Chapter 127: The Bamboo Grove Villa

After Huang Tianhua and Du Dan watched Huang Yu leave, Du Dan spoke first. "Little Yu is angry with us."

"It is inevitable that he would be angry. He will be fine in a few days," Huang Tianhua replied.

Inside his room, Huang Yu kept his phone close, waiting. As soon as it turned eight in the evening, he called Peng Min. The phone barely rang before she answered.

"Hello? Is that you, Minmin? It’s Huang Yu," he said, unable to hide his eagerness.

"Yu, it’s me," she replied from the other end.

Huang Yu listened intently, confirming it was indeed her voice. He felt a wave of relief; his greatest fear had been that his parents might have secretly dealt with Peng Min, a possibility he knew was far from impossible.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I’ve just missed you so much these past few days," Peng Min said.

The two spoke for half an hour. Throughout the conversation, Huang Yu remained hyper-focused, analyzing every word, yet from her fragmented speech, he could not determine her location. It was clear that his father had anticipated this, having instructed his subordinates on exactly what Peng Min could and could not say.

After hanging up, Huang Yu stared blankly at his phone. For the next day or two, he stayed obediently at home. He inquired through every possible channel, including his most trusted butler, but found no information regarding her whereabouts. Finally, he realized that the key to the situation lay with his mother. He knew that if she relented, his father would follow suit; since he was a child, his father had never refused his mother anything she requested.

With this realization, he spent the next two days constantly by Du Dan’s side. Through his deliberate efforts to please her, Du Dan was all smiles, her face radiant with joy. A woman’s heart is soft, especially a mother’s when dealing with her child. When Huang Yu pleaded for Peng Min once more, Du Dan’s resolve finally softened. Seeing an opening, he used both reason and emotion, eventually winning her over.

"A mother will eventually lose to another woman," Du Dan thought, watching Huang Yu’s ecstatic expression. She understood the reality perfectly.

Du Dan took Huang Yu to see his father. Just as Huang Yu had guessed, Huang Tianhua agreed to let him see Peng Min without a moment’s hesitation, wasting no words.

"Tianhua, perhaps as long as he is happy, we shouldn't oppose it, even if the woman is ten times less worthy than Peng Min," Du Dan said, watching their son leave in high spirits.

"Indeed. Our children have their own lives, and we, as parents, should simply watch over them. Besides, with us here, what trouble could Peng Min possibly cause?" Huang Tianhua said, pulling Du Dan into his arms.

When he had first read Peng Min’s file and learned that Huang Yu had become addicted to drugs, his anger had not been particularly intense. However, once Du Dan learned the truth, she was consumed by fury, wishing she could tear the woman apart. Naturally, Huang Tianhua would never defy his wife, so he stood by her side in shared indignation.

"But will I be able to get along with her in the future?" Du Dan asked.

"Let it be. They have their lives, and we have ours. They won't necessarily want to be with us. Didn't Little Yu already buy a property in KM City? At most, they will only return for the holidays," Huang Tianhua replied.

"Yes, that will do. By the way, Tianhua, do we really need to keep them confined until the child is born? Why not just let her go?"

Huang Tianhua had agreed to let Huang Yu stay with her, but he had imposed one final condition: their freedom would be restricted until the baby was born.

"I have my reasons. While Little Yu’s addiction is under control and he no longer needs drugs, Peng Min’s is not yet fully suppressed; it flares up periodically. You know how these things go—forced external intervention is often more effective than self-control. I have already designed a detox regimen for her to ensure the baby is born as healthy as possible. This process cannot be interrupted. If Little Yu wants to accompany her, let him. Perhaps his presence will even improve the results. I will call him myself to explain; he will understand. Besides, I have arranged for them to have everything they need where they are staying. If two people are truly in love, they might not mind spending their time there forever."

Du Dan nodded, satisfied with the explanation.

A black Mercedes business van drove quietly along a mountain road on the outskirts of PE City. Huang Yu sat silently, watching the scenery through the window. He noticed the car had not taken any highways, meaning they were still within the city's jurisdiction.

"How much longer?" he asked, turning away from the window.

"Young Master, at our current speed, we will arrive in about twenty minutes," a middle-aged man in a suit replied.

Huang Yu nodded and closed his eyes to rest. He reflected on the call from his father before he left the estate. He felt a sense of powerlessness; he had no capacity to resist, for everything he had—including the incident where he had killed those five men—was only possible because he was Huang Tianhua’s son. He had never built any power of his own.

The car arrived at a remote, wooded area near LC County. A modest villa, likely under 400 square meters, stood halfway up the mountain. It was surrounded by a bamboo forest, with only a three-meter-wide winding path leading to it.

Huang Yu stood before the villa, feeling surprised. It didn't look like the place his father described as having "everything." Several men in suits stood guard outside, standing in a vigilant formation. Two of them walked toward him with steady, determined strides. He noticed small bulges at their waists—concealed firearms.

"Young Master, please follow me," the lead man said respectfully, gesturing toward the entrance.

Inside, the villa was stark—too stark. There was nothing but basic furniture; not even a television.

"Young Master, this is just the surface," the man said, noticing Huang Yu’s confusion. "The real facility is underground. I will take you there; the young mistress is waiting below."

They descended a flight of stairs that opened into a larger space, eventually reaching a thick, double-leaf iron door. As the man opened it, Huang Yu was stunned. He had never imagined that such a sophisticated, secure structure lay hidden beneath an ordinary villa. Seeing the massive, heavy door, he knew the space beyond was likely much larger than he had anticipated.