Mr. Xiao, can I borrow your wedding invitation?

Chapter 136 Locked in the Basement
The old residence of the Xiao family.

Nan Wu felt that the performance was over, so she drove back to the Xiao family home.

"Fifth aunt!"

Xiao Ruonan stood by the pond, idly tossing fish food into the water.

Since Ah Lie left, she felt that life had lost its joy, she couldn't muster the energy to do anything, and she was getting bored to death.

She turned her head at the sound of the voice, and when she saw it was Nan Wu, she immediately became radiant. "Great, Xiao Wu! I'm so bored. Will you keep me company for a while?"

Then she dragged the person to her own building and ordered the servants to bring tea and snacks.

"This is Wanbaozhai's signature dish, the Hundred Flowers Pastry. It's only available in limited quantities each day. I had to beg Fourth Brother to cut in line so I could get one. You have to try it, it's delicious!"

"Hundred Flower Pastry?" Nan Wu suddenly thought of a few days ago.

"Yeah, have you already eaten?"

Nan Wu smiled and shook her head. Xiao Ruonan breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it! Otherwise, I would have gotten excited for nothing!"

Nan Wu chuckled, finding her fifth aunt quite adorable, and couldn't bear to tell her that she had already eaten.

It seems Xiao Shen has a particular fondness for this shop's Hundred Flower Pastries.

She had just taken a bite when Xiao Ruonan leaned over and anxiously asked, "How is it? How is it?"

"Mmm, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, sweet but not cloying, delicious!"

"Right? My recommendation was definitely right!" Xiao Ruonan said with a sense of accomplishment. "By the way, I already told you not to call me Fifth Aunt anymore. I don't want to be your elder, I just want to be your friend. Call me Ruonan, or Fifth Miss, understand?"

This put Nanwu in a difficult position. "How about this, when there are other people around, I'll call you Fifth Aunt, and in private, I'll call you Ruonan, okay?"

Xiao Ruonan extended her little finger and made a pinky promise with Nan Wu, "Deal!"

After chatting for a while, Nan Wu suddenly noticed something. Holding her glass and leisurely sipping her floral tea, she casually asked, "By the way, have you found your bodyguard yet?"

She tried to contact Ning Zhiyuan afterward, but received no response. She didn't know what had happened to him. She had been busy with the wedding preparations these past two days and had forgotten about it.

Xiao Ruonan took a bite of the Hundred Flowers Pastry, looking satisfied. Upon hearing this, she froze for a moment, then mumbled, "You mean him? Oh, he wasn't serious about his work, so the old man fired him. Anyway, I have plenty of bodyguards, so one more or one less won't make a difference!"

Nan Wu didn't press the matter further, fearing it might arouse suspicion. However, she felt that things weren't so simple. When Xiao Ruonan questioned her on the phone that day, her tone was incredibly anxious. Now, she was so calm; there must be something wrong.

After chatting for a while, Nan Wu said goodbye. Right at the exit of the building, she overheard the servants talking amongst themselves.

"Tell me, what exactly did Ah Lie do to offend Miss Fifth? It was clearly the old man who drove him away!"

"Don't you know Fifth Miss's temper? She's all talk and no action. If Ah Lie had just admitted his mistake, he wouldn't have been locked up!"

"Poor Ah Lie, who knows how long Miss Wu will keep him locked up? I hope he doesn't cause a death!"

"Since you care about him so much, why don't you go and put in a good word for him with Miss Wu?"

"Ugh! Forget it, you go if you want, I wouldn't dare!"

"Hello, Madam!"

"Greetings, Young Madam!" Nan Wu nodded in return, her hands clenched into fists.

Ning Zhiyuan was locked up by Xiao Ruonan?
……

Nan Wu shouldn't have meddled in other people's business, especially with the man who had hurt her before. But Ning Zhiyuan had saved her before, and based on the principle of repaying kindness, she still took action.

Seizing the opportunity when Xiao Ruonan went out, Nan Wu drove after her and followed her all the way to a villa.

Xiao Ruonan's car did not enter the villa, but drove into the underground garage and never came out again.

Hearing the sound of the door lock turning, Ah Lie finally managed to prop his head up.

Xiao Ruonan was dressed in a milky white Chanel-style outfit, which made her look sweet and well-behaved. But who would have known that the Fifth Miss was actually so ruthless and eccentric in private?

The bodyguard brought her a chair to sit down. She fiddled with the exquisite phone charm, her bright eyes fixed on Ning Zhiyuan. "How have you been these past few days?"

Ning Zhiyuan lowered his eyelids, the whip marks on his face were still so obvious, and some places were even infected and inflamed, swollen higher than the surrounding skin, which was shocking to see.

"Is it so hard for you to apologize to me, say something nice, and beg me to let you come back?" Seeing that Ning Zhiyuan didn't say a word, Xiao Ruonan couldn't sit still anymore, her tone filled with grievance and threat.

She tried to put him out of her mind and let him fend for himself, but after several attempts, she couldn't do it at all. Now, she, the fifth young lady of the Xiao family, had condescended to give him a way out. Even if he said something casually, as long as she was in a good mood, she would let him off the hook. But who knew that he would act as if he was being stubborn and would rather be hung up like this than say a word to her, showing her no respect at all.

Okay, okay, that's really good!
"Who do you think you are? I'm giving you a chance because I think highly of you. Since I can save your life, I can also let you die here. I'll ask you one question: are you still willing to come back with me?" Xiao Ruonan put aside her dignity and patiently asked him one last time.

Ah Lie finally made a move. He raised his deep eyes and stared at her for a while. His gaze was firm and deep. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Wu, but I am just a worthless life. I don't want Miss Wu to disobey Master Xiao because of me. I have already accepted the money. Someone like me who is greedy for money is not worthy to work for Miss Wu!"

"So, you mean you're not coming back with me?" Xiao Ruonan's eyes were even colder than before.

Ning Zhiyuan closed his eyes and stopped speaking.

Xiao Ruonan stood up. "Fine, since you're courting death, I can't stop you. I want to see how long you can hold out!"

She commanded the others, "Everyone, without my permission, anyone who dares to give him food or water will not be spared!"

"Yes!"

Xiao Ruonan arrived full of expectations, but left in anger.

She wanted to see if Ah Lie's body was tougher, or if her methods were tougher.

Half an hour later, Nan Wu saw Xiao Ruonan come out of the underground parking garage. She looked as if she had gone through something, and her expression was completely different from before she came.

She hid in the shadows until they were completely gone, then emerged and slipped into the underground parking garage. There was a row of neatly arranged storage rooms downstairs, usually used to store miscellaneous items. She searched through them one by one until she finally found the room where the person had been hiding.

Nan Wu observed it for a moment; it was an old-fashioned lock cylinder. She took off the brooch from her clothes and slowly inserted the sharp needle into the lock cylinder…

She learned this process online beforehand. At the time, she was afraid of being targeted by the Qian family, so she had no choice but to learn some escape skills to protect herself. She never expected to use them here.

"who is it?"

The moment Nan Wu pushed open the door, she was stunned by the scene that came into view.

In the very center, a man was hanging upside down with his hands bound. His clothes were tattered and soaked with blood, and his face was covered in red and swollen wounds. Without a close look, it was impossible to tell who he was.

"Sakura?"