Zayn, with his somber disposition, had suddenly cracked a smile. Next, he swung his leg into him. He was so strong that he broke the door with his kick. The burly man standing at the door was thrown backwards from the enormous impact. He flew ten feet into another man.The massive activity immediately startled everyone in the room. They were on guard, acting as if they had been confronted by a formidable enemy. Alexandra was one of the people inside. She was seated on the sofa, looking rather displeased. She was startled as well. What the heck was going on? Had there been an explosion?Next, she saw a man walking into the room. He looked quite solemn. Who else could it be but Zayn?When she caught sight of him, she was emotionally overwhelmed. It was true that she had sent Zayn a text earlier, but she only did it to instigate him. She did not expect him to actually come to her rescue. Zayn’s gaze swept across the room when he entered. He saw a total of six men in the room. Exclu
“Uh, wh-why are you here?” asked Alexandra. Stunned, Zayn was rendered speechless for a moment before he said, “You sent me a text message asking me to come save you.”Alexandra behaved as if she had a revelation. “Ah, that’s right.”Noticing that she was bewildered, Zayn felt even more speechless. He thought about how petrified Alexandra was. Had she not realized that she was being kidnapped?Meanwhile, the middle-aged man said, “What is going on here? You told this friend of yours to come save you, Alexandra?”The middle-aged man’s remark was heavy with embarrassment and frustration. Alexandra appeared to be slightly shamed by that. Then, she straightened her neck and toughened herself up. She grunted heavily and said, “Yeah, I told him to come save me. It’s your fault for sending so many people up here to bully me! Hmph! Zayn, please help me drive them out of the room.”At that point, Zayn realized that he might have made a mistake. The middle-aged man was not a kidnapper o
Zayn chuckled. Alexandra’s uncle was quite the domineering one. He questioned Alexandra, “Has your uncle always been this pushy?”Alexandra nodded. “Yeah, don’t mind him. My business has nothing to do with him.”“Ah, causing trouble left and right, aren’t you a handful…” Zayn sighed helplessly. It was a legitimate lament. Though to Alexandra, it felt he was flirtatiously poking fun at her, like they were a genuine couple. The sliver of affection quickened her heartbeat.The middle-aged man thought the same—his impression of Zayn had plummeted to its lowest point.“Enough!” He could not take it anymore. He hollered at Zayn with a cold glare, “Zayn Larson, I don’t care who you are, but take this as a final warning—leave Alexandra alone or I’ll do something drastic!”He took a step forward after saying that. Any average Joe would have crumbled under the strong aura of intimidation that he exuded, but to Zayn, it was simple child’s play. It did not even cause a tiny ripple within him.
Alexandra tried to chase after them but the man and the bodyguards had disappeared out of the hallway and into the elevator. She hung her head in distress. “Ah, what have I done!”Zayn felt even more speechless. “What happened to your bravado? Why are you regretting this all of a sudden?”“I’m worried about you!” Alexandra rubbed her temples and said in worrisome remorse, “You don’t know what my uncle’s like. He’s a fuddy-duddy with a hot temper—super vengeful. I’m his niece, so he’s used to me talking back to him. He won’t lay a finger on me even if I rile him up. Complaining to my Dad is the worst thing that he could do, but you’re different. You’re an outsider, and you call yourself my boyfriend too. He was probably fuming when you hit him with that. Based on his character, he won’t be letting you off so easily…”Alexandra slapped her face lightly in chagrin. “Sigh, it’s all my fault. I should’ve been more specific when I sent that text message.”“That’s what you’re worried abou
Where did he learn to fight? That question made Zayn take a stroll down memory lane, back to when he was still with the Larsons. It was a simpler time back then—he was genuinely happy during that period of his life. His relationship with Zidane had yet to sour to the point of irreconciliation.“I learned from a martial arts master when I was younger.” Zayn came up with something.Regardless, Alexandra’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She stared at Zayn expectantly. “Can you teach me?”Zayn was stunned, the way he looked at her was rather hilarious. “You want to learn?”“Yeah!” Alexandra gave an enthusiastic nod. “You know, I’ve dreamt about being a heroine ever since I was a little girl—a martial artist who helped the poor and fought for justice, just like Robin Hood, heh heh!” She punched the air around her as she spoke, dutifully disciplined.Her behavior earned a snigger from Zayn. “When would you ever need to practice martial arts as a woman? Besides, we live in a lawful socie
It was now Franklin’s turn to be surprised. “No way, Victor. You know him? He wears nothing but cheap garbage and he’s not good for anything besides a couple of pathetic little martial art tricks. Are you sure you have the right person?”Victor furrowed his brows as he tried to recall where he had heard the name from, but even after a while, nothing rang a bell. Shaking his head, he offered, “I forgot. I heard it from somewhere, that’s all I know.”“That’s more like it. How could someone as insignificant as him catch your attention?” Franklin chuckled.Victor’s interest was piqued when he noted Franklin’s offended state. “Is this Larson character that bad, Franklin? I’ve never seen you this riled up over a youngster.”“Humph!” Franklin felt his hackles rising again the more they talked about the man in question. He put on a show of rolling up his sleeves and getting into a fighting stance to extinguish the rage that was simmering within him. “He’s not just bad—he’s disrespectful, l
Seeing that Alexandra had no plans of stopping, Zayn cut her off. “Alright, we’re here. It’s time to go back to your hotel room.”The thought of parting ways did not sit well with Alexandra at all. She protested stubbornly, “What about you? You’re newly divorced. Where are you going to stay?”“I have plenty of options—I’m spoiled for choice.” Zayn smiled as he hailed a cab to leave.As Alexandra watched him go, she clenched her fists and scrunched up her nose as a demonstration of her determination, “Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll figure out your story one day.”Night 1998 was a niche bar. There were no more than ten people when Zayn entered and it felt exceptionally cheerless. There was not a single sexy dancer on stage, only a sentimental middle-aged man singing a sorrowful tune.The bar was a long-term loss. Anyone could see that it was doomed to go out of business. In spite of that, the bar was still operating after seven to eight years. It lost up to hundreds of thousands of dolla
After he had fallen asleep, the patrons of the bar had gotten up one by one to bow in front of Zayn, who was still sprawled across the couch in a deep sleep. Then, they sprang into action. One went to close the door, one put a blanket over Zayn, and one made a phone call, “Hello, Boss. I’m pleased to inform you that the Lord is back.”The bar was closed in less than ten minutes. The gleaming neon lights were dimmed and the middle-aged man who had been singing got off the stage. He was careful as he moved around as he was scared of waking Zayn up, even if it was seemingly impossible. Anyone who drank a Sapphire Phantom would be out cold for a while—they would not wake up even if you set up an entire display of fireworks next to them. All of them held the notion in their head, but they still ensured that they were gentle and deliberate as they moved along. It was a token of their for Zayn.Approximately half an hour later, a tall woman wearing a trench coat entered the bar. She had an