264 On Your Deathbed

Pain.

That was the last thing He Xinlan remembered before consciousness left her. She was greeted by the same pain the moment she opened her eyes.

It was dark. She couldn't make out anything of her surroundings. Instantly, fear rose from the deepest parts of her heart when she realized that she was feeling numb and was unable to move. She guessed that she was tied up to a chair. She squeezed her eyes shut before slowly opening them again, hoping that she could somehow see at least a silhouette of her surroundings.

Still nothing.

He Xinlan bit her lips. Pain… she felt blood trickling down her face, to her lips and eventually her mouth. The taste of iron assaulted her taste buds as soon as the blood seeped into her mouth.

This was not a dream.

Earlier, she had tried to use her maximum strength to move her arms but quickly stopped when she felt something tighten around her wrists. Was it a rope, or maybe some wires? She had no idea.

She tried to extend her awareness as she listened, but she could not hear anything aside from her fast heartbeat and the sound of a generator buzzing in the distance.

"You're awake.' A cold voice echoed inside the room, followed by blinding light. He Xinlan instantly closed her eyes as the light assaulted her senses. "I thought you were dead," the voice echoed before she heard soft footsteps coming towards her. Then she heard something being dragged- a chair?

He Xinlan slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust her vision to the now lit room - No! It was more like a box. The first thing that He Xinlan noticed was the absence of a window. Underground? Could be, she thought. She squinted her eyes as she tried to make out of the silhouette of the man sitting in front of her.

"Who are you?" she mustered all of her courage to ask because it would not be wise to appear weak at this moment. Her question, however, remained unanswered as the man did not respond. He Xinlan once again squinted her eyes to adjust to light emanating from the old fashioned bulb that was placed just above her head. "Why did you bring me here?"

Once again the man did not answer. He Xinlan could now clearly see the man's features. The man was wearing black cargo pants paired with combat boots. He was also wearing a black shirt that fit close enough to show off his lean and muscular body. His skin was pale and his looks were good enough to land him a modelling job on a billboard. This instantly made her wonder who this person was.

"Who are you?" she asked one more time, her gaze directed straight at the man's stern face. She watched as a smile crept over the man's young features. It was a beautiful smile but He Xinlan found it a little disturbing. The man simply tilted his head without answering. For some reason, this gesture instantly sent shivers down her spine. He Xinlan felt goosebumps all over her body as if… as if a deadly predator was lurking behind her back.

Her shoulders curved  forward and she hunched down in the age-old reflex of humans when facing lethal threats, but trying to reduce her presence did nothing to quiet her racing heart. "What do you want from me?"

"Guess?" the man suddenly rose from his seat, making He Xinlan shiver in fright.

"Stay away!" she struggled to shout, but as in nightmares she could not increase the volume of her voice. She turned her head aside and closed her eyes like a child who believes that what you can't see won't hurt you.

"Look at you, shivering in fear just because I am dangerously handsome," she heard him chuckle ominously right next to her ear. He Xinlan shivered even more. She did not know whether the man was joking or if he was being serious.

"Please… stay away from me," she whimpered. "Don't kill me."

"A murderer, begging for her life… How ironic," the man mused. "Listen here, old woman..."

"Stop acting as if I am a rapist or something," the man scoffed. He seemed to be highly amused by his own words. "I am a pure young master who would never lay a finger on a filthy piece of trash like you, so..."

"Quit dreaming," he added. He Xinlan felt the man move to stand in front of her and slowly she felt him leave, his footsteps falling farther and farther away from her. "There are a couple of people who are far scarier than me, so you'd better prepare your heart, old woman," he warned. "Oh… and you can call me Mr. B. Don't forget to remember me when you are on your deathbed."

After she heard the door close, He Xinlan instantly turned her head and looked at the now vacant seat in front of her. Who was that man? At this point, only Lily and Zhuo Jingren's names popped into her mind. They were the only people capable of kidnapping her.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she thought about the possibility of  dying in their hands. She had been careful and her friend made sure to keep her safe, but the couple was still able to track her down. What if… What if they were tracking down her daughter too?

….

Sky City

It was already September 7th, Tuesday. Last week, Mu Qingling's video broke the internet and the accident occurred on Harmony Isle construction site. Just as Lily expected, it created a little trouble for her company as some families held them responsible for choosing substandard equipment for the construction. Some even took it to the extreme and held placards in front of the FC Group's building asking them to stop their construction until a safety inspection could be done.

Actually, Lily did not see anything wrong with this request. They had already passed the inspection before they started the construction. Moreover, the construction company that was tasked with completing Harmony Isle was one of FC Group's subsidiaries, meaning its standard with all of its materials and equipment were even higher than the rest of the local construction companies in China and Hong Kong.

FC Group's construction company had been around for a very long time, and they held the requisite certificates and expert engineers. How could they miss a broken piece of equipment and make such a deadly mistake?

This issue prevented Lily from being able to see He Xinlan who had already been captured by Bei Tian and his men. She really wanted to spare some time to see the woman, however, Lily decided to postpone their meeting as her priority was still making money. She is a business tycoon and she has responsibilities.