Chapter 153: Darkness at the Banquet
  After three rounds of drinks, the girls at the table gradually became familiar with each other. A girl with short hair and a round face pointed at several men toasting in the distance and started chatting about gossip.

  "Let me tell you, I heard that man over there is the organizer of this competition. He drove a luxury car when he came. He's so rich!"

  "Not only is he rich, he seems to be a famous painter named... Lin."

  "Qiu Yulin." A girl with long hair added calmly, "He's a member of the Provincial Painting Association and has won many awards. He has been recuperating abroad in recent years. There are rumors that he is ill and can no longer paint, so his works have been sold at sky-high prices in the past two years."

  Upon hearing this news, everyone at the table began to discuss. Fang Qing, however, kept his head down eating, not participating in the gossip at all, until a group of men came over with wine glasses to toast, and Fang Qing ran away under the pretext of going to the bathroom.

  Coming out of the bathroom, Fang Qing saw a man slumped over the sink, seemingly in distress.

  Seeing his condition was truly dismal, Fang Qing turned to look for someone, but before she could move, the man collapsed to the ground with a thud.

  Startled, Fang Qing called out to the bathroom door, but the noise was so loud that no one arrived. Fang Qing approached, attempting to help the man up. But as she approached, the man suddenly stood up and knocked Fang Qing unconscious.

  Seeing no one was paying attention, the man picked Fang Qing up, quickly crossed the hallway, kicked open a door, and threw her onto a bed.

  After doing this, the man pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Hey, we got it!"

  By then, the party outside was winding down. Several young women, seeing Fang Qing hadn't returned yet, assumed she had left early and left the venue together.

  Lu Can, happily drinking with a handsome man, hadn't noticed the prize Fang Qing had left on her seat.

  Fang Qing's hands and feet were tied to the bed, while a man sat on the sofa, slowly shaking a glass of red wine, waiting for her to wake up.

  Suddenly, Fang Qing's phone in her backpack rang. After a series of vibrations, the man impatiently stood up and took out the phone. Seeing the caller ID on it, he sneered, "Sure enough, he's a flirt."

  He then removed the battery, thought for a moment, and felt uneasy again. He crushed the phone with force, then threw it into the toilet and flushed it away.

  "Now I wonder who can find you."

  ...

  After Wen Ning dialed several times, he found that Fang Qing's phone was turned off, and he suddenly felt uneasy.

  It was already dark. According to the previous agreement, Fang Qing should call him and wait for him to pick her up to go back to school together. She would never turn off her phone for no reason.

  After a moment's thought, Wen Ning immediately called Ah Cheng. "Hello, Mr. Ah Cheng? I need your help."

  Fang Qing, drowsy, slowly opened her eyes. She felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck. She reached up to rub it, only to discover her hands and feet were bound.

  She opened her eyes, half-conscious, and tried to call out, but her mouth was blocked by something. "Mmmmm..."

  Fang Qing's struggles startled the man, who was resting on the sofa. He rubbed his temples, chuckling at her struggles. "Don't bother trying. I've tied you up tight. You can't break free."

  Hearing the man's voice, Fang Qing stopped. She strained to see who it was, but the room was dark except for a single bedside lamp. She could only hear the man's voice, but not his face.

  Suddenly, a cold touch on her ankle sent a chill down her spine. She struggled violently, but the creeping fear remained.

  The man watched Fang Qing struggle, the expression of terror on her face perfectly satisfying. His cold fingers traced Fang Qing's ankles upwards until his entire body came into clear view. Fang Qing then remembered that this man was the one who had fainted outside the bathroom.

  "Hmmmmmm..." (Why did you tie me up?)
  The man smiled arrogantly at Fang Qing, his slender fingers brushing against her cheek. "Such a beautiful face! From your expression, are you curious about why I'm arresting you?"

  Fang Qing nodded, and the man bared his white teeth. "I can't tell you yet. Once I'm done, I'll tell you whatever you want to know." "

  Deal?" What?

  But then, a cold touch against Fang Qing's waist sent her trembling as if struck by lightning. She finally understood what she was about to face...

  Qiu Yulin had gone to the bathroom after a business meeting, and when he came out, he found a pearl hairpin on the ground. Qiu Yulin saw that the hairpin was unique in style and exquisitely made, and obviously quite expensive, so he took it to the front desk to ask if anyone had lost it.

  Coincidentally, the service staff who were cleaning the venue found the prize that Fang Qing had left on a chair and brought it to the front desk.

  Qiu Yulin glanced at it and saw a card with the name of the winner written on it. "Fang Qing?"

  Looking at the hairpin in his hand, Qiu Yulin felt that it was very likely that it belonged to the same person.

  In his opinion, no one who could participate in this competition would treat the prize they had worked so hard to get so carelessly. This person named Fang Qing must have drunk too much or had something urgent to forget about it. So he called the staff of the association and prepared to ask them to contact Fang Qing to send the thing over.

  Just as Qiu Yulin dialed the number, a luxury car arrived at the entrance of the guild hall.

  Wen Ning and Ah Cheng quickly got out of the car and explained their purpose to the security guard at the door. Then, the two quickly entered the guild hall, holding up Fang Qing's photo and asking around.

  "Excuse me, have you seen this girl?"

  The waiter looked at the girl in the photo and thought for a moment before nodding. "I've seen her before. She was at a gathering for an association this afternoon. I saw her at the table in front of me when I was serving the food."

  Wen Ning stepped forward and grasped the waiter's sleeve tightly. "Do you remember where she went after that? We can't reach her now. Brother, please help."

  The waiter shook his head. "Sorry, I'm only serving the food, not that table. Wait, I'll ask for you."

  After some questioning, a waitress finally recalled that Fang Qing had gone to the restroom halfway through the banquet and hadn't returned since.

  Wen Ning and Ah Cheng exchanged a glance, both sensing something was amiss. Fang Qing definitely wouldn't leave without a word.

  Just then, a waiter ran over to say the light in one of the guest rooms was broken, but the guest inside refused to cooperate with repairs. Ah Cheng, perceptive, quickly followed the waiter to the room in question.

  A glance at the location on his phone showed the phone's last location exactly matched this one. Ah Cheng looked at Wen Ning gravely, "That's it."

  (End of Chapter)