Chapter 21

That pinch of grayish-white ash and that cold micro-sensor were like two red-hot nails, smashing into Gu Jing's eyes, burning him so hard that his soul trembled.

Qin Zhengfeng's gentle tone still hung in the air, but every word he spoke was filled with cold venom.

"My good son, what exactly do you want me to steal from you?"

The luxurious, heavy air in the study seemed to freeze instantly, pressing heavily against his chest, suffocating him. The tiny headset in his ear was dead silent. Qin Yu's breathing had disappeared, leaving only his frantic heartbeat, which pounded against his eardrums, making him dizzy.

It's over.

It's all over.

Qin Yu's plan, like a poor joke, was completely seen through from the start. He even used this method to throw both the evidence and the humiliation in his face.

Gu Jing's face was as pale as a mirror, and his fingers were shaking uncontrollably, barely able to grip the cold lid. He opened his mouth, but his throat was too dry to make any sound. He could only stare in vain at the old man behind the desk, who lay like a dormant beast.

Qin Zhengfeng was not in a hurry. He leisurely leaned back on the large leather chair, picked up the antique fountain pen again, and slowly turned it between his fingers, appreciating Gu Jing's fear and despair as if he were appreciating a carefully choreographed drama.

"Young people are always easily manipulated." He sighed, his tone even tinged with false pity, "especially when they are deceived by lies that appear affectionate but are actually malicious."

His eyes swept across Gu Jing's ear meaningfully.

Gu Jing's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an icy hand. Lies? Qin Yu's treatment of him... was all lies? Including his seemingly uncontrollable paranoia and possessiveness?

No…those don’t look fake…

But the desperate situation before us is so real.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about." Gu Jing finally found his voice, which was hoarse and trembling. "Boss Qin just... just asked me to come to the banquet..."

"Oh?" Qin Zhengfeng raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he had heard a funny joke. "Do they need to put this little thing on you to come to the banquet? Do they also need him to be like a mouse hiding in the dark, monitoring every move here?"

He paused, his lips curled up in a cold arc.

"Or, did he ask you to come here in order to..." His gaze became sharp as a knife, slowly sweeping across Gu Jing's chest, which was slightly heaving due to nervousness, and his tone was filled with a sickening intimacy, "...to 'get' something from me in some other way?"

Gu Jing's stomach churned, the humiliation and fear making him almost vomit. He stood up suddenly, the chair legs scraping harshly on the floor.

"Mr. Qin! Please be respectful!" His voice was trembling, but he was trying hard to maintain the last bit of dignity.

The smile on Qin Zhengfeng's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, undisguised aura of authority and oppression. He wasn't angry, but his hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly, emitting a terrifying cold light.

"Respect?" He repeated softly, as if he had heard a huge joke. "Gu Jing, don't you understand the situation?"

He slowly stood up, walked around the desk, and approached Gu Jing step by step. His tall figure cast a huge shadow, completely covering Gu Jing, bringing a suffocating sense of oppression.

"Whose territory are you standing on now? On whose charity did your Gu Group barely avoid bankruptcy? And in whose hands is your life now?" He took a step closer with each question. His voice was not loud, but every word was heart-piercing.

Gu Jing was forced to retreat again and again, his back hitting the cold bookshelf heavily, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.

Qin Zhengfeng stopped in front of him, his nose almost touching his. Gu Jing's pale and bewildered face was reflected in his eyes, which had seen all the vicissitudes of life but were now only cold.

"Talking to me about respect?" He sneered, raised his hand, and suddenly pinched Gu Jing's chin with his cold, cigar-smelling fingers, so hard that it almost broke his bones. "Do you deserve it?"

Gu Jing groaned in pain and struggled to push him away, but Qin Zhengfeng's other hand easily clamped his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and pressed it tightly against the bookshelf! He was completely imprisoned and unable to move!

"Let me go!" Gu Jing hissed, his eyes red with pain and humiliation.

"Let you go?" Qin Zhengfeng leaned closer, his hot breath spraying on his face, carrying the unique and unpleasant smell of an old man. "When my good son comes, I will naturally let you go."

Gu Jing's pupils shrank suddenly: "You...you informed him?"

"Of course." Qin Zhengfeng smiled cruelly and happily, "As a father, I always have to give my son a chance to be a hero and save the beauty, right? Although..."

His eyes licked Gu Jing's lips like a poisonous snake.

"…He may have come at the wrong time."

At this moment, a burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps could be heard faintly outside the study, mixed with the bodyguard's low shouts and the dull sound of something heavy falling to the ground!

A glimmer of success flashed in Qin Zhengfeng's eyes, and he pinched Gu Jing's chin even harder, almost lifting his face to a twisted angle, facing the study door.

"Listen," he whispered in Gu Jing's ear, his voice like a devil, "your knight is coming."

"Bang--!"

The heavy oak door of the study was violently kicked open from the outside! The huge crash made the walls buzz!

Qin Yu was standing at the door.

He had clearly barged in. His black suit jacket was gone, leaving only a white shirt stained with scattered blood. His collar was ripped open, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearms, muscles tense and veins bulging. His black hair was soaked with sweat, a few strands clinging to his temples. His face was abnormally pale, save for his eyes, which were so red they seemed to bleed, surging with rage and a near-destructive madness.

His gaze was like a physical blade, piercing through the room in an instant and landing precisely on Gu Jing, who was being clamped tightly against the bookshelf by Qin Zhengfeng, his face pale, his jaw red, his eyes full of fear and humiliation.

At that moment, the aura around Qin Yu was as terrifying as a Shura returning from hell.

"Let him go."

His voice was hoarse and completely out of tune, and every word seemed to be ground out from between his teeth, carrying the bloody smell of murderous intent.

Qin Zhengfeng seemed very satisfied with his out-of-control appearance. Instead of letting go, he pressed Gu Jing even tighter against himself and even deliberately rubbed the red skin on Gu Jing's jaw with his thumb.

"What? Are you feeling bad?" Qin Zhengfeng said with a playful and sarcastic tone, "I just learned a few moves from you, just for fun. You can't stand it?"

This sentence was like the most vicious catalyst, instantly burning away the last trace of rationality in Qin Yu's eyes!

"I said, let him go!"

Qin Yu let out a low growl that was almost like a beast, and suddenly rushed into the house!

The two bodyguards guarding the door immediately stepped forward to stop him, but were instantly knocked down by Qin Yu's reckless and brutal attack! The crisp sound of shattered bones and screams rang out!

He seemed to feel no pain at all, with only the hostage figure in his eyes, and every step he took was filled with the determination to destroy everything!

Qin Zhengfeng looked at his son, who was rushing towards him like a mad beast. A trace of genuine fear finally flashed through his eyes, but more of it was a fury of provocation. He suddenly pushed Gu Jing aside!

Gu Jing was caught off guard and stumbled into the antique shelf next to him. The shelf shook violently, and the porcelain ornaments on it shattered to the ground!

Qin Zhengfeng took the opportunity to retreat quickly and pressed a secret button on the desk!

The shrill alarm sounded throughout the study and even the corridor in an instant!

More footsteps came from outside!

"Catch this rebellious son for me!" Qin Zhengfeng shouted sternly, with no trace of kindness left on his face, only ferocious viciousness.

Several elite bodyguards rushed into the study and pounced on Qin Yu!

Qin Yu seemed not to notice the people who surrounded him at all. His eyes were fixed on Gu Jing, who had fallen to the ground, his arm scratched by broken porcelain pieces, and was trying to struggle to get up.

“Jing——!”

He roared Gu Jing's name and rushed forward regardless of anything.

One of the bodyguards took the opportunity to punch him in the stomach from the side - exactly where he was injured before!

Qin Yu's body trembled violently, and he groaned. His movements were momentarily delayed, his face turned pale as paper, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. It was obvious that he was in excruciating pain.

"Qin Yu!" Gu Jing screamed in shock, his heart seemed to be pierced!

This is the flaw at this moment!

More punches, kicks and stun guns rained down on him!

Qin Yu stumbled, still stubbornly trying to get closer to Gu Jing. His crimson eyes held only that figure, a frantic obsession supporting his shaky body. He blocked attacks with his bare hands, each counterattack laced with the ruthlessness of a mutual destruction. He kept knocking people down, but his wounds kept piling up, and blood quickly stained his white shirt.

"No! Stop hitting me! Qin Yu!" Gu Jing looked at the figure struggling in blood like a trapped beast, and looked at his eyes that were staring at him until his death. The huge pain and fear overwhelmed him like a tsunami!

All the conspiracy, calculations, and hatred seem pale and ridiculous at this moment!

He only knew that person would die! He would die here for him!

"Stop! I beg you to stop!" He screamed at Qin Zhengfeng, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. "What do you want? I'll grant you everything! Let him go! Please let him go!"

Qin Zhengfeng just stood at a safe distance with a sneer, admiring this "good show" of father and son killing each other and hero saving beauty, without any reaction.

At this moment, Qin Yu seemed to have finally broken through layers of obstacles, staggering to Gu Jing's side. He used his blood-soaked body to protect him in the corner formed by himself and the bookshelf, and used his back to withstand several heavy blows that followed!

"Ugh!" His body trembled violently, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splashed on Gu Jing's pale face, warm and dazzling.

He lowered his head and looked at Gu Jing, who was shaking with fear and with tears on his face, in his arms. In his crazy red eyes, he managed to squeeze out a very faint, almost comforting look with great difficulty and twistedness.

"Don't... be afraid..." His voice was broken and he was barely breathing, but he still stubbornly raised his trembling hands, trying to wipe away the blood and tears on his face, "I... am..."

Gu Jing's crying stopped abruptly.

He looked at Qin Yu's face, pale as paper but full of paranoia, close at hand. He looked at the corner of his mouth that was constantly bleeding. He looked at the way he tried to protect himself even when he was dying. He looked at the faint but real glint in his eyes...

Not a lie.

Those crazy, suffocating, terrifying possessions and protections... Perhaps the means were extreme, or perhaps there were deeper secrets hidden behind them...

But at this moment, the madness of risking one's life for him is real.

The whole world seemed to be quiet.

All that was left was the heavy breathing of the person in front of him and the tearing pain in his heart.

An equally crazy emotion, like a long-dormant volcano, suddenly erupted from the deepest part of Gu Jing's heart! Destroying all reason, fear, and hesitation!

He suddenly raised his head, tears still hanging on his eyelashes, but his eyes instantly became cold and crazy, shooting straight at Qin Zhengfeng not far away!

The hatred and determination in those eyes made Qin Zhengfeng, who had experienced many storms, feel a chill in his heart!

The next second, Gu Jing made a move that no one expected!

He suddenly reached out and reached for Qin Yu's left abdomen, which was injured before and was now bleeding! Instead of pushing him away, he pressed down hard with all his strength!

"Ah!" Qin Yu was caught off guard and let out a short groan of extreme pain. His body suddenly arched up, and the arm that was clamping Gu Jing instantly lost its strength!

In the blink of an eye!

Like a slippery fish, Gu Jing suddenly broke free from Qin Yu's arms, which had relaxed due to the severe pain! And pushed him hard!

Qin Yu, already at the end of his strength and relying solely on his willpower, was suddenly pushed into the heavy mahogany desk next to him! His waist hit the hard corner of the desk hard!

Qin Yu's eyes went dark, and he completely lost all his strength. He slid down the edge of the table and curled up on the ground, falling into a semi-comatose state. Only his body was still twitching unconsciously due to the severe pain.

It all happened so fast that no one could react!

Even Qin Zhengfeng was stunned, as if he had not expected that Gu Jing would suddenly be so cruel to the person he "risked his life to save"!

Gu Jing didn't even look at Qin Yu who was lying on the ground.

He stood there, breathing slightly, his body stained with Qin Yu's blood and his own tears, his white suit in disarray, and his arm still bleeding from the scratches on the broken porcelain.

But his eyes at this moment were cold, calm, and even carried a weird and extremely crazy light. He slowly swept across the astonished bodyguards in the room, and finally stopped on the equally astonished Qin Zhengfeng's face.

He raised his hand and, with his fingertips, slowly wiped away the blood that had splattered on his cheek, belonging to Qin Yu. His movements were slow and graceful, yet carried a chilling, sinister aura.

Then, he slowly, very slowly, put on a cold and extremely brilliant smile towards Qin Zhengfeng.

Like a poisonous flower blooming in hell.

"Mr. Qin,"

He spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly penetrated the alarms and the gasps of the crowd, with an unprecedented, cold madness and determination.

"Now……"

"I'll play with you."