Zhou Yingxue hesitated, then asked,"Then can you tell me who your boss is?"
Qin Xiaoliu didn't want to tell her.But the fact that he hadn't died had already created a butterfly effect. Following Li Qingcheng meant he would run into Zhou Yingxue again sooner or later. His identity couldn't stay hidden forever. Better to prepare.
Qin Xiaoliu replayed the plot in his head. At this point in the story, Zhou Yingxue and Li Qingcheng already knew each other through work. Of course, Zhou Yingxue didn't realize she was Li Qingcheng's target yet. That gave him leverage.
"I'll tell you who my boss is," Qin Xiaoliu said, "but you have to promise me one more thing."
"Conditions?" Zhou Yingxue disliked the idea of bargaining with this man.
"If you don't agree, leave—pretend I never said anything." Qin Xiaoliu glanced at her, unused to pleading.
Zhou Yingxue finally nodded. She still wanted to know more about him. "Okay. Tell me."
Qin Xiaoliu cleared his throat. "Don't be surprised—I'm actually Li Qingcheng's subordinate."
Zhou Yingxue was stunned. "Li Qingcheng? No way! Why… why would President Li do this to me?"
"I can only say so much. I don't know the exact reason." Qin Xiaoliu replied. "What I want you to do is pretend you don't know me. It's that simple—can you do it?"
Zhou Yingxue was still in shock, disbelief written all over her face. She'd always idolized Li Qingcheng—running such a big company at a young age, that aura of command. She'd even had dinner with her last week. Who would have expected Li Qingcheng to send someone to do something like this to her?
Could Li Qingcheng already know her identity? Was there a grudge against the Zhou family? Zhou Yingxue sank into thought.
Qin Xiaoliu watched her carefully—of course he knew what she was thinking, but he didn't comment. "Hey, did you hear me?"
Zhou Yingxue snapped back. "Alright. I won't say anything…" she said hesitantly.
"But you didn't succeed. If you tell on me, won't Mr. Li blame you?" Qin Xiaoliu glanced at her unexpectedly—he hadn't expected her to care about his minor role.
She looked taken aback, but he waved her off. "Don't worry about that. I have my own way. Let's go—this is getting annoying."
Zhou Yingxue pouted. As she turned to leave, her high heel slipped; she stumbled, and toppled toward the corner of the table. Qin Xiaoliu's reflexes were sharp—he caught her waist.
Zhou Yingxue instinctively threw an arm around his neck.
They were suddenly very close—an awkward, ambiguous posture. Zhou Yingxue blushed. "Qin Xiaoliu, you—"
At that moment, the door was kicked open with a bang. A figure stormed in. "Yingxue! I'm here to save you!"
Zhou Yingxue frowned. "Lin Feng? Why are you here?"
Qin Xiaoliu froze. Right—what else would his name be but something so classic? The protagonist had arrived.
Lin Feng saw Zhou Yingxue's soaked clothes and the compromising scene; fury flashed across his face. Without another word he swung a punch at Qin Xiaoliu. "Bastard! Keep your filthy hands off her!"
Qin Xiaoliu was surprised—my goodness, is this the protagonist? There was no reason or ceremony—just hit if you want to hit.
He shoved Lin Feng back onto the bed and blocked the blow. As Li Qingcheng's personal bodyguard, Qin Xiaoliu had some strength and special-forces training, but he was nowhere near the protagonist's power level. Lin Feng's punch left his arm numb.
What infuriated Qin Xiaoliu most was Lin Feng's lack of reason—just punching without a word. Are protagonists always this rude?
Seeing his strike blocked, Lin Feng grew angrier and swung again. Fortunately, Zhou Yingxue stopped him in time. "Lin Feng! Stop! Do you want to kill him?!"
After hearing Qin Xiaoliu's explanation, Zhou Yingxue suspected the truth—this man was too similar to the description. Lin Feng's sudden entrance and attack made her even more suspicious. This was classic hero-saves-beauty theatrics—designed to win her favor. Maybe Qin Xiaoliu and Li Qingcheng had both been set up by him!
Disappointment cut through Zhou Yingxue—her good impression of Lin Feng crumbled.
Lin Feng, however, still feigned confusion. "Kill someone? Yaoqian, what are you saying? Isn't this guy the one who plotted against you?"
Although Zhao Wan'er had told him Zhou Yingxue was in danger, she'd asked him not to reveal that she'd said it. So he hesitated. To Zhou Yingxue, his hesitation looked like a poor excuse.
"Lin Feng! I'm really disappointed!" she snapped, then turned to check Qin Xiaoliu was alright before hastily leaving the room.
Lin Feng didn't understand what had just happened. He turned and shot Qin Xiaoliu a fierce look. "I'll remember you."
Then he followed after Zhou Yingxue.
Qin Xiaoliu ignored him and rubbed his numb arm. "You still need to get stronger fast… or your life isn't safe." He muttered, "That punch… I'll have my revenge sooner or later."
As soon as the two had left, Qin Xiaoliu's phone began to ring. He glanced at the caller ID.
"Boss."