Su Ran had already retrieved her self-defense device. With a twist of her wrist, she jabbed it into Boss Zhao’s fatty belly.
Over the recent period, one crisis after another had come crashing down on her, weighing so heavily she could hardly breathe, yet she had no choice but to endure them.
This strike was both an act of self-preservation and an outlet for her pent-up frustration; she put all her strength into it.
Boss Zhao was electrocuted so hard that his intestines shuddered in unison. His arms went limp, and he nearly lost control of his bowels.
Su Ran fell to the floor with a thud, the impact sending a jolt of pain through her body.
Filled with both lecherous intent and mounting rage, Boss Zhao ignored his abdominal pain and lunged again. “Playing S&M? I’ll play you to death!”
He had barely taken a predatory step forward when his neck suddenly tightened. Someone had seized him by the back of his collar, and his two-hundred-pound frame was sent flying.
With a loud crash, he slammed into the wall. Instantly, two burly bodyguards twisted his arms back and pinned him down firmly.
Lu Jingxing remained clad in his cold, arrogant black attire, his fingers calmly smoothing his sleeves as the veins on his hands receded. His dark eyes settled on Su Ran, who was still gripping her self-defense device without a trace of fear. His voice was clearly tinged with anger. “If I praise your bravery now, would I just be encouraging you to take on people alone next time?”
Su Ran brushed back her hair and pulled her phone from her pocket to stop the recording. “I saw your bodyguards’ car when I walked in.”
Lu Jingxing lifted Su Ran’s forearm, his brows knitting slightly when he saw the dark purple bruises left by a tight grip. “Were you so certain I would come to help you? What if I hadn’t come, or if I hadn’t seen you?”
“I wasn’t certain. If I couldn’t handle it myself, I would have called for security and the servers.” Su Ran pulled her hand back.
She hadn’t been counting on Lu Jingxing for anything; she just wanted to prove whether he was monitoring her.
Furthermore, she was neither stupid nor reckless. As soon as Qi Xinxin set the meeting with Boss Zhao, she had immediately gone online to check his credentials and background. She had come fully prepared.
Lu Jingxing didn’t touch her again. Instead, he pulled a wet wipe from the table and handed it to her. “Using this method to lure me out just because I didn’t reply to your messages?”
Su Ran took the wipe and cleaned her wrist. “You think too highly of me. However, I did consider cornering you if things didn’t work out here.”
Lu Jingxing’s thin eyelids twitched slightly. “So I was just the backup plan?”
Su Ran was fuming, but she couldn’t let it show. “I wouldn’t dare. It’s just that your terms are too high, and you are a very busy man.”
She had been drinking, and combined with her current anger, her features were lit with a flare of indignation that gave her a particularly alluring charm.
Lu Jingxing let out a soft chuckle. “Are you acting spoiled with me?”
Su Ran thought: Spoiled, my foot.
Wang Ye, who had followed them in, watched the two of them as if they were flirting. He let out a crooked, mischievous grin. “I can testify to that. He’s been so busy he hasn’t had a proper bite to eat all day.”
Boss Zhao didn’t recognize Lu Jingxing or Wang Ye, but seeing their bearing and prestige, he knew they were people he couldn’t afford to offend. Clutching his crotch, he apologized tremulously.
“Gentlemen, I am so sorry. I didn’t know she was yours. I won’t ever do it again.”
Wang Ye said languidly, “Don’t say that. Even I wouldn’t dare provoke Miss Su. Isn’t that right, Brother Lu?”
Su Ran glanced at Wang Ye, who was clearly being sarcastic. “I am truly sorry for causing trouble at your establishment time and again, President Wang.”
Wang Ye’s smile didn’t fade as he sat down slowly. “It was my poor management. This meal is on me, and I’ll handle what comes next.”
Hearing the names “Brother Lu” and “President Wang,” the flab on Boss Zhao’s body spasmed in terror.
He had heard of President Wang’s reputation. And who else could Wang Ye possibly call “Brother Lu” besides Lu Jingxing?
Boss Zhao realized instantly that he was completely finished. He wasn’t even sure if he would survive the night.
Enduring the pain in his crotch and the ache in his stomach, he began to slap himself across the face repeatedly. “President Lu, President Wang, I was wrong. Please be magnanimous and overlook my stupidity. Miss Su, I’ll invest the money in your company. Please, have mercy and ask President Lu to spare me.”
Wang Ye toyed with a steak knife on the table. “You think you’re worthy?”
Lu Jingxing’s cold, predatory gaze swept over Boss Zhao. His tone was indifferent. “Start with the right hand.”
The two bodyguards immediately hoisted Boss Zhao up and dragged him before Lu Jingxing and Wang Ye, pinning his right hand firmly onto the dining table.
Su Ran realized something was wrong and was about to tell Lu Jingxing not to resort to violence.
Wang Ye, still smiling, drove the steak knife straight through the back of Boss Zhao’s hand with a sickening thud.
“AH!” Boss Zhao’s scream had barely begun before a bodyguard covered his mouth.
Su Ran’s heart constricted. Her forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and the wet wipe slipped from her hand to the floor.
How ruthless.
The private room door burst open. A hurried Qi Xinxin saw the scene inside and froze. Her swaying, drunken frame stopped at the doorway. “Su… Su Ran.”
Su Ran’s voice trembled slightly as she tried to remain composed. “I’m fine. Wait outside for a moment.”
Qi Xinxin stared at the blood gushing from the back of Boss Zhao’s hand. Her face, previously flushed from alcohol, turned deathly pale. After a moment of hesitation, she stumbled inside.
“I… I was worried about you.”
Lu Jingxing ignored Qi Xinxin. With slow, measured movements, he picked up a dinner fork. He speared a piece of broccoli and, as if dipping it in sauce, dabbed it twice against the back of Boss Zhao’s hand.
The green vegetable was instantly stained bright red.
Lu Jingxing held the fork out in front of Boss Zhao. His elegant voice was laced with a deadly chill. “Open up.”
Boss Zhao’s features were contorted in agony. He stared in horror at the broccoli Lu Jingxing was feeding him, as if the tines of the fork hidden within the stalk were already piercing his throat.
Su Ran turned her head away, unable to watch. “President Lu, that’s enough.”
Lu Jingxing slowly fed the blood-stained vegetable into Boss Zhao’s mouth. “Someone is pleading for mercy on your behalf. What should you do?”
With the food in his mouth and his tongue stiff with terror, Boss Zhao knocked his head against the edge of the table, his voice muffled and thick. “Miss Su has given me a second life. I will serve you like a horse or an ox from now on.”
Lu Jingxing placed the fork quietly back onto the tablecloth. “Chew it all and swallow. Now get out.”
Boss Zhao swallowed the metallic-tasting contents of his mouth whole. He scrambled up, clutching the knife still embedded in his hand, and stumbled out of the room.
As he ran past Qi Xinxin, she lowered her head and shrunk away.
Lu Jingxing gave a look, and the two bodyguards silently followed him out.
Su Ran didn’t know if Lu Jingxing had done this to assert his dominance over the room or if it was a calculated performance for her benefit, to make her behave and listen.
She had grown up helping her parents run their storefront, spent her middle school breaks helping out at the factory, and had been accompanying her father on business deals since her sophomore year of college. She had seen much in her time.
But this was the first time she had witnessed such a bloody scene firsthand.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.
However, she couldn’t show it. She had to find another excuse to compose herself.
“I’ll go settle the bill.”
Lu Jingxing caught Su Ran’s arm. “You haven’t eaten either, have you? Let’s move to another room and have something.”
Su Ran was in no mood to eat. Even her desire to push Lu Jingxing for an investment plan had cooled significantly. “We already ate.”
With a soft thump, Su Ran and Lu Jingxing both turned their heads.
Whether from delayed shock or the alcohol, Qi Xinxin’s eyes had drifted shut, and she had collapsed onto the floor.
Su Ran hurried over to help the unconscious Xinxin up.
Lu Jingxing gave an order. “Open a room and have two waitresses help her rest.”
Su Ran replied, “No need. I’ll take her back.”
Lu Jingxing countered, “Didn’t you want to discuss the investment plan with me?”
Su Ran held onto Xinxin, who was leaning her full weight against her. “I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone.”
The events of that other night were still vivid in her mind; she didn’t trust a soul here.
Qi Xinxin wasn’t a local; she was all alone in Jicheng without any family, and she was fragile and honest by nature. Su Ran felt a responsibility to protect her.
Lu Jingxing’s voice was indifferent. “Call her family to come pick her up.”
Su Ran didn’t want to disclose Qi Xinxin’s private matters, so she said vaguely, “It’s not very convenient.”
Lu Jingxing stood up, his tone brookng no argument. “Then take her to the eighth floor. I’ll stay in the living area with you.”