Xu Yanxia's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately shouted, "Everyone, get up quickly!"
At the same time, she swiftly stood up to back away.
However, the person had already thrown the contents of an open thermos directly at her.
Almost simultaneously, Lu Jingming, who was beside her, immediately pulled her into his arms, using his body to shield her from the splashed liquid.
The scene froze for a second.
Immediately after, Xu Yanxia was heard screaming, "Jingming!"
It all happened so fast; she couldn't be blamed for not anticipating that the person would be crazy to such an extent!
Nor did she expect that Lu Jingming would actually use his own body to block it for her!!!
She immediately pulled out of his embrace to check on him. Fortunately, she had backed away in time, and only a small amount of the solution had splashed onto the back of his clothes. She hurriedly pulled off his coat and asked anxiously, "Did any get on your skin? Hurry, go rinse it with water! Let's go!!!"
Saying this, she tried to drag him toward the restroom.
But to her surprise, Lu Jingming told her, "Don't be afraid, Xiao Xia, don't be afraid. We already swapped out his stuff. It's just warm water and white vinegar, not hydrochloric acid. Don't be afraid."
What?
Xu Yanxia was stunned.
Looking to the side, she finally realized that the restaurant's security guards had rushed in at some point. Together with several burly men in plain clothes, they had pinned down the person who threw the liquid at her.
When they pulled off the mask from his face, it was indeed Lin Hengnan.
At this moment, the man was still roaring at her in defiance, "Xiao Xia, you are mine!"
"You can't marry anyone else!!! You can't..."
Before he could finish his words, his mouth was covered by a security guard wearing gloves.
Another man wearing an earpiece hurried over and said to Lu Jingming, "Rest assured, President Lu, the danger has been completely neutralized."
Lu Jingming nodded and asked him, "Are the police here?"
The man nodded and said, "They'll be here any minute."
"Good."
He then turned to the restaurant manager who had rushed over and said, "Thank you for your establishment's cooperation. This person is currently suspected of at least three major crimes: illegal purchase and sale of dangerous substances, intentional injury, and endangering public safety. The relevant authorities will definitely deal with him severely, and I hope your restaurant will continue to actively cooperate with the investigation."
"Rest assured, definitely!"
The restaurant manager hurriedly told him, "We will certainly cooperate in earnest. If there's anything you need, as long as it's within our power, we will fully support you!"
"I am also very grateful for President Lu's warning today. On behalf of all the staff, I express my highest respect to you!"
"Thank you so much!!!"
Damn it, if it hadn't been for this great President Lu's warning, their decades-old establishment would have been ruined by this sick pervert!
That was strong hydrochloric acid!!!
If it had been splashed, who knows how many people would have been hurt!!!
Just as the restaurant manager silently cursed Lin's ancestors to the eighteenth generation several times over, the police cars arrived at the front of the restaurant.
The restaurant manager immediately led the security guards to take Lin Hengnan outside.
However, the crowd in the hall was still in shock and full of confusion.
Especially Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu, who asked anxiously, "What happened? Who is that person? What was he trying to do today?"
Recovering from the shock, Xu Zhanpeng hurriedly comforted them, "Grandpa, Grandma, don't be afraid. That was just a psychologically twisted person who wanted to cause trouble, but President Lu discovered it in advance and took precautions. He has been handed over to the police now. It's fine, don't worry."
Saying that, he quickly addressed the other relatives and friends, "Everyone, don't worry, everything is fine now. Let's continue eating."
As the waiters served the dishes, the banquet continued.
At the young people's table, the waiters had also quickly cleaned up the messed-up tables and chairs, arranging them neatly again.
Cold and hot dishes were brought out one after another.
The sour smell of white vinegar in the air was gradually masked by the aroma of delicious food.
But Xu Yanxia still had many doubts waiting to be resolved.
She frowned at Lu Jingming, her eyes full of questions.
Lu Jingming paused and asked her, "Do you want to find a place so I can tell you in detail?"
"Yes."
She immediately agreed.
He smiled and said to the friends at the table, "Sorry, I have something to take care of and need to leave first. Enjoy your meal, everyone."
"No problem."
"Take care, Brother Lu!"
"Thank you so much for today, Brother Lu!!!"
The younger siblings at the table nodded in understanding and waved goodbye to him.
Lu Jingming put his hands together in a gesture of appreciation, then went to greet Xu Zhanpeng, Luo Jiajia, and the elders of both families.
Then, he led Xu Yanxia out of the restaurant.
The driver was still waiting for him in the parking lot. The two got into the car and drove all the way to the hotel where he was staying.
They took the elevator and returned to his room.
As soon as he closed the door, Xu Yanxia immediately asked him, "Did you know all along that Lin Hengnan was going to throw hydrochloric acid at me? And you swapped his stuff? What exactly is going on? How did you find out?"
Lu Jingming replied, "After seeing you last night, I noticed he was also in your neighborhood, seemingly spying. I found it suspicious, so I arranged for someone to tail him."
"At first, I didn't know he was going to do something so vicious. It wasn't until this morning, when he was followed all the way from dozens of kilometers away to the restaurant where you're holding the engagement banquet, and I saw him disguised as a restaurant employee carrying that thermos, that I was certain he had gone completely insane."
"So, you also arranged things with the restaurant? That's how you managed to quietly swap his stuff?" Xu Yanxia asked him again.
"Of course," Lu Jingming nodded. "I couldn't let anything happen to you. But since he was so vicious, we had to let him commit the actual act of the crime to solidify the charge of intentional injury. Otherwise, if it were just the crime of illegal purchase and transportation of dangerous substances, he would still have plenty of room to talk his way out of it. That would be letting him off too easily."
Of course, to be honest, given the current situation, even giving that pervert the severest punishment still wouldn't feel like enough to him.
...
However, as soon as his voice fell, he saw Xu Yanxia frowning at him as she said, "Then why didn't you tell me?"
Lu Jingming paused and hurriedly apologized to her, "I'm sorry, time was too tight back then. I only confirmed that everything could proceed smoothly near the very end... I made you scared."
"Of course I was scared!"
The girl in front of him already had red-rimmed eyes. "If something happened to you, how could I explain it to the Chairman and his wife? They are so good to me! How could I explain it to myself?"
"I would hate myself for the rest of my life!" she said, crying.
"Xiao Xia..." Lu Jingming was stunned.
He had only thought that she was afraid of being hurt by that thug.
He never expected that her fear was actually because of him?
He paused, wanting to speak.
But then he saw her crying again as she said, "I would hate myself for not letting go of my burdens sooner to respond to your feelings!"
"For just watching you sacrifice for me without being able to do anything for you in return!"
"I would hate myself for letting you get hurt because of me!"
"It was so hard, so incredibly hard for me to meet someone so good, so truly good..."
Before she could even finish speaking, Lu Jingming had already pulled her into his arms.
"I'm sorry."
He spoke in a low, hushed voice, his heart breaking.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have made you worry, and I shouldn't have put such a burden on you."
"It's all my fault."
"Please, don't cry..."
But the girl only buried her face in his chest and continued to sob.
