After declaring her sovereignty, the woman walked away in her high heels.
Lin Mian sat by the bed for a while longer before slowly getting up and heading to the bathroom to take a thorough shower.
After getting dressed and stepping out of the bathroom, she found Uncle Jixiang already waiting outside.
He led Lin Mian downstairs for breakfast, briefly introducing the estate along the way.
The place was enormous, with numerous rooms and a complex layout, but there were also plenty of servants. If she ever got lost, she could ask a maid for directions.
“Just avoid entering the young master’s study without permission,” Uncle Jixiang said with a smile. “The study is located in the master bedroom.”
Lin Mian took note of this.
The estate was indeed as vast as a holiday resort. Last night, when the maid had led her around, she had already felt a bit disoriented. Now, she made a conscious effort to memorize the route.
Her sense of direction was poor; she often lost track of left and right after turning a corner, especially in areas with many corridors. Every time she turned, she’d have no idea which way to go.
Lin Mian focused on memorizing the decorations and paintings on the walls.
The dining room on the first floor was equally spacious.
As they reached the entrance, Uncle Jixiang paused briefly and nodded toward someone standing in the corridor outside. “Miss Meili.”
It was the red-dressed beauty who had earlier declared her sovereignty. She was smoking a long, slender cigarette and glanced back at Lin Mian before haughtily turning her gaze away.
Uncle Jixiang, accustomed to such behavior, whispered, “This is Miss Meili. Her twin sister is named Meizhu. Both are close to the young master.”
Then, looking at Lin Mian with a kindly expression, he added in a tone that implied she was fortunate, “The young master has only brought back three women in total, and you are the third.”
Lin Mian: “…”
Thanks, but no thanks.
She’d rather leave the “fortune” of being a mistress to those who actually wanted it.
She’d much rather stay single.
Entering the dining room, her eyes were immediately drawn to a massive floor-to-ceiling glass window. Outside, the courtyard was in full bloom, looking as beautiful as a Western-style garden oil painting.
A long dining table stood by the window.
He Duoye sat at one end of the table, wearing a tight-fitting black top. The bright sunlight streaming through the window clearly outlined his toned and athletic physique. He tilted his head slightly, revealing a black circular earring in his ear—she hadn’t noticed before that he had his ear pierced.
Beside him sat a woman in a white dress, her hair elegantly tied up. Her features were beautiful yet cold, and her demeanor was gentle yet distant.
She looked somewhat familiar. Lin Mian stared at her for a moment before realizing she was Meili’s twin sister, Meizhu.
Their facial features were similar, but their temperaments were completely different.
One was as fiery as a flame, the other as cold as snow.
This trashy ex-boyfriend really knew how to enjoy himself.
Clenching her teeth, Lin Mian recalled how she had been tormented the night before and how she had been confronted by a mistress the moment she opened her eyes in the morning. Anger surged within her, almost making her want to scream.
Meizhu looked up, quietly observing Lin Mian without saying a word.
He Duoye casually set down his phone and gave Lin Mian a smile that was hard to define—somewhere between casual and gentle. He beckoned to her and said, “Come here.”
Lin Mian’s body reacted faster than her mind. She instinctively took a step forward, but before she could fully move, the crisp sound of high heels suddenly echoed beside her.
Meili, exuding a seductive perfume, strode past Lin Mian with an air of arrogance. She then sat down beside He Duoye, wrapped her arm around his, and began coquettishly whining.
Lin Mian: “…”
Her fists instantly clenched.
She wanted to punch He Duoye, that scumbag ex-boyfriend.
Even more, she wanted to punch herself for actually considering walking over to him.
Uncle Jixiang led Lin Mian to sit down for breakfast. She was seated on the other side of He Duoye, but there was an empty seat between them.
He Duoye had a beauty twin on each arm, yet his eyes were fixed on Lin Mian. His gaze was so intense it was impossible to ignore.
Lin Mian didn’t want to look at him and ruin her appetite. Lowering her lashes, she focused on the food on the table. It was as lavish and varied as a hotel breakfast buffet, making her even hungrier. She picked up her chopsticks, ready to start with a crystal shrimp dumpling.
Just as she lifted it, that infuriatingly punchable voice of He Duoye rang out.
“Did I say you could eat?”
Lin Mian: “…”
Great. This bastard kept me up all night, made me play the third wheel this morning, and now he won’t even let me eat?
Truly, ex-boyfriends are better off dead.
Lin Mian thought viciously to herself but still set down her chopsticks.
She was afraid her shitty ex might hang her up again to feed her to the tigers.
Only then did He Duoye seem satisfied, nodding slightly. “Alright, you may eat now.”
Lin Mian: “…”
Drop dead, you rotten cucumber of an ex.
Lin Mian stabbed a pickled cucumber fiercely with her fork, then picked up the shrimp dumpling.
He Duoye glanced at the pitiful pickled cucumber and snorted a laugh. He withdrew his arm from Meili’s hold, picked up his phone from the table, and said simply, “Enough. Don’t bother me while I’m eating.”
“Got it,” Meili replied in a sweet, coquettish tone, sitting up straight.
This breakfast… was actually quite delicious.
It had been three days since Lin Mian was abducted. On the first day, she and the tour group were tied up in the back of a truck. On the second day, they were forced at gunpoint to trek through the forest.
On the third day, she escaped and unexpectedly ran into He Duoye.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the food was terrible and sleep was scarce, especially yesterday—she hadn’t eaten anything all day, endured high-intensity exertion, and had lost weight from the ordeal.
Now faced with this sumptuous breakfast, Lin Mian devoured half the table’s offerings, leaving the twin sisters staring in shock.
After finishing the last sip of orange juice in her glass, Lin Mian let out a burp from being stuffed.
The next second, she heard He Duoye chuckle.
Lin Mian calmly set down her glass, pretending she hadn’t heard.
Just then, He Duoye stood up, phone in hand, its screen glowing. He lowered his eyelids and walked out.
At the same moment, his twin beauty bodyguards on either side rose as well.
Uncle Jixiang reminded Lin Mian from behind her, “You must also go to the entrance to see the young master off.”
Lin Mian: “…”
Can I see him off to his death?
She deliberately lagged behind at the very end.
The manor villa was absurdly large. Just walking out of the dining room, through a small hall and then a grand hall, took quite some time.
The main entrance hall looked very much like a hotel lobby. Lin Mian tilted her head to look around when she suddenly heard He Duoye say, “Come here.”
Lin Mian stared at the landscape oil painting on the wall, refusing to look at that ex-boyfriend who should have died long ago.
“Lin Mian.” He Duoye’s voice came again, his tone rising slightly.
Lin Mian slowly turned her head and met He Duoye’s dark, wolf-like gaze. His eyes lowered slightly, carrying a hint of domineering superiority.
“Come here.”
Lin Mian’s heart began to race.
This version of He Duoye felt unfamiliar to her, yet eerily, there was an indescribable familiarity.
Perhaps it was the tone.
The He Duoye from before would never look at her like this, but he had occasionally spoken to her in this tone.
Lin Mian, who was living under someone else’s roof, had no choice but to walk toward him.
As soon as she approached, He Duoye grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her close. He lowered his head as if to kiss her.