She Was Free

Lilian Mo heard him very clearly as her pupils constricted. She coldly looked at him.

"How am I.....supposed to believe that...? How do you expect me.....to believe that you aren't him....? Am I supposed to forget everything and start over...? Do you think that it is that simple?"

Lilian Mo's body temperature immediately spiked up, making the room temperature rise and causing the place to instantly become a hot furnace.

"What do you know? Do you know how much I suffered? How much I endured?"

"...."

Lu Jingren's own body temperature lowered as cold air emitted from him.

"I don't but because I did nothing to you, why should I receive this kind of unfair treatment?"

Lilian Mo's eyes flared and her body shook intensely for a few seconds. She lowered her head quickly.

A moment of silence passed.

Lilian Mo didn't speak for a while. In her head, she was thinking deeply. Her mind was still clear and she could see the logic in his words.

While there were similarities, this Lu Jingren before her was indeed very different. Looking at him now, he didn't give off that cold aura that made people avoid him. Instead, he was actually capable of conversation and knew how to communicate even if he still lacks common sense and EQ.

Lilian Mo closed her eyes with a heavy feeling in her heart. This was her mistake.

Her fear and emotions caused her to make the wrong judgment. In the end, whether this life or the previous one, she still made a lot of mistakes.

It was frustrating.

'If you aren't the Lu Jingren of the past.... then what am I supposed to do with all this anger....? What am I supposed to do with all this hate that I'm feeling?'

Lilian Mo placed a hand over her chest.

Moving on from the past was easier said than done.

Countless sleepless nights where she was waiting and hoping...then years of being under his control and following his every whim and order. Loving him and then hating him.

When you have grown used to obeying your paranoid lover but suddenly realizing that being locked up from the outside world for three long years wasn't ideal for you, and you decided that leaving was the only option, it won't always be the easiest choice.

Leaving was never easy.

And in the end, she was happy to have freed herself.

Lilian Mo sat down on the edge of the bed with her eyes closed. Lu Jingren didn't disturb her. He patiently waited for her to sort her thoughts.

Being on good terms with her was ideal. He would rather not make more enemies than necessary... atleast he didn't want to make enemies out of strong people.

It would be too much trouble.

After a few minutes, he approached her.

"Have you calmed down?"

"Yes." Lilian Mo said as she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was filled with more clarity and she looked as if nothing had happened. She tilted her chin upwards to meet his eyes.

"Although I have no idea what you did inside the space, I won't hound you over it as long as it doesn't cost any problems." Lilian Mo made this matter clear to him, first and foremost.

"Lu Jingren... I apologize for my behavior but understand that while you claim that you are a different person from what I know of, I can't trust your words so easily. Lu Jingren, I do not trust you in the first place, because I only believe in myself. However... I will try my best to get along with you as a 'teammate,' given that we can coexist without causing any harm towards one another."

To coexist without causing any harm towards one another.

Lu Jingren thought it was reasonable. He wasn't the type to mindlessly kill but when one has ill intentions against him, he doesn't give second chances and quickly goes in for the kill.

He doesn't want any liabilities.

But then again, he would sometimes break this rule and make exemptions for certain situations.

"...I have no problem with this arrangement, Lilian." He responded. "But, I also want to clarify one thing." Lu Jingren added.

"In the event, that one of us decides to attempt to harm or eliminate the other person, well then...I won't be polite since it wouldn't be my first kill."

How often do you encounter a person admitting so calmly that he has killed someone before? And probably many times over?

Lilian Mo was actually relieved that she heard this. She didn't need any pretense and preferred that they were honest with each other.

She was no different than him since she has also killed people before.

"Yes." She doesn't mind agreeing to this. Because if he does attempt to harm or kill her, she also wouldn't be soft about it.

Lilian Mo was now very clear with her thoughts.

This was her second life. It was a life that strayed from the original timeline and perhaps it was a life that would be far more adventurous or tragic than the first life.

However, one thing was clear.

In this life, she was free.

Free to decide her path and to fight as one of the strong people instead of the weak who needs to be protected.

In this life, she no longer needed him.

"Then... we are teammates at the moment." Lilian Mo concluded. She wasn't as emotional as she expected it.

She panicked before since her fear got to her but now, she was calm and wouldn't mind even if the two of them fought together.

Has it always been easy?

No. Making this decision was hard but what was she supposed to be? Crying and whining over it won't change a thing. At the very least, she could make use of this situation.

Anyway, Lilian Mo wouldn't reject help from a strong individual. While she dislikes him, she couldn't say anything against his skills and capabilities.

Lu Jingren managed to establish his own base back then, the famed Z-base which shows how truly capable he was.

Lilian Mo told herself that this was perhaps the time to confront her fear and feelings. Only by overcoming these things would she grow even stronger.

Lu Jingren slowly nodded. He extended his right hand towards her.

"Yes. We are teammates. And now... I look forward to working with you, Lilian."

Lilian Mo didn't immediately grab his hand back.

"I don't want to lie so I will tell you that I don't like you but I also look forward to working with you... Lu Jingren..." Lilian Mo accepted his offer of a handshake. When their palms touched, she felt electricity pass through them.

The two calloused hands from two different people shook together and signaled the cooperation of these introverted individuals.

"One more thing." Lilian Mo suddenly heard.

"I told you to call me Jingren."

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