From the beginning, Mimi had been listening to everything that occurred on Shen Jue's side. When she heard her father's voice, a chill happened to run down her spine. Bitter memories filled her mind, but she quickly focused on the goal at hand.
There wasn't much talking going on besides the sound of footsteps. When it sounded like Shen Jue was walking somewhere, she listened closely. Movements and sounds caught her attention. A door opened. More movement. Then silence. He stopped.
"Did you bring what I requested?" She heard her father say.
At that moment, her attention was on high alert. It had begun. She shifted in her seat and looked to the side at her computer screen. Shen Jue had been recording everything for six minutes now. Just when she was prepared for something big to happen, it did. However, it wasn't what she expected.
"Shen Jue, take it." Her father's voice was cold.
She frowned somewhat. Should could assume it was a briefcase of some sort containing what he requested. But why did Shen Jue have to take it?
Mimi's fingers tightened on the computer. Deep inside she felt something was terribly, dangerously wrong.
"Open it." Henry Hirogori ordered coldly. Mimi's stomach clenched.
She heard the sound of the briefcase clicking open. Then, there was silence. It felt like hours had passed before she heard Shen Jue's light voice speak.
"May I ask what this information is?"
Following that was the sound of her father's slightly angered voice as he questioned Shen Jue. Everything seemed to be falling apart. And then she heard a gunshot.
The moment the gun went off there was silence. Her mind went blank.
After a few moments, Mimi regained her senses and felt her hands tremble uncontrollably.
"Shen Jue!" She shouted into the earpiece. "Are you okay? Can you hear me? Shen Jue!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Jue could hear the girl's concerned shouts ringing in his ear. His head was lowered, so no one could see the upward curve of his lips he hadn't been able to hold back.
He couldn't help but think her concerned voice sounded very cute.
"Hah! I see you still have the guts to smile." Henry Hirogori sneered.
Shen Jue reverted his attention to the situation in front of him. Blood slid down his arm and soaked the cloth material of his suit. Yet even though pain fluctuated on his face, a smile remained.
He chuckled. "I guess you'll have to try harder than a bullet to stop me then."
A sinister gleam flickered across Henry Hirogori's face.
"Maybe..."
In that instant, he walked over toward Shen Jue and roughly kicked his knees. Shen Jue grunted and fell to the floor, twisting his body to avoid falling on his wounded arm. Looking up, he saw Henry Hirogori looking down at him with a cold, frosty glare.
He bent down and lifted Shen Jue's wounded arm. Shen Jue groaned a little.
"That's a nice watch you have there," Henry spoke in an emotionless tone while he admired the silver watch on his wrist.
Without a second thought, he took the watch off from his wrist and crushed it with his foot. At this moment, Mimi noticed the recording on her screen stopped until it completely crashed.
She cursed loudly and tried to regain the lost audio. Before she had the chance, she heard her father's voice speak up.
"I know you can hear me."
She stilled. Mimi lifted a hand to her ear and listened carefully.
"I'm not very sure how you're communicating, but listen closely." His voice sounded closer as if he were squatting in front of Shen Jue. "If you don't want Shen Jue to die, come to this address and bring me all the information you have on the Hirogori family to me. You seem like a smart person, so make a smart choice."
"Don't..." Shen Jue spoke up but was quickly interrupted by a kick to his stomach. He clenched his teeth with a bitter smile.
Henry looked at him indifferently before he spoke again.
"You have two hours. Otherwise, I will slowly and very painfully kill him. And don't think I won't find out who else is close to you. Because for certain, I will kill them too without hesitation."
After speaking, Mimi heard another groan from Shen Jue, telling her he had been kicked. Her stomach clenched.
What should she do?
Everything she worked for was now crumbling right before her very own eyes. Years of endless pain and torture were all coming down like this.
She was reluctant to let it all go. She couldn't let it go. Her eyes dimmed a little.
But Shen Jue's life was on the line. She knew her father wouldn't hesitate to kill him. After all, he killed her sister.
Even though she hated Shen Jue and despised him for taking away her sister and causing her so much pain...she didn't want him to die. Not under someone else's hands at least.
She also knew that if she went, she could risk being caught by her father and further ruining their plans.
In that case, she should...
Mimi's hands clenched into fists. She squeezed her eyes shut and quietly listened to the sound of her pounding heart.
What should she do?
When she opened her eyes, her mind had calmed. A clear look flashing within her gaze.
"Shen Jue," Mimi called out softly. "I'm sorry."
Laying on the floor, Shen Jue listened to her voice and silently closed his eyes. He smiled. Despite everyone watching him, he still spoke.
"It's okay."
Mimi smiled and took a deep breath.
"I'm coming to save you."