Chapter 46
Chapter 46
When everyone saw the woman’s face clearly, their aggressive momentum instantly vanished.
They stood there like wooden chickens, stunned.
Some had their mouths hanging wide open, unable to close them.
The thugs, who had been arrogant and overbearing just a moment ago, were now frozen in place.
“Is that… Lin Qi?”
“Why would Lin Qi… come here?”
“What did she just say?”
“I think she said… benefactor…”
Zou Mengmeng squinted and looked closely. Wasn’t this her favorite idol?
Lin Qi often worked in West Guan, but Zou Mengmeng had never seen her in person. Her excitement was uncontrollable, and she couldn’t help but scream, “Lin Qi!”
Lin Qi walked gracefully to Wang Ming’s side.
Liu Guohua’s entire body was frozen; only his mouth moved as he muttered, “It really is Lin Qi… Why would she come here…”
“Why did you come in person?” Wang Ming scanned the surrounding crowd of onlookers and asked with concern.
Lin Qi looked Wang Ming up and down, then reached out a hand to gently stroke and rub his face.
“You’re hurt! Why were you so silly? You should have waited for me to arrive before showing your face.”
“I didn’t expect them to be so scheming either! They were playing guerrilla warfare with me.”
“You need to be more careful in the future.”
Zou Mengmeng was dazed. Lin Qi was actually rubbing Wang Ming’s injury!
Liu Guohua and the others were also so shocked that their breathing stopped and their pupils constricted.
“They… they know each other?”
Lin Qi turned her head abruptly. The aura she radiated, combined with the presence of twenty black-clad bodyguards, made everyone afraid to move a muscle.
Her concerned gaze instantly turned cold as she snapped, “Today, I’m not afraid of hitting the headlines again. Beat them!”
The bodyguard team charged forward with bare fists the moment they received the order.
Liu Guohua’s legs trembled with fear, while Zou Mengmeng’s mind was still in a fog.
Uncle Zhang calmed down quickly and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Brothers, don’t panic! If we beat up a celebrity’s bodyguards, we’ll definitely be famous nationwide!
Don’t be cowards! We have our knife skills!”
Just as he finished speaking, before he could even raise the fruit knife in his hand, he was kicked to the ground by a bodyguard.
The dozen or so thugs were instantly knocked every which way. In the eyes of professional bodyguards, the fruit knives in their hands were like children’s toys.
“Knife skills, huh!”
“Think we’re fruit, do you!”
“Let’s show you some Daxia Military Boxing!”
The entire street was filled with the wails of the thugs.
The bodyguards didn’t lay a hand on Zou Mengmeng; one of them simply pinned her down to restrain her.
Liu Guohua was beaten until he was rolling on the ground, clutching his head and screaming, “Oh… stop hitting me! Ah… I have a heart condition!”
The crowd watching from a distance was buzzing with discussion. “It’s Lin Qi! Wow!”
“I didn’t expect this drama to be so exciting!”
“Yeah, this is way more interesting than watching old movies at home!”
The paparazzi had arrived at some unknown point, and camera flashes from the roadside flickered incessantly.
Wang Ming realized the situation was turning bad and grew worried. “I told you, why did you come in person? This is going to be such a negative news story if it makes the headlines.”
Lin Qi smiled nonchalantly.
“‘A group of thugs armed with weapons surround and attack a young man on the street; Lin Qi leads bodyguards to fight for justice.’ What do you think of that headline?”
Wang Ming suddenly understood. It seemed his worries were redundant.
How could someone at the very pinnacle of the entertainment industry not consider the direction of public opinion?
Lin Qi then pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the wound on Wang Ming’s face. “These people were too ruthless.”
Wang Ming’s face was lined with irony. These bodyguards weren’t exactly being gentle either!
Looking at the thugs being pummeled on the ground, Wang Ming felt a bit of a cold sweat on his back. Those punches were like cannon blasts.
The restrained Zou Mengmeng finally snapped out of it and shouted loudly, “Sister Lin Qi! I’m your fan!”
Lin Qi noticed Zou Mengmeng and asked Wang Ming softly, “Is she your ex-girlfriend?”
Wang Ming nodded.
Lin Qi walked over to Zou Mengmeng with quick, light steps.
Zou Mengmeng’s voice was thick with excitement. “In college, my dorm room was covered in posters of you! I have them in my bedroom at home, too! I love you so much!”
Lin Qi raised her arm and delivered a sharp, vicious slap across her face.
“Ah!” Blood trickled from the corner of Zou Mengmeng’s mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as she shrieked, “You… why did you hit me!”
The camera flashes continued to pulse around them, but Lin Qi didn’t care.
Her tone was contemptuous. “I don’t care if you’re a fan or a fanatic. If you’re a threat to the people I care about, you’re getting hit!”
Liu Guohua, who was still being beaten on the ground, saw his girlfriend get struck and screamed, “Don’t touch her! She’s pregnant!”
Zou Mengmeng was in a daze. She had come here to teach Wang Ming a lesson, but now her boyfriend was being pummeled by a group of experts, and the idol she had adored for years had just swung her arm and slapped her across the face!
She burst into loud, hysterical sobs. “Just you wait! Beating a pregnant woman in the middle of the street! Your reputation is ruined!”
“Pregnant?” Lin Qi looked slightly surprised.
Wang Ming stepped forward. “She really is pregnant.”
Without a word, Lin Qi backhanded Zou Mengmeng across her other cheek. “It’s not like I hit her in the stomach! I’ve already died once; do you think I care about my reputation?”
“You… you…” Zou Mengmeng’s cheeks were flushed bright red from the blows, and her tears wouldn’t stop flowing.
She couldn’t process what was happening, her cries echoing through the street.
“That’s enough! Stop!” Lin Qi commanded. The twenty bodyguards immediately ceased their assault.
The dozen or so men were in too much pain to stand up. Liu Guohua’s Uncle Zhang shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ah! A celebrity is beating people up!”
The bodyguard holding Zou Mengmeng let her go. Liu Guohua endured the agonizing pain to struggle to his feet, pulling Zou Mengmeng into his arms. “Mengmeng, are you okay?”
Zou Mengmeng could do nothing but cry.
Wang Ming felt a sense of immense satisfaction, feeling not a shred of pity for Zou Mengmeng. “Like Lin Qi said, it’s just a slap to the face. What’s the big deal?”
Liu Guohua glared at Wang Ming with pure hatred. “This isn’t over!!”
Wang Ming smiled. “I’ll be waiting. Let’s see who gets the last laugh.”
Lin Qi’s brow furrowed. “Still acting tough?”
She signaled to the two bodyguards in front of her. They immediately lunged forward and subjected Liu Guohua to another round of punches and kicks.
Liu Guohua couldn’t take any more of the professional beatdown. His bravado vanished, replaced by desperate begging.
“Grandmother, please stop! I wasn’t talking back to you! I was talking to him!”
“He is my brother!”
As Lin Qi spoke, she stepped forward to deliver a kick of her own. Her high heel landed squarely between his legs.
Lin Qi hadn’t done it on purpose; with the two bodyguards flailing around, she hadn’t been sure where she was stepping.
Liu Guohua let out a maddened, blood-curdling scream. “Ah… ah… ah…”
He clutched himself, curling into a ball and rolling on the ground. He was as emotionally broken as Zou Mengmeng. He already needed supplements to satisfy her; now, his spirit and his future happiness were shattered simultaneously.
Wang Ming stepped forward and hauled Liu Guohua up. “You brought this on yourself today. Just wait-one day, your whole family will be weeping in despair. Zou Mengmeng is a jinx. Ever since I left her, my life has gotten better every single day.”
Lin Qi barked, “Kneel! Or I’ll break your legs right here!”
The dozen men, terrified of another beating, dropped to their knees one after another. “We’re sorry, we’re sorry! We won’t do it again!”
Lin Qi glared at Liu Guohua and Zou Mengmeng. “Did I say you two were exempt? Do you want to be disabled?”
Liu Guohua couldn’t even stand, so Zou Mengmeng forced herself to snap out of it and hurriedly helped him into a kneeling position.
“Please, spare us! Sister Lin Qi, I really do love you!”
“Plenty of people love me. If you ever provoke Wang Ming again, I’ll make sure you’re crippled for life. Now, get lost!” Lin Qi commanded with chilling authority.