Falling After Marriage - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Shamelessly Forcing Liquor on You

The darkness of the night sky was thick like ink, merging with the vast, heavy sea, resembling a giant, all-consuming maw.

The decay of Seventeen Port was shrouded in the sea breeze, the air filled with the damp, mildewed smell of rust.

Cheng Sangluo walked alone, weaving through the narrow passageways of shipping containers.

She wore a high ponytail and clean, sharp black clothing, blending into the pitch-black environment, making her presence hard to detect.

She acted cautiously. Without confirming the number of people, she could only scout for danger as she approached the meeting location.

Near the exit of the alleyway, she quickly flattened herself against the wall to observe.

In front of the abandoned office building not far away, dim yellow light illuminated the figures of a group of thugs.

The leader sat in a camping chair, one foot resting on Cheng Xing’s head, instructing a subordinate to light his cigarette.

Cheng Sangluo estimated there were over twenty thugs on site. After surveying the terrain several times, she slowly and deliberately emerged from the darkness.

Instantly, the menacing group directed wary gazes at her, ostentatiously playing with their weapons, as if to project an air of deterrence.

When they realized the newcomer was a solitary, unarmed woman, they burst into contemptuous laughter, even whistling a few times in provocation.

This wasn’t Cheng Sangluo’s first time encountering such a tense situation. Compared to the current dire experience, she had faced countless moments of life and death, where she always fought for survival. Over time, she had become accustomed to it.

Clearly, these posturing thugs couldn’t frighten her, and in fact, seemed quite ridiculous.

She smiled. Ignorant people always liked to bluster, and their lack of awareness would inevitably lead to trouble.

“Sangluo—save me—”

Cheng Xing’s face was beaten and swollen. Seeing his sister appear was like seeing a savior. His frantic cries tore at the wounds on his lips, but he forgot the pain.

Cheng Sangluo approached, but maintained a safe distance. Ignoring the cowardly plea for help, she went straight to the creditor: “I don’t have money.”

“No money?” The creditor was dissatisfied with the answer, the flab on his face trembling with anger. He ground his foot harder onto Cheng Xing’s head: “Then why are you here?”

Cheng Sangluo spoke with the resolve of someone attending a meeting alone: “To rescue someone.”

She had calculated the odds. If she could act quickly, there was a good chance of taking Cheng Xing away. She only feared a difficult situation where time ran out and her physical strength failed.

“I know you’re very skilled, but…” The creditor confidently blew out a smoke ring, pointing to his temple: “Solving problems requires brains.”

With that, two tightly bound figures were heavily shoved to the ground.

Cheng Yongqiang and Zuo Lan’s mouths were taped shut, and knives were held against their throats.

They let out painful whimpers, afraid to move, only able to look at their daughter with pleading eyes.

“Dad? Mom?” Cheng Sangluo was surprised, having not expected her parents to be held captive. She gritted her teeth and hissed: “The one who owes you money is Cheng Xing! They have nothing to do with it!”

“How can they have nothing to do with it? You’re a family! If you can’t pay, we’ll take organs to settle the debt. After all, paying what you owe is only right and proper,” the creditor said with a sickening sense of righteousness, then pressed his cigarette onto Cheng Xing’s face, eliciting a tragic wail.

Cheng Sangluo was overtly threatened but maintained a calm and composed expression: “Using my family to control me. It seems Xu Songheng went to a lot of trouble.”

Hearing the familiar name, the creditor paused his action of lighting a new cigarette and said bluntly: “To be honest, Boss Xu put out the word on the street. Five million for half your life. You’re worth more than your brother.”

Cheng Sangluo understood immediately. Today’s meeting was indeed a trap dug by that bastard. She couldn’t help but chuckle: “Mr. Xu is generous. Putting on such a show just for half my life. He really thinks highly of me.”

“Exactly. It’s such easy money to earn, why wouldn’t we take it?” The creditor laughed, but suddenly his face hardened. He ordered his subordinates: “What are you staring at? Get moving.”

Following their boss’s command, a group of large, burly men wielding baseball bats quickly surrounded Cheng Sangluo.

“Five million. Let’s see if this money is really so easy to earn.” Cheng Sangluo mocked, holding her hands up to her chest in a standard blocking posture.

The two men leading the charge swung their bats at her side waist. She retreated, executed a backflip and a spinning kick, simultaneously knocking both men down.

In need of a weapon, she snatched one of the bats, and with a clean strike, knocked out the man at her feet.

In an instant, the remaining thugs rushed forward.

These men had no combat experience, only wildly swinging their bats with brute force, yet were too timid to get too close.

Cheng Sangluo was agile, dodging and using people as defensive shields.

She easily took down several people without even heavy breathing. However, these thick-skinned men were resilient, turning the fight into a battle of attrition.

The creditor wanted to enjoy the spectacle of many overpowering one, but his own men weren’t gaining any advantage. He spat in frustration: “You can’t even handle one woman! I’ve been feeding you all for nothing, you useless bunch!”

He stood up, drawing a pistol from his waistband, loading it and aiming it at Cheng Sangluo: “I know you’re tough to deal with, but what good is skill when this thing has no eyes?”

Cheng Sangluo was startled by the sight of the gun, immediately grabbing the nearest person and pulling him in front of her.

‘Bang—’

The creditor was ruthless, completely disregarding the life of his subordinate, and fired directly at Cheng Sangluo.

His aim was off, hitting the person blocking in front. The bullet passed through the man’s ear and grazed Cheng Sangluo’s brow bone.

In a flash, copious blood flowed along the contours of her face, splitting into several streams, staining her sharp eyes.

Cheng Sangluo had no time to wipe away the blood blurring her vision. She could only squint, defensively guarding against the crowd looking for an opportunity to strike.

The pistol became the thugs’ confidence. They swarmed her, taking advantage of her injury.

The blur of swinging bats landed mercilessly on her back, mixed with punches and kicks.

If not for the fear of a surprise gunshot, Cheng Sangluo wouldn’t have been reduced to such a helpless state.

In that moment, she could only bite down on her lower lip, enduring the pain without making a sound. The only thing she could do was protect her head and curl up tightly.

“Stop!”

A low, sharp command sliced through the noise, instantly settling the chaotic scene.

A man in a sharp suit, with slicked-back hair, had a very grim expression, his eyes looking like they could devour people as he walked through the crowd.

The creditor saw him approach and immediately hid the gun behind his back, politely asking: “Boss Xu, what brings you here?”

Xu Songheng was lean, his pale face perpetually bloodless. Now, he tightly clenched his jaw, offering no response.

His intense reluctance carried the helplessness of being forced into this situation, yet he couldn’t vent his frustration now, relying on silence to bottle up all his unwillingness.

“If he didn’t come, how would he explain things to me?”

A voice carrying a mocking rhetorical question solved Xu Songheng’s mystery.

The cold, clear tone still had the curious effect of sending shivers down one’s spine.

Cheng Sangluo’s mind was fuzzy. She suddenly remembered that the rice ball from the convenience store wasn’t tasty—cold and gritty.

She lay miserably on the ground, struggling to look up and see the two most hateful villains in her life.

She wanted to remember. Remember how despicable the faces of these people were, even if the pain from the wound above her brow was intense, she needed to see clearly.

Everything seen through her bloody eyes was distinctly red, coating everyone in a bloody hue.

Lin Jin’s long hair was neatly pinned back. She was dressed simply in a white shirt and black trousers, a stance both cool and contemptuous with one hand in her pocket.

Ignoring everyone’s surprised looks, she walked directly to Cheng Sangluo’s side.

Seeing the continuous flow of blood forming a puddle beneath the puppy’s face, her cold eyes instantly filled with murderous intent.

She struggled to suppress her anger, crouching down and taking a tissue from her handbag, gently lifting the puppy’s face to wipe the blood.

‘Clothes can be dirty, but the face must be clean. That is the minimum respect for oneself.’

Even if the initial tenderness was a facade, the deja-vu of the scene quietly eroded Cheng Sangluo’s vigilance.

“Does it hurt?” Lin Jin’s heart was trembling with pain, even her question was cautious.

Cheng Sangluo laboriously raised her arm, swatting away her hand, and rubbed her blurry eyes: “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you ask me how this situation should be resolved? Happy choice of three, right? I knew you wouldn’t choose any of those paths, so I took the liberty of choosing for you.” Lin Jin’s eyes crinkled in a smile, and she whispered: “Since I shamelessly forced liquor on you, of course I have to keep my word.”

This was probably the first time Lin Jin had shown her shrewd side to Cheng Sangluo.

Business is like chess; every move must have a reason for existence. Unexpectedly, even within those bizarre choices, she had hidden a retreat path for Cheng Sangluo.

This act of rescue had a perfectly logical explanation. It convinced herself as a businesswoman and provided the best possible choice for the puppy out of the worst possible scenarios.

Beneath the cruel actions was a heart deeply in love, just like her response at the convenience store entrance: ‘I’m here to help you.’

But this true tenderness was fleeting.

Lin Jin quickly veiled her underlying concern, her tone becoming slightly flippant: “It’s not a coincidence. I was waiting for today. Our seven-day bet must be settled now.”

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