"You should smile more, you're truly beautiful," Li Se said sincerely.
After this smile, Huang Shanshan returned to her cool and aloof demeanor, though she was immensely better than before. At the very least, she was no longer someone who pushed people a thousand miles away, and the aversion towards men in her eyes had vanished.
Li Se took Huang Shanshan's hand proactively and said, "Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal."
Unexpectedly, Huang Shanshan didn't pull away. She allowed Li Se to hold her hand.
Uncle Qiu sighed with emotion again, thinking that Li Se really knew how to woo women. He quickly informed Elder Huang of everything that had happened here.
"Haha!" Upon hearing this, Elder Huang couldn't stop smiling. "This Doctor Li indeed hasn't disappointed me. He's actually captured my granddaughter so quickly. Perhaps we'll be holding a great-grandchild soon."
Li Se and Huang Shanshan arrived at a Western restaurant and ordered two steaks.
"When did you start disliking men?" Li Se asked as he ate his steak. He knew that Huang Shanshan wouldn't have such deep-seated aversion towards men without reason. She must have experienced something that caused her to shut herself off.
A flicker of pain, even fear, suddenly appeared in Huang Shanshan's expression. She clenched her hands tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably, as if recalling something terrifying.
Noticing this, Li Se immediately took her hand and said gently, "Take a deep breath, relax. I'm here with you to face your past, to face what you've closed yourself off from and dared not recall. Only by confronting it can you truly move on from the past."
This had happened more than a decade ago. As Li Se listened to Huang Shanshan's account, although the man had not succeeded, he had inflicted severe emotional damage on Huang Shanshan. From that day on, Huang Shanshan became reclusive, refusing to interact with others, completely sealing off her inner self. Even now, she often had nightmares.
Only then did Li Se realize that this girl, who appeared incredibly cold and aloof, even to the bone, was actually very fragile inside, the kind who could shatter at a touch.
"It's all in the past now," Li Se said, holding her hand, his voice very gentle. "From now on, you won't be alone. Someone will protect you, someone will accompany you."
"Is it you?" Huang Shanshan looked at Li Se earnestly and asked.
Li Se didn't know how to answer for a moment. The question came a bit too suddenly; he had merely been guiding her. He then nodded and said, "Yes, me, and your grandfather, and your parents."
Huang Shanshan was somewhat displeased by Li Se's hesitation but didn't say much more. She withdrew her hand and resumed her cold, aloof demeanor. However, the extreme coldness from before was gone. Now, there was a touch more humanity in her, which made her even more alluring.
"Beautiful lady, can I have your contact information?"
Just then, a man in a suit approached. Upon seeing Huang Shanshan, he was captivated, especially by Huang Shanshan after her "iceberg" had begun to melt. She was even more alluring.
"Scram!" Huang Shanshan spat out the word coldly.
Even though her "iceberg" had melted, it had been melted by Li Se. As for other men, in her eyes, there was still aversion, and she didn't even want to spare them a second glance.
"Damn it!" The man was angered by Huang Shanshan's attitude. "Do you know who I am? There hasn't been a woman I've desired who escaped my grasp. Here's your choice: come with me immediately, or else..."
Before he could finish, Li Se interrupted, "Or else what?"
"Or else I'll call my men and drag her away. What, you have a problem with that?" Zhuo Fei said arrogantly. As a super-rich young master, he didn't take Li Se seriously at all.
*Slap!*
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Se slapped him.
"You dare to hit me?" Zhuo Fei was furious.
Li Se retorted, "You're threatening my girlfriend right in front of me, who else would I hit? Or do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're rich?"
"You just wait!" Zhuo Fei said through gritted teeth and turned to leave.
Li Se sat back down and continued eating his steak.
Huang Shanshan, however, kept her gaze fixed on Li Se. Upon closer inspection, she found him to be quite handsome, with fair skin but defined features, possessing a masculine aura.
"Are you taken with me?" Li Se suddenly flashed a smile he thought was very charming.
Huang Shanshan's cheeks flushed, and she immediately avoided Li Se's gaze. What was happening to her? She clearly wasn't supposed to dislike men, so why was she staring at this guy so intently?
However, before they could finish their steaks, the Zhuo Fei who had left returned, this time bringing more than a dozen men with him.
The security guards and the manager of the Western restaurant kept their distance. They preferred not to interfere when rich second-generation individuals like Zhuo Fei were involved, intending to appear only after everything was over.
"Kid, kneel down and apologize to me!" Zhuo Fei said triumphantly, looking at Li Se. "Weren't you very arrogant? Try being arrogant again!"
Huang Shanshan maintained her cold expression and said, "What, you couldn't beat my boyfriend alone, so now you've brought over a dozen people?"
Zhuo Fei was somewhat enraged, feeling belittled by the woman. He gritted his teeth and said, "When we get to bed, I'll see if you can still be so high and mighty."
"If you kneel and apologize now, I might let you off," Li Se said expressionlessly.
"Good lad, even now, you're still so arrogant!" Zhuo Fei raised his hand to slap Li Se, but his hand stopped in mid-air, firmly caught by Li Se.
"Ah!" A cry of pain escaped Zhuo Fei's throat. Li Se twisted his wrist, and a cracking sound was heard – a sound that was clearly painful.
*Bang!*
Then, Li Se kicked Zhuo Fei in the stomach, sending him flying backward.
All of this happened too quickly for the henchmen to react.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and attack!" Zhuo Fei roared, still disbelieving that more than ten men couldn't take down one person.
Li Se immediately shielded Huang Shanshan behind him. Facing the attack of more than a dozen people, he countered with ease. As one person attacked, he blocked and immediately counter-attacked.
*Bang, bang, bang...*
In less than five minutes, all thirteen men were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.
Everyone in the restaurant was stunned. How could this young man be so skilled at fighting?