Chapter 30: You're Older, So Be More Considerate of Our Leader
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Three months earlier.
After graduating, Feng Zheng had used his exceptional abilities to become a department manager at a major corporation. By all accounts, he was a successful elite.
Yet now, at thirty-five, every relationship he entered ended in failure.
He was not unattractive. He knew how to dress and present himself, and he looked perfectly respectable. He was not stunningly handsome, but his looks were above average, and he had been approached by all kinds of people in bars.
He met Zhuang Ruyin at a restaurant where he was waiting to have dinner with a colleague. The atmosphere that day was wonderful; the restaurant was celebrating its anniversary. Even the roadside trees had been wrapped in loops of tiny colored lights.
The mood was perfect.
Quietly, he watched the pedestrians passing along the street outside the window when Zhuang Ruyin happened to enter his line of sight. She was like a beautiful butterfly dancing into his world.
The already brilliant world became even more colorful.
She was dressed with youthful vibrancy, her smile radiant. Chatting with her friends, she passed by the window. The casual way she brushed back her hair, the glance she cast over her shoulder—every movement was beautiful.
Feng Zheng’s heart began to stir from that moment onward.
It had been a long time since he had encountered a woman so beautiful she seemed like a fairy from a painting.
He forgot all about his appointment with his friend and hurried after her, but he could not find her anywhere. Just as disappointment began to sink in, she appeared at the next corner, walking in his direction.
Encounters were sometimes this subtle.
Whether it had all been deliberately arranged would only be known at the very end.
Feng Zheng was best at conquering people through prolonged contact. He preferred younger women, especially recent university graduates. At that age, they were still caught between innocence and experience. They understood some of society’s rules, but not all of them, and they were still driven by curiosity. They were easily captivated by certain things.
Zhuang Ruyin became his next prey. He wanted a perfect girlfriend, one he could mold according to his own preferences.
When their feelings ran deep, she would ask him innocently, “How long will you love me?”
Just as he had said to the others, he would tell her, “I love you. We’ll be together forever.”
“What if you can’t keep that promise?”
“Then kill me.”
As it turned out, he had succeeded. Zhuang Ruyin truly satisfied all his peculiar desires.
Until one day, their peaceful life was shattered.
That night, after the two of them had been intimate, Feng Zheng got out of bed and removed the camera hidden inside a framed painting. He sat in the dim living room, admiring his own work.
He was so absorbed that he failed to notice Zhuang Ruyin standing behind him after waking in the night.
That night, after his secret was exposed, Feng Zheng and Zhuang Ruyin argued until the quarrel became a vicious fight. For the first time, he struck her. The woman went sprawling and accidentally hit the coffee table, knocking it over. All sorts of tiny objects scattered across the floor beside it.
Among them was a pendant that had accompanied her since childhood. It fell to the ground and broke into several pieces.
The shattered pendant was like a Pandora’s box being smashed open.
People did not become evil overnight, but some could be driven mad and turned into executioners within the space of a single day.
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Feng Zheng forced her to watch those videos, hurling all kinds of vile words at her. He even had a secret room containing dozens of monitors, each screen playing recordings of him having sex with different women in different places and at different times.
Zhuang Ruyin felt sick watching them.
He had even blurred out his face in the videos and put them online for sale.
Who would have imagined that an elite who spent his days in immaculate suits, moving through high society, could be such a person in private? That filthy obsession had become his source of pride.
Zhuang Ruyin had been reduced to a plaything in his hands. But that plaything seemed to be gradually awakening to her own evil side.
One night, while he was asleep, Zhuang Ruyin leaned close to his ear and whispered like a demon, “It looks like so much fun. Let me have a turn!”
Feng Zheng jolted awake and immediately turned to look at her. Zhuang Ruyin was sleeping peacefully.
He assumed it had only been a dream.
Zhuang Ruyin became increasingly proactive and increasingly passionate. She was so enthusiastic that Feng Zheng began to find himself unable to keep up. Every day, she prepared all kinds of surprises for him, along with all manner of delicious food. For a time, he became lost in her tenderness.
Until one day, when he opened his eyes to find himself bound, kneeling in the secret room.
Zhuang Ruyin stood before him, looking down from above while idly playing with a fruit knife. Without hesitation, while he was still only half awake, she drove the blade into his thigh.
The tip pierced his flesh and twisted back and forth in a circle. The pain nearly made him pass out.
He had thought himself a deviant, but he had never imagined there could be someone even more twisted than he was.
Zhuang Ruyin imprisoned him and tormented him bit by bit.
“I didn’t want things to turn out this way. I’ve been a good person for a very long time. Why did you have to provoke me?”
…
“You are not salvation. You are an abyss.”
…
“I’ve already killed someone once. I don’t want to kill again. I still like you very much. Just endure it. Several decades will pass quickly. I’ll take good care of you. Without my permission, your final breath will never leave your body. I won’t allow it.”
If there had still been even a little hope before, those words truly frightened Feng Zheng.
If not for the arrival of Yan Ye and the others.
—
He lay silently on the bed, repenting.
“I really know that I was wrong.”
Do you?
But it was too late.
The three-day deadline was drawing near, yet Yan Ye had still not appeared.
The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs was bustling, everyone occupied with their own work.
During those three days, Tang Shuo had accompanied Xu Zhiting out of town to deal with a particularly troublesome matter. They had nearly become lost in the Forest of Mists, and Xu Zhiting had even been injured while saving him. Tang Shuo felt extremely guilty.
He became exceptionally attentive.
He practically wished he could change Xu Zhiting’s bandages for him.
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“Boss, Zhuang Qingchun’s investigation report is ready. Her danger rating is two.”
Anyone would have a temper. In this case, a two could practically be interpreted as someone who might curse a little. She posed no threat whatsoever.
“Should we let her go?”
The other woman, Zhuang Ruyin, was considerably more complicated. The system had detected that she possessed two personalities, and she was very skilled at evading questioning. If the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs had not possessed so many rare instruments, they might not have been able to complete the examination.
It was all because Xu Zhiting had issued a strict order on the very day he returned: every piece of data had to be examined and verified within three days.
Xu Zhiting said nothing. He merely left Tang Shuo with three words:
“Wait a little longer.”
Wait a little longer.
Wait for what?
Could it be Yan Ye?
Suddenly, as though a light had gone on in his head, Tang Shuo returned to his workstation and sent Yan Ye a message.
[Boss Yan, what time are you coming?]
He assumed that, as with the previous few times, there would be no response.
The next second, his phone gave a soft chime.
[When did I ever say I was coming?]
Tang Shuo was energized. He rolled up his sleeves and began typing with renewed enthusiasm.
In the office, someone stared at the palm of her hand. Nearly twenty minutes had passed.
She will come.
She will not come.
She will come.
She will not come.
…
On her way home, Yan Ye looked at the message Tang Shuo had sent.
[Boss Yan, our boss was injured, so he may be in a bad mood these next few days. Be careful when you come. Of course, I know you aren’t afraid of him; I just thought I should mention it. You’re older, so try to indulge him a little.]
Yan Ye narrowed her eyes as she stared at the words “you’re older.”
Older, was she?
And his name was Tang Shuo, was it?
He was finished.