Chapter 267: Risking His Life to Save Her

At the entrance to the late-night food alley outside campus, quite a few drunk pedestrians still lingered despite the late hour.

Four young men, reeking of alcohol and behaving lewdly, staggered along the street.

When they spotted Aria walking alone with her gentle demeanor, they immediately harbored ill intentions.

The four exchanged glances and directly blocked her path.

The stench of alcohol mixed with vulgar laughter assaulted her, extremely unpleasant.

They began with verbal harassment, each sentence crude and explicit, accompanied by malicious leering.

"Miss, walking alone this late? Must be lonely."

"Pretty thing. Which department are you from? Come hang out with us."

"What's that you're carrying? Stop walking and come sit with us."

Aria immediately became alert. She instinctively stepped back two paces, removed her earbuds, and her expression turned cold.

Her crisis awareness was sharp. She immediately pulled out her phone, preparing to contact the bodyguards waiting nearby.

But the next second, one of the men directly knocked the phone from her hand.

The phone hit the ground, the screen instantly shattering and going black.

Her sheet music folder was also swept to the ground by several hands, pages scattering everywhere.

The four men completely dropped their pretense, closing in on her step by step, their eyes both lewd and vicious.

Their intentions were obvious—they meant to violate her by force.

The deserted alley entrance late at night, dim streetlights, no passersby around, no surveillance coverage in this blind spot. The car at the campus gate was still some distance away—the bodyguards couldn't possibly arrive in time.

Aria's back went cold, her heart pounding wildly. She instinctively retreated, her throat tightening, her entire being plunged into extreme terror.

She had worked so hard to get this far. She absolutely wouldn't allow herself to be destroyed here.

She opened her mouth to call for help, but they outnumbered her and had already reached out to grab her arm.

At this critical moment, just as Aria was about to be dragged away, a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows.

The shadow moved extremely fast, directly blocking Aria's path, firmly protecting her behind him.

It was Larry.

After disappearing for so long, he now stood before her, shielding her from danger.

No one knew that he had never truly left this city.

After closing the restaurant, he knew Sophie was still at large and likely wouldn't let things go easily.

So Larry chose the most foolish method.

He went into hiding but stayed by Aria's side, watching over her until the crisis was completely resolved.

The four men were drunk and reckless, completely unafraid of trouble.

Seeing Larry suddenly appear, they instantly flew into a rage and began throwing punches.

All four attacked Larry simultaneously, fists and feet flying, striking viciously.

Larry didn't dodge. Throughout, he kept his back firmly protecting Aria behind him, using his body to absorb all the attacks, fighting four men barehanded.

Drunk people hit hard, with no technique whatsoever, targeting vital points.

In mere seconds, Larry's forehead was struck by a heavy punch, the skin instantly breaking as blood flowed down past his brow and eyes.

His shoulder, back, and abdomen also took several consecutive blows.

Yet he remained completely silent, fighting with everything he had to prevent the four from getting anywhere near the person behind him, not letting anyone touch a single hair on Aria's head.

Watching Larry covered in blood, enduring all the harm to protect her, Aria's mind went completely blank.

She couldn't believe it.

At her most dangerous, most helpless moment, the one fighting desperately to protect her wasn't Lucas, who accompanied her daily and claimed to love her, but Larry, who had hurt her in the past.

Just as Larry, covered in wounds and strength fading, his vision beginning to blur, two dark figures rushed over at top speed from the distance.

Aria's bodyguards.

They had parked some distance away earlier. Hearing the sounds of fighting, they sprinted over immediately.

Professional bodyguards were all combat experts. They quickly subdued the four drunk troublemakers in just a few moves.

Soon after, police cars arrived. Evidence was collected, photos taken, statements recorded.

The four drunk troublemakers who had attempted assault were immediately detained, awaiting formal charges.

After the police left, Larry, covered in injuries and breathing unsteadily, slowly turned around.

His face was streaked with blood, deathly pale, his entire body trembling, yet his first concern was for Aria.

"Are you alright? Did they touch you? Are you frightened?"

Aria looked at the blood continuously sliding down his face, at the wounds covering his body, and her eyes instantly reddened.

Her throat tightened, her voice trembling. For a long moment she couldn't speak.

Larry saw her dazed, frightened appearance and gently exhaled in relief. Confirming she was completely unharmed, he slowly spoke.

"I'm glad you're okay. Actually, I never left. I was afraid Sophie might come after you again, so I stayed near you, watching over you. Please don't be angry with me."

After saying this, he didn't linger or wait for her thanks. He turned directly, preparing to hail a cab to the hospital to treat his wounds.

Aria didn't stop him, her heart a jumble of emotions. She only said softly, "Be safe."

Larry's spine stiffened for an instant. Without looking back, he hailed a cab and left.

But this entire scene was witnessed clearly by Lucas, watching from the shadows.

Tonight, still nursing his grudge from their cold war, he hadn't gone home or come to find her.

He had merely driven over and parked at a distance, habitually spying on her movements from afar.

He had originally come just to check on her, only to witness the entire incident.

He saw Larry suddenly appear to save her, saw him single-handedly block the attackers, covered in blood protecting her completely.

Any normal person witnessing this scene would feel guilt and gratitude.

Guilt for failing to protect their loved one, gratitude toward someone who risked their life to protect her.

But Lucas's mindset had become completely twisted.

He felt no guilt, no gratitude—only suspicion and resentment remained.

In his eyes, this wasn't a life-saving favor. This was ironclad proof of rekindled romance.

This was Larry deliberately playing the devoted hero, staging a heroic rescue.

He was deliberately trying to earn Aria's guilt and sympathy, trying to force his way back into her life.

He even became paranoid, convinced that this entire incident was a pre-arranged performance between the two of them, designed specifically to humiliate him.

Just then, Becky, having learned of the incident and worried her brother might do something rash, hurried over.

She watched the entire scene from a distance, her heart anxious and angry. She grabbed Lucas's arm, desperately trying to reason with him.

"Lucas! Can you please wake up!"