Beauty Snake - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A Heroic Intervention

Ji Guoqiang’s phone call caused Ji Yunfei’s mind to wander for the entire afternoon.

She knew exactly how shameless and thick-skinned her scumbag father was. Since she hadn’t given in to his demands, he certainly wouldn’t let the matter rest.

Ugh… just thinking about it gives me a headache…

Tap—tap—tap—

The sound of Ji Yunfei’s brisk footsteps echoed through the silent underground parking lot.

Ever since she hung up the phone that morning, she hadn’t been able to settle her mind. Subconsciously, she felt that something bad was about to happen. She had planned to leave right on time, but “Baldy” appeared at the last minute, forcing her to stay late and revise a proposal. Before she knew it, she had worked until 10:00 PM.

The underground parking lot was vast and empty; at this time of night, walking alone naturally made her heart race.

Step—

Ji Yunfei kept her head down, walking fast while staying alert to her surroundings. Suddenly, she heard a footstep that didn’t match her own rhythm.

Slower… heavier…

Her heart leaped. She gripped her bag tightly and sped up toward her car.

Step—step—

As she sped up, the frequency of the other footsteps increased as well. She stopped abruptly; the footsteps vanished. She stood still, glancing around, but saw no one else.

Her heart pounded harder, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. Realizing she couldn’t just stand there waiting to be cornered, she gritted her teeth and bolted.

Huff… huff… huff…

She ran faster and faster until the only sound in her ears was the whistling wind. She had only one thought: Get out of here.

Beep—

Fortunately, the journey was without incident. She successfully reached her car, locked the doors, and floored the accelerator out of the basement.

“Phew… okay, I’m fine…” She let out a heavy sigh, hoping it was just a hallucination brought on by the stress of working late.

As she drove home, the cool breeze through the window gradually calmed her lingering unease. She even started humming a small tune, but her good mood vanished the moment she saw a figure standing below her apartment building.

“Mm…”

It was a thin, scruffy man with a shaved head, wearing a blue T-shirt and flip-flops. At first, she couldn’t see his face clearly, but she could smell the faint scent of alcohol in the air. As she drew closer, the stench of booze became pungent. Hearing her approach, the man looked up, and Ji Yunfei saw him clearly.

“Ji. Guo. Qiang.”

The moment she saw this man reeking of alcohol, traumatic memories began to flash before her eyes like a revolving lantern. She clenched her fists, biting her lip to suppress the urge to beat him senseless.

How did he still have the nerve to show up here?!

“Are. You. Stalking. Me?”

“Oh? My good daughter… I’ve been waiting for you…”

“What ‘stalking’… a father… caring for his daughter is… perfectly normal…”

Seeing that it was indeed Ji Yunfei, Ji Guoqiang’s eyes lit up. He set down a glass bottle, wobbled to his feet, and rubbed his hands together with a look that was half-fawning and half-predatory.

“Look… I just got out… money is… tight…”

“As my daughter, you… surely wouldn’t want to see your old… old man… suffering like this…”

As he spoke, he reached out, trying to drape an arm over her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me with your filthy hands!” Ji Yunfei violently shrugged him off and gave him a powerful shove.

Ji Guoqiang’s body had long been hollowed out by years of debauchery. Combined with his drunken state and lack of defense, he couldn’t withstand her full-force push. He tumbled backward, landing two meters away on his back in a pathetic, almost comical heap.

“D*mmit! You’ve really lost your mind, haven’t you? Pushing your own father?”

Visibly reddening with rage, Ji Guoqiang’s eyes turned bloodshot. Veins popped on his forehead as he ground his teeth in fury. He looked like an irrational, cornered beast.

“If I don’t get any money today, you won’t have a good time either!”

In a fit of rage, he ignored everything else, lunged at Ji Yunfei as she tried to head upstairs, and snatched up a glass bottle from the ground, swinging it toward her head.

There was a massive strength gap between them. Ji Yunfei couldn’t break free. Seeing the bottle coming down, she instinctively raised her other hand to protect her head.

CRASH—

“AAAAHH—”

She braced herself for the impact and the blood, but to her surprise, it never came. Instead, it was Ji Guoqiang who let out a heart-wrenching scream.

“?”

Confused, Ji Yunfei slowly opened her eyes. The scene before her left her speechless.

It was Xie Yin.

Xie Yin’s breathing was uneven, but her hand was steady, blocking the blow in front of Ji Yunfei. Her eyes were filled with deep worry. She was wearing a simple, short-sleeved home outfit, so the shattered glass had easily sliced into her arm. Blood dripped slowly onto the ground.

“Are you okay?” Seeing Ji Yunfei open her eyes, Xie Yin ignored her own injury to check on her.

“Don’t worry about me, your hand—”

“It’s fine, just a scratch… eh—”

Before Xie Yin could finish, Ji Yunfei grabbed her and pulled her straight upstairs, completely forgetting about Ji Guoqiang. Her beautiful boss and creditor’s safety was the priority—especially since she had been hurt because of her. Dealing with the scumbag could wait; treating Xie Yin was first.

“Hiss—gentle, gentle… ow, ow, ow…”

“Hmph. So CEO Xie knows what pain feels like now? Why didn’t you think about the consequences before blocking that?”

Ji Yunfei looked at Xie Yin, who was wincing in pain, and raised an eyebrow, her tone half-scolding and half-teasing.

“Well… seeing Little Fei-Fei in danger, didn’t I have to play the hero and save the beauty?” Xie Yin scratched her cheek sheepishly. “After all…”

“After all what?”

“After all, I’m your creditor. If something happens to you, wouldn’t I be the one losing out?”

“Heh… but wait, why were you even in this neighborhood?” Ji Yunfei was baffled. This was a messy, old district. Even she had trouble standing the environment; how could a big boss like Xie Yin be here?

“Oh… there’s a stall here that makes amazing Fuding Meat Slices. I had a craving for it today. I was just wandering around after eating when I happened to run into you.”

Ji Yunfei had heard of that stall; it was indeed a local landmark. She accepted the explanation without suspicion, missing the slight flicker of guilt in Xie Yin’s shifty eyes.

“I wouldn’t have guessed. The cold, efficient CEO Xie likes street food?”

“What, a CEO can’t eat meat slices?”

“Alright, alright, of course you can. There, all bandaged up. Be careful when you go back, don’t get it wet, and change the dressing regularly.”

Ji Yunfei joked while finishing the bandage. Looking at her handiwork, she felt quite proud of herself.

“Ji Yunfei…”

“Hmm?” Hearing Xie Yin use her full name suddenly felt unfamiliar.

“That man…”

“I hate to admit it, but that’s my father… a complete scumbag.” Seeing Xie Yin bring him up, Ji Yunfei’s eyes dimmed with a hint of loneliness.

“Can you… tell me about it? If it’s too difficult, don’t force yourself…”

“I can. Besides, you just helped me, didn’t you?”

Perhaps because these things had been bottled up for too long, Ji Yunfei felt a sudden need for release. Since Xie Yin was willing to listen, she decided to tell her.

SLAP— A crisp sound rang out.

“Dad… please stop hitting Mom… please stop…” Six-year-old Ji Yunfei, her face streaked with tears, stood with her small body shielding her mother on the floor. She looked up at her father, who reeked of alcohol and was shaking with rage. She tried to reach for his hand.

“AAAAHH—”

“Get away, you little brat!”

Before she could do anything, she was shoved aside and fell to the ground. It hurt… but her heart hurt more. Little Ji Yunfei watched as he walked back to her mother and raised his fists. Her mother’s screams echoed in her ears. She wanted to fight back again but was powerless. She watched as he tossed her mother aside like a useless ragdoll and took the last of their savings.

She remembered that night vividly; it was a scene she could never forget.

“Later… my mother died of an illness when I was ten. That scumbag didn’t want me; he moved to the city to continue his debauchery. I was sent to live with my grandmother. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I heard he caused a major accident while drunk and was sentenced to ten years. At the time, I thought ten years was too light…”

“Hmm?”

While immersed in her emotions, Ji Yunfei suddenly felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace. Xie Yin had reached out and held her tight.

“Wooo… Little Fei-Fei, you’ve had it so hard…”

“Come here, let me hug you…”

“But even so… you still have to pay me back… and finish that proposal… woooo…”

“Yes, yes, I’ll pay you back… I’ll do the proposal… just let go for a second…”

Ji Yunfei laughed in spite of herself. This beautiful creditor of hers was… quite sentimental. With the face of a cold, glamorous woman, she was crying like a little rabbit.

Recalling the past twenty-six years, saying she wasn’t sad would be a lie. But as a veteran of the workplace, she had learned to suppress her emotions—to swallow the bitterness. This was the first time she had bared her soul to someone else, let alone her boss and creditor. It was… a bit strange.

But more than that… Ji Yunfei thought for a moment…

It felt warm.

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