Kong Hanyue pondered for a moment and asked Liu Manman, “What should we do this afternoon?”
Liu Manman also fell into deep thought; she hadn’t considered this question either.
Kong Hanyue then turned to You Xue, “According to the travel plan, what should we be doing now?”
You Xue took out her phone and checked her original plan, “According to the schedule, this afternoon is for sunbathing.”
“I know, sunbathing,” Kong Hanyue nodded in agreement, finalizing the activity.
Changing back into swimsuits, the group arrived at the beach where the maids set up sunshades and lounge chairs, bringing a large bucket of ice filled with various drinks for their enjoyment.
Xia Yu and the others each lay on lounge chairs, gazing at the clouds in the sky, and the scene fell into silence.
Ten minutes later, Kong Hanyue couldn’t help but say, “This seems a bit boring.”
“It’s mainly because we’ve already taken a nap and can’t sleep now,” Liu Manman agreed with Kong Hanyue’s sentiment.
“Then shall we do something more interesting?” Xia Yu, equally restless, suggested.
An Siyao and Hu Lianglu had no objections whatsoever.
“What should we do?” everyone contemplated.
The maid nearby made a suggestion, “Would you like to watch volleyball? The master and his friends really enjoy it.”
To prevent misunderstandings, she added, “The female friends the master brought earlier also enjoy it; they say it’s popular in District One.”
“Watch volleyball?” Xia Yu questioned.
“Yes, originally we could have three people per team with six of us, but now we can only have two per team,” the maid explained.
Xia Yu glanced at the maid’s youthful and attractive face and asked, “Do we need to change into swimsuits?”
The maid was currently wearing competitive swimsuits similar to those worn by An Siyao and the others, covering almost their entire bodies.
“Yes,” the maid replied.
No wonder An Tianfeng was so into beach volleyball, and even convinced others it was popular in District One.
Xia Yu marveled at how the rich knew how to enjoy themselves.
“Shall we watch?” Kong Hanyue was somewhat interested and sought Liu Manman’s opinion.
“Forget it,” Liu Manman was not interested in the maid.
Upon hearing this, Xia Yu sighed in disappointment.
However, Liu Manman quickly added, “How about we play instead?”
Xia Yu immediately regained his spirits; this was even better!
The maid, upon receiving instructions, brought out the net and volleyball from the nearby small room.
Volleyball was one of the mandatory sports in physical education classes. Except for An Siyao, the other girls were familiar with it. As for Xia Yu, he could manage even if he didn’t know how to play, relying on his physical fitness.
Three people per team would be too crowded, so they decided to have two per team.
Xia Yu originally intended to team up with An Siyao, but seeing that Kong Hanyue had chosen Liu Manman instead of You Xue, he immediately chose You Xue.
This younger sister was especially sensitive to the feeling of being abandoned; if she was left behind even with her brother and mother present, she might feel very sad.
With Xia Yu no longer a competitor, Hu Lianglu successfully paired with An Siyao and felt very delighted.
Xia Yu was not regretful about not being paired with An Siyao.
If he were on the same team as An Siyao, it would be inappropriate to constantly watch her. However, if they were on opposing teams, it would be natural to observe each other.
Each of the three teams sent one person to play rock-paper-scissors. Xia Yu and Kong Hanyue showed their palms facing up, while An Siyao showed hers facing down, so Xia Yu’s team and Kong Hanyue’s team started the match first.
After starting the game, Xia Yu quickly defeated Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman 3-0.
“Ugh, at least let us have a chance!” Kong Hanyue knelt on the ground, holding her head.
In the previous match, apart from serving one ball, Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman did not touch the volleyball at all.
It had only been over a minute since they started playing, and that was even after spending some time retrieving the ball; otherwise, they would have been replaced in less than half a minute.
“You actually treated the auntie so cruelly!” Liu Manman also accused Xia Yu’s actions.
“I’m not an auntie!” Immediately dropping her accusations against Xia Yu, Kong Hanyue defended herself.
After the two left the court, An Siyao and Hu Lianglu took their places.
Xia Yu chose to watch. Under Hu Lianglu’s urgent guidance, An Siyao barely managed to play some easy shots, and the two exchanged volleys with You Xue.
Ten minutes later, they lost to You Xue.
Although You Xue played volleyball well, compared to Hu Lianglu, whose physical agility had significantly improved through training, she was still slightly inferior. If they were to compete one-on-one, You Xue would likely lose. However, Hu Lianglu was held back by An Siyao, making it difficult for her to fully demonstrate her skills.
You Xue, excited about her victory, high-fived Xia Yu and eagerly prepared to face Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman next.
“Xia Yu, you’re not allowed to play!” Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman restricted Xia Yu’s participation and began their match against You Xue.
Kong Hanyue, after all, was older and hadn’t played volleyball since leaving school, while Liu Manman had skipped many physical education classes due to frequent performances. Together, they were not even as good as Hu Lianglu, who was held back by An Siyao.
Soon, You Xue defeated the two and faced off against Hu Lianglu again.
In this round, You Xue lost to her opponent due to excessive physical exhaustion.
Xia Yu accompanied her to the sidelines, watching Hu Lianglu compete against Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman.
Predictably, Kong Hanyue and Liu Manman lost the match again. After resting, You Xue returned to the court and defeated Hu Lianglu once more, starting a cycle of matches.
Deprived of the opportunity to play, Xia Yu wandered around with a camera, taking photos of them.
After they got tired of playing, the six returned to their lounge chairs to rest, drinking icy beverages in the warm sea breeze, spending the afternoon comfortably.
In the evening, they gathered together to critique Xia Yu’s photos before each returned to their respective bedrooms.
Xia Yu opened the curtain, lay on the bed, and looked toward the beach.
The moonlight was dim that night, leaving the beach pitch black, with only a few red signal lights providing illumination.
Unable to see anything with his eyes, his sense of hearing became more acute, and the sound of the waves reached Xia Yu’s ears.
…
…
Listening closely to the crashing waves, Zhu Mei’s inner irritation slowly washed away with the tide.
Logically, Zhu Mei should have been staying in the apartment at this moment, preventing any retaliation from Gray Reef Company.
However, she couldn’t stand watching that group of people all day, discussing how to restore the monarchy. Yet staying alone in her room made her feel depressed.
Therefore, she sneaked out.
Her recent obedience had made Li Hua forget she was a rebellious girl who secretly met with Brown Bear, so he didn’t pay attention to her whereabouts.
She didn’t go to any remote places either; at this moment, a dozen tourists were having barbecues just over ten steps away from her.
After calming down, the sound of nearby conversations reached Zhu Mei’s ears.
It was in Chinese, which she had specifically learned in the palace, so she could understand it.
“What’s behind those mountains to the east?”
“It’s private land, probably belonging to some rich person.”
“Actually able to enclose a piece of beach, wow.”
Whatever else they said, Zhu Mei didn’t listen further, as she was already walking back.
The word “territory” in the tourists’ conversation reminded her of the royal territory mentioned by Li Hua, making her mood sink again.
Returning to the apartment building, Li Hua was looking for her. She used the excuse of missing each other in the two elevators to fool Li Hua.
After taking a shower in the bedroom, Zhu Mei returned to her room, took off the pendant around her neck, placed it on the nightstand, and then went to bed.
“Goodnight, Bear Bear,” she murmured to the pendant containing Brown Bear’s ashes after turning off the light.
Her consciousness gradually drifted down, and she soon fell asleep.
Not knowing how long had passed, she was startled awake by a rustling sound.
Opening her eyes, Zhu Mei listened carefully; the sound came from the living room and had now fallen silent.
Feeling uneasy, she quietly got out of bed and stared toward the bedroom door.
Recalling that she had locked the door before sleeping, Zhu Mei relaxed slightly.
But just at that moment, a faint sound came from the keyhole.
It was the enemy!
Zhu Mei’s heart immediately tightened. She cautiously picked up the chair from the floor and waited by the door.
The lock clicked for five seconds before it automatically opened with a “click.”
After a second of silence, the doorknob slowly turned, and the person outside opened the door just a crack.
Because the curtains were tightly drawn, the room was pitch black, and the person couldn’t see Zhu Mei right by the door. He pushed the door open thirty degrees and entered the bedroom.
What awaited him was the chair Zhu Mei swung with all her might.
“Ahh!” The chair landed solidly on the intruder’s head, and he collapsed with a cry.
Afraid to check the intruder’s condition, Zhu Mei stepped over his body to run out but suddenly remembered the pendant and returned to the room to grab it.
Crossing the living room, Zhu Mei arrived at Li Hua’s bedroom door. Li Hua hadn’t closed the door, intending to rescue Zhu Mei at the first opportunity, but this ended up harming herself.
By the door, seeing two dark figures inside, Zhu Mei realized that Li Hua had already been subdued.
“Ah Er, what’s going on over there?” The person in Zhu Mei’s room sensed something was wrong.
Fortunately, he didn’t know that the room belonged to Zhu Mei; otherwise, he would have realized that the male scream must have meant something had happened to his companion.
“Quickly, go!” Li Hua’s voice followed.
Zhu Mei immediately quickened her pace. She opened the door, quickly entered the elevator, and pressed the button for the third floor.
Seeing the elevator doors close, Zhu Mei breathed a sigh of relief.
The elevator slowly descended, soon reaching the sixteenth, fifteenth, fourteenth floors…
At this moment, Zhu Mei suddenly thought of something.
Since she had been attacked on the 23rd floor, were the people on the 3rd floor really safe?
She had left in such a hurry that she didn’t bring her phone, otherwise she could have called to confirm.
She thought again, the person upstairs must have a phone. Once he realized she had run away, he would definitely call his accomplices below.
Thinking of this, Zhu Mei immediately pressed the button for the tenth floor and stopped there.
In the display in front of each elevator floor, one could see the elevator’s current floor. Zhu Mei knew that staying on this floor for too long might be noticed, so she pressed the buttons for the ninth, eighth, seventh… and many other floors.
Zhu Mei didn’t know if this would work, but she had no other options.
Thinking that she always wore a mask when going out, and the other party couldn’t possibly know her true identity, Zhu Mei gritted her teeth and quickly went downstairs, even though the elevator stopping at every floor would definitely be slower, she still wanted to leave as soon as possible.
The lights in the stairwell were bright, but they did nothing to dispel Zhu Mei’s inner fear.
When she reached the fourth floor, Zhu Mei heard some talking—it was two men from the apartment discussing what to get for a late-night snack.
Zhu Mei quickly went down, following behind the two men.
Their handsome faces made the two men, who had come out wearing only large shorts, somewhat embarrassed. They ended their conversation and tried their best to appear proper.
Soon they reached the third floor, and Zhu Mei felt a bit nervous.
“Hey, what are you doing?” A voice with ill intentions suddenly rose.
It was two bald men standing behind the stairwell door. Seeing them, Zhu Mei’s heart sank; she knew that her younger brother and his companions on the third floor were likely in grave danger.
The two bald men had received a report saying that one person had run away, but now three people had come down, so they were somewhat unsure and stopped them to ask.
“What did you say?” The two tourists turned around, looking at the two bald men with confusion.
The two bald men spoke in a common language used in District 232 and District 26, a dialect even more difficult than the local dialect of Jiangsu Province, which the two tourists from District One couldn’t understand at all.
Zhu Mei also pretended to look confused, staring at the two bald men.
Seeing their expressions, the two bald men smiled. They waved their hands, appearing to bid them farewell, but what they said was, “Get lost, idiots.”
The two tourists were deceived by the bald men’s apparent friendliness, thinking they were saying polite goodbye phrases, so they enthusiastically repeated the phrase and said goodbye to the two bald men: “Get lost, idiots.”
The two bald men hissed, their faces darkening as they held back their anger.
Zhu Mei’s heartbeat slowed, and she continued to follow the two tourists downward.
At this moment, the two bald men’s voices rang out again: “That woman, stop!”
Zhu Mei’s heart leapt in alarm. Instinctively, she stopped and turned around to pretend to be a tourist explaining, but after turning around, she realized that the tourists couldn’t understand the two bald men’s language.
So she asked in Chinese, “What? I don’t understand your language.”
The two bald men waved their hands, letting her leave.
Arriving at the first floor, Zhu Mei let out a long sigh of relief.
She quickened her pace, exited the apartment, and saw scattered pedestrians on the outside road, all looking at her.
Zhu Mei only then realized she was wearing pajamas. Although her pajamas were long-sleeved and long-panted, their style was clearly that of sleepwear, drawing much attention. Luckily, the two tourists earlier had only worn large shorts.
She had just begun to smile at her good fortune when hurried footsteps came from behind. Five men with shaved heads rushed out of the apartment.
“That’s the one in pajamas!” A bald man with a bleeding head recognized her.
Zhu Mei hurriedly quickened her pace and started running forward.
Her mind raced. She had already heard the sound of a phone call from behind. The enemy had reinforcements coming. She was dressed so conspicuously; how could she escape?
At this moment, a message she had heard earlier by the beach flashed through her mind about private land.
Whoever could own private land in Haiming City must have significant influence. The Gray Reef Company only dared to ask tourists a few gentle questions and certainly wouldn’t dare to offend such a place!
After determining the direction, Zhu Mei ran toward it.
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