Gu Anjin stared at him. "If you really don’t want to help him, then why is he here with you?"

She didn’t want to believe it either, but from what she knew of Yue Siqing, this was exactly the kind of thing he was capable of.

It was just that he’d promised—he’d promised he wouldn’t interfere in this matter.

"Miss Gu, haven’t you ever heard the saying, ’The enemy of my enemy is my friend’?" Huo Xun slowly slipped both hands into his pockets and took a few steps forward. "You don’t see me as a good person anyway, so I might as well be direct. I want to see if he has any value I can use. And maybe you don’t want to watch him go throw himself into a river."

"He’s here right now?" Gu Anjin bit her lower lip hard.

"I’m not lying to you. Since I said he’s in my basement right now, then that’s exactly where he is. If you dare to come, I can take you to see him right now." Huo Xun looked at her with amused eyes.

Gu Anjin’s mind was in a bit of a mess; she herself didn’t know whether she should trust Huo Xun or not.

A basement, of all places—if she went in with him, who knew what might happen.

And the fact that there was even a basement in a place like this—just what kind of person was he?

"So, do you dare?" Huo Xun asked when she didn’t speak. "If you don’t trust me, then forget it. Just treat today as a casual visit. We can go on pretending we don’t know each other."

"You know perfectly well why I don’t trust you, so why bother asking."

Gu Anjin clenched her fists tight. A voice inside was telling her he probably hadn’t lied to her.

There’s no way he’d lock her in that basement too... right?

Huo Xun’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. "Because of the kidnapping?"

He let out a soft laugh, glancing sidelong at the silent woman who was clearly wrestling with herself.

"About that... I’m sorry."

Hearing that apology, Gu Anjin lifted her gaze a little.

His tone was still careless and flippant, but in his eyes there was a faint clarity. "All right, Miss Gu, whether you accept this apology or not, at least I can tell you this: I won’t hurt you again. Since you don’t trust me, you can take your time thinking about it. For now, are you going to meet some friends, or are you planning to go back?"

"Take me there," Gu Anjin said calmly. "Take me to see Song Yi."

"You’re sure?" Huo Xun’s smile froze slightly.

Should he say she valued this Song Yi too much, or that she was really starting to try to trust him?

"I’m sure." Her eyes were very resolute. "Didn’t you say you wouldn’t hurt us again? Whatever happens to me here, you won’t be able to wash your hands of it anyway."

Huo Xun nodded. "Come with me." His seriousness, and even that hint of awkwardness he wasn’t used to, actually lent a bit of authenticity to his apology.

She had to admit, maybe he was just very good at putting on a mask, his acting too convincing.

At least that one sentence didn’t make people want to push him away.

"That day, when I kidnapped you, I really was planning to hand you over to Anthony." The curve of Huo Xun’s lips was faint, and there wasn’t a trace of a smile in his dark eyes. "As for why I let you go, there’s nothing much to say. Maybe one day you’ll understand why I wanted so badly to make him taste pain. Not everyone is like you, only seeing one side of him."

"Or maybe I’ll never understand. Other people killing doesn’t give you a reason to pick up the knife. Maybe he once did something terrible to you, but by hurting innocent people, all you’re doing is becoming him."

Huo Xun chuckled softly. "You’re right. Maybe you really will never understand."