The moment Zhao Xueqing felt those hands on her shoulders, a chill ran down her spine. They felt like venomous snakes, coiling around her. Shocked, she quickly stood up and took a step back.
“President Li, please rest assured. I will do my best to finalize the formula as soon as possible. I won’t let you down!” she said, her voice filled with urgency.
“Work? Anyone can do that. You need to do something that others can’t!”
Li Pengtao chuckled lewdly. Like a starving wolf lunging at its prey, he threw himself at Zhao Xueqing, pinning her down on the sofa.
“President Li, what are you doing?!”
Zhao Xueqing struggled with all her might, her face drained of color. She never imagined that Li Pengtao would be such a beast, attempting something so despicable in broad daylight.
“What am I doing? Isn’t it obvious?” Li Pengtao’s sinister grin deepened. From the moment he first laid eyes on Zhao Xueqing, he had been utterly captivated. Tonight, he would finally claim the woman he had been longing for.
“You’re already so old and still haven’t dated anyone. You must be desperate, aren’t you? Don’t worry, Uncle will take good care of you!”
His arrogance stemmed from knowing that Zhao Hucheng, her own father, hardly cared about her. Even if something happened to her, he would likely turn a blind eye.
“Help!”
With no other choice, Zhao Xueqing opened her mouth and bit down hard on his wrist, tearing off a piece of flesh.
Smack!
Agonized, Li Pengtao’s expression twisted with fury. He raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. “Scream all you want! The more you scream, the more excited I get! This private room is soundproof—you can scream your lungs out, and no one will hear you!”
Dazed and disoriented, Zhao Xueqing felt hot tears well up in her eyes. Despair consumed her. Was she really going to lose everything to this monster tonight?
Just as she thought all hope was lost—
BANG!
The door was kicked open.
Through the blur of her tears, the first thing Zhao Xueqing saw was a pair of eyes—deep red, burning with fury.
It was Jiang Tian.
In his past life, his muddled consciousness had failed to notice Li Pengtao’s malicious intent. He had no idea how much Zhao Xueqing had suffered. But not this time.
A wolf has its fangs—provoke it, and you will die.
A dragon has its reverse scale—touch it, and you will be slain.
Zhao Xueqing was his reverse scale.
Whoever dared lay a hand on her—
Would die!
“Jiang Tian! Who let you in here?!” Li Pengtao hastily pulled up his pants, glaring at Jiang Tian with rage.
“You—die!”
Jiang Tian didn’t waste a single word. Like a raging storm, he charged forward. His foot swung like a cannonball and struck Li Pengtao squarely between the legs.
“AARRGGGHH!”
A blood-curdling scream tore through the restaurant.
Jiang Tian’s kick was merciless, hitting the most vulnerable part of a man’s body. Li Pengtao’s groin was utterly shattered, blood spurting everywhere. His shrieks of agony echoed like a dying pig’s.
His plump body bounced off the sofa like a ragdoll.
Before he could even hit the ground, Jiang Tian spun and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick straight to his stomach.
Whoosh!
Li Pengtao, weighing well over two hundred pounds, was sent flying. His massive body crashed onto a glass coffee table with a thunderous CRACK! The table shattered instantly, jagged shards embedding into his flesh.
“AAAAHHHHH!” His second scream was even more tragic than the first.
But Jiang Tian wasn’t finished. Eyes burning with an icy fury, he leaped into the air and stomped down with all his strength—
CRACK!
A sound like a crushed eggshell filled the room. Li Pengtao’s legs bent unnaturally, his knee caps shattered beyond repair.
Then came another foot.
And another.
By the time Jiang Tian was done, Li Pengtao’s four limbs were completely broken. Even if Hua Tuo himself returned from the dead, he wouldn’t be able to fix him.
The entire restaurant had gone silent.
People stood frozen at the door, watching the brutal scene unfold. Some fumbled to call for an ambulance. Others rushed to inform the general manager.
Jiang Tian grabbed Li Pengtao by the throat and lifted him off the ground. His grip tightened, suffocating the man.
“You’re already worse than dead. Just die,” Jiang Tian said coldly.
Li Pengtao’s eyes bulged, his face turning a sickly shade of blue as he clawed at Jiang Tian’s grip.
“Jiang Tian, don’t kill him!”
Zhao Xueqing’s voice trembled as she clung to his arm, her face ashen with fear.
“He deserves to die!” Jiang Tian growled, his grip tightening.
Li Pengtao’s tongue lolled out. He was seconds away from death.
“Jiang Tian, please!” Zhao Xueqing’s voice cracked as tears streamed down her face. “If you kill him, you’ll go to prison! You’ll ruin your future—your parents, your family, what will they do? What will I do?”
In her desperation, she dropped to her knees and clung to his legs, sobbing uncontrollably.
Her words cut through the haze of his rage.
She was right. As powerful as he was, he still couldn’t defy the laws of this world. Killing Li Pengtao would only bring more trouble.
If he ended up in prison, who would protect his parents? Who would safeguard Zhao Xueqing?
Smack!
Jiang Tian loosened his grip, letting Li Pengtao collapse onto the ground like a dead dog. Blood splattered across the floor.
“Xueqing, get up. How could I kill someone? I was just… teaching him a lesson,” he said softly, wiping away her tears.
Moments later, an ambulance arrived. Paramedics rushed in to take Li Pengtao away, sirens wailing into the night.
Jiang Tian held Zhao Xueqing’s hand as they walked out of the restaurant, his eyes cold and sharp.
You only understand the weight of love after you’ve lost it.
He had waited ten thousand years for this second chance.
All he wanted was a peaceful, happy life with Zhao Xueqing.
But just two days in, someone had already tried to ruin it.
Whoever tried to stand in his way—
Would pay the ultimate price.
