After entering the bar, Liu Yanran shared the same reaction and thoughts as Chu Yuan. She had no fondness for a place like this.
From childhood until now, this was her first time setting foot in such a chaotic environment.
After returning to the Liu Family earlier, she had recounted everything that had happened that evening to her grandfather, Elder Liu, truthfully and without adding or omitting a single detail.
She had originally thought that after this incident, Elder Liu’s attitude toward Lin Tianyang would change.
The reality, however, was the complete opposite.
Elder Liu chose to believe Lin Tianyang without reservation, convinced that he had been framed.
Moreover, the marriage arrangement between Liu Yanran and Lin Tianyang was not open to any alteration.
Unable to contain her anger, Liu Yanran came here to relax and clear her mind.
She chose a seat near the corner wall and ordered a low-alcohol drink.
Although she was in a bad mood, she had no intention of drowning her sorrows in alcohol, nor would she ever allow herself to get drunk in such a place.
“Beauty, drinking alone? How about your brother keeps you company?” a delinquent wearing a floral shirt and sporting dyed yellow hair approached with a lewd grin.
His greedy eyes never left Liu Yanran’s face.
Damn it, this was the first time he had seen such a beautiful woman. She was on a completely different level from the girls who frequented nightclubs. Even if it cost him ten years of his life, he would take her down.
“Get lost!” Liu Yanran replied calmly with a single word.
A powerful aura erupted from her, forcing the delinquent to stumble backward repeatedly.
When he regained his senses, humiliation turned into fury.
Several of his underlings were watching from behind. In their world, one could lose their life, but never their pride.
“Fine. Just you wait. You’ll be begging me soon enough,” the yellow-haired man said through clenched teeth. Glancing at the security guards nearby, he dared not act recklessly and left unwillingly after casting Liu Yanran a resentful look.
Not being able to use force did not mean he could not resort to other methods.
Seeing the waiter preparing to bring Liu Yanran her drink, a vicious scheme formed in his mind.
“Hold on. Put this into her drink,” he whispered.
“This… isn’t that risky? If something happens here, the boss will chop me up,” the waiter said, feigning fear.
“Do you think I don’t know the rules here? As long as we don’t use force, everything else can be negotiated.”
“See that woman? Dying under a peony flower is still romantic. Once I get her, you’ll have your share too.”
The waiter glanced toward Liu Yanran and swallowed hard. “Fine, I’ll do it. But what about the others…”
To take down that stunning beauty, he was willing to pay the price.
“Here’s 5,000. Make it flawless. Otherwise…”
“Don’t worry. When have I ever failed? Just wait and enjoy yourself,” the waiter said confidently.
He skillfully poured the powdered drug into the drink and gave it a gentle swirl.
The powder dissolved instantly upon contact with the alcohol.
Let alone someone inexperienced like Liu Yanran, even a professional might not detect anything unusual.
They believed their actions were perfectly concealed, unaware that every move had already been observed by Chu Yuan.
“Another cliché trick. I wonder if you’ll drink it,” Chu Yuan muttered with a faint smile.
In the original plotline, just as Liu Yanran was about to drink, Lin Tianyang would appear dramatically, expose the scheme between the yellow-haired man and the waiter, and provoke their anger.
In a fit of rage, the yellow-haired man would attack Lin Tianyang, only to be beaten badly.
It was precisely that casual display of martial prowess that completely transformed Liu Yanran’s impression of him.
But now, Chu Yuan had already arranged for people to keep Lin Tianyang occupied.
The classic hero-saving-the-beauty scene would not belong to him.
And for Chu Yuan, whether Liu Yanran drank the spiked drink or not, the outcome would remain the same.
Because he had already prepared everything in advance. The very first drink Liu Yanran consumed had already been tampered with by his orders.
As expected, Liu Yanran merely glanced at the drink brought by the waiter and showed no intention of drinking it.
Though she appeared calm while rebuking the yellow-haired man, being in such a place inevitably stirred fear within her.
She no longer wished to stay and stood up, intending to pay and leave.
“Brother A Li, that woman’s very cautious. She didn’t drink the spiked drink and now she’s leaving. The duck that was almost cooked is flying away. What do we do?” the waiter said anxiously.
A woman of such beauty was something one might never encounter in a lifetime. Missing the chance to taste her sweetness left him deeply unwilling.
“Trying to run?”
“There’s no woman who can escape my grasp,” A Li sneered.
“This isn’t the right place. Let’s intercept her outside.”
Grinding his teeth, he quickly summoned five or six underlings and chased after her.
“These guys are putting on quite a performance. Should I hire them as professional actors?” Chu Yuan remarked leisurely as he followed behind the group.
… This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“And where do you two little thieves think you’re running?” Lin Tianyang said smugly in a quiet alley, staring at the two men before him.
Having just secured the position of head of security at Dynasty Bar through his own strength, he immediately encountered these two pickpockets.
A new official always made a show of force, and Lin Tianyang did not mind playing along.
“Run?”
“The one who should be running is you!”
The two men showed no fear. Instead, triumphant smiles spread across their faces.
Lin Tianyang’s instincts flared. He swiftly rolled to the side.
Whoosh!
A throwing knife grazed his cheek, leaving behind a long streak of blood.
If one looked closely, the wound was perfectly symmetrical to the scar left from his previous injury, oddly making his face appear more balanced.
Raising his head, Lin Tianyang saw over a dozen figures dressed entirely in black, their faces tightly masked.
“Who are you? Who sent you to deal with me?” he demanded, fists clenched and eyes burning with killing intent.
“Go ask the King of Hell yourself!” one of the black-clad men replied as he kicked fiercely toward Lin Tianyang’s abdomen.
Lin Tianyang raised his arm to block. The tremendous force sent him stumbling backward repeatedly.
“A late-stage Hidden Force Realm expert?”
“You… you actually possess such strength?”
He was startled. Only after exchanging blows did he realize how terrifying his opponent was.
“Who exactly are you?”
The black-clad man offered no answer. After landing the first strike, he pressed forward into close-quarters combat, each punch heavy and relentless, forcing Lin Tianyang to retreat step by step.
“If I don’t counterattack soon, he’ll wear me down to death,” Lin Tianyang gritted his teeth.
Summoning all his strength, he seized the black-clad man’s arm and executed an over-the-shoulder throw, hurling him outward.
Midair, the black-clad man shifted from a fist to a palm strike and slammed it violently into Lin Tianyang’s back.
The blow sent Lin Tianyang flying forward, blood spurting from his mouth.
Had he not consumed countless precious herbs since childhood, granting him extraordinary physical resilience, and possessed the strength of a mid-stage Hidden Force Realm expert, he would have been beaten to death by now.
Even so, Lin Tianyang was far from comfortable at this moment.