Jiang Chiyan narrowed his eyes.
A sinister male voice sounded beside him.
"You're Jiang Chiyan, the one being paired up with our Chengcheng?"
As the words fell, a series of footsteps drew closer.
Jiang Chiyan backed into a corner so no one could ambush him from behind.
His brow furrowed.
Our? Chengcheng??
This man... was probably a fan of Xiao Cheng's.
Within seconds, the footsteps stopped.
A long, dark shadow came to a halt in front of Jiang Chiyan.
Clutter blocked the stairwell window, leaving very little light.
Jiang Chiyan could only vaguely make out a man, about six feet tall, wearing...
A hospital psychiatric gown.
"I asked you a question. Who said you could get involved with our Cheng-"
"He isn't yours." With one hand in his trouser pocket, Jiang Chiyan coolly interrupted him.
"He is mine! He's my Chengcheng!!" The man in the hospital gown seemed to snap, screaming furiously, "I put a tracker in his car and a pinhole camera in his hotel bathroom! I paid a fortune for a toilet seat he'd used! I'd sell my blood to buy the products he endorses! He's mine!!"
The more the man spoke, the more agitated he became, his breathing frighteningly rapid.
He advanced on Jiang Chiyan step by step, pulling a knife from his pocket.
It was a surgical scalpel used in hospitals.
"If you died, if you died..." The man's hand trembled.
Jiang Chiyan remained unruffled, his voice level. "There's no 'if.'"
"If you're Xiao Cheng's fan, I respect your affection for your idol."
"Unfortunately, you're a stalker. You don't deserve to call him Chengcheng."
"He's mine."
Jiang Chiyan enunciated every word, then pressed his lips together.
He sighed inwardly.
What am I doing? Why bother arguing with a psychiatric patient??
Attorney Jiang, whenever Xiao Cheng is involved, all your reason goes out the window.
"Jiang Chiyan! Die!!!" The man swung the knife and lunged.
Jiang Chiyan neatly sidestepped him.
The stairwell was piled with clutter, leaving too little room.
The man slashed wildly with the scalpel.
Drawing on the muscle memory of years of sanda training, Jiang Chiyan tilted his head back to dodge.
The blade skimmed past the tip of his nose.
Jiang Chiyan caught the man's wrist, twisted it, and drove his knee into him.
Clang-
The scalpel hit the floor.
Jiang Chiyan kicked it away and pinned the man in the corner.
Then he took out his phone and dialed 110.
He felt a little helpless. In just one week, he had already dealt with the police emergency line three times.
In the glow of his phone screen, Jiang Chiyan suddenly saw...
Another shadow on the wall.
"Who's there?!" Jiang Chiyan went on alert.
The man restrained beneath him suddenly began slapping the floor excitedly, shouting toward the approaching shadow.
"Chengcheng! Save me!!"
Jiang Chiyan froze for a moment.
Then he heard a familiar voice. "It's me."
It really was Xiao Cheng!!
Like a graceful nobleman, Xiao Cheng descended the stairs one step at a time.
Catching the scent of blood in the air, Xiao Cheng's expression turned cold. "You're hurt? He did it??"
Jiang Chiyan shook his head. "No-"
Bang-
A deafening crash rang out.
Xiao Cheng grabbed a metal surgical case from the clutter and smashed it into the man's head.
"Xiao Cheng!!" Jiang Chiyan had no time to stop him. "Enough!"
The man let out a string of agonized screams and clutched his head, his voice filled with resentment and anger.
"Chengcheng! Why did you hit me?"
"To boost your rankings, I bought over a thousand bottles of the moisturizing toner you endorsed and poured them all out!!"
"I knew you liked mangoes, so I carried several boxes and sneaked into your dressing room! Why did you have the staff throw me out??"
"And him..." The man rambled incoherently, finally pointing at Jiang Chiyan as he half roared, half sobbed. "Why are you with him? I've loved you for five years! Am I really worth less than this pretty boy? You cheated on me... I..."
He howled hysterically, like a beast devoid of reason.
Xiao Cheng picked up the scalpel from the floor and slowly stood.
Whoosh-
Expressionless, Xiao Cheng raised the blade and brought it down.
The knife pierced the man's right hand, pinning it deep into a wooden storage crate.
His cold, ruthless demeanor shocked even Jiang Chiyan.
He was shocked that... the sweet, adorable Xiao Cheng had a side like this.
Xiao Cheng's voice was icy, clear and hard as metal striking jade.
"I belong to Jiang Chiyan."
"I had the staff throw you out of my dressing room because Jiang Chiyan is the only one allowed to see my body."
"Pretty boys like Jiang Chiyan are exactly my type."
With remarkable patience, he answered the man's questions one by one.
Things he normally found unbearably embarrassing to say all spilled out now, whether he should have said them or not.
He was violent, bloodthirsty, vicious.
As though he had become someone else.
He seized the metal surgical case and smashed it down on the man's head again and again.
Bang-bang-
The man's head was covered in blood.
"Xiao Cheng! Put the case down!!" Jiang Chiyan narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
Any more blows, and the man really would die.
Xiao Cheng stiffened and stayed still, but at least he stopped hitting him.
Jiang Chiyan moved closer and asked softly, "You won't even listen to your husband anymore?"
"I will." Xiao Cheng obediently dropped the metal case and stared straight at Jiang Chiyan.
In that instant, Jiang Chiyan saw that Xiao Cheng's eyes were crimson.
As though blood had flowed into them and stained them red.
An unnatural excitement flickered in his eyes.
Blood made him manic, drove him into a frenzy.
Jiang Chiyan pinched the bridge of his nose, took an infrared pen from his pocket, and swept it around the area.
Only after confirming there were no surveillance cameras did he breathe a sigh of relief.
He bent down, pulled out a wet wipe, and cleaned up any fingerprints or traces Xiao Cheng might have left on the floor.
Then he helped the barely breathing man up and told Xiao Cheng, "Move."
Xiao Cheng froze, staring blankly at him. "You... don't want me anymore?"
"Go downstairs right now. Leave through the surveillance blind spots in the underground parking garage and wait for me outside."
"If this man doesn't get help now, he'll die."
Even covered in blood, Jiang Chiyan remained rational.
Xiao Cheng's voice was cold. "Then let him die."
Cold and heartless, as though he had a split personality, this Xiao Cheng felt like a stranger.
"Xiao Cheng!" Jiang Chiyan's tone was mild, but carried a heavy warning. "You think I can't keep you in line anymore?"
Xiao Cheng lowered his head.
Like a kindergarten child caught sneaking candy.
Jiang Chiyan took off his clean, blood-free jacket and tossed it to him. "Put on my jacket and go!"
Then Jiang Chiyan supported the unconscious man and headed upstairs.
His hand was injured, so he struggled to push open the stairwell door and called out, "Someone's injured here!"
Several medical staff hurried over, startled by the blood covering the man.
Jiang Chiyan explained calmly, "When I was going downstairs, he tried to stab me with a scalpel."
"There were only two of us in the stairwell."
"It was very dark, and I was frightened, so I accidentally injured him. I'm sorry."
(PS: This novel is entirely fictional. Please uphold proper values and be good, law-abiding citizens.)