Deadly Trap

Chapter 103 Extra Chapter: Youthful Beauty Stained with Ink
Nestled in the mountains, a grand Moroccan-style mansion stands out starkly between the somber and bright colors of its colorful brickwork. Endless arcades bask in the excessive sunlight. The garden features a shimmering blue swimming pool, and the manicured trees resemble toys. Yet, separated by a mere floor-to-ceiling window, the interior remains dimly lit.

The glass door was half-closed, and sunlight shone on the cold, strangely patterned blade of the katana. The suede used to wipe the knife was almost cut through, and Tang Quan, dressed in a dark suit, smiled nonchalantly.

On this blade, the lives lost over the past twenty years have never been seen.

Before him sat two rows of eight black sofas. Normally, the dragon and tiger would roam freely at his feet, but now four or five young and beautiful women, their slender waists and alluring eyes, were looking up at Tang Quan.

Their obsequious manner and forced smiles, which had been maintained for so long, made them appear somewhat uniform and stiff, while their eyes betrayed an barely suppressed fear and caution.

The girl in the silk satin skirt knelt beside Tang Quan, leaning close to him, her body seemingly held in his hand. She tried desperately to please him, unsure where to put her hands, her gaze vacant.

The man in black walked in confidently and announced in a low voice, "Vice President, this is your sister."

Tang Quanxing's eyes flickered slightly, and his smile deepened. His silence was tantamount to letting them in. Finally, the person to kill his boring afternoon had arrived?

With her chest out and head held high, Su Yan stepped onto the luxurious carpet inside. Her white shirt was crisp, her trousers were elegant and simple, and her long hair was neatly tied into a bun. Her peach blossom eyes were filled with gloom and restlessness, and her cold beauty was perfectly matched with the dimness of the room.

Her vision was so blurry that she could barely see anything and almost couldn't tell where she was. She nearly knocked over the cloisonné vase by the door. Without uttering a sound, she kicked the edge of Tang Quan's leather sofa hard.

The force was so great that several young and beautiful women were startled and looked at her helplessly.

The overpowering, cloying scent of perfume in the room disgusted Su Yan. Yet, her eyes couldn't help but sweep over the girls' slender, exquisite curves. The girls of today were all striking, with fair and delicate skin.

Damn it. Can't they find a proper class to attend?

Her gaze paused for a moment.

"What, does your sister have a problem with this?"

With amusement, Tang Quan chuckled and casually slapped the girl next to him on the buttocks. The girl lost her balance and stumbled, falling at the feet of Su Yan, who had just sat down gracefully.

Tang Quan asked casually, "I'll give her to my sister?"

The girl quickly got up and, swaying her hips, poured Su Yan a full glass of tequila.

Su Yan glanced at the girl arrogantly, as if afraid of getting her feet dirty, yet her gaze lingered. She snorted coldly, "I'm not as shameless as my brother, who spends his days engaging in illicit affairs."

Tang Quan didn't care at all. His adopted sister, whom he had sworn brotherhood with, had a notoriously capricious temperament, a perfect example of hypocrisy. But when it came to scheming and intrigue, no one could rival Su Yan. With a wave of his hand, Tang Quan dismissed the beauties, wanting to avoid seeing them altogether.

The door closed softly, and Su Yan spoke directly with a cold face, without any attempt to hide her true feelings:

“My useless, unemployed husband wants a divorce. He’s a full professor, and he’s having an affair. How can I tolerate this? I want you to threaten him, brother. You should scare him to death. He can’t get a divorce.”

With a deep, resonant voice, Tang Quan's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Clinging to a loveless marriage, little sister, you're really something."

Su Yan picked up the tequila on the table and downed it in one gulp, then retorted sharply:
"Good brother, aren't you also willing to be Miss Gu's comfort? What a loyal dog of the underworld, you really have the right to talk to me about who has more feelings."

Tang Quan's eyes suddenly narrowed, a cold glint appearing in his starry eyes, but he remained silent.

Su Yan didn't care what others thought: "The sister of the second-in-command of the underworld is being cuckolded. Do you think that's appropriate, brother?"

After delivering her final, sarcastic remark, Su Yan conveyed her request and didn't linger. She left her empty wine glass, got up, and left as if afraid that the Moroccan mansion would tarnish her status.

She continued to provoke him relentlessly:
"I heard Fang Ran is having a concert soon," Su Yan said coldly, "and the second violinist is sunny and handsome. I imagine young men are full of energy, and Fang Ran is constantly pestering him to practice. Surely none of the younger brothers can't afford to support Miss Fang Ran?"

At the doorway, Su Yan paused deliberately, her cold, beautiful eyes alluring and proud, glancing sideways at Tang Quan in the dim shadows, adding fuel to the fire with a more sinister tone:

"After all, men are best when they're young. But you were handsome ten years ago too, so don't mind too much."

Tang Quan's expression couldn't be more sinister. The gleaming blade of the katana trembled dangerously in his hand, yet he remained silent.

Su Yan gave a cold laugh and then left, slamming the door shut behind her.

Tang Quan immediately sheathed his sword and stood up, gripping the scabbard, and strode into the inner room behind him.

Gu Fangran stood with her back to him in front of the dressing table. Hearing him enter, she turned her head slightly, her thick, soft black hair cascading loosely over her snow-white shoulders.

She was relaxed as if she were at home, slipping off her sheer nightgown with one hand. Her slender, shapely figure was reflected freely in the full-length mirror, and also in the man's unfathomable deep eyes. Like a tranquil white lotus, Gu Fangran silently changed into an elegant light gray-rose long dress, carefully pressing a large light blue sun hat over her head. On her beautiful chin, her delicate fingers draped a dark blue scarf.

"How heartless of Yanzi to say that about me." Gu Fangran smiled faintly, a leisurely amusement playing on her lips, as she applied her rosy lips to her face in front of the mirror.

"I even begged the organizer to arrange Yanzi's independent tour, hoping she wouldn't find out. Otherwise, given her pride, she might overthink it."

“Yanzi is talented and hardworking,” Gu Fangran seemed to recall the night they practiced piano together in Manhattan, and couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship with Su Yan. “I was just born lucky, how can I compare to her? If only she could understand…”

Tang Quan's eyes were dark as he stared intently at Gu Fangran's elegant posture in the mirror: this harlot in bed, this pure and unattainable beauty outside of bed.

With a flick of his thumb, the blade in his hand was already half an inch out of its sheath. Suddenly, he pressed Gu Fangran against the dressing table.

Makeup and perfume splattered violently, and glittering jewels rolled like sand. Tang Quan's cold, deadly blade pressed against Gu Fangran's slender neck, a faint bloodstain visible. His voice, like the deep sea, was filled with murderous intent.
"You dare let a man near you?" His pupils contracted, his voice as cold as a knife. Gu Fangran couldn't help but gasp for breath.

Tang Quan's words were ruthless as he thrust into Gu Fangran's soft flesh.
"I will personally sink your two little brats into the Parrot River. I mean it."

Gu Fangran showed no fear whatsoever. Her phoenix eyes, forced to face the mirror, were icy cold, yet also alluring, like a gentle touch brushing against a knife, and then against Tang Quan's murderous dark eyes.

In the blink of an eye, a haughty confidence crept onto her playful lips:

"Ah Quan, you can't bear to do this. My child and I are the heirs of the Gu family. Are you willing to destroy your own family's foundation?"

She smiled slightly, her voice softer yet more provocative, cutting straight into Tang Quan's murderous eyes:

"Besides, Quan, I have high standards for men, and not just anyone can get into my bed."

Gently, teasingly, she stroked the chiseled, handsome face of the man before her with her fingertips.

Without moving, Tang Quan gazed through the blade at Gu Fangran's bright smile with a penetrating gaze:

This woman used him to the extreme! To avoid marriage, she abandoned her father and kept her son; to remain independent from the Gu family, she treated Tang Quan like a protective blade!
Suddenly, a desire stronger than any he had ever felt surged within him, like a determined attempt to defile a goddess. The morning's passionate encounter was instantly erased. Tang Quan abruptly slammed his katana into the dressing table. The blade barely wobbled, and his untamed, cold lips abruptly pressed against Gu Fangran's soft lips.

Gu Fangran gently lowered her wide sun hat, and a ruby ​​ring flashed on the middle finger of her left hand...

In the sun-drenched garden, the innocent laughter of children drifted from afar. Tang Quan suddenly grinned maliciously: "So, Miss actually dared to bring the little brats along?"

Gu Fangran gracefully shook him off, floating ethereally to the French windows. She moved with a swift, snowy grace, turning back with a smile that curved her eyes.
"We're going on a picnic at the beach, does Kwon-gege want to come along?"

Tang Quan stared only at the bright red ring on her left hand: it was the one he had proposed to her with, and although she clearly refused, Gu Fangran always wore it close to her body.

A sinister smile played on his lips, and Tang Quan felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in his heart: "A madwoman..."

Gu Fangran walked into the bright garden with a smile, and ten-year-old Afei and four-year-old Xiaofan rushed into her soft, warm embrace one after the other. The children laughed and chattered, their voices innocent and childlike. As the car drove away from the garden gate, the two children asked each other, "Mommy, what will we do if the seagulls don't eat our bread?"

The car finally disappeared into the overly saturated shadows of the trees. Under the blazing sun, Su Yan stood silently outside the Moroccan arcade and hedges, her eyes filled with hatred as thick as black ink, and the venom in her heart was growing wildly.

She had already heard everything. She knew that Gu Fangran had never taken her seriously. Fangran was like the moon shining on the earth, casually bestowing opportunities from a superior position, mockingly giving them away.

They are just friends.

Even Tang Quan couldn't do anything about Gu Fangran.

Su Yan gritted her teeth, her heart as cold and resolute as a venomous snake; she would rely solely on herself. As for Gu Fangran…

You are dead.

　[Author's Note | Bonus Chapter]

　　Everything is preordained. It seems that the moment Su Yan resolved to destroy Gu Fangran, her fate was already sealed.

　　What are your thoughts on your parents' love (is it really love)?
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　　(End of this chapter)