Qiao An put the phone back into Huo Xiaoran’s pocket, then patted Huo Xiaoran’s head and instructed, “Huo Xiaoran, I still have an emergency at home. Sit here obediently and wait for Huo Zhou to pick you up. Do you hear me?”

Huo Xiaoran looked at Qiao An in a daze. “Oh.”

Qiao An hadn’t expected him to still have some semblance of consciousness after drinking so much. He wasn’t so drunk that he was unconscious. She almost suspected this wasn’t the first time in his life he’d been drinking.

“Then I’ll leave.” She left Huo Xiaoran behind and turned to leave.

Huo Xiaoran stood up shakily and staggered after her.

The long sidewalk was dimly lit. Qiao An’s figure was reflected in the mottled flagstones, elongated and slanted by the streetlights.

At some point, a small sedan began to move at a slow, even pace, following Qiao An at a discreet distance.

After Qiao An had taken a straight section of sidewalk, it began to curve. She disappeared straight ahead.

At the same time, the car suddenly accelerated and turned in Qiao An’s direction.

Qiao An finally sensed the car following her. It brought back a sudden memory of the car accident three years ago.

The car was clearly driving normally at first, but when it approached her, it suddenly bumped into her.

At that moment, every cell in her body was on high alert. She ran as fast as she could against the other side of the pavement.

She ran as fast as she could, but the car suddenly stopped by the roadside. A few tall men rushed out. They were wearing black balaclavas and running towards Qiao An.

“Help,” Qiao An screamed shrilly.

For some reason, she actually had a hint of hope at this moment, hoping that Huo Xiaoran would hear her cry for help and come to save her.

But she sobered quickly.

Perhaps this disaster was instigated by Huo Xiaoran. After all, only Huo Xiaoran knew her whereabouts, right? Did she actually intend to ask the murderer for help?

She was too weak to outrun the men. Soon she was stopped by them.

Qiao An was scared to death, but she fought to stay calm. She fumbled in her purse for the pepper spray. She’d learned to protect herself after she’d been in danger three years ago. She carried the pepper spray with her.

Because of her spray, the men did not dare to approach her.

But the spray capacity was limited, and the nozzle could not be pressed quickly. The men laughed lewdly.

“Little beauty, stop resisting. Let us dote on you.”

Qiao An was unwilling to be a lamb to the slaughter. She tried to break out of the encirclement, but a man slammed her to the ground.

“Ah.” Qiao An gritted her teeth in pain.

The man reached out to touch her face, but Qiao An opened her mouth and bit his arm fiercely. She wanted to leave evidence for this person so that she could investigate his identity in the future.

But the move infuriated the man. He kicked her hard in the stomach, then pulled a bright knife out of nowhere and was about to cut Qiao An.

Qiao An stared straight into his eyes. She was sure these men were trying to take her life.

Qiao An rolled to the ground. The man’s knife missed.

But the man closest to Qiao An suddenly took out a knife and slashed at her.

Qiao An wanted to escape, but the man was in front of her. She was in despair, thinking that she would die here today.

Just as Qiao An closed her eyes and waited for death, she suddenly heard the man howl in pain.

Qiao An opened her eyes and saw Huo Xiaoran reaching out to pull her. “An’an, come here.” His eyes revealed an extremely nervous and worried expression.

Qiao An, however, was dumbfounded. What plot was he playing now?

When the thugs saw Huo Xiaoran, they all pulled out their weapons. They waved them at Qiao An, and Huo Xiaoran grabbed Qiao An’s collar and pulled her in front of him. Qiao An slid past the tip of the man’s knife.

In the next moment, Qiao An realized that she was already hiding behind Huo Xiaoran. Huo Xiaoran had practiced Taekwondo since he was young, and he was focused on protecting Qiao An, so his attacks were fast and ruthless. However, he had drunk, so his accuracy when beating people up was not high enough.

Qiao An was surprised and shocked. She did not understand why Huo Xiaoran wanted to save her.

At that moment, many thoughts that were close to the truth emerged. But Qiao An suppressed them.

Perhaps this was a good show directed by Huo Xiaoran to dispel her doubts about him. With this in mind, Qiao An was no longer worried about Huo Xiaoran’s safety.

She felt that they were merely acting. There would be no bloody sacrifice. Until someone’s knife slid past Huo Xiaoran’s arm and blood instantly dyed his white shirt red.

Qiao An was completely dumbfounded.

Wasn’t this too realistic? She could no longer watch calmly. She began to worry about Huo Xiaoran’s safety.

Then, something terrifying happened. Those men seemed to have come with a mission. They were in no mood to tangle with Huo Xiaoran, so one or two men targeted Qiao An.

They quickly dispersed, and Huo Xiaoran was entangled by the other thugs. Then, one of them took advantage of his carelessness and stabbed his bright knife at Qiao An at lightning speed.

Huo Xiaoran moved and pushed Qiao An away, but the dagger stabbed into his left chest.

Qiao An’s eyes widened in horror…

“Huo Xiaoran,” she called.

When the thug heard the drunkard’s name, he was clearly stunned. Then he got into the car and ran away.

Huo Xiaoran covered his bleeding wound, but he smiled like a child. “An’an, are you alright?”

Seeing that he was about to collapse, Qiao An quickly stepped forward and Huo Xiaoran fell onto Qiao An.

“Xiaoran.” Qiao An looked at Huo Xiaoran’s closed eyes and increasingly pale face. She felt so flustered.

At that moment, she knew what she was thinking. She didn’t want Huo Xiaoran to die. She wanted him to live well.

Even if he did something wrong, she wanted him alive. Because she couldn’t afford his death.

“Brother Xiaoran… Hang in there.”

Qiao An cried as she called Lu Mo.

She didn’t want to leave Huo Xiaoran with Lu Mo, but she knew better than anyone that the only person who could save Huo Xiaoran at this moment was Lu Mo.

Lu Mo didn’t disappoint Qiao An. She arranged for an ambulance and a medical team to take Huo Xiaoran away as quickly as possible.

As for Qiao An, Lu Mo couldn’t see her injuries. Instead, she slapped her hard and scolded, “Qiao An, I warned you not to approach my fiancé. Why didn’t you listen?”

Qiao An was worried about Huo Xiaoran’s injuries. She begged Lu Mo, “Dr. Lu, if you want to settle scores with me, you can do it anytime. Now, let me go and see Huo Xiaoran. He was injured because he saved me… I just need to make sure that he’s safe and I’ll leave.”