Chapter 228

• Lily Williams was slow to react, but Elijah Moore moved fast. He spun around and blocked her at once. Elijah turned his back to the outside and wrapped Lily Williams in his arms. Robert Taylor stood to Lily’s left front, and it was already too late for him to move. The ceramic shard smacked into Elijah’s back, then clattered to the floor and shattered into even smaller pieces. There were a lot of fragments, and Lily felt a sting in her calf. Must’ve been nicked by a shard. Zhang Longyan stood to the side, forgetting to jump around. He just stared, eyes wide, at Elijah and Lily. For a few seconds, the air in the room went still. Robert Taylor was the first to snap out of it. He rushed over, yanked Elijah aside, then gripped Lily’s shoulders and looked her over, head to toe. “You okay?” Lily lifted her gaze to Robert, then to Elijah, lips trembling. “My leg hurts. I’m scared to look. Am I bleeding?” Robert crouched. Lily wore short overalls; half her thighs and her calves were bare. Her calf was bleeding. It was sliced by the vase that had shattered. Two or three cuts—one a bit worse, looked long. Lily hated pain. She couldn’t watch shots being given, and she couldn’t look at wounds either. Zhang Longyan paused for a second, then suddenly charged at Ning Xiang. “You actually dared to throw hands? I’ll end you.” Zhang Longyan wasn’t big on ethics. He’d square up to beat his own old man. Now facing Ning Xiang, whom he’d looked down on from the start, he swung a kick. Ning Xiao was nearby and yanked Ning Xiang out of the way. The kick slammed full on into Ning Xiao, hard. Zhuang Liya rushed over and shielded both Ning Xiang and Ning Xiao behind her. “What are you doing? Who gave you the right to hit anyone?” Lily stayed where she was, too scared to look down, voice shaking. “Robert, is the cut big? Does it look scary? My leg hurts so bad. I can’t stay standing. Hold me, hurry.” The cut wasn’t exactly huge. Lily probably took too good care of herself; the bright red blood spilling out made it look worse. Robert’s face went dark and dangerous. He scooped Lily up in his arms. Ning Xiu and the old gentleman of the Ning family finally reacted. Ning Xiu hurried over. “Is she okay? I’ll call the family doctor.” The old gentleman of the Ning family pushed himself up with his cane. “Call the doctor, quick.” “No need,” Robert said coldly. He turned, looked first at the old gentleman, then at Ning Xiu, and finally swept his gaze over the three from the Ning side again like sifting them through a strainer. Ning Xiang seemed to realize what she’d done and ducked behind Zhuang Liya. Lily curled into Robert’s arms, lips trembling, on the verge of tears. After a long beat, Robert spoke. “I’ll remember this. I don’t have time today. When I’m free, we’ll settle it properly.” With that, he carried Lily out. Lily kept whimpering until they were in the car. Robert pulled out some tissues and gently wiped the blood around the cut. The cut was a bit long, but clearly just a superficial wound. Nothing serious. Lily tilted her head back, refusing to look. She’d always been tough, but when it came to flesh and blood, she couldn’t bear to see it. Her voice quivered. “Does it look scary? My leg’s gone numb.” Robert glanced up at her, a little helpless. “I told you to stand back. You shouldn’t crowd into messes like this.”