This time, Lu Xuan didn't even bother to knock.
“Bang—Clang!”
With a loud crash, the old wooden office door was kicked open by him, the lock shattered, wood splinters flew everywhere, and the poor door panel hit the wall, then bounced back weakly, hanging precariously.
Inside the office, Zhao Mengqi, who had just been furious and swept the potted orchid to the ground because the call was hung up, was clutching her chest, gasping for breath, trying to calm the anger of being fooled and the panic about her future.
The sudden loud noise made her shiver, almost jumping out of her chair.
“Ah!” She screamed instinctively, covering her ears with both hands, and suddenly closed her eyes, like a startled rabbit.
Lu Xuan entered, his gaze sweeping over the shattered porcelain pieces and dirt on the floor, finally landing on the still-shaken Zhao Mengqi, a playful curve on his lips: “Director Zhao, it’s just this much noise, surely it’s not enough to scare you like this, is it?”
His voice was not loud, but it carried a calm that saw through everything, and he slowly continued: “I see, from your past experiences, your courage is extraordinary, and your heart is as firm as a rock, so why are you now a startled bird?”
Zhao Mengqi recognized Lu Xuan’s voice, and only then did her fright subside slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes and lowered her hands.
When she clearly saw that the person who had returned was indeed Lu Xuan, and in such an intrusive manner, her pretty face, which was slightly distorted by anger and panic, was instantly covered with a layer of frost.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in her heart, trying to maintain her authority as the Network Information Center Director, and said sharply: “Lu Xuan! What are you doing! Do you know the nature of your current behavior?!”
She suddenly stood up from her chair, pointing at the broken door, her voice a few shades sharper: “You are deliberately damaging school public property! You will have to pay for it at its value!”
“Moreover, I will immediately report your behavior to your counselor, and the school will definitely give you a severe punishment!”
As she spoke, she walked in front of Lu Xuan, trying to overwhelm him with her imposing manner.
The dark green cheongsam swayed slightly with her hasty movements, but at this moment, it no longer showed any of its usual gentle elegance.
Lu Xuan looked at her blustering appearance, as if watching a clumsy one-man show, and the sinister smile on his face deepened.
He seemed to have completely ignored Zhao Mengqi’s threat, slowly pulling out his phone from his pocket and playing with it between his fingers.
“Pay money? Punishment?” Lu Xuan chuckled, shaking his head, “Director Zhao, let’s talk about something else first. For example… an old acquaintance.”
He paused, his gaze fixed on Zhao Mengqi’s eyes, asking word by word: “Director Zhao, Li Yuan… do you still remember this name?”
The color drained from her face in a flash, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her body swayed almost imperceptibly.
In those eyes that had just tried to show anger and authority, there was now only undisguised horror and panic.
She opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to be tightly gripped by an invisible hand, unable to make any sound.
After several seconds, she forced herself to squeeze out a smile uglier than crying, her gaze flickering, not daring to meet Lu Xuan’s eyes at all.
“You… who are you talking about… I… I don’t know any Li Yuan.”
Her voice was dry and hoarse, with an obvious tremble, “Lu Xuan, I think… seeing that you are young and this is your first offense, I won’t pursue it. You can go back now, I promise I won’t tell your counselor about today’s incident.”
She eagerly wanted to send Lu Xuan away, not even planning to pursue the broken door: “The door… you don’t have to pay for the door either, and I won’t report you for punishment to the school. Hurry and leave!”
“Oh? Don’t know him?” Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow, the smile on his face becoming even more playful.
He took a step closer, the distance between them instantly shrinking, and he could clearly see the fine beads of sweat seeping from Zhao Mengqi’s temples, as well as the unconcealed fear deep in her eyes.
He lowered his voice, like a lover’s whisper, but with a chilling coldness: “Since you don’t know Li Yuan, then… Zhao Zhaodi, you must have some impression of that name, right?”
The three words “Zhao Zhaodi” exploded like a thunderclap in Zhao Mengqi’s mind!
If “Li Yuan” only made her feel a deadly threat, then “Zhao Zhaodi,” a name she had buried deep in her memory, wrapped in layers of countless lies and disguises, completely shattered all her psychological defenses!
“No! No!” Zhao Mengqi suddenly took a big step back, her back hitting the cold wall with a dull thud. She looked at Lu Xuan in horror, as if looking at a demon crawled out of hell.
“What nonsense are you talking about! What Zhao Zhaodi! I don’t know her! I don’t know her at all!”
She screamed hysterically, waving her hands wildly, trying to drive away the “nightmare” in front of her.
“Get out! Get out of here right now! I have a lot of work to do, get out immediately!”
At this moment, Zhao Mengqi no longer had any of the graceful charm of a classical Jiangnan beauty, gentle and refined, as she had appeared at their first meeting.
Her hair was disheveled, the collar of her cheongsam was askew from her violent movements, her face was streaked with tears and snot, and her expression was twisted and ferocious, like a completely out-of-control madwoman.
Lu Xuan looked at her disheveled appearance, and a morbid pleasure surged in his heart.
He took two more steps forward, almost face to face with Zhao Mengqi, his deep eyes gleaming with a cold and cruel light.
“Tsk tsk, what a pity, what a real pity.”
Lu Xuan shook his head, his tone full of undisguised sarcasm, “Since you don’t even recognize Zhao Zhaodi, the original name given to you by your parents who raised you, then… that Mr. Liu Feiyu, who helped you prosper and live a life above others, you must have some impression of him, right?”
Lu Xuan’s expression was incredibly captivating, that cat-and-mouse playfulness, that controlling gaze, like the sharpest knife, stripping Zhao Mengqi of her last bit of dignity and pretense, leaving her completely exposed.
This made her feel utterly ashamed, and even more, it made her feel overwhelming despair.
“No… I don’t know… I don’t know anything…”
Zhao Mengqi completely broke down, she frantically shook her head, covering her ears tightly with both hands, as if she could expel those terrifying names and memories from her mind that way.
Her meticulously styled bun was already disheveled, and a few strands of sweat-soaked hair clung to her pale cheeks, further emphasizing her current disarray and madness.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I can’t hear! I can’t hear anything!”
She screamed incoherently, her voice hoarse and sharp from extreme fear, “Get out! Get out of my office! Get out! Get out—!”