Just as Si Yina noticed the strange touch on her shoulder, a powerful force she couldn’t resist surged from behind.
Si Yina had been completely off her guard. Facing this sudden pull from behind, she had no time to react. She stumbled backward, nearly being dragged directly onto the ground. All the good mood from a moment ago vanished like smoke; the soft, delicate sensation she had just held in her hands was forcibly stripped away. Si Yina snapped her head up, her eyes filled with rage, only to see a pair of bloodshot eyes staring deathly at her.
Chi Yingyu had never been as frantic as she was now. If she wasn’t currently busy shielding her disheveled brother-in-law with her hands, she would have wanted to hack Si Yina into a thousand pieces and tear her to shreds just for looking at her.
Early this morning, at the first light of dawn, Chi Yingyu had gone out again to search for Jiang Lai. Recalling her sister’s description of the scene she had witnessed, Chi Yingyu made up her mind: she could absolutely not allow her brother-in-law to stay by Si Yina’s side any longer. No matter what she had to face or what difficulties lay ahead, Chi Yingyu was going to bring Jiang Lai back.
Today was much better than yesterday. Yesterday, they were too frantic; even if Shen Ruxue wanted to find help, it wasn’t realistic to get many people to search. But today, besides Chi Yingyu and Shen Ruxue, others were helping, which greatly increased their efficiency. As long as Jiang Lai stayed in one place long enough, she was bound to be found.
When Chi Yingyu heard from someone that Jiang Lai was sitting in a courtyard, she rushed over without stopping—only to find the courtyard empty. Despite the near-miss, Chi Yingyu and Shen Ruxue searched outward from the courtyard radius bit by bit, finally spotting Jiang Lai at this crossroads.
Finding Jiang Lai should have been a moment of immense joy, but she never expected to see that bastard Si Yina pinning her brother-in-law against a wall. The fury Chi Yingyu had been suppressing in her heart flared up instantly. Her face turned savage, she gnashed her teeth, and her gaze locked onto Si Yina with murderous intent.
Yet, when she turned back to Jiang Lai, her expression softened into one of extreme gentleness. Her arm wrapped tightly around Jiang Lai’s waist, wishing she could rub her brother-in-law directly into her own body.
“Are you okay? What did that bastard just do to you…?”
Jiang Lai’s heart was racing. His eyes were red, and tears that he couldn’t hold back were overflowing from the corners of his eyes. He looked so pitiful it made one’s heart ache.
“Nothing… thank goodness you came, nothing happened yet.”
It had been truly terrifying. Even now, the memory filled Jiang Lai with dread. It had been so close—just a tiny bit more. At the thought of what almost happened, Jiang Lai didn’t care about his dignity as a “brother-in-law”; he clung to Chi Yingyu like a drowning person grasping a lifeline.
“But why are you here?”
“I won’t let her take you away again. With me here, everything will be fine.”
With one hand supporting Jiang Lai’s waist, Chi Yingyu held together the evening gown that was about to fall apart on the beauty’s body. With her other hand, she gently touched Jiang Lai’s cheek.
The face covered in tear tracks and those painfully red eyes possessed a sort of broken beauty. Chi Yingyu looked down slightly at her hand supporting his waist. Jiang Lai’s waist was very thin and soft; it felt as though if she applied just a little more pressure, that slender waist would snap in her hands.
Chi Yingyu looked down initially to find the zipper to fix Jiang Lai’s clothes, but she caught sight of a dark bruise on that perfect, slender waist.
Chi Yingyu practically had to grit her teeth to pull the zipper of the beautiful gown back up. She took a deep breath, barely managing to suppress her impulsive rage on the brink of a breakdown.
Turning to see Shen Ruxue, who had also rushed over, Chi Yingyu felt embarrassed to keep holding Jiang Lai in front of her sister. Even though the sister and brother-in-law didn’t know each other’s true identities, she instinctively stepped back.
She released her grip on Jiang Lai’s waist and let him stand obediently to the side. Her brother-in-law just needed to watch now. “Leave the rest to me…”
After saying this, Chi Yingyu intimately tidied Jiang Lai’s messy hair, fully shielding him behind her back.
“I didn’t expect you to actually find your way here…”
Si Yina stared deeply at Chi Yingyu, the coldness in her eyes almost solidifying. She knew the other party shouldn’t have been on this resort island at all—it absolutely did not host outsiders.
Her mind was full of questions, but seeing Shen Ruxue standing beside them, she roughly understood. It turned out Jiang Lai knew others as well; this was something Si Yina hadn’t expected. But so what if they were here?
“Since you’re here, enjoy your stay on the island for the next few days. The agreement between her and me is none of your business.”
“Agreement?”
This was the first time she had heard of this. Chi Yingyu glanced at her brother-in-law out of the corner of her eye and saw his expression change. It seemed there were many things Jiang Lai hadn’t told her. Brother-in-law… you really have more and more secrets… But now was not the time for that.
“I only want to take him away. If you stop me, I’ve said it before: no matter what, I will bite a piece of flesh off you.”
Chi Yingyu spoke with the mindset of someone prepared for total mutual destruction. As long as she could protect her brother-in-law, she was willing to risk her life.
Having finished her piece, Chi Yingyu looked at the silent Si Yina. Thinking the other woman had softened, she turned to take Jiang Lai’s hand and leave this place of trouble. Suddenly, Si Yina’s icy voice came from behind.
“I can feel that you really, really like her. But do you know what she and I have done? These past two days, I’ve seen everything there is to see, and she never once refused me…”
Si Yina was frantically slandering Jiang Lai, wanting him to taste the bitterness of being loathed by others. In her mind, only she could fully accept him; only she was his final destination.
Before the smug expression could even surface on Si Yina’s face, Chi Yingyu landed a heavy punch right to her face.
“I didn’t want to hit you, but you should never, ever have slandered him…”
Chi Yingyu had always been very calm and was no longer someone easily swayed by emotions. But when it involved her brother-in-law, she couldn’t tolerate even the slightest slight.