Lu Dongnuan kept smiling all along, not rushing to reply.
Seeing her hesitate, Zhuo Lei grew uncertain and unconsciously softened his tone, attempting to exchange another piece of information for her trust.
“Let me tell you something,” he said, watching Lu Dongnuan’s expression, “just now, I used that woman’s discomfort to test if you were really a doctor.”
He paused, then added, “Of course, judging by her appearance, she really did look unwell.”
Lu Dongnuan’s brows twitched imperceptibly, and Zhuo Lei, feeling a bit pleased, continued, “That idea came from that college student,” he grinned, exposing a set of somewhat uneven teeth, “Surprised? Among those people, I’m considered one of the more honest ones!”
“Oh,” Lu Dongnuan finally responded, her voice flat.
“So you want to leave alone as soon as possible? Do you really have a way to escape?”
Sensing her loosening up, Zhuo Lei’s eyes flashed with excitement.
He lowered his voice, eager to please by sharing a secret, “Yes! I used to be a security guard here, I know of an unused emergency passage on the fourth floor. It leads directly to the building next door—there’s a small company there. It’s the weekend, and last night, there was nobody there at all.”
Then, as if to curry favor, he handed Lu Dongnuan a piece of chocolate and emphasized, “Only I know about that place.”
Lu Dongnuan squeezed the chocolate, looked up at him, and asked a very practical question, “How much food do you have on you?”
At her words, Zhuo Lei immediately frowned, his tone turning cautious, “Not much.”
“Then let’s go back,” Lu Dongnuan replied naturally, “I have a bag with quite a bit of food inside.”
“No way!” Zhuo Lei refused almost instantly, grabbing her wrist with considerable force.
“If we go back now, we’ll alert the others!”
His reaction was intense.
The viciousness that had just faded from his eyes resurfaced.
Going back would mean possibly being entangled by Xiao Fang and Sister Jing, and his plan could fall apart.
He absolutely could not allow a beauty like her to slip away.
Lu Dongnuan’s gaze lingered for a moment on the hand gripping her wrist before she slowly returned her eyes to his face.
In the dim passage, the uneven shadows in her eyes made it impossible to discern her true thoughts.
Lu Dongnuan cast Zhuo Lei an appreciative glance and said, “See? I said people’s aesthetics are normal!”
She was in an exceptionally good mood right now, so good she could hardly contain it.
With a deft twist of her wrist, she silently broke free from his grip, stepped back half a pace, and put a relatively safe distance between them, her enigmatic smile still on her lips.
“Brother Lei, it’s cooperation—we need sincerity and trust.” She spoke unhurriedly.
“You’ve shown sincerity by telling me about the secret passage, and I’m showing trust by agreeing to go with you, but…”
She changed her tone, a sharp glint in her eyes, “Trust goes both ways. I get that you’re worried about tipping them off, but for me to go empty-handed, staking all my hopes on a man who just held a knife to me?”
She shook her head and said, “That’s a bit too risky, don’t you think?”
She pointed back the way they’d come, her tone turning practical, “My bag isn’t far. It’s got more than just food. We’ll go quickly and come right back. As soon as we get the stuff, we head straight for the fourth floor. Xiao Fang has to look after Sister Jing, he might not react in time. Even if they notice—”
She deliberately glanced at the weapon Zhuo Lei had tucked in his waistband, “With your skills, Brother Zhuo, are you really afraid you can’t handle it?”
Zhuo Lei stared at Lu Dongnuan, eyes full of satisfaction.
“Fine, but I’ll go get it. You stay here. If I come back and anything’s wrong, you’re dead.”
Lu Dongnuan nodded obediently.
Once he was gone, she couldn’t hold back her mischievous smile any longer.
Lu Dongnuan knew this scheme was Xiao Fang’s idea.
Back in the bathroom, she had already gotten in touch with Xiao Fang and reached a secret agreement with him—though she wasn’t sure how genuine he was.
The process had been a bit convoluted, and the method somewhat underhanded, but she found it highly effective.
She had flirted with Xiao Fang, and that naive college boy thought he’d found love, confessing everything to her in record time and even swearing he’d never harm her again.
Whether he meant it, Lu Dongnuan couldn’t say, but his infatuation was almost overflowing.
“Well, that’s that,” she said to her reflection in a pane of glass, running her fingers through her hair with a truly happy smile.
“Who could blame you for being so perfect, my dear Lu Dongnuan!”
Thinking of a certain impotent old schemer’s behavior, her mood soured into indignation again.
“Damn Lin Mo—no taste, no class, no decency, no morals. Trash.”
Downstairs, the wailing of Zombies rose and fell, unnerving to hear.
Zhuo Lei said there was a way out on the fourth floor, but she couldn’t be sure.
Nor was she sure if Xiao Fang could be trusted, so she simply combined both—let Xiao Fang check out the fourth floor.
Her face once again donned that seemingly dependent, relaxed smile that put people at ease.
She strode quickly toward the temporary hideout she’d arranged with Xiao Fang earlier.
It was an abandoned Storage Room near the stairwell, relatively hidden.
“Senior!” Xiao Fang had been anxiously guarding the door, and as soon as he saw her, he rushed over, still looking shaken.
“Sister Jing passed out. Are you okay? Zhuo Lei… he didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
In his panic, he tried to grab Lu Dongnuan’s arm for reassurance, but she deftly dodged with a natural motion, pretending to tidy her hair.
“I’m fine,” Lu Dongnuan replied softly, her voice trembling slightly—a perfect imitation of someone still startled after a brush with danger.
“Zhuo Lei… really isn’t right.”
She deliberately paused, her long lashes casting a small shadow and capturing all of Xiao Fang’s attention.
Sure enough, anger and an ‘I knew it’ kind of urgency instantly covered Xiao Fang’s face, “What did he do?”
“He forced me to go with him to the fourth floor—said there’s a secret passage only he knows about.” Lu Dongnuan lowered her voice, brimming with lingering fear and grievance.
Her eyes, as helpless as a startled deer, “But it didn’t feel right. He said the passage is at the far end of the east side of the fourth floor, but I’m scared… what if it’s a trap…”
These words struck perfectly at Xiao Fang’s urge to protect and prove himself.
His anger toward Zhuo Lei and desire to impress Lu Dongnuan instantly took over.
“Senior, don’t be afraid!” Xiao Fang puffed up his not-yet-broad chest, trying to look more reliable.
“I’ll go check it out! If there’s really a passage, we can get out of this damned place ourselves, without his threats! And if he’s up to something… I’ll spot it first!”
This was exactly what Lu Dongnuan wanted.
She promptly put on a worried, disapproving look, her delicate brows knitting together, “That’s too dangerous! How can you go alone?”
“It’s fine!” Encouraged by her ‘concern,’ Xiao Fang’s blood surged.
He gripped the Expandable Baton in his hand and said firmly, “I’ll just sneak a quick look and come right back. You stay here, lock the door, and wait for my word!”
His eyes were determined, as if he carried a sacred mission.
Lu Dongnuan “struggled” for a moment, before reluctantly nodding.
She handed him the steel pipe in her hand, her soft words drenched with “reliance.”
“Then you must be careful—whatever happens, if anything seems off, come straight back. I… I’ll be here waiting, I won’t go anywhere.”
Xiao Fang nodded emphatically, like a soldier receiving his highest order.
He turned and carefully made his way up the stairs, heading into the unknown dangers of the fourth floor.
Watching his “mission-driven” back disappear around the shadowy corner, all traces of vulnerability and dependence on Lu Dongnuan’s face faded away like the ebbing tide.
She didn’t lock the Storage Room door as instructed—instead, she chose to leave.