"Pfft..." Xia Bingyun couldn't help but laugh, her beautiful eyes glancing at Li Se. "I find you quite wicked."
Li Se was momentarily stunned. He thought to himself that Xia Bingyun was truly a stunner. A slight smile from her almost stole his soul. Regaining his senses with difficulty, he asked curiously, "Was that person just now your ex-boyfriend?"
"Yes," Xia Bingyun nodded. "One was my boyfriend, and the other was my best friend. I thought they would accompany me my whole life, until one day I saw them in bed together. I never imagined that the man I loved would do such a thing with my best friend. I couldn't accept it, and from then on, I stopped believing in friendship or love."
"So, you put up a facade, making yourself distant?" Li Se asked again.
"Because I was afraid of another man intruding into my life," Xia Bingyun replied, not wanting to relive past events.
Li Se gently took Xia Bingyun's hand and said, "It's all in the past. There's no need to torture yourself for those scumbags. Let the past be the past; you need to face a new future."
Xia Bingyun hesitated to look at Li Se and pulled her hand away.
Li Se felt a little awkward. He had gotten carried away for a moment and accidentally grabbed Xia Bingyun's hand. He had to admit, her hand felt quite nice.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Se and Xia Bingyun parted ways. He then went directly to Jiang Ranran's house. A few days had passed since the last acupuncture session, and he needed to give Jiang Dashan another treatment. However, just as he reached the door, he saw several people knocking on Jiang Ranran's door.
The door was quickly opened, and Jiang Ranran looked at the men in front of her in fear. "Brother Qiang, weren't you supposed to give me another half a month?"
"Half a month?" The man called Brother Qiang walked in, sizing up Jiang Ranran. "Give you half a month, and can you come up with a million? You can't, right? So I don't want to wait half a month anymore. You have two choices now: either give me a million immediately, or you go and sell yourself. Your figure is really good, and you're beautiful. You're still a virgin, aren't you? Tsk, tsk, if this first time were to be auctioned, it might fetch a sky-high price."
He paused and then added, "If some young master takes a liking to you, he might even pay off your debt directly for a million."
"Brother Qiang, please give me a little more time. I really don't have that much money right now," Jiang Ranran pleaded. https:/
"Give you time?" Brother Qiang berated. "How much time have I given you? Your father is still lying in bed like a useless waste. How can I give you time? You'd better come with me now. I have a young master who wants to play with a pure and virgin girl like you. This young master is no ordinary person; a few million is nothing to him."
Jiang Ranran cried, "Brother Qiang, I beg you. I already have a boyfriend. I... I don't want to. Please give me some more time, and I'll definitely be able to raise the money."
Brother Qiang lifted Jiang Ranran's chin and tsked. "This face is so beautiful, and you look so pitiful when you cry. But it's not that Brother Qiang doesn't want to help you; it's just that I can't. Who told you you owe me so much money? Take her away!"
"Let go of your dirty hands!"
Just then, an angry voice rang out.
"Li Se?" Jiang Ranran was stunned, clearly not expecting Li Se to appear at this moment.
"Oh ho, playing the hero to save the damsel?" Brother Qiang didn't take Li Se seriously at all. "Give him a lesson and let him know that he shouldn't meddle in other people's business."
Several of his subordinates eagerly stepped forward to confront Li Se. Before they could even make a move, Li Se struck first, kicking one of them flying with a heavy blow. He then followed up with a few slaps, sending the others sprawling.
"Holy crap!" Brother Qiang was dumbfounded.
Li Se grabbed the hand that Brother Qiang had used to lift Jiang Ranran's chin. With a crunch, Brother Qiang cried out in pain.
"Dare to touch my woman again?" Li Se said coldly.
"No more, no more..." Brother Qiang wailed.
Li Se asked, "How much does my girlfriend owe you?"
"O-one million!" Brother Qiang said quickly.
"I'll give you a million. If you dare to harass my girlfriend again, I'll make sure you don't see tomorrow's sun," Li Se said. He promptly transferred a million to Brother Qiang and tore up the IOUs before letting Brother Qiang and his men leave.
"Li Se..." Jiang Ranran threw herself into Li Se's arms and cried profusely. After crying for several minutes, she slowly said, "I borrowed some money from them before to pay for my dad's medical expenses. If you hadn't shown up today, I'm afraid I really would have been taken away by them."
"Silly girl, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Li Se chided as he rubbed her head.
Jiang Ranran lowered her head. "I didn't want to implicate you."
"If anything like this happens again in the future, you must tell me. I'm not short of money now," Li Se instructed.
"Mhm!" Jiang Ranran responded sweetly.
Afterward, Li Se entered the room. Jiang Dashan was already sobbing uncontrollably. He couldn't get out of bed, and even though he knew what was happening outside, he was utterly helpless. Upon seeing Li Se, he thanked him profusely, "Thank you... thank you!"
"It's what I should do," Li Se smiled and then performed acupuncture on Jiang Dashan's thigh.
"My leg... it feels like it can move now." Jiang Dashan could now move his thigh. Although it was very strenuous and the movement was slight, it was infinitely better than having no feeling at all. At least there was hope of standing up again.
"Dad, that's wonderful," Jiang Ranran was also overjoyed.
After leaving Jiang Dashan's room, Li Se pinched Jiang Ranran's cheek and said, "You've worked so hard all this time, carrying the burden of this family alone."
Jiang Ranran smiled and shook her head. "With you here, I fear nothing."
They kissed for several minutes. Being in the throes of young love, they wished they could be together all day. Li Se had initially planned to take Jiang Ranran to watch a movie that evening, but then the hospital called. Since he was now Lin Wanqiu's exclusive doctor, other doctors couldn't examine her, so he had to go.
"You have to leave?" Jiang Ranran asked reluctantly.
"Mhm, I need to go to the hospital." Li Se flicked Jiang Ranran's nose. "Don't worry, as long as you call, I'll come to find you anytime."
"Kiss me," Jiang Ranran closed her eyes.
Li Se kissed her lips before leaving.
Meanwhile, at a nightclub, as it was daytime, there were no other patrons, only some security personnel.
Brother Qiang and his subordinates returned defeated, their faces bruised and swollen. However, they now had to face an even more terrifying presence.
Sitting before them was a young man who violently smashed a glass in his hand onto Brother Qiang's face, yet he wore a smile. "You couldn't even bring back one woman?"