What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH151-153

Chapter 151| Chapter 152 | Chapter 153

Chapter 151: The Golden Finger is Pei Yanting

When Pei Xiqing and Duan Xiaolin returned to their residence, Shadow was already waiting by the door.

Seeing him, Pei Xiqing figured he had likely gathered some intel regarding Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting. She invited him inside and poured him a hot cup of water. “Brother Wang Yue, you’ve worked hard.”

Shadow nearly choked. “…I don’t really consider this hard work. Staking people out is second nature to me.”

Pei Xiqing narrowed her eyes slightly. “Did you find anything useful?”

“Yes. I’ve been keeping a close eye on the shortlist of targets for the past two days. Today, two couples finally broke their cover routines and started sneaking around the black market.” He paused to consider his words. “However, since they chose to take the massive risk of sneaking into the black market in the first place, they definitely aren’t the type to go through legitimate channels for whatever they need.”

Based on his professional judgment, those two couples were highly suspicious.

People who came to the black market were generally either human traffickers or desperate individuals voluntarily selling themselves. Those who were trafficked had absolutely no downtime; they were typically sold within ten hours of arrival, passed from one buyer to another without a chance to breathe. As for the rest of the couples on the shortlist, the other three pairs had immediately gone out to find manual labor the very day they arrived. That behavior was perfectly consistent with genuine, desperate survivors in the apocalypse.

It was those who remained idle while scoping out the area who were the most problematic. They clearly had ulterior motives.

Shadow laid out his detailed findings.

Pei Xiqing nodded thoughtfully. She leaned back in her chair, accepting a glass of water from Duan Xiaolin and taking a slow sip. “Do you have their current registered addresses? I still need to see their fake identification files.”

Looking at the files might not yield much significant information. Anyone capable of sneaking into the black market would have prepared flawless cover identities and tight disguises. But she still wanted to know exactly who they were pretending to be.

Shadow handed over two detailed dossier reports.

Pei Xiqing glanced at the second file and found it incredibly generic. The aliases sounded like names from the older generation, and the attached photos showed them wearing heavy makeup to look like ordinary, unremarkable wasteland wanderers.

“Are these four people all equally suspicious?” she asked.

“Yes,” Shadow replied. “This couple here visited the underground docks three separate times starting from the day before yesterday.”

“The docks?”

“The black market has an underground river system that leads to the outside world.”

Pei Xiqing tapped the file. “What about the other couple?”

“Mysteriously, they also visited the docks today. Shortly after, they were pulled aside by one of the black market enforcers.”

Duan Xiaolin had been silently sipping his tea beside her. When Shadow finished his report, he nonchalantly interjected, “They went to the weapons shop we just visited.”

She had no idea how he obtained that specific piece of intel so quickly, but since he said it, it had to be true.

Hearing that, Pei Xiqing instantly understood what was happening. She tossed the first document aside and focused entirely on the photos in the second file.

Seeing her reaction, Shadow stood up. “Do you want me to move in and apprehend them right now?”

“Don’t,” Pei Xiqing said quickly. “Moving in now would only alert the enemy.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Let’s wait until Brother Duan’s cargo issue is resolved first.”

She lowered her eyes in thought.

Xiao Yue had obviously woken up from his coma. But his body hadn’t fully recovered yet, which meant he desperately needed to find his specific golden finger to heal his dual-ability backlash.

It wouldn’t be too late to strike after he used the golden finger.

She mentally tallied up how many overpowered items Xiao Yue possessed. It seemed like his inventory of ‘miracle items’ was almost entirely depleted. But the man’s absolute biggest golden finger wasn’t an item at all—it was Pei Yanting.

As long as Pei Yanting was still by his side, the overall framework of the story’s main plot remained largely unchanged.

Pei Xiqing was lost in thought for so long that she didn’t even notice when Shadow quietly left the room.

The room grew much quieter. She shifted her position, curling up on the sofa and lying down to organize her thoughts.

Suddenly noticing the man putting on his jacket to leave, she quickly sat up. “Are you going out?”

Duan Xiaolin gave her a reassuring look. “I have some negotiations to handle. I need to offer them a few ‘benefits.'”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

The man reminded her a few more times that she could go to the restaurant they visited yesterday for dinner if she got hungry, then quickly left.

It wasn’t easy for her to get involved in his black market affairs. Every move he made was a carefully laid trap, weaving truth and lies together. She could accidentally step on a tripwire and ruin his plans at any moment.

Moreover, dealing with the people down here was vastly different from dealing with the officials at the base. If you made the slightest mistake here, you wouldn’t be arrested—you would be dragged to a slaughterhouse, tortured, and hung on meat hooks for buyers to pick apart.

Pei Xiqing also strongly disliked the overall atmosphere of the black market. It was gloomy, eerie, and constantly felt as though a gang of hulking enforcers could jump out from the shadows at any moment and cannibalize someone without a sound.

She decided against going out. Instead, she stayed home and watched the black market surveillance feeds.

Shadow had just granted her terminal access. Using her modified phone, she could tap directly into the black market’s internal security network and clearly observe the situation on almost every main street.

However, out of fear of official base hackers, the black market’s system was rigged to automatically delete all surveillance footage every 24 hours, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

After watching the monotonous feeds for a long time, Pei Xiqing successfully bored herself to sleep. There was virtually no strategic value in watching the public cameras; the truly illicit, high-stakes transactions were never caught on tape.

She dozed on the table for a while that afternoon. When she woke up in the early evening, Duan Xiaolin still hadn’t returned. She stretched, planning to cook something simple at home. But when she opened the refrigerator, the sparse, unappetizing ingredients reminded her that this wasn’t their cozy home at Base Three.

Even if she cooked what little food was there, it wouldn’t taste good.

Pei Xiqing hesitated for a few moments before finally putting on a thick coat and a hat and stepping outside.

The moment she opened the courtyard door, Shadow appeared from the shadows. “Going out to eat?”

“Yes, I’m starving.”

“Brother Duan will be back later.”

“I know.”

Pei Xiqing walked with him to the high-end restaurant they had dined at the day before.

It was already getting late. Her back still ached slightly from the previous night, so she couldn’t walk very fast. Just managing a steady pace was an accomplishment.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, they were seated in the bustling first-floor lobby, and she ordered her food as usual. Her dishes arrived in about ten minutes, similar to what she had eaten yesterday.

She tried to invite Shadow to join her, but he politely refused. When she turned around a moment later, he had completely vanished into the crowd.

She shrugged helplessly and began to eat alone.

But a short while later, a loud, rowdy group of men swaggered through the front doors. As they passed her table, one of them intentionally slammed his hand onto it.

Her glass rattled violently, spilling fruit wine that nearly soaked her sleeve.

Pei Xiqing looked up and saw a group of menacing men wearing various ugly, grotesque masks. Their eyes were dull and aggressive. They clearly looked like ability users, and the residual energy she could sense radiating from them confirmed it.

Several ghost-faced masks leaned in close, their eyes staring fixedly at her face. Their gazes were malicious, explicit, and utterly unscrupulous.

It wasn’t common to see unaccompanied women casually dining in the black market. You saw plenty of women, yes, but they were almost exclusively “merchandise” being sold or paraded by their owners. Pei Xiqing wasn’t wearing a mask to hide her features, and she appeared to be alone. A woman this strikingly beautiful would inevitably draw unwanted attention.

One of the men sneered, opening his mouth to say something dirty, and reached out to grab her. But before his hand could make contact, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar from behind by a figure in a completely pitch-black mask.

The man was yanked backward so violently he nearly fell flat on his back.

Just as he was about to furiously turn around and curse out his attacker, he froze. The mask staring back at him was terrifying—featureless, pitch black, with only two cold, dead eyes visible. The figure’s aura was hideous and oppressive, like a genuine monster. The thug hesitated for a moment, muttered a few angry, face-saving curses, and unwillingly stalked off with his crew.

Watching the scene unfold, the restaurant manager let out a massive sigh of relief. He quickly signaled his armed bouncers to stand down.

“No need to intervene,” he whispered to his men. “That lady has far more terrifying people protecting her than we do. Just go guard the perimeter and make sure no one else gets close to her table.”

Pei Xiqing, however, was confused.

The eyes hidden beneath that pitch-black mask seemed to linger on her from a dark corner, but she couldn’t identify the person. Moreover, although the figure was somewhat tall, they were incredibly gaunt—almost as emaciated as Pei Yanting had been when she was reduced to skin and bones.

It wasn’t until the dark figure slowly walked past her table that a voice, as hoarse and raspy as a dead tree, whispered, “My dear… I’ll be waiting for you in the back alley. If you don’t come, you know the consequences.”

Chapter 152: Do You Have a Heart?

Two seconds later, the man had vanished into the crowd.

Pei Xiqing sat stunned for a moment before slamming her knife and fork down onto the table. She hadn’t bothered to hold back her force. A wave of sheer disgust washed over her.

Shadow silently materialized beside her. “Was that Gu He?”

Pei Xiqing nodded. Recalling what he had just whispered, a chill ran down her spine. Given Gu He’s current condition, he was hovering somewhere between human and ghost—yet he still had the nerve to wander around the black market and threaten her.

A cold smile touched Pei Xiqing’s lips. After a moment to compose herself, she picked up her cutlery and leisurely resumed her meal.

“I’ll go catch him,” Shadow offered.

“He’s basically a walking corpse, pumped full of drugs and hanging on by a thread. What’s the point of catching him? He might literally drop dead right in front of you.”

Shadow fell silent. “…”

Pei Xiqing shook her head. “It’s fine. He can’t cause any real waves anymore.”

He was even closer to death than Xiao Yue. Just a moment ago, when he passed by her table, she had caught the scent of an overwhelmingly pungent perfume. Beneath it was the distinct, foul stench of rotting flesh. He was clearly using the heavy cologne to mask the odor of decay, but the mixture of the two was absolutely suffocating. Based on that alone, it was obvious Gu He didn’t have much time left. He was merely clinging to life.

After Pei Xiqing finished her main course, dessert and fruit were served as usual.

She had absolutely no intention of keeping that “appointment,” instantly tossing the threat about the back alley out of her mind. It was only when she was finally leaving the restaurant and spotted a masked man lingering on the side of the street that she remembered Gu He was waiting for her.

Shadow appeared at her side almost instantly.

Gu He sneered, stepping out of the gloom. “Pei Xiqing, when did you get so close to the lapdogs from Franlun? To think an enforcer from Franlun is actually here. Does that mean the rest of your little squad is here too, getting ready to strike a deal with the black market bosses?”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Pei Xiqing shot back, feigning total ignorance. “I don’t understand a word you’re saying. Who is from Franlun? Have you taken too many drugs? Your mind is completely fried.”

Gu He pointed a shaking finger at Shadow. “Isn’t he?!” Back at Base Three, he distinctly remembered Franlun operatives wearing that exact same featureless mask.

“This is my friend, Wang Yue,” she stated flatly. “Is there anyone by that name in Franlun? Why don’t you go do a background check first and get back to me later.”

Gu He’s eyes darkened with fury. He took a few aggressive steps forward, opening his mouth to argue, but Shadow immediately raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

Shadow stared at him with cold, dead eyes. “If you want to die for real this time, take one more step.”

Gu He took a ragged breath. “Pei Xiqing!” he rasped. “Do you even have a heart?! I was completely sincere with you in the beginning, and this is how you treat me?!”

His hoarse shout was loud enough that it nearly drew the attention of the surrounding crowds.

Pei Xiqing scoffed. “I don’t want to waste my time talking to you. Spare me the nonsense about ‘sincerity.’ Aren’t you embarrassed to hear such words coming out of your own mouth?”

Sincere? It would be a miracle if he had ever harbored an ounce of true affection for the original host. In this wasteland, everyone just used each other for their own benefit.

Gu He lowered his head in silence.

When he spoke again, his voice was a low, venomous hiss, finally dropping the emotional act. “I never expected you to change this much… You’ve actually gotten smarter. You know, just a few months ago, you would have believed every single word I said…”

He sneered. “I know you’re sleeping with Chief Judge Duan, which means he must be here in the black market too. If you don’t want his true identity exposed—and if he doesn’t want to die surrounded by every cutthroat in this cavern—you’re going to do something for me.”

Pei Xiqing played along, her voice trembling slightly. “What… what do you want?”

The man behind the mask let out a raspy laugh. “Go steal some medicine for me. A new batch of pharmaceutical goods is arriving at the black market soon. I can’t get close to the shipment without drawing suspicion, so you’re going to do it for me.”

“Is there a medicine in that shipment to cure your corpse stench?” she asked innocently.

“That’s none of your business!”

“Then back up. You reek.”

Furious, Gu He snapped, “Shut up!”

Pei Xiqing covered her nose, her eyes darting around as if in panic. “I… I can agree to do it, but you can’t tell anyone else! I’ll get it for you, but you have to swear you won’t breathe a word about Duan Xiaolin being here.”

Gu He nodded, a triumphant sneer audible in his voice. “Of course. I can be very cooperative. As long as you get me the medicine in the exact quantity I need, my lips are sealed.”

“How much do you want?”

“Ten boxes.”

“That many?! Do you think I’m your pack mule? What if I get caught?”

“I’ll tell you exactly who to contact to intercept the goods,” he instructed, shoving a crumpled piece of paper into her hand. “Then I’ll tell you how to smuggle them out of the market. Just follow my instructions to the letter, and you’ll be fine.”

Pei Xiqing nodded frantically, perfectly portraying a look of sheer horror and desperate compliance.

Satisfied, Gu He turned and limped away into the shadows.

Shadow watched him go, then asked quietly, “Are you a professional actor?”

“How did you know?” Pei Xiqing smirked, dropping the terrified act instantly. She quickly skimmed the note before handing it over. “Give this to Brother Duan. This smuggling route will probably lead to a lot of valuable intel. It should be very helpful for his operation.”

Shadow took the paper. “Understood.”

Pei Xiqing looked thoughtfully in the direction Gu He had disappeared. She was honestly speechless. If Gu He had just stayed hidden, he might have dragged out his miserable existence a little longer. But crawling out of the woodwork to personally threaten her today? That was tantamount to a death wish.

There was absolutely no way Duan Xiaolin would let him live after this.

Sure enough, before Gu He’s shuffling figure could even completely disappear from the street, a suppressed gunshot echoed.

A bullet instantly pierced straight through the back of his head.

Foul, black blood violently splattered through the air, bursting outward like ink from a crushed squid. The already grimy stone floor was instantly painted with the dark, muddy sludge.

The surrounding street vendors screamed in shock. Covering their heads, they scrambled away in absolute panic, terrified that lingering nearby would bring disaster upon themselves.

Gu He’s rigid body began to violently shake. Two seconds later, his knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the cobblestones. After twitching helplessly for a few final moments, he went completely still, lying dead in a pool of his own dark, putrid blood.

Almost immediately, two of the black market’s silent sweepers emerged from an alley and swiftly dragged his corpse away.

Stepping out from the shadows of a nearby building, Duan Xiaolin calmly holstered his handgun. He casually brushed a speck of dust off his immaculate sleeve, looking perfectly composed, as if the brutal execution had never even happened.

The cold neon light glinted sharply off his silver-rimmed glasses as he walked slowly toward her.

Pei Xiqing subconsciously blinked her dry eyes. Even though she had already witnessed many of his ruthless actions, the sheer, chilling sense of oppression he radiated was still incredibly overwhelming.

She coughed lightly and took two steps forward to meet him. “Brother Duan.”

Duan Xiaolin smoothly took the note from Shadow’s hand, scanned the contents for a brief second, and then crushed it in his fist.

“I roughly understand the situation now,” he murmured.

“Mm-hmm.”

The man then reached into his coat and suddenly pressed a heavy gun into her hands.

Pei Xiqing blinked in surprise. “Hmm?”

Only then did she realize it was the vintage handgun she had just purchased earlier that day, the one she had left back at their residence.

Duan Xiaolin looked at her calmly. “I just tested it out for you. The firepower is quite reliable.” He reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Next time you encounter a situation like this… just shoot them yourself.”

Chapter 153: My Mr. Duan

Pei Xiqing looked at the gun pressed into her hands. She paused for only half a second before her fingers curled firmly around the grip.

“I understand.”

She hated Gu He. She deeply despised him. She could think of countless ways to deal with him, but when it came down to it, she couldn’t actually bring herself to pull the trigger and kill him herself—even if he was barely human anymore.

But she knew she would eventually have to learn how to point a gun at anyone who threatened her.

Street executions were commonplace in the black market, but that didn’t mean people weren’t afraid of dying. When the vendors and pedestrians saw someone get their head blown off in the middle of the street, they scrambled to hide, desperate to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Within seconds, the street was entirely deserted, leaving only their small group standing there.

As they walked back to their residence, she finally asked, “Is it really okay that Gu He died like that? Will anyone investigate it?”

Since Gu He hadn’t realized Duan Xiaolin was in the black market until the very end, he might have already blabbed to his contacts. If Duan Xiaolin’s cover identity was exposed, it would be incredibly dangerous.

“I doubt anyone would believe the ramblings of a discarded pawn,” Duan Xiaolin replied smoothly.

Pei Xiqing quickly realized what he meant.

A former Major General of the capital base had fallen so far that he was nothing more than a rotting, half-human, half-ghost addict. What else could he be but an abandoned pawn?

Down here, people simply didn’t receive the basic respect or treatment afforded to normal humans, let alone former officers.

Still, something bothered her. “But that group of masked men we ran into earlier… they seemed genuinely terrified of him.”

“Perhaps they were mercenaries hired by old General Gu,” Duan Xiaolin suggested. “I’ll look into it.”

“Alright.”

They returned to their courtyard residence.

The black market sold all sorts of prohibited, illicit items right on the street corners. It was nothing like Base Three, where people would set up stalls selling fresh vegetables or harmless trinkets. Because of that, she had absolutely zero interest in going “shopping.”

After returning to their room, she took a hot shower and collapsed onto the bed. She had originally intended to stay up and monitor the surveillance feeds on her phone, but she ended up falling asleep while watching the screen.

Half-asleep, she felt a pair of large, warm hands gently massaging her aching lower back. She slowly fluttered her eyes open and looked over her shoulder to see Duan Xiaolin sitting next to her. Smiling softly, she laid her head back down, completely at peace, and allowed herself to enjoy the soothing massage.

He possessed absolutely zero self-control at night. If it weren’t for the Qiong Snake’s supernatural vitality sustaining her body, she would have had a very hard time even getting out of bed.

Right now, however, she was too lazy to summon the snake’s energy. She simply lay there, soft and boneless against the mattress.

Closing her eyes, the massage was so comfortable that she quickly drifted back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again the next morning, she was curled up tightly in the quilt. She had shifted during the night and was now sleeping near the edge of the bed, far from where her pillows originally were. But she couldn’t move her body at all.

The man was holding her firmly from behind. She had no idea when he had crawled under the covers and pulled her against him to sleep.

Pei Xiqing glanced at the time, highly amused. She nudged his chest gently with her elbow and whispered, “Brother Duan, it’s ten o’clock. Didn’t you say last night that you had important business today? Is it really okay for you to be late?”

It was incredibly rare to see Duan Xiaolin sleep in like this. When it came to sheer self-discipline and meticulous routine, the military elites at the capital base couldn’t even hold a candle to him.

The man pressed himself closer against her back and began pressing a trail of soft, deliberate kisses along her spine.

He was intensely passionate. There were still faint, fading marks left on her skin from previous nights, and he seemed borderline obsessed with leaving fresh ones before the old ones could completely disappear.

His kisses gradually trailed from her neck down her smooth back. They were hot and lingering.

Finally, unable to take the tickling sensation any longer, Pei Xiqing pushed him away and forced herself to sit up.

Chuckling softly, the man finally got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to wash up.

Pei Xiqing clutched the quilt to her chest, taking a moment to calm her racing heart. She listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom. A short while later, the man stepped out, fully dressed in a fresh suit. He walked over to her side of the bed, picked up his silver-rimmed glasses from the nightstand, and slid them on.

Instantly, the gentle lover vanished, replaced once again by the cold, unapproachable Chief Judge of Franlun.

Duan Xiaolin lowered his eyes to look at her. “I’m heading to the auction house today. Are you interested in coming along?”

Pei Xiqing had originally planned to just lay back down and go back to sleep. But upon hearing those words, she bolted upright, utterly surprised. “The auction house? Is it that underground auction house?”

“Yes.”

“…” She took a sharp breath. “I’m coming.”

Throwing off the quilt, she scrambled out of bed and ran to the bathroom in her slippers to wash up.

After all, Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting were the protagonists of this world. Even if they had been forced into the dark underbelly of the black market, they were bound to stumble upon some miraculous, plot-advancing adventure.

Especially since Pei Yanting had previously shown her that classified video of the black market auction. There was absolutely no way the protagonist couple would miss an event like this.

Moreover, she had heard rumors about this legendary underground auction back when she was still at Base Three, but she had never had the status or connections to access it.

Pei Xiqing got ready as quickly as humanly possible. When she emerged, she found the man sitting leisurely on the sofa, calmly reviewing a black market price index report. Seeing her come out, he signed his name at the bottom of the document, tossed it onto the table, and said into his comms, “Shadow, bring the car around. Wait outside.”

“I’m ready!” she announced, hurriedly grabbing her hat.

After climbing into the armored SUV with Duan Xiaolin, Shadow drove them straight back to the high-end restaurant they had frequented the past two days.

Pei Xiqing looked out the window, confused. “Isn’t this the restaurant? I thought we were going to the auction house.”

“We’re having lunch first,” Duan Xiaolin replied calmly.

“Okay.”

There were easily twice as many wealthy-looking businessmen and mercenaries milling around the restaurant today compared to yesterday. It was obvious they were all in town specifically for the upcoming auction.

After they finished their meal in a private VIP room, the door opened, and a waiter respectfully carried in two exquisite garment bags. Pei Xiqing realized what was happening a second too late. She pointed at herself. “Are these for me to wear?”

The man nodded. “If you like them, wear them. If you don’t, we can just put them away.”

Duan Xiaolin had never tried to restrict what she wore. She was always free to wear whatever she pleased.

Carefully unzipping the bags, she examined the two neatly folded dresses inside. “How did you even know my exact size?”

Even at a glance, she could tell they would fit her perfectly.

“It wasn’t difficult,” he said smoothly, taking a sip of his tea. “A man should intimately understand his wife’s measurements.”

Pei Xiqing smiled wryly. “Well, I still have no idea what size you wear.”

“Then perhaps you should try to measure me yourself next time?”

“Deal.”

Since they were attending a high-society underground auction, Pei Xiqing decided to change into one of the dresses.

The style was elegant and striking, somewhat reminiscent of the designer gowns she used to wear on the red carpet back when she was an actress in her original world. But this one was tailored to be much more comfortable and practical, with a hemline that wasn’t overly long, ensuring she wouldn’t trip if she needed to move quickly.

She had just finished putting it on and hadn’t even had the chance to step out and check the mirror when the man, who had been waiting outside the fitting room, gently grabbed her wrist.

She paused. “What’s wrong? Does it… not look right?”

The man, looking striking in his sober black suit, reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small, velvet-lined square box.

Before Pei Xiqing could react, he removed a delicate necklace and gracefully fastened it around her neck.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you wear a dress,” he murmured, his hands lingering on her shoulders. “I wanted to give you a souvenir to mark the occasion.”

Without a mirror, Pei Xiqing couldn’t see the necklace itself, but she could see the heavy, flawless gemstone resting at the end of the chain, catching the light brilliantly against her collarbone.

She touched it gently. “You know, there aren’t many girls out in the wasteland who are willing to wear dresses anymore. It’s not that we don’t like pretty clothes—I think I’m the rare exception who actually prefers tactical gear. But it’s about freedom. I can be completely free and true to myself when I’m around you… and I hope you can be the same.”

She wasn’t bound by the brutal constraints of this apocalyptic world when she was with him. At the same time, she desperately hoped that he wouldn’t be forever bound by the crushing responsibility of leading Franlun and trying to save everyone else.

It might sound incredibly selfish, but everyone harbored selfish motives in the end of the world.

He shouldn’t be the only one forced to bear the heavy consequences of trying to save humanity, only to ultimately be driven to his death by the sheer, ungrateful stupidity of the very people he protected.

In her eyes, the ‘villain’ of this novel didn’t need a dramatic redemption arc to be whitewashed. He just needed to maintain his independent thinking and secure an ending that truly belonged to him.

Duan Xiaolin seemed to sense the profound, hidden meaning behind her words, even if he couldn’t guess the exact context.

He looked into her eyes and replied softly, “Neither absolute freedom nor absolute power are necessary to me.”

“What is necessary, then?”

“My wife.”

Pei Xiqing leaned forward, a soft smile on her lips, and kissed the corner of his mouth.

“I understand. My Mr. Duan.”

Like this novel? Read Advance Chapters (PDF & EPUB Format)