“Deng Jing’er needs me for something,” I casually lied.
When I rushed to the parking lot of Yundian Hotel late at night, Qi Zhouyang was already covered in injuries.
Three or four plump men wearing thick gold chains, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, sneered when they saw me. “Kid, is this your backup? A woman?”
“Did you bring her here to sleep with us as compensation?” another said with even more vulgarity.
I walked up to Qi Zhouyang and helped him to his feet. The young man, usually full of vitality, was now beaten black and blue, barely recognizable in his wretched state.
“Sister Xu, I was working part-time as a valet here and accidentally scratched their car. I told them I could pay for the damages, but they demanded a hundred thousand… I don’t have that much…” Qi Zhouyang quietly explained the situation.
“What kind of car? Let me see,” I asked.
Qi Zhouyang pointed toward a white Tiguan parked not far away under the dim lighting.
Just this?? I couldn’t help but frown. This car was worth just over two hundred thousand total—how could a simple scratch warrant a hundred thousand in compensation? Since when was this a profitable business?
“Well, little lady, figured out how you’re gonna pay yet?”
“You’re so skinny—your chest isn’t even bigger than mine! One night with us wouldn’t be enough to cover it!”
Hearing the fat men’s crude remarks, Qi Zhouyang actually struggled to stand up straight, his bloodied hand pointing at them. “Watch your mouths! You might as well just beat me to death…”
I was somewhat surprised. Since when were college students this chivalrous?
I had assumed he called me here just to hide behind me and pitifully wait for me to solve the problem.
Qi Zhouyang’s display of masculinity clearly provoked the fat men’s anger. I stepped in front of him, glaring coldly. “Give me three minutes.”
With that, I made a phone call.
This was Yundian Hotel’s territory, and Qi Zhouyang was working there part-time—the hotel management should have stepped in to resolve this. Yet, no one from the hotel had appeared.
“Oh, calling for backup? Little girl, the three of us are pretty well-known figures in City A. Ask around—who doesn’t know me, A Long? You call ten people, I’ll call a hundred. Believe me?” The fat man’s tone was boastful, but honestly, I’d never heard of him.
Just a bunch of social scum. I hung up the phone and smiled.
In less than three minutes, the general manager of Yundian Hotel appeared before me. Seeing me, he greeted me respectfully. “Miss Xu, what brings you here in person?”
“My friend works part-time at your hotel and was beaten up by these fat guys. Do you know how to handle this?” I asked calmly.
“What? Someone dared to bully Miss Xu’s friend??” The manager immediately turned to the three fat men. “You three?”
The fat men seemed momentarily stunned. Yundian Hotel was a five-star establishment, one of the top-tier hotels in City A—they certainly knew they couldn’t afford to mess with it.
Sometimes power is incredibly useful. Even the most unruly people have no choice but to bow their heads.
The previously aggressive fat men, still unaware of my identity, obediently apologized to me under the hotel manager’s intimidation and even compensated Qi Zhouyang for his medical expenses.
As the fat men prepared to slink away, I spoke up again. “Wait a moment.”
Then I turned to Qi Zhouyang and said, “Go on, give each of them a slap.”
“Sister Xu…” Qi Zhouyang froze, a flicker of fear and hesitation in his blood-caked eyes. Getting compensation for medical expenses was already more than he’d hoped for—he definitely hadn’t considered fighting back.
“What are you afraid of?” I grabbed Qi Zhouyang and pulled him toward the fat guys. “Watch and learn!”
With that, I delivered a hard slap to one of the fat guys’ faces, and the other two followed suit.
Their eyes burned with fury from the slaps, but they didn’t dare fight back.
“Get lost.” My palms were stinging from the impact, and I impatiently waved the scumbags away.
The parking lot quickly returned to calm. The hotel manager invited me for tea, but I had no interest in drinking tea with a stranger in the middle of the night and declined.
Qi Zhouyang, however, was completely stunned. From the moment I started hitting them, he seemed unable to snap out of it.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to the hospital.” I naturally took Qi Zhouyang’s hand and led him out of the parking lot to where my car was parked.
“Sister Xu, I can go by myself!” Qi Zhouyang said urgently.
“Stop arguing.” I deliberately glared at him.
On the way to the hospital, I chatted with Qi Zhouyang and learned that his father had sprained his foot a couple of days ago and was hospitalized. Because of this, Qi Zhouyang wanted to work a few extra shifts before the semester started to try and cover his tuition.
The reason he called me for help was that he instinctively felt I could assist him.
Suddenly, I understood a little why Wei Lan in my previous life had gradually fallen. When faced with an insurmountable difficulty, having someone wave a hand and solve your problems with a few words—who wouldn’t be moved?
No one can choose their origins, but they can choose to take shortcuts.
After accompanying Qi Zhouyang to get his wounds treated at the hospital, I dragged my exhausted body home. Staying up late really takes a toll.
Pei Heng was sleeping on his side next to me. After taking a shower, I lifted the covers and slipped into bed, ready for a good night’s sleep.
“Did you have fun?” Pei Heng suddenly spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
My eyes, which had just closed, snapped open. “Did I wake you? Just bear with it for a couple more days. Once your parents leave, this won’t happen again.”
“Xu Zhiyi, don’t test my patience.” When Pei Heng said things like this, it meant he was in a bad mood.
“What did I do to you?” I was dead tired and in no mood for guessing games.
“You dare go out and fool around while my parents are at Feng Zhou Yuan? Do you have a death wish?” Pei Heng turned over, his eyes filled with anger.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, and suddenly I felt guilty. Had he found out I wasn’t actually going to see Deng Jing’er?
It made sense. Even someone as unrestrained as Pei Heng had been holding back these past couple of days, yet I had been even bolder—sneaking out in the middle of the night to back up a Male College Student and thoughtfully accompanying him to the hospital for treatment.
“Alright, I get it. No posting on social media, no going out while your parents are here. I’ll be more careful next time.” I summed it up.
After saying that, I tried to go back to sleep, but Pei Heng, for some inexplicable reason, suddenly flipped over and pinned me down. His arms were braced on either side of my head, the muscles taut and incredibly sexy, combined with his looks—it was a full-on hormone assault.
I was instantly wide awake because I could feel something hard and unmistakable pressing against me.
“Pei Heng, were you drugged?” I recalled the last time he had teased me, and the faint surge of desire that had just begun to stir within me had already subsided. “Do you even see clearly who I am?”
Pei Heng was no innocent man detached from worldly desires—otherwise, how could rumors about him be flying everywhere?
The anger in his eyes seemed to shift in nature, his slender fingers slipping off the strap of my nightgown.