The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 283. Bait (5 more updates)

Chapter 283: 283. Bait (5 more updates)

On the other end of the phone, Jin Enxi fell silent. After a long while, she finally spoke, "An, I can cooperate with your plan, but I’ll be the bait." She couldn’t risk Shen Qinglan’s safety.

"Enxi, I have to handle this personally since they are targeting me. If I don’t show up, do you think those people will appear?"

Jin Enxi certainly understood what Shen Qinglan meant. "But An, your condition right now can’t take any risks."

Shen Qinglan sighed, "Enxi, you should trust me, and trust yourself as well."

Jin Enxi hesitated for a moment, and then, gritting her teeth, said, "Okay, I’m all in. Don’t worry, even if it means risking my life, I won’t let you get hurt."

A warm current crossed Shen Qinglan’s heart, and she teased her, "I wouldn’t dare let anything happen to you. If something did, Daniel would be after my life."

Jin Enxi replied readily, "You know it."

Shen Qinglan smiled silently, "Enxi, Daniel is great. I believe you will be happy."

Jin Enxi’s eyes brimmed with a smile as she nodded. "Yeah, Qinglan, I also believe I will be happy—just like you."

**

The next morning, as soon as Shen Qinglan got out of bed, she planned to head out and saw Old Sir Fu practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard. "Grandfather, I’ve got to go out for a bit."

Old Sir Fu stopped his movements and looked at Shen Qinglan with a face full of tenderness. "Okay, do you want the family driver to take you?"

"No need, Grandfather. I’m just going out to have lunch with some friends; I won’t be back by noon."

"Alright, be careful on the road." Old Sir Fu said. He never restricted Shen Qinglan’s freedom, even after she became pregnant.

Shen Qinglan was driving an SUV that day, a vehicle with high safety performance. Once she drove out of the large compound, she spotted a black sedan parked at the street corner—it was Jin Enxi’s car.

Jin Enxi saw Shen Qinglan come out and followed her from a distance, always keeping an eye on the surroundings. But whether the person behind was being too cautious or there simply wasn’t anyone tailing them today, Shen Qinglan wandered the streets half the day without spotting any tail.

"An, could we have misjudged the situation?" Jin Enxi said.

Shen Qinglan didn’t think so. It could only mean that the person behind was extremely cautious. After returning with nothing on the first day, the next day Shen Qinglan directly called Yu Xiaoxuan to go shopping.

Due to a previous intimidation incident, Yu Xiaoxuan had been often trending on social media lately. The reason was that some of her fans suspected Su Ling was behind it and collaborated to attack her online. Su Ling naturally would not accept this lying down. Without regard for Yu Xiaoxuan’s apologies, she scorned and teased Yu Xiaoxuan on Weibo.

At first, Yu Xiaoxuan bore it, but after two or three times, she couldn’t hold back anymore and naturally struck back. Naturally, neither of their fans could show any weakness, and for a time, the drama of their spat was a daily spectacle on Weibo.

"Qinglan, do you think Su Ling has some issues? I apologized right from the start, yet she’s been clinging to me like a mad dog," Yu Xiaoxuan said resentfully upon seeing Shen Qinglan.

Originally, due to the behavior of her fans, Yu Xiaoxuan had immediately apologized on behalf of her fans. If it were someone else, this matter would have ended there since it was just a misunderstanding. However, Su Ling persisted in clinging to this issue and satirically accused Yu Xiaoxuan of sleeping her way up using Han Yi and sacrificing her body to gain popularity. Those were harsh words. Although she did not mention names, everyone knew she was talking about Yu Xiaoxuan.

"You can think of it as her being jealous of you," Shen Qinglan comforted her.

Su Ling was indeed jealous of Yu Xiaoxuan. Initially, she had actively tried to seduce Han Yi, only to be cold-shouldered by him and bullied by Yu Xiaoxuan. Su Ling had long been harboring resentment, and after leaving Shengxuan and struggling in her career despite the company’s constant backing—which came at her own expense—she harbored a grudge against the ever-successful Yu Xiaoxuan, only lacking the opportunity to act. This time, Yu Xiaoxuan’s fans causing trouble was an excellent opportunity for her.

"I’m not angry now. I’ll just think she’s jealous of me, hmph," Yu Xiaoxuan said proudly with a flick of her hair, making Shen Qinglan chuckle.

After shopping all morning with Yu Xiaoxuan, Shen Qinglan found a restaurant and planned to have a bite. Just as she reached the entrance, her gaze paused on the glass door of the restaurant, and her lips curled slightly.

After eating, Shen Qinglan and Yu Xiaoxuan walked out of the mall, holding several bags. "Xiao Xuan, let me drive you back." Today Yu Xiaoxuan had come by taxi.

"Sure, but I’d prefer to drive."

"No need, I’ll drive." Shen Qinglan turned and got into the car, with Yu Xiaoxuan sitting in the passenger seat.

The car had gone some distance when Shen Qinglan saw, through the rearview mirror, the car that had been following behind. A glint of cold light flashed in her eyes.

The previous day, she and Jin Enxi had roamed outside for half a day, and that person had not appeared. Today, having arranged to meet Yu Xiaoxuan out, this person showed up. She had reason to believe that his recent target was Yu Xiaoxuan, perhaps just lacking an opportunity to strike until now.

"Xiao Xuan, aside from being threatened, have you experienced any other strange events lately?" Shen Qinglan asked.

Yu Xiaoxuan thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, has something happened?"

"Nothing, just asking." Shen Qinglan’s gaze lingered in the rearview mirror for a while, noticing Jin Enxi’s car close behind, squeezing the tracking vehicle between them, the chill in his eyes growing more apparent.

He chatted with Yu Xiaoxuan sporadically.

"Hey, Qinglan, where are we going?" After driving for a while, Yu Xiaoxuan realized this wasn’t the way to her company and couldn’t help asking.

Shen Qinglan gestured for Yu Xiaoxuan to look in the rearview mirror, but Yu Xiaoxuan didn’t notice anything unusual.

"That white sedan behind us has been following us since we left the restaurant," Shen Qinglan pointed out directly.

Yu Xiaoxuan’s expression changed, "Qinglan, do you mean we’re being followed?"

"Mm, are you scared?"

Yu Xiaoxuan gripped the seatbelt, and upon hearing this, she nodded honestly; she was scared.

"Do you trust me?" Shen Qinglan asked again.

Without hesitation, Yu Xiaoxuan nodded. Shen Qinglan was the person she trusted most in this world, even more than Han Yi.

"Then don’t think about anything. If you get scared later, just close your eyes. I won’t let anything happen to you," Shen Qinglan said, his tone calm yet carrying a convincing power that reassured Yu Xiaoxuan.

Yu Xiaoxuan didn’t close her eyes, instead trying to turn her head to look back, but Shen Qinglan reminded her, "I need to draw the other party to a less crowded place right now, don’t look back and alert them."

Yu Xiaoxuan immediately sat properly, her curiosity about the car behind her notwithstanding, she obediently refrained from looking. She turned her head towards Shen Qinglan, "Qinglan, when you asked me if something had happened recently, did you suspect that the person who had previously threatened me is the same one following us?"

Shen Qinglan didn’t hide it from her, "It’s just my suspicion. My uncle was in a traffic accident a while ago, and I suspect it was the same person. They might be targeting me. Xiaoxuan, it seems I’ve brought trouble to you again."

Yu Xiaoxuan shook her head, "Qinglan, don’t say that. I’ve never blamed you. You’re my best friend, and one of the closest people to me in this world. I’m actually quite happy to share difficulties with you, haha."

Her own words amused her, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

A light smile appeared on Shen Qinglan’s lips, "Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you. We also have Enxi behind us."

"Qinglan, shouldn’t we call the police?"

Shen Qinglan had considered calling the police, but the police were too conspicuous and might tip off the stalkers. If the people behind them knew she was alert, they might never appear again, leaving a potential threat. Instead of leaving a ticking time bomb by his side, Shen Qinglan preferred to deal with the opponent now.

The direction of the car was towards the suburbs, and Shen Qinglan drove slowly along the way, as the streets in the city area were crowded with vehicles.

The pursuer was cautious, always maintaining a distance of two or three cars from Shen Qinglan.

Seeing they were almost out of the city area, the pursuer still hadn’t made any move, and Yu Xiaoxuan was no longer nervous, but curiously looked at the rearview mirror, "It’s strange, they just follow us and do nothing. It doesn’t seem like they’re just watching. What do they really want?"

Shen Qinglan glanced back, thought for a moment, then sped up the car. Seeing this, the pursuer also increased their speed, and even when Shen Qinglan slowed down, they didn’t slow down, indicating they were about to make a move.

"Xiaoxuan, hold on tight." Shen Qinglan warned Yu Xiaoxuan, then floored the accelerator, sending the car flying forward.

Yu Xiaoxuan, caught off guard, screamed, grabbing the car’s handrail and tightly closing her eyes.

The tracking vehicle, seeing Shen Qinglan suddenly speed up, also accelerated and quickly caught up. Both cars raced on the road, one behind the other at high speed, Shen Qinglan calm and composed, skillfully handling the steering wheel, maintaining a careful distance from the pursuer.

As they left the suburbs, the pursuer seemed to have guessed Shen Qinglan’s intent to escape by turning at a certain bend, only to be blocked by Jin Enxi who had been following behind.

Unable to get away, the pursuer, out of desperation, floored the accelerator, aiming straight for Shen Qinglan’s car. Yu Xiaoxuan opened her eyes just in time to see this, her eyes widening in shock, but she covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from screaming.

Shen Qinglan’s expression turned cold, and he quickly turned the steering wheel, the car barely grazing the body of the other vehicle, avoiding the attack.

Seeing their attack miss, the pursuer adjusted their direction and charged at Shen Qinglan again, but this time, before their car could hit Shen Qinglan’s, Jin Enxi had already clung to their tail.

The two cars collided violently, shocking Yu Xiaoxuan to go pale as paper.