Cheng Jinyan said without hesitation: "Of course, my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world, and her beauty is the least remarkable of her virtues." His eyes took on warmth and gained some authenticity.
Wuma Liya gave a cold laugh, though it was unclear what she found funny.
But Cheng Jinyan knew what she was laughing at.
He said, "No need for that reaction. My father loved my mother regardless of her looks or anything else. Even if my mother had not been good-looking or outstanding, my father would still have loved her."
Wuma Liya: "I don't believe it."
Cheng Jinyan: "Beauty is certainly a plus, but once its expiration date passes it becomes nothing. The soul is eternal."
Wuma Liya: "Your mother can still maintain her face well now. Talk to me again in ten or twenty years when that's no longer true."
She glanced at Cheng Jinyan: "I'll bet your father already has a bunch of illegitimate children with other women out there."
Cheng Jinyan: "My mother passed away twenty years ago. My father has remained faithful to her ever since, never betraying her."
That left Wuma Liya speechless, though she still didn't believe it and even grew angry. "Maybe it's just that you don't know about it."
Cheng Jinyan: "With your twisted view of love, you see every relationship as purely physical. How could you ever encounter true love?"
Wuma Liya said angrily: "I told you I don't have that! Say nonsense like that again and I'll tear your mouth apart."
Cheng Jinyan was also completely unafraid of her threats.
He said, "I have a friend you've met before, the younger girl who saved me last time in Suriname. Recently she met with misfortune and fell off a cliff into the deep sea. Her boyfriend, mark this, they were only dating at the time, risked his life without hesitation and jumped in after her."
"What happened then?" Wuma Liya watched him.
"She's now bedridden and diagnosed as vegetative. Her boyfriend stays by her side every day taking care of her."
Wuma Liya fell silent.
Cheng Jinyan: "If I had been there at the time, I would have jumped in after her to try to save her, even if it was into a sea that swallows people. "
Wuma Liya looked at him: "You love her too?"
Cheng Jinyan: "I'm trying to tell you that in this world there's not only romantic love, but also friendship and familial love that transcend everything physical."
"If I had fallen in at that time, my friend definitely would have jumped in to try to save me. I never doubt our relationship."
Wuma Liya: "What about you? Will you be like your father and only love your wife for your whole life?" She stared at him intently: "Even if she's not pretty or outstanding, will you be loyal to her for life and never betray her?"
Cheng Jinyan: "Being loyal to your love is the bare minimum."
"As long as she is the one I love, not just un-pretty and un-outstanding, even if she were mentally abnormal or a beggar on the street, I would still love her. What always makes me surrender is the soul, not an uninteresting exterior."
Wuma Liya fell silent again.
Since they had ended this topic yesterday, Wuma Liya's whole demeanor had become more normal, or at least quieter.
Cheng Jinyan had a rare good night's sleep last night.
Lost in thought, Wuma Liya didn't notice Cheng Jinyan approach until he was right in front of her. She came back to herself and looked at the smiling, harmless looking man before her.
Cheng Jinyan bent down towards her: "Your world is really dirty. Love, family, friendship, everything is filled with dysfunction."
Wuma Liya's face paled slightly.
"Your psychology, your thoughts, your concepts are all twisted. You are a typical case of antisocial personality disorder mixed with borderline personality disorder."
"You need treatment."
Cheng Jinyan: "I'm a lawyer, and also a psychologist. Do you need counseling to help with your mental health, Miss Wuma?"
His voice was light and slow, clearly meant to be soothing, but it felt like being pricked with a needle, making one uncomfortable all over to hear it. It made one's fingertips numb, making them want to plead for help from him, yet also fearfully want to avoid him.
There was not a hint of a doctor's benevolent heart in his eyes. He looked more like he had captured an interesting prey animal that he wanted to domesticate and train, that he wanted to toy with, and also wanted to torture, before watching it whimper, struggle, and beg for its life.
The darkness inside him went far beyond this. He hid it very well, rarely revealing his abnormal side to strangers.
But he often enjoyed unleashing that other side in front of trusted friends and kindred spirits, recklessly indulging himself without thought of consequences.
Wuma Liya: "I don't need it!"
Cheng Jinyan regretfully shook his head: "What a shame. I haven't come across a patient with symptoms as severe as yours in a long time."
Wuma Liya angrily scolded: "You're the sick one!"
Cheng Jinyan continued muttering to himself: "Although you've given up on becoming normal, I'll still ask God to bless you."
Cheng Jinyan took out his phone and continued pushing things along from behind the scenes.
Wuma's people were also continuously searching for traces of him and Wuma Liya, split into two groups - Wuma You and Wuma's family head.
Cheng Jinyan got word that Wuma's people were searching this way and brought Wuma Liya away from the small hotel to avoid the search.
Darkness gradually swallowed the earth.
Wuma Liya's hands were bound in front of her with two loops of rope. Cheng Jinyan's large hand easily gripped both her wrists.
This gesture happened to conceal the ropes.
The two walked along the street like this, looking to outsiders like a couple in love out for a hand-in-hand stroll.
A group of people appeared not far ahead.
The sharp-eyed Cheng Jinyan brought Wuma Liya off to the side to hide.
Wuma Liya gave a cold laugh and told him: "That is my father's most capable subordinate. You're done for."
Cheng Jinyan also laughed and replied: "Too bad he's already been bought over by your fourth uncle Wuma You."
The smile on Wuma Liya's face disappeared along with this.
Cheng Jinyan: "You thought he was here to kill me, but which do you think it is - kill me, or kill you?" Not waiting for Wuma Liya to react, Cheng Jinyan immediately revealed a malicious smile: "Let's test it and see."
The next second, he directly pulled Wuma Liya out to expose them to the view of those people.
Gunshots rang out.
Cheng Jinyan grabbed Wuma Liya, wielding a gun in his other hand to fire back.
Bullets whizzed past their ears as Cheng Jinyan pulled Wuma Liya along, retreating while shooting.
Wuma Liya's gaze fixed on her father's most capable subordinate. That man should have come to her rescue as soon as he saw her, but he didn't.
He hid behind the others, slowly raising his gun with the muzzle aimed right at her, before pulling the trigger.
Two shots in succession.
With nowhere to dodge, the second bullet tore through Wuma Liya's shoulder, spurting blood that swiftly dyed her clothes red.
Seeing the large bloody patch on her shoulder, Cheng Jinyan thought to himself - things have gone too far.
Cheng's people arrived in time. Cheng Jinyan immediately picked up the unconscious Wuma Liya and left the area.
They couldn't go to any of the hospitals or clinics in this area. Wuma You wanted Wuma Liya dead and to capture him alive, so they would surely be lying in ambush waiting for them to deliver themselves to the door.
Cheng Jinyan could only bring her to a hotel room.
Wuma Liya had already passed out. He untied the ropes around her wrists and pushed up her sleeve, revealing the ugly knife scars on her arm - the "three knife six eye" punishment had left them.
The scars made her entire arm look horrifying.
