Looking up, she saw a handsome man with a stern face, filled with anger, as if he wanted to devour her alive.
She instinctively shrank back and hid behind Mother Yun in fear.
Mother Yun, protective of her daughter, said, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. That’s your older brother.”
Then she turned to Yun Ruizhe and said, “Ruizhe, don’t scare your sister. She’s timid.”
“I think she’s quite bold. She almost pushed you over just now. Mom, don’t spoil her too much.”
“Alright, alright, stop arguing. Shanshan, go eat first,” Father Yun said.
He felt quite helpless toward this newly found daughter. Her unruly, almost rogue-like personality gave him a headache.
Thinking back to how quiet and well-behaved Yun Shu used to be, the contrast made it hard for him to accept.
But there was nothing he could do—after all, she was his biological daughter.
Her current personality was also partly their fault for not watching over her properly back then. He felt guilty and could only try to guide and change her slowly.
…
Yun Shu knew nothing about the chaos in the Yun household. After taking a shower, she lay on her bed, trying to call out to the system in her mind.
But no matter how she called, there was no response. She felt deeply upset and was eager to accumulate affection points quickly so the system could regain its energy.
Time quickly passed to the afternoon. Yun Shu changed into a white dress and applied some lip balm to make her lips look less pale. Before 5 PM, she set out for the restaurant.
It was rush hour, and traffic was heavy. Looking at the long line of cars outside the window, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
If she were late because of traffic and left a bad impression, that would be terrible.
Fortunately, it didn’t take too long before the cars ahead began moving, and her taxi slowly followed.
When she arrived at the restaurant, there were less than twenty minutes left. As soon as she entered, the receptionist took her backstage.
There were already several people inside. Since she didn’t know them, she stood at the door and greeted them.
“Hello everyone, I’m Yun Shu, the new violin teacher.”
Everyone paused when they saw such a beautiful and elegant girl.
“Hi, I’m the pianist. My name is Li Qing,” said a girl with a high ponytail and delicate makeup, stepping forward to greet her.
“Hello,” Yun Shu replied with a smile, shaking her hand.
A man who was wiping a Lexus casually glanced at her and said briefly, “Zhou Ye.”
“Hello,” Yun Shu replied, noticing his long, slightly curly hair—very much the look of an artistic young man.
“Hi, I’m also a violin teacher. My name is Ji Meijie,” another girl said shyly.
“Hello.”
After greeting everyone, Yun Shu didn’t know what else to say. She had rarely interacted with people growing up and wasn’t good at socializing.
Seeing that she was a bit reserved, Li Qing asked her to sit on the sofa while they prepared for the performance.
Yun Shu wondered: Wasn’t she supposed to perform today?
But no one told her what she was supposed to do.
“Teacher, yesterday the manager said I should play a piece for you so you could evaluate me,” Yun Shu finally mustered the courage to ask Zhou Ye.
“Oh, I don’t know. You should ask the manager about that.”
Yun Shu bit her lip and looked at the others, but they were all busy with their own tasks.
Left with no choice, she walked out of the backstage office and went to the front desk to ask where the manager was.
The receptionist impatiently told her to wait, then lowered her head and started organizing papers.
Yun Shu felt lost. She looked around the restaurant, searching for the manager, but couldn’t find him.
At that moment, a drunk man passing by suddenly stopped, grabbed her arm, and reeked of alcohol.
“Hehe, pretty girl, want to come with me? Ten thousand for one night.”
“Let go of me! I’m not that kind of person!” Yun Shu struggled to pull her arm free, but it was useless.
“Oh? Too little? Look at how skinny you are—offering this much is already generous. Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. With arms like yours, I don’t think you can take much, hahaha…”
Yun Shu was terrified. She had no strength to break free, so she began to shout.
“Let go of me! Help! Can someone help me?!”
But the people in the restaurant, knowing the man’s background, didn’t dare step forward.
“Damn it, why are you yelling? Once you’re in my bed, you can scream all you want, hahaha.” The man dragged her toward the door.
Yun Shu began to cry in fear. Seeing no one helping her, she turned to the receptionist.
“Please help me! Can you call the manager? I don’t know this man—you know me, I came here to play the violin!”
The man glared at the receptionist, who shrank back in fear.
“Come on, pretty girl,” he said, yanking her forward. She stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby rack, which collapsed loudly onto the floor.
Even so, it didn’t stop him. The more she resisted, the more excited he seemed.
Fear and panic filled her entire body.
Her already pale face turned even whiter. She felt cold all over, as if her heart had stopped beating.
In her blurred vision, she thought she saw Doctor Shi. She wanted to call out, but her lips barely moved.
“Shi…”
At that moment—
Bang!
The man fell to the ground, a tooth knocked out of his mouth, blood spilling.
As he fell, he dragged Yun Shu with him, causing her to fall sideways.
Shi Muchuan rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
The moment he caught her, he realized something was wrong. He patted her face urgently.
“Yun Shu? Yun Shu? Yun Shu, wake up!”
“Damn it! Which bastard just hit me?! Come out!” The man stood up, spat blood, and began shouting angrily.
“Qin Kai, call the police and an ambulance—quick!” Shi Muchuan ordered, then bent down, gave Yun Shu rescue breaths, and began performing CPR.
Seeing this, everyone realized something serious had happened—this might be a matter of life and death.
Whispers spread among the crowd. At that moment, the manager finally rushed downstairs.
“Move aside! Move aside!” he shouted, pushing through the crowd to Yun Shu.
The man beside them was still cursing. When the manager saw him, his face changed—this was the local bully of their area.