Brother Qin.
Qin Wang’s name carried immense weight here.
Young as he was, his methods were ruthless.
The two men glanced at Qiang Ge in the middle, swallowing nervously.
“Qiang Ge.”
Qiang Ge sneered, “What’s there to be afraid of?”
“If she really were Qin Wang’s woman, would he leave her here alone?”
Qiang Ge didn’t believe it at all, watching her with a fearless expression.
Jiang Shining’s heart sank.
To be honest, even now, she had no idea where the people Qin Wang had originally sent to guard this place had gone.
The man before her was still closing in.
“Go ahead, try cutting me?”
Qiang Ge moved closer and closer to Jiang Shining.
Jiang Shining’s grip on the kitchen knife tightened, sweat soaking through the back of her shirt.
Seeing Jiang Shining like this, Qiang Ge grew even bolder. He reached out, slowly approaching her. Just as he was about to touch her face, Jiang Shining’s left hand tightened around the kitchen knife again.
And Qiang Ge kept his eyes fixed on that knife.
With the three of them, even if Jiang Shining really swung the knife, they could easily disarm her.
Clang.
A crisp sound echoed as the kitchen knife fell to the ground.
Just as expected, Qiang Ge lowered his head, his smile deepening.
“I told you she wouldn’t dare—”
But he didn’t notice that, in the moment he lowered his head, Jiang Shining’s right hand reached for the wooden stick leaning against the stall. She raised it high with both hands and swung it down hard.
Thwack—
Qiang Ge, who was still mid-sentence, took a heavy blow to the head.
Hah.
A stick to beat a dog.
She truly didn’t dare use the kitchen knife, but the stick felt just right in her hands.
“Qiang Ge!”
“Qiang Ge!”
The two underlings cried out in alarm.
Qiang Ge staggered, the blow from Jiang Shining’s stick making his head spin.
Seeing Qiang Ge steady himself with the help of his two underlings, Jiang Shining immediately sensed trouble.
He hadn’t fallen with one strike.
Things were about to get complicated.
Jiang Shining watched the three men, their expressions growing uglier by the second. After just a few seconds of thought, she made a decision. She dropped her weapon, grabbed her mother behind her, and turned to run.
Inside, she frantically called out to her boyfriend.
Qin Wang.
Why hasn’t he come yet!
If he didn’t show up now, things would really be in trouble.
Behind her, Qiang Ge’s furious voice rang out, “You think you can hit me and just run?”
Jiang Shining’s heart skipped a beat, but her feet didn’t stop.
Clatter.
The sound of a can being kicked echoed, followed by a woman’s cry of pain.
Not far ahead of Jiang Shining, a can bounced onto the cement ground, still spinning.
But the hand she was holding—Jiang Wan’s—slipped free.
She turned back to see her mother’s swollen ankle.
“Xiao Ning, you run ahead!”
“They… won’t dare do anything to me.”
Jiang Wan’s eyes were red, but she still pushed her daughter forward.
At that moment, Jiang Wan felt like a burden to her daughter.
But these men had ill intentions from the start, and she had even injured their leader. How could they possibly let her mother go?
“I…”
Before she could finish speaking, “Don’t even think about running!”
The thugs behind them had already surrounded Jiang Shining and her mother again.
Wooden sticks dragged along the ground, producing a grating sound that sent shivers down Jiang Shining’s spine.
Qiang Ge stopped in front of the two of them. “Feisty little beauty, you need to be taught a lesson.”
“Such a pretty face—it’d be a shame to ruin it. But we can’t let this go without leaving a mark.”
Qiang Ge shifted his gaze from Jiang Shining’s face to her right hand, the one that had held the stick, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Then… let’s just break your hand.”
Jiang Shining’s heart gradually sank.
The three men had trapped her and Jiang Wan tightly, leaving no room for escape.
The wooden stick was raised high.
It’s over.
Jiang Shining’s hands trembled slightly.
She didn’t want to become disabled before even experiencing the life of the wealthy. Watching the wooden stick swinging toward her, Jiang Shining closed her eyes in fear.
She stammered, “Qin… Wang.”
If he didn’t come soon,
she would really be crippled.
However, after waiting several seconds, the expected sharp pain still hadn’t arrived. Jiang Shining’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Qiang Ge’s face flushed red with effort.
And on the wooden stick beside her, there was now a slender hand with distinct knuckles.
That hand was all too familiar.
She quickly turned her head.
Turning around, she saw Qin Wang with a gloomy expression.
That familiar face felt especially reassuring at this moment.
Jiang Shining’s nose tingled, and her eyes glistened with tears.
“Why did you take so long to come!”
“I… I was almost scared to death.”
Jiang Shining lost all strength and threw herself into his arms.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
Qin Wang’s voice was low and magnetic.
At this moment, Wang Qiang was gripping the wooden stick with both hands, while Qin Wang held it with one hand, still having a free hand to stroke Jiang Shining’s black hair.
He said softly, “It’s not safe here. Go stand over there.”
Jiang Shining looked up and turned her gaze aside.
Not far from the two of them, over a dozen young men were now standing.
Jiang Shining recognized them—these were the ones who often followed Qin Wang.
She nodded, “Then be careful.”
She glanced at Jiang Wan, who was slumped on the ground beside her, and carefully helped her mother up.
They walked toward the side.
But before reaching the underlings,
“Sis—”
Jiang Shining’s footsteps instantly stopped.
She looked displeased at the person who had just spoken.
She hadn’t seen this person before.
Lao Hei quickly covered Wang Bing’s mouth, explaining awkwardly, “Sorry, he just joined a few days ago. Some things haven’t been explained to him yet.”
After saying this, Lao Hei directly pulled Wang Bing toward a corner.
Wang Bing: “Mmph uh%￥”
Only after putting some distance between them and everyone else did Lao Hei let go.
Wang Bing gasped for breath, looking at Lao Hei with confusion, “Hei Ge, what are you doing!”
“Shh!”
Lao Hei looked back again to confirm no one else was paying attention to them, then said, “You just broke another taboo. In front of Sis, you absolutely cannot call her ‘Sis.'”
Wang Bing: “Huh?”
“Let me explain the rules here to you again.”
“First, in front of your Qin Ge, never mention ‘breaking up.'”
“Second, in front of your Sis, never call her ‘Sis.’ That title can only be used within the gang and when talking to Qin Ge.”
Lao Hei spoke with utmost seriousness, while Wang Bing listened in utter confusion.
These bizarre rules were something Wang Bing had never even heard of.
“Why?”
Hei Ge glanced at Jiang Shining’s back, his expression complicated, “Sis says she’s shy and doesn’t want her family to know about her relationship with Qin Ge.”
On the street
Jiang Shining paid no attention to the underlings’ conversation.
She was carefully examining the injury on Jiang Wan’s foot. The ankle area had already turned somewhat bruised and swollen.
And this was just from being hit by an empty soda can. If it had been a full bottle of soda, it might have caused a fracture.
Sensing her daughter’s troubled expression, Jiang Wan comforted her, “I’m fine, it’s not serious.”
“This isn’t serious? Does it have to be a broken bone to count as serious?”
Jiang Shining sighed, took out some money from her pocket, and handed it to the younger brother beside her.
“Could you help me buy a roll of gauze and some medicine?”
The younger brother took the money and returned shortly after.
When he came back, he was holding the medicine Jiang Shining had just requested.
Jiang Shining carefully disinfected the wound with iodine, applied the medicine, and then gently wrapped it with gauze.
Her mother’s body couldn’t withstand bumps or bruises. An injury that might heal in a few days for others would take at least a month for Jiang Wan.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shining’s movements became even gentler.
Seeing her daughter handle the situation with such care warmed Jiang Wan’s heart as she sat there.
Ever since the argument between mother and daughter three months ago, Jiang Shining seemed like a different person.
In the past, their relationship had been strained.
If something like today’s incident had happened before, Jiang Wan would have had to call the police, and her daughter Jiang Shining would have only found her annoying and definitely wouldn’t have bothered with her.
But now, not only did she protect her, but she also tended to her wounds.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wan couldn’t help but smile. “My little Ning baby, you’re so good to me.”