Vivian's lips curled into a slow, cool smile when Zhi Yan offered double the money. She shook her head once, deliberately, as if the notion itself was laughable.
"You want me to take money to walk away like I'm some gold digger? That's honestly insulting." Vivian continued, leaning forward slightly and fixing her eyes on Zhi Yan. "Also, a question: why would a high‑school friend, who hasn't been in touch for five years, according to what Lin Fang told me in the chopper about you, go to such lengths for a 'simple friend' like him? It sounds… off. You say I have ulterior motives, but from where I'm standing, you are the ones acting like you have an agenda."
Xuenyi's hand tightened on the dagger for a heartbeat; the blade's point pressed her throat a bit more, almost bleeding her. "You're forgetting your place, Ms. Moreau. Do not take this as an empty threat. I will not hesitate to end even the innocent to protect Lin Fang."
