Lui Zhiyuan's index finger hit the table in a rhythmical manner, and his eyes fell on a chubby man who was trying his best to hide his nerves.
"So?" A cold smile danced on the corner of his lips, and the man named Song turned towards the two other men for help.
They both looked away, pretending not to catch his gaze, as they had unanimously agreed to let him alone deal with their inflexible CEO.
"CEO Lui.....Xu Shengyu....Xu Shengyu said he wasn't interested in selling...." Director Lu's voice was shaky, and his knees felt weak.
The tapping stopped, and Lui Zhiyuan tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look at the other men in the room.
"So you're telling me, even after two weeks, you still couldn't get Xu Shengyu to sell his company shares…?"
Lui Zhiyuan was thinking, if money couldn't entice that coward to sell, what else could he do?
Did he have to dig up dirt on him?
He didn't like using underhand tactics. However, for her, he was more than willing to do anything.
"CEO, actually, I don't think Xu Shengyu has any reason to sell to us. His company is the best in the industry right now, thanks to the actress, Xia Mengqi. Besides, we already have a lot of aquisitions we are working on and...."
"You're questioning my decision?" Lui Zhiyuan's voice grew deeper, and his eyes darkened.
Director Lu swallowed a gulp, and his legs almost gave way.
Lui Zhiyuan's intense gaze was enough to reduce a grown man to tears.
He shook his head, "No, of course not, CEO... It's just because he has no reason to sell his company to us."
Director Lu's voice grew smaller until it was almost a whisper.
Song Jia looked down at the watch strapped to his right hand, wondering how much time he had left before he could go home.
8:43....8:44.....8:44....8:44...Lui Zhiyuan's eyes went wide, and his face paled as he continued to look at the watch.
"With all due respect, CEO. If you really want the company to branch into the entertainment industry, then we can...."
Lui Zhiyuan raised a finger, signaling the man to stop.
His face paled, and an uneasy feeling settled in his heart.
It stopped. It started once again, jumping to the current time.
Lui Zhiyuan stood up at once, scaring all of the men in the room.
She had just been back for twenty-five years! She wasn't supposed to die yet!
He picked up his phone and dialed a number, his hands shaking.
No, this couldn't be! It couldn't be!
"Damn it!" Lui Zhiyuan cursed when the person didn't pick up.
He glanced at the faces of the men who were watching him even more closely now, before dashing out of the meeting room in the next second.
His heart raced fast against his chest.
Although the stopped watch made it clear what had happened, he didn't want to believe it.
"Lingyi, wait for me! Please wait for me!"
....
Xu Shengyu's hand was on his head, a pale look on his face.
He paced around the room, unsure of what he was going to do.
Yan Hua, Xia Mengqi's best friend, picked up Xia Mengqi's hand to check her pulse.
She sneered as she dropped the lifeless hand.
"She's dead! How could you do this?! Don't you love Mengqi the most?! How could you kill her? You're such a fucking monster!" Yan Hua yelled at him.
She pushed Xu Shengyu's chest, trying to hit him, but he caught her hand and flung it away.
"Don't you dare fucking touch me! And don't pretend like you cared about her in the first place!" Xu Shengyu yelled at Yan Hua.
He was shaking as the full knowledge of what he had just done came crashing down on him.
He didn't mean to kill Xia Mengqi! He loved her! He really did love her! Since he found her at thirteen, he had personally trained her, spent late nights on the road with her when she debuted. Even personally managed her because he didn't want anyone else in charge of her. "I fucking loved her!" he cursed, his eyes reddening.
Yan Hua sneered, throwing a mocking look at Xu Shengyu.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What I do know is I won't let you walk away scott-free from this!" She threatened him.
Yan Hua reached for her phone, attempting to call the police.
Xu Shengyu, however, grabbed the phone and tossed it at the wall.
The phone fell to the ground and shattered.
"You....how dare you....."
Yan Hua was still talking when Xu Shengyu's strong hand grabbed her neck.
"Don't you dare think of going to the police, Yan Hua! You know damn well I will destroy you before anything happens to me!"
Xu Shengyu let go of her roughly, and she almost fell to the ground.
Yan Hua glared at Xu Shengyu with a lot of resentment, and he just sneered at her.
"Don't act like you weren't on your knees in front of me a few weeks ago, blowing me for the second lead role in that drama!"
Xu Shengyu's words were cruel and laced with mockery, but they were the truth.
Yan Hua's heart pounded against her chest, and she raised her hand to slap Xu Shengyu.
However, he caught her hand and pushed her away.
"You're just a cheap whore, who was jealous of Mengqi. Don't you fucking pretend you actually liked her. If you did, you wouldn't have slept with her man."
Yan Hua panted heavily at the accusations, unable to refute them.
Yes, she hated Xia Mengqi.
She had always wanted her life from the start. Yet, regardless of how close they got, even when she did things similar to how she did them, all the internet had done was scold her and insult her for being an unpresentable copycat.
And that bitch Xia Mengqi, all she did was rub in her face how much better she was!
"It doesn't matter what I thought of her. You let me sleep with you and also killed Xia Mengqi. That's a fact!"
Yan Hua looked at Xu Shengyu proudly, refusing to back down.
She had evidence. He could not silence her!
Xu Shengyu just sneered and grabbed her chin coldly.
"Have you forgotten that I have a video of you on your knees? Crawling and begging me to give you a role? Telling me you don't mind who you have to sleep with to be on the same level as Xia Mengqi? Have you forgotten you said you'd let me have you as many times as I wanted, just..."
"Argh!!!" Yan Hua could not stand it anymore.
She screamed and pushed Xu Shengyu's hand away from her chin.
"What do you want?" She asked, biting her lips.
Yan Hua realized he was right, he had way too much evidence on her. If the press got hold of that video, she would be ruined, all her hard work would go up in flames, and she would have to leave the entertainment industry.
"I want..." Xu Shengyu was about to blackmail her into complete silence, but he thought of something just then.
He looked down at Xia Mengqi's limp body and then back up at Yan Hua, whose greed was evident in her eyes.
He could not just let go of that face. He couldn't do it.
Xu Shengyu smirked as he took in Yan Hua's face.
"Haven't you always wanted to be like Xia Mengqi? Why don't you become her? You'd have her face... and her life... like you've always wanted!"
Yan Hua's face went pale as she took in what Xu Shengyu was saying.
He was crazy. A madman.
But quickly, the fear in her eyes changed into excitement.
She looked at Xia Mengqi's lifeless body. She really hated that bitch!
If she could take over her life.....
"What do you want me to do?" She asked, her heart racing.
This was a once in a lifetime chance to get what she wanted.
She would never give it up.
"As long as her body is gone... we can always make you Xia Mengqi, Yan Hua. Don't you want that?"
Yan Hua smirked, a sinister smile on her face, as the ideas formed in her head.
"Of course, if her house caught fire, Xia Mengqi would need time to recover...."
Xu Shengyu smiled, happy that she was on the same wavelength as he was.
"Wait here," he said.
A few minutes later, Xu Shengyu walked back in, holding a gallon of diesel.
"Let's get this over with," he said coldly, as if he hadn't just killed a person he claimed to love.
About half an hour later, the house went up in flames!
Yan Hua looked at Xia Mengqi's dead body, her heart racing.
She had come to see Xia Mengqi, hoping to get her to give her some designer dresses so she could find a new sugar daddy, however, she never thought today would be the day she got everything she ever wanted and more!
She would finally have what Xia Mengqi had. Her career, her popularity, and.... her man!
"Let's go," Yan Hua said.
When Yan Hua and Xu Shengyu walked past Xia Mengqi, her body stirred on the ground. She weakly raised a hand, trying to stop them, but they didn't turn around.
Xia Mengqi tried to call out to Yan Hua, but she could not make any sound.
She was not dead....she was not dead yet...
Were they really going to burn her to death?!
Xia Mengqi was screaming in her head. These people were her best friend and her boyfriend. How could they do this to her?!
How could they?
Didn't they love her?
She was still screaming in her head as the flames continued to spread around the house.
This could not be happening to her! This could not be her end!
She still had a life to live… She still wanted to act… She wanted freedom.
Tears ran down her cheeks pitifully as her life flashed before her eyes.
Was it really all over for her?
Xia Mengqi's sight blurred as the fire started to close in on her.
She cried bitterly, promising herself that if there was a second life, she would never be foolish enough to start a relationship with Xu Shengyu, and she would never stupidly trust Yan Hua!
She closed her eyes in resignation, knowing that she was going to die now.
Just then, a window was smashed from the outside.
A man rushed in, it was hard to see his face clearly because of the smoke but judging by his physique, she was sure she hadn't seen him before.
Who was he?
Xia Mengqi smiled bitterly. It seemed the grim reaper was here to get her now.
The man hurried to her side and picked her up, running out of the burning house with Xia Mengqi in his arms.
"Lingyi! Lingyi, please don't fall asleep! Please don't!"
Xia Mengqi's eyes closed slowly. In the memories buried deep in her mind, she seemed to have heard someone call her that name.
"Lingyi.....Lingyi.."