Chapter 7: The Struggle of a Cornered Beast

The corridor of the Imperial Dynasty KTV stretched before them like a bizarre passageway leading straight to hell.

The walls were adorned with ostentatious dark red wallpaper, and beneath their feet lay a thick, sound-absorbing dark carpet. The air was saturated with the nauseating blend of alcohol, perfume, and the stifling hum of central air conditioning—a suffocating scent of decadence.

Xu Yuan clutched Jiang Yi’s sleeve tightly, the sweat in her palm almost soaking through the fabric.

She could distinctly hear the unruly pounding of her own heartbeat, drumming against her eardrums like thunder despite the deafening music.

Jiang Yi’s steps were steady, unwavering. He moved like a prisoner who had already accepted his death sentence, calmly and resolutely walking toward a fate long predetermined.

At last, he stopped before a door carved with exaggerated patterns, bearing the number “888.”

Without turning back, he placed his empty hand over Xu Yuan’s clenched fingers on his sleeve, unrelenting as he pried them apart one by one.

“Stay behind me.”

Those four words fell from his lips, low and devoid of emotion, yet cutting through the atmosphere like a cold command.

Then, he pushed open the heavy door.

Boom—

A stronger wave of alcohol mixed with the scent of tobacco and ear-splitting rock music surged out instantly.

The room was vast, decorated like a miniature palace. Beneath a massive crystal chandelier, several heavily made-up girls screamed and shook dice cups, while on the main sofa, Li Wenfeng lounged like a petty tyrant, legs crossed, a cigar clamped between his fingers.

Beside him sat Huang Mao Zhang Wei and a few lackeys Jiang Yi had seen earlier in the machine room.

The coffee table was littered with empty bottles and fruit plates, a chaotic mess.

The moment they entered, every sound in the room seemed to freeze.

A dozen or so gazes snapped to the doorway like searchlights.

Li Wenfeng slowly exhaled a smoke ring, narrowing his eyes as his gaze passed over Jiang Yi to rest on the pale-faced Xu Yuan, who dared only peek out from behind him.

A smile curled on his lips—one filled with unrestrained contempt and amusement.

“Well, look at that, you really brought the little girlfriend along?” His voice was low yet easily drowned out the music. “Jiang Yi, not bad. You know you’re about to get beaten, yet you bring an audience? What, want her to see how ‘manly’ you are?”

Laughter erupted around them.

“Brother Feng, you don’t get it,” Zhang Wei sneered, “this is called adding some spice! Don’t be scared, beauty. We’ll go easy on him, promise not to make your boyfriend look too bad.”

Xu Yuan’s face drained of color in an instant.

She instinctively tried to step back, but her legs felt leaden, immobile.

Jiang Yi seemed deaf to the humiliating taunts. Expressionless, he stepped inside, pulling Xu Yuan behind him into a relatively safe corner before turning to face Li Wenfeng.

“I’m here,” he said calmly, like still water. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Li Wenfeng stubbed out his cigar and stood, approaching step by step. Though half a head shorter, his arrogant aura was oppressive.

He stopped before Jiang Yi and reached out, patting his face like soothing a dog.

“Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi, you’re as clueless as ever,” he shook his head, as if disappointed in his own foolhardiness. “I told you, I’m not here to fight. I’m here to give you a chance—a chance to reconcile with me.”

He gestured to three unopened bottles of expensive foreign liquor on the table.

“See these? Three bottles. You drink them all in front of everyone, then kneel and kowtow to me three times, calling me ‘Brother Feng.’” He leaned close, voice dropping so only Jiang Yi could hear, a cold laugh escaping him. “That’ll settle things today. From then on, you’re under my protection here at Binda.”

Xu Yuan’s heart plummeted to the depths.

Three bottles of hard liquor!

If he drank all that, it wouldn’t just be a stomach hemorrhage—he could easily be rushed to emergency for alcohol poisoning!

This wasn’t reconciliation; it was attempted murder!

Jiang Yi’s dark eyes narrowed sharply. His hand hanging by his side clenched until the knuckles whitened.

Xu Yuan knew this was the edge before he snapped.

No! Absolutely no way he could drink that! And definitely no way he could fight back!

“Wait!”

Before Jiang Yi could refuse, Xu Yuan suddenly sprang out from behind him, arms spread wide like a fierce cat protecting its prey, firmly shielding Jiang Yi.

Everyone froze, Jiang Yi included.

He stared at the frail figure who had suddenly appeared, his brows knitting tightly into a frown.

Xu Yuan lifted her head, locking eyes with the stunned expression on Li Wenfeng’s face. Her heart pounded so fiercely it seemed to leap from her throat, yet her voice, strained by tension, rang out sharp.

“He can’t drink!”

Li Wenfeng paused for a moment, then burst into scornful laughter. “What did you say? Little beauty, who gave you the right to speak here?”

“Of course I have the right!” Xu Yuan went all in, embracing her “profit-driven” persona to the fullest. “He’s my partner! His health directly affects whether we can win the hundred thousand yuan prize! If he drinks and gets sick, delaying the competition, who’s going to pay for the loss?”

Hands on hips, she looked ready to fight.

“If you want him to drink, fine!” She raised a finger and declared a number so outrageous even she thought it mad. “One glass—ten thousand yuan! Pay before he drinks! That covers our team’s lost wages, nutrition, and mental distress!”

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone looked at Xu Yuan like she was an alien.

Even Li Wenfeng’s mocking smile stiffened into an expression of absurd disbelief.

In his twenty years of life, this was the first time anyone had dared negotiate with him like this.

Behind Xu Yuan, Jiang Yi’s unfathomable eyes roiled like a stormy sea.

He stared fiercely at the fragile figure who, to protect him, had transformed herself into an irrational, money-obsessed lunatic.

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

He knew she was terrified out of her mind.

Yet she didn’t back down an inch.

“Hahaha… hahaha!”

After the brief stillness, Li Wenfeng exploded into uproarious laughter, doubling over until tears nearly streamed down his face.

“Interesting! Damn interesting!” He clapped his hands as he laughed. “Jiang Yi, where did you find this gem? Ten thousand a glass? Why doesn’t she rob a bank while she’s at it?”

His lackeys joined in the laughter, gazing at Xu Yuan as if she were a ridiculous clown.

Xu Yuan’s face flushed red and white in turns, fists clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms.

Li Wenfeng’s laughter finally died down, replaced by a cold, menacing fury fueled by offense.

He pulled out a thick wad of cash from his wallet—twenty to thirty thousand yuan—and suddenly hurled it at Xu Yuan’s face!

Smack!

Pink bills rained down like a humiliating storm, striking her head and face before fluttering to the floor.

“Want money, huh?” Li Wenfeng’s voice was as cold and venomous as a snake’s tongue. “I’ve got plenty of it!”

He pointed to the scattered bills, then at Jiang Yi, a sick, sadistic pleasure playing across his face.

“Now, make your little boyfriend drink until he’s out cold. You get him to take one glass, and I’ll let you pick up a thousand yuan from the floor. How’s that for a deal?”

He intended for her to be the one to force Jiang Yi under.

To trample on all their dignity through this cruel game.

Xu Yuan was utterly stunned. Staring at the insulting cash at her feet, blood rushed to her head in a dizzying flush. An overwhelming, indescribable humiliation shook her whole body; even her lips trembled.

At the moment the bills struck Xu Yuan’s face, the cold aura Jiang Yi had been suppressing exploded with a deafening roar.