On the other side, Mason, sitting in his car, received a call from Caleb.


    Caleb: “Everything’s arranged, just waiting for the hero toe save the day.”


    Mason, having already forgotten about the arrangement with Caleb amidst the chaos of the day, replied sharply, “What?”


    Caleb: “You told me to arrange for someone to scare Le a bit?”


    Mason’s expression darkened at Caleb’s words. He cursed, pushed open the car door, and got out. “If anything happens to her today, I’ll make sure you regret it.”


    Caleb, puzzled, was about to exin that Mason was the one who had arranged it all, but Mason had already hung up the phone.


    Pressing the elevator button, Mason’s face was grim and terrifying.


    With Le having just been kidnapped earlier in the day, now facing another threat, Mason dared not dwell on it…


    At this crucial moment, everyone was on edge, but the man currently holding Le hostage was perhaps the most nervous of all.


    He wasn’t a real street thug; he was one of Caleb’s underlings.


    His mission were clear: scare her but do not harm her. When someone came to be the hero, he was to feign capture and flee immediately.


    Thinking it over, revenge or robbery would certainly cause a biggermotion, so he had to pretend he was a pervert. However, he had already been covering Le’s mouth for over ten minutes, and the hero had not arrived yet…


    To make the act convincing and prevent Le from suspecting anything, the man nced around nervously and continued with his sleazy talk.


    “You’re quite good-looking. I guess I’m lucky today.”


    “Your skin is fair, and your waist is slim.”


    Even though it wasn’t a genuine assault, he struggled to say these words.


    Initially, Le’s heart raced as she held her keys tightly.


    But seeing the man hesitate to make a move and only uttering creepy remarks, her fear gradually subsided and gave way to suspicion.


    Finally, whether it was her imagination or not, she felt the man’s voice tremble slightly.


    “I’m warning you, you better not struggle, or I’ll kill you.”


    “I’m not kidding. I have some reputation on this street. Feel free to ask around.”


    “When I was seventeen, I killed a thirty-five-year-old woman in an alley under the twilight streetlight…”


    As Mason stepped out of the elevator, the man was still holding Le’s mouth, telling her about his encounter with the woman when he was seventeen.


    Just as the story reached the part about the dimly lit alley…


    Upon hearing the elevator door open and seeing Mason, the man not only showed no fear but a glint of anticipation in his eyes.


    Before he could get too happy, Mason strode forward, lifted his leg, and kicked the man hard in the side.


    The man fell to the ground, gasping for breath, teeth clenched in pain.


    Without even ncing at the man, Mason furrowed his brow and looked down at Le. “Are you okay?”


    Turning her head to face Mason, Le asked expressionlessly, “Was this person sent by you?”


    Mason’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he remained silent.


    Le lightly mocked, “Silence means admission??”


    “Mason, I’m not someone who doesn’t know how to repay kindness. I understand the gravity of situations. You didn’t need to set this up for me.”


    Le’s demeanor was calm and open.Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    On the other side, Mason wanted to exin but found himself unable to. It was indeed his doing, but it had nothing to do with what had happened today. In her mind, she thought he was afraid she would be a burden to him, so he arranged for someone to stir up trouble. Little did she know, his original intention in devising this n was simply to get her to move in.


    The man lying on the ground sensed that Le had already figured out the truth. He stumbled over to Mason, saying, “Mr. Ramirez, I…”


    Mason’s eyes shed with anger. “Get lost!”


    Seeing Mason’s fury, the man dared not say another word. He hurriedly walked to the elevator and pressed the button several times. When he saw the elevator was still on the first floor, he darted into the stairwell.


    Once the hallway was empty except for Le and Mason, Le regained herposure. “I’ll go in and get my luggage.”


    Mason looked at her in silence.


    Uncertain of how long she would stay at Mason’s ce, Le only grabbed a few essentials and some clothes for a change, making it easy for her to leave at any time.


    When she came out with her suitcase, Mason was leaning against the hallway wall, smoking.


    Upon seeing Le, Mason extinguished his cigarette and stepped forward to help her with her luggage.


    Le nced at him but didn’t refuse. She let go of the suitcase handle and pressed the elevator button.


    Standing behind her, Mason spoke up. “I arranged for that person, but it wasn’t like you think.”


    “Okay,” Le replied.


    “Le, I admit I was wrong about this.”


    “It’s okay.”


    Mason took a half step forward, reached out, and ced a hand on her waist. In a low voice, he said, “There won’t be a next time.”


    Le’s fingers curled slightly at her side. She turned to look at Mason. “I don’t understand the inner workings of your big family feuds, but since I’ve been dragged into it, rest assured, I won’t hold you back.”


    Mason lowered his head. “Out of gratitude?”


    After a moment of thought, Le replied, “I’ve only been in one rtionship my whole life, and it didn’t end well. I have no interest in dating seriously now, let alone having a affair with a man…”


    Mason’s eyes darkened. “So what?”


    “So, stop provoking me.”


    “What if I genuinely pursue you?”


    Le pushed away Mason’s hand from her waist and stepped aside. “I’m not interested.”


    “You’re not uninterested; you’re scared.”


    Le remained silent, staring straight ahead at the closed elevator doors.


    Mason squinted at her profile. “Le, you dated even scum like Hunter, and you were ready to marry him. What’s wrong with dating me?”


    As Mason finished speaking, Le didn’t reply. The elevator doors opened conveniently, and she stepped inside.


    After a few seconds, Le looked at Mason, who was still outside the elevator. “Aren’t youing?”


    Mason took long strides into the elevator.


    On the way to Mason’s vi, they each drove their own cars. As soon as Mason got into his car, he dialed Caleb’s number.


    Without waiting for Caleb to speak, he immediately started shouting, “Have you lost your mind?”


    “Wasn’t it you who asked me to arrange someone?”


    “She was just kidnapped by a construction worker demanding payment outside the office today,” Mason snapped.


    Caleb choked on his words, “I didn’t know about that, you never told me.”


    Frustrated, Mason reached up and undid the button on his shirt cor, “Where did you find that guy?”


    Caleb hesitated before asking, “Did he hurt Le?”


    Mason scoffed, “Hurt her? If I’d arrived half a minuteter, Le would have been asleep from listening to his stories.”


    Caleb looked confused, “Huh?”


    Through gritted teeth, Mason recounted what he had seen and heard. Caleb burst outughing uncontrobly on the other end of the phone.


    Already in a bad mood, Mason couldn’t stand theughter. He hung up the phone without another word.


    But Caleb called back immediately.


    Impatiently, Mason answered, “If you want to see the sun tomorrow morning, you better not contact me again today.”


    Trying to calm him down, Caleb chuckled, “Take it easy, man. Your anger is fine with me, but don’t scard Le.”


    The mention of Le made Mason’s chest ache with anger.


    Seeing Mason silent, Caleb continued teasingly, “Mason, when ites to business, I may not be as good as you, but when ites to charming women, you’re no match for me.”


    Mason sneered, “Oh, really?”


    Caleb persisted, “Believe me. You know what women like Leck the most?”