[In the book review section, I saw everyone saying that one update is not enough. Alright, starting from next Monday, I will return to updating two chapters. Although the new book does not have many words, I still hope everyone will support more, ask for recommendations, collect, and reward. Here again, thanks for the reward from the cool one! I bow in gratitude!]
"What are you standing there daydreaming for? Hurry up and call someone from your family to pay up," the shrew snapped, pointing at Zhou Ruoran's nose.
"I have no family."
As Zhou Ruoran spoke these words, she felt a sudden pang of sorrow in her nose. The world seemed so vast, yet she felt like a solitary leaf drifting aimlessly, with nowhere to belong.
"Hmph, ugly ghost, are you planning to play dumb with me? But you've picked the wrong place. You should go out and ask around about who I am."
As the shrew spoke, she reached out with a large hand and pushed directly at Zhou Ruoran. Zhou Ruoran, who was already frail, lost her balance from the shove and fell to the ground.
Clatter...
As Zhou Ruoran hit the ground, she knocked over an antique porcelain vase in the hallway behind her, shattering it and scattering pieces all over the ground. Her right hand was also cut by the shards, and blood flowed out.
"Sister Ruoran," Wu Min had not expected the other party to start a physical altercation, so she ran over and helped Zhou Ruoran up.
"What gives you the right to hit people!" Wu Min glared angrily at the shrew.
The shrew seemed not to have even noticed Wu Min.
"Well, well, you dare to act up here after breaking the wine, and you even smashed the vase. Xiao Ma, you saw everything, didn't you? Call the police, let them handle this," she commanded.
Everyone present clearly saw that it was the shrew who pushed Zhou Ruoran, causing the vase to tip over, not as she claimed. However, there were few guests around, and the people nearby were either waiters or food runners, and not one of them was willing to stand up and confront the supervisor.
"Understood, Sister Zhang." The waiter named Xiao Ma said before turning to make the call.
At that moment, Zhou Ruoran wasn't concerned about her own injuries; what worried her most was the bottle of wine she had broken. She was a top law student and the responsibility for the broken wine bottle indeed lied with her.
In Huaxia Country, the legal system stipulates that if one causes economic loss to another and cannot compensate timely, and if the other party sues, one must bear the legal responsibility.
She was soon to attend the interview for graduate studies at the Central Institute of Politics and Law, and if she had this blemish against her now, it could ruin her entire life.
"Supervisor, can you give me some time for the wine issue? I will definitely find a way to repay it."
After hearing Zhou Ruoran's words, the shrew snorted coldly. "What will you pay with? With the pitiful salary of just over a thousand a month? Or will you go out to 'sell' yourself to pay back the money? With a ghostly face like yours, even if you 'sell', who would dare to buy?"
"You..." Wu Min felt her face flush with anger.
"Sister Ruoran, let's not beg her. I played a part in this as well. If needs be, I'll help you pay back the money for the wine," Wu Min glared fiercely at the shrew.
Wu Min's situation was well known to Zhou Ruoran. Her family was in a mountain village, and she worked to lessen their burden, she hardly had much money herself.
What should I do?
Ding Fan's hospital bills had already used up her tuition for graduate studies. Now, having grown up in the Ding Family, and with the family now ruined, who would lend her money?
Helplessness, deep helplessness overwhelmed her. If she didn't resolve the situation quickly, she would regret it all her life.
Snap...
As Zhou Ruoran felt helpless, a crisp slap resounded.
And before the onlookers could react, the shrew staggered, and by the time she steadied herself, everyone saw that her right cheek was swollen like a pig's head. Clearly, the slap that was heard had come from hitting her.
"Who... who the..."
The shrew was about to say, who the hell dares to hit me? But before she could finish, another slap flew her way. This time she felt her body sway and then her plump body fell directly to the ground.
Wu Min was shocked. At the Phoenix Building, not just the waiters and runners, but even the chefs in the back kitchen, nobody ever dared to provoke the shrew. Her man was reportedly one of the deputy managers of the Phoenix Building, and she could not understand who would have the guts to hit her.
At this moment, a figure appeared before everyone. It was clear that he had delivered the two slaps.
This was a man with a lean figure, but his simple and neat haircut gave him a sense of vigor. His face was handsome and clean, and his gaze was calm, yet it seemed to hold a storm of thunder.
A handsome man indeed.
Zhou Ruoran could see the newcomer clearly. She was initially startled. However, she didn't understand why he would be here at this time.
It was none other than Ding Fan.
"You dare touch me, do you believe I can have you killed?" the shrew blustered in rage, but her head swollen like a pig's, and her hair in complete disarray, made her look like a lunatic.
Ding Fan acted as if he hadn't heard the old hag's words, and walked straight to Zhou Ruoran's side. He didn't speak a word to Zhou Ruoran, only assessing her injuries.
Zhou Ruoran looked at Ding Fan, unsure of what he intended to do, but for some reason, she faintly saw a trace of heartache and anger in his eyes.
Was he feeling heartache for her? Was he angry because she was being bullied?
Zhou Ruoran thought it impossible. Ding Fan had bullied her far worse before, yet she had never seen even a hint of heartache from him.
"Kid, what are you to this ugly freak? Just so you know, you will definitely regret this if you dare to touch me…" the old hag, supported by two waiters, stood up.
Bang!
While the old hag was still rambling, Ding Fan fiercely kicked her.
Boom! The old hag's massive body was instantly flipped onto the ground by Ding Fan.
Everyone present was stunned. They hadn't seen how Ding Fan's kick had been executed—it was so fast. One second, Ding Fan was standing in front of Zhou Ruoran, and the next, he had already kicked.
It was incredibly fast.
Since his rebirth, it had always been Zhou Ruoran silently taking care of him. Though their paths were ultimately different, seeing Zhou Ruoran's aggrieved tears and the blood on her hands, Ding Fan grew angry.
Although the old hag was a woman, she had bullied Zhou Ruoran to such an extent. Not killing her with that kick was already letting her off easy.
Thud thud… a series of footsteps came from the stairwell. It wasn't long before five or six security guards appeared before everyone.
Ding Fan subtly moved his feet, shielding Zhou Ruoran behind him.
"You guys, let those two go. One is that ugly freak, and the other is the guy beside her."
After being floored by Ding Fan's kick, the old hag initially intended to slam into him to kill him, but seeing her people coming, she suddenly felt spirited. In her eyes, even if Ding Fan could fight, it wasn't possible for one man to defeat an entire security team.
The security team's leader, Wang Gang, was a burly middle-aged man. Once a soldier, he had been hired as the security chief at Phoenix Building due to his abilities.
Wang Gang assessed the situation, and just as he was deciding how to handle it, Ding Fan spoke.
"This isn't your concern. Get lost!"
"Fuck! Kid, you're still acting tough! Wang Gang, today, I want you to beat this kid till his mother doesn't recognize him. I'll give you a thousand yuan bonus. If you break his legs and make it so he can never stand again, I'll give you ten thousand!" the old hag yelled at Wang Gang.
Ding Fan's eyes flashed with intense murderous intent. Ten thousand yuan, they actually thought they could buy his legs for that.
"We were wrong about this, Manager Zhang. We are willing to pay a fine, any amount..."
Before Ding Fan could step forward, Zhou Ruoran saw the situation escalating and intervened. Regardless, it was best to get past the incident first. With her postgraduate entrance interview imminent, she didn't want to stir up trouble.
"Ugly freak, what are you thinking? Scared now, are you? Let me tell you, none of you are getting out of this unscathed today. Wang Gang, what are you waiting for? Act now!" The old hag yelled, hands on hips, much like a shrew in a quarrel.
"Cripple him!"
Wang Gang gestured with a wave of his hand. After all, the old hag was the vice president's wife of the hotel; it was his duty to save her face.
Wang Gang's five subordinates split into two groups and moved to surround Ding Fan.
Zhou Ruoran was also flustered by now. She saw that Ding Fan was standing up for her, but he was just a reckless young master, and these guards were combat soldiers retired from the army. How could Ding Fan possibly be a match for them…
Watching the security guards closing in on him, Ding Fan snorted coldly. Even though his cultivation was only at the First Level of Qi Cultivation, he remembered many martial arts techniques. Facing five security guards alone wasn't something daunting to him.
Whoosh! Ding Fan didn't wait for them to make a move and took action first. He leaped over a meter high and kicked out with his right foot, sending the foremost guard flying.
As soon as his right foot retracted, his left foot followed, sweeping through the air and flipping another guard onto the ground in a very rough manner.
Thwack thwack thwack… Then, Ding Fan kicked out three more times in succession.
The crowd couldn't even see what had happened when the remaining three guards were also sprawled on the ground, beaten by Ding Fan.
In the blink of an eye.
In just a blink of an eye, Ding Fan had knocked down five security guards.
Zhou Ruoran's mouth gaped open at this point. She had assumed Ding Fan would definitely get beaten up by these people, but she had never imagined Ding Fan could single-handedly lay out five security guards.
At this moment, Ding Fan paid no attention to the guards he had floored, who couldn't get up. His demeanor serious, his back erect…
Right then, Zhou Ruoran even had the illusion that Ding Fan had suddenly become majestic...