Chapter 55: Li Liu’s confession
Li Chengfeng growled back, clutching his chest in pain. "I told you that I don’t know. Why would I hurt him, when I intend to take him as my own disciple?" he raised his mana saber once again in defense.
Xuenyi’s gaze narrowed, and she tightened her grip on the reins of her wolf. "You want to be his master? I’m afraid you are not qualified."
She followed it by conjuring a dense mana sword in her hand and said. "Last chance. Tell us where he was, and I will leave you alive."
Li Chengfeng tightened his grip on the mana saber and charged forward. "I told you that I have nothing to do with his disappearance, you unreasonable bitch..."
A while later;
Li Chengfeng, filled with cuts and injuries all over his body, was pinned to the ground under the black wolf’s paws. Xuenyi slowly walked forward and reached him, pointing the sword at his neck. "This is the last warning, Li Chengfeng. I don’t hesitate to kill an innocent if that’s what it takes to find him. So, I’m going to ask you for the last time. Where. Is. Lin Fang."
It was right then, her phone buzzed, interrupting her. She pulled it from her pocket, glancing at the screen before answering.
"Yes, Sir," she said coolly, her voice betraying no emotion.
As she listened to the other end, Li Chengfeng lay still, feeling the tension in the air.
"Alright," she said after a pause, lowering the phone. "I understand."
She gave another glance at Li Chengfeng before dismissing the mana sword.
"You’re lucky that you aren’t the one behind his disappearance," Xuenyi said, her tone colder than before. "But I warn you now. Never dare to have any designs on Lin Fang again. Continue to be his mentor as you were, but don’t attempt to form such a master-disciple relationship with him. Whatever efforts you put in and whatever losses you faced in doing so, everything will be compensated in due time. Also, forget the fact that you met me. If you dare speak to Lin Fang about me or our encounter, no one from the Li family will be left alive. Got that?"
Li Chengfeng, looking terrified of her, nodded like a chicken and could only watch as she turned and began to walk away. "Who is Lin Fang?" he called after her.
Xuenyi paused with her back to him. Her answer was quiet, almost like a whisper. "No one important... at present," she said, before walking off into the shadows.
Li Chengfeng stood there with his mind racing. He couldn’t make sense of any of it. From what he gathered, Lin Fang didn’t have any background. His fortunes just recently seen a sudden improvement after he settled his debts. "Why does such a woman protect him? Don’t tell me she is his lover or something, right? No, she often used the word we. It means there is an organization that is backing Lin Fang in secret. Why? Just what is his true identity?"
Back at Evergreen Apartments;
Zhi Yan’s voice crackled as she grabbed Lin Fang’s collar as soon as she saw him, each word sharp with frustration. "You know how much worry you caused? I was roaming all over the city looking for you, and here you are... If you didn’t intend to take a motorcycle, why didn’t you just come with us? It would have only been a half-hour uncomfortable ride."
Lin Fang sat on the couch with his head slightly lowered as he listened. He could almost feel the anger in her words. And for some reason, he felt guilty when he was the victim here.
"And why didn’t you come with us anyway?" Zhi Yan continued, not waiting for his response. "We’re girls, and none of us would have minded being a little cramped. What’s the issue? You think we’re fat or something? You have a lean physique. What could’ve been the problem? Or did you think it was too embarrassing to ride with us?"
Lin Fang winced at the last remark, but his guilt only mounted higher. He wanted to shout at her that your friend was the cause of this, but he knew his place. He couldn’t afford to go against Xiao Estate.
Knowing Zhi Yan’s personality, the moment he spoke about Jiang Fei, she would go ahead and confront the guy and perhaps her mother. Who knows what would happen after that? Moreover, he had already defeated Jiang Fei.
"I’m sorry," Lin Fang muttered aloud in the end.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, Zhi Yan’s voice softened, crossing her arms. "Alright."
After a while;
*Knock* knock* knock*
As Lin Fang opened his door, he found Li Liu standing outside. Her eyes were fluttering in nervousness. "Hi. Can we speak?"
Lin Fang moved aside with a smile on his face. "Come in."
As they sat down, Li Liu’s finger fidgeted in nervousness, and she hesitated to speak for a while before Lin Fang spoke. "If you aren’t comfortable speaking about it, we can talk later."
Li Liu hurriedly said, "No, it’s fine. It’s best to solve it right away rather than prolonging the matter."
"So..." Lin Fang leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees. "Let’s talk then."
His heart pounded fastly like an engine of a locomotive or something, in extreme nervousness, as if he was assuming the worst-case scenario. And then Li Liu finally took a breath before speaking. "I don’t regret it, kissing you."
"Eh?" Lin fang blinked. "What do you..." His heart rate only spiked up even more, this time more in excitement.
Li Liu then continued, "Zhi Yan and I have been best friends since childhood. She is more family to me than my own. But seeing you together like that, I felt uncomfortable, like a third wheel. However, when you confessed to me like that... I..." As a blush crept to her cheeks, she looked at her feet and added. "I couldn’t help but become selfish for a second and kiss you, but along the way, she came into my head, and I thought I couldn’t do it to her, and I faked sleep. And yesterday, in the club, I was once again hurt when I saw you two drinking all by yourselves, and I just couldn’t help myself, dragging her with me. But today, when you went missing, I saw how much Zhi Yan worried about you. I didn’t like it one bit. I was worried that in the future, I might hate her because of you. So, I hope we don’t complicate the relationship over some kiss."
After saying what she wanted, she got up and bowed slightly. "I’ll get going then." Meanwhile, Lin Fang’s eyes darkened.
His hand shot before she took two steps away from him, grabbing her hand and halting her footsteps. As she turned around to face him, Lin Fang hesitated and slowly let it go. He forced a smile and shook his head. "Alright, I understand."
Li Liu nodded and then walked away. Lin Fang just stared at her back, clenching his fists. "No, it is too early to ask her. She believes they are sisters, but in the future, she might realize she has feelings for Zhi Yan. And while she said that she felt uncomfortable seeing me and Zhi Yan together, it hasn’t been confirmed whether she felt jealous of Zhi Yan or me. I need to test it then, whether she likes me or Zhi Yan. The best way to do that is..."