Zhao Mengqi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, or a drowning person grasping at the last straw; she shook her head frantically.
"I don't know! I don't know anyone! Who is Zhao Zhaodi! I am not Zhao Zhaodi!"
Her gaze, like a startled beast, randomly swept across the office, finally settling on the silver scissors on the windowsill, used for pruning orchid branches.
Those scissors, usually a tool for creating elegance in her hands, now became her only weapon in despair.
"You forced me!" A flash of desperate resolve flickered in Zhao Mengqi's eyes. She spun around abruptly, snatched up the scissors, and pointed the sharp tip directly at Lu Xuan.
Her usually well-maintained face was contorted by extreme anger and fear, losing all trace of gentleness, leaving only ferocity: "Since you know Zhao Zhaodi, and you know Liu Feiyu… then you won't live either! You can go die with them! All of you, go die!"
Before her words even finished, she charged at Lu Xuan like a mad lioness, scissors in hand, utterly reckless!
The sharp scissors cut a cold arc under the light, accompanied by a piercing whistle of air.
Lu Xuan watched her quietly, his gaze as calm as a bottomless ancient well, not stirring a single ripple.
Just as the scissors were about to touch his chest, Lu Xuan moved.
His movements were as fast as lightning, striking first despite moving later.
"Slap!"
A crisp, loud slap, louder and more decisive than any before.
Zhao Mengqi felt a massive force on her cheek, as if she had been hit head-on by a high-speed truck. Her mind buzzed, the world spun, and her body uncontrollably fell to one side.
The scissors flew out of her hand, bounced a few times on the floor, and finally landed in the corner.
"Thud!" She fell to the ground in a heap, knocking over a low table nearby, scattering its documents everywhere.
At this moment, Zhao Mengqi no longer possessed any semblance of the Network Information Center Director's demeanor, let alone the gentle elegance of a classical Jiangnan beauty she had shown upon their first meeting.
Her hair was disheveled like a bird's nest, a few strands miserably stuck to her sweaty forehead, a trickle of bright red blood oozed from the corner of her mouth, and the side of her face that had been struck swelled up visibly, like a steamed bun.
Those eyes, once full of tender affection and sparkling charm, were now bloodshot and terrifying, glaring fixedly at Lu Xuan as if they could shoot fire.
Lu Xuan walked over unhurriedly, looking down at Zhao Mengqi, who was slumped on the ground, as if admiring a work of art he had personally shattered.
He slowly squatted down, extended two fingers, and playfully pinched Zhao Mengqi's chin, forcing her to lift her head and meet his gaze.
He smiled slightly, a smile that, to Zhao Mengqi, was more terrifying than a devil's: "Heh heh, Director Zhao, your heart is truly more vicious than I imagined. To resort to murder at the slightest disagreement, this decisiveness truly makes me look at you in a new light."
"Ptooey!" Zhao Mengqi suddenly opened her mouth, trying to bite Lu Xuan's fingers.
Lu Xuan had anticipated this. With a flick of his wrist, he skillfully evaded her attack and, with a backhand, delivered another slap to her other cheek.
"Slap!"
This time, it was symmetrical.
Zhao Mengqi was completely stunned. Both cheeks stung fiercely, her ears buzzed, and her vision began to blur.
But the deep-seated hatred supported her. She used all her strength, glaring fiercely at Lu Xuan with wide eyes, her voice hoarse and sharp: "Come on! If you have the guts, kill me! Kill me! Otherwise, I won't let you go even as a ghost! I will definitely kill you!"
She shrieked hysterically, as if only by doing so could she vent the fear and despair in her heart: "Do you think this trivial matter can threaten me? I'm telling you, I'm not afraid! I've lived in fear for years, neither human nor ghost, I've had enough! I'm not afraid of anything anymore! At worst, we all die together!"
As she shouted, the fierce demeanor she had put on, like a punctured balloon, quickly deflated.
Zhao Mengqi's shoulders slumped. The fear, grievances, and unwillingness accumulated over many years surged out like a bursting dam at this moment.
She could no longer control herself, covering her face with her hands, letting out suppressed and desperate sobs, her body trembling violently.
Lu Xuan watched her transition from madness to collapse, a faint sneer playing on his lips.
The more she acted insane, the more it showed that deep down, she was afraid of losing everything.
How could she bear to easily give up everything she had painstakingly built over so many years, everything that had come so hard?
Her first thought was to kill him to silence him, rather than choose mutual destruction. This precisely showed how much she cherished what she currently possessed and how unwilling she was to let go.
Her ability to unhesitatingly choose to kill another person to cover up past secrets proved how much she valued her current life above all else.
This was exactly what Lu Xuan wanted to see.
If Zhao Mengqi had truly given up and chosen to fight to the death, it would have been somewhat difficult to handle.
After all, whether Zhao Mengqi was caught or not was irrelevant to Lu Xuan; what truly mattered was not letting the clue to the mysterious person behind her be cut off.
Lu Xuan slowly stood up, symbolically brushed off non-existent dust from his hands, and stepped back, creating some distance.
He spoke unhurriedly, his voice not loud, yet it clearly reached Zhao Mengqi's ears: "Director Zhao, your crying should be a little softer. The soundproofing in this office isn't very good. If someone outside hears it and attracts a crowd, then it will truly be troublesome."
Zhao Mengqi's crying indeed stopped abruptly. Although she was still sobbing, she was clearly trying her best to control the volume.
Through her fingers, her swollen, red eyes fearfully glanced at the office door that Lu Xuan had kicked open.
Seeing this, Lu Xuan's smile deepened. He slowly took out his phone from his pocket, making as if to dial: "Director Zhao, since you've said so, I am also a law-abiding citizen. For the sake of social fairness and justice, and to seek justice for the tragically deceased Li Yuan, as well as Liu Feiyu, I will call the police now and let them deal with you, this 'scorpion beauty.'"
His finger slid slowly across the screen, each movement, in Zhao Mengqi's eyes, was like the judge's brush, capable of determining her life and death.
Zhao Mengqi lowered her head, her disheveled hair covering her face, making her expression unreadable.
The crying gradually faded, leaving only her heavy breathing in the office.
Her brain was working rapidly, weighing the pros and cons, contemplating a way out.
Lu Xuan didn't actually press the dial button; he was merely observing Zhao Mengqi's reaction.
If he could have seen the look in Zhao Mengqi's eyes hidden beneath her hair at that moment, he would have noticed an unusual glint in them.
It was a determination born from desperation, to seize the last glimmer of hope at all costs, how similar to the fierce flame of revenge he himself had felt when he first reincarnated!
After a long while, Zhao Mengqi finally moved.
She took a deep breath, her voice hoarse from crying, yet surprisingly calm, even carrying a hint of the gentle, deliberately feigned demeanor she usually had: "Speak. What exactly do you want? What will it take for you to keep this secret buried forever?"
She slowly climbed up from the ground, her movements somewhat stiff, but she still tried to maintain her composure.
She raised her hand, haphazardly tucking her disheveled hair behind her ears, revealing a swollen, tear-streaked face.
"Do you want money?" She looked up at Lu Xuan, her gaze complex, containing fear, venom, and a hint of desperate resolve, "Or... do you want me?"
She tried to straighten her back, and although her dark green qipao was somewhat disheveled from the struggle, and her makeup was smudged from crying, she still attempted to regain a semblance of the Network Information Center Director's composure.
"Speak, your conditions. As long as I can do it, everything is negotiable."
Zhao Mengqi's voice was very soft, very faint, as if the hysterical, madwoman-like person from before was not her at all.
At this moment, she was eerily calm.