An Ge furrowed her brows and asked, "How long will it take?"
Huo Shaoyan replied, "One phone call, at most five minutes to settle it."
An Ge said, "Alright then."
Huo Shaoyan took her hand to avoid the crowd and led her to a dam with a broader view but fewer people.
He took out his phone and made a call. An Ge felt the river breeze stretching every hair on her body.
She liked this comfortable river breeze, her whole body relaxed as she leaned against the railing, her soft brows and eyes gazing faintly at the dazzling river lights.
Huo Shaoyan finished the call quickly.
When he turned around after the call, he saw An Ge completely relaxed.
The neon lights of the riverbank cast mottled shadows on her face, making her appear serene and still.
Huo Shaoyan’s heart stirred. Taking a few steps forward, he circled her waist from behind.
He pulled her into his embrace, a gesture of intimacy usually reserved for lovers—one that no longer suited their relationship.
An Ge promptly furrowed her brows, "President Huo, given our relationship now, this isn’t appropriate..."
Huo Shaoyan shrugged it off, "We’re divorced, but right now you’re single, and I’m single. Why can’t we?"
An Ge found his logic quite absurd.
She turned around in his arms, the neon lights in her eyes shimring with brilliance.
Though her gaze sparkled, her words brought a sharp and sobering pain.
She said to Huo Shaoyan:
"President Huo, at this stage in my life, I don’t want to be entangled with anyone, especially not with you. Please make this clear for yourself."
She paused, "Let go of , or I’ll turn hostile against you."
Frankly, the thing Huo Shaoyan feared most now was An Ge turning hostile.
Turning hostile ant cutting ties.
He didn’t want to cut ties with her.
He so desperately wanted to rekindle their relationship.
In the end, Huo Shaoyan released An Ge.
The arrangent for the yacht was quickly set.
Five minutes later, An Ge boarded a yacht.
Yet, Huo Shaoyan did not fulfill his promise to stay behind and accompany her.
Because Mo Yuan’s son was in trouble—kidnapped.
On the phone, Mo Yuan was sobbing as she pleaded for Huo Shaoyan’s help, "My son has been kidnapped..."
Huo Shaoyan comforted her briefly, "Don’t worry. Most kidnappings are for money. The kidnappers typically won’t act rashly if they haven’t gotten their ransom."
Mo Yuan was distraught, "But what if they kill my child?"
Huo Shaoyan said, "Don’t let your imagination run wild. I’ll arrange for soone to negotiate with the kidnappers imdiately." He paused, "I’ll go over myself."
That last sentence from Huo Shaoyan cald Mo Yuan.
Under such circumstances, there was no way An Ge could keep Huo Shaoyan from leaving.
So, when Huo Shaoyan ended the call with Mo Yuan, An Ge told him, "Go ahead. I’ll linger here in the breeze on the deck a little longer, then I’ll find my own way back."
Huo Shaoyan’s dark phoenix eyes lingered on her for a mont before saying:
"Alright. If you decide to leave, just let the bodyguards know so they can escort you back."
An Ge nodded lightly, but as he turned to leave, she suddenly called out to him urgently, "Huo Shaoyan."
"Hmm?"
"Be careful. Your life doesn’t belong to you alone."
Huo Shaoyan felt his throat tighten, "Alright."
After Huo Shaoyan left, An Ge’s mood appeared undisturbed.
She continued to stand quietly on the deck, gazing at the river’s night scenery, though anyone who approached her closely at that mont would notice her eyes were red, holding nothing but shimring and shattered tears.
Half an hour later, An Ge felt her nose clogging up.
She sniffed and said to the bodyguard, "The wind is too strong, let’s go back."
But the bodyguard did not move.
An Ge frowned.
She turned around, only to find that the man behind her was not the bodyguard Huo Shaoyan had left with her.
An Ge imdiately realized sothing was off. Her brows furrowed, "Are you... working with the kidnappers?"
When she said this, she realized the yacht had long drifted far from the bustle of the city.
She lifted her head and looked around. Apart from the faint city lights scattering along the riverbanks, there was nothing but darkness.
Her heart tensed montarily.
But her strong ntal fortitude quickly cald her down.
She looked at the man with a duckbill cap obscuring most of his features and said calmly, "Am I the real target of this kidnapping?"
"So stunningly beautiful, yet surprisingly smart," the man said coldly.
An Ge thought for a mont and said, "Now, can you tell the real reason you’re kidnapping ? Is it for money or revenge?"
The man clearly didn’t intend to waste words with her.
He pulled out a sharp dagger and pressed it against An Ge’s neck.
"With your beauty, I’m a rciful man when it cos to beauties. Be obedient, and I won’t scar that gorgeous face of yours."
An Ge’s throat tightened slightly, but her voice remained steady and cool, "What do you want to do for you?"
"Huo Shaoyan toyed with my woman. I want to try his woman, too..."
Upon hearing this, An Ge imdiately realized the man wasn’t here for money; he was here for revenge.
But being able to plan this so quickly and execute it on a yacht showed that this man wasn’t ordinary.
An Ge said, "Your woman... wouldn’t be Ms. Mo Yuan, would she?"
The man tapped An Ge’s face with the handle of the knife, "With soone as smart as you, how could Huo Shaoyan bear to divorce you?"
An Ge thought he wasn’t just any ordinary kidnapper.
Fortunately, the man before her wasn’t the reckless and desperate Lee Dahai type.
If that was the case, there might be room for negotiation.
An Ge said, "If your woman is Ms. Mo Yuan, then I fear you’re putting your deep affection in the wrong place. She’s not worth it."
She paused,
"Because she doesn’t love you. Even if you kidnapped or went as far as killing , you won’t get the love you’re hoping for. She approached before; she told that her return to the country was for the purpose of rekindling her relationship with Huo Shaoyan. She said she couldn’t forget President Huo, that she still loves President Huo deeply."
She paused again,
"She doesn’t love you. But because of this kidnapping, you might end up in jail or worse—lose your life. Sacrificing your bright future for a woman who doesn’t love you—is it worth it?"
The man laughed.
At this mont, he removed his duckbill cap.
Under the faint light, An Ge saw his face clearly.
Judging by his dashing, charming features, he didn’t appear to be soone linked to the underworld; his aura even carried a noble brilliance.
Under the starlit sky on the river, he stood tall and proud, with fair skin and unrestrained peach-blossom eyes—deep and intense, yet sharp as a blade.
An Ge couldn’t discern his exact age, but given his commanding presence, she estimated he was at least thirty.
An Ge reckoned this man was tough to handle.
At that mont, she couldn’t figure out how to navigate the situation, "May I ask your surna, sir?"
Perhaps thinking she was harmless, or maybe he was simply bored, he replied, "Li Shaosi."
An Ge responded with an "Oh," then asked, "Mr. Li, what are you planning to do with next?"
The man laughed at her question, "You don’t seem like the type to obediently let do whatever I want with you."
An Ge nodded and said:
"Exactly. That’s why I want to know what your plan is. If it’s rely about seeking revenge or venting against Huo Shaoyan, there’s no need to involve , an innocent party." She paused, "Let go—I can help you..."
The man lit a cigarette.
His slender fingers holding the cigarette were notably elegant and proportioned, exuding a certain appeal.
An Ge had never seen a man smoking a cigarette exude such charm.
Through the lingering smoke, the man’s handso face, shrouded in its haze, appeared veiled—mysterious and alluring.
His voice, much like the smoke, was captivating and compelling, "How do you plan to help ?"
An Ge replied, "Let make a call to President Huo and have him co alone to exchange for ..."
Li Shaosi laughed at her suggestion, "You value your life quite a lot."
"Of course I do."
"But you’re rather cold-blooded and heartless too."
An Ge said, "People aren’t saints. Self-preservation is natural!"
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