Chapter 42: It Was Me...

Everyone was terrified, but Sun Wen wore a mocking smile, only now revealing his true nature.

“Sun Wen, you—” someone began.

“Susu, why don’t you and your friends keep my two brothers company? I promise you’ll be living the high life after tonight!” Sun Wen’s tone was oily.

Li Susu was already trembling with fear; she could easily imagine what was about to happen. Just as she tried to take out her phone to call for help, one of the men stepped forward, snatched her phone, and hurled it to the ground. He grabbed Li Susu and shoved her against the wall.

Xia Yufei was still standing, her whole body shaking, but she managed to say, “If I drink this bottle, will you let us go?”

“Yes!” came the reply.

“All right, I’ll drink it!” Xia Yufei seized the bottle and began to gulp down the contents.

“Yufei, don’t!”

“Yufei!”

Cries of alarm broke out. That was hard liquor, after all!

Sun Wen sneered, joined by the laughter of the two men beside him. Suddenly, the private room door was kicked open with a loud crash.

At the sight of the newcomers, the third brother lashed out with a kick. More people rushed in. A Ming started pummeling the man who had been restraining Li Susu.

“Yufei!” The third brother’s face changed as he strode forward and snatched the bottle away from Xia Yufei, but she was already so dizzy that she slumped to the ground.

Several young fans rushed in, helping Xia Yufei onto the sofa.

“Yufei, wake up!”

A crowd had burst in so suddenly that Sun Wen didn’t even have time to react. The third brother kicked him into the corner of the room.

“You must have a death wish, daring to touch Yufei!” he roared.

His followers descended on Sun Wen and his men, beating them mercilessly. Who was Xia Yufei? She was one of Yang Fan’s people. And who was Yang Fan? The one they all respected most. He had paid their gambling debts, found them honest work—Sun Wen had truly sparked their fury tonight.

“Third brother, are you here to stir up trouble?” someone at the door called out.

Seething, the third brother glared at the new arrivals. “If you don’t want Lone Wolf and his crew coming over, you’d better get lost—now!”

“Lone Wolf?” The leader’s expression changed instantly. Lone Wolf was from Season’s Hymn; he was also a notorious tough guy, not someone they could afford to cross.

“What’s this got to do with Lone Wolf?” the newcomer asked.

“Do you know who that girl is? She’s from the Liu family. Are you looking to die?”

This group left, muttering resentfully. Sun Wen and his two brothers were truly frightened now. Sun Wen might not know, but his brothers did—this was the end for them.

A Ming delivered another heavy kick, sending them sprawling.

On the sofa, Xia Yufei had passed out from too much alcohol.

“Yufei.”

“Yufei, wake up.”

The third brother frowned and immediately called Yang Fan.

Yang Fan all but flew down the stairs; no one else had returned, and his car wasn’t there, so he flagged down a taxi and headed straight for Tianning Normal University.

“A Ming, stop hitting them. Go to the front desk and ask for some tea to help sober her up,” the third brother ordered, pulling A Ming away. Beating those men wouldn’t help—what mattered was Xia Yufei’s condition.

A Ming ran to the front desk, quickly returning with some tea. Li Susu and the others hurried to feed it to Xia Yufei.

A fit of violent coughing and retching followed. Though still groggy, Xia Yufei regained a little consciousness.

“Yufei, wake up!”

These girl fans had long since joined up with the third brother’s group. Finding work was hard, and now that they had someone powerful to rely on, they clung tightly.

Just then, the third brother’s phone rang—Yang Fan had arrived.

He went out and brought Yang Fan into the room.

“How is she?” Yang Fan asked, brow furrowed.

“She drank too much, threw up once already, and is starting to come around,” the third brother explained.

Yang Fan nodded and quickened his pace. As soon as he entered the private room, he saw the group gathered around Xia Yufei.

“Yufei!” Yang Fan rushed to her. He saw her eyelids flutter.

“I knew you’d come for me. I could feel it—it had to be you.”

“It’s me, Yufei. It’s me.” Yang Fan gathered her in his arms. Xia Yufei reached up to touch his face, managed a faint smile, and then slipped back into unconsciousness.

“Boss, what should we do with these three?” someone asked.

“Toss them out. I don’t want them ruining my mood. Do whatever needs to be done.”

“Drag them out!” the third brother barked. A Ming and the others dragged the three men out of the room.

Sun Wen had hoped to stick around the school, but that was a fantasy. A beating alone wasn’t enough to quell Yang Fan’s fury. Every dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and you’ll suffer his wrath. Xia Yufei was now that reverse scale.

“Yufei, wake up!” The more Yang Fan called her name, the tighter Xia Yufei clung to him. Li Susu and the others were still shaken by the terror they had just endured. Only now did they realize Xia Yufei truly longed for someone.

“And you are...?” Li Susu couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you all right?” Yang Fan turned to the other girls.

They shook their heads. The young fans, meanwhile, bustled about pouring tea and water. Seeing a wealthy and handsome man, they were visibly excited.

“As long as you’re all right,” Yang Fan sighed. These girls were so naive. In a place like a karaoke bar, stories unfolded every minute.

“Rent...” Yang Fan was momentarily puzzled. They didn’t even stock sobering tea here—too low-class, not something available in the rental warehouse.

Thinking quickly, he pressed the petal-shaped mark onto Xia Yufei’s arm, letting its slow-healing effect serve as a substitute, helping her recover.

The third brother and his companions returned. Throwing out Sun Wen and his cronies was only the beginning; from now on, Yang Fan would keep a close eye on them.

There was no rush—time was on their side.

“Boss, why don’t you move to another room?” the third brother suggested.

“All right,” Yang Fan agreed, carrying the still-clinging Xia Yufei out of the room, with Li Susu and the others following close behind.

The new room was next door, larger and the most luxurious in the place.

Li Susu and her friends were still recovering from the ordeal. Yang Fan sat in the center, holding Xia Yufei.

“Mr. Yang, you said you’d buy us dinner yesterday, but you barely took a bite before you had to leave,” someone teased.

“Let’s do it tonight. Third brother, go order food. Whatever you all want, just get it,” Yang Fan said.

“Something expensive, then.”

“Sure,” Yang Fan agreed without hesitation.

He genuinely wanted to thank these young fans—had they not found Xia Yufei for him, who knows what tragedy might have occurred.

“And you all, what would you like?” Yang Fan asked, turning to Li Susu and her four friends.

They shook their heads; none of them felt like eating, especially Li Susu, who had nearly led her closest friends into disaster.

Yang Fan sighed. “You handle it,” he told the third brother.

“Got it!” The gang went off to order food. In the meantime, the young fans started singing. They weren’t bad—these girls clearly had natural talent.

Even in school, their looks were outstanding. Opportunities abounded everywhere.

Xia Yufei was still unconscious. The food arrived—boxed meals, but the expensive kind. The third brother’s group took another room themselves.

From six to nine, from nine to midnight—Ai Xiaomei called, but Yang Fan told her he was busy and not to wait up.

Around one in the morning, Xia Yufei stirred...