Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Chu Tang Fights the Assailant Seeing the assailant's knife about to thrust toward her, Chen Yangyang grabbed the nearest person and shoved them in front of herself as a shield. Yu Jiaojiao, who had been seized, turned deathly pale, trembling like a sieve, tears streaming down her face from sheer terror. The vicious assailant lunged at Yu Jiaojiao with the dagger. Yu Jiaojiao squeezed her eyes shut, abandoning all resistance. Yet the anticipated pain never came. Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd. Yu Jiaojiao tremblingly opened her eyes, stunned speechless by the scene before her. Ruan Chutang was grappling barehanded with the assailant. The assailant had a knife and had lost his mind, swinging wildly with no technique whatsoever. He flailed the dagger recklessly, slashing and stabbing in every direction. Ruan Chutang dodged left and right, evading the assailant's lethal strikes, but still got her arm cut by the blade. Blood immediately flowed out, staining her white blouse red. The assailant roared, "You're fucking asking for it!" and charged again with the knife raised. Enduring the pain, Chu Tang sidestepped the dagger and seized the assailant's wrist, twisting it hard. A crisp crack sounded simultaneously with the assailant's scream of agony. The pain made him instinctively release his grip, and the dagger clattered to the floor. Chu Tang kicked the knife far away, and a male colleague took the opportunity to bend down and pick it up. Without the lethal threat of the dagger, the assailant was no match for Ruan Chutang at all. Chu Tang first landed a series of straight punches that had the assailant howling in pain, then followed up with a flying kick that struck the man square in the head. The man was kicked into a daze, completely disoriented. Before he could even steady himself, Chu Tang delivered another combination of rapid kicks and a shoulder throw, slamming him hard onto the ground. Gasps and exclamations rose one after another from the onlookers. Everyone was stunned. They never expected that the outwardly gentle and quiet Lawyer Ruan could be so ferocious in a fight! After Chu Tang had thoroughly beaten the assailant to the ground, the ambulance and the police finally arrived at the scene. Once the assailant was taken away, Zhang Tianxin, lying in a pool of blood, was also carried off by the paramedics. Only then did everyone dare to step forward and speak with Ruan Chutang. Having witnessed their colleague being stabbed, the people at the law firm felt no joy of survival—only fear and lingering dread. Yu Jiaojiao's face was streaked with tears, and she was so terrified she stuttered, "Lawyer Ruan, I... I thought I was going to die... It was so horrible. If it weren't for you, I'd definitely be dead by now. Thank you, Lawyer Ruan." Yang Xiaojing was also still shaken, her face pale. "In ten years of practice, this is the first time I've encountered something like this. Being a lawyer really is a high-risk profession." Chen Yangyang's face still showed traces of terror. "Supervisor Yang, Lawyer Zhang... will Lawyer Zhang be..." Yang Xiaojing said coldly, "Lawyer Zhang will definitely be fine." Several male colleagues, having recovered from their panic, began praising Ruan Chutang's skill and courage. "Lawyer Ruan, I never knew you had moves like that! I was completely dumbfounded just now. That was so badass!" "Yeah, yeah! Lawyer Ruan, thank you for saving us all." "Lawyer Ruan, 'quiet' was the biggest misunderstanding I ever had about you." Ruan Chutang said nothing in response to the male colleagues' praise. She walked stiffly toward Chen Yangyang. "Lawyer Chen, were you just trying to use Yu Jiaojiao as a shield for the knife?" Chen Yangyang's conscience pricked her, and she couldn't meet Ruan Chutang's eyes. She mumbled, "I... I was acting in emergency avoidance..." Everyone at the firm had just witnessed Chen Yangyang grabbing Yu Jiaojiao to block the knife in that critical moment. Now hearing her say that, they all cast looks of disgust at her in unison. Chen Yangyang felt aggrieved too—if she hadn't grabbed someone to shield herself, she would have been the one to die. People were inherently selfish, after all. "Quite the 'emergency avoidance,'" Ruan Chutang said, her voice cold as ice. "And you call yourself a lawyer. Don't you know that a human life cannot be used for emergency avoidance?" This was basic legal knowledge that anyone who had studied law would know. Chen Yangyang was simply making excuses. Ruan Chutang stared at Chen Yangyang, her gaze piercing, as if trying to bore a hole through her. "Chen Yangyang, you should be grateful I was here today. If I hadn't stepped in and Yu Jiaojiao had died under that knife, you would be guilty of intentional murder." Chen Yangyang bit her lip in silence, her face completely drained of color. Just then, Yu Jiaojiao said with concern, "Lawyer Ruan, your wound is still bleeding. You should go to the hospital to get it treated." Chu Tang was also injured. Though the wound wasn't life-threatening, she had lost quite a bit of blood—her entire left sleeve was soaked red. She didn't bother with Chen Yangyang any further and turned to leave the firm for the hospital. After Ruan Chutang had her wound treated and went to pay and pick up her medication, she ran into Chen Wan face-to-face. Chen Wan's face was tight, and her tone was hostile. "Ruan Chutang? What are you doing here?" Chu Tang was surprised to see Chen Wan. She hadn't expected Chen Wan to have come to Jiangcheng with Gu Zechuan. Then again, it made sense—Gu Zechuan brought Chen Wan everywhere he went. Of course he wouldn't leave her behind in Haicheng when coming to Jiangcheng. Ruan Chutang didn't want to waste words with Chen Wan, so she walked around her and left. Chen Wan glared fiercely at Ruan Chutang's retreating back. Ruan Chutang, you really are like a ghost that won't go away. Then, she thought of Gu Zechuan. They hadn't even finished having fun in Xinjiang when Gu Zechuan suddenly booked a flight to Jiangcheng—could it be for Ruan Chutang? Was his injury last night also related to Ruan Chutang? At the thought, Chen Wan clenched her fists. ... Jiang Shixu called immediately after seeing the news about Shengke Law Firm's troubles. "Tangtang, I just saw on the news that someone was causing trouble at your law firm and someone got stabbed. Are you okay? Where are you now? I'll come find you." Chu Tang was carrying a bag of medicine, pressing the elevator button while on the phone. "I'm fine. I'm at the hospital where you're staying. I'm heading to your ward now to see you." Jiang Shixu's tone was urgent. "How bad is the injury?" Chu Tang said calmly, "Nothing serious. Just a cut on my arm—a surface wound. It'll heal in a few days." The elevator went up and reached Jiang Shixu's floor. Chu Tang walked into the ward carrying the medicine. When Jiang Shixu saw the gauze on the girl's arm, a flicker of pain passed through his eyes. "So badly injured." The distress in his eyes deepened, his heart aching for her. Chu Tang studied Jiang Shixu's expression. It was already bandaged up and he couldn't even see the wound, yet he was still this upset? If the doctor hadn't cut off her sleeve while bandaging her, and Jiang Shixu had seen that sleeve soaked in blood, wouldn't he have panicked even more? "You should still have a bodyguard. Being a lawyer is a high-risk profession. I won't feel at ease without one. Don't refuse, Tangtang. I don't want something like this to happen again." Ruan Chutang pressed her lips together and gave a soft "Mm." Jiang Shixu took her hand and said gently, "I'll pick two bodyguards with good skills to protect you up close." Chu Tang said, "One is enough. Today was a special situation—it's not usually this dangerous." Jiang Shixu insisted, "I'm still not quite at ease with just one." "Alright then." Chu Tang looked up at him, a hint of hesitation on her face. "But... I have to go to work normally. Bringing a bodyguard would affect my work." Jiang Shixu said, "That's easy to handle. I'll have a word with the big boss at Shengke and have them set up a separate security room at the firm. The bodyguard can stay there permanently in the capacity of a security guard." "That's actually a good idea. Let's do it your way then. After what happened this time, the firm will definitely pay more attention to the lawyers' personal safety." Chu Tang's gaze swept to the small table on Jiang Shixu's hospital bed, where a laptop sat. Chu Tang felt a bit worried about Jiang Shixu's health. She frowned slightly. "You're still handling work while hospitalized? Get some proper rest for a few days." "There's something important at the company recently that needs my oversight. I don't feel comfortable leaving it to others." "Then you need to take care of yourself too." Chu Tang took the initiative to show concern for him, and ripples stirred in Jiang Shixu's dark eyes, a tenderness in his gaze. "Okay."