klisemfg Chapter 275 Ask Me
Chapter 275 Ask Me
Just as Xiao Chu was about to step into the elevator, a silver-gray shadow darted out from the shadows beside him.
It moved so fast that it left only a blur.
Before Xiao Chu could even react, he felt a chill on his neck as a tremendous force gripped his throat, slamming him against the cold wall.
"Uh!"
His back slammed against the wall with a dull thud.
Xiao Chu groaned in pain, almost dropping what she was holding.
He instinctively tried to scream, but the hand gripping his neck was like an iron clamp, making it impossible for him to make a sound or even breathe.
The moonlight slanted in through the window, illuminating half of the attacker's face.
With short, silver-white hair, deep-set features, and strikingly bright gray-blue eyes that shone in the darkness, she was staring at him coldly and unblinkingly, her eyes brimming with suppressed rage and anxiety.
It was a face I recognized when I was young.
"You are...Ao Shuang, right?" Xiao Chu forced out the two words through gritted teeth, his face already flushed from lack of oxygen. He struggled to raise his hand, trying to pry open the hand gripping his neck. "You...you let go first...let's talk this out..."
Aoshuang tightened her grip even more, her sharp claws almost digging into the flesh on Xiaochu's neck.
"Don't move." His voice was low and dangerously hoarse. "And don't shout. I'll ask, you answer. Understand?"
Xiao Chu was startled by the murderous intent in his eyes.
He had no doubt that if he dared to make any unusual movements, this hand would indeed crush his throat without hesitation.
He forced himself to calm down and stopped struggling, only signaling to himself with his eyes that he understood.
Ao Shuang then loosened her grip slightly, allowing Xiao Chu to catch his breath, but her hand remained on his neck and did not completely move away.
"Cough cough..." Xiao Chu coughed twice to catch her breath before looking at Ao Shuang with surprise and confusion in her eyes. "I recognize you. Aren't you Xiao Xiao's partner? What are you doing?"
Upon hearing the name "Xiaoxiao," Aoshuang's pupils contracted slightly, and her fingers unconsciously tightened.
"You dare call me 'Xiaoxiao'?" His voice was even colder.
Xiao Chu was short of breath again from being choked, feeling both angry and anxious, but the situation was beyond his control, so he could only try to soften his tone: "We're good friends, you... don't overthink it... Besides, you and I aren't enemies, there's no need to treat me like this..."
As he spoke, he tried again, using some force to push Aoshuang's wrist, but he failed again.
“I won’t hurt you,” Ao Shuang said, staring into his eyes, “provided that you tell the truth.”
Xiao Chu looked into his eyes, and there was no hint of a joke in them.
He knew that Aoshuang was serious.
If I can't give him a satisfactory answer tonight, I'm afraid I'll have a hard time getting out of this mess.
He quickly calculated in his mind.
He took a deep breath, trying to appear calm, sighed, slumped his shoulders, and made a conciliatory gesture: "Okay, go ahead and ask."
Ao Shuang stared at him without asking a question immediately. Her sharp gaze seemed to pierce through his skin and see right into his heart.
After a long pause, Ao Shuang finally spoke, her voice low and strained, as if squeezed out from between her teeth:
"Where is Fugui'er?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he raised his eyes, looked directly at Ao Shuang, and his expression became serious: "What do you want with him?"
This question seemed to have touched a nerve with Aoshuang.
The suppressed storm in his eyes suddenly surged, and he tightened his grip on Xiao Chu's neck, almost lifting her off the ground.
"I'm asking you where he is!" Ao Shuang roared, her voice filled with barely suppressed rage and pain. "Answer me!"
Xiao Chu's vision blurred from being choked, but he gritted his teeth and forced out a few words: "You...you tell me first...why did you look for him..."
Ao Shuang stared intently at him, her chest heaving violently, as if she was trying her best to restrain herself.
Under the moonlight, the lines on his face were taut, and his gray-blue eyes churned with too many complex emotions—anger, anxiety, pain, and a hint of… almost imperceptible vulnerability.
He finally managed to utter the name, slowly and deliberately, through his clenched teeth:
“Qinghan,” his voice was hoarse, “is my mother.”
The moment the words left her lips, Xiao Chu's expression changed.
It was a complex expression, a mixture of surprise, understanding, sympathy, and reluctance.
really.
Xiao Chu sighed, her last glimmer of hope shattered.
"It seems..." Xiao Chu's voice lowered, tinged with a helpless sigh, "You know everything."
"What do I know?" Ao Shuang's voice suddenly rose, then she forcefully suppressed it, turning it into an almost hoarse whisper. "I know my mother might still be alive! I know she might be imprisoned! I know you all know, but you've all kept it from me!"
His eyes were slightly red, not from crying, but from the burning bloodshot eyes caused by extreme anger and pain.
"Didn't you know you were just going to keep this from me forever?!" he demanded, each word dripping with icy coldness. "Watching me search everywhere like an idiot! Watching me..."
He choked up and couldn't finish his sentence.
But Xiao Chu understood.
He looked at Aoshuang, at the Ice King who was usually proud, powerful, and even somewhat cynical, but now looked like a wounded beast, exuding an aura of despair and violence.
The slight displeasure he felt from the attack suddenly vanished.
“No.” Xiao Chu softened her voice, trying to make her words sound more convincing. “We didn’t intend to keep it from you forever. I… I was originally planning to go find you.”
"you are lying."
Ao Shuang interrupted him without hesitation, her eyes icy cold, "If you really wanted to tell me, you would have said it long ago. Why wait until now? By then, my mother might already be..."
He choked up again and couldn't continue.
“At first I wanted to keep it from you,” Xiao Chu hurriedly explained, her words quickening, “partly because I really hadn’t figured out how to tell you. After all, this matter involves so many things. On the other hand, it was also because…”
He paused, looked into Ao Shuang's eyes, and spoke frankly, "It's also because we haven't found Qing Han's exact whereabouts yet. Fu Gui'er only said that she was imprisoned, but he hasn't been entirely clear on where exactly. Before we have definite news, even if we told you, what good would it do except make you anxious?"
This reason caused Ao Shuang's tense muscles to relax slightly.
But the doubt in his eyes hadn't completely disappeared: "So you know now?"