Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 35

Si Qing and her colleague walked up to the bar counter, exchanged a few instructions with the bar owner, and after the owner nodded, they left the bar together. Once outside, the world immediately quieted down, and both Si Qing and her colleague felt much more relaxed.

They walked to the shade of a tree to escape the midday sun. Si Qing took out her phone and dialed a string of numbers.

The call went through but was immediately hung up. Si Qing didn’t give up and kept calling.

Meanwhile, far away in J City, Mu Fan was in a conference room where two groups of people were arguing fiercely.

The collaborator for this project had gone back on their word. The terms that had been previously agreed upon were suddenly changed right before the signing, with the collaborator demanding a higher price. Mu Fan was filled with suppressed anger, and predictably, the two sides broke out into an argument.

Her phone rang. Mu Fan glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number. She immediately dismissed it as a spam call and paid it no mind, as she didn’t have time to deal with it now. However, after hanging up, the number called several times in a row. Mu Fan considered that it might be an acquaintance who had changed their number and had something important to discuss, so she finally decided to step out and answer it.

“Excuse me, I need to take a call. Your company might want to think it over again!” Mu Fan tossed the harsh words over her shoulder, opened the door, and left.

Once outside, she answered the call.

“Hello, is this Miss Mu?” The voice sounded somewhat familiar to Mu Fan.

“Yes, who is this?” she asked.

“I’m Si Qing.”

Mu Fan was slightly surprised that it was Wang Lin’s bodyguard, Si Qing, calling.

Before her surprise faded, Si Qing continued: “Is my young madam at your place?”

“Wang Lin?” Hearing the familiar name that had appeared in her dreams so many times, Mu Fan’s heart tightened. “She’s not here. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, if she’s not there, then never mind. I apologize for bothering you, Miss Mu.” Si Qing hung up, exchanging a knowing, mischievous smile with her colleague.

Mu Fan stared blankly at her phone. Wang Lin’s two bodyguards were professionals and rarely let Wang Lin out of their sight. Why would they call to ask if Wang Lin was with her?

A sense of fear immediately rose in her heart.

Mu Fan’s hand trembled slightly, and she quickly dialed Si Qing’s number back.

The call was quickly answered. Mu Fan immediately launched into questioning: “Aren’t you Wang Lin’s bodyguards? Why are you calling me to ask for Wang Lin’s whereabouts?”

“Miss Mu, I’m ashamed. We lost track of the young madam,” Si Qing said, her voice laced with a sob. “It’s alright, we’ll continue searching, we’ll continue searching, boohoo…” Si Qing began to cry.

Mu Fan instantly flared up: “Can’t the two of you keep track of one person! She’s so well-behaved! Where could she possibly go!”

Si Qing continued to cry: “I’m sorry, Miss Mu. It’s precisely because the young madam is usually so well-behaved that we became complacent, and then…”

“How long has she been missing?”

“In a few more hours, we can file a police report. Miss Mu, please don’t worry. The young madam should be fine. Her family’s company doesn’t have many enemies.”

Mu Fan barely restrained herself from cursing the two bodyguards as useless. She hung up the phone, rushed into the conference room. The loud noise made everyone inside turn to look at her.

Mu Fan stood, supporting herself with both hands on the conference table, looking down at the seated collaborators: “You went back on the terms that were agreed upon ages ago, dragging this out again and again! There’s an emergency with my family, and I don’t have time to waste with you! Sign this today or don’t! If you don’t sign, forget it! I’m leaving!”

Mu Fan flung the statement, turned, and walked out. Her colleagues, who were usually accustomed to her gentle demeanor, exchanged bewildered glances at her sudden outburst.

“Sign or don’t sign!” the assistant straightened his back in defiance.

Mu Fan ran all the way to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

Mu Fan settled into the seat and said anxiously: “To S City.”

The driver was stunned, not expecting such a long-distance fare.

Afraid the driver would complain about the distance, Mu Fan immediately added: “Drive fast! I’ll pay extra!”

Money solves everything. The driver said, “Got it!” started the car, and sped away.

She was frantic and worried the whole way.

Mu Fan silently prayed: Wang Lin, please don’t let anything happen to you. Please, don’t.

Mu Fan wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with her hand, surprised that she was crying.

She was actually crying because she was worried about Wang Lin.

On the other side, Si Qing casually put her phone back in her pocket, giving her colleague a look: “Get ready for the show.”

Her colleague was utterly impressed: “How did you manage to cry like that just now?”

Si Qing remained silent, looking profound and mysterious.

The three-hour drive felt like an eternity to Mu Fan, an incredibly long and torturous experience. Once they entered the S City jurisdiction, she called Si Qing again.

“How is it? Have you found her?”

“No. Boohoo…”

“I’ll be there shortly. We’ll search together! Where are you now?”

Si Qing reported a location, which Mu Fan relayed to the driver.

The driver had already realized from Mu Fan’s calls that they were searching for someone. He didn’t dare to slow down, increasing his speed repeatedly, and voluntarily offered comfort: “Don’t worry. The public security in S City is still quite good. She probably just went somewhere to hang out.”

Mu Fan sniffled: “I hope so.”

They finally arrived at the place Si Qing mentioned. It was almost evening.

Mu Fan got out of the car and spotted Si Qing immediately. She hurried over, no longer in the mood to blame them, and asked: “Where was the last place she was seen?”

“The school,” Si Qing said. “Since returning from your place last time, the young madam’s state has been very off, very bad. We didn’t dare to ask, and then today, she suddenly…”

“What places have you searched?”

“We’ve searched everywhere the young madam might possibly go.”

Mu Fan’s brows were tightly furrowed. She didn’t need to guess that Wang Lin’s disappearance had a great deal to do with her. If Wang Lin was feeling suicidal—she didn’t dare to think it. She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

Mu Fan, calm down, calm down.

She forced herself to calm down and asked: “Have you checked the bars?” According to most people’s understanding, when someone is upset, a likely place to go is a bar to drink heavily.

“No,” Si Qing said. “The young madam doesn’t drink.”

Mu Fan frowned deeply: “You still need to check, even if she doesn’t drink! What if!”

Si Qing’s colleague quickly pulled up a map on his phone: “Let’s start by searching the bars near the school.”

Si Qing said: “Okay, you go this way, I’ll go that way, Miss Mu, you go this way.”

Mu Fan was surprised by their high efficiency. She nodded: “Okay.” She then anxiously ran toward the area Si Qing had indicated, not noticing that Si Qing and her colleague ran a short distance, then met up, bought a pancake with egg and fruit from a street stall, and sat on a roadside bench, eating leisurely, showing no sign of actually searching for anyone.

Mu Fan anxiously ran from bar to bar, sweat soaking her clothes. She grew increasingly scared and fearful.

Finally, in the fifth bar, amid a crowd of people, she saw a familiar figure.

She was overjoyed. Her heart finally settled. Too exhausted, she gasped for breath, opened her mouth, and smiled.

She watched Wang Lin from a distance, initially planning to notify Si Qing and then leave, but then something suddenly occurred to her.

The bar was extremely noisy right now. She recalled those terrible news stories—someone getting drunk in a bar and being…

Her heart leaped into her throat again. Reflexively, she ran toward Wang Lin.

She bumped into someone about ten meters from Wang Lin.

“Sorry.”

She was anxious and hurried to leave after saying sorry.

“Hey, hey, hey.” The man she bumped into reached out and stopped her, sizing her up. “Just ‘sorry’ like that?”

Mu Fan turned her head to look at Wang Lin, confirming she was safe.

She straightened her clothes, knowing she had run into a hooligan.

“Little sister, you’re quite attractive. Have a drink with your brother, and we’ll call it even.”

Facing the harassment, Mu Fan’s expression turned icy cold. She rebuked lightly: “I don’t drink. I have things to do. Please move aside.”

She tried to leave. The man saw she wasn’t an easy target and didn’t forcibly stop her.

Mu Fan took two steps but was suddenly tripped by a leg stretched out from nowhere. She crashed into a liquor table. The glasses on it were knocked over and shattered on the floor. The sound of breaking glass was swallowed by the loud music; no one paid any attention.

Mu Fan gasped, slowly got up, and looked at the woman beside the man, her eyes cold. This woman deliberately tripped me.

She was about to erupt when an intensely familiar, yet slightly unfamiliar, voice rang out.

“You, apologize to her!”

Mu Fan turned her head. It was Wang Lin who had walked over and was standing beside her.

A long-awaited reunion, but in such a setting. Mu Fan didn’t think about anything else, watching Wang Lin confront the people opposite them. Her voice carried a coldness Mu Fan had never heard, possessing a significant deterrent force. When they were together, Wang Lin was accustomed to speaking with a gentle, soft petulance. Mu Fan had never heard this tone before.

“Oh dear, little sister. She fell on her own. What does that have to do with me? Why should I apologize?” The woman lifted her head and rolled her eyes.

Wang Lin’s tone was firm: “I clearly saw you stick your leg out to trip her!”

“Which eye saw that? Don’t wrongly accuse good people.”

“I’ll say it again. Apologize!” Wang Lin stared intensely at the woman, her voice resolute. Finally, the woman felt a slight fear or impatience: “Who do you think you are? You tell me to apologize and I will—”

She didn’t get to finish the word “apologize,” because Wang Lin casually picked up a glass of liquor and splashed it across her face.

“Ah—” A scream rang out. Blinded by the liquor, the woman’s composure instantly collapsed. “I’ll f**king!”

“If you don’t apologize, I’ll break your legs!” Wang Lin said viciously.

The woman took a napkin from her bag and wiped her face, burning with rage. She made a move to step forward, determined to save face, but she froze when she saw the two bodyguards slowly walking up behind Wang Lin.

Si Qing stood with her arms crossed, looking coolly on, while her colleague, who was already tall and sturdy, cracked his knuckles, the sound clearly audible, radiating intense menace.

Wang Lin continued to apply pressure: “Apologize, or broken legs. You choose.”

The woman ground her teeth until they almost shattered. The man next to her nudged her. They exchanged glances.

“Sorry,” the woman mumbled indistinctly.

“Can’t hear you.”

The woman clenched her fists, bit her lip, and repeated herself in a voice loud enough for Wang Lin to hear: “I’m sorry!”

Wang Lin nodded, finally letting her go.

Turning around, Wang Lin asked Mu Fan without much emotion: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Mu Fan snapped out of her reaction to Wang Lin’s dominant aura and quickly answered. The Wang Lin she had just seen was truly like a different person from the one she knew.

Wang Lin said: “That’s good.” Then she walked toward the bar exit.

Mu Fan paused for a moment and then followed her out.

Seeing Wang Lin leave, the man and woman walked up to the bar. The woman asked angrily: “Who was that woman? Such an arrogant b1tch.”

The owner smiled: “Someone you don’t want to mess with. What can I get you to drink?”