Chapter 58 Playing Along, Chen Mo Sets an Inescapable Trap

The night, thick as dark ink, shrouded the entire Rolling Mill in profound silence. Only a few dim streetlights swayed lonely in the night wind, stretching human shadows erratically.

Qin Huairu’s heart hammered frantically against her ribs like a trapped rabbit. Under the pretext of a stomachache, she had slipped out of the logistics team’s communal dormitory ahead of time. Clutching a heavy, cold master padlock against her chest, she sneaked stealthily toward the back door of the engineers' apartment building.

Situated on the edge of the factory zone, this area was rarely frequented. At night, it grew so quiet that one could distinctly hear the rhythm of one's own heartbeat.

Looking left and right to ensure the coast was clear, she quickly pulled the lock from her bosom, aimed it at the half-old iron door, and fastened it securely with a sharp click.

Having done this, she gave the shackle a tug to ensure the lock was foolproof before exhaling a long sigh of relief.

Step one was complete.

Instead of leaving immediately, she crouched behind a clump of waist-high holly bushes and fixed her gaze intently on the end of the path.

She was waiting.

Waiting for her prey to walk straight into the trap.

Meanwhile, in the clinic, Lin Wanqing was packing her things and preparing to get off work.

Her palms were slick with sweat.

Although Chen Mo and Director Yang had arranged everything seamlessly, the mere thought of what was about to happen still made her nervous.

"Are you ready?" Chen Mo’s voice came from behind her.

Lin Wanqing turned around to see Chen Mo leaning against the doorframe, watching her with leisurely composure. There was not a trace of tension on his face; he looked as calm as if he were about to take a leisurely stroll rather than spring a trap.

Seeing him like this miraculously steadied Lin Wanqing’s fluttering heart.

She nodded firmly. "I'm ready."

"Good. Follow the plan," Chen Mo said. "Remember, no matter what you hear or see, don't be afraid. Director Yang and I will be right behind you."

"Mhm!"

Lin Wanqing took a deep breath, slung her canvas bag over her shoulder, and stepped out of the clinic. The cool night wind brushed against her face, clearing her mind considerably.

Following her usual route, she walked toward the engineers' building.

Everything unfolded precisely as Qin Huairu had predicted.

When Lin Wanqing reached the small iron door and found it firmly barred by a heavy padlock, she let out an "aptly timed" gasp of dismay.

"Oh dear, why is the door locked?"

She gave it a tentative push, but the iron gate remained unyielding.

Hiding behind the holly bushes, Qin Huairu watched this scene with a heart so excited it felt as though it might leap right out of her throat.

She had taken the bait! She had taken the bait!

Standing at the doorway, Lin Wanqing put on a distraught expression and looked left and right.

"What should I do... taking the detour in the dark is too scary..."

Her self-talk was pitched at just the right volume for Qin Huairu to catch every word.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, her eyes lit up, and she turned and hurried toward the nearby engineers' building.

Seeing her rush into the stairwell, Qin Huairu's mouth split into a grin stretching almost to her ears.

Perfect!

Everything was playing out according to her script!

She instantly darted out from her hiding spot and beckoned toward a deeper patch of shadow nearby.

Hiding there were the three "witnesses" she had "invited" that afternoon with half a catjin of melon seeds and a few provocative gossip-mongering words. They were notorious gossips in the factory, fondest of spectating such dramas and most adept at embellishing stories.

"Sister Wang! Sister Li! Quick! Follow me! Let's catch them in the act!" Qin Huairu lowered her voice, barely containing the excitement in her tone.

The three women, looking as though they had been injected with adrenaline, rolled up their sleeves and trailed stealthily behind Qin Huairu on tiptoe.

The group of four, resembling a pack of sneaky nocturnal cats, crept to the foot of the engineers' building.

Raising their heads, they quickly located the lit window on the second floor.

That was Chen Mo's home.

"Did you see that? She went in! She actually went in!"

"What time is it already! A lone man and woman together! They're definitely up to no good!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You'd never guess it by looking at her, usually putting on such an innocent facade!"

The three women immediately broke into whispers, their words dripping with filthy and lewd speculations.

Hearing this, Qin Huairu felt a surge of intense gratification.

This was precisely the effect she wanted!

"Wait, not yet," Qin Huairu whispered, restraining an impatient woman who wanted to rush up right then. "Wait until... wait until they turn off the lights, and then we'll shout! By then, even if they had a thousand mouths to argue with, they wouldn't be able to clear their names!"

How deeply malicious her intentions were.

Once the lights went out, the space for imagination would become boundless!

Crouching together in the shadows beneath the building, the four women tilted their necks upward like vultures waiting for a carcass, keeping their eyes glued to the brightly lit window.

Time ticked away, second by second.

Upstairs, inside Chen Mo's room.

Lin Wanqing sat nervously on the sofa, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

"Doctor Chen, they... they are right downstairs."

"I know." Chen Mo calmly poured her a cup of hot tea. "Don't be nervous, have a sip of water. The good show is only just beginning."

He walked over to the window and deliberately projected his silhouette and Lin Wanqing's closely adjacent figures clearly onto the window curtain.

Down below, Qin Huairu and her cohorts grew even more frantic with excitement upon seeing the two close-knit shadows on the curtain.

"Look, look! They're leaning on each other!"

"Oh my goodness, this is outrageous!"

Right at that moment, the light in the upstairs window clicked off.

Darkness instantly swallowed everything.

"The lights are out! They turned off the lights!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Qin Huairu leaped out from the shadows, pointed straight at the darkened window upstairs, and used all her might to shriek at the top of her lungs, ready to deliver the lines she had rehearsed countless times.

However, the instant she opened her mouth—

"Whoosh—!"

More than a dozen dazzling flashlight beams shot out from all directions like drawn swords, instantly flashing into life!

Every single beam of light targeted Qin Huairu and the three women behind her with pinpoint precision!

The glaring glare blinded them so completely they couldn't even open their eyes!

"Ah!"

The four of them let out shrieks of terror.

"Don't move! We're from the factory security department!"

A majestic, thunderous voice boomed in their ears.

Immediately following that, more than a dozen burly men wearing security uniforms and wielding batons rushed out from the surrounding darkness like fierce tigers descending a mountain!

In a flash, they tightly surrounded the four bewildered women.

Leading the charge was Zhao Tiezhu, the head of the security department.

Standing right behind him was a person whose face was livid with fury, trembling all over.

It was none other than Director Yang Weiguo, the top leader of the Rolling Mill!

Staring at Qin Huairu—who was illuminated pale as a sheet of paper by the flashlights, trembling like a frightened bird—Director Yang was so angry he could barely string a sentence together.

"Good... very good! Qin Huairu! So it was you! So you are the vicious woman spreading rumors behind our backs and sabotaging the stability and unity of our factory!"

Qin Huairu’s mind went entirely blank.

Looking at the array of forces before her, looking at the murderous look in Director Yang's eyes, and looking at the menacing security officers, she knew she was finished.

She had fallen right into a trap meticulously laid by someone else.

She was no hunter.

She was the foolish prey that had stepped, step by step, into the jaws of the trap.