Chu Munan directly looked up at her, his face suddenly revealing a gentle and cultured smile. However, the innate temperant he exuded made it impossible to ignore. He set down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, and imdiately soone handed him a napkin. He took it and elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth, then raised his eyes to look at Song Qiao opposite him, his thin lips curving slightly. "I just want to borrow Mrs. Lu for a bit to et with Lu Jingchen, that’s all."
She gazed at the man’s refined and noble visage, taking quite a while before speaking up. "Do you have a grudge against him?"
"No." The three somber and heavy words fell, as Chu Munan once again curved his lips, speaking deliberately, "It’s just that there is sothing of mine currently in Mr. Lu’s possession. As long as I retrieve my belonging, I will naturally release Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu can rest assured."
Song Qiao didn’t understand—how could Lu Jingchen possibly have that man’s possession? Moreover, the man had gone to great lengths to enter the mansion, holding her and Yu Xia hostage here. More importantly, the man had even suffered a gunshot wound and had not gone to the hospital; instead, he stayed here.
With her hand unknowingly clenching into a fist on the table, Song Qiao still looked at him. Her voice had cooled by a few degrees, "I don’t know what the dispute between you and my husband is, but everyone inside the villa is innocent. Do you really need to resort to this thod for your business with him?"
The man slightly narrowed his deep and narrow eyes, still wearing a smile on his face, appearing very composed and calm. "Does Mrs. Lu an to suggest that I should take my n and storm his company instead?"
Song Qiao, " ..." Since when did I an that?
Ultimately, the negotiation broke down. Song Qiao felt that she simply wasn’t in the sa world as this man. She couldn’t tell if he genuinely couldn’t understand the subtext behind her words or if he was deliberately misinterpreting them.
Yu Xia had been sitting there all along, eating when she should eat, drinking when she should drink, listening to the conversation between the two, only feeling helpless.
...
Outside the villa, Lu Jingchen sat in the black Maybach, its headlights long since extinguished. The torrential rain poured down, hitting the car and creating a pattering sound that was irritating to the ears.
The car’s interior was so quiet that no one spoke; the quiet was so deep it was almost possible to hear each other’s breathing, as well as the sound of the raindrops hitting the car outside.
Zuo Yuqing’s complexion had been sowhat pale the whole ti. She sat still in the passenger seat, her phone in her bag ringing countless tis with calls from her agent, probably wanting her to go to the set imdiately. But given the current situation, she couldn’t make that choice. Eventually, she took out her mobile phone, turned it off, and tossed it back into her bag without a care.
Compared to her initial fear of the man Chu Munan, Zuo Yuqing had now cald down considerably. There seed to be no change in emotion on her face, looking lifeless like a doll void of a soul, just staring ahead at the rain-washed villa that faintly revealed light from within.
The location of Lu Jingchen’s villa was very private, and it was also beautifully decorated. Behind the villa was a garden, specially designed and planted with a variety of flowers by many florists; it was a place where flowers thrived year-round.
Looking at the villa in front of her, Zuo Yuqing’s emotions suddenly beca complex. This villa had already been purchased back when she and Lu Jingchen were together. At that ti, the two were young and impulsive, yet it wasn’t without love; she liked Lu Jingchen, and Lu Jingchen liked her as well.
Youth perhaps always harbored all sorts of dreams. When they were together, she had once imagined living with the man she loved in a villa, hiring a couple of servants, a florist, managing a garden with various plants and building a gazebo, where they would rest on cool weekends.
This villa, Zuo Yuqing had visited it once after returning to the country, where it felt very familiar. After all, she had imagined it countless tis in her mind and discussed it countless tis with the man beside her, saying that their ho would be just like this. She hadn’t expected that in these few years, he would truly build it this way.
Initially, it was seeing the villa, exactly as she had imagined it, that made her believe Lu Jingchen had been waiting for her all this ti—a belief that spurred her to try to win Lu Jingchen back.
Indeed, she had thought too much.
When she saw Lu Jingchen with Song Qiao, those affectionate scenes, especially seeing him kiss Song Qiao with such proficiency, as if he had done it countless tis, did she realize she had completely lost.
Zuo Yuqing had never lacked anything in her life, except for the sudden appearance of Chu Munan and the unattainable Lu Jingchen.
In fact, she was sowhat unwilling to let go, but sotis she was also acutely aware that if she didn’t extinguish her unwillingness, she might be dood forever.
"Lu Jingchen." Zuo Yuqing turned her head to look at the man in the driver’s seat, who kept his gaze fixed inside the villa. Her voice was gentle as always. "What’s the matter?" she asked, calling his na directly.
Lu Jingchen turned his head to look at her, responding indifferently with a hum, "What is it?"
Zuo Yuqing tugged at the corners of her mouth, eting the man’s gaze directly. Her originally gentle and refined face was devoid of expression, but now, a faint smile began to spread, looking at Lu Jingchen and continuing, "Did you ever fall in love with back then?"
At that ti, they were both very young and could easily give their love. Zuo Yuqing was certain that she had once loved Lu Jingchen, and loved him deeply.
If it weren’t for her inability to suppress her own desire for fa, she probably wouldn’t have left Lu Jingchen. They could have gotten married, had children, and grown old together.
But all that has happened; it is irreversible. Lu Jingchen has married another woman, and he has his own happy family now. She could not return to his side.
Asking this question now was rely to satisfy her own longstanding desire to know the answer.
Lu Jingchen’s handso face stiffened briefly as he took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, lit it up, and cracked the car window slightly. The chill of the rain-laden air drifted in, and the blue-gray smoke wafted from his mouth. After a while, he uttered two words indifferently, "Loved you."
But the passionate love of their youth had completely dissipated with her departure, never to flare up again.
Who hasn’t acted on impulse in their youth, loving one or two people?
Zuo Yuqing, upon hearing Lu Jingchen’s words, finally revealed a faint smile on her face, nodding barely perceptibly and murmuring, "With those words from you, I can rest assured."
Then, she lifted her head and showed Lu Jingchen a sweet smile, radiant as she said, "Lu Jingchen, thank you."
Lu Jingchen’s face showed little change in expression, his handso features devoid of a hint of a smile. Still, he said to Zuo Yuqing, "Yuqing, trust , I will protect you thoroughly. I won’t let Chu Munan take you back overseas."
...
Xi Mohan arrived about twenty minutes later, the black Bentley Mulsanne coming to a halt next to the black Maybach. The back door opened, and the tall and erect man ca out, opened the umbrella, and stepped down from the car, heading straight for the driver’s seat of the black Maybach and knocked on the window.
Lu Jingchen lowered the window imdiately and saw Xi Mohan’s expressionless face. With his thin lips slightly parting, he calmly uttered three words, "You’re here."
Xi Mohan humd in acknowledgnt, only glancing at Zuo Yuqing in the passenger seat before shifting his gaze back to the villa in front of them. His thin lips curved into a light sneer as he asked, "Is he in there?"
Lu Jingchen humd in confirmation, "Song Qiao and Yu Xia are also inside. How many n did you bring over?"
"Not many." The unexpected answer ca from Xi Mohan, his face unchanging, "You think n are that easy to summon? My guys are all out on missions. I’ve brought whoever I could for you."
After a pause, he continued, "However, if it’s a fight you want, if Chu Munan has too many people, naturally we cannot outfight them. But if you’re thinking of a gunfight, maybe my side still has a chance."
"Gunfight?" Zuo Yuqing latched onto this term, disbelief in her eyes, not fully absorbing the word for a mont.
Xi Mohan’s gaze fell on Zuo Yuqing. One hand holding the umbrella, the other in his pocket, he stood tall and straight. With an indifferent look on his face, he said to Zuo Yuqing, "Miss Zuo, having spent so much ti by Chu Munan’s side, you don’t think that they’ve co here without guns, do you?"
Zuo Yuqing’s face paled, unsure of how to respond. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.
Without another word, Xi Mohan revealed a shallow smirk filled with a hint of mockery, returning his attention to Lu Jingchen. With a raised brow, he asked, "What’s your plan now?"
"Don’t know." With those three terse words, Lu Jingchen discarded the cigarette in his hand, suppressing the frustration that rose between his brows. His deep-set eyes looked almost capable of dripping with intensity, and after a long mont, he spoke again, "Song Qiao and the others are still in his grasp, and storming in recklessly is not an option. What if Song Qiao gets hurt by mistake? We’ll have to think of another way."
"What exactly does Chu Munan want?"
——Chapter 9000 concluded, goodnight everyone.
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