204: The canary that escaped its cage

Ever since that tasteless and fruitless dinner, Sun Hongzhi's life had not improved; instead, it had slid into an even deeper nightmare.

Those thugs who followed him like shadows had not disappeared; on the contrary, they had become even more aggressive.

It was no longer just silent following; they began more blatant provocations—whistling deliberately when he got off work, honking horns loudly in the middle of the night under his apartment, and one morning, there was even a bloody dead rat hanging from his door handle!

His wife was nearly driven to a breakdown, and his child dared not go to school alone. An invisible, suffocating fear gripped this small family tightly.

Sun Hongzhi was on the verge of a mental breakdown, with dark circles under his eyes, neurotically checking the hallway through the peephole, and the slightest movement made him jump.

The path through Zhou Mingyuan was clearly a dead end; the other party simply didn't care about his 'trivial matter,' or rather, was unwilling to provoke the people from Changan for his sake.

In desperation, Sun Hongzhi remembered his 'fellow sufferer'—Deputy Captain Wang of the Changan Fire Brigade.

It was he who had instigated Deputy Captain Wang to investigate Sister Hua's establishment, which had brought about this monstrous disaster.

He thought that Deputy Captain Wang must be under the same pressure, and perhaps they could figure something out together, or even go plead with Zhou Mingyuan again together?

With trembling hands, he dialed Deputy Captain Wang's number.

'The number you have dialed is currently busy...' Once, twice, countless times throughout the day, it was always that cold, automated voice.

A deeper chill instantly permeated Sun Hongzhi's entire body.

Busy? Why was it always busy? Was it a coincidence, or... had he been blocked?

Or had something happened to Deputy Captain Wang? Or... even worse, had he already sold him out, begged for mercy from the other side, and then gone into hiding?!

This thought gnawed at his heart like a viper. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed; Deputy Captain Wang had no strong backing, so it was highly likely he had surrendered under the pressure.

Then, wouldn't the matter of him instigating the abuse of power have already fallen into the hands of that Li Zhan?

Panic engulfed him like a tidal wave. He collapsed onto the sofa, cold sweat pouring down.

'No... no... I can't go on like this...' He muttered to himself, his eyes becoming somewhat frantic with fear.

The Zhou Family wouldn't help, and he couldn't reach Deputy Captain Wang; he had to save himself!

He stood up abruptly, like someone clutching at a final straw, and began frantically searching through his contact list, calling anyone who might have connections to the underworld or even the slightest link to Changan, incoherently asking and begging.

'Hello? Old Zhang? Do you know anyone... who can speak for me on the Changan side?'

'Mr. Li... Your business is large, do you have any way to help me get an introduction to Boss Li... from Changan? I want to apologize to him in person...'

'No matter how much it costs! As long as they are willing to show mercy...'

Most of the responses he received were perfunctory, evasive, or simply hanging up the phone.

In the underworld and certain business circles of Dongguan, Li Zhan's name had long since become a taboo and a symbol of power; no one was willing to court disaster for a disgraced low-level section chief.

Sun Hongzhi felt as if he had fallen into an invisible dead end, surrounded by walls with no exit, left only to await an unknown judgment amidst ever-growing fear.

In the end, he chose the most direct way to take a gamble...

Shenzhen, Luxury Residence.

In the night, Futian District, Shenzhen, was ablaze with neon lights. Inside the duplex apartment at Luxury Residence, however, there was a silence that felt completely out of place with the bustling city outside.

Yang Yuying curled up on a soft Italian leather sofa, wearing a silk, wine-red camisole nightgown that made her skin appear even fairer.

She unconsciously swirled half a glass of red wine in her hand, but her gaze rested unfocused on the cold city halo outside the window.

The heating in the room was sufficient, yet she felt a bit desolate.

Her fingertips slid across the phone screen, lingering on the text message editing interface. The line of text was typed and deleted, typed and deleted again, until finally, only a few simple yet incredibly heavy words remained: [Are you doing well in Dongguan?]

Her fingertip hovered over the send button, unable to press down for a long time. She was afraid.

She was afraid this message would seem too abrupt, afraid of disturbing him. And even more afraid... afraid that after sending it, all she would get was a long silence, or worse, a cold, polite reply.

That man was like an unpredictable gale, sweeping through her life, leaving deep marks before suddenly departing.

In these few days, he had only called once, his tone indifferent, simply asking about her current situation, as if those nights of madness and entanglement were just a dream.

This uncertainty made her feel an unprecedented sense of cowardice and inferiority.

She smiled self-deprecatingly, ultimately lacking the courage to press send. Irritated, she tossed the phone aside and tilted her head to drain the wine in her glass.

The slightly astringent wine slid down her throat, but it could not extinguish the inexplicable agitation and... longing deep in her heart.

Yes, longing. Even she found it absurd.

Her beginning with Li Zhan stemmed from a sordid affair involving drugs and schemes. Yet, in those few short days of entanglement, the man's domineering aura, wild strength, and his invincible posture in that bizarre underground fight world were like a blazing fire, suddenly thrown into her life, which had been like a stagnant pool of water.

She thought of Young Master Lai. What that man had given her was an exquisite cage, empty promises, and a dream that ultimately shattered.

But Li Zhan was completely different. He was rough, direct, and dangerous, yet he carried a heart-palpitating sense of reality and power.

During those few days by his side, she felt as if she were no longer that captured former sweetheart who always had to mind her manners, but a pure woman, experiencing the most primitive passion and conquest.

By contrast, those so-called 'old friends' and rich young heirs who had recently gathered around her again, with their fawning and calculated schemes, seemed so insipid, pale as a clumsy performance.

They coveted her beauty and body, but they couldn't give her that heart-racing feeling of truly coming alive.

She stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at her reflection in the glass—still beautiful, yet hiding a trace of unwillingness and longing in her eyes.

'Could it be... that I am destined to be a forgotten canary forever?' She asked her reflection in the mirror in a low voice.

No. A thought quietly sprouted.

Li Zhan's world, though dangerous, was full of vitality and power. She didn't want to return to that seemingly glamorous but actually empty life of the past. Even if she was just one of his many women, and even if the road ahead was uncertain, she wanted to grasp that glimmer of a different possibility.

She needed to do something, not just wait passively. She turned and picked up her phone, no longer intending to send a text, but instead directly dialed a number—calling her sister who ran an art gallery.

'Sister,' her voice regained a hint of its usual sweetness, but with an added touch of determination, 'You mentioned last time that there's a contemporary art exhibition in Hong Kong next month, and many collectors and media will be there, right? ... Yeah, I want to go and take a look, to clear my head. And by the way, meet a few old friends.'

Perhaps, starting by reconnecting with her old circles. She, Yang Yuying, perhaps shouldn't be forgotten in this luxury mansion in Shenzhen so quickly...