I lock all the rooms on the first and second floors, and turn off the electric switch for the indoor elevator.

The purpose of these actions is to prevent him from knowing which room I’m hiding in. Of course, these efforts may be meaningless, but they still give me comfort when I’m scared out of my mind.

Maybe he’s not that powerful yet, and needs to observe with his eyes like a human.

There is the faint sound of a door being opened downstairs. It seems as if it takes him only seconds to open one door after another, my locks useless to him.

I don’t know if he will notice that I’m hiding in the attic on the third floor, lying tremblingly on the wooden door and listening to what is going on beneath.

Door after door opens, like a countdown of my life. I know this won’t last long, so I desperately press and hold the power button on my phone, turning it off and then on again.

My phone lights up in the dark, then goes out again, and there is still no signal, even for emergency calls.

I feel like a lamb trapped in the deep mountains. In the dark night, with crises rising and falling around me, there is a beast staring at me and salivating.

“Wen Mingcheng…..”

When we were teeneagers, he told me that he would stay with me forever. When we got married, he told me that he would stay with me for the rest of his life. He told me that death could not separate us, but then he tricked me into going on a honeymoon vacation and now left me alone in this situation.

Good for you.

I misjudged you.

But what should I do? I still love you and I hope that you will come back to save me.

I’m so cheap.

The fear, helplessness, and grief of being deceived by my lover overwhelms me. It is like a nightmare, and it would be nice if I could wake up.

I hope to wake up to a quiet night, with my lover lying next to me. He will go to work the next day as usual as I paint at home. This is just a bizarre nightmare I’m having until midnight.

But the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs tell me that it is all real. The sound of men’s leather shoes on the marble floor is particularly clear in the night.

I had personally selected these leather shoes for their sound, which had previously been called a symbol of masculine elegance and charm.

And now, it seems like a death knell.

His voice comes up from downstairs without any weakening, and is clearly transmitted to my ears on the third floor: “I’m on the second floor, A-Zhen.”

I cover my mouth, not daring to make a sound.

The sound of doors being opened on the second floor is clearer, and I can almost hear him twisting the doorknobs into pieces.

Listening to his footsteps, I know that he just stands at the door for a moment before walking to the next room. The search is very fast.

The footsteps are getting closer.

“You haven’t eaten for a day. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Come out, and I will prepare whatever you want to eat.”

While he is talking, he breaks a few more doors while still trying to persuade me in a gentle voice.

“After eating, I will help you take a bath, and then I will hold you as you sleep peacefully. The sun will still rise the next day, and everything will still be as usual, won’t it?”

“I’m very sad that you are hiding like this and refusing to see me. I’m going to be very angry.”

He walks to the bottom of the third floor.

Just under the wooden door where I’m lying.

My heart is in my throat.

 I get up covertly and move back bit by bit, staring straight at the door. My heart is pounding so hard that it almost makes it difficult for me to breathe.

And at this moment, a bit of moonlight suddenly falls gently on my arm from behind.

I am stunned for a moment, and look back.

Only then do I realize that there is a small window behind me. There are dark clouds outside just now, and it is just as dark indoors, but I didn’t even notice. 

This small discovery instantly makes me ecstatic. 

Having a window means I can escape.

Although this is the third floor, I can go to the roof to ask for help. There are 24/7 security guards patrolling outside at all times.

There is a glimmer of hope!

I struggle to get up, not knowing when the being behind me might suddenly push open the attic door.

I even hear him walking up the spiral staircase to the third floor.

However, although the window doesn’t have a lock, it is rusty since it hasn’t been used in a long time. While I’m trying to open this rusty window that hasn’t been opened all year round, I turn back and stare at the attic door.

I almost bite my lip in anxiety. 

But at this moment, it seems that god intends to save me.

There is suddenly a bang on the second floor, as if something has fallen to the ground.

After I hear this, the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs abruptly stops.

Then, I hear a sound like a strong wind heading toward the second floor.

Listening carefully, I find that the speed is very fast, and suddenly realize that it should be footsteps that are so fast that they almost overlap.

This realization instantly makes my hair stand on end.

This is definitely not human speed.

I almost desperately try to open the window.

Finally, I don’t know which rusty screw I turned, but I finally push the window open.

Outside the window, my neighbor’s family is having dinner on the balcony. A little boy is holding a toy airplane in his hands, while the man holds him and looks at the scenery outside, occasionally pointing at the sky. From this angle, I should be completely visible to them.

I try my best to wave to them while struggling to get through the small window.

The “person” seems to have been drawn away by the sound coming from the second floor, and I don’t hear footsteps coming up again.

This fills my heart with hope again. I try hard to get half of my body out the window. The man opposite seems to see me and puts his son down, turning in my direction…..

I feel surprised for a moment and raise my hand, trying to wave to him desperately.

But in the next moment, I suddenly feel that something isn’t right.

My…..

My ankle…..I try to pull back my leg.

My ankle is being grasped by a hand!!!

In the next second, I look back in horror.

In the darkness, a long, cold white hand holds my exposed ankle. Looking back along the arm, the man is half kneeling, half lying on the floor in the narrow space, his eyes deep but very bright and sharp.

He gives me a toothy grin. “How pitiful. You got caught.”

In the next moment, he exerts great force and drags me back into the attic.

Without my support, the window slams shut.

“Ahhhh! Don’t—-”

---

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Chapter 11 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 13

Two years ago, in a high-end Shanghai apartment complex, a young man jumped from an open window. He was a freshman at Shanghai Music Institute, majoring in violin. When he was working part-time at a restaurant, he was spotted by Wang Liang, and his nightmare began that day. He was harassed, entangled, and had his personal freedom restricted.

In the end, he escaped from his cage and flew up, then down, like a bird with broken wings.

Two years later, with dark glass scattered all over the ground, Wang Liang fell from the sixth floor of a shopping mall onto the green belt in the back. Fortunately, this was landscape shrubbery, and the only thing that was hit was a clump of tiger thorn plum.

. . . . . . .

Although Lu Qi’s cut was long, it was fortunately not deep. The doctor said that there would barely be a scar after the stitches, but when Mu Nanqiao arrived later, he transferred this person to a private hospital owned by Mu Group and went through the hospitalization procedures.

The anesthetic wore off, and the wound started to hurt. Mu Nanqiao was sitting beside the bed. Lu Qi hooked his little finger with his uninjured hand and shook it, asking in a low voice: “Where is Wang Liang? Was he taken away by the police?”

His hand was slightly cold, and Mu Nanqiao immediately held it and kneaded it gently.

“He should also be in a hospital being rescued.” Mu Nanqiao leaned over and touched his forehead, where there was still a small bruise. He frowned in distress and answered his question softly: “After you left, I kept an eye on him there. He seemed to have taken some drugs and was extremely agitated. When I blocked the door, he jumped out the window.”

Truly a predictable and reasonable result, ah.

Lu Qi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, then yawned tiredly.

He brushed Mu Nanqiao’s palm with his fingertips and whispered: “Wu…..it’s good he jumped down by himself…..I was still a little afraid…..”

Mu Nanqiao thought he was talking about fear of getting hurt, and it was only when he drew closer that he clearly heard his sleepy murmur.

“Afraid that you…..mm…..would kill him…..dirty your hands……I regret…..leaving first.”

He finished speaking in a daze. His delicate, pretty brow was still furrowed and he didn’t appear to be sleeping well. Mu Nanqiao stood up and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“I wouldn’t do that sort of thing. If the price is to be separated from you, it isn’t worth it.” He whispered in Lu Qi’s ear: “Lu Baby, take a nap, and everything will be over when you wake up.”

He kissed Lu Qi’s ear again: “Ялюблютебя.”^[1]

It was unknown if Lu Qi had heard it or just made a nasally sound after falling asleep, but he made a hum as soft as that of a small animal.

There were two gentle knocks on the door. Mu Nanqiao straightened up and raised the temperature on the air conditioner two degrees before turning around and going out.

Standing outside were Assistant Zhang and several policemen.

One of the older men stepped forward and shook Mu Nanqiao’s hand. He showed his ID and asked straight to the point: “Mr. Mu, we still need the victim to make a statement regarding this kidnapping case. Is it convenient for him now?”

“He was frightened, and just fell asleep.” Mu Nanqiao smiled politely. That handsome face was filled with the culturedness of a young talent, and he said cooperatively: “If you have any questions, you can ask me first. I will contact you when he wakes up.”

“That’s fine. You are the one who reported the crime. What is your relationship with the victim?” The old policeman asked in a business-like manner.

“He is my lover,” Mu Nanqiao said. “With the blessings and approval of the elders, he is the lover I will spend the rest of my life with.”

He spoke frankly, and the old policeman had met many different types of people, so he was not very surprised.

Mu Nanqiao took these people next door to make a statement. Lu Qi happened to wake up at the end of the day, so two policemen went directly to his room.

Lu Qi sat up, and Mu Nanqiao placed two soft pillows behind him as if he was suffering from something serious. He whispered in embarrassment that he was fine, so Mu Nanqiao stopped and went to peel a peach.

The recording process went smoothly. Lu Qi explained in detail the process of his kidnapping. When he mentioned punching Wang Liang in the head, he was still a little proud, but then realized that he was in front of the police and straightened his expression again with a cough. This little thought made the young policeman next to him laugh.

Lu Qi let out a small sigh of relief when they left, then sank softly into the pile of pillows. Opening his mouth to eat the peach fed to him by Mu Nanqiao, he secretly looked at him.

Mu Nanqiao was amused by this cat-like sneakiness and wiped his mouth with a wet wipe.

“You’re my boyfriend, do you still need to peek?” He nuzzled the tip of Lu Qi’s nose in a silly way. “What are you looking at?”

Lu Qi took the wet wipe with his uninjured hand and wiped his mouth carelessly. Seeing Mu Nanqiao smile, he breathed a sigh of relief. The wound still hurt, but it was nothing at this moment. He lifted his arm and said: “I’m looking at my boyfriend’s smile, ah. Come here, I want a hug.”

Naturally, Mu Nanqiao responded to such a request.

The small bowl of peaches was set aside. He simply sat on the bed and reclined against the pile of pillows, holding the person in his arms sideways.

The bed in the VIP ward of the private hospital was appropriately wider. Lu Qi moved around and found a comfortable position. His shaggy head arched into Mu Nanqiao’s chin twice.

He yawned again, like a small animal that had finally found its nest. “I actually wasn’t asleep just now. When I opened my eyes and you weren’t there, I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Mu Nanqiao lowered his head to kiss his hair. “Then sleep a little longer. I won’t leave this time.”

Lu Qi rested his head on Mu Nanqiao’s arm, and with his ear against his chest, he could hear the steady, powerful heartbeat of his lover. He rubbed against him like a cat, very satisfied, and closed his eyes contentedly.

Mu Nanqiao inclined his head and looked silently at Lu Qi’s thick, drooping eyelashes.

This was actually a stress reaction. Lu Qi himself didn’t realize that he had briefly lost all sense of the world. Maybe this state of affairs wouldn’t last long, but Mu Nanqiao still felt distressed.

He had never been a magnanimous person, and cherished very few things. However, some people stretched out their claws to test him without knowing his depths.

If Wang Liang thought this would be the end of it, it was too early for him to celebrate.

. . . . . . .

Lu Qi remained in the ward for a week before he finally couldn’t stay there anymore. Under his strong protests, Mu Nanqiao agreed in the end to let him go home. However, Xiao Sanhua and the little black pig were not there when they returned. Mu Nanqiao was worried that these two little guys, who were neither light nor heavy, would touch Lu Qi’s unhealed arm, so he had temporarily sent them to Mu Chuanbai.

The afternoon after he returned, Mu Chuanbai and Talia came to visit Lu Qi at home. While Lu Qi proudly told Talia how he escaped from danger, Mu Chuanbai glanced at Mu Nanqiao, and the father and son went upstairs to the study in tacit agreement.

Mu Chuanbai’s legs had healed well. He still had a slight limp when he walked, but it was not obvious. As soon as he entered the office, the image of an amiable elder that he portrayed for Lu Qi vanished. Before speaking, he gave a cold scoff of contempt.

“Wang Duan came to the office to see you two days ago. You were away, so he wanted to meet with me, but I refused. Do you think he intends to intercede for Wang Liang?”

Mu Nanqiao leaned against the table and wiped the picture frame there with a paper towel. He replied to his father, “You ask what you already know.”

Wang Duan should not be interceding for Wang Liang.

Because when Wang Liang fell, he became a paraplegic from the neck down.

In a twist of fate, he received the appropriate retribution. Wang Liang’s situation was even worse. He had fallen face-first into the tiger thorn plums, and one eye was blinded by the plant’s sharp thorns. His other eye was also affected, and his vision became worse and worse every day.

Speaking of which, Wang Liang had asked someone to plant this sort of plant full of spikes. Its purpose was to keep people away from his lounge window, lest they hear something they shouldn’t hear, even though he was clearly on the sixth floor.

Wang Duan no longer intended to plead for such trash that even prison wouldn’t accept. He had come to clear things up between them.

And Wang Duan finally met with Mu Nanqiao when he returned to work half a month later.

There was pretty much nothing wrong with Lu Qi’s arm. This seemingly fragile little friend actually had a good self-healing ability. 

This morning, his expression was a little strange. His eyes twinkled, and he insisted on driving Mu Nanqiao to work.

Mu Nanqiao was kicked out of the house for no apparent reason, and when he saw Wang Duan, his expression became even gloomier. He only glanced at his watch and said coldly: “Five minutes.”

Wang Duan smiled bitterly.

He was having a difficult time these days. His eyes were all black and blue, and this eldest young master who was boundlessly successful in the eyes of outsiders had not had a good night’s sleep for several nights in a row.

In Wang Duan’s short 30-year life, half of the time was spent cleaning up his younger brother’s messes. This time he was exhausted, and finally couldn’t clean up after him anymore.

Five minutes was not enough time for him to mention the recent losses caused by Mu Group’s vicious competition, no matter the cost. Unable to use benefits to persuade Mu Nanqiao to end his retaliation, he could only say straight to the point: “Wang Liang is already like this. Does Mu Group want us to pull out his oxygen tube?”

Mu Nanqiao gave him a deep look, his narrow fox eyes containing a mocking smile.

“Like this? How is he?” Mu Nanqiao leaned back in the chair with a relaxed posture, tapping the armrest of the swivel chair with his fingers. “He is lying in the best hospital bed in Shanghai and receiving the best treatment. Although he can’t move his limbs, that hasn’t stopped the young master from losing his temper. And even though he is blind in one eye, he hasn’t forgotten to curse my and my lover’s whole family…..”

Mu Nanqiao finally concluded with a smile: “I think his life is too comfortable.”

Wang Duan didn’t know what to say for a moment. He opened his mouth and had no choice but to continue: “Then what else do you want?”

“I want your family to sever ties with him and have a lawyer come forward to write up a statement. I want to see this statement trending on every platform…..”

Mu Nanqiao said slowly: “But out of humanitarian concern, I will allow you to find a nursing home for him before severing ties. I think ‘He Ai’ Sanatorium is very good, don’t you?”

After leaving the gates of Mu Group, Wang Duan, with a headache, told his assistant to find out where ‘He Ai’ was located.

The assistant quickly responded: “Mr. Wang, there is only one nursing home in Shanghai called ‘He Ai,” but it is located in a peripheral rural community. Um…..it’s not so much a sanatorium, and should more accurately be called a mental hospital. The conditions are rather bad, and last year there were reports that patients received shock therapy…..”

Wang Duan frowned upon hearing this, and before the assistant could finish speaking, Wang Duan was slapped hard in the face.

His mother roared hysterically, almost like a madwoman, with no trace of her former dignity and elegance. Right at the entrance of the company where people were coming and going, she screamed and scolded Wang Duan for not taking good care of his little brother.

She still didn’t understand that it was her bottomless indulgence and pampering that made her youngest son what he was today, and when she went crazy this time, she directly added another chip to Wang Duan’s already tilted balance. The pointer stopped on the side of completely giving up on Wang Liang.

. . . . . . .

When Mu Nanqiao drove out, a crowd had already encircled the third floor inside and outside. He saw the farce going on upstairs and passed by disinterestedly, driving straight home.

When he arrived at the door of the house, his uneasiness and fretfulness from not seeing Lu Qi calmed down a bit. He was about to open the door when he saw a small note on it.

It was a shopping receipt.

They were the only family on this floor, and other people’s elevator cards couldn’t reach it. 

Mu Nanqiao picked it up casually. He took a cursory glance and reached out to open the door, but the words he just saw suddenly flashed through his mind. In disbelief, he paused in the middle of opening the door and looked down again.

[Hongfu Chain Supermarket Shopping Receipt]

[Seasoning Soy Sauce]

[50/60 Chilled Shrimp]

[Iron Stick Yam]

[Baby Cabbage]

[Fresh fish roe wontons]

[001 Ultra-Thin condoms pack of 8 ]

[Blueberry Grapes]

[Premium Beef Brisket]

[Premium Pork Short Ribs]

[Bargain price potatoes]

Mu Nanqiao felt that what made his heart beat faster and his ears feel hot was probably not the bargain price potatoes or pork ribs.

---

[1] “Ялюблютебя.” = “I love you.” ⮐

---

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Chapter Forty-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-One

There seemed to be noise in his ears, but Liu Zhenqing had no time to pay attention to it. He just suddenly felt that this abrupt accident was very pleasant.

It seemed that the stuffy feeling from just now had vanished because of this.

Huo Fenglie’s pupils shrank, and he suddenly tried to raise his head.

Liu Zhenqing naturally noticed, and his eyes flashed. His feet immediately slipped as if he had lost his footing, and he was forced to put his arms around Huo Fenglie’s neck.

At that moment, Huo Fenglie was brought down again, and their lips that were so close naturally parted.

Of course Liu Zhenqing knew that this would not hinder him for long, so he deliberately played dirty and lightly swiped with the tip of his tongue.

He felt the strong body holding him shake, as if his soul was being pulled out.

When they separated, Huo Fenglie could no longer control his expression. His face turned red, and in a flash, he looked at him with a pure and innocent expression that was a little cute.

“Aiya, my first kiss,” Liu Zhenqing teased deliberately.

As expected, Huo Fenglie was even more at a loss for what to do, and even forgot to ask what Liu Zhenqing meant with that little move just now.

But Liu Zhenqing chose to ignore the situation and turned to look beneath the boat.

A group of sailors were rushing onto the boat. It was they who had purposely pulled the boat with hook ropes just now, causing it to shake so violently.

Clearly, Song Xingmu was on the boat. What were they doing?

The enchanting mood just now quickly retracted when faced with proper business. Many frightened guests had already poured out onto the deck.

Song Xingmu also walked out with Yi Chuan. Seeing that they were both fine, he gave them a look, and the two of them hid behind the crowd to watch what was happening.

But at present, it was clear that Liu Zhenqing was the only one in a good state.

Very soon, a mighty military officer nearly fifty years old came up with the team. Liu Zhenqing recognized him at a glance. “Song Jing?”

Upon seeing this visitor, Song Xingmu raised his eyebrows and said: “Uncle, what is the meaning of this?”

“I should be the one asking you this. Don’t think that just because the emperor let you take over military power, you can do whatever you want. I know you want to eradicate my people, but who taught you to arrest people at will without any evidence? If it goes as you wish this time, will there still be Imperial law in Ming’an County in the future?”

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding guests couldn’t help but discuss it.

Song Xingmu raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked under the boat to see that the small team escorting the prisoners had been caught by his uncle. Those prisoners were also brought up to Song Xingmu and untied.

Wang Qi was the first to wail accusingly. “Commander, we really are serious merchants.”

“Commander, a person cannot be accused unjustly just because he is a foreign merchant, and the navy cannot bully us merchants at will. I know that the captain wants to establish his prestige through meritorious deeds, but he cannot act so recklessly!” As the military officer spoke, he knelt down to Song Jing and revealed a firm and unyielding look. “This subordinate swears by the sea god. If I lie, I will be shipwrecked when I go out to sea.”

Saying this, he directly guided public opinion. Coupled with the pirate to the side who deliberately showed anger and grievance, the people around them began to favor this group and point fingers at Song Xingmu.

Song Xingmu’s reputation as the Sea King was very great, but after all, this was the city that Song Jing had guarded for eight years. Moreover, he was Song Xingmu’s elder, so everyone could only doubt Song Xingmu.

But Song Xingmu still looked nonchalant as he said with a smile: “Then I’ll have to remind others not to go to sea with you in the future, otherwise, won’t they be buried with you?”

The military officer choked and turned red in the face.

“Nonsense. Someone escort him away.” Song Jing actually issued an arrest warrant for Song Xingmu, who was one level more powerful than him.

The navy men following hesitated for a moment, but seeing their commander take the lead, they naturally followed suit.

This scene was simply preposterous.

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly as he watched. It seemed that Song Xingmu’s situation was worse than the rumors said. This uncle was completely against him and had no intention of delegating power at all.

Song Xingmu’s expression suddenly turned cold, and Yi Chuan jumped out with his blades, glaring fiercely at the people surrounding them like a vicious dog protecting its master.

The long and short blades flashed, immediately intimidating.

Song Jing said furiously: “Yi Chuan, if you dare to take action, you will be violating military orders.”

“Laozi is not a navy man!” Yi Chuan sneered coldly.

The furious Song Jing shouted: “Troops, come!”

In an instant, ten people surrounded him.

“Interesting.” Liu Zhenqing scoffed. “Er-gou, what do you think?”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly for a moment, then returned to his senses and glanced at him. “He treats military power like child’s play, acting willfully and making a scene.”

“Yes, ah, he is indeed making a scene. These 30,000 navy troops are basically useless.” Liu Zhenqing shook his head pityingly. With them being trained only to follow but not to recognize power, this situation was extremely destabilizing for a country. Even though the Huo Family Army was named the “Huo Family Army,” they still listened to the orders of the person holding the tiger talisman. This was a manifestation of the Huo family’s loyalty to Imperial power. They completely handed over the power in their hands for the emperor to control.

But now that the emperor had given Song Xingmu power, nobody recognized it. It was likely that even though Huo Fenglie now held the token of supreme military power granted by the emperor and could bypass Song Xingmu to control the troops, these naval forces may not obey.

In eight years, Song Jing had practically made thousands of soldiers into his own private army.

Thus, for the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, these 30,000 units of combat power were basically useless.

It seemed that Song Xingmu being slow to act before was out of necessity. He had no other choice but to slowly regain the discipline and fighting spirit of the troops.

Seeing that blood was about to be spilled, the people around could only retreat. At this moment, a voice pretending to be guileless shouted out from the crowd.

“It’s strange, didn’t the storyteller say that the one with the most power is the Sea King? Why won’t the navy listen to the Sea King and still try to arrest him, ah!”

As soon as these words came out, the people around became strangely quiet, and then couldn’t help but whisper.

“Right, ah, could Song Jing give such an order to Song Xingmu?”

This direct slap out of thin air caused Song Jing to freeze, as if something had been poked through. It also made the navy men even more hesitant, and they couldn’t help but look back at Song Jing.

This was also the first time Song Jing had directly confronted Song Xingmu, and it seemed like he couldn’t grasp the situation.

Song Xingmu gave a slight smile and said directly: “The emperor’s decree is probably nothing in my uncle’s eyes.”

“What nonsense are you speaking!” Song Xingmu retorted at once. He was still somewhat lacking in confidence because of this accusation and skewed his eyes, immediately thinking of a new excuse.

“You are utterly stubborn and obstinate, come back with me and kneel in the ancestral hall!” Song Jing was not stupid. He did not give the order as a military commander, but as an elder. If his arrangements reached the emperor’s ears, it would be unspeakable. “Troops!”

The navy men had no choice but to step forward again.

As a result, another “female voice” sounded and said in a pretentious manner: “Ya, it turns out that the navy can help the commander with his family affairs. They are private soldiers, ah.”

Song Jing’s expression changed drastically again. The phrase “private soldiers” was serious.

Song Xingmu immediately played along and said: “That’s right, my uncle likes to use the navy soldiers who eat Imperial food and receive military pay to discipline his nephew. Do you know where the military pay comes from? It comes from the hard work of the common people in order to support the navy and protect everyone’s safety at sea. But now it is used to teach his nephew a lesson. It is my fault.”

These words were extremely sarcastic and aroused public indignation. Although no one dared to show it clearly, their looks toward Song Xingmu also changed.

Song Jing also didn’t expect that his clever statement would actually be a rock he dropped on his own foot. He could only rush forward in anger.

Doing it himself wouldn’t count.

But before he even got close, Yi Chuan kicked him away.

“You!” Song Jing fell to the ground and gasped for air, in a towering rage. At this moment, a young military official flew up to Song Jing. 

The man had good facial features and he seemed upright. Wearing armor and a sword, he looked extremely majestic. The ferocious aura belonging to a general forcefully suppressed Song Jing, who looked powerful just now, another level down.

As soon as he arrived, all the navy troops immediately stood up straight and waited for orders, appearing very well-trained.

Huo Fenglie said to Liu Zhenqing, who had a hand pressed to his throat: “The one those naval forces obey is not Song Jing, but him.”

“You guessed it, Lieutenant General Zhao Haicheng is really not simple.” Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and looked at that person, somehow feeling that he looked familiar.

“Captain Song, he is your uncle after all. How can you let your…..male favorite treat him like this?” Zhao Haicheng’s face was gloomy, and his previously serious expression was now filled with a sinister chill.

Yi Chuan, who should have been furious at this moment, was not. When it came to Song Xingmu’s home ground, he knew not to bypass him. Instead, Song Xingmu retorted: “He is so fierce, how can he be my male favorite? Are you blind? And it was my uncle who made the first move. He was only fighting back.”

Song Xingmu pushed Yi Chuan and smiled with raised eyebrows: “Uncle actually released the prisoners I arrested without permission, and even brought a navy ship to disrupt order and threatened to arrest me. Uncle has violated more than one military discipline. Doesn’t Lieutenant General Zhao know the rules best? Right now, I am ordering that Song Jing be arrested. Do you hear me?”

Song Xingmu was usually unwilling to fight directly due to the uncertainty of winning. This was the method of an intelligent person, but now he openly made himself clear. This somewhat surprised Zhao Haicheng. Could it be that he thought he had a handle on Song Jing by arresting those three people, and that was why he was confident?

Zhao Haicheng chose to help Song Jing up directly. When Song Xingmu’s eyes turned cold, he gave a polite bow and said: “Captain Song, this subordinate will naturally obey your orders, but I will not follow blindly. This subordinate has gone to the capital and received an Imperial edict, so I naturally know that when a problem arises with the top military commander, we can act above our statuses and file a petition to the emperor.”

Zhao Haicheng’s words were really unexpected.

Huo Fenglie remembered why this fellow had gone to the capital, and immediately lost control of his expression.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but scoff coldly.

Song Xingmu laughed out loud. The more murderous intent he had in his heart, the more sincere his laughter became.

Zhao Haicheng continued to say respectfully: “Instead of fighting, let us solve the fundamental problem first. Isn’t the conflict here that Captain Song thinks these three people are criminals? Let these three prove their innocence. If Captain Song is wrong, he should accept punishment.”

“If you are wrong, you should accept punishment. Brat, do you dare?”

Song Jing seemed to grow a backbone because of Zhao Haicheng, and directly cooperated.

However, this game was extremely unfavorable to Song Xingmu.

The decision to arrest those people came from his own speculation, Xi Ran’s news, and Yi Chuan’s personal eavesdropping.

Perhaps there were still the two witnesses, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie.

But they were difficult to use as evidence for various reasons.

He should have arrested them and gone straight back to torture them and extract confessions, then investigate the evidence hidden in their homes. But now that the situation had been publicly disrupted, Song Xingmu instantly became very passive.

But through this, Song Xingmu also understood one thing. He had originally thought that if they were just petty thieves, even if his uncle was the person behind them, he would abandon them to save himself. Unexpectedly, his uncle directly confronted him for the sake of those three, which showed their importance to his uncle. And the things hidden behind this were probably related to Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing’s investigation.

Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing also thought of this at the same time. They didn’t know whether or not to be happy, but they could at least legitimately suspect that Song Jing and Zhao Haicheng were connected to the rebels, and their investigation could start from there. It was much faster than their original investigation method. It seemed the enemy really didn’t know they were here for the time being, otherwise they wouldn’t have left such an opening.

There was only the current dilemma.

Several people were thinking about how to solve it.

Song Jing was beside himself with glee. Seeing that Song Xingmu had been silent for a long time, he shouted: “There is indeed a pirate here.”

Song Xingmu and Liu Zhenqing were astonished when these words came out. Yi Chuan’s hands tightened on his blades, and he looked at Song Jing.

Sure enough, Song Jing pointed at Yi Chuan and said: “Weren’t you, this male favorite, the young captain of the Black Shell Pirates more than ten years ago? He has the pirate symbol on his arm! If you don’t believe me, take a look! It is truly absurd. His own male favorite is a pirate, and he also captures pirates. Song Xingmu, I don’t think you are qualified to be the Sea King and take over military power here.”

Yi Chuan immediately lost control and started to rush over, but was caught by Song Xingmu. He wanted to resist, but when he saw that the hand holding him was the one with a black glove, he froze on the spot and glared angrily at Song Xingmu.

Song Xingmu’s eyes did not shy away, and there was no panic in them at all. Liu Zhenqing understood instantly that he had known this was a problem that would explode sooner or later. Why Yi Chuan didn’t join the navy, and why Song Xingmu didn’t fight against Song Jing, was actually due to his protection of Yi Chuan.

“The case was already tried back then, and the elders of Ming’an County all know that he was acquitted. My uncle is using the accusation of being a pirate to suppress him, and feels that the official trial at that time was in error.” Naturally, Song Xingmu would not be easily manipulated, and retorted directly.

Song Jing gave a light scoff. He really couldn’t attack Yi Chuan, but since this matter had come out, the people around would naturally have opinions about Song Xingmu and Yi Chuan. His side had still won.

Song Jing was swollen with arrogance, and almost laughed out loud.

But in the next second, another voice was heard as a certain person grasped his neck again to sound like a ghost or demon.

“It turns out that pirates all have symbols, ah. Then….why don’t you find out by checking that person?”

Such innocent words, even if they were said in a very poor change of voice, suddenly lifted the fog and exposed the blind spot in everyone’s eyes.

However, the named pirate did not panic, but instead showed his arms generously.

Song Jing was about to laugh out loud when he heard the voice following him like a shadow: “Look how foolish I am, will a pirate who dares go ashore still have such a clue? Is there no other way to distinguish between pirates and foreign merchants?”

The words were enlightening. Right, ah, there must be more than just a symbol. Everyone’s thoughts were stimulated.

“Who is it!” Song Jing was furious, and rushed toward the sound of the voice with his sword. In the next second, he saw a person rush out and hide directly behind Song Xingmu.

Song Xingmu was taken aback. He quickly understood that others would not recognize Liu Zhenqing’s appearance, but that did not mean that no one would recognize Huo Fenglie.

So Huo Fenglie had to hide, but Liu Zhenqing could be exposed.

Song Xingmu immediately stretched out his hand to block the path to Liu Zhenqing, saying: “Uncle, my friend speaks fairly. Why do you still want to beat him?”

Liu Zhenqing poked his head around and asked: “Could it be because he has a guilty conscience?”

“How dare you slander me!” Song Jing was furious.

“I’m just asking a reasonable question.” Liu Zhenqing called out directly: “Hey, does anyone know how to tell the difference, ah?”

At this time, someone among the people watching the excitement finally came forward.

“I have encountered pirates before. The way they hold their weapons is different from that of our Zhou Dynasty’s navy, so the calluses on their hands are also different. Since this person says he is a foreign merchant, he should not…..”

“Yes, yes, yes. I have seen the corpses of pirates, and this is the case. They have obvious callouses.”

“That’s right, this can be used as evidence. Just look at that person’s hands. If he is a merchant, he will definitely not have them.”

“What if he is a merchant who practices martial arts?”

“There is a law in their country that merchants do not practice martial arts.”

As soon as this was said, the pirate finally couldn’t bear it anymore and suddenly jumped into the water to escape, but Yi Chuan jumped up and kicked him away.

Song Jing’s face paled, and he could only look at Zhao Haicheng beseechingly.

---

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Chapter Eighty << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Two

“You’re really back…..”

Or perhaps he never left.

I can’t say how I feel when I hear the answer outside the door, but I find that I’m not surprised at all.

It turns out I had guessed it early on.

People’s hearts are difficult to know. Although I can’t understand Mingcheng’s heart, he is the person I know best. Perhaps one day, at a certain time, I would have realized that he was not Mingcheng.

That my bed partner, my husband, was replaced before I knew it.

But today, I have to face the truth at last.

I bury my face in my hands and take a few deep breaths. The sky is beginning to darken at this time, and the space I’m in also begins to become dim, as if a nightmare drama is about to begin.

In the coming time, it will be performed with great fanfare in this house. There is no telling when it will end, and there is a high probability that it will never end.

I raise my face. My tone is actually calm: “Now that you’re back, why aren’t you coming in?”

The man outside speaks in an equally calm voice, and I actually hear him chuckle: “It’s so sad, I forgot to bring my key.”

This is a lie, and we both know it. But I still want to tear apart this superficial peace: “I know you brought it. You keep your keys in your handbag every day.”

The “person” outside the door doesn’t respond to me immediately. In the silence, I hear the sound of men’s leather shoes falling on the ground again. The sound is neither fast nor slow, like a leisurely stroll in the garden, or the light and relaxed steps when pulling me to the garden after a meal.

But when I hear this sound, I take two steps back and stare at the door warily.

Because just now, I heard the steps coming toward me. He had taken a step forward, closer to me.

There is the sound of knuckles rapping against the door twice in front of me. “Then will A-Zhen let me in?”

The two short knocks echo in the room.

He clearly knows that I’m aware of everything, but he still asks me this, which is a blatant provocation. Like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it.

I stare at the door. “Maybe you can prove to me that you can open the door and enter the house with a key.”

“That’s a pity. I can’t get in. You…..put a little something inside, didn’t you?” His speaking voice is light and airy, but this light voice can clearly pass through the thick red date wood door. It’s as if he is standing behind me and speaking into my ear.

I even suspect that he is leaning over me, but I can’t see him. This kind of suspicion makes my hair stand on end.

He no longer intends to pretend.

“What are you?!”

“Why are you pretending to be my family member?!”

I shout out the questions I’ve been holding back for a long time. The tail end sounds a bit shaky due to my agitated emotions, but in fact, this is not the most important thing.

What I care about most is: “Where is Mingcheng? Tell me, where is the person you are impersonating?”

…….Is he still alive?

Is he already……dead?

There is silence outside for a long time. Perhaps several minutes.

And within these few minutes, the sun sets.

Night falls.

Darkness drives out the light, pouring into the room like un-meltable ink, rushing to engulf me.

I am particularly afraid of the dark now, so I quickly flip the switch for the main light in the room.

The light is back, exclusively indoors.

“I am Mingcheng.” The ‘person’ outside the door finally answers my question.

“I know you’re not!” I don’t want to entangle any further with this unknown thing. I just want to know if Mingcheng is alive or dead.

Perhaps my rebuttal makes him angry, because his tone of voice loses its smile.

“I am Mingcheng. I am the master of this house. I am your new husband. Open the door for me, A-Zhen. Don’t you love me very much? Be good…..let me in. I will have dinner with you. After dinner, I will accompany you to paint and watch TV. No matter what you want to do, I will accompany you. Open the door for me.”

“No.” I notice that he is fed up with waiting, so I back away cautiously. Fortunately, the glass bowl on the floor is intact and should last for a while. “Don’t come in, I don’t love you…..”

My words are interrupted by a loud bang on the door.

I am horrified to find that the glass bowl on the floor is making a buzzing sound. The water in the bowl begins to form a vortex, and the voice of the “person” outside the door sounds monstrous.

“Have you forgotten? You told me several times that you love me. If I come home late, you are worried. You bring me food and clean my clothes. At night, our bodies press together and when you are in my arms…..”

“Shut up!” I just can’t help but fall apart. His words are sweet between me and my lover, but now I just feel horrible.

I shared a bed with something that isn’t human, and had intimate contact with it. I feel goosebumps appear on every inch of skin it had touched.

After this sharp scolding, the atmosphere is quiet for a long time.

“……I want to kill the person who instigated this dissension.”

“I want to kill the person who gave you bad advice.”

“You can’t stop me from entering the room.”

My eyes widen at once. When he says this, his tone is dark and severe, with anger and strong murderous intent.

“The same method won’t work on me twice. You have at most an hour.”

I slowly take two steps back, then quickly turn around and run.

And he says with a smile behind me: “Follow what that old man said and find the doll. I hope you succeed…..”

The Golden God Attendant told me that this was the early form of his existence in this world, and at this time, he would be subject to various constraints and be forced to abide by some rules of the human world. If I can discover one or two of them, there might be a chance of survival. The most important one is—the Black Nanjia.

As long as it is still in my home, he will enter the house sooner or later. The only possible way to stop him is to find the Black Nanjia and send him away again.

I have to find it within this hour.

This house has three floors, with a total of twelve rooms on the first and second floors, and a huge attic on the top floor.

I work hard to search through all the rooms on the first floor. The living room, study, cloakroom, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms.

It takes more than forty minutes and I achieve nothing.

Like a patient having an anxiety attack, I throw everything in sight to the floor. I empty every drawer and scatter the clothes in the closets, but find nothing.

In the last ten minutes, there is still no sound at the door. I know he is holding himself back on purpose, or maybe he’s making fun of me.

The prey’s struggle before death, so pitiful and powerless.

I give up.

In the last few minutes, I take refuge in the attic on the top floor. 

This house covers an area of 500 square meters, and the attic is 400 square meters. Because there is no electricity, I look into the depths and everything in my vision is darkness. There seems to be no end to the dark night.

There is the sound of shattering glass downstairs, followed by the sound of the door opening.

“Are you hiding?”

“I’m coming to find you.”

---

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Chapter 10 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 12

“Spirit tablets cost 8,000, sesame oil costs 30,000. Greatly effective and slightly effective things come separately, please bring peculiar business…..”

I interrupt the old man’s skillful sales pitch and say: “I’m a family member of your client, Wen Mingcheng. I called you last time.”

There are a few seconds of silence on the phone, then the old man says with a hehe: “It’s you, ah, young sir. How have you been lately?”

“Not that great, mainly because of my husband…..”

I tell him one by one my experiences during this time and the strange things about Mingcheng.

He listens carefully and encourages me to speak with more detail.

In fact, I also have the habit of continuing to hold onto hope in a desperate situation, but once I receive encouragement, I seem to be validated and feel much more comfortable.

I feel that he is a good person.

However, when I say that I allowed Mingcheng to come in and found the black doll missing, the phone beepstwice.

He has hung up the phone.

I’m stunned for a moment, and call again.

“The phone you have dialed has been switched off.”

“The phone you have dialed has been switched off.”

“……”

No matter how long I wait and call again, I can only hear this prompt. I know that the phone has not really been switched off, but that I have been blocked.

It was not me who requested contact information. It was the golden god attendant who stopped me and asked for it. It could be seen that he was willing to provide after-sales service, so how can this situation be explained?

Did he find this issue difficult to resolve, or is he…..frightened by me?

I purse my lips and stare at the call log for a moment, then choose to call again from another phone number.

The call is answered quickly this time: “Spirit tablets are 8,000, sesame oil is 30,000…..”

I interrupt him again: “It’s me.”

He is silent for a moment.

I don’t give him a chance to hang up the phone, saying quickly: “This thing was sold to my husband by the golden god attendant. If the golden god attendant can’t help and answer my questions, I will have to find the doll and take it to you.”

These words are meant to bluff him, but he very much takes it as a threat. When he hears this, his attitude changes abruptly and he begs me for mercy over and over: “No, no, no, Young Sir, please don’t. The Black Nanjia cannot be sent away once you invite it in, and I did not sell this thing to your husband. If you want to blame someone, it shouldn’t be me. I just wanted him to buy some sesame oil. He insisted on taking that Black Nanjia away. My master gave him a sky-high price, but that didn’t dissuade him. Whatever happens to him, he can only blame his own desires.”

These sentences contain a lot of information. What is the Black Nanjia? What does it mean to be invited in but not sent away? What does that last sentence mean?

I abruptly sit up straight. My heart is so tight that it feels as if it is being grasped by a hand, and my voice seems to squeeze out my throat. In fact, this is indeed the case: “Speak clearly.”

The old man thinks for a moment, and then his old voice tells me a very ominous story.

…..It is said that about two hundred years ago, residents in a village suddenly began to worship two dolls.

These two dolls, one gold and one black, were only the size of an adult’s hand. The front of the gold one was a gilded human face, but the black side had a demonic appearance. The demon’s monstrous, fanged face looked strange and terrifying, while the pure black doll looked much more normal. Although its body was covered in totems and ancient inscriptions, its head was beautifully patterned and inlaid with pearls.

Strictly speaking, they both looked like funerary or sacrificial items from an unknown time period.

But it was unknown who was the first to make a wish to them, and who discovered that they were terrifyingly effective…..

“Later on, someone discovered that the Black Nanjia would answer almost any request. No matter what the wish was, it would eventually come true, so its followers grew and grew…..”

But the good times didn’t last long, and strange things began to occur to the villagers. Some died, some were crippled, some went crazy, and some became fools. Some people had prosperous families that were ruined overnight, and some people who had rich farmland starved on the streets. Later, more and more people had accidents, and the villagers discovered that they had something in common.

That was, they were all people who had made a wish to the Black Nanjia. 

Their wishes came true, but at a heavy cost.

“Believers later suspected that the Black Nanjia was an evil god that had descended into the world, so they sealed him up in the temple and worshiped only the Gold Nanjia. You also worshiped it, hehe.”

I think of the statue of the god that had frightened me. Like the villagers, I thought at that time that the statue of the black god looked more normal than the black and gold idol. Now that I think about it, I was also deceived by appearances.

I don’t speak. The old man continues with a smile: “I think the young sir should have figured it out by now.”

Right, what is there that I don’t understand? I’m not a fool, and can clearly understand what all of this means, although I really wish I were a fool.

“…..Golden god attendant, you insisted on exchanging phone numbers with me back then. Were you expecting this day?”

This news shocks me. Although I’ve had doubts countless times, I still didn’t think these dark and mysterious things were real.

It is difficult to control myself as I beg him: “Please tell me, what is going on with my husband right now? I feel like he has changed into a different person, as if he’s being impersonated…..”

If all of this is true…..

Actually, Pi Gao’s story is still repeating in my mind…..

If it is true……

Then I, like those believers, have been ruined.

The old man laughs softly: “This old man doesn’t know either. But Young Sir, don’t be too sad. There are more people in this world who are not afraid of dying for their desires than there are ants. Mr. Wen’s insistence on doing this shows that he was not ignorant. On the contrary, he understood all of it and could accept the price to be paid in the future.”

He could accept it?

Why could he accept it?

He is not yet thirty years old, and has a privileged background and a beautiful appearance. He is knowledgeable, young and promising, inherited the family business at a young age, and even got married just this year.

I lean back against the sofa weakly, my blank gaze moving around the room.

Mingcheng bought this house when we married. It is in the best location, and worth 1.3 million yuan.

The crystal inlaid on the chandelier above my head was the dowry of an Italian queen in the 15th century. He spent a lot of money on it at an auction in a European country on the eve of our wedding.

In the coffee drawer in front of me, there are many financial magazines featuring Wen Mingting. There are so many of them that they aren’t worth treasuring, and I stuffed them everywhere at will.

What a brilliant future he has, and what a glorious background.

What other desires could he have that are difficult to satisfy?

What could make him accept such a heavy price?

Wen Mingcheng.

Even at this time, the image of him in my mind is still gentle and smiling. He is still my affectionate lover who blushes easily.

If he could accept it, what about me?

Why was I abandoned by him in this house?

I can’t accept it, ah.

I really hope this old man is tricking me. I really hope that the next thing he tells me is that I can spend tens of thousands to buy an amulet to solve the current dilemma. I would transfer the money to him without hesitation, even if he was lying to me.

But he doesn’t.

I cover my face, tears streaming silently through my fingers. I am just a vulnerable, sickly, ordinary person. I’m afraid of these things, afraid of big changes in my life, and afraid of something happening to my family.

I am afraid of the person who has been sleeping with me for days, and he may not be human at all.

Maybe the person on the other end of the phone notices that something is wrong with me, or maybe the old man is just easily soft-hearted. I don’t speak for a long time, and he doesn’t hang up.

After about ten minutes, he says to me hoarsely: “If you want to protect yourself, I am willing to help you.”

I find that all my tears in this life have either been shed in front of Wen Mingting or shed for him. 

I wipe all the wetness from my face with the back of my hand. My skin feels hot, and the corners of my eyes hurt.

. . . . . . .

I make a lot of phone calls this day.

After the call to the golden god attendant, I attempt to call many people, including my mother, my eldest brother, Mingcheng’s sister, and Mingcheng’s parents.

I want to tell everyone about this. I need to tell them the truth, and I also need their help. Help to investigate what is wrong with Mingcheng, and help to condemn the harm his actions have caused to both of us.

But I fail.

That call to the golden god attendant was the last call I could make.

After I learn what seems to be the truth about all of this, my phone loses signal. In fact, it is not just my mobile phone that fails, but all the tools I use to communicate with the outside world.

I don’t want to dwell on why.

I choose to escape from here.

I want to escape from this place and find someone who can help me.

Just as I walk toward the door, there is the crisp sound of an object falling to the floor and smashing.

Startled, I look back and find a glass decoration that I had placed very well before.

This handicraft was something that Mingcheng liked very much, and I had placed it deep in the shelf. It is impossible for it to fall without external force.

Now it has fallen to the ground and shattered to pieces.

My heart begins to beat faster, but after looking around the room, I still take out the door key.

The dark vermillion door stands there silently. As soon as I open it, I can walk out into the courtyard, and my neighbors are a welcoming couple who will help me.

I watch this door as I get closer and closer to it. I just need to stick the key in.

Click! The loud sound of a door closing comes from the study behind me.

Although the windows aren’t open, I hear the sound of pages being blown around, as well as the sound of books falling to the ground.

Then the loud sound of a bookcase falling.

During a July summer, I stand indoors and feel goosebumps all over my body, personally experiencing what it means to have one’s hair stand on end.

I forced myself to walk to the door, but now I don’t dare to open it easily.

I look around warily at the surroundings that have once again become as silent as death, and finally make a masochistic move.

I look through the peephole.

At this time, the sky is bright and the peephole installed in reverse is completely dark. 

I’m really afraid.

Almost instantly, I take several steps back, staggering to the coffee table. I randomly grab some magazines and tape, and block the peephole.

My former home now makes me tremble and treat everything as an enemy.

Time passes minute by second. I want to hide under the quilt and cover my head, but that is called sitting still and waiting for death, and I can’t sit still or wait for death.

So in the remaining time, I first go to the garden tool room to find a pair of scissors for snipping flowers. I cut the wire of the coded lock from a distance, find an old-fashioned iron lock, and install locks on both sides of the door.

After that, I go to the kitchen to get a glass bowl, fill it with cold water, and head to the closet to find a piece of Mingcheng’s intimate clothes and cut off the collar.

Taking these two things, I walk to the door, place the glass bowl on the ground, and then ignite the collar directly above the bowl.

The ash from the burnt fabric falls into the water, then I bite my middle finger open and squeeze three drops of blood into it. After the blood completely dissolves into the cold water, I take off the bright pixiu pendant from around my neck and place it into the water.

This is the Golden God Attendant’s method.

He told me that although he doesn’t know if Mingcheng is still there or what Mingcheng is now, no matter how powerful something is, it will be subject to various constraints once it has borrowed a person’s body.

This method may be able to block him out.

After all this, I wait quietly for time to pass.

5:15 p.m.

It is time for Mingcheng to get off work, but I don’t hear footsteps or attempts to open the door.

5:25. Still no movement.

At 5:30, the surroundings are still silent.

But I still ask the empty air: “Mingcheng……are you home?”

……

The atmosphere is silent for nearly a minute.

“A-Zhen.”

An elegant, mature voice breaks the silence.

The man’s voice comes from outside the door. He speaks slowly and unhurriedly, his emotions indiscernible: “Yes, I’m back.”

---

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Chapter 9 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 11

The doll is missing. I fear that I’ve remembered the wrong drawer, so I open all the drawers in the cabinet and check them one by one.

Eventually, I come to a conclusion: it is really gone.

It disappeared, so who took it?

I think the answer is obvious.

I never told him that I kept the doll in the basement, let alone told him where I put it, but he was able to find it and never told me the entire time.

What is even more frightening is that except for the courtyard and house doors, I have all the keys to the house. He never asked me for the key, but he was able to enter the basement and take away the doll.

As long as I’m not crazy, this information tells me very accurately that there is something wrong with Mingcheng.

I think I can guess where this doll went. It wasn’t just him that came in that night.

The doll should be in my house!

When I realize this, my hair stands on end. I quickly run through the basement door and locked it again, then swiftly run to the door of the house, intending to search the entire thing again.

But when the door opens, I freeze in place, afraid to enter.

It is not dark yet, and the warm afterglow of the sunset pours into the room through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, turning the walls a warm yellow. The moment I open the door, the draft brings a burst of floral fragrance, along with a feeling of warmth and peace.

This looks like a beautiful family evening. I should be having dinner with my lover at this time. After dinner, we would watch TV together, talk about each other’s work, and sleep in each other’s arms.

But at this time, he is wearing all black and standing tall indoors. The light falling on him seems to encounter an impenetrable darkness, leaving only a long, deep shadow on the ground.

I suddenly raise my hand and turn on the indoor light. The dimness is driven away, and the interior becomes brighter. He is facing me, and the moment he looks at me, his eyelids rise slightly and he moves his long legs to walk toward me. “A-Zhen, are you happy today? I really missed you, why aren’t you coming in?”

When I see him walking toward me, I subconsciously take a step back. 

He pauses, lowers his eyelashes, and slowly looks me over from head to toe.

I really want to escape, but I still hold a glimmer of hope in my heart. I am still fooling myself into hoping that this is just me being neurotic and that nothing is wrong with my partner.

And I feel that my evidence was not that indestructible. There should be some room to maneuver, right?

So I resist the urge to run away, and stand at the door smiling at him as I say: “Mingcheng, I want you to come over and hug me.”

He gives me a deep look, but seems happy with my request. His pair of long eyebrows rise, and he walks toward me briskly.

I smile and open my arms to him, waiting for his embrace. And just when he comes over to hold me, I suddenly step into the room and quickly close the door behind me.

“A-Zhen?”

He calls to me from outside the door, and I clasp my hands together. Recalling what the old divine attendant taught me, I silently recite three times: “Please don’t come to my house.”

It seems quiet outside the door.

The hanging clock in my home is an old-fashioned Western clock, and I can still hear the clicking sound when the second hand moves. 

One second. Two seconds. The sound of the clock moving is nearly consistent with my heartbeat.

“Mingcheng?” I stare straight at the door.

There is no movement outside the door.

He seems to have really disappeared.

I don’t know if this is a good thing or a sorrowful thing.

After a few minutes, I finally can’t bear it anymore. Even though I know the peephole is backwards, I lean down to look out.

The peephole is dark, but the sun hasn’t set outside. A second later, there comes the sound of a key being turned in the door.

I take a few steps back and watch him push open the door and walk in without any hindrance. He throws the key onto the small mini bar next to the door and looks at me a little aggrievedly. “I don’t like this joke.”

Being kicked out of the house had no effect on him. 

This puts me a bit at a loss. What does this mean?

Does it mean that I’m actually wrong? Or was kicking him out not enough?

I am in a confused state of mind.

I’m so ignorant about this, and I don’t know what to do.

He walks to my side and gently holds my chin, tilting my face up to look at him.

I see the slight frown on his face and the hurt feelings in his eyes: “Your attitude toward me today is so strange. Did somebody say something to my A-Zhen? But I am your lover, why don’t you believe in me? If there is anything you don’t believe about me, why haven’t you told me?”

“…..I don’t know if I should believe you…..” I don’t trust him, but I also hope that he is Mingcheng and our family is safe and sound.

The two emotions fight against each other, and I’m a mess inside.

Once again, I choose to tell him my suspicions.

But this time, there is a choice.

I only ask him about the basement and the doll, and also ask him why he had to go to that small country.

But this time, he doesn’t answer me after listening.

“I thought you loved me the most and could trust me unconditionally…..”

“I might be a little sad…..”

He gently touches my face with his fingers. After half a minute, he reluctantly lets me go and says calmly: “Let’s sleep separately tonight. Maybe you need to calm down.”

After saying that, he kisses my forehead as intimately as usual.

This move puts me in a daze again, because it is exactly the same as the Mingcheng I know.

He goes.

I watch him go to the bedroom on his side and close the door. He doesn’t come out again.

. . . . . . .

We went to university together when we were eighteen years old, the most passionate age. Valentine’s Day during our freshman year was our first time. From then on, we moved out of school and lived together. For many years to come, other than when I willfully kicked him out of the bedroom when we quarreled, we never separated. And he never offered to sleep separately.

His behavior makes me panic, and I begin to uncontrollably doubt myself again.

Perhaps there is really no problem with him, and my repeated questioning made him sad.

I hurt the feelings between us.

This realization makes my heart ache.

But what is the problem?

Time passes by as I lay on the bed, and I figure I am destined to get no sleep this night.

I toss and turn until midnight and can’t sleep anymore, so I decide to get up and go to the courtyard to calm down.

But I see him on the sofa in the living room.

He sits alone on the sofa with a glass of water in front of him that is already cold. It is unknown how long he’s been sitting there.

I look at his figure and feel pain in my heart: “Mingcheng.”

He raises his head to look at me, and seems to smile at me in the darkness.

My eyes uncontrollably begin to sting a bit, so I allow myself to walk up to him and hold his head in my arms.

I don’t know what to say, and he also doesn’t ask me to explain. Instead, he makes me sit down on the sofa with some slight force.

I lay on the sofa with my head in his lap, looking up at his face.

This time it is him holding my head.

His fingers are cool and smooth, caressing my face affectionately and squeezing my earlobes.

We look at each other in the dark night, and he smiles at me with his rich and beautiful features, leaning toward my ear: “What do you call me?”

My eyes are sore, and my face is a little hot. “Husband.”

In the darkness, he seems to laugh. Before I can look at him, he places his palm over my eyes and says to me in a very soft voice, like he is coaxing a child to sleep: “Go to sleep.”

This sentence seems to have some magical power, and I actually fall asleep.

When I wake up again, I find myself still lying on the sofa, covered with a soft quilt.

It is eight o’clock in the morning. Mingcheng has gone to work again.

I don’t know if he slept last night, and don’t know what kind of sleep he got.

Maybe he stayed up all night and is working at the company with an exhausted body today. Or maybe he doesn’t need to sleep at all and isn’t at the company at this time…..

Doubt is a very tiring human emotion. It is even more torturous for a person who is not in a very good mental state, not to mention that the person I suspect is the person I share a bed with and have the most intimate relationship with in the world.

That title I called out embarrassed me to say out loud.

I sit on the sofa until ten o’clock in the morning.

I decide to verify it one last time. As long as there is nothing wrong with my lover this time, I will never doubt him again, no matter how strange he is.

I go back to the bedroom, find my mobile phone, and dial the number again.

“Golden god attendant…..”

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Chapter 8 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 10

In the darkness of the room, Lu Qi turned his head to look for sharp objects.

There was a mini fridge in the room, and he wondered if there was beer. If there was a glass bottle, he could smash it and harvest the broken glass to use for self-defense…..

But he would have to perform a series of actions such as rolling out of bed and opening the refrigerator without using his hands. It would be impossible to not make noise, and with the carpet beneath him, it would be difficult to break the bottle. Looking at the soundproof cotton on the walls, Lu Qi finally focused on the small coffee table.

At this height, even if he knelt down and held an alcohol bottle behind his back, he could break it.

Wang Liang might come in at any time. Even though the plan seemed unfeasible, Lu Qi had to put up a fight. He stretched his bound legs off the bed, turned sideways, and used his elbows and shoulders to support himself. He landed feet first and then stood up.

Very good. The first step was successful, and there was no noise.

The rope tying his feet was a ribbon pulled from somewhere, a bit like the kind you would use to wrap a bouquet with and tie it in a bow. It was a tender pink hue. Although the color was cute, it was definitely strong enough for Wang Liang to tie him with, and the binding was firm.

Lu Qi could only move his knees forward and backward a little, and with small steps and jumps, he finally reached the front of the mini fridge.

Fortunately, there was carpet. The second step was successful! No sound!

He turned his back, opened the mini fridge with his hands, and turned his head to look.

Lu Qi frowned in disappointment. There was no bottled beer inside, only canned. In addition, there was a bottle of foreign wine he couldn’t name. The wine was sealed in a thick glass bottle, which looked strong enough to cut Wang Liang’s head open.

If he knocked this on the coffee table, as long as Wang Liang was still breathing, he would definitely be able to hear it.

He squatted down, took out the bottle, and gently closed the refrigerator door. Lu Qi glanced at the door to the room.

As long as the door could lock, it should be enough to keep Wang Liang out. The only misfortune he feared was that this bastard had a key, but Lu Qi decided to take a gamble. This bad-tempered playboy didn’t look like someone who would carry a key around with him.

Lu Qi took two jumps toward the door, but footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Wang Liang was here!

The huffing and puffing sounds, along with curse words coming from his mouth, were getting closer and closer. Lu Qi couldn’t care less about making noise and jumped hard, only one step away from the door. The muffled bump also caused the footsteps outside the door to pause, and then suddenly speed up.

The door was pushed open a crack. Lu Qi slammed it shut and pushed the door back with all his weight. Outside the room, Wang Liang cursed and began to push hard at the door.

Lu Qi couldn’t stretch out his hands, and it was difficult to compete with him using only his shoulders and back. During the struggle, the door slowly opened a small crack.

“Baby…..” Wang Liang’s gloomy voice sounded from the crack. Because he was pushing hard on the door, the sound was intermittent, like a broken radio. “Don’t…..waste your effort in vain…..you might as well stay in bed and serve me…..and…..suffer a little less…..”

Lu Qi was so disgusted by this “baby” that he gritted his teeth without saying a word and pushed the door back hard.

Perhaps because he was venting his anger at these words, the cracked open door was pushed back with a bang by Lu Qi. He quickly groped for the door lock.

Click—

This subtle sound was like fairy music to Lu Qi at this moment. The resistance behind him disappeared at once. Lu Qi turned another lock and then leaned weakly against the door panel, gasping for breath.

Wang Liang kicked the door with a bang. Lu Qi stepped away carefully. He found that the door was relatively strong, but the door frame shook violently.

Not daring to delay, he jumped to the mini fridge and grabbed the wine bottle inside, then jumped to the marble coffee table and knocked it against it twice with his back to it.

The sound of glass and stone colliding was muffled. One could imagine how thick the bottle was, and Lu Qi couldn’t use much strength.

Outside, Wang Liang was still kicking the door like a mad dog. After kicking twice, he suddenly stopped and stood there at the door with a scoff.

“Fuck…..you’re really willing to die to protect your chastity.” Panting, he said: “The more you act like this, the more I want to taste you, much more than those ones who sell themselves…..”

He called someone, and Lu Qi faintly heard the word “key.”

He was so anxious that his whole body was shaking. Trying his best to restrain his panic, he smashed the bottle again.

A slight cracking sound was heard, and Lu Qi blinked in surprise, beads of sweat on the tip of his nose. When he turned to look at the bottle, he almost cried.

The wine bottle was fine, but the corner of the marble table was chipped.

“What kind of garbage bottle is this, ah……” He was so nervous that he didn’t realize what he was saying. “Mu Nanqiao also has this in the wine cabinet…..I’ll throw it away for him when I get back…..”

He must go back!

Taking a deep breath, he bashed it again.

Dong— 

The corner of the table was broken even more.

Wait…..

Lu Qi tossed away the diamond-like wine bottle, raised his wrists, and angled them at the broken corner of the table.

At the same time, there was the slight sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and then the door was pushed open with great force, hitting the wall with a loud bang.

Lu Qi didn’t pay attention, and just pressed his wrists down hard. The moment the sticky restraints were loosened, there was a severe pain in his arm. The broken table corner had gouged his skin, and slightly cool blood dripped down his fingertips onto the carpet.

Lu Qi’s eyes reddened, but he didn’t hesitate for a second as he reached down to pull the knots around his ankles.

Before his hands could touch them, the scumbag had already come over panting and kicked him in the chest.

Lu Qi whimpered and curled up like a small animal.

He really looked hurt, huddled there and shaking. When Wang Liang saw this, his laugh was dark and cold. He came over and crouched next to Lu Qi. Holding his chin with his fingers, he looked at Lu Qi with those triangular eyes, which grew brighter the more he looked.

“So tasty, ah…..look at how pitiful you are…..” He laughed obscenely and maliciously, then eagerly took a small bottle out of his pocket and unscrewed the cap.

Lu Qi initially thought that the drug was going to be poured into his mouth, but Wang Liang raised his head and drank it himself.

Lu Qi: ……

He picked up the wine bottle to the side and hit Wang Liang hard, the force so strong that it made a whoosh.

Dong—

A good sound meant a good bottle!

Wang Liang staggered and fell. Lu Qi rolled on the spot and quickly pulled the rope from around his feet.

His legs had been tied for so long that he limped when he ran.

Passing the coffee table in the private room, he staggered out of the lounge and put his hand on the outer room door lock, pressing it hard.

The door didn’t move at all.

In the lounge, Wang Liang staggered up. It was unknown if the bottle of “Viagra” he drank just now contained stimulant ingredients, but in any case, the wine bottle hadn’t knocked him out. Viewing his figure from behind, he looked as if he was starring in a zombie movie.

Lu Qi pulled the thing out of his mouth and pounded the door, shouting for help.

“How dare you hit me…..” Wang Liang gasped as he drew closer. “Laozi is going to kill you…..”

No one answered outside the door. Lu Qi took a deep breath, and when Wang Liang rushed over, he staggered away and took two steps back, warning Wang Liang: “If you come over here, whatever happens will be legitimate self-defense, do you understand?!”

Wang Liang covered his bleeding head. A normal person would choose to bandage it at a time like this and would not be concerned with anything else, but this beast had taken drugs and was clearly not normal. He stared at Lu Qi with bloodshot eyes, like a jackal staring at meat.

“Come here, ah…..” He laughed and reached out to grab Lu Qi. “Let me see what you’re capable of…..ah!!!”

Lu Qi punched him in the face with a left hook.

The bones in his fingers ached. Lu Qi shook his hand and stepped forward, assuming a stance that should earn him at least an 8 out of 10 score. He stared at him with wide eyes: “Don’t come over here! You locked the door! And you took my phone, so why don’t you call the police!”

Wang Liang: ……

His head was buzzing. 

He braced himself on his knees and shook his head. Then, to his horror, he realized that it was not his brain making the noise. Something was buzzing outside the door. Soon after, under his incredulous gaze, sawdust flew out of the heavy box door as a thin crack appeared…..

A chainsaw burst through the crack!

It was like a scene in a large-scale horror movie. Even Lu Qi took a couple of steps back, and Wang Liang’s brain died on the spot.

The chainsaw cut vertically and retracted, then cut horizontally until it was about to cut the lock off the door. Wang Liang finally returned to his senses and rushed two steps in Lu Qi’s direction, seeming to want to capture him as a hostage. But Lu Qi wrinkled his nose and shook his fist fiercely a couple of times, and Wang Liang turned around and ran into the lounge again, slamming the door shut.

Lu Qi: ……

The tables had turned.

The lock was nearly separated from the door. The person outside kicked open the heavy wooden door, and a tall, straight figure appeared, still holding the buzzing chainsaw.

His dark expression relaxed at once when he saw Lu Qi. As soon as he turned off the chainsaw in his hands, Lu Qi had already limped forward and threw himself into his arms.

The cool, woody fragrance poured into his nose. Lu Qi’s dangling heart finally settled, and the tears he hadn’t shed fell down as if the floodgates had opened. He tightly hugged Mu Nanqiao’s waist and said with a whimper in his voice: “In the future…..you’re not allowed to drink that wine anymore…..wuwuwu…..”

How could Mu Nanqiao care about whatever wine he was talking about? At this moment, he was willing to let him take out his heart and liver. He held Lu Qi’s back with one hand and felt warmth on it.

“Are you hurt?” He carefully grasped Lu Qi’s arm. A wound as long as his forearm made his eyes turn red. Gently holding the arm, he looked him up and down. “Where else are you injured?”

Lu Qi sniffled and showed him his other hand. “N…..nowhere. I just boxed without gloves…..it really hurts…..”

Mu Nanqiao’s expression relaxed a little, and he kissed those tear-reddened eyes. “Baby is amazing…..”

He said in a low, gentle voice: “You go out first, Young Master Gao is outside. You pleaded on his behalf, remember?”

“En…..” Lu Qi nodded with red eyes.

“Tell him to take you to the hospital. I’ll be there soon.” Mu Nanqiao raised his hands to wipe away his tears. “I need to keep an eye on Wang Liang and call the police. What if he runs away?”

When he looked at the person he relied on the most, his tense heartstrings relaxed. Lu Qi slowly stopped crying. There was an unconcealable fluster in those wet eyes, but he knew that Mu Nanqiao’s worries were justified, so he nodded. “En, then come quickly…..”

Even with such a big commotion, there were not many people watching outside the box. When Lu Qi came out, they didn’t dare to stop him, because Wang Liang often did dirty things here and people rarely came up to this level.

This bar was located on the sixth floor of a shopping mall. Lu Qi and Young Master Gao took the elevator down. The prompt sounded for the elevator door closing. When Mu Nanqiao heard it, he walked over slowly and closed the unlocked door, blocking the view from outside.

He turned around. Looking at the door of the lounge, he hooked his fingers and turned on the chainsaw.

In the lounge, Wang Liang listened in horror as the buzzing sound approached. He reached to fumble for the mobile phone in his pocket, but found in despair that he had lost it somewhere. He stared at the door, but the expected chainsaw breaking through didn’t happen.

The door lock turned and opened directly.

He then remembered that he’d forgotten to take out the key!

Mu Nanqiao stood in the doorway with the light at his back. Wang Liang couldn’t see the expression on his face. He was also wearing a suit and vest, which made him look lean and powerful. When he looked down at him with the chainsaw in one hand, that strong sense of oppression did not allow Wang Liang to doubt his intentions.

He was here to kill him, and perhaps to cut him into pieces!

Wang Liang was truly scared. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, his face covered in tears and snot. “Boss Mu! Boss Mu!! It is me who deserves to die! I really deserve to die, ah, Boss Mu! Let me go! Let me go and the Wang family will give you whatever you want!”

He howled so terribly that Mu Nanqiao said two expressionless words: “Shut up.”

Wang Liang covered his mouth and gasped for air, not daring to make a sound.

Blood-stained leather shoes stepped over the carpet. Mu Nanqiao sat down on the sofa, his tone as calm and emotionless as an A.I. “I know this is a misunderstanding, right, Young Master Wang?”

Wang Liang nodded as if pounding garlic.

“But my person was injured, after all. Fortunately, it’s not serious. We still need to discuss this matter.” Mu Nanqiao smiled, his handsome face becoming increasingly sinister in the dim light. “Only his arm is injured. How about you cut yours too, and we’ll move on?”

“Just…..just like that?” Wang Liang asked tremblingly.

“Just like that.” Mu Nanqiao narrowed his eyes happily and pointed at the buzzing chainsaw: “Come on, give it a try.”

Wang Liang swallowed hard. He hopped over on his knees and rolled up his sleeve, his whole body shaking violently. He could hardly breathe, and the tattoo on his arm of a tiger going down a mountain turned into a large patch of brightly-colored light and shadow in his eyes.

As his arm got closer and closer to the blade, Mu Nanqiao’s hand shook.

Wang Liang jumped up with a cry and rushed out the door, clutching his unscathed arm. As he drew closer to the door of the box, his triangular eyes grew brighter and brighter.

His fingertips were almost touching the doorknob when his pleasantly surprised smile froze on his face – as a pair of iron-like hands grabbed his collar and pulled him backward.

Wang Liang hit the coffee table heavily, and as he was dizzy, he heard Mu Nanqiao’s dark, cold voice.

“It seems you don’t want to do it yourself.” He walked over slowly. “Shall I do it?”

“Ah—-!!!”

Wang Liang cried out and collapsed. The effects of the drug still remained, and he thought deliriously that he must escape from here!

But the door was blocked…..

He got up, turned, and rushed toward the window.

Someone finally couldn’t help but open the door to investigate the situation, but all they could see was Wang Liang’s back as he crashed through the window and fell, and Mu Nanqiao standing far away.

A large swath of sunlight shone in when the tinted glass was broken, refracting beautiful light on the broken glass. Mu Nanqiao turned off the chainsaw, then turned around and handed it to the stunned attendant.

“Excuse me, please return this to the construction crew downstairs.” He smiled politely. “I have an urgent matter and need to go to the hospital first. You can call the police, and I’ll come back to cooperate and give a statement.”

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T/N: Guys, the chainsaw made me crack up. I love the dramatics.

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Chapter Forty-Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty

My new husband and I were childhood sweethearts. Our families were neighbors, so we grew up together and had accompanied each other for more than ten years.

When we graduated high school, he discovered my feelings for him, and fortunately, he also liked me. We secretly fell in love when we were teenagers, and got married six months ago.

He was gentle and romantic, with a tolerant and kind personality. We were very in love.

And just a few days ago, I felt that something wasn’t right with him.

The peephole in my house turned dark, as if someone was peeping at me from outside. The fingerprint lock sounded alarms one after another, and my husband was not allowed to enter.

He told me that the fingerprint lock was not secure enough, so he used a key to open the door and changed the peephole in front of me.

Although I noticed from the day it was put on that I couldn’t see clearly, it didn’t prevent me from seeing light, so I just thought it was a problem caused by it being left in the basement for too long. For instance, things in coastal cities are vulnerable to moisture.

But now, my student’s words shock me hard.

The peephole in my door is installed backwards.

You can only see inside from the outside, but you can’t see the outside from inside.

If the peephole is reversed, then these days when I’ve been at home…..

And why did my husband install the peephole backwards?

Xiao Pi also notices that there is something strange about me. His round, white face looks a little more serious, and he comes back to take me with him to the door. First he leans down and looks through it with one eye closed, and then he asks me to look at it too. “It really is backwards, Teacher. Fortunately, you have a courtyard gate at home. Is it a problem with the installation company, ah? I didn’t expect such a nice house to have such a problem. Is this something that came with the house?”

When he pulls me over, I lean in to take a look.

I am currently standing outside the door, and everything in the room is displayed before my eyes through this small peephole, clearly visible and unobstructed. 

My heart freezes, and the creepy feeling is like a cold shadow crawling up my calves from the ground to my back, then to the side of my face. I feel a layer of goosebumps instantly appear on my neck.

I can’t help but start thinking about recent days.

On the first day, I discovered that there was something strange about Mingcheng. He was standing in the middle of the living room with his back to me, and I opened the door without attracting his attention, until the alarm clock sounded…..

When we had dinner at noon, I misunderstood the reason why he couldn’t swallow the food. I tried to unbutton the collar of his shirt, and the scene of spurting blood shocked me.

That afternoon, I found that it was pitch black outside the peephole. When he came home at night, the fingerprint lock failed to detect his fingerprints at first, and the second time, he passed the test but it wouldn’t let him in.

I know why the living person test failed.

When I raised my suspicions, he changed the peephole in front of me, dispelling my doubts. I felt guilty and began to suspect that I was sick.

The next day, after listening to Mingyi’s words, I remembered the black doll that Mingcheng had brought back after traveling abroad. Following the advice of the divine attendant, I took it out of the house and placed it in the basement. Mingcheng came home very late that night. When he returned, he was covered in dust and was in a bit of disarray. He asked me twice at the door if I would let him in…..

I asked him to eat, but he picked up his favorite orange juice and fed it to me instead of drinking it. His remarks and personality were a little different from before. It wasn’t that I didn’t notice this, but I tried my best to ignore it.

On the third day, Xiao Pi brought me a scary story and discovered that my peephole was installed backwards…..

These things that I am trying not to think about can no longer be ignored.

My eyelid begins to twitch uncontrollably, and the ominous premonition develops claws, crawling into my heart bit by bit, gnawing at my flesh and blood.

If….I mean if. It’s just a guess.

If I was not wrong on the first day, and if the fingerprint lock was not wrong either…..That peephole was deliberately installed by Mingcheng, and he even boldly told me to check it out, because he knew that I was sick. But I really love Mingcheng. As long as he explained, I would doubt myself, but I wouldn’t doubt Mingcheng.

If I discovered that all the peculiarities in his personality were true.

If he really had something to do with that kind of thing, then I let him into my house that day…..

Like lightning exploding before my eyes, an extremely terrifying conjecture appears instantly in my mind.

“Teacher! What’s wrong with you? Look at me, Teacher! Teacher—” The student calls anxiously into my ear, and I feel my body sinking.

My student is frightened, and half-hugs me to support me. He calls out to me with anxiety and fear: “Teacher—”

This cry abruptly wakes me up. All at once, I recall that I seemed to have heard a similar cry before, and the emotions contained in it were also very similar.

“A-Zhen—”

This cry I heard while half asleep comes to my mind again. I open my eyes suddenly, lean against the wall, and gasp for breath. Cold sweat flows from my scalp to my ears, and the hands pressed to my chest shake.

At a loss, Xiao Gao takes out his mobile phone. I see that he seems to be planning to call the emergency number, perhaps thinking I’m ill.

I swallow and try to calm down. I push against the wall and stand up straight, then grab his phone and stuff it into his jacket pocket. I say to him solemnly and apologetically: “Xiao Pi, you go home immediately and don’t come here unless I tell you to. Teacher has very important things to do. If…..I don’t notify you for a long time, go to the school and apply for a change of tutor. I will tell the school in advance that your new tutor will only be more accomplished than me…..”

My expression is probably very unsightly. The boy seems frightened, his eyes red and wet: “Although I don’t know what’s wrong with you, I will wait for you, Teacher. If you have any trouble, how about…..we call the police. The police will protect us.”

I smile. What I suspect is too fantastical, and there is no evidence or substantial damage. There is also my mental illness. Even if I call the police, there is nothing they can do.

But this is the best way the recent graduate can think of. I express my gratitude to him.

When I send him to the courtyard gate, I look at his guilty and confused face and feel indescribably sour and uncomfortable at heart, so I can’t help but stop him when he steps out of the courtyard: “Xiao Pi.”

“Teacher?” He looks back.

I hesitate, then speak again: “You…..go worship at a temple after you go back.”

“Ah?” He is stunned.

“…..Just think of it as studying.”

“Okay, teacher!”

. . . . . . .

After sending the student away, I look at the time. It is now 16:00 in the afternoon, one hour and forty-five minutes before Mingcheng gets off work.

I can’t live in doubt any longer. I have to do something to either verify my suspicions or dispel my concerns.

First is my guess: something is wrong with Mingcheng. Although it isn’t good to rashly suspect my lover, I grew up with him and am most familiar with his appearance, temperament, and every move. But now, I feel like he is a different person.

This person is very similar to him. It could be said that he is exactly the same, but there is an indescribable sense of dissonance in him.

The Wen family is well off, and Mingcheng, as the eldest son in the family, received an heir’s education. He has read books and poetry since childhood and is proficient at various musical instruments. He likes Chinese opera, Western oil paintings, and all kinds of flowers and beautiful things. Since he became an adult, he has taken care of his family’s property in an orderly manner, and looks at people with gentle, steady eyes.

And Mingcheng is still gentle now, but his eyes occasionally appear eerie and cold, bottomless like an endless night, like an abyss that people dare not look directly into.

When Mingcheng and I are together, he likes to have brief tastes of intimacy. He likes to lightly kiss my lips and cheeks, and look at me affectionately. He is very restrained in his physical intimacy.

And now he likes all close contact with me. He likes kissing, hugging, being skin-to-skin with me…..in the past three days, half of the time we spent together has been spent in bed.

Something is definitely wrong with him.

But where should I begin to verify it?

The mysteriousness scares me and also makes me want to escape. As time passes in minutes and seconds, I suddenly think of someone.

“Mingyi……”

The woman on the end of the phone is doing something unknown. She probably isn’t at the gym, because I hear a sound similar to paper flipping. She takes my call and hears me call out to her. She is silent for a moment, and then asks me: “What’s wrong?”

I think and think, not knowing what to say.

I could tell her, I suspect that your brother has been replaced, although this person looks exactly like your brother and even has the same fingerprints. Oh, by the way, he might not be a human.

It is likely that she will immediately call for a psychiatric evaluation.

“A-Zhen?” She asks this with some confusion when I don’t say anything.

Hesitating over and over, I choose the question that is, strictly speaking, the most realistic: “Do you think Mingcheng could have a twin? What I mean to say is, do you also have an older brother who looks…..the same as Mingcheng?”

“Haha.”

She makes a mocking sound. “Really? Then how come Mother doesn’t know?”

I fall silent.

We are silent for a long time.

“You…..” She seems like she can’t stand me anymore, and is a little agitated. “I said it, you really love my brother like crazy. I also grew up with you. I was your favorite when we were children. You said I was pretty and cute, and that my brother was rigid and only knew how to study, but why were you so biased once you grew up? You said you cared about me, but in the end, the one you care for is my brother!”

Her sudden loss of control leaves me at a loss. I probably did say those words when I was a young, but weren’t they just to coax a child? And I don’t feel like I was biased. It was obviously Mingyi who didn’t want me to care about her, right?

Besides, hadn’t I said that I was worried about her recently? The only contact I had with her was when we were hanging out.

In any case, I quickly apologize to her: “I’m sorry, Mingyi. It’s just that something happened recently…..”

“Shut up!” She scolds me angrily, “I don’t want to hear you talk.”

She hangs up the phone.

I don’t understand why she lost her temper. Her accusations make me feel even worse when I was already panicking, but there isn’t enough time left for me to wallow in my feelings of loss.

I go to the bathroom and wash my face, forcing myself to calm down. 

At least now I have the piece of information that Mingcheng does not have a twin brother.

Then there are two possibilities left.

One: my mental illness has become more severe.

Two: he is not human.

Because he is not human, his disguise is impeccable. His fingerprints can be verified, but he can’t pass the living person test, and because he is not human, he needs permission to come into my house.

I shudder to think of what the second option would mean if it were true, so I actually hope it is the first one. But the panic and discomfort in my heart prevent me from ignoring it all.

Then I need to think about it. If he isn’t a human being, what is he?

Is he a monster? A devil? A ghost?

How did he show up at my house? Where did the real Mingcheng go?

Mingcheng…..I feel so awful.

I look out the window and see that the flowers planted in my backyard are already blooming beautifully and prosperously. We have wedding photos hanging in our bedroom. In the photos, he has a gentle smile, and on my left ring finger is the diamond ring he put on me when he promised me his entire life.

There are traces of him in every corner of my life.

We have only been married for half a year…..

In the past twenty, almost thirty years, he has been the most beautiful young man in my heart. The most handsome young man, the most considerate lover, he is tolerant and gentle, and lets me do everything I want. He discusses with me what I want to do, and the only thing he insisted on was going to a small country in Southeast Asia for our honeymoon.

Wait!

My mind suddenly lights up.

Could it be related to that trip?

Such a small, religious country has no connection to the eldest son of the Wen family. Why did he insist on going to such a small country? Why did he yearn for that statue so much? And why did he bring back that little doll? 

I connect these pieces of information together, and the first thing that comes to mind is the horror story Pi Gao brought me.

Perhaps Pi Gao is the guidance given to me by god.

If my suspicions are correct and this is not all due to my mental illness, then “Mingcheng” must have an inseparable relationship with that black and gold figure. That was why it was difficult for him to come in when I sent the doll out.

I have to find it again!

In for a penny, in for a pound. I find the key to the basement and take a flashlight with me.

This basement was given as a gift for buying the house. Because it isn’t used much, there is no electricity. I didn’t have so many thoughts in my mind before, so I didn’t have any psychological barriers to coming in and out. But now, I don’t know if it is a psychological effect, but I feel that this dark space is a little eerie and frightening.

The leftover materials from the renovation have been thrown down here carelessly. There are cobwebs in the corners, and at the end of the room is a cabinet I had discarded. It was used to store my painting tools, but now it has accumulated a lot of dust.

And the middle grid is where I put the doll.

I am instinctively afraid of this inhuman thing and my heartbeat speeds up, but I can’t be afraid. I raise my flashlight and face the small lattice door. With my other hand, I touch the little pixiu on my chest that my mother had begged for me.

After a few minutes, I make up my mind and open the lattice door.

In the next moment, my eyes open wide.

It is empty inside.

The doll is gone.

---

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Chapter 7 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 9

When Huo Fenglie stood up, his expression was very ugly.

Liu Zhenqing felt somewhat embarrassed, and reached out to drag Huo Fenglie back.

Huo Fenglie turned and glanced at Liu Zhenqing with a restrained expression, but seemed unable to hold back his anger as he said in a deep voice: “I’m a bit stuffy, so I will go to the deck for some air. Apologies.”

After saying this, he turned around and walked out the door. He had to force himself to leave and go out alone to calm down.

That movement like thunder and wind was comparable to a suppressed volcano that might erupt at any time.

Once he left, the temperature in the room that had been lowered by Huo Fenglie stabilized.

Xi Ran said softly: “Did what I said about Young Master Liu offend him? As an acquaintance of Young Master Liu…..”

“How could this be?” Song Xingmu was also puzzled, and turned to look at Liu Zhenqing. After all, he was not familiar with Huo Fenglie, but Liu Zhenqing would definitely know what was going on.

“What is wrong with him?”

He saw Liu Zhenqing slowly sip his tea, looking a little relaxed and complacent. He said shamelessly: “It’s because he liked that person. And…..he was almost promised by his brother to be that person’s wife. With a relationship like that, you can’t blame him for being rude.”

The three people present were stunned when these words came out.

Goosebumps immediately rose on Yi Chuan. “He liked Liu Zhenqing?”

Liu Zhenqing nodded heavily.

“Were they a couple?”

Liu Zhenqing said seriously: “Not yet.”

“Yes, that person died,” Yi Chuan said directly.

But Song Xingmu was in a bad mood. Staring at Liu Zhenqing, he said in disbelief: “Wait, what did you say? Are you telling the truth? Seriously? That little demon?”

Liu Zhenqing said with dissatisfaction: “What, do you think that person didn’t have enough charm to attract a little demon?” He was so good, wasn’t it normal for Er-gou to be obsessed with him?

Song Xingmu nearly choked to death. He couldn’t help but curse inwardly, still so loathsome and shameless! But no matter what, that person had the capital to be shameless. He gritted his teeth and said: “But…..Liu Zhenqing was not a cut-sleeve.”

Liu Zhenqing said innocently: “That is not wrong, but feelings are something different.”

“You!” Song Xingmu was alarmed. The good brother who accompanied him to admire beauties and the didi of another good brother? This stimulation was almost equal to his brother’s rebirth.

“Ai, stop that.” Liu Zhenqing feared that Song Xingmu’s stimulation would expose him. “I’ll go out and talk some sense into him.”

Xi Ran to the side finally returned to her senses. She naturally understood that a person like Liu Zhenqing must have countless admirers, but didn’t expect to meet one. And he was a formidable man who was rather different in age from them. She said in astonishment: “Sure enough, Young Master Liu back then really had countless peach blossoms, and was famous all over the country. After so many years, there are still people who miss him. It is my fault. Please tell that young master that I was only joking. Young Master Liu indeed stayed with me for three days and three nights, but he was very polite and did not cross the line. Young Master Liu and I…..just had a platonic friendship.”

As she spoke, Xi Ran’s eyes dimmed.

“En, all right.” Liu Zhenqing chuckled and gave Xi Ran a respectful gentleman’s salute.

Startled, Xi Ran instantly recalled the time when Liu Zhenqing stepped into her Fragrant Pavilion for the first time. The seemingly wanton and lazy dandy actually bowed respectfully to her like a gentleman. This was a very ridiculous thing. After all, which wealthy scholar would perform this etiquette for a prostitute?

She had only encountered this twice in her life. 

The first time, she was shocked and forgot to return the gesture. She often woke from her dreams feeling lost, and in her imagination, she returned the gesture over and over again countless times.

But this time, Xi Ran was caught off guard and quickly stood up to reciprocate. When she did so, the jade pendant around her neck fell out.

And after waiting for Xi Ran to return the gesture, he turned around and left. His eyes did not linger on the jade willow leaf pendant.

Seeing this, Song Xingmu wanted to call out to Liu Zhenqing and stop him, but he saw him walk out with a smile on his lips, as if he was looking forward to something. This truly made Song Xingmu feel indescribably complicated.

“This young master is quite interesting. Are you unable to say his name?”

Song Xingmu sighed. “What a coincidence, his last name is Liu.”

Xi Ran was taken aback. “I thought he looked familiar.”

“It is true that he is a distant relative of Liu Zhenqing.” Song Xingmu smiled and raised his cup to drink tea.

Xi Ran’s eyes flashed, and she suddenly said: “Oh? Can Captain Song help bridge the gap between us?”

“What?”

Xi Ran smiled sweetly and said: “I wonder if he would like to stay the night?”

Song Xingmu froze in his tea-drinking posture and stared at Xi Ran in astonishment. Yi Chuan beside him spurted out a mouthful of liquid.

Xi Ran smiled, her expression charming and free. “I was not lucky enough to get Young Master Liu. Now that I have met this person who is so similar, perhaps the heavens intend to compensate me. If Captain Song becomes my lobbyist, I will definitely provide better information to Captain Song in the future.”

Song Xingmu was stunned for a long moment, and finally couldn’t help but laugh. “All right, I’ll ask him later. Ai? Wait, that fellow really didn’t do anything for three days and three nights back then? So what did he do?”

Xi Ran smiled and said: “He told me stories.”

At this time, Liu Zhenqing had already found Huo Fenglie standing alone at the guardrail on the deck. The night wind caused his black hair to flutter, dispersing the cold hardness of his body, but it could not dissipate his loneliness.

For a moment, he was like a pitiful guard dog crouching in the night and waiting for his master to return.

Liu Zhenqing crossed his arms and looked at him for a while, feeling a little regretful. He usually just let it go, but this time it seemed to have been too much and made him this unhappy.

But he didn’t blame himself, ah. Who made Huo Fenglie stay frozen and not say anything? It was unknown what was holding him back.

Liu Zhenqing had not stood there long before Huo Fenglie turned around, apparently having noticed him come.

“Er-gou, are you still stuffy?” Liu Zhenqing strolled forward with a pure white smile on his face.

“Why did you come out?” Huo Fenglie asked in a dull voice: “Don’t you want to reminisce about the past?”

Liu Zhenqing stopped teasing him and took the initiative to explain: “Song Xingmu and I had old history to talk about, but I wasn’t familiar with Xi Ran. She didn’t know my identity and it was inconvenient to speak, so I simply came out.”

Huo Fenglie watched Liu Zhenqing approach, but then turned his back, seemingly unwilling to face him.

“The first taste of love, three days and three nights of companionship. You don’t think that is familiar?”

It seemed like a question, but he severely restrained his emotions, and the sourness almost turned the river water into vinegar.

Liu Zhenqing suppressed a smile. “What nonsense are you talking about? Didn’t I tell you before? When I was in the capital, I only went to places like that to watch performances. Your brother would vouch for me.”

“It was Da-ge who brought you back.” The implication was that Huo Feihan couldn’t possibly have known what he had done.

Huo Fenglie was not here at the time. Later, when Liu Zhenqing returned from his hometown and stayed in another courtyard here, he heard the exaggerated rumors about Liu Zhenqing and the entertainment house. At that time, he just instinctively felt it was troublesome. He disliked it and was unhappy. But they were busy catching pirates, and Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing spent little time together, so the matter was just a rumor and passed quickly.

When they met again this time, Fuo Fenglie was reminded of the incident and felt like he was being given acupuncture at all times.

Just as Song Xingmu had said, he was worried that Xi Ran had a special place in Liu Zhenqing’s heart.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes became dark when he thought of this.

Liu Zhenqing scratched his head helplessly and then pretended to be mysterious, gesturing to Huo Fenglie: “Then let me tell you a secret.”

Although Huo Fenglie had a stomach full of emotions, he still couldn’t resist any of Liu Zhenqing’s demands. He leaned over with a sullen expression and felt Liu Zhenqing reach out to pull his ear, getting closer as he said: “Actually neither body has ever tasted the fruit of love. You must keep it a secret.”

Huo Fenglie was stunned for a moment, and the feeling of desolation vanished into nothingness. Turning his head to look at Liu Zhenqing, he saw the other’s happily smiling face and sparkling eyes. “I am absolutely not trying to trick you, I swear. In two lifetimes, your Qing-ge has never touched a man or a woman. Even his first kiss…..is still there.”

When Liu Zhenqing said this, he got stuck. It was true that he didn’t have any experience kissing even in his previous life, but in this life, cough, cough, he was infatuated with Huo Fenglie.

It was just that Huo Fenglie was completely muddled-headed and didn’t notice Liu Zhenqing’s dilemma at all. He didn’t expect that Qing-ge had observed such etiquette in his previous life. After all, it was completely different from his daily behavior, ah. Then it could be said that Qing-ge’s first time was with him…..Thinking of this, Huo Fenglie’s eyes suddenly widened.

Liu Zhenqing was still thinking about what had happened when Huo Fenglie went crazy, and was a little surprised. Yes, ah, it was such a fierce attack for a first time. Was he self-taught or did he have personal experience?

Liu Zhenqing felt a little mentally uncomfortable, but he was still a twenty-six-year-old man, and it was not something worth worrying about. But he was still curious, so he couldn’t help but say: “What about Er-gou? Have you ever been close to a woman? Do you still have your first kiss?”

When Liu Zhenqing inquired straightforwardly, Huo Fenglie looked extremely uncomfortable. Liu Zhenqing had a pretty good idea that Huo Fenglie had experience.  Suppressing his psychological discomfort, he couldn’t help but say: “Oh? Who is so lucky that General Huo was on intimate terms with them?”

Huo Fenglie quickly lowered his eyes to hide his panic. He had only…..only done something bad once.

It was on the wedding day of his brother and his sister-in-law. Qing-ge was so happy that he ended up drinking too much. In the end, he fell drunk on the rockery and was found by Huo Fenglie. He didn’t know if he was influenced by the happiness of his brother and sister-in-law’s marriage, or by some women who were close to Qing-ge attending the wedding. Perhaps he was drunk that night too. Gathering his courage, as Qing-ge was holding onto him in a daze, he lowered his head and kissed him. 

At that time, Liu Zhenqing sobered up and saw Huo Fenglie squatting beside him with a red face, looking at him. He didn’t know that his first kiss had been stolen by this puppy, and only asked with a smile: “Did Er-gou secretly drink? His face is all red.”

And at present, Huo Fenglie only buried it in his heart and did not dare to admit it. “I. Haven’t. Really.”

With such an obvious lie, Liu Zhenqing thought he had but was too embarrassed to tell him. After all, he was the one he liked now.

Liu Zhenqing was also a little dissatisfied that Huo Fenglie had traces of someone else in his heart, so he said teasingly: “Ah, I remember, didn’t you give me your first kiss?”

Huo Fenglie was so frightened that his whole body stiffened. “Qing-ge, I…..”

“You forgot, I took it as soon as you were born. Hahaha,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Huo Fenglie choked, and could only change the subject awkwardly. “Then what about the rumors?”

“Haven’t you heard? Your brother and I were working with Song Xingmu to investigate a case about a local tyrant official. Back then, Xi Ran was the entertainer and person closest to the wicked official. He wanted to take part in the night Xi Ran chose her customers, and in order to buy time to deal with the enemy, Song Xingmu and I wanted to retain Xi Ran. As a result, I was selected and entered the pavilion. When I went in, I asked the girl to play the pipa for me, and when she grew tired of playing, I told her a story. Little did I know that the girl had never heard fairy tales before. She got so excited that she practically didn’t let me sleep, and insisted that I tell them. I don’t even remember how many hundreds I told. In any case, I passed out in the end and when he finally finished his work, your brother came to take me back.”

“Fairy tales…..stories?” Huo Fenglie said.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Want to hear one? I’ll tell it when I give you acupuncture tonight. I’ll prepare One Thousand and One Nights for you.”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly for a moment, then nodded agreeably. “Then…..the jade pendant.”

“Oh, you saw that too. I stayed with this girl for three days and three nights, so of course I was too embarrassed to leave directly. Don’t all benactors use silver as a reward? I just gave her the most valuable jade pendant I had on me. After that, I was busy catching pirates, but then I discovered one thing.”

“What?”

“Xi Ran is not an ordinary woman. In fact, we were taken advantage of by her. Back then, the wicked official was not a good patron, and often tormented her. She didn’t dare to offend him, and just wished that something would happen to him. So when we showed up, she used the situation to choose me and played along with our acting in hopes that the bully would be caught without damaging her reputation. She is an extremely intelligent woman.”

“Then afterwards…..”

Liu Zhenqing spoke slowly: “We met again many years later. When I went south with Yuan Jue I stayed behind to deploy troops with Song Xingmu to continue catching pirates. When discussing things with Song Xingmu, we tried to keep away from eyes and ears, so we went to Xi Ran’s place. The relationship between us can only be regarded as…..the friendship between gentlemen, as light as water. Before leaving, I asked if she wanted to be redeemed. I wanted to help her regain her freedom. She refused, saying that she would leave by her own abilities. Then I never saw her again.”

Huo Fenglie could probably understand why Xi Ran refused at the outset. Because Qing-ge said he would give her her freedom, not…..take her away.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flickered, and he said suddenly: “She never forgot you.”

“Who let your Qing-ge be so charming?” Liu Zhenqing gave a charming smile, then said deliberately, “Although I didn’t think much about it in the past, do you think I should renew our relationship now?”

Liu Zhenqing was only teasing Huo Fenglie to make him feel a little threatened. But the moment he said it, he didn’t even have time to tell Huo Fenglie it was a joke. As if he had been stabbed, his face became extremely frightening. That pair of eyes abruptly switched from restrained to wild and dangerous, staring at Liu Zhenqing like a wild beast.

Seeing Huo Fenglie this way shocked Liu Zhenqing. It was like if he spoke the wrong word, Huo Fenglie would pounce on him and bite his neck.

Look at this possessiveness, this jealous expression. So cute. Yet you still say you don’t like me.

Liu Zhenqing was frightened at first, but quickly shrugged it off and gave Huo Fenglie a provocative look.

Huo Fenglie suddenly said in a deep voice: “Qing-ge, don’t joke like that to me.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “How can you be sure I’m joking?”

“Because I know Qing-ge. Although you spare feelings everywhere…..”

“Hey, hey, hey.”

“…..If you really do fall in love with someone, you will stay with them until death. You said that you firmly believe in this kind of love, just like my brother and sister-in-law’s.” Huo Fenglie spoke very seriously, and his tone contained a warning. “You aren’t just casually talking about renewing a relationship, are you?”

If he could renew his relationship with Xi Ran, if he could be with someone else…..why couldn’t it be him?!

If Qing-ge wanted to choose someone else, wouldn’t his restraint and concealment be a joke? He could not, would not, tolerate it any longer. He would…..

As Huo Fenglie thought, he couldn’t help but grab Liu Zhenqing’s shoulders, and his tone became deeper and deeper. “Qing-ge, do you really want to be with someone else…..”

Liu Zhenqing regarded Huo Fenglie blankly, feeling that his words were a bit strange. He didn’t understand for the moment, but Huo Fenglie knew him quite well.

So he nodded and said sincerely: “You’re right. If I really fall in love with someone, I will definitely stay with them until death.”

Liu Zhenqing felt that he should reassure Huo Fenglie. Although there were rumors outside that he was romantically involved, he had to let Er-gou know that once he started a relationship, he would never change his mind. He didn’t want Er-gou to misunderstand that he was a frivolous person.

But Liu Zhenqing was unaware that his words were not a reassurance, but a critical hit, which silenced Huo Fenglie again.

But at the same time, he was relieved. Right, ah, hadn’t he known about this matter for almost nine years? What was there to be surprised about? He would only be surprised if Qing-ge fell in love with someone else.

Huo Fenglie slowly lowered his hands, and everything returned to how it was before.

However, Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes with a mischievous smile in front of him, then suddenly took a step forward, almost touching Huo Fenglie.Huo Fenglie was so startled that he instinctively moved back, but Liu Zhenqing grabbed his arm.

Liu Zhenqing raised his head and drew very close to Huo Fenglie’s face. He raised his eyebrows and said: “Er-gou, ah, what happened just now? So impolite? Someone who didn’t know better might think you were jealous.”

Huo Fenglie’s expression gradually stiffened, his eyes looking straight at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help becoming nervous.

But in the end, Huo Fenglie avoided Liu Zhenqing’s eyes and said: “Qing-ge misunderstands. I respect Qing-ge. Hearing such a frivolous story, I felt that I was not the person to hear it.”

Good boy, don’t say this. Liu Zhenqing nearly laughed out loud. He stretched out his hands and tugged Huo Fenglie’s lapel, forcing him to come closer. Liu Zhenqing’s eyes were like lightning. “Er-gou, ah, you…..”

But as soon as he spoke, the previously stable boat suddenly shook violently.

Huo Fenglie was able to keep his figure completely steady, and his whole body responded to guard Liu Zhenqing, who had been planning to interrogate him.

Neither of them ever thought that such an impossible situation would occur on the smooth water of the river. Now the boat was swaying, accompanied by sounds of chaos throughout the boat.

The two of them fell to one side at the same time, one leaning back and one leaning forward. The distance continued to get closer. Huo Fenglie’s well-trained body still instinctively reached out to grab the railing next to him to prevent the two of them from falling, supporting Liu Zhenqing’s body with the other hand. But his strength still couldn’t prevent it.

In an instant, Liu Zhenqing’s pupils shrank, and all he could see was Er-gou’s handsome features close at hand.

They had discussed their first kiss not long ago, and now this was happening.

---

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Chapter Seventy-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-One

When Lu Qi woke up, his throat was dry and sore. His head was still dizzy, and he felt nauseated.

He was lying down stiffly, and when he tried to move his hands and feet, he realized that his hands were tied behind his back, his legs were tied together, and there was something firmly stuffed in his mouth.

The colorful patterns in his vision slowed down after a while. Only then did Lu Qi notice that something like a silk scarf was covering his head.

He simply pretended like he hadn’t woken up yet and listened to what was going on around him, recalling what had happened before he fell unconscious.

He had returned to the Garden Community and got the things the young girl had sent him from the landlord. In addition to photos, there were also some origami works folded by the girl herself, all kinds of small animals lying colorfully in the shoebox, each one from the young girl’s heart.

Lu Qi liked them very much, and walked toward Mingqi Secondary School with the shoebox under his arm. When he was about to leave the community, he found an injured stray dog in an alley between the buildings.

He thought about investigating the situation, but he didn’t have the energy to take care of an extra puppy, so he intended to call Xu Hengxing.

He crouched in front of the puppy, and was about to lift it using bathroom tissue in order to check the wound on the little thing’s leg when there were sudden footsteps behind him. There was more than one set, and they were all heavy and forceful adult footsteps. Lu Qi instinctively sensed that something was wrong, and while turning around, took a subconscious step back.

At this moment, an opponent’s hand chop sliced down and Lu Qi looked at him with some astonishment.

Lu Qi couldn’t spare any more attention for the puppy, and put it down, stepping aside quickly. He regarded the tall man warily and shouted loudly to ask him who he was.

He knew the other party wouldn’t tell him, and only asked in order to delay time. His eyes were searching for something to defend himself with or a gap to escape through.

But several more people appeared behind the man. Lu Qi looked at their figures and temperaments, and suddenly thought of their identities. These people were probably private bodyguards!

Then this wasn’t about money.

The alley was narrow, and the few people were unable to swarm up. Even though Lu Qi couldn’t find any tools or chance to escape, he also didn’t sit still, shouting directly: “Fire! Fire!!”

This sort of incident that might endanger someone personally was the most likely to attract attention and commotion, while shouting “help” or “robbery” might make people avoid it. This was what his mom told him when he was a child, but he never foresaw having to use it now. However, the other party didn’t give him a chance to shout. The man who missed hitting Lu Qi just now stepped forward again and reached out to grab him. 

Lu Qi punched him in the nose.

His boxing practice these days was not in vain. Unprepared, the opponent screamed and covered his nose, crouching down. And thanks to the narrow alley, the others couldn’t surge forward, and got stuck.

But in the end, there were many of them. Noticing Lu Qi’s shout of “fire,” someone had already pushed open a window to investigate. One of the group members said: “Hold him down and knock him out! Don’t worry about his face for now!!”

This was the last sentence Lu Qi heard. The group behind seemed to have no scruples, and swarmed over him to hold him down. Lu Qi punched one person in the eye, kicked another one down while struggling, and was finally pinned to the ground. His cheek hurt from the gravel on the ground, and then his mouth and nose were blocked by a pungent-smelling towel.

He didn’t know what happened after that.

He was scared, but comforted himself and calmed down. The other party’s words “don’t worry about his face for now” seemed to reveal their purpose for kidnapping him. Lu Qi never thought he would be sexually harassed one day, but it couldn’t be ruled out that the other party feared that he would be unrecognizable with his nose and face bruised and swollen, and he wouldn’t be able to blackmail Mu Nanqiao…..

He had been awake for a while, but there was no movement here. Lu Qi carefully rubbed his head and opened a small gap in the head covering, looking at the surrounding environment through it.

This seemed to be a KTV lounge. He had seen this kind of layout before when Li Yimiao worked at one. There was a private room at the front and a lounge in the back for drunken guests to rest, and he had recently been tossed onto the bed in the lounge. The room was dark and windowless, with only dim, blue-purple lights on.

There was the faint sound of conversation outside the door. It wasn’t obvious at first, but then one of them seemed to become angry. The other person was unresigned, and started to argue as well.

“Are you fucking crazy!” Along with the sound of things smashing, the man yelled: “Haven’t you watched TV?! The Mu family treats this kid as their daughter-in-law!! Why are you playing with him?! Aren’t you playing with someone else’s wife?!!”

“What kind of TV should I watch, ah? I only watch movies on TV…..” The other boy with the gruff voice didn’t care. “Besides, what daughter-in-law? He has such a big family business, so how can he find a male partner and not have children? In the end, he will have to find a woman to give birth so that he doesn’t lose his bloodline…..”

“Fuck bloodlines!” The other party interrupted him, “Wang Liang! You’re trying to get yourself killed! If this continues, our family’s bloodline will be cut off!”

Wang Liang…..

Lu Qi silently noted down the name.

He had an anesthetic-resistant constitution, and the other party probably didn’t expect him to wake up so quickly. The quarrel was still fierce.

“What? Could Mu Nanqiao fall out with our family because of him?” The gruff voice scoffed coldly, “Wang Duan, you are afraid of him, but I’m not. I have never been afraid of anyone since I was a child! I’ve gotten my way all over Shanghai, so what’s the problem with sleeping with a little duck? It’s impossible for Mu Nanqiao to love him! Where the hell is there love! Why can’t I touch this plaything!”

The man named Wang Duan fell silent, and Lu Qi heard him breathing very heavily, as if he was very angry.

After a long moment, Wang Duan said: “Did you touch him? Did he see your face?”

There was no telling what Wang Liang was thinking, but after a moment, he gave a contemptuous laugh and said, “I touched him, he feels so good. He’s worthy of being the one Mu Nanqiao likes, the best quality! He also saw my face. Let’s put it this way, Brother – it’s impossible to send this person back. You had better figure out how to cover up for me.”

Lu Qi moved his butt, but there was no discomfort. Wang Liang was obviously lying, just to drag the Wang family into trouble and let them take care of the consequences.

This man was selfish, arrogant, and stupid, and it might not be the first time he had done this!

Once he regained some strength in his hands and feet, Lu Qi twisted his wrists a couple of times and found that what was binding him was not rope, but circles of tape. 

This tape stuff was indestructible when intact, but as long as there was a small tear, it could be broken at once. Lu Qi first scratched at it with his nails, but he couldn’t use any force, and the tape didn’t move at all.

At the same time, he heard a person saying outside: “Wang Liang, I’m taking away the bodyguards. From now on, whatever you’re going to do has nothing to do with the Wang family. Do you understand?”

Lu Qi’s heart was ringing with alarm. Wang Duan had not left Wang Liang a way out. It was hard to say what a desperate man would do.

. . . . . .

In Mu Group’s chairman’s office, Mu Nanqiao called the police and was about to go to the police station while carrying his clothes. His expression was overcast and terrible. Mu Chuanbai was sitting on the sofa, also on his phone. Seeing that his son was about to go out, he said: “Son, don’t panic. The other party will make demands after kidnapping him. No matter what they ask for, you must agree first in order to stabilize the other party. If necessary, the company’s interests can be sacrificed. Once we get him back, everything else will be easy to deal with.”

Mu Nanqiao exhaled. He said with a nod: “I understand. Thank you, Dad.”

He took Assistant Zhang down in the elevator and went straight to the underground parking lot. Assistant Zhang opened the driver’s seat door, but his collar was grabbed and he was pushed back. “I’ll drive.”

Assistant Zhang was afraid that something might happen to his boss in this state, but after looking at his cold and solemn expression, he ran to the back without saying a word. Before he could sit firmly and close the car door, the boss had already stepped on the accelerator and was driving out.

But before they left the underground parking lot, a flirtatious pink convertible slowly drove in from the other side. A carefree young man with chains everywhere was driving the car, and blocked Mu Nanqiao’s way.

The sound of the horn startled the other party. He took off his sunglasses and looked over. Only then did Assistant Zhang realize that this was the second young master of the Gao family.

Speaking of this Second Young Master Gao, he was also a bit lucky. He flirted with Boss Mu’s boyfriend, and even if he didn’t die, he should have been skinned by Boss Mu. But according to Boss Mu, his boyfriend was very kind-hearted and thought that being offended by this man was not a big deal. Afterwards, the playboy young master’s reaction when he saw Mu Nanqiao was enough to make him laugh for a week.

Lu Qi did not agree to Mu Nanqiao’s retaliatory punishment. As for Mu Nanqiao, seeing as the other party made Lu Qi laugh, he decided to let him off.

Thus, the matter was lightly unraveled, and Second Young Master Gao was able to drive a sports car here with his body and family property intact, instead of being thrown into a small African country by Director Gao for training. This playboy who bobbed his head in a self-satisfied manner was startled, and looked like he was about to curse someone. Seeing that it was Mu Nanqiao, he revealed a flattering smile and wandered over with a fruit basket to knock on the window of Mu Nanqiao’s car.

Assistant Zhang feared that Mu Nanqiao would run over these second-hand goods with his car, so he quickly rolled down the window and stuck his head out, saying: “Young Master Gao, you’ve come at the wrong time today. Move the car quickly. Our Mr. Mu has something urgent to do.”

“Ohhhh…..” Young Master Gao was embarrassed upon his flattery being rejected, and quickly returned to the car. While reversing, he suddenly thought of something and asked loudly: “Xiao Zhang, since Brother Mu is in a hurry to get out, could it be that…..something has happened to his boyfriend?”

Mu Nanqiao’s expression went cold. He pushed the door open and got out of the car, then lifted the jingling and clanking Young Master Gao out of the convertible. He asked in a cold voice: “Do you know where Lu Qi is?”

“I, I, I’m not sure…..” Young Master Gao was about to cry, stumbling to explain: “It’s, it’s like this, Brother Mu. Some time ago when Wang Liang was drinking with us, he was a little drunk and said he was interested in a babe, but unfortunately he had an owner, and it would take some time to get him and try him out…..”

Glancing at Mu Nanqiao’s expression, he swallowed his saliva and said: “Could…..could it be your partner?”

At that time, he had just been scolded by his father and big brother about how Mu Nanqiao would react, so he always thought of Mu Nanqiao and Lu Qi with fear. So much so that when he heard Wang Liang say this, his first reaction was: Lu Qi has a “master.”

Mu Nanqiao narrowed his eyes.

Wang Liang, he knew, was the third eldest son of the Wang family and was said to be a twin at birth. The older one had a congenital defect and did not survive. On the contrary, the smaller Wang Liang made it, so Mrs. Wang regarded her youngest son as the apple of her eye. He was used to behaving badly from a young age, and had been placed into ordinary people’s homes several times.

Wang Liang fell in love with a male university student the last time, but the person wouldn’t be with him, so he used some tricks and finally forced him to jump off a building. He became a paraplegic when he fell, and the Wang family paid his family a huge amount in compensation. It was a sum that ordinary people couldn’t earn in a lifetime, so the matter was settled. Up to now, that man was still lying in a high-end ward of a private hospital, burning money every day to stay alive through the support of the Wang family.

If Lu Qi was taken away by such an unscrupulous scumbag…..

He had dark intentions, and was about to contact the police to provide these clues. Then Young Master Gao, who had wandered around several times, seemed to have come to a decision and ran over again to say: “Boss Mu, you let me go after what happened last time. Thank you. Otherwise, my father would have beaten me and sent me to Africa to work as a supervisor. I appreciate your kindness in this matter, so let me give you another piece of news. Wang Liang has his own bar. He always does some wayward things there…..the location is in…..in…..aiya, I can’t remember, but I know how to get there. I can show you the way?”

Mu Nanqiao looked at him with bloodshot eyes. He nodded solemnly and said: “Thanks.”

Thus, the troops were divided into two groups. Assistant Zhang drove to the police station, while Mu Nanqiao drove Gao’er in the supercar to the bar he had mentioned. Even though he repeatedly overtook other cars on the road and frightened Gao’er into a screaming chicken, Mu Nanqiao did not run a red light.

While waiting at the red light, Mu Nanqiao said in a hoarse voice: “You should actually thank Lu Qi.”

It was Lu Qi who said with a smile that he didn’t care, and asked him not to take such a trivial matter to heart. Although he indeed felt offended at the time, when he saw Young Master Gao scared to the point of kneeling and crawling by Mu Nanqiao, he felt that this person had learned his lesson and there was no need to be so petty.

When Lu Qi said he was being petty, Mu Nanqiao was dissatisfied, and pressed him down to kiss him over and over again.

However, if Lu Qi had not dissuaded him at that time, he would have suspended cooperation with the Gao family. After careful investigation, Old Mr. Gao would have definitely sent the culprit to the frontier.

And then today, no one would have sent him this important and timely news.

Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyes, thinking of Lu Qi’s beautiful curved eyes and the red lips he had kissed.

Lu Qi had not been let down. The world finally gave him back the gentle kindness that he showed to others.

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Chapter Forty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Nine