Gao Wu: I'll enjoy the benefits, but you'll bear the side effects.

As she spoke, Huang Muran frantically rummaged through the kitchen, her movements slightly hurried, leaving the contents of the cupboards scattered about, all the while muttering to herself:

"I remember I left you a steamed bun, where did it go? That kid must have eaten it just now. I saw him coming out munching on a steamed bun. Oh no. Why don't you have some noodles first? I still have instant noodles in my room."

As Huang Muran spoke, he shook his head helplessly, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

Gao Jie did not respond, but simply leaned against the window, gazing intently into the distance.

Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and countless unknown secrets seemed to be hidden in the darkness.

His brow furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought, pondering his next move.

He thought to himself that the current situation was as disgusting as it could get.

One trouble after another followed. First, he was attacked by Li Wencai, then he had to deal with Huang Xu's poisoning, and now he was trapped in this godforsaken place, not knowing when he would be able to get out of this predicament.

In short, their current state is already extremely dangerous.

And with a group of people hiding here, when will it ever end? We have to find a way to get out of this awful place.

Just then, Huang Muran put the noodles down, the steaming instant noodles emitting an enticing aroma.

"Hurry up and eat, then go to sleep. Don't think about anything else right now. I know what you're thinking. Let's wait for news from my uncle; maybe we can get the best outcome."

Huang Muran said softly, a hint of comfort in his eyes.

Gao Jie turned his head and looked at Huang Muran, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Huang Muran, don't leave. Sit down and chat with me. You can go back to sleep after I finish eating. Actually, I'm quite curious, with such a capable uncle, why do you still rely on yourself?"

Gao Jie's tone was full of doubt. He really didn't understand why Huang Muran would face difficulties alone when he had such a strong backing.

"Especially since your uncle has such a powerful influence in Jinling, who would dare disobey him? So why do you still choose to rely on yourself? What is the reason for that?"

Gao Jie pressed further, his eyes fixed on Huang Muran, as if trying to find the answer in her expression.

"Do you really dislike your uncle? Or is there some kind of conflict between you and your uncle?"

Upon hearing these words, Huang Muran simply sighed quietly, a sigh filled with helplessness and bitterness.

Then she slowly shook her head, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke:

"Actually, what you've said isn't really the truth. Let me tell you, my relationship with my uncle is extremely bad. If it weren't for my uncle, my parents might not have separated."

A hint of pain was visible in Huang Muran's eyes, as if recalling that past event still caused her great heartache.

Gao Jie frowned slightly, his curiosity growing.

"Why do you say that? What exactly happened between your uncle and your parents?"

Gao Jie pressed for details, sensing that there seemed to be a hidden story behind it all.

Huang Muran raised her head and looked at Gao Jie, her eyes filled with a trace of sadness.

"My parents originally had a very good relationship, but then a big incident happened, and it involved Qi Laoda. Because of this incident, my parents had a disagreement, and in the end, Qi Laoda broke them up. My uncle also seemed to have played a negative role in this matter, so I have always harbored resentment towards him."

Huang Muran's voice trembled slightly, as if he was trying hard to control his emotions.

Gao Jie nodded slightly without saying a word; he could sense the pain in Huang Muran's heart.

Huang Muran continued:

"I've lived with my grandparents since I was little. Whenever my uncle visits, I usually don't talk to him. But in recent years, my uncle has become very ill, and since I'm his only relative, I've been forced to see him more often. The main thing is that my grandmother also suffers from a serious illness, and my uncle often helps her buy medicine."

Huang Muran's eyes revealed a hint of helplessness, a helplessness like a bottomless pool, concealing the hardships of life and inner struggles over the years.

The pressures of life weighed heavily on her, making it hard to breathe. It also forced her to let go of the resentment that had been building up in her heart for so long and to rebuild a subtle and complex connection with her uncle.

She knew that in this realistic world, there were some things that, no matter how unacceptable, one could only choose to compromise for the sake of survival and for the sake of family.

Hearing these words, Gao Jie was filled with emotion.

He seemed to see Huang Muran struggling in the vortex of family turmoil over the years, a kind of pain and helplessness that he had never truly experienced.

After learning about these circumstances, he felt that Huang Muran's life was much worse than his own.

Although she herself also experienced ups and downs in the tides of fate and faced many difficulties, such as evading Qin Xianglong's pursuit and dealing with various sudden crises, at least she did not have the family conflicts and heavy burdens that she did.

His family may have been ordinary, but they had never suffered such a huge change and pain.

Fortunately, they can still make ends meet, which is much better than those who are completely mired in the mire of life.

Gao Jie looked at Huang Muran with a mixture of sympathy and admiration in his eyes. The sympathy stemmed from his empathy for her past experiences, while the admiration came from her resilience in the face of adversity.

"You've had it tough too, I hope things will get better in the future."

Gao Jie spoke softly, his voice gentle and sincere, like a faint but hopeful lamp lit in the darkness.

Huang Muran nodded slightly, forcing a smile that was tinged with bitterness and gratitude.

"Thank you, I hope so. Hurry up and eat your noodles, they're getting cold."

She urged softly, trying to break the slightly heavy atmosphere.

After saying that, she sat quietly to the side, watching Gao Jie eat noodles with a somewhat vacant gaze.

At this moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze, with only the slight sound of Gao Jie eating noodles.

Both fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts, like two lonely boats sailing on a vast night sea, so close yet seemingly worlds apart.

"Now that you've told me about myself, tell me about yourself. I want to know what's going on with you."

Huang Muran broke the silence first, raising her head to look at Gao Jie with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Gao Jie pondered for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"You're really something. What do I have to say? You know almost everything about me, and you're very familiar with the specifics."

His tone was relaxed, yet carried an indescribable sense of vicissitude.

"There's nothing particularly special about me, except that my family was slightly better off than yours when I was little; at least we had some ordinary warmth and laughter. But as I grew up, things became even worse than yours."

A hint of melancholy flashed in Gao Jie's eyes, as if he were recalling those unpleasant past events.

"Furthermore, my grades were constantly being altered during my school years, and I was powerless to resist, so I could only silently accept it. There was nothing I could do. Being in the midst of a torrent, I could only go with the flow."

He shook his head helplessly, as if surrendering to the cruel tricks of fate.

Huang Muran smiled and nodded. She sensed a profound understanding and insight into life from Gao Jie's words, and felt that his words were quite insightful.

That was not just a simple statement, but more like a sigh about life's circumstances.

The two sat together for a while, and time passed quietly in the quiet atmosphere before they finally went back to their rooms.

However, starting that night, Huang Muran's feelings toward Gao Jie seemed to be subtly changing.

She no longer saw him merely as an ordinary partner, but saw something more in him: a resilience forged through trials and tribulations, a tenacity that faced life's helplessness yet never gave up hope. These qualities, like twinkling starlight, gradually gathered in her heart, giving her a completely new understanding and respect for Gao Jie.

At this time, Jinling City was like a huge vortex with a calm surface but turbulent undercurrents, and the most dangerous core was Qin Xianglong of the Qin family.

He sat in the luxurious and imposing mansion of the Qin family, believing that everything he had meticulously planned would proceed smoothly and without any mishaps.

He dispatched Li Youcai, a renowned expert in the martial arts world. In his mind, dealing with a few greenhorn kids would be a piece of cake for Li Youcai, as easy as an eagle swooping down on ants.

However, reality delivered a resounding slap to his confident face.

He never expected that Li Youcai, on whom he had placed such high hopes, would fail miserably, and now he had completely lost contact with him.

Qin Xianglong was extremely anxious and quickly found someone to carefully inquire about Li Youcai's destiny.

When he learned that Li Youcai's life palace was already dim, his face instantly turned extremely ugly. His face, which was originally dignified and cold, was now covered with dark clouds and was terrifyingly gloomy.

The condition of this life palace undoubtedly indicates that Li Youcai is beyond dead and has completely disappeared from this world.

Qin Xianglong's face was extremely ugly. He really didn't expect that such a trivial matter would lead to the loss of one of his top generals!

Logically speaking, Li Youcai could easily handle those kids with just a few simple moves, so why has it turned out like this?

His face grew increasingly grim as he thought about it, his inner anger surging like a volcano about to erupt.

The anger surged and accumulated in his chest, finally erupting like a flood bursting its banks.

He suddenly picked up something nearby and slammed it heavily to the ground. With that loud bang, the whole room seemed to tremble slightly.

Everyone in the room was so frightened by the sudden outburst of anger that they fell silent, holding their breath and not daring to utter a sound, for fear of accidentally provoking the enraged head of the Qin family.

"I paid such a high price to have Li Youcai deal with these two brats, but I never expected him to lose his own life in the process. Can any of you tell me what to do?"

Qin Xianglong roared angrily, his voice echoing in the room, making everyone's eardrums buzz.

"These kids definitely know about my older brother's affairs. What if they tell others later? Don't forget that our Qin family is going to compete for the position of sheriff."

As Qin Xianglong roared, he paced back and forth in the room, his steps hurried and heavy, each one feeling as if it were treading on the hearts of everyone present.

His true intention was to compete for the position of sheriff. In his eyes, the position of sheriff was not only a symbol of power and glory, but also a key step for the Qin family to reach a higher peak.

He was willing to pay any price for this goal, and he didn't want to consider anything else.

Moreover, the Qin family now possesses sufficient wealth and power, enough to support them in striding confidently down this competitive and challenging path.

However, the most important thing is the current situation. If we don't figure it out, it will undoubtedly be an extremely troublesome and fatal problem.

Qin Hailong's death was a secret that the Qin family absolutely could not reveal. They all claimed to the outside world that he died from a sudden illness. Since Qin Hailong usually seemed to be in good health, his sudden death led many uninformed people to believe that it was an acute illness such as a heart attack.

However, only the core members of the Qin family knew that Qin Hailong had died at the hands of Gao Jie.

Now that Qin Xianglong is planning to compete for the position of sheriff, it is necessary to clarify this matter.

He knew that if he didn't eliminate the people involved in Qin Hailong's death, even if he were lucky enough to become a sheriff, his heart would forever be shrouded in fear and unease.

Furthermore, what he fears most right now is that this matter will suddenly be exposed. If that happens, everything the Qin family has painstakingly built up over the years will be destroyed, and the family's reputation, status, and future development will be plunged into an abyss of no return.

Qin Xianglong's behavior was quite unbelievable, and everyone was puzzled, wondering to themselves why Qin Xianglong insisted on Gao Jie's death.

However, they had no idea what Qin Xianglong meant. They only knew that the situation was extremely serious, but they were completely unaware of the deeper reasons, the complex interests and family secrets hidden behind it...

Qin Xianglong frowned, his brows so furrowed they looked as if they could trap a fly.

He tried to suppress his anger and make his voice sound calmer, but his slightly trembling tone still betrayed his agitated emotions.

"I don't want to waste my breath on any of you. I'm telling you, get to the bottom of this right now, or don't blame me for turning on you. Do you all understand?"

His gaze was like a sharp scalpel, coldly sweeping across everyone's faces, the intimidating power in his eyes sending chills down their spines.

"I've considered many issues, but this is the one I don't want to consider. I want you to get this straight."

"Now that Li Youcai is dead, send me a few more men and make sure they're all killed. Also, I suspect this matter might be related to certain people."

Qin Xianglong said through gritted teeth, his eyes revealing a hint of ruthlessness and suspicion.

Just as he was about to reveal who the person was, one of his henchmen seemed to sense something and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Brother, I think this matter is related to Boss Qi and his gang, and I suspect it even more is that bitch Wen's henchmen."

The younger brother's eyes gleamed with a hint of flattery and a desire to claim credit; he was eager to demonstrate his insight to Qin Xianglong.

"As far as I know, Awen's men are ruthless and quite formidable. What do you think we should do about this?"

Qin Xianglong glanced at him, his eyes filled with no admiration, only endless coldness and resolve.

"Is there even a question? Of course, we just wipe them out!"

His voice was cold and decisive, as if he were pronouncing a death sentence on a group of people, without the slightest hesitation or pity.