Chapter 34: The little lamb surrounded by a wolf pack

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Two: Dance of the Night Charm

The night was as dark as ink. The black van wound its way up the mountain road, traveling through vast stretches of vineyard.

Moonlight cast a silvery frost over the vines, the tendrils intertwined into a web in the shadows. The air was filled with the scent of fermenting fruit, like an oak wine barrel spilled on the ground. Tires pressed against the asphalt, crushing the music drifting from the distant winery. Mist quietly rose in the mountains, adding a touch of mystery to this nocturnal journey.

The anticipated call came through. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xiao Xi pressed the answer button. “Hello, Jie-ge?” 

“Where are you guys?” The speaker was the driver responsible for picking up Xiao Xi and the others. “The housemaid said you all left?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Xi said in his normal tone. “We caught a ride with Qing-ge’s car. We’re almost there.”

Lately, the drivers assigned to pick up the Night Charms changed frequently. Many were temporarily called in from various venues. These people knew each other’s names but weren’t familiar.

The man named A-Jie complained, “Should’ve said so earlier,” but didn’t ask further before hanging up. 

Xiao Xi gave a thumbs-up. “Done.”

This way, the police van could pose as a pickup vehicle and enter the winery.

The Vidley Winery was nestled atop the mountain. From a distance, the ancient stone walls were covered in green ivy, looking particularly deep and mysterious under the glow of copper wall lamps.

The black van slowly stopped under the arched entrance. Xiao Xi and Tang Tang got out first. As Xu Pei followed, He Yixun suddenly grabbed his arm. “I’ll be right outside.” 

The two police vans would park in a corner of the winery’s parking lot, where many employee vehicles were already parked. Later, Progressive Society guests’ cars would arrive too, so two extra vans wouldn’t seem suspicious.

Seeing the usually silent Officer He being uncharacteristically talkative, Xu Pei deliberately asked, “Worried about me?”

“Afraid you’ll mess up,” He Yixun quipped.

“Stop looking down on people,” said Xu Pei, holding onto the car door and looking back at He Yixun. “You should think about what you’re going to treat me to at the victory dinner first.” 

Walking along the cobblestone path through the archway, a three-story Baroque-style castle came into view. The water jets in the fountain pool rose and fell with the saxophone music, as if notes were dancing in the water, making one’s footsteps feel lighter.

But the black-suited security personnel everywhere and the two security scanners at the entryway reminded Xu Pei that it wasn’t time to relax.

“Beibei?” A female manager wearing a headset walkie-talkie lifted Xu Pei’s shirt hem, inspecting him very thoroughly. “New?”

Xu Pei summoned the best acting skills of his life and nodded obediently, his eyes clear and harmless. He hadn’t even tried this hard when pretending for He Yixun. 

The woman continued the inspection, even carefully feeling his hair and private areas, and checked inside his shoes for hidden items. After confirming Xu Pei wasn’t carrying anything suspicious, she waved him inside. “Go on in.”

Passing through the vestibule into the spacious main hall, a huge crystal chandelier cast a dazzling glow, illuminating the classical oil painting hanging on the main wall. Both sides were covered with floor-to-ceiling wine racks holding countless bottles of red wine. The rich aroma in the air mixed with the scent of leather sofas, creating a lazy yet noble atmosphere.

The Night Charms who had arrived earlier were already dispersed throughout the hall, some chatting, some drinking. When they saw Xiao Xi and Tang Tang arrive with Xu Pei, they exchanged knowing glances.

Not all Night Charms would wear the pinhole cameras. 

Some, like Tang Tang, were too timid and unsuitable, so they were responsible for providing cover. Xu Pei was also unsuitable because he stood out too much, so his role was to attract attention.

After straightening his clothes, which had been messed up during the search, in the restroom, Xu Pei and Xiao Xi had just stepped out when He Yixun’s voice came through the earpiece. “Report your status.”

With the internal surveillance cameras inactive, the command vehicle could only see the black suits patrolling the perimeter and the extremely shaky footage transmitted from the pinhole cameras.

Xu Pei was about to tell He Yixun how strict the security check was when Xiao Xi beside him spoke up first. “Report what, Sir He? The old men haven’t even arrived yet.” 

Oh, right. Xu Pei realized. What was there to report about the security check? This wasn’t a chat.

“Are you adjusting okay?” He Yixun asked.

Xiao Xi continued answering, “Relax, it’s not our first time serving…”

He suddenly remembered there was a first-timer present, linked his arm with Xu Pei’s, and teased, “Oh, so you’re asking about our Beibei.” 

Uh, thinking this was a police operation, Xu Pei hadn’t dared to chat, but Officer He started one with him first.

“I’m fine,” Xu Pei reassured.

He Yixun gave a faint “Mm” and said no more.

The Progressive Society members hadn’t arrived yet. Xiao Xi pulled Xu Pei to a random sofa to sit down and started eating from the fruit platter on the coffee table. 

Xu Pei, worried they might be watched, asked, “Isn’t this for the guests?”

“Don’t be so stiff. Loosen up,” said Xiao Xi, putting the fork back on the platter and crossing his legs boldly. “Our job is to entertain. As long as the old men are happy, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

Xu Pei glanced around. The hall was set up with about twenty booth seats, very much like a proper business club. It was hard to imagine how the “entertaining” would happen.

“Will we be assigned one-on-one later?” Xu Pei asked. 

Xiao Xi burst out laughing. “You’re too innocent, Beibei.”

Being called innocent by someone in their early twenties left Professor Xu feeling somewhat speechless.

“Those old men play really wild. They’ve had Roman bathhouse themes and body sushi. How could it just be one-on-one drinking and chatting? Don’t think just because those old men are old, they don’t go all out when they’re horny. They’ll risk their lives for it. Men in their seventies still use air pumps to help them get hard. Ever seen that?”

Xu Pei: “…..No.” 

“I think there’s a striptease performance tonight,” Xiao Xi added. “Later, when the lights dim, they’ll start ‘hunting.’ Don’t panic, just play along with them.”

“Okay,” Xu Pei nodded. “I’ll also try to remove their masks.”

“Hope everything goes smoothly tonight,” Xiao Xi said, finishing his instructions and slumping back against the sofa with a sigh. “I never want to serve those old men again.”

Honestly, with the current level of supervision, the Night Charms could run away anytime. 

The only reason they didn’t, in Xu Pei’s view, was their need for a stable drug supply.

But exposing the Progressive Society, whether successful or not, would inevitably mean losing that supply. So why not just run away directly?

For justice?

Xu Pei found it hard to judge. 

“Have you thought about what you’ll do afterwards?” Xu Pei asked.

“Afterwards?” Seemingly surprised by the sudden shift to a heartfelt topic, Xiao Xi was taken aback, then smiled nonchalantly. “Mooch off rehab centers, I guess.”

Xu Pei felt complex, and didn’t respond.

If he hadn’t crossed over to this world, he probably would never have come into contact with people like this. 

“You must have a very happy life, Beibei,” Xiao Xi mused quietly, blinking his big eyes at Xu Pei. “You definitely come from a good family, had a smooth-sailing life, never faced any real setbacks.

“Even though you’re older than me, I’ve been through more. Maybe I’m even more mature than you.”

Not sure what this kid is so smug about.

“You’ve got it wrong, Xiao Xi,” Xu Pei let out a sigh. “I’ve been an orphan since I was ten.” 

“Ah?” Xiao Xi was both surprised and curious. “How did your parents die?”

Hearing this question, Xu Pei couldn’t help but find it amusing. Normal people, upon hearing such a thing, would offer condolences and wouldn’t pry—like Zhen Li and He Yixun did. Only a kid would be so blunt.

But it happened twenty years ago. For Xu Pei, it was long past, and he didn’t mind anymore.

“Car accident,” Xu Pei replied. “I went with my parents to see a piano recital. On the way back, there was a heavy rainstorm, visibility was terrible. We were waiting at a red light when a truck rear-ended us.” 

He still remembered that the accident was particularly gruesome. The family car was basically crushed into scrap metal by the truck.

But miraculously, Xu Pei survived.

Even he himself didn’t know how it happened.

He just remembered sitting in the back seat, suddenly feeling a huge push. When he came to, he was in a forest and met a little boy covered in wounds. 

He asked the little boy where they were. The little boy said he didn’t know. Then he just walked and walked through the forest with the little boy. While walking, he suddenly found himself back at the accident scene.

But he wasn’t in the car. He was on the road, watching helplessly as paramedics carried his parents’ bodies right past him.

No one could explain how Xu Pei survived.

Xu Pei repeatedly told the police he had gone to a forest, how realistic the trees and soil were, how warm the hand of the little boy holding his hand was. But the police just said he must have been asleep in the car and had a dream. 

That was the only reasonable explanation, but it still couldn’t account for how Xu Pei teleported from the car to the road.

Back then, Xu Pei was young, and no adult took his words seriously. Gradually, even Xu Pei himself came to believe his memory was faulty. Perhaps he had been distracted by something on the roadside back then and, while waiting for the red light, got out of the car by himself.

Then, because the crash scene was too traumatic, he subconsciously blocked out that memory, connecting the dream he had in the car with the memories before and after, leading him to feel he had been to a forest.

Later, Xu Pei underwent a lot of psychological counseling and learned that memory confusion can occur after major psychological trauma, which also suggested the forest incident was likely just a dream. 

As Xu Pei grew up, he sealed away these memories.

Even now, he still hasn’t figured out why he would dream of an injured little boy.

“So, were you raised by relatives after that?” Xiao Xi asked.

“No. Orphanage,” Xu Pei shook his head. “Don’t judge by how I look now. I was the king of the kids at the orphanage.” 

He Yixun’s voice suddenly came through the earpiece, interrupting their chat. “The Progressive Society members are here.”

At the same time, the manager clapped her hands, said, “The guests are here,” then snapped her fingers at the lighting technician. The brightly lit hall instantly dimmed.

From the direction of the vestibule, many men in suits filed in. Each wore expensive custom-tailored suits and velvet masks that covered only the upper half of their faces. Among them were white-haired elders and middle-aged men with graying temples. They were like a pack of elegant predators. The masks hid their greedy eyes but not the desire curling at the corners of their mouths.

Someone with a gemstone-ringed hand brushed past a server’s waist, took a glass of red wine from the tray, and soon selected a Night Charm to pull into his embrace. 

The air began to swirl with the scents of high-end perfume and cigars, smelling like money, lust, and ambition.

Xiao Xi pulled Xu Pei to his feet and said, “Time to work.”

Then he proactively stepped into the arms of a guest who reached out for him.

Even though Xu Pei had mentally rehearsed this countless times, seeing the real scene still made him nervous. He stood in the center of the hall, hesitating whether to find a corner to hide in first, when several men already noticed him and began to approach. “Haven’t seen you before?” “What’s your name?” 

“Uh, I’m new,” Xu Pei said honestly.

Only after speaking did he remember Xiao Xi’s coaching. He slightly pitched his voice higher and said timidly, “F-first time here… my name is Beibei…”

“Beibei? What a precious baby,” someone said, eagerly taking Xu Pei’s hand.

“First come, first served. I saw Beibei first,” another man said, pulling Xu Pei’s waist towards him as if snatching him. 

Someone else, drinking champagne, watched like a vulture observing a hunt. “You go first. I’ll queue up.”

From the shaky footage of the pinhole camera, Xu Pei looked like a little lamb surrounded by a wolf pack.

He Yixun silently stood up from his chair and pulled open the command vehicle door.

Chen Zhen asked, bewildered, “Sir He, what are you doing?” 

The response was the “bang” of the door closing.

From the surveillance feed, a nimble figure stealthily approached the winery. Seizing the moment when the patrolling black suits moved away, he sprinted a few steps and leaped onto the second-floor balcony.

A black suit happened to turn the corner on the second floor and bumped right into the figure. But just as he was about to cry out, a swift elbow strike hit his jaw. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Dragging the black suit to an unmanned corner, the figure took out a black-and-gold mask, put it on, and agilely slipped through a second-floor window. 

Watching this series of fluid actions, Chen Zhen said, dumbfounded, “Wait, is this the original plan or Plan B?”