Standing tall by the door, Liu Shan frowns from under the phantom mask. He stares back at Ning Mei like she was an idiot as she was staring with wide eyes at him.
However, it didn't take long before realization dawn in him and he smiles under the mask.
"Oh, my bad."
Taking a big step to the side, his body frame that once blocked the door reveals another tall figure. They stood almost at the same height, but he is taller by two inches.
He pays no more attention to Ning Mei and turns to the person before slightly bowing his head in greeting.
"Boss."
Ning Mei stares at the new figure and she felt every ounce of dread crawl inside her. It was like tiny ants had storm from her feet and made their way to her head but decided to stop at her heart to feast on it.
The person standing at the door was tall and slender compare to the other three men, but the thing that frightened her the most was the red hannya mask that looked like the devil himself.
From the figure's appearance, she could only assume that this fourth person is also a man.
"W-Who are y-you?"
Her quavering voice echoes inside the old and rundown room, but it was as if the man did not hear her and leisurely enters the room.
He calmly walks towards her and stops at the foot of the bed. Even with the mask on, one can see that he is looking straight at Ning Mei.
"Boss, you didn't have to come here. We were just about to leave."
Nie Chen suddenly spoke from the side. His entire demeanor was full of respect and he completely ignores Ning Mei who was still shivering in fear on the bed.
He was surprised to see his boss come in the room because he, along with Liu Shan and Lin Hui were only here as planned. They were assigned to scare the rookie model a little then leave.
However, never did he think his boss would suddenly show herself as they needed to make sure her identity is not reveal.
Hearing Nie Chen address the red mask man as 'boss', Ning Mei's eyes widen and due to the close distance, her arms stretch forward, and she grabs the red mask man's arms.
"Hongyi? It's you right?"
Tears quickly welled up in her eyes again and she wails like a sad and pitiful little girl who was lost at a theme park.
She quickly assumed this man is Wei Hongyi because Nie Chen is here. From what she knows, he (Nie Chen) is someone who works for Wei Hongyi.
"Wuu… Why are you doing this to me? Is it because I asked Nie Chen to kill Zhao Ya'Er?"
Her face distorted into an unpleasant sight with her cries and she tightens her grip on the person she thought to be Wei Hongyi.
"It's all a misunderstanding. I only wanted to scare her for not returning your love. Wuu… The person I only want dead is that slut Han—"
Ning Mei's words had yet to finish when a fist suddenly appears from the side and struck her on the cheeks causing her head to turn to the right. Her grip on "Wei Hongyi's" arms loosens, and she stumbles down onto the floor.
The loud clanking from the chain on her ankle echoes inside the room. However, she ignores it and glares with tearful eyes at the person who had dare to struck her.
"Y-You…"
Lin Hui who had been sitting down was now standing next to "Wei Hongyi". He stood on the right side as Nie Chen on the left. However, both his arms folded over his chest and even with the phantom mask on, Ning Mei could see the chilling and murderous look in his eyes.
"Hui, I thought you don't hit women."
Nie Chen couldn't help but ask with an expression full of bewilderment. He did not even see the man make a move, let alone even heard a sound.
Hearing the long hair man's words, Lin Hui clicks his tongue with a scoff then points to Ning Mei.
"You call THAT a woman? That's pure evil. I was only trying to help smack all her sins back inside her."
He spoke his words like a righteous man, but both Liu Shan and Nie Chen knew the real reason why he had struck Ning Mei.
As one should know that every one of Yue Ling's subordinates are loyal to her and hates it when someone bad mouths her. Especially Lin Hui, he is always the first to lose his temper and strike first.
They are this way not because she is their boss, but because she is a person with a pure and good heart. A person who will go against heaven and earth for the ones she loves and cares about.
Unlike Ning Mei, who acts like an innocent being on the outside but has a wicked and despicable heart.
Oblivious to the real reason why she was hit, Ning Mei kept her eyes on Lin Hui. She was at a loss for words. All she could do was let her tears fall as the pain still lingered on her cheeks.
"Your first mistake was crossing the line you shouldn't have."
A voice, far deeper than the three men suddenly resonated from the man wearing the red hannya mask. His voice wasn't only deep but sounded so sinister that Ning Mei felt all the hair on her body stand on ends.
Ning Mei shifts her attention to the man and without letting her say a word, the man's deep voice sounds continues.
"Your second mistake was murdering an innocent life that wanted no part in your selfish greed."
His words fell and Ning Mei felt another wave of fear crawl inside her, but this time, the feeling was as if she had been struck by lightning.
However, when she thought about his words, the space between her brows slightly crease into three lines.
He said she had murder someone, but from what she remembers, she only asked Chu Li Xiang to kill Yue Ling. How did it lead to her killing someone?
Not only that, Chu Li Xiang hasn't been in contact with her and neither did he mention anything about someone dying when she last saw him.
"Your third mistake is not knowing when to stop your selfish greed."
As Ning Mei thought to herself, "Wei Hongyi" continue his words. He spoke in calm voice, but one can hear the hostility behind it.
It was as if the man was the Jade Emperor and Ning Mei was a servant who had committed a huge crime in the heavens above.
Her thoughts suddenly stop, and she looks up at the man as she bit her lower lip from trembling.
"I… I…"
She wanted to say that she is innocent and that she hadn't kill anyone, but the moment she opened her mouth, she couldn't find the words the say anything.
The golden eyes on the mask that stares back at her were like the eyes of a ferocious tiger staring straight into her soul.
It wasn't until a long minute later that she was able to find her voice again.
"H-Hongyi, why are treating me like this? I didn't kill anyone. I'm really innocent."
She knows that Wei Hongyi is a man with a bad temper, and he is angry with her for ruining his relationship with Zhao Ya'Er, but does he have to go so far as to kidnap her. Couldn't he just have called her to meet up and talk about it?
Not wanting to die by the hands of either men, she crawls over to "Wei Hongyi" and hugs his legs. Her head tilts back as she stares up at him with tearful eyes.
"I promise, I'll never do it again. If you let me go, I won't tell anyone about this. I will never appear in front of you or Zhao Ya'Er. Please, let me go."
She is afraid but she has to try and persuade him. Her days as a model has yet to rise, how can she die already?
However, no matter how much she begged, luck was not on her side.
"Wei Hongyi" lowers his head to look down at her, but he showed no signs of mercy at all.
"Seeing you beg like this really touches one's heart."
He removes her arms around his leg and squats down to be at eye level with her.
"If it had been Wei Hongyi standing here, he would have believed you."
Both his arms raise, and he pulls back the hood covering his head as it reveals long wavy hair that had been put up in a high ponytail.
"But not me."
He removes the red hannya mask and his words continue. However, the deep voice that once came from the man soon changes into the angelic voice of a woman.
"You see, your fate has already been decided."
