Chapter 21: Teach Her a Lesson
Upon hearing this, Yeyun Ye felt a sense of danger as she looked at the two people beside her. She bolted out the door and ran. Eventually, her stamina gave out, and Jingxian Xiang, along with her companions, caught up. Jingxian Xiang signaled for the two to grab Yeyun Ye. Yeyun Ye knelt on the ground, looking up at Jingxian Xiang. Her previous exertion had made her face even paler, and sweat trickled down her cheeks.
Seeing Yeyun Ye in such a disheveled state, Jingxian Xiang felt a surge of triumph. She looked down at Yeyun Ye with disdain. “Where do you think you can run to? Hand over the videotape, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, you won’t be leaving this alley today.”
Yeyun Ye’s heart sank. She knew the videotape must contain something that terrified Jingxian Xiang, possibly even evidence of the Ye Family’s downfall. She absolutely could not hand it over.
“It seems you don’t know the consequences unless I teach you a lesson,” Jingxian Xiang said, growing more impatient as she saw Yeyun Ye with her head bowed, lost in thought. She was eager to get the tape.
“I will not give you the videotape,” Yeyun Ye replied, her face cold, noticing Jingxian Xiang’s urgency.
“Beat her until she complies,” Jingxian Xiang roared, pointing at Yeyun Ye in anger.
The two men, hearing Jingxian Xiang’s command, began to attack Yeyun Ye. Yeyun Ye instinctively shielded her belly. As she tried to protect herself, her consciousness began to fade. The kicks landed on her, and the pain was overwhelming, making her feel as if she were dying.
“What are you doing? Stop!” Suddenly, a person appeared, holding a mobile phone and pointing it at Jingxian Xiang and her companions. “I’ve called the police! I’ve recorded everything, and none of you will get away!”
Seeing him, Jingxian Xiang inwardly cursed. She had deliberately chosen a secluded spot to avoid being discovered, and of all days, someone had to show up. Enraged, Jingxian Xiang could only signal for the two to stop. The group turned and left.
Xingze Gu watched them go, then quickly approached Yeyun Ye. He gently shook her and asked in a low voice, “Hey, are you okay?” Yeyun Ye felt the assault cease and realized she had been rescued. The strength she had been holding onto finally gave way, and she turned and fainted.
Xingze Gu called out to her several times with no response. Realizing she had lost consciousness, he picked her up and took her to the hospital. Looking at Yeyun Ye’s frail state on the way, he mused about how his day off had turned into this ordeal.
At the hospital, Xingze Gu felt he had done more than enough as a stranger. Seeing that Yeyun Ye was settled, he intended to leave the hospital room but was stopped by a nurse.
“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? You bring her in and then you want to leave? She’s this injured, and you, her boyfriend, are incredibly irresponsible!” the nurse said, looking displeased as he tried to leave.
“I’m not…”
“You’re not what? You need to stay here and take care of her!” the nurse interrupted him, then turned and left with another nurse, adding a parting grumble. “Young people nowadays are so strange. Their girlfriends are like this, and he’s already thinking of leaving.” Their voices faded into the distance.
Xingze Gu rubbed his temples, his handsome face clouded with annoyance. He irritably sat down, his gaze fixed on Yeyun Ye lying in the hospital bed, which only made him more agitated. He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t stay. How had he gotten himself into this mess? He picked up his mobile phone to check for messages, but just moments after turning it on, it shut down. This further annoyed him, and he threw the phone aside, staring blankly at Yeyun Ye.
From the moment he rescued Yeyun Ye and brought her to the hospital, a pair of eyes had been watching them. Photos were taken, one after another.
The next morning, Yeyun Ye woke up and stared at the ceiling, unsure of where she was. Remembering the moments before she lost consciousness, she saw a stranger asleep by her bedside and frantically began searching for the videotape. Her movements woke Xingze Gu. His face was etched with annoyance as he looked at Yeyun Ye and irritably asked, “What are you doing, going crazy?”
“Where’s the videotape? Did you take my videotape!” Yeyun Ye asked cautiously, eyeing Xingze Gu.
Seeing her questioning him, Xingze Gu’s anger flared. He had taken care of her all night, and the first thing she did upon waking was accuse him about a videotape. It was preposterous. “Videotape? How should I know where your videotape is? If I hadn’t saved you yesterday, would you be lying here so peacefully?” Xingze Gu thought about it, growing increasingly angry, and turned to leave Yeyun Ye’s hospital room.
Yeyun Ye found the videotape in her bag. She wanted to apologize to the man, but he was already gone. Xingze Gu, bristling with anger all the way back, returned to his apartment and charged his mobile phone. As soon as it powered on, a flood of messages arrived. Xingze Gu looked through them one by one, his expression growing darker with each one.
“Damn it!” Xingze Gu slammed his mobile phone onto the table and collapsed on the sofa, feeling his nerves fraying. He rubbed his temples, contemplating how to resolve the situation. Xingze Gu was a popular influencer on a trending video app, boasting twenty million followers among young people. Leveraging his lifelong dedication to dance and his flawless handsome face, he had carved out his own niche in the influencer world within just six months. However, fame came with its share of trouble. Now, saving someone had led to him being portrayed in sensationalized news as a well-known influencer possibly revealing a public romance and making a high-profile hospital visit with his girlfriend. He couldn’t fathom the mindset of today’s paparazzi.
As Xingze Gu was seething to himself, his mobile phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He picked it up and saw it was his agent, Brother Hu. He thought for a moment before answering. “My dear troublemaker, you’ve seen the Weibo trending topics, haven’t you? You never cease to worry me. I asked you to film a video yesterday, and instead of that, you’ve caused this whole mess.” Brother Hu spoke in a rush, but there was no response from the other end of the line. Knowing his “troublemaker” was indeed upset, Brother Hu continued, “The fans are going wild on Weibo. We need to find a solution. The company will handle things on our end, but you need to figure out your own situation, preferably with a clarification.”
“Understood,” Xingze Gu replied with a terse three words after listening to him, then hung up, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Clarification? How could he clarify? He didn’t even know who the woman was!
