A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 971 Ouyang Bao Makes a Move on Gui'er

Gui'er quietly cocked the miniature pistol.

As they passed a small grocery store, a hand suddenly reached out from inside and pulled Gui'er inside.

Gui'er instinctively wanted to shout, but her mouth was covered.

“Miss, it’s me.” Wu Mingqiang’s voice said, “Something’s happened, come with me.”

Gui'er looked up and saw that it was indeed Wu Mingqiang. He pulled Gui'er and quickly walked into the store. It turned out that the store was rectangular with doors at the front and back. The two quickly passed through the store and came out through the back door.

Wu Mingqiang pulled Gui'er forward for a while, and they ran into a winding alley. Wu Mingqiang kept looking back to make sure no one was following them before he stopped.

"What happened? Why isn't Brother Cheng here?"

"It's terrible. We finally found Professor Xu's detention location, but we were discovered by the guards. It was Ah Si who went to find him. One of the guards was Ouyang Bao's close henchman. He recognized Ah Si. After Ouyang Bao found out, he brought his men to the villa and beat Ah Si up. Ah Cheng took advantage of the chaos and escaped by climbing over the back wall with Ding Xiang. He told me at the pawnshop. I thought he would definitely come looking for you, so I came over quickly."

Gui'er was at a loss. She had thought that if she could find the two people's place of detention smoothly, she could think of a way to help them. Either she could ask Meng Haoliang to organize students to protest, or she could secretly rescue them. But now that she had been discovered, they would definitely be transferred. Moreover, Ouyang Bao knew that she was the one who did it. She had no power or influence in Hong Kong, and he had long wanted to force her to be his mistress so that he could seize her property. Now he had an excuse.

“Miss, Ouyang Bao will definitely force you to submit now. I secretly bought a residence before. Why don’t you go there to avoid trouble for a couple of days?”

Gui'er thought for a moment. Now that they were in dire straits, they could only take it one step at a time. So she nodded and said, "Okay."

Wu Mingqiang led Gui'er through the alleys, walking a long way before finally arriving at an alley close to the main road.

They walked into the second house in the alley, and there was a "Shop for Rent" sign on the door. Wu Mingqiang pulled Gui'er around to the back, where there was a small wooden door. He took out his key, opened the door, and there was a staircase right at the entrance. It turned out that the first floor was intended to be rented out as shops, and the second floor was intended to be used as accommodation.

Wu Mingqiang led Gui'er up to the second floor. There was another door leading to the living room. The floor was covered with geometric patterns made of several colors, and the walls were adorned with Western-style oil paintings and Chinese-style screens. A rosewood eight-immortal table was paired with a grand master's chair, and a bronze incense burner sat on the corner of the table. Each floor had three bedrooms and a living room, as well as a kitchen and a bathroom. The bathroom had a white porcelain bathtub large enough for a person to lie down in.

Wu Mingqiang pointed to a room and said, "Miss, you can stay in this room. I'll go find Dingxiang and Acheng to come and serve you later."

Gui'er pushed open the door and glanced inside. The room wasn't large, with an iron-framed bed with a lace canopy, an oval dressing mirror embedded in the dressing table, a Western-style wardrobe standing next to it, and a brass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was clearly a girl's boudoir. Gui'er couldn't help but wonder if this was the place Wu Mingqiang originally planned to keep as a mistress.

Feeling a little guilty, she said, "Won't it be a bother if I stay here? I'm afraid it might be inconvenient."

Wu Mingqiang hurriedly said, "It's alright, Miss, this was originally prepared for you." But he stopped himself as soon as he said it.

Gui'er has grown up now. She noticed that Wu Mingqiang's ears were a little red and keenly sensed that something was amiss. However, given the current situation, she couldn't worry about such things and simply nodded, saying, "Thank you, Brother Wu."

Wu Mingqiang breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Then Miss, you should rest for a bit. I'll go find someone right away."

After Wu Mingqiang left, Gui'er looked down through the window. The location of this house was actually not bad. Although it was not on the main street, it was very close and could be used as a shop. The ground floors of the surrounding houses were also small shops. It was evening, and the sounds of neighbors cooking could be heard. The aroma of rice and vegetables wafted through the air from time to time.

Gui'er also felt a little hungry. She opened all the cabinets but couldn't find anything to eat. She hesitated whether to go downstairs to buy something, but then decided against it.

Back in the bedroom, she opened the wardrobe and found it filled with all sorts of high-end cheongsams and dresses, as well as woolen coats for autumn and winter, all in her size. It seemed that Wu Mingqiang had prepared these for her as well.

Gui'er was in a state of confusion. She closed the wardrobe and sat there in a daze. She didn't know what to do about the current situation. Chen Zhongyu, Xu Jing, and Ouyang Bao must have moved away long ago. It would be difficult to find them again, since he was already on guard.

Lin Peishan also returned to Macau, and she didn't know any of the other comrades, leaving her truly isolated and helpless.

Just then, the sound of a key turning came from the doorway. Gui'er quickly got up and saw Wu Mingqiang leading Dingxiang and Acheng in. Dingxiang's eyes were red and swollen. As soon as she saw Gui'er, she rushed over and said in a tearful voice, "Miss, I'm so glad to see you! The villa was smashed to pieces!"

Acheng stood to the side, a bruise on his face, his voice hoarse: "Ouyang Bao brought more than a dozen thugs and rushed in, saying he was going to arrest criminals. He wouldn't listen to anyone's explanation at all, and he just made a mess of the house, smashing and throwing things. We couldn't stop him. Liu Jin tried to go up and say some nice things, but he got beaten up."

"They were smashing things and shouting that you were suspected of participating in a rebellious party and that they were going to arrest you and put you in jail." Dingxiang wiped away her tears. "When Brother Si saw that they were going to search your room upstairs, he went up to stop them and said something, but they pinned him to the ground and beat him with sticks until he vomited blood... When they were finally dragged away, Brother Si was still shouting for us to run."

Gui'er's heart clenched, her fingertips turning icy cold: "And what happened after that?"

"I don't know. I sensed something was wrong, so I quickly grabbed Dingxiang and ran away. Then we ran to the pawnshop and told Brother Qiang to hide all the valuables first." Acheng clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "Brother Qiang was worried and wanted to pick you up from school himself, so Dingxiang and I sent Chen De away and made sure to hide the things properly. We only came over after locking the door. I was even thinking of killing Chen De, but Dingxiang stopped me."

Dingxiang cried as she said, "Of course I had to stop you. They're already trying to frame us. If you really offend him, it will solidify the charges against us, and he'll have even more reason to arrest you."

Wu Mingqiang added from the side: "I just secretly went back to the villa to take a look. There were people guarding the front and back of the villa. I don't know if these people are police officers, but they were not wearing big green uniforms. I guess Ouyang Bao specially left people to keep watch."