The Smell of Burning

With the moon high in the sky, Qu Xiaoqi strolled leisurely on her way home, having not gone to dinner with Su Chen. It was just an excuse to reject Qin Yu. Qu Xiaoqi truly hadn't expected Qin Yu to be so shameless, to have undergone plastic surgery and stayed by her side—how despicable. Just thinking about it made her angry! 

"Indeed, what Zhang Li sister said was right, Qin Yu is such a... scoundrel!" It took Qu Xiaoqi a while to squeeze out these words. But at least now she had seen Qin Yu's true face, which was a silver lining. She couldn't continue to be deceived like this, no matter what.

Qu Xiaoqi felt relieved. She had actually gone to her best friend's house to find a way to get rid of Qin Yu's entanglement. Eventually, they decided the solution was to rely on Su Chen; as long as she stayed close to Su Chen, she could get rid of Qin Yu. Although there were reasons Su Chen couldn't personally take action against Qin Yu, even so, he could still bring about a destructive pain to Qin Yu. Therefore, the only way was to turn to Su Chen for help.

In Qu Xiaoqi's mind, Su Chen was someone who could do anything. And actually, Su Chen wasn't too bad in her eyes either. Before, she was afraid she couldn't compete with those other women, but now she thought, maybe there was no need to compete. Seeing how well Yang Yuxin and Su Xian'er got along previously, Qu Xiaoqi eventually managed to clear her mind.

Feeling much more relaxed, Qu Xiaoqi brightened up and said, "It looks like starting from tomorrow, I'll have to go and properly seduce Su Chen." With this thought, she quickened her steps to get home. The atmosphere had changed, and Qu Xiaoqi couldn't help feeling a little scared. She was, after all, just a young girl; how could she not be frightened? 

Normally, she would be escorted by bodyguards, but today, because she was in a bad mood, she told them not to bother her, so she didn't bring any bodyguards along. In fact, she went to her best friend's house all alone. Her best friend didn't come from a wealthy and privileged family, so there was even less of a chance for someone to escort her home.

Now, the darkness of the night made Qu Xiaoqi feel scared. She wondered if it was because of Qin Yu's appearance. Qu Xiaoqi thought it was very likely; Qin Yu seemed like a demon, and nothing good ever happened when he was around. But then again, she reasoned, this is a law-abiding society; how could there be so many bad people? She was probably just scaring herself. With this realization, Qu Xiaoqi relaxed quite a bit.

Still, she couldn't help but take out her pepper spray and stun gun, just to be safe. It's better to be safe than sorry, she thought, especially now with Qin Yu around. Qu Xiaoqi was even more cautious, and quickly armed herself with these two items in case of an emergency.

But just as Qu Xiaoqi picked up her weapons and let her guard down, several drunken thugs appeared before her. She tensed up, her heartbeat loud in her ears. Her first thought was that she shouldn't be here; maybe she should just stay at her best friend's house for the night. For some reason, during this dangerous moment, the image of Su Chen flashed through her mind. Better safe than sorry, especially with these thugs around, she thought, preparing to turn around and leave.

However, due to her fear, she made too much noise moving, instantly drawing the attention of the thugs. "Who's there?" As the men quickly approached, Qu Xiaoqi became very nervous. She thought to run; that was her first instinct, and she didn't want to think too much about it now. These thugs looked like trouble, and she needed to get away fast.

But it was clear that among the thugs, there was someone strong, because as soon as Qu Xiaoqi realized she needed to get away, that person had already approached her quickly and blocked her path. Qu Xiaoqi was frightened. She saw in his eyes the same greedy look that she had seen in Qin Yu, which terrified her.

But she knew that fear was useless now; she had to stay calm. Qu Xiaoqi comforted herself internally and managed to calm her inner fear quickly: "Please let me pass, I need to get through!"

Although Qu Xiaoqi looked like a college student, she really did fit the part and immediately made the lead thug very nervous. He scrutinized her and could tell from her clothing that she was not ordinary—she must be someone important. Quickly, he concealed the greed in his eyes, and the other thugs, seeing their leader hold back, naturally did not dare to offend her either. 

They just watched as Qu Xiaoqi left. Right then, Qin Yu ran out and seeing Qu Xiaoqi's state, he immediately understood what had happened and was overjoyed at the thought of her trouble, thinking it was his chance to play the hero.

Qin Yu was delighted, confident despite his previous failed attempts at heroism, because Su Chen wasn't there. He had seen Su Chen going home with his own eyes. With Su Chen gone, no one could stop him. It seemed like the heavens were aiding him. Qin Yu brightened up, realizing for the first time how beautiful Qu Xiaoqi was, like a treasure he was eager to possess. 

After he rescues her, she must harbor feelings of admiration for him. Qin Yu felt the identity of Zhou Mingjie was incredibly useful and unstoppable. Zhang Li and Lin Qingyan, wait for the day when you will bow to me, he thought.

Approaching her, Qin Yu said, "Why are you turning back? I thought your house was the other way." Qin Yu certainly wouldn't allow Qu Xiaoqi to leave so easily and lose his chance to be a hero, so he insisted she go back. When Qu Xiaoqi heard Qin Yu's words, she frowned, not understanding what he meant. 

When Qin Yu thought she was too scared to speak, his happiness grew, and he was eager to show off. "Xiaoqi, don't worry, I will protect you, just head back home safely," he said, positioning himself in front of the thugs.

Then, with a mocking tone, Qin Yu said, "Kneel and beg for mercy nicely, and maybe I'll mercifully spare you, otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless." But the threat from Qin Yu only provoked anger from the thugs. Initially, they were going to let Qu Xiaoqi leave and not cause trouble, but Qin Yu's sudden boastfulness displeased them. 

"Idiot, what are you thinking? Why should we kneel to you, stupid!" 

"You fool, is your brain not functioning?" The thugs laughed, clearly finding Qin Yu's behavior ridiculous.

Suddenly, the typically righteous Qin Yu, hearing these words, froze in disbelief, then stared at the thugs in front of him and said sternly, "You dare speak to me like that?" 

"Why wouldn't I dare? Actually, I really shouldn't, talking to you is like insulting my intelligence," the thugs retorted, laughing even harder. Qin Yu, who had never been mocked like this, grew increasingly angry. Su Chen dared to bully him, and now these thugs dared to disrespect him.

Qin Yu was incensed. Having dominated the world for years, who didn't bow down to Qin Yu? And now, to be humiliated by a few lowly thugs—they weren't qualified. Today was the day for Qin Yu to showcase his power. Without hesitation, he activated all the strength within his body, stepped forward, and with all his might, struck the thugs with his palm. Despite their leader having some skills, he was no match for Qin Yu, a war god, and was quickly overpowered.

Qin Yu's blows were heavy, and although it didn't appear severe on the surface, the damage inflicted was not light. But Qin Yu felt vindicated, channeling all the torment he endured these days onto these thugs as if they were Su Chen, and it felt like a release.

Of course, Qin Yu did not forget the most important thing at hand, which was to win Qu Xiaoqi's heart. Watching her stand there dumbfounded and silent, particularly with that adorably dazed expression, he felt very pleased with himself. Qin Yu was confident that Qu Xiaoqi must have been touched by his action. 

He thought, "Without Su Chen's interference, playing the hero is so easy. Qu Xiaoqi must be moved by now." This belief made Qin Yu even more determined to get rid of Su Chen as soon as possible. Even though everything seemed to be against him at the moment, as long as he could defeat Su Chen, he was sure he could turn all the bad into good. He believed he had the ability to turn the tide.

Qin Yu ran a hand through his hair, displaying the legendary slicked-back look, and walked over to Qu Xiaoqi with a soft smile, thinking to help her up with gentlemanly grace. "It's okay now, with me here, you won't get hurt. Let me check if you are injured," he said, reaching out to help Qu Xiaoqi up. But just then, Qu Xiaoqi suddenly pulled out a stun gun from her bag and sent a hundred thousand volts coursing through Qin Yu's body.

With the crackle of electricity and the smell of burning in the air, Qin Yu let out a scream of pain. However, being a war god, he didn't lose consciousness immediately but looked at Qu Xiaoqi with eyes full of confusion and disbelief. He could not understand why Qu Xiaoqi would treat him this way. Was it because his true identity as Qin Yu had been revealed? He was so caught up in his delusions that he failed to notice Qu Xiaoqi's actions and was caught off guard by the stun gun.

Many thoughts raced through Qin Yu's mind, but he knew it was impossible for her to have realized his true identity—after all, even Su Chen hadn't noticed. But now, Qin Yu could not comprehend why Qu Xiaoqi had suddenly turned on him. Meanwhile, Qu Xiaoqi, seeing Qin Yu still staring, panicked, fearing he hadn't been shocked enough and might retaliate. Therefore, she pulled out her pepper spray and sprayed it into Qin Yu's eyes until almost half the bottle was empty.

Now, Qin Yu couldn't resist any longer. His spirit completely broken, he fell into a deep unconsciousness, unmoving. Qu Xiaoqi sighed in relief and turned to leave. "Qin Yu is really a jerk, trying to deceive me with that same old hero act. Doesn't he ever get tired of it?" she thought angrily. It was too coincidental that every time she was in trouble, Qin Yu would appear and 'rescue' her. Qu Xiaoqi could guess that such a foolish plan could only have been conceived by Qin Yu.

All of this was unknown to Su Chen. He returned home and fell into a deep sleep after an exhausting evening. The next day he was woken up by the ringing of his phone. Irritated, he picked up the call without looking. "Fang Han, have you lost your mind? Why are you calling me this early?" he snapped. 

Fang Han cheerily replied, "Big brother, I've got good news." 

"Fine, I'm hanging up now," Su Chen said, knowing there wouldn't be any serious matter. Fang Han was probably excited about meeting another beautiful woman. Su Chen had no interest in that now; dealing with women every day was wearing him out. Moreover, he hadn't forgotten that it was Fang Han who brought Zhao Menghan to him. 

Maybe it was another female lead, and he was oblivious to it, but meeting her could potentially trigger a new storyline. Su Chen now fully understood that life was most carefree when there were no storylines to follow, so he didn't want to go looking for trouble. "Don't, don't, brother, I'm also going to study now, in the same class as you, and there will be a few good brothers there too," Fang Han said confidently. 

"How about that, brother? From now on, I won't let you speak ill of me there." Su Chen was initially tense, but then relaxed, realizing it probably wasn't anything significant.