Chapter 177: Still Alive

Even in her tirade, Li Yunxi’s voice remained remarkably melodious.

Mr. Qian paused for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by Li Yunxi’s fiery demeanor, but he quickly let out a chuckle, “Interesting, a fiery little chili, huh? I like that. The spicier, the better. It’s all the more thrilling.”

Li Yunxi, unable to tolerate such harassment, was furious, her chest heaving with rage, eyes burning with the desire to storm over and slap this vile man. However, as she made a move, Lin Xiao caught her wrist.

“Let go!” Li Yunxi turned and snapped at Lin Xiao, clearly irritated.

“Let me handle these guys, just watch,” Lin Xiao let go of her wrist and stood up to approach Mr. Qian at the entrance.

Only then did Mr. Qian truly acknowledge Lin Xiao’s existence, which wasn’t surprising given Lin Xiao’s capacity to keep a low profile, making him hard to notice unless he chose to reveal himself.

“Pah!” Mr. Qian spat at Lin Xiao’s feet disdainfully, “Kid, if you value your life, better scram. Trying to play the hero? You’re not cut out for it.”

“Is that so?” Lin Xiao responded, unfazed by Mr. Qian’s disrespect. In his view, the burly man before him was merely a trivial annoyance, easily dealt with.

“May I say something before you act?” Lin Xiao asked.

“Alright, I’ll generously grant you a chance to leave your last words,” Mr. Qian said, arms crossed, looking down at Lin Xiao with scorn, “Go ahead, make it quick!”

“If you’re willing to kneel and give three kowtows to the lady here, I’ll let you walk out of here today,” Lin Xiao said calmly, nodding towards Manager Zhao.

“What did you just say?” Mr. Qian thought his ears were playing tricks.

“Three kowtows won’t cut it, make it three hundred!” Li Yunxi added with icy disdain.

Mr. Qian burst into raucous laughter, incredulous. Turning to his henchmen, he sneered, “Look at this fool, he dares to demand I kneel and kowtow. How should we handle him?”

The henchman on the left smirked maliciously, “Leave him to me, Mr. Qian. I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget. I’ll make him beg for death.”

He advanced toward Lin Xiao, his hand outstretched menacingly toward Lin Xiao’s neck.

Lin Xiao’s response was swift. His left leg shot out in a lightning-fast kick.

With a resounding crash, the room fell into a momentary silence. The henchman, like a ragdoll caught in a gust of wind, was sent flying through the air. He narrowly missed Mr. Qian before crashing to the floor outside the room.

Sweat poured from the henchman’s face as his complexion turned ghostly pale. Clutching his stomach, teeth gritted in agony, he was unable to utter a single sound. Lin Xiao’s kick had not only displaced his internal organs but also ruptured his intestines.

Mr. Qian stood frozen, his arms still crossed, his eyes darting between Lin Xiao and his fallen henchman, utterly confused about the turn of events.

Just as he braced to react, his world plunged into darkness, swiftly succeeded by a searing pain in his knee. An unstoppable force then drove his head with ruthless precision into the floor, the impact resounding through the room.

Mr. Qian’s face smashed against the floor, his nose shattered, blood covering his face in a gruesome mask.

The remaining henchman, witnessing the scene, felt a jolt of fear and discreetly retreated before turning and running away in utter cowardice, abandoning the fight altogether.

Lin Xiao gripped Mr. Qian by the hair, hoisting him up to meet his gaze.

“I’m giving you one more chance. Kneel and give that lady three kowtows, and I’ll let you walk away.”

These words, identical to his earlier statement, now carried a profoundly different weight in Mr. Qian’s ears.

“Three is too little, it should be three hundred,” Li Yunxi interjected, clearly unsatisfied.

Observing Mr. Qian’s gruesomely disfigured, bloodied face did not evoke fear in her, instead, she felt an immense sense of relief, for Lin Xiao had exacted vengeance on her behalf. If not for the onlooking trio of girls, she might have openly cheered.

Held aloft with ease by Lin Xiao, it dawned on Mr. Qian that he had severely miscalculated.

The agony from his shattered nose induced tears, blurring his view of Lin Xiao’s face.

Yet, it was the overwhelming hatred that eclipsed his pain. Straining his eyes, his words came out distorted and bitter, “You’re a dead man! No one can save you now!”

“Do you even know who I am? Kill me if you dare. Otherwise, I swear to obliterate your entire family, and as for these women, I will—”

Thud!

Before Mr. Qian could finish, Lin Xiao’s knee silenced him, crushing his teeth and sending blood spraying in all directions.

Swift and brutal.

That was everyone’s immediate thought after witnessing Lin Xiao’s actions. However, Lin Xiao’s expression remained devoid of anger, disgust, or any murderous intent, displaying nothing but indifferent calm.

This almost serene indifference, especially against the backdrop of Mr. Qian’s convulsions while suspended in his grip, was starkly cold and merciless.

Lin Xiao unwaveringly stood by his code of conduct—warm as a spring breeze to friends, cold as a winter wind to enemies. And without a doubt, Mr. Qian, standing before him now, was anything but a friend.

A muffled cry of pain escaped Mr. Qian’s throat as he frantically clawed at Lin Xiao’s arms, his eyes brimming with sheer terror.

At this moment, he felt the looming shadow of death. Yet, Lin Xiao’s arms, steadfast as steel, remained unyielding to Mr. Qian’s desperate struggles.

“If you haven’t learned to speak kindly, then you don’t need to speak at all,” Lin Xiao casually discarded Mr. Qian, his gaze descending condescendingly, uttering his words with icy detachment. “I don’t know who you are, and do I care. Everyone has one life, I hope you learn to cherish yours.”

Mr. Qian slumped to the ground, his consciousness scattering, his trembling hands reaching for his face, oblivious to Lin Xiao’s words. Lin Xiao’s swift action had completely shattered his bravado, reducing his once-prideful strength to nothing more than the feebleness of a straw man under Lin Xiao’s grip.

“That was incredibly satisfying!” Li Yunxi approached Lin Xiao, completely ignoring the defeated Mr. Qian on the floor, her eyes gleaming as she fixed her gaze on Lin Xiao. “You’re even more ruthless than I am.”

“Ruthless?” Lin Xiao replied, neither confirming nor denying, “At least he’s still breathing.”

The other three girls showed varied expressions.

Fang Yuan approached Mr. Qian and delivered a fierce kick to his stomach, chastising, “Idiot, can’t you see who we are? How dare you provoke us!”