Mud beads

A fist slammed into his nose, making a dull thud. Mr. Jiang fell backward, his head hitting the doorframe, and he slid down the door to the ground. Blood immediately gushed from his nose, staining his white shirt.

Yu Zhu and Cheng Fu, one near and one far, both stood frozen in place.

Koshima Toru's fists didn't stop.

He grabbed Mr. Jiang by the collar, straddled the man's body with his long legs, and his taut fists fell like nail guns, each blow making a loud thud.

Yu Zhu started moving first.

She dropped the coat she hadn't had time to put on, gripped Etsuya Toru's hand tightly, and her face drained of color.

"Toru Koshima! What are you doing?!"

Upon hearing Yu Zhu's trembling voice, Cheng Fu took a step back and slowly gripped the front of her dress.

She had seen many sides of Echizen Toru. He was carefree, gentle, sitting at the card table laughing as he watched others lose all their chips, and casually tossing people away when he got bored.

But she had never seen him like this before.

Like a madman.

Echizen released his grip on the man's collar, reached out and pulled Yu Zhu close, holding her in front of him.

"You like playing around with women?" He stepped on Mr. Jiang's hand, then turned Yu Zhu's face towards him, pressing her closer. "Did you see who it is?"

Mr. Jiang let out a scream.

Seeing Mr. Jiang's face covered in blood, Yu Zhu struggled desperately backward, crying, "Let go of me—"

Echizen loosened his grip on her cheeks, his blood-stained knuckles brushing against her face, leaving a sticky trail.

Yu Zhu's nose was filled with the strong smell of blood. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, her vision still filled with Yue Jianche's fist dripping blood.

A waiter at the end of the corridor heard the commotion and rushed over. Upon seeing this scene, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately called security via walkie-talkie. Yuejian Tetsu didn't react much. He raised his hand to smooth the hair that had fallen across his forehead, released Yu Zhu, and slowly walked to the waiter, taking a bottle of red wine from the tray.

He slowly walked back to her side, first taking off his coat and draping it over her, then placing the wine bottle in her hand.

"Take it." Echizen Toru's tone was very soft.

He looked at Yu Zhu's wide eyes filled with terror, smiled, pointed to the man on the ground, and said calmly, "Go, smash him."

Mr. Jiang's face contorted in pain, blood smeared from his nose and around his mouth, and he made a hoarse sound in his throat: "Misunderstanding... misunderstanding..."

Yu Zhu looked down at the wine bottle in her hand.

The bottle was cold, its weight making her wrist sink. She dropped the bottle, looked up, and grabbed Etsuya Toru's arm tightly: "Stop, stop messing around..."

Tetsuya Echizen was also looking down at her.

Apart from a few tiny blood spots on his face, his breathing was perfectly steady. His narrow eyes were incredibly dark, with a subtle smile playing within them.

"He didn't do anything to me—" Yu Zhu said urgently, her lips trembling, "Really! I swear."

Koshima Tetsuya didn't respond to her words, but just looked at her and said, "Smash it."

Yu Zhu stood there, frozen in place.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be bullied?" Toru Koshima squatted down, touched her face, and said gently, "Now I'm giving you a chance to prove it to me."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Jiang was so frightened that he shrank back repeatedly, kicking up a cloud of dust as he stomped on the carpet.

"Toru Koshima!" Yu Zhu shouted, unable to contain herself any longer. "Are you out of your mind?!"

Echizen shook his head, his smile fading.

"Alright." He stood up and walked towards Mr. Jiang again. "I'll handle it."

"Wait..." Yu Zhu saw him stand up and instinctively reached out to stop him, but her knees dragged on the ground for two steps before she was pushed away.

Echizen grabbed Mr. Jiang by the back of his collar and dragged him up from the ground. Mr. Jiang's legs were weak, and he staggered as he was dragged, blood dripping from his nose onto the carpet, forming a string of dark red spots.

The security guard ran over from around the corner, and Lao Xiao also rushed over upon hearing the commotion, his face deathly pale.

Cheng Fu remained in the same spot the entire time, neither moving forward nor leaving.

"Mr. Yue!" Old Xiao pleaded, his voice almost begging, "This is a public event, please calm down and let us handle it, don't do it here—"

Echizen ignored him.

Yu Zhu got up from the ground and hurriedly chased after her.

A side door of the banquet hall leads to a terrace, one side of which is a semi-open swimming pool. Night falls outside the glass railings, and the red taillights of cars flash below. Several white lounge chairs are placed by the pool, but no one is sitting on them tonight, and a thin layer of condensation settles on them.

Echizen dragged Mr. Chiang to the edge of the pool, raised his leg, and kicked him in.

Yu Zhu rushed to the edge of the pool, her fingertips barely brushing against the hem of Mr. Jiang's clothes. Water splashed everywhere, covering her face.

A red mist quickly spread in the water.

The man in the pool struggled for a moment, and just as his hand reached the edge of the pool, it was stepped on by the people on the shore.

Echizen squatted down, grabbed Mr. Chiang's hair, and pushed him back into the water.

The water churned violently as Mr. Jiang's hands slapped against the pool wall, producing muffled thuds. Old Xiao stood two steps away, his lips trembling, calling out "Mr. Yue," but dared not approach. Several security guards rushed to the terrace. The leader recognized Yue Jianche, his steps faltering for a moment, and in those few seconds, the splashing sounds in the water subsided.

Cheng Fu stood behind the glass door and did not move forward.

Her carefully prepared words, her gentle smile, and the performance she had put on for Echizen Toru all vanished.

She hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Toru Koshima hates disloyalty.

She thought that when Yuejian Tetsu saw Yu Zhu and Mr. Jiang arguing, he would feel disgusted, turn around and leave, help her get rid of Mr. Jiang, and realize that everyone in the world is as realistic as she is.

It's true that people strive for better things.

Yu Zhu was no different.

Cheng Fu's gaze refocused on Yu Zhu.

She knelt by the pool, blood streaming down her face, her body trembling violently. She clung tightly to Etsuya Toru's hand, but she couldn't overcome his strength, and her body rose and fell with his arm.

The struggle in the water gradually weakened.

"Yoshima Toru, Yoshima Toru!" Yu Zhu was still stubbornly calling his name, as if she thought it could bring back his remaining sanity. "What are you doing! Someone will die!"

Echizen Toru remained unmoved.

"Please, I'm begging you—"

Yu Zhu clasped both of her hands on his wrists, water splashing all over her, soaking her completely. Her disheveled hair clung to her face, and unable to brush it away, she could only turn her head to the side, panting.

The splashing sounds in the water grew fainter and fainter.

She gritted her teeth and tugged again, but still couldn't budge him. Finally, her fingers gave out and slid down his soaked sleeve one by one.

Yu Zhu stood up, supporting herself on the edge of the pool, her chest heaving. She glanced at the person in the water, then turned to stare at Yue Jianche.

"Speak," she said, taking a breath, her voice filled with resentment, "What exactly do you want?"

Koshima Toru finally stopped.

He slowly turned his head to the side, looked at her for two seconds, and the corners of his lips curved up little by little.

He released his hand from under the water: "Come with me."