getting out of bed and washing up, he took the clothes from the garment bag on the entryway cabinet and changed into them.
He went downstairs to eat breakfast.
Wang Shu was standing at the entrance to the dining room and greeted him.
Qin Wan politely called out, “Wang Shu.”
“Wang Shu, I have to go out and run some errands later,” he said, quickly adding, “Gu Zong agreed to it.”
Wang Shu nodded. “Okay, Shao Ye told me.”
Qin Wan hurriedly ate a few bites of breakfast and headed out.
First, he went to the convenience store near the hospital where he worked part-time and settled his wages for the past few days with the boss.
He wandered around the streets for a bit, waiting for the food stalls on the culinary street to open, then went in to find his boss and got his deposit back.
Qin Wan carefully tucked the few hundred yuan into his pocket.
Then he borrowed the boss’s phone and dialed Rong Yi‘s number.
Unsurprisingly, the phone was still turned off.
Qin Wan’s brows furrowed deeply, and he let out a heavy sigh.
Gu Xinglan wouldn’t easily let him meet with Rong Yi; he had severed their line of communication.
However, since he had promised to take good care of Rong Yi, Qin Wan believed he wouldn’t break his word—at least not before he grew tired of playing with him.
Qin Wan rubbed his face and pulled himself together.
He found a supermarket and bought liquid electric mosquito repellent, floral water, and a few other necessities.
The weather was getting hotter, and he figured he would ask Gu Xinglan to send these items to Rong Yi later.
He wondered about the environment where Rong Yi was staying now. Were the medical conditions adequate? Was her health improving at all?
Carrying his purchases, he walked into a small alley, his head lowered as he pondered his worries.
He didn’t notice a white box truck parked in the alley.
Just as he walked past the truck’s door, two burly men wearing masks and baseball caps suddenly jumped out.
One held a stun gun, the other clenched a square cloth.
By the time Qin Wan realized something was wrong and looked up, it was already too late.
The square cloth, reeking of a pungent chemical smell, was clamped tightly over his mouth and nose by the burly man.
Qin Wan struggled with all his might, kicking and scratching. But very quickly, a sharp, intense pain pierced the side of his neck.
In the blink of an eye, he lost consciousness.
He collapsed limply.
The two burly men hauled him into the truck, and the vehicle sped away.
Gu Xinglan was sitting in his office, flipping through documents.
His mind was restless, and even his fingers flipping the pages moved with a certain dismissiveness.
He was waiting for a call.
Flipping randomly, he outright rejected five or six fully drafted documents on his desk.
At that moment, his phone rang.
It was his Security Director and personal bodyguard, Xiao Han.
He answered immediately.
“Gu Zong, our people have been following them. Some men have already laid an ambush in the small alley west of Guomao. Ten to one, they’re planning to make their move there.”
Gu Xinglan listened, the fingers of his free hand curling into a fist.
“Should I take Mr. Qin away?” Xiao Han asked for instructions.
Gu Xinglan remained silent for a moment.
“No, just keep an eye on them,” his voice was somewhat heavy. “Make absolutely sure you watch them closely.”
Xiao Han seemed confused and hesitated for a second before replying, “Yes, Gu Zong.”
Hanging up the phone, Gu Xinglan took a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from his drawer.
He struck the lighter; the metal clashing made a crisp sound.
He stared at the bright red cluster of flames for a moment before tilting his head slightly to light a cigarette.
He rarely smoked.
He only occasionally had one when he needed to relieve stress.
Just like right now.
He took a deep drag and exhaled a cloud of thin mist.
His vision blurred, as if reflecting Qin Wan’s figure.
Gu Xinglan rubbed the space between his eyebrows.
He was feeling somewhat regretful about his decision.
He was hesitating whether to retract his order.
It was only then that he suddenly realized he was actually wavering after having made a decision.
This was something that had never happened before.
He had always been decisive and ruthless.
Once he made a choice, the word “regret” simply didn’t exist for him.
Yet right now, he was hesitating, conflicted, and indecisive.
All because of one person.
Gu Xinglan’s heart grew even more chaotic.
He took two fierce drags of his cigarette and crushed it out in the ashtray.
Then he stood up and strode out of the CEO’s office with large steps.
When Qin Wan woke up, he found his hands and feet bound, hanging from an iron hook suspended from the ceiling above.
His toes could barely touch the ground.
The surrounding light was very dim, and everything was a blur.
The space reeked of a choking, musty odor.
It made him cough several times.
He was so nervous his heart pounded wildly, his small face deathly pale.
He had no idea what had just happened.
He wondered if this was some twisted game Gu Xinglan was playing. Or had the loan sharks come to settle the score?
He struggled violently, but unsurprisingly, it was to no avail.
Just then, heavy footsteps approached him.
Qin Wan could tell that it definitely wasn’t Gu Xinglan’s footsteps.
“Who is it? Why are you tying me up?” he cried out, his voice trembling slightly.
A harsh beam from an emergency light struck him, and he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
It took a long time to adjust before he slowly opened his eyes again.
“Kid, our boss is asking you questions. Answer honestly,” a somewhat harsh, grating male voice said.
Standing in front of him was a towering, burly man. Expressionless, his face was set in a stiff, murderous look.
Qin Wan’s brows furrowed tightly.
But he knew how to read the room.
With nowhere to run, he had to posture submissively, doing whatever he could to protect himself and minimize harm.
He nodded quickly. “Okay, as long as I know, I will definitely cooperate! What do you want to ask?”
At that moment, from the dark shadows a few meters away, another profoundly cold male voice drifted over.
“Qin Wan, let me ask you: Was it Gu Xinglan who instructed you to intentionally knock down the Gu family patriarch in the hotel corridor?”
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