Chapter 152: Fell Into Her Hands

Glass shards splattered across the ground, the chilled wine spread out, mixing with the surrounding murky air, but in an instant, the whole place fell silent.

The man rose and strode over, his aura wrapped in cold, hard malice, his icy gaze sweeping the few thugs still frozen in place, his tone as cold as forged ice, "Get out."

The thugs, soft‑hearted bullies who feared the strong, were intimidated by Gu Yunci's imposing presence and his fine attire, realizing they could not provoke him; they fell silent and fled in a panicked scramble.

In the spot, only Bai Cixian remained, her clothes in disarray, both hands tightly covering her face.

Even though she covered herself tightly, the snarling, twisted scars still mercilessly spanned her small face.

The glaring crowd that gathered to watch the spectacle recoiled in fright as soon as they got close.

"Ah, it's so ugly!"

Hearing that, Bai Cixian picked up a white gauze scarf from the ground, covered her face with it, and began to sob bitterly.

Gu Yunci stood there, his cold, hard cheek showing no pity, simply taking off his suit jacket and tossing it over her, covering her ruined visage and the disheveled, exposed body.

His action was cold and distant, clearly unwilling to tolerate vile bullying, giving her a dignified appearance.

Meng Shutang stood at the doorway, unable to see the expression on his face.

She only saw someone bullying Bai Cixian, and Gu Yunci beside her could not stand by, stepping forward to protect her.

That was not all; he also removed his jacket to hide her disgrace.

It felt as if an invisible hand had seized her heart tightly, a dense, dull pain spreading, sourness and disappointment rising to her throat, leaving her almost breathless.

"No matter what she becomes, no matter what she does, you will still protect her!"

She stood in the doorway's shadow, her eyes reddened, yet stubbornly refusing to let tears fall, turned and embraced Chen Man, "Manman, we're leaving."

The wind swept past the street corner, carrying a faint, extremely familiar scent.

Gu Yunci's heart suddenly jolted, as if lightly pricked by something.

He turned, but saw nothing.

Yet in that instant, a strong illusion rose in his heart: Meng Shutang was here, not far from him.

He turned to go outside to find her, but his leg was suddenly yanked hard by an unseen force.

"Yunci brother…"

Gu Yunci lowered his eyes, seeing Bai Cixian lying on the ground, sobbing so violently she could not utter a single complete sentence.

She cried, her whole body trembling, her shoulders jerking.

Grasping his hand, she indeed used up all her strength.

Gu Yunci watched coldly, fully understanding the pain of falling from the clouds into mud, having one's dignity crushed.

It was Huo Yanchen, standing nearby, who could not bear it, bending to pull her up.

Gu Yunci looked at him, "When did you return?"

Huo Yanchen slipped his phone back into his bag, "I've been here for a while."

Gu Yunci's brows furrowed slightly, "Did you just now… see Tang Tang?"

Huo Yanchen sneered coldly, "Did you develop a henpecked syndrome? In a place like this, how could she possibly come?"

Gu Yunci replied lightly, "That's true as well."

He turned to leave, but Bai Cixian suddenly lunged forward, clutching him tightly.

She dared not let him see her scarred, grotesquely ugly face, burying her head like an ostrich against his chest.

"Yunci brother, I truly regret it, regret that I once pushed you away with my own hands.

I thought you would stand there forever waiting for me, thought we still had a future, thought you would never belong to anyone else.

But I never imagined that a single capricious turn would make you give all your affection to Meng Shutang.

Had I known that pushing you away would cause me to lose you completely.

Even death, I would never let go of your hand."

Bai Cixian sobbed to the core, utterly heart‑broken, clinging tightly to Gu Yunci, fearing that if she let go, he would vanish.

Gu Yunci's heart always retained a trace of human compassion.

His body twitched slightly, his gaze signaling Huo Yanchen to pull her away.

Huo Yanchen hadn't had time to reach out when Bai Cixian suddenly said, "You saved my life twice; you still have feelings for me, right?"

Gu Yunci abruptly pushed her away with a thud.

Bai Cixian fell to the ground, staring blankly, even forgetting the white gauze covering her face.

"I saved you in the car accident not because you are Bai Cixian, but because you were a life.

If it were anyone else, I would still do it!

This time I acted not because of Bai Cixian, but because I could not stand seeing someone trampled before me.

If it were any woman, I would still do it.

Bai Cixian, what about the idealized "white moonlight," what about an ex‑girlfriend, did I ever like you? Were we ever together?

Some lies, after being repeated enough, you start to believe them yourself, right?"

After speaking, he gave the coat draped over her a cold glance, "Take it off!"

There was no fierceness, no anger, just a calm command.

Bai Cixian froze in place, her complexion as pale as paper, her fingertips gripping the coat tightly, not believing he would be so indifferent to past feelings, "Yunci brother…"

The man reached out.

Bai Cixian's whole body was icy, she hesitated for a few seconds, trembling all over, then took off her clothing and handed it to him.

The man didn't even look, pinching it with two fingers and tossing it straight into the nearby trash can.

"Yanchen, let's go."

Huo Yanchen glanced at Bai Cixian, then left together.

Bai Cixian sank down there, curling her body slightly, sobbing softly.

Suddenly she heard derisive voices around her, as if saying she was climbing a high branch; she stopped crying, pulled her clothes up with a dead‑wood‑like face, and, under the startled gazes of the crowd, staggered to her feet and left.

She left the tavern and walked down the road like a wandering soul, nearly being hit by a car several times.

Some people swerved away, some stopped their cars and came out to scold her.

The insults were all harsh—things like "ugly freak" and "psycho".

Bai Cixian chuckled, spun and danced lightly, as if only a shell remained.

Gu Yunci left the tavern, drove to Qingluju.

From a distance, he saw Meng Shutang and Chen Man standing at the doorway, talking.

Chen Man said, "Since you left the tavern, you've been gloomy. Today I should have finalized the agreement by myself; I shouldn't have let you come over."

In the late‑autumn evening breeze tinged with a thin chill, Meng Shutang stood under the lamp; her waist, not even a palm's width, was made even more lithe by the wind, her figure slender and graceful, and even the hem of her dress, fluttering in the breeze, traced a few captivating curves.

"I'm fine, I'm used to it."

Chen Man, seeing this, voiced another thought in her heart, "You're sulking… I think his act of rescuing wasn't because she's Bai Cixian; he's a person who appears cold outside but warm inside, and today he saved her purely out of humanitarianism."

"But handing over the coat was really excessive; if I were him I'd feel uneasy too."

When the words fell silent, the Rolls‑Royce pulled over to the roadside; the two turned their heads and saw the car door open as a man stepped out.

Chen Man patted Meng Shutang and said, "I'm leaving first."

Meng Shutang watched Chen Man get into the car, bent over to wave goodbye, watched the vehicle slowly merge into traffic, then turned and returned to the courtyard.

Just as she turned, the tall, quiet figure beside her suddenly approached, grasped her wrist and gave a gentle pull, pulling her into his arms.

Inside the Rolls‑Royce beside them, Huo Yanchen, idly playing on his phone, inadvertently caught sight of the scene and immediately flinched.

"I knew he was interested, but I didn't expect him to be this earnest! I, an ice‑cold, woman‑averse domineering boss since childhood, have truly fallen into Miss Meng's hands."