In the original plot, just as Xu Qiuchi was about to be forced to drink the spiked wine, the protagonist Ye Feng conveniently showed up. With his exceptional martial arts skills, he took down over a dozen thugs on his own and saved Xu Qiuchi.
Because Xu Qiuchi had chosen the most secluded booth in the bar, Shen Che spent a long time searching before he finally found her. When he was nearly done checking every booth, he spotted her.
Not far ahead, a woman was clearly being harassed. Shen Che focused his gaze and was instantly captivated by her appearance, unable to stop a sense of amazement from welling up in his heart.
Even though he had read numerous vivid descriptions of this woman in the original novel, seeing her in person still left him stunned. Her beauty was beyond imagination, like a celestial maiden descending to the mortal world—dazzling and breathtaking.
With such otherworldly beauty, it was no wonder the original Shen Che had become obsessed with her, even to the extent of wasting more than a decade of his life chasing after her, asking after her well-being every single day. After all, who wouldn’t be moved by a woman this stunning?
After confirming that the woman being harassed was indeed Xu Qiuchi, Shen Che knew that if he didn’t want her to meet Ye Feng, he had to act now. If Ye Feng showed up, it would be too late.
Without hesitation, Shen Che strode quickly toward her booth. The surrounding people didn’t even have time to react before he arrived.
His eyes swept across the scene. Without a second thought, he grabbed a thick glass bottle from the table. Under the dim bar lighting, the bottle shimmered faintly, as if heralding the impending chaos.
Shen Che gripped the bottle tightly, channeling all his strength into his right arm.
Then, like swinging a massive hammer, he raised his arm high and brought the bottle down on the thug’s head with lightning speed.
BANG!
The bottle shattered instantly under the impact, glass fragments scattering like tiny bullets.
With that muffled explosion, the buzz-cut thug suddenly felt a heavy fog cloud his vision. His eyes went blurry as a piercing pain exploded at the back of his skull.
In an instant, the sharp scent of blood filled the air.
He let out a wretched cry, instinctively raising his hands to clutch the wound. Within moments, blood dripped steadily onto the floor.
Turning around, he saw Shen Che standing behind him, still holding the jagged remnants of the bottle, looking as harmless as ever.
The buzz-cut thug felt his rage boiling. After working so long to become a small-time boss, tonight he got his head bashed by some pretty boy? Furious, he cursed, “Damn it! You little pretty boy, you dare smash my head?! Trying to play the hero, huh?”
He didn’t take Shen Che seriously at all. He’d seen plenty of weaklings like him in bars—guys who turned and ran after being yelled at.
Seeing Shen Che alone, the thug leader dismissed him entirely. Holding his bleeding head in fury, he ordered his men, “What are you all standing around for? Get him! I’ll slice that pretty face of his into ribbons!”
The moment he spoke, the scattered thugs snapped out of their daze.
They exchanged glances, cursed angrily, and rushed to surround Shen Che.
“F***, you sick of living, pretty boy? How dare you lay hands on our boss?”
“You think you’re tough alone? Brothers, get him!”
Just then, Shen Che’s bodyguards arrived. They quickly rushed to his side and joined the fight. With a few swift moves, they knocked down two of the thugs.
The remaining thugs, realizing things were turning bad, pulled out knives. But a moment later, under the fierce fists and kicks of the tall, muscular bodyguards, they were all taken down in no time, lying on the ground unable to fight back.
“Apologies, Young Master, we arrived late,” one of the tall bodyguards said apologetically.
“It’s fine. You came just in time,” Shen Che replied calmly.
The reason Shen Che had been so confident was because he had specifically brought these two with him. Both were former special forces soldiers—his most capable men.
Seeing his subordinates lying on the floor, the thug leader panicked. His mind went blank.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he jolted upright and bolted toward the stairs.
He was so flustered he nearly tripped. After running a short distance, the buzz-cut thug shouted, “You bastards better not run if you’ve got guts!” and fled to the second floor.
“Shen Che? What are you doing here?” Xu Qiuchi asked, surprised. She hadn’t told anyone about drinking tonight. The alcohol-induced haze in her mind began to clear.
“That’s what I should be asking you…” Shen Che turned to look at Xu Qiuchi—her pretty face flushed, her steps unsteady, reeking of alcohol—and frowned slightly.
Xu Qiuchi was a little shocked. Shen Che had never spoken to her like this before. In the past, every word from him was ingratiating. But today, something felt different.
“None of your business,” she snapped.
Then, as if something clicked in her mind, a realization dawned on her. She suddenly said, “I get it now. I just happened to be harassed by thugs here, and you just happened to show up at the same bar? What a cliché setup.”
Hearing that, Shen Che lost his temper. “What did you say?”
In the original novel, when Ye Feng saved this silly girl, she was extremely grateful. Not only did she give him a large sum of money, but she also later hired him as her personal bodyguard.
Yet after he saved her, her reaction was completely different. Was this the difference between the protagonist and the villain?
“Don’t pretend to be innocent. This was all your setup,” Xu Qiuchi said, gesturing around.
Fueled by alcohol, she spoke without hesitation, “Shen Che, don’t think that doing this will change my opinion of you. I won’t look at you differently.”
Shen Che sneered. Like I care about chasing after you. I’m rich. If it weren’t for that bastard Ye Feng targeting me because of our engagement, I would’ve dumped you long ago.
“I’m not interested,” Shen Che said flatly. “Right now, I’m your fiancé in name only. If something scandalous happens to you, both our families will be affected. I’m just protecting our reputations. That’s all.”
“Shen Che! Let me tell you, I don’t like you at all. I hate this stupid engagement!” Xu Qiuchi blurted out, her alcohol-fueled emotions pushing the words out loudly.
“If you don’t like it, we’ll end it,” Shen Che shrugged indifferently.
“What did you say?” Xu Qiuchi thought she’d misheard. Based on the Shen Che she used to know, she would never believe he’d say something like that. She always knew Shen Che liked her very much.
But now, he seemed like a different person—his words, his actions, everything about him had changed.