Chapter 222 "The Canary"
A faint noise came from the room.
Lu Jin immediately released his grip on Song Heng's collar and rushed towards the direction from which the commotion was coming.
In that instant, Song Heng seemed to lose all his strength, and he collapsed to the ground.
The blond and red-haired men rushed over to help him up. "Boss, are you alright?"
Song Heng remained silent.
His eyes were vacant, his expression blank, as if he had lost his soul and his mind was completely empty.
The moment Lu Jin opened the tightly closed door, he saw the girl lying on the ground.
She seemed to have rolled off the bed, her wrists still tightly bound with rope. With difficulty, she lifted her head and, seeing that it was him, exclaimed excitedly, "Lu Jin!"
Lu Jin quickly came to her side, helped her up, and untied the bindings on her hands. He lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry."
He was far too calm.
Xia Zhen imagined him to be extremely worried, or to be very angry at seeing her like this, but none of these emotions seemed to appear on his face.
Even worse, he didn't even ask, "Were you bullied?"
Xia Zhen's hands were freed, but a red mark was clearly visible on her wrist. She reached out to touch his face, her fingertips finding it colder than usual. "Lu Jin..."
He took her hand. "I'm fine, Zhenzhen, let's go back."
Xia Zhen stood up, led by her hand, and walked out of the room. As she brushed past the person at the door, she still didn't understand why Song Heng's face looked so unpleasant.
The madman who would stop at nothing to kidnap her was now deathly pale. He was like a walking corpse, staring blankly as Xia Zhen was taken away, without even the strength to reach out.
He seemed to have suffered a great blow.
Song Heng looked incredibly fragile, as if he would shatter at the slightest touch.
But what do all this have to do with her?
Xia Zhen was led into a car by Lu Jin, who was driving. She sat in the passenger seat, and Lu Jin carefully fastened her seatbelt. He drove calmly, as if today was just an ordinary day, no different from any other.
Xia Zhen remained silent for a long time, but in the end she couldn't hold back any longer. She looked at his cold and hard profile and said softly, "Lu Jin, I'm fine, don't blame yourself."
The car stopped on the side of the road.
This was a very remote road, and not many people passed by. He had completely lost his destination and didn't know how he had driven here.
Xia Zhen grabbed his sleeve again, "I'm really fine, don't blame yourself. Today was an accident, it has nothing to do with you."
Lu Jin lowered his gaze and looked at her quietly.
Xia Zhen sighed, unbuckled her seatbelt, and reached out to hug his stiff body. "Don't be afraid, I won't leave you."
After a long while, finally a pair of hands lifted up and tightly encircled her body in that familiar embrace.
Lu Jin's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his lips moved slightly, "Zhenzhen..."
Even as he called her name, a slight tremor escaped his lips, despite his efforts to control himself.
He held her very tightly, but Xia Zhen didn't feel uncomfortable.
She gently patted his back. "Don't be afraid, I'm fine. What happened today wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself. You still found me, Lu Jin. You have no idea how happy I was when I saw you come to find me!"
Normally, he would chuckle lightly at times like this, but now he just held her quietly, unusually so.
Xia Zhen wanted to say something more to comfort him, but he suddenly spoke up.
"Zhenzhen, am I really useless?"
Xia Zhen looked up. "Why do you say that about yourself?"
He stared intently at her, his eyes trembling. "At a time like this, I actually need your comfort."
Xia Zhen laughed and said, "That proves you rely on me a lot, isn't that a good thing?"
In Song Heng's view, Lu Jin intended to raise Xia Zhen as a caged bird belonging only to him, so that Xia Zhen could only live in the magnificent palace he built for her, and everything would be under his control.
But without this canary, the person who built the palace would be the first to collapse.
He wanted to imprison her in the palace.
But she doesn't have to do anything, because wherever she is, he will confine himself to that place.
So, ultimately, who is indispensable to whom?
Xia Zhen cupped his face, lifted her head to kiss him, "I'm really okay, don't blame yourself, okay?"
He parted his lips slightly, deepening the soothing kiss, and then, amidst their mingled breaths, he murmured, "Okay..."
No one knows what Lu Jin felt when he learned of her disappearance, just as no one knows how strong the murderous urge surged within him when he saw the girl lying on the floor of the room.
He didn't ask her anything, not because he didn't care about her, but because he was genuinely afraid that Song Heng had done something to her. If he asked, it would be tantamount to hurting her again.
He never hesitated to assume the worst about others, and his rationality reminded him to prepare for the worst.
If... if she really was bullied, he wouldn't let himself get answers from her.
As their lips met, Lu Jin gently stroked her wrist, as if to comfort her, or perhaps to commemorate her.
Xia Zhen opened her eyes and looked at him.
His voice was hoarse, "Zhenzhen, there won't be a next time."
Xia Zhen looked at him for a while, blinked her dark eyes, and buried her face in his chest, "Mmm."
In fact, she could sense many things.
For example, why was Lu Jin able to find her so quickly?
Almost all of her clothes and jewelry were made by him, and it seemed only natural that he would know her whereabouts perfectly.
For example, he can't easily let go of the fact that she was taken away, and he's definitely planning something right now.
Lu Jin called her name, "Zhenzhen".
She replied, "I'm here."
He asked, "Can I go to your house and ask your father for his permission to get engaged?"
Xia Zhen lifted her face from his embrace.
He lowered his head slightly, gently stroking her cheek with one hand, his fingertips applying very tender pressure. "No matter what your father's conditions are, as long as he agrees to us being together, I'm willing to agree. I'll go to your house to see him, okay?"
He gently asked for her consent, and although he was talking about engagement, Xia Zhen felt as if he was proposing to her.
Her heart pounded, and she threw herself into his arms. "Okay!"
She was more than happy to have him go to her house to "propose marriage"!
Lu Jin finally smiled. He gazed at the top of the girl's head, his eyes filled with warmth, but beneath this calm warmth lay a turbulent undercurrent.
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