?Elsewhere, Xie Meirong and Lin Ruoxi returned to their room only to find an unexpected figure lying on their bed, a girl whose presence was as bewildering as it was alarming.
Exchanging glances filled with confusion and a hint of intrigue, Xie Meirong's eyes sparkled with an unconventional thought. "She would make a good art piece..." she mused, her chuckle breaking the silence, a sound that seemed out of place in the solemnity of the moment.
Lin Ruoxi, ever the voice of reason, paused her burgeoning creativity with a more pressing concern.
She held up her phone, displaying the stark instructions that had been sent to them: dispose of this woman by throwing her back onto the streets under the cloak of night.
_______ The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B1jn.
As Long Tian frantically searched for Chen Xiaoya, his desperation mirrored in the chaos that engulfed the hotel, he was oblivious to the fact that the wheels of fate had already turned.
The crimes committed in the shadows left him to deal with the aftermath, a stark reminder of the consequences that awaited those caught in Zhang Wei's games.
"Y-Yu Tian?" The familiar surroundings of the noodle shop from earlier that day came into view, its lights dimming as the owner began to close up for the night.
It was there, on the same bench they had shared earlier, that he finally found her—Chen Xiaoya, a trembling figure wrapped in the old shop owner's concern.
The elderly lady had recognized the distraught girl and had kept her safe until Long Tian arrived.
"W-What happened to you?" The words barely left his mouth before Chen Xiaoya, her eyes swollen from crying and legs barely able to support her, launched herself towards him.
Whoosh!
Her sudden movement was a physical manifestation of her turmoil, her reliance on him in that moment of vulnerability striking a chord within him.
Slap!
The sound was sharp in the quiet of the night, Long Tian recoiling not from the impact but from the smell that assaulted his senses.
"Stay away from me!" he exclaimed, stepping back with a mixture of shock and disgust.
Thud...
The sound of Chen Xiaoya collapsing to the ground was a physical blow to the heart. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief and anger. "W-What?" Her voice was a whisper of betrayal, the hurt evident in her gaze.
Long Tian, caught in the grip of his initial revulsion, had reacted without thought, driven by instinct rather than compassion. The realization of what he had done, of the hurt his actions had caused, began to dawn on him.
Was he abandoning her?
In the silence that followed, Long Tian's initial shock gave way to a deep, gnawing guilt. He took a hesitant step forward, his voice soft, laden with regret. "Xiaoya, I... I didn't mean—"
Chen Xiaoya, still on the ground, cut him off, her voice a mixture of pain and defiance. "What did you mean, Yu Tian? To show me where I truly stand? To make it clear that when push comes to shove, I'm on my own?"
Long Tian's expression morphed, the lines of his face hardening as a surge of anger rippled through him like a dark storm brewing. "Keep your voice under control," he spat out, his words sharp as knives, a warning laced with the venom of suppressed fury.
Chen Xiaoya flinched at the harshness of his tone, her whole body trembling with a mix of fear and resentment. "You bastard! What are you pretending to be noble now? You can't even protect me, and someone slipped away right under your nose!"
"Why don't you wear a green hat and—"
*Slap!*
The crack of Long Tian's hand meeting her cheek echoed through the room, silencing her mid-sentence. "Shut up!" he roared, his voice thunderous with unchecked rage.
___________
Poof!
In the dimly lit confines of Chen Yulan's chamber, she perched on the edge of her bed, her skin tingling from the sensation of Zhang Wei's careful ministrations.
Each droplet he wiped away left a trail of warmth, yet her cheeks burned with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal.
It was as if he was unraveling her with every touch, revealing parts of herself she had kept hidden even from her own gaze.
The intimacy of the moment was suffocating, wrapping around her like a cocoon.
Chen Yulan longed to shrink into the shadows, to vanish from his sight rather than endure the weight of his gaze.
As she sat, her head bowed, hiding her flushed face, Zhang Wei seemed oddly pleased with himself, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
Yet, his curiosity was piqued when he remembered the initial reason for Chen Yulan's unexpected visit. "Why were you searching for me?" he asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
Chen Yulan, her eyes wide and shimmering with moist, hesitated before pointing to the cold, untouched food she had brought for him earlier.
It was a gesture filled with unspoken concern, a concern that now felt foolish and misplaced.
"Food? I don't want to eat," Zhang Wei dismissed nonchalantly, burrowing into the quilt, signaling his intention to sleep and effectively dismissing her efforts.
The silence that followed was heavy, charged with Chen Yulan's growing frustration and desperation. With a quiet resignation, she whispered, her voice barely audible, "You can't kidnap people casually, not every time you would get away with it..."
Zhang Wei's eyelids fluttered open, his irritation clear. "I can kidnap whoever I want, now sleep," he retorted, his words sharp, a clear indication of his disregard for her or her morals.
Chen Yulan, gathering a sliver of courage, pressed on, her voice steady despite the fear. "If you keep making only enemies everywhere, there will come a time when your power is no more, and then you are left surrounded with no one to save. You can't make it far in life like this."
Zhang Wei's eyes twitched, irritation flickering across his features. "Why are you being a sage in the night? Are you wishing for me to become powerless?" His retort was biting, a defense against her words that, perhaps, struck closer to home than he cared to admit. "As long as the power only increases, why would it matter? They can hate me as much as they want, all they can do is...grumble in the night like you."
?Elsewhere, Xie Meirong and Lin Ruoxi returned to their room only to find an unexpected figure lying on their bed, a girl whose presence was as bewildering as it was alarming.
Exchanging glances filled with confusion and a hint of intrigue, Xie Meirong's eyes sparkled with an unconventional thought. "She would make a good art piece..." she mused, her chuckle breaking the silence, a sound that seemed out of place in the solemnity of the moment.
Lin Ruoxi, ever the voice of reason, paused her burgeoning creativity with a more pressing concern.
She held up her phone, displaying the stark instructions that had been sent to them: dispose of this woman by throwing her back onto the streets under the cloak of night.
_______ The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B1jn.
As Long Tian frantically searched for Chen Xiaoya, his desperation mirrored in the chaos that engulfed the hotel, he was oblivious to the fact that the wheels of fate had already turned.
The crimes committed in the shadows left him to deal with the aftermath, a stark reminder of the consequences that awaited those caught in Zhang Wei's games.
"Y-Yu Tian?" The familiar surroundings of the noodle shop from earlier that day came into view, its lights dimming as the owner began to close up for the night.
It was there, on the same bench they had shared earlier, that he finally found her—Chen Xiaoya, a trembling figure wrapped in the old shop owner's concern.
The elderly lady had recognized the distraught girl and had kept her safe until Long Tian arrived.
"W-What happened to you?" The words barely left his mouth before Chen Xiaoya, her eyes swollen from crying and legs barely able to support her, launched herself towards him.
Whoosh!
Her sudden movement was a physical manifestation of her turmoil, her reliance on him in that moment of vulnerability striking a chord within him.
Slap!
The sound was sharp in the quiet of the night, Long Tian recoiling not from the impact but from the smell that assaulted his senses.
"Stay away from me!" he exclaimed, stepping back with a mixture of shock and disgust.
Thud...
The sound of Chen Xiaoya collapsing to the ground was a physical blow to the heart. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief and anger. "W-What?" Her voice was a whisper of betrayal, the hurt evident in her gaze.
Long Tian, caught in the grip of his initial revulsion, had reacted without thought, driven by instinct rather than compassion. The realization of what he had done, of the hurt his actions had caused, began to dawn on him.
Was he abandoning her?
In the silence that followed, Long Tian's initial shock gave way to a deep, gnawing guilt. He took a hesitant step forward, his voice soft, laden with regret. "Xiaoya, I... I didn't mean—"
Chen Xiaoya, still on the ground, cut him off, her voice a mixture of pain and defiance. "What did you mean, Yu Tian? To show me where I truly stand? To make it clear that when push comes to shove, I'm on my own?"
Long Tian's expression morphed, the lines of his face hardening as a surge of anger rippled through him like a dark storm brewing. "Keep your voice under control," he spat out, his words sharp as knives, a warning laced with the venom of suppressed fury.
Chen Xiaoya flinched at the harshness of his tone, her whole body trembling with a mix of fear and resentment. "You bastard! What are you pretending to be noble now? You can't even protect me, and someone slipped away right under your nose!"
"Why don't you wear a green hat and—"
*Slap!*
The crack of Long Tian's hand meeting her cheek echoed through the room, silencing her mid-sentence. "Shut up!" he roared, his voice thunderous with unchecked rage.
___________
Poof!
In the dimly lit confines of Chen Yulan's chamber, she perched on the edge of her bed, her skin tingling from the sensation of Zhang Wei's careful ministrations.
Each droplet he wiped away left a trail of warmth, yet her cheeks burned with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal.
It was as if he was unraveling her with every touch, revealing parts of herself she had kept hidden even from her own gaze.
The intimacy of the moment was suffocating, wrapping around her like a cocoon.
Chen Yulan longed to shrink into the shadows, to vanish from his sight rather than endure the weight of his gaze.
As she sat, her head bowed, hiding her flushed face, Zhang Wei seemed oddly pleased with himself, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
Yet, his curiosity was piqued when he remembered the initial reason for Chen Yulan's unexpected visit. "Why were you searching for me?" he asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
Chen Yulan, her eyes wide and shimmering with moist, hesitated before pointing to the cold, untouched food she had brought for him earlier.
It was a gesture filled with unspoken concern, a concern that now felt foolish and misplaced.
"Food? I don't want to eat," Zhang Wei dismissed nonchalantly, burrowing into the quilt, signaling his intention to sleep and effectively dismissing her efforts.
The silence that followed was heavy, charged with Chen Yulan's growing frustration and desperation. With a quiet resignation, she whispered, her voice barely audible, "You can't kidnap people casually, not every time you would get away with it..."
Zhang Wei's eyelids fluttered open, his irritation clear. "I can kidnap whoever I want, now sleep," he retorted, his words sharp, a clear indication of his disregard for her or her morals.
Chen Yulan, gathering a sliver of courage, pressed on, her voice steady despite the fear. "If you keep making only enemies everywhere, there will come a time when your power is no more, and then you are left surrounded with no one to save. You can't make it far in life like this."
Zhang Wei's eyes twitched, irritation flickering across his features. "Why are you being a sage in the night? Are you wishing for me to become powerless?" His retort was biting, a defense against her words that, perhaps, struck closer to home than he cared to admit. "As long as the power only increases, why would it matter? They can hate me as much as they want, all they can do is...grumble in the night like you."
