Jiang Nan Fang stopped where no one could see, turned back, and looked intently at her dark, burly elder brother.
Her brother seemed to want to say something but hesitated, scratching his head awkwardly.
It was fine for rough men like them to deal with people who resisted fiercely, but they were lost when facing shy women.
"You..."
Jiang Nan Fang extended her fair, tender hand towards him, "Come closer, why are you standing so far away?"
"..."
She walked over and pulled him, "I won't eat you, come here!"
Her hand was so soft, so smooth to the touch, and her brother became even more flustered.
Jiang Nan Fang took both his hands and swung them playfully in the air like a child.
"Am I pretty?"
"..."
"Are you married? Do you have a wife? Who is prettier, you or your wife?"
"..."
"If I don't mind that you're married, and insist on being with you, would you want me?"
"..."
"Say something, if you don't speak, I'll assume you do."
She smiled sweetly, slowly approached her brother, let go of his hands, and gently wrapped her arm around his waist.
"You're so tall, so manly, much better than your younger brother."
The key was unlocked.
She continued with sweet talk, "How many children do you want? Do you prefer boys or girls? I'll have many for you, okay?"
The key was quietly slipped into her pocket by her hand.
Her brother was still dazed, but with the key in hand, she suddenly changed her tune.
Taking advantage of their close proximity, she bent one leg and forcefully pushed it into his lower abdomen.
While he was in pain, she grabbed his left arm, twisted it, and with a "clang," executed a shoulder throw, slamming him to the ground.
Turning around, she pressed her knee onto the carotid artery of his neck.
Her brother hadn't expected to be ambushed by her. One moment they were in sweet conversation, and the next, this happened. He turned red with anger.
"You!"
Without further ado, Jiang Nan Fang casually picked up a stone from the ground and aimed it at his forehead. With two forceful blows, the man lost consciousness.
Without a second to spare, while he was incapacitated, she clutched the key in her pocket and ran towards the forest behind them.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing that her brother had gone to her alone, his wife came looking for her.
Just a few steps after Jiang Nan Fang ran out, a series of shrill screams came from behind her.
Within moments, all the old and young from the village came chasing after her, armed with weapons.
The sound of the wind, footsteps, and rustling leaves accompanied the thumping of her heart, rising and falling.
Her steps were unsteady, and those behind her chased like wolves. Although she could see the pickup truck, she might not be able to outrun them.
Being caught meant certain death. She was so nervous, so incredibly nervous.
Suddenly, as she was running, the path ahead disappeared.
In her haste, she had rushed up a hillside.
The pickup truck was parked on the road below the slope. Her only option to get down was to jump.
The slope wasn't very high, and she wasn't afraid of jumping, but she was afraid of the group of people waiting below.
With wolves in front and tigers behind, she feared she would perish here today.
"Jiang Nan Fang!"
Her fifth brother, his eyes splitting with rage, dragged a hoe and had caught up. She was hesitating whether to end it herself or jump down and fight them.
Suddenly, a familiar male voice reached her ears.
Jiang Nan Fang followed the sound and looked down. Behind the pickup truck, at the entrance of the village, three cars drove in, kicking up dust.
Zhan Bei Jue's upper body was leaning out of the window of the leading car, waving excitedly at her.
"Don't get excited! Don't jump! I'm here, don't be afraid! Wait for me to find you!"
"Engineer Jiang! Engineer Jiang! Don't be afraid! We're all here! We've come to save you! Absolutely don't jump!"
From the cars behind, Engineer Zhang also excitedly leaned out.
Never before had Jiang Nan Fang felt Zhan Bei Jue so majestic.
Although he was in a beat-up van, his hair was covered in yellow dust and blown messily by the wind.
But he looked even more imposing than when he sat in a convoy of luxury cars.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of confidence and was determined not to let those villains touch her again.
She threw the car key and with a "bang," jumped down.
The onlookers below instinctively took two steps back. Jiang Nan Fang landed in an open space and twisted her ankle.
She didn't fear the pain and stood up fearlessly, intending to walk towards Zhan Bei Jue and the others.
However, the onlookers suddenly blocked her path again.
The car stopped with a screech. Zhan Bei Jue jumped out and roughly pushed through the crowd, telling them to move aside.
"Get away! Stay away from her! All of you, move aside!"
They all worked together to surround Jiang Nan Fang, shoving Zhan Bei Jue and chattering at him, trying to reason with him.
Zhan Bei Jue didn't understand, nor did he want to listen.
Anyone who resisted was directly knocked down: "You want to die! All of you, get out of the way! Move!"
With his forceful intervention, a path was quickly cleared through the crowd.
He grabbed Jiang Nan Fang and pulled her into his arms.
"Don't be afraid, I'm sorry I'm late. Are you alright? I'm sorry."
Jiang Nan Fang lay on his chest, clearly hearing his rapid heartbeat.
It was even more exaggerated than hers. Who was being kidnapped here?
Those who were knocked down quickly got back up, and people from the hillside also jumped down without hesitation.
Everyone was shouting angrily, seemingly wanting to tear Zhan Bei Jue to pieces.
Engineer Zhang and his men also rushed over. The two sides confronted each other, the atmosphere heated, and without a word, they began to fight.
A worker had been injured yesterday, and any further incidents today would be troublesome.
Jiang Nan Fang grabbed Zhan Bei Jue, "Quickly report it! I didn't bring my phone when I left, otherwise I would have caught them long ago. We can't fight, report it quickly!"
Zhan Bei Jue didn't report it. Taking advantage of the chaos, he pulled her out of the crowd, and they stood to the side.
"Is your foot alright? You jumped down from that height, did you sprain it?"
"..."
"Crouch down, let me see. Where are your shoes?"
She had been running too fast, too panicked, she hadn't even realized she'd lost a shoe.
But how could she care about shoes now?!
Things were getting out of control over there.
"Oh, don't worry about me, go find someone to help!"
"Stop fighting! Xiao Ding, be careful! Everyone, stop fighting, Engineer Zhang, let's withdraw quickly!"
"Bang!"
She was anxious, fearing that if the fighting escalated, it would become uncontrollable. Suddenly, a loud noise came from the sky.
Because the sound was so unusual, everyone was stunned.
They all stopped fighting instinctively and looked out in the direction of the sound.
White vehicles, flashing their emergency lights, drove in one after another.
With the elder brother down, the second brother took charge of the situation.
Seeing the vehicles arrive, he thought they were their own people and hurried to meet them, dragging his weapon.
"Uncle-cousin! You're finally here, Uncle-cousin! Someone is bullying us and beat up Big Brother, you're finally here, Uncle-cousin!"
However, Uncle-cousin got out of the car and didn't pay him any attention. Instead, he respectfully stood to the side.
Following him, a man in a sharp suit and glasses emerged from the rear car.
He wore a uniform, stood ramrod straight, and had a stern expression.
But upon seeing Zhan Bei Jue, he immediately hurried over.
"My apologies, President Zhan, we didn't know you were gracing us with your presence. Please forgive our lack of foresight."