Gu Yan felt he had gone mad and kicked him hard, but he dodged it.
“Xu Tao, if you dare lay a hand on me, he will never let you go.”
Xu Tao sneered coldly, “Gu Yan, even if I die, I’ll drag you down with me.”
As he finished speaking, his hand reached for Gu Yan’s coat.
Gu Yan gritted her teeth and slammed into him with all her might.
Xu Tao staggered, and in the next second, he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.
“You bitch, you were begging for Qu Xiao to touch you when you climbed into his bed. Why are you pretending to be innocent now?”
The corner of Gu Yan’s mouth was split from the blow. She was truly panicking now—Xu Tao stood nearly 1.84 meters tall and worked out regularly, making her completely defenseless against him.
She had no idea what had provoked Xu Tao to this state as she watched him descend further into madness.
Gu Yan felt a pen lying on the sofa, grabbed it, and stabbed it hard toward his neck.
Xu Tao instinctively tried to dodge, but it still plunged into his shoulder.
Seizing the moment he was in pain, Gu Yan pushed him away, pulled open the door, and shouted outside, “Call the police, call the police now!”
Employees who heard the commotion rushed over and saw Gu Yan running toward them in disarray.
The staff Qu Xiao had assigned quickly stepped forward to ask, “Miss Gu, what happened?”
Gu Yan tightened her clothes. “Someone tried to assault me in the office. Call the police immediately.”
Li Qing and Gu Xianzhe, hearing the news, hurried over as well. Seeing Gu Yan’s state, they rushed to her side.
“Xiao Yan, what happened? How did you end up like this?”
Seeing Gu Xianzhe, Gu Yan grabbed his hand tightly. “Dad, that lunatic Xu Tao tried to assault me. He’s gone mad. Call the police quickly.”
By then, Xu Tao had been restrained by several employees, glaring viciously at Gu Yan.
Not long after they called the police, Qu Xiao arrived even before the officers.
The moment he entered Gu Corporation, the entire atmosphere froze as if encased in ice, his presence radiating a chilling aura.
He made his way straight to Gu Yan’s office. Yu Yang pushed the door open and saw Xu Tao held down to one side.
Gu Yan was leaning against Gu Xianzhe, who was comforting her softly.
Qu Xiao’s first glance went to Gu Yan, noticing the split at the corner of her mouth. He strode directly toward Xu Tao.
Upon seeing Qu Xiao, Xu Tao began to tremble with fear—he was finally scared.
His boldness had stemmed from drinking too much the previous night and hearing certain remarks, which led him to confront Gu Yan early this morning, still intoxicated.
His voice trembling, he pleaded, “Master Qu, I was drunk, I didn’t mean it, I beg you—”
Before he could finish, Qu Xiao kicked him hard under the chin, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Several of Xu Tao’s teeth were knocked out, and he lay on the ground, groaning in agony.
Qu Xiao’s face was dark with rage, his voice dripping with murderous intent. “I can’t even bring myself to lay a hand on her, and you dared to hit her.”
As he spoke, the veins on his neck bulged, a clear sign his fury had reached its breaking point.
He reached out to Yu Yang, who handed him the gun from the small of his back.
Qu Xiao chambered a bullet and aimed it at Xu Tao’s head. “Since you’ve had enough of living, I’ll grant your wish.”
Xu Tao was so terrified that he lost control of his bladder and bowels. He never expected Qu Xiao to care so deeply about Gu Yan, and in that moment, he was filled with regret.
Seeing that a life was about to be lost, Gu Xianzhe quickly pulled Gu Yan up. Knowing he couldn’t persuade Qu Xiao, he pushed Gu Yan forward instead.
Gu Yan finally snapped out of it and grabbed the hand holding the gun. “Uncle Qu.”
Qu Xiao turned to look at her bruised lip, his expression growing even darker.
“What do you want me to do?”
Gu Yan took the gun from his hand and passed it to Yu Yang, then held his hand. “I don’t want you to have blood on your hands because of me.”
It was a human life after all. If Xu Tao died here today, even if Qu Xiao could cover it up, it would still leave a stain on his record.
Qu Xiao looked at her, then bent down and picked her up. “Yu Yang, break the hand he used to hit my person. If he doesn’t confess, break both.”
“Yes, sir.”
Qu Xiao had only taken two steps with Gu Yan in his arms when he paused, making everyone’s hearts leap into their throats.
He turned back to look at Gu Xianzhe. “President Gu, I’m taking her back to apply some medicine.”
Gu Xianzhe nodded. “Alright, drive safely.”
After Qu Xiao left, Yu Yang and his men dragged Xu Tao away as well.
Once they were gone, Gu Xianzhe let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, no one had died.
Aside from Qu Xiao’s men, the employees of Gu Corporation were all terrified. Some even considered resigning.
Li Qing comforted them for a while, urging them to return to their duties, then she and Gu Xianzhe went back to discussing company matters.
To be honest, she was also shaken, but after calmly analyzing the situation, she concluded that Qu Xiao’s concern for Gu Yan was actually a good thing for her.
…
In the car.
Even nestled in Qu Xiao’s arms, Gu Yan could feel his barely suppressed rage. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Uncle Qu, I’m fine now. Please don’t be angry.”
Qu Xiao looked down at her, his thumb gently stroking her bruised lip. “Does it hurt?”
Gu Yan hadn’t felt particularly wronged until he asked, but now her nose tingled and tears began to fall.
Her crying made Qu Xiao flustered. He wiped her tears away. “Does it hurt that much? We’ll go to the hospital right now. Yu Yang, turn around and head to the hospital.”
Gu Yan quickly said, “It doesn’t hurt. There’s no need to go to the hospital.”
“Then why are you crying?” Qu Xiao held her as if she were a porcelain doll, afraid he might break her with the slightest mishandling.
And that bastard Xu Tao actually dared to hit her. It seemed he had been too lenient.
Suddenly, a sharp, intimidating aura emanated from him again.
Gu Yan instinctively moved closer. “Uncle Qu.”
Qu Xiao responded softly, patting her back. “I’m here. If we’re not going to the hospital, we’ll go home. I’ll call a doctor to check on you there.”
Gu Yan initially wanted to say that her slightly bruised lip was nothing, but seeing how careful he was being, she simply nodded and rested quietly in his embrace.
Qu Xiao rested his chin on her head, his arms unconsciously tightening around her.
How could he have let anyone hurt her? He had been too careless.
He suddenly remembered what Gu Yan had said earlier: “The weather’s getting cold; the Xu family should go bankrupt.” It seemed it was indeed time for them to go bankrupt.
…
Biguiyuan Residential Area.
Tang Qingru had stepped out to buy some things when he glanced up and saw a familiar figure standing across the street.He paused in his tracks, instinctively wanting to turn back, yet his feet seemed to have taken root, unable to move half a step.
Qi Yan simply watched him, their eyes meeting across the space.
In the end, it was Qi Yan who spoke first. “Let’s talk.”