His gaze, however, was like an invisible net, quietly enveloping Xie Huaiye, whose brows were furrowed.

Xie Huaiye frowned, his voice hard and strained:

"I made myself clear enough last time, we have nothing to talk about."

After he finished speaking, he tried to leave and reached for the doorknob.

Click.

The doorknob remained motionless; it was locked.

His heart skipped a beat, and he turned around abruptly, staring warily at Ye Qingling:

"What do you mean?"

At that moment, Ye Qingling rushed over like a gust of wind.

The icy fingers, like iron clamps, suddenly gripped his forearm.

Her strength was astonishing, completely unlike her delicate appearance.

"Mr. Xie, what's the rush?"

Ye Qingling's voice was soft and gentle.

It was like a knife coated in honey, ringing close to his ear.

Xie Huaiye instinctively wanted to shake her off.

Tens up the muscles in your arms and pull hard!

But Ye Qingling's hand seemed to be welded to his arm, remaining completely still.

Alarm bells rang in his mind; something was wrong with this woman!

He was forced to raise his head.

His gaze met Ye Qingling's unfathomable eyes.

In that very instant!

Xie Huaiye could clearly see into the depths of Ye Qingling's dark pupils.

A strange red light, like the forked tongue of a venomous snake, flashed by in an instant!

Buzz—

Xie Huaiye felt as if his head had been hit hard by a heavy hammer!

Everything before my eyes instantly distorted and blurred, like a spilled palette of paint.

The world spun around me, and my ears were ringing.

All the sounds seemed to be coming through a thick layer of frosted glass.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the sudden dizziness.

That's so weird!

It took a while to refocus my gaze.

He blinked, then looked again.

Ye Qingling was nowhere to be seen.

She was gripping his arm tightly.

It turned out to be the woman he had been longing for day and night, Yan Ning!

That face, so familiar it's ingrained in my very being.

He wore a smile that he had never seen on Yan Ning's face before, a smile that was almost bewitching.

She was looking up at him.

"Yan Ning?!"

Xie Huaiye blurted out, his voice dry and hoarse from shock.

The immense impact left him stiff and his mind blank.

What's going on? Where's Ye Qingling? Why is Yan Ning standing in front of me?

That red light just now... was it an illusion? Or...?