"Take him back for interrogation," Emperor Quan ordered with a nod, his face a mix of cruelty and indifference.
"Yes!" Iron Hand didn't say anything more and quickly took people to deal with the scene.
But as Zhan Se gazed at the man's piercing, handsome face so close at hand, she felt as though she'd never truly known him.
Weird and fickle.
One moment cold, the next hot. One moment the wind, the next the rain.
The deadliest part was, no matter how he changed, that bit of ruthless coldness didn't diminish at all. Within moments, he had caused two deaths and one injury, yet his brow didn't even furrow.
"Surname Quan, who in the world are you?"
Leaning forward slowly, he fixed his gaze on her eyes and gave a cool, shallow smile, "Your man."
Zhan Se's heart skipped a beat for just 0.01 seconds before she regained her composure at Emperor Quan's ambiguous comment.
"Lord Quan the Fourth, you better not stop seeking treatment."
"Little Yao!"
Her nickname slipped from the man's lips unexpectedly, causing her to reflexively look up. Just then, he was looking down. Their eyes collided in the air for a few seconds, the atmosphere indescribably strange. If she had just been surprised before, now she was completely shocked.
He knew her phone number, her whereabouts, even her nickname...
What did this mean?
With a dark smirk, it seemed like the man could see right through her, "I want to know your details!"
Shameless!
Zhan Se, after all, was a steady girl. Even though she had just witnessed a death and encountered this abnormal situation, she still maintained her composure. However, under the siege of his strong masculine pheromones, her heart was still scratched by little cat claws... She had to admit, the man before her was born with the ability to bewitch women, especially when his eyes focused on her, it was easy to feel a misconception of being cherished.
Luckily, she had a firewall in her heart.
She could still distinguish between the 'Peach Blossom Water' and 'Pigeon Poison Wine'.
Leaning back, she tried to put some distance between them, "Did I step on your tail or something? Why are you investigating me?"
"I took a fancy to you, is that okay?"
The man's face was hidden in the shadow of the car lights, indistinct, but she could clearly feel a predatory aura akin to a wild beast.
"Lord Quan the Fourth, you're not an Oscar-winning actor."
His brows quirked, and he brushed her forehead hair lightly, "I'm short of women."
Her heart scoffed, and the corners of her lips lifted in mockery, "Yeah right! You understand me so well, you should know my occupation. Lord Quan the Fourth, next time you lie, pay attention to the angle of your gaze, or it's easy for others to notice you have ulterior motives. You have some unspeakable purpose for approaching me, don't you?"
The darkness in his eyes deepened and he snickered, "Of course."
"Out with it! What is it?"
"Quit kidding. If I were that ravishing, I would have been married off long ago."
As she looked into his intimidating and gloomy eyes, Zhan Se didn't quite believe his story. Just as she was about to probe further, an arm reached out to support the back of her chair. Soon after, the man's tall figure pressed over like Mount Tai, enclosing her in a semi-circle before his chest, and his other hand suddenly gripped her wrist.
"Don't try to take it off again."
There was a chill on her wrist, and in his voice smelling faintly of tobacco, she flinched.
On her wrist joint was the 18-bead soft jade strand that had entered the pawn shop.
It was delicate, smooth, gentle, a shock to her eyes.
"Emperor Quan, you..."
If she wasn't shocked now, she wasn't normal.
"Why? In your tragic childhood, did I ever save your life? Or did Guanyin Bodhisattva tell you in a dream that I was your lover from a past life? 'Three Lives, Three Worlds', and a path lined with peach blossoms?" she quipped, trying to use humor to mask the sudden unease rising inside her and at the same time, to probe the man's real purpose.
"Shh—stop," Emperor Quan's gaze dimmed as his thumb pressed against her lips for two seconds. Then he adjusted her seatbelt and patted her shoulder with a smile, steering away from the main point, "Let's go. I'll take you out for some fun."
Fun?
Before she could react, ONE—77 surged forward like a hunting cheetah—'roar'—
From behind, the screams and howls echoed from the parking space they'd just left.
"Boss, don't leave us…"
"Boss, the brothers didn't mean to eavesdrop…"
So someone was sneaking a laugh just now?! Zhan Se turned to see several people rushing out, moving swiftly towards a car parked nearby. From afar, they looked like they were wearing some sort of uniform. Helpless, the light was too dim, and ONE—77 was moving too fast for her to see clearly.
"What are you up to now?"
Ignoring her question, the man focused on the road ahead, pushing the speed faster and faster.
Meanwhile, the radio crackled to life again.
"Speak," Emperor Quan said frostily, as if hurling hailstones.
"Boss, you can't ditch us…"
"I'm going to be busy with my wife, do you have the nerve to keep watching?"
Wife?
This caused a huge uproar.
Watching the man half-close his eyes and lie, Zhan Se was fuming. But on the other end of the radio, several people burst into excited whistles.
"Boss, you are so awesome!"
"Get lost!"
What kind of fun was Lord Quan the Fourth looking for?
Needless to say, it certainly wasn't the real deal, but Zhan Se didn't expect him to go for the snacks at Lover Street.
Surprised, she felt even more that Surname Quan's thinking was too scattered.
At this hour, Lover Street was busy, its sparse lights detonating the rich nightlife of the urbanites. Lord Quan the Fourth, the epitome of handsome, rich, and tall, became the center of attention as soon as he sat down, blinding several beauties. Sitting across from him, Zhan Se endured the girls' contemptuous glances, their eyes piercing like thorns, while scanning the sauce, vinegar, and a big pot of spicy hotpot on the table, unable to fathom Lord Quan the Fourth's thought process.
"Want some?"
"I already ate."
"Right, you just had dinner with a man," Lord Quan the Fourth teased, adding some tripe to her bowl, "Spicy but not dry, fragrant on the palate, it helps women promote blood circulation and detoxify the skin, want to try?"
Still frowning from the car ride, Zhan Se retorted, "I say, can you stop speaking in riddles?"
"Eat up! Isn't it tiresome asking questions all the way?"
No matter what she asked, the man retorted. Zhan Se, completely exasperated, picked up her chopsticks and jabbed angrily at the tripe in her bowl. As she chewed and pondered, she sank into silence...