Gao Xinyan’s pupils constricted as she watched the wild boar charging towards her.
Just as she braced herself for the imminent danger, she heard a *pu ci* sound. Chen Lishu, holding a dagger, calmly plunged it into the wild boar's eye.
Temporarily disoriented, the wild boar presented an opportunity for Su Nian. She grabbed the boar's tusk and executed a shoulder throw. Then, she swiftly pulled out the dagger from its eye and thrust it fiercely into the boar's abdomen.
Soon, the wild boar ceased to breathe.
After dealing with the wild boar, Su Nian jogged over to Chen Lishu and asked, "Manager Chen, are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?"
Although Chen Lishu's clothes were splattered with blood, it was all from the wild boar. With Su Nian's help, the boar hadn't even come close to touching her.
Chen Lishu turned to look at Gao Xinyan and Lu Gen and asked, "I'm fine. How about you two?"
Gao Xinyan shook her head, still shaken. "I... I'm fine."
Lu Gen, who had been hiding in the pit, also spoke hesitantly, "I'm fine too."
Chen Lishu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Since everyone is alright, let's hurry back to the hotel."
The others nodded. Lu Gen, in particular, tightly embraced Gao Xinyan.
Not long after, they arrived back at the hotel.
Seeing Chen Lishu and the others return safely, Zhang Bin rushed over with his bulky frame, asking worriedly, "What happened? Why are you all covered in blood? Did you encounter any trouble?"
Chen Lishu smirked faintly and replied nonchalantly, "Nothing much. This blood isn't ours; it's from the wild boar. We'll talk about everything after we've showered."
Zhang Bin slapped his thigh, as if suddenly enlightened. "There are three more rooms in the hotel. How do you want to arrange them?"
Three rooms?
The rooms were quite sufficient. Chen Lishu didn't have any particular demands and left the choice to Su Nian and the others. She said, "Lu Gen, one room for you, a boy. As for us three girls, it's easy to allocate. You two decide who wants to share with me?"
Just as Su Nian was about to say she’d share a room with Chen Lishu, the hitherto silent Gao Xinyan suddenly spoke up, "Why don't you two each take a room? I'll go find Xiao Qiu and squeeze in with her. We're good friends, and it'll be easier to look out for each other."
Upon hearing this, Lu Gen looked up and gave Gao Xinyan a knowing look.
Since the person they were looking for had been found and the danger averted, Chen Lishu wouldn't interfere with anyone's personal choices.
Thus, the allocation of the three rooms was happily decided.
----
Lu Gen left the lobby but didn't head towards his room. Instead, he furtively glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to him, before quietly slipping into the staff lounge.
"Second Uncle."
"Xiao Gen, you're here? Here's the key to room 806. I'll also cut the power at the agreed-upon time tonight. You must seize this opportunity. If you become successful, don't forget your Second Uncle."
"Don't worry, Second Uncle, I won't forget your great kindness!" Lu Gen took the key from the man, a hint of calculation flashing in his eyes. He had to succeed tonight; there was no room for failure!
Night soon fell. Everyone had just finished dinner when the hotel lights suddenly went out, plunging the lobby into darkness.
"What happened?"
"Why did the power go out so suddenly? Could something bad be about to happen again?"
"Don't speculate. Perhaps it's due to the thunderstorm, causing a circuit fault and tripping the breaker."
"..."
As people were rife with speculation, the hotel manager appeared in the lobby with a flashlight.
"My apologies, everyone. Due to a thunderstorm, the circuit breaker tripped and caused a power outage. We've already dispatched staff to fix the situation. Please return to your rooms in an orderly fashion and wait for the electricity to be restored after the lines are repaired, to avoid any injuries. We are truly sorry."
Hearing the hotel manager's explanation, the guests' anxious hearts finally relaxed.
Having experienced enough today, Chen Lishu had no intention of lingering in the lobby. After the hotel manager briefly explained the situation, she asked Zhang Bin to guide the staff out in an orderly manner and returned to her room.
With nothing to do, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes drowsily. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard a rustling sound.
Chen Lishu's sleepiness vanished instantly. She sat up abruptly from the bed, carefully discerning the direction of the sound, which was coming from the direction of the room door.
Could she have stumbled into a shady establishment?
The noise at the door didn't subside and was growing louder. Seeing that they weren't even trying to conceal their actions, Chen Lishu felt a sense of foreboding.
She clutched the dagger in her hand, put on her shoes, and, using the light from her phone, slowly moved towards the door.
The lock was slowly turning. Chen Lishu swallowed, and to avoid alerting the intruder, she turned off her phone's light.
She had already planned that as soon as someone entered, she would stab them in the wrist to distract them, then seize the opportunity to escape to Su Nian's room next door, ensuring her safety!
As she was thinking, the lock clicked, and the door was slowly pushed open. Chen Lishu couldn't see the person clearly. She raised her hand holding the dagger and blindly stabbed.
The dagger didn't land where she expected. Instead, the person caught her hand, immobilizing her entire body.
Disaster! Chen Lishu's heart sank. Her plan was exposed, and the person would surely kill her to silence her.
She realized she was in serious trouble and might very well perish here!
The thought of never seeing Gu Xingdong and her two children again made Chen Lishu's heart ache as if pierced by a knife, and tears began to flow uncontrollably.
The person behind her felt the warm liquid dripping onto his arm. He panicked and said, "Why are you crying? You were the one who wanted to kill your husband first. I didn't feel wronged, so why are you feeling wronged?"
Chen Lishu, in her despair, heard the familiar voice. Her crying faltered for a moment, and then she turned her head in disbelief to look at the person behind her. However, it was too dark to see anything. She tried to break free from his grip.
The strength with which the person behind her held her wrist slowly loosened. Chen Lishu took the opportunity to take out her phone from her pocket and then used its faint light to illuminate the person's face.
When she saw the face she had longed for appear before her, Chen Lishu covered her mouth with her hand, and tears streamed down her face again.
Gu Xingdong, unable to bear Chen Lishu's crying, quickly pulled her into his arms and whispered soothingly, "It's me, I'm here."