“You are making it too obvious.” Zhou Jingren’s voice didn’t contain a hint of anger nor contempt.
“Why are you here?” he asked as deep lines started to appear in between his brows. “Did you follow me here?”
“No. I came here to kick the statue.” The mockery in Zhou Jingren’s voice only made him more irritated.
“Why are you here?”
“I don’t know… to mock you?” Zhou Jingren smirked. “Did you know that your fiance was about to be framed for killing her own father?”
Harringfort eyed Zhou Jingren but didn’t respond to his words.
“I would assume that you knew about this and… that is why you had been distancing yourself from your fiance?” Zhou Jingren smiled. “I mean… other than the fact that you don’t like her.”
“So what if I know? So what if I don’t? What does it have to do with you?”
A sly smile escaped on Zhou Jingren’s lips. “So… you wanted to change the leadership of this country?”
“That is none of your business!” Harringfort hissed. Turning towards Zhou Jingren, he continued. “You think you are so smart, don’t you?” he scoffed. “Stop pretending as if you have any idea about the things that are going to happen in this country! Just because you know about the poisoning doesn’t mean you know of our plans!”
“Really?” Zhou Jingren lifted an eyebrow in response. “So… you wanted to ruin this country. Make its people suffer. What kind of organization would just watch a country fall?” As the richest country in European Union and the second richest country in the world, Zhou Jingren could not understand why this organization would want them to fail. Unless… another country would want to take advantage of the chaos and take over the country. But wasn’t that too far fetched?
A scoffed escaped Harringfort’s lips as he walked towards the balcony, eying the streets of Luxembourg below him. “You are lucky, I am not allowed to kill you.”
“But�� I can kill you, right?” Zhou Jingren said, chuckling. “You know… for them to employ someone like you.” Zhou Jingren shook his head. “I am wondering if they are crazy or just… doesn’t exist.”
“Are you calling me dumb!?”
“Your words.” Zhou Jingren shrugged. “I was about to say, young and childish.”
“You— ” Right now, Harringfort already knew that talking against Zhou Jingren was fruitless. This man grew up on the streets! It was reasonable for him to be very good at pissing people off! “I am telling you. Don’t get yourself involved. This country has nothing to do with you!”
Zhou Jingren walked next to him. He eyed the streets as he pursed his lips. “So you are going to let them die, just like that?” He was talking about the Grand Duke’s family. From the information that he received, Harringfort’s father and the Duke were quite close. In private, Harringfort would even address the Grand Duke as uncle.
So, how could he just let the Duke and his family die from the poisoning?
“I told you—”
“It is none of my business.” Zhou Jingren nodded. It was indeed none of his business. “I don’t mind if they die.” This was the truth. These people were not someone that Zhou Jingren would trust with his life. And his principle was simple. If he could not trust them with his life… then he wouldn’t care if they die.
In response, Harringfort gritted his teeth in irritation. “You don’t understand what we have to do for this world.” He said. “Stop pretending that you have figured it all out. Or you will be surprised when you find out the truth.” Why was he even talking to Zhou Jingren? Harringfort let out a grunt. “Leave me alone!”
“You wanted the Duke to cancel your engagement to Eliza?” Zhou Jingren continued, ignoring Harringfort’s grim face. “Why don’t you cancel it yourself?”
“Can you stay away from me?” Harringfort hissed. “You asked for six months and now you are following me around? What are you, a dog?” He eyed Zhou Jingren and immediately got irritated at his calm expression. What was Zhou Jingren’s purpose of talking to him?
“Alright…” Zhou Jingren answered after a few seconds of silence. “I am just here to let you know that my wife won’t ever like someone like you.” Zhou Jingren said. He did not see Harringfort as a threat in his relationship. However, the man’s childish behavior was quite alarming to him.
The thing about Harringfort was that he seemed to overthink a lot of things, making him easily angered. A man who could barely control his anger, who also happens to believe that he came from a very powerful organization can be a bit unpredictable and hard to handle. And Zhou Jingren hated it.
“What are you talking about?”
“The truth.” Zhou Jingren said. “You are trying too hard to impress her, even the other people around us could smell your motive. It was as clear as day.” He continued. “Now… Lily is unaware about the Organization that you spoke of. I chose not to tell her about it as I found it unbelievable. I am warning you Harringfort, stay away from my wife.”
“Or what?”
“Or…” Zhou Jingren leaned towards Harringfort’s ears. “Or… I will kill you in the most gruesome way possible.” Leaning back, a smile bloomed in Zhou Jingren’s face. “You seem to know a lot of things about me and my past. Surely, you also know… how I kill people, right?”
“So, you think I’m afraid of you?”
“If I lose her… I lose everything.” Zhou Jingren answered almost immediately. “What could be scarier than a man who does not have anything to lose anymore?” Zhou Jingren took a step back away from him. “You are not allowed to kill me… but I am allowed to kill you.” He added. Harringfort opened his mouth. However, before he could say a word, Zhou Jingren had already started speaking. “Of course… I am not threatening you. We are only talking about what if’s.” Zhou Jingren laughed, suddenly making the atmosphere confusing.
Harringfort stared at Zhou Jingren’s face. The man was laughing in front of him. Yet, it was undeniable that something sinister was lurking behind his laughter. “I am not going to touch her.” He said. Even if he wanted to, there was no way that he could— not with the council always watching Lily.
