Chapter 54: We Have a Long Way Ahead

At this moment, Pei Baoyuan was thankful that the iron chain around her was long enough. Falling off the bed with a sudden jerk, her hand managed to tear open the heavy curtains.

Sunlight flooded into the room in a rush.

Accompanying the light was a red dot.

Just as Huo Yanci turned around upon hearing the sound of Pei Baoyuan falling from the bed, within two seconds, that red dot landed squarely between his eyebrows.

It was a sniper rifle.

"Pei Baoyuan, you are so ruthless." Huo Yanci realized instantly that everything he thought he had calculated was merely a trap. "We grew up together since childhood, how could you be so devoid of any sentiment?"

Pei Baoyuan smiled. "The one devoid of sentiment is you, Huo Yanci!"

"Infidelity, deceit, kidnapping, attempted rape... Just wait for the judgment of the law, Huo Yanci."

Amidst their conversation, a commotion arose outside. The front door downstairs was kicked open effortlessly, and judging by the footsteps, dozens of people had arrived. A flash of panic crossed Huo Yanci's eyes. Just as the Pei family members reached the doorway, Pei Baoyuan heard Huo Yanci's parting words.

"Do you think you can catch me this time? Yuan, it is not that simple. We have a long way to go."

Using some unknown, special method, Huo Yanci easily eluded the sniper stationed in the opposite building. Under the gaze of everyone, he leaped out from a side window and vanished into thin air.

Pei Baoyuan was rushed to the hospital, where she fell into a deep sleep after being administered the antidote.

When she woke up again, it was already late into the night.

Sitting by the bedside were Song Xuanling and Meng Qing. Seeing Pei Baoyuan awake, they were overjoyed and immediately brought over various nourishing soups.

Pei Baoyuan had already learned of the aftermath from the live barrage.

The Huo family cut off limbs to ensure survival, abandoning Huo Yanci as their only son. Their stock plummeted drastically. Even if the Pei family did not seek a reckoning, the Huo family could barely scrape by in Beijing, let alone with the towering influences of the Pei and Song families standing in their way. For the rest of their lives, the Huo family would only be able to live in the shadow of others.

However, Huo Yanci's actions this time had inadvertently helped Huo Ciyue. The Huo family had offended two major families, and Fang Shilun was no fool; marrying Huo Ciyue at this juncture would be no different from marrying a bloodsucker, with a high chance of offending the Pei family as well.

After scanning the barrage for useful information, Pei Baoyuan fell into deep thought.

With her family's formidable power, why had they been driven to ruin by a fool like Huo Yanci in the original storyline? Didn't that seem somewhat unrealistic?

Recalling the few minutes of Huo Yanci's escape, his physical agility was on par with that of a seasoned special operations soldier who had trained for years. For a pampered playboy who spent his days in debauchery and rarely set foot in a gym, the probability of suddenly acquiring such agility was even lower than winning fifty million on a lottery ticket.

Superpowers!

Though improbable, it was the only explanation Pei Baoyuan could muster.

Huo Yanci's haste this time ironically suggested that his superpowers had limitations. In other words, perhaps the superpowers he utilized required some form of equivalent exchange.

And that something might very well be... her!

"Yuanbao?! Did you hear a single word Mommy said to you?"

"Uh-huh, yeah." Pei Baoyuan snapped back to reality, having only caught the opening sentence of Ms. Song Xuanling's lecture.

Playing this dangerous game with her own safety, although it ended without mishap, had given the completely unaware Song Xuanling a terrible fright. Upon learning the truth afterward, she had cursed the two father-and-son members of the Pei family from head to toe. Facing her own precious daughter, however, Song Xuanling couldn't bring herself to scold her, so she could only resort to reasoning and appeals to emotion.

Yet, Pei Baoyuan hadn't absorbed a single word, leaving Ms. Song Xuanling to sigh in helpless resignation.

Pei Baoyuan: "..."