On their rare date, they somehow ran into the Jiang siblings.

Arriving one after another, Xia Xiaolan naturally suspected of being followed.

What were the Jiang siblings following them for? In Jinling, Jiang Wu had no choice but to let her and Zhou Cheng go. Did he dare to do something outrageous here in North Hebei Province?

The Jiang siblings were strange – clearly, the conflict between Jiang Yan and Jiang Wu ran deep, as evidenced by the injuries on Jiang Yan’s neck.

Who else but Jiang Wu could have strangled Jiang Yan?

Jiang Yan was skilled in combat and the academy’s goddess – no one else would dare lay hands on her.

Then again, perhaps the Jiang siblings were putting on an act to gain Zhou Cheng’s trust… After all, Zhou Cheng had always been rather cold toward Jiang Yan, yet now he actively invited her into their private room.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t blame Zhou Cheng. The situation was partly true and partly false – if Jiang Wu was truly so vicious, they genuinely feared he might kill Jiang Yan in a fit of madness.

While Xia Xiaolan disliked people coveting Zhou Cheng, Jiang Yan was still a living person.

The rival competition hadn’t reached the point of watching Jiang Yan die.

As she pondered this, the limping Jiang Wu had already entered the room, with Jiang Yan following behind.

“Jiang Yan, come sit here!”

Xia Xiaolan patted the chair beside her.

Jiang Yan was surprised, having expected Xia Xiaolan to be unhappy.

Jiang Wu smiled sarcastically, “You’re so simple-minded. Her gracious invitation simply declares her position as the rightful partner. She’s Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend, the winner – you, the loser, pose no threat.”

Xia Xiaolan glared at Jiang Wu: “Strange, you’re not a mind reader, yet you claim to know what I’m thinking? I recall Zhou Cheng didn’t invite you. Surely the great young master Jiang isn’t desperate for a meal!”

“Zhou Cheng, control your woman. With such a sharp tongue, if I don’t teach her a lesson, she’ll offend others.”

Jiang Wu’s words made Zhou Cheng frown. Without wasting words, Zhou Cheng stood up to drag Jiang Wu:

“Jiang Wu, you’re here to cause trouble, aren’t you? Sorry, but looking at you ruins my appetite.”

When Jiang Wu reached for his gun, Zhou Cheng pressed down on the holster, “Don’t move. As I recall, your position doesn’t authorize you to carry a gun – that’s against regulations. Young Master Jiang might not care about rules, but this is North Hebei Province, not Jinling!”

Their confrontation happened in an instant during the scuffle, Zhou Cheng and Jiang Wu’s brief exchange was already complete.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t tell who won, but since Jiang Wu was thrown out of the room, Zhou Cheng must have had the upper hand.

Jiang Yan seemed to sense her thoughts and glanced at her:

“If Jiang Wu weren’t injured, Zhou Cheng might not be his match. Even against Third Brother Pan, Jiang Wu was only slightly inferior.”

So Jiang Wu had indeed been formidable before.

And now?

Though physically weaker, his mind was more twisted – his overall destructive potential had increased!

“…Jiang Yan, don’t disgrace our Jiang family. When a man doesn’t want you, he won’t look at you even if you strip naked!”

Jiang Wu’s mocking voice came from outside, causing Jiang Yan’s face to flush with embarrassment.

Zhou Cheng pretended not to notice, pointing at her neck: “Jiang Wu did this to you?”

Jiang Yan avoided the topic, not wanting to gain Zhou Cheng’s sympathy this way, so she deflected: “He must truly be insane. Zhou Cheng, I think he’s deliberately following you.”

Could arriving at the reservoir resort right after them be a coincidence?

Xia Xiaolan wondered about this too.

But regarding being followed, they had decided to come to the resort on impulse.

Car navigation systems weren’t yet available for commercial and civilian use at this time, so how could Jiang Wu track her car? Xia Xiaolan knew her car didn’t have this feature.

She voiced her doubts, but Zhou Cheng shook his head:

“Technologically, our unit has always been far ahead of local capabilities. Look at the stun gun I gave you – you can’t find it on the market. There are many ways to track a car. Don’t drive this car back to Beijing for now. Leave it here, and I’ll have someone check it out.”

If Jiang Wu was deliberately following them, he had crossed Zhou Cheng’s bottom line.

Dragons have their reverse scales – touch them and face their wrath.

Xia Xiaolan was Zhou Cheng’s most vulnerable scale, embedded near his heart… Not that Zhou Cheng’s other family members weren’t important, but even in his madness, Jiang Wu wouldn’t dare harm Zhou Guobin and others. Jiang Wu was no hero – he saw Xia Xiaolan as an easy target and would only target her.

Third Brother was wrong – they couldn’t wait for things to resolve naturally. With a madman like Jiang Wu roaming free, who knew who he might harm next?

Even if Jiang Wu hadn’t yet moved against Xiaolan, Zhou Cheng had to prevent that possibility.

Moreover, Jiang Wu had already lost control of his brutality, nearly killing even Jiang Yan.

As Zhou Cheng pondered, Xia Xiaolan pulled him to sit down: “Nothing’s more important than eating right now. Why should we let Jiang Wu make us worry?”

Zhou Cheng shook his head, “I’m not afraid of him. I’m trying to understand his intentions. Though he’s mad, he acts with purpose… But you’re right, we should eat and enjoy ourselves. If we keep thinking about Jiang Wu, we might as well not live at all!”

They had already ordered before the Jiang siblings arrived, and the food was about ready to be served.

As the steaming dishes arrived, Jiang Yan’s throat hurt so much that she could only drink the fish soup after it cooled.

Xia Xiaolan ate happily – Zhou Cheng wouldn’t bring her to a bad place, and the resort’s fish dishes were truly first-rate.

How to spend 10 million?

By 1985, they’d already achieved freedom in the marketplace.

They could freely buy cars and houses – they shouldn’t let a madman like Jiang Wu ruin their enjoyment of good food.

While Xia Xiaolan happily ate fish, Jiang Yan slowly stirred her soup – Xia Xiaolan probably didn’t take Jiang Wu seriously, having never seen that document and thus not knowing how terrifying he could be.

But what good was courage?

Ignorance was just ignorance.

It seemed she would need to discuss strategies with Zhou Cheng – Jiang Yan was also anxious about when to act on the document given to Third Brother Pan.

If she had previously hesitated, feeling that giving the document to Third Brother Pan and Zhou Cheng betrayed the Jiang family, after Jiang Wu strangled her today, she had no more doubts. Jiang Wu himself admitted he couldn’t control the demon inside him – such a person posed too great a danger to society!

While Jiang Yan thought Xia Xiaolan foolishly brave, Xia Xiaolan chose not to mind her.

It was truly pitiful.

Even if it was an act, it was pitiful – that force was meant to kill Jiang Yan.

Eating while injured, she probably couldn’t taste anything. Xia Xiaolan felt quite sorry for Jiang Yan.

Putting down her chopsticks, Xia Xiaolan peered out the window. The resort was quiet, with no sign of Jiang Wu’s continued disturbance. During their meal, Jiang Wu disappeared somewhere.

She turned to ask Zhou Cheng: “I guess my outdoor shooting lesson needs to be rescheduled?”

The resort provided hunting rifles for guests to shoot wild chickens in the back mountains. Zhou Cheng had originally planned this, and Xia Xiaolan had been looking forward to the couple’s hunting. During military training, she had handled guns but only fired blanks at fixed targets.

That experience was different from hunting wild chickens in the mountains.

But with the psychotic Jiang Wu around, the hunting activity was ruined, not to mention having Jiang Yan as a third wheel.

Hunting as a couple would be romantic, with Zhou Cheng giving her hands-on guidance.

But what kind of situation would hunting as three be?!