In particular, Ni Jingxi on the ground seemed to see him in a daze.
She lay on the ground and called out in a very weak voice, "Huo Shenyan."
Huo Shenyan never knew he could lose control to this extent in his life. He stepped forward, grabbed the man in black, and punched him in the face.
The dull thud of a fist hitting a face was now even more pronounced.
The man in black saw stars after being hit, and felt a burning sensation in his nose, as if something was dripping down. Just as he reached out to cover it, Huo Shenyan grabbed his hair and pulled it down violently, making the man feel as if his entire scalp was being ripped off.
The man in black finally couldn't help but howl out loud.
But the next second, he couldn't scream at all; his voice seemed to be stuck in his throat. Huo Shenyan's knee had struck his face directly, further damaging his already weakened face.
Huo Shenyan had studied martial arts; he didn't rely on fancy moves but focused on practicality.
After all, being born into such a family means there are too many people with ill intentions watching you, so having the ability to protect yourself is essential.
But he never fought with anyone; he was always surrounded by bodyguards and didn't need to take action himself.
But at this moment, he was filled with boundless rage.
At this moment, the man in black had been severely injured by him and couldn't even scream. Huo Shenyan grabbed the man's hair and stared straight at him. Even though the alley was extremely dark, his dark eyes were already tinged with crimson.
He looked at the other person and said, word by word, "You're asking for death."
A man like him is usually calm and composed, but at this moment, he wishes the other person were dead.
Ni Jingxi was lying on the ground, panting. Every part of her body ached. The punches had landed indiscriminately on her. She could only protect her face and head. Her eyelids were heavy, but she still managed to lift them.
She saw the black-clad man who had been so arrogant and domineering in beating her just moments before; now his face was covered in blood, and his features were almost unrecognizable.
The black-clad man's body was held in Huo Shenyan's hand like a tattered rag. Just as Huo Shenyan was about to swing his hand to smash the man again, he heard a very faint voice behind him: "Huo Shenyan."
Ni Jingxi called out in a very soft voice.
Huo Shenyan turned around and saw Ni Jingxi still lying on the ground. Finally, his reason prevailed over his anger. He threw her hard to the ground and went straight over to hug Ni Jingxi.
Tang Mian, who was originally standing at the entrance of the alley, was attracted by a shout from a man in black. He walked into the alley and realized that something had happened.
He immediately called over both bodyguards, and even the driver, Lao Xu, got out of the car with them.
The man who had been sprayed in the eyes by Ni Jingxi had just recovered when he discovered that his companion was already lying on the ground, his face covered in blood, unable to even groan.
His vision had already blurred, and all he knew was that more people had arrived.
Seeing Huo Shenyan kneeling on the ground and gently embracing Ni Jingxi who was lying down, he immediately wanted to rush over and attack Huo Shenyan from behind.
No sooner had he moved than a hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed his collar like an eagle snatching a chick.
When the man turned around, he saw two men in black suits, each taller than the other, especially the man in the suit who was grabbing his neck, who looked to be over 1.9 meters tall.
The bodyguard didn't make a move at first, but instead glanced at Huo Shenyan.
At this moment, Huo Shenyan had already held Ni Jingxi in his arms. His fingers gently brushed across her face, lightly wiping away the pebbles and dirt stuck to her cheeks.
But he didn't dare to use too much force, for fear of hurting her.
"Star," Huo Shenyan called out very softly, his forehead lowered slightly to rest against hers, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Ni Jingxi's trembling body seemed to be soothed, and she relaxed, leaning against his chest.
She buried her face in his chest, finally relaxing completely.
With him here, she is safe.
No one will dare to bully her or hit her anymore.
Tang Mian stood solemnly to the side. He truly hadn't expected that Ni Jingxi would be the one in trouble, let alone that she would be beaten. He glanced cautiously at Huo Shenyan, only to see him stand up carrying Ni Jingxi and then slowly walk forward.
He stopped when he reached the bodyguard, his eyes calmly staring straight ahead.
"Give him the call."
His voice was extremely calm, but within that calm lay an extreme level of endurance, like an undercurrent surging beneath the ice, seemingly calm yet turbulent.
He carried Ni Jingxi toward the alley entrance, while muffled groans of fists hitting his body continued to echo from behind.
Tang Mian and his driver, Lao Xu, quickly followed. After getting in the car, they immediately drove to the hospital.
Huo Shenyan held the person in his arms and felt that she was too quiet, so he softly called out, "Xingxing".
But there was no response to him.
The next moment, when Huo Shenyan's voice rang out again, it had changed in tone: "Stars."
Upon hearing this, Tang Mian quickly turned around, but what he saw was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
He was Huo Shenyan's junior from school and had been working with him since graduation. At that time, Huo Shenyan had not yet taken over Hengya, and he was just a very low-ranking manager at Hengya. Tang Mian stayed by his side and endured it with him. To be honest, it was really tough back then.
The reason why Hengya Group was able to surpass foreign companies and become the number one player in the global communications market in such a short period of time is truly due to its fighting spirit.
They go where others don't.
They can tolerate things that others cannot.
He originally thought that Huo Shenyan, who had been pampered since childhood, wouldn't be able to tolerate it, but not only did he tolerate it, he did it better than anyone else. He not only had natural leadership skills, but also possessed everything that ordinary people did not have: his self-control, his restraint, and his ability to endure what others could not.
Tang Mian once thought that there was no one in the world who could easily defeat him.
Until this moment, he turned around and saw Huo Shenyan with his eyes lowered and closed, holding Ni Jingxi in his arms, his eyes trembling with unsteady light.
Upon arriving at the hospital, as soon as the car came to a stop, Huo Shenyan carried Ni Jingxi out and rushed straight to the emergency room. Although it was night, there were still quite a few people there.
The nurse immediately noticed the person in his arms and quickly guided him to place the person on the hospital bed.
"You can all go out now." As the doctor came over to treat Ni Jingxi, he frowned and turned to tell them to leave.
Tang Mian frowned, about to say that they would just watch from the sidelines if they weren't causing trouble, but Huo Shenyan quietly took a few steps back.
A nurse quickly came over and asked, "What happened to her?"
The injuries clearly indicate that she was beaten, but after all, she is a girl. Who would do such a heavy thing to a girl?
Tang Mian turned to look at Huo Shenyan, knowing that he definitely didn't want to say anything at the moment, and quickly whispered, "She was beaten by someone else. When we arrived, we only had time to take her to the hospital."
"This person went too far. The doctor said he needs a full-body CT scan, and there's a possibility he might have a concussion."
The nurse, having seen it all before in hospitals, said a few words of helplessness.
These few words almost made Tang Mian's heart stop beating; every word the nurse said was like a knife stabbing into Huo Shenyan's heart.
When Xiao Yichen arrived, he still smelled of alcohol.
This person has clearly just come out of a pre-arranged situation.
He originally called Huo Shenyan to ask when Tan would be back, but Tang Mian answered the phone. When he asked where they were, Tang Mian thought for a moment and told the truth.
Xiao Yichen was startled and immediately rushed over without even having time to drink.
At this point, Tang Mian had already mobilized all available resources and began to allocate medical resources for Ni Jingxi.
Xiao Yichen looked at Huo Shenyan standing against the wall. Although he was wearing a black trench coat, there seemed to be some filth on it, which looked like blood.
"Are you alright?" Xiao Yichen asked Tang Mian in a low voice.
Tang Mian really didn't know what to say. The reason he told Xiao Yichen the truth was twofold: firstly, Xiao Yichen and Huo Shenyan had been friends since childhood, and secondly, he hoped that Xiao Yichen could come and comfort Huo Shenyan.
Otherwise, Tang Mian was really afraid something would happen.
He was genuinely afraid.
Tang Mian said in a low voice, "Madam is currently undergoing a medical examination."
Xiao Yichen sighed and walked to Huo Shenyan's side. To his surprise, Huo Shenyan looked up at him first. There was nothing unexpected about it. He just stared at him and asked in a low voice, "Do you have a cigarette?"
Xiao Yichen immediately nodded, "Yes."
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, but smoking wasn't allowed here, so he simply pulled the person outside. Ni Jingxi was doing the inspection, and Huo Shenyan was waiting there.
The two went outside, and Huo Shenyan held a cigarette between his fingers. Xiao Yichen took out a lighter and lit it for him.
But the wind was too strong, and it wouldn't light no matter what we did.
Finally, Huo Shenyan simply took it himself, his thin lips holding the cigarette butt, his palm slightly cupped in his hand, and with a soft click, an orange flame leaped up from the lighter.
He lowered his head slightly, held the cigarette to the flame, took a deep drag, and lit it.
The cigarette butt turned a bright scarlet red.
He took a drag of his cigarette, remained silent for a long while, and said in a very low voice, "When she was lying there, I thought I was going to die."
Author's Note: Shenyan Brother: She is my life, I thought my life was over.
*
Chapter 29
Xiao Yichen suddenly looked up and stared intently at Huo Shenyan.
He and Huo Shenyan had been friends since childhood. They were of similar age and their families had been friends for generations. As a result, he knew Huo Shenyan's personality very well. Such a reserved and restrained person would say such things at this moment.
Xiao Yichen was genuinely shocked.
Just as he was about to say something, Huo Shenyan took two steps to the side and pressed the cigarette he was holding onto the trash can where cigarette butts should be disposed of.
"Hey," Xiao Yichen called out from behind, but he didn't know how to comfort him.
This is truly a distressing situation. His wife was beaten up, and Xiao Yichen felt that it hurt even more than if he had been beaten himself.
Huo Shenyan has no smoking addiction and almost never smokes, but he was really a bit flustered today.
Such a calm and composed person was so flustered that he needed tobacco to calm him down.
As he walked back, Xiao Yichen's gaze fell slightly on the back of his hand. His originally fair and thin hand was now covered in blood and grime, looking extremely gruesome.
Xiao Yichen quickly caught up and asked in a low voice, "Shenyan, did you make a move?"
"Hmm." Huo Shenyan stuck out the tip of his tongue and pressed it against the roof of his mouth, then sank back into that heavy mood.
Xiao Yichen reminded her, "Why don't you take care of your hands first? Otherwise, Jingxi will feel sorry for you if she sees them."
Huo Shenyan then slowly raised his hand. The back of his hand was cut when he hit someone earlier, but the blood wasn't all his; it mostly came from the person he had hit.
Although he had never been in a physical fight, he knew how to keep his distance.