Water and Fire~Chapter 58.2: Try Touching Her Again

 

Chapter 58.2: Try Touching Her Again

Chu Qianmiao was starving from working overtime. To meet deadlines, she didn't go out for dinner. Instead, she ordered KFC takeout.

She was almost halfway through her burger when she received a call from Tan Shen.

There was a hint of hoarseness in Tan Shen's voice, the kind tinged with alcohol.

He'd been drinking.

Tan Shen asked Chu Qianmiao what he was doing on the phone. Chu Qianmiao, looking at project materials on her computer, replied nonchalantly, "Working overtime."

Tan Shen immediately said, "Then you must not have eaten yet. I'll bring you a midnight snack."

Chu Qianmiao hurriedly shook the plastic bag of KFC takeout for him to hear. "No, you really don't need it. I ordered KFC and just finished a burger. I'm full."

Tan Shen was silent on the other end of the phone for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was even hoarser. "Qianmiao, I just wanted to see you." Another pause, and then his hoarse voice was filled with emotion. "I missed you," he said, his voice rising. "Besides, even if we can't be lovers, can't we still be friends? Can't I go see you?"

Chu Qianmiao sighed silently. She tried to soothe Tan Shen, "You must have been drinking today, and quite a bit. I'm guessing you were having a party with some friends, right? You must have a girlfriend or some female friend. It's not nice for you to run off so suddenly."

Tan Shen interrupted her loudly, "No girlfriend, no, no."

Chu Qianmiao quickly pulled the phone away from her ear, mentally cursing Tan Shen for being crazy.

She took a deep breath, retrieved the phone, and gently advised Tan Shen, "Shen, you've been drinking today, so don't bring me midnight snacks. If you want to meet, we'll meet another day. Besides, I'm almost packing up and going home."

Tan Shen didn't appreciate her gentle words. He angrily said, "I'm going to go," and then hung up.

Chu Qianmiao felt a headache all over her body.

The phone started ringing again. She thought it was Tan Shen again, and a curse word leaped to the tip of her tongue, pressing against her teeth, about to be released. But a glance at the caller ID made her swallow it back.

"Little Daogu, what's up?"

The call was from Gu Miaoyu.

"My master left the car with me today. Are you still working overtime? If you are, I'll pick you up on the way," Gu Miaoyu said crisply.

"Okay, okay," Chu Qianmiao couldn't have been more pleased. Gu Miaoyu and her master, Luo Feng, had left Jialeyuan after starting a business and opened a studio. Their studio wasn't far from Xinfeng. "I'll pack up and go downstairs in fifteen minutes," Chu Qianmiao said to Gu Miaoyu.

Putting down her phone, Chu Qianmiao continued working overtime.

There was a noise at the law firm's entrance. She thought it might be a colleague returning from a dinner party to pick something up.

She paid no attention.

Until a figure loomed over her head.

A strong scent of alcohol reached her nose.

She looked up, her heart sinking.

It was Qiao Zhixin.

He walked silently towards her workstation.

When Chu Qianmiao looked up, she met Qiao Zhixin's eyes. His eyes, swollen with alcohol and lust, were bloodshot and terrifying.

Chu Qianmiao inconspicuously slid her swivel chair back, putting some distance between her and Qiao Zhixin, and slowly stood up.

She surveyed the terrain. Her workstation was in the inner part of the law firm, and it was quite a distance to the door. If she screamed from there, the front desk might hear her, but those outside, separated by a door, wouldn't be able to hear clearly. Besides, at this hour, the building was deserted, and her screams would probably be useless. The law firm only had surveillance cameras at the door, not her side. Now, she was trapped in a blind spot at her workstation by the sturdy, 1.8-meter-tall Qiao Zhixin.

A deep fear welled up in Chu Qianmiao. She tried hard to control her fear and keep her voice from trembling.

"It's so late, Lawyer Qiao, what's going on?" she asked, picking up her phone from the desk.

Qiao Zhixin snatched her phone from her, then flung it away. The office was carpeted, and the phone hit the carpet with a muffled thud, almost suffocating.

Having lost the chance to call 110, Chu Qianmiao practically trembled.

Qiao Zhixin stepped forward, pressed against her, and said in a muffled voice, "Don't you know what I'm up to? Chu Qianmiao, let me tell you, whether it's the women in our law firm or the women out there, there's nothing I can't get that I want."

Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat.

He pinned her against the desk, leaving her with nowhere to retreat. There was nothing on the table she could use as a weapon, and the computer was a bit far out of her reach, unable to transform it into a brick. All she could reach was the leftover wavy fries.

She didn't dare move, fearing to upset Qiao Zhixin. She softly pleaded with Qiao Zhixin, "Qiao Lu, you've been drinking. How about you sit down for a while? I'll make you some tea to sober you up?"

As she spoke, she slowly moved to the side, trying to break free from the tight spot.

Qiao Zhixin grinned grimly, "Why tea? I just want to make you."

With that, he lunged forward, pinning Chu Qianmiao down on the desk. His mouth, thick with the scent of alcohol, assaulted Chu Qianmiao, and for a moment, she felt suffocated and humiliated.

She desperately tilted her head, and his mouth finally landed on her cheek. She tilted her head and shouted, "Qiao Zhixin, this is rape. This is a crime. You're a partner. Is it worth it?"

Qiao Zhixin desperately sought to capture her mouth, panting rapidly as he said, "Yes, I'm going to kill you today. I'll see if you'll ever be with me again."

Chu Qianmiao desperately dodged and struggled, trying to kick Qiao Zhixin's groin, but Qiao Zhixin pinned her legs, immobilizing her.

Hurry, her vision flashed back and forth. She thought, even if she died, or if she killed Qiao Zhixin, she wouldn't let him succeed.

She turned and saw a pool of ketchup next to the leftover fries on the table. She reached out and grabbed a handful, carelessly smearing it in Qiao Zhixin's eyes and face.

Qiao Zhixin couldn't see, and for a second, the restraint he had placed on her loosened.

Chu Qianmiao pushed him away with all her might and slapped him backhanded.

Qiao Zhixin froze for a moment, then slapped her backhanded. Chu Qianmiao was slapped so hard she was thrown sideways, sprawled in the hallway at the workstation's exit.

Ignoring the ringing in her ears and dizziness, she scrambled to her feet and ran, desperately. She reached the door, pushed it open, and dashed out, continuing to run. She could hear nothing but her own rapid, heavy breathing. She had no idea how she'd reached the first floor, until she collided with a chest.

She struggled in terror, but was restrained. Her scream caught in her throat.

When she cried, "Let me go," her voice was so sharp and shredded it was unrecognizable. It was the hoarse cry of someone undergoing some kind of torture.

Ren Yan's heart trembled as he held Chu Qianmiao.

He comforted her. She struggled, looked up, and saw his face. After a moment of daze, she unexpectedly calmed down.

Half of her face was swollen.

He gritted his teeth.

There should be security in the lobby, but I don't know where they went.

Footsteps clattered at the door.

Ren Yan saw that the person approaching was Gu Miaoyu, Chu Qianmiao's childhood friend.

Gu Miaoyu snatched Chu Qianmiao from his arms. She put her arm around her shoulders and angrily demanded, "What happened to her? Did you do this?" She looked ready to lunge at him.

Chu Qianmiao held her back. "I'm fine. It wasn't him."

She calmed down, but the trembling in her voice betrayed the lingering fear.

He clenched his hands at his sides into fists. She had just endured something horrible, yet she forced herself to remain calm so quickly. Why did she have to be so strong?

She even managed to turn around and ask him with a wry smile, "Ren, Mr. Ren, why are you here?"

That smile was shattered, but she stubbornly held it together.

He controlled his emotions and calmly told her, "I'm here to run something." He then turned to Gu Miaoyu, "Take her home quickly and apply some facial mask to her."

Gu Miaoyu glared at him, then helped Chu Qianmiao out of the building and into the car.

Ren Yan watched them leave and went back upstairs.

He walked to the door of Xinfeng Law Firm. There was a light inside. He rang the doorbell repeatedly.

After a while, Qiao Zhixin, wiping his eyes with a tissue, came over and asked in a drunken babbling voice, "Who's driving me crazy? You keep ringing the doorbell so late at night? We're closed tonight. Let's go!"

Ren Yan mentioned a name through the glass door, saying he was his friend. The name belonged to the head of Xinfeng Law Firm.

Qiao Zhixin hesitated, then opened the door. With one half-closed eye, he leaned out and asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"

Before he could even finish the word "thing," Ren Yan grabbed him by the collar, balled his other hand into a fist, and struck him in the face.

Dazed, Qiao Zhixin's mouth burst open, blood streaming from his nose. He desperately tried to retreat back inside, shouting, "Let go!" Later, the beating forced him to cry out, "Help!" and "Let me go, we can talk it out."

Ren Yan paused and asked him sternly, "When you assaulted Chu Qianmiao, did you ever consider talking it over and letting her go?"

"I didn't do anything to her," Qiao Zhixin screamed. "Look at what she's done to me!"

As Qiao Zhixin spoke, he suddenly struggled desperately, trying to break free of Ren Yan and hide back inside.

Ren Yan wanted to chase after him, but he quickly realized that going in would only make it easier for Qiao Zhixin to trap him with the glass door, putting him in a vulnerable position.

So he simply gave up on going in and, with a single swift movement, dragged Qiao Zhixin out. He dragged the staggering Qiao Zhixin toward the corner of the hallway.

From the corner came the sound of fists hitting flesh.

And Ren Yan's cold voice.

If you dare touch her again, I'll kill you.