Reborn to Redeem: Their Abusive Love-Chapter 101: Fighting in the boxing ring

The tea room’s secret compartment led to a narrow path that connected directly to the hotel’s back door.

Hei Shi effortlessly dragged four or five black cloth bags along the stone-paved road. The bottoms of the bags were thick, so even after much friction, only a few white scuff marks appeared.

"Where is this! Who tied us up?"

Perhaps the swift pace awakened the person inside one of the bags. They struggled a bit and spoke the Hong Kong Island dialect with a strange, non-native accent.

"Who is it!"

Hei Shi paused, his voice slightly cold as he ordered, "Shut up."

The person inside the bag fell silent for two seconds, seemingly recognizing his voice. Then, gritting their teeth, they asked, "Number 1028, where are you taking us?"

Hearing the familiar code name, Hei Shi felt the bulging muscles on his shoulders quiver; he wanted to punch the person inside to death.

"The Underground City."

The person in the bag began to panic again. "Have you made a mistake? Why are you taking me to the Underground City? I clearly haven’t done anything! Let me go, please let me go!"

Hei Shi, however, delivered his judgment with grim finality. "It’s too late to say you haven’t done anything. You’ve been watched since the moment you set foot on Hong Kong Island. You bunch of fools. The boss made a special trip from the Underground City just to capture you; you should feel honored. Once you’re back in the Underground City, you’ll be given a chance to contact your people from the X organization. Remember to tell them that getting close to the Xu Family of Hong Kong Island is a dead end. Behave yourselves, or I might just kill you right now."

This scene happened in complete secrecy, unknown to anyone else.

「Meanwhile.」

Xu Si returned to her hotel room but didn’t reach for the phone immediately. Instead, she went into the bathroom, scooped up clear water to wash her face, and tidied the slightly broken skin at the corner of her lip. She leaned against the cold wall, waiting for her erratic heartbeat to steady.

Being surrounded earlier had indeed been nerve-wracking.

He had been too lenient with her.

So lenient that she’d almost forgotten who Pei Zhen truly was now.

A madman capable of stabbing himself almost to death.

Every encounter with him was frightening.

Most people in the world say that those who don’t cherish life deserve to die.

Xu Si used to think the same way.

But now, as she stared at the spotless mirror, a flicker of anger crossed her eyes.

Suddenly, she found herself thinking that perhaps it wasn’t Pei Zhen who deserved to die, but the people who had turned him into a madman.

So, she kept telling herself: since she had already provoked such a dangerous person, there was no turning back.

Moreover, her wildly beating heart was proof.

Proof that she truly wanted to take this mad gamble, to learn to accept the love of a cruel demon.

Once her tangled thoughts were sorted, Xu Si finally left the bathroom.

She picked up the phone from the desk, dialed a familiar number, and once connected, wedged the handset between her cheek and shoulder. Her voice was tinged with fatigue as she asked, "Anshi, are you alright?"

Anshi, hearing her voice, was uncharacteristically unsettled. "Miss, I’m fine! I was just about to come find you. Last night, we were taken to a residence, and then strangely dumped out this morning. It seems whoever did this, their target must have been you. How are you now?"

Under the cool daylight, Xu Si sat on a beige sofa, legs crossed with one ankle resting on the other knee. She drawled, "I’m fine. Just got kidnapped by some triad gang, and now I have no idea which corner of Hong Kong Island I’m in."

"Triads?" Anshi exclaimed in shock. "Miss, I’ll call the police right away!"

"No need. Go to President Chen’s place with the money right now and buy his plot of land. We need to act quickly to avoid any unforeseen trouble. I want to see the Xu Family’s banner hanging over that plot of land by tomorrow."

"But that triad gang..."

Xu Si fiddled with the curly black cord of the phone, her gaze seeming to swirl, and her rose-colored lips curled upward. "Don’t worry, I can handle it. On your way, tell me about those troublesome matters that have been piling up. I happen to have time to listen."

Anshi hesitated for a second. "Yes. Currently, the design for our Ganghai Hotel has been given to foreign designers. Regarding the Portuguese architectural styles you mentioned, they..."

The daylight outside was diffuse, spread evenly over every blade of grass. The room was quiet, punctuated only by Xu Si’s occasional responses.

"Mhm, mhm, keep going."

Sometime later, Xu Si finally hung up and called other people in the company.

Remote work was complicated. Many reports and contracts couldn’t be reviewed in their entirety, so staff had to select and read out the key points. Xu Si listened and took notes, pondering for a long time before making her decisions.

She was incredibly focused when working, her expression serious and solemn. Only those who have suffered loss can truly understand how difficult it is to protect such a vast estate; she dared not slacken for a single moment.

Lost in her discussions, she forgot the time.

At one point, she glanced out the window and saw the deep twilight. Her gaze shifted to the watch on her wrist—it was already late.

Half a minute later, she interrupted the employee who was speaking. "That’s enough. We’ll discuss the rest tomorrow."

The employee was somewhat taken aback. Working overtime was the norm, and the company paid well for it. Rarely getting a chance to speak directly with the big boss, she had hoped to make a good impression and hadn’t expected to leave on time. "Ms. Xu, is there something you need to attend to?"

Xu Si’s hand holding the phone felt a bit stiff. She flexed her sore wrist. "Yes, something’s come up. You all should head home early too."

The employee was overjoyed. "Alright, thank you, Ms. Xu!"

After dinner, Xu Si applied light makeup in front of the mirror. She then took out a small box of herbal medicine from her bag. It was made of precious medicinal herbs, ground and formulated, and was very effective for external injuries.

It should be no less effective than the medicine from the Underground City, she thought.

Clutching the medicine, Xu Si left her room and went to find Pei Zhen, as agreed.

Even in autumn, the Hong Kong Island nights retained a lingering warmth. The persistent breeze teased at one’s clothes, easily coaxing out a thin layer of sweat.

Xu Si walked along the hotel’s corridor all the way to Pei Zhen’s room, only to find it empty. Not just Pei Zhen’s room—she discovered that all the rooms in the entire hotel seemed to be closed. In the vast space, it seemed she was the only guest.

She frowned and asked around, only then learning the reason. It turned out the hotel was owned by the Sanlian Chamber of Commerce, and it had a boxing ring. Apparently, Pei Zhen had gone there to train. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Xu Si was somewhat surprised. Ever since seeing that tabloid photo and learning Pei Zhen had once been captured and forced into illegal boxing matches, she had assumed he would never step into a ring again.

Not wanting to just wait in her room, she found a waiter and had him guide her, step by step, toward the boxing ring.

Just as she reached the entrance to the ring, Xu Si heard a tremendous impact, the kind of solid thud that erupts when a fist collides with muscle at high speed.

Looking up, she saw that inside the Octagonal Cage in the center of the boxing ring, Pei Zhen stood in the center. His hands weren’t in boxing gloves but wrapped in layers of bandages. His shirt was draped over his left shoulder, revealing a back full of black tattoos that were intimidating to behold.