Back Then, I Adored You

The edges of Lu Bancheng’s lips tensed, and his eyes grew hazy, while the main man, who’d by now decidedly taken over as the leader, seemed to be getting an inexplicable thrill from this game. An excited look grew on his face, and he started counting down arrogantly and slowly. “Three.”

As his word settled, the sharp blade of the knife that the man was holding inched closer to Xu Wennuan’s skin and slowly started falling. As the main man was just about to say, “Two,” in an effort to delay, Lu Bancheng racked his brains and spoke again. “You should keep in mind that if that blade enters her body, I’ll see to it that you’re punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The man started laughing out loud and said disapprovingly, “You seem to be saying that all our effort in kidnapping her isn’t against the law. People in our line of work are all desperate criminals. The only thing we don’t fear is breaking the law!”

“But don’t the people in your line of work do this for money? I already said, give me a number, and I’ll give you all the money you want. I guarantee that I won’t call the police as long as she gets out of this place safely…”

The man seemed to know that Lu Bancheng was just playing for time. He stopped listening to him and erected his index finger. “Two.”

At the moment he finished saying the number, the blade pierced through Xu Wennuan’s blouse, and a faint line of blood began to trickle down her chest, its crimson red color illuminated on her fair skin. Without contemplation, Lu Bancheng bent his body and picked up the switchblade lying at his feet.

The main man had wasted too much time on this and without delay shouted, “One!”

With the lightest of exertion, the man with the switchblade pressed the blade into Xu Wennuan’s skin at a depth of a millimeter. Even though the wound was shallow, much like one that could result with a pencil sharpener, Lu Bancheng’s eyes brimmed with nervousness and pain.

The man is right: Accepting money to murder someone is something they do every day because they’ve already given up on their own lives. And they’re not stupid, and they know that when Wu Hao arrives all they’ll need to do is capture them and tie them up. If I don’t make a decision now, they are so furious they might really stab Xu Wennuan in the chest… Or maybe they won’t have the guts to do it… But either way, I can’t afford to not take action—I must protect Xu Wennuan at all costs.

As this thought crossed Lu Bancheng’s mind, his slender fingers exerted slight force and the blade in the switchblade was revealed, reflecting a cold glint under the light.

“I’ve counted down. Have you not made your choice? Since that’s the case, I’ll make the decision…” The man pretended like he was in a confounding position, raising his finger and pointing at Lu Bancheng before then pointing it at Xu Wennuan. Eventually, his finger extended toward Xu Wennuan’s body. “I choose her.”

The man holding the switchblade started exerting more pressure, and the wound on Xu Wennuan’s skin gradually grew deeper. Instinctively, Lu Bancheng said, “Hold on!” Before the three men could react to him, with the switchblade he had picked up, he mercilessly stabbed his own right thigh.

Fresh red blood flowed down along his fingertips as the three men stared in shock at his determination. The entire room plunged into an eerie silence.