Chapter 822
When Ning Ran entered the billiard lounge, she discovered Ruan Anxi sleeping on the pool table.
“Get the hell out!” The man heard amotion and thought it was someone else, so he waved his
hand and shooed the person away.
“It''s me,” Ning Ran replied.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ruan Anxi immediately jumped up. “You''re here, Ran.”
The man looked paler than before, with very dry, almost peeling lips. Due to ack of cleaning, his long
hair appeared greasy, unlike his usual immacte appearance.
Seeing Ning Ran looking at him, Ruan Anxi blushed and murmured, “We can''t take a bath here, and
the guy doesn''t let me drink water. I can''t be bothered to plead with him.”
“You can''t drink water?” the woman asked incredulously.
Pointing to the bottles of liquid on the shelf, Ruan Anxi confessed sheepishly, “They''re watching my
every move to make sure that I don''t take a sip of water. It''s impossible to win a fight against them
because I don''t have any weapons, not to mention the fact that I''m outnumbered.”
This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
Qiao Zhan had arranged for five to six men to watch over Ruan Anxi. They were all big and burly, albeit
not as strong as their boss.
Given Ruan Anxi''s small build, he would have a hard time dealing with even one of these men, let
alone five or six.
“Get me a bottle of water,” Ning Ran ordered one of Qiao Zhan''s subordinates.
When the men refused to budge an inch and lowered his head, Ning Ran knew that Qiao Zhan had
sent his most trusted men for the job.
Qiao Zhan must havemanded them not to give Ruan Anxi any water, no matter who spoke. No
wonder these people refuse to listen to my instruction.
The matter came as no surprise to Ning Ran, as it was understandable for Qiao Zhan to have loyal
aides who only followed his orders. It would be challenging to aplish anything if his men''s
allegiance could be swayed so easily.
Ning Ran walked up to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of mineral water, which she handed to
Ruan Anxi.
Although Qiao Zhan''s subordinates refused to pass the bottle to Ruan Anxi, they did not prevent Ning
Ran from doing so.
“I''m dying of thirst!” Ruan Anxi eximed as he drained the bottle in a single gulp.
“Actually, Qiao Zhan isn''t that bad. If you''re willing to speak politely to him, he may agree to let you
drink water,” Ning Ran suggested.
Ruan Anxi waved his hand and shot the woman a disgusted look. “I''m not going to beg him. Who does
he think he is? I''ll just have to endure the thirst since he forbids me from drinking. He doesn''t dare to
murder me anyway.” After saying that, he chuckled.
The man''s indifferent attitude left Ning Ran feeling exasperated. She could not understand how he
could keep his cool despite being under Qiao Zhan''s control.
“As a doctor, you should know that although humans can live for extended periods of time without
eating, they cannot survive without water,” Ning Ran reminded.
“I know, but that doesn''t mean I''m willing to beg him. Ran, are you here to visit me?” Ruan Anxi asked,
a rumbling sounding from his stomach.
Seems like he''s not only thirsty but also hungry.
In an attempt to alleviate Ruan Anxi''s hunger, Ning Ran searched for some snacks and offered to share
them.
To her surprise, the man rejected her kind offer. “I don''t eat junk food. It''s not good for the body.”
Ning Ran was impressed by Ruan Anxi''s strong will. Despite being so hungry, he still refused to eat
junk food. If she were in his position, she would have dly epted any food that could satisfy her
hunger.
“What would you like to eat, then? I''ll send someone to buy it,” the woman offered.
“I would like a medium-rare steak and an 87 Chateau Lafite,” Ruan Anxi replied.
Does he think he''s on vacation? How dare he order such avish meal!
As she shrugged helplessly at his unreasonable demands, Ning Ran gently reminded Ruan Anxi of his
situation. “You can eat those foods after you leave here. They aren''t avable now.”
“All right, let''s head for a meal,” the man said delightfully. His answer caught Ning Ran off-guard.
Has this guy forgotten about his current situation?
“You can get out of here once the matter is settled. I hope you can release the Ning couple,” Ning Ran
said, stating her intentions clearly.
“He mentioned this to me earlier. He thought that by imprisoning me, he could scare me into doing
things his way. Unfortunately, that''s never an option. I never give in to threats, and moreover, he will
never hurt me. Nan Chen and Nanshi Corporation will be in huge danger if something awful happens to
me. It''ll also cause a bloodbath in Flower City.” Ruan Anxi sounded not just uninterested in the topic,
but also arrogant. No wonder Qiao Zhan despised the man, as even Ning Ran was growing tired of
him.
Ning Ran took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. After all, the purpose of the visit was to find
a solution, not to argue with Ruan Anxi.
After taking a seat in front of him, she stared him in the eyes and said sternly, “You said you would only
speak to me. Now that I''m here, you refuse to have a proper conversation. What''s the point of
continuing this discussion?”
Just then, Ruan Anxi''s stomach grumbled again, reminding him of hisck of food and water.
Serve him right for being so arrogant even though he''s in hunger.
The man responded, “I can''t be bothered to talk to the rest, not even when they threaten to hurt me. I''m
only willing to speak to you because I think we are the same kind of people.”
His words left Ning Ran feeling puzzled. What do you mean we are of the same kind? I''m obviously
different from you. You are a ruthless scumbag who''s willing to do anything to achieve your goals, while
I''m a sweet, innocent being. We areplete opposites!
Ning Ran coughed awkwardly before rifying, “I believe there''s a misunderstanding. Our professions,
thoughts, behaviors, and methods of handling things differ, indicating that we aren''t the same kind of
people.”
“There''s no need to be so cryptic with your words. In a nutshell, you''re saying that I''m a bad person,
and you are a good person.” Ruan Anxi chuckled lightly.
Seeing there was no need to stay cordial, Ning Ran nodded and said, “Yeah, that''s what I meant.”
“All right, I ept that I''m not exactly a good man. What I meant was that we are both stubborn. We''ll
never give in to coercion even if it means sacrificing our lives,” Ruan Anxi exined.
Disagreeing with his interpretation, Ning Ran waved her hand and protested, “No, no, no, you''ve got it
wrong. I''m scared of death!”
“Yet you were fearless when I held you captive. Most other women would have been so terrified,” Ruan
Anxi rebutted.
In truth, Ning Ran had been petrified but pretended not to be. Her worry had been slightly alleviated by
the knowledge that Ruan Anxi would not murder her.
As it would be challenging for Ning Ran to exin herself, she made the decision to change the
subject. “Let''s get down to business. What would it take for you to release Ning Ziqiang and his wife?”
Before Ruan Anxi could answer, Qiao Zhan walked in.
“Get out. I''m having a great conversation with Ran. Why are you interrupting?” Ruan Anxi waved his
hands dismissively.
Before an infuriated Qiao Zhan could punish Ruan Anxi for his haughty attitude, Ning Ran rushed over
to pull him aside.
She figured that there must be a reason for Qiao Zhan''s sudden appearance. Earlier, they had agreed
that the man would remain outside while she spoke with Ruan Anxi.
“I need to talk to you in private.” Ning Ran took the initiative to speak to Qiao Zhan. “What''s the
matter?” she whispered after the pair went to a corner.
“Someone from the embassy of M Nation filed a police report in Flower City about a missing special
liaison officer. Guess who was in the photo provided to the police? It''s the b*stard, Ruan Anxi. Sir Chen
has instructed us not to blow up the matter. We need to find a way to get that man to release Ning
Ziqiang so that we can free him as soon as possible,” Qiao Zhan exined in a hushed voice.