Chapter 44: Speak—Who Sent You?

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"Tutor, female, pretty." Even though he hadn’t heard the name "Mo Ya" explicitly from the mouths of those two thugs, these three unmistakable identifiers instantly caught Mo Ran’s attention.

On the surface, however, Mo Ran’s expression remained impassive as he focused on grilling the skewers before him. With the flames leaping, he flipped the mutton skewers from time to time, ensuring each side was seared by the intense heat.

Ten minutes passed, and ten skewers of grilled mutton were ready. Mo Ran divided them evenly, giving five skewers to each of the two men. Watching the pair clutching the skewers greedily, Mo Ran’s mind was already formulating a plan as he began to pack up his things.

The two thugs, holding their mutton skewers, each grabbed a bottle of Snow Beer from the back of Mo Ran’s tricycle, taking bites of meat and swigs of beer, grease dripping from their mouths in satisfaction.

"No wonder so many big shots in this world have their plans inexplicably fall apart," Mo Ran mused as he watched their foolish antics. "Genius strategies, carried out by idiots—damned middlemen."

By the time the two finished eating, Mo Ran had nearly finished tidying up. He was deliberately taking his time, for from their earlier conversation, he had surmised that tonight was the night they would act.

Sure enough, his intuition proved correct. As Mo Ran lazily swept the ground clean, one of the men’s phones rang. Ten seconds later, he ended the call and, dragging his reluctant companion, exited the alley.

A few minutes after they left, Mo Ran mounted a Hello Bike and quietly tailed them.

Pedaling at a distance, Mo Ran kept them in sight. Though he worried about being discovered, he blended in easily; after all, Hello Bikes were everywhere in the university town, and students riding them were a common sight. The dim lighting further concealed him among the crowd of students, and the two thugs never noticed.

Trailing them for about seven or eight hundred meters, Mo Ran watched as the pair stopped ahead. They paused on the side of the road near a building, slipping behind the decorative trees lining the roadside to hide themselves.

"Lurking in the dark at night—up to no good," Mo Ran scoffed under his breath, pushing his bike aside and slipping into the shadows himself, cautiously edging closer to the pair.

"Inspirational Tutoring." As he drew nearer, Mo Ran could finally see where they were crouched—right by a student tutoring center.

It was the end of after-school tutoring, and students were trickling out with their parents. No wonder the two chose this moment to hide in the darkness.

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Now, the "tutor" mentioned earlier finally made sense.

As the minutes ticked by, the once bustling entrance of the tutoring center grew quiet as parents led their children away. The two thugs, showing surprising patience, remained hidden behind the trees, silently waiting for their target.

Mo Ran, however, was growing impatient. Why should he freeze out here on such a cold night? He took out his phone and called Mo Ya.

To his surprise, just as he sent the call request, he heard a ringtone ring out near the entrance of the tutoring center. "Seriously? Could it be?" He looked up and saw the silhouette in the distance. Though the lighting was poor and she was far away, he recognized the figure at once—it was undoubtedly Mo Ya.

Recalling the earlier conversation between the two men, Mo Ran felt a surge of worry. Were these two really after Mo Ya?

"Hello? Ran, why aren’t you saying anything?" As Mo Ran stared at Mo Ya in a daze, their voice call connected. Mo Ya pressed her phone to her ear, puzzled by the silence and spoke up.

"Mo Ya, listen to me carefully," Mo Ran said, glancing toward the thugs’ hiding spot and lowering his voice. "There are two men hidden in the bushes across from you. They might be after you. Don’t panic—just act as you always do."

"I—I’d better just go home," Mo Ya’s voice trembled, fear creeping in as she spoke.

"No need. I’m in the bushes as well," Mo Ran replied, still keeping his voice down.

"Alright." Gathering her courage, Mo Ya nodded. With her phone in hand, she spoke as she walked away from the center.

Perhaps to avoid trouble—the tutoring center entrance was under surveillance—the two men didn’t make a move. Mo Ran suppressed his anxiety, staying hidden in the shadows and holding his breath.

Under Mo Ran’s direction, Mo Ya gradually moved away, soon beyond the reach of the surveillance cameras. At that moment, the bushes rustled, and the two thugs sprang into action. As they moved, Mo Ran slipped after them, silent and stealthy.

Soon, the three of them reached a spot without cameras. The two thugs quickened their pace, rushing ahead to block Mo Ya’s path.

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"What do you want?" Mo Ya, now mentally prepared, showed no sign of panic; her expression was cold as she demanded an answer.

"We wouldn’t dare do anything to you. It’s our boss—he wants to discuss a project worth several hundred million with you," said one of the men, the same one who’d been annoyed with his companion earlier.

"A project worth hundreds of millions? I have nothing to discuss. I’m going home to rest. Move." Mo Ya shot them a cold, mocking glance.

"A discussion can be restful too. If you’re sensible, my boss might even give you those hundreds of millions," the man replied with a lecherous grin, his eyes filled with hungry desire. Clearly, a woman of Mo Ya’s beauty was a fatal temptation for them.

"You..." Only now did Mo Ya realize the true meaning of this so-called "hundreds of millions project"—it was nothing more than a crude innuendo. Her face grew even colder.

"Come on, just take a walk with us." The man pressed, pulling out his car keys. Instantly, an orange light blinked from a car nearby—their preparations had been thorough.

Suddenly, two sharp whizzing sounds cut through the air. It was Mo Ran, lurking in the darkness, making his move. Having mastered the art of stone-throwing since childhood, his aim was deadly. Two stones struck the men squarely on the back of the head.

Stunned by the sudden attack, both men staggered as dizziness overtook them, their legs buckling beneath them.

Two more stones whistled through the air, smashing into their knees. With a thud, both men collapsed, kneeling on the ground.

"Speak. Who sent you?" Temporarily neutralizing their threat, Mo Ran emerged from the shadows, standing tall before them, a handful of stones in his grasp, his voice cold and commanding...