Chapter 669: Escape Unscathed

Lü Qi woke up to find himself tightly bound with ropes as thick as his finger, wrapping around him a dozen times, leaving him immobile.

Seeing Su Chan standing beside a stranger, Lü Qi roared like a madman, “Who is he? Who is he? You two have betrayed me! Su Chan, you bitch!”

His voice was so loud it made the crystal chandelier above tremble. Cao Man thought to himself that Lü Qi might be one of those mythical XYY chromosome “super males.”

But despite Lü Qi’s intimidating presence, he was tied up, and Cao Man felt no fear. Calmly, he replied, “Brother, you’re too sensitive. Your wife and I are just business partners. Relax, with my looks, she wouldn’t cheat on you with me.”

“What are you two collaborating on? Collaborating on what? How many times have you done it?” Lü Qi screamed hysterically, his words becoming increasingly irrational, his eyes practically spitting fire.

Su Chan sighed, “Lü Qi, your possessiveness is terrifying. In your eyes, I’m just a possession. In this, you are no different from Dong Xiao. No matter how much you ‘love’ me, you will never respect me. You say you love me, but you don’t understand love. Love is between equals, and you don’t get that. You’re just an immature boy, and I don’t think you’ll ever grow up.”

“This is your reason for betraying me?” Lü Qi asked sorrowfully.

Su Chan smirked and shook her head. He didn’t understand at all. No point in more talk. She got straight to the point, “Hand over the document.”

“Why should I?”

“We can call the police right now…” Su Chan pointed to the mark on her neck. “Just this is enough to get you arrested. Not to mention that video. The police will find part of Dong Xiao’s body, and Chengxing Company won’t be able to hide anything. In the end, you’ll go to jail!”

“Untie me first.”

“Sorry!”

“Untie me first!” Lü Qi screamed, kicking his legs. “If you want to negotiate, you have to show some goodwill. We can sit and talk, and I might agree to your terms, but you have to untie me first, or forget it.”

His intentions were obvious. If untied, he would kill them both.

Su Chan had set up a fail-safe for herself. If she died, an email containing evidence would automatically be sent to the police. But she had barely survived his attack earlier and hadn’t even had time to mention this. The mark on her neck still hurt, and she couldn’t treat Lü Qi as a human—he was a beast, selfish and ruthless.

“Think it over. I showed you the video first because I don’t want you to get caught. This is my gesture of good faith. If you still refuse, I’ll call the police.” Su Chan pulled out her phone, pretending to dial. Lü Qi started ranting, “Don’t do this to me! I love you! I can give you anything you want. How can you betray me? You’ll go to hell for betraying me!”

He kicked and screamed like a child throwing a tantrum, but Su Chan sneered, “Hell? I’ve seen it already.”

“I think he’s not going to give it. Just call the police!” Cao Man was losing patience.

“Wait… wait…” Lü Qi finally relented.

Ten minutes later, Su Chan confirmed on her laptop that she had the document she wanted. After so many twists and turns, she finally got it. Cao Man snatched it from her, “Sorry, considering what happened last time, I can’t fully trust you. I’ll keep this for now.”

“Let me go! Let me go!” Lü Qi shouted.

Su Chan picked up a knife, but Cao Man stopped her, “Don’t bother with him!”

“You may not keep your promises, but I do.” Su Chan stabbed the knife into the floor. Lü Qi could inch his way over and slowly cut the ropes, but it would take a long time.

Lü Qi looked up at her and asked, “Did you ever love me?”

Su Chan lifted his chin, “What is there to love about you?”

Lü Qi’s eyes went blank, as if he had been sentenced to death. After they left, he wailed, his cries echoing through the house. Every corner of this place had heard their declarations of love, expressed passionately. It had all been a lie, all fake.

His tears abruptly stopped. The last shred of humanity in his eyes vanished. He gritted his teeth and slowly crawled toward the knife.

“Thank you for saving me earlier,” Su Chan formally thanked Cao Man in a luxury hotel. “Now, let’s discuss how to split the spoils.”

“How do we split this?” Cao Man asked, twirling the USB drive in his fingers with a smile.

“I can give you something of equal value,” Su Chan said seductively, her eyes becoming soft and alluring.

Despite knowing her tricks, Cao Man felt his heart stir. No man could escape this charm.

Suppressing his desires, he said, “Who’s your boss? Han Jie Group? How much can this sell for, a few million? Tens of millions? It’s probably worth ten times that. I have a proposal. Why don’t I use it to start my own business? Cheap smartphones. I could dominate the market with this. If you join me, whatever I have, you have. No more working for others, no more following crazy men like Dong Xiao and Lü Qi.”

“I was with Dong Xiao and Lü Qi, and you don’t mind?”

“Mind? Why would I? I’m not like them. I respect you. I admire not just your beauty but your inner qualities,” Cao Man said earnestly.

Tears of emotion glistened in Su Chan’s eyes. She leaned in closer, “You’re the first man to say that to me.”

Cao Man stroked her smooth arm, “I will always respect and love you…”

Before he could finish, her lips met his in a fierce kiss. Her lipstick tasted sweet, intoxicating him. Suddenly, he realized something was wrong and tried to push her away, but his arms went limp.

As his vision blurred, Su Chan wiped off her lipstick with a tissue, smirking. Cao Man knew he had been tricked and laughed, “Good woman…” before collapsing, unconscious.

“Sorry,” Su Chan said nonchalantly, taking the USB drive from his hand. To be safe, she checked the contents on a computer before slipping another USB into Cao Man’s hand.

It was the one she had found in Dong Xiao’s office, filled with evidence of his subordinates’ crimes, including Lü Qi’s. Dong Xiao had collected it as leverage but hadn’t foreseen his sudden death.

This would be left to Cao Man to decide whether to hand it to the police or the media. Meanwhile, Su Chan completed her mission and walked away unscathed…