BDB Chapter 33

As the crowd of onlookers grew, Jiang Rao realized she could no longer leave.

From the moment she had called the male lead’s name and he had turned with a look of obsession, she knew her exit was no longer an option.

But she couldn’t simply ignore what was happening.

In old-fashioned novels, the male leads were often absurdly unreasonable. There were domineering tycoons with influence across three continents, tyrants involved in shady dealings or politics, and even reckless men who had nothing to fear, always covered by someone else. And then there were the violent, domineering presidents like Li Jueyan, who could casually threaten to break someone’s legs.

At this moment, the second male lead was still just a naive student, and when the male lead said he would break his legs, he truly meant it.

Though Jiang Rao had categorized every character she encountered as either the male lead, second male lead, female lead, or villainess, these were still real people who existed in her life.

If someone were to become disabled because of her actions, she would never be able to live with the guilt.

Although she had long anticipated the consequences of stepping forward, she had no interest in being treated like a spectacle in front of a large crowd.

“Li Jueyan, can we talk somewhere else?”

As soon as she spoke, Li Jueyan’s eyes softened.

Her tone was so gentle, how could he not agree?

But before he could respond, she added, “But before that, please release my big brother.”

Li Jueyan’s eyes turned cold, “What if I don’t?”

Jiang Rao sighed, “Then I will leave, Li Jueyan.”

“You think you can just run away now?” he scoffed, and then walked towards her.

The bodyguards behind him quickly formed a human barrier around them.

Li Jueyan smirked, “I’ve brought so many bodyguards. Do you really think I can’t keep you here?”

Although this was a world of domineering presidents, it was still a society governed by the rule of law.

Jiang Rao met his gaze and said, “Every citizen has the right to personal freedom. Illegally depriving or restricting someone’s personal freedom is against the law.”

After saying this, she could see from Li Jueyan’s expression that he probably dismissed her words.

But she still wanted to try, “Li Jueyan, do you think if I were to reveal your company’s name, and news spread from one person to another, given what you’ve done today, would it damage your company’s reputation? And if your company’s reputation suffers, would your stock prices plummet? If the stock prices fall, who would be able to control you or save me?”

Her small face was filled with seriousness. Although she was threatening him, he couldn’t help but find her… cute.

So cute and silly.

If capital could collapse so easily, he wouldn’t have dared to be so audacious all these years.

If even a casual leak of blackmail to the media could bring him down, the Li family would have long been replaced by now.

He looked at her stubborn expression and lifted her chin with his hand. “Threatening me, hmm?”

Jiang Rao hated the domineering CEO trope who was always fond of physical gestures.

He seemed to be angry, exerting a lot of force, but for some reason, she noticed that his hand holding her chin was trembling.

It really hurt. Her delicate body was such that even a slight bump against the edge of the bed or a corner could leave a bruise for a long time.

Jiang Rao wasn’t sad or afraid. She just couldn’t help but have tears well up in her eyes due to the pain. Although she quickly blinked them away, the sight was still fully visible to the man across from her.

His brows furrowed tightly. “I’m not crying, so why are you? You’re the one who left me without a word and the one who is now threatening me. I’m the one who’s almost gone mad looking for you and who’s threatened with bankruptcy and being put through hell.”

His grip unconsciously tightened as he spoke.

But just as he was about to continue, he saw the tears that had been welling up finally fall from her eyes like a broken dam.

He was momentarily stunned and, irritated, wanted to wipe away her tears, but she swatted his hand away.

“We’ve never met face-to-face, almost like two unrelated strangers. You didn’t have a real reason to look for me, and I don’t owe you anything. On the contrary, with the matter of you wanting to break my big brother’s legs and me threatening you afterward, think about it—isn’t this the case?”

She clarified their relationship in simple terms, and his expression grew even colder.

Yet, it seemed her earlier threats had really made an impact.

Despite her boldness, he didn’t order her to shut up like in his dreams. It seemed he was a president very concerned about his company’s image.

Seeing this, she paused and then said, “Let go of my chin, and I’ll wipe it myself.”

Hearing this, Li Jueyan’s gaze lingered on her face for a long time.

After a moment, he smiled.

She seemed to have pushed her luck, really thinking he was just something to be discarded! There was no way he would eagerly take on the role of serving her.

He released her chin, about to order his bodyguards to bind and take away the ‘fake brother and sister,’ but in that instant, he saw the bruise and discoloration on her chin.

The marks perfectly matched the size and shape of his fingertips.

His gaze moved upward to see the tears still streaming down her face.

Glistening, they seemed to radiate a captivating light.

Li Jueyan swallowed.

After a moment, he muttered a curse and said, “Let’s talk properly. If I’m satisfied with the discussion, I’ll let him go, okay?”

…

Jiang Rao didn’t know what might satisfy the male lead.

But thinking about the old-fashioned romance novels where all major websites didn’t ban explicit content and where domineering CEOs would often end up taking things to the bedroom, she resolutely rejected any suggestion of hotels, motels, or even the back seat of a car.

After rejecting several locations, the man seemed amused by her insistence, and with a smile, he said, “You decide.”

Jiang Rao pondered for a moment, “How about a café?”

They then found a nearby café to sit down.

As was the style of domineering CEOs, no outsiders were allowed during their discussion.

The café owner, with a bulging envelope of cash and an excited face, ushered the customers out. In just a few minutes, the spacious café was left with only Jiang Rao and Li Jueyan.

The bodyguards and the second male lead were all waiting outside the café.

He watched her sit properly in the chair opposite him.

Her hands were folded neatly on the table.

On her right wrist was a bracelet wrapped in red thread, obscuring its original appearance.

Unable to resist, he asked, “Is that the gold bracelet Grandma gave you?”

Jiang Rao nodded.

Li Jueyan was silent for a moment. “So, the person eating the hamburger at the subway station that day was you? The gold bracelet on your right wrist, even wrapped in red string, looked quite conspicuous, so you pretended to be left-handed?”

Jiang Rao was startled.

She knew that in movies, TV shows, and novels from those years, the main characters often had extraordinary connections, but she didn’t expect her entanglement with the male lead to be so deep.

Her only outing to find food had been seen by him.

If she hadn’t blackened her face and disguised herself as a left-handed person, her freedom would have long been over.

She stayed silent, and he took her silence as confirmation. “Jiang Rao, you accepted the bracelet that the Li family reserved for their wives. How can you say you and I are unrelated strangers?”

“The bracelet was forced onto my wrist by Grandma Ma. I tried many times to take it off, even went to a jewelry store, but couldn’t remove it. But I’ve promised Jiang Tang that I would send the bracelet back to her as soon as I could remove it.”

“So, you still accepted it.”

Jiang Rao didn’t want to argue about this. She came to clarify things and set the record straight. “Li Jueyan, you came to find me and gave me that call that day, which proves you already know about my dealings with Madam Bai. So I want to ask you a few questions.”

“First, during the time I was playing a substitute, did I deliberately try to attract your attention or provoke you?”

Li Jueyan replied quietly, “No.”

If she wasn’t even trying to seduce him and he already couldn’t handle it, then if she really did try, how would she ever have a chance to escape?

“Second, was there any physical contact between us that was so heart-thumping and embarrassing that it made you unwilling to part with me, even though I was living under someone else’s identity? Did it lead you to develop feelings for me that were hard to let go of or replace?”

“No.”

“Third, during the time I was a substitute, did I do anything to harm you or cause any irreparable trauma to your tender heart?”

“No.”

“Then here’s the issue. I didn’t provoke you, there were no feelings between us, and I didn’t wrong you in any way. Now that Jiang Tang has returned and she is your lawful wife, why are you still holding on to me, a mere passerby? Why do you even want to break my big brother’s legs? What did he do wrong? What did I do wrong?”

Her arguments were well-structured.

It seemed the three “no” answers from earlier gave her quite a bit of confidence, and her final summary was delivered with full conviction.

Unfortunately, her questions didn’t mean much to him.

In this world, only ordinary people cared about cause and effect. For a powerful figure like him, it was all about personal preference.

But since she liked to argue this way, he decided to play along with her logic.

“Do you remember that I once threw a bank card at you? You used that card to buy five properties, kept three, and sold two. I’m a capitalist’s descendant—do you think I would let you go?”

“My role as a substitute was to work for Madam Bai and Miss Jiang. The money you gave me in the name of Miss Jiang was used for purchasing properties, which then belonged to Miss Jiang. They still owe me the remaining balance, so I used the properties to settle the debt. Essentially, these transactions have nothing to do with you.”

Li Jueyan laughed softly. “How can it have nothing to do with me?”

He took a sip of the iced water on the table.

He felt that his entire logic was more coherent than ever before.

“The ones who owe you money are Bai Yurou and Jiang Tang, so they should be the ones to repay it. Now that I’m divorced, why should the debts they incurred be settled using the property I bought with my own bank account’s money?”

——