Chapter 6

But the very next second, a pained grunt rang out.

Jiang Ye was suddenly kicked with such force that he went flying, crashing hard onto the floor.

A strong, warm arm caught my trembling shoulder just in time. I had no idea when the heavy door to the private room had been knocked off its hinges.

Zhou Xiangyu stepped out of the shadows in a perfectly tailored black suit.

His face was ice-cold, and a chilling aura of menace radiated from him. He stood there, looking down at Jiang Ye with the kind of contempt one might reserve for a crawling insect.

“Been a few days, and I see your manhood still hasn’t improved. But your urge to beat women certainly has.”

His voice was calm, yet terrifyingly authoritative.

“Jiang Ye, get on your knees and apologize to Hsu Lian. Now.”

It was the first time I had ever seen Zhou Xiangyu like this.

He was frightening.

Powerful.

Overwhelming.

For a moment, he looked exactly like the legendary underworld kingpin from the movies.

The moment Zhou Xiangyu finished speaking, two burly men in black suits stormed into the room and forced Jiang Ye down onto the floor despite his furious struggle.

His knee slammed against the tile with a sickening thud.

I looked up at the sharp, masculine profile of the man beside me, and the unbearable tension inside my body suddenly began to ease.

The person I had once been most afraid of, the person I had desperately tried to run from, was now the one making me feel completely safe.

As long as he stood here, whatever storm raged outside seemed to stop at the door.

My trembling hand instinctively clutched the hem of his shirt.

The moment he felt it, his arm tightened around me, drawing me firmly against the solid warmth of his chest.

“Zhou Xiangyu! What the hell does this have to do with you—”

Jiang Ye’s furious roar died in his throat when his eyes landed on the way I was clinging to Zhou Xiangyu’s shirt.

Something seemed to click in his mind.

He let out a bitter laugh and glared at me with pure resentment.

“Hsu Lian, don’t tell me you dumped me so you could get into his bed?”

His voice dripped with malice.

“You really think he’s some good guy? Or are you actually stupid enough to believe this butcher is going to marry you and make you the mistress of the Zhou family?”

Zhou Xiangyu didn’t bother arguing with him.

He merely gave a slight glance toward his men.

The two bodyguards immediately increased the pressure, wrenching Jiang Ye’s shoulder joint behind his back.

Pain contorted his face until he could barely manage broken groans.

It took him a long while to lift his head.

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Zhou Xiangyu with pure hatred.

“Zhou Xiangyu… You’ve got some nerve.”

His breathing was ragged.

“I treated you like a brother, and this is how you repay me? By stealing my girlfriend!”

Zhou Xiangyu didn’t even flinch.

The corner of his lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked down at Jiang Ye.

“Jiang Ye, is your memory really that bad?”

His voice was almost leisurely.

“I’ve never stolen anything from you. You handed her to me yourself.”

“You were the one who went crazy and let her go first. You complained that she was too obedient, too boring.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward me.

“I happen to like obedient women.”

Jiang Ye was left speechless.

He opened his mouth, gasping for breath, but couldn’t come up with a single word in his defense.

“Jiang Ye, my patience is limited.”

Zhou Xiangyu’s voice dropped, carrying a bone-chilling warning.

Under that suffocating pressure, Jiang Ye finally lowered his head.

Through gritted teeth, he forced out three words.

“I’m sorry… Hsu Lian.”

Only after Zhou Xiangyu carried me out to the car did the tension finally drain from my body.

And then the fear I’d been holding back came crashing down like a tidal wave.

The dam inside me broke.

Tears poured down my face, unstoppable and overwhelming. I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. I sobbed helplessly, tears and mucus soaking through the expensive black silk shirt covering his chest.

A helpless sigh came from above my head.

His fingers roughly tilted my chin upward, forcing me to meet his deep, dark eyes.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Don’t tell me you’re crying because you regret dumping that coward.”

I hiccupped between sobs and shook my head frantically.

“I… I swear… I don’t regret him. I just… I’m scared…”

The last time I had cried, it had been because I was mourning the foolish first love of my youth.

But this time, I was crying because I had finally realized that my first love had turned into something terrifying—a violent monster.

Because of the scars left by my family, I had always been terrified of violent men.

My horrible father had been a nightmare throughout my childhood, beating my mother and me for no reason at all.

Fortunately, when I was in sixth grade, he went fishing one day, slipped, and drowned.

It felt as though heaven itself had finally decided to rid us of that menace, bringing those dark years to an end.

But Jiang Ye’s madness tonight had ripped open those old wounds.

For a moment, I had nearly followed the same path my mother once had…

The thought made my tears fall even harder.

Everything I had buried and endured since childhood came pouring out all at once.

A rough but warm finger gently wiped the tears from the corner of my eye.

Zhou Xiangyu clicked his tongue twice, his voice low and helpless.

“Your tear ducts must be connected straight to a water treatment plant.”

He sighed.

“Hsu Lian, what am I supposed to do with you?”

He complained, but the arm around me only tightened.

He didn’t seem to mind that I was using his expensive designer shirt as a tissue.

He gave my cheek a light pinch, and I looked up at him with the most pitiful expression I could manage.

He laughed, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Good girl. Since you’re not interested in him anymore, I’ll allow you to cry a little longer.”

He glanced down at his shirt.

“But I didn’t bring a handkerchief today. So be a little careful with this shirt, okay? Save some space for the next round of tears.”

His teasing made me want to cry and laugh at the same time.

In the end, I obediently rested my head against his chest and gave a quiet little hum of agreement.

It was strange.

Zhou Xiangyu was exactly the kind of dangerous man I should have stayed a thousand miles away from—a man who commanded bodyguards and held power in both the underworld and the respectable world.

And yet, curled up in his arms as the car sped through the darkness, I felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

Before long, I drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.