Xu Si bit her lower lip. "So where are my assistant and bodyguard? When are you going to release them?"
Pei Zhen sighed and stretched out his slender hands, slowly tucking her hair behind her ear. For a moment, he seemed somewhat wistful. "You only ever agree to stay with me when it concerns your interests. You really are the perfect businessman."
After a long moment, his desolation vanished without a trace, and he laughed unrestrainedly. "Assistant An should be back at the company by now. And your bodyguard..." A hint of disgust showed in his heterochromatic eyes. "Are you sure that kind of trash can protect you? He went down without even resisting yesterday. He’d be better off staying by my side to train more. How about I find you a new team of bodyguards?"
Xu Si gazed at him calmly with her beautiful, soft eyes. "I didn’t hire bodyguards to guard against you in the first place. Do as you please. I need to return to my room and make a call; the company should be very busy today."
"President Xu is truly busy."
Xu Si paused, slightly taken aback. After a single kiss, she was ’President Xu’ again?
Picking up a tissue from the table, she wiped off the lipstick that had smeared around her lips and said, all business, "It’s good to be busy. I’m planning to purchase a plot of land to build a hotel and enter a new industry; there’s so much to take care of."
Pei Zhen propped his chin on his palm, his gaze shifting as he watched her through the steam rising from the boiling teapot, a faint smile playing on his lips. "What am I to do? I don’t want you to leave."
His words were laden with ambiguous tenderness.
Immediately, the waiters outside formed a dense line, their presence pressing down on the entire tea room. It felt as impenetrable as it had in the Underground City, the air squeezed out until only a chilling malevolence remained.
Xu Si had just reached the door of the tea room. Her brown coat failed to cover her pale ankles. She swayed slightly, then paused and looked back at him. His handsome face was like that of a deity, and her own fingers were adorned with three gemstone rings, each valuable enough to purchase several prime lots of real estate. She raised an eyebrow slightly. "You’ve grown up, and you certainly spend a lot. If I don’t earn more, how am I supposed to support you?"
Xu Si’s voice remained light, almost like a breeze. Her words were soft, sounding pleasant even when she was spouting nonsense.
Pei Zhen’s gaze rested on her gorgeous face, then on her alluring peach-blossom eyes. Those eyes were intently gauging his reaction, testing if such a pretext would work. He watched her for a long time.
He closed his eyes and said nothing.
The wrist resting on the armrest of his chair rotated, his index and middle fingers beckoning upward slightly.
Understanding the signal, the men at the door immediately cleared a path.
Xu Si curved her lips slightly, her gaze tranquil and serene. She walked away with a graceful gait, though her steps inevitably quickened.
Hei Shi, with his massive frame, had to bend low to squeeze through the door. His voice was coarse, as if grinding in his throat. "Boss, that idiot took the severely injured Gu Jing and has hidden in the X Organization’s territory."
Upon hearing the movement, Pei Zhen’s eyes snapped open. His earlier languid, bewitching charm vanished instantly. His well-defined features tensed, becoming as sharp as a blade. He ran his fingers from his chin up to his forehead, pushing through his silver-white hair. His gaze was unprecedentedly dark and malevolent, exuding a murderous aura.
"If not for his blunder, in such a vast sea, I would have worried about not finding them."
Hei Shi looked toward the door at the rear of the tea room, which had remained closed, and asked, "What about the group from the X Organization that we found near the Xu Mansion? How should we deal with them?"
The man slowly uttered, "Bring them back to the Underground City. Kill them."
Hei Shi, expressionless, squeezed back into the rear of the tea room.
A chilly draft surged from behind the door. The sound of footsteps dragging heavy objects echoed, growing fainter as they slowly receded into the distance.