"See? He's just a cowardly, incompetent loser."
Inside the Maserati parked not far from the apartment entrance, Su Yanran, who was sitting in the driver's seat, snorted through her nose. "All he can do is get pathetically bullied!"
"And you still want to marry him?" Su Yanran tilted her head, sizing up Lin Qingyue. "A swan can't fall in love with an ugly duckling, and a princess only marries a prince, not a pauper!"
"We can't just stand by and watch."
Seeing Qin Lin surrounded by several burly men, Lin Qingyue felt bound by their engagement. After a moment's hesitation, she pushed open the car door and rushed out. "Stop it!"
"And who the hell are you?"
The burly man who was about to beat up Qin Lin glanced back at Lin Qingyue. With a ferocious expression, he shoved her away. "Get lost!"
"Ah!"
"Qingyue!"
Following Lin Qingyue and Su Yanran's cries of alarm, Lin Qingyue lost her footing from the push and stumbled, toppling face-first toward the shrubbery. If she had fallen headfirst into the bushes, the impact would have disfigured her on the spot!
"Be careful!"
At the critical moment, Qin Lin took a sudden step forward, extending his arms in front of Lin Qingyue and catching her falling body.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?"
As Qin Lin helped Lin Qingyue to her feet, their eyes met and they spoke at the same time.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Ahem, Qingyue!" Su Yanran's expression turned sour at the scene. She quickly pulled Lin Qingyue toward her. "Are you crazy? Do you realize you would have been disfigured if you'd actually fallen just now?"
"But I'm fine, aren't I?" Lin Qingyue gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She hadn't expected the burly man to actually push her so hard.
"Where did you two ladies come from?" The lead thug's cold gaze swept over Su Yanran and Lin Qingyue. "Scram. This has nothing to do with you, so don't go looking for a beating."
"How dare you speak to us like that?" As the proud young mistress of the Su Family, Su Yanran's elegant brows shot up. "Do you have any idea who she is? This is Lin Qingyue of the Lin Family from Hangcheng!"
"Lin Qingyue?" Upon hearing the name, Qin Lin was startled. He subconsciously glanced at Lin Qingyue. Isn't she my second fiancée?
"Mhm." After meeting Qin Lin's gaze for a fleeting moment, Lin Qingyue's pretty face flushed red, and she lowered her head.
"This has nothing to do with you two! Block them and get him!" Although he didn't dare offend Lin Qingyue and Su Yanran, the burly man wasn't about to let Qin Lin go. He waved at his two subordinates, ordering them to hold back the women, and then charged ferociously at Qin Lin himself!
"He's completely done for now. It's not that we won't help him; it's just that my bodyguards aren't here." Waiting to see Qin Lin get beaten, and hoping this would be a wake-up call for her friend, Su Yanran snorted. "Qingyue, be sensible and just call off the engagement. He can't even protect himself, so how is he supposed to protect you in the future?"
"No, Yanran." While Su Yanran was muttering bad things about Qin Lin, Lin Qingyue's eyes suddenly went wide. "He… he's very skilled."
"Nonsense. He was beaten black and blue on the plane. It was pathetic. I've seen the security footage."
"No, just look for yourself."
"What?"
Prompted by Lin Qingyue's astonished gaze, a perplexed Su Yanran turned to look. She hadn't expected much, but what she saw left her completely stunned.
"How is this possible?"
Covering her agape, crimson mouth in shock, Su Yanran was utterly floored. She watched as the burly man knelt on the ground, his face contorted in agony while Qin Lin held his fist in an unbreakable grip.
"You're at the Mid-stage of Inner Strength." The thug, who was at the Early-stage of Inner Strength, grimaced in pain. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he looked at Qin Lin in terror. "Brother, my mistake. I failed to recognize a great man. Please, take this fifty thousand as my apology."
"I swear, I'll never trouble you again!" Cursing Shen Zhao to death in his heart, the burly man pleaded with Qin Lin, "Brother, this is the first time I've ever done something like this. Please, just let me go."
"Get lost."
Lacking experience in handling such matters and not wanting to be too harsh in front of Su Yanran and Lin Qingyue, Qin Lin glanced at the fifty thousand yuan the man offered and released his fist.
"Thanks, brother."
The burly man scrambled to his feet and, along with his equally battered underlings, made a hasty and pathetic retreat.
"So… would you two like to come up to my place?" In front of the apartment entrance, Qin Lin looked awkwardly at his two fiancées. Due to his unique constitution, he felt a powerful pull towards them. According to the memories from his inheritance, he knew he had to obtain their core sorcery. At this moment, however, he had no idea how to make the two women submit to him willingly.
"No need, we were just passing by." Su Yanran, who had intended to mock Qin Lin, now realized her plan had backfired spectacularly. She quickly grabbed Lin Qingyue's arm. "You're on your own. We're leaving."
Watching Su Yanran's Maserati speed away, Qin Lin shook his head with a resigned sigh. I'll have to take it slow. The most important thing now is to improve my own strength first. He knew that subduing the proud Su Yanran, who clearly held a grudge against him, would be no easy task.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
Just as Qin Lin got back to his rental apartment and started packing his things, a rapid knocking suddenly echoed from his door.
CREAK.
Opening the door, Qin Lin was puzzled to see Su Yanran standing there, having come back.
"What are you doing here?"