"No! I'm not going with you, AND you're not going to hurt him!! Now go away!"

She strongly disagreed to the men in black coats who surrounded them from all sides on their way to the parking lot.

"Sorry, Young Miss, just following orders." The man in black, unabashed, signaled the other men to take offence.

"No!" Teng Man Rui protectively threw herself to Zhu Li Qiang. She closed her eyes while hugging him tightly.

Time stopped.

Zhu Li Qiang who was equally stunned as to how the events had unfolded stared blankly in front, not minding his surroundings at all.

Instead, all his nerve endings were at their most alert, highest level of that their function permitted.

Because Teng Man Rui was hugging him tightly.

Stunned, his own set of hands hovered around the lady, never landing on her skin.

He was feeling such deep deep burning sensation all over his body, especially around his chest and torso area, and around the waist, where their skins were touching. It did not matter even if there was actually some piece of clothing which separated their skins.

Not minding the surrounding, they stayed in that position for a long while.

It was as if his brain melted upon their close contact.

For a few more minutes, they were unmoving.

As to the men with ill intentions, they saw what they were looking for.

As soon as they took offence, several other men went out from hiding to take their blows – no, to offensively attack them as well – headon. The other men were double or even triple in number, and with much higher agility and martial arts skills. Easily, the bad men were taken care of. One after the other, unconscious bodies pile all around them. Others who were lucky were able to escape.

"No.." The lady whispered softly. Her hold around his waist tightened. She buried her head deeper onto his chest. She was trembling.

"Man Rui…" Zhu Li Qiang whispered back. Finally, he snapped from being dazed. The hands hovering around the lady finally landed on her head and back, returning the hug. They were hugging for the first time.

He could swear he would have thanked s.h.i.+ Fan Hai for this rare, almost-impossible moment. In the end, he pushed the lady to be so much closer to Zhu Li Qiang.

'Ha! His plan backfired.' He smugly thought, although his heart was still drumming so loudly from the sudden adrenaline rush. It was a good thing he was actually prepared.

"It's over, Man Rui." He whispered again.

"Huh?" The lady flinched in his arm. Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened her eyes. True enough, they were still standing, unharmed. Still, she couldn't be so sure so she immediately checked on him.

"Zhu Li Qiang!" She cried in alarm. "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?" She grabbed him by the shoulders, then by the arms, staring intently at his eyes.

"I'm not hurt at all, Man Rui." Zhu Li Qiang told her seriously.

"What happened?" The lady blinked several times. She was about to turn around when Zhu Li Qiang held her close to him, burying her head on his chest again.

"Don't look around. It's unsightly. Come on." He said while leading the lady away from that area.

The walked hurriedly towards the car. All this time, Zhu Li Qiang held Teng Man Rui close to him, his right arm protectively wrapped around her, and his right hand was securing her head such that she would not turn around and see all the mess of unconscious bodies around them.

The lady followed obediently and did not even try to turn around. As curious as she may be, she trusted Zhu Li Qiang's judgement. She was also too afraid to see what's around them.

'As long as we're safe. Such a close call.' She was sweating profusely from all that had happened and she could swear that the proximity she was currently experiencing with Zhu Li Qiang was so unwelcome. Who would want to be close to anyone who's sweating too much? Wasn't it too gross?

But Zhu Li Qiang did not seem to care.

Soon enough they reached the car. They hurriedly embarked and left. The lady was still trembling with shock.

"What happened?" Teng Man Rui asked again when they were a considerably distance away, and their nerves were starting to calm down.

"After I got beaten black and blue the last time, I reached out and sought the protection from a clan that is known for their martial arts skills. Actually I hired men from that clan to protect not just myself, but you as well."

Upon hearing this, Teng Man Rui's, mouth twitched.

"It so happened that we were together at the same place at the same time so yours and my security teams were both there."

"Judging from the strength and performance of those who attacked us, they were simply B-list bodyguards. Even list bodyguards would have a hard time defeating our security teams combined…"

Zhu Li Qiang had already finished his explanation but the lady remained silent. She kept her head bowed down.

"Were you scared?" Zhu Li Qiang gave her a side glance while still focusing on driving. This time, he was nervous that the lady was actually too shocked about what happened. "Do you want to go to the hospital or police? Do you want to go home?"

'Please, Man Rui, say something.' He pleaded in his mind.

Teng Man Rui bit her lower lip while still gazing down.

"I'm sorry for what happened. He targeted you because of me."

"I don't care, Man Rui. I was pretty prepared, wasn't I?" He said triumphantly, and boastingly as if waiting for compliment from her.

She laughed wryly. "Yeah. Good thing, you were quite prepared. Because if you weren't…" She shuddered.

"We're fine, aren't we?" He smiled a little. "Don't be too scared. I'll protect you. Didn't I do a good job in protecting you?" He said, still fis.h.i.+ng for her compliment. He was similar to a dog wagging its tail to its owner after doing a good deed.

"En. Good job, Zhu Li Qiang." She laughed a little, then she sighed.

He was ecstatic. Beaming brightly ear-to-ear, he patted himself internally.

But then, his smile faded. "Should we continue our date, or would you like to call it a day?"