Zhao Jingwan was still in a daze, unaware that the dangerous gaze had fallen upon her.
Her mind kept replaying the man’s words, and she wondered if she could still walk out of here unscathed…
What she had just witnessed was far beyond anything she had imagined, countless possibilities flashing through her mind.
Perhaps Chu Ning had gone through the same thing. Perhaps this was how she had disappeared.
“Luo Jin, we’re not done here.”
Enduring the pain in his body, Liu Kun broke free from his restraints and staggered to his feet.
He had come to make peace. His father had told him to agree to whatever terms the other side proposed, but he hadn’t expected this man to have no intention of negotiating at all.
If he walked out of here alive, he would make this man pay for today’s humiliation.
Hearing his bluster, Luo Jin withdrew his gaze from the young woman.
Looking at the disheveled man still spouting threats, a smile curved at the corner of his lips.
He leisurely pulled his tie out from between the buttons of his shirt and wiped his hands with it.
“You’re right. My debts aren’t settled that easily.”
That Liu fellow had sent some green kid to negotiate with him. After all these years in the game, he’d never been so disrespected.
Today was just a courtesy in return—he hadn’t even begun to tally up his losses.
He roughly untied the soiled tie and tossed it to the ground, then rose from the table to leave. As he passed the doorway, his steps paused.
His gaze landed on the young woman standing to the side.
Taking in her fully covered figure, he wondered—since when did girls coming out to work dress like that?
Her face was hidden behind a veil, with only a pair of eyes exposed—bright and lively, yet betraying a flicker of barely concealed panic.
Those captivating fox eyes should have been dripping with allure, but now they were filled with fear and tension, making her look almost pitifully endearing.
He curved his lips slightly and raised a hand to lift the veil from her face.
Unexpectedly, before his fingers could even touch her, she turned her head away to dodge.
Zhao Jingwan’s movement was an instinctive act of self-preservation, without a single thought behind it. She lowered her head nervously.
Luo Jin casually withdrew his empty hand, the amusement in his eyes deepening.
The floor manager watching the scene felt his heart tighten, afraid the man had taken an interest in this girl who had been hastily picked to fill in.
“Brother Luo, he’s passed out.”
The subordinate standing beside Liu Kun, looking at the convulsing body on the ground, immediately reported to the man.
“Toss them out at the entrance of their compound.”
His words were directed at his subordinate, but his gaze continued to roam over the young woman’s face.
Zhao Jingwan’s heart raced with terror under his stare. Her fingers clenched tightly at the sides of her skirt, wondering what this man intended to do.
She wondered if her instinctive dodge just now had angered him.
It was her body’s reflexive avoidance when danger approached—she hadn’t considered whether it might provoke him.
As her thoughts spiraled, the man beside her lowered his head and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
He pinched one out and held it between his fingers, the half-dried bloodstains on his hand smearing onto the cigarette paper before he placed it between his lips.
The lackey behind him was quick on his feet, immediately offering a lighter.
Luo Jin didn’t take it. Cigarette dangling from his mouth, he pondered for a moment.
A few seconds later, Zhao Jingwan heard the man’s slightly husky voice speak to her.
“Come here and light it.”
Her fingertips trembled. The commanding words completely shattered any hope she’d harbored.
Not daring to provoke this man further, she forced herself to appear calm as she took the lighter from the lackey’s hand.
Watching her movements, Luo Jin confirmed it—this woman understood what he was saying.
So she really was Chinese after all…
The young woman’s hand gripping the lighter trembled slightly.
She had never used a lighter like this before.
She didn’t know how to open the lid. The heavy metal casing grew warm in her grip, her movements flustered from nervousness.
The floor manager standing nearby couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
This girl clearly had zero experience. He had no idea how she’d even been hired.
He was just thinking of how to step in and have another girl help her out,
when the next second, the man moved.
Zhao Jingwan could feel the man’s figure slowly closing in.
Her hands shook violently, still unable to produce a flame. Her tension reached its peak.
Her feigned composure could no longer conceal the fear in her heart.
Until that towering frame leaned over her, and a sharp, cold aura instantly enveloped her entire body.
Mixed with a faint trace of alcohol, it made her blood seem to stop flowing as she froze completely in place.
A warm breath brushed against her ear.
Her trembling hand was caught in his ice-cold grip, and a low, magnetic voice fell into her ear.
“Press here.”
That large hand didn’t linger.
The warmth at her ear disappeared, but the man didn’t leave—he simply pulled back to create some distance.
That dangerous gaze never stopped capturing every signal her body released.
Zhao Jingwan didn’t dare look up. She swallowed nervously.
Her fingertip gently pressed the hidden clasp on the side. The lid sprang open, and a flame leaped out instantly.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, she slowly raised her arm, holding the lighter toward the cigarette between the man’s lips.
Looking at the young woman before him—her delicate, pale fingers, her trembling lashes, her eyes feigning composure—
This weak and cowering appearance made Luo Jin’s heart itch slightly.
He took a light drag from the lit cigarette, then lowered it, pinching the filter between his fingers.
He bent down, tilting his head with a roguish air, seeking the face of the young woman who was avoiding his gaze.
“Do I look that scary?”
His tone was teasing, as if he were toying with a child.
Zhao Jingwan was slow to react for two seconds, then shook her head, not daring to make a sound.
The man let out a low chuckle,
As if amused by her shrinking demeanor.
He straightened up again, took a heavy drag from his cigarette, and his voice turned somewhat deep.
“This is the first time a woman has been this afraid of me.”
Making a woman tremble like this in front of him—Luo Jin had only ever managed that in bed.
A hint of excitement seeped through his tone, something only the long-haired man behind him caught.
Saito knew that was the signal that the boss had taken a liking to a girl.
But as he sized up this young woman, though he hadn’t seen her face yet, she looked like nothing more than a plain, bland little cabbage.
She didn’t seem at all like the passionate, bold, sexy women his boss usually favored.
“Look up.”
The man commanded again.
Zhao Jingwan still held the lighter in her hand. Hearing his words, her heart trembled once more.
She steadied herself, trying to appear as calm as possible, hoping not to draw more of his attention.
She slowly raised her head, his features gradually coming into her view.
At such close distance, she could clearly make out his appearance.
He was clearly Asian, speaking fluent Chinese.
Perhaps he was even a fellow countryman, but she knew that trying to claim kinship right now would only get her killed faster.
Wanting nothing more than for him to shift his attention away from her, Zhao Jingwan could only remain silent.
Her gaze inadvertently flickered, and she caught sight of a pitch-black gun in the man’s hand hanging by his thigh.
The tension that had just eased surged back up.
She had never seen a real firearm back in her country; she had an innate fear of hot weapons.
Combined with the man’s behavior just now, there was no way it could be a fake.
Unconsciously, she took a step back.
Then she saw the man raise the hand holding the gun, and the icy cold muzzle pressed against her chin.
Terror spread from the touched skin to her entire body, and she dared not move a muscle.
Luo Jin applied slight pressure, tilting her head up.
Forced to raise her head, Zhao Jingwan bit her lip tightly in nervousness. Helplessness and fear made her eyes redden.
A single tear of involuntary physiological response slipped from the corner of her eye, fell onto her veil, and soaked in.
Luo Jin’s hand holding the gun paused slightly.
These pitifully charming eyes, full of fragility, and the fear and terror she felt toward him…
This feeling was truly indescribable.
He narrowed his eyes, a dormant desire stirring, on the verge of spilling over.
A thin wisp of smoke drifted from his lips, slowly wafting toward the young woman’s face.
The rich woody aroma of the premium roasted tobacco, with a hint of sweetness in its aftertaste, still stung enough to almost make her cough.
Zhao Jingwan didn’t know that her restraint would only provoke darker thoughts in his heart.
Sure enough, the next moment, the man’s words plunged her into despair.
“I will fuck you.”