Chapter Twenty-Eight: Obstacles

“See, what did I tell you? I knew Baby would definitely bring that little virgin back.”
A Toyota van rolled to a steady stop at the entrance of the World Society. As soon as the door swung open, Zhang Chulan pulled Feng Baobao inside.
Once seated in the back, he let out a long sigh of relief. “Fourth Brother, you guys finally showed up. I was scared out of my wits just now.”
Xu San pushed his glasses up, still as gentle as ever. “It’s good that you’re back.”
“Sigh, it really frightened me.”
Having found someone to confide in, Zhang Chulan spilled everything at once. “You have no idea how terrifying Chairman Feng is.”
“Right, Baby?”
As he spoke, he cast a resentful glance at Feng Baobao beside him, her clothes stained with blood.
If not for that man named Ye Yan speaking up for them, he truly wouldn’t have known what to do.
A direct confrontation was out of the question.
Feng Baobao was strong enough to storm in and out of the World Society alone, but he wasn’t.
He was well aware of his own limits.
Feng Baobao, meanwhile, remained in her usual docile state, wide-eyed and adorable, not caring what Zhang Chulan was saying, simply nodding along with an “mm-mm” and ending the matter—how simple could it be?
Seeing her like this,
Zhang Chulan couldn’t help but rub his forehead.
It was hard to imagine that such a pure, almost naïve girl would come looking for him all by herself.
This was probably the first time since his family passed away that someone had cared about and paid attention to him like this.
Thinking about it, Zhang Chulan’s gaze toward Feng Baobao grew softer, and his gratitude for Ye Yan deepened.
He hadn’t met that man many times,
but from the very first encounter, Ye Yan had spoken up for him, and now he had helped them escape from the World Society.
Thinking of Ye Yan,
then glancing at Xu Si, who was driving,
Zhang Chulan felt a surge of anger and couldn’t help but vent, “How could you be so at ease letting Baby come find me alone?”
“We had business to attend to.”
Xu Si answered calmly.
“Even so, you shouldn’t have let her go alone! The World Society is dangerous. Just look at Baby—she’s all injured! Look at those wounds, look at all that blood—wait… where did the wounds go?”
He spoke as confusion crept in.
He noticed that all the wounds on Feng Baobao’s arm had mysteriously vanished, as if they had never existed… what was going on?
He stared, bewildered.

He was certain he’d seen them just moments ago.
Hearing this, Xu Si’s face changed, and Xu San’s did as well.
Xu Si glanced at Zhang Chulan in the rearview mirror and chuckled, “You must have been seeing things. How could wounds suddenly heal?”
“Exactly…”
Xu San echoed from the side.
Zhang Chulan looked at Feng Baobao, then at Xu San and Xu Si, feeling these two were deliberately hiding something.
Xu San offered no explanation, instead seizing the chance to change the subject and divert Zhang Chulan’s attention. “Actually, in a sense, Baby wasn’t truly alone at the World Society.”
“Not alone?”
Sure enough, Zhang Chulan’s curiosity was piqued.
But aside from Feng Baobao, he hadn’t seen any other members of Everywhere Pass.
Could someone have been hidden, out of sight?
That would certainly fit Xu Si’s style.
As Zhang Chulan pondered, Xu Si finally spoke slowly,
“I owed a favor and asked a friend to look after Baobao. With him there, I wasn’t worried about her getting hurt. Besides, Feng Zhenghao owes the Xu family half a favor, so he wouldn’t make things too difficult for you… That’s why I felt at ease.”
Xu Si’s words were vague, not giving everything away, but Zhang Chulan was clever enough to grasp the gist.
“Fourth Brother, are you saying… that man named Ye Yan was arranged by you to help?”
“A favor.”
“No wonder.”
Now it all made sense to Zhang Chulan.
But curiosity quickly followed.
“Fourth Brother, who exactly is Ye Yan? I’ve only met him twice, but he seems formidable; even the arrogant Zhang Lingyu doesn’t dare provoke him.”
“That guy…”
Mentioning Ye Yan, a faint smile appeared on Xu Si’s face. “You joined the circle fairly late, so it’s normal not to know these things. As for Ye Yan, you just need to know that he’s a real monster…”
…
“Hey, Xu Si, what is it?”
No sooner had Ye Yan returned home than he received a call from Xu Si. As he chopped vegetables, he wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder, multitasking.
“Just checking if you’re home.”
Xu Si’s voice, tinged with weariness, came from the other end.
“Heh… That’s rare.”

After neatly arranging the cucumber slices on a plate, Ye Yan set about heating oil in the pan.
“There’s no such thing as a casual call from you. If you, the busy man, have time to ring me, it must be something. Come on, spill it…”
“Really, nothing…”
Xu Si sounded a bit awkward at Ye Yan’s remark. He realized that, indeed, he usually called only when there was something to discuss.
“Oh, you’ve changed.”
Ye Yan was mildly surprised.
“Zhang Chulan told me about today, so I called specifically to thank you. Also, that matter you wanted taken care of—there’s finally some progress.”
“Progress?!”
Ye Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
Although Xu Si was often shameless, he was efficient when it came to business.
“Alright… Go ahead.”
Ye Yan glanced at the boiling oil in the pan, thought for a moment, turned off the heat, sat down, and prepared to have a proper conversation with Xu Si.
“I spoke with the higher-ups. Of the three conditions you requested, the first two can be met, but the third one is tricky…”
“Lao Liao won’t let her go?”
Ye Yan’s expression grew serious.
He thought the only obstacle to getting Chen Duo to North China would be Liao Zhong, who treated Chen Duo as his own daughter.
“It’s not that Lao Liao won’t release her. Chen Duo’s status is rather special, and now she’s actually a temp under Lao Liao.”
“So…”
“A temp? Since when? Who told you, did Lao Liao say so?”
Ye Yan grew anxious.
He knew about the temp system—essentially, a white-glove agent for Everywhere Pass, taking care of shady business. Every regional head had one such person.
But Chen Duo…
Xu Si could sense Ye Yan’s tone had shifted and quickly reassured him from the other end of the line:
“Ye Yan, don’t get worked up. We’re just discussing this, so relax and listen to me explain everything… alright?”