The tall middle-aged man and the sturdy middle-aged man both set their sights on the thin middle-aged man.

Clearly, the three of them were led by this thin middle-aged man.

The thin middle-aged man squinted, staring expressionlessly at Qin Chuan, "I didn't expect there to be someone like you in Jiangcheng."

Although they hadn't yet fought, Qin Chuan's show of skill was undoubtedly beyond proficient.

The key was, Qin Chuan was still very young.

Whether it was his skill or talent, he was qualified to speak with them.

"What do you want to talk about?" the thin middle-aged man asked.

"Your identity, and your purpose for staking out the bar," Qin Chuan said bluntly.

The thin middle-aged man shook his head, "Nothing I can disclose."

After speaking, the thin middle-aged man glanced at Luo Yi nearby and added, "We are just following orders, no malice intended."

"But, you've already affected the bar's daily operations."

Qin Chuan politely insisted, "If possible, please leave immediately."

"We've paid money," the tall middle-aged man retorted from the side.

Qin Chuan smacked his lips, glancing at the oaf, "One drink per person, sitting there the whole night, you scare away more customers in one evening than your monthly expenses combined. That's not how the math works."

"This..."

The oaf scratched his head awkwardly and then looked at the thin middle-aged man.

"It's our oversight."

The thin middle-aged man apologized first, then thought a bit and responded, "Then shall we wait by the door?"

"If you wait by the door, would anyone still dare to come in?"

Qin Chuan chuckled at the absurdity of it all. He thought emerging from the countryside was clueless enough, yet these three were even more ignorant.

Perhaps they came down from the mountains.

Qin Chuan speculated slightly, then tentatively asked, "Did you come to protect my Aunt Luo?"

"Hmm?"

As soon as the words fell, Qin Chuan could clearly feel an inexplicable hostility emanating from the three.

Clearly, he guessed right.

"Don't be tense, since you're not here to harm Aunt Luo, I have no reason to fight you."

Qin Chuan explained, pointing to the direction of the door, "Go out and take a left, there's a convenience store next door with seating and food inside, you could wait there and be close enough to hear any commotion immediately."

The tall and the sturdy middle-aged men looked to the thin middle-aged man.

After pondering a moment, the thin middle-aged man nodded to Qin Chuan, then left with the other two.

Watching them leave, Qin Chuan silently exhaled in relief.

Their skills weren't inferior to Shen Zhong's.

If the three had teamed up, he was unsure of his chances against them.

After dealing with them, Qin Chuan returned to Luo Yi and explained the situation to her.

"Protecting me?"

Luo Yi's brow furrowed sharply as she seemed to recall something frightening, her face turning pale.

"Xiao Chuan, go home, go home now."

Luo Yi suddenly looked up, her voice growing stern, "Don't come to the bar anymore, don't come find me, don't ever come again, never again!"

"Aunt Luo, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Qin Chuan sensed something but didn't grasp it fully.

"Stop fooling around, go back, go now." Luo Yi's voice rushed urgently, as if a disaster might strike if Qin Chuan delayed a single second.

But in the current situation, he couldn't leave Luo Yi alone at the bar.

He didn't even dare to let her go home alone.

His intuition told him that Luo Yi's terror mostly came from the people behind those three.

What puzzled him was, since they were sent to protect Luo Yi, they shouldn't be her enemies.

Why was Luo Yi so terrified?

Qin Chuan was really unsure, so he suggested, "Aunt Luo, maybe you should come home with me tonight."

Luo Yi looked up again, fear mixed in her eyes, then finally nodded.

Qin Chuan didn't waste time, immediately taking Luo Yi out to hail a cab back home.

But soon he noticed a taxi following them all the way.

Upon reaching the apartment complex, Qin Chuan realized that those following were none other than the three middle-aged men from the bar.

"Could it be not protection, but surveillance?"

Watching the three middle-aged men not far away, Qin Chuan couldn't help but think.

Beside him, Luo Yi also noticed them, quickly tugging at Qin Chuan's coat, "Hurry upstairs."

Qin Chuan nodded, glanced at the thin middle-aged man making a phone call, and led Luo Yi upstairs.

Soon, the two were inside the home.

However, once inside, Luo Yi hurried into the stepmother's room and locked the door.

Qin Chuan scratched his head, then headed to the balcony to glance down.

Downstairs remained the oaf and the thin middle-aged man, but the sturdy middle-aged man was nowhere to be found.

Qin Chuan frowned, quickly walked to the door, and peeked through the peephole.

Sure enough, the missing middle-aged man was at the door.

However, the man didn't linger—after noting the door number, he turned and left.

This confirmed Qin Chuan's suspicions.

Not just protection, but surveillance!

They were surveilling Luo Yi!

"Brother Xiao Chuan, why are you so jumpy?" Ye Wenxi asked, toweling off wet hair as she came over.

"Nothing."

Not wanting to worry Ye Wenxi, Qin Chuan didn't explain much.

"Alright, then help me blow-dry my hair." With that, Ye Wenxi happily handed the hairdryer to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan nodded, took the hairdryer, and accompanied Ye Wenxi to the room.

Meanwhile, in the stepmother Ye Qingmei's room, Luo Yi curled up against Ye Qingmei's lap, hugging her knees, with soft trembling shoulders.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Ye Qingmei gently stroked Luo Yi's back, asking softly.

"Qingmei, help me, I don't want to go back, I can't go back."

Luo Yi raised her head, her exquisitely made-up face pale, "I don't care if I die, but I can't drag Xiao Chuan down."

Ye Qingmei felt slightly jealous, languidly said, "You sure can't stand loneliness, confess now, how many times have you slept with Xiao Chuan?"

"Qingmei, this is not the time to talk about that."

Luo Yi was frantic, "I shouldn't have let Xiao Chuan probe them tonight, now he's surely exposed, someone with that personality definitely won't let Xiao Chuan go."

"Simple, I'll take Xiao Chuan away from Jiangcheng." Ye Qingmei spoke leisurely, while observing Luo Yi's expression.

"Great!"

Luo Yi shifted from worry to joy, "When do you plan to leave? Tomorrow perhaps? If any later, I'm afraid it'll be too late."

"And you?" Ye Qingmei asked, slightly surprised.

"Me?"

Luo Yi smiled bitterly, helpless, "If they can't find me, they'll never let it rest. If I follow you, I'll drag Xiao Chuan down, so I must stay in Jiangcheng to buy you time."

"Have you thought about the consequences?" Ye Qingmei continued asking.

"Consequences are nothing but death. I've lived long enough over the years."

Luo Yi responded seriously, "If it weren't for you back then, I'd have died long ago. Helping you and Xiao Chuan gain some extra time, dying is worth it."

"Is it for me or your little lover, you better clarify that." Ye Qingmei spoke with vinegar.

Hearing 'little lover,' Luo Yi's eyes filled with tenderness, quickly shifting the topic, "Qingmei, can you have Xixi stay with you tonight so I can properly say goodbye to Xiao Chuan?"

"Goodbye?"

Ye Qingmei scornfully glared at her, "Death is looming, yet you still think of that thing? Would skipping it once kill you?"

"I'm almost dead anyway, soon I'll never see Xiao Chuan again, even if I become a ghost, let me be a lustful ghost."

Luo Yi pleaded with misty eyes, "In the past, not doing it felt okay, but since being with Xiao Chuan, I couldn't resist, Qingmei, I beg you, show kindness, grant my last wish before dying."

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