Demons Beside You

“Chen, don’t say that.”

“Then why do you keep putting me in difficult positions?” Chen Zhao said, displeased.

Laurent turned his head away. Chen Zhao was not a father, so he could not understand how it felt to see his daughter being pursued by an unsatisfactory man.

“Anyway, do you accept it or not?”

Chen Zhao thought, F**k, I’ll do it for Fali!

“Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“First, I want you to fight with a lion to prove that you’re brave enough.”

“You mean a cougar?” Chen Zhao asked.

“Of course not. Even I can beat a cougar up. I mean an African lion,” Laurent said.

“Howard, stop the car. I’m leaving.” Chen Zhao’s face darkened at once.

“If you reject this, it means you don’t have enough courage to protect Fali,” Laurent said with a serious tone.

“But you’re just trying to kill me. Only a madman will play this game with you,” Chen Zhao said, rolling his eyes. “Even if you want to torture me, can’t you find something more realistic?”

“Answer me, if one day Fali is surrounded by a group of lions, will you fight to protect her?”

“If it really happens, I will.”

“That’s it. Prove to me now how much you love her.”

“I still think that you’re mad,” Chen Zhao said.

“You just don’t love Fali enough. This being the case, you should break up with her.”

“Don’t tell me you require a man to fight with a lion before he can become your son-in-law.”

“It’s just for you.”

“Why are you so unsatisfied with me?”

“Have you forgotten? The first time we met, you made me pee my pants. It’s the humiliation of my life. Do you think I should be happy with you?”

“You asked for it yourself.”

“You even threw me in the sea.”

“You asked for that one yourself too.”

“Is it that difficult for me to win once?”

“You want to win, or you want me to let you win?”

“…” Laurent stared at Chen Zhao, gritting his teeth. “Anyway, I won’t bless you and Fali.”

“Then let me tell Fali what you just said. I want her to know how childish her father is.”

Indeed, Laurent was defeated and quickly said, “This is a conflict between men. Don’t get Fali involved.”

“But you keep using Fali as an excuse to attack me.”

“Alright, I’ll be direct. Either you let me win once, or you let me realize that I’ll never win. Otherwise, at any time and place, I’ll be finding trouble for you.”

Chen Zhao turned his head and looked at Laurent. “So if I fight with a lion, you will never disturb me again, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

Chen Zhao thought about it. He should be able to fight a lion.

He just had to carefully dodge its claws and teeth, since he was definitely stronger and faster than a lion.

“Alright, but it’s America. There are no African lions.”

A delighted smile finally appeared on Laurent’s face. “I know the zoo director here.”

Chen Zhao glanced at Laurent. Did he really have to devise such a plot?

Laurent had probably contacted the zoo long ago and was waiting for Chen Zhao to jump into the trap.

When they arrived at the zoo, the director came. It was an old black man who seemed to be in his sixties.

His hair was already gray, but he looked very energetic.

“Laurent, are you still alive?”

“Sharman, I won’t die before you do.”

It seemed like Laurent and the zoo director were very close friends, or they would not have spoken in such a way.

Sharman looked at Chen Zhao and asked, “Is he the one?”

“Yes, it’s him.”

Chen Zhao felt that Sharman was staring at him with a strange look.

Was it because he was about to fight a lion?”

“Young man, are you sure you’re taking the lion fight?”

“Can I quit now?”

“If you escape now, I’ll look down on you forever,” Laurent said.

Chen Zhao felt that Laurent’s trap would not be this simple.

“Alright, Sharman, bring us to the African paradise.”

The zoo had great facilities and many tourists.

The group of people strolled here and there as if they were visitors.

On their way, Sharman introduced to them the various sections. Some were open to visitors, while others were restricted.

Some tame herbivores were even interacting with visitors under the guidance of zoo staff.

Soon, the group was brought into a seemingly high-tech building. The building was mostly white, surrounded by thick tempered glass walls. Zoo staff would occasionally be seen walking around.

Sharman looked at Chen Zhao, “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Sharman then looked at Laurent. “How about you?”

“Of course. I’m not the one going into the lion’s cage,” Laurent answered, unconcerned, as he glanced at Chen Zhao.

Sharman pressed a button on the remote control he was holding. The glass door opened, inside which there was another metal isolation door.

Beyond the metal door was an environment that simulated the African grassland. It was about a hundred square meters in size, with rocks, water, and grass.

A glass cover acted as the roof. It was three meters high and very transparent.

“You can enter now,” Sharman said.

Chen Zhao walked past the doors, which then closed.

Nevertheless, he could still see Laurent and the rest through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Chen Zhao looked around and did not see any lion.

“Where’s the lion?” Chen Zhao asked Sharman, who was on the other side of the glass walls.

Just then, at the far end of the field, two metal isolation doors rose.

Chen Zhao saw more than twenty lions behind the two doors. One of them was an adult male, while the others were females and cubs.

Finally, Laurent smiled, as if his plan had worked.

“Open the doors.” Chen Zhao knocked on the glass.

His plan was to fight with one lion, not an entire lion family!

“You can still admit defeat now,” Laurent said with an evil smile.

He had been waiting for this moment, the moment Chen Zhao admitted defeat.

“Laurent, don’t be so childish. Open the doors.”

“No way, unless you admit defeat.”

“If I die here, how will you answer to Fali?”

“If you admit defeat, you won’t die.”

“Mr. Sharman, I believe you’re rational. You won’t do such a stupid thing, will you?” Realizing that Laurent just would not give up, Chen Zhao turned to Sharman, hoping that he was logical.

“I watched Fali grow up. I don’t want her to spend her life with a rogue. So you either break up with Fali now, or die inside.”

“Shit, Laurent, how have you been describing me behind my back?!” Chen Zhao was furious.

Sharman thought that he was a rogue?