Chapter 100: Lu Jun
It was a small tourist hotel, modest in scale but with a decent environment.
They seemed used to receiving Chinese guests from afar, so when they saw an Asian face, the receptionist reflexively greeted him in clumsy Chinese, “Ni hao.”
Li Dong smiled politely and replied, “Ni hao.” His courteous, gentlemanly manner made the local woman behind the counter blush shyly.
She didn’t actually know Chinese, so she switched to English. “Can I help you with anything?”
Li Dong quickly requested a room. Since Pei Ruozhen was supposedly in low spirits that evening and hadn’t eaten dinner, Li Dong also ordered a late meal, his stomach was starting to cramp.
He thought that a random small hotel like this shouldn’t be so easy for Lu Jun to find.
So he took his room key and walked upstairs at an unhurried pace.
After entering the room, he carefully checked both ends of the hallway to make sure no one had followed him, then closed the door.
He wasn’t particularly anxious. According to the original plot, the third male lead didn’t die until he returned to China.
Before meeting Li Tingyi, he shouldn’t be in any real danger.
Still, avoiding the protagonist shou forever wasn’t a reliable plan.
Li Dong doubted his own ability to hide indefinitely from a madman like Lu Jun.
So what now?
While showering, he frowned the whole time, thinking about how to deal with Li Tingyi’s obedient attack dog.
First, he needed to understand why Lu Jun was so loyal to Li Tingyi.
The reason was simple: Lu Jun lusted after Li Tingyi’s “beauty.”
A virgin who’d never actually been with a man, this realization made Li Dong finally relax his brow.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Li Dong had just finished bathing. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went to open the door.
He knew it was probably his dinner, but out of caution, he checked the peephole first.
Seeing that it was indeed a local girl in hotel uniform, he opened the door.
But the instant it opened, a tall, agile figure slipped inside, along with a silver pistol aimed right at his forehead.
“Don’t move. Don’t make a sound,” Lu Jun said at once. He shut the door with his foot, ready to have a little chat with his prey.
Li Dong raised both hands calmly, meeting his gaze without panic.
The novel’s protagonist shou, Lu Jun, really was just as described: young, wickedly handsome, exuding a mysterious, dangerous aura, like something born of darkness itself.
“You’re Pei Ruozhen?” Lu Jun asked as he approached. He was dead serious when working, and right now his mood was currently f***ing terrible.
“Yes,” Li Dong said, sounding perfectly cooperative. “Who are you? Why do you want to kill me?”
“I’m not killing you. Don’t flatter yourself.” Lu Jun’s hawk-sharp eyes swept up and down the other man. The supposedly weak, refined gentleman actually had a striking body once stripped down, anything but frail.
Lu Jun let out a low, teasing whistle, then did something that made Li Dong want to kneel in disbelief: he used the muzzle of his gun to lift the edge of Li Dong’s towel and brazenly examine him.
“...” F*ck, this guy’s shamelessness defied human imagination.
“Sit down by the bed,” Lu Jun ordered in a low, dangerous tone.
He kicked a chair over, not for sitting, but to rest his restless foot on, while toying with the gun in his hand. He’d already decided this prey looked harmless enough.
Li Dong followed instructions silently, sitting on the bed with his hands where they could be seen.
“Mr. Pei Ruozhen,” Lu Jun said, using the barrel of his gun to tilt Li Dong’s chin up. “I’m going to discuss something with you. I’d advise you to cooperate. Otherwise, I won’t mind keeping you unconscious the whole time.”
It wasn’t true, but it would scare this pampered young master well enough.
“Alright, go on,” Li Dong replied. He had no idea why the man thought he was scared of dying when he was clearly calm.
“From now on, you’re not allowed to contact anyone, understand?” Lu Jun waved the gun slightly. “If you do, I’ll break one of your legs or arms.”
“Mm…” Li Dong nodded as if frightened, though he clearly wasn’t.
Then came the stupid order. “Tsk,” Lu Jun muttered. “Tomorrow morning, I’m taking you back to China.” He gave him a cold glare. “Let’s hope you don’t make me use my fists on the way.”
“Alright.” Li Dong remembered that in the original book, the third male lead got beaten badly by Lu Jun and still somehow developed feelings for him afterward. Truly beyond words.
Everything was progressing exactly as written.
Lu Jun took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed his own left wrist to Li Dong’s right.
“Sir,” Li Dong said, glancing at the cuffs. “Who sent you to do this?” It was the first hint of a normal person’s reaction, asking questions.
“Who’d answer a stupid question like that?” Lu Jun raised a brow and pinched Li Dong’s cheeks between long fingers. “Do I need to spell it out for you? You’ve been kidnapped.”
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang again.
“F—” Lu Jun stopped himself, thinking for a moment before releasing Li Dong. “Go open it.”
Under his cold stare, Li Dong got up, dragging the cuff along with him. Peeking through the peephole, he saw a waiter pushing a food cart.
Apparently, the staff had no clue what was going on inside.
Lu Jun hid by the doorframe, watching Li Dong’s every move with alert eyes.
“It’s my dinner,” Li Dong said over his shoulder, then opened the door a crack. “Hello. No need to come in, just hand me the tray.”
“OK, OK,” the waiter said cheerfully, handing over the tray before leaving.
“See? Can I eat now?” Li Dong held the tray in one hand, standing in the middle of the room.
Lu Jun twitched his mouth, realizing he’d badly misjudged this man. He showed not the slightest hint of fear.
With no objection, Li Dong sat at the small table, dragging his kidnapper along, and began his meal.
Spaghetti and, apparently, a complimentary portion of fried rice.
“Have you eaten, Mr. Kidnapper?” Li Dong asked politely.
“You talking to me?” Lu Jun pointed at himself, half amused, lounging in the chair with his long legs stretched out.
“Yes.” Meeting his sharp gaze, Li Dong quickly ducked his head. “Alright then, I’ll eat by myself.”
Watching him eat so calmly, unaffected by guns or handcuffs, Lu Jun felt speechless. Couldn’t this guy at least act like a hostage?
It was making him lose face.
“I want some water,” Li Dong said. The bottled water wasn’t on the table.
Following his line of sight, Lu Jun turned, grabbed the bottle, and slammed it onto the table.
“Thank you.” Li Dong took a sip and kept eating.
The pasta tasted fine, but the fried rice was strange. After one bite, he set it aside. “This rice tastes weird.”
“…” I didn’t ask for a food review.
“Mr. Kidnapper, have you really eaten?” Li Dong looked like he wanted to offer him the fried rice.
Lu Jun’s hand immediately reached for the gun on the table.
Li Dong bowed his head and quietly returned to eating.
“I’m not ‘Mr. Kidnapper,’” Lu Jun warned, his voice dropping over the top of Li Dong’s head. “From now on, talk less. Stay quiet, like now. Got it?”
Li Dong nodded with a mouthful of spaghetti.
“Hmph.” Lu Jun leaned back, annoyed.
He was starting to regret taking this job. Escorting this idiot back to China was harder than assaulting Li Tingyi himself might’ve been.
“I’m done eating,” Li Dong said softly. “Could you hand me a napkin? It’s on the cabinet where you put the water earlier.”
Lu Jun inhaled sharply, disbelief on his face. Why does this guy think he can order me around? Does he even get the situation?
Still, he reluctantly grabbed the napkin. Fine, whatever, it won’t kill me.
“Thanks.” Li Dong accepted it with satisfaction, wiping his mouth neatly. The fried rice was still terrible though.
“I need to use the restroom,” he said next.
At that point, Lu Jun really wanted to unlock the cuffs, but as a professional killer, he restrained himself.
The only relief was that his hostage wasn’t a greasy middle-aged man but a good-looking one. Otherwise, he might’ve killed him out of sheer irritation.
Under the watchful gaze of the outrageously unrestrained shou, Li Dong relieved himself comfortably.
When he washed his hands, Lu Jun unzipped and took a leak too, one-handed.
A few minutes later, they returned to the room. The professional kidnapper spoke flatly. “Give me your ID and phone.”
Expressionless, Lu Jun confiscated everything, wallet, phone, all personal items except clothes and tucked them into his own pockets.
The phone had to stay on, in case the victim’s people got suspicious.
“Can I sleep now?” Li Dong asked hopefully, glancing at the bed.
“…” Lu Jun gave his exasperating hostage a look, then switched on the television and sat on the bed. “Sleep.” He himself stayed upright, not intending to rest.
“I sleep pretty soundly, so you don’t have to stay alert. If you’re tired, take a nap,” Li Dong said helpfully as he snuggled under the blanket.
“Shut up,” Lu Jun muttered, on the verge of losing his mind. What kind of prey is this, seriously?
“Oh.” Li Dong changed position and, three minutes later, was sprawled out snoring softly.
Damn it. That’s some world-class sleep quality.
Wait, how did he fall asleep so fast?
Lu Jun rubbed his face, and an irrelevant but fitting phrase suddenly flashed through his mind: Walk down dark roads long enough, and you’ll always run into ghosts.
Author’s Note:
【2333 Someone’s already spoiling Dong-ge without realizing it, giving in to him at every turn.】
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