Chapter 85 The Benefactor Who Supported Me Years Ago

Talk?

Zou Xin seemed to have heard the most absurd joke in the world and burst out laughing again, pressing the knife point a little closer.

"Fu Yancheng, so even you have this day!"

"You can talk to me like this too?!"

She panted hard, her gaze fixed viciously on Fu Yancheng's face as she put forward her ludicrous demand: "What do I want? Ha!"

"I want you to announce at once that you and Qiao Xi are ending your relationship, and publicly admit that the one you love is me."

Zou Xin's voice trembled with longing. "I want you to marry me, properly and publicly."

"Let everyone know that I, Zou Xin, am the rightful Mrs. Fu."

"As long as you agree, I'll spare her and the bastard in her belly."

Seeing Fu Yancheng's face darken to the extreme, she felt a sickening sense of satisfaction. "Otherwise..."

Zou Xin bared her teeth in a cruel grin and tightened her wrist slightly, pressing the blade hard against Qiao Xi's skin.

Blood welled up at once, leaving a red line.

"I'll make you watch them die right in front of you!"

Fu Yancheng's eyes turned red. His brows locked tight, his face grim, his entire body radiating a chilling, vicious aura.

He looked at Zou Xin's completely deranged eyes.

Then at Qiao Xi, who, though held hostage, still tried hard to remain composed and gave him a slight shake of the head.

A surge of fury and heartache roared through his chest, nearly swallowing him whole.

But he knew that any provocation now might drive Zou Xin completely out of control.

Fu Yancheng drew a slow breath and forced down the urge surging within him.

He said, "Zou Xin, you know very well that I can never agree to that. Choose another condition."

"Never possible?!"

Zou Xin's emotions flared up again, and she shrieked back, "Then there's nothing left to discuss! Fu Yancheng, you forced my hand!"

As she was about to lose control and drive the knife hard into Qiao Xi's throat—

At that very moment.

With a sharp whoosh.

A tranquilizer dart flew in from behind and struck the wrist that held the knife.

Zou Xin cried out in pain, caught off guard, and her hand loosened uncontrollably.

The gleaming fruit knife clattered to the floor.

She turned back in shock.

In that split second of her distraction—

Fu Yancheng moved.

He lunged toward them instantly, yanked Qiao Xi into his arms, and at the same time drove a savage kick into Zou Xin's abdomen.

"Aah!"

Zou Xin let out a惨叫, her body sent flying backward by the blow. She crashed heavily to the ground and curled into a ball.

Gagging in pain, she could no longer get up.

Fu Yancheng did not even glance at her. He held Qiao Xi tightly in both arms and swiftly retreated to a safe distance.

"Xi Xi!"

He lowered his head, urgently checking her neck, his fingers trembling as they brushed over the red streak, his voice filled with lingering fear.

"Where are you hurt? Does it hurt? Don't be afraid, I'm here, it's okay now..."

Qiao Xi, still shaken, leaned against his solid chest and shook her head.

Her voice still quivered slightly. "Yancheng, I'm fine, it's just a scratch. Don't worry..."

Only after confirming that she was truly unharmed did Fu Yancheng's tightly strung nerves ease a little.

He took a deep breath and shielded her more tightly behind him.

When he looked up again, all the tenderness and concern in his eyes had vanished in an instant, replaced by an almost terrifying ferocity.

His exceptionally cold and savage gaze grew even more indifferent.

Step by step, he walked toward Zou Xin, who was writhing in pain on the ground.

Zhou Ze and the bodyguards rushed forward at once and pinned the utterly unable-to-resist Zou Xin firmly to the floor.

Fu Yancheng stopped in front of her and looked down on her from above.

"Zou Xin."

His voice carried a bone-deep chill. "I gave you a chance."

Fu Yancheng slowly crouched down and met her eyes. "You think you can threaten me with such cheap tricks?"

He reached out and seized Zou Xin by the chin, his grip so strong it seemed ready to crush her bones.

"You laid your hands on my people, and on two lives. Who gave you the nerve? Hmm?"

Zou Xin trembled all over, terrified by the murderous intent in his eyes.

Tears and mucus streamed down her face as she begged incoherently for mercy. "Yancheng..."

"No, President Fu, I was wrong... I won't dare again... please..."

Fu Yancheng's face was as dark as thunder. He flung her away abruptly, as though he had touched something filthy.

He stood up, took the disinfectant wipe Zhou Ze handed him, and slowly wiped the fingers that had just touched her.

"Take her away."

Fu Yancheng gave the order coldly, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Before handing her over to the police, make her spill everything she knows about Madam Zhao's condition, word for word, without missing a single detail."

"Use whatever method you see fit."

"Yes, President Fu!"

Zhou Ze immediately answered.

His expression sharpened as he signaled the bodyguards to drag away the ashen-faced Zou Xin.

Fu Yancheng did not look that way again.

He turned and quickly walked back to Qiao Xi, pulling her into his arms once more.

"I'm sorry, Xi Xi, I was late... I almost..."

Qiao Xi's eyes were slightly red. She hugged him back, patting his back and soothing him softly. "You're not late, Yancheng. You came at exactly the right time."

"I'm fine, and the baby is fine too."

Fu Yancheng held her for a long while before the violence and lingering fear in his heart slowly subsided. He took her hand.

"Let's go home."

His voice was low. "Zhou Ze will take care of the rest."

Fu Yancheng wrapped an arm around Qiao Xi and headed for the waiting motorcade, leaving Zhou Ze and the others to clean up the aftermath.

Inside the car.

Fu Yancheng's taut back finally began to relax.

But his hand around Qiao Xi's remained tight, as though the moment he let go, she might vanish.

His gaze fell on the blood-red scratch on her neck, and his expression darkened once more.

Then Fu Yancheng carefully touched the red mark on Qiao Xi's neck, his voice hoarse with strain. "Does it hurt?"

Qiao Xi shook her head, a wave of bittersweet warmth surging in her chest. "It doesn't hurt. Really, it's just a scratch."

The self-reproach in Fu Yancheng's eyes nearly overflowed.

"It was my negligence... I never thought she'd be crazy enough to this extent, and I never thought she'd use your mother to threaten you... I almost..."

His voice broke, and he could not finish.

Just thinking of how close that knife had come to her carotid artery, just thinking of the child still growing in her womb...

Seeing the look of guilt on Fu Yancheng's face, Qiao Xi's heart ached. She turned his hand over and held it tightly. "Yancheng, look at me."

"You did nothing wrong. You came at exactly the right time. You protected me and the baby. We're both fine now, aren't we?"

She paused, then softened her voice even more. "Besides, I knew you would come. I always believed that."

Fu Yancheng looked at her deeply, at the complete trust and reassurance in her clear eyes, and the tension in his jaw finally eased a little.

He bent down and gathered her into his arms with utmost care, greedily breathing in her scent.

"Xi Xi..."

He called her in a low, rough voice. "I cannot bear even the slightest risk of losing you. Not even a little."

Qiao Xi rested quietly in his embrace.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked in a soft voice, "Yancheng, was the anonymous person who funded my schooling back then... you?"