My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

He kept the girl in his arms, whispering in a voice only both of them could hear. But also because of it that their distance was gradually shortening. Lei Liqiu could vividly feel the strength of his arm around her waist, the hard muscle she sat on, the wide expanse of his sturdy chest…

She still felt instinctual fear toward him, because her life and future was practically in his hands. On the other hand, she couldn't resist the growing dependency. In this hellish place, he was the one who could offer her salvation.

Lei Liqiu had been here for almost three months and she was lucky that Xu Binchen was her only 'guest'. She had seen others who were chosen by beer-bellied middle aged uncles who had perverted hobbies and ended up being scarred, or those who didn't even take them as human and were played before being discarded like trash.

With Xu Binchen here, no one dared to mess with her and the treatment Lei Liqiu received was the best among others.

  "Where is it?" he asked, his tone dark.

"B—Behind…on my back.. My arms can't reach there…" Lei Liqiu squirmed, trying to point out the location for him.

The man warned in a low voice, "Don't move."

Lei Liqiu froze in instinct as she felt the man's palm crept behind her back, touching here and brushing there. "Ah!" She gasped softly and bit her lips, trembling eyes staring at him fearfully. "S—Sorry, I am quite ticklish there…"

She was prepared to receive his scorn and disgust, yet to her surprise, he said lightly. "Continue."

"C—Continue what?"

His lips curled up into a cold smile. "Continue moaning. The louder the better. Hurry, start!"

Lei Liqiu was flabbergasted. M—Moaning?! It—It wasn't that she didn't know what it meant, afterall the bar was a promiscuous and wild place under the legal façade. But…but how could she do that?!

Xu Binchen clicked his tongue and pinched her waist, exactly on the area where she said was her sensitive spot. Lei Liqiu's eyes widened as shivers shot up to her head, causing her scalp to tingle. She collapsed in his arms, sobbing. "No…stop it! Um—ah…Mr.Xu…I can't…"

In a sense, Xu Binchen had succeeded. The person on the other side only heard low murmurs, the sound of clothes rustling followed by breathy gasps and moans before turning off the device with a red face.

He supported her soft body and scanned the back of her dress. It wasn't a commonly seen dress which was created out of middle tier quality fabric, but one which was quite expensive, made of silk with long ribbon tied in a criss cross pattern. Xu Binchen was caught in a predicament of how to loosen the dress which clung to her body.

Headache hammered his head and he commanded. "Take off your dress."

"Ah…what?!" Lei Liqiu was shivering due to the ticklish sensation. Her watery eyes couldn't help but widen in the face of his four curt words.

Xu Binchen frowned. "Or should I just rip it off?"

"No, don't!" She grabbed his wrists, panting heavily. "I will…but, I don't have anything to wear…"

Xu Binchen shot her a disdainful look. He closed the distance between them and whispered into her ears. "Focus, little girl. I don't need you to take it all off."

Heat exploded in Lei Liqiu's head. She was so mortified that she wished she could faint right away. "I—I know!" She couldn't admit that for a split second, she thought that…thought that…

Aaaah! No, she didn't want to think anymore!

With trembling fingers, she pulled on the ribbon on her waist and slowly traced the lace upward. The dress loosened and the sight of the girl's back was laid out in front of his eyes. The dim yellow lightning illuminated the layer of perspiration on her skin, making it glisten and shine like a piece of milky white jade.

"Okay, enough." He tugged on the dress and saw a small, red blinking light on the middle of her back, hidden beneath the layer of the dress. Coldness seeped through his eyes as he crushed the listening bug on his palm into pieces.

"Is…Is it done already?" she asked in a whisper.

It was only now that he realized how provocative their position was. Xu Binchen stood up without warning, but Lei Liqiu wasn't prepared at all. Her body stumbled forward and she gasped, her eyes shut firmly in preparation for the fall...

A strong force wrapped around her waist and when she came to her senses, she was already lying on the sofa with Xu Binchen towering above her. 

For a moment, Lei Liqiu forgot how to breathe. She didn't realize either that her dress was loosening more because of the previous action. The neckline slipped and a hint of soft cleavage could be seen. The girl's eyes were watery and innocent, cheeks tinged in deep pink with luscious lips parted slightly...just like an obedient deer that was ready to be ravaged.

Lei Liqiu blinked a few times before her sight was overwhelmed by darkness. At the same time, the man's familiar cold scent drifted to her nose.

"Cover yourself properly." He said and without waiting for her reaction, continued, "I will give you five minutes to calm yourself down. We will talk after that."

Lei Liqiu pulled his jacket from her head as she stared at his back, dumbfounded. What did he mean by that? What did she need to calm down for?! 

She buried her face into the jacket in silent scream and fastened the ribbon on her waist before tying it tightly. The whole sequence didn't even take twenty seconds. "I am ready."

Xu Binchen gave her a cursory glance, a cigarette hung on his lips.

Lei Liqiu's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't deny that the man in front of her, albeit rude, insensitive and ruthless, was the most charming and handsome man she had ever seen. If this was a normal situation, Lei Liqiu wasn't sure whether she could hold herself back from wanting to get closer to him.

She mentally slapped herself. Her expression turned serious. "The bar currently has 78 people like me."

Xu Binchen had expected the number and gestured for her to continue. 

"Moreover, I heard some gossip that a few people have died because of...because of serving guests, but others said that they disappeared or ran away from the bar. I personally believed the former." She stole a glance and gulped nervously. "I have gathered the file in a USD disk. It's in my room. Don't worry! I have hid it in an absolutely safe place! Only I and God know the location!"

Xu Binchen hummed softly. "Good job."

For the first time ever, she received an appreciative statement from him! Intense joy blossomed in her heart, she was happier than when she became the first student to receive the scholarship that was fought by the whole school.

Even she didn't realize how attentive she was toward his reaction. "That's why, Mr. Xu, you should make some excuses to follow me to my room." She said eagerly. "I will give it to you right away!"

"Not now."

"Ah?" She blinked. "Why?"

Xu Binchen gave a mocking smile. "Can't you tell that your manager hasn't trusted me fully yet? He even placed a listening bug on you despite my warning. Keep the USD properly, but remember that your life is more important. In case Si Yusheng starts to doubt you, immediately abandon it, you hear me?"

Lei Liqiu nodded. She clenched the hem of her dress and asked gingerly. "Then Mr. Xu, how long do you need? After you're done, can you…can you set me free?" The rims of her eyes reddened as she said. "My mother must have been so worried…"

He hummed. "Right, you're included in the list of missing people."

"Mother…" Lei Liqiu bit her lips, eyes welling up in tears.

Lei Liqiu only had her mother. Her father had died due to a car accident four years ago. But their economic situation was still quite good because Father Lei was a businessman who had amassed a small amount of wealth. 

Lei Liqiu took scholarships and part time jobs purely because she strived to be independent earlier so as to not make her mother worried about her. Who knew that she would be stranded in this damned place!

"Don't worry." He breathed out billows of white smoke, blurring his features and causing his cold look to soften somehow. "You will definitely return safe and sound. I will guarantee it."

"Thank you…" Lei Liqiu sobbed softly. "Thank you very much, Mr. Xu…"

Deep into the night, when Lei Liqiu almost dozed off, Xu Binchen's phone suddenly rang loudly like an alarm. She was startled awake and her drowsiness dissipated in an instant when she saw his expression. She had never seen such a terrifying look on his face before.

"No, you're not disturbing me."

"What time did that happen?"

"Okay…I know. Wait for me, I will return soon."

"Mr. Jiang is there with you? Alright…"

Lei Liqiu wondered who was on the other side of the phone that caused him to talk with such a careful and gentle tone. She probed carefully as she saw him getting up to leave. "A—Are you leaving now?"

"Yes. There's a sudden emergency." He didn't even remember the jacket which he had thrown onto her head. "Go back to your room. I will inform Si Yusheng."

Lei Liqiu nodded and before she could remind him to drive carefully, he had opened the door and left with wind on his steps.

She couldn't quite describe how she felt right now. 

What she knew was, the earlier joy and giddiness she felt had reduced by half.

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A/N: poor Lei Liqiu ah, she's gonna suffer in the future if she wants to chase Xu Binchen QAQ