The surveillance cameras were monitoring Lin Xi's every move. Lin Xi shook her head slightly at Duan Mingxuan.
One person can't fight four punches. Duan Mingxuan shouldn't have come in to save her; he should have gone to get reinforcements immediately. But when Duan Mingxuan saw the bruises on her face, he knew she had been beaten. Enraged, Duan Mingxuan wanted nothing more than to tear Chen Liangyi to pieces.
Having lost half his reason, he completely failed to understand the urgency and hesitation in Lin Xi's eyes. Duan Mingxuan smashed the glass with his fist. Lin Xi's eyes widened. Forgetting everything else, she adjusted her position slightly and then knelt on the ground. "Don't worry."
Duan Mingxuan climbed onto the window. "I'm coming to save you." "Ugh... ugh..." Duan Mingxuan laughed as he climbed. "This time, I found you first." Lin Xi pushed off the ground with the balls of her feet and stood up with a slight backward effort.
She hopped to the window, tilting her head back and groaning incessantly, her expression anxious and uneasy. Duan Mingxuan smiled and reassured her, "I'm fine, don't worry. Step back, I'll jump."
Lin Xi suddenly jumped twice. Before Duan Mingxuan could react, he was struck hard in the back, and he fell out of the window, landing on Lin Xi. Duan Mingxuan cursed inwardly. Seeing Lin Xi's face contorted in pain, he quickly got up to help her up:
"Are you alright? Are you stupid? Why did you use me as a human cushion?" "Mmm..." Duan Mingxuan ripped the tape off her lips. Lin Xi immediately said, "Behind me." Duan Mingxuan whirled around and was punched to the ground.
He spat, clearing away the blood, and clenched his fists, roaring, "I'll fight you to the death!" Brother Shan raised his hand expressionlessly. Duan Mingxuan froze, staring at the dark muzzle of the gun. "Duan Mingxuan."
Lin Xi also froze when she saw the gun, and it took her a while to find her voice, "Don't be impulsive." Duan Mingxuan licked his lips and raised his hands. Chen Jingyi walked in, followed by another bodyguard of Ke Yu.
Clearly, this man had been bribed by Chen Jingyi, undoubtedly due to the power of the gun. "Tie him up," Chen Jingyi ordered, turning her head. The bodyguard hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and tied Duan Mingxuan up.
Duan Mingxuan frowned, shielding Lin Xi behind him, and said to Chen Jingyi, "I really underestimated you; you actually managed to get a gun." Chen Jingyi smiled; the gun was naturally obtained by Brother Shan, who had channels for illegal black market transactions.
"You're really willing to risk your life for Lin Xi." Lin Xi's scalp tingled upon hearing this. She looked at Chen Jingyi and said, "Don't drag others into your feud with me." "Am I someone else to you?" Duan Mingxuan interrupted Lin Xi, "If she has the guts, she can kill me."
"Duan Mingxuan, shut up," Lin Xi snapped at him. Having a gun and not having one were two completely different things for Chen Jingyi. She could shoot him at any moment if she was in a bad mood. But this matter really had nothing to do with Duan Mingxuan, and Lin Xi didn't want to implicate him.
"Chen Jingyi, take it all out on me," Lin Xi said, though frightened, she still stepped forward. "Don't hurt him." Chen Jingyi looked at Lin Xi, her eyes surprisingly bright, and upon closer inspection, a mad glint in them. She said, "The show has only just begun."
Lin Xi: "What are you going to do?" Chen Jingyi didn't answer. After having Brother Shan seal the windows, she didn't gag Lin Xi and Duan Mingxuan. Duan Mingxuan and Lin Xi were kicked to a corner and sat side by side. Chen Jingyi left with her people, and the windows were sealed shut.
Lin Xi turned her head to look at Duan Mingxuan: "Are you stupid? Didn't you know to ask for help first?" She said this without intending to blame him. Duan Mingxuan looked at her face, his voice gentle: "She hit you?" Lin Xi hummed in response, oblivious to her own discomfort, and asked him:
"Was Grandpa's funeral alright?" "I didn't go," Duan Mingxuan said. "Duan Yiheng went." Lin Xi was taken aback: "You...because of me?" Duan Mingxuan said: "I know Grandpa's funeral is a big deal, but you, a living person, are obviously more important, aren't you?
Since Duan Yiheng went, I stayed to find you." Lin Xi paused, then said, "Thank you." "I don't want your thanks." Duan Mingxuan's expression was somewhat agitated. "I just want to tell you that my feelings for you are no less than Duan Yiheng's."
"Ask yourself honestly, haven't you ever wished, for even a moment, that it was Duan Yiheng standing outside your window?" "With his current status and position, it's impossible for him to put you first, but I can."
"Xiao Xi, I can put you first, I can make sure my world only revolves around you." Duan Mingxuan finished speaking, looking at Lin Xi nervously. Lin Xi admired that even in such circumstances, he was still thinking about love. She gave a bitter laugh and said, "When you're surrounded by me, who knows, one day you might complain that you lost the whole world because of me." "No way," Duan Mingxuan instinctively denied. "I won't be that stupid again."
"Mingxuan, Duan Yiheng might not have arrived as early as you, but when it comes to love, there's no such thing as first come, first served," Lin Xi said. "Even if he arrived later, he's definitely trying his best to get me out of here right now, feeling the same way you want to save me."
Duan Mingxuan's lips twitched slightly, and he fell silent. Lin Xi looked around and whispered, "Did they take your things? Do you know what time it is?" Duan Mingxuan replied, "Around seven o'clock in the evening." Lin Xi asked, "Where is this?" Duan Mingxuan said, "On a mountain north of the funeral home. It's an abandoned villa area; it looks quite eerie." "Do you know how many people Chen Jingyi had with her? And that scream just now sounded like Ke Yu's voice. Also, the bodyguard who kidnapped you is completely different from the people Chen Jingyi brought. I suspect he's one of Ke Yu's men." Duan Mingxuan's mind raced. "Ke Yu's bodyguard is with Chen Liangyi, which means Ke Yu might have been murdered?" Duan Mingxuan asked.
Lin Xi pursed her lips, her eyes filled with confusion as she looked at Duan Mingxuan. She belatedly nodded, "Chen Liangyi's mental illness was caused by Ke Yu. The two of them conspired to kidnap me. I suspect Ke Yu wants money, but she doesn't understand Chen Liangyi at all."
Duan Mingxuan comforted her, "Even if she was murdered, it has nothing to do with you. Ke Yu is no pushover." Lin Xi's hands and feet were numb from being bound. She wanted to just collapse and sleep, but the high tension made her uneasy.
She looked at Duan Mingxuan, "But we don't know what she's up to. I have a bad feeling." Duan Mingxuan remembered the dark muzzle of a gun and asked Lin Xi, "Are you scared?" Lin Xi nodded, "Yes."
She was afraid Duan Mingxuan would be implicated, and even more afraid of never seeing Duan Yiheng again. Almost ten hours had passed since she disappeared; it was hard to say whether she would survive the night. "Bang—" Lin Xi's body jolted, and she met Duan Mingxuan's gaze. "What was that sound?" "A gun."
Duan Mingxuan's face was extremely grim. "What is she trying to do?"