Chapter 6: Caught by the Devil
The storm rolled in quietly that night — low clouds, salty wind, and the distant rumble of thunder over the sea.
Perfect cover.
Xiao Ping had said Qin Rui was attending a late strategy meeting with foreign clients. It would keep him busy for hours.
She had time. Or so she thought.
---The Forbidden Door
Li Mei used the duplicate key she had lifted earlier from a distracted maid's lanyard. The metal clicked smoothly, and the grand doors to Qin Rui's private quarters creaked open.
The room smelled like bergamot and wood polish — dark, masculine, and sharp like the man himself.
Everything was precise: expensive furniture, a crystal decanter, not a single pillow out of place.
She had fifteen minutes — max.
She began checking the bookshelf, running fingers along the spines. Then the desk drawers. Nothing but ledgers, foreign correspondence, antique pistols.
Then — a false panel in the wall.
She pushed.
Inside, she found a locked case, and behind that, several files marked in red. She snapped photos quickly with the pen camera hidden in her bracelet.
> "Come on, come on..." she whispered.
---The Moment
A click.
The door behind her opened.
She froze.
And her heart stopped.
Qin Rui.
Soaked from the rain, black shirt clinging to his skin, hair slightly wet, and a bottle of wine still in hand.
He shut the door slowly. Locked it.
Then said in that cold, silky voice:
> "You've got a very bad habit of trespassing."
Li Mei straightened, hiding the panic in her eyes.
> "I was just..."
He stepped closer, eyes scanning the open panel behind her, the disturbed files.
> "Looking for something?"
> "No. I—" she paused. Her mind raced. The truth would kill her.
So she made a dangerous choice.
---
💬 The Lie That Changed Everything
> "I wasn't searching for anything," she said suddenly.
"I was... in your room because... I like you."
Silence.
Qin Rui blinked once.
She continued, forcing vulnerability into her voice — just enough.
> "I know I shouldn't. I know it's foolish. But... I can't stop thinking about you. That night in the garden. The way you look at me. The way you control everything."
She took a step closer — slow, heart pounding like a war drum.
> "I went to your library... because I wanted to know you."
Qin Rui stared at her like she had just walked naked into a battlefield with nothing but a smile.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he walked to her — each step heavy, deliberate — until they stood nearly chest to chest.
> "You're either the best liar I've ever seen," he whispered, "or the most reckless woman I've met."
His hand came up — not to touch her, but to push a strand of hair from her face. The move was slow. Controlled. Dangerous.
> "And what if I don't like being liked?" he asked.
Li Mei didn't blink. "Then punish me."
His lips twitched.
Not a smile.
Something far more dangerous.
---The Cliffhanger
Qin Rui turned away finally, picked up the bottle of wine, and poured himself a glass like nothing happened.
> "Stay away from locked doors, Miss Li Na," he said, sipping slowly.
"Or next time… I might not let you walk out."
And just like that, he let her go.
But the tension between them was no longer just suspicion.
It was something darker. Hungrier.
And now… he was watching her for a very different reason.