Chapter 898: New Business

Tao Yueyue stared into Zhou Xiao’s bloodshot, wolf-like eyes and replied, “None of those… I’ve decided to be your partner!”

“Really?” Zhou Xiao’s tone was dripping with skepticism.

Trying to remain calm, Tao Yueyue said, “You’ve opened the door to a new world for me. I want to see what it’s like because this life seems interesting. It feels like something I’ve always longed for.”

Zhou Xiao leaned back on the sofa. Given his current situation, he couldn’t afford to trust anyone easily. However, the fact that this girl had left and then returned with medicine made him reconsider his doubts.

With Zhou Tian’nan’s sudden death, their gang had been going downhill. Zhou Xiao looked at the timid girl in front of him, wondering if his future path might start here.

He pointed to the bedroom. “You must be tired. Go to that room and sleep. I won’t lock you in this time.”

Tao Yueyue breathed a sigh of relief. “You should get some rest too.”

Zhou Xiao nodded, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

After a long night, Tao Yueyue was indeed exhausted. She lay on the unfamiliar bed, staring at the clouds outside, thinking about how to subdue Zhou Xiao.

She could kill him when he wasn’t expecting it. It could be considered self-defense, and given her age, she likely wouldn’t face serious legal consequences.

No, she couldn’t kill him!

She recalled someone’s words to her:

“Tao Yueyue, do you know why Batman doesn’t kill?”

“To set a good example for young people?”

“Haha, that’s part of it, but more importantly, it’s his principle. Batman stubbornly adheres to a no-kill rule because he believes that if he uses killing to stop crime, he’d be no different from the criminals. So he absolutely doesn’t kill.”

Who had said those words to her? Tao Yueyue struggled to remember through her fatigue and finally recalled the boy killed by Zhou Tian’nan. They had gotten along well and could have been good friends.

Tao Yueyue gripped the bedsheet, making up her mind: she had to subdue Zhou Xiao, not kill him.

She gradually fell asleep and dreamt of a monster with a wolf’s jaws and sharp teeth, shaking her violently. She woke up with a start to find Zhou Xiao squatting beside her bed, holding a knife, his narrow eyes full of menace.

It was already evening outside, and someone was knocking on the door.

“Did you contact Song Lang?” Zhou Xiao whispered, his voice low and threatening.

“No, I didn’t…” Tao Yueyue’s heart raced. Was it really Chen Shi outside? She hoped and feared it at the same time. If he was alone, he’d be in great danger.

The knocking continued persistently for a full minute, the sound almost driving her mad.

“See how many people are out there,” Zhou Xiao ordered.

Tao Yueyue nodded, climbed out of bed, and looked through the peephole. She saw a huge eyeball staring back, indicating the person outside was also peeping in.

The person outside seemed to realize someone was inside and whispered, “Old Xie, are you in there?”

Tao Yueyue rushed back to Zhou Xiao. “It’s one of the friends of the guys you killed last night.”

“Oh?” Zhou Xiao looked suspicious and closed the window. “Stay here and don’t move.”

Zhou Xiao hid the knife behind his back and opened the door. A chubby man stood outside, looking surprised to see Zhou Xiao. “I’m a friend of Old Xie’s. He had some things to do today,” Zhou Xiao lied smoothly.

“Oh…” The chubby man glanced at his phone. “Why isn’t he answering his phone?”

“He can’t take calls right now. He asked me to wait here for you and give you something.” Zhou Xiao continued his lie.

Tao Yueyue, hiding in the bedroom, was trembling. Zhou Xiao planned to lure this man in and kill him!

“Something for me?” The chubby man looked excited. “Did he get it done… uh, you know what he was up to, right?”

“He was with two other friends today, handling something important.”

They were testing each other; the chubby man wasn’t a good person either.

The chubby man laughed. “We’re on the same side, huh?”

Zhou Xiao smiled. “Come in.”

The chubby man entered, looking around. Zhou Xiao kept his hand on the hidden knife, ready to strike.

“Why hasn’t Old Xie acted yet? Did you guys change the plan to tonight? I was worried when I couldn’t reach him, so I came over to check. I’ve already paid him, and I don’t want to get scammed.”

Zhou Xiao removed his hand from the knife. “You hired those three to kidnap someone? How much did you pay?”

“Hey!” The chubby man looked Zhou Xiao up and down. “Aren’t you his friend? Didn’t he tell you? Damn, you’re not a cop, are you?”

The chubby man turned to leave, but Zhou Xiao grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, making him sit on the sofa. The man was trembling and stammering, “We… we haven’t committed any crime yet…”

Zhou Xiao drew his knife, twirling it in his hand. “I’m not his friend. Last night, he trespassed on my turf, and I killed all three of them.”

“You… you killed them!?” The chubby man’s eyes widened in shock.

Zhou Xiao tossed a bag onto the coffee table. The chubby man opened it to find the dead men’s wallets, phones, and IDs. “Why did you kill my hired men? I’ve lost all my money!”

“Tell me about this business.”

The chubby man hesitated before saying, “The person I want to kidnap is legally my wife, but we’ve been separated for a long time. She’s cunning and has gradually taken over our shared company, turning it into her own. Now she’s successful, has her own place, a lover, and hasn’t been home in two years. What’s worse, she set me up, holding evidence against me. If we divorce, I won’t get a dime. She gives me an allowance, treating me like a useless bum while she lives it up. I’m a man; I can’t swallow this. So I want to ruin her company!”

“Go on.”

“What’s your name?”

“Zhou.”

“Mr. Zhou, I can see you’re capable and in a tight spot. Would you consider taking this job?”

Zhou Xiao smiled, feeling he had hit the jackpot. “How much ransom do you want?”

“The more, the better. I agreed with Old Xie on a 70-30 split. If you help me, we’ll do the same.”

“What if I kill her? Won’t you get more inheritance that way?”

The chubby man looked horrified. “But I don’t want to kill her. She’s still my wife…”

Zhou Xiao’s sinister smile widened. “But if she were dead, you’d get everything, wouldn’t you?”