76: Forced Love Boss 1

Su Wanqing suddenly sat up, and what greeted her eyes was a luxurious villa room.

This is.

Li Jin's cage.

But why… why was she back here again?

Back to where the nightmare began, this magnificent hellish cage built with gold and power?

Su Wanqing tremblingly raised her hand and pinched her arm hard.

A clear sensation of pain came, accompanied by a deafening thunder outside the window, completely shattering her last shred of hope.

Rebirth!

She had actually been reborn! Back to the early days of her imprisonment by Li Jin, a time when she hadn't completely despaired, and Li Jin's obsession hadn't reached its peak.

In her previous life, just because she applied for a job as a nanny at his house and brought him a glass of water, that man directly imprisoned her!

Although Su Wanqing was initially willing for the money and because he was handsome, she later grew tired of it. Moreover, that madman Li Jin wouldn't even let her say a word to other men, constantly suspicious. Besides giving her endless money, he was utterly useless!

She later realized completely that he was a paranoid lunatic, a madman who didn't deserve her love at all.

She wanted to pursue her own happiness and freedom, and absolutely did not want to be with a man like that sexually cold madman.

Of course, before leaving, she still had to steal more gold, silver, and jewels.

*

At this moment, Li Jin's study was like an extension of his own temperament.

Heavy, dark velvet curtains blocked the last ray of natural light from outside, leaving only an antique brass lamp casting a dim, yellow glow on the huge mahogany desk.

The air was filled with the lingering scent of cigars, the ink aroma of aged books, and an invisible, suffocating pressure.

Somber oak tones enveloped the entire space, and the shadows in the corners seemed bottomless.

"Mr. Li, the person who applied for the nanny position has arrived."

The butler's voice came from outside the door.

After waiting for two seconds, the sound of the door opening rang out.

When Wen Ci pushed open the door, her footsteps were almost inaudible.

She was wearing a simple, clean black and white maid uniform, her graceful figure subtly outlined.

Inside the room, a tall figure stood against the light, like the silhouette of a giant beast lurking in the shadows.

The dim light from outside outlined his broad shoulders and hard lines, and an intense sense of oppression rushed forward, almost materializing to choke one's throat.

He heard the movement and slowly turned around.

The light sparingly outlined his profile, a sharp jawline, tightly pursed thin lips, and a straight nose bridge.

Then, his gaze, like two tangible searchlights, penetrated the dimness of the study and landed precisely on Wen Ci's face.

Time, as if, solidified and stretched at this moment.

Wen Ci clearly felt that gaze, cold, sharp, with an all-scrutinizing penetrative power, like a cold blade scraping across her skin.

However, just as that scrutinizing gaze met her gentle eyes—

Li Jin's heart felt as if it had been fiercely clutched by an invisible large hand, then violently dragged into an abyss!

Blood roared through his veins, rushing to his head instantly, then freezing into ice the next second.

Those eyes…

Clear like an unpolluted mountain stream, reflecting the faint light of the dim desk lamp, calm, warm, yet with an indescribable penetrative power, as if they could see into the most sullied corners of his soul.

That pure but exquisitely beautiful face, without any makeup, her skin so fair it was almost transparent, seemed to glow softly in the dimness.

Her calm and gentle demeanor, like a snow lotus quietly blooming in a secluded valley, uncompetitive and unassuming, instantly tore open the thick haze that had lingered in his world for many years.

A never-before-felt, sharp, almost painful possessiveness, erupted from the depths of his soul like a volcanic eruption, instantly engulfing all his senses and reason!

It was a primitive and barbaric impulse, with destructive power, screaming madly in his mind, deafening:

"She is mine! She must be mine! She can only be mine!"

This thought was so strong, so unquestionable, it almost burst from his throat in a roar.

He could almost taste the rusty, 'exclusive' flavor in his blood.

However, immediately following this overwhelming possessiveness was a deeper, almost drowning fear.

She was too clean… clean like the first handful of snow that falls in early winter, unstained.

And what was he? A demon crawled out of hell, his hands stained with filth and blood, his soul long twisted and deformed by childhood betrayal and years of brutality.

His reputation was terrifying, his methods ruthless; he was the "mad tyrant" everyone avoided.

"She will be afraid of me… She will hate me and fear me like everyone else… And then… like Su Wanqing, she will desperately try to escape…"

This thought gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, bringing a sharp panic.

The immense fear instantly overwhelmed the surging possessiveness, making him forcefully swallow the commands and brutal aura that were almost on the tip of his tongue.

He couldn't! He couldn't scare her away! Absolutely not!

Li Jin's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his facial muscles appearing unusually stiff and taut from extreme restraint.

He forcibly suppressed all the emotions churning in his eyes—that mad possessiveness, that overwhelming panic, that surging self-loathing—leaving only a bottomless, feigned calm deep pool.

His hands, clasped behind his back, were already clenched into fists in the shadow of the large desk, fingernails digging deep into his palms, bringing a sharp stinging pain that barely maintained his outward composure.

The study was dead silent, with only the faint sound of rain from outside and the silent undercurrent flowing between the two of them.

Li Jin's gaze, like an invisible shackle, locked tightly onto Wen Ci, with scrutiny and an almost greedy capture.

His voice finally sounded, deep, cold, his deliberately flattened tone sounding even more rigid due to internal tension and suppression, like metal scraping:

"Rules…" He paused, seemingly weighing the importance of each word, "There is only one."

Wen Ci calmly raised her eyes, those clear eyes meeting his deep, inscrutable, seemingly all-consuming gaze without fear.

Li Jin's tongue tasted a bitter nervousness; he forced himself to utter the second half of the sentence, the "gentle" command he had feigned with all his self-control:

"Stay here. Do your job well."

This was the "softest" expression of confinement he could think of, every word wrapped in humble expectation and hidden fear.

Wen Ci smiled slightly, her smile exceptionally dazzling and bright,

"Okay, Mr. Li."

These three words, like feathers gently falling, strangely made Li Jin's heart, which was almost leaping out of his chest, suddenly sink back into place.

A faint, warm current named "reassurance" briefly glided across the cold sea of fear.

She agreed? She wasn't afraid?

But immediately, deeper suspicion grew wildly like vines, entwining that just-risen warmth:

"Is she really not afraid? Or… is it a pretense?"

"Is her calmness… compliance, or silent resistance?"

Li Jin's eyes deepened a few shades, like the most oppressive sea before a storm.

He said nothing more, only using his bottomless eyes to fiercely, greedily, and with endless suspicion, imprint Wen Ci's figure in his mind.

Seeing this, the butler thought the CEO was displeased, so he stepped forward and whispered, "Wen Miss, you may go now."

Wen Ci nodded slightly, her posture respectful but not subservient, then turned and steadily exited the suffocating study.

The door silently closed behind her, cutting off the gaze that had almost burned through her.

The moment the door closed, Li Jin's taut body swayed almost imperceptibly.

He spun around abruptly, turning his back to the door, his chest heaving violently.

All the emotions that had been forcibly suppressed—the tumultuous possessiveness, the bone-deep fear, the torment of anxiety over gain and loss—now surged and twisted unrestrainedly on his face.

He needed to confirm! He needed to control!

He practically lunged at the intercom on the desk, grabbing the receiver, his voice trembling slightly from suppressed excitement and lingering panic, carrying an unquestionable ruthlessness:

"Ah Xiao! Immediately! Keep a close eye on her! All-encompassing! 24 hours! I want to know her every move, even the frequency of her breathing! Remember—"

He took a deep breath, enunciating each word heavily, with an almost neurotic emphasis:

"Do not disturb her! Do not frighten her! Anyone who dares to make her frown—will bear the consequences!"

Hanging up the phone, Li Jin slumped into the large leather chair.

The study fell silent again, with only his heavy breathing.

Outside the window, the rain continued to patter.

He closed his eyes, but in his mind, he clearly saw those clear, calm eyes, that pure and beautiful face, that bright smile… every detail infinitely magnified, repeatedly chewed over.

She stayed.

But would she really stay?

What was she thinking at this moment?

Would she… just be waiting for an opportunity?

The poisonous worm of anxiety over gain and loss began to gnaw at his nerves.

That night, Li Jin was destined to be sleepless in the shadows of the study, tormented by suspicion and fear.

He was like a madman guarding a priceless treasure, both ecstatic to have the treasure in hand and constantly terrified that it might disappear at any moment.

An invisible cage, in his fleeting glance, had already quietly fallen.

It imprisoned not only the woman who had entered the study but also his own wildly beating, yet already mortally ill, heart.