"Hmm, who knows," Luo Xuan smiled faintly, "I just happened to fall for you first."

Heather was startled, her face adorned with a natural sense of bewilderment: "You like me? Why? Have we met before?"

"Hmm... well... probably... there’s not a man in the entire organization who doesn’t like you..."

The red spider lily is poisonous.

Luo Xuan’s hand slipped under her knees, lifting her from the cold floor and carrying her back to the original room.

"River Sparrow really packs a punch, look at these red marks."

"She truly wanted to kill me. Sigh, I was really resentful at the time," Heather, propping her chin with one hand, said, "completely helpless, which is unlike me. If I had the strength, River Sparrow would be no match for me."

"I know."

Heather’s skills were among the best in that place, and most men were no match for her; this was not surprising.

"River Sparrow mentioned K, said you injected me with it, and that’s why I couldn’t muster any strength. Why did you inject me with K?"

"For instance, now you can’t leave this place."

"Then I’d rather stay, if my Lord won’t come for me. I’m already sick of those days."

"But... how did River Sparrow know that my Lord intended to send me to approach Li Sinian? This was a secret."

"That’s no longer a secret."

It hasn’t been for a long time.

"Yet he’s already been captured? Is Li Sinian that easy to catch..."

At the mention of Li Sinian, Luo Xuan’s eyes flickered subtly. He looked at Heather and smiled ambiguously.

Heather, oh Heather, who are you really now?

Even knowing Li Sinian was captured, she was completely natural, showing no flaws whatsoever.

Luo Xuan prided himself on his ability to read people, but against Heather, he had to concede defeat.

If in the end all this turned out to be an act, he truly felt she would be worthy of the Cannes Best Actress award.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Yes! How could I not want to? It would be a shame not to meet someone whom my Lord has been concerned about for so many years. But I know I won’t get to, so it’s just a thought."

"That’s not necessarily true. Perhaps if I make a request to my Lord, he might agree? After all, that was your prey once."

"Then I will definitely thank you."

"Thanks? I don’t need that."

Just when Luo Xuan was caught off guard for a moment, Heather pecked him on the cheek and blossomed into laughter: "A down payment for your gratitude in advance."

As he looked at his already clenched hand, Heather backed away slightly: "Mr. Luo Xuan, just now you wouldn’t have thought I was going to attack you, prompting you to strike me, would you?"

Luo Xuan loosened his hand, as if nothing had happened, and smiled: "How could that be. Since the down payment has been taken, I guess I have no choice but to proceed."

Heather seemed unperturbed by the peck just now, as she turned around to inspect something.

Luo Xuan gazed at her profile, squinting his eyes, contemplating something.

She really had changed.

...

Heather stayed there for several days, with Luo Xuan constantly observing her, waiting to see her reaction, but he noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

Apart from walking up and down every day, eating her meals obediently, she no longer brought up Li Sinian, nor did she rush him about the matter they had agreed upon that day.

He stood on the third-floor corridor, watching her start to climb the stairs unsteadily.

The rest these last few days allowed her body to recover somewhat. The new antidote couldn’t completely clear the toxins from her system, but now she could move freely without restraint; her limbs were strong, and her movements had become much more agile.