Chapter 019: He Descended from the Heavens Like a Deity

The three words "Mrs. Xiao" made her grit her teeth in fury. Shi Runrun lifted her eyes and saw who had come—it was none other than Ren Feifei, the notorious troublemaker from their finance department! Yet that wasn’t the most important thing. What mattered was: Ren Feifei hadn’t come alone. She had brought several others with her, and together, they surrounded Runrun.

The cold sneer and hostile look on Ren Feifei’s face made it clear to Shi Runrun—she had just walked into an ambush.

Ren Feifei’s reputation at school had always been poor. She bullied the weak and flaunted her strength; both students and teachers disliked her. But as far as Shi Runrun knew, she had never crossed Ren Feifei, never given her cause for enmity.

"Ren Feifei, do you need something? If not, I’ll be going," Shi Runrun said curtly, trying to walk away. But after only a few steps, Ren Feifei blocked her path, and the others closed in, hemming her in tightly.

"What’s the matter, Mrs. Xiao? In such a hurry to leave? Or is your conscience guilty, like a thief’s?" Ren Feifei’s cold sneer deepened as she mocked her.

Just looking at Ren Feifei’s face made Shi Runrun feel physically sick. She shrank back instinctively, arms protecting her lower abdomen, and said in a low, steady voice, "Ren Feifei, what are you planning? This is the school gate—there are cameras everywhere. If you try anything, the school will punish you!"

Ren Feifei scoffed. "Shi Runrun, are you stupid or just naïve? If I dared come here with people to block you, don’t you think I’d be fully prepared?"

With that, she signaled to two of her companions—sturdy, burly women. They immediately stepped forward, gripping Shi Runrun by the shoulders and dragging her forward.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Shi Runrun cried out in alarm, her expression changing as she began to struggle frantically.

But she had been standing in a secluded corner near the school gate—a spot seldom noticed at the best of times, and now completely hidden by Ren Feifei’s crowd.

The two women forced Shi Runrun roughly to her knees, humiliation burning in her heart. She didn’t dare struggle too hard for fear of harming the baby, but she stubbornly raised her head, glaring fiercely at Ren Feifei, refusing to back down.

Ren Feifei lifted Shi Runrun’s chin with a sharp fingernail and said in a shrill voice, "Shi Runrun, do you know why I’m here to teach you a lesson today? Let me tell you—you’ve offended someone you never should have crossed. You’re destined for misery!"

As she spoke, she dragged her long, pointed fingernail across Shi Runrun’s face.

A thin line of blood quickly welled up along Shi Runrun’s cheek, but she remained expressionless. Looking up at Ren Feifei, who loomed over her, she spat in her face. "Ren Feifei, since you know who I am, aren’t you afraid the Xiao family will come after you for hurting me? I suggest you think carefully!"

Caught off guard, Ren Feifei took the spit full in the face. Her features twisted with rage. She pointed at Shi Runrun and screamed, "You bitch! Just because you married Xiao Xuezheng, you think you’re a phoenix now? You’re nothing but an illegitimate daughter even your own family won’t acknowledge! And you dare threaten me? I’ll show you now just how much I dare to hurt you!"

"You lot, go slap her—hard! And then give her belly a few kicks! Kick her until she’s ruined for good!"

Shi Runrun wasn’t afraid of the slaps, but when she heard about the kicks—kicks to her belly—her eyes went wide with horror.

Her baby! If they kicked her, she would lose the child for sure.

But before she could think what to do, the hired thugs closed in. One of the burly women raised her hand, ready to slap Shi Runrun hard across the face.

Shi Runrun squeezed her eyes shut, tears falling as she braced herself for the blow. In that moment, a memory flashed through her mind: before the Shi family had taken her back, her foster mother in the countryside had often punished her the same way. If she overslept, there was a slap. If she took an extra piece of meat at dinner, a fist to the head. If she worked too slowly, a kick.

Even after the Shi family claimed her, she was never beaten again—but "illegitimate daughter" was a brand she could never escape. They never truly acknowledged her, not even though she was their own flesh and blood. All their affection was reserved for Shi Qinghao.

Was this her fate? No matter where she went, she could not escape being bullied.

Despair engulfed Shi Runrun.

But the expected pain never came.

The incoming blow stopped abruptly. The raised, threatening hand was caught in midair, tightly gripped by a man’s strong hand.

Shi Runrun opened her eyes and saw a tall, imposing figure standing before her like a god descended from the heavens, shielding her behind his broad back.

For a moment, his presence dazzled her eyes.

She could no longer keep them open.

Xiao Xuezheng...

He quickly dealt with the two women holding her down, then pulled her up from the ground. He shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then rolled up his sleeves, flexing his knuckles as he advanced on Ren Feifei and her lackeys.

Crack, crack, crack—Shi Runrun heard the sound of his joints popping, and suddenly the man who normally seemed so refined radiated a fierce, violent energy.

In just a second or two, he moved with incredible speed. Shi Runrun heard the anguished screams of Ren Feifei and her accomplices.

In an instant, several of them were on the ground. Xiao Xuezheng grasped Ren Feifei’s wrist with one hand, pinning her in an unbreakable grip. He applied a little pressure, and Ren Feifei shrieked in agony, face contorted, knees buckling as she fell to the ground.

"Ah! It hurts! Let go! Let go..." Ren Feifei’s face was purple with pain, words tumbling from her lips.

But Xiao Xuezheng had no intention of letting her off so easily. Anyone who hurt his people would pay.

He curled his lips into a cold smile, tightening his grip until Ren Feifei’s squeals grew even more desperate.

"Weren’t you just saying you wanted to see whether I’d dare to lay a hand on you? Well? What about now?"

One hand in his pocket, the other clamped tightly on Ren Feifei, Xiao Xuezheng’s voice was icy.

Ren Feifei could barely breathe for the pain, tears streaming down her cheeks as she knelt and begged, "Young Master Xiao, I’m sorry! I didn’t know who I was dealing with... Please, let me go..."

The next moment, Xiao Xuezheng did release her. Not because of her pleading, but because the mere act of touching her felt filthy to him.

"Go back and tell whoever’s behind you—if they want to come after Shi Runrun, let them come straight at me. Don’t skulk around like thieves—it disgusts me!"

With that, he wrapped a warm arm around Shi Runrun and led her away from the school.