novelraw Chapter 143 Landing on the Island
Chapter 143 Landing on the Island
Song Zhihe stared at her phone screen, her fingertips slightly cold.
It's six o'clock.
A full hour has passed since she sent Lu Xiran the address.
No reply. No read receipt. Nothing at all.
"Hasn't she gone yet?" There was a hint of panic in her voice.
"We haven't seen her," the voice on the other end of the phone replied in a low voice. "She's nowhere to be seen at the dock either."
Song Zhihe bit her lip.
In the distance, car headlights pierced the twilight—it was Gu Yanshen's car.
She no longer had time to care about Lu Xiran.
She composed herself and went to meet them.
Gu Yanshen applied to enter the island as Song Zhihe's fiancé.
When Li Fengche received the news, a playful smile appeared on his lips.
Gu Yanshen—the man who could manipulate events in Haicheng and whom no one could win over—actually came to us of his own accord.
Of course he wouldn't refuse.
only--
"Check it a few more times." He toyed with the wine glass in his hand. "Gu Yanshen is too smart. Smart people always have to be prepared when they come to the island."
Therefore, Gu Yanshen and Lin Chen underwent three more examinations than others.
Lu Xiran arrived at the place Jin Qiqi had arranged.
Dusk had fallen, and she looked around, searching for the person who had promised to come and meet her.
Then she saw it.
A tall, slender figure leaned against the railing, toying with a coin in his hand, looking as relaxed as if he were on vacation.
The man turned his head.
Eyes facing each other.
Lu Xiran was stunned.
"How is it you?!"
Xin Mubai raised an eyebrow, a smug smile playing on his lips.
"Why can't it be me?"
A yacht emerged from the darkness.
Dock.
Xin Mubai jumped onto Yao's yacht, still with that arrogant expression, a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, "Let's go."
"My sister-in-law is pregnant and won't let my brother come." He paused, then swallowed the rest of his sentence.
What he didn't say was—as soon as he heard Jin Qiqi ask Xin Muyan for help bringing people to the island, he guessed who it was. Who else could it be but Lu Xiran, the person Jin Qiqi was willing to risk everything to help?
So he came.
"Okay." Lu Xiran snapped out of her daze and forced a smile. "If I had known it was you, I would have worried less. At least I would have known you."
"Know each other?" Xin Mubai raised an eyebrow. "Just know each other?"
Lu Xiran ignored him.
She remembered that she had important business to attend to.
"However..." she looked at him apologetically, "I have to do something. It might cause you trouble."
Xin Mubai simply put his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not afraid of trouble at all!"
Lu Xiran instinctively tried to break free.
He held her even tighter and led her into the cabin.
"You need some time to adjust."
His voice lowered, becoming slightly serious.
"After all, you went there today as my date."
Lu Xiran was stunned for a moment.
"You should have heard how dangerous it is for a lone girl to be in a place like this island," Xin Mubai said, looking at her. "You need to stick close to me, understand?"
Lu Xiran originally planned to go find Aunt Yun after arriving on the island, hoping to shake off everyone else.
But looking at his serious expression, she suddenly realized that she might have been oversimplifying things.
Following him will at least reduce the danger.
She stopped struggling.
The riverbank was brightly lit.
Several yachts docked one after another, and guests disembarked on the island in twos and threes.
Gu Yanshen stood on the deck, his gaze sweeping over the yacht that was docking ahead.
It was too dark to see clearly.
But he vaguely saw a familiar figure.
Slender and soft, it flashed by on the shore.
He frowned.
"Yan Shen, what's wrong?" Song Zhihe followed his gaze and saw only a dark mass of people.
Gu Yanshen withdrew his gaze.
"It's nothing."
He turned and walked toward the hatch.
You might have misread it.
How did she end up here?
Xin Mubai led Lu Xiran through the crowd.
Lu Xiran's mind was racing.
Where might Aunt Yun be?
According to her description, Xin Mubai told her it should be some area on the second floor.
She glanced at the stairs not far away.
"Want to go to the second floor?"
Xin Mubai's voice rang in my ears.
Lu Xiran turned to look at him.
His voice was so low that only she could hear it.
"think."
She said softly.
Xin Mubai placed the wine glass in his hand onto the tray of a passing waiter.
"Those are VVVIPs."
Lu Xiran was stunned for a moment.
VVVIP?
She glanced at the staircase again, almost instinctively. The two bodyguards were scanning the crowd with the alertness of hunting dogs.
If you're not qualified to go up, wouldn't you have to find another way?
But when she turned her head, she saw Xin Mubai's face—a confident look, as if he was waiting for her to ask him something.
As the second young master of the Xin family, he should have a way, right?
"You're a VVVIP?" she asked tentatively.
Xin Mubai's lips curled up slightly.
That expression clearly said: You finally figured it out.
"That's right!"
He put his arm around her shoulder, with just the right amount of pressure, and led her toward the stairs.
He put his arm around her shoulder and quietly made his way through the crowd toward the stairs.
The two bodyguards saw him, their gazes lingered on his face for a second, then they slightly stepped aside to make way for him.
Once we went up to the second floor, there were far fewer people.
The corridor was long, with closed doors on both sides. The lighting was dim, creating an indescribable sense of oppression.
They turned a corner—
Lu Xiran abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Two people were standing not far ahead.
Gu Yanshen. Song Zhihe.
Song Zhihe was wearing an exquisite mask, revealing only half of her face. But she had seen photos of her wearing the mask before, so she naturally recognized her.
Gu Yanshen was also wearing a mask, but she was too familiar with him to recognize him even from behind.
Lu Xiran almost instinctively took a step back.
He pulled Xin Mubai and hid behind a nearby pillar.
Xin Mubai stumbled slightly as she pulled him, but after regaining his balance, he turned slightly to look outside.
Then he looked down at Lu Xiran.
She had her head down, so her expression was not visible.
"What?" he asked softly. "You've been divorced for three years, and you're still thinking about him?"
Lu Xiran didn't speak.
Xin Mubai looked at her for a few seconds and didn't ask any more questions.
He readjusted his position, letting her slightly loosened hand rest on his elbow again.
"I'll take you the other way." His voice returned to its usual nonchalant tone. "The one talking to them is Li Fengche. We can't go through there for now."
Lu Xiran nodded.
Follow him in another direction.
After walking a few steps, she couldn't help but look back.
She recognized that figure all too well.
So familiar with it that I can trace every single line even with my eyes closed.
But standing next to him was Song Zhihe.
Gu Yanshen suddenly stopped speaking.
Li Fengche raised an eyebrow: "What?"
"It's nothing."
Gu Yanshen's gaze swept across the end of the corridor.
Just a moment ago, he seemed to have sensed something.
Someone is watching him.
But it was empty there, there was nothing there.
He looked away and continued talking to Li Fengche.
the other direction.
Xin Mubai led Lu Xiran through a narrow corridor, pushed open a door, and found herself in an even more secluded passage.
"Where is this?"
Lu Xiran looked around.
"The staff entrance." Xin Mubai turned to look at her. "You think this place is just about those magnificent corridors? There are far more secrets hidden in places like this than in the main streets."
Lu Xiran suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
—Gu Yanxu.
What exactly is his purpose in coming to this island?