Inside, the moment Anya closed the door, she slid down and sat against the wall. She pulled Zain's coat close to her face. It carried that same mysterious and cold scent of his cologne.
She remembered how Zain had protected her in front of everyone. She knew Zain could be a devil, but today, that devil had stopped her from breaking completely.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Huan Jing:
"Anya! Are you okay? Sir Zain dropped you home, right? Yaar, today he looked even more hot and protective than Qian!"
Anya took a long breath and typed back:
"I'm fine, Jing. Don't worry about me."
She then put the phone down.
Anya didn't know that the same Qian her friend trusted so much was actually spying on Anya's house on Zain's orders. And she also didn't know that the front seat she had sat on was about to write a new chapter in the story of her relationship with Zain.
Anya had just taken off Zain's coat when there was a loud knock on her old wooden door.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Anya thought it must be Lu Wei, so she moved toward the door.
"Lu Wei, wait, I'm opening—"
The moment she unlocked the latch, the door crashed inward with a violent shove. Three masked men stood there.
"We've found Lu Kang's niece," one of them said in a heavy voice.
Anya's scream got stuck in her throat. She quickly grabbed a flower pot nearby and hurled it at them, then ran toward the kitchen.
"Catch her! Dragon King wants her alive!"
Part 2: Golden Ruin
That champagne-gold gown, which had enhanced Anya's beauty just hours ago, had now become her enemy. As she ran, its heavy hem kept tangling around her legs. She yanked the skirt up and sprinted through the back door into the dark, deserted alley.
One of the goons slashed at her with a knife—
Rippp!
A burning pain shot through Anya's arm. The sleeve of her gown tore, and drops of blood began staining the golden fabric. Despite the pain and fear, she shoved a pot of hot water at them and stumbled out into the alley.
Anya ran in panic, but her foot struck some rubble on the ground and she fell face-first. Her glasses hit a stone and shattered with a sharp crack. She tried to search for them with trembling hands, but all she found was a broken plastic frame. Her world suddenly dissolved into a blurry haze.
She could only see three dark shadows advancing toward her.
"Grab her! Dragon King said her face must remain intact," one of the goons laughed cruelly.
Anya lay on the ground, blood flowing from her arm, her glasses broken. But as the butcher and his men moved closer, the frightened girl inside her vanished—and in her place rose a wounded lioness.
Feeling around in the darkness, she picked up the same sharp stone that had shattered her glasses. Her hands were trembling, but her grip was firm. She pointed the stone at them and screamed in a torn yet powerful voice:
"Step back! If you take even one more step or try to touch me, I'll rip your eyes out! I'll die, but I won't let you live!"
Her vision was blurred, but the fire burning in her eyes was unmistakable.
The butcher stopped and burst out laughing. He looked at his companion mockingly and said,
"Oh ho! Look at her courage! Daring to talk like this to us—Dragon King's men? Hey girl, cheap girls like you are turned into slippers by our boss—"
Before he could finish, Anya hurled the stone with all her strength toward the direction of his voice. It struck the butcher square on the forehead.
"Ah! You bitch!" the butcher yelled, clutching his head.
"Now you won't survive!"
As he lunged toward Anya, a black shadow flashed between them like lightning and seized his wrist mid-air.
It was Zain Yan.
The Arrival of the Black Lamborghini
At that moment, two blinding headlights cut through the darkness of the alley. Tires screeched, and a black Lamborghini came to a halt. Zain Yan stepped out—ice on his face, apocalypse in his eyes.
He had already received Qian's message that Dragon King's men had reached Anya's house.
"Don't even try to touch her."
Zain's voice was so deep it felt like the ground itself trembled.
"Who the hell are you? Don't interfere, or—"
Before the goon could finish, Zain's fist slammed into the bridge of his nose. The sickening crack of bone echoed in the silence.
Zain rolled up the sleeves of his expensive silk shirt. He didn't look like a protector—he looked like a calamity.
He grabbed another goon by the throat and slammed him into the wall so hard that plaster fell off. Anya lay on the ground, seeing only blurred colors and hearing screams. But she could feel Zain's presence—his dominating aura, the way he moved.
Gun Scene: Death in the Blink of an Eye
The third goon seized the moment and pulled out a gun from his jacket. Through her blurred vision, Anya saw the lethal metallic glint. The gun was aimed straight at Zain's back.
"Zain—move!"
A scream tore out of Anya's throat.
Without thinking, she threw herself in front of Zain.
In that split second, Zain turned. His reaction was faster than lightning. He pulled Anya against his chest with one arm and, with the other, drew the gun hidden at his waist and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot shook the entire alley. Anya shut her eyes, certain she was dead. But when she opened them, she saw the goon's gun lying on the ground and his hand soaked in blood.
Zain's bullet had ripped straight through the goon's wrist.
Zain crushed the last goon's neck under his boot.
"Go tell your 'Dragon King'… that touching Zain Yan's 'possessions' is signing your own death warrant. You're leaving alive today so you can deliver my message. Next time, there won't even be bodies left."
Zain's Inner Conflict (Inner Monologue)
As the goons fled, Zain's fury turned toward Anya.
"Are you out of your mind? Why did you step in front of me? What if the bullet had hit you?"
But Anya heard nothing. She broke down completely and hugged Zain tightly.
"I thought you had left… I thought you'd abandon me like everyone else. Thank you… not for saving me, but for coming back."
Zain said nothing. He simply brushed the scattered hair away from her forehead. Inside his heart, a war raged—between the hatred he had nurtured for years and the agony he felt for Anya.
His body stiffened like stone for a moment. He wanted to push her away, remind himself that he was here only for hatred.
Zain's Inner Voice
"This girl… why does she always become my shield? Five years ago, she tried to save me too—and today again. I came to destroy her, to make her cry. But when I saw her in that goon's hands, my heart nearly stopped. Why? Am I losing to my revenge? No! I can't love her… but I also can't let anyone else touch her. She is only mine—of my anger, my hatred, and maybe… my protection too."
He gently pushed her tangled hair back.
"I told you, Anya—the right to hurt you belongs only to me."
A New Journey: The Forbidden Seat
Zain lifted her into his arms. She was so light, like a baby bird. He placed her on that same front seat of his car. Taking out an extra coat, he covered Anya's blood-stained legs and torn gown.
As the car started, Zain placed one hand over Anya's cold, trembling fingers. Through her blurred vision, Anya looked at Zain's profile and slowly held onto his fingers.
"We're going home," Zain said softly.
Without saying a word, Anya lost consciousness in the warmth of his touch. Zain kept his eyes on the road, but his heart was trapped in an intoxicating turmoil he could no longer escape.