"Stop right there!"
Bai Aoxue turned around and stepped in front of Lin Fan, her expression righteous and fierce. "He is the man I, Bai Aoxue, have chosen. Whoever dares lay a hand on him, I'll break their legs!"
Song Yuli and Jiang Mingyue stared in blank astonishment, pointing at the plainly dressed young man standing before them.
"Did I hear that right? Miss Bai, he's just a stinking delivery boy!"
Bai Tianxiong slammed his walking cane against the floor in a fury. "Audacious!"
Turning around to face Lin Fan alongside Jiang Mingyue, Bai Tianxiong broke into a warm smile. "Lin Fan, thank you for saving my granddaughter's life the other day. From now on, our Bai Family hopes for your continued support and guidance."
"Elder Bai, it was no trouble at all."
Song Yuli's face drained of color in shock. "What? He saved Miss Bai? The Bai Family is going to rely on him in the future?! He is nothing more than a stinking—"
*Slap!*
A sharp blow landed heavily across Song Yuli's face as Bai Aoxue struck her hard. "Don't you ever address him that way again! Mister Lin risked his life to save me. If I, Bai Aoxue, am to marry anyone, it will be Lin Fan."
She turned, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of crimson. "Benefactor Lin, what are your thoughts?"
Lin Fan looked at the delicate and captivating woman before him and smiled faintly. "Are you certain you want to marry me? Aren't you afraid of regretting it when you realize I'm just a delivery driver?"
A blush spread across Bai Aoxue's cheeks. "How could I ever look down on my own man? As long as you don't mind who I am."
Even Lin Fan had not expected this seemingly aloof and proud young lady to show such an endearing side.
"Haha, since the two of you are of one mind and mutual affection, why wait for a lucky date? Let's have the wedding this very evening!" Bai Tianxiong beamed. "Truly, Heaven bless the Bai Family! As for this Jiang Family, we have no reason to stay here a moment longer! Lin Fan, let's go!"
Song Yuli had originally intended to rope in the Bai Family to consolidate the Jiang Family's standing, never imagining her plot would backfire so disastrously.
"Elder Bai, Miss Bai, let's talk this over! Didn't you say you were going to invest in the Jiang Family?"
"Our Bai Family scorns cooperation with people of your ilk."
Watching Lin Fan and Elder Bai head toward the car, panic seized Song Yuli.
"You useless wretch, we're ruined! We've offended the Bai Family! Go, hurry and beg your Brother Lin! Tell him your engagement is still valid, that it was all just a misunderstanding!"
Jiang Mingyue's face turned green. "Alright... fine."
Masking her expression with a forced smile, she scurried over to Lin Fan and grabbed his arm, tears welling in her eyes as she whimpered pathetically, "Brother Lin, Mingyue was only teasing you earlier. We've known each other since childhood as sweethearts—how could I ever forget our engagement? It was all my fault, Brother Lin. Please, give me another chance. Let's get married right now."
Looking down at that pitifully smiling face, Lin Fan's expression turned cold. He raised his arm and shook her off.
"Brother Lin! Brother Lin! Sob, sob, sob!"
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the car sped away, vanishing into the end of the road.
Ten minutes into the ride, Bai Aoxue sat beside Lin Fan in the back seat. She could catch the faint, clean scent of him from his clothes, and the refined profile of his face reminded her of their intimate encounter that fateful night. Her heart began to race; she had been single for so long and had never allowed a man near her.
Her gaze dropped to Lin Fan's fair fingers. She raised a hand, intending to touch them, but instinctively pulled back.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Fan noticed the gesture. He turned his hand over, caught her small hand, and held it firmly in his grasp.
Bai Aoxue's face turned beet red in an instant.
"Are you... feeling shy?"
"I..."
"Since I've touched you, I will take responsibility for you."
"Mn..."
Just as tension fluttered through Bai Aoxue, the car came to an abrupt halt.
"Elder Bai, this is bad! It looks like men from the Sky Wolf Gang are blocking the road ahead!"
"What?! The Bai Family has always kept to our own path, minding our own business when it comes to them!"
"I'm not sure, sir! I'll call for backup immediately!"
"There's no time! They outnumber us heavily. Like Young Master Zhu, the Sky Wolf Gang has one of the Four Great Families backing them from the shadows. We can't afford to cross them!"
"Then what should we do?!"
"I'll go out and speak with them, find out what this is all about!"
"Grandfather, don't go! I'll go!"
"They won't dare do anything to this old set of bones!"
Before the words had even faded, the doors of three black Audis parked under the headlights swung open simultaneously. A crowd of men poured out, each wielding a spiked club as they advanced toward the car.
Before Elder Bai could ready himself, a club smashed against the vehicle with a deafening crash, filling the air with the screech of dented metal.
"Ah! Grandfather!"
"Stay inside the car and don't come out! I'll go take a look."
An anxious Bai Aoxue grabbed hold of Lin Fan's sleeve; she had no desire to become a widow before she was even wed.
"No, you can't go! There were plenty of people wanting to propose to the Bai Family earlier—word must have gotten out about my engagement to Young Master Zhu, and some of these gangs can't stomach it!"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Those words acted like a sedative. With tears in her eyes, Bai Aoxue watched Lin Fan step out of the car.
The moment Lin Fan approached the gang members, they swarmed around him in a tight circle.
The ringleader—a scrawny, dyed-blonde punk in a floral shirt and a red tie—wore a look of absolute disdain as he stepped forward and poked Lin Fan in the shoulder.
"You the damn Lin Fan, huh? You motherfucker, you've got some nerve trying to steal our boss's woman!"
"Bai Aoxue is my wife."
"Go fuck yourself!"
Reaching behind his back, the blonde punk drew a gleaming hatchet and swung it straight at Lin Fan. Unfazed, Lin Fan moved with ghostly speed, grabbing the punk's arm with one hand. With a sharp *crack* and a blood-curdling scream, the man's arm snapped clean in half!
"Aah! My hand! Kill him!"
"Aah!"
The mob swarmed forward, but within three to five minutes, groans of agony echoed across the scene. The attackers lay curled up on the ground like cooked prawns, writhing in pain amidst pools of blood.
Unharmed, Lin Fan stepped up to the blonde punk, who stared at the young man with utter terror.
"Who sent you?!"
"Please, spare me! Someone paid a bounty for your head! Anyone associated with Bai Aoxue has to die!"
At that moment, the final passenger stepped out from the back of the cars—a man wearing a thick gold chain and gleaming gold teeth.
"Not bad, you little punk, you can actually throw some punches. Well, you're finished now. Cross the Sky Wolf Gang, and we'll have you crying for mercy by the time we're through with you!"
Before the man could finish speaking, Lin Fan sent him flying with a single slap.
Not long after the gold-toothed man finished making his phone call, a helicopter cut through the night sky, and three armed men carrying handguns rapidly rappelled down.
Without a word, they opened fire on Lin Fan atop the bridge.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Deafening gunshots shattered the night, and tears streamed down Bai Aoxue's face. "No!"
Overcome with panic, she burst from the car and ran toward Lin Fan.
As the gunfire finally died away, Bai Aoxue froze in her tracks, her heart leaping into her throat.
Lin Fan's figure was obscured by thick clouds of smoke, but with a sudden flash of movement, he caught all six bullets with effortless precision.
As the smoke cleared, six bullets clattered against the ground with a rhythmic *clink-clank*.
Bai Aoxue stared in stunned disbelief at Lin Fan—first at his hands, then at the bullet he spat from his mouth—and covered her mouth in shock.