Chapter 365 - Ambush

Chapter 365: Chapter 372 AmbushLi Yifei and the others were already in the car by then, with Xu Yingying driving. Li Yifei helped Xu Shanshan into the back seat, and without knowing whether she was truly drunk or pretending, Shanshan suddenly pulled Li Yifei to the back with her.

Li Yifei had no choice but to sit in the back with Xu Shanshan, who then leaned against Li Yifei’s legs, pouting and saying, "Brother-in-law, my head hurts so much, rub it for me, will you?"

Xu Yingying turned her head and frowned, saying, "Sit properly. You’re such a big girl, lying on your brother-in-law’s legs, what would that look like?"

With a grin, Xu Shanshan replied, "I helped you get your husband, can’t you lend him to me for a bit? You’re such a miser."

"You..." Xu Yingying suddenly choked on her words and glanced at Li Yifei with a bit of guilt. Being with Li Yifei, she always felt as if she had tricked him into being with her.

Li Yifei was also inwardly troubled, but at this time, if he acted prudish, it would only make Xu Yingying overthink. He said with a smile, "Alright, since Shanshan drank so much, don’t scold her. I’ll rub her head; you just focus on driving."

Xu Shanshan immediately said, "Brother-in-law’s the best," and then closed her eyes contentedly.

Seeing that Xu Shanshan was behaving, Xu Yingying didn’t say anything else. She started the car and glanced at them in the rearview mirror from time to time. Seeing Li Yifei rubbing Shanshan’s head in a proper manner, she stopped worrying and with a furrowed brow, said, "That person just now seemed like Song Ziqiao. Wasn’t his position as Deputy County Head taken away? How come he showed up here again?"

While rubbing Xu Shanshan’s head, Li Yifei said indifferently, "Who knows why he’s here again."

Xu Yingying expressed her concern, "You still need to be careful. The look in his eyes just now was quite vicious; I think he’s out for revenge against you."

Xu Shanshan immediately opened her eyes, excitedly saying, "Brother-in-law, so you actually have enemies seeking revenge on you? That’s so exciting."

Xu Yingying said seriously, "Shanshan, this Song Ziqiao is no small fry. He has a strong background in the province, used to be the Deputy County Head here, and now he’s been taken down because of your brother-in-law, so he’s certainly not going to let it go easily. It’s not something to be excited about."

Li Yifei’s eyes narrowed slightly, "Don’t worry, he can’t really do anything to me."

Xu Yingying, looking through the rearview mirror, saw Li Yifei’s calm and composed expression. Suddenly, she felt that Li Yifei was truly out of the ordinary. Faced with such a situation, most people would be somewhat panicked, but knowing Song Ziqiao’s background, Li Yifei remained unflustered. His composure gave her a strong sense of security. Having such a husband was indeed a blessing.

Thinking this, Xu Yingying’s cheeks suddenly flushed. Li Yifei was now her real husband, and last night the two of them were so affectionate. But because of the bleeding, things were rather unsatisfactory. She could feel that Li Yifei had been very careful all along. Now that he had figured out what happened, tonight Li Yifei was probably going to...

On the surface, Li Yifei did not take Song Ziqiao seriously, but in his heart, he did not look down on Song Ziqiao at all. As a former super-special soldier, Li Yifei was well aware that underestimating any enemy could lead to severe consequences. Although he had not experienced it personally, he had seen too many such examples.

No, he had indeed experienced it personally. Meng Xiaofei, who seemed as harmless as a person-cattle combo, had hit his vital points. If she had been an enemy, Li Yifei would have probably lost his life. There was also Xu Shanshan, this little aunt who had plotted so well that he hadn’t been on guard at all, and now he had ended up as Xu Yingying’s husband.

Furthermore, if Song Ziqiao straightforwardly sought someone to deal with him, Li Yifei wouldn’t fear a bit. However, he was worried that Song Ziqiao might resort to scheming or target someone close to him, which would be very troublesome to deal with.

Xu Yingying and Xu Shanshan were fine since they were always with him, and he wasn’t too worried about Ye Yunzhu either, as her background was also quite strong and she was a Township Chief. Song Ziqiao probably wouldn’t dare to act rashly against her. But Su Yiyi was in school, and if someone targeted her, it would be very easy to do so. Therefore, he really needed to take care of Su Yiyi’s safety for a while.

Suddenly feeling a burst of heat in his palm, Li Yifei’s thoughts returned to reality. The first thing he saw was Xu Yingying’s furious glare at him from the rearview mirror. Looking down, he immediately felt a bit embarrassed; his hand was no longer rubbing Xu Shanshan’s forehead but was now on her cheek.

Xu Shanshan must be pretending to sleep; otherwise, her breath wouldn’t feel so hot.

Hastily, he moved his hand back to Xu Shanshan’s forehead and said awkwardly, "I was just thinking about something else just now."

Xu Yingying, adept in psychology, had seen Li Yifei’s hand move to her sister’s face, and his gaze seemed distracted as if he were deep in thought. Though she felt a bit uncomfortable, she didn’t blame Li Yifei and playfully said, "We’re home now, aren’t you getting out?"

Li Yifei hurriedly carried the still ’sleeping’ Xu Shanshan out of the car, and she played her part convincingly, limp as if truly unconscious, letting Li Yifei handle her as he pleased.

However, when Xu Yingying wasn’t paying attention, Xu Shanshan pinched Li Yifei’s shoulder a few times. Li Yifei could only pretend to be unaware of it.

Back at home, Li Yifei carried Xu Shanshan to her bedroom, placed her on the bed, and then left her room.

After freshening up, Li Yifei and Xu Yingying both returned to their bedroom, each wearing thin pajamas. Such a scene had occurred countless times between them, to the point that Xu Yingying didn’t even think much of it anymore. But today, Xu Yingying felt somewhat shy.

Normally, before bed, she would work on her laptop for a while, but today she didn’t have the mindset for it at all and went straight to bed, not daring to look directly at Li Yifei.

Li Yifei had let go of his inhibitions, turned off the main light, leaving only the bedside lamp on, and lay down beside Xu Yingying. With an outstretched arm, he reached under her neck and pulled her into his embrace.

Xu Yingying snuggled into Li Yifei’s arms, her heart racing uncontrollably.

Li Yifei caressed her hair and did not speak. Then his hand slowly moved down, stroking Xu Yingying’s back.

Xu Yingying, tasting the flavor of romance for the first time, suddenly felt weak and her breath turned hot, but she still bit her lip and looked up at Li Yifei, "Yifei, us being together like this... don’t you feel wronged?"

Li Yifei’s hand stopped, and he said with a smile, "Why should I feel wronged?"

"Us being together, it started with my mom deceiving you about being ill to get you to register our marriage, and then Shanshan tricked you into thinking you’d been intimate with me. I’m afraid you might think our family forced you into this relationship."

Li Yifei chuckled and said, "Well, I’d say I hit a jackpot. People usually need a house and a car when they marry, but look at me, no house, no car, and yet I managed to get a wife, a house, a car - everything. It’s like I’ve skipped decades of struggle."

Xu Yingying still worried, said, "I know you’re capable of making money, you just don’t care about these things. I’m just afraid you have some misgivings. Do you really have no misgivings now?"

Li Yifei suddenly rolled over, pinning Xu Yingying beneath him, "I do have a misgiving right now, and it’s that I haven’t loved my wife properly yet."

"Ah..." Xu Shanshan let out a low cry, but before she could finish, Li Yifei’s lips had sealed hers.

That night, Xu Yingying truly understood what a strong man could give to a woman. She felt as if her soul had left her body, realizing why the emotional bond deepens once a couple shares a bed.

"Ah, I didn’t use contraception." Passion spent, both exhausted, Xu Yingying suddenly exclaimed softly, a nervous look in her eyes towards Li Yifei.

Li Yifei chuckled and said, "No contraception, no problem. If you’re pregnant, we’ll have the baby."

"But... haven’t you not considered having children just yet?"

"Before, we weren’t truly husband and wife, so naturally there was some psychological pressure to have a child. But now that we’re truly husband and wife, having a child is perfectly normal."

"Ah no, that won’t do. You still haven’t quit smoking, and if you got pregnant, it could affect the baby’s health. Plus, you drank so much tonight; this is definitely not the time to have a baby."

Li Yifei broke into a sweat. These were the excuses he had used to fend off Xu Yingying before, and now she was throwing them right back at him. He smiled and asked, "What should we do then?"

"Well... you’ve finished inside, so hurry up and go buy emergency contraception."

"It’s so late, you wouldn’t have me go out and buy it now, would you?"

"Please, darling, go buy it. I really can’t get pregnant now. If I did, I couldn’t bear to have an abortion, and we’d regret it forever if the child had any health issues."

Li Yifei gave a resigned smile, "Alright, I’ll go buy it now."

Xu Yingying kissed Li Yifei on the face and gave him a sweet smile, "Okay, hurry up."

Having no choice, Li Yifei got up, dressed, and left the house.

Contraception is always available at pharmacies; Li Yifei remembered there was one nearby, so he didn’t bother taking the car and simply walked there to buy it.

The pharmacy was open twenty-four hours, but to Li Yifei’s frustration, while it did carry contraception, it didn’t have the morning-after pill, necessitating a visit to another store.

Who would have thought that after visiting several stores, he still couldn’t find it, and by now Li Yifei had walked quite a distance. Going back for his car would have been too troublesome. Then he spotted a sex shop in a small alley and figured it might have what he needed, so he went in to ask.

They did have it, so Li Yifei bought a box, and also picked up some condoms. Although he didn’t like using them, they were necessary since it wasn’t the right time for them to have a child.

Just as he was walking out with his purchases, Li Yifei saw two police cars rushing over. A bunch of officers jumped out and stopped in front of a shop, one of whom was Lin Qiong.

Lin Qiong, still a station head at that moment with her promotion not yet finalized, stood by the car and ordered sternly, "Old Li, Little Liu, you two cover the back. Everyone else, follow me inside."

Two officers quickly moved to the rear while Lin Qiong led the rest of the police into the shop. Even though Li Yifei was close by, Lin Qiong didn’t notice him.

Noises burst from inside, but they soon quieted down, casting an eerie silence, accompanied by the smell of blood drifting from the shop. Alarmed, Li Yifei dashed inside in a flash, certain that something had befallen Lin Qiong...

Lin Qiong was on duty tonight and received a report just after ten o’clock, saying that a group of people were gambling here.

In a world full of mahjong parlors, such places are generally ignored by authorities. Although gambling is illegal, those playing in mahjong parlors tend to gamble only small amounts, making it more of a form of entertainment, so the police station often turns a blind eye unless someone reports it.

However, the tipoff today mentioned high stakes gambling, which Lin Qiong could not ignore. Thus, she purposely brought six police officers along to handle the situation.

Raiding a gambling operation is typically unremarkable work; culprits are usually fined and the gambling funds confiscated without much resistance. So, Lin Qiong and her team were fairly relaxed, not even carrying guns as they covered the front and back doors, intent on preventing escapes.

But once Lin Qiong led her team inside, they were caught off guard. The six men inside turned out to be experts— in an instant, they had knocked them all down, with two officers suffering head injuries, bleeding profusely.

At that moment, Lin Qiong found herself cornered by two strong men, shock filling her heart as she shouted angrily, "You dare assault a police officer!"

One of the brutes sat at the mahjong table, fiddling with a delicate dagger, while holding an apple in his other hand. The tip of the dagger rested on the apple, which was rapidly spinning in his hand, and within seconds, the apple peel was neatly sliced off. After taking a bite, he finally said, "Officer Lin, do you think we dare not?"

Even more alarmed, Lin Qiong suddenly realized who the man was and exclaimed, "You’re Qian Wanwei!"

The man was indeed Qian Wanjun’s brother, Qian Wanwei. Throwing the dagger and apple on the table, he clapped his hands and chuckled, "Police are indeed sharp; you’ve identified me so quickly."

Lin Qiong immediately retorted, "You’ve got some nerve, kidnapping a felon like that!"

"Ha ha... Thank you for the compliment, Officer Lin!" Qian Wanwei stood up and approached Lin Qiong.

The two men cornering Lin Qiong stepped aside at this point.

Clenching her fists tightly, Lin Qiong’s thoughts flashed back to the pitiable state of her four colleagues. Facing such a vicious criminal, she felt not fear, but an overwhelming rage, and gritting her teeth, she vowed, "Qian Wanwei, you deranged bastard, I will catch you!"

"Ha... Officer Lin, since you dared to go undercover at my brother’s place and bust his operation, I believe you have the guts. But unfortunately, you won’t have that chance," he replied with a smirk.

"If you want to kill me, then you’ll have to see if you have the skill," Lin Qiong said, regulating her breath. She sensed the strength of these men; except for Qian Wanjun, any of them would be a match for her, and with Qian Wanjun as their leader, his skills were surely even greater.

Lin Qiong was not fearless but was so consumed by anger that she disregarded her own life. At that moment, all she wanted was to take Qian Wanjun down and bring him to justice. She had to prepare herself to be at her strongest, for all her colleagues had been defeated, and if she couldn’t subdue these criminals now, her colleagues would meet the same fate as the other four officers.

"It appears Officer Lin wishes to test my skills. To ensure you die with your eyes closed, I’ll give you a chance. If you can force me back even half a step, I’ll let you go," he taunted.

Feeling deeply disrespected, Lin Qiong roared with fury and thrust a fierce punch toward Qian Wanwei’s chest.

With casual ease, Qian Wanjun raised his left hand and blocked Lin Qiong’s punch, producing a crisp sound.

Lin Qiong had gathered her full strength for that punch, while Qian Wanwei had merely lifted his palm casually, not even directly facing her fist. Logically, her punch should have pushed his hand against his chest.

But when Lin Qiong’s fist hit Qian Wanwei’s palm, it was as if it had been frozen in place. His palm didn’t move back an inch, and her fist felt like it struck an iron plate, her own hand bones seemingly shattered upon impact.

Alarmed, Lin Qiong knew Qian Wanwei was strong, but she hadn’t anticipated this level of power. She tried to withdraw her fist, but with a clasp of his hand, Qian Wanwei had caught it in his palm, rendering all her efforts futile.

"Not bad at all. I really didn’t expect Officer Lin’s palm to be so smooth. I thought with your training, it would be rougher," he sneered, "but now, I suddenly don’t feel like killing you right away. I plan to enjoy this a bit; it would be a pity to kill a beautiful police officer like you too swiftly."

While speaking, he pulled his hand inwards, and Lin Qiong found herself involuntarily falling into Qian Wanwei’s embrace.

At this moment, Lin Qiong’s eyes split with rage. In her current predicament, she knew escape was unlikely, yet she couldn’t bear the thought of being insulted by this brute before her death. However, in the face of Qian Wanwei, she felt utterly powerless to resist.

As she was about to fall into the enemy’s clutches, Lin Qiong felt the depths of despair, and yet she was helpless to change her fate.

But just as she was about to be embraced by the man, Qian Wanwei’s body suddenly recoiled back, releasing Lin Qiong. Stumbling backwards, she looked up in confusion at what had caused Qian Wanwei to retreat, only to see not him, but the tall figure of another person.

"The mysterious person!" Lin Qiong cried out in surprise and delight. The figure’s silhouette belonged to the mysterious savior she had hoped for but wasn’t sure would appear. And now, in this dire moment, the mysterious person had indeed arrived.

Meanwhile, Li Yifei couldn’t help but feel how serendipitous the situation was—he had not anticipated that a simple errand to buy some contraceptives would lead him to Lin Qiong, especially during her time of danger.

"Who are you?" Qian Wanwei, standing two meters across from Li Yifei, asked with a glower. The moment Li Yifei had walked in, Qian Wanwei felt an immense pressure, which made him realize that any further indecency toward Lin Qiong would result in injury. So, he wisely pushed Lin Qiong away and retreated.

Li Yifei didn’t respond but turned to Lin Qiong and said, "What a waste of my teaching if you can’t handle even this."

Lin Qiong’s face flushed with embarrassment, but she replied softly, "He’s strong, be careful."

"Strong? He’s nothing more than a flock of pheasants and mongrel dogs."

Though Qian Wanwei resided in J Country, he was a Huaxia person, and Chinese language was his mother tongue. He understood every word Li Yifei said. Li Yifei’s contempt made Qian Wanwei bristle with annoyance. He snorted coldly, "Then I’d like to see just how formidable you are."

With a step forward, Qian Wanwei’s presence surged. Even at Li Yifei’s side, Lin Qiong could feel the tremendous pressure, which alarmed her even more. Now she realized just how formidable Qian Wanwei truly was—far beyond her imagination.

Pulled by the arm, Lin Qiong involuntarily retreated behind Li Yifei, and the oppressive weight on her instantly lifted. Clearly, the mysterious person had taken the brunt of the force for her.

Lin Qiong had always had tremendous faith in this mysterious person, as he had never faced an enemy stronger than he was. Today, however, she felt unnerved, uncertain whether the mysterious person could match up against Qian Wanwei.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Qian Wanwei bellowed and threw a punch straight at Li Yifei’s chest. This punch was devoid of trickery, and while it seemed like a mere straightforward blow, it carried an aura of inevitability, as if dodging would result in being pummeled relentlessly.

Li Yifei’s gaze flickered. Qian Wanjun did possess some skill to merit a place in the Flying Hawk Squad with such strength.

But that was just enough to join the Flying Hawk Squad. To Li Yifei, the squad’s second-in-command, Qian Wanwei was clearly outclassed.

Li Yifei parried with a palm strike from below, meeting Qian Wanwei’s fist head-on, neutralizing the stone-shattering force of the attack as though it were nothing.

Qian Wanwei was shocked, his horror several times greater than Lin Qiong’s. While Lin Qiong was aware of her own strength, she also knew it wasn’t overwhelming—slightly stronger than an average man’s—so when Qian Wanwei intercepted her attack, she could only recognize his strength.

Qian Wanwei, however, knew his own power intimately. Within the entire Yamaguchi group, fewer than ten people could withstand his punch, and even they wouldn’t do it with ease.

Not only had Li Yifei caught his punch, but he had done so with such ease that it signified Li Yifei must be stronger than the most formidable fighters within the Yamaguchi group—Qian Wanwei could not help but be astounded.

Eager to retreat, Qian Wanwei realized he stood no chance—the few men at his side would be no match for this plain-looking opponent. No longer was he contemplating how to kill Lin Qiong, but instead, he was focused on escaping.

Unfortunately for him, Li Yifei gave him no opportunity. Li Yifei grasped, already seizing Qian Wanwei’s fist.

Qian Wanwei was not Lin Qiong; he knew that being pulled in meant certain defeat. He quickly diffused all power from his right arm, a risky and startling tactic—had Li Yifei applied even the slightest force at that moment, Qian Wanwei’s arm would have broken. But this was his trump card, a momentary scare to gain an instant’s advantage. With his left hand, he extended a shining dagger, stabbing towards Li Yifei’s abdomen.