Jun and the group reached the place situated on Beijing's outskirts and they looked at the almost haunted and dilapidated house. Another car followed after theirs which had Zhan Yahui and the guards keeping their watch on her.
Nian was the first one to rant with a cold expression. "How dare Hou Lin take my Xing Bi to such a dirty place! I will kill him!"
Jin grimaced. "He has kidnapped her, Bro. He is not gonna take her to a garden."
"My Xing Bi must always be taken to beautiful places whether kidnapped or not!"
Jun stared at the house for some time with a thoughtful countenance. "It's Hou Lin we are talking about. I can tell that it cannot be just a random place he chose to keep Xing Bi."
"Hey don't you take his side!" Nian glared at him.
"I am telling from what I know working with him all this time, not taking his side."
Ai said, "Let's call him out. Once he talks to Zhan Yahui, he will let Xing Bi go, right?"
Nian clenched his jaw. "That is not an option, sister-in-law. He HAS to free Xing Bi or I will kill him if he goes back on his word!"
Jun kept his gaze fixed at the house and said, "He won't."
As soon as they stepped out, they immediately heard Zhan Yahui fiercely protesting against the guards handling her. "You fuckers get the hell off me!" She snarled. But as she noticed the surroundings around her, she quietened down for some moments.
This is Lin's old house.
She kept staring at the old and dusty house until she set her gaze on the figure stepping out of it. It was Hou Lin, who came out with Xing Bi beside her.
"Xi-Xing Bi…!" Nian almost took large strides to rush towards but he stopped. He wasn't sure if Hou Lin held a weapon or not, so he grudgingly took a step back. His heart furiously pounded in his chest seeing her safe and sound. "Xing Bi…"
Nian was the first person for Xing Bi too, who caught his presence immediately as soon as she came out in the open. It was only a few hours since they were away but it already felt akin to long years passed. She waved her hand back at him. "I am okay, Nian!" She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "This is the first time I don't feel like beating you up."
Nian broke down, feeling emotional. "Y-You don't? Th-this is a miracle…!"
Jin watched the duo with his jaw dropped.
What is with this couple? They are getting emotional for the wrong reasons!
The cats lazily meowed and snuggled in his arms.
Ai heaved a big sigh of relief, seeing Xing Bi safe and sound. She wiped the corner of her eyes, tension dissipating from her heart.
Jun took a step forward, meeting Hou Lin's gaze and said, "We brought Zhan Yahui here as you asked us to. You want to talk to her, right?"
Hou Lin nodded.
"Will you let Xing Bi free after that?"
"Yes."
"Okay. But I cannot allow you two to talk alone, considering Zhan Yahui's scheming nature. Whatever it is, you have to talk to her in front of all of us."
"That's fine, Sir."
Jun paused and blinked for a moment but nodded after that.
Zhan Yahui burst into a fit of rage. "You all are idiots! Do you think Lin would really ask you to call me here just for a simple talk? It's an exchange, you fools! You let me go that side if you want Xing Bi to stand at yours," she sneered.
Nian's countenance twisted with a sense of an alarming danger. "That is fucking not happening. Let you go? The woman who brought hell into our lives and we will just let you scott free? Did you hit your head somewhere in the car while coming here? We will have Xing Bi back and also punish you for your crimes."
She sneered. "I think you have hit your head somewhere, Liu Nian."
Jun glanced at her. "You might have known Hou Lin for a long time. There's no denying that. But I think you are wrong about him this time. See it for yourself."
Zhan Yahui narrowed her eyes. She looked at Hou Lin who calmly remained still at his place. It was then that she noticed that he wasn't holding any weapon. No gun, no knife to threaten Xing Bi to make an exchange. He wasn't even keeping an eye on Xing Bi. He was simply gazing at her with an indecipherable emotion in his eyes.
She stared straight back at him and her eyelashes soon trembled as the unnerving and nauseating realization dawned upon her. "Ah…So you believe in the crap that they said. Are you…now against me, Lin?"
Hou Lin's lips curved into a trembling but sorrowful smile. "I am never against you, Yahui. I cannot stand against the person who taught me the ways of this world and who made my dull life so cheerful. You were my very first friend, Yahui."
"And you are betraying your very first friend, aren't you?"
He gently parted his lips and said, "All this time, you taught me what was right and what was wrong. You helped me learn to make my own decisions. You helped me see the world the way it was. You told me what to do and what not to do because you knew the right thing to do and also because you cared for me as your friend. That's why I always trust you. So if today I ask you to do something which I feel is right…does that not make me your friend anymore?"
Silence. A tingling of suffocation seeped into the cold, night air.
"If today I tell you to accept the bitter reality of your father and surrender your hatred and revenge for the Liu family, will I not be your friend anymore, Yahui?"
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