Chapter 340 - Responsible To You
"Get out!"
Su Li screamed, and she did not disguise her unbridled fury and her loathing for Yang Hongzhi.
How could she possibly not be aware of what happened last night? Her mother was fawning over Yang Hongzhi like he was already her son-in-law and played the matchmaker. But she hadn't expected Yang Hongzhi to resort to such a despicable act, actually using a drug to subdue her. And to think that her mother was complicit, it was an abomination.
"Su Li, I… I…"
"Get lost!"
In her fury, Su Li grabbed the milk pitcher in front of her and hurled it angrily at Yang Hongzhi, shattering right at his feet, and it made him hop a step backward in shock.
"Fine, fine… I'll leave. I'll leave, alright."
Yang Hongzhi decided it was best to leave for the time being, and he walked out crestfallen.
"Su Li, what in the world happened?"
Chai Zhiying asked, her eyebrows knitted in a frown. Yang Hongzhi was the son of the company's largest shareholder, and treating him in such a way was not a wise thing to do.
Luo Pingxiang didn't say anything, and she promptly went over to help aunt Lee clean up the floor, now strewn with broken pieces of glass and spilled milk.
"I'm fine!"
Su Li glared at Xiao Luo when she said that, with a cold glint in her eyes.
It was the first time Xiao Luo could not return a person's gaze. He looked away guiltily.
"You should leave too…"
Su Li's voice was cold. "I don't wish to see you now."
How did Xiao Luo turn out to be the man to take her the first time? He wasn't someone she wanted to be in a relationship with, and he wasn't even someone who had a successful career. What's worse, she was even the one paying him a salary. When she thought of it, she felt the urge to cry, and this was certainly not how she had envisaged her life. It was complicated and painful for Su Li to accept that this man had taken her maidenhood, a stain that could not be washed away—and it would remain a sordid part of her life.
"Just get some rest…"
Xiao Luo stood up and left quietly; he was well aware of Su Li's emotions.
As Xiao Luo left, Chai Zhiying spotted the marks on his neck—she was startled! As she related what she'd just seen, and considered Su Li's attitude toward him and her depressed state of mind, a detestable thought occurred. Her eyes widened in horror, and she strode to the dining table and asked Su Li directly, "Su Li, did that penniless slug…"
Su Li did not answer, but tears streamed from the corner of her eyes.
When Chai Zhiying saw the tears, she decided that the worst had happened; it was Xiao Luo, and he had ravaged Su Li! Chai Zhiying felt her mind going blank—Su Li was an artist under her care, and she would not tolerate anyone messing with her superstar. Her eyes turned red, and she hissed, "I'm going to get someone to land that b*stard in jail. Let him rot in there until he dies!!!"
"Come back!"
"This has nothing to do with him. Stay out of it!" Su Li screamed. Chai Zhiying stopped in her track and turned back to face Su Li.
"But, that bastard, he…"
"I do not wish to repeat myself…"
Su Li bit her lips, she was tormented, and beads of sweat now formed on her forehead.
Chai Zhiying ground her teeth as she turned her head to the door and glared indignantly. Her hatred towards Xiao Luo had reached its zenith, and in her eyes, they had unwittingly invited a wolf into the house, even worse, a white-eyed wolf[1]. As far as Chai Zhiying was concerned, all men could only think with the lower half of their bodies. She had reminded Su Li many a time, and yet it had still happened in the end. She was so infuriated that she wanted to shred Xiao Luo into little pieces.
…
…
When Xiao Luo stepped out the door, Yang Hongzhi, his eyes red, was still lingering around the corridor. He immediately noticed the marks on Xiao Luo's neck—he was a veteran player who had seduced countless girls, and such things would not escape his eagle-eyes, nor would the implication of what had taken place between Xiao Luo and the object of his affection, Su Li.
Alas, his worst fear was now realized. The goddess he had fantasized himself thrusting beneath him countless of times, had been humped by another man, robbing her of her virtue. It felt no different from marrying a wife but sending her into the bridal chamber of another man. Even more hurtful, the man was nothing more than a mud loach struggling at the very bottom of society.
Yang Hongzhi felt a rage rising, an unbridled rage…
Yang Hongzhi was seething, and his face was distorted with a hideous expression. Then, he howled and threw a punch at Xiao Luo's face.
He roared like a lion and put everything he had into that punch as it whizzed through the air on its way to its mark.
But the blow was easily intercepted by Xiao Luo, who stopped it with the palm of his hand right before his face and instantly followed up with a kick to Yang Hongzhi's abdomen.
"OOFFH!"
Yang Hongzhi was thrown back, crashing to the floor and clutching his abdomen. As he cowered, his face turned red, blue veins bulged visibly, and his lips kept puffing like a fish out of water. His body was trembling uncontrollably from the excruciating pain.
"You are the one who planned the drugging last night, am I correct?"
Xiao Luo walked over and kneeled down, and then stared at Yang Hongzhi with a stern face.
"You, filthy… you ruined it!"
Although Yang Hongzhi was aware of Xiao Luo's strength and was wary of it, his anger had helped him transcend fear, and even now, he was consumed with the wish to cut Xiao Luo into pieces.
"So, you admit it… what a man you are!"
Xiao Luo smiled and stood up, and without the slightest warning, he kicked Yang Hongzhi on the chest, as he lay on his side.
"ARRGH!"
Yang Hongzhi shrieked as he tumbled in the air and crashing heavily at the end of the corridor. He clutched at his chest but felt all his organs shifted, and he whimpered in immense pain.
Xiao Luo stepped toward him ominously, grabbed his collar, and then lifted him like a rag doll.
Yang Hongzhi's feet were off the ground, and he was kicking aimlessly in the air trying to find a foothold, while he kept slapping on Xiao Luo's arms to free himself. But there was no escape, Xiao Luo's hands were like a pair of steel pliers, and Yang Hongzhi was going nowhere.
"Let me go… let me go!"
"Do you know, if this had been me back in Jiangcheng, you would already be a corpse now!"
Xiao Luo scowled and glared at Yang Hongzhi, recalling his days in Jiangcheng, but that was history, and he had since been much more restrained, unwilling to kill unless he absolutely needed to. If this had happened in Jiacheng last year, he would've crushed Yang Hongzhi to a pulp without hesitation, and it'd been no harder than squishing a bed bug.
He then slammed Yang Hongzhi against the wall.
"OOFFH!"
Yang Hongzhi had the wind knocked out of him. When Xiao Luo released his grip, Yang Hongzhi slowly slid to the ground and collapsed in a pile.
Xiao Luo then turned around and returned to his own apartment.
The marks on his neck made it difficult for Xiao Luo to leave his place, but he didn't complain since he did not have any pressing issues. Besides, there was a benefit of living inside a luxurious hotel apartment, and ordering a delicious meal, specially prepared by the hotel chef, was only a phone call away.
On the first day, he didn't hear from Su Li, but Su Xiaobei ran over often to look for him.
On the second day, still, no word from Su Li and Su Xiaobei ran over often to look for him.
On the third day, Su Li's mother dropped in to see Su Li, they had a fallout, and her mother left, downhearted.
On the fourth day, Su Li came to look for him herself.
There were only the two of them, a man and a woman, sitting alone in the living room.
As Xiao Luo was the host, he did the needful and courteously poured her a cup of hot tea.
But Su Li didn't even take a sip. She hadn't said a word since she entered the apartment and only stared at Xiao Luo like she was in a daze.
Xiao Luo had always felt Su Li's animosity toward him, and he felt it was best to just lay his cards on the table. As he braced himself for the worst, he took a deep breath and said, "Miss Su, I know you hate me for what happened, but it was beyond our control. Of course, I will take full responsibility for it. Accident or not, the fact is that we've slept together, and I will not renege on my responsibility."
Being a conservation man with a traditional mindset, Xiao Luo was wallowing in guilt and felt a duty to protect Su Li's honor. He couldn't act as if nothing had happened after taking her for the first time.
***[1] White-eyed Wolf: in Chinese idiom, used to describe a cruel person.
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