The Cullinan stopped at the Jiangnan-style private club. Jiang Zhou opened the door for her, and Meng Jiuyi got out of the car, gazing at the welcoming pine tree in the courtyard.
She vaguely recalled a few months ago, when Tan Yuchen first bared his fangs at her.
She secretly obtained incriminating evidence against Feng Lan, intending to leak it to the entertainment department. However, Tan Yuchen intercepted the attempt, burned the photos, and made sarcastic remarks, trampling on her dignity.
After going through many twists and turns, their relationship returned to what it was before.
Having seemingly resigned herself to death, Meng Jiuyi was surprisingly calm and numb. The only sound in the long corridor was her footsteps as a waiter opened the door to her private room.
The soft sound of the door closing as she entered made her heart skip a beat.
Tan Yuchen sat on the bar in the corner area, his long legs propped up, casually leaning against the bar, mixing a cocktail. The dim blue light obscured his facial expression.
Meng Jiuyi hung his head, unable to even feign politeness as usual. The atmosphere in the large private room was oppressed by him, making it difficult to even breathe.
Tan Yuchen casually asked, "What brings you to Africa in the middle of the night?"
Meng Jiuyi forced a smile, "I suddenly remembered that I haven't been to Africa yet, so I decided to go and take a look."
"Is that so? I thought Jiu Yi was planning to flee to avoid punishment."
His expression was so nonchalant, but Meng Jiuyi couldn't help feeling a chill run down her spine; she was most afraid of him speaking in that tone.
"How...how could this be?"
Tan Yuchen nodded. "I think so too. You've always been bold and decisive, but you just went to England not long ago. You've seen all the sights, so you're heading to Africa now?"
There's no such thing as Britain.
Meng Jiuyi's smile had become very stiff. "I'm the kind of person who just skims the surface of things, jumping from one thing to another. I'm used to it."
Tan Yuchen said, "Really? You must be tired from running back and forth. I've prepared some drinks for you."
The man snapped his fingers, and a servant brought two drinks and gently placed them on the bar.
A glass of water, a glass of whiskey.
The wine glasses were exactly the same as the ones from that night on the cruise ship.
Meng Jiuyi's pupils widened, and he instantly gasped.
Tan Yuchen looked up at her, his lazy, beautiful eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
"Choose one."
Meng Jiuyi avoided eye contact with him, her hands hanging at her sides beginning to tremble.
She knew what he meant: a choice between alcohol and water, and whether she would choose the drugged one depended on her luck.
"I... am not that thirsty."
He took the cocktail and sipped it.
“Since you’re not going to drink, then we’ll have to have someone from the Meng family drink in your place, or at the very least, we’ll call your brother from England back.”
Meng Jiuyi closed his eyes.
His casual words choked me, making it hard to breathe.
If the Meng family arrives, she might not even know how she died. To protect himself, Meng's father will probably be the first to kill her, thus appeasing his anger.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with a desperate, dying hope, "If I choose, will all the past events be wiped away?"
Their eyes met in the swirling lights; his gaze was both sarcastic and mocking, but he remained silent.
Meng Jiuyi had no other choice but to slowly step forward.
Deep blue light waves rippled in the water, while the other glass was golden, like unrefined gold.
No wonder drinks are a great remedy for sorrow in bars; who wouldn't love such a beautiful color?
Unfortunately, the two cups in front of her were poison that would rot her insides.
Meng Jiuyi had no idea which cup to choose, so she reluctantly picked up a cup of water, but when the rim touched her lips, she just couldn't drink it.
My hands were trembling.
Tan Yuchen looked at her with a half-smile, "Why are you acting so resolute? Whether you choose it or not, I will clean up the mess for you, unlike you who just abandoned me."
With a "thud," the stone sank into the seabed, instantly engulfing her, whose hands and feet were bound, and taking her with her.
A choking sensation gripped Meng Jiuyi's throat.
She didn't want to drink it.
She didn't want to lose control of her body, didn't want to lose her mind and grovel at his feet, begging for his pleasure, and didn't want to go back to that day when she seduced him but was humiliated in return.
She had witnessed firsthand how terrifying this drug was that night.
He carried her from the sofa to the bed, then pressed her against the wall; her waist felt like it was about to be broken. The waves crashing on the shore will eventually end, but he seemed to enjoy it immensely, so excited, as if he intended to do it forever.
If it weren't for that lamp holder, Meng Jiuyi would probably have been killed by him.
She gave him a choice between two options.
But what about him? Is it possible that he's the only option?
It's in both glasses.
Meng Jiuyi no longer believed him.
A tear slid down Meng Jiuyi's cheek and dripped gently into the water in her glass. She tilted her head back and drank the water in one gulp, then placed the glass on the table.
"I've already drunk it. What's next? Chopping off my hands or head?"
She was no longer going to feign compliance, nor did she want to risk the danger of being stabbed in the back by trying to please him again.
A pair of eyes stared back at him fearlessly.
Despite her pride and toughness, two clear tear tracks flickered across her cheeks, and deep teeth marks were visible on her lower lip.
Tan Yuchen's unfathomable gaze lingered on her face, and he gave a slight twitch of his lips.
"I haven't even done anything to you yet, and you're already offering your neck to be stabbed?"
Meng Jiuyi said, "Is there a difference? It's just a matter of sooner or later."
She neither denied nor defended herself, but instead admitted to her crimes without reservation.
He tapped his hand idly on the table. "When did you make the deal with her?"
Meng Jiuyi's voice was hoarse, "It was... the day the old lady invited the Meng family to be guests last time."
"You knew her purpose, yet you still agreed?"
He asked if Shen Yuan had agreed to sleep with him and be registered in his household register.
Meng Jiuyi closed his eyes and nodded.
Tan Yuchen took a sip of wine.
Did you hesitate?
Yes, I think so.
Meng Jiuyi was not completely unaware of his methods. She didn't want to die so quickly, and since she was doing things for him, he paid her. The cruise ship was saved from disaster thanks to him.
She is not ungrateful, nor is she someone who was born to be hurt by others.
But life repeatedly taught her that conscience is useless in the face of self-interest.
Meng Jiuyi stared at the ground with a heavy gaze.
Does it matter?
That means there was no hesitation.
The man threw the ice cube into the bottom of the glass, and bubbles immediately rushed up, instantly wetting his fingers.
His aura was too strong; the large private room was oppressed by his gloomy presence, as if he were a beast crouching ready to pounce and bite her neck at any moment.
The deathly silence made Meng Jiuyi clench his teeth. He couldn't see Meng Jiuyi's expression, but it didn't diminish the feeling of being plunged into an ice cellar.
Unable to bear it any longer, she spoke up, "I have already confessed. I will leave my life and death to the Third Young Master."
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