Lu Jinchen quickly let go and pushed Qi Manyan away. She fell to the ground. He roared angrily, "Qi Manyan, you really don't care about your own life!"
There was an excited glint in Qi Manyan's eyes. "You can't bear to kill me, right? Lu Jinchen, you clearly have feelings for me in your heart. Why don't you admit it? I love you, Lu Jinchen. I'm the one who loves you the most! What is Gu Liyue? She doesn't deserve it. Even if she's a young lady from the Marquis's Mansion, she doesn't deserve to marry you as your wife."
Lu Jinchen didn't want to entangle with her. Taking advantage of this moment, he turned around and leaped towards the window beside him.
However, he failed to jump into the room. Although the window was open, there was actually sharp fishing line on it. Lu Jinchen was cut by the fishing line. Due to the excessive force, he was bounced back to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.
Qi Manyan burst into laughter. "What are you doing, Brother Jinchen?"
Lu Jinchen was enraged. "I'll ask you one more time. What did you do to Liyue?"
Qi Manyan spread her hands. "As long as I'm safe and sound, she'll be fine too. Originally, I wanted to reminisce with Brother Jinchen about our past, but it seems that you don't want to mention it."
Hearing that Gu Liyue was safe, Lu Jinchen felt a little relieved and only sneered. "Our past? Is Miss Qi perhaps dreaming?"
Qi Manyan said slowly, "It's really like a dream. Brother Jinchen has already forgotten. When we were young, in order to save you under the scorching sun, I took off my outer robe and held it over your head for more than an hour. I just waited and waited until someone came to rescue you. Do you remember who came to rescue you later?"
Lu Jinchen's eyes shrank. "Do you mean..."
Qi Manyan burst into wild laughter. "He told me himself. He said I was his adoptive father! He's your adoptive father, the one you care about. You're closer to your adoptive father than your own father, right?"
Unable to control himself, Lu Jinchen pounced on Qi Manyan and grabbed her neck. He said fiercely, "It was really you, Qi Manyan. I have no grudges against you. Why did you harm him like this! What fault did my adoptive father have? He never hurt anyone!"
Qi Manyan was grabbed by the neck, but there was still laughter in her mouth. "Yes, it's all his fault for being your adoptive father. Actually, I had already forgotten that there was such a person in the world. Lu Jinchen, originally I just wanted to have one more bargaining chip... You're such a cold - blooded person who ignores me. If one Gu Liyue isn't enough to make you give everything, then what about one more person? I didn't expect that he was actually the son of a criminal official and the descendant of the Xu family!"
Lu Jinchen asked angrily, "Was it also you who slandered my adoptive father and my mother's innocence?"
Qi Manyan raised her eyebrows. "If it weren't for this, how could I have brought you back? Lu Jinchen, you should thank me. My elder brother and Lu Jinxuan both wanted your life. It was me who saved you!"
"I don't need your rescue!" The anger around Lu Jinchen was about to burst out. He tightened his grip on Qi Manyan's neck, almost making her out of breath.
The maid rushed out in a hurry and screamed, "Young Master Lu, if you don't let go, Miss Gu will die!"
Lu Jinchen gave her a sharp look and threw a dagger out of his hand. Just as it was about to be shot out, Lu Jinchen deflected it a bit. The dagger cut off a wisp of the maid's hair beside her ear and then was nailed to the window frame behind.
The maid was so scared that her face turned pale. She fell to the ground all of a sudden. It took her a long time to muster up the courage and said tremblingly, "S - servant will take you to find Miss Gu. P - please don't hurt Miss Qi."
Lu Jinchen stabbed his sword into the ground fiercely and shook off Qi Manyan. He was covered in wounds, but his eyes were still fierce. He stared at the maid and asked, "Where is she?"
The maid trembled and barely managed to stand up. She led Lu Jinchen to a mountain stream. It was a high cliff. Before reaching the edge of the cliff, one could hear the rushing river below, like the roar of a giant dragon.
Lu Jinchen asked coldly, "Where is Liyue?"
The maid pointed downwards. "T - there!"
Lu Jinchen crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Sure enough, he saw Gu Liyue hanging on the cliff, about two zhang away from the river. If she fell, she would probably be instantly swept away by the river and never be seen again.
"Liyue!"
Lu Jinchen called out a few times but didn't hear a response. He came back to his senses and glared at the maid.
The maid quickly waved her hands. "She's alive, she's alive! She's really still alive. Maybe she's exhausted and fainted from lack of strength, but she's okay and hasn't suffered much... Well, just a few slaps, and it was because she deliberately angered Miss Qi that..."
"How can I save her up?"
Before the maid could answer, Qi Manyan had already come over.
She still looked the same, raising her eyebrows with a half - smile. "Do you want to save her?"
Lu Jinchen looked at her coldly. "What do you want?"
Qi Manyan giggled coquettishly. "Don't you know what I want? Lu Jinchen, I've liked you since I was six years old. I've always thought you were my husband. In the future, I would always marry you. No matter how the process is, it will always be like this... Brother Jinchen, actually I'm very grateful to Gu Liyue. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't know that I can't live without you."
"I've also understood that you like her flattering and indulgence the most. No matter what you do, she doesn't care, right? Brother Jinchen, in the past, I wanted you to be a good person. It was really for your own good. Her indulgence is because she doesn't really care about you in her heart. I love you. I'm the one who really loves you!"
Lu Jinchen squinted his eyes slightly. The sound of the surging river was too loud. All he could think about was Gu Liyue. How could he think about what Qi Manyan said?
"Qi Manyan, thank you for your love. Now you're already Lu Jinxuan's fiancée. You have nothing to do with me. Please forget the past and live a good life from now on. Let's... go our separate ways."
Qi Manyan's eyes gradually turned cold. "Go our separate ways? Brother Jinchen, how can I be okay without you? Do you really think I'll marry Lu Jinxuan? No, I hate him, hate him very much. He's not even one ten - thousandth of you. How could I marry him? Brother Jinchen, in this lifetime, I only want you!"
She stepped closer to Lu Jinchen. "You know what I want! Brother Jinchen, I want you, your heart. I want you to be whole - heartedly for me, just like you are for Gu Liyue! She doesn't deserve you. I'm the eldest legitimate daughter of the Qi family, a high - flying pearl. I'm the one who's well - matched for you. Brother Jinchen, promise me. As long as you promise me, go back and break off the engagement, and then go to the Qi family to propose marriage. I'll... let her go, okay?"
Lu Jinchen stepped back. "What if I don't agree?"
Qi Manyan showed a happy smile. "It doesn't matter if you don't agree. Lu Jinchen, you can't escape, and neither can she. If I can't have you, she won't be able to either! You can only be mine."
Lu Jinchen looked at her coldly. "I can't agree."