Reborn to Redeem: Their Abusive Love-Chapter 133: Loss of public opinion territory

Xu Si adjusted her breathing, sat up, and examined every corner of her skin, feeling the subtle pain all over her body, not even sparing the scratched areas. It was then that she confirmed something: there was not a single mark on her body from a needle prick.

There was no bitterness of medicine in her breath or mouth, nor the sweet choking sensation, not even a hint of moisture residue, let alone the dry powder of drugs.

She remembered what Pei Zhen had said. That debilitating drug could only be treated and cured in the Underground City. She hadn’t received any treatment yet, but she had already recovered her strength.

Wasn’t this being deceived?

"...Really, how many times has it been?"

She remembered that the last time this man had set up a whole array of traps, making her willingly walk into the snare.

Xu Si didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was because she knew too little about the sin-filled Underground City that she was fooled by him every time. She did have ulterior motives for coming to the Underground City. And Pei Zhen being poisoned was a fact; those people had fed him some unknown drug, and he had vomited blood so severely it was indeed worrying. She had agreed to give it a try for them. In terms of responsibility, at the very least, she had a duty of care and could not leave now.

The pristine white wool carpet was so clean that it didn’t have a speck of dust on it, the only large patch of pure white in this salty, despairing world.

Xu Si felt somewhat helpless. Every time she got a little close to him, there were so many reasons for her to stay, and unknowingly, she was led around by the nose by various incidents. She was starting to get a bit confused. Was all this mere coincidence? Or could it be what people say is "fate"? Fate!?

Xu Si’s heart raced, her temples began to throb, and she instinctively wanted to stretch her sleep-numbed body. Resisting the urge to lie in, she stood up and walked to the rest area to pour herself a glass of water.

She took a few sips from the cup and scalded herself slightly. Stepping back two steps, her toe kicked against a waste bin hidden under the table, spilling something out: a few unused, perfectly white tissues. Among the tissues, there was one opened but unused syringe. The needle point was strikingly sharp.

She raised an eyebrow, her gaze casually falling on the sofa—the very spot where Pei Zhen had just been sitting. She bent down, picked up the syringe, examined it slowly, and then nonchalantly tossed it into the trash can.

The wily Sea Monster, it turned out, had planned ahead. He could have prevented her from discovering his deception. Why didn’t he just inject her while she was sound asleep?

「...」

A cool breeze drifted through her soft hair, feeling very comforting.

Xu Si walked into the bathroom, filled the bathtub with steaming hot water, and even brought in the cordless phone. She sank into the water, which glowed with a blue light, comfortably closed her eyes, and expertly dialed Anshi’s number.

The phone was answered after just a few rings.

Anshi’s unflustered voice emerged from the receiver, "Miss, where are you?"

Xu Si paused slightly, then smiled faintly. "Have you also become a god? How did you know it was me?"

"Also?" Anshi’s tone was somewhat hesitant before he explained normally, "It’s not about becoming a god. You’ve been elusive lately, so for convenience, I’ve long since designated this number as your private one. This means only you would call this number, making it easy for me to pick up your calls at any time."

Just like him.

Xu Si floated her arms in the hot water, steam rising continuously, obscuring her beautiful face and her gradually widening smile.

"I have already arrived at the Underground City, don’t worry."

"No wonder. The last location signal disappeared in the middle of the ocean, and I confirmed you must have gone to a world that cannot be entered. So, that means... was it that silver-haired man in black who rescued you that day?"

"Yes, it was him."

There was no discernible emotion in Xu Si’s voice.

Anshi’s voice sounded somewhat grave. "Understood. I have investigated him. He left no information on Hong Kong Island, which is not good news; in fact, it’s quite dangerous. Please consider letting me take over behind the scenes. Let me negotiate with these people. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty. If things change in the future, you can push me out to take the blame, and then you’ll still have a way out."

"Anshi, I know you’re loyal." Xu Si’s wet fingertips combed through her thick hair. "But there’s no need. I know his background, and only I can deal with him personally. You don’t need to worry too much."

She seemed reluctant to continue this topic and instead brought up a serious matter, "Have we continued to receive photographs at the newspaper office we bought?"

"None, but the payment deadline is just two days away. I think his appetite is too large. He wants five million for just a few photographs, and even after being paid, he continues to make demands without agreeing to destroy the photographs in person. He wants to keep earning money indefinitely; I’m afraid he thinks it’s too easy."

The fine drizzle outside the window showed signs of stopping.

The entire palatial villa was very quiet. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Xu Si smiled and said, "Maybe he doesn’t want to destroy them in person; perhaps he can’t get away. I guess he’s in the Underground City. I will find a way to locate him and see how much dirt he has on me."

Anshi said, "You’re right. During this time, I will manage everything on Hong Kong Island and await your return."

Xu Si smiled and hummed in response.

This was her purpose for coming to the Underground City.

Previously, when she had kidnapped her own uncle, a newspaper published a lot of dirt on her. Out of anger, she had Anshi buy the newspaper office and then had all the newspapers from that day taken to the crematorium and burned to ashes.

She had thought that owning a small newspaper office wouldn’t lead to any further issues.

Just a while ago, the manager of the newspaper office received several photographs of her inside the Triad Society’s Gambling City, along with details of her having a cheerful tea conversation with Chen Mo. The sender had brazenly left messages on the back of the photographs, claiming to have many more photos and information, asserting that Xu Si would never find them, and adding many threatening words.

If the person photographed had been Pei Zhen, she wouldn’t have cared. Not many people on Hong Kong Island knew his real identity. But Chen Mo was the Triad Society’s public representative, and the location was so sensitive. Besides, it was only she and Chen Mo in a private meeting, making it difficult to clarify the nature of their relationship. That alone would have been manageable. The news of the Mafia pointing a gun at her could have served as evidence to clear her name. As ill luck would have it, that person also captured her sitting in the Gambling City’s Octagonal Cage, a place full of bloody and violent scenes. Even though she hadn’t looked once and hadn’t participated, making up stories was the Hong Kong Media’s forte. One photograph was enough to turn all the charity work she had done into a joke. It would have been fine before, but ever since she acquired foreign building material channels, Xu’s had many unfinished hotel projects, and the investment in several condominiums was huge. Whether she could become one of the tycoons of Hong Kong Island depended on this. At this critical time, as the most watched young female CEO in the whole harbor, she absolutely could not lose control of public opinion. This was really not a good omen.

Xu Si hated the feeling of being threatened, which was why she had wanted to find an opportunity to come here again.

Now was the perfect time. She had to find out who was pulling the strings.