The Heroine in Disguise

That night, it rained.

There were few people in the suburbs, and once it rained, the chill in the air became especially noticeable.

Song Shi'an closed the window, lay on the bed, opened her mobile banking app, and counted her savings balance. Her mood instantly improved quite a bit.

Sure enough, money was the real motivation.

That night, Song Shi'an slept exceptionally soundly with her phone in her arms.

The next day.

The person in charge arrived. He was a plump man in his thirties, and his smile carried the air of a sly businessman.

"President Lu, hello. My name is Ye Zhicheng, and I'm the person in charge here. Sorry to make you come all this way personally." Ye Zhicheng jogged over, his tone full of flattery.

"The compensation for the demolition negotiations had already been settled, and everyone had signed and moved out. Why did someone die?" Lu Mingyu got straight to the point.

Ye Zhicheng wiped the sweat from his temple and said somewhat guiltily, "There are always people who aren't satisfied. They think the Lu Group is a big company, so if they come make trouble, they'll get money. Our people didn't know anyone was inside, and that's how the accident happened."

"Has the matter been investigated clearly?" Lu Mingyu asked.

"It was just that old man and child who wanted money and kept causing trouble," Ye Zhicheng said.

Lu Mingyu took a few steps forward. "What happened afterward?"

"We offered compensation too, but that family was asking for an outrageous amount," Ye Zhicheng explained with a troubled expression.

Lu Mingyu said, "Take me to see that family."

Ye Zhicheng's expression changed slightly. He urged, "President Lu, that family is nothing but troublemakers. You'd better not go. If they start making a scene, it won't be good for you."

"Maybe there's something else going on." Lu Mingyu looked at Ye Zhicheng, a sharp glint in his dark eyes.

Ye Zhicheng, who had been trying to dissuade him, immediately fell silent.

After an awkward laugh, he led the way.

Song Shi'an and Tang Ruan followed behind Lu Mingyu.

This suburban area had yet to be fully developed. Further in, there was not even a finished concrete road, only muddy paths.

Combined with last night's rain, every step splashed mud.

Song Shi'an trailed at the back, craning her neck to look around.

I remember there was a plot point here. Because of the rain, the soil on the mountain became loose, and Ye Zhicheng deliberately arranged it so that when the domineering CEO walked through here, rocks would happen to fall from the mountain.

Tang Ruan would step forward for the domineering CEO and block them, suffering serious injuries as a result. The domineering CEO would feel guilty and take care of Tang Ruan by her bedside for several days.

Lu Mingyu, walking ahead, immediately slowed down.

Ye Zhicheng looked over in confusion. Thinking Lu Mingyu had changed his mind, he was instantly delighted. "President Lu, the road here is difficult, and it rained last night. How about we head back first?"

"You're in such a hurry to make me leave. Are you feeling guilty?" Lu Mingyu asked as he looked at Ye Zhicheng.

Ye Zhicheng choked, then gave a dry laugh. "Not at all. I'm just worried about your safety."

After speaking, he lowered his head and continued forward, though a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.

The farther in they went, the narrower the path became.

Beside a mountain road, they suddenly heard the sound of pebbles rolling down.

Because he had heard Song Shi'an's words, Lu Mingyu was on guard. After rolling down the slope, the rocks were moving extremely fast.

Lu Mingyu reacted quickly as well. The moment he saw them, he immediately ran backward.

He had barely taken one step with his long legs when Tang Ruan grabbed him.

"President Lu, don't be afraid! I'll protect you!" After saying that, she looked ready to die as she tried to shield Lu Mingyu with her own body.

Lu Mingyu grew anxious. "Let go!"

He wanted to run back, but Tang Ruan held on tightly, afraid that Lu Mingyu would escape. She used both hands to wrap herself firmly around his waist.

For a moment, Lu Mingyu truly could not break free.

The rock was about to come crashing down.

At that moment, Lu Mingyu had only one thought in his mind: Some troublemakers were trying to kill him!

Song Shi'an stared at the scene before her in utter disbelief. To avoid getting caught up in it, she had deliberately backed away, never expecting to witness such a tug-of-war.

Because Lu Mingyu was struggling, Tang Ruan thought he was afraid and reassured him, "President Lu, don't worry. I definitely won't let you get hurt!"

The moment she finished speaking, the rolling rock seemed to have eyes as it slammed straight into Lu Mingyu's waist.

Tang Ruan was so frightened that she immediately let go.

"Ugh!!"

Lu Mingyu let out a pained groan.

The veins at his temples bulged.

More rocks were still rolling down behind them.

Song Shi'an hurried forward and grabbed Lu Mingyu, while Tang Ruan tried to hold him back again.

Song Shi'an panicked and pulled hard, dragging Lu Mingyu toward herself.

She wanted Tang Ruan to play the hero and save the beauty, not for Lu Mingyu to die young!

If something really happened to him, who would pay her salary?

Song Shi'an grabbed Lu Mingyu and sprinted backward.

They ran a long way before she stopped, gasping heavily.

It felt as if she were about to cough up her lungs.

She had never run that fast in her life.

The hand holding Lu Mingyu's was slightly sweaty.

Tang Ruan truly was worthy of being the heroine. Amid that chaotic barrage of rocks, she had somehow remained completely unscathed.

After catching her breath, Song Shi'an looked at Lu Mingyu worriedly. Seeing how pale he was, she hurriedly asked, "President Lu, where are you hurt? Let's go down the mountain and find a doctor to examine you first."

Hearing Song Shi'an's concerned words, waves of warmth rose in Lu Mingyu's heart.

He also had Song Shi'an to thank for what had just happened.

Oh, my sugar daddy, you can't let anything happen to you. If you kick the bucket, who's going to pay me? You may be a bit of a pain in the ass usually, but you pay too well!

Lu Mingyu: "..."

Song Shi'an had withdrawn a measure of warmth from him.

"It hurts a little. Let's find a doctor first." Lu Mingyu only felt burning pain all over his body now.

There had been many fragments of rock just now, and he had been hit several times.

Ye Zhicheng hurried over to make a belated show of concern. "President Lu, are you all right? The road here isn't very good, and with last night's rain, that's why this happened."

Keep pretending! You deliberately set this up because you wanted Lu Mingyu to back off in the face of difficulties!

Song Shi'an thought indignantly.

Lu Mingyu could not be bothered to deal with Ye Zhicheng. He placed one hand on Song Shi'an's shoulder. "Let's go back."

Tang Ruan followed as well, repeatedly apologizing behind Lu Mingyu and saying that she had not done it on purpose.

Lu Mingyu ignored her completely.

The four of them quickly made their way down the mountain.

The development zone here was large and had a dedicated doctor to treat workers' everyday minor injuries.

Ye Zhicheng called the doctor over to treat Lu Mingyu's wounds.

When Lu Mingyu lifted his shirt, even the doctor could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

There were three or four wounds on his body from the rocks. The worst was on his waist, where the impact had directly turned the skin black.

After giving him some simple treatment, the doctor said, "President Lu, you should still go to the hospital for an examination. If there are any internal injuries and they aren't treated in time..."

The doctor paused, then tactfully added, "They may interfere somewhat with your future life."

"Okay, thank you," Lu Mingyu said.

Song Shi'an was sensible enough to prepare to find a car and take the domineering CEO to the hospital.

Before leaving, she was still deeply worried about the domineering CEO's future life.

That injury is in such an awkward spot, right at his waist. What if it leaves some kind of aftereffect?

Like if his waist hurts whenever he exerts himself. Wouldn't his future love life be seriously compromised?

Lu Mingyu: "..."

It was not that serious.

Song Shi'an had just opened the door when she saw Tang Ruan rushing over with a medical kit in hand.

The moment Tang Ruan saw Song Shi'an open the door, she slipped inside like an eel.

She ran up to Lu Mingyu and anxiously tried to lift his shirt.

Lu Mingyu gripped his clothes tightly, refusing to let Tang Ruan take them off.

As they struggled, Tang Ruan's hand wandered a little too freely and pressed against Lu Mingyu's injured waist.

"Ah!" A miserable cry rang out.

Lu Mingyu's face instantly turned deathly pale, and even his struggling hands trembled.

"Get out!"

Tang Ruan immediately grew anxious. "President Lu, I learned some medical skills back in the countryside. Let me take a look at you."

At Tang Ruan's reminder, Song Shi'an finally remembered the heroine's hidden identity.

Right. As the heroine in a domineering CEO novel, although she looks weak and useless on the outside, she actually has tens of thousands of hidden identities.

And one of the most overused ones was that she was a secretly formidable medical expert.

No one knew how Tang Ruan had learned medicine, but she could treat internal injuries, external injuries, gynecology, andrology, even mental illness and cancer.

And her medical skills were extraordinary. Not a single patient treated by Tang Ruan had ever had a problem!