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IN THE DIM LIT STORAGE ROOM, Feng Mian sat herself on the wooden floor and laid her back on the storage room door, her frost-cold eyes danced with mirth at the three main characters on the other side of the door.

"Care to inform me, Ms Ying Yue Zhao if you would still be up for a date with me?" Fei Long Liu raised an eyebrow, his electric blue eyes sharp and hard, their coldness sipping out. His voice was laced with a tinge of hope and anger.

Hope, for the thought of proving to another man that he was not the one loosing. And anger for the humiliation he was going through right now.

He always prided himself with his self-confidence in all the decisions he had made, but Ying Yue's engagement with another man while he obviously had been interested with her chipped away some of his pride. But he was never the one to lose, not the one to back off from any challenge.

Ying Yue really did not want to lose Fei Long Liu, but she could not possibly wrong Iker Matheus either. Her limpid eyes darted between the superior men in the room, the gears in her mind turning very fast.

Caught in the middle, crocodile tears begun to drop by drop down to her smooth face. While her shoulders were shaking, she pitifully said, "...I-I didn't know of it until just now, Master Liu..!" She glanced at Iker's darkened expression, but she gripped her hands and continued to whine. "I never agreed to it personally! How can I wh--"

"That's not right, Yue'er. We already have your family's consent, so we are indeed engaged. So whatever you say, it's a fact... Yue'er, do you not remember your words earlier..?" Iker was a little disappointed with Ying Yue's attempt to wash her hands off of the engagement, but even then he still wanted her.

Although Ying Yue paled, she did not stop her A-rated acting. "Young Master Matheus... I'm still 14! How can I possibly get engaged so soon...? You and I are still very young, and I'm sure there are many more suitable women out there for you. I am only but a child... I hope you don't blame me for this..."

Iker was torn as she was the first woman he ever fancied, so whether it was too early, he did not want to miss the chance. However, Ying Yue did not seem to think the same, which only told him she did not like him enough.

Although disappointed, Iker did not want to force Ying Yue. He solemnly nodded his head. "Alright. I apologies for my hastiness, Yue..." He was indeed feeling very disappointed. His eyes then glanced at Fei Long Liu's cold countenance, a stubborn expression replacing his once gloomy face.

Fei Long Liu returned Iker's challenging look, while Ying Yue discreetly released a relieved sigh. After what she'd done, she'd narrowly avoided the men's confrontation but a price of a steeper hill to climb. At least, she would not be tied with someone so soon.

• • •

Feng Mian on the other hand was silently cursing the charm of the snake. "People really love the devil..." Her eyes then turned to the array of narrow glass windows on the side and thought of her next course of actions.

• • •

A suffocating silence ensued until Fei Long Liu sliced it. "Does this mean you want a date with me, Ms Ying Yue Zhao? Or do you fancy balancing us men in both your hands?" Slowly, he said, causing Ying Yue to pale once more.

She could not very well say 'Yes! Yes! I want you, just after using the excuse of age to reject another man!' Her limpid eyes turned even more glossy as she softly said, "Master Liu... I--"

"If you want me, my money and reputation, I don't want any men getting close to you. Otherwise, I'd rather sleep with a slut." His indifferent tone felt so cold, shredding Ying Yue's heart to pieces. And he was not even done yet as his anger had not been quenched. "Oh— I suppose there would be no difference. Very well, Iker Matheus, you may have the little bitch because I don't want her."

As he said so, Ying Yue could not utter a reply for Fei Long Liu had left, leaving behind awkwardness between Ying Yue and Iker Matheus.

• • •

Following right behind Fei Long Liu, his assistant was inwardly surprised at how much his master had spoken when most of the time, he'd only speak at least four to five words. It can only be said how mad his master had been when he saw the lady he had been thinking of courting being intimate and alone with another man. And it was not just any other man, but Iker Matheus!

He looked up at the sky at how unfortunate his master was until he noticed movements in the corner of his eyes. Subconsciously, he turned his head only to gape, his heart almost stopped at the sight!

For 'lo and behold, on the red brick walls of the mansion, a monkey was dangling from a window. There were nearby trees to jump onto, but they were several feet away from the wall. The assistant was mesmerized for a moment that he had forgotten to think and had stopped following his master, causing the said master to stop his steps as well and turn back, fury masking his face.

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But the instance he did so, he too was surprised at the sight of a slender monkey still debating where and when to jump. The monkey's white shirt had blood splatters on them from breaking the glass window where his hand was supporting all his weight.

For a moment, Fei Long Liu forgot all his anger and humiliation, simply spectating how the slender monkey will land on the ground from the 3rd floor.

As their eyes trained on Feng Mian, the latter had already carefully devised her next moves after she had surveyed almost 180deg of the surroundings. She went back up, and into the storage room. After a moment, there was a rope made of curtains. Feng Mian was thankful she was shoved in the storage room, especially one with fancy curtains!

Feng Mian laced the ropes that were used to bind her limbs around her hands, while the dagger she kept around her calf was in between her teeth. She climbed swiftly, making sure she brought herself on the ground before the patrol came back.

Just when her feet was only 4 feet from the ground, a man in black spotted her as he was turning from the corner, a gun was immediately aimed at Feng Mian as he warned, "Drop yourself and don't move." He removed his gun's safety lock while his glare was trained on Feng Mian.

Feng Mian obediently followed his words and covered the distance between her and the ground by letting go of the rope. She laid on the ground face down as she slowly heard the man's cautious footsteps approach.

Once she sensed him close enough, she grabbed the knife in her mouth and swiftly pushed herself up with her other hand off the ground as her leg made a big sweep towards the man's back knee.

Although the man was caught off guard, he recovered himself fast. He immediately trained the gun on Feng Mian once again, but before he could pull the trigger, Feng Mian had rolled to the side and dashed to his back. He swiftly turned around to hit Feng Mian with his elbow, but what met him was a dagger deeply embedded into his elbow's bone. Since he intended not to hold back, his elbow force was not weak, so when he elbowed, the dagger simply had to wait and stab him.

A pained cry resounded and everyone in the villa was immediately rushing to the location. Feng Mian did not wait for the rest to arrive and immediately removed her dagger, stabbed the man once again on his neck before taking his gun. The man in black collapsed on his weight after Feng Mian stepped back.

As she turned around to run, she caught a glimpse of the Emperor at the far distance, looking at her direction but she could care less about a pair of spectators. In fact, it will be beneficial if they understood she was not some simple young master.

Swiftly, she ran to the foliage hundreds of feet away at the side of the family villa, dashing for cover as more men in black arrived, shouting behind her.

"Shoot him! Don't let him get away!!"

Soon, bullets sliced through the air as they aimed for Feng Mian's slender legs. But Feng Mian already thought of this and had been dashing from side to side in order to miscalculate their aims. She was still nervous however, as a stray bullet tore a line at the edge of her ear. Another stray bullet cut her shoulder, and more bullets made their way almost piercing Feng Mian immobile.

She dashed into the foliage, and once she was inside the safety, she swiftly bent her back down and dashed like an ex-convict. She could still hear the men in black chasing after her, and even Iker Matheus' bewildered voice as he had no idea what was going on.

Feng Mian simply shot through the wilderness while reaching for her backup phone at her calf. She dialed a number very fast without looking down on the screen and put it by her ear. But there was no signal, so she ended up cursing to herself, strapped the phone back around her calf.

She continued dashing tirelessly throughout the wilderness with no end in sight until the sounds of her chasers grew fainter and fainter. Then she made a full stop, her laboured breathing tearing her lungs apart.

She was bleeding all over, her white shirt could no longer be considered white, while her necktie was lost somewhere during her escape. Her short hair was dishevelled, making it even more messy as she ran her slender fingers through her hair.

Feng Mian looked up at the darkening sky, and she knew she didn't have time to waste in the wilderness. Calculating the position of the sun, Feng Mian moved towards a certain direction.

Not for long, she found the main road. What surprised her was that there was a vehicle parked on the opposite side. As soon as she neared the main road, the door of the black vehicle opened and out came a young man in suit.

Feng Mian recognized the man as the one who was with the Emperor despite only glancing at him twice today. She raised a brow while Fei Long Liu's assistant approached, an amiable smile on his face.

"Good evening, Young Master Zhao. My master has waited upon you for a long time. Would you mind joining my master for a talk inside?"

Feng Mian had expected to meet the Emperor sooner or later, especially after being seen in her act of escape. She gave the assistant a curt nod, putting both hands in her side pockets leaning back her weight to her soles, appearing relaxed at once. For a moment, the assistant thought Feng Mian was merely playing in the wilderness, if he did not consider the dried up blood on her skin and clothes.

Once inside Fei Long Liu's car, she heard his cold voice say, "Would you consider working with me, Feng Mian Zhao?"

If Feng Mian has never been surprised in this second life, she was now. But it was a pleasant surprise as a smile laced her cherry coloured lips, saying: "Are you gonna use me to get closer to my sister? ...But I'm sure you know about us by now, as you don't seem the type who would simply associate with someone without doing your homework." Feng Mian paused, then her smile deepened as the frost in her eyes grew a darker shade.

Fei Long Liu felt his heart constrict seeing Feng Mian's profound expression as he silently processed her words. Not for long, Feng Mian continued, her words laced with malice. "...Or, like a puppy you want recognition out of having me work under you to make Ying Yue happy. That's a clever plan, especially when I have nobody else to support besides myself."

Hearing up to here, if Fei Long Liu thought Feng Mian would agree, he was doubting his initial conjuncture now. In a split second, Feng Mian presented him reasons behind his mere sentence like he was being peeled layer by layer to expose the deepest corner of his mind.

As he thought as such, he couldn't help but reassess the beautiful slender boy before him once again. Despite the disheveled appearance, with some blood, the attractive countenance that could very well allure men and women alike didn't dim. Rather, such a dangerous appearance merely added to the charm.

Furthermore, the frost hue in those pair of eyes told him darkness he had never seen before, but they were a pair of beautiful eyes that were screaming at him of danger. But who was Fei Long Liu? He loved challenges the most.

. . .

Only, can he afford to hire the devil?