Chapter Fifty-One: Leverage

“No matter what you think of me, or what you’re after, I won’t let you go.” Sheng Ming reached out, gently brushing the stray hair from Xu Nuo’s forehead. “Xu Nuo, don’t even think about escaping.”

Xu Nuo took a few steps back, looking somewhat nervous, secretly muttering to the system, “What’s gotten into him now?”

007 watched the favorability rating soar to seventy-five percent with numb resignation. [It’s probably… love. Host, do you still plan to end the mission?]

“No, I won’t end it,” Xu Nuo replied decisively. “We’re still in the game, aren’t we? There’s still a chance, still room to maneuver.”

Yet 007 was worried that its host’s almost blind confidence might lead to disaster. Watching Sheng Ming behave so differently from his original character, it felt bewildered by this teetering plot.

Xu Nuo said, “Stay calm, Little Seven, we need to analyze coolly and respond steadily.”

But 007 found it impossible to remain calm as it watched Sheng Ming’s fluctuating affection meter.

During Xu Nuo’s entanglement with Sheng Ming, Gu Xingze and Lin Qisheng noticed something was off and soon came looking for her.

Unlike before, the tense atmosphere between them had dissipated.

Lin Qisheng scoffed, “Young Master Sheng, stop deluding yourself.”

Sheng Ming sat calmly, instructing the servants to pour tea for the group. He reached for Xu Nuo, trying to force her to sit on his lap.

“Let her go!” Lin Qisheng couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Smack—” Xu Nuo responded with a crisp slap to Sheng Ming’s muscular arm, the sound ringing out loudly.

“Such a fiery temper,” Sheng Ming remarked, glancing at the clear five-finger mark on his arm, shaking his hand indifferently. Then he seized Xu Nuo’s wrist, pulling her into his embrace.

“Hm?” Sheng Ming looked down, their faces mere inches apart. He could clearly see the helplessness flicker across Xu Nuo’s features—a rare expression befitting her delicate and beautiful countenance.

Xu Nuo screamed inwardly, “What the hell!”

Before the two men could intervene, Xu Nuo landed a hard punch on Sheng Ming’s jaw and sprang away as if shocked by electricity. Her movements were swift and fierce, leaving Lin Qisheng too stunned to react.

Everyone else around them was equally dumbfounded.

“You—” Sheng Ming pressed his hand to his chin, brows furrowed. No one had ever dared lay a hand on him like this before!

“Have you never heard of boundaries between men and women?” Xu Nuo brushed the dust from her clothes with disdain. “Young Master Sheng, you may look the part, but why do you insist on forcing others?”

Sheng Ming laughed, “Heh… I like forcing people.”

Xu Nuo thought: Has he no shame at all?

Lin Qisheng said, “Don’t waste any more time with him. Let’s go.” Had Xu Nuo not forbidden him, he would have strung Sheng Ming up and beaten him by now.

Sheng Ming replied, “Go? Do you really think Xu Nuo wants to leave?”

“What do you mean?” Lin Qisheng looked to Xu Nuo. “Didn’t we agree to go back together?”

“Mm,” Xu Nuo answered seriously, “I’ve changed my mind. There’s something I must take with me. Only if I have it can I leave.”

“What is it?” Lin Qisheng couldn’t accept this sudden change. “I’ll find it for you.”

“You won’t be able to.” Once Xu Nuo made up her mind, she rarely wavered. She looked at Sheng Ming with determination. “Only I can.”

“How interesting,” Sheng Ming said with a satisfied smile. As expected, this woman’s motives for approaching him weren’t simple—but now, didn’t this just give him the leverage he needed to control her?