Huo Rou watched the scene before her with a smile that was just right, but her eyes churned like stormy seas.
Old Zhou saw that she was unmoved and rolled up his car window, driving away. "Miss Huo, as you can see, a refined young lady like Wang Wanrou is the most suitable person for our young master."
"Madam has already agreed to give you a sum of money, and you can fill in the amount on the check. What more are you not satisfied with?"
Huo Rou’s expression was unreadable. She turned to look at Old Zhou and suddenly flashed a smile. "If I'm with Qin Ning, am I afraid of not having money to spend? Do you think these clumsy tactics can sow discord between us?"
Money, was she lacking in that?
Old Zhou was not angry when she saw through his ploy. "No matter how clumsy, Madam prefers a young lady like Miss Wang, who comes from a pure family background, is learned and well-bred."
Old Zhou glanced at Huo Rou in the rearview mirror, met her deep eyes, and shivered inwardly.
After steadying his nerves, he continued as Wang Wanrou had instructed. "Someone like you, who secretly gives birth to someone else's child, probably had no lessons in propriety and shame from your parents. Or... is that how your parents had you?"
"How can a rustic bumpkin be worthy..." Before he could finish, his neck was suddenly gripped by two hands.
"Shut up." Huo Rou's face was serene, but her eyes swirled with a bloody storm.
Old Zhou's breath hitched, his face turning red. He let go, trying to pry open the grip on his neck. His hands left the steering wheel, and the car veered uncontrollably on the empty country road.
Huo Rou rose from the back seat and stepped on the steering wheel, taking control of the car's direction.
She looked straight into Old Zhou's eyes, her gaze full of ferocity. "They are not people you can defile at will!"
"Ah, uh..." The fresh air Old Zhou could breathe grew thinner and thinner. He clawed at Huo Rou's hands frantically, but even as he inflicted wounds on her hands, he couldn't pry them open.
His eyes widened in terror as he saw the ferocity on Huo Rou's calm face. He had no doubt that she would break his neck the next second.
She had seemed like such a gentle and agreeable person before.
"I'm sorr- sorry..." he managed to say with difficulty. A flicker of hesitation crossed Huo Rou's eyes. She held the pose for a while longer until Old Zhou's hand went limp. Only then did she snap back to reality and release him.
Old Zhou gasped for air like he had been reborn, his gaze shifting from contempt to fear.
A woman, possessing such strength, and she had truly intended to kill him.
"Stop the car." Huo Rou removed her foot from the steering wheel and returned to the back seat. Old Zhou, relieved, regained control of the steering wheel and obediently applied the brakes.
As she got out of the car and walked away, Old Zhou felt his bag, confirming the bank card was safe. Once at a safe distance, he shouted after her retreating figure, "Huo Rou, Madam is doing this for your own good! You, without parents and no background, are simply not worthy of our young master!"
Huo Rou turned back with a cold look. Old Zhou, startled, quickly started the car and sped away. Huo Rou took a pen from her bag and threw it directly at him.
Old Zhou's car swerved violently, nearly losing control.
He saw in the rearview mirror the moment the rear window was pierced, the sound of shattering glass still echoing in his ears. He turned off his phone's recording and breathed a sigh of relief, having survived.
Huo Rou's face regained its calm, and she let out a mocking smile.
Yes, she was an orphan, but the safety these people enjoyed was due to the contributions of her parents.
She only wanted a family, so she stubbornly gave birth to An'an. She accepted this, and they could say whatever they wanted about it.
But they could not belittle her parents!
In the darkness, the mournful wind seemed to carry the melody from her dreams. She suppressed the tears in her eyes and stood in the wind for a long time.
She was an orphan, and those who caused this would pay the price!
A fierce obsession erupted in Huo Rou's eyes, as if breaking a seal.
She took out her phone and dialed Wang Haozhuo. "Xiao Zhuo, go again..."
Before she could finish, a whistling sound broke the air. As Huo Rou dodged, her phone was knocked to the ground.
"Who's there?" Huo Rou asked calmly, looking back at the figures surrounding her with vigilance.
Wang Haozhuo, on the other end of the line, heard only a gust of wind and the sounds of collision before Huo Rou's question.
This made him sit up straight. Sister Huo was in danger!
Sister Huo would definitely leave a message. Just as he held his breath, listening, he heard a loud commotion and the call was abruptly cut off. When he tried to call back, the phone was turned off.
Here, Huo Rou looked at the dozens of people around her and her smashed phone. The suppressed rage flared up again.
"Huo Rou, is it?" The leader, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, approached from the shadows, the tip of the cigarette glowing.
"It doesn't matter if you don't answer. We're just getting paid to take care of things." He saw Huo Rou's face illuminated by the moonlight and the faint streetlights, and his eyes lit up.
"However, your appearance is quite a surprise. No wonder someone is willing to spend so much money."
"Brother, can we first..." One of them leered forward, his implication unmistakable.
"Heh." Huo Rou chuckled before he could finish.
"Little sister, there's no one around. You can scream your lungs out, and no one will come." The leering man wracked his brain for this classic line.
"Yes, no one is around..." Huo Rou smiled faintly, her words carrying a deeper meaning.
The leering man was the first to rush forward. Huo Rou struck with ruthless precision, throwing him aside with two moves.
"Youngest, are you impotent?" The surrounding men jeered, but the leader's eyes narrowed, sensing something was wrong.
"All of you, attack! Let's get the main job done first."
Huo Rou pulled a set of brass knuckles from her waist and expertly spun them onto her fingers.
She weaved through the attacking crowd like a murderous queen. They came at her with daggers aimed at her face. Huo Rou, unarmed, was unfazed and fought with increasing exhilaration.
By the time these men were scattered and beaten, the pent-up anger in her heart had mostly dissipated, and she reverted back to the soft, smiling Huo Rou.
"You!" The leader saw the glint of metal on Huo Rou's hand under the streetlamp. "A hidden weapon?"
Anyone who carried such a weapon on them was definitely not ordinary. They might have kicked a steel plate.
He blew a whistle, and the roar of engines grew louder as several jeeps surrounded Huo Rou again.
Her black hair whipped wildly in the air. A small scratch on her face from the fight was now oozing blood.
She flashed a brilliant smile, a smile of extraordinary gentleness and amiability.
This extreme contrast stunned the people who had just gotten out of the cars, leaving them frozen in place.
"Come on," Huo Rou said softly. If one didn't see the bloodstains on her fair face or the depth in her eyes, one would truly think she was an innocent, harmless little rabbit.
No one dared to let their guard down. Huo Rou stood languidly in the center of the crowd, toying with her brass knuckles with a smile in her eyes.
A few days ago, after meeting Wang Haozhuo, he had sought her out and given her this weapon for convenience. She had carried it with her, and now it had truly come in handy.
"Attack!" A dense mass of people surged towards Huo Rou, and she was soon swallowed by the crowd.
The distant roar of engines was quickly drowned out by the sounds of fighting.