Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

Zhang Yifan looked at Tiger, then at Lin Wanqing whose face was being held to a knife, and suddenly smiled.

It wasn't the kind of laugh forced out of nervousness, but rather a laugh born of a growing impatience with amusement at the farce, tinged with a touch of mockery.

"Go ahead and scratch her face. What does it have to do with me? We're just classmates, the kind who go to class together. You've been to school too. There are forty or fifty people in a class. Do you expect me to kneel down every time someone gets hurt?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqing's expression resembled a shattering mirror.

First came shock, then that shock was quickly replaced by anger.

She even forgot the knife was still stuck to her face, glaring at Zhang Yifan and shouting, "Zhang Yifan! What do you mean! You've been pursuing me for a year! And now you're saying this? Kneel down right now! Do you hear me?!"

Zhang Yifan ignored her, his hands still in his pockets.

Lin Wanqing's voice changed from commanding to pleading, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Yifan... I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated you like that before. Please save me, okay? Just kneel down once, he won't really do anything to me. Just kneel down once, just once..."

Zhang Yifan still didn't move.

Lin Wanqing's tears dried.

Her voice changed from pleading to a hysterical scream, her face flushed red, and veins bulged on her forehead.

"Zhang Yifan, you're a fucking bastard! When you were chasing me, you said you'd do anything for me, but now that I'm in trouble, you just stand by and do nothing! What kind of man are you! Let me tell you, if you don't save me today, I'll haunt you even as a ghost! You and that Shen Zhiyi will both suffer a terrible death..."

"Snapped!"

With a sharp crack, Tiger slapped Lin Wanqing across the face, knocking her to the side.

A red handprint quickly appeared on Lin Wanqing's cheek, and her lips struck her teeth, drawing a trickle of blood.

She was stunned, her eyes wide open; she had never been beaten like this in her life.

Before the buzzing in my ears had even subsided, Tiger Brother had already launched into a tirade of abuse.

"Shut the hell up! I haven't even said a word yet! I'm holding a knife! You're crying, yelling, and cursing, making a bigger commotion than me. Who's being controlled here, you or me? Behave yourself!"

Lin Wanqing's lips trembled, and she dared not utter another word.

Zhao Rong stood to the side, her lips moving slightly.

Seeing Lin Wanqing being beaten, the corners of her mouth subconsciously turned up for a moment, as if she had finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But that smile vanished in less than half a second. She looked at the red mark on Lin Wanqing's face and the blood seeping from the corner of Lin Wanqing's mouth, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

She hated Lin Wanqing for so long, but when she actually saw Lin Wanqing being beaten, it felt like something had twisted her heart hard. A sour feeling rose from her stomach and stuck in her throat, making her unable to speak.

She turned her face away, biting her lower lip, her fingers gripping Tiger's clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Seeing that their boss had regained control of the situation, Tiger's henchmen emboldened themselves and, taking advantage of Tiger's power, shouted at Zhang Yifan:

"Did you hear me! I told you to kneel down, so kneel down! If you don't kneel, don't even think about walking out of here standing up today!"

Zhang Yifan glanced at the underling, then at Tiger, and shrugged:

"To be honest, I'm not here to rescue anyone. I just happened to be passing by after dinner and thought this billiards hall looked pretty cheap, so I thought I'd come in and play a couple of rounds. You guys go ahead with your business, or I'll head over now?"

He said this and turned to leave.

"Stop!" Tiger Brother snapped, bringing the knife closer to Lin Wanqing's neck. "Who the hell let you leave! What if you go down and call the police?!"

Zhang Yifan turned around and sighed, "So what do you want? You won't let me leave, and you complain I'm in your way if I stand here. Who's the real gangster here? Your skills aren't very good."

Tiger was speechless, the knife pressed against Lin Wanqing's neck, neither able to put it down nor to put it down, his face twitching.

He wanted Zhang Yifan to leave, but he was afraid he would go downstairs and call the police.

She wanted him to stay, but she didn't dare to actually lay a hand on him.

The situation remained deadlocked.

Zhang Yifan leaned against the wall and yawned. Tiger Brother held a knife and was sweating profusely. Lin Wanqing was trembling like a leaf in his arms. A dozen or so henchmen surrounded them, but no one dared to move.

It was so quiet you could hear the second hand of the wall clock ticking away.

One of the henchmen leaned close to Tiger's ear and whispered, "Tiger, is holding this person like this considered illegal detention? Kidnapping seems to have a pretty heavy penalty..."

Tiger freed one hand and slapped him on the back of the head, making his head slump down: "Nonsense! What I've done isn't illegal? Is this your first day hanging out with me? If you're afraid of breaking the law, why are you even in this world! Get lost!"

The younger brother covered the back of his head, took two steps back looking aggrieved, and muttered, "I'm not afraid of breaking the law, I'm afraid he'll call the police..."

Tiger was stunned for a moment.

He slowly turned his head to look at Zhang Yifan, who was leaning against the wall and gave him a friendly smile.

Tiger swallowed hard, his voice slightly unsteady: "He can't... he can't be so unruly..."

Before the words were even finished, a series of hurried footsteps came from the stairwell.

Several uniformed figures rushed up from the corner of the stairs. The policeman in the lead immediately saw the knife in Tiger's hand and Lin Wanqing, whose face was red from being strangled, in his arms. His pupils contracted sharply, and he stopped abruptly, his right hand already on the walkie-talkie at his waist.

"Command Center! Command Center! A kidnapping has occurred here! Second floor of the billiard hall! Requesting backup!"

Tiger was stunned.

The dozen or so henchmen behind him were also dumbfounded.

The human wall that had just formed a circle scattered like dominoes being toppled, and all the underlings took three steps back in unison, creating a clean distance between themselves and Tiger.

"Officer! I wasn't involved in the kidnapping! I just came to play billiards!"

"Me too! Me too! My arm's still in a cast, look at my arm, how could I possibly kidnap anyone!"

"Tiger... no, Zhou Dahu! Zhou Dahu kidnapped someone! We were just passing by! It has nothing to do with him!"

Tiger's face turned green, and he yelled at his underlings, "You...you fucking..."

But it was too late.

He still had a knife to his chest, Lin Wanqing was still in his hands, and the police's eyes were all fixed on him.

His mind raced. The things he was involved in—fighting alone—were enough to warrant detention. Add to that the videos he made of Zhao Rong, and a simple investigation would put him in a prison sentence of several years.

Not to mention kidnapping, which starts with a ten-year sentence.

Running or not running, both lead to death.

He pulled Lin Wanqing even tighter into his arms, the knife pressed firmly against her neck, and yelled at the police, "Don't come any closer! I'll stab anyone who comes near! Get me a car! Fill it up with gas! Otherwise, I'll take her down with me!"