57. Come Home with Me
"My big brother's fucking asking you! Where's Long?" the henchman behind the man said again. "He doesn't live here," Ling Ling said in a trembling voice, her eyes carefully scanning the blocked doorway, leaving no opening for her to escape. "Who the hell are you kidding! We saw him go into the garage, and he hasn't left yet!" "No, he really doesn't live here. He went to the garage to change cars, and he's already left," Ling Ling pleaded, hoping they wouldn't find him and would just turn around and leave. But the tattooed leader roared, "Stop the fucking bullshit! Smash it!" Before Ling Ling could react, the crystal ornament in the hallway was slammed to the ground, shattering into pieces. She screamed in fear, clutching her head and trying to flee, but the door was guarded. She fled to the bathroom, locked the door, and blocked the entrance with every movable object. She hid under the sink, shivering like a last dry leaf in the biting wind, helpless and shaky. Yu Chuanbei was working from home when he received a call from Ling Ling, seeking help. Ling Ling had said she was going out with friends, so he stayed home to catch up on the work he'd neglected due to his preoccupation with his relationship. Seeing Ling Ling's call on his phone, he smiled and answered. Just as he was about to offer her sweet nothings, he was interrupted by several gruff male voices. Frowning, he abruptly stood up, grabbed his coat, and, without even changing his shoes, rushed out of the house, driving to the garage. He could tell Ling Ling was calling secretly, so he suppressed his heavy breathing as he ran, daring not to make a sound. He collapsed when he heard her most piercing scream. He hated not being by her side. His hand, clutching the phone, shook with rage and excitement. He tried to start the car, but it didn't work the first time. He closed his eyes, twitching his jaw muscles, forcing himself to calm down. Seconds later, the car was speeding towards Ling Ling's home. Along the way, Yu Chuanbei was on edge. He had to concentrate on driving while listening carefully to the movements of Lingling. After the harsh sound of pushing and pulling wooden cabinets on the other end of the phone, Lingling's voice finally came. "Chuanbei... are you there?" Her voice was trembling and she was sobbing. "Yes, I am! Ling, don't be afraid, you are home, right? I'm rushing to you. I'll be there in half an hour, no, 20 minutes! What's the situation over there?" Yu Chuanbei asked her anxiously. "I don't know... They have been smashing things. Three men. They seem to be here to look for Longjia." Although Lingling was completely frightened, she was still calm. "No, Chuanbei...
"My big brother is asking you! Where is the guy named Long?" the little henchman behind the man said again.
"He doesn't live here." Ling Ling said in a trembling voice, her eyes carefully searching the doorway that they had blocked, leaving no gap for her to escape.
"Who the hell are you kidding! We saw him go into the garage, and he still hasn't come out!"
"No, he really doesn't live here. He went to the garage just to change cars, and he has already left." Ling Ling almost pleaded. She hoped that they would not be able to find him and could just turn around and leave.
But the leader with the flowery arms roared, "Stop the fucking nonsense! Smash it!"
Before Ling Ling could react, the crystal ornaments at the entrance were smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Terrified, she screamed, clutching her head, and tried to flee, but the door was guarded. She fled to the bathroom, locked it, and blocked the entrance with every movable object in the bathroom. She hid under the sink, shivering like a last dry leaf in the bitter cold wind, helpless and shaky.
Yu Chuanbei was working from home when he received Ling Ling's call for help. Ling Ling said she was going out with friends, so he stayed home to catch up on the work he had neglected due to his love affair.
He saw Ling Ling's number on his phone and answered it with a smile. He was about to say sweet words to her when he was interrupted by several gruff male voices. He frowned, stood up abruptly, grabbed his coat, and without even changing his shoes, rushed out of the house and ran to the garage to drive his car.
He could tell Ling Ling was calling secretly, so he suppressed his heavy breathing as he ran, and didn't dare to speak. When he heard her most shrill scream, he completely collapsed. He hated himself for not being by her side. His hand holding the phone trembled with anger and excitement.
He tried to start the car, but it didn't work the first time. He closed his eyes, twitched his jaw muscles, and forced himself to calm down. Seconds later, the car sped towards Ling Ling's house.
Yu Chuanbei was on edge the entire way, trying to concentrate on driving while also listening carefully to Ling Ling's movements. After the shrill sound of a wooden cabinet being pushed and pulled on the other end of the line, Ling Ling's voice finally reached him.
"Chuanbei...are you there?" Her voice trembled and she burst into tears.
"Here, I'm here! Ling, don't be afraid, you are at home, right? I'm on my way to you, half an hour, no, 20 minutes, I'll be there soon! What's the situation over there now?" Yu Chuanbei asked her anxiously.
"I don't know... They kept smashing things. There were three of them, and they seemed to be looking for Long Jia." Ling Ling was completely frightened, but she remained calm. "No, Chuan Bei, don't come over. There are too many of them, and I'm afraid they'll hurt you."
Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Ling Ling was still thinking about him.
"Don't worry, Ling, wait for me, I'll call the police for you now." He took out the spare phone from the drawer of the co-pilot seat, called the police first, and then called Long Jia, asking him to rush to Ling Ling's house.
The house was only a little over fifty square meters, so there wasn't much to smash. The three men even ended up smashing the glass door to the bathroom. Ling Ling covered her mouth, not daring to scream or cry. But the place was so small that through the broken door she could see Ling Ling shivering under the sink.
"This girl is pretty. How about we try her?" The leader with flowery arms gave the two minions a lewd look.
The thin man who had been silent the whole time stopped him and said, "Brother Peng, that guy said he would only demolish the house and not touch the people."
Huabi spat in disappointment and told them to leave.
As Ling Ling heard those words, she imagined all the images of women she had seen being tortured. She was so frightened that she bit the fist against her mouth, drawing blood. She listened to their footsteps as they left, the mechanical creak of the elevator door opening, and it seemed as if they had truly left. Her nerves were on edge, and she didn't dare relax. She didn't know what would happen next. She wished Yu Chuanbei were by her side, but she was terrified he'd run into those thugs. If anything happened to him again, she wouldn't know how to survive.
Maybe it was only ten minutes, but to her, who was so frightened that she was about to lose control, it felt like a century. The elevator door opened again, and hurried and panicked footsteps rushed in.
"Lingling!" It was Yu Chuanbei's voice.
"Kawakita——"
He heard Ling Ling's voice coming from the bathroom. The broken bathroom door was locked. He reached his hand through the broken glass and opened the door. Seeing her huddled in the sink with tears on her face, he dropped the baseball bat he was holding and hugged her tightly in his arms.
She could finally cry in his arms, no longer having to hide her fears. She was grateful to God for giving her this man.
Yu Chuanbei felt that her whole body was cold and her weak body was still shaking.
"It's okay, Ling, I'm here, I will protect you, don't be afraid. Come home with me, I won't let you suffer anymore." He hugged her tightly, giving her body warmth and a sense of security.
Ling Ling sobbed and couldn't speak, she just nodded blindly in his arms. Every day from then on, she just wanted him to be by her side.
Long Jia and the police arrived together. After entering the room, the police briefly asked Yu Chuanbei about the situation, then inspected the scene and said they would wait until Ling Ling calmed down before asking more questions.
Ling Ling tried to calm herself down. She raised her tearful eyes and whispered to Chuan Bei, "I, I can't seem to stand up anymore."
Yu Chuanbei lovingly carried her sideways. Standing in the messy living room, Long Jia had never looked so frightened. He didn't know what to do. Seeing that there wasn't even a good chair to be found, he frantically pulled the ripped scraps of paper and fabric off the sofa and let Ling Ling sit.
Yu Chuanbei put Ling Ling on the sofa and glared at Long Jia with eyes filled with hatred.
"I don't know who you offended outside, you'd better not mean it! Otherwise, I will make you pay double for the shock Lingling suffered today!" Yu Chuanbei said viciously to Long Jia.
Long Jia's bewildered demeanor was filled with guilt. "On my way here, someone warned me. I know who it was—I said the wrong thing online... No, I didn't say anything wrong. I said something I shouldn't have said... I'm sorry, Yu Chuanbei, Ling Ling, I'm sorry."
Yu Chuanbei didn't accept his apology; instead, he grew even angrier. "Young men like you have lived such a comfortable life since childhood that nothing can make you happy anymore, so you upgrade your ways to seek excitement. If you don't turn to hooking up and taking drugs, you turn to entrepreneurial intellectuals. When things don't go well, you hypocritically blame your families of origin. Just by exposing a few pieces of gossip online, you think you can promote social progress. Your ideals and beliefs are so naive! Can you take care of yourself and your family first before worrying about society? What's the value of that little sense of superiority you gain by showing off your online presence? You've even harmed your own friends like this. Can you please finish one good thing first?"
Yu Chuanbei scolded Long Jia harshly, but he didn't say a word in rebuttal. Being scolded like that actually made him feel better.
Ling Ling pulled Yu Chuanbei's sleeve and whispered, "Don't blame Long Jia for what happened today."
Long Jia didn't expect that Ling Ling, who was huddled on the sofa and sobbing with her knees bent, would still speak for her at this moment.
"Lingling, are you okay? They didn't touch you, did they?" Long Jia dared to greet her.
Ling Ling nodded, indicating that she should not worry.
After inspecting the scene, the police came over to find Ling Ling to take a statement, and then asked Yu Chuanbei some usual questions. Then they called Long Jia and went back to the bureau to learn more about the situation.
"Come home with me." Yu Chuanbei held her in his arms and said to her sincerely.
Ling Ling looked around the smashed house blankly, knowing that this was her only choice at the moment, so she let him pick her up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she arrived at Yu Chuanbei's house, Ling Ling had completely calmed down.
He held her hand tightly as they stood in the living room and said, "I just brought you some simple clothes. Before Long Jia left, he said he would tidy up the house tomorrow and then send all your things over. Can you live with me from now on?"
Ling Ling nodded hesitantly. Although she had recovered from the huge shock, she still looked dazed.
Yu Chuanbei held her in his arms lovingly. "We'll live together every day from now on. I will protect you well and make sure you never get hurt like today again. I was so scared today! I was so worried! If anything had happened to you, I really don't know what I would have done. I only regret not insisting that you move in with me."
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