The moment Xie Quan saw Liu Qiuyan’s face, he felt a wave of nausea.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if he hadn’t just eaten, but after a big barbecue meal, acid churned up his throat. He gritted his teeth, pressing a hand to his stomach, his knuckles whitening against the wall. The familiar suffocating feeling blurred his vision.
Liu Qiuyan—would she ever leave him alone? When would this nightmare finally end?
“Stole my property, burned the building for compensation!” the megaphone continued shrieking at ear-splitting volume. “Filthy bastard Xie Quan—”
“Liu Qiuyan!” Lu Nanyang stepped forward, grabbing the megaphone from her hands. “What are you trying to pull? Haven’t you had enough lawsuits already?”
Liu Qiuyan tried to snatch the megaphone back, but when she couldn’t, she started screeching at the top of her lungs, “That little bastard burned someone else’s building to scam the landlord! He’s a liar! A filthy rat!”
“You have proof?” Lu Nanyang shouted. “You realize there are witnesses here, right? Speaking without evidence can get you sued!”
“I don’t need proof!” Liu Qiuyan screamed. “I know exactly what kind of scumbag he is! He acts all high and mighty on the surface, but underneath he’s no better than an animal!”
“You—”
Lu Nanyang was stunned by how vile her words were. She wasn’t even trying to argue rationally; it was pointless to talk to her.
At that moment, Xie Quan, who had been frozen until now, suddenly moved. He shoved Wen Fei and everyone else aside and strode straight up to Liu Qiuyan, grabbing her by the collar.
Lu Nanyang was startled. It was the first time he had seen Xie Quan act so aggressively in public.
“Liu Qiuyan, wake up!” Xie Quan snarled. “He’s a lunatic! A crazy person! Even if you steal his house, he’s never going to love you! He never loved you!”
His words were like a dagger, striking a nerve. Liu Qiuyan suddenly started screaming and struggling wildly, spewing curses too foul to repeat. At first, Xie Quan managed to hold her, but she then lunged forward and sank her teeth hard into his arm.
Finally catching up with the situation, Wen Fei shouted, “Pull them apart! Quickly!”
The onlookers finally snapped out of it and rushed over to separate them.
By the time they managed to pull Liu Qiuyan away, blood was already dripping from a deep bite wound on Xie Quan’s arm.
Liu Qiuyan pushed away the people trying to break up the fight and, amidst the chaos, managed to snatch her megaphone back. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face twisted in rage, and her hair was a complete mess from struggling. Pointing at Xie Quan, she screamed hoarsely, her voice cracking, “You motherfucking bastard! I’m telling everyone here today what kind of scum you really are!”
Then, in front of everyone’s eyes, Liu Qiuyan clambered onto the roof of a car, shouting into the megaphone, “This little bastard Xie Quan! He’s been sleeping with his biological father! His real father, Xie Yuanqiang—”
But before she could finish, Xie Quan grabbed her arm and yanked her down from the car roof.
Chaos broke out again. People crowded together — some trying to intervene, others just there for the spectacle, and some even pulling out their phones to take pictures.
“Put your goddamn phones away!” Lu Nanyang roared. “I remember all your faces — if you dare take photos, be ready to see me in court!”
His fierce presence shocked the surrounding onlookers into silence.
Lu Nanyang then turned and yelled at Wen Fei to call the police, while pushing through the crowd toward the center.
All he could see were arms and legs. Lu Nanyang shoved aside the obstructing limbs and grabbed Xie Quan, pulling him out.
Liu Qiuyan’s lipstick was smeared, her blouse torn to expose part of her bra, and her face bruised and battered. Xie Quan didn’t look much better — there were deep scratches across his face and bite marks and claw marks all over his arms.
“You motherfucker, hitting a woman, you ungrateful bastard!” Liu Qiuyan cried hysterically, still clinging to Xie Quan. “Give me back what belongs to him! Give it back to me!”
Xie Quan’s head spun as a piercing ringing filled his ears. At that moment, he wished Liu Qiuyan would just die — wished all of them would die.
“Xie Quan!” Lu Nanyang gripped his wrist tightly. “Enough!”
Just then, police sirens wailed closer. Someone shouted, “The police are here!” and a path was cleared.
Xie Quan looked at Lu Nanyang and suddenly doubled over in a violent coughing fit.
He coughed until the sky seemed to spin, his throat burning like fire, feeling like a fish flung onto dry land, suffocating without water.
…
“Alright, the situation is very clear now,” said a young police officer, snapping his notebook shut and tapping it against the table, sweeping his gaze across everyone. “Next time something like this happens, don’t try to settle it yourselves — call the police immediately. Isn’t one of you studying law? Even if the others don’t know, you should.”
“Yes, sorry, we’ll definitely be more careful next time,” Lu Nanyang replied sincerely.
The officer nodded. “Since it’s your first offense, we’ll just give you a warning this time. But if it happens again, it’ll be treated as group brawling — you’ll be locked up, and it’ll go on your record. Understand?”
“Yes, we understand,” Lu Nanyang answered quickly. “Sorry for causing trouble.”
“Alright, you’re free to go,” the officer waved them off.
Lu Nanyang was the first to stand up, but the other two didn’t move.
Liu Qiuyan leaned back against the cold chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, letting her torn clothes slip and expose her bra. Xie Quan kept his head down, his bangs covering his eyes, the blood on his face dried, his glasses barely hanging onto his nose.
Lu Nanyang grabbed Xie Quan’s hand and pulled him up. Xie Quan stumbled but couldn’t resist.
Liu Qiuyan’s eyes stayed locked onto Xie Quan. Watching him stand up and get dragged away, she suddenly sneered and said, “You’re just as disgusting as your mother. How many men have fucked you?”
At that, the veins on Xie Quan’s forehead bulged with fury, but Lu Nanyang forcefully restrained him, pinning his arms and pushing him toward the door.
Xie Quan struggled violently, almost breaking free. It wasn’t until they made it to the open space outside the police station that he finally tore away from Lu Nanyang’s grip.
“Let go!” Xie Quan roared.
“What? You want to go back and beat her up again?” Lu Nanyang snapped, shoving him hard. “Fine, go ahead! Forget about your damn university degree, forget about becoming a doctor! If you injure her, it’s bad enough — if you kill her, even better! Go on then!”
“And what the fuck does it have to do with you?!” Xie Quan roared back, shoving him just as hard. “Stop pretending to be some saint out to save the world! Your goddamn pity is worthless!”
Lu Nanyang stumbled back two steps, but Xie Quan advanced on him, shouting, “Stop acting like you actually care about me! You just see me as a pathetic stray cat! Saving pitiful little creatures makes you feel so noble and accomplished, doesn’t it? Oh, how wonderful it must feel to be a savior — dragging me out of the darkness, acting all magnanimous and holy! Even though your own parents and foster parents abandoned you, as long as you can shelter a few little strays, you can pretend you still have a home!”
Without even thinking, Lu Nanyang punched Xie Quan square in the face.
Xie Quan’s glasses flew off, and blood gushed from his nose. He collapsed onto the ground, covering his face and coughing violently. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood, looked up at Lu Nanyang, and smiled.
“I hit a nerve, didn’t I?”
Lu Nanyang’s eyes were practically burning with rage — and yet colder than thousand-year-old ice.
“I really don’t understand,” he said, voice low and cold. “How could someone as disgusting as you even exist?”
Xie Quan froze for a second, then suddenly started laughing hysterically, his whole body shaking.
He bent his knees and let his arms dangle loosely over them, pointing weakly at Lu Nanyang.
“That’s right, Lu Nanyang. You hate me.”
Lu Nanyang didn’t reply. He turned and walked away into the darkness.
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Author’s Note:
There was no sexual assault, but there was sexual harassment.
The warnings for this book have been clearly pinned in the comments — please make sure to read them so you aren’t caught off-guard!
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