Thunder rumbled.
Ruan Li quietly gripped the colorful wine bottle used for decoration at the café entrance.
She hoped she was overthinking things.
But when two yellow-haired men walked up to her and one reached out to touch her face, her palms grew sweaty.
She tightened her grip, her knuckles turning pale as she clutched the glass bottle, ensuring it wouldn’t slip from her hand when she swung it.
Just as she was about to smash the bottle into the yellow-haired man’s head, her wrist was suddenly seized.
From behind, a clear, melodious voice rang out:
“That won’t kill anyone.”
She whipped her head around and met a pair of pitch-black eyes.
A stark black turtleneck framed a pale, cold face. Above sharp brow bones, a strand of bangs was dampened by the rain, revealing dark, shadowy eyes.
Ruan Li’s heart skipped a beat.
It was Shi Yu.
[What? Where did this guy come from?]
[The Male Lead was worried about the Female Supporting Character and sent his roommate to pick her up.]
[Huh? Our Little Sister Treasure sprained her ankle, and the Male Lead is still thinking about the Female Supporting Character? Poor Little Sister Treasure, I can’t wait for the “chasing wife to the crematorium” arc!]
[I thought the Female Supporting Character would get bullied—what a letdown!]
[Don’t worry! To make the hero-saving-the-beauty act more convincing, Little Sister Treasure hired two underground fighters. A Si is a wealthy heir who’s been taking elite courses since childhood, learning karate and Muay Thai. Shi Yu is just a poor guy—he can’t beat these two!]
Seeing the spoilers, Ruan Li’s hanging heart finally sank.
Underground fighters fought without regard for their lives.
“You can’t do it. You can’t beat them,” Ruan Li whispered to Shi Yu, not wanting to involve an innocent person. “Run first and call the police.”
“I can’t do it?” Shi Yu raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
Ruan Li: “…”
He could twist black and white into something dirty—what kind of time was this to be hung up on such things?
She had no choice but to tell the truth. “You make a living with your face. If it gets scarred, I… I can’t afford to compensate you.”
“Haha! So it’s just a pretty boy!” The two thugs bared their yellow teeth, sneering. “Listen up, no one’s getting away.”
Ruan Li was on edge.
But Shi Yu behind her seemed completely unfazed. His lazy voice brushed past her ear as he said, “I’ll teach you how to actually kill someone.”
Before Ruan Li could react, her arm was guided by a forceful motion as she swung it out.
A crisp crack echoed through the air as the wine bottle shattered.
Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Rain mixed with blood, trickling down from the yellow-haired man’s head.
The thug who had been so arrogant just a moment ago now stood frozen in place.
He hadn’t even seen when the man struck?!
“Remember, aim here next time,” Shi Yu said calmly, sounding disappointed. “Too bad it was an empty bottle.”
Seeing the situation turn against them, the two thugs turned to run.
But Shi Yu dragged them back and pulled them into an alley, where the sound of rain drowned out their pitiful pleas and cries.
After a while, Shi Yu strode out on long legs and said to Ruan Li, “I’m injured.”
Ruan Li’s heart tightened.
Only after seeing the wound did she relax.
It was just a shallow cut on his fingertip from flying glass shards.
She reassured him, “It’s fine. It’ll heal in no time.”
“That won’t do.” Shi Yu leaned in, his dark, intense peach-blossom eyes fixed on Ruan Li, a faint smile curling his thin lips. “I’m in the business of selling my looks. What if it scars? How will I make money then?”
“Then should I take you to the hospital?”
“Not the hospital.”
“Then where?”
“Whatever.”
“…”
Ruan Li was an honest person. Faced with someone who had saved her, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything contradictory. “Then let’s go to my place. I have iodine at home, but—”
She lowered her head and checked the ride-hailing app again.
Still no drivers had accepted the order.
Shi Yu’s gaze fell on the destination displayed on the screen. “You live at River View Residence?” He slid both hands into his pockets. “Let’s go, I’ll give you a ride.”
Ruan Li took a moment to process this, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
On the empty road, aside from a black sedan, there were no electric scooters in sight.
“Where’s your car?”
As if answering her question, the moment she finished speaking, the black car made a U-turn and pulled up right in front of her.
Without the curtain of rain obscuring her view, the car’s sleek lines and eye-catching emblem came into clear focus.
Staring at the Rolls-Royce Phantom before her and then glancing at the driver inside, Ruan Li froze.
Rumor had it that Shi Yu always ate at the cheapest stalls in the cafeteria.
This had even been confirmed by Jiang Siyan.
Otherwise, the title of “school heartthrob” preceding Shi Yu’s name wouldn’t have been accompanied by the words “impoverished.”
But at this moment—
Shi Yu leaned back in the rear leather seat of the Rolls-Royce, the starlight headliner shimmering brilliantly, as if the vast currents of the universe had become his backdrop.
No matter how you looked at it, he had nothing to do with the word “impoverished.”
“Not getting in?” Shi Yu lifted his gaze, his dark eyes catching the light in a mesmerizing way.
Ruan Li exclaimed in surprise, “Your car?”
Fu Shiyu stared at Ruan Li’s wide-eyed expression of astonishment and replied with a faint, teasing smile, “Impressed? I traded my body for it.”