Han Huizhong lunged at him and grabbed his collar. "Zhu Xiaosi! If you as much as lay a finger on Xinyi, I will-"
"You will what?" Xiaosi expressionlessly said. There was no trace of any emotion in his dark eyes. "What will you do? Kill me? Go ahead. Let me see how you will do that."
The guards had their weapons pointed at him.
"I don't think you would want to give me a signal to my man, right?"
His face reddened in anger. "You will not do this!"
Xiaosi laughed. He stared at him and said, "Are you listening to me in there?"
"Yes, sir!"
Han Huizhong jolted upon hearing a man's voice coming from the adjacent room.
"You know what to do on my signal, right?"
A chuckle came from the other end. "Of course, I know. You have thoroughly explained everything to me and honestly, I cannot wait. So please quickly give me the signal.".
Han Huizhong stormed off towards the room, but Xiaosi's guards already caught him.
"You bastard! Let Xinyi go! If your man fucking touches her, I will burn down this whole world!"
Xiaosi trembled and burst into laughter. "Ah, Grandpa Han. You have no idea how much I am enjoying this. Your ugly expression is what I wanted to see the most. This is so thrilling, right? Don't you feel the same?"
"My granddaughter-in-law is trapped here and you want me to feel the thrill in this?" He roared.
"Why not? And this is why I chose her. You adore Xinyi so much. Even though you are an arrogant prick, your heart is extremely soft for Xinyi. Makes her my perfect target, doesn't it?"
Han Huizhong glowered at him, outraged.
"This is enough, Zhu Xiaosi. Let her go. You have problems with me, so kill me if you want. That will make you satisfied, right?"
The smile on Xiaosi's lips vanished. "Satisfied? After waiting for seven years for this moment, you just want me to easily kill you and finish this matter? No, Grandpa Han, no. I want to kill you for sure. But not like that."
He leaned and narrowed his eyes. "I want you to die every moment when you see your lovely granddaughter-in-law in danger. I want you to see with your own eyes what fate YOU brought upon Xinyi."
He smiled. "Hmm…so shall I give the signal?"
"No!"
"Then beg Grandpa. Beg me," Xiaosi sneered. "Beg me not to do anything to her. Beg me so that I might change my mind. Beg me to save her dignity."
Silence.
There was a long period of silence. Han Huizhong stared at the door behind which Xinyi was trapped and in danger.
Han Huizhong, before whom everybody bowed in fear, was now standing helpless before Xiaosi. Xiaosi blocked all his ways to save her. He could have brought his guards along with him and started a war, but Xinyi was with him. It wouldn't have taken even a second for him to order his man to ruin her.
He felt tired. And empty. His gaze turned misty with tears as he recalled the first time he met Xinyi.
Such a pure and kind soul who always thought of others' happiness before her. Even though it cost her incredible sadness for her whole life, she didn't let the darkness consume her. And now she was trapped in someone's clutches when she was innocent.
Xiaosi sat on his chair like a majestic king who looked down on his subjects. "Come on, Grandpa. Now, you are the one wasting time here. Hurry up and kneel or I might just lose my patience."
As Xiaosi raised his hand for the signal, Han Huizhong froze and exclaimed. "Stop you bastard!"
"Make me," he smiled.
Han Huizhong quietly said, "Your guards... tell them to let me off."
Xiaosi stared at him and signaled the guards. They stepped back. Han Huizhong stood before Xiaosi who had propped his arm on the armrest and lazily looked at him.
He trembled before he slowly kneeled on the floor and lowered his head. "Please let Xinyi go."
Xiaosi said nothing.
"Please let her go."
No response.
"I did what you told me to. I am begging you just like you want," his quiet and defeated voice echoed in the room. "So let Xinyi go."
"No," he declared.
Han Huizhong froze. He raised his head in horror and stared at him. "What did you say?"
"I said no, Grandpa. I will not let her go. Never."
"What nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense. I said I might think about it. I didn't promise that I definitely will."
His face darkened and his gaze burned in fury.
"You! Don't you dare go back on your word!"
Xiaosi chuckled. "I never gave any word, Grandpa. Now that I saw you begging me, I want to see you begging more when the fun starts."
"XIAOSI!"
Xiaosi said, "Hey you there?"
"Waiting for your order sir! Give the signal already, sir. It's getting hard to hold back."
Han Huizhong panicked, and he broke into a sweat. "Stop it! Xiaosi! Don't do this!"
Xiaosi smiled. "You can go ahead now. That will finally spice up the begging here."
His blood ran cold, and he collapsed on his knees. His aged body was trembling and shaking as pure fear crept into his heart. His heart thudded faster and faster in his chest and he slowly clutched his chest, feeling breathless. His tears and sweat mixed as he felt slightly dizzy.
"Oh is Grandpa getting a heart attack now?" He sneered. "It's understandable. After all, you are at such a delicate age."
"Stop it…let... Xinyi.. my granddaughter-in-law... don't touch her…"
*BANG BANG*
Suddenly, somebody started to loudly bang on the door.
"Open the door!"
As Han Huizhong was slowly losing his consciousness, he heard Zhiyuan's voice. His eyes slowly widened.
Zhiyuan…
"Open the door right now!"
Xiaosi showed no reaction or panic as he heard Zhiyuan's voice. There wasn't even the slightest change in his expression.
After continuous loud banging on the door, Zhiyuan broke the door with sheer rage driving him to destroy everything. But as soon as he entered the room, his steps froze on seeing Han Huizhong collapse on his knees in that weak and vulnerable state.
"G-grandpa…?"
****
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