We want to keep you safe

His words struck a nerve and Ying Yue stood up, glaring at him, looking like a fox that was about to run off.

"It's useless for you to try and get away," he continued. "The phoenix team already has this place surrounded."

"I have to do this."

"We want to keep you safe." I want to keep you safe -- those were the actual words he wanted to say. Xi Shenghui wasn't sure why he did; perhaps it was to atone for his past, or perhaps it was because he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

"I just need to see that antique before I go home," she insisted, putting on her backpack hurriedly. Her hands were clenched into fists on either side of her. She was unconsciously putting a lot of force into them that her nails were biting into the skin of her palms. If she pressed her nails a bit further, she would have bled.

"No. We're going back to Juyan right now." Xi Shenghui stood up and took hold of her arm as he half-dragged her to the door. Ying Yue tried to resist, and she dug her heels to the ground to pull herself back from his grip.

"Shenghui, I'll go back to Juyan after I see that antique." She changed tactics and tried to pin his arm; however, he was too strong for her, and no amount of twisting loosened his grip.

The woman who was staring at her earlier had both hands placed over her mouth, and gasped in shock as she saw Ying Yue being abducted in broad daylight. Xi Shenghui signaled at another agent to take care of the other customer, and he pulled Ying Yue out the door.

"Shenghui, let me go!" The rain beat down on the both of them as he exerted all effort to haul her over to the waiting car.

Suddenly, a cold hand tugged on Xi Shenghui's shoulder, stopping him from going further. Ying Yue stared at those long and familiar fingers that were exerting pressure on Xi Shenghui's arm, and she bit her lip excitedly. She looked up, but instead of the features of the man she'd thought of, her eyes met a very unfamiliar face.

He had slightly long hair that went past his ears -- the ends of which were dripping wet. He must have been out in the rain for a while. His eyebrows were thick and his nose was sharp and straight just like those statues of Greek gods. His best feature though, were his eyes. They were light caramel in color, complemented by the beige coat he was wearing, and right now, they were gazing intensely at Xi Shenghui.

"Let her go before I call the police. Abducting someone in broad daylight, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" His features were soft and charming, much unlike the tone of his voice right now.

Xi Shenghui turned to him with a confused look. "She's one of us. I'm just taking her back." He pried the man's hand off his shoulder, but the hand wouldn't budge.

"Even if she's one of you, she's still a lady. Treat her with some respect." The man's caramel eyes turned to Ying Yue, and he nodded his head slightly at her as if to say that he would handle the situation.

Surprise briefly flashed across her face, but this was quickly replaced with skepticism. There were probably ten to fifteen agents of the phoenix team around here. Does this guy think he can take everyone out?

In a split second, the strange man had taken Xi Shenghui by surprise, and had twisted his arm off her and had his neck in a choke hold. "Run!"

Ying Yue didn't bother hesitating and ran off.

Xi Shenghui responded by pivoting back to hit the man with his elbow, before grabbing his arm and stepping forward fluidly, throwing off the man across his back in one swift move. After all, he used to be one of the best in the special forces.

The man groaned in pain as his shoulder hit the ground, but he got up and put his fists up, ready to fight. The clicks of a gun drew his attention, and he looked around to see several agents getting out of the car, pointing a firearm at him.

Ying Yue was met with a few agents, with one training a gun at her. She put her hands up in the air in a mocking gesture of defeat, but in a blink of an eye, she had shoved the nearest agent to the one holding a gun, distracting him momentarily. She slid out a knife from her pocket and dealt the other one with a kick in the groin, then throwing the knife to the pair shoved together. The weapon grazed their arms and landed behind the two with a loud thud.

When they turned to look at shadow fox, she was already gone.

Xi Shenghui ran to the direction of where she went, and found some of the phoenix team recovering from Ying Yue's attack. Two of them were bleeding.

He muttered a few curses under his breath and ordered everyone to get into the cars. If he knew she was going to cause this much trouble to the phoenix team, he should've just assisted her to that damn antique jar she wanted to look at so much.

He got back to his own car, glancing at the man who tried to help her earlier. He was now standing outside the coffee shop, looking unintimidated, even if he was now sporting a bruise on his cheek and possibly a dislocated shoulder. Xi Shenghui frowned. The man had an unusual aura that he couldn't quite put his finger on.