"Do you only have brute force? Don't forget, you're someone who has secret manuals by their side."
And while Ren Yuanhao was communicating with the system in his mind, he was slightly distracted, allowing his opponent to find an opening. His handsome and sunny face took a solid punch right to it!
"Yuanhao!"
Ma Ruixi's pretty face turned pale. She quickly supported the staggering Ren Yuanhao. Seeing Ren Yuanhao struck by such a heavy punch to a vital spot, he felt the world spin. The rich perfume scent rushed into his nostrils, but instead of invigorating him, it made him feel somewhat nauseous. Li Tiancheng, having landed a blow, had no intention of stopping. He stomped his left foot forward heavily, and his right hand immediately shot out like a poisonous dragon aiming for Ren Yuanhao's ribs!
And at that moment, Ren Yuanhao, with his eyes half-closed and feeling groggy, saw a frail white figure block him without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing this, Ren Yuanhao felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He leaped forward and embraced Ma Ruixi. Unfortunately, his back was completely exposed to the opponent's punch. There was no way he could dodge this blow!
Crack~
A faint sound of bone twisting came from Ren Yuanhao's back. The pain was piercing. His slightly flushed face contorted so much it was almost as if it was one piece, showing the immense power of the punch.
Ma Ruixi felt a surge of post-fear. When she had leaped forward to block the punch for Ren Yuanhao, she hadn't considered the consequences. If this punch had landed on her, she would have likely died instantly, or at least taken a trip to the gates of hell.
"Yuanhao, Yuanhao, are you alright? Don't be a hero, let's go, let's go!"
She turned around and hugged the somewhat dazed Ren Yuanhao.
Her life had been short and uneventful. Her mother worked in a garment factory, changing styles as ordered, with others ready to replace her if she refused. Her father drove for a private boss; if the boss told him to go east, he wouldn't dare go west. If the boss was happy, he'd give him petty cash; if not, he'd berate him endlessly. Resistance meant unemployment.
Her parents' lives had repeatedly shown her the meaning of "submission." She too had intended to endure, but seeing the dim light flickering in Ren Yuanhao's nearly closed eyes and the slight upward curve of his lips finally gave her the courage. She glared at Li Tiancheng, who stood tall like a mountain, and yelled:
"Get out of the way!"
"Damn it, you little wench, dare to yell at me, showing no respect!"
Slap!
Her defiance was immediately met with a slap. Her vision went black, her face burned with pain, and a metallic taste filled her nostrils. Crimson blood fell silently to the ground.
How many times had she endured such a slap?
She couldn't remember, nor did she want to. She had escaped that bleak family and come to this foreign land, only to repeat the same pattern?
Her ears suddenly went silent, as if she were in a deep valley. When she looked up, everything was dim. Slowly, a gust of wind reached her ears, and within it seemed to be faint murmurs, or perhaps mockery.
"See? Resistance only puts you in a disadvantageous position. If you want everything to go smoothly, you must lower your arrogant head."
—Just like last night, if you just lower your head, everything will be fine!
The scattered sounds faded with the wind. She clenched her hands, trembling, as if an invisible force pressed down on her head, pushing it down, not just 70 degrees, but 90 degrees. As long as she bowed her head, everything would pass!
Slap!
Ma Ruixi was slapped again, leaving her disoriented.
"Wench, your man can't protect you, hurry up and get out of my way!"
Li Tiancheng had raised his hand, ready to strike again!
But just then, a harsh voice echoed from the doorway.
"Why are you all just standing around?"
This voice carried a mix of laziness, decay, and violence, as if all negative emotions were concentrated within it. Though the voice wasn't loud, it was enough to make everyone present tremble with fear, especially after the incident at the bar last night. The violence in this voice was even more pronounced!
"President, why... why are you here?"
Li Tiancheng's voice suddenly lowered. He knew very well that as a dog, he could only get scraps and everything he desired by cowering before his master.
Pei Qing was about the same height as Ren Yuanhao. As he raised his hand, Li Tiancheng lowered himself again until the President's hand could rest steadily on his shoulder.
A chilling smile played on his lips.
"If I hadn't come, your dirty hands would have beaten this delicate flower until she was battered and bruised, wouldn't they?"
His voice grew lower, like a serpent slithering through the grass, its ferocity laced with a deadly stillness. Li Tiancheng's body also sank lower. His instincts told him that only by humbling himself could he ensure his safety.
"Tell me, little girl, how did this man hit you?"
Pei Qing leaned almost half his body against Li Tiancheng, his smile unwavering. His gaze was like that of a serpent, or the water in a cold abyss, chilling to the bone.
Similar to the oppressive stillness of the bar yesterday, it crept like a venomous snake along Ma Ruixi's clean ankles, slowly climbing upwards. The noise of the air conditioner seemed unusually prominent at this moment, and even more apparent was her own heartbeat!
She dared not answer. Pei Qing took two steps forward, glancing at the man behind this woman. Since Ren Yuanhao's head was bowed and he was swaying precariously, he couldn't see his face.
"Is this guy Xiao Jie's successor?"
In the entire room, apart from the hum of the air conditioner, there was no other sound. The atmosphere was so dead silent it was suffocating.
Pei Qing's unruly temper flared. He grabbed a chair and smashed it towards the central air conditioner next to him. After a flurry of blows, the air conditioner panel was covered in dense holes, much like those left by a woodpecker on a tree trunk. After a few blue sparks, it stopped working.
The temperature suddenly rose, but the atmosphere grew even colder.
"Is no one going to speak?" Pei Qing suddenly drew a gleaming knife from his waist, slammed it onto the table, and said, "Little girl, I'll give you a chance now. For every time that guy surnamed Li hit you, you stab him that many times, how about it, huh?!"
As Pei Qing asked repeatedly, he leaned forward, placing the short dagger, glinting with cold light, into Ma Ruixi's hand.
Li Tiancheng didn't dare to look up. He knew that if he said another word at this moment, he would likely get stabbed. His current inaction was a gamble that the little girl surnamed Ma wouldn't dare to act rashly.
However, Ma Ruixi, gripping the dagger blade, with an unusual glint of coldness in her eyes, walked towards Li Tiancheng step by step.