HBWMA -Chapter 378 Turbulent Undercurrent

After learning that Gu Yuzhu had gone missing, everyone panicked and gathered in the hotel lobby, preparing to evacuate.

Just as everything was being arranged, the stars seemed to scatter and lightning began to rage. Suddenly, a torrential downpour fell from the night sky. The rain poured down like a curtain of water, battering the remaining pear blossoms in the courtyard until they were in disarray. All the plants seemed to bow their heads under the storm.

The lobby fell into dead silence. The crackling thunderstorm amplified everyone’s fear to the extreme.

The manager hung up the phone and hurried into the crowd, bowing in apology to everyone.

“The lightning just now struck and damaged a nearby signal tower. I’m afraid it won’t be repaired until tomorrow after the rain stops. The weather is extremely bad, and there are lakes and hills all around here. In less than half an hour, the water level will rise. It’s too dangerous to drive out now. Please wait until the rain stops tomorrow before leaving.”

“What do you mean wait? There are kidnappers in the hotel right now! If we don’t go back, are we supposed to just stay here and wait to be killed?” someone shouted.

“I don’t care, I’m leaving now. No one can stop me.”

“Right! We’re leaving now!”

These young ladies were all pampered daughters from wealthy families. Encountering something like a kidnapping felt like the sky had collapsed for them, and each of them was completely thrown into panic.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Lan Dai tried to calm everyone down. “Everyone, please don’t panic. We don’t even know the situation with the kidnappers—how many there are, what they’re doing. Don’t lose your composure. With this abnormal weather, driving out would only be more—”

“Shut up!” A girl who was close to Yu Sheng shoved Lan Dai. “This hotel belongs to your family. Something like this happens and you still have the nerve to tell us to stay calm?”

“Exactly! With something this big happening and you’re still trying to stop us from leaving—are you working with those kidnappers or something?”

The gathering had been organized by the Gu family, but now that Gu Yuzhu had been taken, all the anger naturally shifted onto Lan Dai.

Lan Dai knew she wasn’t in a position to provoke public anger. She bit her lip and looked toward Su Yun, hoping she would speak up for her.

Su Yun hesitated for a moment, then chose to remain silent.

After what happened with Zhao Tang, her understanding of “friends” had completely changed—now she only formed relationships based on benefit, never sincerity.

The hotel manager, a member of the Lan family, quickly stepped in to defend her young miss.

“Please rest assured, everyone. Our hotel has a security system. As long as we get through tonight safely, once the rain subsides tomorrow, everyone will be able to leave securely.”

He then looked toward Shen Lanxi and Zhou Yanheng.

“Please believe us—we will do everything we can to ensure your safety.”

Zhou Yanheng smiled faintly. “With the heavy rain keeping us here, since Manager Hu has said so, let’s just wait one more night.”

The girls still looked frightened.

“Brother A-Heng, do we really have to stay? What if the kidnappers continue to act?”

“Brother A-Heng, can we go to your courtyard tonight?”

Zhou Yanheng had brought six boys with him this time, all students of the Military and Political Academy. The girls instinctively felt safer with him and gathered around him, pleading.

“Sure.” Zhou Yanheng smiled, appearing unexpectedly considerate.

Su Yun’s eyes darkened slightly. Only she knew how cruel this man truly was. After a moment’s hesitation, she gathered her courage and looked at Shen Lanxi.

“Shen Lanxi… can I go with you?”

Shen Lanxi raised his eyes, his gaze cool and distant as it fell on her.

Everyone else addressed him as “Young Master Shen,” but Su Yun called him by his name.

Before Shen Lanxi could respond, Yu Sheng immediately stepped in.

“There are so many of us. Brother Zhou’s side might not be able to take care of everyone. For safety, let’s split the girls into two groups. What do you think?”

As she spoke, she first glanced at Shen Guiling before turning to seek Shen Lanxi’s opinion.

“Good. That’s a good idea.”

The girls quickly agreed. Compared to Su Yun, Yu Sheng’s composure and sense of judgment were clearly superior.

In a corner of the sofa, Jiang Huasan sat silently, observing everyone’s reactions without saying a word.

“Sir,” someone called from the side.

At this moment, Gao Zhi strode into the crowd in a black windbreaker, his entire body drenched by the rain. His gaze was cold and murderous, like a blade freshly drawn from its sheath.

“The signal wasn’t cut off by the lightning storm. Someone deliberately destroyed it.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the girls trembled in fear.

The hotel manager also looked completely stunned. “How is that possible?”

“Go on,” Shen Lanxi said calmly, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.

Gao Zhi continued, “The rain is too heavy. The surrounding mountains were excessively excavated, making the foundation unstable. A landslide could easily occur. On top of that, the lake water nearby has already risen above the roadbed. Returning to the port now would actually be even more dangerous.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at the manager Hu. It seemed the manager hadn’t lied.

“So what do we do? The kidnappers deliberately destroyed the signal so we can’t call the police.”

“How could the signal room be destroyed so easily? It must be someone inside the hotel working with the kidnappers.”

Everyone was completely panicked, voices overlapping in chaotic discussion.

“Hey, hey!” Guan He stood up and made a shushing gesture. “Complaining won’t solve anything at this point. I think our priority now is figuring out how to safely get through the night. After all, no one knows who the kidnappers’ next target will be.”

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere dropped to freezing point again. Some of the more timid girls even started crying.

At a time like this, he was still deliberately stirring panic—was he insane?

Jiang Huashan looked at Guan He with obvious disdain. When she turned her head, she happened to meet Zhou Yanheng’s eyes.

Zhou Yanheng gave a faint smile. He originally thought Jiang Huashan would, as usual, roll her eyes at him and ignore him afterward. But she reacted differently this time—her gaze was sharp and hostile, staring at him without blinking. Her expression was striking, like a hook that could drag out the evil thoughts hidden in his heart.

“……”

Just as Jiang Huashan was staring intently, Shen Qingyu suddenly grabbed her ponytail without even lifting his eyelids. She hissed in pain.

Shen Qingyu turned his face slightly toward her, lazy yet sharp. “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at an idiot,” Jiang Huashan snapped, glaring at him.

Shen Qingyu chuckled and let go. “Not allowed to look.”

Lan Dai silently watched the interaction in the corner of the sofa, unable to describe what she felt. With danger looming over everyone, they were still in the mood to fool around?

After finishing his statement, Guan He turned to Zhou Yanheng. “A-Heng, what do you think?”

Zhou Yanheng glanced coldly at Shen Qingyu before speaking. “No one wants something like this to happen. Those who are willing to trust me, follow me. Those who don’t can choose for themselves.”

Yu Sheng and Su Yun immediately turned to look at Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi’s expression remained indifferent. “For safety reasons, we may have to ask everyone to squeeze together for the night.”

At a time like this, if they ignored everyone’s safety concerns, it would damage the Shen family’s reputation. Shen Lanxi simply disliked scheming and calculation—but that didn’t mean he was incapable of it.

With thunder and rain raging on, the storm showed no sign of stopping. The girls, uneasy and anxious, returned to the hotel in groups.

Shen Lanxi arranged everyone in the main hall, leaving Shen Guiling to look after them, while he took Shen Qingyu and Gao Zhi to the adjacent recreation room to discuss matters.

Yu Sheng surveyed the overall situation and sensed that Shen Lanxi had likely noticed something, but was handling it privately to avoid causing panic. She then looked toward Shen Guiling in the corner, her thoughts complicated.

After such a major incident, Shen Guiling hadn’t said a single word from beginning to end. He simply obeyed Shen Lanxi’s arrangements.

It had always been like this. Whenever Shen Lanxi was present, Shen Guiling would restrain his own brilliance and let the “young master” take the lead. Even her father had praised Shen Guiling more than once as a genius—but also lamented more than once that he was merely an illegitimate son.

Clearly possessing talent no less than anyone else’s, yet forced to shrink into the shadows and live under others’ authority.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Sheng took the initiative to approach him in greeting.

“How’s your injury? Is it better now?”