He Duoye stepped out of the car, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
After the transaction in the rainforest concluded, the convoy split into two groups—one followed him here, while the other returned directly to the estate.
Before him stood a large stilted house, surrounded by several private armed guards. Their eyes immediately focused on He Duoye as he approached.
With the cigarette still between his teeth, He Duoye strode forward.
He made his way to the second-floor terrace, bypassing the guards at the entrance.
“Uncle Connor,” He Duoye said, a faint smirk curling his lips as he pulled out a bamboo chair without ceremony and sat down opposite him.
Connor was a local, already in his fifties, lean and wiry with graying temples, yet his eyes were sharp and alert. Unusually for a local, he lacked the typical ferocity and roughness, instead exuding a restrained gentleness reminiscent of Chinese culture.
He spoke Mandarin fluently, even understanding and appreciating Chinese culture more deeply than He Duoye himself.
Uncle Connor poured a cup of rich, mellow black tea and slid it toward He Duoye, smiling as he said, “I heard you picked someone up in the jungle.”
He Duoye picked up the cup, swirling it slightly, his lips curling into a smile. “Yeah, I found a fun little treasure.”
Uncle Connor chuckled warmly. “You seem to be in a good mood. Could it really be your old flame?”
“Don’t make it sound so sappy,” He Duoye replied lazily, still turning the cup in his hand. “What does he want this time?”
The “he” referred to Uncle Connor’s master—He Duoye’s biological father.
Uncle Connor didn’t press the earlier topic. Instead, he spoke softly, “You’ve been drawing too much attention lately. Your father is worried something might happen to you, so he sent me to check on you.”
Though phrased as “checking,” it was actually a warning—a demand for him to rein in his actions and obey as he had before.
He Duoye lit another cigarette, his tall frame slouching in the chair with an air of casual arrogance.
He grinned. “Tell him not to worry. I won’t die before he does.”
Lin Mian was blindfolded, unsure how long the car had been driving. After what felt like an eternity, it finally came to a stop.
She was grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the car. Stumbling along, she could only vaguely sense that she had been taken into a room inside some building and tied to a cold, hard chair.
The sound of a door closing echoed, plunging the space into silence.
The unfamiliar, quiet surroundings filled her with unease. She had no idea where she was or what dangers might lurk around her.
Restless and anxious, Lin Mian forced herself to calm down slowly.
First, no matter how worried or anxious she felt, it wouldn’t change her current situation. It was better to stay composed.
Second, this place was most likely He Duoye’s lair.
He probably… didn’t want to kill her, right?
Even though she was the one who ended things back then, that bastard He Duoye hadn’t tried to stop her—he just vanished. So, when it came to assigning blame, it was fifty-fifty.
Lost in her chaotic thoughts, the sound of a door opening suddenly broke the silence.
Lin Mian tilted her head, listening to unfamiliar footsteps. A strange intuition told her the newcomer wasn’t He Duoye.
The man walked up to Lin Mian, his cold fingers gripping her chin as he lifted her face, his gaze sweeping over her.
“Not bad-looking—innocent and clean,” the man said in a somewhat effeminate voice, appraising Lin Mian. “Fair skin, and quite tender too.”
Lin Mian jerked her head away from his grip. “Who are you?”
The man didn’t answer Lin Mian’s question. Instead, he asked her, “I heard you were Third Master’s woman before. I’m guessing you met him when he was in his teens?”
Lin Mian really wanted to ask how he knew, but she held back.
“What do you want to say?”
The man let out a sinister laugh, very much like the kind of malicious little eunuch you’d see in TV dramas.
He placed something on Lin Mian’s arm—cold, heavy, and slithering.
Lin Mian instantly broke out in goosebumps, almost screaming.
It was a snake!
He had placed a very thick snake on Lin Mian’s arm. Its icy scales slid against her skin, slowly coiling around her arm and crawling toward her neck.
Lin Mian immediately struggled, nearly toppling over along with the chair.
The man reached out and pressed down on the snake, also restraining Lin Mian. “Do you know what a ‘wild chicken neck’ is?”
Lin Mian had read novels and knew it was a highly venomous snake.
“A snake more venomous than a cobra. Just one bite can take your life,” the man said. “So, from now on, whatever I ask you, you answer honestly.”
The venomous snake had already crawled to the side of Lin Mian’s neck, emitting a terrifying hiss.
Lin Mian’s mind went blank, her body drenched in cold sweat from fear.
“When did you meet He Duoye?” he asked.
Lin Mian tilted her neck to avoid the snake. She knew she had to answer, but she didn’t want to obediently submit to his interrogation.
In her memory, her ex-boyfriend He Duoye held grudges. If he found out she had betrayed him here, there was no telling how he would settle the score later.
Now that this guy had become the leader of a dangerous criminal organization, he might even have her torn limb from limb.
“A long time ago… we met a long time ago,” Lin Mian said.
The man said sinisterly, “Playing games with me, huh… Seems you’re quite stubborn.”
Lin Mian tilted her head, desperately trying to avoid the snake that was almost licking her cheek. “What’s your relationship with He Duoye? Don’t you know him?”
“Didn’t expect someone with such an innocent, unworldly face to be so cunning, trying to turn the tables on me, huh.”
He suddenly removed the snake.
“Since you’re not afraid of snakes, let’s try something else on you.”
He called in a few people, who took Lin Mian from the chair and dragged her stumbling to another place.
Lin Mian smelled the stuffy scent of grass, mixed with a somewhat familiar stench. After a few seconds, she realized it was the same smell she had encountered at a zoo before.
As if confirming her memory, she suddenly heard the roar of a tiger.
The blindfold was removed, and Lin Mian regained her vision, squinting from the piercing light.
The sky had already darkened. By the glow of the sunset, she saw herself standing on a platform, with a lush green lawn below. Several majestic, enormous tigers were circling right beneath her feet.
Perhaps sensing human scent, the tigers occasionally looked up, exhaling heavily toward the people above.
Lin Mian stumbled backward in fright.
The man who resembled a eunuch stood beside Lin Mian, his delicate, pale face framed by a floral shirt with sunglasses hanging from the collar.
He waved his hand, and two underlings immediately stepped forward. They removed Lin Mian’s dirty shoes, tied her arms, and used a pulley to hoist her high into the air before lowering her toward the tigers’ den below.
The tigers below immediately gathered, some even standing on their hind legs, roaring at Lin Mian.
Unlike the fear of not seeing, the terror of witnessing a tiger lunging toward her feet was far more direct and intense. Lin Mian’s legs went numb, and she let out a scream, struggling frantically.
Her arms ached from being pulled, and the sense of danger as the tiger’s sharp claws narrowly missed her bare feet only heightened her fear.
She could even clearly feel the hot breath of the tiger.
Lin Mian screamed without a shred of composure.
The pretty boy had Lin Mian dragged over and asked, “Now, will you answer my questions honestly?”
Lin Mian’s face was deathly pale, her voice trembling as she spoke, “What do you want to know?”
“How did you meet He Duoye, how did you get together, and how did you break up?” His peach blossom eyes gleamed with excitement. “Tell me everything, every single detail.”
Lin Mian pressed her lips together.
She said nothing.
The pretty boy raised an eyebrow with interest. “You really are stubborn…”
With a wave of his hand, Lin Mian was hoisted up again and lowered toward the tiger enclosure.
Tigers lunged at her one after another, and Lin Mian kicked her legs wildly in terror. This time, the rope was lowered even further—she even managed to kick a tiger in the head, its sharp fangs grazing the sole of her foot.
In that instant, the tiger roared, and Lin Mian screamed and burst into tears.
Overwhelmed by sheer terror, she began shouting He Duoye’s name.
The rope swayed back and forth, and in her blurred, shaking vision, Lin Mian truly saw He Duoye’s tall, mature, yet unfamiliar figure.
He had appeared on the platform at some point, standing at the edge, looking down expressionlessly at her struggling and screaming.