Volume 1 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Chapter 9 – More Than Twenty

Li Yiming had no attention to spare for Qing Qiaoqiao. His eyes remained fixated on Ji Xiaoqin. He noticed the man starting to grope her, all the while observing Guo Xiang's reaction with quick glances.

Guo Xiang looked at the whole scene without doing anything. He did not care particularly for Ji Xiaoqin, especially after what had happened at the gala. Li Yiming's disregard, and that woman's indifference, and… Especially the way she looked at Li Yiming, irritated him profoundly. After the gala, he answered the invitation from a group of friends and came to the nightclub to vent off his anger. Ji Xiaoqin insisted on accompanying him, and he did not oppose it. However, looking at the way she was treated by his ”buddy” now, he felt the odd, twisted pleasure of retribution.

The man kept his attention on Guo Xiang. Seeing that he was not vexed, he lifted his eyebrow. Guo Xiang was a little surprised, but nodded with a smile. The man grinned perversely, emptied his drink, took Ji Xiaoqin in his arms and walked towards the bathroom.

Li Yiming, who had been espying the scene, fumed with indignation. He stood up and rushed towards the group. Perhaps the abnormal experiences he has had during the day gave him a newfound courage, Li Yiming yelled out in a vociferous voice, ”Let her go!”

'An overflowing sense of justice?' Qing Qiaoqiao was a little stirred; she had also noticed that girl.

All of the heads turned towards Li Yiming. The D.J., true to his professionalism, lowered the volume of the music so that the hall sank into a dead silence.

”Li Yiming?” Guo Xiang stood up in an excited fury. 'A road to heaven yet you won't walk it, no door to h.e.l.l but you insist on knocking.'

”You dare show up here?” Guo Xiang limped towards him, followed by a dozen men, all with mischievous expressions.

”What do you think you're doing? You think you're some kind of hero who'll save the princess?” Guo Xiang stopped right in front of Li Yiming and blew out a mouthful of smoke onto his face. He turned his head to look back at Ji Xiaoqin, who still rested in the arms of his friend.

Li Yiming's confidence waned when he looked at the crowd behind Guo Xiang. 'I don't think that this was the plan…'

”Oh? That little fairy's also here?” Guo Xiang suddenly noticed Qing Qiaoqiao, who walked over from behind Li Yiming, and his eyes flashed with lewdness.

”You… Let go of her! How can you treat her like that? You animal!” Seeing the woman he loved in the arms of another, Li Yiming felt a bitterness unlike anything he had ever experienced.

”Ji Xiaoqin? Let her go?” Guo Xiang s.h.i.+fted his angry glare to Li Yiming. 'What a loser! How dare he insult me?' This was enough to burn away the fuse of barbarity within him. He fell into a folly exacerbated by his drunkenness. ”Why? Why would she belong to you? Li Yiming, I'm telling you right now, I like to screw your girls. Not only Ji Xiaoqin, but that little fairy too, and I'll screw her right in front of you!”

”Causing trouble for master Guo? You want to f*cking die?” The man who held Ji Xiaoqin dropped her and picked up a beer bottle. To pay back a favor doubly was the appropriate behavior in their society. He had just been granted permission by Guo Xiang to ”enjoy” his girl, how would his peers look at him if he just stood there and did nothing?

Li Yiming looked at the man, who was about a head taller, leap at him. His hot blood was instantly chilled. He took a step back instinctively, but then, he clutched his hand on something Qing Qiaoqiao handed over. He lowered his head to look at the object.

'A handgun?'

By the time the thought ran through his mind, the man had closed in, and Li Yiming could already hear the sound of the gla.s.s bottle shattering against his skull. He did not have much time to think. Bang – Bang- Bang! The man collapsed on the ground, struck by the three rounds he had fired. The beer bottle clunked against the floor, but, owing to its high quality, did not shatter. Instead, it rolled sideways all the way to Guo Xiang's feet.

A scream resounded through the hall. The group of people around Li Yiming instantly backed away, and Li Yiming found himself facing Guo Xiang alone.

Li Yiming looked at the gun in his hand, and at the muscled man, who was writhing on the floor. 'I killed someone…'

The gunshot attracted the attention of security, and about twenty men dressed in black appeared at the exit of the hall.

Guo Xiang had too much to drink that day. The gun Li Yiming held was not enough to douse his hot-blood, but instead brought out the madman within him. After all, when was the last time Young Master Guo had been forced to swallow bitter endings in Hangzhou? He glanced at the security guards and screeched with all of his might. ”You dare fire? Li Yiming? You dare? You have twenty bullets tops, and we're a lot more people than that. How many can you shoot? Kill me if you dare. Listen to me, I'll give two million yuan to whomever he kills, whoever that kills him… Five million.”

Reward is mother of courage. The mobsters and the security guards were people who were used to dealing with situations like this, and so, when they heard the numbers, their eyes glittered with greed. They searched around for something convenient to use as a weapon, and those who were not too drunk to think clearly were calculating their odds. Guns were banned in the country, so if that man had a gun, it must not have been entirely legal. On top of that, he fired first, so even if they were caught by the police later, these would be extenuating circ.u.mstances. As for the question of who will be shot by him, that was not worth their attention, five million… Unlucky is the one who gets shot.

The group of people came closer and closer to Li Yiming with bloodthirsty eyes.

Tatatatatatatat…. The sound of continuous firing suddenly went off, exploding a row of gla.s.s bottles on the bar counter. Everyone retracted their necks instinctively, and Li Yiming almost dropped his handgun when he heard the noise. He turned his head around slowly and saw Qing Qiaoqiao raise her shoulders, looking back at him gently. His attention then fell to the object she held in her hands.

An a.s.sault rifle… 'I've seen that thing before in a game… Isn't that the M4…'

”I have more than twenty bullets in mine…” Qing Qiaoqiao smiled… A smile which was as beautiful as it was sweet, with shyness hidden beneath her tender gaze, and timidity wrapped within her cheerful expression…

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