Shen Ziyin's eyes widened, staring at Lu Ming. Her fear vanished, and she almost burst into laughter.
"You can't be joking, right? A child? Everyone in Mist City knows Fan Xiaoyun is infertile. You're asking me if she has a child?"
To everyone else, this was a nonsensical question.
But Lu Ming didn't think so.
He insisted, "Does Fan Xiaoyun have a child?"
Shen Ziyin waved her hands repeatedly. "No, of course not. If she could have children, she wouldn't be separated from her husband, nor would she be hanging out with people like us all the time."
Lu Ming shook his head. "The child I'm asking about isn't one Fan Xiaoyun gave birth to herself, but one she adopted. Has Fan Xiaoyun adopted any children recently?"
"No, absolutely not," Shen Ziyin stated with certainty. "You don't know how much Fan Xiaoyun hates children. Because she can't have them herself, she wishes she could strangle other people's children on sight! A woman like that, do you think she would go and adopt a child?"
Envy twists a person's features.
It seemed Fan Xiaoyun truly disliked children.
Lu Ming asked again, "Then, in the place where you live, Orange Red Tower, are there any children?"
Shen Ziyin confirmed, "That's right, not a single one."
Lu Ming fell silent.
Based on the current situation, Fan Xiaoyun was being extremely cautious. He didn't know where she had taken the children, nor what she intended to do with them.
"Alright, I've asked everything I needed to."
Then, Lu Ming took out a small bottle from his pocket containing a green liquid. In front of Shen Ziyin, he dripped the green liquid into a beer bottle.
Lu Ming shook the beer bottle, then handed it to Shen Ziyin. "Here, drink this."
Drink?
Shen Ziyin's face contorted in bitterness. "No, brother, I've cooperated with you so much. You can't do this to me. I'm just a nobody. You have a grudge against Fan Xiaoyun, there's no need to take it out on me."
Lu Ming continued, "You won't drink? Fine. Then I'll stab you to death right here."
As he spoke, Lu Ming drew a dagger.
Seeing the gleaming blade lunging towards his heart, Shen Ziyin, terrified, snatched the beer bottle and chugged it down in one go.
He wiped his mouth and asked with a pained expression, "Brother, how long do I have left? I want to call my family, say goodbye, sob..."
The grown man cried more miserably than a woman.
Lu Ming smiled and patted his shoulder. "No need to say goodbye. The poison I just gave you isn't fatal. Every Wednesday, come to the KTV and report to me, and I'll give you an antidote. After taking ten, you'll be completely healed. If you perform well and obtain important intelligence, I might even give you all ten antidotes at once."
Hearing this, Shen Ziyin felt a lot more at ease.
He whispered, "Brother, you want me to be a mole around Fan Xiaoyun, right? Tell me, what should I investigate about her?"
This person was truly willing to do anything to survive.
Lu Ming said calmly, "You don't need to do anything special. Just pay close attention to anything related to children around Fan Xiaoyun. Anything that concerns children, no matter what, tell me."
"Okay, no problem," Shen Ziyin patted his chest. "It's all on me. See you at the KTV every Wednesday from now on!"
Admittedly, negotiating with people like this was quite easy. As long as you exploited their fear of death and their love for life, you could easily control them. They were much easier to handle than those with strong wills.
Lu Ming clapped his hands. "Alright, that's all I have to say. You can continue playing. Xue'er is yours again."
With that, he stood up and left.
Shen Ziyin bowed deeply and obsequiously behind him. "Safe journey, brother!"
...
After leaving the KTV, Lu Ming returned to the villa on the mountainside. It was already three in the morning.
Strangely, Su Wanran and Jiang Mengxin were not asleep. Instead, they were preparing various peculiar items.
They were preparing fishing gear!
Lu Ming walked over, looking puzzled, and asked curiously, "You're not sleeping at night, preparing fishing gear? Are you planning to go fishing? But it's three in the morning, you wouldn't go fishing this early."
Su Wanran chuckled and explained, "We're not staying up, we just woke up! We ate dinner at six last night and slept. We just woke up now."
"Woke up so early?"
"Mmm!" Jiang Mengxin said, "Today is Wanran's second day as the head of the family. She's organizing a company team-building event, going fishing."
The fishing spot had already been chosen, and Su Wanran had paid in advance. They would leave as soon as it was dawn.
Although Lu Ming's strategy of "a slap followed by a sweet date" had gone well yesterday, his decisive actions had still left the employees a little shaken.
Therefore, Su Wanran decided to use the team-building event as an opportunity for everyone to relax.
Lu Ming nodded. "Yeah, that's really good."
They worked until dawn, had a quick breakfast, and then headed to the fish pond.
Since many people were attending, Su Wanran had reserved a very large fish pond in advance and brought all the employees.
Of course, not everyone was interested in fishing.
Those who didn't like fishing enjoyed barbecues and karaoke by the shore. The fish pond also provided many live sheep for slaughter on-site. It was a lively scene of eating and drinking.
Soon, everyone had arrived.
The employees were basically divided into three categories.
The first category was engrossed in fishing, their eyes gleaming with anticipation and ready to start.
The second category were the foodies. They cared about nothing but eating, and the purpose of the team-building was to indulge.
The third category were the thrill-seekers. They enjoyed hiking, slaughtering sheep, roasting fish, racing, and rafting, having a great time.
In summary, almost everyone was having a wonderful time, finding something they enjoyed.
Except for one person.
Su Fei'ang!
He sat alone, not fishing, not eating, and showing no interest in any of the activities. He just sat there, smoking.
It was evident that he was very angry.
He hadn't recovered from the sadness of Su Wanran snatching the position of family head!
At this moment, a frail figure approached. It was Su Fei'ang's aunt, Su Ru.
As Su Ru walked towards Su Fei'ang, she was making calculations. She had already discussed with the Old Madam about extracting the last ounce of value from Su Fei'ang.
Today was the perfect opportunity.
Su Ru walked around to the front of Su Fei'ang and sat down.
Su Fei'ang glanced at her but ignored her.
Su Ru smiled. "What, your aunt is here, and you won't even greet me? That's so rude!"
Su Fei'ang snorted. "Don't bother me, I'm in a bad mood."
Su Ru laughed. "Why are you in a bad mood? Let me guess, is it because the position of family head was taken by someone else, your subordinates have all surrendered, and even your usually supportive third aunt, Han Yun, has disappeared? Now you're all alone, feeling lonely and desolate?"
She had hit the nail on the head!
Su Fei'ang was clearly unhappy and turned his face away.
Su Ru continued, "Actually, it's not just you who's alone. Aren't I alone too? I came back from abroad and don't have a single person to talk to. The entire company is controlled by Su Wanran, and she has the final say in the Su family. Both you and I are just her playthings."
"Nonsense!" Su Fei'ang's face changed drastically. "What is Su Wanran? A plaything for me? I could kill her in minutes!"
He was truly a simple-minded person.
Too easy to fall for the bait.
Su Ru chuckled and continued to provoke him, "Really? Kill her in minutes? Alright, I'll start the timer now. Let's see when you kill her."
As she spoke, Su Ru opened her phone and started timing.
Su Fei'ang was overwhelmed. "Alright, alright, stop messing around."
Su Ru smiled, put away her phone, and leaned closer to Su Fei'ang, whispering, "I know you hate Su Wanran and want to kill her, but you can't, right?"
Su Fei'ang didn't answer, but anyone could see that this was exactly what he thought.
Su Ru continued, "I also hate Su Wanran and want to kill her. Unfortunately, I'm just a sickly person with ideas but no ability. My fragile body can't support my thoughts, sigh..."
Huh?
Su Fei'ang perked up at this.
He said, "Your body isn't good, but mine is! It's just that my brain isn't sharp! Since you and I have the same goal, why don't we join forces? You help me strategize, and I'll execute the plan. Together, can't we take down that bastard Su Wanran?"
Poor Su Fei'ang, his brain truly wasn't sharp.
He had been manipulated by Han Yun like a puppet before, and now he was willingly running to be Su Ru's cannon fodder.
His fate was to be toyed with.
Su Ru was very satisfied with his answer. Such a fool didn't need to be lured; he would fall into the trap himself.
Immediately.
Su Ru took out a small packet of powder she had prepared earlier and slipped it into Su Fei'ang's hand.
She whispered, "I've devised all the plans. You just need to follow my instructions, and today we will definitely bring Su Wanran down!"
Then, Su Ru told Su Fei'ang her entire plan, word for word.
After listening, Su Fei'ang's face lit up with joy.
"Fantastic! Aunt, I'll do exactly as you say!"
Su Fei'ang stood up and left.
Su Ru watched him go, her eyes filled with contempt. "A descendant of the Su family, so foolish. Pathetic. But it's fine. If he becomes my cannon fodder and kills Su Wanran, that's great. If he doesn't, I've lost nothing."
However, Su Ru was unaware that while she was talking to Su Fei'ang, a pair of eyes had been watching them.
It was Lu Ming.
From the day Su Ru arrived at the Su family, Lu Ming had been extremely wary of this frail, seemingly harmless woman.
Especially when Lu Ming saw Su Ru sitting with Su Fei'ang, he stood at a distance, watching silently.
Lu Ming had a feeling that something was going to happen at today's team-building event!