Shinai choked at Huo Jiulin’s words.
He’d thought Huo Jiulin had no interest in women.
So… he liked this woman?
Good.
As long as he had something he cared about, he’d be much easier to deal with.
Picking up Huo Jiulin’s cue, he said, “So Mr. Huo has his eye on this girl? You should’ve said so!”
Then he turned to Ji Linlin and raised his voice. “Since Mr. Huo likes you, stay and keep him company.”
Ji Linlin looked utterly bewildered. “???”
What was she supposed to do?
She’d been able to leave before, but now it seemed she was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Huo Jiulin stubbed out his cigarette, took Ji Linlin by the hand, and said to Shinai,
“When I came in, I saw the private room next door was empty. I’ll take her over there for a while.”
“We’ll discuss business when I get back. You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Meng Zhao?”
Shinai was at a loss for words.
This Huo… Was he really that impatient?
Going next door… to have a few rounds right there?
They were both men, so Shinai couldn’t very well refuse Huo Jiulin’s request.
He could only nod with a sycophantic smile. “Of course I don’t mind! Do as you please, Mr. Huo. I’ll wait here.”
Ji Linlin’s eyes widened. “???”
What… was going on?
Huo Jiulin pulled Ji Linlin to her feet. As he passed Qiaoke, he lowered his voice and said,
“Cancel Plan A. Switch to Plan B.”
Qiaoke answered with a look.
As soon as Huo Jiulin led Ji Linlin out of the private room, Shinai signaled to the two henchmen behind him.
They immediately nodded and followed.
Huo Jiulin took Ji Linlin into the “Elysium” Private Room next door and shut the door with his foot.
He tossed Ji Linlin lightly onto the sofa, then leaned over her.
A wave of terror washed over Ji Linlin again.
She cried out in panic, “Sir, what—what are you going to do?”
The two henchmen pressed their ears to the private-room door, listening intently to the sounds inside.
Huo Jiulin glanced toward the doorway from the corner of his eye, then looked back down at Ji Linlin.
“Why aren’t you calling me Uncle anymore?”
Now he’d switched back to Chinese.
Ji Linlin was breathing hard, unsure what to say.
Just how many languages did this man speak?
His hand gently caressed Ji Linlin’s cheek, his fingertip gliding along her jaw.
It slid down her neck and slowly reached her collar.
He pulled out the red-blinking listening device hidden inside her clothes.
Then he crushed it in his palm.
His hand closed loosely around her slender, snow-white neck, without squeezing.
“Who sent you?”
The man’s cold, emotionless voice slipped into her ears.
Ji Linlin had watched him do all that in one smooth motion. Her pretty eyes were filled with confusion.
What… had he just pulled off her?
And who had sent her?
She wanted to know who’d sent her, too!
All she knew was that the person who’d kidnapped her wore a white suit and had a seriously receding hairline.
Other than that, she knew nothing.
He’d forced her to change into this outfit and brought her to this club, telling her to deliver drinks to the Supreme Private Room.
If she did as she was told, he’d let her and Xueli go.
Ji Linlin stared fearfully into the man’s eyes, her glistening black eyes flickering.
“I… don’t know.”
“They kidnapped me and said to come here and deliver drinks. If I did as I was told, they’d let my friend and me go.”
She looked at the object in his palm.
“I didn’t even know they’d put this in my clothes.”
“What… what is it?”
As soon as Ji Linlin finished speaking, Huo Jiulin glanced toward the door.
A faint rustling came from outside.
Those people were still watching them.
Ji Linlin had no idea anyone was watching. All she feared now was that this dangerous man might really crush her throat.
She just wanted to explain everything as quickly as she could.
“Sir, believe me. I really—mmph…”
The man clamped a large hand over her mouth, cutting off the rest of her words.
He leaned close to her ear and murmured, “If you don’t want to die, cooperate with me.”
Ji Linlin’s round eyes opened wide as she nodded repeatedly.
“There are people watching outside,” Huo Jiulin said.
At that, Ji Linlin immediately turned to look at the door.
Now she was even more terrified than before.
What kind of terrifying conflict had she gotten caught up in?
“Can you moan?”
The man’s low voice brushed over her eardrum.
Ji Linlin froze.
What kind of question was that?
Could she moan?
After a brief moment’s thought, she nodded frantically.
Huo Jiulin took his hand away from her mouth.
“Let me hear you.”
Ji Linlin: “???”
She didn’t understand.
But then she did.
He wanted her to make some noise so the people outside would hear and be misled.
She found it incredibly embarrassing, but to stay alive,
she could only open her mouth and let out a bewildered, “Ah—”
“Louder,” Huo Jiulin instructed.
Ji Linlin obediently raised her voice. “Ah—”
Looking at her terrified expression, Huo Jiulin couldn’t help wanting to laugh.
Was she wailing in mourning or moaning in bed?
He looked at Ji Linlin and continued coaching her. “Make it sound more seductive. More wanton.”
Ji Linlin shook her head, then whispered, “I don’t know how.”
“Is it that hard?”
Ji Linlin said nothing.
Huo Jiulin went on teaching her. “When you’re in bed with a man, make the same sounds you make then.”
Ji Linlin kept shaking her head.
She really didn’t know how.
In bed with a man?
She’d never done anything like that…
Huo Jiulin reckoned—
They’d been in there for several minutes. If they kept this up, Shinai might start to suspect something.
He looked down at Ji Linlin’s rosy lips and hesitated for only a second.
He reached for the tissues beside the sofa and gently wiped the lipstick off her lips.
Then he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her hard.
“Mm…”
Caught completely off guard, Ji Linlin felt every cell in her body tremble at the man’s sudden, forceful kiss.
A sound of protest escaped her before she could stop it.
A strange man—an unfamiliar foreign man, no less—had suddenly forced a kiss on her.
Instinctively, she struggled against him, her hands striking his chest beyond her control, shock and panic filling her eyes.
“Mm…”
Huo Jiulin had only meant to do something to provoke her into making seductive sounds and confuse the people listening outside.
But—
Her resistance and struggles seemed to stir the desire he’d been suppressing.
He suddenly tightened his hold, pulling Ji Linlin firmly into his arms.
With one arm, he wrapped her waist and pressed her delicate body tightly against his.
His embrace was forceful and domineering, allowing no refusal.
With his other hand, he gently raised her chin.
His rough fingers touched her smooth skin, their coolness making her body go soft.
His lips were a little dry, yet burning hot.
He pressed them urgently to her soft lips, moving against them again and again.
Ji Linlin’s pupils contracted. Her mind went blank as she struggled with all her might.
But the difference in strength between a man and a woman was too great; her resistance was futile against him.
Huo Jiulin narrowed his eyes, his brows drawn together, his expression almost amused.
He kissed the girl before him without restraint, as if he wanted to crush her whole and meld her into his very bones.
His usually indifferent eyes turned hazy, dark currents surging through them in an instant.
“Mm…”
When his lips met her soft ones, he felt as if a feather had brushed across his heart, leaving it tingling and unbearably itchy.
It was like being struck by an electric current, as if his very soul were trembling.
Damn!
So this was what it felt like to kiss a woman?
It felt pretty damn good.
The rustling outside the door stopped.
The people listening had left.
But Huo Jiulin still didn’t let her go. He gripped her slender waist and continued kissing her deeply and passionately.
…
The two henchmen returned to the Supreme Private Room and went to Shinai’s side. They nodded respectfully to him.
Shinai immediately burst out laughing at Qiaoke. “Hahahaha! Looks like Mr. Huo really likes that girl!”
When he’d finished laughing, he picked up the glass on the table and downed his drink.
Setting it down, he turned to Qiaoke and asked,
“Mr. Helan, when do you think your Mr. Huo will be back?”
Qiaoke coughed lightly and gave a sly smile.
“I can’t say for sure. It depends on his condition and performance.”
“Perhaps Mr. Meng Zhao could… watch a movie first.”
Shinai burst out laughing. “As expected, a young man’s body is something else…”
Qiaoke pulled out his phone and checked the time, then turned to face Shinai.
“Mr. Meng Zhao, I’m going to the bathroom.”
Shinai looked at one of the henchmen behind him. “You. Take Mr. Helan to the bathroom.”
The escort was just an excuse. He wanted someone to follow Qiaoke so he wouldn’t try anything.
“Yes, sir.”
The henchman responded and gestured for Qiaoke to go ahead.
After smiling ingratiatingly, Qiaoke stepped out of the private room.
The instant he was outside, a sharp gunshot rang out from within.
“Bang—!”
The sound of shattering glass followed it.
A bullet came from who knew where, shattered the glass in the Supreme Private Room,
and struck Shinai squarely between the brows, leaving a charred bullet hole in the wall behind him.
Shinai let out a scream and collapsed onto the sofa.
Qiaoke spun around at once, drew his gun, and pressed it to the back of the henchman’s head.
“Don’t move.”
At the same time, all the henchmen in the Supreme Private Room poured out.
“The boss has been killed!”
Inside the Elysium Private Room next door,
only after hearing the gunshot did Huo Jiulin finally release the person in his arms.
The gunshot and the shattering glass made Ji Linlin flinch.
Her cherry-pink lips were swollen from his kisses, with clear teeth marks on them.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, got up from the sofa, and made for the door without a second thought.
This place was terrifying.
She couldn’t stay here another moment.
She had to get out of this terrifying place as fast as possible.
But Huo Jiulin reached out and pulled her back. His voice was low and heavy.
“It’s dangerous outside now. If you don’t want to die, stay right here.”