Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 40

Ling Yu had not been standing far from Gu Qing.

The night was utterly silent, and Jiang Wei’s heart-rending scream over the phone moments earlier had been impossible to ignore.

Ling Yu was neither deaf nor blind. Naturally, she heard everything clearly.

She glanced at Gu Qing and asked pointedly, “Li Juan wants to kill Jiang Wei?”

Gu Qing ended the call without expression.

“That’s rather unexpected.” Ling Yu smiled. “What are you planning to do? Call the police? Dial emergency services?”

Someone as exceptionally lucid and rational as Gu Qing would certainly choose to contact the police first.

Kaihe Law Firm’s building had eighteen floors.

Tonight was bitterly cold, with ice and snow everywhere. At this late hour, when anyone could easily slip, Li Juan had used Jiang Wei’s life to force Gu Qing to come.

Even someone thinking with their toes could guess what she intended.

Li Juan was carrying out the threat she had made in the stairwell that day.

She wanted Gu Qing to regret her decision.

To regret it in every possible sense.

But what meaning did this have?

Ling Yu could not understand what Li Juan was thinking. She clicked her tongue and silently cursed her for being an idiot.

Jiang Wei had committed monstrous sexual crimes. His proper fate was to face legal judgment—not Li Juan’s personal judgment.

No individual had the right to judge another person’s life.

A legal trial would at least ensure Jiang Wei received the punishment he deserved.

The latter outcome would only provide the villains with leverage to escape their crimes.

Gu Qing might not go.

Then what would Li Juan do?

If she killed Jiang Wei, she would spend the rest of her life branded a murderer.

The result would leave everyone feeling stifled and aggrieved.

Ling Yu exhaled a cloud of white breath and adjusted her beret.

She wondered whether she should simply return home if Gu Qing refused to interfere.

Before she could think any further, a shadow fell beside her.

Gu Qing’s expression remained unchanged. She took out her car keys and tossed them into Ling Yu’s arms.

“You know how to drive. Take me back to the firm.”

Her voice was casual, yet carried a trace of command.

Ling Yu thought, Who the hell do you think you are?

Only three minutes earlier, she had severed all ties with this woman.

What had Gu Qing eaten to give her the nerve to open her mouth this wide?

Ling Yu kept her hands in her pockets and raised her foxlike eyes.

“Why should I?”

Gu Qing had been drinking tonight, and the designated driver had already left.

It was late. Even if she hired another driver, the person would exceed the time limit before reaching them from the foot of the mountain.

A shadowy darkness passed through Gu Qing’s deep-blue eyes.

Her gaze rested lightly on Ling Yu, and the atmosphere briefly reached an impasse.

Gu Qing frowned and glanced at her watch.

Without expression, she replied, “I’m not joking with you. A human life is at stake. If we continue wasting time, Jiang Wei’s case will end tonight—and I’m certain you won’t like the outcome.”

The implication was clear.

Li Juan truly intended to kill Jiang Wei.

Ling Yu recognized the gravity of the situation almost immediately. Her gaze darkened as she took Gu Qing’s keys.

Without another word, she headed toward the Porsche.

After several steps, she added stiffly, “Don’t misunderstand. This is the last time I’m helping you.”

Gu Qing’s footsteps faltered.

She pressed her lips together and gave a displeased hum.

Ling Yu opened the car door and immediately noticed a basket of apples sitting on the passenger seat.

The apples themselves were not surprising.

The crucial point was that each one had been wrapped in exquisite decorative paper.

Printed across the wrappers in enormous red characters were the words:

Peace and safety. I love you.

The bright-red lettering resembled an image from a piece of dark comedy.

Ling Yu glanced at them and calmly looked away.

“How romantic…”

Before she could finish, a terrifying pressure abruptly gathered around Gu Qing.

She interrupted with conspicuous defensiveness:

“Do you think I need something like romance?”

Ling Yu looked utterly baffled.

“I never said you did. Why are you so eager to explain?”

Gu Qing’s fingers stiffened.

Her gaze traveled over Ling Yu repeatedly as she tried to detect some trace of probing in her expression.

There was none.

Gu Qing lowered her head, her long curls concealing half her face.

Ling Yu recklessly continued:

“I was going to say that whoever gave you these apples must be deeply devoted.”

“The fact that you didn’t throw them into the trash is rather romantic. After all, someone like you…”

Ling Yu stopped.

She had a temper too.

Now that she had stopped acting like a devoted fool, there was no reason to spare Gu Qing’s feelings and continue indulging her.

Their gazes collided, anger plainly meeting anger.

Gu Qing looked as though she wanted to swallow Ling Yu alive.

Ling Yu lifted her chin with an ambiguous smile.

“Oh? They truly weren’t given to you?”

“Don’t tell me you bought them for someone else. Surely that’s impossible.”

Gu Qing was rendered speechless.

She drew a deep breath and suddenly laughed, looking at Ling Yu as though she were mentally ill.

Then her presence abruptly pressed closer.

Ling Yu stared at her.

Did this lunatic want to fight because of a few words?

Ordinarily, Ling Yu would have gladly obliged.

But was tonight really the time for a fight?

“Excuse me.” Ling Yu stared impatiently into Gu Qing’s eyes. “Attorney, you have less than thirty minutes to reach Kaihe Law Firm. Don’t forget that your client is waiting for you to save his life.”

Gu Qing ignored her.

Supporting herself with one hand on Ling Yu’s thigh, she bent down and lowered her head.

Ling Yu immediately froze.

Every sense focused on the cool, slender fingers resting against her thigh.

Gu Qing braced herself over Ling Yu’s seat, the shadow of half her body enveloping her.

Her long chestnut curls slid from her shoulder and brushed offensively across Ling Yu’s chest.

“What are you doing?”

The end of Ling Yu’s question came out distorted.

Gu Qing’s eyes darkened.

Then she sneered.

The smile was particularly meaningful, as though mocking Ling Yu for harboring filthy thoughts.

Gu Qing reached out with her other hand, pulled the seat belt from the left side of the driver’s seat, and fastened it with a click.

“What could I possibly do to you?”

Gu Qing looked Ling Yu up and down with disgust. Her phoenix eyes rose as she abruptly straightened.

“Stop wasting time on meaningless nonsense. Drive.”

Ling Yu clenched her teeth.

She slammed her foot on the accelerator.

Once the car entered the winding mountain road, its speed only continued increasing.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Gu Qing was forced to grab the overhead handle.

The Porsche squealed around the bends halfway down the mountain.

Gu Qing was shaken from side to side throughout the journey. The experience was practically indistinguishable from having sex in a moving car.

“Do you even know how to drive?”

Her complexion looked terrible. Her face had darkened so badly that even her habitual coldness became difficult to maintain.

Hearing that, Ling Yu pressed the accelerator even farther down.

Without a trace of a smile, she imitated Gu Qing’s earlier tone:

“Don’t waste time saying meaningless things. Can’t you see that I’m driving?”

From the corner of her eye, Gu Qing glanced at the basket of apples in the back seat.

Recalling the designated driver’s comment that safety was a blessing, she revealed a chilling smile.

But before it could fully form, the vehicle took another sharp turn and threw her sideways again.

Gu Qing always drove with perfect steadiness.

She had never experienced the thrill of having her heart nearly jolted from her chest.

Only after Gu Qing looked ready to vomit did Ling Yu reduce their speed.

Keeping her eyes on the road, she quietly said, “Gu Qing.”

Gu Qing gave a hum.

Ling Yu smiled carelessly.

“There’s a limit to how humble a person can make herself.”

“I already said we were finished. Please put away your inexplicable hostility too. After all, I don’t owe you anything.”

“If anything, you still owe me the matter of Jiang Wei’s case.”

Gu Qing merely looked out the window.

She instinctively took a ladies’ cigarette from her pocket and placed it between her lips.

She did not light it, revealing only her profile.

The headlights illuminated half her cold, pale face, making her appear even paler than usual.

Ling Yu withdrew her gaze and said nothing more.

She had long wanted to openly criticize Gu Qing’s vicious tongue.

Yet now that she had finally done so, it did not feel nearly as satisfying as she had imagined.

The rooftop of Kaihe Law Firm could only be reached by taking the stairs from the fire exit on the top floor.

Ling Yu followed Gu Qing at an unhurried pace, maintaining a distance of three meters.

It was far enough not to irritate her, yet close enough to avoid appearing overly detached.

As they approached the top floor, Gu Qing suddenly stopped.

Her phoenix eyes swept toward Ling Yu.

Separated by several steps, her gaze carried a trace of menacing superiority.

“Don’t follow me.”

Her warning permitted no argument.

Ling Yu kept her hands in her pockets and wore a careless smile.

“No. I’m not comfortable letting you go alone.”

The woman’s icy gaze scraped across her face, sending a chill along Ling Yu’s back.

The sensation was far too familiar.

The coldly beautiful woman standing against the light clearly conveyed one message with her eyes:

Get lost. I don’t need your concern.

Ling Yu laughed in anger.

“Don’t misunderstand. I need to watch. If Li Juan unfortunately dies, at least I’ll know who killed her.”

008 said, [Host, that was too cruel.]

[If I didn’t say it that way, would Gu Qing let me go up?]

Gu Qing examined Ling Yu suspiciously.

Her gaze traveled from top to bottom, peeling across her like the layers of an onion.

Every pause carried contemplation.

Ling Yu felt chilled by her scrutiny.

“What is it now?” she asked, sounding less confident than before.

Gu Qing brushed aside a loose strand of hair. Her expression was perfectly calm.

“I once wondered why you approached me.”

She removed a cigarette from her pocket, raised it slightly, and lit it directly in front of Ling Yu.

After taking a drag, she leisurely met Ling Yu’s black eyes.

Smoke curled around Gu Qing’s face, concealing her emotions.

But the blue-green artery in her neck had swollen, betraying her displeasure.

“Tonight, I think I finally understand some of it.”

Her voice remained faint.

She curved her lips maliciously at Ling Yu.

“You approached me because of Jiang Wei’s case?”

Ling Yu said nothing.

She was too angry.

She did have an ulterior motive, but it had nothing to do with the case.

Her principles had not fallen so low that she would sell her body for someone like Jiang Wei.

Gu Qing lowered her long eyelashes and gazed into the boundless night.

Her tone was casual.

“Did I ever tell you that I’m under no obligation to pay the promised fee to a liar?”

“Ling Yu, the famous female player from Jiangcheng’s circle of serial flirts.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

Gu Qing extended a hand with polished courtesy.

Ling Yu’s face stiffened.

She stared at the woman’s open palm as though that hand had just slapped her twice across the face.

After a moment’s silence, she asked through lowered eyes, “When did you find out?”

Gu Qing smiled.

“From the first day I met you.”

“Watching you jump around was entertaining.”

As she spoke, Gu Qing leaned back against the fire hydrant.

She smiled at Ling Yu with captivating charm.

“Don’t follow me.”

“I told you that long ago, but you never seemed willing to listen.”

“That fee is not leverage you can use to threaten me.”

“If you want to see Li Juan’s blood spilled on the spot, then by all means, follow me and try.”

It was the first time Ling Yu had ever seen Gu Qing smile so beautifully.

The curve of her lips widened, and her clear eyes seemed filled with an entire tree of red spider lilies, blooming as brightly as fire.

Ling Yu’s brows knitted tightly.

The next moment, Gu Qing opened the rooftop door.

It shut again with a sharp bang.

Her slender figure quickly disappeared along with the rhythmic clicking of her heels.

Ling Yu’s mood became terrible.

She stared at the door before her.

Her hand rested on its handle, yet she did not move for a long time.

Gu Qing had known everything.

Ling Yu scoffed.

No wonder Gu Qing’s gaze had always contained such icy disgust.

It felt as though someone had poured a basin of freezing water over Ling Yu’s heart.

She had never imagined that her three months of effort amounted to nothing more than a game in someone else’s eyes.

She had believed she and Gu Qing were evenly matched.

In reality, she had merely been an amusing little creature jumping around before the nearly demonic intelligence of Gu Qing.

The bang of the closing door repeatedly echoed beside her ears.

Gu Qing’s final warning gaze replayed continuously within Ling Yu’s mind.

She did not dare gamble.

For once, she could not act recklessly.

The emotion vanished from Ling Yu’s eyes as she stood motionless.

008 asked, [Host, are you going to follow her?]

[I don’t know.]

008 hesitated.

[Maybe you should think carefully. The female lead didn’t seem to be lying. What if she truly allows Li Juan to die because you go up there?]

[You’re right.]

Ling Yu’s voice was extremely low.

She remained outside for ten full minutes.

When she heard a startled cry from the rooftop, she pulled open the door without expression.

Kaihe Law Firm’s rooftop was vast. Opening the door did not immediately reveal Li Juan’s location.

The cold wind carried three people’s voices to her ears.

Ling Yu heard Li Juan screaming hysterically.

“What did I do wrong? You’re the ones at fault! All I did was accidentally witness this beast’s crime!”

“Why?”

Li Juan wept loudly.

“Why are all of you forcing me?”

“After Shushu died, she appeared in my dreams every night and asked why I didn’t save her.”

“I’m so ordinary. What could I possibly do?”

“I’m not like you. You’re a powerful lawyer standing high above everyone else. In the time it takes you to drink one glass, you can effortlessly seize leverage against me…”

Li Juan’s crying stopped abruptly.

Then she began laughing.

“Isn’t it ridiculous? At first, I was stupid enough to think you liked me.”

“How could I have known that you were nothing more than the Jiang family’s lackey from beginning to end?”

“Hahahaha… I was the one who misjudged you after all.”

Gu Qing remained silent, as though acknowledging the accusation—or simply finding Li Juan unworthy of a response.

Only after approaching did Ling Yu see Jiang Wei in the distance.

His hands and feet were bound with thick rope, and Li Juan had one foot planted on him.

Beneath the moonlight, Li Juan’s expression appeared distorted.

As though remembering something, she looked toward Gu Qing with one final trace of hope.

“I’ll ask you one question.”

“On the day of the first hearing, were you the person who tampered with the recording meant to prove I was a lesbian?”

Without hesitation, Gu Qing shook her head cruelly.

“It wasn’t me.”

Li Juan’s expression visibly twisted even further.

She held a knife in both hands, gripping its handle as she prepared to stab it between Jiang Wei’s legs.

“If this world has no justice, then I’ll become justice!”

An ordinary person would have stepped forward to stop her.

Gu Qing remained motionless.

She looked at Li Juan without expression.

“Fine.”

Crossing her arms, she said, “If you’re going to do it, hurry.”

“Article 232 of the Criminal Law provides that intentional homicide is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for no fewer than ten years.”

Li Juan’s hands stopped.

Fear flashed across her face.

Even after summoning her courage tonight, her original plan had merely been to force Gu Qing into agreeing to represent and help her.

Yet Gu Qing’s heart remained iron. She carried her indifference to its absolute limit.

Gu Qing raised her eyelids, her cold gaze sweeping over.

“Do you think killing Jiang Wei tonight will leave me unable to eat or sleep, tormented through every night and regretting it for the rest of my life?”

A cold curve appeared on her lips.

“It won’t.”

“Over the past two years, I’ve handled more than three hundred and twenty criminal cases. In every case, I used every ability I possessed to help my client.”

“From a lawyer’s perspective, even villains require representation.”

“I’m merely performing a job.”

“Jiang Wei is my client. You are an important witness. Neither of you is any different from the countless people connected to all my other cases.”

Gu Qing continued in a flat tone:

“If you kill Jiang Wei tonight, it won’t affect my future in the slightest.”

“The only possible consequence is that Kaihe Law Firm will become the scene of a murder.”

“That is Boss Li’s concern. I’m merely an employee who can change jobs whenever I wish.”

“If this firm can no longer operate, I’ll join another one. You know what I’m capable of.”

“Even if I stop practicing law, I completed two secondary specializations during graduate school. One was finance.”

“My intelligence is decent, and I learn quickly. Trading in the markets or starting a company wouldn’t be impossible.”

“I’ll live comfortably for the rest of my life.”

“But you…”

Gu Qing changed direction.

“You’ll either suffer abuse in prison or die.”

“Unfortunately, you’ll never have the chance to witness my future glory.”

Gu Qing possessed an ability to destroy another person’s mental state with only a few sentences.

Just like now, she wore the same focused expression she used while questioning witnesses in court.

Her tone remained level, yet somehow inspired absolute certainty that everything she said was true.

The evening wind lifted her long curls, blowing strands across her face.

It added a touch of disarray and wildness to her striking beauty.

Ling Yu suddenly paused.

She had always assumed Gu Qing was cold.

At that moment, however, she realized that an arrogance born of complete strategic confidence was hidden within Gu Qing’s bones.

Gu Qing differed from every other woman.

She resembled a thorn growing backward from a rose.

Her innate arrogance itself made her appear incompatible with everyone around her, forever standing above them.

It had nothing to do with indifference.

It was simply part of her natural character.

She was certainly not a good person.

Yet she could not be defined as evil either.

She never committed crimes. She merely danced repeatedly along the boundary of morality.

Anyone who kept their distance from her would remain unharmed.

But anyone who offended her would be torn bloody by the backward-pointing thorns covering her body.

Li Juan’s hand abruptly stopped around the knife.

Gu Qing had angered her into tears.

She wailed like a child.

Gu Qing reminded her, “You’re holding the knife incorrectly.”

“Even if you intend to kill someone, preserve some dignity for yourself. Your movement must be clean and decisive.”

“Otherwise, his blood will spray across you.”

“You’ve heard of pulse pressure, haven’t you? The moment you sever a major artery, the blood will spray in an aligned pattern along its trajectory, covering you in filth…”

With every word Gu Qing spoke, Li Juan trembled harder.

She stared at Gu Qing as though looking at a lunatic.

“You’re insane.”

Tears covered Li Juan’s face.

“Don’t think I’ll become afraid because of what you’re saying…”

Gu Qing sighed.

Her face appeared perfectly calm, but Ling Yu noticed that one of her knees was bent.

It was the posture of someone prepared to sprint.

Across the darkness, Gu Qing softened her tone slightly.

“No. You aren’t afraid. I am.”

“Killing someone is inherently frightening.”

“When Jiang Wei killed Yan Shu, you were standing outside. You should understand exactly how I feel while looking at you now.”

Li Juan froze.

As though remembering something, her hand suddenly released the knife.

The handle struck the ground with a clatter.

Gu Qing stared into Li Juan’s eyes.

She displayed no emotion in response to Li Juan abandoning her intention to kill.

Her voice remained unhurried as she continued at her customary pace.

“You feel a little better now, don’t you?”

“Using murder to threaten someone achieves nothing. You’ll merely carry the label of murderer for the rest of your life.”

“Moreover, you might fail to kill my client with a single strike.”

Gu Qing resembled a sharp blade.

She pierced Li Juan’s swollen fury and punctured it with one precise thrust.

“The Jiang family is wealthy. They can spend vast sums treating him.”

“In the future, he’ll become a successful villain—just like me.”

“When you go to heaven to meet Yan Shu, will you have the face to look at her?”

Li Juan sobbed heartbrokenly beneath the night sky.

She repeatedly cried:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want this.”

“Why? Why is no one willing to help me and my friend?”

“Why does this world have to contain beasts like all of you?”

Ling Yu stood to one side, her gaze resting on Gu Qing.

Even now, Gu Qing’s leg remained prepared to sprint.

Both hands were concealed inside her sleeves, her five fingers pressed tightly together.

Upon closer inspection, Gu Qing was not nearly as calm as she appeared.

Yet her words conveyed an extraordinary coldness.

She had brutally pressed Li Juan into the mud.

Every word she spoke was true.

But reality was so bloody that it could destroy someone’s state of mind.

Had Ling Yu heard these words under ordinary circumstances, she might have erupted into furious curses.

Yet she had to admit that Gu Qing succeeded.

Her tongue might be as poisonous as though coated in venom, but she always knew where another person’s vulnerabilities lay.

Just as in the stairwell earlier, Gu Qing needed only a few sentences to make Ling Yu’s scalp go numb and leave her standing outside, afraid to enter.

The situation changed during the five seconds Ling Yu spent distracted.

No one noticed Jiang Wei retrieving the discarded knife.

He quickly cut through the ropes binding his hands and feet.

Just as Gu Qing slowly approached Li Juan and extended a hand toward her, Jiang Wei suddenly lunged.

He seized Li Juan’s hair from behind and dragged her toward the railing.

“Die, bitch!”

Gu Qing stood nearby and immediately moved between them.

She caught Jiang Wei’s wrist with one hand, her face cold.

“Stop causing trouble.”

Her slender fingers exerted force and dug directly into his wrist.

Jiang Wei screamed in pain.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Gu Qing, don’t forget your agreement with my father! I now have every reason to suspect that you and this bitch…”

Before Jiang Wei could finish, the word “bitch” completely provoked the emotionally unstable Li Juan.

Her expression twisted with cold fury as she shoved him toward the edge.

The rooftop railing had been reported for repairs several days ago because its screws were loose.

Jiang Wei was a man and stronger than Li Juan.

Using his free hand for leverage, he reversed their positions and pinned Li Juan against the railing.

Under their combined force, the barrier gave way with a sharp crack and plunged downward.

Gu Qing reached out and caught Li Juan.

Unexpectedly, Li Juan grabbed Gu Qing in panic and used her to propel herself upward.

Li Juan escaped danger, but the force of her movement dragged Gu Qing over the edge instead.

Everything happened without warning.

As Gu Qing’s body began falling, she merely curved her lips calmly.

Even if she failed to appear tomorrow, the Jiang family would still collapse in an instant.

She had fulfilled her promise to Ling Yu.

In fact, she had exceeded it.

Other than obtaining the drug-trafficking list in Jiang Bochuan’s possession, Gu Qing believed she had arranged everything that needed handling after her death.

Perhaps dying this way was not necessarily a bad thing.

Then a face suddenly appeared in her mind.

A hibiscus face with foxlike eyes.

It stared at her provocatively, its black gaze shifting between arrogance and a luxuriant, glistening mist.

“Sister Gu, don’t you want me anymore?”

Gu Qing abruptly froze in the cold wind.

The next moment, someone seized her hand tightly.

The face conjured by her mind appeared before her like a silent film.

They were falling together.

Gu Qing blinked.

Then she blinked again.

Once she confirmed the person before her was real rather than an illusion, her pupils contracted violently.

She tried to throw the other woman’s hand away with all her strength.

But Ling Yu held her palm in an unyielding grip.

The scene perfectly resembled that distant storm of bullets, when Gu Hongwei had protected her tightly within his arms.

No one knew that Gu Qing had never wanted such warmth.

It lasted only several fleeting seconds.

Yet she would need countless future nights to wear down the unbearable pain and agitation it left inside her heart.

Gu Qing understood perfectly.

When a person lacked power, she did not deserve to love anything.

Not even a dog or a cat.

Perhaps she truly was an ominous person.

Everyone who approached her would die.

When Gu Hongwei died, Gu Qing had merely felt a tightness in her chest.

But now, as Ling Yu prepared to accompany her into hell, only one thought filled Gu Qing’s mind.

She had to break free of Ling Yu’s hand.

“Why?”

Gu Qing licked her dry lips and stared as though she wanted to devour Ling Yu alive.

“Why must you stain yourself with me and add another unbearable crime to the rest of my life?”

“Ling Yu, are you sick in the head?”

They fell rapidly, the roaring wind tearing past their ears.

Ling Yu heard only Gu Qing calling her sick.

She gave a soft laugh.

“Then consider me sick.”

She merely wanted to pull Gu Qing back.

Tonight, Ling Yu finally saw Gu Qing clearly.

She was a thorn that grew against the grain.

She refused to permit anyone near her.

Yet at the final moment tonight, she had still reached out and caught Li Juan.

Gu Qing was certainly not a good person.

But she was absolutely not evil.

In Ling Yu’s original world, right and wrong had been clearly separated.

After meeting Gu Qing, however, she suddenly understood that this standard could not be used to judge her.

As they fell, moonlight allowed Ling Yu to see Gu Qing close her eyes in resignation.

She looked as though she had grown tired of the world long ago, solitude covering her entire body.

That was why Ling Yu lunged and seized her.

She had not even had time to understand why she did it.

Fortunately, as their bodies plummeted, the system notification abruptly sounded.

[Congratulations, Host. The devoted supporting female character mission has reached 99.9999 percent completion.]

[Bonus mission generated: Host, please attend the female lead’s graduation ceremony in two days and confess your feelings. Once your confession is successfully rejected, the devoted supporting female character mission will conclude.]

[The female lead and I are about to die, and you’re giving me a bonus mission?]

Ling Yu irritably stared into Gu Qing’s murderous eyes and snapped at the system.

008 laughed magnanimously.

[The system detected that the host and female lead were simultaneously facing danger and automatically activated the point-redemption function.]

[One inflatable rescue cushion has been redeemed. Your current point balance is negative ten thousand. Please continue working hard to complete the mission.]

Ling Yu had personally called the police ten minutes earlier.

008 was shameless enough to claim the rescue cushion had been obtained through its point-redemption system.

Ling Yu no longer had time to argue.

She and Gu Qing fell headfirst onto the inflatable rescue cushion together.

Before Ling Yu could catch her breath, Gu Qing seized her throat viciously.

The woman’s ocean-blue eyes were filled with crimson veins. In the darkness, she resembled a vicious beast that had broken free from its cage.

“Why do you treat everything I say as though it means nothing?”

Ling Yu froze and coughed.

Gu Qing’s hand abruptly loosened as though she had been electrocuted.

She stopped looking at Ling Yu.

Supporting herself against a nearby pillar, she stood and looked down before delivering one final warning.

Gu Qing spoke more slowly than ever before, as though every trace of strength had been drained from her.

Her voice was hoarse.

“Don’t come near me…”

“Just consider me afraid of you. Is that acceptable?”

Her voice was soft and cold, yet also sounded like a plea offered with her waist bent in surrender.

Ling Yu stared at Gu Qing’s suddenly hunched back and narrowed her eyes.

An inexplicable sorrow rose inside her heart.

In Gu Qing’s eyes, she was filth to be discarded as quickly as possible.

That had never changed—from the moment they met until now.

Ling Yu forced out an unattractive smile.

“All right.”

Her eyes filled with exhaustion as she addressed the distant woman.

“Goodbye, Gu Qing.”

This time, it truly was goodbye.