As soon as those words were spoken, the man who moments ago had worn a sinister grin quickly wiped it away. His bright eyes blinked, and he fixed his solemn gaze on Liu Qingqing’s tiny, palm-sized face.

Staring intently, a trace of sorrow began to well up on the man’s face.

Liu Qingqing closely watched every subtle change in the man. When she saw that look of grief appear, she knew things had unfolded exactly as she had imagined:

That Li Ci was dead! That little wretch Li Ci—who was nothing at all, inferior to her in every way—had actually won the favor and affection of the man before her. She was truly gone.

With her heart fully prepared, she suddenly curled her lips into a laugh. “Haha! Haha! Ming Kai, so what? What good is it for you to be alive? She’s already dead! She’s completely dead! Why are you still clinging to life? Shouldn’t a man like you have died alongside her? If you don’t join her in death, how can you ever get over the pain in your own heart? Ming Kai, I’m really curious—truly curious. Back then, you were supposed to have vanished in the flames, yet somehow you survived. When you finally pulled through, what did you feel when you looked at her, reduced to a bloody, mangled mess? Must’ve been heartbreaking, right? Surely agonizing—maybe even more so than heart-wrenching. Haha! Ming Kai! You know what? Just thinking about how you must’ve looked back then makes me so happy! Haha, what good is it for you to be alive anyway? What good was all that love between you two, after all? In the end, you’re both separated by life and death, aren’t you? Ming Kai, have you had any dreams these past years? Any nightmares? In those nightmares, do you ever think back to that day? Do you ever picture that wretched Li Ci—her body blown to smithereens, reduced to ashes?”

The more Liu Qingqing spoke, the happier, more excited, and more unrestrained she became. It felt as though all the pent-up emotions she’d been holding onto for so many years were finally being released. Her laughter grew louder and wilder.

Of course, no matter how loud or frenzied her laughter got, she still tried to keep it under control—after all, she knew there were people sitting just beyond the curtain, and she didn’t want to disturb them.

Meanwhile, the man standing before her looked at her with an even deeper sorrow in his eyes.

Liu Qingqing felt a wave of relief wash over her, completely forgetting her initial fear and trepidation. Suddenly, she leaned closer to Ming Kai, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Ming Kai, do you still remember what she looked like before she died? What was she like when she passed away? And…”

Then Liu Qingqing lowered her voice and smiled as she asked the man before her, “Ming Kai, you know what? The woman you loved was indeed pitiful—but there’s something I haven’t told you yet. Would you like to hear it?”

The man remained silent, his expression unmoving, as if frozen in place—or perhaps he’d suddenly recalled something that left him utterly stiff.

In any case, he stood there, perfectly still.

Seeing this, Liu Qingqing’s sense of satisfaction only grew stronger, and her laughter rang out even more joyfully. “Ming Kai, since you look so pathetic, I’ll do you a favor and help ease the pain in your heart.”

At this point, Liu Qingqing paused as if performing some kind of mysterious ritual. She cleared her throat, coughed twice, and then said to the man before her in a grave, deliberate tone: “Actually, she didn’t have to die back then. Who made you love her so much? Who turned her into your bond and your obsession? Those people who wanted to manipulate you, unable to find a better way, had no choice but to drag her into their scheme! You know, that woman actually did love you. When they first revealed their intentions, she refused without hesitation, even putting up a defiant, ‘I’d rather die than submit’ attitude—she really seemed determined. But Ming Kai, guess what? Once they brought up Li Ci’s family, that wretched woman instantly crumbled. Gone was her former arrogance; instead, she begged them like a dog not to touch her relatives, tears streaming down her face as she nodded in agreement. She agreed to cooperate with their plan, to help lure you into that trap. Ming Kai, you know what? She didn’t love you all that much, after all! All that fiery rhetoric she spouted earlier? When it came down to choosing between life and death, she sold you without a second thought—and she never once considered dying with you. So I decided to give you a hand, figuring I’d send her along to keep you company. After all, if you’re going to die together, might as well make it a pair of ill-fated lovers united in death, right?”

End of Chapter 257: Counterattack 184