At those words, Ling Xi froze for a moment, then overwhelming joy and gratitude flooded his chest.
He had known it. No matter what happened, Brother Lu would never abandon him.
"Brother Lu, I..."
He had barely opened his mouth when Lu Yanchu cut him off. "But there's one condition for me to save you: you really must have had nothing to do with Ji Ting's kidnapping. Otherwise, it won't just be you who goes down. Everything I've spent years building will be ruined too."
Looking into Ling Xi's eyes, he said each word distinctly. "Xi, you need to think this through very carefully."
Some of the color suddenly drained from Ling Xi's cheeks, which had flushed with excitement. He clenched his fingers and lowered his eyes, saying quietly, "I... I've told the people here over and over. I really had nothing to do with this."
At those words, Lu Yanchu's gaze turned as cold as freezing rain, a chill that seemed to seep straight into the bones.
On the way here, he had already thought it through. Ling Xi had lied to him, so he would lie to Ling Xi once in return. That would make them even, and he wanted nothing more to do with this person afterward.
Yet even after everything he had just said, Ling Xi hadn't hesitated for so much as a second out of concern for him. His selfishness knew no bounds.
In that case, it would be a shame to be the only one sickened by him. Qin Zaiye deserved a taste of it too.
Throughout his silence, Lu Yanchu kept a thoughtful expression on his face. "Of course I want to believe you, but the most suspicious thing about you right now is that the surveillance footage shows you arriving at the