Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Sweat covered Liu Peng from head to toe. He ran as though death itself were chasing him.

His ragged breaths echoed through the narrow alley, his shoes striking the pavement in frantic, uneven steps. The oversized coat that had concealed him only minutes earlier now hindered his movements, its loose fabric whipping around his legs.

He dared not look back.

He could hear footsteps.

Fast.

Closing in.

The open street was only a few feet away.

Just a little farther.

A little—

”Liu Peng!”

His heart nearly stopped.

Qi Li was gaining on him.

The distance between them vanished in seconds. Qi Li extended his arm, his fingers closing around the back of the middle-aged man’s coat.

But before he could secure his grip—

A tremendous force struck him from the side.

*Thud!

Qi Li was tackled to the ground.

A grunt escaped him as his shoulder and hip slammed against the pavement. His rimless glasses flew from his face, skidding across the concrete before disappearing beneath a nearby trash bin.

Before he could recover, a large hand seized him by the ankle.

The man who had tackled him began dragging him away from the street.

”Got you, you little bastard!”

Qi Li twisted, trying to free himself.

Then—

*Screeeech!

The sound of tires cutting sharply against the road reached his ears.

He lifted his head.

Through his blurred vision, he could make out the dark shape of a luxury sedan stopping at the alley’s entrance.

Directly in front of Liu Peng.

The rear door swung open.

Liu Peng did not hesitate.

He practically threw himself inside.

The door slammed shut.

”Fuck!”

Qi Li cursed. He reached forward, but the man gripping his ankle violently yanked him.

The sedan accelerated.

Within seconds, it disappeared into the traffic.

Qi Li watched the dark shape vanish beyond the alley.

His jaw tightened.

They had spent the entire night and morning searching for Liu Peng.

And now the bastard had escaped right in front of him.

Again.

”Where do you think you’re going?”

The burly man dragged him farther into the alley into a more open space.

Behind him, four others approached, their laughter echoing between the buildings.

”Look at this guy!”

”He thought he could outrun us!”

”Should’ve minded his own business.”

The man holding Qi Li gave him another rough pull.

”Not so fast now, are you?”

Their laughter grew louder.

Qi Li lowered his head.

For a moment, he remained still.

Then his expression changed.

The frustration of watching Liu Peng escape settled into something considerably colder.

He shifted his weight.

And moved.

His body twisted sharply onto his back. Before the man could react, Qi Li drove his heel into the arm gripping his ankle.

”Argh!”

The man’s fingers sprang open.

A sharp pain shot from his forearm to his shoulder.

Qi Li rolled away, planted one hand against the pavement, and rose to his feet.

The laughter stopped.

He stood in the middle of the alley, slowly straightening his dark jacket.

A scrape marked his chin where it had struck the ground. Blood slid along his jaw, tracing a thin red line down his neck before disappearing beneath the collar of his black turtleneck.

His glasses were gone.

Without them, the composed, bespectacled man who usually looked more suited to an office than a battlefield had vanished.

In his place stood someone whose expression suggested he had faced danger too many times to count.

Someone who had long since stopped fearing it.

The five men stared.

An inexplicable chill crept down their spines.

Qi Li lifted his head.

His vision was blurred, but he could still distinguish their positions.

Five figures.

All considerably larger than him.

He slowly rolled his shoulders.

One of the men scoffed, dismissing the uneasiness crawling up his spine.

”What’s with that look?”

Another threw back his head and laughed.

”You picked the wrong lounge bar to sneak into, pretty boy!”

”Should’ve stayed home behind your computer.”

”Look at him. Can’t even see without his glasses.”

”Maybe we should break his legs so he won’t have to worry about running anymore.”

Their laughter returned.

Qi Li said nothing.

He merely looked from one man to the next.

Then one corner of his mouth lifted.

A small smirk.

Cold enough to make the nearest man instinctively shift his footing.

All five men’s smiles faltered.

Qi Li tilted his head.

Footsteps sounded behind the five men.

”Qi Li!”

Three of them turned.

Liu Shan and Lin Hui had arrived.

Both men stopped several paces away, taking in the scene.

The five burly men.

The blood on Qi Li’s chin.

And the conspicuous absence of his glasses.

Liu Shan’s gaze lingered on the latter.

Then he shook his head and released a pitiful sigh.

”You guys are done for now.”

One of the men barked out a laugh.

”Like we’re scared of you puny bastards!”

He looked Liu Shan and Lin Hui up and down.

Neither possessed the exaggerated bulk of the men standing before them.

Compared to their broad shoulders and thick arms, the newcomers looked almost ordinary.

Another one grinned.

”Two more? That’s it?”

”So what if your friends came?”

”There are still five of us.”

Lin Hui ignored their taunts and glanced past them.

”Where’s Liu Peng?”

Qi Li’s smirk disappeared.

”Got into a black sedan. Someone was waiting for him.”

Liu Shan’s expression darkened.

”Plate?”

”Couldn’t see it.”

He glanced toward the man who had tackled him.

”Someone interrupted me.”

The man cracked his knuckles.

”Got a problem with that?”

Liu Shan looked at him. Then at Qi Li.

”Your glasses?”

”Under the trash bin.”

”Ah.”

Liu Shan nodded slowly.

”That’s unfortunate.”

Lin Hui understood immediately.

He sighed.

The five men exchanged confused looks.

”What the hell are you talking about?”

Liu Shan slipped his hands into his pockets.

”Nothing.”

He looked toward Qi Li again.

”Try not to kill anyone.”

Qi Li’s smile returned.

”No promises.”

The largest man snarled.

”Enough of this bullshit!”

He exchanged a glance with the others.

A silent understanding passed between them.

Then all five charged.

Two men lunged at Qi Li.

Two rushed Liu Shan.

The remaining man went straight for Lin Hui.

The narrow alley erupted into violence.

The first man threw a heavy punch at Qi Li’s head.

Qi Li shifted sideways.

The fist passed close enough for him to feel the air against his cheek.

He countered with a sharp strike to the man’s ribs.

The man grunted.

But before Qi Li could follow through, the second attacker came at him from behind.

Qi Li heard the rapid scrape of a shoe against concrete.

He ducked.

A massive arm swept over his head.

The first man barely managed to stop himself from being struck by his own companion.

”Watch it!”

”Then get out of my way!”

Qi Li stepped between them.

His blurred vision made it difficult to distinguish their expressions, but their movements were another matter.

Heavy breathing.

Shoes dragging against pavement.

Fabric shifting before a strike.

The slight change in rhythm when someone transferred weight from one foot to the other.

He could hear all of it.

And unlike his opponents, he knew how to use it.

The man on his left lunged.

Qi Li turned toward the sound.

His forearm intercepted the incoming punch. He caught the man’s wrist, twisted sharply, and drove an elbow into his chest.

”Urgh!”

The second man charged.

Qi Li released the first and pivoted.

A fist grazed his shoulder.

He retaliated with a swift kick to the attacker’s knee.

The man’s leg buckled.

Before he could recover, Qi Li seized his collar and drove him backward into the brick wall.

*Bang!

The impact shook dust loose from the mortar.

The man groaned.

Qi Li leaned closer.

”You should’ve let me catch him.”

The man bared his teeth.

”Fuck you!”

He swung wildly.

Qi Li ducked beneath the punch. His fist struck the man’s abdomen.

Once.

Twice.

The third blow sent him folding forward with a strangled gasp.

But the first attacker had recovered.

He came from behind, wrapping both arms around Qi Li’s upper body.

”Got you!”

Qi Li’s arms were pinned.

The second man staggered upright, wiping his mouth.

He grinned.

”Hold him!”

He drew back his fist.

Qi Li heard the movement.

The shift of his shoes.

The intake of breath.

He abruptly dropped his weight.

The man restraining him stumbled forward.

Qi Li twisted his hips and drove his heel into the man’s foot.

”Argh!”

The grip loosened.

Qi Li wrenched one arm free and pulled the man forward.

The incoming punch struck his companion squarely in the face.

*Crack!

The man’s head snapped sideways.

”What the fuck?!”

Qi Li slipped out of his grasp. He seized the second man’s extended arm and used his momentum to throw him over his hip.

The man’s eyes widened. Shocked that someone Qi Li’s size could easily drop him.

His body hit the pavement with a heavy thud.

Before the first could recover, Qi Li drove a sharp kick into his midsection.

He stumbled backward.

Qi Li advanced.

The man raised both arms.

”Wait—”

Qi Li’s fist struck his jaw.

His knees gave way.

He collapsed beside his companion.

For a moment, Qi Li stood over them, breathing evenly.

Then he touched his chin.

His fingers came away bloody.

He stared at them.

His expression grew colder.

”Great.”

Several feet away, Liu Shan was dealing with two opponents of his own.

The first man charged with a furious roar.

Liu Shan stepped aside and caught his arm, using the man’s forward momentum to send him crashing shoulder-first into a trash bin.

The second swung at his head.

Liu Shan leaned back.

The fist missed.

He immediately stepped inside the man’s reach and drove a punch into his abdomen.

The man grunted but retaliated with a heavy elbow.

Liu Shan raised his forearm to block.

The impact sent a dull ache through his arm.

Strong.

He retreated half a step.

The man grinned.

”Not so tough now, huh?”

Liu Shan looked at him.

”You’re loud.”

”What?”

”And slow.”

The man’s face twisted.

He charged.

Liu Shan shifted to the side, caught his wrist, and struck him across the jaw with his free hand.

The man stumbled.

Liu Shan followed with a sharp kick to his thigh.

His knee buckled.

Before he could regain his balance, Liu Shan drove another punch into his face.

Blood burst from his nose.

”Motherfucker!”

He staggered backward, clutching his face.

The first attacker had recovered.

He seized a metal trash-bin lid and swung it at Liu Shan.

Liu Shan ducked.

The lid struck the brick wall with a deafening clang.

He drove his shoulder into the man’s torso.

Both stumbled toward the opposite wall.

The man tried to wrap his thick arms around him.

Liu Shan planted his foot, twisted, and slammed an elbow into his ribs.

The grip loosened.

He struck again.

The man groaned.

Then Liu Shan seized his coat and drove him face-first into the wall.

*Thud!

The man staggered away, disoriented.

Liu Shan stepped back.

His breathing remained controlled.

He glanced toward Qi Li.

The man was already standing over one fallen opponent while the other struggled to get up.

Each one a bloodied mess.

Liu Shan shook his head.

They really should’ve left his glasses alone.

Lin Hui, meanwhile, was having a considerably quieter encounter.

His opponent towered over him.

The man rolled his neck and grinned.

”Just you and me?”

Lin Hui looked at him with detachment.

”Apparently.”

”You’re gonna regret this.”

”Probably not.”

The man, fueled by anger and his lack of emotion, lunged.

Lin Hui stepped aside like he was dodging an angry child.

His hand shot out, catching the attacker’s wrist.

He twisted.

The man’s expression changed.

”Argh!”

Lin Hui drove a knee into his abdomen.

The man doubled over.

A sharp elbow struck the back of his shoulder, sending him stumbling forward.

He caught himself against the wall.

Then turned with a furious roar.

”You little—”

Lin Hui punched him.

The man’s head snapped backward.

He staggered.

Lin Hui advanced and struck him again.

Then again.

The third blow sent him crashing against a trash bin.

He slid down, clutching his jaw.

Lin Hui adjusted his sleeve.

”Stay down.”

The man spat blood onto the pavement.

”Fuck you!”

He tried to rise.

Lin Hui looked at him then shrugged his shoulders.

”Or don’t.”

He stepped forward.

The man immediately reconsidered.

And darkness took him when Lin Hui sent a punch to his face, knocking him out cold.

Qi Li’s two opponents were not nearly as cooperative.

The one he had thrown managed to get back on his feet.

His face was red with humiliation.

”You bastard!”

He charged again.

Qi Li heard him coming. He turned.

The man swung.

Qi Li intercepted the punch and struck his forearm.

The man recoiled.

A swift kick followed, catching him across the ribs.

He stumbled into his companion.

Both men collided.

Qi Li advanced.

The first tried to grab him.

He caught the man’s arm, twisted it behind his back, and shoved him into the other.

They crashed into the wall.

”Fuck!”

”Get off me!”

Qi Li watched their blurred figures struggle to separate.

Then he stepped moved.

One of them managed to turn.

Qi Li struck him squarely across the jaw.

The man dropped. His body lay limp on the ground.

The second man raised his fists. His breathing was ragged.

For the first time, uncertainty appeared in his voice.

”Who the hell are you?”

Qi Li tilted his head.

”Someone you shouldn’t have tackled.”

The man roared and lunged.

Qi Li ducked beneath the attack, stepped behind him, and swept his leg.

The man crashed onto his back.

Before the man could rise, Qi Li was already upon him, raining punch after punch into his face.

Only when the man finally lost consciousness did Qi Li withdraw his bloodied fists.

Liu Shan’s opponents were growing desperate.

One was bent over, struggling to breathe through his bloodied nose.

The other leaned against the wall, his face contorted with pain.

But neither was willing to admit defeat.

Liu Shan glanced toward the street.

The sedan was long gone.

Every second spent here was another second Liu Peng gained.

His patience thinned.

”Are we finished?”

The man with the bloodied nose spat onto the ground.

”Not even close!”

He charged.

Liu Shan stepped forward to meet him.

Their arms collided.

He blocked the first punch and drove his fist into the man’s ribs.

The man grunted.

A second blow struck his abdomen.

He stumbled.

Liu Shan seized his collar and shoved him backward.

The man crashed into the wall.

But behind Liu Shan, the other attacker had recovered.

He pushed himself away from the bricks.

His eyes fixed on Liu Shan’s exposed back.

A vicious grin spread across his face.

”Got you now!”

He rushed forward.

Liu Shan heard the footsteps.

He turned.

The man drew back his fist.

And swung.

But before the punch could connect—

A figure appeared from the side.

A powerful fist struck the attacker squarely across the jaw.

The man’s head snapped sideways.

His entire body twisted from the impact before crashing onto the pavement.

For a moment, everything seemed to stop.

Liu Shan stared.

The man lay sprawled at his feet. Out cold.

A familiar voice sounded beside him.

”Seriously?”

Liu Shan slowly lifted his head.

Xu Long stood there, lowering his fist.

His expression was dark.

He glanced at the fallen man before looking directly at Liu Shan.

”Three of you against five, and nobody thought to call me? Me, James Long Bond!”

Liu Shan blinked.

”Xu Long?”

Xu Long rolled his shoulders.

Then his gaze swept over the alley.

The fallen men.

The blood on Qi Li’s chin.

Lin Hui stood beside an overturned trash bin. However, one could see his opponent’s legs sticking out from underneath.

And the conspicuous absence of the man they had been chasing.

His eyes narrowed.

”Now...”

He turned back to Liu Shan.

”What the hell is going on?”