Lin Mian widened her eyes to look at him, trying to discern whether it was a malicious joke, but she couldn’t tell.
Years had passed, and He Duoye had matured far too much, making Lin Mian feel both unfamiliar and fearful.
She thought of the corpses scattered all around, the gunshots and bullet holes from earlier… Then, looking at He Duoye’s indifferent expression, a chill ran down her spine as she wondered.
Had He Duoye also killed countless people like this? Was that how he had risen to become the feared Third Master in this ruthless, jungle-like world?
That was why, even with corpses all around, he couldn’t be bothered to waste time lifting his eyelids to take a look.
In the past, He Duoye had a streak of madness in his bones that made him disregard even family ties. Now… his coldness, madness, bloodthirst, and danger were written plainly on his face.
He was no longer the first love Lin Mian had known in her youth.
He Duoye pinched Lin Mian’s face, shaking it lightly as if teasing her. “Speak.”
Lin Mian had no choice but to reply, “Not so great.”
He Duoye seemed patient. “Oh? Why not so great?”
Lin Mian pursed her lips, wanting to glare at He Duoye but not daring to. She lowered her voice and said, “Because dead people have no value. If you keep me, I can…”
She instinctively recalled the time when they first explored forbidden territory, when He Duoye had been obsessed with her body.
But so many years had passed, and now there were so many people around. Lin Mian couldn’t bring herself to say something inappropriate.
Steeling herself, she said, “I can work for you.”
He Duoye snorted with disdain.
He released Lin Mian’s chin and stood up, turning to Uncle Mei beside him. “I’m taking both of them.”
Uncle Mei’s gaze slid over Lin Mian like a venomous eagle’s—sharp and cold, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
But on the surface, he showed no extra expression and said nothing unnecessary.
Uncle Mei simply smiled and said, “Of course.”
Soon, someone came over, bound Lin Mian’s hands, blindfolded her, and shoved her into a car.
Her blind date boyfriend, Zhang Zhiwen, was also bound and thrown at her feet.
After a while, the car started and jolted its way through the rainforest.
Lin Mian was already soaked through, but fortunately, the environment here was stiflingly hot. Even though it had just rained heavily, the temperature remained high. She didn’t feel cold, only a suffocating heaviness that made her head spin, leaving her in a confused and bewildered state.
She and Zhang Zhiwen had originally joined a group tour to Thailand, never expecting to be drugged by a shady tour guide along the way. Everyone in their tour group had been trafficked here.
Even more unexpectedly, she had run into her ex-boyfriend here, whom she had broken up with four years ago.
To make matters worse, this ex-boyfriend of hers, who had always been somewhat mentally unstable, seemed to have turned into a ruthless gang leader.
“Mianmian,” Zhang Zhiwen squirmed and spoke up. “I can see that Third Master still has feelings for you. Later, help me plead with him to let me leave. Once I get back, I’ll call the police and find a way to rescue you.”
Feelings…
Lin Mian leaned her head against the car window, thinking back to when He Duoye had pursued her.
Actually, it could hardly be called pursuing.
The teenage He Duoye had a mouth as stubborn as a rock, unable to utter a single decent word in three sentences. So, at first, when he followed Lin Mian after school, she thought he was planning to ambush her and was extremely nervous.
So she walked faster and faster, until finally, in her panic, she missed a step and tumbled down the slope, scraping her knee badly.
He Duoye leisurely caught up, crouched beside her, and said with a grin, “You looked just like a big potato rolling down just now. So cute.”
Lin Mian felt both embarrassed and furious, her face flushing red.
He Duoye remarked, “You’re blushing again.”
Infuriated, Lin Mian swung her fist at him.
He Duoye grabbed her hand, helped her up, and then carried her home on his back.
With her knee injured, walking was difficult. For the next few days, He Duoye carried her to and from school, setting her down just before they arrived so she could hobble the rest of the way.
After her deskmate accidentally witnessed this, she secretly passed Lin Mian a note asking if He Duoye liked her and was pursuing her—otherwise, why would he follow her around all day?
Lin Mian had her own suspicions. Unable to hold back, she asked him hesitantly one afternoon on the way home, while clinging to his back, “Are you… are you…”
He Duoye replied lazily, finishing her sentence with indifference, “In love with me?”
Lin Mian, feeling awkward, gripped his shoulders and mumbled, “Mm-hmm.”
To her surprise, He Duoye said lightly, “Oh, I see. You’re in love with me.”
Enraged, Lin Mian pounded his shoulders, instantly forgetting her embarrassment. “I was asking if you’re in love with me! I’m not in love with you. Who would fall for someone as annoying as you?”
She wasn’t about to start dating early—she was a woman determined to get into a top university.
This jerk would only slow down her problem-solving speed.
Just then, they reached the edge of a pond. He Duoye stopped and said, “Since you don’t like me, I’ll toss you in.”
Lin Mian immediately clung to him tightly but retorted defiantly, “Go ahead, throw me. I can swim. I’m not scared.”
He Duoye actually loosened his grip, forcing Lin Mian to wrap her arms and legs around him like a koala. As they struggled by the pondside, He Duoye suddenly froze.
Lin Mian quickly jumped down and sprinted away.
Later, rubbing her sore chest, it dawned on her why He Duoye had stopped so abruptly.
She had been pressed too closely against his back.
That shameless jerk.
That night, Lin Mian was too angry to sleep, tossing and turning in bed. She opened her chat window with He Duoye and typed out a string of insults.
Just as she was about to send them, her bedroom window rattled. Startled, Lin Mian sat bolt upright, fearing a burglar.
She lived alone in a two-story house in her rural hometown, empty and eerie enough to begin with.
“Lin Mian.” He Duoye’s infuriating voice came from behind the curtains.
Lin Mian froze for a moment before cautiously pulling back the curtains. It really was He Duoye.
They were neighbors of sorts—He Duoye lived in a rundown bungalow about fifty meters away. Now, he was standing on the roof of her neighbor’s chicken coop, right outside her second-floor bedroom window, raising an eyebrow at her.
Lin Mian opened the window in disbelief. “What are you doing?”
Was he insane? Climbing rooftops in the middle of the night—he’d better watch out or he’d be mistaken for a chicken thief and hauled off to the police station.
The chicken coop was low, so through the window, Lin Mian and He Duoye were at eye level, with no height difference between them.
The bedroom light cast across his face, giving him an unexpectedly striking and handsome appearance, his features sharp and defined.
He waved at Lin Mian, “Come here, I have something to say to you.”
Lin Mian wasn’t so dazzled by his good looks that she lost her wits—after all, this guy had a notorious track record of teasing her.
She asked warily, “What do you want?”
He Duoye said, “Just come here first.”
After a few seconds of standoff, Lin Mian finally leaned in. He Duoye raised his hand, grabbed the back of her neck, and pulled her closer.
Then.
He pressed close to Lin Mian’s ear and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Yes!”
In the quiet rural night, the sound was like a thunderclap, startling Lin Mian out of her wits. It wasn’t until she was lying back in bed that she slowly processed what had happened.
Do you like me?
—Yes.
Lin Mian lay awake for most of the night, carefully thinking it over again and again, before finally sending He Duoye a message: “I’m sorry, but I don’t like you.”
Truthfully, she did like him a little, but she wasn’t ready for an early romance and had to steel her heart to reject him.
After a moment’s thought, Lin Mian added an encouraging line: “I hope you’ll study hard and get into a good university.”
By then, she might consider agreeing to date him—they could be a couple on a university campus.
He Duoye didn’t reply to Lin Mian’s message, acting as though he’d never received it. Not only did he continue to annoy her every day as usual, but he also developed the bad habit of climbing over the wall in the middle of the night and barging into Lin Mian’s bedroom.
When he came, he didn’t do anything else—he just sprawled on Lin Mian’s bed, reading her novels and comics, playing with her phone and tablet. When Lin Mian scolded him, he’d say she wasn’t focusing on her homework, that she was too easily distracted, and warned her she might not get into a good university if she kept it up.
He was a bully, infuriating and asking for a beating.
Lin Mian was so angry she felt dizzy and snapped, “Even if you keep pestering me like this, I still won’t like you!”
He Duoye didn’t even look up, lazily turning a page of the comic book as he said, “As long as I like you, that’s enough.”