83 I will really burn down your house
The phone almost fell from her hands. Guiying’s eyes rapidly blinked. She looked back at her phone and saw that it was still Ai’s number.
Huh? Who is this man then? Wasn’t Ai talking just now?
The voice was so chilling that it could bring the whole Arctic to China.
She was caught off-guard but quickly came back to her senses. She cautiously asked, “Who are you? Where is Ai?”
“None of your business. What matters is that she is staying here,” he enforced his statement. “Thanks for your offer but no thanks.”
Guiying narrowed her eyes. She bit her lower lip, displeased with the tone with which he was talking to her. But her forehead also broke in cold sweat thinking about Ai’s safety.
What’s with that order?
“Excuse me, but mind your tone. Who do you think you are ordering me like that? Ai is my best friend. You are acting like a kidnapper! Where she stays is her decision, not yours. Give the phone back to her,” Guiying icily countered.
“Oh. Somebody with a spark,” the chill in the voice remained but with an addition of amusement in it. “I see. Well, if you want her decision then…”
There was a pause for a moment and the voice came again, “Zhou Ai. Please tell your decision to your best friend about WHERE you want to live.”
It was evident that Ai’s phone was on speaker.
Guiying was speechless. Even she could discern the emphasis on ‘where.’ It was as if he was pressuring Ai with his voice.
There was a beat of silence after which Ai’s response came, “You don’t have to worry about me. I will stay with him.”
“Are you crazy? Who the hell is that man!? He is acting like some…like some villain, yes! The hell will I allow for you to live with such a dangerous man. I don’t know anything about him! Who is he? How and where did you meet him? Why are you living at a man’s house out of all places? Are you even safe!?”
The voice mocked, “It’s enough as long as Zhou Ai has all these answers. I don’t need a certificate from anybody else.”
Guiying’s body shook in anger.
This bastard…
It wasn’t like she hadn’t come across mean people before. But something about this man was simply irritating and more so, wicked.
“You do realize I can go to the cops, right?” She threatened.
“Oh?” He eerily chuckled. “I would love to see you try.” He challenged her as if he had already won even before she could even put her foot ahead.
The top of her head was close to bursting when Ai hastily intervened. “Please, I am fine. Trust me, Guiying. I am safe with him.”
“Safe? You seriously want me to believe this crap after how he talked to me like some goon!?”
“Oh, don’t mind that. He usually talks that way with everyone.”
“…”
She heard the man choke.
“But he is not evil. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to his offer.”
Guiying was more shocked to know that the man actually ‘offered’ her instead of ”commanding’ her. But she still wasn’t convinced.
When did Ai come to meet such a man? How does she trust him so much?
“Ai…” she breathed out warily.
“Trust me.”
Guiying finally relented, sensing the belief in her voice.
“Fine…But you can come to my house anytime, okay?”
He sneered. “She won’t, rest assured.”
Guiying gnashed her jaw.
He answered again on her behalf…He is like some possessive maniac!
Suddenly, a thought struck her cold.
Is he possibly in love with Ai?
She gasped and shuddered. The possessiveness seemed too unnatural for someone who was just helping out of goodwill.
She wiped her temple that was trickling with sweat.
Shit. If it is true, then Ai cannot get entangled with such a dangerous man.
But then again, Ai knew what she was doing.
Do you, Ai? Do you really know? Now she genuinely doubted if Ai was in her senses.
Guiying breathed in. “Ai, my house is always-“
“Talk about it once again and I will really burn down your house,” his voice was laced with a final warning.
“…”
She could speak no more as he abruptly hung up. She felt as if the tension suddenly evaporated, and she could breathe again.
Really…who is that guy?
—
“Who is that woman?”
At this particular moment, Ai was trapped once again. This time not on a couch but in front of a large bookshelf of the library’s bibliography section, unable to move as Jun’s long and muscular arms boxed her in.
The shelf was at the back, and his arms were on either side. His handsome face was up close with an expression leaking of impatience and agitation.
Jun was on his usual library round when he caught Ai speaking to someone. He left her alone when the faint words caught his ear of someone asking Ai to come to her house.
Needless to say, he snatched her phone the very next instant and took matters in his control.
He gave an unfriendly smile. “A head librarian, a friend and then a best friend. You seem to have a loooot of well-wishers. I didn’t know there were soooo many good people in this world who wanted to help a poor woman trapped out of her fire struck house.”
Ai met his gaze and nodded. “I am a naturally warm and friendly person.”
His eyes darkened.
“I feel honored for so many people to think about my concern-“
“You don’t need that much concern because I am here for that,” he sharply cut her off. “I am enough to match this whole damned world’s concern for you.”
Ai stiffened. She studied his eyes, but it seemed that Jun didn’t realize what his words meant.
Her breath stuck in her throat, feeling his warm breaths and fanning her face. To someone else, it would seem as if they were making out at a library’s lone spot.
Jun dipped his head to her level and whispered, “Tell me right now if there is a fourth person who would want to ‘kindly offer’ her house to you.”
The closeness made her eyelashes tremble. “No.”
He sneered. “Good. It better be that way or else…”