Chapter 53: Get the Hell Out
Unexpectedly, just as he took a sip, a sudden grip tightened around his neck. His entire body was lifted off the ground, suspended momentarily before crashing heavily onto the floor.
Thud!
"Cough, cough—"
Wang Peichuan coughed up smoke, tears streaming from his eyes.
Bang!
The sound of a shattered wine bottle echoed, followed by the sharp sting of skin being cut. Wang Peichuan barely dared to breathe, nervously glancing at Lin Bai.
"Don't—don't act rashly!"
Crimson blood dripped from the broken glass bottle. Lin Bai’s face remained expressionless.
“Which private room is Li Ruonan in?”
Wang Peichuan didn’t dare move, pointing hesitantly to room 206 nearby.
Lin Bai ignored him, rose to his feet, discarded the broken bottle, and strode toward room 206.
Behind him, Wang Peichuan got up and took a couple of steps forward, then suddenly hesitated. After a moment’s pause, he turned and dashed away, fleeing the scene.
Inside room 206, the waiter had not yet served the dishes. Zhou Teng pulled out his phone, opened the WeChat QR code screen, and placed it on the table. Then he casually walked over to Li Ruonan.
“I startled you today, junior. Leave me your contact info, and I’ll make it up to you later.”
Li Ruonan frowned, about to speak, when the door to the room suddenly opened.
She turned around, and upon seeing Lin Bai, her face instantly brightened. She hurried over to him.
“Lin—”
Smack!
The crisp sound rang out.
Li Ruonan covered her face, disbelief written all over it. Meanwhile, Zhou Teng stood up, frowning darkly at Lin Bai.
Lin Bai didn’t look at Zhou Teng but fixed his gaze on Li Ruonan.
“That slap was for your stubbornness!”
Li Ruonan had suffered once before at Wang Peichuan’s hands, yet she still went out with him this time. That was what angered Lin Bai the most.
Li Ruonan, knowing she was at fault, lowered her head and said innocently, “I didn’t know. The class monitor said there was some important document that needed my signature, so I came…”
Lin Bai didn’t dwell on this. At last, he turned his gaze to Zhou Teng, a stranger to him.
“Uncle, who are you?”
Lin Bai didn’t recognize Zhou Teng, but Zhou Teng knew Lin Bai. He smiled softly.
“Lin Bai, junior, it’s better to meet in person than just hear the rumors. You really are as they say—strong-willed. But… girls are meant to be cherished, not hit.”
Lin Bai snorted, though he had an inkling of the truth.
“You’re Zhou Teng?”
Zhou Teng nodded slightly. “Indeed.”
---
Lin Bai laughed. “I never thought our first meeting would be like this. Zhou Teng, you’re about to graduate, and yet you pick on a freshman? How can you bear to?”
Zhou Teng replied, “Sorry, junior. I’m also staying in Jiangcheng after graduation, so that doesn’t matter. But you, hitting my guest, you owe me an explanation.”
“An explanation, huh?” Lin Bai retorted.
The next moment, Lin Bai reached out, and before Li Ruonan could react, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. After a few seconds, he pulled away.
The suffocating dominance stirred an indescribable purity within Li Ruonan. She buried her face against Lin Bai’s chest, her cheeks flushed red as if bleeding.
“Is that explanation enough?”
Zhou Teng’s face darkened to an extreme, his brows furrowed ominously. Beneath the table, his fists clenched tightly, nails nearly digging into his flesh.
“To my knowledge, your girlfriend’s name is Qin Ruowei, right?”
“That’s right. She’s not my girlfriend—at best, just a concubine. So? Doesn’t suit you?”
Zhou Teng gritted his steel teeth, almost breaking them, but his face remained calm and gentle.
“Junior, you have quite the moves. This senior needs to learn from you.”
“Good to hear. And Zhou Teng, don’t think I don’t know about the tricks you’re playing behind my back. I’m keeping track of all this. I’ll make you beg on your knees! Remember what I said.”
With that, Lin Bai pointed at Zhou Teng, then took the dazed Li Ruonan and turned away from the private room.
Zhou Teng didn’t stop them, watching helplessly as Lin Bai left with Li Ruonan.
One minute, two minutes…
The private room door opened as a waiter entered to serve the dishes.
Bang!
“Get out! Get out! Get out of here!” Zhou Teng slammed his fist on the table, his face twisted with rage, terrifying in its intensity.
---
Lin Bai took Li Ruonan to his car. Once inside, he finally looked at her face, a flicker of apology crossing his eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Li Ruonan shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Lin Bai opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, then started the car, driving without a set destination.
“Stay away from Wang Peichuan from now on. That man is deceitful. If he contacts you, no matter what, tell me first.”
On the road, Lin Bai gave her a warning.
Li Ruonan was too naive, the kind of person who would be betrayed and still help the betrayer.
She said nothing, only nodded repeatedly.
“Hey, you… why did you ask me out tonight? Is there something you want?”
After a long silence, Li Ruonan finally mustered the courage to ask.
“I booked a hotel. We’ll talk there.”
“Ah, a hotel?” Li Ruonan’s face immediately turned red.
---
Lin Bai braked sharply and pulled the car over to the roadside, turning to look at her.
“If you don’t want to, just say so. I’ll take you back to school right now.”
He stared intently at Li Ruonan, seemingly calm but inwardly panicking.
If she really refused, what would he do? Suddenly, he regretted saying that.
Fortunately, Li Ruonan didn’t refuse. She lowered her head, chin nearly resting on her chest, and nodded slightly.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Bai breathed a sigh of relief, restarted the car, and merged back into traffic, heading for the hotel.
---
At the hotel, Lin Bai checked in and took Li Ruonan into the elevator, heading straight to the room.
Just as she entered and was about to steady herself, Lin Bai suddenly pulled her into a possessive embrace and kissed her roughly.
The overwhelming dominance left Li Ruonan disoriented, but strangely, she felt no resistance in her heart. It was indeed strange.
The temperature rose; the weight on her body eased...
(Here, 15,322 words have been omitted.)
---
Over an hour later.
The rain had just ceased, and the hotel room was thick with the scent of passion and sweat.
Lin Bai sat on the sofa to rest, the system’s voice ringing in his mind.
[Beep! Congratulations, host, for completing the side quest. The reward has been activated. A designated contact will reach you tomorrow.]
Lin Bai exhaled deeply, finally having completed the task.
With this, that Zhou fellow…
Lin Bai clenched his fist, a meaningful smile curling on his lips.
Looking at the exhausted Li Ruonan collapsed on the floor, Lin Bai suddenly had an idea. He pulled out his phone, turned on the recording function, and set it up.
Li Ruonan noticed and stammered, “What are you doing?”
Lin Bai positioned the phone, then turned back to her, grabbed her roughly from the floor, and threw her onto the bed.
“What do you think?”
“No, no, you can’t…”
Lin Bai ignored her protests and grabbed her hair from behind.
“Ah!—”