Part Two Chapter 5: Don't Be Afraid

raising her glass gracefully."Mr. Tao, I apologize for the frequent disturbances these past few days. Please accept this toast from me."The spicy liquor burned its way down her throat to her stomach,...Although the night fishing pier was ablaze with lights, shimmering with golden brilliance everywhere, the whole atmosphere surprised her. It was incredibly tranquil, with almost no sign of people.

Lucy rarely went out alone. After getting into a fight, she ran out of the hotel on her own and wandered aimlessly along the streets lined with European-style buildings. She walked for a while until she calmed down, only to realize she was lost.

She has no sense of direction and even less independence. Someone always arranges everything for her, no matter where she goes.

She could have contacted Haojie or Shanshan to pick her up, but now she's having a fight with Yuan Binghuan. Going back like that would be too embarrassing. She also wanted to know if Yuan Binghuan would notice she wasn't at the hotel and if he would come looking for her In short, her willful temper took over, and she refused to contact them.

There was a faint sound of waves in my ear, and at the end of the long street ahead, I seemed to see the Bridge of Friendship stretching over from the opposite bank, like a golden line, beautiful beyond compare.

She dove headfirst into the alley, intending to walk along it all the way to the beach.

Next to the narrow alley stood tall buildings, with occasional snatches of singing or cheering emanating from within. These sounds were particularly jarring in the quiet night. Several neon signs hung above the entrance, advertising bars and arcades.

She felt a creeping fear, realizing she was alone in this narrow alley. A young girl walking by herself, what if she ran into someone bad The thought sent shivers down her spine and her heart pounded like a drum. She was close to tears and quickened her pace, desperate to get out of the alley as fast as possible.

We hadn't even reached the halfway point when the door of one building suddenly swung open. Seven or eight men in black walked out and started talking in the middle of the alley, effectively blocking it off completely.

Her legs went weak, and she leaned against the wall, afraid to move.

I couldn't make out the faces of these people, only seeing the man at the front smoking. In the fading embers of a cigarette, I could barely see his outline.

At this time, the man in black seemed to look in her direction, and she hurriedly lowered her head and didn't dare to look again. She held her phone tightly in her hand and walked back. She was already timid, and now she was completely flustered. Would she lose her life here

I miss Grandpa, Lu Kuo, and Dad. If she died like this, they would be heartbroken, wouldn't they

As she walked back, lost in thought, another wave of people seemed to emerge from the group of black-clad figures behind her. Then came the sound of fighting, and she dared not look back. The fighting appeared particularly brutal, with shouts and curses echoing incessantly.

Cantonese mixed with Mandarin, Mandarin mixed with English, but every swear word is incredibly precise.

She grew up in a honey jar, never experiencing such scenes. She couldn't bear to lose face anymore and called Auntie Hao, crying for them to come pick her up quickly.

As soon as she hung up the phone, a gust of wind swept past her from the side, as if the fighting crowd was running towards her direction. She stumbled back and leaned against the wall, her face pale with fright.

Several people ran past her, each with a fierce and menacing look in their eyes, their eyes bloodshot with rage. A man passed by her, waving a gleaming knife before her face. She let out a terrified shriek and covered her eyes.

Suddenly, something covered her from above. In surprise, she felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace, with a faint, pleasant scent of tobacco.

This person wasn't malicious; instead, they soothed and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

It inexplicably calmed her, as if the garment were a golden bell jar, shielding her from the outside world of violence and danger.

"Child, didn't I tell you not to look when you encounter this kind of thing"

Land YaoYao seemed familiar, yet she couldn't remember where she had heard that phrase before.

He stayed protectively in front of her like that until the surroundings quieted down, until the sound of approaching police cars and the incessant ringing of her phone in her hand finally broke the tension. Only then did the person outside her clothes let go.

She hastily pulled at the garment at the top of her head, wanting to see the man clearly again, but there was no trace of him anywhere

Only Haojie and Shanshan, who rushed down from the police car with anxious expressions, and Yuan Binhui remained.

Seeing them, she was so overwhelmed with remorse that tears streamed down her face, even though she knew today's incident was her own fault.

"Baby, what's wrong Are you hurt" Hao Jie ran over and looked her up and down, genuinely concerned. Receiving her distress call really scared her, if something happened to her in Macau, she would be finished too.

Lu Yaoyao didn't answer, her eyes filled with tears as she stared at Yuan Binghuan. She had been out for so long, and he hadn't even called her once, nor had he inquired about her well-being. It was too much.

Yuan Binghuan also felt a little guilty and explained, "I thought you were in your own room."

"You don't care about me at all!"

Lu YaoYao walked away, clutching the black suit jacket from before, her face flushed with anger. She didn't want to say another word to him.

Yuan Binghuan just followed behind, without saying another word. He wasn't feeling well either. He had already made it clear that he wouldn't be playing, but she insisted on coming over anyway. She didn't even consider her own status or abilities. If she had come, she should have brought along an assistant or staff member. Coming alone and something happening would only cause trouble for others.

"Whose clothes are these" Hao Jie asked after getting into the car. She had seen her holding them just a moment ago.

"A good person." She was also sorry that she hadn't seen the other person's face. It didn't matter, they were a good person anyway, otherwise she wouldn't have known what would have happened just now—

The port here was still calm and peaceful. When Chen Xinmin, Xu ZeFang and the others saw Gu Shao as the last one to slowly catch up, they all looked ashamed. Today's matter wasn't done well, it was too messed up.

The venue for the casino was almost set, just needing a contract signed. However, halfway through, Cheng Yaojin emerged, another local from Macau also wanting the land. They argued, neither backing down, and the negotiation collapsed. Things escalated quickly, ending in a brawl right there on the spot.

They all knew that Gu Shao hated violence and uncivilized behavior the most in recent years. However, Chen Xinmin and Xu Zefang, and others didn't have such good self-control. They still acted rashly. Seeing his bad complexion now, they knew he had caused trouble again.

"Young Master Gu, those bastards," Chen Xinmin still wanted to explain.

Go back all of you.

To everyone's surprise, Gu Shao didn't speak. He just waved his hand at them and drove away directly.

Chen Xinmin and others looked at each other in astonishment: "What's going on"

Won't you get hurt

"There shouldn't be, he didn't make a move just now, and there are people from our side with him."

In the hotel room, Gu Ruandong took off his black shirt jacket. Two purplish-blue marks from a stick were visible on his thin back. He had been beaten twice by someone while protecting Lu Yaoyao just now. To prevent her from being scared, he didn't fight back. His men retaliated later.

It's a good thing those blows weren't aimed at her, otherwise that delicate skin would have been in agony.

Author's note: Happy new year, everyone. I wish you all peace and joy, and happy reading! wanted to say to him, but in that instant when the call connected, I just greedily stared at him, not wanting to say a word. I didn't want to break this silence, because Song Jingye was looking at he...