Cold sweat seeped into Wang Xiaoke’s palms out of nervousness, but her face remained forcibly composed.

The group of men gradually closed in on her. Instinctively, she turned to flee, but her move had been anticipated. She had barely taken two steps back when two more men appeared behind her, blocking her retreat.

As the encirclement grew tighter, Wang Xiaoke’s anxiety started to mount.

“You’d better not come any closer, or I’ll call for help!” she shouted, her voice hoarse with tension.

“There’s no one around here. Even if you scream, it won’t matter,” one of the men sneered, leering at her with a disgusting grin, practically drooling.

“Hurry up, guys! Let’s not waste time. Tie her up, and later we can take turns enjoying her,” the leader barked impatiently.

Just then, a deep, magnetic voice cut through the air. “Aren’t you guys being a little too hasty? You don’t see me standing right here?”

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, stunned.

“Chu Cheng, senior!” Wang Xiaoke exclaimed, surprised to see the familiar face.

Chu Cheng had only approached because he thought the silhouette looked familiar. Hearing Wang Xiaoke call out to him, he was equally surprised. “Xiaoke, it’s you?”

However, this was not the time for a reunion.

The thug leader, irritated, pointed at Chu Cheng and shouted, “You punk! You see us handling business here, and you’re not running away? Are you asking to get beat up?”

Waving his hand, he directed his lackeys, “Take care of him first, boys!”

“You guys are really heartless, huh? Trying to kill me to silence me? I’ll warn you—I’ve already called the police!” Chu Cheng bluffed.

In reality, he hadn’t called the police. He had only come to this remote spot to get some fresh air, never expecting to stumble upon a scene of Wang Xiaoke being cornered by thugs.

As someone with a bit of a chivalrous streak, he couldn’t stand by and let a woman be assaulted right before his eyes. Acting without much thought, he intervened, though he hadn’t anticipated the target would be Wang Xiaoke or that they’d be willing to kill him to cover their tracks.

Chu Cheng’s words didn’t intimidate the thugs. They exchanged glances, coming to an unspoken agreement, and began to encircle him.

“Hey, you’re seriously going through with this?” Chu Cheng asked, his voice slightly shaky.

This was his first time in such a situation, and he couldn’t help feeling a little scared. But determined not to lose face in front of a girl he liked, he held his ground.

“Move faster, boys! We’ve all got records. If we get caught again, who knows when we’ll get out!” the sleazy leader reminded them.

“Got it, boss,” the lackeys responded in unison.

While the thugs focused on Chu Cheng, Wang Xiaoke quietly moved within five meters of the leader. Seeing his attention fully on Chu Cheng, she narrowed her eyes, clenched her fist, and landed a solid punch on his forehead.

Caught off guard, the leader hadn’t expected Wang Xiaoke to be so strong. He collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Wang Xiaoke didn’t care whether he was dead or alive. She turned and delivered a swift flying kick to another thug’s groin.

A loud, pained scream erupted as the thug clutched his injured area and hopped around in agony.