“I need an explanation!”
Rarely angered, Chi Jin was furious!
“Then perhaps you should ask her what she did first.”
“What did I do? I’d also like to know what I did to make you attempt such vicious methods against me!”
All affection had been replaced by hatred. Rose let out a mad laugh, tears streaming down her face as she questioned.
“Jiang Xiaoman, you’re truly shameless. With your scheme exposed, you actually switched to drugging Yuan Yuan. Even now, facing certain doom, you show no remorse!”
Li Yan’s fists were clenched so tight that if Chi Jin hadn’t stopped him, he would have struck her dead!
His words made her freeze momentarily before she laughed, though the laughter was utterly desolate.
“So that’s what Ran Yuan told you?”
“What else? Did she take the drug herself?”
Li Yan retorted with a cold sneer.
This time, Rose didn’t respond further.
It seemed like she was admitting his accusation, or perhaps she simply couldn’t be bothered to explain anymore.
After all, no matter how much she explained, he would never believe her, would he?
“There won’t be a next time, Jiang Xiaoman. This is my final warning to you.”
Li Yan delivered this cold statement and turned to leave.
“Remember our appointment.”
Rose smiled, her expression reverting to the usual brazen, customer-service fake smile.
“Stubborn fool.”
Li Yan scoffed lightly and left.
“Xiaoman…”
Chi Jin didn’t know how to comfort her. Matters of the heart weren’t something an outsider like him could interfere with.
“I didn’t drug Ran Yuan. Do you believe me?”
Rose stared intently at him, asking each word with deliberate emphasis.
She seemed to be clutching at her last lifeline, her eyes filled with hope and hurt.
Chi Jin suddenly had a strong premonition that if he denied her, this lifeline might become the final straw that broke her.
“I believe you.”
Whether it was the truth or a lie didn’t matter anymore.
Rose smiled again, tears welling in her eyes: “That’s enough. It’s getting late, you should rest early. I’m going back.”
Watching her slender retreating figure, Chi Jin felt as if someone had punched him through a cloth – suffocated and aching.
This silhouette ultimately overlapped with the precarious figure deep in his memories.
He thought that with power, he could become a hero and save people from suffering.
But now that he clearly had enough power, why did he still feel helpless…
Was he doomed to repeat the same mistakes this time?
After leaving Chi Jin’s villa, Li Yan went to Ran Yuan’s villa again, still unable to set his mind at ease.
He stayed until dawn, only returning to his own villa after Ran Yuan’s condition stabilized.
But there was an extra person in his room.
Li Yuan had infiltrated at some unknown time, lounging half-reclined on the sofa in a bathrobe, gently swirling a glass in his hand as he glanced mockingly at his grim-faced brother: “Should I call you stupid? You couldn’t even eat the meat served to your mouth.”
The two brothers usually had little contact, but he always found ways to know everything happening around him.
Li Yan was long accustomed to this and coldly warned: “Stay out of my business.”
Extremely vexed, he sat down in the single sofa and poured himself a drink, downing it in one gulp.
“Tch, perhaps those crazy couples were right – we really are monsters…”
Li Yuan suddenly felt a surge of emotion and let out a low chuckle.
Li Yan shot him a cold glare, unable to understand why he would say such things.
“One only gets excited at the sight of blood, the other is even more disgusting—repulsed by all physical contact… What are they if not monsters? If I were them, I would have self-destructed at birth. Now, the world is stuck with two despicable freaks.”
Li Yuan licked his lips, smiling with utter nonchalance.
“You’re the one who’s sick—don’t drag me into it.”
Li Yan retorted coldly, rising to his feet and setting down his wine glass before heading into the room to wash up and sleep.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan took another swig of alcohol, his expression eager as he gazed out at the dawn-breaking sky.
As the Dark Emperor, he could not afford any weaknesses.
He didn’t want Jiang Xiaoman to become his weakness, so he had been restraining himself.
But he had reached his limit.
To him, Jiang Xiaoman was like a poison.
In the past, sleeplessness brought agony, but his body had grown accustomed, his spirit numb—so it didn’t matter.
But now that he had experienced the peace of a full night’s sleep, the pain he once endured had become unbearable.
Perhaps it was time to reconsider his relationship with Jiang Xiaoman.
To achieve his goal, he must first demonstrate his sincerity…
With that thought, a cold, grim smile flickered across Li Yuan’s lips.
He hoped Jiang Xiaoman would be pleased with the surprise he had in store for her!
Bang—
A loud noise echoed from the bedroom.
Raising an eyebrow, Li Yuan unhurriedly set down his glass and walked in.
“Damn it… Li Yuan, you madman…”
Li Yan, collapsed on the floor as the drug took effect, cursed before losing consciousness.
“I never said I’d help you unconditionally, brother.”
Li Yuan crouched down, patted his cheek, and smiled with feigned innocence.
He carried Li Yan to another bedroom, laid him on the bed, bound his hands and feet, stuffed a rag in his mouth, and sealed it with tape. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to his own room and headed into the bathroom to wash up.
As twins, they looked nearly identical, but their bodies bore subtle differences.
Having long wandered in the shadows, Li Yuan’s body was marked with numerous scars—gunshot wounds, knife injuries—and his muscles, shaped by survival, differed from Li Yan’s gym-toned physique.
Yet, since the brothers rarely undressed in front of others, these distinctions were negligible.
Changing into Li Yan’s clothes, he styled his hair into a slicked-back look, following his brother’s habit. To avoid detection, he even applied a rare dab of concealer under his eyes.
Once finished, Li Yuan made his way to Rose’s villa.
In the bedroom, the woman lay fast asleep, completely unaware of the figure now seated at her bedside.
It had been nearly three months since they last met.
The carefully suppressed possessiveness surged forth the moment he saw Jiang Xiaoman, threatening to consume Li Yan entirely.
Thump, thump, thump—
His heart, which usually raced only during kills, now pounded wildly.
The exhilaration even surpassed the thrill he felt at the sight of blood.
He had tried to distance himself, to break free.
But if he couldn’t quit, then he might as well surrender…
What Li Yuan desired, he would seize by any means necessary!
A sinister smile curling his lips, Li Yuan settled on the edge of the bed. His calloused fingertips gently traced Rose’s cheek.
“I don’t particularly like my things being marked by others… even if that person is my own brother. It hurts, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I’ll hand you the knife so you can take revenge yourself, Xiao Manman.”
Leaning down, he kissed her eyelashes still wet with tear stains.