Xing Zheng moved closer, and Lin Mei retreated. However, her pace of retreat could not match his speed of advance. He soon stopped in front of her, one arm encircling her waist, halting her backward movement.
The man's sharp gaze fell upon the coffee in her hand. A light, ambiguous chuckle escaped his nostrils. "You still remember what Gu Song likes to drink. What, are you interested in him too?"
This possessive tone was truly incomprehensible. It seemed to be the same every time. Even if she merely interacted normally with a man, in his eyes, it would turn into seduction. One could only say that those with dirty minds thought dirty thoughts about everything.
"Yes, I am interested. A man like Mr. Gu, any woman would be interested." Since he thought so, she played along, fighting fire with fire.
The scoundrel probably never expected her to readily admit it. He was momentarily silenced by her retort. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Mei broke free from his embrace, denying him any advantage. Unexpectedly, the man took the coffee from her hand and took a sip after opening it.
Lin Mei panicked, "That's for Mr. Gu!"
One couldn't approach someone for a favor empty-handed. She was counting on Gu Song giving her face after drinking this good-tasting coffee. Xing Zheng didn't like espresso; why would he drink it?
"He won't be coming," Xing Zheng asked knowingly, staring into her eyes. "Tell me, what do you need him for?"
Lin Mei only focused on the first half of his sentence. "He said he was at the company and would be here after the meeting..."
"He is here, but he won't be meeting you because I am here," the man said impatiently, brutally revealing the truth. "Coming to plead for your little lover, hmm?"
The term "little lover" made Lin Mei's face flush white and red. She instinctively wanted to retort but held back. Xing Zheng's words had already explained everything; his appearance here was no coincidence, nor was what Xu Ying had encountered. "It was you?"
"What was me?" Xing Zheng toyed with the coffee cup in his hand, his calculating demeanor infuriating Lin Mei. However, she had a favor to ask and couldn't say anything despite her anger. Lin Mei suppressed her rage. "The drug test for Xu Ying, was that your doing?"
"If I say yes, what will you do? Seek revenge for him?" Xing Zheng maintained his usual style, answering a question with another question.
Having spent enough time with him, Lin Mei knew that his words were tantamount to an admission. She became even more confused, her tone sharpening. "He has no enmity with you. Why are you targeting him?"
"No enmity?" Xing Zheng repeated the four words, then laughed again. He took a step forward, cupped her chin, and lifted it. Lin Mei caught the lingering scent of tobacco on his fingertips. "If you touch my things, you deserve to be taught a lesson."
"What did he touch of yours?" Lin Mei was puzzled. Xu Ying was just an ordinary university student. Even with his special status as an athlete, he was far from their circle. They had no interaction in their daily lives.
As she was wondering, she heard the man say, "Aren't you my thing?"
That one sentence was a revelation to Lin Mei! He was targeting Xu Ying because of her?
What kind of nerve did he have to say such shameless things, claiming she was his thing?
"I am not your thing, I am a person, and I have nothing to do with you." Lin Mei drew a line between them.
This stance, however, caused the man's gaze to deepen. He suddenly leaned in and rubbed his thumb against her lips. "After sleeping with me so many times, you dare say you have nothing to do with me?"
"Ask yourself if you agree, hmm? I haven't even done anything, and you're like this. Did you forget how you slept with me before?"
He never blushed when he said such things, but Lin Mei didn't have such thick skin. Embarrassed and angry, she retorted, "So what if we slept together? It was just a casual hookup. You still want to control me? You think too highly of yourself! You're a lunatic!"
After she finished scolding him, the man opposite her suddenly let go of her and sat down on the sofa. He crossed his arms over his knees, his deep eyes idly scanning the surroundings, refusing to look at her.
He was exceptionally handsome, dressed in a well-fitting suit. Sitting there, he exuded an air of nobility. As Lin Mei watched him, her thoughts calmed down. She couldn't help but regret her words. She was here to beg for a favor, and the scoundrel was so petty. Her words must have offended him...
"Don't make things difficult for Xu Ying." Lin Mei walked a few steps toward the sofa and stopped. She spoke softly to Xing Zheng, negotiating. "He's still young. If I've displeased you, you can target me. It has nothing to do with Xu Ying. He and I are just ordinary friends."
If she had known Xing Zheng was so perverted, she would never have approached Xu Ying. Xu Ying was suffering this undeserved disaster because of her. If she didn't resolve this matter for him, she feared she would feel guilty for the rest of her life. Lin Mei disliked owing favors the most.
How could Xing Zheng be happy when the woman who had been so defiant moments ago suddenly lowered her stance to plead for another man? His gaze was sinister, his arm resting on the sofa armrest, and frustration building in his chest, ready to erupt at any moment.
As if to add fuel to the fire, the woman continued, "Xu Ying is innocent. I was the one who provoked him first. If you're angry, you can come at me. There's no need to target him like this."
Hah, for a man she had just met, she could remain so composed. She, who would never yield to him, was now speaking so gently, not to appease him, but for someone else. Xing Zheng remained silent, ignoring whatever she said.
Under the torment, the one who would break first was inevitably the one asking for the favor. Lin Mei pondered for a long time the reasons and goals behind Xing Zheng's actions. He came today to warn her. Even though he was marrying Jiang Chubi, he would not allow her to get close to other men. It was nothing more than the inherent nature of men, thinking she was easy to sleep with, thus hoping she would continue to be his clandestine lover, or perhaps, he hadn't had enough and wanted to have her again.
Compared to the former, Lin Mei would rather it be the latter. She took a few breaths and came to Xing Zheng's side, squatting down. The scoundrel disliked looking up at people when talking. She remembered that by looking up at him now, she should satisfy his male ego.
However, the man impatiently brushed her away as if she were some dirty thing. Lin Mei felt humiliated. "What do you want me to do to stop making things difficult for Xu Ying?"
"You'll do whatever I ask?" He finally spoke. Lin Mei quickly replied, "Yes, I'll do anything, as long as you let him go."
"What makes you so confident that I'll let him go just because you do something?" The man mocked her mercilessly.
Lin Mei's face burned. She regretted even more why she had been so cocky earlier...
Seeing Xing Zheng about to get up and leave, Lin Mei quickly grabbed him, her face close to his. She looked up, her eyes seducing him. "Don't you want to?"