Chapter 77: Seizing a Maiden by Force

Gu Xiangnan gently kissed Liu Piaopiao’s forehead, then rose to wash and dress. After last night with Liu Piaopiao, not only did he feel no exhaustion—he was filled with boundless energy. With a full schedule today, he neither felt tired nor made any mistakes. Clearly, his cultivation had advanced noticeably.

At half past five in the afternoon, Gu Xiangnan received a call from Liu Piaopiao. She said she hadn’t slept all night and wanted to catch up on rest, so wouldn’t join him for dinner. At that moment, a text alert sounded. Su Hanyan had messaged him: she was busy working overtime at the company, arranging orders and production for Rejuvenation Cream, and hadn’t had time to return home these days. She urged him to take good care of himself.

Gu Xiangnan was left at a loss, unsure where to go. As he sat in a daze, the office door was knocked. The door opened a crack, and Xu Chenyi poked his head in.

“Brother Nan, any plans tonight? Let me treat you to skewers,” he said, making a gesture as if drinking.

Gu Xiangnan, bored and restless, immediately agreed.

Xu Chenyi led Gu Xiangnan to a small street near the Traditional Chinese Medicine University.

“Brother Nan, this street is famous—nicknamed ‘Degenerate Street.’”

Now that Gu Xiangnan was a ‘grown-up,’ his mind instantly wandered off.

“Oh? Tell me, just how degenerate is it?” he asked, deliberately with a mischievous smile.

“Hey, Brother Nan, I didn’t expect you’d be so worldly!” Xu Chenyi grinned knowingly. “But you’re mistaken. This street connects to the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the International Finance University, and the Business Academy. Students come here to relax and have fun.”

“If they’re not studying properly, isn’t that degenerate enough!” Xu Chenyi laughed. “This street has everything: food, drinks, entertainment, all at affordable prices—perfect for students. But honestly, I never used to come here; it wasn’t up to my standards.”

He explained to Gu Xiangnan as if reciting from a cherished list.

They hadn’t walked far before spotting a long line at a stall in the distance. Approaching, they saw it was a pancake stall, and the chef was an exceptionally beautiful young woman.

Both called out in unison, “Zi Xiaoyin!”

Zi Xiaoyin was in front of the stall, making pancakes with swift, fluid motions—clearly practiced.

“Zi Xiaoyin!”

They stepped forward to greet her, but the angry male students in line mistook them for queue jumpers, glaring at them.

Zi Xiaoyin heard her name called, looked up, and seeing it was them, greeted them cheerfully.

“Professor Gu, Student Xu! Are you here for dinner?”

The pancake queen knew them, making the male students even more irate.

Xu Chenyi quickly invited her, “I’m treating Brother Nan to barbecue—come join us!”

Zi Xiaoyin glanced at the long line before her and replied, “No, business is busy tonight. You two go ahead.”

Xu Chenyi was a little disappointed, reluctantly leaving with Gu Xiangnan toward the barbecue stall, only ten meters away from Zi Xiaoyin’s stand.

They sat down, ordered food, opened beer, and had a few drinks.

Gu Xiangnan excused himself to use the restroom.

Suddenly, Xu Chenyi heard a commotion from the pancake stall.

“Get away! Don’t touch me!”

His mind had been on Zi Xiaoyin all evening, so he stood up anxiously to look.

“Are you trying to harass me? Let go! Help! Somebody!” Several large, burly white men were grabbing Zi Xiaoyin’s hand. She was clearly unwilling, shrinking back.

A middle-aged woman spread her arms to shield Zi Xiaoyin. One of the white men, annoyed, shoved her. The woman fell heavily to the ground and couldn’t get up.

“Mom! Mom, are you okay?” Zi Xiaoyin rushed to the woman’s side, crying loudly.

“Someone help! Call an ambulance! Mom!”

One of the white men simply hoisted her over his shoulder. Zi Xiaoyin kicked and struggled desperately but couldn’t break free.

Some of the male students who had been queuing pulled out their phones to call the police, but the white men snatched the phones and smashed them to pieces.

Now, no one dared to intervene.

Xu Chenyi’s rage ignited. Was this not outright abduction?

He charged forward, kicking one of the white men to the ground.

“Fuck, you slant-eyed bastards dare hit me?” The man cursed, pointing at Xu Chenyi.

Xu Chenyi ignored him, shouting at Zi Xiaoyin, “Put her down!”

“Who gave you the right to touch her with your filthy hands?”

No sooner had he spoken than another white man punched Xu Chenyi square in the nose. Blood gushed, and Xu Chenyi stumbled back several steps.

The group of white men laughed triumphantly.

“Fuck, you yellow-skinned pig, now you know who you’re dealing with?”

“We’re international students from America—be careful.”

Zi Xiaoyin, still on the man’s shoulder, saw Xu Chenyi beaten and pleaded in agony, “Please, let him go—I’ll go with you.”

Xu Chenyi was a man of spirit, and he shouted, “This is China! Put her down! I won’t let you touch her!”

With a sharp crack, a flurry of blows landed on Xu Chenyi, one striking his temple. His vision went dark, and he collapsed.

A boot came down hard, grinding into his head.

“No! Don’t hit him!” Zi Xiaoyin cried, wracked with grief.

“Yellow-skinned pig, die!” Another white man rushed over, kicking at Xu Chenyi’s head.

A sickening snap.

The white man howled in pain, fell to the ground clutching his leg. “Ah—my leg!”

Gu Xiangnan appeared at the critical moment, delivering a fierce kick that broke the man’s leg.

Another white man, shocked at his companion’s injury, demanded, “Who are you?”

“We’re American exchange students. You dare hurt us? Aren’t you afraid of causing a political incident?”

Gu Xiangnan’s face darkened. “You came here to abduct women and injured Chinese citizens. You deserve to be punished!”

“I’ll count to three. Let go of the girl.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The white men, unaware of Gu Xiangnan’s strength, waited to see what he would do.

With a ripping sound, Gu Xiangnan tore off the arm of the man carrying Zi Xiaoyin.

Muscle, bone, and skin snapped; blood gushed everywhere.

The burly white man dropped to his knees, releasing Zi Xiaoyin.

“Ah! It hurts!” He rolled on the ground in agony.

The remaining men retreated in terror, pointing at Gu Xiangnan. “Just you wait—we’re not ordinary people in America! This isn’t over! You’ll pay for this!”

Gu Xiangnan stepped forward. “All right, I’ll be waiting.”

The white man turned and fled.

Zi Xiaoyin rushed to the middle-aged woman, crying, “Mama, hang on! Call an ambulance!”

There was no time to wait for an ambulance.

Just then, a taxi happened to drive down the small street.

Gu Xiangnan suddenly ran in front of the car, and the driver had no time to brake.

He was about to be struck.