"Mr. Chu!"
Li Bin was at the forefront, his pace quickening as he caught a glimpse of Chu Yuxuan in the dim light.
"What happened, Mr. Chu?"
Chu Yuxuan stood up and raised his hand, signaling for silence. "Keep your voice down."
As Li Bin approached, he noticed Chu Yuxuan covered in fresh blood and his eyes widened in shock. "Wh-what... what happened? Mr. Chu, where are you hurt?"
"It's nothing, just a few cuts... Li Bin, help me clean up the scene. If someone comes by later, it won't be good if they see this." Li Bin, panting heavily, looked around and spotted three bodies not far away. His eyes flashed with shock. "Dead... are they dead?" Although Li Bin was a street thug, he was more of a petty criminal and had never dealt with anything like this.
Chu Yuxuan pressed his lips together, remaining silent. Although it was late at night and the occupancy rate in this area wasn't high, there could still be night owls returning home. He didn't want to involve Li Bin and his crew, but time was running short.
"D*mn it, anyone who dares hurt Mr. Chu deserves to die a thousand times!" Li Bin mustered his courage, thinking that if Chu Yuxuan had called him in such a situation, he must have accepted him. He had experienced enough of Chu Yuxuan's prowess to know he wasn't an ordinary person. If he could follow him in the future, it would bring honor to his family.
With this in mind, he waved his hand at his men. "Go, grab those—"
He suddenly stopped, turning to Chu Yuxuan and asking, "Mr. Chu, how should we handle this?"
Chu Yuxuan looked down at the man still alive and asked, "Where's your car?"
"Over there, the door's unlocked, and the keys... the keys are inside."
Chu Yuxuan followed the direction the man pointed, seeing two SUVs and a large van parked nearby.
"Li Bin, have your men bring those three vehicles over, load the bodies inside, and clean up the scene."
Li Bin nodded. "Won't one vehicle be enough..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the pickpocket who had stolen Jin Tianliang's phone suddenly screamed, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground, staring at the elevator in horror.
The others, puzzled, looked toward the elevator.
"Ugh…"
"Aah…"
In an instant, some were screaming, some were vomiting, and some were frozen in fear. None of them could stay calm.
Li Bin's heart raced, his legs turning to jelly. He looked at Chu Yuxuan, trembling with disbelief. "You... you... did this alone?"
Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath, saying seriously, "Li Bin, I didn't want to involve you, but the situation is urgent. Help me out, and I'll make sure you're well-compensated."
Li Bin, never having seen such a gruesome scene, swallowed hard several times before regaining some composure. He stammered, "Al... alright. No, no, no... helping out is no problem at all... Brothers, quick, lend a hand!"
Chu Yuxuan patted his shoulder and said, "Thanks for your help," before taking off his blood-soaked jacket, wiping the blood off his face and neck, and heading upstairs in another elevator.
When he reached his floor, just as he stepped out of the elevator, Zhao Yanan was placing a bag of trash by her door.
Seeing the blood marks on Chu Yuxuan, the icy beauty froze, her expression turning to shock. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally spoke, "What... happened to you?!"
Chu Yuxuan winced internally. Why was she still awake?
Forcing a smile, he replied calmly, "I went to the car to get something and ran into a couple of drunks. We had a fight."
"Did you call the police?"
"No, they got hurt too. We're even."
Zhao Yanan inspected the wounds on Chu Yuxuan, noticing blood dripping from his left hand. The cut on his arm must be deep. After a moment of hesitation, just as she was about to speak, Chu Yuxuan said, "It's late, you should get some sleep. Goodnight."
He smiled at her, then turned and entered his apartment.
As soon as he got inside, Chu Yuxuan stripped off his shirt and washed the blood off his body at the sink. He then grabbed some iodine and bandages, sitting in the living room to dress his wounds.
The two cuts on his chest were shallow and didn't need bandaging. The wound on his left arm was from blocking a knife; luckily, the attacker hadn't had much strength, so it hadn't reached the bone. Tightening the bandage stopped the bleeding, so it wasn't a big deal.
The most bothersome wound was the cut on his back, which wasn't deep but wasn't shallow either. Although it had mostly stopped bleeding, he couldn't reach it himself. He'd have to wait for his brothers to help.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Chu Yuxuan paused. His brothers couldn't have arrived so quickly—it must be Zhao Yanan.
He threw on a shirt and opened the door. As expected, it was Zhao Yanan.
At that moment, Chu Yuxuan was casually dressed in an unbuttoned shirt, his muscular chest faintly visible, his eight-pack abs clearly defined. Combined with his mischievously handsome face, he was the epitome of a dream man for many women.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Yanan couldn't help but look away, her tone cool yet tinged with concern and shyness. "Put on your shirt properly. I'll take you to the hospital."
Chu Yuxuan was somewhat surprised and smirked. "Worried about me?"
Zhao Yanan stiffened, avoiding the sight before her, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Hurry up."
"No need," Chu Yuxuan said with a laugh. "I've already taken care of it."
As he spoke, he shrugged off his shirt, showing his bandaged arm as proof.
Zhao Yanan frowned, her gaze lingering on his well-treated wounds and his bandaged arm. She also noticed several old scars on his body, seemingly from years ago.
"Chu Yuxuan, do you often get into fights? Is that why you keep bandages at home?"
Chu Yuxuan smirked. "My practical skills were highly praised by my teachers in school."
Zhao Yanan: ...
Speechless, she glanced at him and then said, "I noticed you have a wound on your back too. Can you reach it yourself? Do you want help?"
Chu Yuxuan was momentarily stunned, almost thinking he was dreaming. Was this high-and-mighty beauty actually offering to help?
In reality, Zhao Yanan just felt that since Chu Yuxuan had been so thoughtful in helping her with her psychological issues lately, she couldn't just ignore his injuries now.
"Alright, I'll trouble you then." Chu Yuxuan stepped aside to let her in but hesitated, then added, "Yanan, if it's too much for you, you don't have to do it."
Zhao Yanan shook her head lightly and stepped inside.
As Chu Yuxuan walked to the sofa, taking off his shirt, Zhao Yanan couldn't help but stop in her tracks, her eyes widening in disbelief—his back was covered in tattoos!
A sword ran down his spine, flanked by wings, looking eerily lifelike.
Noticing her reaction, Chu Yuxuan smiled faintly. "Does it bother you?"
Zhao Yanan pursed her lips, hesitating before striding over. She picked up the cotton swabs and iodine, carefully tending to his wound.
Only then did she realize his back wasn't smooth like a normal person's; it was lumpy with scars. Upon closer inspection, she found his entire back was covered in them, sending chills down her spine.
Could the tattoos be covering the scars? Were these scars the source of his psychological issues, caused by someone torturing him?
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Zhao Yanan's emotions became complicated. If that were true, then what had he been through?
Sensing her thoughts, Chu Yuxuan calmly said, "Yanan, please don't ask about my past, okay? I'll explain when the time is right."
Zhao Yanan didn't respond, realizing her hands were trembling. She took a deep breath and continued dressing the wound. A few minutes later, the wound was bandaged, but her lack of experience showed—it was a mess.
Chu Yuxuan teased, "If I didn't stop you, you might've wrapped me up like a mummy."
Zhao Yanan washed her hands and left without a word, not even pausing as she returned to her apartment.
She realized she didn't know Chu Yuxuan at all.