Shen Li went through Shen Liren’s entire household, stripping it bare. This family of ingrates—even the youngest, Shen Mingtang, had swindled a thousand yuan from her, plus a few jade pieces. As for Zhong Shuhua, she had taken even more. Shen Li knew exactly where these petty, miserly people would hide their money—always easy to find.
All the precious jewelry left by her mother, plus the money Zhong Shuhua had greedily hoarded over the years, went straight into Shen Li’s space.
Shen Man had little more than a few pieces of jewelry. Shen Li knew she had spent all her money chasing the Red Committee job.
Having finished her sweep, Shen Li checked the time, adjusted her clothes, and opened the door to the floor below.
Gu Xu was about to knock when the front door swung open. Shen Li’s face turned pale, and she bolted out in panic.
Shen Li hid behind Gu Xu, her voice trembling slightly. “Brother Gu Xu, you finally came! There’s a mouse—a huge mouse! I don’t dare go up. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Shen Li’s pale, stunning beauty, usually spoiled and willful, never annoyed anyone. Right now, though, she looked pitifully adorable—their large, moist eyes like a frightened little kitten. Gu Xu’s heart softened instantly.
His irritation earlier over Shen Li insisting he buy a radio vanished. Seeing how much she needed him, he straightened up, confidence swelling. “Don’t worry, Li Li. I’ll catch that miserable mouse for you.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Shen Li said gratefully, sentence by sentence, and Gu Xu felt like he could fly.
He lifted his chin. “To keep those filthy things from charging at you, Li Li, wait downstairs for me. I’ll lock the door behind me.”
Shen Li nodded and ran to the kitchen, finding a massive iron rod. Shen Liren had left it behind when reinforcing the basement some time ago.
“Brother Gu Xu, this should work better,” she said.
Gu Xu nodded. Indeed, Shen Li’s rod was heavier than the wooden stick he held.
Gu Xu went upstairs, entered Shen Li’s room, and locked the door.
The panic on Shen Li’s face vanished immediately. She walked over to the circuit breaker and waited, standing for a few minutes.
The breaker was close to her room; every sound was clear.
When she heard the thuds and the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs, Shen Li knew the actors were all on stage—the show was about to begin.
Night was dark and windy. Thick clouds blotted out the moon. The small villa suddenly went dark, like an isolated castle. Gu Xu tensed, cautiously glancing out the window.
The Shen family’s villa was deep inside; Shen Li’s room could only see the neighbor’s situation.
Next door was Aunt Zhao’s house, which also had a power outage.
In these times, resources were scarce, and electricity was unreliable. Gu Xu didn’t think much of it.
Shen Li needed him so badly—he couldn’t even fail to catch a mouse.
Relying on faint light, Gu Xu bent slightly, carefully searching for the mouse.
He had searched the room thoroughly, seeing nothing, except under the bed.
These filthy little creatures loved dark corners.
Gu Xu approached the bed.
Shen Li’s window was open. The night wind blew in, chilly enough to send shivers down Gu Xu’s back.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him.
Before he could react, someone hugged him from behind.
“Little darling, what are you looking for? Looking for your brother?”
It was dark. The light dim. Gu Xu bent slightly, his height reduced, and assuming Shen Li was alone, he didn’t suspect anything.
The person held Gu Xu tightly, spouting filthy words, kissing wildly—his ears, face, and lips all assaulted.
It was clearly a man’s voice. Who could tolerate that?
At first, Gu Xu didn’t register it. When he realized the lips were wet, he understood—he was being kissed by a man.
Anger flared. He swung the iron rod backward.
The huge scream pierced the silent night, chilling the air.
“Ah! Stop hitting me!”
“Someone’s being murdered!”
As screams echoed, the power returned, light driving out the darkness.
Gu Xu blinked, his vision clearing. Before him was a man with beady eyes, a birthmark on his face like a clown on a stage—so ugly it was unlucky to look at him.
Yellow teeth gaped as he gasped, the stench unbearable.
He had been kissed by such a disgusting, grotesque man?
Gu Xu shivered, then fury surged.
“You’re asking for it.”
The iron rod moved freely in his hands, each strike lethal.
The man fell to the floor, spitting blood, barely able to speak. “I—I won’t do it… I don’t want the money either…”
The plan had been to deal with a harmless girl, but now it was a strong, muscular man.
After striking so fiercely, Zhang Tiezhu cursed his own stupidity for taking this job.
“Brother Gu Xu, what’s happening?”
Shen Li entered just in time. She couldn’t allow Gu Xu to kill someone in her house.
Besides, this man could still be useful.
“Who is this?” she asked.
Gu Xu wanted to say he was a pervert, but realizing that others might find out, he quickly corrected himself. “He’s a thief.”
“Breaking into someone’s room at night? If he’s not a thief, what—some pervert?”
In these times, molestation was punished more harshly than theft. Theft might get five to six years; molestation, eight.
And he hadn’t stolen anything—likely he wouldn’t even see jail.
Zhang Tiezhu coughed, blood specked with a broken tooth.
Without the tooth, his speech was a bit slurred.
“I came to steal things,” he admitted.
Shen Li had suspected this man was sent by Shen Man to target her. She had thought he was there to steal her belongings, which was why she had arranged for Aunt Zhao’s help and deliberately told Gu Xu she was in trouble—knowing he would come.
Let the dogs fight each other.
But hearing the filthy things he had just said, Shen Li realized Shen Man not only wanted her bankbooks and money, but also intended to have this man defile her.
Human hearts were truly filthy.
Seeing how harshly Gu Xu struck, she guessed Zhang Tiezhu had taken advantage of Shen Man considerably.
Shen Li feigned shock. “Then I need to report this to the police.”
“No,” came two voices in unison.
Gu Xu feared that if the police got involved, the man would spill everything. He couldn’t let anyone find out what had just happened.
The other voice belonged to Shen Liren, who had returned without anyone noticing.
Shen Liren and the others had been near the house, waiting to catch Shen Li “in the act.”
Hearing the man’s screams outside, Shen Liren immediately sensed something was wrong and returned.
Sure enough, the situation was nothing like they had planned. Shen Li had not been harmed; Gu Xu appeared unexpectedly; and the man Shen Man had sent lay on the floor, barely alive.
He absolutely could not let Shen Li report it to the police—otherwise, Shen Man would be implicated.
Shen Liren was relieved to have returned first, able to intervene.
“Why can’t we call the police? We don’t even know how much this thief stole from the house.”
Shen Liren had already prepared an excuse. “Li Li, this thief is a man. You’re alone in a room with a stranger at night. People will talk.”