*

Night fell.

Hotel suite.

Inoue Keino’s head was wrapped like a rice dumpling, as he leaned on the bed, cursing and swearing.

An esteemed Cabinet Minister has never suffered such outrageous humiliation.

His anger had not subsided all day.

His assistant was also beside him, still shaken to the core.

Earlier today, Huo Zhenyang had boldly left with Miss Chu. Upon entering the room, they found a shocking scene: Inoue was covered in alcohol, his head bloody, lying on the ground.

Needless to say, it was clearly the deed of Huo Zhenyang, who had just visited!

Unable to hold back: "Inoue-san, Huo Zhenyang is too arrogant. Should your subordinates find someone..."

Inoue’s scolding ceased, glaring fiercely at his foolish subordinate: "What, you still want revenge? Idiot! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you! That Huo now controls the mineral rights in country S, even the Dongying Government must show him respect. Offending him would surely bring the Emperor and government’s wrath upon me!"

"But to humiliate Inoue-san in such a manner! Inoue-san is a dignified Cabinet Minister, and that Huo gave no face whatsoever..."

Inoue bitterly conceded: "Forget it!"

Cursing is one thing, just to vent privately. How could he recklessly hit a stone with an egg?

There are many Cabinet Ministers in the world, but there is only one Huo Zhenyang.

The assistant fell silent. Having hit a wall this time, dealing with the eldest son of the Huo Family, it seems they could only swallow this humiliation.

Inoue’s head began throbbing again, and he gesticulated tiredly, indicating he needed to rest.

The assistant exited the suite, turning off the lights as he went.

The room plunged into darkness.

As Inoue closed his eyes, about to fall asleep, he faintly heard the creak of a door opening, followed by approaching footsteps.

They stopped right beside his ear.

Assuming it was a subordinate, Inoue turned impatiently: "What’s the matter... Why are you coming in again..."

Before he could finish, he felt an icy sensation on his neck.

All traces of sleep vanished as his hairs stood on end, feeling the cold, hard metal against his neck.

—It was a dagger—

Sweat broke out as he opened his eyes!

In the dimly-lit room, there sat a mysterious woman with exquisite features, obviously female.

"Someone..." Inoue was about to shout in terror when he felt the back of the dagger press deeper into his skin.

"If Inoue-san were to yell, I’m afraid I’d get scared and my hand might accidentally tremble~"

The woman’s voice was sweet and seductive, like a temptress in the dead of night, bewitching, akin to a poisonous poppy flower.

"Who are you, how did you get into my room...what do you want..." Inoue’s voice lowered, his teeth chattering.

The woman holding the dagger slowly slid it up Inoue’s neck, across his face, to his ears, then to his hair. Suddenly, her wrist flicked, swishing through the air!

Inoue’s heart raced as his already sparse hair was chopped off at the roots!

Soon after, he felt a chill on his head, presuming he had been shaved bald!

Like many middle-aged men in Dongying Country, Inoue was suffering from hair loss. Those precious few hairs, normally so treasured, now he was almost nauseous with rage at their loss.

Could it be that Huo Zhenyang’s revenge was not yet satisfied, that this was someone sent to deal with him?

Improbable. If Huo Zhenyang wanted to continue dealing with him, there was no need for stealth. He would certainly, like he did today, deal with him outright and publicly!

With a face of misery, Inoue pleaded: "Who exactly are you? Do you know who I am? I am a Cabinet Minister of Dongying Country, can you afford the responsibility..."

As soon as the woman heard his name, a frost passed through her beautiful eyes, her irritation seemingly increasing as she pressed the back of her knife into his waist: "It’s you, the worthless minister, I’m cleaning up!"

A chill ran down Inoue’s waist, his voice becoming even smaller in fear: "What exactly do you want to do?"

The woman bent down, whispered into his ear, her breath fragrant but her words chilling: "Just playing with you~ Make a sound and, if my knife falls, don’t blame me."

With that, the dagger slid down Inoue’s waist and pried open his sleeping pants.

The dagger rubbed over the man’s symbol, always on the brink of cutting but not cutting.

Inoue was on the verge of collapse, the psychological tension and fear overriding the torment of the flesh, fearing that the woman might accidentally turn him into a eunuch; large beads of sweat dripped down: "Madame, please spare me!"

"Madame finds you displeasing to the eye; I just don’t want to spare you."

The woman’s charming voice suddenly turned sharp, the dagger in her slender fingers dancing on Inoue’s waist, and in a moment, she had shaved Inoue’s lower half bald like a hairless chicken!

Inoue’s face turned pale in panic, daring not to shout out loud, feeling like he was about to be played to death by this bitch, he finally calmed his mind and his hand stealthily reached the headboard, pressing the emergency bell!

"Ding——"

The piercing ring of the bell went off!

"Dare to fool me?!"

The woman hadn’t had enough fun teasing Inoue, became furious with shame, her eyes fierce, and with a "rip" of the dagger, she fiercely stabbed it into Inoue’s thigh!

"Ah ah ah——my leg——someone help——" Inoue wailed!

After venting her anger, the woman quickly headed towards the exit, running down the staircase before the next-door assistant could emerge.

The assistant came in, switched on the light, and seeing the scene inside the room, exclaimed in shock: "Inoue-san——"

What kind of bad luck was this?

Not enough to be dealt with by Young Master Huo during the day, now he’s been shaved clean from top to bottom, and his leg has even been stabbed!

"Chase! Chase them! Someone just tried to kill me! A woman! Catch her!" Inoue, holding his bloody leg, was furious!

The assistants snapped to action, leaving one person to take care of Inoue while the others chased down the assailant.

*

Outside the hotel.

A completely black SUV had just screeched to a stop at the foot of the stairs.

It was Nie Yixiao’s car.

Inoue had already indicated he would not pursue matters further, aiming for a settlement. Although the official partnership had ended, there were still some loose ends to tie up.

At this moment, Nie Yixiao had just emerged from Inoue’s special assistant’s quarters.

Nie Yixiao fastened his seat belt, ready to start the engine when hurried yet light footsteps sounded outside the car.

Suddenly, the door to the rear seat was flung open with a whoosh, and a fragrant breeze poured in, clearly someone had sat down.

He saw the slender silhouette in the rearview mirror, his expression darkened: "Qiao Yongyong? How did you run out here?"

"Drive quickly." Qiao Yongyong’s voice was tense, her eyes, usually languid and charming, now filled with urgency.

"What happened?" Nie Yixiao’s face looked very displeased.

Qiao Yongyong had clearly sneaked out without telling anyone.

Did she not know how nervous the bodyguard responsible for her safety would be at this sudden disappearance, and how it would also land the bodyguard with accusations of dereliction of duty!

Qiao Yongyong already heard footsteps coming from the hotel entrance, urgently pleading: "Brother Yixiao, please, drive quickly..."

His suspicions intensified, and just then, several Dongying assistants had already hurried out, scanning the surroundings.

In the dead of night, the street was deserted, the straight road visible to its end with no corners or alleys to hide in.

The gaze of the crowd fell on Nie Yixiao’s SUV.

The men, with serious faces, moved step by step closer to the car.