Chapter Twenty-F

Hearing those three words, Ye Mian felt somewhat relieved, but she had no idea who was hiding in the wardrobe, nor could she be certain Jiang Chen would be able to handle the situation. What she truly wished for was that Jiang Chen wouldn’t get hurt. So, in the next moment, she regretted it.

When she spoke again, her voice was already tinged with trembling. She bit her lip and said, “Forget it. I’ll bring it to you myself later. You can let Lingling know I’ll come over with you a bit later.”

On the other end, the environment changed; the sound of wind howled, and Jiang Chen’s deep, calm voice left no room for argument: “Don’t be afraid.”

“Wait, don’t—” Ye Mian had just begun to answer when a tremendous creak erupted from the wardrobe behind her, far louder than before. Heavy, dragging footsteps followed, each step drawing nearer.

Ye Mian never expected the person inside would actually come out. Her heart skipped a beat in terror. Before she could even turn, someone snatched her phone away. A beep sounded; the call was ended.

She was left no time to prepare herself mentally, and sweat pooled in her palms.

Turning around, Ye Mian saw Zhong Qian standing in the middle of the room. He was slightly taller than she was, enough to block out much of the light—like a looming shadow that inspired dread.

There was none of the innocence in his eyes that she’d seen during the day; only a bloodshot ferocity remained.

Ye Mian’s heart sank. She forced herself to stay calm as she backed toward the desk and asked, “Zhong Qian, what are you doing in my house? I haven’t done anything to provoke you, have I?”

“What do you think?” Zhong Qian sneered. She was speaking in such a soft, gentle tone, but never once met his eyes. Remembering the indifference she’d shown him earlier, that beautiful face, his pride shattered easily.

If she’d just greeted him a little more pleasantly earlier, he wouldn’t have acted so rashly. Ye Mian was his ideal, his unattainable dream—he could have pursued her properly.

But he was an elite university student, and the girl looked at him as if she couldn’t wait to dig herself eight hundred meters underground to escape him, refusing to say a single word.

No, she hadn’t provoked him, but even with that, she managed to enrage him—made him want her even more.

He remembered, even before he left for college, she was already stunning. In his reckless youth, he’d spied on her changing through her window. Back then, it was that brat Jiang Chen who’d hit him in the head with a brick.

He’d received compensation afterward, but he suffered for it, even spending a few days in detention.

So when he heard her calling Jiang Chen, he couldn’t suppress his twisted desires any longer. Knowing Jiang Chen would arrive in a little over ten minutes, Zhong Qian only wanted to hide the girl away as quickly as possible.

He wasted no words, and with a menacing glare, shoved Ye Mian to the ground.

A sharp gasp escaped Ye Mian as pain radiated from her lower back where she’d hit the desk.

She didn’t look at her injury, instead stubbornly tried to fend off the advancing man. “Don’t do anything rash—this is a crime, do you understand?”

“You’d better advise yourself to behave if you want to suffer less,” Zhong Qian grew more agitated, stepped forward, and yanked her hair hard, forcing her head back.

He poured a foul-smelling powder into her mouth.

Within minutes, the powder dissolved. Ye Mian felt her body go completely limp, all sensation lost.

She could only let him drag her around as he pleased, except her hand was still desperately gripping the edge of the desk, preventing him from taking her away.

It all happened far too quickly.

Ye Mian thought, if she survived this, she was going to make sure this pervert rotted in jail.

Fear and anger warred within her, unrelenting, until someone burst into the room.

In the darkness, Ye Mian’s eyes remained open.

She saw Jiang Chen enter, drenched with rain. Before she could see his expression clearly, he seized Zhong Qian by the collar, his face cold and stern, and slammed Zhong Qian’s head into the wall.

Zhong Qian cried out in pain, but a pervert remains a pervert—he didn’t beg for mercy, only grinned viciously, “I knew it was you, Jiang Chen. Let me go, I’ll pay for the damages and we’ll call it even.”

Now, Zhong Qian was as powerless as Ye Mian had been moments ago.

Ye Mian stared in horror as blood trickled down Zhong Qian’s forehead. She wanted to tell Jiang Chen not to lose control, not to be impulsive, but the strange drug rendered her helpless—she could only watch in silence, powerless.

All traces of Jiang Chen’s scholarly demeanor vanished as he hauled Zhong Qian up and slammed him again, his voice icy, “What did I say before? Stay away from her. How many times is this now?”

Ye Mian’s heart trembled as the drug intensified. She wanted to ponder the meaning of his words, but even that ability slipped away.

Zhong Qian squeezed his eyes shut from the pain, but laughed maniacally, “Why don’t you turn me in, then? When I get out, I’ll still come for her. You, a fatherless, motherless cur, still want to play the hero? Your father nearly beat you to death for that compensation money, didn’t he? You had to pay for hitting me. Do you even have money now?”

Jiang Chen showed no anger at the insult. He glanced at the girl, then dragged Zhong Qian into the bathroom.

A girl with eyes as lovely as almonds should never have to witness such things.

When he came back out, Jiang Chen had already washed his hands.

He picked Ye Mian up and laid her on the bed. Looking at the tears brimming in her eyes, he said softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’ve called an ambulance; it’ll be here soon.”

Jiang Chen, don’t do anything rash!

Ye Mian screamed in her mind as tears spilled from her eyes, vision growing hazy until only halos of light remained.

The dragging footsteps echoed in her ears, each one like the beginning of a nightmare.

—

On a rainy night, a boy dragged another man into the ruins of a building blackened by fire.

Thunder rolled across the heavens.

“What do you want?” Zhong Qian stared at him with desperate defiance. “You’re so damned annoying. I gave her the drug—when she wakes up tomorrow, she won’t remember a thing. No one will thank you for your miserable sacrifice.”

Jiang Chen’s fingers twitched almost imperceptibly. “That’s perfect.”

“Don’t believe me?” Zhong Qian jeered maliciously. “I like her, I want her. At worst, you can call the police and have me arrested. When I get out, I’ll still come for her.”

“You’ve always been trash, ever since we were kids,” Jiang Chen said with a cold smile, staring at Zhong Qian calmly. “I have no intention of calling the police.”

That caught Zhong Qian off guard—the smirk vanished from his face. “What did you say?”

Jiang Chen picked up a wooden stick and brought it down hard on Zhong Qian’s arm. The wood splintered, drawing blood. “You know what a worthless life is. I can let everything go, but can you? Are you willing to die? Are you ready to let your father die with you?”

“You… how dare you? All this for a woman?”

For the first time, Zhong Qian panicked. He wanted to believe the boy was just bluffing, but he saw it there in the eighteen-year-old’s eyes—cold, unmasked killing intent.

Jiang Chen glanced at him. “You think I won’t?”

From childhood, Zhong Qian had known this boy was not to be underestimated. At school, he always played the role of the model student, but behind the scenes, he was a mad dog.

…Was he really not afraid?

For the first time in his life, Zhong Qian felt the threat of death and shivered.

With the last of his strength, he grabbed Jiang Chen’s phone and used the emergency call to contact the police, hands shaking uncontrollably, clinging to life in utter disgrace.

Jiang Chen looked at him coolly, not stopping him, and let out a careless laugh. “Pathetic.”

A dozen minutes later, the wail of police sirens filled the air, stopping at the ruins. Both Jiang Chen and Zhong Qian were taken away by the officers.

Sitting next to Zhong Qian, Jiang Chen delivered his final words.

“When you get out next time, stay far away. Otherwise, I promise you’ll die a miserable death.”