Chapter 24: Domineering CEO’s Fierce Love

“Stop!” Xiao Luo’s voice was cold.

Si Nanyan stared at her for a moment, then burst into loud laughter. “Xiao Luo, you’re scared, aren’t you? Afraid this woman will die by my hands…”

Xiao Luo clenched her fists and said, “Si Nanyan, you were already sentenced to life in prison—now you want to murder someone? Do you want the death penalty?”

Si Nanyan’s eyes were bloodshot as he gnashed his teeth. “If it weren’t for you, how would I have fallen so low? You’ve ruined my entire life!”

He had become a desperate fugitive, and it was all Xiao Luo’s fault! Why should Xiao Luo and Xia Lingyu live such glamorous lives while he was reduced to this filth? What was the point of staying alive? Better to drag someone down with him before dying.

“Then what will it take for you to let her go?” Xiao Luo glanced at Ji Yao. Ji Yao’s face was completely drained of color, as though she might faint at any moment.

Si Nanyan caught the hint of compromise in her tone. He smirked crookedly. “You come over and trade places with her. I’ll let her go. How about it?”

Xiao Luo nodded. “Fine.”

The bystanders urged, “No, miss! If you go, he’ll kill you! Why sacrifice yourself to save someone else?”

“Yes, your own life matters most! Think about it—you still have friends and family. Don’t you care about their feelings?”

Hearing them, Xiao Luo’s gaze wavered, and Xia Lingyu’s image rose unbidden in her mind. If she died, Xia Lingyu would certainly be heartbroken. They had only just gotten together not long ago. But Ji Yao absolutely could not come to harm.

Xiao Luo wrestled with herself for a moment, then started walking slowly toward Si Nanyan.

“Don’t move—” Xia Lingyu rushed over again just in time, yanking Xiao Luo back. Her face filled with terror, she said to Xiao Luo, “How can you be this foolish?”

Seeing Xia Lingyu, Xiao Luo felt dazed and murmured, “Why are you here?”

“If I hadn’t come, were you really going to volunteer yourself as a hostage? Xiao Luo, did you even consider my feelings?!” Xia Lingyu’s delicate features were contorted with rage.

Why was it that every time Ji Yao was in trouble, Xiao Luo went to help? Even at the cost of risking her own life unconditionally to keep Ji Yao safe?!

Xiao Luo said, “I’m sorry. But I wouldn’t have been in danger.”

Even if something happened, in this world she still had the final aid the System had given her—her trump card. That was why she had been so fearless.

“No.” Xia Lingyu still refused to relent.

“Another one.” Si Nanyan eyed his former fiancée with a dark expression, revealing a sinister smile. “Xia Lingyu, you’re really quite ridiculous. The woman you love abandons you for another woman. From the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to like you all that much.”

He threw a meaningful glance at Xiao Luo and added, “In her heart, Ji Yao is still more important.”

His attempt to sow discord was glaringly obvious. No matter how composed Xia Lingyu usually was, the faint pallor that touched her face betrayed the turmoil inside.

Seeing that look on Xia Lingyu’s face, Si Nanyan grew even more smug. Since his own life was wretched, naturally he wanted others to suffer too.

“That’s not true, Lingyu. Don’t believe what he’s saying.”

“So you’re determined to die to save Ji Yao?” Xia Lingyu turned her head, her phoenix eyes boring into her, her countenance covered in frost.

Under such a fierce gaze, Xiao Luo suddenly felt her heart seize and took a step back.

“Xiao Luo, have you never actually liked me for real? Is there… someone else in your heart?” Xia Lingyu’s expression as she looked at her now was utterly foreign.

Xiao Luo said urgently, “No!”

Seeing Xia Lingyu and Xiao Luo turning on each other, Si Nanyan felt even more delighted. “I thought you two loved each other so deeply. Xiao Luo, even though I fall for one after another, you’re still my favorite. Yet you retaliated against me—truly ungrateful. But no matter how much you despise me, aren’t you just like me in the end? Liking that one and also this one…”

Xiao Luo said coldly, “Shut up!”

Xia Lingyu asked Xiao Luo, “Is it really not like that?”

“Lingyu, believe me. It’s always been only you I’ve liked…”

“I don’t have time to watch you argue. Xiao Luo, come over and switch, now!” Si Nanyan said impatiently.

Xia Lingyu seized Xiao Luo’s wrist tightly and said, “If you like me, then don’t go over.”

Xiao Luo’s face showed a trace of conflict, and her heart was in great turmoil.

Ji Yao lifted her head and said, “Xiao Luo, don’t come. You’ve helped me so many times already. Even if I die at his hands, it’s worth it…”

“Shut the hell up!” Si Nanyan yanked Ji Yao’s hair again. Looking up, he saw the two women tugging at each other in front of him and roared, “Xia Lingyu, you won’t let her come—then how about you come be my hostage instead?”

A woman as lofty and selfish as Xia Lingyu would surely never agree. To everyone’s shock, Xia Lingyu said, “Fine!”

Si Nanyan froze. Xiao Luo was stunned as well.

“No. You can’t go.” This time it was Xiao Luo holding Xia Lingyu back.

A cold sneer appeared on Xia Lingyu’s face. “When you wanted to go, did you consider me? Why can’t I go?”

Xiao Luo felt terribly wronged. Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. She clutched Xia Lingyu’s sleeve with both hands and wouldn’t let go, looking just like a pitiful abandoned kitten.

Xia Lingyu paused, seeming to soften a little.

Si Nanyan: Damn it. He just wanted to drag someone down, and they were still flaunting their love right in front of him!

“To hell with this—which one of you is going to trade? If you don’t switch, I really will kill her!” He grew agitated, the dagger inching a little closer, making everyone around cry out for him to calm down.

“I’ll go.” Xia Lingyu ruthlessly pushed Xiao Luo away and said, “If this hurts you, then let it be my punishment for you.”

Just like the one you gave me.

Xiao Luo failed to catch her. She could only watch helplessly as Xia Lingyu walked over. Then Si Nanyan shoved Ji Yao aside and pressed the dagger against Xia Lingyu’s neck.

It all happened too fast. Xiao Luo stood frozen in shock.

How could Xia Lingyu do this?

Si Nanyan looked at Xiao Luo with a face full of smugness. “Killing her will break your heart, won’t it? The feeling of living death is far worse than dying yourself. This is your retribution.”

Xiao Luo bit her lip, staring at Xia Lingyu as tears streamed down her cheeks. How could Xia Lingyu do this?

Xia Lingyu looked back at her, frowned, and said, “What are you crying for? Don’t cry. I’m not dead yet.”

Si Nanyan gave a sinister laugh. “Xia Lingyu, falling into my hands, you still expect to live? No chance!”

He moved to slash the dagger across her throat.

But at that instant, something burst through the window and pierced Si Nanyan’s head. His movement halted. The dagger fell. His eyes widened with unwillingness, and then he collapsed straight to the floor.

Si Nanyan was shot dead on the spot!

“Ah—someone’s dead!” The onlookers scattered like startled birds and beasts, fleeing in every direction in panic.

Only Xiao Luo and Xia Lingyu remained, standing and facing each other. Everything had passed, perilously but safely.

After a long moment, Xia Lingyu moved. She strode over to Xiao Luo, reached out, and wiped the tears from her face. “Baby, I’m sorry. Don’t take what I just said to heart. I was stalling for time.”

Xiao Luo came back to her senses and threw her arms around her. “What were you doing? Why did you go to trade hostages?!”

“And you?” Xia Lingyu asked.

Xiao Luo said, “I was prepared. No matter what, I wouldn’t have been in danger.”

No danger? Xia Lingyu’s eyes grew deep and dark as she recalled that dream again. If she hadn’t arrived in time, she would have seen Xiao Luo lying on the ground with a knife wound. That dream had been far too uncanny for her not to believe it.

“I came prepared too. Xiao Luo, I don’t want anything to happen to you right in front of me.”

Remembering the dream, she had realized the coffee shop Xiao Luo went to was almost exactly like the one in the dream. So she had believed it. She had contacted the police, informing them that a fugitive was threatening public safety here, and then raced to the scene as fast as she could.

Thankfully, she had arrived just in time.

The police arrived, dispersed the crowd, and kept the few people involved. They then had to go to the police station to give their statements before they could leave.

Ji Yao seemed to have had the wits scared out of her, still dazed and confused. Only after leaving the police station did she come around and say, “Thank you, Xiao Luo. And… Miss Xia.”

Xiao Luo said, “You’ll be safe from now on. Put this behind you. As for the wound on your neck, you should still go to the hospital to have it bandaged.”

Ji Yao nodded, then turned to Xia Lingyu and whispered, “Can I speak with you privately for a moment?”

Xia Lingyu glanced at Ji Yao, then eventually took a few steps around a corner. “Speak. What do you want to say to me?”

Ji Yao took a deep breath. “From now on, you have to treat Xiao Luo well. If you don’t treat her well, I’ll…”

Xia Lingyu’s dark, piercing phoenix eyes swept over her, scaring Ji Yao so much that the rest of her words stuck in her throat.

“If you don’t treat her well, you’ll do what?” Xia Lingyu asked coolly.

Though intimidated, Ji Yao still had to struggle. She quickly finished, “If you don’t treat her well, I’ll… I’ll steal her away!” After saying it, her face immediately flushed. “Anyway, I like Xiao Luo too. If she didn’t like you, maybe I would have confessed, and she might have liked me…”

Xia Lingyu looked down at her from a lofty height. “Don’t daydream.”

That one sentence cruelly shattered Ji Yao’s fantasies. Ji Yao’s mind was a bit feverish, and she didn’t understand why she had been so bold. She said, “I-I was joking.”

Just then Xiao Luo came out and asked, “Are you two done talking?”

“We’re done. I’ll…” Ji Yao was still somewhat out of sorts. She touched the wound on her neck and muttered to herself, “Oh, right. I’m going to the hospital to get bandaged. Goodbye…”

Then she ran off in a daze, nearly tripping.

Watching Ji Yao’s state, Xiao Luo still felt a bit worried about whether she could even find her way home.

Xia Lingyu walked over. “We should head back too.”

“Mm.” Xiao Luo nodded.

After this mission, the mission progress bar had reached 100%. Which meant she could leave this world at any time.

……

This time they returned to the apartment. The moment they entered, Xia Lingyu couldn’t resist pressing her lips against Xiao Luo’s, her tongue prying open her teeth and tangling with hers. The kiss was so deep it was nearly suffocating, but Xiao Luo felt the panic and unease coming from her, so she could only yield to it, slowly soothing her.

“Xiao Luo, I’m so afraid you’ll leave me. Promise me you won’t leave me, okay?” Xia Lingyu clutched her wrist tightly, whispering into her ear.

Ever since that dream, she had believed her intuition for the first time: Xiao Luo might leave her, might abandon her. But she herself could no longer live without Xiao Luo. She couldn’t imagine days without Xiao Luo, so she used an almost abject tone to plead, “Everything I have is yours. I’ll give you anything you want. Xiao Luo, don’t leave me…”

“Lingyu, don’t be this way.” Xiao Luo touched the moisture at the corners of her eyes and could only say softly, “How could I possibly leave you? I like you.”

“Really?” Xia Lingyu’s eyes lowered as she asked.

“Really.” Xiao Luo took the initiative and kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her lips, saying gently, “Xia Lingyu, I’ll stay by your side for a lifetime.”

They went to the bedroom and lingered together until evening. Xia Lingyu contentedly wrapped her arm around the woman’s soft waist and asked, “Xiao Luo, let’s get married, okay?”

“Married?” Xiao Luo turned her head, somewhat surprised.

“Mm. Didn’t you call me ‘wife’? I want to truly become your wife, alright?”