Regardless of what Li Qianlin were to become, however, Zhang Lie's feelings for her wouldn't change. He truly did love her.
"Qianqian—and you bastard! I've finally found you both!" As the two of them were teasing each other about whose depiction was uglier, a female voice came from behind.
Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin turned to the voice in shock.
"You?" Zhang Lie glanced at the speaker skeptically.
"Ah, Xingxing!" Upon seeing the speaker, Li Qianlin rushed forward and hugged her friend tightly.
Dong Mingxing was wearing sunglasses large enough to cover up half her face, a scarf around her neck, and a wide-brimmed hat, but even so, Li Qianlin recognized her immediately. She asked joyfully, "How did you find us?"
Dong Mingxing rolled her eyes. "I heard the king of the east state that some brash fool wanted to attack the world of the west, in which case there's no way to avoid passing by this wormhole. I waited here—and lo and behold, here you are."
Zhang Lie glanced all around him.
Dong Mingxing sighed. "Don't worry, I came alone. Anyway, how would someone like you, who dared to spirit away the princess of the east and bride to the west during her very wedding, even fear any pursuers?"
Zhang Lie shook his head. "I don't fear them. I just wanted to see how many of them there were. We're leaving for the west soon, so I have to deal with them quickly."
Dong Mingxing couldn't help but be inwardly relieved that she had truly come alone. From the expression this person was making, he didn't seem to be joking.
His face was cool and unperturbed, his tone calm, as though he were simply asking what they would have for dinner that night.
Dong Mingxing was truly scared now: from her encounters and experiences with him, she knew that he had to be an experienced killer.
Li Qianlin asked, "Xingxing, what are you doing here? Could you be worried about me?"
Dong Mingxing reached out for Li Qianlin's shoulders and slowly pushed her an arm's width away. "I came to ask you just what's going on."
"What do you mean?"
Dong Mingxing frowned at her. "You told me you were going to get married, and then you made such a big fuss during the wedding! You ran away and eloped with this man—just what's going on, Qianqian? Why didn't you tell me that you were going to do any of this? I thought we were the closest of friends!"
Li Qianlin's eyes widened. "Ah, you wanted to conspire with me? Me too—we truly think alike!"
"Is that all you're going to say to me?!" Dong Mingxing rapped Li Qianlin hard on her head.
She put her hands on her hips. "Don't you have anything more important?"
Li Qianlin lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Xingxing."
Dong Mingxing sighed again. "What will I do with you? Well, we can worry about that later. Who's this wastrel of a man?"
Li Qianlin shook her head. "I didn't know him before the wedding."
Dong Mingxing tugged on Li Qianlin's earlobe as she exclaimed, "You don't know him?! If you didn't know him, why would he snatch you away from the wedding—and such an important one, at that? If you didn't know him, why would he declare war on two worlds just for you?"
Li Qianlin groused, "Actually, I'd like to understand why, myself. He told me he fell in love with me at first sight."
Ren Kunjing widened his eyes. "Love at first sight?"
The Jinghun, all of whom were controlled by Zhang Lie, would do as he instructed without any reservations whatsoever. However, they still retained their original intelligence. Upon hearing of this "love at first sight", Ren Kunjing and the other Jinghun glanced askance at Zhang Lie.
They had been with Zhang Lie all this time, and they knew very well that Zhang Lie had never had a chance to meet with Li Qianlin. To their knowledge, the wedding was the first time the two of them had met.
Zhang Lie introduced himself, "Hello, you're Dong Mingxing, aren't you? I'm Zhang Lie, an alien from the Milky Way. As you heard, I was enraptured by Qianqian's beauty at first glance."
Dong Mingxing rubbed her palms. "Are those your dying words, then?"
Those sounded exactly like the words of a Casanova...
Li Qianlin sighed. "Xingxing, you're as brutish as ever!" contemporary romance
She had always been this way—only when there were problems her fists couldn't solve did she turn to her mind.
Dong Mingxing rolled her eyes. "Who do you think I'm trying to protect, here?!"
"But, Xingxing, can you really beat him?"
Dong Mingxing frowned. Indeed, this fellow was able to defeat even the king of the east, who had managed to escape from the wedding with Li Qianlin in tow...
In order for them to chat more comfortably, Zhang Lie brought them all to a coffeeshop.
Dong Mingxing took a sip of coffee and questioned, "This is how you tricked my darling Qianqian to be with you?"
Dong Mingxing looked at Li Qianlin as though she were an idiot.
Li Qianlin grumbled, "I'm not with him!"
Dong Mingxing reiterated, "This is how you tricked my darling Qianqian to be with you?"
"I told you, I'm not with him!"
Dong Mingxing turned to her with a scowl. "Not yet—but I can see you will be!"
.
"That's because we can't separate from each other..."
Dong Mingxing was speechless. "Oh? I don't see any restraints on you two!"
"If I were to return to my father, I'd be forced to marry a bastard. Xingxing, listen to me, do you know what Duan Gen did to Tao?"
Li Qianlin told her all that she had found out about him.
Dong Mingxing sat upright, her beauty an icy mask. "I knew that that bastard was trashy, but not to this extent... I did tell you to reconsider marrying him, didn't I?"
Li Qianqian spread her hands. "I'm the princess of the east, and my life has never been mine to control. I live with countless privileges and resources, and my duty to the world is likewise commensurate. I could hardly abuse my station and neglect my responsibilities..."
Dong Mingxing frowned. "So, how did this responsible princess end up eloping with a stranger?"
"I was kidnapped!"
"In that case, Mr. Kidnapper, what's so good about this willful princess? Why not kidnap me? I'm larger than this princess over here, you see."
Dong Mingxing cupped her breasts to demonstrate their superior size.
Zhang Lie sipped his coffee and smirked. "Don't make jokes like these if you can't afford the consequences."
Dong Mingxing changed the topic. "Do you really intend to invade the western world with just these forces?"
Zhang Lie replied coolly, "Manpower is no concern. I have plenty of means of acquiring more. Please don't worry, Miss Dong. Qianqian's my woman, and I wouldn't endanger her in any way. Any enemy would have to climb over my corpse first."
Dong Mingxing stared at Zhang Lie appraisingly. "You really are serious, aren't you? But I do have to warn you—the king of the west won't be a trivial foe."
Zhang Lie smiled. "No king of the realm would be. But I've made my preparations, and I'm not worried."
done.co