Three minutes later, Cao Xuri now occupied the position previously held by his wife, housekeeper, and the other four. He lay horizontally on the open space between the sofas. The man who had stood up earlier held two cups of water – one nearly frozen from the refrigerator, the other freshly boiled and steaming.
“Splash…”
The bone-chilling cold, like flesh-eating ants, jolted Cao Xuri awake from his stupor. Immediately after, boiling water was poured down, and the scalding pain intensified the damage caused by the ice water. In an instant, Cao Xuri opened his mouth wide, but before he could cry out, the man’s shoe was already pressing down on his mouth.
“Wuwu…” Cao Xuri made a muffled sound, his pupils dilating, caught completely off guard by the sudden assault.
“It seems Mr. Cao still remembers this little bank credit department manager?” The standing man smiled warmly, while the left foot pressing on Cao Xuri’s mouth applied force and twisted. Bending slightly, he looked at Cao Xuri and said with an intimate laugh: “How rare. That a busy man like Mr. Cao would remember a small person like me. I’m truly honored.”
With that, Ye Huan removed his foot from Cao Xuri’s mouth, simultaneously patting his trouser leg as if brushing off dust, though his gaze remained fixed on Cao Xuri: “Mr. Cao surely isn’t foolish enough to think about calling the police or shouting, right?”
Cao Xuri shook his head, his face ashen.
Ye Huan, a young and promising Agricultural Bank credit department manager, had previously helped Cao Xuri with loans, but Cao Xuri had never given him a good look. “Could this be about that?” The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly extinguished. Then he recalled Ye Huan’s other identity and, despite his bleeding, torn lips, he struggled to ask: “Is this about your senior brother Li Huaihai?”
“Whether he’s alive or dead, what does it have to do with me?” Ye Huan sneered, turning to sit back on the sofa, legs crossed, looking down at Cao Xuri: “Where is the Thousand-Year Cicada?
“Help me lift him up, brothers,” Ye Huan gritted his teeth, showing a hint of respect.
“Okay.” The two men snorted coldly, bending down to grab one of Cao Xuri’s arms and lifting him from the ground as if he were a small chicken.
