The scent of nicotine slowly wafted through the air.
Lu Qingyan sat on the leather chair opposite her, legs crossed, looking like a master overlooking everything in this dim underground room.
Tao Tao had told her everything about herself, her name, her purpose, her experiences, and even that Jiang Nanshu might not be dead but had just left this world and returned to another. Even though it was inconceivable, it was Lu Qingyan’s understanding expression that truly made her fearful.
After the fear, she pleaded for mercy, thinking that as long as she explained herself clearly, she could save her life.
But her hopes were too optimistic.
He had already gone mad.
He actually demanded that she tell him the shortcut to Jiang Nanshu’s world.
Haha…
Where would such a shortcut come from? Without a system, how could anyone break through dimensions?
And her system left as soon as she chose to take on the body of Chu Muxi.
They were only travelers. The role of the system was to extract the chosen female lead from their designations and then let them experience it. After the character died, the system would come back to take their souls and have them experience the next one.
In this process, the travelers dictated the future destiny of that person.
If they weren’t happy, they might as well choose suicide as an escape.
Because they had two chances.
And she had used her second chance on Chu Muxi’s body.
She could never leave this world again.
But for whom did she do this all?
It was all for Lu Qingyan.
She loved him so much, that the moment the system provided the pictures of the male and female leads of the dimension, she chose him at first sight.
But the lover she had picked was now extending a knife towards her, a blade that could pierce her heart at any moment.
What love or affection she had didn’t matter as much as her own life.
She didn’t want to die; she hadn’t lived enough.
She only hoped that Jiang Nanshu could find her location and rescue her with the police. If she got out, she would make sure that Lu Qingyan paid dearly for his actions, to ruin him completely.
As much as she had loved him, she harbored equal amounts of hate in her heart now, but fear predominately occupied her body.
“Do you think my wife will discover you at any moment and rescue you?” Lu Qingyan’s cold voice suddenly rang out.
Tao Tao’s eyes widened, her body trembling slightly: “No, I didn’t…”
How could he… How could he know what she was thinking?
“It was my oversight that let her discover you. Thankfully, you didn’t manage to dirty her eyes. People like you belong in hell, Tao Tao,” he said, his tone indifferent.
The way he called her name made her heart tremble, almost like… the murmur of a lover, making her briefly forget her fear.
It had been many years since anyone had called her by her name.
Travelers like her only needed to live under someone else’s face, with someone else’s name.
They didn’t have a good upbringing or a pretty face, just ordinary among the multitudes, feeling inferior, lacking affection, and addicted to daydreams, dreaming of being princesses doted on and adored by all.
Often, systems would choose them under their intense longing, to let them experience life, as they wouldn’t feel guilty about stealing other people’s destinies; they would only feel excitement.
“Lu Qingyan… I didn’t hurt her, and she returned just fine, didn’t she?” Chu Muxi continued to plead her case.
Just fine… returned?
Lu Qingyan let out a low chuckle.
A ring lay in the palm of his hand.
It was a lady’s ring, made to fit Jiang Nanshu’s size.
It wasn’t even an engagement ring.
Because it wasn’t his.
Jiang Nanshu had never mentioned his.
Lu Qingyan didn’t feel particularly upset.
He had known from the start the kind of person Jiang Nanshu was, perhaps she felt guilty because of his five years of waiting, or maybe she felt sympathy because of the injury at the birthday banquet.
Lu Qingyan didn’t want any of this.
He wanted Jiang Nanshu’s true affection, pure and unfeigned, his well-being genuinely at her heart, not promises made just to appease his feelings.
Such a thing…
could be changed.
As long as she was unhappy, it could be changed.
He had always understood this.
Seeing that Lu Qingyan remained silent, Tao Tao’s gaze also fell on the ring, a beautiful diamond ring.
Swallowing hard, she said, “Jiang, Jiang Nanshu definitely wouldn’t want to see you become like this. Now that she’s back, you can start over with her. I won’t stand in your way anymore. I’ll stay far away from you both, I promise not to show up in front of either of you. Please, let me go; I won’t spill this secret.”
“She wants me to let you go,” Lu Qingyan suddenly said.
Tao Tao’s eyes brightened, and her breathing grew heavier.
“But I don’t want to,” Lu Qingyan smiled.
He flicked the cigarette butt onto the ground and leaned back lazily in his chair, watching the changes in her emotions as if toying with a mouse.
Quite amusing.
The light in Tao Tao’s eyes extinguished in an instant.
Her wrists, shackled by chains, no longer knew what pain was.
Lu Qingyan chuckled lightly.
Otherwise, why would he have let Jiang Nanshu leave, if not to conveniently transfer the person before him; he certainly didn’t want Jiang Nanshu to see her.
He preferred to look down from on high, enjoying her fear.
There are many ways to torture a person.
He disliked physical torture; instead, he felt that you should target a person’s psyche.
Wait until the day her spirit breaks.
Then she’d truly learn what it means to be contrite.
Lu Qingyan didn’t bother with her anymore.
He turned and walked away.
Tao Tao became agitated, “Let me out! Let go of me, Lu Qingyan, Brother Qingyan, I beg you, wu wu wu, I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
Her reaction was violent, and the chains rubbing against her wrists started to bleed again.
“You’ll get used to it, Tao Tao. See you next time,” Lu Qingyan said, standing at the door with a slight smile.
The basement door closed slowly under her gaze of despair, leaving her in complete darkness.
It was now ten o’clock at night.
Lu Qingyan’s phone rang once.
He quickly took it out; it was a message from Yang Jiashu about their high school reunion tomorrow, asking if he wanted to go.
A flash of disappointment crossed the depths of Lu Qingyan’s eyes, and he lightly tapped a reply with his slender fingers: “No.”
His phone contained only messages from business partners and Ye Yuan.
And from Old Sir Lu, suggesting that if he was free this weekend, he should bring Jiang Nanshu to the Lu Family Mansion for dinner, where his parents would also be present. It would be a formal family dinner where they could also talk about what was to follow between him and Jiang Nanshu.
Scrolling to the bottom, Lu Qingyan still didn’t find the message he wanted.
He scoffed softly, then cleared all the messages in his phone.
He pocketed the ring.
After some thought, he decided to go home.
The lights were out at home, Jiang Nanshu was already asleep.
Lu Qingyan stood outside the guest bedroom door for a full five minutes before turning back to his own room.
The ring was carefully placed back into its box.
This was something he had custom-made before going abroad.
At that time, he thought that, whether Jiang Nanshu was willing or not, he would marry her.
Even if this marriage was coerced, it didn’t matter to him.