176: Chapter 174 Zhao Xinxin’s Faith 176: Chapter 174 Zhao Xinxin’s Faith “You wouldn’t dare!” Zhao Xinxin reproached them fiercely, her voice carrying a hint of authority.
However, being a woman, even her most authoritative voice seemed to lack a deterrent effect.
The six masked men naturally didn’t take Zhao Xinxin’s threats seriously and reached out to grab her, laughter tinged with malice spilling from their lips.
It was at this moment that a figure swept in as swiftly as a racing leopard.
“Hmm.” The six masked men suddenly sensed a dangerous aura hurtling toward them.
Their expressions shifted as they cast a glance in that direction.
But the figure had already closed the distance, and the two closest to him felt a sharp chill in their hearts.
Their eyes narrowed, and the pores on their skin stood on end in an instant.
The sensation was akin to encountering a ferocious beast in the wild, an invisible breath of cold air that felt as if death itself was bearing down on them.
Before the two could react, Tangyu’s fists had struck them both.
“Thump!
Thump!”
Tangyu’s solid punches sent the two men flying backward.
The other four snapped to attention, their gazes turning sinister as they pounced toward Tangyu.
With a flick of his wrist, Tangyu morphed his fists into fingers and, rather than retreating, advanced to meet his attackers head-on.
He rapidly struck several points on their bodies.
Tangyu’s movements were so swift they blurred to the naked eye, the entire engagement lasting no more than the span of two breaths.
The four men immediately fell to the ground, groaning in agony.
Tangyu had sealed their vital acupoints; once these were blocked, the men felt as if legions of ants were gnawing at them, bringing about an excruciating pain that made life seem unbearable.
Such suffering was not something ordinary people could withstand.
Even trained assassins seldom could endure such torment.
This pain was akin to a particularly brutal punishment known as the “Ants Heart-Eating Punishment.” Ordinarily, Tangyu would not resort to such cruel and extreme measures to punish others, but these men were truly detestable and today his anger was exceptional.
These incidents, happening time and again, naturally incensed him, and he had no choice but to direct his ire towards Zhang Guoli onto these men.
Seeing their four comrades writhing in excruciating pain on the ground, the remaining two men’s eyes flickered with disbelief and fear.
They exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and with a shout charged at Tangyu from both sides.
“Hmph.” Tangyu snorted coldly, his steps as fast as an arrow as he positioned himself between the two assailants.
His fingers flew with lightning speed, touching points on their bodies.
Before their fists could fully extend into the air, they halted.
Soon, they too collapsed in pain, their bodies convulsing on the ground as if in a fit.
Witnessing this scene, Liu Shanshan stood frozen in shock.
While Zhao Xinxin managed to maintain a calm exterior, her heart was like a tempest, waves rising and crashing within.
She was no stranger to Tangyu’s formidable skills, but seeing them in action once more was still deeply shocking.
Such abilities were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, naturally astonishing.
She had thought the situation hopeless, but Tangyu had arrived like a peerless hero at the crucial moment.
Zhao Xinxin found herself harboring an indescribable feeling towards Tangyu.
Tangyu swept a cold gaze over the six men on the ground and commanded, “Go back and tell your boss to relay a message to Zhang Guoli, he has truly enraged me.
I will personally seek him out.”
Having said that, Tangyu no longer paid attention to them.
Capturing or beating these men was pointless; Tangyu couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.
He approached Zhao Xinxin and Liu Shanshan and asked, “Sister Xinxin, Shanshan, are you both alright?”
Zhao Xinxin finally snapped back to reality.
She looked at Tangyu and shook her head, “Thankfully you arrived in time, we’re fine.
If you had been any later, who knows what might have happened.”
“It’s good that you’re safe.
Let’s go,” Tangyu said.
Zhao Xinxin nodded, and the three quickly got into the car, with Zhao Xinxin tossing the keys to Tangyu.
Not until they had driven out of the parking garage and onto the street, did Zhao Xinxin ask, “Tangyu, how did you happen to be here?”
Zhao Xinxin was quite curious.
Today Tangyu hadn’t come to the company to work, and it was already after hours; how could he coincidentally appear, especially in the underground parking garage?
“It’s like this, Sister Xinxin.
I have a friend from the streets, and he was the one who tipped me off.
With Zhang Guoli constantly ordering people to target you all these days, I asked my street friend to help keep an eye out,” Tangyu explained.
He struggled to think of a good excuse, opting to be somewhat evasive.
It wouldn’t do to lie to someone as bright as Zhao Xinxin anyway; she was too smart to be fooled by common lies.
Besides, Tangyu felt there was no need to lie to her about this matter.
Claiming his presence was coincidental, he thought, would only be believed by a fool.
“Oh, so you’re close with people from the underworld?” Zhao Xinxin looked at Tangyu through the rearview mirror, clearly surprised.
Liu Shanshan also surreptitiously eyed Tangyu with unexpected intrigue.
She had always thought of Tangyu as being quite upright; why would he have close ties with the underworld?
“Heh, what’s wrong, Sister Xinxin?
Just because I have friends from the streets, are you going to look at me with prejudice?
In this day and age, who doesn’t have a few complicated friends?
Besides, not everyone from the streets is irredeemable.
Some are still quite decent,” Tangyu said with a light smile, thinking to himself that Xu Hu was indeed a good person.
Zhao Xinxin let out a relieved smile and said, “It’s not that, maybe we’re just particularly sensitive to people involved in the underworld.
Plus, with all the hassling we’ve been getting from them these past couple of days, how could we possibly have a good impression?
But you, you’re not cut out for that gangster life.”
“Cough, Xinxin, are you complimenting me or dissing me?
I can’t tell, it sounds a bit weird,” Tangyu said.
“Of course I’m complimenting you,” Zhao Xinxin said, then as if she remembered something, added, “Oh right, I haven’t thanked you yet.
It seems that choosing you as my driver and assistant was a very wise decision.
I should consider whether to make you my bodyguard instead?”
“Bodyguard, the kind that follows you around 24/7?” Tangyu asked, turning her head.
“24/7 isn’t necessary, just most of the time to ensure my protection is enough,” Zhao Xinxin said.
A series of thoughts flashed through Tangyu’s mind.
This job sounded rather good as she could spend most of her time with Zhao Xinxin as a personal bodyguard.
“Alright, don’t overthink it.
I was just saying.
In any case, I’ll call you whenever I need you, so for now, just continue with your current job,” Zhao Xinxin said.
Tangyu pouted, feeling a bit disappointed.
She was actually quite willing to be Zhao Xinxin’s personal bodyguard.
Although if her master found out, he would surely scold her terribly.
But to be able to legally follow Xinxin every day, that was a pretty good deal.
“By the way, Xinxin, were you planning to stay at the hotel again tonight?” Tangyu suddenly asked.
“Yes, what else can we do?
I can’t stay at my place.
Liu Shanshan’s place is just too unsafe, and given the current dangerous period, who knows what those people might do next.
It’s safer to stay in a hotel,” Zhao Xinxin said, visibly angry about the issue.
Anyone faced with such a situation would be dreadfully upset.
Even reporting to the police was useless.
It wasn’t the overt threats you feared, but the sneaky underhanded ones.
Especially for women, such tactics were unbearable.
“Xinxin, staying at the hotel every day isn’t a solution either.
Besides, hotels aren’t necessarily that safe.
Hotel security is very limited, it’s too easy for someone to slip in,” Tangyu said.
Zhao Xinxin was well aware of this problem.
Even the security of five-star hotels wasn’t that great.
Of course, there were some five-star hotels in Donglin City with strong backers and excellent security where hardly anyone dared to cause trouble.
But the prices at those hotels were exorbitantly high.
If you were to stay for three to five nights, or even a week, it might be bearable.
But if you were to live there for half a month or even a month, it would be too much—Zhao Xinxin would definitely feel the pinch.
Besides, Zhang Guoli had considerable clout in Donglin City.
Even if you took refuge in such a five-star hotel, if Zhang Guoli really decided to get tough and use some tactics, it was uncertain whether they could do anything about it.
Zhang Guoli wouldn’t dare to be too blatant, but using small underhanded moves was exactly his specialty.
This made Zhao Xinxin extremely frustrated.
“There’s no other way but to choose a safer place to stay.
If Zhang Guoli dares to overstep again, he’s just trying to scare me, to play his tricks and warn me, to force me to submit and back out of this competition.
That’s always been his usual method.
The more he does this, the more I’m determined to push him out.
He shouldn’t think he can take advantage of me.
Right now, our most pressing task is to seize every opportunity to land this cooperation deal,” Zhao Xinxin said, clenching her teeth.
“Xinxin, I happen to have a secure place to stay.
I don’t know if you’d be willing,” Tangyu said.
Zhao Xinxin looked at Tangyu and asked, “Let’s hear it.”
“It’s like this, Xinxin.
I’m currently living with Lin Feifei and her two friends in a community across from Donglin University, in a pretty big villa.
I’m thinking of having you guys move in there for a few days, just until Zhang Guoli’s issue is sorted out, and then you can move back.
I live there too, so if you stay with me, I’ll be able to protect you,” Tangyu explained.
Zhao Xinxin furrowed her brows and immediately shook her head, “How could that work?
It’s not even your house.
There are already four of you living there; it wouldn’t be right for me and Shanshan to move in on top of that.
Let’s just forget it.”
Tangyu knew Zhao Xinxin wouldn’t agree, but for the safety of her and Shanshan, Tangyu still wanted them to stay there.
That way, she could ensure they wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest.
“Xinxin, I know you wouldn’t want to impose, and you wouldn’t want to intrude on others.
But this is no trivial matter.
Zhang Guoli is clearly at a disadvantage now, who knows if he might desperately resort to something drastic.
You and Shanshan are both defenseless, and if Zhang Guoli really plays his dirty tricks, I’m genuinely worried for you.
Besides, you should know Lin Feifei, I believe they would all welcome you and Shanshan to stay.
You should think about Shanshan too, not just yourself.
I understand your personality, but why stoop to play such underhanded games with Zhang Guoli?
The best way to beat him is to win over him fairly in this competition,” Tangyu said.