Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An Xiaoning sobered up and sat up straight immediately.
“Who’s there?” She reached a hand out to switch on the lights, only to see a man sitting beside her, staring at her with a creepy smirk.
The look in his eyes gave her the chills.
It was none other than Xi Bolai.
It was indeed rather unsettling to see him by her bedside out of the blue.
“Long time no see, An Xiaoning,” he said with a strong S Nation accent, which he had managed to master well.
“Is there a need for us to meet frequently? Mr. Xi, may I ask why you showed up by my bed and caressed my face at such a late hour?” she said coldly.
“I’ve been observing you for more than a month,” he said with a smile, which seemed a little forced, though it did not appear malicious.
“What were you observing me for? I merely entered your room by mistake, I don’t know you at all,” An Xiaoning said, not letting her guard down.
“It may have been the first time you saw me at the resort, but… I’ve already known you long ago.”
“When?”
“You wanna know?”
He leaned in closer towards An Xiaoning while she remained still without a tinge of fear at all in her expression.
“Indeed, I’d like to know when I caught your attention. I’ve never messed with anyone or initiated a conflict before. I really wonder when I had offended you,” An Xiaoning said calmly.
“I already knew of your existence when you got married to Jin Qingyan. I was wondering then, just which foolish woman was it who actually decided to marry Jin Qingyan?” he said with a smirk.
An Xiaoning stared at him and retorted, “I don’t find myself foolish.”
“You’re right, I realized that too. I wouldn’t have known how outstanding you are if I hadn’t conducted a thorough background check on you,” Xi Bolai remarked with a malicious and sinister smile.
“Cut straight to the chase. What is that you’re after?”
“Be with me, will you?” He reached a hand out to caress her face, only to have her slap it away.
“A gentleman will never act with such indiscreet conduct. Besides, I’m sorry, but I prefer men who aren’t filthy,” An Xiaoning said sneeringly.
Xi Bolai sat up straight, not surprised at her reaction at all since he had already expected it.
“Too bad, you don’t have a choice.” The smile on his face faded as he stared at her with a cold and menacing look in his eyes.
All of a sudden, he whipped out a silencer and placed it against An Xiaoning’s temple. “It’s up to you to decide if you want to leave with me or die here,” he threatened while holding her at gunpoint.
An Xiaoning looked up at him in fear and nervousness. After all, he had a real gun in his hands and it would be impossible not to be afraid.
She would die instantly with a pull of the trigger.
Besides, she had known him to be a ruthless person capable of anything, according to what she had read about him online. An Xiaoning sat up slowly and said, “Could you put the gun further away from me? I have to get dressed.”
Xi Bolai proceeded to retreat backwards.
An Xiaoning put on her clothes slowly, followed by her shoes.
She then picked up her phone and purse before heading outside the room.
Xi Bolai followed closely beside her and continued to point the gun at her head.
He could not afford to be careless at all.
An Xiaoning followed his directions and arrived at a secluded area. “Don’t think of escaping. Otherwise, I’ll kill everyone who came along with you,” Xi Bolai warned.
“You must be kidding, Mr. Xi. You’re already holding me at gunpoint, how am I supposed to escape?”
“That better be the case.”
The helicopter was hovering only a stone’s throw away.
Having arrived next to the helicopter, Xi Bolai said, “Send your friends a text message and come up with a reason yourself for your departure. You’re not allowed to tell them that I brought you with me.”
“You didn’t bring me away, you abducted me,” An Xiaoning corrected him.
“I’m not a patient person. You have a minute to send the text message.”
An Xiaoning hurriedly proceeded to send Mei Yangyang a text message. However, the latter was the only one she had contacted.
He was watching closely as she went about typing the message. Thus, she had no choice but to only mention that she went out for a walk alone.
Just as the message was delivered, Xi Bolai reached his hand out and said, “Give it to me.”
An Xiaoning handed him her mobile phone and entered the helicopter.
Xi Bolai then cast her mobile phone out of the window as soon as the helicopter took off.
“Are you going to throw me off the helicopter as and when you’d like too?”
“I do have such plans, though I especially made a trip here to S Nation with the sole intention of bringing you back with me. Fortunately, my efforts have not been in vain,” Xi Bolai said coldly.
“Why did you abduct me? Any reason?”
“No reason at all. I just found you attractive and I want to sleep with you,” he said blatantly.
“You’re nuts.”
His face stiffened in anger upon hearing her words. “What did you say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
He was asking the obvious.
“A woman Jin Qingyan had toyed with can’t be too bad.”
“Do you have a penchant for secondhand hand-me-downs?”
Xi Bolai grabbed her chin forcefully and hollered, “So what if I do and so what if I don’t? Wretched woman, you better wash up and make yourself squeaky clean once we get back to Y Nation. Prepare to get intimate with me.”
An Xiaoning was at a complete loss for words. Just what does he take me for? she thought to herself.
She closed her eyes and played dead.
All she could do at this point was to play it by ear and go with the flow.
——
Mei Yangyang woke up to the text message, only to realize that An Xiaoning had left without her luggage.
She only brought her purse along.
Mei Yangyang began to sense something was amiss after perusing the content and timestamp of the text message. It was not like An Xiaoning to leave without informing Mei Yangyang of her whereabouts.
Furthermore, there was no reason for her to leave at midnight, of all times.
Something must have gone wrong.
Mei Yangyang could not stop worrying about An Xiaoning and thus decided to leave for A City with her luggage.
She gave Long Tianze multiple calls, but he did not answer any of them. Thus, she had no choice but to head to his office building.
“Miss, you’re not an employee of our company. We can’t allow you to enter,” said a staff member who stopped her from barging in.
“I’m Mei Yangyang. I shot a shampoo commercial here previously. I’m looking for Mr. Long.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, but you can’t enter without an appointment,” the staff member refuted.
“Could you please help me contact Mr. Long’s secretary then?” Mei Yangyang pleaded, appearing flustered and anxious.
“Miss, there are plenty of people asking to see Mr. Long each day, he’s very busy. If there’s nothing else…” Before the staff could even finish speaking, Mei Yangyang ran towards the staircase.
“Hey, hey, hey, Miss, you can’t just barge in like that…” The staff member hurriedly chased after her while the security guard standing by the door followed suit.
Mei Yangyang was swift with her actions and ran up the stairs at godspeed.
Having worn high heels on her feet, the female staff member struggled to catch up with Mei Yangyang.
Mei Yangyang finally arrived at Long Tianze’s office, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.
Slightly startled to see her, the secretary said, “Ms. Mei?”
“Is Tianze in?”
“He’s making the rounds at the commercial filming unit. He’s yet to return.”
