"Mr. Fu, please… have mercy!"The drunken CEO clutched his burned hand, a raw red wound now seared into his skin, and could only beg for forgiveness.
Nathaniel Fu finally let him go, then turned to the remaining executives with a frosty expression."You wanted to drink with my woman?" His voice was calm, but deadly. "Fine. Let me drink with you instead."
He picked up a bottle, forced open their mouths, and poured the liquor straight down their throats. Wine spilled everywhere—their faces and shirts soaked, their expressions panicked and pathetic.
Not finished, Nathaniel casually took the cigarette he had smoked and shoved it into one of their mouths."Swallow it."
The sharp lines of his jaw and the veins on his pale forearm—partially revealed under the rolled sleeves of his black shirt—looked both elegant and terrifying. His every movement carried a cold, restrained violence that made the whole room tremble.
Celia stood to the side, her heart pounding uncontrollably as she watched him."Mr. Fu, that's enough," she finally said softly. "They didn't get the chance to do anything. Let's just go."
The group of men, half-sloshed and fully terrified, bowed their heads and stammered in fear,"M-Mr. Fu, we didn't realize who she was. We're sorry! Truly sorry!"
Nathaniel finally let them off, then turned and walked out with Celia and Emily.
Outside in the hallway, Nathaniel turned to the two girls."Explain."
Emily immediately stepped forward, "Uncle, this had nothing to do with Celia. I work here part-time. I didn't expect to run into perverts like them. Celia was just trying to protect me."
Nathaniel's expression didn't shift. He turned to Emily."Are you short on money?"
"I'm fine! I don't need you to give me money, Uncle."
He didn't press further. "Go change. I'll drive you home."
"Okay!" Emily pulled Celia toward the dressing room.
Inside, she whispered excitedly, "Celia, Uncle looked so heroic back there! I should probably start calling you Auntie, huh?"
Celia smirked and quickly covered Emily's mouth, "Go change your clothes!"
When Celia stepped back into the corridor, Nathaniel was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Shaun Wen and Zane Song were waiting outside.
Zane, who still remembered having his front tooth knocked out by Nathaniel for touching Celia once, grumbled bitterly,"I still don't get what kind of spell you cast on him. My second brother's completely gone for you."
"Zane, knock it off," Shaun warned, casting him a side glance.
Zane rolled his eyes. He still believed Su Qianrou would take Celia's place eventually, and couldn't wait for the day this "clown girl" was tossed aside. With a scoff, he turned and walked off.
Shaun stayed behind and said gently,"Miss Celia, Nathaniel just went to the restroom to wash his hands. He'll be back in a moment."
Celia replied flatly, "You don't need to report his whereabouts to me."
Shaun raised a brow. "You're not together with him yet?"
"No."
"That's strange. I thought you were. After all, the day Zane pulled out your grandmother's oxygen tube, Nathaniel punched him the moment he flew back into the country—knocked out his tooth, actually. And that secretary—Wang Manni? He fired her two days ago. If I had to guess, it was probably because of you."
Celia was stunned. She hadn't known either of those things. He had never mentioned them.
He punched Zane? Fired Wang Manni?
All of it… for her?
But he never said anything. He never even hinted at it.
He said he was just playing with her.
That stormy night—those cruel words he'd spoken still echoed in her memory like a slap across the face.
Shaun smiled slightly. "You went on a date with him that day, didn't you? I heard you convinced him to buy strawberry ice cream, and then left him standing there alone. Didn't even make it into the amusement park."