"I didn't expect that rogue to have a few tricks up his sleeve!" Leng Yue murmured with a slight smile to herself.

But hardly had her words faded when a somewhat thin, yet handsome young man appeared before her, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Might I be so bold as to ask Junior Sister Leng for a dance?"

Seeing Ye Xiaohou's almost comically forlorn smile, Leng Yue couldn't help but give a faint, sweet laugh and replied, "Why not!"

"Thank you!" Ye Xiaohou felt a stir in his heart as he gazed at Leng Yue's smile.

Fatty Lin, watching from the side as Ye Xiaohou succeeded, tapped the table in confusion, yet he didn't seem ready to give up, scanning everywhere, clearly hoping to spot the person he most wanted to see.

"Ahem? Are you serious about this?" Wang Shaodong asked Wang Xiao'er, his eyes narrowing as if he'd just stumbled upon an excellent scheme.

"Yes, I provide the funds, you provide the manpower. This is absolutely something easily accomplished. Moreover, I trust there are plenty of people in the A City Police Detention Center who are eager to escape!" Wang Xiao'er stated calmly.

"I understand what you mean. Fine, I agree. But if the price is too low, you know full well that some of those people are not ordinary," Wang Shaodong replied, his face darkening.

"Cousin, don't worry about that. You know what my family does. Five million, take it or leave it. I believe those people won't even bat an eye at that price. Of course, I can add another three million on top. As for what you do with that extra money, I don't care; I only care about achieving my objective."

"Looks like you're pulling out all the stops this time. It’s rare to see you this serious!" Wang Shaodong smiled faintly, then continued, "Very well, I agree."

"Good, I'll go make preparations now!"

"En!" Wang Shaodong squinted at Wang Xiao'er for a long moment. After he left, he turned to the large man beside him and said, "You go..."

"Yes, Young Master!" The large man's expression shifted upon hearing this, and he asked, "Young Master, won't doing this cause..."

"Don't worry. If anything goes wrong later, the responsibility won't fall on us, hehe!" Wang Shaodong gave a sinister smile, paused, and then added, "Nothing in this world comes for free. Since Wang Xiao'er is using me, I certainly won't be courteous to him!"

"Understood, Young Master. I'll arrange it immediately!" The large man's face changed again, but in a moment, he seemed to grasp Wang Shaodong's meaning.

"Sister Qianqian, who is that older sister dancing with Brother Yi?" Murong Lianxue asked, licking her cake with a puzzled look.

"Hehe, that is your Brother Yi's first love," Li Qian chuckled, slightly surprised.

In fact, her saying this implied that she had long been aware of Yang Yi's feelings for Xia Shiyun. This wasn't surprising, considering all of Yang Yi's previous actions, especially those concerning him saving Xia Shiyun previously. Li Qian had known all along but had simply kept silent.

"Oh! But Sister Qianqian, what is a 'first love'?" Murong Lianxue asked quite innocently.

Li Qian felt a sudden urge to laugh and cry, replying dryly, "Hehe, you'll understand when you're older."

………………

At this reception, the dim lights flashed incessantly. Couples both old and new, and those newly paired, were constantly swaying their bodies, stirring their emotions, seemingly indulging in pure recreation.

However, these people had no idea that a staggering conspiracy was slowly brewing for them, especially for Yang Yi and his group.

"I have the money ready. I just wonder if Cousin has his men prepared?" Wang Xiao'er asked Wang Shaodong with a grim expression.

"Hehe, don't worry. I still have a little influence for something this minor." Wang Shaodong certainly couldn't be straightforward; after all, his old, stubborn father only understood following orders from above strictly, and arranging the release of those men from the detention center would take some time.

Just then, a large man walked in, approached Wang Shaodong, and whispered something in his ear until a slight smile crossed Wang Shaodong's face. He then turned to Wang Xiao'er and said, "I have the men ready. So, my dear cousin, what is our next move?"

"Hehe!" Wang Xiao'er gave a sinister laugh. "Fancy stepping out for a drink? We can come back here later?"

"No problem!" Wang Shaodong replied. After a pause, he added, "You... tell those men to start!"

"Yes! Young Master!" As the large man complied and walked out.

As the music stopped, people began to gather around, engaging in flattery and insincere praise.

Speaking of flattery, the main subject today was undoubtedly Leng Nan. After all, no matter how you slice it, flattery always works. Furthermore, which businessman present didn't want to suck up to Leng Nan to smooth the path for their own careers?

"The music has stopped, why are you still holding onto me?" Xia Shiyun's face was still flushed, and her heart continued to pound rapidly.

Yang Yi gave a wicked smile and said, "I want to hold onto you tightly, otherwise, I fear if I let go, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"Don't you already have Li Qian? Why the regret?" Xia Shiyun pouted slightly, her tone laced with a hint of jealousy.

"I would regret giving her up, but I would regret giving you up even more. So, I intend to keep you both tightly by my side, not letting you leave my sight."

"Stop being conceited! Do you really think you're some great romantic hero like Chen Shimei?" Xia Shiyun was clearly less guarded now, but the reservations of a young woman prevented her from accepting the reality too quickly.

Yang Yi didn't speak; he merely held her tightly, then whispered in her ear, "My surname isn't Chen, so I'm not Chen Shimei. I'm just a scoundrel named Yang Yi. Will you... be my partner for life?"

"Bad guy!" Tears shimmered in Xia Shiyun's eyes. She paid no mind to the fact that many people in the room were now watching them.

And at that very moment, a sudden flurry of heavy footsteps sounded as a group of masked men, each wielding an automatic rifle and wearing ferocious expressions, burst in.

"Ta-ta-ta!"………

"Everyone get down! This is a robbery!"

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"……

The sudden appearance of these people, the chilling words they uttered, and the sight of those dark machine guns—coupled with the deafening gunfire—terrified everyone into diving under tables.

"Ah!"

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Yang Yi said gently to Xia Shiyun, then fixed a cold gaze on the black-clad group, sweeping his eyes across the hall where Fatty Lin, Xu Ming, Ye Xiaohou, Li Qian, Murong Lianxue, Liu Qingqing, and others were converging toward him.

"Boss!"

"Brother Yi!"

"Yi!"

"Brother Yi!"

"Fatty, call Feng Shi immediately and inform him of the situation here!" Yang Yi said, his eyes narrowed.

"Got it!"

"Brother Yi, what are those people trying to do?" Murong Lianxue finished speaking and vanished in a leap.

"Lianxue, do not engage without my order." Yang Yi paid no mind to the surprise flashing across the faces of Xia Shiyun, Li Qian, and the others, saying the warning almost to himself.

"Daddy, who are these people?" Leng Yue asked Leng Nan with a look of panic.

"I don't know. Alright, stay close to your mother and hide. Make sure they don't spot you." Leng Nan, as a seasoned veteran of the business world, immediately made a decisive command.

"Who exactly are these people? They're masked. They don't look like members of any specific organization..." Leng Nan's expression grew colder the more he thought. He never imagined someone would dare openly rob the Leng family, choosing this precise moment to do so.

"Hands above your heads and squat down, or else..."

"Da-da-da!"

"Ah!" Another scream echoed.

But this time, someone was truly dead. The masked black-clad man raised his submachine gun and fired wildly at a stout middle-aged man, as if a human life held less weight than an ant in his hands.

"These guys are ruthless," Yang Yi muttered. His professional insight told him these were no ordinary thugs.

"Boss, in my opinion, these look like desperate outlaws. Look at their clothes!" Xu Ming said after crouching down to shield Liu Qingqing. "I've seen people like this back home. With clothes like theirs, they're likely men already sentenced to death, and they've escaped recently, not even having time to change."

"Hmm?" Yang Yi frowned, a thought suddenly striking him. He said, "This is likely a planned conspiracy. It might be about more than just robbery; their true goal might be..."

As Yang Yi pondered, his heart jolted. He glanced at Li Qian, then at Xia Shiyun, and a cold expression spread across his face. He murmured softly, "So that's it. Hmph, they actually dared to pull a stunt like this? I hope they don't live to regret it!"

"What is it, Boss?" Ye Xiaohou asked, sensing Yang Yi had grasped something.

"Don't ask. You few, stay with them and protect those three later. Not a single scratch is allowed, understood?" Yang Yi directed his cold gaze at the masked men.

"Uh, understood!" Fatty Lin and the others nodded blankly, confused about what Yang Yi intended to do.

"Yi..." Li Qian and Xia Shiyun both called out simultaneously, then glanced at each other without speaking further.

Yang Yi knew their worries, but the current situation didn't allow him to dwell on anything else. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I don't take these people seriously."