Seeing Xu Ruowei struggling on the ground, her hair dishevelled and her face pale, he felt a pang of heartache.
"An Nuan, what are you doing? Get away from me." Shen Xizhou rushed over without hesitation.
However, An Nuan's actions were faster. She inexplicably produced a fruit knife and pressed it against Xu Ruowei's neck, her eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
Xu Ruowei's eyes widened in disbelief. She had never imagined that An Nuan would actually take her hostage.
This was a tactic she had always used, where An Nuan would desperately try to explain to Shen Xizhou, who would dismiss her words with contempt.
But now? What was going on? An Nuan had actually taken action.
And the fruit knife was one she had prepared herself, intended to frame An Nuan. She hadn't expected An Nuan to actually use it.
She instantly lost her footing. An Nuan's current actions were too abnormal. She was afraid that if An Nuan truly decided to burn bridges, she would have no escape. She regretted provoking An Nuan earlier. If An Nuan decided to act, Shen Xizhou was too far away to save her.
Watching Shen Xizhou's anxious state, An Nuan suddenly found it somewhat laughable. He truly cared about Xu Ruowei, otherwise, he wouldn't be so worried. Suddenly, she felt like a complete fool.
However, this was for the best. If he let Yun Xiu go, he should be willing. Besides, even if Yun Xiu wasn't in his hands, he would surely find all sorts of ways to locate Yun Xiu, because if he wanted Xu Ruowei to be safe, he had to obey her.
Suddenly, a mocking smile spread across An Nuan's face.
Perhaps, if she had done this earlier, things wouldn't be so troublesome. And Yun Xiu wouldn't have suffered so much.
She suddenly wondered why she had been so foolish before, trying to explain so much. Shen Xizhou had never believed her explanations, so why bother?
"An Nuan, what do you want? Let Ruowei go. You can have anything you want."
"I'll come over and take Ruowei's place, is that acceptable?" Shen Xizhou said cautiously.
Witnessing the scene unfolding before her, a cold smile curled up at the corner of An Nuan's lips. This scene was so comically absurd.
He truly cared about Xu Ruowei. Look at how careful he was. She was almost jealous.
"An Nuan, what exactly do you want? Tell me, as long as I can do it, I will."
"Let my brother go, and I'll let her go immediately," An Nuan said, her voice trembling slightly as she nervously scanned her surroundings.
Xu Ruowei's face was abnormally pale, her lips tightly pressed together. She looked at Shen Xizhou with a pitiful expression, her whole body trembling: "Xizhou, no, don't worry about me."
"I know An Nuan hates me, and I know she won't kill me. She just wants to use me to threaten you."
"Xizhou, I'm not afraid."
She whispered, "An Nuan, we really don't know where your brother is. I've said everything I could, but you still don't believe me. What can I do?"
"I know you're also anxious about your brother's disappearance. Instead of wasting time here, you'd be better off looking for your brother now. I'll help search too."
"Xu Ruowei, take away that hypocritical face of yours."
Heh, help her find Yun Xiu? Clearly, Yun Xiu was hidden by her, yet she was acting the good Samaritan, offering to help. Didn't she find that laughable?
Looking at Xu Ruowei's disgusting expression, An Nuan said coldly, "Xu Ruowei, you just said that my brother was in your hands. You said I'd never find him in this lifetime."
Xu Ruowei's face was incredibly pale. Yes, she had indeed said those words.
But these words couldn't be heard by Shen Xizhou. She absolutely did not want him to hear them.
In fact, she wouldn't have done this if it weren't absolutely necessary, but Xu Ruowei had forced her hand. She had no other choice.
However, she knew better than anyone that once things had happened, there was no turning back.
Shen Xizhou probably wished he could kill her. But even if she hadn't done this, Shen Xizhou already wanted to kill her.
"Xizhou, I'm really fine. Xizhou, please help An Nuan find Yun Xiu. I think Yun Xiu must have gone missing, and An Nuan is anxious, which is why she's acting like this. I won't blame her."
"Finding Yun Xiu is the most important thing now."
Shen Xizhou looked at An Nuan with disdain and said, "An Nuan, listen to what Ruowei is saying. Don't you feel any guilt? This has nothing to do with her, yet she's still trying her best to think of you and speak for you."
"And you want her life."
"Heh..."
An Nuan let out a cold laugh.
Guilt? Towards someone who had been plotting against her all along, guilt?
Xu Ruowei, did she deserve it?
An Nuan's mind wandered, and Shen Xizhou rescued Xu Ruowei from her grasp. Without hesitation, Shen Xizhou scooped up Xu Ruowei and left.
An Nuan wanted to chase after them, wanting to ask Xu Ruowei about Yun Xi's whereabouts, but Xia Wanqing blocked her path.
"An Nuan, what else do you want? Haven't you caused Ruowei enough suffering? Do you want Ruowei dead?"
Want Xu Ruowei dead?
No, she never had. She just wanted to find out where Yun Xiu was. She just wanted to find Yun Xiu.
Xia Wanqing blocked An Nuan.
As An Nuan was about to say something, her body began to tremble. She felt cold, so cold that she couldn't breathe.
She bit her lip tightly.
She suddenly remembered what Xu Ruowei had said. Earlier, they had injected something into her, and now the time had come.
Xia Wanqing looked at An Nuan with a smug expression: "Heh, it seems you're going to suffer torment next."
"You..."
"Don't worry, when the time comes, I'll naturally be here. At the very last moment, I will be here."
"After all, I won't let you die easily. You can't die. If you die, it won't be fun anymore."
"Ruowei said she wants to keep you alive so you can watch her and Shen Xizhou live happily together."
"So, you should be grateful to Ruowei. Her kindness saved you. Otherwise, do you think you'd still be alive now?"
An Nuan was already writhing on the ground in pain. She looked at Xia Wanqing pleadingly and said, "Please, please let my brother go. You can do whatever you want to me, as long as you let my brother go."
Xia Wanqing kicked her away indifferently and said, "Your brother?"
"How would I know where your brother is?" Xia Wanqing said and left.
An Nuan's whole body was trembling. She wanted to get out, she wanted to cry out, but she found it useless. Utterly useless. In the end, she bowed her head.
She seemed to be hallucinating, or perhaps she had returned to the past.
Back then, Shen Xizhou was so gentle. Back then, she was the happiest person in the world.