Moonlight Allure - Chapter 8

Jiang Xueyin and Ruan Mingyue were connected on WeChat because of Xiao Nianru, but they had never exchanged a single word.

Ruan Mingyue was baffled by the sudden message. Before she could process it, another popped up: [It’s Song Siyuan, an Alpha from the Song family. The Jiang family won’t protect him, so you can make the arrest without worry. I’m acting as the bait personally. If he tries anything desperate, remember to save me.]

Skeptical but intrigued, Ruan Mingyue replied with a simple “OK” gesture. Jiang Xueyin bit her lip; she trusted that the female lead’s sense of justice and professional duty would compel her to show up.

She knew Song Siyuan wasn’t the type to return kindness with anything but malice. But to make the evidence stick, she had to be the bait.

The following day, Jiang Xueyin stayed home, browsing for cameras online. After dinner with her parents, she headed out. By the time she arrived outside Tipsy Bar, it was 7:40 PM. She sat in the back of the car, legs crossed and elbow propped against the window, staring intensely at the bar’s entrance.

“Miss, aren’t you getting out?” her driver, Uncle Wang, asked.

“Not yet,” Jiang Xueyin replied tonelessly.

Though the timing of this arrest differed from the original novel, she hoped the “Protagonist’s Halo” would ensure Song Siyuan’s downfall tonight. Suddenly, her new phone vibrated. She grabbed it instantly.

Xiao Nianru was her only contact. The message contained the time and location for finalizing their divorce the next day. Jiang Xueyin stared at the screen, her expression unreadable.

Inside the Bar, under the dizzying neon lights, several male Alphas sat in a booth, clutching shy Omegas. The air was a cloying mix of sweet pheromones and heavy alcohol.

“Song-ge, you said we were here to see a show! We’ve been here forever and the curtain hasn’t even gone up,” a scrawny Alpha grumbled, his hands busy with the person in his lap.

“Don’t rush,” Song Siyuan said, playing with his companion’s hand and grinning. “The show starts at 8:00 sharp. When she arrives, just make sure you hand that glass of wine to the female Alpha.”

“Song-ge, since when did you develop a taste for Alpha-on-Alpha action?” another man asked, stunned. In this ABO society, AO and BB pairings were the norm; anything else was a rarity.

Song Siyuan kicked him playfully. “Shut up. Do I look like that kind of person? I just want to see how effective this new ‘med’ is.”

“Oh, it’s top-tier, definitely!”

Song Siyuan laughed. “We’ll see about that.” He narrowed his eyes. Tonight, he was going to get enough dirt on Jiang Xueyin to control her forever.

Outside, Jiang Xueyin checked the time. It was almost 8:00, but there was still no sign of the female lead. Did she get stuck in traffic? she worried. She checked her watch again. 8:00 sharp.

She stepped out of the car and headed into the bar. At the entrance, she paused, her eyes landing on a woman in black wearing a baseball cap. Is that the female lead? She followed her in. The woman in black sat down at a spot with a perfect view of Song Siyuan’s booth.

“Xiao Jiang, you’re late! Have a penalty drink,” Song Siyuan said with a slimy smile, handing her the spiked glass.

Jiang Xueyin took the glass, her brow furrowing. She hated alcohol. She began to stall, sniffing the wine with mock curiosity while waiting for the police to move. Song Siyuan’s eyes glittered with predatory excitement.

“Police! Don’t move! Hands in the air!” The woman in black moved with lightning speed, appearing behind the group.

Song Siyuan panicked and tried to knock the glass out of Jiang Xueyin’s hand to destroy the evidence, but she caught his arm. Her grip was surprisingly powerful; he found himself completely unable to move.

“Officer, here is your mastermind,” Jiang Xueyin said with a bright, pleasant smile. “And this glass probably has something extra in it.”

Song Siyuan’s face went from pale to a deep, furious red. He realized he’d been set up. “Jiang Xueyin, are you crazy? I’m your cousin.”

Jiang Xueyin blinked innocently. “Oh? My mental health is perfectly fine, thank you!” Her grip tightened even further.

As Song Siyuan struggled, the cold click of handcuffs ended his resistance. Ruan Mingyue looked at him sternly. “Finally caught you.” They had been investigating this ring for a while, but had lacked the hard evidence until now.

Jiang Xueyin let go, placed the glass carefully on the table, and took out an alcohol wipe to meticulously clean her hands. She looked at Song Siyuan with pure disgust. “The Jiang family won’t be bailing you out for this.”

Ruan Mingyue turned to her. “Miss Jiang, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jiang Xueyin smiled. “By the way, remember to test that drink. If it contains inducement chemicals for a forced heat, his charges won’t just be drug trafficking.”

Ruan Mingyue nodded. “I’ll need you to come with us to give a statement.”

“Of course. Happy to cooperate,” Jiang Xueyin said. She watched as a squad of police swarmed the area, quickly finding several packets of illegal substances hidden under the sofa.

As Ruan Mingyue led Song Siyuan out, Jiang Xueyin followed willingly. Outside, Uncle Wang watched in horror as his employer’s daughter was led into a police car. He immediately called Jiang Tingshuo. “Sir! Something terrible has happened! The Young Miss and Master Song have been arrested together!”

None of them noticed a camera in a dark corner, capturing everything.

After giving her statement at the station, Ruan Mingyue walked Jiang Xueyin to the exit. Her expression had softened. “I’ll notify you when the lab results are in. Regardless of the inducement chemicals, we have enough to prosecute. Thank you again.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Jiang Xueyin replied.

The night was dark, the station’s entrance lights casting long shadows. “I’ll leave you here; I have a lot of work to finish,” Ruan Mingyue said.

“Goodnight.” Jiang Xueyin turned around and saw a familiar silhouette standing nearby. Under the dim light, she recognized the face: Xiao Nianru.

“Niannian? What are you doing here?” Joy surged through Jiang Xueyin. She sprinted toward her but stopped herself a meter away, remembering their current distance.

“I saw the news online, so I came,” Xiao Nianru said, her voice uncharacteristically cold. She held up her phone and read the headline aloud: “Eldest Daughter of Jiang Group, Alpha of Star Xiao Nianru, Arrested for Suspected Drug Trafficking.”

“Wait, it went viral that fast?” Jiang Xueyin bit her lip. She needed to have Ruan Mingyue clarify this immediately to save the company’s stock price.

She message Ruan Mingyue on her phone, then looked back up into Xiao Nianru’s unreadable gaze.

“Ruan Mingyue asked me to pick you up, and then I saw the news,” Xiao Nianru said, her dark eyes devoid of their usual tenderness. “Tell me, what exactly is going on?”