Chapter 275: Lost Their Minds

Chapter 275: Lost Their Minds

Lin Feng was taken away by Ling Duanya and her team.

Upstairs, Wang Haoran watched the whole scene unfold through the window of the second-floor booth. He calmly finished the last of his coffee, stretched, and prepared to leave.

But just as he stood up, his phone buzzed with a call from Zuoqiu Chenyu.

“The task you gave me—it’s done,” she said coolly over the line.

“Oh? And those two?” Wang Haoran asked.

“Mentally broken. They’ve lost it.”

“Lost it?” Wang Haoran’s voice sharpened noticeably.

Zuoqiu Chenyu sensed his tone shift and, worried she might’ve gone too far, quickly explained, “I didn’t expect them to be that fragile. Their mental fortitude was awful—they couldn’t even handle a little scare.”

“A scare?” Wang Haoran narrowed his eyes.

“Our ‘correctional services’ work from two angles,” she said lightly. “Psychological and physical. Mental pressure through ghost tricks and theatrics—no real harm. And physical, well… the classic beatdown. But most of the time, we prefer the first method. No marks, no evidence. Those two just… collapsed from fright.”

Wang Haoran clicked his tongue in amusement. “And your men—were they clean?”

“Of course,” she replied. “Not a shred of evidence left behind. Even if someone investigates, at most it’ll look like a supernatural incident. And since the victims are now raving lunatics, who’s going to believe them anyway?”

He nodded slowly.

In a way, this outcome was perfect. Those two parasitic leeches wouldn’t be showing up to harass Song Zhenyu again. Zuoqiu Chenyu had handled it beautifully.

That said, he had no intention of telling her she’d done a good job. After all, in his eyes, she was just another pawn under his command.

He knew how to manage subordinates—carrot and stick.

With a sharp tone, Wang Haoran began his feigned reprimand. “What the hell, Chenyu? I told you to teach them a lesson, not wreck them. A beating for some discipline, that’s all. Now they’ve gone insane. Sure, you say there’s no evidence, but who knows what might come up? If anything traces back, it’s on me too.”

Zuoqiu Chenyu was stunned for a second, then her temper flared. “Excuse me? You’re the one who said not to kill them and to ‘handle it freely.’ Now you’re blaming me?!” There was a loud thud on the other end—she slapped the table. “You didn’t give clear instructions! How is that my fault?!”

“Not planning on taking your antidote anymore?” Wang Haoran asked mildly.

Silence.

Her fury collapsed in an instant. After a brief pause, she replied in a hollow voice, “Fine. It’s my fault. I messed up. But don’t worry, even if something does happen, I’ll take full responsibility. It won’t touch you.”

“Mm,” Wang Haoran answered indifferently. “I won’t make you do it for free. I’ll send five million your way—call it hazard pay.”

“…Really?” Her voice brightened instantly. “I’ll send over my account info right now.”

He could hear the grin stretching across her face.

He had given her money once before, but she burned through it fast—shopping, beauty treatments, who knew what else. And though she never begged for more, she clearly had been waiting.

Now, hearing that five million was on the way, she was practically glowing.

New designer clothes, high-end makeup, luxury skincare… all hers again.

Wang Haoran chuckled to himself and hung up.

This was the art of controlling people. A slap, then sugar. In polite terms, it was “balancing authority and kindness.” In plainer speech? One slap, one sweet date.

Judging by her reaction, it worked like a charm.

—

Wang Haoran exited the First Love Cafe.

As he stepped outside, his phone rang again—this time, it was Qin Yunhan.

She wanted to watch a movie with him.

Apparently, a new romantic tearjerker had just been released, and early reviews were overwhelmingly positive. The male lead, though a newcomer, had already earned a reputation for incredible acting.

Some critics even said he carried the entire film on his shoulders.

That kind of praise might’ve been a little overblown, but it made one thing clear—this actor had real talent.

Qin Yunhan was eager to see it.

So, naturally, Wang Haoran went along with her.

But as the movie played, he barely paid attention to the screen—his hands were far more interested in wandering elsewhere.

Qin Yunhan, on the other hand, was fully absorbed. The love story on screen had her wiping tears by the time the credits rolled.

Once the lights came up, Wang Haoran made a quick exit.

Barely a minute later, Qiu Qianwei called. She also wanted to watch a movie.

And yes—it was the exact same film.

To keep things fair, Wang Haoran couldn’t say no. He’d already seen it with Qin Yunhan; he couldn’t deny Qiu Qianwei the same.

By the time they left the cinema after the afternoon show, it was already past five.

They found a cozy restaurant nearby for dinner.

But just as they sat down, another message came in—this time from Xu Muyan.

She wanted to see the same movie too.

What could he do? Once again, he bid farewell to Qiu Qianwei and headed out for the evening screening with Xu Muyan.

When he finally stumbled out of the cinema that night, it was close to 8 p.m.

He had half a mind to drag Xu Muyan somewhere quiet, talk about life, love, maybe share a candlelit evening in bed—after all, they hadn’t even had a proper intimate moment yet.

But Xu Muyan announced earlier that she promised her fans a game livestream at 8 sharp. Yesterday’s gift battle between Wang Haoran and “Lin Shao” had drawn huge traffic, and she couldn’t afford to bail on her fans now.

If he really insisted, she’d stay.

But Wang Haoran burned ten million in gifts to help her boost her channel. That investment needed to pay off.

So, he gave up on the romantic talk—for now.

After all, she was already in the bowl. She wouldn’t be running off anytime soon.

—

Back at the villa around 8:30 p.m., Wang Haoran found the place empty.

Yang Jingwan had gone home. The spacious house was all his.

Of course, Qiu Qianwei lived close by. One phone call and she’d be at his doorstep.

But before he could even take out his phone, Tang Bingyun arrived.

And the first thing she said?

“Let’s go watch a movie.”

He almost threw up.

He’d already seen the same film in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. The very thought of a midnight screening made his head spin.

Seeing his resistance, Tang Bingyun didn’t push. Instead, she headed straight for the shower.

And everywhere she walked, her clothes trailed behind, falling piece by piece.

She was a CEO with a keen sense of time management. Finishing work early today meant one thing: she wasn’t about to waste the bonus hours.