The Pei Family!
The coordinates on the map continued to flash incessantly. Jing Meng's expression hardened; before her confusion could even surface, it was eclipsed by a wave of icy resolve.
Thinking of the Pei Family's immense power, she felt a sharp, rhythmic throb in her temples.
Suddenly, the image vanished. Xiaoxue's glow grew faint before the light disappeared entirely.
Dammit. Xiaoxue was out of battery, and she would have to find another energy source.
Jing Meng shut Xiaoxue down, quickly packed her belongings, grabbed her coat, and bolted out!
Her car was still parked around the corner. The moment Jing Meng stepped out of the hotel entrance, she heard a sound behind her. Without Xiaoxue, she was at a distinct disadvantage.
Steeling her nerves, she quickened her pace toward the car. The footsteps behind her followed relentlessly.
Jing Meng spun around abruptly, her leg sweeping out in a wide arc. She sent one person crashing to the ground, but before she could make another move, a wooden club struck her over the head, knocking her unconscious.
Through her blurred vision, she saw two burly men muttering to each other. She reached out, trying to grab onto something, but her strength failed her. Everything went black, and she fell into a dead faint.
"What do we do now?" the man who had sustained a slight injury asked.
The other man looked on coldly, tossing the club into the car. He spoke with indifference, "The Third Young Master only told us to follow her. Now that she's unconscious, we should leave and figure out a plan later."
The two men carried Jing Meng to the side of the road and meticulously wiped away any traces of the struggle. Once she was positioned, they drove off immediately.
A chill rose from the ground. Jing Meng felt as though someone was pushing her. Forcing her eyes open, she found a cleaning lady watching her with a worried expression.
"Are you alright, little girl? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"
Jing Meng shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back a wave of vertigo. "No need to go to the trouble," she rasped. "I just have a bit of hypoglycemia. I've mostly recovered now."
She offered the lie casually; she didn't want this matter becoming public knowledge before she had investigated it thoroughly.
She pushed herself off the ground slowly, surreptitiously scanning her surroundings. The people around her were all in a hurry, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Jing Meng breathed a sigh of relief, yet her heart remained on high alert.
Who were those people?
The Pei Family? What was their objective?
The more she pondered the reasons, the dizzier she felt. That blow had been solid; any movement of her head now brought on a wave of nausea and vertigo, forcing her to stay still.
Back in the car, she rolled down the window to thank the cleaning lady before speeding away.
The car came to a steady halt downstairs. Her forced composure was beginning to fray, and Jing Meng slumped against the steering wheel. Only after the heaviness in her head dissipated did she get out of the car and return to the Pei Family residence.
For now, the Pei Family was her safest refuge. As for Xiaoxue's energy source, she would have to wait until she was a bit more lucid to retrieve it.
Standing before the door, Jing Meng felt a sudden hallucination, as if the objects before her had come to life, lunging at her with bared claws.
She pressed her hand against the keypad, but her fingers slipped, and she entered the wrong code several times.
The constant beeping finally drew Pei Shiling out from where he had been waiting anxiously in a nearby car.
He had originally intended to wait for Jing Meng to enter the house before pretending he had just arrived, but he hadn't expected her to struggle at the door for so long without going inside.
"Why are you back?" Pei Shiling stepped forward, only to see Jing Meng wobble as if she were about to collapse.
He caught her by the arm to steady her, a flicker of worry crossing his brow.
After spending a night on the streets, Jing Meng looked wretched. Her clothes were smeared with dirt, and there was a faint trace of blood on her head.
Only then did Pei Shiling see the state she was in. His brow furrowed deeply, and he asked in a cold voice, "What happened?"
The moment he touched her icy fingers, an inexplicable ache began to spread through his heart.
Compared to his worry, Jing Meng was much more composed, though her voice carried a slight nasal quality. "It's nothing, just a minor injury."
A minor injury?
Pei Shiling remained silent. She had been perfectly fine when she left, yet she returned covered in wounds?
Seeing that Jing Meng didn't want to talk about it, and worried she would catch a cold, Pei Shiling suppressed the questions in his heart. He headed to the kitchen, intending to brew a bowl of ginger soup to drive away the chill.
While the ginger soup was boiling, he noticed that Jing Meng was no longer as guarded. Only then did he cautiously bring up the question he hadn't asked earlier. "What exactly happened today?"
Jing Meng curled up on the sofa, rubbing her head as she thought about the origins of those men. Hearing Pei Shiyi's voice, she looked up and met the man's worried gaze.
Jing Meng blinked. As if possessed, she told him the truth about what had happened. "I was targeted by someone, though it didn't seem like they intended to take my life."
She hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to tell Pei Shiling about the information marked on the satellite map. There was a brief look of scrutiny in her eyes, but it quickly returned to normal.
Pei Shiling didn't notice the change in her gaze, but he could sense that this matter was far from simple.
"What are you thinking about?" The water in the pot began to bubble and roll, but he remained lost in thought. Jing Meng hurried over, dragging her still-recovering body, and turned off the fire.
Her sudden proximity snapped Pei Shiyi back to his senses.
The ginger soup wafted steam into the air as Jing Meng methodically ladled it into a bowl.
Only then did Pei Shiyi speak slowly. "You need to be more careful when you go out in the future."
Though his tone was light, Jing Meng could still hear the warmth in it.
Jing Meng let out a long sigh before curling her lips in a self-mocking smile. "I really am quite a sought-after prize."
The scent of ginger filled the kitchen. Jing Meng took a tentative sip of the ginger soup; the warm current immediately spread through her limbs, making her relax involuntarily.
Pretending these mounting dangers were trivial wasn't a matter of bravery; she simply didn't want to worry the people she cared about.
Pei Shiyi looked at the person lowered over the bowl, drinking the soup. He opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately said nothing, though a dense ache continued to spread through his heart.
Pei Shiyi changed the subject. "If you have nothing else to do in two days, could you accompany me to a family banquet? It would be a good chance to meet my father again."
After saying this, Pei Shiyi's expression turned somewhat apprehensive. After the unpleasantness of the last banquet, he had been worried that Jing Meng would distance herself from him because of it.
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