Whoosh—
Ye Qiu charged forward like a wild horse out of control, grabbing Guo Shaocong by the throat in one swift motion.
"Dare to hurt my mother? You're dead meat."
He roared furiously.
Qian Jinglan was the closest person he had in the world. He would never allow anyone to bully her.
Bang!
Guo Shaocong kicked Ye Qiu hard in the stomach, but it didn't budge him. Instead, Ye Qiu's grip was unbelievably strong, draining all strength from Guo Shaocong's body.
"Ye Qiu, have the guts to kill me!" Guo Shaocong snarled.
"You think I wouldn't dare?"
Ye Qiu squeezed tighter. Guo Shaocong's face turned bright red, and he could barely breathe.
Zhang Lili panicked and shouted: "Ye Qiu, let him go, now!"
"Get lost!"
Ye Qiu snapped coldly. In his eyes, Zhang Lili was no better than Guo Shaocong — two of a kind.
"You… you…" Zhang Lili fumed with anxiety. She turned to Qian Jinglan. "Auntie, stop him! If something happens to Shaocong, Ye Qiu will pay with his life!"
Qian Jinglan snapped back to her senses. She grabbed Ye Qiu's arm tightly. "Qiu'er, let Dr. Guo go."
"Mom, he hurt you. I won't let him get away with this." Ye Qiu refused stubbornly.
"Dr. Guo didn't hurt me. I did it willingly. Let him go."
"I won't."
Tears welled up in Qian Jinglan's eyes. "Qiu'er, are you really not listening to me anymore?"
Ye Qiu turned and saw the tears in his mother's eyes. His heart ached, and he finally let go, unwilling as he was.
Cough, cough…
Guo Shaocong coughed violently for a long time before catching his breath. He said darkly:
"Old woman, did you see that? In broad daylight, your son tried to kill me. How can a man like this stay in this hospital?"
Zhang Lili also glared at Ye Qiu angrily. "Ye Qiu, you've gotten bold! Do you think you can afford to offend Shaocong? Apologize to him right now!"
"Apologize my ass." Ye Qiu stared at her coldly. "You know how my mom treated you. Yet you teamed up with him to bully her today. Are you even human?"
"I didn't bully Auntie. Ask her yourself!"
Qian Jinglan tried to smooth things over. "Qiu'er, Lili didn't hurt me. I knelt down on my own."
"Mom…"
"See? I didn't do anything. She knelt by choice," Guo Shaocong said. "You dared to lay hands on me. This isn't over."
Ye Qiu was about to speak when Qian Jinglan pulled him behind her.
"Dr. Guo, I'm so sorry! Ye Qiu didn't know what happened. He thought I was being wronged, so he lost his temper. Please forgive him."
She pulled a thousand yuan from her pocket, bent low, and held it out humbly.
"This is a small token of my apology. Consider it compensation for your distress."
Slap!
Guo Shaocong slapped Qian Jinglan across the face.
"Dr. Guo, I…"
Slap!
Another crisp slap rang out.
"This little? You think this is enough for a beggar?"
Guo Shaocong stood tall and arrogant. "Old woman, let me tell you — even if you gave me a million, I still won't let your son go."
"You hit my mother? You're really asking for death!"
Ye Qiu clenched his fists, burning with rage, and tried to rush at Guo Shaocong.
"Qiu'er, stop this nonsense!" Qian Jinglan held his arm tightly.
"Mom, this bastard has gone too far! He dared to hurt you right in front of me. Today I —"
"Shut up!" Qian Jinglan snapped at him sternly. Then she forced a smile at Guo Shaocong.
"Dr. Guo, I'm truly sorry. I'll talk to him when we get home. I'll bring him to apologize to you another day."
Qian Jinglan felt deeply humiliated, but for Ye Qiu's future, she could bear anything.
Afraid Ye Qiu would act impulsively again, she dragged him hard, trying to leave quickly.
But just as mother and son turned around, Guo Shaocong grabbed a brick from the flower bed nearby.
Taking them by surprise, he smashed it hard against Ye Qiu's back.
Crack!
The brick shattered into two pieces.
Guo Shaocong stared dumbfounded. Is this guy made of steel? Why isn't he hurt at all?
Ye Qiu, however, was consumed by fury. Guo Shaocong had attacked with murderous intent. If that brick had hit his skull, he might have died.
In that instant, Lin Jingzhi's words flashed through his mind:
"Remember this: a man must have a strong, decisive heart to stand firm in this world."
Crack!
Ye Qiu spun around, grabbed Guo Shaocong by the throat at an unbelievable speed, and before the latter could react, slammed him violently onto the ground.
Bang!
Guo Shaocong's head crashed against the concrete, splitting open and bleeding instantly.
Zhang Lili was frozen stiff with terror.
Guo Shaocong was nearly six foot three and weighed two hundred pounds, yet Ye Qiu lifted him as easily as a chick.
How could he be that strong?
Before she could stop him, Ye Qiu said coldly to Guo Shaocong:
"Sister Lin was right. Good people get trampled on, gentle horses get ridden. All my backing down only made you push harder. I remember — it was this hand that hit my mother, wasn't it?"
Ye Qiu fixed his gaze on Guo Shaocong's right hand.
"What are you doing?!" Guo Shaocong roared. "Touch me and you're dead!"
Ye Qiu stomped down hard on Guo Shaocong's palm.
Sharp. Decisive. Brutal.
Crunch!
The sound of bones snapping echoed. Every finger bone in Guo Shaocong's right hand shattered, turning into a bloody mess.
"Aahhh!!!" Guo Shaocong screamed in agony.
"You bullied me, framed me, insulted me, pushed me aside, and even stole Zhang Lili — I could bear all that. But hurting my mother? I will never forgive that."
Ye Qiu grabbed Guo Shaocong by the hair, lifted him up, then kicked him hard in the knee.
Thud!
Guo Shaocong dropped to his knees.
"Apologize to my mother," Ye Qiu said icily.
"Never…"
Slap!
Ye Qiu slapped him across the face. "Apologize."
"Make me apologize to that old hag? Dream on! I'd rather die than say sorry!" Guo Shaocong refused stubbornly.
"So be it. Then I'll cripple you."
Ye Qiu threw two fast punches, breaking both of Guo Shaocong's arms. In the blink of an eye, he delivered two lightning kicks to his kneecaps.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Two sharp cracks — his kneecaps shattered.
"Aahhhh!!!"
Guo Shaocong screamed and struggled to stand, but his limbs were all broken. He couldn't move an inch.
Bang!
Ye Qiu stepped on Guo Shaocong's face and spoke coldly:
"Guo Shaocong. Are you going to apologize or not?"
"Enough, Ye Qiu!" Zhang Lili finally snapped out of her shock and shouted furiously. "You've committed an unforgivable crime. You're going to jail!"
"Jail for hurting someone? What about killing someone?"
Murderous intent flashed across Ye Qiu's face. He lifted his foot from Guo Shaocong's face and pressed it down on his throat.
Then he stomped hard.