Rice Cooked into Meal

Hearing this, Lily Evans had pieced together most of the story. Her heart tightened with worry as she hurriedly asked, "Cynthia, did they hurt you at all?"

Cynthia Wu paused, shook her head, and replied, "No, I wasn't hurt. When I went upstairs, May Parker insisted on tagging along, so I took her with me. The moment I opened the guest room door, I saw Howard Liu was gone—instead, Benjamin Zhang and two of his attendants were inside. I felt something was off and ran for it. On the way, I bumped into Howard Liu, and he actually told me Benjamin Zhang had taken a fancy to me and wanted me to keep him company. He even called Liu family's attendants to try and catch me."

"Luckily, I'm used to hard work and have some strength. I managed to knock down the attendant who tried to grab me and escaped. I was so scared and didn't know who to turn to, so I walked all the way back to the village by myself. Even when I saw my father, I didn't know how to explain... Lily, how could Howard Liu push me into such a pit? And Arthur Evans—he's from our village too! How could he be so cruel and want to harm me?"

"You were right, Lily. Howard Liu is no good. I regret not listening to you and trusting him—I almost ruined my whole life." Cynthia Wu clung to Lily Evans, sobbing as she spoke.

Lily Evans gently patted Cynthia Wu's back, comforting her softly. "It's not too late to realize it now. Thank goodness you were clever and ran as soon as you sensed something was wrong. We're lucky nothing worse happened."

All Lily Evans could do was soothe and comfort her. This sort of thing absolutely couldn't be spread around. Even though Cynthia Wu escaped unharmed, if rumors started, no one could predict what stories people would make up—it would surely damage Cynthia Wu's reputation.

After pouring out her heart, Cynthia Wu felt less suffocated and stopped crying. She said, "Lily, I just realized something. This whole trap was set up by all of them—Howard Liu, Benjamin Zhang, and the Evans siblings! If May Parker and I had gone into that guest room together and I managed to escape, what would have happened to May Parker afterward?"

Lily Evans looked at Cynthia Wu's expression and suddenly a chilling thought struck her: Could it be that Arthur Evans wasn't just trying to harm Cynthia Wu today, but was also willing to sacrifice his own sister, May Parker?

---

Outside an inn near Greenfield City, Arthur Evans stood by the door, listening to the flirtatious voices coming from inside.

"Ah... brother, please... not so rough..."

Arthur Evans's face was pale with anger, his fists clenched tightly. Downstairs, Howard Liu sat fanning himself, glancing up at Arthur Evans with open disdain.

When the sounds from inside finally quieted down, Arthur Evans took a deep breath, put on a look of surprise as if he'd just arrived, and rushed into the room.

"Ah!" May Parker clutched the blanket tightly around herself. "Brother, I... we..."

"How could you, Benjamin Zhang! You've disgraced my sister!" Arthur Evans stepped forward, glaring at Benjamin Zhang. "You have to take responsibility for her!"

Benjamin Zhang leisurely dressed, casting a flirtatious glance at May Parker. He then said in a low voice to Arthur Evans, "Your sister is quite passionate—more so than any girl I've met before."

Arthur Evans's eyes were bloodshot, fists clenched as he struggled to contain his anger. "Brother Zhang, since what's done is done—since the rice is cooked—when will you marry my sister?"

Benjamin Zhang laughed, pulled out fifty taels of silver from his pocket, and tossed them at Arthur Evans. "Go home and wait," he said, striding away without a second glance.

Arthur Evans gripped the silver tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. May Parker curled up in the blanket, her eyes filled with tears. "Brother, what should we do now?"

Arthur Evans glared at May Parker. "Now you're scared? This is what you chose yourself!"