Everyone froze, their gazes turning toward the doorway.
Lin Ran leaned against the doorframe, wearing a luxury brand’s latest-season dress and holding a limited-edition handbag.
She looked as exquisite as a model stepping out of a fashion magazine, misplaced amidst the surrounding chaos.
“Who are you?”
The bald man frowned deeply, but seeing Lin Ran’s extraordinary demeanor, he instinctively lowered his voice.
Lin Ran ignored him and walked straight in. Her high heels stepped over the water stains on the floor as she made her way to Lu Feng’s side.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with him, she seemed to carry an invisible barrier that separated her from the disorder and poverty within the room.
She looked at the bald man leading the group, her tone casual yet carrying an undeniable air of superiority. “How much?”
“Five hundred thousand. What… are you going to pay it for them?” the man asked tentatively.
Lin Ran let out a light laugh, pulling a gold-embossed business card from her handbag and handing it over with two fingers.
“Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, bring the original IOU to this address and see my assistant.”
“You’ll get every cent. Now—” her smile vanished, her eyes sharpening, “take your people and get out.”
The man took the business card, glanced at the title and company name printed on it, and his expression changed abruptly.
People like them, who operated in the underbelly of debt collection, were experts at sizing others up. This woman was clearly not someone they could afford to provoke.
The bald man shot a meaningful look at his two subordinates, who immediately dropped their aggressive postures.
“Alright, Miss Lin, is it? We’ll trust you this once. Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, if we don’t see the money…” He left the threat hanging as he led his men away in frustration.
In the narrow living room, only the relieved gasps of survivors and Li Fenghua’s soft sobs remained.
Lu Anguo slumped on the floor, tears streaming down his aged face as he repeatedly thanked Lin Ran. “Thank you… thank you, young lady… thank you…”
“No need to thank me,” Lin Ran replied flatly. “I didn’t do it to help you.”
Her blunt words instantly left Li Fenghua and Lu Anguo looking awkward.
Lu Feng stood rooted to the spot, his body rigid.
Suddenly, he stepped forward and grabbed Lin Ran’s wrist, his grip so tight it felt as though he might crush her bones.
“Come with me.”
He dragged Lin Ran toward his bedroom.
“Lu Feng, brother!” Su Wanyu tried to follow.
But Lu Feng had already slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud “bang,” even locking it from the inside.
The dim bedroom was illuminated only by faint light filtering through a small window.
The space was cramped, containing little more than a single bed, an old desk, and a wardrobe.
The air was filled with the scent of old books and the clean, bitter fragrance of soap from the boy’s body.
It was tidy and clean, yet everywhere bore the marks of hardship.
Lu Feng released his grip, leaving clear finger marks on Lin Ran’s fair wrist.
She casually rubbed the spot.
“You did this,” Lu Feng’s voice was low and hoarse—not a question, but a statement.
Lin Ran leaned against the edge of the desk, crossing her arms, a faint curve lifting the corner of her lips.
“I did.”
She admitted it straightforwardly, without a moment’s hesitation.
Lu Feng’s breath hitched.
Even though he had already guessed, hearing her admit it so lightly still felt absurd in an indescribable way.
He had expected her to evade, to deny, to obscure the truth with that ambiguous, tormenting manner of hers.
But she didn’t.
She simply tore away all pretense, laying her cruelest methods bare before him.
“Why?”
He heard his own voice, eerily calm.
“Why?” Lin Ran repeated, finding the question quite interesting.
“Lu Feng, don’t forget we’re still in a bet.”
“So you made my father lose his job? Sent loan sharks after us?” Lu Feng took a step forward, his shadow engulfing her.
“Lin Ran, this is my home! They are my parents!”
“So what?” Lin Ran raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
“A bet is a bet. When you agreed, you should have known I would do whatever it takes to win.”
“Whatever it takes…” Lu Feng mulled over the words, suddenly letting out a laugh—cold and bitter. “Including ruining my life?”
He raised an eyebrow, his handsome face tinged with a hint of wickedness.
Lin Ran curled her lips. “Ruin? How could I bear to do that to you?”
“Your father’s job paid three thousand a month, with alternating day and night shifts and heavy labor. Isn’t it better that I freed him to find a job that pays more and is easier?”
“And those loan sharks—just five hundred thousand. To you, it’s a lot, but to me, it’s just the price of a bag.”
Lu Feng felt an unprecedented chill.
The cold seeped from deep within his bones, icy and viscous.
“Aren’t you afraid that using such methods to force me to lose the bet will only make me despise you more?”
“Despise?” Lin Ran chuckled lightly. “Classmate Lu, when have you ever liked me?”
Lu Feng choked on his words.
Lin Ran took a step closer to him. “Since you never loved me in the first place, I naturally don’t need to care about the methods I use.”
“Lose the bet obediently, and your parents will live well.”
Lu Feng’s pupils contracted sharply, his heart feeling as if it had been seized by an icy hand.
Looking at the breathtakingly beautiful face before him, he realized for the first time with such clarity—
This madwoman, she truly was capable of anything.
“You’re truly vicious,” he spat out, his voice trembling slightly from extreme anger and helplessness.
Lin Ran smiled, the corners of her eyes lifting with an almost innocent charm.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Lu Feng closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the surging anger, humiliation, and helplessness… were all forcibly suppressed deep within his gaze, condensing into a cold, lifeless stillness.
He looked at her, word by word, his voice flat and emotionless. “I can admit defeat.”
“I can be your servant for a month, obeying your every command. But after a month, you must stop bothering me.”
This was his final bottom line, a sliver of dignity and future he tried to preserve amidst humiliation.
Trading one month of humiliation for Lin Ran’s permanent exit from his life.
Lin Ran scoffed. “Lu Feng, what right do you have to negotiate with me?”
Her voice was soft, yet carried the weight of a thousand pounds.
“The rules of the bet are set by the winner. When did I ever agree to stop bothering you after a month?”
Lu Feng’s breathing suddenly grew heavier, the lifeless stillness in his eyes shattered, reignited with fury.
“Don’t go too far! You’re not the only one with money and power in this world! I—”
“You what?” Lin Ran cut him off, her gaze suddenly sharp. “Find someone else to protect you?”
“Lu Feng, do you believe that before you find anyone, I can ruin your reputation and shatter this family completely?”
She pressed closer, forcing him back against the wall.
Her presence enveloped him, carrying the sweet scent of lychee, yet it made Lu Feng feel suffocated by coldness and despair.
“I mean what I say.”
The last five words were whispered as lightly as a breath, yet weighed as heavily as a mountain.
Lu Feng leaned against the cold wall, gazing into those beautiful starry eyes so close to his own.
There was no warmth in them, only a pure, almost innocent cruelty.
She wasn’t making a threat—it was more like stating a fact.
Like a hunter looking at a deer caught in a trap, calmly deciding where to make the first cut.
In that instant, something inside him snapped.
Not anger, not hatred.
But a string that had been stretched too tight for too long, finally unable to bear the strain, broke with a sharp snap.
Outside the window, the sun gradually slanted westward, dust dancing in its rays. The cramped bedroom suddenly grew very quiet.
Lu Feng let out a low, calm laugh.
The smile was even somewhat gentle.
Lin Ran raised a brow slightly, surprised by his reaction.
The next second, Lu Feng suddenly moved.
One hand gripped the back of Lin Ran’s neck—not a gentle gesture, but one with a certain desperate force, forcing her to tilt her head back.
The other arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her entire body against his chest.
And then, he kissed her!