"Heh." The man smirked coldly, tilting his head to gaze at her with a somber look.
"Don’t want to hurt him? Do you care about him that much?"
Lin Xinlan met his chilling gaze, feeling a layer of cold sweat form in the palm of her hands.
She remembered what Rong Mingyan had said, Rong Shaoze was a very dangerous lion. He was not only ferocious and violent but also wouldn’t blink an eye when it came to killing.
She dared not speak carelessly, fearing that a single wrong word would lead him to kill Qiao Yiyang.
"No matter who it is, if they are in danger because of me, I would be concerned. Even if it was you, if you were hurt because of me, I would care."
The man’s expression momentarily stilled, a complex light flickering in his eyes.
Lin Xinlan kept her face calm, but inside, she was actually very tense.
She wondered if what she had just said sounded too fake. She had said that insincere statement because she had no other choice.
She hoped that Rong Shaoze couldn’t see through her deliberate flattery and feigned concern; otherwise, it would backfire.
He leaned in to pinch her chin, lifting her head to meet her eyes at a very close distance.
His thin lips parted slightly as he asked indifferently, "Do you know what the consequences of toying with me are? Hmm?"
Lin Xinlan’s eyes flickered, unable to hide the nervousness and fear in her dark, jade-like pupils.
"I know, every time I’ve crossed you, the outcome for me has never been good. Please, let Mr. Qiao go. I’ll return with you and never try to escape again." Her ability to lie had truly become more impressive.
Rong Shaoze suddenly tightened his grip on her smooth chin, saying coldly, "Woman, do you know how irritating it is for me when you keep bringing up that man in front of me!"
"If you let him go, I won’t mention him again. The more you harm him, the more I will care about him. Rong Shaoze, you’re a smart man; you should know what to do so that I won’t care about him."
"Heh." The man couldn’t help but chuckle softly, releasing her chin to stroke her head with a motion full of indulgence.
"You’re right, if I really did hurt him, you’d feel guilty for life and never forget him. Unfortunately, he’s not in my hands, so even if I wanted to, I can’t let him go."
Lin Xinlan’s eyes widened in shock, shaking her head firmly, "That’s impossible, he must be in your hands! Otherwise, why would you have written that letter to Mr. Rong? Rong Shaoze, stop this nonsense, I’ve already shown up, can’t you just let him go?"
Rong Shaoze looked over to Rong Mingyan sitting across from him; the sharp gaze of the two men met in mid-air for an instant before drifting apart.
"As I said, he’s not in my hands. I was just testing Rong Mingyan, never expecting he’d actually send you over. Or are you so concerned about Mr. Qiao that you didn’t think things through and came running to me?" His head tilted slightly, his perfect profile exuding both charm and danger.
Lin Xinlan said with strained patience. "Can’t you stop this nonsense? Kidnapping him will bring you a heap of trouble, so it’d be better to just let him go."
"Are you worried about me or him?"
"Lin Xinlan, if I hadn’t used Qiao Yiyang to threaten you, would you have never shown up?"
Rong Shaoze’s eyes bore into hers, a piercing coldness faintly revealing itself.
His voice also turned cold, devoid of any warmth: "So no matter how many days and nights I’ve spent looking for you, you were never going to appear on your own, were you? Even if I searched till death, you wouldn’t have softened, would you?!"