9-
“Let me go!”
“You pervert!”
The man pinned her hands and pressed them above her head.
“Stop shouting. It’s so noisy here, no one will notice you.”
“Be good, don’t cry.”
The greasy middle-aged man forced her onto the floor.
Ruan Tiantian’s back slammed painfully against the ground. She looked up.
Her vision darkened as the man’s oily, bloated face loomed before her.
Accompanied by the heavy stench of alcohol and an unknown sour odor.
It churned her stomach, making her feel sick.
She gagged.
Instantly, the greasy middle-aged man’s temper flared.
“Damn it! How dare you disgust me? I’ll make sure to dirty you.”
Just then, Shen Xiuyu heard the man’s cursing
and Ruan Tiantian’s cries for help.
His heart turned cold, a shiver running down his spine. With a grim expression, he hurried toward the source of the sound.
One glance was all it took for the volcano inside him to erupt!
Veins bulged on his forehead as he clenched his jaw, his masseter muscles twitching with rage.
The greasy middle-aged man was tearing at Ruan Tiantian’s short skirt.
Her slender arms struggled relentlessly against him.
Shen Xiuyu rushed over, grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt,
and slammed him hard onto the ground.
He swung his fists, punching the man again and again.
An aura of bloodthirsty fury surrounded him, his eyes red with rage. The muscles in his fair arms tensed, veins bulging prominently beneath the skin.
The man’s pig-like screams echoed through the hallway.
His entire face was twisted into a grotesque, disgusting mess, like a rat from the sewers.
Shen Xiuyu, eyes red, grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him up from the ground. Then, bending his knee, he slammed it viciously into the man’s abdomen.
The man coughed up blood, his face now unrecognizable—bruised purple and green, with blood streaming from his forehead.
The pig-like screams drew out a crowd.
They saw a handsome young man beating another man half to death, radiating a fierce, ruthless aura.
With a life-or-death intensity to his actions, no one dared step forward to intervene.
Ruan Tiantian sat slumped on the ground, hugging herself, unable to hold back her sobs.
At that moment, she was terrified to the core, yet her gaze toward the middle-aged man was fierce and venomous.
She was both afraid and desperate for revenge, her small fists clenched tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably from her beautiful round eyes.
Ruan Tiantian’s crying snapped Shen Xiuyu back to his senses, and he lowered his raised fist.
He kicked the man aside like trash.
Then he turned to look at Ruan Tiantian.
He ran over, knelt on one knee, and reached out to hold her, but hesitated, afraid she might be scared of him.
Seeing it was Shen Xiuyu, Ruan Tiantian threw herself fiercely into his arms.
Her slender, pale hands wrapped around his waist.
As if she had found her anchor, she wept uncontrollably.
Her pretty little face was streaked with tears.
Her thin shoulders trembled incessantly, her whole body shaking.
Her once-white T-shirt was now stained.
He wrapped his arms around Ruan Tiantian.
His hand rested on her back, gently soothing her.
Softening his voice, he spoke carefully, afraid of frightening her, “Don’t be afraid, stop crying. It’s all my fault for scaring you.”
At that moment, Shen Xiuyu wished he could tear himself apart. Why had he scared her off? If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been in danger.
He held the girl tightly; her body was cool to the touch, soft and fragrant.
Each sob from Ruan Tiantian felt like a whip lashing his heart.
He grew anxious, unsure what to do—he had never been in this situation before.
All he could do was clumsily comfort the girl in his arms, over and over.
He cradled Ruan Tiantian’s head and patted her back gently.
“Be good, don’t cry anymore.”
Gradually, listening to the boy’s gentle, soothing voice, Ruan Tiantian’s crying subsided.
His embrace was broad and warm.
She could even catch a faint scent of mint and tobacco, which wasn’t unpleasant at all.
Ruan Tiantian’s anxious heart slowly settled into calm.
Just then, Lu Wenjie, Tan Song, and Du Xiaofeng came out looking for them.
Seeing the two sitting on the ground, locked in an embrace, and the man lying half-dead in the corner, Lu Wenjie understood what had happened with a single glance.
He immediately dialed 120 and called an ambulance.
Tan Song walked over and asked, “Brother Yu, what should we do now?”
Shen Xiuyu glanced at the man in the corner and asked, “Has the ambulance been called?”
Du Xiaofeng frowned. “Old Lu just called, but I heard someone say the police have already been notified.”
Shen Xiuyu looked down at Ruan Tiantian in his arms, then bent down, scooped her up, and stood.
He said to the others, “Stay here and handle this for me. I’ll take her away first. Contact me if anything comes up.”
Lu Wenjie: “Mm.”
Then he carried Ruan Tiantian to the parking spot.
He set her down and glanced at her dirty T-shirt.
He reached out, gently wiping away the tears at the corner of the girl’s eyes.
“Feeling better now?”
Ruan Tiantian looked at Shen Xiuyu. In the boy’s narrow, peach-blossom eyes, she saw only her own reflection.
The veins on the back of his hand were prominent, tinged with red, bruised and swollen.
“Y-Your hand… does it hurt?”
Shen Xiuyu curved his lips into a smile. “It doesn’t hurt. As long as you’re okay.”
Then he took one of his own black sport jackets from the car and handed it to Ruan Tiantian.