Chapter 48 : Good Person 1
Chapter 48: Good Person 1
Lin Zheng’s gaze clung tightly to the bar counter.
Watching them chat so happily, the suffocating feeling in his chest surged up again, and his fists clenched unconsciously.
But when it came to really taking action, he lost his nerve.
The other party was obviously not an ordinary girl. From her confidence in every gesture to her attire, everything carried the aura of someone not to be provoked.
Beside him, Gu Yun caught his hesitation clearly and sneered, leaning in closer, lowering his voice.
“Tsk, already chickening out?”
Lin Zheng irritably ruffled his hair.
“What else can I do?”
Gu Yun lowered his voice even further, laced with temptation.
“I think, if you’re really scared but still can’t swallow this, then… knock her out. Later, take a few wonderful photos with your phone. You can either keep them for your own enjoyment or just to vent your anger. No one would know. How could she ever find out who did it? Once you have leverage, maybe in the future you could even…”
She didn’t finish, just smiled meaningfully.
Previously, when Gu Yun had suggested drugging someone, it was only a fleeting impulse.
But he vaguely remembered that the coat Xiao Ran wore looked expensive, and he even faintly recalled seeing a figure wearing a similar style at some banquet his brother-in-law had taken him to—someone even his brother-in-law had to bow and scrape before.
Afterwards, on a whim, he had looked it up.
The zeros on the price tag had instantly sobered him up.
If something went wrong, the consequences would be far beyond what his slightly wealthy brother-in-law could smooth over, and certainly not something he could run away from like the last time in England.
But now, Gu Yun’s modified plan—
Just knocking her out, then taking photos.
It sounded much less risky, while greatly satisfying his wounded pride and need for revenge.
His gaze once again fell on Xiao Ran’s graceful back, then swept past Bai Lengci’s side profile, which looked even more delicate and flawless under the shifting lights.
Just imagining that scene sent a hot surge of vile desire and vengeance coursing through him.
……
Lin Zheng’s palms began to sweat, his heartbeat pounding wildly.
He took a deep breath, forcing a look of regret mixed with a bit of flattery onto his face, holding his barely touched drink, and walked toward Xiao Ran.
“Uh… beauty?”
Lin Zheng came to Xiao Ran’s side, deliberately lowering his voice, tinged with awkwardness and submission.
“Just now… just now it was my fault, I was too reckless. I’ll punish myself with a drink, to apologize!”
As he spoke, he really did tip back his glass and gulp a big mouthful, grimacing from the burn of the alcohol.
Hearing his voice, Xiao Ran turned her head and saw that it was the fool she had just toyed with.
“Oh? Now you know you were wrong?”
She swirled the Louis XIII in her tulip glass, making no move to drink her own wine.
“Yes, yes, I was blind and foolish, offended a beauty.”
Lin Zheng nodded repeatedly, lowering himself, but his eyes couldn’t help darting to the wineglass in Xiao Ran’s hand.
“That… I see this is truly fine wine. I… may I have the honor to toast you with a glass? Just one! A sincere apology!”
At that moment, another figure seemed to casually insert herself.
A woman in a sexy short skirt and heavy makeup.
She looked at Xiao Ran in surprise, exaggeratingly covering her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my! Miss! Haven’t we met somewhere before? Last week’s charity banquet? Or…”
Xiao Ran was taken aback by this sudden intrusion, instinctively trying to recall.
“Charity banquet? You must have mistaken me for someone else.”
But the woman immediately showed an annoyed expression, waving her hand.
“Ah! Sorry, sorry! I must have been mistaken! Sorry to bother you!”
She spoke quickly, then turned and left decisively.
As if she had really just mistaken her identity, she swiftly vanished into the crowd.
The whole process took only a few seconds, yet it successfully diverted Xiao Ran’s attention.
And in that instant, when Xiao Ran turned her head toward the woman and then back again—
Lin Zheng’s heart pounded furiously.
Facing away from Xiao Ran, blocking possible lines of sight with his body, his fingers holding the wineglass flicked ever so slightly.
A pinch of nearly transparent powder fell silently into Xiao Ran’s glass on the bar.
The powder quickly dissolved, disappearing without a trace, the rich color of the wine perfectly concealing everything.
Gu Yun had given him the drug, which he claimed was called Obedience Powder—dissolving instantly in liquid, colorless, tasteless, and taking effect after twenty minutes.
It would leave the body weak and consciousness blurred, and afterwards cause brief memory loss.
After doing this, Lin Zheng quickly turned back, keeping the same earnest, apologetic look on his face.
He raised his glass.
“Beauty, I drink, you as you please, as you please!”
Saying this, he really downed the remaining half glass in one go.
Xiao Ran’s attention was drawn back by his hearty apology. She pursed her lips, thinking although this man was a bit stupid, at least his attitude was okay.
She wasn’t the type to hold grudges, and since she was in a good mood, she waved her hand casually.
“Alright, alright, as long as you know your mistake. Next time, learn some technique before trying to flirt.”
Naturally, she picked up her own glass.
To show she accepted the apology, she even clinked it symbolically toward Lin Zheng, then raised it to her lips and took a sip.
The liquor slid down her throat, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, completely unaware of anything unusual.
Watching Xiao Ran swallow that sip, Lin Zheng’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest, tangled between overwhelming guilt and twisted excitement.
He suppressed his agitation, bowing repeatedly.
“Thank you, beauty, for being so magnanimous! Then I won’t bother you anymore! Please, enjoy your drink!”
With that, afraid another second might expose him, he hurriedly turned and slipped away, soon vanishing into the crowd.
Xiao Ran looked at his almost fleeing figure, feeling puzzled, but didn’t think much of it, treating it as a trivial interlude.
And all of this was clearly seen out of the corner of her eye by Bai Lengci behind the bar, who appeared to be polishing a wineglass.
Lin Zheng’s clumsy acting, Gu Yun’s seemingly casual but actually calculated distraction—
And that extremely subtle finger-flick, impossible to miss with her inhuman dynamic vision.
In her eyes, it was as clear as a slow-motion replay.
To be honest, what kind of inner struggle Lin Zheng had gone through—
She had no interest in, nor did she care to speculate.
In her view, this kind of drugging just because he had been played with was stupid and pig-headed, utterly lacking in skill.
Although Lin Zheng had his reason for wanting to retaliate against Xiao Ran, such a method went far beyond any balance.
Besides, Xiao Ran had already made up for her mistake, so Lin Zheng must pay the price for his actions. Of course, this also carried a bit of Bai Lengci’s personal bias.