Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Man in the Dark

Mia did not want to ruin the rare friendship between them, so she could only change the subject and look down toward the mountain below.

“Have you ever thought about what you want to do after graduation?”

In this city awash with desire, it was not easy to find one’s footing. Mu Jinghuai was not a local; he had no background, and without graduating from a top university, he had almost no competitiveness at all.

Mu Jinghuai could also tell that Mia was deliberately avoiding the subject. Yet he still clung to hope. As long as Mia did not reject him to his face, he would not give up lightly. Even if all he could do was stay quietly by her side, he was willing.

“Heaven never blocks all paths. There will always be one that belongs to me, Mu Jinghuai.”

The boy spread his arms and embraced this sky with pleasure, his voice full of hope and anticipation. Like a bird in a cage, he longed endlessly for the world beyond, only he did not know how savage that world could be.

Mia smiled warmly at him.

“You really haven’t changed at all.”

“By the way, when did you start riding a motorcycle?”

“After I graduated from high school. I saved up afterward and bought this bike. I treasure it a lot. I keep it at the shop and have the owner watch over it. Only when I have free time, or when something is bothering me, do I come here to ride.”

“It feels like the wind can carry away every bit of unhappiness.”

Mia nodded. She had just deeply experienced that sense of release.

“Actually, we’ve both changed. I always thought you were still the same as you were when you were little.”

Mu Jinghuai rested his hands on Mia’s shoulders. His pupils were clear as crystal, transparent and clean.

“Yes. Whenever you’re in a bad mood and need to let off steam, call me anytime.”

“Okay.” Mia glanced at her phone. It was getting late.

“Let’s go. You still have class tomorrow.”

The two of them went down the mountain. Mu Jinghuai wanted to see Mia home, but she refused.

“I’ll call a driver to pick me up. You should head back quickly.”

Mia did not want Mu Jinghuai to know what had happened between her and Fu Chen, or else he would definitely come looking for her every few days.

Unable to persuade her, Mu Jinghuai had no choice but to agree and took the bus home on his own.

After watching him go, Mia hurriedly hailed a taxi and returned to the apartment.

As soon as Mia stepped out of the elevator, she frowned in confusion. For some reason, the motion-sensor lights in the corridor were not working. Her room was set a little farther in, so a bit scared, she turned on her phone flashlight to light the way ahead.

Cautiously listening for sounds around her, she rushed all at once to her door and was just about to press her finger to the lock.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from the darkness, covered Mia’s mouth, and dragged her into the stairwell.

Mia’s eyes widened. She kicked and thrashed with both hands and feet, but the person completely overpowered her. Her struggle had no effect whatsoever; instead, the man tightened his hold around her waist even more.

He pressed Mia against the door. The emergency exit sign in the corridor cast a strange green glow. Mia strained to make out the man’s face before he finally loosened his grip on her mouth.

“Mm—”

The moment she tried to cry out, his lips sealed over hers.

He deftly pried open her tightly clenched teeth. A cool tongue slid into her mouth, greedily taking in her breath and exploring every corner with force.

Mia vaguely realized who it was. She bit down hard on his tongue, and the taste of blood instantly spread through both their mouths.

Yet the man showed no sign of retreating. On the contrary, he deepened the kiss.

Mia had had enough. She lifted her foot and stomped down hard on his.

The man froze for a moment and finally let go of Mia.

Smack!

The sharp crack of a slap echoed through the empty stairwell.

“Fu Chen! You’re disgusting!” Mia wiped at her mouth in revulsion, her gaze icy as frost.

Fu Chen braced one hand against the wall and let out a cold laugh. In a sarcastic tone, he said, “And it wouldn’t be disgusting if it were with Mu Jinghuai, right?”

Mia stared at Fu Chen in stunned disbelief. She had not expected that even now, after things had gone this far, Fu Chen would still be having someone watch her. She lifted her head and looked at him without expression.

“We’re already divorced. What I do with anyone else has nothing to do with you.”

Her words were deliberately crude, as if meant to provoke him.

At that, he narrowed his eyes and clenched his palm before he could stop himself, his fingertips nearly digging into his flesh. Even his voice seemed to carry shards of ice, chilling anyone who heard it to the bone.

“Then go on and try.”

He bent close to her ear, and the soft, slick tip of his tongue lightly licked her cold earlobe. In a low voice, he said, “Still think Mu Jinghuai had it too easy last time?”

Mia trembled all over, her teeth clenched hard. She reached out and clamped a hand around Fu Chen’s throat, fury bursting from her eyes.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” she snarled in a low voice.

Fu Chen lowered his gaze to the small hand on his throat, his face utterly indifferent.

“I’m giving you a chance to strangle me.”

Mia’s hand tightened little by little. Fu Chen’s face gradually lost all color, yet he did not move at all.

In the end, Mia still let go and let her hands fall weakly to her sides. She could not do it after all. Her heart was like a spilled palette, a chaotic mess; she herself did not know why she could not bring herself to strike.

Fu Chen’s lips curved into a self-satisfied smile.

“Mia, even if we’re divorced, you still can’t get out of my grasp. Don’t forget, I still have leverage over you.”

Suddenly, the words Fu Yixing had said to her that day echoed in Mia’s ears.

“Don’t you hate him?”

At that moment, Mia truly hated Fu Chen to the bone. She had to help Lin Yu swallow the Shen family, and on top of that she was being coerced by Fu Chen, denied even the slightest freedom in her own life.

This game of chess was already a total defeat for Mia.

“How can you let me go?” Mia asked, head bowed, her lashes trembling uncontrollably, her nails digging tightly into the wall.

Fu Chen lifted her chin lightly with a hooked finger. Her face was somewhat flushed, her gaze as sharp and cold as ice picks fixed on him, her lips slightly swollen.

“That depends on my mood.”

“Don’t push me too far.”

“You still want to bite people?” Fu Chen said teasingly, placing his hand by Mia’s mouth and looking at her with open mockery.

Mia stared at Fu Chen and, without the slightest hesitation, bit down on his hand. In an instant, a clear row of bite marks was left behind, and beads of blood welled up.

Fu Chen raised his hand to his mouth and, in a disturbingly perverse manner, sucked at the blood that had been drawn.

The sight left Mia stunned. She had never seen such a twisted and eerie side of Fu Chen. This man radiated danger from head to toe, and it was impossible to imagine what he had gone through.

“You really are insane.”

With that, Mia turned to leave. Her mood had already eased quite a bit; at the very least, she had been able to briefly forget those unhappy memories.

Fu Chen’s arrival had come as a surprise, and only added to the weight on her heart.

Yet Fu Chen did not actually stop her. He merely called after her back coldly:

“Don’t let me catch you with Mu Jinghuai again.”