Proofread by Zhou Zhijie

“I know.” Instead of being nervous like anyone else who intrudes into the ladies’ room, Zhong Shaoting sounds very calm. If it got known by Song Chen that his boss intruded into the ladies’ room just because of a woman, he would absolutely explode with astonishment.

At this moment, Ding Manman has no idea as what to say to Zhong who is not a bit ashamed about what he has done, as she has never seen a man purposely walk into the ladies’ room and take it as a matter of course.

Actually right now Ding Manman cares more about the distance between Zhong and her as he is shortening the space step by step. Having sensed the danger released by him, she wants to escape as quickly as possible.

“Well, I’ll leave first then.” Ding Manman is about to leave, but the next second her whole body is yanked back by a powerful hand and then she is face-to-face with Zhong Shaoting again. Leaning against the hand washing sink, Ding is tightly confined by Zhong who is extremely close to her. But this intimate distance only makes her feel the danger emitting from his body.

“Are you dying to escape from me?” Looking straight into Ding’s eyes, Zhong Shaoting questions her.

The instant he saw that painting, he did admit that it was very beautiful, even much more beautiful than those he had seen in the studio. But the content of the painting didn't allow him to appreciate it calmly. It is quite obvious that the person in white is Ding Manman, and accordingly the endless darkness which takes up most of the space in the painting and what represents evilness and terror should symbolize him.

This painting is exactly the portrayal of her and him in reality. When realizing this, Zhong Shaoting thought that he would not be irritated, as at the very beginning what he extremely wanted was to watch Ding Manman struggle in pain. But things went beyond his control. The idea that Ding has always been thinking about escaping from him goes wild in his mind. If Willis and Jens Johnson hadn’t been standing aside, he would have probably dragged her out of the exhibition right at the moment.

This is the maximum extent that he could hold himself for so long. But when hearing Ding Manman call Fang Hao’s name in the ladies’ room, Zhong thought it was great of him that he was able to control his impulse of rushing inside and strangling her to death.

“I have said that I wouldn’t let go of any chance to escape from you.” When it comes to this question, Ding Manman is determined not to give in. No matter what she will suffer, even if she is overwhelmed by the darkness, she still won’t give up the hope to run away.

Looking at Ding who is talking to him with great resolution, Zhong feels it extremely ironic for her to be so devoted to Fang Hao. If she is really such a loyal woman, why was she that cruel to his brother?

“So what will you do after your escape? Go to meet your Fang Hao? Don’t forget that you have been mine, just a loose woman. Do you think he will accept you like this?”

Zhong’s humiliating words are just like sharp swords piercing into Ding’s heart. Actually this is the right thing that she doesn't want to be faced with. However, in her subconsciousness, she chooses to trust Fang Hao who is the sunshine in her mind.

“Compared with you, I know more clearly about the relationship between Fang Hao and me. He will trust me and that’s the only thing I mind. Only if he trusts me, I won't care about anything else.”

Only when Fang Hao is mentioned, does Ding’s voice sound very gentle. Yet this rare tenderness only triggers Zhong’s desire to destroy it entirely.

“Do you know? Do you know what He needed was just a little of your trust and patience? Now that you would like to wait for Fang Hao for so long, why wouldn’t you spare any patience for him? If you had treated him this harshly at the very beginning, he would not have died!”

Pinching her chin tightly, Zhong feels his strength in the hand increases little by little out of rage. Although Ding looks very painful, Zhong still doesn’t let her go. His brother had sacrificed so much, nearly his everything for this ungrateful and treacherous woman. It turned out at last this woman abandoned him without hesitation as soon as he was put in prison. What’s worse, she is strongly attached to another man even now.

At the thought of his brother’s expression in despair, Zhong cannot control the impulse to kill in his heart anymore. His hand, pinching Ding’s chin, now moves to her neck, after which the familiar feeling of suffocation comes to Ding again. Although it is not as terrifying as the first time, Ding still feels terrible. Later she feels her body dangling in the air pinched hard by Zhong, who is now out of control like a demon from the hell.

“Knock, knock.” Suddenly, the door is knocked by someone who probably wants to use the ladies’ room as it was locked by Zhong. Thanks to the knock, Zhong finally comes to himself and he immediately lets go of Ding as the latter’s face has turned blue for lack of air. With a narrow escape from death Ding can’t wait to gulp into some air without caring that she is in the ladies’ room. Looking at his hand which has gone out of control, Zhong frowns silently.

“Remember, what you are going through now is all that you deserve.”

In a blank and dizzy state, Ding Manman doesn't know how she leaves the ladies’ room. Walking aimlessly in the exhibition, she keeps hearing again and again in her mind what Zhong has said to her. Zhong has always been saying that she killed his brother, but she can’t remember anything concerning his brother. Does it have anything to do with her memory?

When Ding is thinking about the relationship between Zhong’s brother and her, she happens to bump into somebody to whom she instantly apologizes.

“Miss, are you OK?” From afar Willis has seen Ding Manman walking randomly in the exhibition. For no reasons, he feels kind of worried. Therefore, he comes over to Ding who accidentally bumps into his arms.

In a clear and comforting voice, Willis expresses his concern to Ding who looks quite out of her mind. Raising her head, she feels a man’s delicate face appearing in her sight. She is amazed to find such a handsome man in this world.

In fact, she thinks that Zhong Shaoting is already extremely handsome, but after seeing this man, she has to admit that there is indeed such a person who can rival Zhong Shaoting. Ding Manman can’t help looking straight into the man’s blue eyes which sparkle like blue sapphires, as if she were gazing at someone extraordinarily important to her.

“Miss, are you OK?” Finding Ding Manman stunned still, Willis asks her again and even waves his hand in front of her eyes. He wonders what has happened to her in such a short time as she was apparently eloquent and quite at ease while talking to Jens Johnson just now.

Willis’ voice brings Ding back to her senses. She is surprised to find herself in the arms of a male stranger. What’s more, she has been staring right into his eyes, the realization of which makes her feel very embarrassed.

“Excuse me. My mind was occupied by something else so I didn’t see you. I’m really sorry.” After coming back to herself, Ding apologizes immediately to the stranger and retreats from his arms. The feeling of emptiness in his arms suddenly makes Willis feel kind of lost, but he doesn't let it show on his face, on the contrary, he gives Ding a charming smile. At that instant, Ding Manman nearly believes that she has seen an angel from the ancient Greek myth.