Shen Yuan had his phone on speaker, talking to Qiao Hailou while keeping his speed steady and not stopping the car. He glanced at the rearview mirror—the black Volkswagen was still tailing him. Then he checked Qiao Hailou’s location again; he was still at least three kilometers away. Shen Yuan cursed, “Bastard, why are you still so far away? Hurry up!”

Qiao Hailou named a location. “Drive this way. We’ll meet at the three-way intersection. I’ve called some people over—we’ll stop those bastards there.”

Anxiously, Shen Yuan said, “Do we know who it is? Is it Shen Xuanwen? Did he fail to extort me and decide to kidnap me instead?”

Qiao Hailou replied, “Shen Xuanwen was arrested by the police today for possession of drugs. He’s not in that car.”

Shen Yuan was puzzled. “Then who could it be? Who else have I pissed off? That Ying Shi from last time—he got expelled because of me. Is he getting revenge?”

Qiao Hailou said calmly, “We’ll know once we catch them.”

Following Qiao Hailou’s instructions, Shen Yuan drove out of the city toward a sparsely populated road. His heart thumped as he kept checking the digital map to see whether their positions were getting closer. He had originally wanted to drive straight to the police station or go directly to Qiao Hailou, but that would just tip them off—if he really pulled up to a police station, they’d simply run. And if they escaped this time, what about next time? It’s easy to play the thief for a thousand days, impossible to guard against one forever. So after discussing it, he and Qiao Hailou decided to catch them this time.

Earlier, in the busy city streets, Shen Yuan had felt safer—no matter how bold the kidnappers were, they wouldn’t dare act in public. But as the road grew emptier and there were fewer cars and pedestrians, his unease steadily grew.

On the digital map, his shared location and Qiao Hailou’s converged from opposite directions toward their meeting point. They were getting close. He was about to see Uncle Qiao. Finally, Shen Yuan felt a sense of relief.

Then he saw the intersection ahead—the direction Qiao Hailou was coming from—and a car appeared. It was a massive SUV. Shen Yuan froze…

Because it wasn’t just one SUV. Out of nowhere, at least seven or eight hulking SUVs surged forward in a formidable convoy!

Shen Yuan drove through the intersection. In his rearview mirror, he saw one SUV take the lead, drive the wrong way, and pull a slick drift, stopping sideways right in front of the black Volkswagen that had been following him.

The black Volkswagen slammed on the brakes but still crashed into it with a loud bang. Shen Yuan jumped in fright.

Then the other SUVs swarmed in, boxing the black Volkswagen in from all sides. Faced with those luxury off-road monsters, it looked like a scrawny kitten surrounded by ferocious tigers—small, beat-up, poor, and pitiful.

Holy shit—so cool!!! Shen Yuan’s sense of security shot through the roof.

After a quick look, he slowed down, made a legal U-turn at the next intersection, drove back, and pulled over by the roadside.

Once parked, he looked over. Everyone had gotten out of their cars—burly men, tall and broad, each one looking fierce. Uncle Qiao stood among them. Usually, Shen Yuan thought he looked like a mob boss; standing next to these guys, Uncle Qiao suddenly seemed cultured and refined.

The people in the black Volkswagen didn’t dare get out. They stayed locked inside, terrified.

As Shen Yuan walked closer, he heard someone ask, “Third Master Qiao, what do we do?”

Qiao Hailou replied lightly, “Smash their car and drag them out.”

A hulking man with a scarred face didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a baseball bat and smashed the windows—bang, bang, bang. Hearing the crisp, violent sounds, Shen Yuan couldn’t help clicking his tongue. Who exactly were the bad guys here?

The men yanked three trembling guys out of the car.

Two of them were too scared to speak. One, with a bit more nerve, stammered stubbornly, “Y-you—what are you doing? This is illegal! You’re violating traffic laws too!”

The big guy didn’t bother arguing. He punched him straight in the face. “Still talking back? Planning a kidnapping, huh? Don’t you know whose turf you’re messing with? Some nobody thinks he can kidnap people? Who put you up to this?”

Someone recognized them. “Isn’t this Ma Ming? Didn’t you just get out of rehab not long ago? Back at it already? Got guts, I’ll give you that.”

They were all long-time addicts, sallow and skinny—no match for these muscle-bound men. They were hauled around like little chicks.

The three thugs, who’d met Shen Xuanwen in rehab and been egged on to attempt a kidnapping and extortion, now regretted it so much their guts were turning green. In their heads, they were cursing Shen Xuanwen’s ancestors eighteen generations back.

Didn’t Shen Xuanwen say his son was just an ordinary student with no special background? Didn’t he say the stepfather’s family were just regular businessmen?

When they first followed Shen Yuan, something had felt off. He kept circling around—clearly he’d noticed them. Even then they’d felt uneasy, thinking Shen Yuan was pretty sharp. But he was just a teenager or college kid—what could he do? Once his car ran out of gas, he’d have to stop.

Who knew a big boss from the underworld would suddenly appear—and not just one, but a whole crew! And some of them were well-known figures.

Even if the police showed up, they wouldn’t have been this scared. At least cops talk law and reason and don’t dare use violence. Not like this—being dragged around, punched, slapped. These guys wouldn’t stop just because you denied it. Deny it and you get beaten; keep denying it and you keep getting beaten. They were weak-willed cowards to begin with. It didn’t take long before they were bruised and battered and spilling everything.

Watching the beatdown, Shen Yuan felt a bit of satisfaction—but it was also too brutal, too frightening. He tiptoed around them and went to Qiao Hailou’s side, barely daring to speak above a whisper. “Uncle Qiao…”

Qiao Hailou turned and saw his face had gone pale. He grabbed Shen Yuan’s hand. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. We caught them.”

Shen Yuan stuttered, “Y-you’re beating people in public, breaking traffic laws—won’t there be trouble?”

Only then did Qiao Hailou realize Shen Yuan wasn’t scared of the kidnappers—he was scared of his own people beating them. He pulled Shen Yuan behind him protectively and said to his brothers, “Enough. You’re too fierce—you’re scaring the kid. The police will be here soon. Hand them over to the police.”

The beating stopped.

The unlucky trio finally escaped further torment. Even without anyone holding them, they collapsed by the car, crying and shaking, not daring to move.

With nothing else to do, the big shots finally noticed the young man beside Qiao Hailou. Seeing their hands clasped, it all clicked. They grinned meaningfully. “No wonder Third Master Qiao’s so tense—it’s the little sister-in-law.”

Shen Yuan’s face instantly turned bright red. He tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t—Qiao Hailou’s grip was like iron.

Blushing, Shen Yuan instinctively hid behind Qiao Hailou. Then, remembering they’d helped him, he timidly said, “Thank you for saving me.”

Cute—definitely cute.

Like a little white rabbit. Clean-cut and gentle.

So this was Qiao Third Master’s type? Judging by how he treated him, he probably coddled him in the palm of his hand. The person Qiao Hailou had shown on his marriage certificate recently must be this one—so doted on he didn’t even want people to know, covering him up even when posting the certificate.

He really did look like a good, homey type—gentle and well-behaved. No wonder Qiao Hailou was willing to marry him.

Seeing Shen Yuan blush was too much fun. These shameless friends kept calling out “little sister-in-law,” teasing him until he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. Aside from the three unlucky thugs, the atmosphere was downright friendly and lively.

Qiao Hailou shielded Shen Yuan. “Alright, alright, stop teasing him. He’s timid.”

A few minutes later, traffic police arrived, followed by regular police. From afar, they’d first thought it was a traffic accident, then suspected a gang fight.

As the victim, Shen Yuan stepped forward and clearly explained what had happened—from being followed to suspecting a kidnapping. When it came to the origins of the burly men, he told a small lie: “I was really scared, so I called my uncle. He came to protect me and brought his friends to stop the car. They smashed the windows because of me.”

Qiao Hailou added, “Officer, these guys already confessed. I recorded it. We only broke the windows and didn’t damage anything else—you can check. They said they put the kidnapping tools in the trunk.”

The three unlucky men, like they’d seen saviors, burst into tears and rushed toward the police. “Yes, yes, officer! We tried to kidnap—no, attempted kidnapping! Please take us to the station! Don’t hand us over to them! Hurry and cuff us!”

The police grabbed them. “What are you doing? Behave! There’s no such thing as ‘attempted kidnapping.’ Once you carry out the act, successful or not, it’s kidnapping.”

The police checked the trunk. Sure enough, all the kidnapping tools were there. They looked at the well-behaved, gentle-looking boy, then at Qiao Hailou, then at the group of burly men… and understood.

They’d thought they’d found a soft target—only to kick an iron plate.

So unprofessional. Didn’t they even investigate their target’s background beforehand?

Qiao Hailou went to the station to give a statement. The group confessed eagerly—prison was better than being caught by underworld bosses. At least in prison, food and shelter were guaranteed, and you could earn money working.

They also ratted out Shen Xuanwen.

Shen Xuanwen was being held at another district’s station.

Qiao Hailou had originally thought that drug possession and use alone might not get Shen Xuanwen a long sentence. But now, with kidnapping as the mastermind? If this didn’t put him away for life, then Qiao Hailou might as well quit.

The police were baffled.

Shen Yuan looked quiet and refined, polite and soft-spoken—such a good kid. And his family was mob-connected? His “uncle” didn’t even share his surname, and they didn’t look alike. Distant relatives? Who knew.

After finishing his statement, with the criminals arrested and Shen Xuanwen definitely going down, Shen Yuan no longer had to live in constant fear. Still, his feelings were complicated. Even knowing Shen Xuanwen was a scumbag who’d never raised him, the fact that his biological father had tried to harm him was chilling. Whatever—bridge to bridge, road to road. Shen Xuanwen was going to prison. From now on, they’d have nothing to do with each other.

As Shen Yuan was thinking this, Qiao Hailou opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

He’d had his own car taken to the shop for repairs—it had been damaged in the crash—so he was hitching a ride home with Shen Yuan.

Qiao Hailou smugly thought he’d nailed the “hero saves the beauty” routine today. Surely Shen Yuan would be so moved he’d throw himself into his arms in gratitude—and then he could do this and that, and that and this… Just thinking about it made him blissfully happy.

But as soon as he got in, Shen Yuan, still shaken and wearing a look of disdain, snapped, “Holy shit! You really are mixed up with the underworld?!”

Qiao Hailou: “…”

Shen Yuan glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me? You almost scared me to death. Those people were terrifying—smashing cars, beating people till they bled! And they kept calling me ‘sister-in-law’—so annoying. I’m not even a woman! Why call me that? And you insisted on holding my hand—I wanted to pretend I was your nephew, but I couldn’t…”

Qiao Hailou couldn’t stand his ranting. He pinned him down and kissed him until he finally quieted, then let go and pinched his waist. “You’re a classic bully-at-home type. You didn’t dare make a peep in front of them, but you dare yell at me? You’re afraid of them—why aren’t you afraid of me? Am I not scary? And didn’t you lie to the police and say you were my nephew? You’ve got guts.”

Shen Yuan’s face was flushed from the kiss, but he wasn’t afraid at all. Putting on a brave front, he said, “Why would I be afraid of you… You’re not mean to me. Why should I be afraid of you, Uncle Qiao?”

Qiao Hailou complained, “‘Uncle Qiao,’ ‘Uncle Qiao’—still calling me that? We’re married. Shouldn’t you call me ‘husband’ by now?”

Shen Yuan scrunched his nose, made a gagging gesture, and said with extreme disgust, “No. Gross. I’m not calling you that. Uncle Qiao, Uncle Qiao, Uncle Qiao—so what?”

Qiao Hailou chuckled shamelessly. “So what? Uncle play is fine too. Pretty fun, actually.”

With the crisis over, Shen Yuan drove Qiao Hailou home.

Qiao Hailou didn’t want to get out. “I worked so hard saving you today. Aren’t you going to give me a little reward?”

Shen Yuan was utterly unashamed. “You’re my husband. Isn’t saving me only natural? Go on, get out. I have to go home—my family’s wondering why it took me so long just to buy something.”

Qiao Hailou refused to move. “No. If you don’t reward me, I’m not getting out.”

This old man—at his age and still acting shameless! Shen Yuan had no choice. He leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Qiao Hailou pushed his luck, wrapping an arm around his waist and deepening the kiss.

When they finally parted, both felt a soft, tingling warmth in their chests, foreheads touching, hands entwined.

Feigning grievance, Qiao Hailou said, “My good little Ah Ben, can’t you stay? We’re legally married. Are we really not spending our first New Year’s Eve together after getting married?”