Chapter 48: It’s Okay

Chapter 48: It's Good That You're Safe

Those in power typically prefer to maintain control over situations, and Fu Junhang was no exception.

The discovery at the back mountain was unexpected, but Fu Junhang managed to grasp the general situation in the shortest time possible. For someone who had experienced gunfire and danger in border drug dens, the situation at the back mountain was child's play by comparison.

What exceeded Fu Junhang's expectations was Chu Yan's sudden intrusion.

Fu Junhang had initially thought the crisis was resolved, but he underestimated the vigilance of those inside. With time pressing, it wasn’t until he quietly led Jiang Lvshen and the others to the perimeter of the wall that the sudden increase in guards alerted him.

"Not good."

Without a second thought, Fu Junhang vanished like the wind from Jiang Lvshen's sight, leaving only a single echoing command:

"Make it quick and clean."

Jiang Lvshen stood frozen in utter bewilderment, staring at the disappearing figure.

Fu Junhang rushed to the ramshackle hut at top speed. When he saw the chaotic scene inside, his heart sank.

The smashed stool, the overturned kettle, the disarray—especially the crushed syringe on the ground—all indicated what had transpired.

Darkness instantly clouded Fu Junhang's eyes.

Fortunately, his young master was sharp enough—he must have escaped.

Given Chu Yan's intelligence, if he managed to flee, his first instinct would have been to head toward the village for help. But he had also seen the syringe and likely deduced its contents. With his quick wit, connecting it to the secret they had accidentally stumbled upon at the back mountain that afternoon, and then suspecting the villagers' involvement, wouldn’t have been difficult.

From this, Fu Junhang deduced that Chu Yan was likely somewhere in the woods between the ruined house and the village.

As he moved swiftly, his mind remained crystal clear.

People called him a madman, but they didn’t realize his mind was calmer and sharper than anyone else's.

In truth, no matter how dire the situation, he could always keep his mind steady—the more critical the moment, the faster his thoughts raced. Yet now, for the first time, he was panicking.

Fu Junhang was not calm. The mere thought of the danger Chu Yan might be facing made it impossible for him to stay composed.

His blood burned, and the gash at his side still bled faintly, yet Fu Junhang felt no pain. Violent, frenzied impulses spread through his mind.

Outwardly, he appeared calm, but his eyes were a storm.

Left or right—which direction would Chu Yan have taken into the woods?

Fu Junhang clenched his fists, forcing himself to regain control.

Finally, his sharp senses caught the faint sound of voices.

The next second, he was already sprinting toward the source without hesitation.

Mercifully, he arrived in time. The moment he saw Chu Yan collapsing, Fu Junhang sprang forward and caught him in his arms.

Damn them—they all deserved to die!

Fury consumed Fu Junhang’s thoughts.

The person he treasured above all, the one he wouldn't let come to harm—how could they dare?

Since his mother's passing, Fu Junhang hadn’t lost control like this in a long time. He fought to maintain control, but his grip on rationality was slipping, his emotions spiraling out of control.

Then, a pair of hands wrapped tightly around his waist, and Chu Yan’s trembling voice reached his ears.

Damn it—he had scared him.

For a moment, Fu Junhang froze. He was afraid—afraid that Chu Yan would despise him, that he would pull away.

He couldn’t bear to see fear in Chu Yan’s eyes when looking at him.

Thankfully, Chu Yan was still willing to hold him. He was only afraid that Fu Junhang might kill someone.

So, he was worried about him.

Fu Junhang calmed down. The raging storm inside him miraculously subsided, like a pack of savage beasts just released from their cages, poised to unleash destruction, only to be subdued the next second and driven back into their cages.

Fu Junhang chuckled wryly.

He was a goner.

Completely unaware, Fu Junhang understood with absolute clarity—he was head over heels for Chu Yan for the rest of his life.

***

After leaving the woods, Fu Junhang escorted Chu Yan to a police car outside the village before immediately doubling back.

That night, the sleepy village was suddenly filled with the rising and falling wail of police sirens, echoing relentlessly through the night.

When morning came, Chu Yan was taken to a public building to reunite with the rest of the production crew.

Everyone was restless and confused.

Seeing Chu Yan, the director visibly heaved a sigh of relief. At that moment, Liao Jian called again, and the director passed the phone to Chu Yan.

It turned out Liao Jian had been unable to reach Chu Yan all night and had resorted to calling the director repeatedly.

"Brother, I'm fine."

"Thank goodness! It’s such a relief you’re okay. You had me scared to death—really scared me to death."

The night had been nothing short of harrowing.

The sirens in the town had blared all night, leaving everyone thrown into panic and clueless about what was happening. To make matters worse, Liao Jian couldn’t get through to Chu Yan—his phone was unreachable.

It wasn’t until the dead of night that Liao Jian learned from other performers’ assistants that something had happened in Puli Village, where the show was being filmed.

Liao Jian’s face had drained of color, especially since the production crew couldn’t reach Chu Yan either.

No one knew what had happened, but overnight, countless police cars had rushed to Puli Village. The entire village was sealed off—no one could get in or out. Even if they had wanted to rush over immediately, it would have been pointless.

Liao Jian had been too worried to sleep a wink. He had lost count of how many times he’d called the director. Finally, he received good news.

"It’s good that you’re safe."

Chu Yan, too, was still shaken to the core. He recalled barely catching the man mumble something to himself while carrying him on his back, though in the chaos of the moment, he hadn’t caught it clearly.

Now, hearing Liao Jian’s words, that indistinct murmur suddenly clicked into place.

He said, "Glad you're alright, thank goodness..."

Chu Yan felt a flutter in his chest, warmth welling up from deep within, swelling into a flood that silently grew stronger, slowly flowing through his entire body.

"Sorry for worrying you, brother, but it looks like we won’t be able to go back for now."

When Chu Yan arrived, he saw the entire village cordoned off with crime scene tape. Everyone except the villagers had been gathered at the community center, which the police had set up as a temporary command post.

Moreover, Chu Yan noticed another headquarters, but that one was filled with villagers from the area, and the number of police officers there was several times more than here.

"Thank you, director. What exactly happened?"

Though Chu Yan had some rough ideas, this was way more intense than expected. Police officers kept arriving in waves, and on his way over, he saw villagers being loaded into vans in police vehicles one after another. If it were just about growing some poppies, surely it wouldn’t warrant such a huge police presence?

The director, who had been all grins yesterday, now looked completely stressed out today.

Scratching his already thinning hair, the director’s dark circles were dark enough to rival a panda's.

"No idea. We were woken up in the middle of the night. This village must be bad news."

Muttering, the director walked off. Chu Yan soon met up with the others, but what shocked him was that Zhou Yun was missing.

Had he not been rescued last night?

But all four men had gone after Chu Yan—he should’ve been able to escape on his own.

Unfortunately, their phones had been taken when they were tied up, so there was no way to know what had happened last night. Wang Xing still hadn’t returned, and Chu Yan had no way to contact him.

All he could do was wait anxiously.

Seeing Chu Yan safe and sound, Lu Zhaoyang and Xu Meng both sighed in relief. They had been deeply worried about him. Even Fu Zeyu, for once, kept his snark to himself.

Chu Yan quickly grabbed at Fu Zeyu.

"Teacher Fu, do you know what happened to Teacher Zhou?"

Fu Zeyu was irked by Chu Yan worrying about Zhou Yun.

"Relax, he’s fine. Out cold."

No sooner had he spoken than Zhou Yun, looking a mess, came running toward Chu Yan with a grin.

"Xiao Yan Yan, you’re really okay! That jerk didn't lie to me after all."

"I’m fine, I’m fine."

Chu Yan was relieved—everyone was safe.

Except for Wang Xing... What exactly was his situation now?

That day, everyone was called in for questioning, especially Chu Yan and Zhou Yun, who were taken aside for separate interviews. Their experiences last night had been flat-out terrifying.

When mentioning Wang Xing, Chu Yan simply described him as his personal security and assistant, who had saved him at the critical moment.

As for why the four men had been beaten so badly—well, it was pure self-defense.

Chu Yan figured that since Wang Xing had managed to get him to a police car, he must have connections—maybe even participated in last night’s operation.

This was something Chu Yan had figured out on the ride over.

He knew Wang Xing’s background wasn’t ordinary, but he had a vague sense that Wang Xing was deliberately hiding something from him. Still, now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Right now, Chu Yan just hoped he was safe.

"Xiao Yan Yan, how did you know not to run toward the village last night?"

Zhou Yun was curious, so as soon as the questioning ended, he eagerly dragged Chu Yan into a corner to whisper. He also wanted to know what had happened after they split up—and coincidentally, so did Chu Yan.

Before Chu Yan could answer, someone wedged between them.

Fu Zeyu wedged himself between the two.

"What are you two whispering about? No way, count me in."

"Fu Zeyu, buzz off."

Zhou Yun scowled.

"Nope. If you don’t include me, I’ll tell everyone about how you were hauled back by what's-his-name last night—mmph!"

Before Fu Zeyu could finish, Zhou Yun slapped a hand over his mouth.

Shooting death glares at him, Zhou Yun growled, "Fourth Brother Fu, if you dare say it, you’re dead."

"Fine, I won’t. But let me in on it."

Chu Yan glanced between them.

These two were definitely hiding something. And—"Teacher Zhou, why're you blushing?"

Did something happen that I don’t know about?

Zhou Yun immediately denied it. "Nah, it's nothing—do you want to hear or not?"

"Yes!"

And just like that, Fu Zeyu excitedly joined their discussion.

Chu Yan just briefly laid out his thinking—the poppies everywhere, the villagers’ unusual wealth, and how the kidnappers had the same accent as the locals, suggesting they were from the village. So running toward the village would’ve been suicide.

The two playboys stared dumbfounded. Poppies? They hadn’t noticed any. Or, even if they had, they wouldn't know a poppy if it bit them.

Wait a minute—so Chu Yan was sharper than they thought after all? Then how had he spent over a decade as the Chu family’s family disappointment?

Hold on, all three of them had been called "spoiled trust fund babies" at some point. So how come Chu Yan had secretly shaken the rep while they were still stuck with it?