The girl on the screen was completely unaware.
She hugged her plush toy while playing on her phone for a while, then rubbed her eyes sleepily.
Her small body curled up bit by bit, burrowing into the blankets until she fell asleep.
Dark clouds veiled the moon, and the last trace of moonlight was swallowed by the heavy night.
The girl on the screen sank into a deep sleep, the thin silk blanket over her chest rising and falling in tiny arcs with her breathing.
The man before the screen set down his glass, cast one deep look at the person on the screen, and pushed open the door to leave.
Night enveloped the entire estate, and one bright lamp after another lit the path beneath his feet.
A man in a shirt moved through the pitch-black night, entered a certain building that stood cold and stark under the moonlight, and pressed the button for the basement level.
The floor was empty and desolate. As the bulletproof door opened with the password lock, hoarse screams came from within.
An assistant in a suit came to greet him: “Sir, everyone is here.”
A beam of cold light swept slowly across the figures bound to chairs.
The screams cut off for an instant, and the man at the very front nearly lunged forward:
“Mr. Pei! Mr. Pei! It’s all a misunderstanding!”
“I’m Liu Xiang! I’ve worked with Pei Corporation’s subsidiaries before—I even toasted you at the New Year…”
“I knew nothing about this! It was my subordinates who didn’t know better and offended you and that young lady…”
The man standing against the light raised his hand slightly, his expensive watch glinting coldly. The private bodyguards behind him received the signal and cut the ropes binding him.
The freed Liu Xiang felt a moment of secret delight.
He busied himself bowing to Pei Yuli, then twisted his fat body toward the other side, his expression instantly turning vicious.
He lunged at the woman behind him, spewing filthy curses, his fist coming down:
“You bitch! This is all your fault for acting on your own! You’ve dragged me down with you!”
Roars of rage, pleas for mercy, the sounds of mutual blame—all echoed through the empty basement.
It was nothing but a clumsy farce of people shoving responsibility onto one another.
Pei Yuli raised his hand, and a pair of black leather gloves was respectfully presented to him.
The man standing with his back to the light wore a cold expression. His slender fingers gripped the black gloves and pulled them straight, and with a sharp snap, the leather tightened around his wrists.
The faint sound cracked through the air—not loud at all.
Yet the middle-aged man who had just been raging over shifting blame froze as if he’d smelled danger.
He turned his head back in near panic—
That tall, upright figure was walking slowly toward him. At some point, the man had put on the gloves; the black leather hugged his fingers tightly, and as his fingertips flexed, the leather gave off a faint, muffled creak.
A terrifying aura pressed in on him. As the man drew closer, the air seemed to freeze, and even the lights seemed to warp and dim.
Liu Xiang, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, widened his eyes. He shrank back, speaking at breakneck speed:
“President Pei! President Pei! If I’d known she was one of yours, I’d never have dared lay a finger on her!”
“It’s all this bitch’s fault! How about this—give me a little time, and I’ll cripple her hands—”
The woman behind him let out a sob. “Liu, are you even a man anymore!”
Afraid she’d say something incriminating, Liu Xiang quickly raised his voice, his tone vicious:
“I even drugged her myself! President Pei—Pres—”
The hoarse voice shot up sharply, then was cut off in an instant by the muffled thud of leather striking ribs.
Dull, muffled grunts echoed alongside the sound of impacts, heavy thuds ringing out one after another.
The woman behind covered her ears tightly, screaming as she scrambled away.
The smell of blood spread through the basement, growing thicker with every muffled crunch of bone.
The silent assistant’s face remained calm, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary.
“So President Liu has become a gecko spirit, learning to shed his tail to survive?”
Pei Yuli’s voice was flat, impeccably polite, as he sealed the man’s fate.
“A pity. I prefer to pull up the roots when I cut the grass.”
His spotless leather shoes were stained with blood, and the man frowned, seemingly displeased.
He lifted his foot and slowly, deliberately smeared the blood from his shoe onto the man’s collar, then gave the order:
“Do as President Liu said. Cripple his hands, dose him with drugs, and throw him out.”
Interlacing shadows were cast on the basement walls, closing in from this direction.
Pei Yuli removed his gloves and handed them to the assistant.
“From now on, I don’t want to hear a single word about him.”
The assistant nodded, watching that tall, upright figure leave the basement.
The heavy door of the basement slowly closed, swallowing every last shrill scream.
Outside the window, the moonlight was bright and clear.
The man’s tall figure went up to the second floor, stopping silently before a closed door.
He raised his hand, but the moment his fingers touched the doorknob, he drew them back again.
More than ten minutes later, Pei Yuli, having showered away any lingering trace of blood and filth, returned once more.
He pressed the doorknob down, and scattered moonlight drifted in with his steps.
The door closed slowly behind him. The room was pitch dark, dim.
Only two breaths remained.
The sound of his shoes was completely swallowed by the carpet. The man’s tall figure, familiar with the way, slowly appeared at the bedside.
The sleeping girl breathed evenly. Afraid of the heat, she had kicked half the blanket off, revealing her slender, shapely calves.
The man at the bedside leaned down, his scorching gaze wandering over her face, inch by inch.
His movements were especially slow.
Cherishing, tender, carrying an almost terrifying possessiveness, he traced her brows and eyes, her lips, her neck, her arms… bit by bit.
His dark phoenix eyes gleamed in the night. Unwilling to blink, he leaned down once more, joy suppressed beneath a sigh.
He gathered her arm and carefully tucked it back under the blanket.
Then he took her ankle in his hand, his Adam’s apple bobbing rapidly.
And upon the girl’s thin ankle bone, he pressed a burning kiss.