Violent Beating

Yao Xiang had met Jiang Se once before. He had been awed back then and could not forget her.

He did not know that this newcomer was only playing a minor role in "Pretense to Reality", so her part had been finished in a day of filming. Yao Xiang was not given the chance to try his luck on her, and he took this trouble to heart.

He had his eye on Jiang Se at the party. However, he did not expect her to slip away before she even came round to his table to toast.

Yao Xiang was experienced in intercepting minor celebrities. As he expected, he found her waiting for the elevator.

"The dinner's just begun. Leaving so soon?"

He extended an arm and wanted to grab her when the elevator arrived and its doors slid open.

There were two other people in the elevator. Jiang Se sidestepped into it and said with a smile, "Brother Yao, I've soiled my dress. I don't want to spoil everyone's fun." She pointed at her own clothes.

Yao Xiang hastily held the elevator doors so that it could not close. He wanted to go in and pull her out. "We can take care of that. There are many others at the party who I'd like to introduce to you."

Jiang Se's brows furrowed deeply. Before she could say anything, Pei Yi, who was in that very elevator, spoke up, "Get out."

He had been half-coaxed and half-dragged by Nie Dan into the elevator. Furthermore, he had just thought of Cheng Runing and was not in a good mood at the moment.

Then, when the elevator made its way down, these two were tugging at each other as they made their way into the elevator. The man was even holding the doors and did not seem to be letting the elevator go, much to Pei Yi's annoyance.

When Jiang Se saw Pei Yi, she instantly thought about an escape plan before she could even feel surprised.

She found Yao Xiang annoying and revolting. She likened him to a dogskin plaster. During her conversation with Dai Jia in the lobby, she knew that he was a petty man. If she wanted to survive in the industry, she could not offend him in any way.

Her lips curled upward as she looked up at Pei Yi. She could see that he was not in a good mood.

Nie Dan held his head askance and flashed a smile at Jiang Se as he waved. "Hello there, beautiful. Can the two of you head out and wait for the next elevator?"

Jiang Se recognized Nie Dan. He was one of the grandsons of Elder Nie in the military and Pei Yi's close childhood friend. Naturally, she had met him as Feng Nan before.

Nie Dan was two months Pei Yi's junior and five years her junior. He would never have dared to address her with such a frivolous tone in the past. Whenever they met in the past, he would politely address her as "Sister Feng Nan".

Jiang Se returned the smile. She intentionally moved toward Yao Xiang and put on an expression as if she was frightened of Pei Yi and Nie Dan. "Brother Yao, why don't you get out first?"

When Dai Jia rejected his cigarette back then, he had been offended and bore a grudge. From this example, Jiang Se could tell that he was a petty man with an ego.

When Jiang Se said this, something in him was triggered. He would not allow himself to lose face in front of a beautiful girl no matter what the circumstances were. Also, his disadvantage here was that he did not know who Pei Yi was. An ignorant man would always be fearless. When he heard what Pei Yi said, he remained at the door, pointed a finger at Pei Yi, and issued a warning, "You'd better watch your mouth, kiddo."

Pei Yi was already in a bad mood. Yao Xiang was holding the elevator up for a long time now yet had the gall to threaten him. He had been itching to hit someone, and Yao Xiang had walked right in front of the barrel.

He clenched a fist and pulled Yao Xiang into the elevator. Nie Dan hastily pressed the button so that the elevator doors would close just as Pei Yi's fist connected with Yao Xiang's face.

This duo was clearly used to getting into trouble. One of them was responsible for hitting while the other was responsible for cleaning up the scene.

Yao Xiang wailed and howled inside the elevator from the blows. This was Jiang Se's first time seeing Pei Yi hitting another person. He was as vicious as a wolf. Her eyelids twitched just from watching him.

He was strong. With an arm around his victim's neck, Yao Xiang was rendered powerless to fight back. He practically became his punching bag.

The elevator doors slid shut and the elevator descended. The crew members were gathered in the dining hall on the seventh floor. Even if Yao Xiang shouted until his throat was sore, nobody would be able to hear him and come to his rescue.

He had sounded tough just now. After taking two punches, he was already drenched in cold sweat. He fell to the floor and spasmed.

Pei Yi stomped on his stomach and Yao Xiang felt as if his innards were being wrung. He also felt as if his intestines were about to break from the impact of the kick.

After two more blows, Pei Yi was still not satisfied. He added another kick. "Garbage!"

Yao Xiang was still moaning softly in pain. Nie Dan squatted down and pulled his hair. "Who were you telling to watch his mouth?"

Yao Xiang was in no state to reply to him. He could only pant. Nie Dan grabbed his hair and brought his head heavily down onto the floor. With a loud thud, the elevator shook. "Answer me!"

"Me! I'm the one who should watch his mouth…" Yao Xiang had completely lost his bossy attitude he displayed on the seventh floor. He knew that he was in real trouble right now. He did not even dare cry in pain when Nie Dan slammed his head onto the floor. With a shallow breath, he answered, "Me…"

"I can't hear you!" Pei Yi gave him another stomp, which sent him into another spasmodic fit. His shirt was now drenched with his cold sweat. He spoke in a shaky voice, "Me, I'm the one who should watch his mouth!"

Nie Dan let go of his hair and left Yao Xiang lying there limply. He wiped his hand on his clothes. "Hear that? My Brother Yi is calling you garbage."

The commotion in the elevator had caught the attention of the hotel security guard. When the elevator doors slid open at the ground floor, a group of security guards walked up to them.

Yao Xiang was still curled up on the floor. The hotel staff had called for emergency medical services. Someone inquired Yao Xiang and Pei Yi about their identities. The lobby was now in chaos.

Nie Dan was used to being in trouble, thus he was no stranger to a situation like this. He was not even flustered when he was surrounded. He merely produced his phone and made a call.

When the "Pretense to Reality" production team on the seventh floor caught wind of this incident, they hastened to the lobby. An ambulance was already dispatched from the nearby hospital.

There were many bystanders taking photos of the scene. Yao Xiang was carried onto the ambulance and ferried away while Jiang Se was still surrounded by people. They were waiting for the police to record her statement.

Dai Jia was also part of the cast. When she saw Yao Xiang practically half-dead from being beaten up and carried onto the ambulance, she merely stood at a distance and put on the faintest of smiles, appearing pleased.

Gu Jiaer did not seem to like what he saw. He asked angrily, "What happened?"

Tonight was supposed to be the celebration of wrapping up of his new film's production, yet something like this had happened. The paparazzi would never let this opportunity slip. He shuddered at the thought of the possible headlines that would pop up on news articles online later in the night.

The headlines should have been about his film, but if his film was implicated in a fight scandal such as this one when it was only in the early post-production stages, he would have a hard time smiling.

Jiang Se was one of the eyewitnesses in the elevator. The hotel staff went to retrieve the camera footage while a security guard walked up to her and said, "When the elevator was making its way down from the seventh floor, these two…" He glanced at Pei Yi and Nie Dan. He did not dare point at them because the people entering Ruiji Hotel were usually rich. In order to work as a security guard here, it was practically a requirement for him to have the sense to discern about another person based on their looks. With a single glance, he could tell that Pei Yi and Nie Dan were not people he would like to mess with. After all, Pei Yi had hit another person without warning when he was provoked. If he was daring enough to hit another hotel guest, it was clear that he came from a formidable background.