Having reached this point, there was no need to keep up the act any longer.
Jiang Yifei was someone who could take things as they came. After the awkwardness of those few seconds passed, he acted as if nothing had happened.
“Alright, that’s it then,”
The man lifted his chin toward Xia Zhi,
“Are you going back to the party, or… should my car take you?”
Xia Zhi shook her head, “Jiyue is drunk, I need to go back and watch over her…”
Jiang Yifei looked exasperated,
“Her own brother is there, what could possibly happen? Whatever, suit yourself.”
Anyway, he wasn’t going back himself. After that scene earlier, hadn’t they already made enough of a fool of themselves?
Jiang Yifei waved his hand and turned to walk toward his car.
Once he got in, he glanced in the rearview mirror. That delicate young lady was still standing right where he’d left her.
This was the back alley of the nightclub street, a very chaotic place.
Not far away, men loitering by the roadside were sneaking glances at Xia Zhi, their eyes lecherous. Not to mention the snakes, insects, rats, and ants hiding in unseen corners.
Xia Zhi was like a little white rabbit lingering at the mouth of a tiger’s den. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be dragged inside and devoured, bones and all.
Fine, he was the one who brought her here in the first place. He couldn’t just leave her.
The man got out of the car again and walked back with a dark expression.
Young Master Jiang returned and spoke to Xia Zhi with annoyance,
“Weren’t you going back to the party? What are you doing standing here?”
Xia Zhi wasn’t angry at all. She answered with a smile,
“You dragged me away so fast just now, my feet hurt. Can’t I rest for a bit?”
Alright…
Instantly, he felt less irritable.
Jiang Yifei rubbed his nose, “Let’s go, I’ll take you back.”
The radiant young lady looked at him, her eyes instantly filling with a smile,
“Thank you! Jiang Yifei, you’re so nice~”
Huh? He was nice?
Jiang Yifei looked puzzled and leaned in a little closer, studying Xia Zhi’s expression.
He didn’t detect even a hint of ‘sarcasm’ on her face.
So, this young lady was genuinely complimenting him…
But wasn’t he the one who tricked her into coming here? Did she really not hold it against him at all?
He felt inexplicably guilty…
Young Master Jiang let out a proud, muffled “hmph” from the back of his throat.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked ahead first,
“Let’s go.”
“Okay~”
Jiang Yifei was also very tall. Although not as tall as Pei Yuexuan, he definitely exceeded 185 cm.
He had long legs, a fiery and impatient temper, and always walked with purpose.
After walking a stretch, he realized Xia Zhi hadn’t caught up.
The man looked back and saw that Xia Zhi had covered less than ten meters.
He stopped and waited, his eyes sweeping over Xia Zhi from head to toe.
Her legs aren’t short either? Her waist is way too thin, did she even eat? Those shoes, do the heels have to be that high… Okay, no wonder she can’t walk fast…
By the time Xia Zhi caught up, Young Master Jiang, who had been silently complaining in his mind, had already come up with countless reasons for her slow pace.
Jiang Yifei suppressed his impatience and forced himself to slow down.
But his expression grew darker and darker, even the eyebrow piercing on his brow seemed to turn a deeper black.
He felt like he was walking at the pace of “an old man taking a leisurely stroll after dinner.”
Forcing his thoughts back, he broke the silence,
“Xia Zhi, I remember you were studying abroad, right?”
“Mhm, I just came back this month.”
“Going back?”
“No, I’m staying in S City.”
…
Jiang Yifei made idle conversation with Xia Zhi to pass the time.
All the while, he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
I accidentally caught sight of the shadow under the streetlight…
No.
Jiang Yifei asked Xia Zhi calmly, “Did you bring a bodyguard?”
“No,”
Xia Zhi shook her head, glanced at Jiang Yifei’s expression, and didn’t look back.
This street was full of quiet bars, so it was relatively peaceful to begin with. Tonight was a weekday, and there weren’t many people on the street at this hour.
Footsteps could already be heard from behind, and the person following was getting closer.
Xia Zhi looked up and saw that, sure enough, there were no surveillance cameras along this stretch of road.
She turned to look at Jiang Yifei, her eyes asking him what they should do.
Jiang Yifei frowned and said, “You go back by yoursel—”
His words cut off abruptly.
Because up ahead, two people suddenly emerged from a narrow alley.
Their hands were hidden in their sleeves, clearly holding weapons, and their intentions were far from good.
Now with people both in front and behind, it was impossible to tell Xia Zhi to go back to the party alone.
To make matters worse, he had no idea where he had tossed his phone earlier, and Xia Zhi didn’t seem to have brought hers either.
Without hesitation, Jiang Yifei suddenly stopped.
His entire demeanor changed in an instant, turning cold and menacing.
He quickly took off his jacket and handed it to Xia Zhi.
“Hide to the side. Don’t be afraid.”
He turned and strode toward the two men following them.
Xia Zhi was terrified. She really wasn’t very brave.
She pressed herself against the wall, standing under a streetlight half-covered in dust, clutching Jiang Yifei’s jacket tightly in her arms as she nervously watched the scene ahead.
Jiang Yifei was alone, while the other side had four men, all armed with knives.
He had clearly learned professional combat skills from a young age, striking fast, accurately, and ruthlessly. The four men were far less skilled, but they were desperate, unwilling to let go of this hard-won opportunity.
It was the complete opposite of the staged scene at Tang Palace earlier.
In just a minute or two, it felt like an eternity had passed.
Although Jiang Yifei could fight, his arms had been slashed several times, and his clothes were torn open at the stomach.
He couldn’t run either. If he ran, Xia Zhi would surely suffer.
He had no choice but to grit his teeth and hold on.
Damn it, he was probably going to lose half his life tonight.
But the next second, the blond-haired man on the right suddenly glanced at Xia Zhi twice, his expression changing.
Jiang Yifei, his nerves on high alert, noticed immediately.
This blond man knew Xia Zhi.
Sure enough, right after, the blond man was “accidentally” kicked by Jiang Yifei and rolled to the ground.
The knife in his hand slipped, “coincidentally” landing right at Jiang Yifei’s feet.
Hah, interesting.
Jiang Yifei’s expression remained unchanged as he quickly picked up the knife, grabbed the blond man from the ground, and pinned him by the neck.
The other three immediately stopped.
Jiang Yifei asked coldly, “Who sent you? My cousin?”
No one answered.
The blond man didn’t hesitate to grab the blade with his own hand, breaking free from Jiang Yifei’s grip.
The fight resumed.
But with the knife, he could buy a little more time.
Five minutes later, the sound of police sirens echoed in the distance.
No matter how quiet and deserted this street was, it was still a street with businesses operating.
Although no one dared to come out and help, someone had secretly called the police.
The four desperados exchanged glances and scattered, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.
The entire fight lasted less than ten minutes.
Xia Zhi stood by the wall, holding the man’s jacket, looking especially pitiful in her fear.
Jiang Yifei casually tossed the knife aside and turned around, seeing the little pitiful figure under the streetlight.
She was almost scared to tears, biting her lip and not daring to make a sound, her face full of worry and concern as she looked at him.
Damn, she’s really so obedient.
The man licked his back teeth and walked toward her.
“Hey, scared silly?”
Xia Zhi shook her head, then suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
“Jiang Yifei, you’re bleeding so much…”
What’s a little injury like this? Young Master Jiang has seen all kinds of storms since he was a child.
But…
With Xia Zhi holding his arm like this, his skin and hers were intimately pressed together, sending a tingling, numbing itch through him.
It didn’t feel bad at all.
“Ouch… it hurts…”
So, Jiang Yifei exaggerated his pain, leaning his whole body toward Xia Zhi.
Hiding the amusement in his eyes, he ‘struggled to speak’:
“Xia Zhi… save me! Hurry and take me away from here… ah… it hurts so much…”
Seeing the knife wound on the man’s body up close like this, the smell of blood kept rushing into her nose. The tears Xia Zhi had been holding back could no longer be contained.
A pampered young lady raised in a honey jar since childhood—when had she ever seen such a scene?
Tears instantly welled up and spilled over, dripping onto the man’s arm.
“Jiang Yifei, don’t be afraid, my driver is right ahead…”
The little Jiaojiao was so frightened that she cried while struggling to support Jiang Yifei, running toward the direction of Tang Palace.
Jiang Yifei simply wrapped his arm around and rested it on Xia Zhi’s shoulder, making it look as though he was holding her in his embrace.
He slowly withdrew his body weight to avoid crushing her.
Tsk, Xia Zhi.
How can you be so utterly endearing?