After leaving Shen Corporation, Ning Zhiyuan found the weather too hot, so the driver took a shortcut through a narrow alley on the way back.
At the entrance stood several tattooed thugs holding clubs, surrounding a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen. Their expressions were anything but friendly.
Even the well-traveled driver felt a headache coming on.
Of all the times to run into something like this.
There were no bodyguards in the car, only him and Miss Ning. If a conflict broke out, she might get hurt.
Thinking quickly, he prepared to speed through.
Noticing his troubled expression, Ning Zhiyuan asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Miss Ning, there’s a fight ahead. I’m going to accelerate and get past quickly. Please be careful.”
He put it as tactfully as possible.
Ning Zhiyuan wasn’t scared in the slightest. The boy being surrounded looked oddly familiar. When she spotted the distinctive tear mole beneath his left eye, she immediately said,
“Stop the car.”
The driver thought he’d misheard.
“What?”
She tapped the back of the driver’s seat.
“Stop the car.”
A Rolls-Royce came to a halt beside the group.
The scar-faced leader glanced at the luxury car that clearly didn’t belong there and waved them away.
“What are you staring at? Get lost, or we’ll beat you up too.”
His underlings and Cheng Ye also turned toward the unexpected visitors.
Cheng Ye tried to run, only to be grabbed by the back of his collar and dragged back into the circle.
The driver stiffened but said nothing.
Ning Zhiyuan simply rolled down the window.
“Why? Not allowed to look?”
“You little brat. Too much curiosity is going to get you into trouble.”
The scar-faced man spat on the ground arrogantly.
He’d expected someone important.
Instead, it was just a young girl and a driver.
There were so many of them. What was there to be afraid of?
One of his subordinates, however, recognized her and quickly tugged at his sleeve.
“Boss, that’s Miss Ning. The Shen family’s young master is her fiancé, and her boyfriend is from the Pei family. We can’t afford to mess with her.”
Hearing that, Cheng Ye looked up as well.
The girl in the back seat was beautiful, dressed in expensive custom-made clothes. The car’s air conditioning was strong enough that not a single drop of sweat appeared on her forehead. She looked cool, clean, and completely out of place in this grimy alley.
Their eyes met.
There was amusement in her gaze, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
Uncomfortable, Cheng Ye looked away and tugged at the stretched-out collar of his T-shirt.
A trace of hesitation crossed the scar-faced man’s face.
The kid seemed to know this rich young lady.
They dealt in loan collection, not legitimate business. Offending someone from a powerful family was asking for trouble.
He’d heard plenty about Shen Li as well.
People like them couldn’t afford to provoke someone of that level.
Still…
Letting such an easy target go would hurt his reputation.
Why not let the young lady speak up and claim the boy? That way they could earn her favor and walk away without losing face.
The scar-faced man stepped forward with a flattering grin.
“Miss Ning, is this kid one of your people?”
Ning Zhiyuan casually adjusted her collar and didn’t answer immediately.
Silence often carried many meanings.
And it created pressure.
Cheng Ye clenched and unclenched his fists several times. His breathing became subtly uneven.
A brief moment stretched endlessly.
Yet the first person unable to withstand the pressure was the scar-faced man.
Out of caution toward the influential families involved, he quickly said,
“In that case, for Miss Ning’s sake—”
“I don’t know him.”
With that, Ning Zhiyuan rolled up the window.
Cheng Ye was smart.
Since he clearly didn’t appreciate her earlier help, why should she keep trying?
The car pulled away.
The scar-faced man realized he’d been played.
Furious, he shouted,
“Get him! Beat him to death!”
A storm of fists and kicks rained down.
Curling into himself, Cheng Ye protected his face with his arms and endured the blows.
He couldn’t let Grandma see he’d been hurt.
She would worry.
The scar-faced man vented his humiliation by grabbing Cheng Ye’s collar and hauling him upright.
“Weren’t you good at running? Run now!”
Cheng Ye glared at him with blazing hatred.
But in the eyes of the strong, the anger of the weak was often just a joke.
The man patted Cheng Ye’s face mockingly with the back of his hand.
“At least you’ve got a good-looking face.”
Before anyone could react, he grabbed Cheng Ye’s head and slammed the side of his face hard against the wall.
A sharp pain exploded through him.
His vision blurred.
Warm liquid streamed down his face.
Everything in front of him turned red.
But something mattered even more than the pain.
His face was injured.
Like an enraged beast, Cheng Ye seized the man’s arm and tackled him to the ground.
At first the others joined in, trying to hold him down.
Soon, however, Cheng Ye abandoned all concern for himself.
His attacks became desperate and savage.
No one dared get close.
Sitting astride the scar-faced man, he threw punch after punch.
The man beneath him became a bloody mess, barely conscious.
Cheng Ye didn’t look much better.
Blood had dried across his face, turning his delicate features into something straight out of a nightmare.
The underlings were so frightened their legs trembled.
Eventually he stopped.
Swaying slightly, he rose to his feet.
Behind him, the scar-faced man still found the strength to threaten him.
“If you don’t pay up, we’ll keep coming after you. Your uncle and aunt can hide, but that old hag of a grandmother can’t. She’s still living in that old house, isn’t she?”
Cheng Ye paused for a moment.
Then he continued walking.
…
When his aunt saw him covered in blood, she screamed.
“Oh my god! You little bastard! What happened to your face?”
“You wouldn’t work at the club when I told you to. Now your face is ruined. Even if you wanted to go, nobody would want you! How are we supposed to get the money now?”
After rinsing himself off and changing clothes, Cheng Ye returned to his room and began stuffing all his belongings into a woven sack.
His aunt grabbed the bag from behind.
“Wait!”
“I saw that Miss Ning on the news. Her family is rich, and her fiancé is rich too. She helped you before because she likes your face!”
“If you become her lover, our whole family will be saved!”
Dragging the bag forward, Cheng Ye yanked hard.
His aunt pulled even harder.
“Did you hear what I said?”
The fragile sack was close to tearing apart.
Without warning, Cheng Ye released it.
Caught off balance, his aunt fell flat on her back.
Immediately, she began cursing.
“My back! You little bastard! Are you trying to kill me?”
Picking up the sack, Cheng Ye left without looking back.
The endless stream of insults faded behind him.
…
Back at the old house, his grandmother was already terribly weak.
Lying in bed, her breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible.
When she saw him, she reached out and gently touched his face.
“Xiaoye, did you get into a fight?”
“No. I just fell.”
Her gaze shifted to the clothes he’d brought back.
She didn’t ask any questions.
She knew exactly what kind of people her son and daughter-in-law were.
Afraid that Cheng Ye would have no one to rely on after her death, she had used her own failing life to force them to take him in.
Yet in the end, he had still come back.
“What happened to your face?”
Instinctively, Cheng Ye covered it.
“Maybe there’s some dirt on it. I’ll go wash up.”
Inside the bathroom, he stared at the mirror.
The wound along his brow was deep enough to expose bone.
He had cleaned the blood earlier, but after his grandmother touched him, it had begun bleeding again.
Looking at the damaged face reflected in the mirror, he remembered the amused look in that young lady’s eyes.
His aunt’s words suddenly seemed ridiculous.
What capital did he still have left?
Closing his eyes, Cheng Ye let out a long breath.
Unless he had absolutely no other choice…
He would never take that path.