Chapter 243: "Then go easy on me... "
Mesmerized, Luo Muchen watched as the red race car disappeared into oblivion, vanishing to the other side of the sprawling estate. The bodyguards who had been placing bets amongst themselves halted their activities when they saw their boss.
Luo Muchen purposefully strode towards the road with his leather shoes crunching the gravel path. His back straight and his expression tyrannical he stood in the middle of the road.
Qie Xieling saw Luo Muchen standing in front of him and hit the brakes hard. The car swerved before it came to a stop inches away from hitting Luo Muchen. For a second his breath was caught in his chest as he stared at Luo Muchen in disbelief. Fear gripped his heart at the thought that he almost hit him. His hands shaking he got out of the car and with a bang he shut the door causing the frame of the car to shake.
"Are you crazy?!" he yelled only for Luo Muchen to grab the back of his neck and drag him away. The guards pretended to be blind and significantly reduced their sense of presence. When they reached the isolated garden Luo Muchen shoved Qie Xieling away and his body landed in the tall hedge.
"Fuck... Muchen, you are such a bully," said Qie Xieling unable to accept such treatment from him. The Luo Muchen he knew would never lay a finger on him unless they were tussling. Granted Qie Xieling always lost but Luo Muchen was never this rough.
"Have I been too lenient on you lately, huh? Is that why you have been running around doing as you please?" he asked and Qie Xieling who was trying to crawl out of the bushy hedge couldn’t control his mouth.
He pointed at him accusingly while getting up. "You can’t just stand in the road like that. I could have killed you," he said but his finger was caught and squeezed as Luo Muchen pulled him close.
Because he pulled so hard Qie Xieling’s body almost bumped into him. With a half arm’s length distance between them, Luo Muchen asked, "Why would you care? Isn’t that what you want."
Qie Xieling parted his lips about to refute but he averted his gaze in the end. What was the point of arguing with this man? In his eyes, he had already been judged.
Luo Muchen painfully cupped his chin and forced him to look at him. He was angry with Qie Xieling but within the murky darkness in his heart was something faint and unexpected. It was a kind of feeling that he never thought he would have for a vile person like Qie Xieling.
Qie Xieling didn’t back down. He stared back at him before mercilessly pulling Luo Muchen’s hand off his face. With their fingertips brushed up against each other he suddenly wanted to touch and entwine their fingers together but he resisted the urge.
Luo Muchen remained silent with slight anticipation for his answer but Qie Xieling didn’t respond. He tilted his head slightly his eyes dark as he asked, "What gives you the confidence that I won’t kill you? The only reason why I saved you was because I will determine when your life ends."
Qie Xieling took a step forward reducing the distance between them by half before saying, "That’s because you are a businessman. I am worth more to you alive than dead," with a sly grin.
Luo Muchen sneered before gripping his neck and forcing him to look up. He found himself unexpectedly caught in those dark eyes. Something stirred inside him, a warmth that he couldn’t quite explain. He could feel Qie Xieling’s Adam’s apple trembling underneath his palm and he subconsciously swallowed.
"You do realise that I can let you live but I can also torture you? I can make your life worse than death."
Qie Xieling’s eyes didn’t falter, and Luo Muchen found himself studying him more closely. There was something about him that was different. Something that made him feel...odd. He couldn’t quite place it.
"Then go easy on me because I still have to make you money," said Qie Xieling with a smile in his eyes.
Luo Muchen was at a loss. He loosened his grip only for Qie Xieling to lean forward and slip money into his jacket while whispering into his ear, "Now I owe you a thousand less."
Luo Muchen felt an itch on his ear, an itch that spread to the rest of his body. He glanced at Qie Xieling’s disappearing figure his mind stuck in a trance for a moment. He reached into his pocket and found that there was indeed a grand in there. It was probably the money Qie Xieling had won from luring his men into gambling. Since Qie Xieling wanted to pay him back every dime he lost he decided to let him live for now.
***
Luo Muchen’s piercing gaze remained fixated on the ominous darkness outside as his secretary cautiously entered the room. The air grew heavy with tension, thick with the promise of retribution.
He could practically feel the storm brewing within him, mirroring the thunderous clouds that loomed in the night sky.
With a controlled yet commanding voice, Luo Muchen broke the oppressive silence. "Have I been too good to you that you decide to go behind my back?" His question reverberated through the room, carrying undertones of disappointment and betrayal.
He had trusted his secretary implicitly, relying on her loyalty to keep Qie Xieling in check but she turned around and let him run a amok in his mansion.
Jolie did not cower at his question, nor did fear ripple across her unwavering countenance. She knew that if this carried on, Qie Xieling would grow mushrooms on his head in that basement and there won’t be progress. She had to do something about it thus she literally dragged him out of that basement. Qie Xieling could really be a salted fish if he wanted to.
A defiant determination gleamed in her eyes as she met his gaze head-on. "He threatened to run into the wall and end himself. I knew you wouldn’t want that to happen," she replied.
Luo Muchen’s hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles turning white as he wrestled with conflicting emotions. Images of Qie Xieling jumping into the water flashed through his mind. He had seen the intensity in Qie Xieling’s eyes as he jumped into the sea. Deep down he knew that the threat was not an idle one; Qie Xieling was capable of such recklessness.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Luo Muchen’s Adam’s apple rolled heavily. He realised then that Qie Xieling held dangerous leverage over him, and his mind churned with the repercussions of crossing that threshold.
