Li Wenguang did not care in the slightest about the cold hostility directed at him. He raised an eyebrow and greeted the other man as though he had no idea what was going on.
“Hey, big brother. Long time no see.”
Hearing Li Wenguang’s voice, Li Yanchuan slowly lifted his gaze from the wheelchair.
“What are you doing here?”
Not a trace of emotion could be heard in his voice. It was calm and cold, like an enormous iceberg hidden beneath the sea.
“What do you think? Why else would I come here?”
Li Wenguang did not answer directly. Instead, he crossed his arms and casually tossed the question back.
After speaking, he even deliberately adjusted his collar and cast a suggestive glance toward a particular room farther down the corridor.
At that, Li Yanchuan lowered his eyes. His expression darkened, and a sinister gleam flashed through his pupils.
The Li family had booked the entire estate in preparation for tomorrow’s wedding.
At this hour, only one person would have been allowed to move into one of the upstairs hotel rooms ahead of time.
That person was Song Nian, one of the two people getting married.
And on the eve of the wedding, Li Wenguang had come alone to Song Nian’s room. The ambiguity of such behavior crossed far too many boundaries and naturally invited speculation.
The insinuation in both his words and his actions was blatant. Seeing anger appear on Li Yanchuan’s face, Li Wenguang felt a vicious sense of satisfaction.
—He was deliberately trying to anger Li Yanchuan.
As Li Yanchuan’s younger brother, he had always been suppressed by him in every respect. Even though their father favored Li Wenguang, his inferior ability meant he still had no chance of taking control of the Li Group.
After their father stepped down, the massive Li Group had passed into Li Yanchuan’s hands. Not only had he managed it impeccably, he had doubled its market value and expanded the business empire several times over.
Now that Li Wenguang had finally caught him at a low point—disabled in both legs after a car accident and being forced into an arranged marriage—he naturally intended to seize the chance to vent all his resentment by mocking him thoroughly.
“I’ll head back first, then. I’ll come to big brother’s wedding tomorrow.”
“And let me congratulate you in advance on your… happy… marriage.”
Li Wenguang curved his lips into a smile that contained no warmth whatsoever, only ridicule.
On the final words, he deliberately stressed every syllable, his smile deepening with obvious sarcasm.
Li Yanchuan’s expression turned sharp. His hand clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened and veins stood out beneath the skin.
“Oh, right. Since your legs are inconvenient, I’ll leave the elevator to you, brother. I can take the stairs.”
With a contemptuous snort, Li Wenguang lifted his chin like a victor and turned toward the stairwell beside them.
As he went downstairs, he deliberately stamped every step as loudly as possible, as if issuing a challenge.
“P-President Li, are we still going?”
The secretary, who had witnessed the entire exchange while shrinking into a corner and trying his best to make himself invisible, only now dared to speak carefully.
“…No.”
Li Yanchuan glanced toward the room ahead. His face darkened, and the air around him seemed to drop several degrees. Even his words carried shards of ice.
With that, he turned his wheelchair and went back into the elevator.
Seeing this, the secretary hurried after him, pretending nothing had happened as he followed Li Yanchuan out of the estate.
Li Yanchuan had originally come to the estate today because he wanted to speak with Song Nian in advance.
He knew that Song Nian had also been forced into the marriage by his family and had not agreed of his own free will.
His own father wanted to exploit Li Yanchuan’s injured legs to force this marriage through and clear the way for Li Wenguang. But after hearing that Song Nian had jumped from a building, Li Yanchuan had thought that if Song Nian truly did not want the marriage either, then with some effort he could probably find a way to stop this farce.
He had not expected to run straight into Li Wenguang and receive such a blatant provocation the moment he arrived.
If Song Nian was involved with Li Wenguang—especially romantically—then given Li Wenguang’s personality, he would undoubtedly do everything possible to push the marriage forward so that he could plant Song Nian at Li Yanchuan’s side.
In that case, what was there to discuss with a marriage partner who already had an agenda and a side he belonged to?
Better to go along with it. Perhaps Li Yanchuan could even turn Song Nian against Li Wenguang and use him to seize evidence of the latter’s wrongdoing.
At the thought, Li Yanchuan gave a cold laugh. A plan had already formed in his mind, while his trust in Song Nian dropped to freezing point.
————
Meanwhile, Song Nian, who was locked inside the room and knew absolutely nothing about the covert battle in the corridor, was searching high and low for a way to escape.
The door was useless. It had been locked tight.
The window was useless too. This was the eighth floor. If he jumped, he would probably lose his life all over again.
He could only wait until tomorrow, when they came to do his makeup before the wedding, and look for a chance then.
Leaning beside the window and staring at the wedding venue already set up on the lawn below, he quietly made his plans.
The next morning, the sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Song Nian was woken up.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes and found that his aunt had already brought in a makeup artist and stylist.
“Song Nian, if you’re awake, hurry up. We need to get you styled for the wedding in advance.”
His aunt urged him.
Song Nian mumbled something under his breath. Though he kept yawning, he obediently sat down in front of the makeup mirror, looking utterly exhausted.
Seeing him cooperate so readily, his aunt assumed he had finally given in and relaxed slightly.
In truth, she had not had much choice about pushing Song Nian into this marriage with Li Yanchuan.
Song Nian’s parents had once been close to the Li family. When the Song company was first established from nothing, the Li family had helped them. Even after Song Nian’s parents died and the company began declining year by year, it was only because of the Li family’s support that it had survived until now.
So when the Li family proposed a marriage alliance, she could not refuse for the sake of the company. Song Nian simply had to bear the grievance.
After sitting with him for a while, she seemed to have other matters to handle and left first.
The moment she was gone, the apparently sleepy Song Nian quietly opened his eyes. His clear gaze began searching for an opportunity to escape.
The makeup artist and stylist were both women, but two tall, heavily built bodyguards were stationed outside the room.
Trying to force his way through was obviously impossible. Song Nian’s eyes shifted as a plan came to him.
“Miss, can I keep the hairspray? I’m worried my hairstyle might get messed up later.”
Once his makeup was finished, Song Nian softened his voice and asked the makeup artist, who was packing up her supplies, in an obedient tone.
“Of course.”
Who could refuse such a well-behaved, delicate-looking young man? The makeup artist smiled and handed him the spray.
After everyone else left, only Song Nian remained inside, with the two bodyguards still standing guard outside the door.
He crept into the corner by the entryway and began putting his plan into action.
“Ah! Help—!”
A sharp scream suddenly rang out from deeper inside the room. The two bodyguards were startled and immediately rushed in to check.
The sound had come from the direction of the bed. The two men strode past the entryway, but the moment they crossed the corner, Song Nian seized his chance, jumped out, raised the hairspray, and sprayed it straight at them.
“Ah! My eyes!”
The spray shot directly into their eyes. Both bodyguards covered their faces and howled in pain.
Song Nian immediately yanked up the bedsheet and threw it over them, used towels as ropes to tie the two men together, then shoved them to the floor. While they struggled there, he turned and sprinted out.
As he fled, he did not forget to shut the door and lock it behind him, trapping both men inside in return.
“Damn it! He got away! Call the others!”
It took the bodyguards quite a while to tear away the bedsheet. Their eyes were red and swollen. No matter how they slammed and kicked the door, it would not budge, and one of them angrily punched the wall.
Finally free, Song Nian tore down the corridor at full speed. To avoid being caught inside the elevator, he deliberately took the stairs instead.
“Quick! He ran this way!”
The other security staff received word that Song Nian had escaped and immediately launched a full search.
By the time Song Nian had nearly reached the third floor, bodyguards were already chasing him from behind.
There were far too many of them. He was obviously no match for them physically. If he did not move faster, he would be dragged back.
Seeing that, Song Nian accelerated, taking three steps at a time as he ran downstairs. Near the end, he practically leaped down whole sections.
But when he reached the turn in the staircase on the second floor, he suddenly ran straight into another group of bodyguards coming up to catch him.
“He’s here! Surround him from both sides! Don’t let him get away!”
The two groups immediately closed in. With guards in front and behind him, Song Nian gritted his teeth and decided to flee through the emergency exit leading onto the second floor.
He shoved open the emergency door and entered the second floor.
For some reason, unlike the other floors bustling with people preparing for the wedding, this floor was unusually quiet.
So quiet it was almost as though no one was allowed to enter.
The bodyguards behind him seemed hesitant too. They stood at the entrance for quite a while without following.
But Song Nian had no time to care about that. Taking advantage of their hesitation, he panted heavily and raced down the corridor.
“Boss, this floor… I think we were specifically told not to come near it.”
“But if we don’t chase him, he’ll escape! Who can take responsibility for that?”
The lead bodyguard gritted his teeth. After hesitating for a moment, he finally pushed open the heavy emergency door.
Song Nian had originally planned to take the elevator downstairs, but when his ears caught the creak of the door opening behind him, he knew the bodyguards were following. He pressed his lips together and changed tactics.
He pressed the down button for the elevator but did not get inside.
Instead, the instant the emergency door opened, he slipped sideways into the nearest room.
The room was silent and dim. In the center sat a man with his back to the door.
“Who?”
Hearing the noise, the man turned around, his tone hard and cold.
He was backlit, his face hidden in shadow and difficult to make out.
“Sorry, I…”
Song Nian began apologetically, about to explain, but then heard hurried footsteps drawing closer outside.
“Did he take the elevator? It’s going down.”
“Search the rooms on the second floor first.”
The bodyguards outside had already begun checking nearby empty rooms.
“I’m sorry, bad people are chasing me! Could you please let me hide here for a moment?”
Song Nian pressed his palms together and sincerely begged for help.
He glanced around the room and realized there were no cabinets or closets where he could hide.
In that case, there was only one place left.
With the situation urgent, Song Nian glanced at the space in front of the man and decided to act first and ask permission later. Gritting his teeth, he rushed forward.
“You…”
The man looked over. Once he saw who had come in, there seemed to be a trace of surprise in his expression.
But before he could finish speaking, the newcomer darted over like a rabbit and crouched directly in front of him.
“Please, please. I’m begging you, help me out, okay?”
Song Nian curled himself up in front of the man. From the doorway, the man’s body blocked him completely. It was a perfect hiding place.
He looked up with round, watery eyes full of pleading and repeatedly clasped his hands like a kitten begging for mercy. His entire face practically said, Please, please, QwQ.
Looking down at the person crouched before him, the man’s Adam’s apple moved. His hands clenched into fists, then loosened again. He did not agree aloud.
But he did not refuse either.
In the middle of that silence, the room door was suddenly shoved open from outside. A group of bodyguards crowded the entrance.
Song Nian’s heart immediately began pounding like mad, thump after thump, as if a rabbit had been stuffed into his chest. He watched nervously and waited to see what would happen.
—The man had never explicitly agreed to help him, so Song Nian had no idea whether he would. What if he simply handed him over?
Where would Song Nian run then?
He heard the bodyguards shouting as they prepared to enter.
“See if he’s hiding in here… Uh, y-you… Why are you here…”
The moment the lead bodyguard saw the figure inside, he froze. All the arrogant bluster from a second ago vanished without a trace.
The man merely glanced back at them. He did not expose Song Nian’s presence. His lips parted, and he uttered a single word.
“Get out.”
