With them drunk and lowering their guard, thinking she was just a weak woman anyway, Yeri kicked the guy who tried to grope her squarely in the groin.
The man howled in pain like a wounded dog.
Without hesitation, Yeri grabbed a bottle of liquor and smashed it over another guy's head.
Her sudden retaliation instantly put the rest of them on alert as curses erupted throughout the room.
Yeri knew she couldn't rush for the door. Instead, she jumped onto the sofa and leaped behind it, pointing the shattered bottle in her hand at them.
"Yeri Zhi, are you fucking out of your mind?! Can't you take a joke?" Hadi shouted angrily.
The others quickly joined in, hurling insults and threats at her.
"You actually assaulted someone? What, are you so confident Shin Keir will back you up?"
"Damn it, you bitch!" the guy with the bleeding head cursed furiously. "Where is she?! I'm going to teach her a lesson!"
Yeri sneered, her gaze settling on Hadi. Something beneath his pants was already visibly aroused.
Seeing the blatant disgust in her eyes, Hadi jumped up and down, ordering everyone to stop standing around and hold her down.
"Yeri Zhi, what are you being so smug about? This has nothing to do with you! Do you really think I want to sleep with you?!" Hadi argued before pointing at the college student. "She's the one seducing me! My body is just being honest!"
While he continued spewing nonsense, several of his friends lunged at Yeri.
Before they could reach her, however, she did something that shocked everyone.
It was only a small movement, but blood gradually trickled down her wrist.
"Y-you... you- are you fucking crazy?" one of the guy nearest to her immediately stammered as he took two steps back.
But Yeri acted as though it wasn't her own wrist she had just slashed, her face showed no sign of pain, only the expression of someone who wouldn't mind dragging everyone in the room down to hell with her.
"Miss Zhi, you don't have to scare everyone by pretending to harm yourself. Every life is precious. Please don't gamble with your life. It was all just for fun. If you're truly upset, I'll apologize on behalf of everyone here," the college student suddenly said.
At her words, the others gradually snapped out of their panic and fear.
Indeed, how could Yeri possibly think of committing suicide when she was Shin Keir's fiancée? She had already attained a position that countless women could only dream of. Who would give that up so easily?
Once again, they began cursing at Yeri, calling her scheming, dramatic, and crazy.
Laughing mockingly, Yeri enunciated each word.
"You all probably think that once I'm humiliated, Brother Shin won't want me anymore. And with your families' status, would he really be so brainless as to make enemies of so many elite families over me?"
Hadi's friends fell silent, her words had hit the nail on the head.
"Well, let's just say that's a possibility..." Yeri continued. "But putting me aside, by forcing me to drink such high-alcohol-content liquor, you've already harmed my baby."
Blinking, Hadi opened his mouth but the next second, his eyes widened.
What did she just say?!
With a look of utter resignation, Yeri cried out, "I'm not going to live anymore! I failed to protect my baby! I'm not going to live anymore! Let Brother Shin be the judge and seek justice for us, mother and child!"
Hadi and his friends were so frightened that their drunkenness vanished instantly.
Could the reason Shin Keir was so adamant about marrying only her be because she was really pregnant?
Forget about Yeri herself. If she was truly carrying Shin's child, then that would be an entirely different matter.
"If you're really pregnant, then why didn't you say so earlier? Weren't you just waiting for us to harm you?" someone blurted out.
"That's right! She might not even be pregnant at all! Or maybe she already had a miscarriage without anyone knowing and just wants to pin the blame on us!"
Yeri ignored them completely.
Instead, her attention shifted to the college student as a somewhat hysterical expression appeared on her face.
"And you," she said accusingly, "aren't you also a woman? How could you just stand there watching? You even encouraged them to harm me. Are you really that desperate for a man? That desperate to climb the social ladder? Did it ever occur to you that if these scumbags dared to harm me, Shin Keir's fiancée, would they really treat you well afterward? If anything, they'd only make you the scapegoat."
The college student's face turned ashen, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed, angry, or afraid under Yeri's relentless criticism.
Slap!
Hadi didn't hesitate, slapping the college student across the face as though Yeri's words had suddenly enlightened him.
"You bitch! Are you some kind of demon?!" he roared. "I was drunk, and you took advantage of that to incite me into harming my future cousin-in-law! I originally brought her here just to introduce her to my friends, but because you kept whispering in my ear, I unintentionally forced her to drink!"
The college student's eyes widened in disbelief.
Before she could even respond, the rest of Hadi's brain dead friends followed suit. Some slapped her, others yanked her hair, and one even poured liquor over her head.
Watching the scene unfold, Yeri felt no remorse.
After all, she had merely done to them what she had watched the college student do earlier.
Playing innocent while planting poisonous suggestions in people's minds was a skill she could use as well.
Having spent most of her life sick and surrounded by people who treated her like fragile porcelain, Yeri had long mastered that art.
She had simply grown tired of using it.
But since the situation called for it, she could certainly perform when necessary.
Tears streamed down her face as she crouched in the corner, screaming while holding the broken bottle against her neck, daring anyone to come closer.
At that moment, the door burst open with a loud bang after being kicked from the outside.
With long, imposing strides, Shin walked into the room, his dark gaze swept across the scene with alarming speed.
Behind him followed several people from Hexion.
Hadi's friends were so terrified that they scattered like startled monkeys throughout the room, desperately searching for somewhere to escape.
Unfortunately for them, the door was already blocked. As for the floor-to-ceiling windows, they served as a cruel reminder that they were on the top floor.
"I'm not going to live anymore!" Yeri wailed. "You're all murderers! You killed my baby!"
The moment he heard her voice, Shin spotted Yeri slumped in the corner.
Her hair was disheveled, looking frightened, pitiful, and slightly hysterical.
A surge of fury exploded within him.
Veins bulged visibly on his forehead as an oppressive chill swept through the room, causing everyone present to feel suffocated.
Eager to clear himself of responsibility, Hadi immediately pointed at Yeri and shouted,
"It wasn't me! I didn't do anything! She slit her wrist herself!"
Slit her wrist?
Shin's pupils constricted.
The terrifying pressure around him intensified instantly. Without another word, he hurried toward her.
Looking up and seeing him, Yeri was momentarily stunned.
However, instead of returning to her usual self, tears welled in her eyes as she softly whispered, "Brother Shin..."
Her voice and appearance looked heartbreakingly fragile.
Shin immediately removed his coat and wrapped it around her before pulling her into his arms.
Only then did he notice the strong scent of liquor clinging to her body and the dampness of her shirt, his expression darkened as he grabbed her wrist.
The moment he saw the blood staining her left wrist, a terrifying chill flashed across his eyes.
The wound itself wasn't particularly deep, but because it had been bleeding continuously, it looked far more serious than it actually was.
Without hesitation, Shin secretly used his demon ability to close the wound before quickly wrapping it with a handkerchief as a cover.
After making sure the bleeding had stopped, he immediately carried Yeri into his arms.
He had barely taken a few steps when Hadi suddenly stumbled forward, still trying desperately to explain himself.
Before he could utter another word, Shin punched him squarely in the face, sending him crashing onto the floor with several of his front teeth flying.
The women who had accompanied them were already cowering in a corner, crying quietly while desperately trying to make themselves invisible.
Two of Hadi's friends had already fainted, assuming they had simply drunk too much and had nothing to do with the overwhelming pressure.
"Ahhhh! Y-you monster!" Hadi wailed as he scrambled backward on all fours, desperately trying to put distance between himself and Shin.
The memory of the last beating Shin had given him resurfaced vividly in his mind.
"I didn't know! I really didn't know she was carrying your child!"
Ignoring his nonsense, Shin was in a hurry to take Yeri to the hospital but Hadi just have to keep blocking his path.
Without even sparing him a glance, Shin stepped on him and delivered a few kicks here and there as though casually testing the durability of his shoes.
"AHHHHH! Murder! Help! I'm going to die! Someone's killing people!" Hadi shrieked incoherently like a pig being dragged to slaughter.
"Hadi Keir," Shin said coldly, "if being temporarily disowned by the clan wasn't enough to satisfy you, then I might as well help you meet your maker sooner."
His words exploded like a bomb among Hadi's friends.
Disowned?
Doesn't that mean Hadi wasn't more important than Yeri Zhi to the Keir family at all?
Then how were they supposed to explain what they had done tonight?
The more they thought about it, the paler their faces became.
As for Hadi, the moment he heard Shin's words, his eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
If not for Yeri, Shin would have already lost control.
"I can walk... just put me down," Yeri whispered softly.
By then, they had already stepped outside.
Standing in the hallway were her classmates, all staring blankly in shock.
Nina and Levi were among them as well, hesitating to approach.
Shin Keir's presence was simply too intimidating.
Earlier, when Yeri had been gone for far too long, they had tried calling her only to realize she had left her phone inside her bag in the room.