Wen Shaoqian set down his drink, clearly intrigued. Things were just starting to get interesting.
Nathaniel Fu remained seated, the cigarette between his fingers casting a thin veil of smoke over his composed, handsome face.
"If someone's in danger," he said coolly, "call the police. Why are you telling me?"
Zhou Yun hesitated, confused by Mr. Fu's reaction. Wasn't Su Qianrou the one he was publicly supporting?
"Mr. Fu, I'm serious. You need to go check on Qianrou. Lin En, Lin Jiaojiao, and that Celia—they're all in there bullying her. She's terrified."
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Who else did you say?"
"Lin Jiaojiao and Celia."
Nathaniel flicked his cigarette into the ashtray, stood, and walked out.
Zhou Yun exhaled in relief. So he did still care about Qianrou.
Su Qianrou had already rushed out of the lounge, only to be caught from behind by Lin En. He grabbed her tightly and tore at her collar.
"Qianrou, don't go! Just say yes—I really love you!"
"No! Let me go!"
Just then, a group of black-suited bodyguards arrived and forcefully pulled Lin En off her.
Qianrou looked up—and saw Nathaniel Fu approaching.
"Mr. Fu!" she cried out, her face tear-streaked, hair disheveled, clothes half-loosened. Clutching her torn blouse, she ran toward him like a frightened rabbit. "Please help me!"
Nathaniel looked down at her coldly. "What happened?"
Qianrou trembled. "Yunyun and I came here for a drink. Lin En invited me to his private room... I didn't think much of it, but as soon as I walked in, he jumped on me. He said he loved me, begged me to be his girlfriend. When I refused... he just—"
Lin Jiaojiao's expression darkened. "Brother... do you seriously like her?"
Zhou Yun quickly chimed in, "Mr. Lin and Qianrou met a few times abroad last year. He's been obsessed with her ever since. Now that he knows she's your woman, and he can't have her love, he's trying to ruin her instead!"
Su Qianrou burst into tears again. "Mr. Fu, I was so scared..."
Nathaniel's expression didn't change. "Take them all away."
"Brother!" Lin Jiaojiao cried, but her voice was lost in the noise as the bodyguards moved in.
The chaos gradually quieted down. Nathaniel scanned the crowd—but Celia wasn't there.
His face changed slightly. He turned and strode into the lounge.
Empty.
She was gone.
Where the hell did she go?
At that moment, Lin Jiaojiao ran up behind him, her face pale. "Celia! Where's Celia?"
Nathaniel turned to her. "You don't know where she is?"
"It was so hectic just now. She hit her head against the wall trying to stop Lin En. There's a bump on her forehead…"
Before she could finish, Nathaniel had already turned and rushed out.
He drove straight back to Yipinlan Villa. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw Mrs. Fu coming downstairs.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" she snapped. "If I hadn't shown up, would you be dead by now? What's going on between you and that Su Qianrou? You have a beautiful wife at home, and instead of cherishing her, you're out there chasing after someone else's perfume bottle?"
Nathaniel fell silent.
At that moment, a soft voice came from the stairs.
"Mom…"
Celia appeared, coming down slowly. A small white bandage covered her forehead, and her eyes were red from crying. Her usual brightness was gone, replaced by a quiet coldness that hit Nathaniel like a punch to the gut.
He instinctively took a step toward her.
Mrs. Fu blocked him. "Where do you think you're going?"
She raised her chin. "Get out. You're not setting foot in this house again until you clean up the mess you've made outside."