When Qin Yuhe saw what was happening inside the room, all the blood in his body seemed to erupt like a volcano, boiling over in an instant.
Song Xinya had black tape stuck over her mouth. Her arms and legs were bound, her body curled up like a helpless little shrimp waiting to be slaughtered, lying on the cold floor.
Someone as fastidious as she was had dust smeared all over her clothes and body.
A man was crouched beside her, undoing the buttons of her clothes.
Sheng Tianjun complained impatiently, “Damn it, why are you wearing so many buttons today? Why did you put on a shirt dress? If you’d worn something easier to take off, I’d already be inside you by now.”
The bouquet of roses struck the floor. Petals scattered in every direction, bright red against the ground.
Qin Yuhe grabbed Sheng Tianjun by the collar and hauled him up. Then—bang!—he slammed a fist into Sheng Tianjun’s face.
Sheng Tianjun was sent flying. His back crashed heavily against the hard wall, and a tooth shot from his mouth, landed on the floor, and rolled away with a hollow clatter.
Song Xinya had kept her eyes tightly shut in despair. The moment she opened them and saw Qin Yuhe’s face, she felt something beyond the power of words to describe.
China had accumulated five thousand years of written language, yet not one character or phrase could accurately express what she felt at that moment.
Sheng Tianjun had taunted and humiliated her with filthy words, cursed her, and used a pair of disgusting hands to strip away her clothes. She had endured it all in silence, forcing herself not to cry.
But the moment she saw Qin Yuhe, two streams of hot tears spilled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
She wept so hard that her eyes shimmered with tears.
Pitiful and disheveled.
She, who had always possessed such strong pride.
Tiantianquan, Chen Siyan, and Meirongshi rushed to the doorway. Instinctively, the three of them tried to charge inside and see what was happening.
Qin Yuhe swung the door shut behind him, blocking their view.
He strode over and lifted her from the floor.
Sitting down on the sofa, he settled her on his thigh.
With one arm around her, he used his other hand to wipe away her tears.
Her tears soaked into his palm, burning against his skin.
How hot could tears possibly be? Qin Yuhe felt the pain anyway.
The dampness in his palm gradually increased. At first, there was only a faint streak of moisture. Then it gathered into a shallow pool, trickling down along the lines of his palm.
She had suffered so much.
Song Xinya felt terribly wronged.
She had done nothing. Why should she have to endure such humiliation?
When people are hurt and wronged, they often do not cry. But when they see someone who truly cares about them, they do.
Pain makes a person harden themselves. Concern, however, can bring the soul crumbling down.
In front of someone who cares, all the grievance and vulnerability compressed inside finally have somewhere to rest.
When someone is protecting you with all their heart, you no longer have to pretend to be strong.
Her tears were completely beyond her control, falling nonstop like pearls from a broken string.
She could not stop them.
Song Xinya sobbed until she could barely catch her breath.
Qin Yuhe tore away the black tape covering her mouth, lowered his head, and kissed her lips.
It was a kiss devoid of lust—gentle, light, and cautious, as though he were soothing her wounds.
Their lips met, warm and soft.
He kissed her with extraordinary care, slowly and delicately: first her cupid’s bow, then the corner of her mouth, and finally from one corner to the other.
She could clearly feel how smooth and soft the skin of his lips was.
The tip of his tongue brushed across her lips, moistening their dryness.
His uniquely pleasant scent drifted into her nose and sank deep into her lungs. It wound through every inch of her body, coursing through her limbs and bones, driving away the chill within her and warming her from the inside out.
Her sobs gradually eased.
The turbulent grievance surging through her heart was gently soothed by him. Like a balloon swollen to the point of bursting, its seal had finally been loosened, allowing the pressure to slowly escape.
Her emotions began to settle.
Only then did Qin Yuhe pull away from her lips.
He took off his suit jacket and draped it over her.
The lining still held the warmth of his body, resting snugly against hers.
Song Xinya curled farther into his jacket. Once her hands and feet were free to move, she realized that sometime while he had been kissing her, he had already untied the rough hemp rope binding her wrists and ankles.
Qin Yuhe’s low voice sounded above her head. “Good girl, are you still scared?”
Song Xinya wrapped both arms around his waist. “No. I wasn’t afraid anymore the moment I saw you.”
A quiet “Mm” rumbled from Qin Yuhe’s chest. He wiped the tears from her face and said, “Tiantianquan and Chen Siyan are outside. Go with them for now.”
Song Xinya knew what was about to happen and shook her head. “I want to stay here with you.”
Qin Yuhe did not tell her no. Instead, he went along with her wishes. He took a pair of wireless earbuds from his suit pocket and placed them in her ears.
“Don’t listen to what happens next.”
He pulled the suit jacket up over her head, covering it completely.
“And don’t look either.”
With Qin Yuhe’s jacket draped over her head, she could not help thinking of a bride in ancient times beneath her red wedding veil, even though there was not the slightest trace of festivity in the scene before her.
He had used his suit jacket to build a tiny paradise around her—safe, quiet, and peaceful, keeping all the storms of the outside world away from her.
At that moment, Sheng Tianjun, who had been knocked to the floor, finally recovered enough to stand.
He wiped the blood from his mouth, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and sneered at the man before him. “You’ve got your eye on her too, huh? Everyone likes beautiful things. But there’s an order to these things. I saw her first, so I’ll have my fun first. When I’m tired of her, I’ll hand her over to you.”
“Have your fun with your mother!”
Bang!
Qin Yuhe slammed another fist into Sheng Tianjun’s face.
Another tooth shot from Sheng Tianjun’s mouth and landed on the floor, rolling through the mixture of blood and saliva.
The usually refined and impeccably mannered Crown Prince Qin had completely lost control.
He walked over to Sheng Tianjun. Just as Sheng Tianjun tried to crawl up, Qin Yuhe kicked him in the chest, sending him flying two meters away.
At that moment, Sheng Tianjun was like a rag doll—flung through the air before crashing heavily back to the floor.
“Ugh—”
He vomited a large mouthful of blood.
Qin Yuhe still did not let him off.
He advanced on Sheng Tianjun, his tall, powerful body casting a shadow that completely engulfed him.
Sheng Tianjun’s vision darkened. It felt as if night had fallen.
There was a wooden table in the room used for storing things. Qin Yuhe seized Sheng Tianjun by the head and dragged him up, then violently smashed his head down onto the table.
Bang!
The wooden table collapsed.
Sheng Tianjun fell to the floor amid the broken pieces of wood. Blood blurred his eyes as he writhed and struggled, unable even to crawl away.
Outside the room, Tiantianquan, Chen Siyan, and Meirongshi heard the nonstop thuds coming from inside.
They were the sounds of fists striking flesh, each blow brutal and heavy. Just listening to them was enough to make their hearts pound and the hairs on their bodies stand on end.
Tiantianquan said worriedly, “Could President Qin be the one getting beaten?”
Meirongshi: “President Qin looks so refined and elegant. I doubt he knows how to fight.”
Chen Siyan: “What kind of nonsense are you two talking? What man wouldn’t fight if he saw his woman being bullied? Not only would he fight—he’d beat the other guy half to death.”
Tiantianquan: “That little bastard Sheng Tianjun is vicious. He might have a knife, a club, or even a gun hidden in the room. President Qin could be in danger.”
Meirongshi: “No matter how hard your fists are, they’re no match for a knife. If that boy stabs President Qin, one good cut could leave him helpless. He’d have no choice but to take a beating.”
Knives and swords showed no mercy. A single stab could cause enough blood loss to kill a person.
After listening to the two women, Chen Siyan began to worry too.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, several thugs Sheng Tianjun had brought with him rushed over. They opened the door first and charged inside.
Every one of them was broad-shouldered and heavily built, with muscles like iron knots.
Tiantianquan, Chen Siyan, and Meirongshi watched in horror.
What were they going to do? President Qin was about to get beaten up!
Chen Siyan glanced around the corridor, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the corner, and shouted, “Aaaah! Charge! President Qin, I’m coming to save you!”
He ran toward the doorway with the fire extinguisher in hand, only to see a burly man fly out of the room and slam into the floor with a bang.
Chen Siyan came to an abrupt stop. Huh? What was going on?
Immediately afterward, a second, third, fourth, and fifth thug flew out of the room one after another, tumbling out like dumplings into a pot.
Every one of them had a bloody, battered head and was screaming in agony.
Tiantianquan, Chen Siyan, and Meirongshi stood there, dumbfounded.
They had been worried that President Qin would get beaten up, but apparently, their concern had been completely unnecessary.
Inside the room, Song Xinya had obediently followed Qin Yuhe’s instructions. She sat on the sofa with earphones plugged in, his suit jacket draped over her head.
The tall, slender man gently pinched her earlobe and removed the earphones from her ears.
Qin Yuhe bent down and lifted her into his arms.
“Good girl. I’m taking you home.”
