Chapter 4: You'll Pay for the Button

Li Yang calmly switched on the light. Ma Tai sat alone in his wheelchair, his brownish-gray eyes unfocused, fixed on the ground by her feet.

In his arms he held that supremely pampered Ragdoll cat, which regarded her like an intruder and greeted her with a hostile "meow meow."

"Achoo! Achoo!" Shao Yao sneezed violently again, then sniffled and said,

"I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk around the estate."

Ma Tai: "At three in the morning?"

"Mm." Li Yang forced herself to answer, then quickly changed the subject. "Why is Sir up so late as well?"

"Thinking of you," Ma Tai said flatly.

Those two words landed in Li Yang's heart without stirring even a ripple.

She had said plenty of sappy things to Ma Tai herself. But which one had been true?

Ma Tai let the cat slip from his arms, then gestured toward Li Yang. "Shao Yao, come here."

Li Yang walked over, crouched down, and tilted her head up, looking perfectly docile.

"Why can't you sleep? Still angry about today?" Ma Tai raised his hand, meaning to touch the side of Li Yang's face that had been slapped.

Li Yang turned her head away to dodge it, and in the same motion caught his hand.

His fingers were cold, carrying the chill of the night. It seemed he had been waiting here for her for quite some time.

"It's very late, Sir. Let Shao Yao take you back inside."

Li Yang stood to push the wheelchair. But Ma Tai gripped her hand in return and didn't let go.

Ma Tai: "I'm asking you—are you still angry?"

"Just a slap. Shao Yao wouldn't dare be angry~" Her voice was soft, steeped in tea-scented grievance.

Ma Tai: "Tell me the truth."

Li Yang said nothing.

She played it exactly like the scheming second female lead in those web novels.

Ma Tai: "Fine. I'll have that woman disappear from Mian City."

Li Yang was momentarily stunned.

Disappear...?

Did that mean killing her? Surely not?

She had only wanted to use that woman as a shield to cover up her meeting with Hu Jianming.

She hadn't intended for anyone to die.

Li Yang: "What does Sir mean by 'disappear'?"

Ma Tai smiled gently, his gaze drifting. "Just the literal meaning."

"You're going to kill her?" Li Yang lowered her head, watching him warily.

Ma Tai curled his lips and let out a low chuckle. "I've always kept my hands clean of blood. Do you believe that?"

The corner of Li Yang's mouth twitched.

It had taken her a long time to secure a place at his side, and even then only as a "bed partner."

So far, she hadn't gathered a single piece of evidence against him.

He seemed like a disabled man who cared nothing for the world, hiding day after day in this solemn, luxurious, yet remote and desolate estate.

But if he truly never dirtied his clothes or stained his hands with blood, why would the organization send her to infiltrate his life?

She was certain he wasn't a good man. She just hadn't found the proof yet.

That was what she thought. But when she opened her mouth, her voice came out sickeningly sweet:

"Whatever Sir says, Shao Yao believes."

Her body language was just as cooperative.

She dropped to her knees again and rested her head on Ma Tai's lap—more docile than the Ragdoll cat he doted on, more sincere than any Best Actress winner.

Canary Rule Number Two:

[Honing your acting skills is an eternal mandatory course]

Ma Tai's palm came to rest on Shao Yao's head, stroking her lightly. It really was no different from petting a cat.

Ma Tai: "You trust me that much?"

"Mm." Li Yang hummed without meaning it.

The deep night was quiet, tinged with a thin chill. Li Yang, already drowsy, felt sleepiness settle heavier on her now.

Just as she opened her mouth for a silent yawn, Ma Tai's airy voice drifted down from above:

"Then if I say I love you, do you believe that?"