Chapter 418: Chapter 418

Ning Wan rolled her eyes inwardly at the awkward explanation from Elder Lu, almost throwing the phrase directly at him, "An explanation is nothing but a cover-up, and a cover-up is the fact itself." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel⚑fire.net

However, she had heard plenty of rumors about Elder Lu.

She also knew that what Elder Lu cared about most in his life was his reputation, and indeed, he disdained to do something as low as kidnapping.

When Lu Tianming woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon.

Opening his eyes to the familiar ceiling above, the man felt a slight headache and couldn’t help frowning, but a few seconds later, as if he remembered something, he suddenly sat up in bed.

His gaze swept over the bedroom decor, and without saying a word or hesitating, he threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Everyone was gathered in the living room on the first floor, including Ning Wan, Xi Mohan, Elder Lu, Xu Qian, and Zuo Yuqing.

Originally, Xi Mohan had intended to ask Ning Wan to go back and rest first, but Ning Wan was totally unwilling, even warning Xi Mohan that if he dared to say one more word, she would immediately block his phone number.

The usually domineering man, born with a kingly aura, was suddenly threatened by a little woman and couldn’t utter a word, his expression dark and foreboding.

Zuo Yuqing was very familiar with Xi Mohan, after all, she and Ning Yan’er were close friends, and had frequent contacts with this man when Ning Yan’er and Xi Mohan were together.

But ever since the Xi Group personally announced the matter of Young Master Xi’s marriage engagement with the Ning Family’s young miss, she immediately understood that it must be because of Ning Wan that Xi Mohan dissolved the marriage engagement with Ning Yan’er.

Because of Song Qiao, Zuo Yuqing was not very fond of Ning Wan, but now seeing Xi Mohan’s somewhat obedient manner towards Ning Wan, she was quite surprised.

She was very clear that a man like Xi Mohan wasn’t someone just anyone could handle. Even back when Ning Yan’er was with Xi Mohan, Zuo Yuqing felt he would not end up with Ning Yan’er because Xi Mohan wasn’t someone Ning Yan’er could control.

Now, seeing everything before her, she truly felt that Ning Wan was the only person who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Xi Mohan.

When Lu Jingchen came downstairs, he had already changed into a new set of clothes. No one had taken off his clothes when he fainted previously because aside from Xi Mohan, almost no one dared to.

But Xi Mohan himself had no interest in helping Lu Jingchen change his clothes.

The first to see Lu Jingchen come down was Zuo Yuqing. When she saw the man with a cold expression appear at the top of the stairs, she was first taken aback, then immediately stood up and with a soft and caring voice said, "Jingchen, you’re awake."

Zuo Yuqing’s voice and her actions made everyone turn their gaze towards the staircase.

Lu Jingchen looked around the living room without responding to Zuo Yuqing, instead slightly furrowing his brows and directly calling out, "Chen Ma."

Chen Ma, who was busy in the kitchen, immediately came out and upon seeing Lu Jingchen, quickly spoke, "Sir, you’re awake. I’ve made some porridge for you. Would you like to have some now?"

After all, he had not eaten anything since last night and was still running a fever. It wasn’t good to continue without eating.

Lu Jingchen frowned and replied with a question, "Has madam returned?"

Chen Ma’s face changed and she shook her head, "Not yet."

Hearing Chen Ma’s answer, the man’s expression immediately darkened, and he headed straight for the villa’s entrance.

Xu Qian, as a mother, naturally couldn’t stand by. As Lu Jingchen walked past them, she immediately stood up and grabbed her son’s arm, her voice already choked with sobs and sadness, "Jingchen, you’re still feverish, and your wound has gotten worse. You haven’t eaten anything today; at least have something before you do anything else. If this keeps up, even if we haven’t found Qiao yet, you’ll collapse first. What do we do then?"

Xu Qian’s words weren’t unreasonable as these were also her concerns as a mother.

Lu Jingchen did not shake off his mother’s hand and paused in his steps. His brows were still furrowed, but finally, he uttered one word in agreement, "Fine."

Due to Song Qiao’s disappearance, he truly had not eaten anything since returning yesterday.

When Xu Qian heard her son’s response, she immediately smiled through her tears and quickly instructed Chen Ma, "Chen Ma, go ahead and bring the porridge you’ve made to the dining room."

"Alright," Chen Ma promptly responded, but didn’t move immediately. Looking at the people in the living room, she said, "Sir, Elder Lu and Madam didn’t eat anything when they came here today. Maybe..."

"Let’s all have something to eat together." Lu Jingchen didn’t wait for Chen Ma to finish speaking before he interjected.

Song Qiao woke up and didn’t know what time or day it was. Sitting on the bed, surrounded by an unfamiliar environment, she was momentarily confused. After blinking and thinking hard, she recalled that she was ’picked up’ by Chu Munan’s men.

While she was in a daze, the door was opened from the outside. Chu Munan appeared at the doorway. Seeing Song Qiao sitting on the bed, lost in thought, he did not expect that she had just woken up. He paused slightly, raised an eyebrow at the woman with disheveled hair, and bluntly said, "Awake? I thought you were going to sleep till tonight."

The sudden voice startled Song Qiao out of her reverie. As she turned her head, she met Chu Munan’s deep eyes. Her hand reacted faster than her brain, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him, "Chu Munan, haven’t you heard of knocking before entering? What if I wasn’t dressed?"

Damn it, this man just barged in without even knocking.

With considerable force and accuracy, Song Qiao hurled the pillow straight at Chu Munan.

Chu Munan caught the pillow flying towards his face with his bare hand. Despite her action, he was not angry, and instead, he curled up the corners of his mouth into a faint smile and retorted without answering, "Do you have a habit of sleeping naked?"

Song Qiao, "...You’re the one with the habit of sleeping naked, your whole family has a habit of sleeping naked."

This guy’s remarks are seriously displeasing.

"If you don’t, what’s there to worry about?"

Song Qiao gritted her teeth, glaring at the man standing by the door, "I’m a woman, and you’re a man. No matter what, I’m at a disadvantage. What if I was changing clothes in here?"

Chu Munan looked her up and down, then smiled and said, "The point is, you don’t have any clothes to change into now."

Song Qiao, "..." was rendered speechless.

Last night, after taking a shower, she realized that she had forgotten to bring the clothes Jack had bought when she was in the living room. So, she was only wearing a bathrobe.

After changing clothes and coming downstairs, she saw the man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor, talking on the phone.

The tall and robust man had a slender figure, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, standing with his back to her in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Merely the sight of his silhouette was captivating, like admiring a pleasing painting.

Chu Munan’s features were handsome and delicately masculine, different from that of Lu Jingchen and the man with another type of aura.

Perhaps sensing someone behind him, Chu Munan suddenly turned around. Noticing the woman standing at the staircase entrance, lost in thought, he curled his lips, gave an order to the person on the other end of the call, hung up, and then with a profound look, said to the still dazed woman, "Miss Song, you haven’t fallen for me just by looking at my back, have you?"

The unexpected voice snapped Song Qiao out of her trance. Lifting her eyes, she met the man’s profound gaze and couldn’t help but shiver.

With a forced smile, she blurted out, "Wishful thinking."

Damn it, she isn’t a lovesick fool who falls in love at the sight of a handsome man.

Unperturbed by Song Qiao’s denial, Chu Munan said, "There’s some porridge left in the kitchen, specifically for you. If you’re hungry, you can go and eat."

Hearing that, Song Qiao, who hadn’t felt anything before, suddenly realized she was indeed hungry. Without any pretense, she said, "Thank you," and headed for the kitchen.

There were no servants in the villa. Probably because Chu Munan didn’t like having servants. His subordinates surrounded him, all clad in black with live ammunition, well-trained men.

After changing clothes, she had looked around from the balcony and saw those in black training on the lawn. Witnessing their strict regimen, for a moment, she felt like she had stepped into a military camp.

The kitchen was spotless, clearly indicating it wasn’t used often. And when she cooked for the man last night, she noticed it seemed like a long time since the stove had been lit, apart from the variety of ingredients prepared in the fridge.

There was a clay pot on the stove, simmering on a low flame. Song Qiao scanned the kitchen, immediately knowing where the porridge was.

She walked over, picked up a towel, lifted the lid, but upon seeing the so-called ’porridge’ in the pot, she was dumbfounded.

She put the lid back and turned to the living room, calling out to the man, "Chu Munan, could you come here for a second?"

Seeing that the man didn’t come over, Song Qiao didn’t urge him but instead gritted her teeth and asked, "Can you tell me, what exactly is that unidentified substance in the pot?"

Hearing that, the usually composed man suddenly wore an unmistakable expression of embarrassment.