In the elevator, Lan Hui couldn’t help but speak up, “Sir, didn’t you just say you had something to tell me? Now there’s only the two of us in the elevator, you can say it.”
Baoba smiled, “I get a bit nervous in elevators, let’s wait until we’re out to talk.”
What kind of excuse was that?
And judging from his appearance, he looked perfectly at ease, not the least bit nervous.
He refused to talk in the elevator—clearly, what he wanted to say was very private, and with cameras in the elevator, he couldn’t risk it.
Lan Hui became even more alert, quietly taking out her phone and turning on the recording function.
Soon, the elevator reached the first floor, and the two walked out one after the other.
“Sir, can you say it now?” Lan Hui looked at Baoba.
He was dressed in gray loungewear, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking to be in his thirties, gentle and refined.
The man walked to the entrance, glancing around. There was no one nearby.
“Xiao Yue, didn’t you say someone was coming to pick you up? Why don’t I see anyone?”
“He’s on his way.” Before coming downstairs, Lan Hui had already messaged Peng Kai.
The parking fee in this Gao Duan Xiao Qu was too expensive—twenty yuan per hour—so Peng Kai had driven out to wait for her.
Now, to pick her up, he’d have to drive back in, so it would take a few more minutes.
Baoba smiled, “Is it that no one’s coming at all? Is Xiao Yue lying to me? I know you don’t have a boyfriend.”
He had brought his wife to the shop before for lactation help, and had privately inquired if she had a boyfriend—everyone said she didn’t.
Lan Hui felt a chill at his smile. “Sir, why would I lie to you? It’s late at night, there’s no way I’d come out alone.”
“Xiao Yue, are you afraid of me?” Baoba smiled, pushing his glasses up.
“No.” Lan Hui took a few steps back, trying to put distance between them.
“Didn’t you say you had something to tell me? If you’re not going to say it, then let’s go back—Baoma and Bao Bao are still waiting for you.”
As soon as Lan Hui finished speaking, before she could react, she felt herself being pulled forcefully into his arms.
He even took a deep breath against her, “So fragrant.”
Lan Hui was about to scream, but a large hand clamped over her mouth at just the right moment.
“Don’t shout.”
Baoba whispered in her ear, “Xiao Yue, I really like you. From the moment I first saw you at the shop, I liked you. Be my woman.”
“I’ll give you a hundred thousand yuan a month. I’ll take care of you, let you eat and drink well, buy you anything you want.”
Lan Hui glared at him viciously, struggling with all her might.
“If you don’t shout, I’ll let you go. Listen, the cameras here are broken. If you shout and everyone finds out, you’re just a working girl—people will think you seduced me. Even if you jumped into the Yellow River, you couldn’t clear your name.”
Lan Hui nodded, indicating she wouldn’t scream.
Only then did Baoba let her go.
As soon as she could speak, Lan Hui refused outright, “I will never be your mistress, so give up on that. How could you do this to your wife?”
“She just gave birth to your Bao Bao a month ago, and an hour ago she was suffering from a blocked milk duct, in pain—she went through so much hardship for you. Ask yourself, can you face her?”
Baoba was unfazed. “How have I wronged her? She has everything she wants, living like a pampered lady—that’s a life many people dream of!”
“I’m a man, I can’t be with just one woman.”
“Xiao Yue, if you’re with me, not only can I give you a hundred thousand a month, I can buy you a car and a house. That’s a life other women can only dream of.”
Lan Hui.
Lan Hui felt disgusted, looking at him as if he were trash. “Keep dreaming.”
The girl was beautiful—even when glaring, she was striking. Baoba smiled wickedly, “Little wildcat, you’re really something.” As he spoke, he moved as if to kiss her.
How could Lan Hui let him? Furious, she slapped him hard across the face.
A crisp slap rang out, especially sharp in the night.
Lan Hui didn’t pause—she turned to run.
Baoba, enraged, shouted, “You dare hit me! Good, very good, you’re the first woman who’s ever dared hit me.” As he spoke, he caught up to her in a few strides and dragged her back into his arms.
Lan Hui struggled desperately, about to scream for help, when suddenly a dark figure rushed over from the distance and was upon them in the blink of an eye.
“Bastard.” The voice was trembling with rage. Almost at the same moment, a fist came crashing down on Baoba.
Caught off guard, he was knocked to the ground, his gold-rimmed glasses shattering all over.
Peng Kai wasn’t satisfied—he rushed up and landed a few more punches.
“Not worthy of being a man.”
Punch after punch rained down.
Baoba gritted his teeth against the pain, curling up and covering his head, trying to scurry away.
He dared not shout for help, afraid more people would come and his wife upstairs would find out.
“Stop, or I’ll make sure you rot in jail for the rest of your life.” Baoba growled threateningly.
Peng Kai’s eyes were red with anger, unwilling to stop.
Seeing this, Lan Hui hurried forward to pull Peng Kai back, pleading, “Kai-ge, I’m fine, stop hitting him—if you keep going, someone really might die.”
It was the first time Lan Hui had seen Peng Kai so out of control, and she was so frightened her voice trembled with tears.
Only then did Peng Kai stop, quickly asking, “Yue Fu, are you alright?” He hurriedly took off his coat and draped it over Lan Hui, wrapping her up snugly.
Lan Hui shook her head, eyes red, “I’m fine. Luckily you got here in time. Let’s go home.”
Baoba staggered up, clutching his injuries, and threatened viciously, “You think you can just leave after hitting me? You think things are that simple?”
Peng Kai was furious but forced himself to calm down, pulling Lan Hui behind him to shield her. “I’m the one who hit you. If you’ve got a problem, come at me.”
“Fine, you’ve got guts.” Baoba pretended to pull out his phone to make a call.
At that moment, Lan Hui stepped out from behind Peng Kai, took out her phone, and played the recording she’d made earlier.
Baoba’s expression changed instantly. He had already dialed 110, but hearing the recording, he hurriedly hung up.
Lan Hui looked at him coldly, “Why don’t you make the call?”
Baoba seethed, “You look so pure, but I didn’t think you’d be so scheming.”
Lan Hui replied, “This is self-protection. Go ahead and call the police—let’s see when they arrive, who they’ll arrest: us, or you, the one who tried to commit rape.”
Baoba panicked, “What nonsense are you spouting? When did I try to rape you? I just wanted to keep you as a mistress.”
Lan Hui retorted coldly, “It’s past midnight. You put your hands on me in a deserted place—that’s already attempted rape.”
Sexual harassment and attempted rape are two different things. Attempted rape is a criminal offense.
Lan Hui wasn’t stupid—she’d make it sound as serious as possible.
Baoba’s face turned ashen. “Name your price, delete the recording.”
Lan Hui would never delete it.
“Sir, I won’t delete it. As long as you don’t cause trouble, this recording will never see the light of day.”
“But if you try to retaliate against us for what happened tonight, I suggest you think carefully whether you can bear the consequences of your family breaking up, public condemnation, and being spat on by thousands.”
Baoba roared, “One million—delete it! Otherwise, how do I know you won’t go back on your word?” It was like a ticking time bomb.
Lan Hui said, “Sir, the initiative is in my hands now. You have no right to refuse. Like I said, as long as you don’t retaliate against us, I’ll never expose this. After all, you’re a well-known figure in S City—we don’t want to make an enemy of you.”
***
Tonight, Baoba had tried to do something despicable, but Peng Kai had beaten him up quite a bit too. They were even—she didn’t want to pursue it any further.
With Baoba’s resources, if they really fought to the bitter end, she wouldn’t win either.
Baoba gritted his teeth, “Fine. Remember what you said—if that recording ever comes out, I’ll make sure you can’t stay in S City.”
“Alright.” Lan Hui settled it with a final word.
Baoba, thoroughly humiliated, limped away.
Peng Kai pulled Lan Hui toward the gate of the complex.
“Yue Fu, I’m sorry I was late. If I hadn’t tried to save that twenty yuan parking fee, you wouldn’t have had to deal with that bastard tonight…”
Lan Hui comforted him, “Kai-ge, it’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself. It’s that Baoba’s character is rotten—it’s his problem.”
“We don’t need to make his problem our pain. For example, I did nothing to provoke him, barely even spoke to him, and he still treated me like that. Is that my fault?”
Peng Kai shook his head, pained, “No, it’s not your fault.”
“That’s right. If it’s not our problem, we shouldn’t carry it. You hit him a few times today—he’ll probably be hurting for a week. That’s a bit satisfying, isn’t it?”
“I wish I could have beaten him to death.” Peng Kai was still fuming.
After a while, the two reached the gate. Lan Hui saw a Black Volkswagen parked by the entrance barrier—it looked familiar. “Kai-ge, is that your car?”
The engine was still running, headlights on, just sitting by the barrier.
Peng Kai nodded, “That’s my car. When I drove in, the security guard in the booth was nowhere to be found, and wouldn’t lift the barrier for a long time.”
“I got out to look for him, and then I saw that man dragging you around, so I rushed over. Anyway, wait here for me while I back the car out.”
Lan Hui felt a warmth in her heart, “Okay.”
There was still no guard in the booth. In a high-end complex like this, such a basic mistake was impossible.
Most likely, Baoba had given them a heads-up beforehand, otherwise this wouldn’t have happened.
Peng Kai quickly backed the car out, and Lan Hui got into the passenger seat.
Peng Kai reached over to fasten her seatbelt and gently patted her head, “Let’s go home.” Peng Kai’s voice was uncommonly gentle and full of concern.
The car slowly drove onto the main road.
Lan Hui couldn’t calm down inside, dazed by Peng Kai’s gentle tone.
She had never seen Peng Kai like this.
“Kai-ge, you’re so good to me, I… I feel like I’m relying on you more and more.”
The moment she said it, Lan Hui regretted it. She hadn’t thought before speaking—what had she just said?
It sounded way too ambiguous.
The atmosphere in the car suddenly grew tense.
The next second, the car braked sharply and stopped by the roadside.
Lan Hui was startled.
“Kai-ge, why did you stop?”
Peng Kai parked, turned on the hazard lights, and turned to look at her.
Under the neon night, his eyes were full of deep feeling, his voice low and almost humble, like a bewitching demon: “Yue Fu, then… rely on me a little more, okay?”