After leaving Qi Li's office, Jiang Hai greeted Du Ning on his way out.
Du Ning was a colleague of Azalina—one of the agents Jiang Hai had rescued from Ukraine. To be honest, Jiang Hai found these women incredibly useful. They were highly skilled in reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, combat, and personal protection. Their years working undercover had given them exceptional memories, allowing them to instantly adapt to any assigned role.
In acting terms, they could convincingly play any character. When your life depends on perfect performance during undercover kills, even the slightest slip can get you killed. People who survive that world can adapt to anything.
Although Du Ning had never worked as a secretary or assistant before, after a two-week crash course, she had mastered the basics and was now Qi Li's aide. She couldn't yet provide strategic advice like Zheng Jin once did, but no one expected her to. She was there to support Qi Li, not replace her former advisor.
Now that Du Ning lived in the same residence, she and Qi Li had developed a growing friendship.
This was exactly what Jiang Hai wanted. After telling Du Ning to leave the door unlocked for him that evening, Jiang Hai left her behind—her face flushing red—and headed downstairs toward the main entrance. Even though the capital was cloaked in its usual smog, he preferred being outside to staying indoors.
But as the saying goes: easy to enter, hard to leave.
Nobody stopped him when he arrived, but when he tried to walk out, several security guards suddenly blocked his way.
Jiang Hai frowned, but remembering these were Qi Li's employees, he suppressed his irritation and looked at them calmly.
"What's the matter?" he asked. Their uniforms said "security," but their eyes and posture screamed street thugs.
"What's the matter? Don't you know? Hand over your stuff!"
The guards scanned Jiang Hai from head to toe. He was tall and solid but didn't look particularly imposing. They had seen countless men like him—big on appearance, small on ability. They showed no fear and stepped closer.
"What stuff?" Jiang Hai frowned. Their words made no sense. He honestly had no idea what they were talking about. Seeing his confusion, the lead guard smirked. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.
"What stuff? You dare ask? Hand over what you stole!"
The guard's voice rose sharply, instantly drawing attention. People nearby turned to look.
Many recognized Jiang Hai. Qi Li's attitude toward him was no secret within the company. Although they didn't know the full story, they could tell the two were close—very close. Many men here nursed silent crushes on Qi Li and found it painful to see her with Jiang Hai.
The moment the guards accused him of theft, many employees paused to watch the show. Their goddess being involved with this guy had already stung their egos—if Jiang Hai was exposed as a thief and humiliated by security, so much the better. Some people just have a spiteful nature.
"You're saying I stole something?"
Jiang Hai let out a short, amused laugh. The accusation was ridiculous. The combined assets of everyone in this building couldn't match his own wealth—what could he possibly have stolen?
He immediately understood. These men were here to cause trouble.
He crossed his arms and looked at them calmly.
"You're accusing me of theft? Fine. What exactly did I steal? Show me the evidence. Otherwise, I'll call the police right now."
He smiled and pulled out his phone.
"Kid, you've got guts," one of the thugs muttered. They were stunned for a moment but quickly regained their swagger and circled around him.
Jiang Hai remained composed, standing there as if he were watching children misbehave.
"You really won't understand until you get taught a lesson, huh? Boys, get him! Let's teach him how to talk to real men from Beijing!"
At their leader's shout, the thugs lunged forward.
Unfortunately for them, their fists hadn't even reached half a meter before Jiang Hai struck.
His kick landed with explosive force, sending the fastest attacker flying five or six meters before crashing onto the marble floor. The man slid across the ground until he nearly reached the doorway.
The onlookers were stunned.
This was not how the script was supposed to go. Jiang Hai wasn't playing along.
But while they froze in shock, Jiang Hai didn't. He stepped in and unleashed a few more kicks, sending the remaining attackers sprawling across the floor.
These weren't true fighters. They had once been petty criminals, but after gaining some notoriety, they "reformed" and took up security jobs. Their main value was intimidation.
They had solid muscles from years of street life, but compared to Jiang Hai—whose physical strength far exceeded human limits—they were nothing.
He didn't kill them, but each kick delivered bone-deep pain.
"What are you all standing there for? Help!"
Most of the guards were curled on the ground, clutching their ribs and screaming. Their leader, slightly stronger than the rest, shouted at the security staff outside and at the bystanders.
But no one moved.
They exchanged looks, hesitated, then stepped back.
Nobody here came to work to pick fights. If they got hurt or lost their jobs, they had no one to blame. The white-collar workers watching the scene understood that perfectly.
The other security guards were normal citizens—not the type to risk their jobs or lives over something so stupid. They were here for a paycheck, not a war.
So despite the leader's cries, no one stepped forward.
"What's going on here!?"
A loud voice called from a distance. Qi Zhengtao approached, holding a glass of water, his expression tense. He had been watching from afar.
After all, he had hired these thugs to teach Jiang Hai a lesson. When he heard the commotion stop abruptly, he worried something had gone wrong. In his memory, Jiang Hai was still the useless pushover from the wedding.
He had planned to let these men rough Jiang Hai up a bit—just enough to humiliate him. But if they accidentally caused serious harm, it would be troublesome.
Jiang Hai was Qi Li's husband. Qi Zhengtao might think himself invincible, but deep down, he was afraid of Qi Li. If she ever turned her methods on him the way she had dealt with Qi Liangcai, he'd probably end up in prison, singing "Tears Behind Bars."
He had plenty of skeletons in his closet, but Qi Li never bothered with him.
When he finally reached the entrance and saw the situation, he froze.
Jiang Hai—who should have been lying on the ground bruised and begging—was standing calmly, unfazed. His hired goons, however, were writhing on the floor.
"Young Master Qi! This guy stole something! We tried to check him, but he refused and even attacked us!"
The leader shouted desperately, trying to steer the narrative.
Qi Zhengtao quickly processed the scene. Despite his foolish arrogance, he had been in the business world long enough to recognize what was happening.
They were framing Jiang Hai.
"Jiang Hai, what do you think you're doing? Don't think that just because Qi Li protects you, you can do whatever you want in the Qi family!"
To be continued…