Chapter 257: Life or Death

The warm lighting glowed at the dining table as Er Mao strode elegantly and found a comfortable spot to lie on and relax.

The scars near its mouth from rescuing the kitten were still evident.

Li Lei looked at it and told Xia Ling, "Er Mao is very fierce too, but it never hurts anyone, it only ever saves people."

Xia Ling looked toward Er Mao, this big creature really looked harmless when it was at ease and unprovoked. But..."The other day when I wanted to rescue the kitten from Er Mao's mouth, you grabbed me. You couldn't be sure that it wouldn't hurt me, right?"

"I was just taking precautions," said Li Lei.

Er Mao had never hurt anyone around him, not his relatives, peers, co-workers, or himself. There was no need for him to worry, but because it concerned Xiao Ling, he did not want to take even the slightest risk.

Xia Ling smiled. "So, you get scared too, don't you?"

Li Lei was silent. Yes, despite knowing that there was practically no way Er Mao would hurt her, he could not help but worry for her safety. It was irrational, and there was no way he could control it.

She looked at him with a soft expression. "It's the same for me. Li Lei, you've been living with Er Mao for so many years, and there are still times where you can't fully trust it, so how am I supposed to trust you? You don't know my past..."

Li Lei's look tensed up but forced himself to relax. Was she about to tell him about her past? Her past that he still could not understand despite countless investigations?

But Xia Ling simply brushed off the topic. "I'm afraid of being hurt, especially when it comes to love. I'd rather spend my life alone than get into a destructive and hurtful relationship. Li Lei, remember the kind of treatment I got from your family when we went there during New Year's? I know it's not your fault, but... I'm scared."

"It won't ever happen again." Li Lei assured her.

Xia Ling gave another smile. "It's easy to make a promise, you know? But you can still go back on it and go rough on me anytime since I have no means of defending myself. We didn't start out on equal footing, and even now, I can't even move away from this apartment because you won't allow it. Under these circumstances, how can I like you?"

"I..." Li Lei wanted to say something in defense.

"Don't tell me that you're not letting me go because you love me." Xia Ling's eyes were wide and clear. "This may be your way of loving someone, but this is not the love that I want. If that's all there is between us, then all I can say is that we're not fated to be together, not now, not in the future."

The dining hall was quiet.

Er Mao's tail fidgeted as it looked up at the pair by the dining table.

A short while later, Li Lei quietly said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Ling, I never knew that's how you thought. I'm afraid too, you know? I've never been this afraid all my life, but now I'm afraid of losing you, of someone else hurting you, of you choosing to leave... I'm not willing to let you go, simply because I'm afraid you won't ever come back."

If she really left this place, would she return?

She did not have an answer either.

"But if you keep me here, you'll never get my love." Xia Ling's words hung in the air. "I will never love someone out of coercion or captivity. Li Lei, if that's the kind of woman you're looking for, you've got the wrong person."

Li Lei recalled the call he made with Old Man Bao back on the island.

Old Man Bao brought up the Diva Xia Ling from Imperial Entertainment and her tragic story of being held captive and tortured by Pei Ziheng before she passed on. Did Xia Ling fall in love with Pei Ziheng eventually? Regardless of the answer, her tragic encounter...

It was not something he would want Xiao Ling to go through.

"Tell me then, what kind of love do you want?" He asked.

Xia Ling had an answer ready. "Let me go, give me my freedom. Only when I'm no longer manipulated can I decide for myself whether I want to be with you. What I really want is a relationship where we are both on equal footing."

After saying her piece, she turned towards Li Lei apprehensively, afraid that he would go into a fury and hurt her again as he did previously.

If that were to happen again, then there was nothing left to say about their future.

This was her last shot.

Fortunately, Li Lei simply kept quiet. "Give me some time to think."

Xia Ling saw him out of the apartment. Li Lei got up lazily and looked toward the bedroom, as if to check on the kitten, before following its owner out.

He did not take long to think. At breakfast the next day, he went to look for her. "When do you intend to move out?"

Xia Ling silently celebrated. Feng Kun was right, after all, Li Lei was different from Pei Ziheng, he was not a dictator who shut everybody else's words out. But after that short moment of joy, she looked at him cautiously. "There's another thing..."

"Uh-huh?"

"I..." Xia Ling hesitated for a while, but said it anyway, "I plan to leave Skyart." She had to cut all ties and make sure she had nothing to do with him. Only when she did not depend on him for anything — life or death — could she see herself as his equal.

Li Lei knitted his brows.

To him, agreeing on her moving out was his limit. Just for this alone, he had sent people to do multiple rounds of checks to ensure that Pei Ziheng would not ambush nor hurt her before he could let her leave his side.

But, leaving Skyart?!

"No," he said instinctively.

She was not all that surprised by his rejection, but given her temper, she almost flared up. She remembered what Feng Kun said the other day and suppressed her anger. "Why?"

Because he wanted to keep a lookout for her, and also because of Pei Ziheng.

He could not be sure that she wouldn't turn her back against Skyart and sign a contract with Imperial instead.

But, how was he going to say this to her? Pei Ziheng was the most sensitive topic between them and would likely lead to a conflict. It took them so long to get back on good terms again, he did not want to argue with her.

Seeing that he did not respond, Xia Ling asked again.

"It's hard to find big corporations like Skyart, and among all others in the entertainment industry, Skyart's atmosphere is the best." Li Lei decided that giving a reason from the work perspective was a better way to convince her. "Everyone is generally nice to one another, and Sister Mai Na and Ah Wei are taking good care of you. You're a simple girl, what'd happen if you step on someone's toes in another company?"

"This problem?" Xia Ling did not expect him to be worried about this and smiled. "That's not a big deal, don't you think that my singing is good enough to put me above the rest? They can do what they want to me, but my popularity won't change, and popularity itself is money! And money gives me status!" This was something Chu Chen always said in the past, which explained why nobody could offend her despite how arrogant she used to be, besides the fact that she was with Pei Ziheng.

Big Boss Li had no words left. It hit him now, just how did Xiao Ling sing so well?

Her singing was way too good.