Chapter 120: Chu Qianqian's Decision
"Honey, you're finally back! Are you hurt?" As soon as Zhou Fan returned to the villa, Chu Yan came running and threw herself into his arms, her voice laced with concern.
"How could I get hurt? Don't worry!" Zhou Fan dotingly pinched Chu Yan's cheek and lifted her into his arms. "Did anything happen at home?"
"I don't think so. I've been in the living room the whole time!" Chu Yan shook her head. What she didn't know was that a group of people had snuck up on the villa last night, but they were taken out by several experts hidden in the shadows the moment they got within a hundred meters.
"Did you not sleep well? You have dark circles under your eyes. Come on, I'll hold you while you sleep." Zhou Fan looked with heartache at the clearly exhausted Chu Yan. He decisively carried her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and thoughtfully tucked her in.
"Honey, I…" Chu Yan seemed to want to say something, but Zhou Fan stopped her.
"Don't worry. There are people protecting the Chu Family, so your grandfather won't be in danger. I'll have Xiaonan come stay with you here at the villa." Zhou Fan's voice was incredibly gentle as he continued, "I have to go after Chu Yifeng now. If we don't get rid of him, he'll always be a threat. No matter his reasons, no matter what he's trying to accomplish, he has to die. That's not up for debate."
Seeing Zhou Fan's methodical yet resolute expression, Chu Yan hesitated for a moment before nodding obediently. "Then you have to be careful, honey. And when you have Xiaonan come over, ask her to get my files from the office. I won't be able to sleep otherwise."
"You silly girl. Go to sleep."
"I'm not silly. I only became silly after meeting you, so you must have infected me!"
After coaxing Chu Yan to sleep, Zhou Fan left the villa. He glanced toward a large tree to the left of the building, made a hand signal to be careful, then got in his car and drove off.
"That's the Boss for you. Our hiding spot was perfect, and he still spotted us."
"Duh. Have you forgotten we honed these concealment skills under the Boss, through one life-or-death chase after another? He taught us everything we know."
After Zhou Fan left, two figures that looked like tree branches from a distance conversed quietly in that large tree.
Zhou Fan arrived at the rendezvous point to find Fan already waiting. But to his surprise, Fan wasn't alone—two other people were there as well.
"Mr. Zhou, you helped me kill Chu Peiyu and avenge my sister and parents. As we agreed, my life is now yours. You're going to kill Chu Yifeng, so of course I'm coming with you!" Zhang Lei leaped out of Fan's car, strode up to Zhou Fan, and declared loudly with his fists clasped.
"You don't have to do this. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement—I needed your intel, and I helped you get your revenge. That's all." Zhou Fan shook his head. "This hunt for Chu Yifeng will definitely be an ambush. Besides, he's not the man he used to be. Even I'm not confident I can get out of this in one piece."
Zhou Fan wasn't fear-mongering. Although he hadn't fought Chu Yifeng directly and didn't know the extent of his power, the mere fact that he had escaped from Fan and the twins, Li Xing and Li Yue, was telling. And the Green Puppets he controlled were enough of a headache on their own.
"Don't worry, Mr. Zhou. Life and death are fated. Besides, I'm no pushover!" Zhang Lei smiled nonchalantly. Ever since he had avenged his family, life and death no longer mattered to him.
"Alright!" Zhou Fan nodded and patted Zhang Lei's shoulder. He then turned his head to look at the other car next to Fan's, or rather, at the person sitting in the driver's seat, smiling at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Captain Fan brought me. I may not be a Chu by blood, but the family raised me for more than twenty years. If we're going to kill a family traitor, a representative of the Chu Family should be present!" Chu Qianqian said with a charming giggle, though her expression was perfectly serious. "Now hurry up and get in the car. What are you gawking at?"
With that, Chu Qianqian promptly scooted over to the passenger seat.
"There was nothing I could do. Don't look at me like that!" Fan shrugged helplessly.
"If anything happens to her, you're responsible!" Zhou Fan pointed a warning finger at Fan before reluctantly getting into the car.
The two cars tore north, their engines roaring.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? We're not going on a scenic tour, you know!" Zhou Fan said irritably, wishing he could just kick Chu Qianqian out of the car.
"I know. But when it comes to Chu Yifeng, I have to kill him with my own hands. I have to avenge all the members of the Chu Family who died because of him!" This time, Chu Qianqian wasn't smiling. She had dropped her previous playful attitude.
"You? Even if you did manage to kill him, then what? What would that accomplish?" Zhou Fan frowned slightly. His intuition told him Chu Qianqian wasn't telling him the whole story.
"Then… then I can finally leave the Chu Family in peace and live the life I want. After I found out what the Old Master and the other members of the Chu Family did, I didn't want to stay here anymore. So I'll use Chu Yifeng's head to repay the Chu Family for the kindness of raising me all these years!" Chu Qianqian's beautiful eyes gazed out the window, a glint of tears shimmering within them. With a careless blink, a crystalline tear fell silently, tracing a path down her stunning face—a moment of tragic beauty.