Lance looked at the petite woman not far away, initially intending to approach her. However, he changed his mind.
Xavier noticed and asked, "Mr. Mercer, are we not going over?"
"No," Lance replied indifferently, preparing to leave.
Meanwhile, Deanna breathed a sigh of relief. She was really uncomfortable with the earlier situation. Thinking it might happen again, she decided not to go back so soon and planned to get some fresh air nearby.
Before she could leave, a staggering drunkard approached and grabbed her hand. Deanna hadn't reacted yet when she heard the drunkard's teasing words.
"Hehe, beautiful lady, play with me for a while!"
"Who are you? Let go of me!"
Deanna finally came to her senses, angrily and fearfully struggling to break free. Perhaps because the drunkard was heavily intoxicated, she managed to escape his grasp.
Seeing the beauty slipping away, the drunkard was unwilling to give up and blocked her path again, grinning, "Where are you going, beauty? Come with me, I promise you'll have good food and drinks, and we'll have fun together."
"Move aside, or I'll call for help!"
Deanna sternly warned him while observing her surroundings, realizing there was no one else around. She cursed her bad luck.
The drunkard, seeing her serious and imposing demeanor, felt even more intrigued. "Even when you're angry, you have a unique charm. But tonight, I'm determined to have you. Let's see who dares to help you."
As he spoke, the drunkard lunged at Deanna. Startled and furious, she instinctively dodged to the side. The corridor was narrow, and as she kept dodging, she was gradually cornered by the drunkard, feeling increasingly panicked.
The drunkard noticed Deanna had nowhere to escape and chuckled, "Now you have no place to hide. Come with me obediently. As long as you serve me well, I promise you'll be properly fed and clothed from now on."
He stepped closer to Deanna. Just as he was about to reach her, Deanna prepared herself for the worst. At that critical moment, she saw Lance appear out of nowhere and kick the drunkard to the ground.
"Mr-Mr. Mercer?"
Deanna was stunned. Lance glanced at her briefly before stepping on the drunkard's chest. "You dare to harass my person? Are you tired of living?"
The drunkard didn't recognize Lance. Pinned to the ground with a painful chest, he cursed angrily, "Let go of me! Do you know who I am?"
"Oh? Who are you?" Lance raised an eyebrow, his voice seemingly casual.
Xavier, who arrived a step later, knew Mr. Mercer was angry upon hearing this.
The drunkard continued his bluster, unaware of the danger. "I'm the brother-in-law of HY Company's boss! Offend me, and I'll have my brother-in-law make sure you can't survive in Cloudmere!"
Hearing this, Lance laughed. "Very well. I'd like to see how your brother-in-law plans to make me unable to survive in Cloudmere. Xavier!"
"Yes, Mr. Mercer," Xavier responded promptly and respectfully.
Lance looked at him and instructed directly, "Take care of this person. I don't want to see him in Cloudmere tomorrow."
"Understood," Xavier nodded.
The drunkard sneered at Lance, "Who do you think you are? You think you can make me leave Cloudmere?"
Lance ignored him and walked towards Deanna. Xavier didn't overlook the drunkard's words; he crouched down and slapped the drunkard's face coldly.
"Open your eyes and see clearly. That's the president of Mercer Group."
Hearing this, the drunkard's eyes widened in disbelief and fear. Xavier saw that he was sobering up and snorted lightly, "You have some nerve to trouble someone Mr. Mercer has his eyes on. You deserve your bad luck!"
"Mr. Mercer? Mercer Group?" The drunkard stammered, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
Xavier sneered and dragged him away from another direction.
Deanna didn't witness this scene because Lance had already pulled her away. It wasn't until they had walked quite a distance that she realized what had happened and looked in surprise at the tall man before her.
"Mr. Mercer, why are you here?" she hesitated to ask.
Lance glanced at her with a slightly displeased tone, "If I hadn't come, would you have been dragged away?"
He seemed still angry and began lecturing her. "When he harassed you, why didn't you fight back?"
Deanna was left speechless by his reprimand but felt a strange sensation inside. For some reason, she felt that this man had come specifically for her.
But... how could that be?
Almost instinctively, she dismissed such an unrealistic thought from her mind. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Maybe he was here for socializing and happened to see her being troubled... right?