Laila chuckled. "Think about it—if Flanders had told Martin who you are, do you think you'd still be sitting here calmly listening to me talk?"
Dong-ge and the others looked at each other. They had no comeback—she was right. If Martin knew their identities, they'd probably already be surrounded ten layers deep.
"What exactly is going on? Miss Moran, can you explain this more clearly?" Dong-ge, though not just a brute with fists, still couldn't wrap his head around the situation.
Laila shrugged. "What's there to explain? Flanders and Martin have their vendetta. I promised him that once I leave this place, I'll help him wipe Martin and his gang off the map. That's the basis of our collaboration. Now it's up to you—do you want in, and we all leave together? Or do you want to watch Roy and me walk out while you wait for another chance?"
No matter what happened, she was taking Roy with her.
Dong-ge couldn't help but feel it was too risky. "But is Flanders reliable? What if this is all a setup? I've heard other factions are interested in you too. What if he's from another gang and just trying to capture you and Roy?"
He turned to Roy. "Don't you think we should be more cautious?"
To his knowledge, Roy had a strong sense of judgment. He may not have the tactical experience they had, but he wasn't lacking in capability. And more importantly, everyone knew how much he loved Laila. There was no way he'd let her take such a huge risk without intervening.
And Dong-ge wasn't wrong—Roy would do anything for Laila's safety. But he also trusted her completely. If she said something, even if it sounded insane, he believed her. That trust came from years of deep understanding. He knew—if she didn't have absolute confidence, she wouldn't have acted.
"I believe Laila," Roy said calmly.
Every other man in the room was left speechless.
Spoiling a woman to this extent—is this still manly? This is risking your life just to pamper her!
Dong-ge nearly wanted to drag Roy aside for a crash course on "How to Handle Your Wife 101." If he was this whipped before marriage, what would happen after? Would he be trampled under her heels?
Laila watched their twitching expressions with an amused smile. "Looks like you've made your decision. Then let's move forward. Let Shao Ye know, and have him arrange the manpower." She stretched lazily. "I'm tired of being here anyway. Time to go home."
She turned and walked off, leaving behind a lazy but confident silhouette.
She was so casual about it, that the others barely reacted before she was already strolling back toward her living quarters. She even greeted a few people passing nearby like she was just another resident—where was the slightest trace of her being a hostage?
"Roy… are you going to follow through with this?" Dong-ge asked one last time, making one final effort.
Roy stood and gave him a gentle smile. "Trust me. When Laila makes a decision, you're better off just doing as she says. Not because it's guaranteed to work—but because there's no changing her mind."
Of course, most of the time, her plans did work flawlessly.
Dong-ge watched Roy chase after her and exchanged a helpless smile with his team.
"So… what now? Do we just go along with her plan? Because the more I think about it, the riskier it sounds."
Dong-ge spread his hands. "What else can we do? If you can convince her to change her mind, I'll owe you a huge favor."
"No thanks. I'm not good at dealing with those high-society types…"
"Forget it. Let Shao Ye handle the decision-making," Dong-ge said with a sigh. He pulled out a satellite phone and relayed everything to Shao Ye.
After hearing the update, Shao Ye was equally exasperated.
"What can we do? Just follow the lady's plan," he said, resigned.
"Got it. We'll start preparing on our end." Dong-ge didn't even have the energy to argue anymore. When everyone trusted the young miss's judgment so much, what more was there to say?
And truthfully—they had to admit: if Flanders could be trusted, then Laila's plan was indeed the most effective, the one with the highest chance of success.
Their real fear was simple: what if Flanders turned out to be a trap? They could handle being thrown under the bus—but if Roy and the young miss got caught in the same mess, they'd never be forgiven.
Especially not by the world.
Didn't the U.S. media and international outlets already have Laila and her films practically enshrined? Bringing her home alive was one thing. But bringing back a corpse? They'd be drowned in spit by her global fanbase.
Meanwhile, as Shao Ye and Dong-ge's team began making preparations per Laila's instructions, Roy was curiously pressing her for details.
He was very curious. How exactly had she managed to flip someone like Flanders?
Roy had seen the man before. His instincts screamed danger—an unpredictable, deep schemer. Someone Roy didn't want to be around for long. Having grown up on the streets, Roy's animal-like instincts had saved him countless times. The first time he met Flanders, he'd felt something was off—he'd wanted to stay as far away as possible.
Now… not only were they talking, they were working together.
"In truth, it was quite simple," Laila replied. She described her observations upon arriving—how the room was arranged, her deductions based on Flanders' behavior, and the subtle traps she laid through conversation. All of it helped her unmask the real Flanders, the man beneath the facade.
She had always preferred working with ambitious people—whether their ambition was for wealth, fame, or revenge.
Because ambition meant desire. And desire could be traded.
Flanders' wish was simple: to see Martin lose everything. That became her leverage. She would help him fulfill that wish—and in exchange, he'd ensure her safe departure.
A mutually beneficial exchange. Fair and clean. The best kind of deal.
This was the dealmaking style taught to her by Old Master Oswald—skills that had helped her navigate life, and more than once turned the tide in her favor.
Roy wasn't surprised.
He wasn't even shocked that she could analyze a person so thoroughly just from their room decor and a few words. All he could feel was admiration.
To him, this was Laila.
While others were still chasing after a goal, she had already positioned herself five steps ahead.
Compared to the rest of her achievements, "just" figuring out someone's true self in a short meeting was barely worth mentioning.
Like she always said—if you can't understand people, how can you write believable characters?