49: Chapter 49 Liu Yifei's Crisis

Early the next morning.

Su Manqin was woken up by the heat.

She opened her eyes groggily, and the first thing she saw was Lin Yu's profile right before her eyes.

Her left hand was resting on Lin Yu's waist, and her head was pillowed on his arm.

Lifting her head slightly to take a look, she saw Mu Wan on the other side of Lin Yu, clinging to his right arm like an octopus, with one leg draped over his legs.

Watching this scene, Su Manqin sighed helplessly.

Over the next week, Lin Yu's life seemed to fall into a certain routine.

During the day, he was either at the company or "delivering warmth" among several of his female confidantes, handling all sorts of complex interpersonal relationships.

In the evenings, he would return to the Ruiyuan Residential Compound to accompany Su Manqin and Mu Wan.

Although Su Manqin still tried to avoid him a little, as the days passed, she gradually began to come to terms with it.

One day in the middle of the week, Lin Yu went to Su Qingxue's new home for a housewarming.

It was an apartment in a mid-range residential complex in the city center, with a simple yet exquisite renovation.

Su Qingxue's grandmother had already been discharged from the hospital; she sat on the sofa, full of Spirit and vigorous, beaming at Lin Yu from ear to ear.

Su Qingxue's father was also there. His attitude toward Lin Yu was somewhat complex, but for the sake of his daughter, he remained very polite. Lin Yu quietly asked Su Qingxue and learned that she had told her father about Lin Yu's identity and their plans not to marry.

Carrying bags of gifts, Lin Yu acted like a standard prospective son-in-law, chatting with the elderly woman and helping Su Qingxue cook.

In that moment, he felt as if he had truly integrated into this family, experiencing a long-lost sense of domestic warmth.

Su Qingxue watched Lin Yu busy by her side, her eyes filled with tenderness.

She knew that although this man was constantly surrounded by other women, his feelings for her were sincere.

As the sun set, Lin Yu sat on the balcony of Su Qingxue's home, watching the bustling traffic outside, his heart filled with tranquility.

Romantic Love Matchmaking Company.

Inside the company, employees were performing their respective duties, busy and orderly. The operations of the nine flagship stores, the maintenance of the app, and client liaison—all tasks were progressing methodically.

Zhou Li was at her desk processing documents. Seeing Liu Yifei return, she quickly put down her work and went to greet her with a smile.

"Yifei, you're finally back. Where did you go today? Why did you arrive at the company so late?" Zhou Li's tone was affectionate. The two were high school classmates and college best friends who had started the business together and struggled side by side; their bond was already as close as sisters.

Looking at Zhou Li's gentle smile, Liu Yifei's inner conflict eased slightly. She sighed softly, "My brother took me to a dinner party a few days ago, and I didn't expect to run into Lin Yu."

"The boss?" Zhou Li paused slightly, then a knowing smile appeared on her face. "So that's it. I was wondering why you've been so absent-minded these past few days. Is it because of him?"

As Liu Yifei's best friend, Zhou Li knew very well how she felt about Lin Yu.

Liu Yifei nodded without hiding anything, telling Zhou Li the whole story about her father forcing her to get together with him and ordering her to win Lin Yu over.

After listening, Zhou Li felt helpless for her friend. "Your uncle is too impatient. But honestly, Lin Yu is indeed excellent, and you have a good impression of him. You could actually try getting to know him without putting too much pressure on yourself."

Liu Yifei shook her head gently. "I don't want to be just one of his many female confidantes. I want a unique and exclusive relationship."

Zhou Li fell silent. She understood Liu Yifei's thoughts, but in the current environment, such an idea seemed somewhat unrealistic.

The two chatted for a while and then threw themselves back into their work.

Zhou Li's marriage was not happy.

Her husband, Zhao Qiang, worked at a bank. On the surface, he appeared refined, steady, and gentle with others, and he was even a director at his workplace.

In the eyes of outsiders, Zhou Li was successful in her career with a happy family; she was a winner in life.

But only Zhou Li knew that her marriage was long since just a formality.

This man, Zhao Qiang, was two-faced; he was selfish, self-interested, and had intense desires.

After being married for over a year, his true colors were revealed, and they quarreled repeatedly. Their affection had been argued away, and they hadn't divorced only to maintain a facade of decency.

Zhou Li poured her heart into her career and no longer held any hope for this marriage.

What she didn't know was that her own husband, Zhao Qiang, had long been coveting her best friend, Liu Yifei.

When Zhao Qiang first met Liu Yifei, he was stunned by her peerless beauty.

Liu Yifei's beauty was half a notch above Zhou Li's, and with her bold personality and hot figure, she completely matched all his fantasies of a perfect woman.

Every time Liu Yifei came to Zhou Li's home, Zhao Qiang would pretend to be nonchalant, but his eyes would always linger on Liu Yifei, his heart filled with greedy desires.

But he also knew that Liu Yifei was Zhou Li's best friend, so he could only endure, hiding these filthy thoughts deep in his heart while waiting for the right opportunity.

And the frequent mention of Lin Yu's name from their conversations filled Zhao Qiang's heart with jealousy and unwillingness.

He was jealous that Lin Yu was young, wealthy, powerful, and surrounded by beautiful women; he was unwilling to accept that he could only watch such a stunning beauty like Liu Yifei harbor feelings for Lin Yu while treating him with disdain.

The seeds of jealousy grew wildly in his heart, making his inner self become increasingly dark and twisted.

He began to secretly keep track of Liu Yifei's whereabouts, noting the times she worked overtime at the company, looking for an opportunity when she was alone.

He even secretly bought drugs, hiding them in his car and at home, ready at any moment to carry out his malicious plan.

Zhou Li was completely unaware of this.

She still treated Zhao Qiang as her husband; even though there was no affection, she never imagined that he would harbor such filthy thoughts about her best friend.

That night, a call suddenly came from Zhou Li's parents' home, requiring her to go back immediately.

Zhou Li didn't think much of it and urged Liu Yifei, "Yifei, I have something to deal with at home and need to go back first. Please be safe working overtime alone, and go home early when you're done."

"Okay, don't worry, go ahead. I'll be finished here soon," Liu Yifei nodded in response.

Zhou Li hurriedly packed her things and left the company.

Inside the company, only Liu Yifei remained, quietly processing work.

Meanwhile, Zhao Qiang, who had been waiting downstairs for a long time, saw Zhou Li leave, and a flash of greed instantly crossed his eyes.

The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Zhao Qiang straightened his clothes, put on a look of concern, carried the late-night snack he had prepared in advance, walked quickly into the company, and went straight to Liu Yifei's office.

When Zhao Qiang walked into the office, he wore a gentle smile on his face, looking harmless, completely playing the role of a good brother-in-law.

"Yifei, still working overtime? Lili had something come up at home and left. She was worried you'd be hungry, so she specifically asked me to bring you something to eat."

Zhao Qiang placed the items in his hands on the table, his tone affectionate, while his eyes were unobtrusively sizing up Liu Yifei.

Under the lights, Liu Yifei's beauty was even more stunning; her skin was fair, her features exquisite, and her professional attire outlined her graceful figure, making Zhao Qiang's heart burn with heat.

Liu Yifei looked up at Zhao Qiang. She didn't have much affection for this brother-in-law, but for the sake of Zhou Li, she said politely, "Thank you, brother-in-law. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble, we're all family," Zhao Qiang said with a smile, his gaze landing on the water cup on Liu Yifei's desk.

Taking advantage of the moment Liu Yifei went to the filing cabinet to get something, he quickly took the pre-prepared drug from his pocket, carefully poured it into Liu Yifei's water cup, then picked up the cup and shook it gently to let the drug dissolve completely in the water.

The whole process was done extremely covertly by Zhao Qiang, his movements swift and making no sound.

After doing all this, he put the cup back, acted as if nothing had happened, sat to the side, and started chatting with Liu Yifei, constantly stalling for time, waiting for the drug to take effect.

"Yifei, it's really hard work for you and Lili to run a company together. If you need any help in the future, just tell your brother-in-law."

"General Manager Lin really takes good care of your company. It seems General Manager Lin thinks highly of you."

Zhao Qiang spoke sporadically, and Liu Yifei felt somewhat impatient, but it wasn't appropriate to kick him out directly, so she could only respond perfunctorily.

She had been working all night and was indeed a bit thirsty. Without thinking much, she picked up the water cup on the table and took a few sips.

Seeing Liu Yifei pick up the cup, Zhao Qiang's eyes lit up. He stared at Liu Yifei drinking the drugged water, his heart pounding with excitement, and a subtle, sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

The drug took effect very quickly.

Just a few minutes later, Liu Yifei felt a wave of dizziness, her whole body went weak, her body started to heat up uncontrollably, and her consciousness began to blur.

She was shocked, instantly realizing something was wrong. She wanted to stand up but found her legs weak; she couldn't stand at all.

"Brother-in-law, I... I'm not feeling well, I want to go home first," Liu Yifei said with a weak voice, struggling to maintain consciousness.

She realized by now that she might have been drugged, and the Zhao Qiang in front of her had absolutely no good intentions.

Watching Liu Yifei's flushed face, dazed eyes, and limp body, Zhao Qiang knew the drug had fully taken effect and there was no longer any need to pretend.

The gentle smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by greed and evil, his eyes staring fixedly at Liu Yifei like a hungry wolf.

"Not feeling well? It's okay, brother-in-law is here to take care of you." Zhao Qiang stood up and approached Liu Yifei step by step, his tone lecherous and full of sleaze.

"You... what do you want to do?" Liu Yifei's heart was filled with fear, her voice trembling. She wanted to resist but was completely weak, only able to watch helplessly as Zhao Qiang approached.

"What do I want to do?" Zhao Qiang let out a sinister laugh. "Yifei, you are so beautiful; it would be a pity to let others have you. Why not be with me? I will treat you well."

He had long been blinded by desire and no longer cared about anything else.

He walked quickly to the office door, locked it, drew the curtains, and turned the entire office into a closed space.

Liu Yifei leaned back in her chair, her consciousness becoming increasingly blurred. The heat in her body and the fear in her heart intertwined, leading her slowly into despair.

She hadn't expected Zhao Qiang to be so evil as to dare to drug her and do such a filthy thing.

She wanted to call for help but found she didn't even have the strength to speak; she wanted to resist but was limp and unable to move.

She thought she was doomed tonight and was about to fall into Zhao Qiang's clutches.

Just at this critical moment, urgent footsteps and heavy knocking suddenly came from outside the office door.

Zhao Qiang was startled by the sudden knocking, then instantly panicked, his face turning pale.

Who would come to the company to knock at this time?

Zhou Li had rushed back to her parents' home, and after dealing with things at home, she always felt a faint sense of unease in her heart.

Thinking of Liu Yifei working overtime alone at the company, her heart skipped a beat for no reason.

She knew Zhao Qiang's character too well; his eyes when looking at Liu Yifei usually seemed wrong.

Zhou Li dared not think further, and the unease in her heart grew stronger.

She didn't care about the fatigue and immediately drove, speeding toward the company.

Arriving downstairs at the company, Zhou Li immediately saw Zhao Qiang's car parked on the side of the road, and she immediately thought, "Oh no."

The first person she thought of was Lin Yu.

In all of Ze City, only Lin Yu had the ability to protect Liu Yifei, and only Lin Yu could make Zhao Qiang face punishment.

Suppressing the panic and anger in her heart, Zhou Li took out her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed Lin Yu's number, while simultaneously sending the company's location.

The moment the call was connected, Zhou Li's voice was tearful, and she shouted anxiously, "Lin Yu! Come quickly! Someone is trying to harm Yifei! They are in the company right now, come quickly!"

Lin Yu, who was accompanying Su Manqin and her daughter at the Ruiyuan Residential Compound, received Zhou Li's call. Hearing the news that someone was trying to harm Liu Yifei, his originally calm eyes instantly turned icy cold, and a terrifying chill radiated from his body.

"I'll be there immediately."

Lin Yu only said four words, his tone cold and devoid of any emotion.

Hanging up the phone and saying a word to the two women, Lin Yu immediately got up, drove at top speed toward the Romantic Love Matchmaking Company, with his bodyguards' vehicles following closely behind.

His expression was terrifyingly gloomy, and his heart was filled with rage.

Zhou Li rushed into the company and headed straight for Liu Yifei's office. Arriving at the door, she found it was locked, and Zhao Qiang's lecherous voice could be heard from inside.

Zhou Li's heart sank. Using all her strength, she pounded heavily on the door, "Zhao Qiang! Open the door! Open it now!"

Zhao Qiang inside was scared out of his wits by the knocking. Hearing it was Zhou Li's voice, his face turned pale, and he broke into a cold sweat.

He never expected that Zhou Li would come back at this time.

"Who... who is it?" Zhao Qiang shouted, feigning composure, but his heart was in a panic.

"It's me, Zhou Li! I've already called the police, open the door now!" Zhou Li's voice was filled with anger and anxiety.

Zhao Qiang knew he couldn't hide any longer.

He looked at Liu Yifei, who was dazed and weak, then at the locked door, his heart filled with fear.

He knew very well that if Zhou Li caught him in the act, especially if Lin Yu found out about this, given Lin Yu's power, he would absolutely have no place to be buried. Right! He couldn't leave any evidence.

Fear instantly overwhelmed his desire. Zhao Qiang dared not linger any longer. He poured the remaining water in the cup into the bathroom, put the cup into his pocket, and quickly cleaned up.

He didn't dare open the door and could only look around, searching for a chance to escape.

The window.

Zhao Qiang rushed to the window, opened it, looked at the environment outside, climbed out, and scrambled down along the external air conditioning units, fleeing in a panic.