The hallway was deserted, not a soul in sight. Only a still-fairly-bright sound-activated light responded to the noise. Fu Bing stood frozen. At that moment, a night breeze, bone-chillingly cold, blew down the hallway.
Inside the stairwell, Wu Shi peeked through the crack of the safety door at the now-closed apartment door, his gaze bleak. He silenced his phone and descended the stairs.
Fu Bing finished cleaning the entire house but still hadn't received a reply from Qin Jinhai. She was of no use to him, yet she desperately needed his help. She sighed. The darkness outside the window was so thick it seemed impenetrable. Her own path forward felt no different. It seemed there were many roads, but in reality, they were all fraught with pitfalls.
It wasn't until one in the morning that Qin Jinhai finally replied.
"You don't have what I want."
Qin Jinhai refused her.
Fu Bing was already drowsy, but Qin Jinhai's message felt like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, jolting her instantly awake. What else could she possibly offer Qin Jinhai in exchange? Just as she was pondering this, Qin Jinhai called. Fu Bing tensed.
As soon as she answered, Qin Jinhai's mocking voice came through the phone. "Fu Bing, did prison make you stupid? Trying to use a genuine ledger to report my woman's agent? When did you become so naïve?"
The voice on the phone was even colder and more impersonal than his actual voice.
"What if I could be of greater value to you?"
"What value?"
"I won't say until I see the real ledger."
Qin Jinhai snorted. "I'd like to see what tricks you can pull. Come to the Imperial Garden tomorrow. I'll bring the ledger."
Fu Bing was about to say something.
"Remember to wash yourself thoroughly. I don't like it when a woman I've used carries the scent of some random nobody."
Fu Bing's response was to hang up; she couldn't bear to listen any longer.
Qin Jinhai listened to the dial tone. She still dared to hang up on him. It showed she still had some fight left in her. Anger was better than sorrow, anyway.
***
There was a night shoot the next day that didn't wrap up until ten o'clock. Fu Bing hadn't asked Wu Shi to stay up with her. After filming concluded, she drove herself to the Imperial Garden.
She owned a villa there. Back then, she had envisioned a long future with Qin Jinhai, believing that living close would help nurture their relationship. In the end, that attempt had landed her straight in jail.
Fu Bing parked her car outside Qin Jinhai's villa. Just as she stopped, headlights flared behind her. She lowered her window.
A006. It was Qin Jinhai's car.
His car pulled up close behind hers. His sharp, dark eyes swept coolly in her direction, like an eagle in the night—proud and solitary, yet utterly domineering.
"It seems you've decided what you're willing to offer."
Fu Bing suppressed the urge to flee and retorted, "Meeting in a place like this, aren't you afraid I'll stab you?"
Qin Jinhai walked to her car. The Wuling Hongguang Mini was not a tall vehicle. He rested a long arm on its pink roof, leaning down, trapping her between himself and the seat. His hot breath fanned lightly across her face.
This space was even more cramped than the cubicle backstage at the Golden Summit Awards. His scent and body heat enveloped her completely. Fu Bing looked up, slightly startled. Memories surged like a relentless tide, instantly overwhelming her. On so many nights after late shoots over the past three years, his car would secretly follow hers. Sometimes, he'd even deliberately startle her. She'd pretend to be angry, and he'd pull her into his arms, coaxing and kissing her.
The sweeter the memories, the harsher this reality felt.
Qin Jinhai lifted her chin, a lecherous smirk on his face as he leaned in to sniff her. "Besides me, how many men have touched you?"
Fu Bing stared at him defiantly. "Many!"
"You're courting death!" Qin Jinhai roared, his large hand already closing around her slender neck. It was so delicate; one firm twist, and she'd be gone.
Qin Jinhai roughly dragged Fu Bing from the car. She struggled fiercely, but to him, her resistance was nothing more than a tickle.
Fu Bing was taken to the Imperial Garden's exclusive residents' bar. It was the favorite haunt of Jiangcheng's elite and also known for its wild debauchery. Here, celebrities, beauties, and handsome men were all reduced to mere playthings for the powerful and wealthy.
In the dim, hazy light, graceful bodies writhed, stoking the deepest, darkest desires within people's hearts. Fu Bing saw one familiar face after another in the crowd.
The blood drained from her, leaving her face as pale as paper. The A-list celebrities and stars, so revered by the public, were forced to grovel here, stripped of all dignity before power and wealth.
Qin Jinhai tossed Fu Bing into a private room as if she were trash. SWISH! The curtains were drawn open. Through the large window, one could witness the debauchery unfolding on the floor below.
Fu Bing trembled, her face devoid of color.
"Don't you enjoy being toyed with? This is the perfect place! Everyone can see just how wanton and cheap you are!" Qin Jinhai sneered viciously.
As he spoke, he slammed Fu Bing against the huge pane of glass. The cold shock of it made her recoil.
"Qin Jinhai, don't make me hate you!"
"I couldn't care less!"
The web of his hand between thumb and forefinger clamped onto her jaw, wrenching her face forward and pressing it against the glass. She could clearly see every detail below. Then, if anyone below looked up, they would—
The man bit her earlobe viciously. "I'm eager to see how amusing it will be when they look up and find you pinned here by me!"
"MMPH—"