Chapter 293

Chapter 293

On the other side, Lisbeth realized this person had strong counter-surveillance instincts. After a short while, he seemed to notice her and started deliberately leading her in circles.

Lisbeth knew she'd been spotted, but she couldn't give up now. They'd already reported the attack to the police yesterday.

But the attacker had been completely covered up. Even though the hospital's security cameras had caught him, all they captured was a blurry figure. His face was completely hidden.

The police investigation was moving painfully slowly.

Now that she'd finally spotted him, there was no way Lisbeth was letting this go.

She chased him to a corner and lost sight of him. She looked left and right, unaware that someone was creeping up behind her.

The person was holding a stick.

Suddenly, Lisbeth noticed a shadow cast on the ground in front of her—a silhouette of someone holding a stick overhead. Her mind went blank. She stood frozen.

She had no idea what to do.

Running was probably too late. If she turned around, wouldn't she just get hit in the face?

At that critical moment, a man's voice rang out sharply.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Leopold.

He'd gotten out of his car just in time to see the terrifying scene. Without a word, he strode toward them. The man behind her saw things going south, dropped the stick, and bolted.

Lisbeth clutched her pounding chest and turned around. The man climbed the wall like a monkey, scaling it in just a few moves. Leopold didn't immediately give chase. Instead, he looked at her.

"Are you okay?"

Lisbeth didn't have time to ask why he was there. "That guy attacked Megan last night. We can't let him get away!"

"I'll go after him. You call the police."

Leopold took off running, but after a couple steps, he realized something was wrong. There were footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Lisbeth following him, phone in hand.

Leopold stopped abruptly. "Why are you following me?"

"This is my business. I'm involved." Lisbeth's face was serious. She was running even faster than him.

Leopold grabbed her wrist and held her in place. "You're not going. I don't need you to. I promise I'll bring him back!"

God, when he'd gotten out of the car and seen that scene, his heart had nearly stopped.

He couldn't let Lisbeth get hurt.

Lisbeth had her own stubbornness. "That guy's a dangerous criminal. What if you go alone and get hurt? This is my business. Of course I'm involved."

"You—"

"Stop wasting time. He's going to get away." Lisbeth glared at him. "Either come with me or I'll go by myself. Your choice."

She jogged over to the wall and looked up at the six-foot barrier, trying to figure out how to get over it.

A moment later, there was a heavy thud behind her.

Lisbeth turned around.

Leopold had dragged over a trash bin. The material was sturdy—even someone over a hundred pounds could stand on it without breaking it.

Leopold positioned the bin and gave it a shake to make sure it was stable. Then he looked at Lisbeth and crouched down. "Step on my back."

Lisbeth hesitated for a second, then decisively stepped onto his back and climbed onto the bin. Standing on top, her view opened up.

She leaned over the wall and looked to the other side. To her surprise, the guy hadn't left. He must've thought they couldn't get over. He was leaning against the wall, messing with his phone.

When he heard the noise, he looked up. Surprise flashed in his eyes.

This time, the criminal wore a mask and a baseball cap, only his eyes visible. Narrow, triangular eyes. Long and slitted.

Just being looked at by those eyes sent chills down her spine.

But Lisbeth didn't have time to be scared. She shouted, "Don't you dare run!"

The man sneered and took off.

Lisbeth gritted her teeth and decisively climbed over the wall. Looking down at the other side, the six-foot drop made her legs weak.

Leopold said quickly, "Wait for me. I'll go down first, then I'll catch—"

Before he could finish, Lisbeth had already jumped.

Leopold's breath caught in his throat. He climbed onto the bin and quickly scaled the wall. He saw Lisbeth crouched on the ground, holding her ankle.

He hurried over. "Did you sprain it?"

Lisbeth shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just a little numb from the landing…"

It was a six-foot drop, after all. But fortunately, back when she was still an actress, she'd done a wilderness survival variety show. And she always liked to do her homework beforehand.

Climbing, jumping—she'd practiced all of it.

She was just too thin, and her upper body strength was lacking. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed help getting over the wall.

She took off in the direction the criminal had fled. Leopold quickly followed, terrified of losing her.

They chased him for a while, weaving through several alleys. The area became more and more remote, farther from the bustling city center, gradually approaching the suburbs.

Near the suburbs, there were no apartment buildings—just traditional courtyard homes and standalone villas.

Lisbeth was panting, hands on her knees. "Why would he run to a place like this?"

Leopold frowned. "Neighborhoods like this have private security for each house. If we ask for help and get more people involved, it'll be easier to catch him."

"So he should've run toward the busy streets."

The more crowded the place, the easier it is to hide.

A place like this was remote and quiet. If even one person ran by, they'd spot them immediately.

Lisbeth looked down at her phone.

For some reason, after she'd hung up on Sebastian earlier, he still hadn't shown up.

Even if he hadn't arrived yet, he should've at least called her back. Why was it so quiet?

"Over there!" Leopold pointed in a direction. A shadow had just flashed by.

Without a word, Lisbeth took off running.

---

The atmosphere in the living room was heavy.

After hearing Sebastian's words, Qiana felt deeply hurt. "I genuinely like you. Why would you think I'm being insincere? Just because we reunited so late? If I'd met you earlier, you definitely wouldn't like Lisbeth now."

"You're wrong."

At the mention of Lisbeth, the corners of Sebastian's mouth lifted—not in his usual polite mask, but in genuine warmth.

"If it weren't for her, you never would've met me at that radio station."

At first, Qiana didn't understand. But after thinking it over, an unbelievable possibility surfaced in her mind.

She didn't want to believe it.

"No. That's impossible. You never said you liked anyone back then…"

"The person you love is a treasure. You're afraid someone will find out. Why would I tell you?" Besides, they barely knew each other.

Sebastian couldn't understand why she liked him. He found it absurd.

"Let's not stay in touch anymore. As for this place, if you want to live here, go ahead. If you need anything, contact the landlord."

Whether it was that plan or anything else, he didn't want to give Lisbeth any more reason to misunderstand.

His steps as he left were hurried. Desperate.

Only now did Qiana realize the house wasn't Sebastian's. She'd thought he would arrange for her to stay in one of his properties.

She followed him to the door. "Sebastian."

Sebastian stopped, but didn't turn around.

Qiana spoke slowly, deliberately. "If you take back what you just said, I'll help you with whatever you want to do. I won't target Lisbeth. I'll try to become good friends with her… as long as you take back what you just said."

"No need."

Sebastian couldn't imagine how disgusted Lisbeth would be if she knew Qiana's feelings.

Without hesitation, he got in his car and left.

In the car, he eagerly dialed Lisbeth's number. He wanted to tell her that he understood why she'd been upset that day. He understood why her mood had been all over the place.

It was all because of jealousy.

He was happy—it meant she really liked him. But he also felt terrible, because he was the one who'd made her feel hurt.

He thought the first thing he'd say when she picked up would be "I'm sorry."

But the call connected, then suddenly went to a busy signal halfway through.

Like someone had hung up.