By this time, darkness had fallen.
Under the dim evening sky, Luo Xi saw a disheveled woman standing in her path.
Her eyes turned cold, but her voice was filled with panic.
“Ah! What kind of evil spirit are you?!”
As she shouted, she stepped forward, grabbed the woman’s hair, and immediately began slapping her across the face from both sides.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Song Xingui was slapped so hard that she became completely dazed. Her shrill screams echoed throughout the educated youth compound.
She had been waiting here for Luo Xi because she was still furious about what had happened earlier and wanted to confront Luo Xi properly.
She never imagined that all it would take was one sigh from her before Luo Xi grabbed her by the hair and started beating her mercilessly.
Luo Xi paid no attention to her screams.
She had to beat her into a proper punching bag worth 250 yuan before anyone from the educated youth compound came out.
She kicked Song Xingui hard in the knee.
Bang!
Song Xingui collapsed onto her knees.
The movement had been too fast. Luo Xi hadn’t had time to let go, nor did she intend to.
She ripped out a clump of Song Xingui’s hair.
But she wasn’t finished.
Luo Xi climbed onto Song Xingui, grabbed her hair again, and continued slapping her across the face.
At the same time, she screamed in terror.
“Ahhh! Where did you come from, you vicious criminal?! Tell me, were you hiding here on purpose to ambush me?!”
“Ahhh! Tell me, are you a thief?! Were you planning to steal things from our educated youth compound?!”
Song Xingui screamed repeatedly.
“You—ahhh! I—ahhh! Not—ah! I don’t—”
The barrage of slaps made it impossible for her to finish even a single sentence.
When Luo Xi heard that she could still speak, she slapped her even harder.
“You filthy thief! Instead of being a decent person, you actually dared to steal our things!”
In the dim light, Luo Xi noticed a stone lying beside the road.
She freed one hand, picked up the stone, and stuffed it into Song Xingui’s hand, which was pinned beneath her foot.
She even deliberately rubbed the stone against Song Xingui’s palm a few times while continuing to scream at the top of her lungs.
“Ahhh! And you deliberately messed up your hair to scare me! You bad element! I’m taking you to the police station! You’ll be thrown in jail!”
When Chu Yan heard Luo Xi’s screams, his heart tightened.
He immediately ran toward the sound.
As soon as he stepped out of the educated youth compound, he saw Luo Xi kick Song Xingui in the knee, climb onto her, and slap her repeatedly while shouting accusations.
Then he watched as Luo Xi picked up a stone and stuffed it into Song Xingui’s hand.
Chu Yan stopped in his tracks, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Behind him came a rush of chaotic footsteps.
Almost all the educated youths from the compound had come running out.
“What happened? What happened?”
Qi Le, carrying a shoulder pole, charged to the front.
When he saw the tall figure blocking his way, he hurriedly stopped.
“Comrade Chu, what’s going on?”
Chu Yan coughed and stepped aside.
“It was too dark, so I couldn’t see clearly. It looks like Luo Zhiqing caught a thief.”
“A thief?!”
Qi Le was startled.
He immediately thought of Luo Xi suddenly coming into money today.
Although no one knew about the two hundred yuan she had received from him, everyone knew that Yuan Jiansi had paid her more than a hundred yuan.
This thief had moved fast!
Qi Le shouted and charged toward the figure ahead.
“Luo Zhiqing, move aside!”
Luo Xi was startled.
But she reacted quickly, immediately getting to her feet and taking two steps backward.
Bang!
Qi Le swung the shoulder pole down onto Song Xingui, making her scream loudly.
Qi Le struck her twice more.
“You bad element! You actually came to steal from our educated youth compound!”
A flashlight suddenly switched on, illuminating the figure lying on the ground.
One of the educated youths had come out carrying a flashlight.
“Whoa… Why do I feel like this person looks familiar?”
Xu Qian sucked in a breath.
She shared a kang bed with Song Xingui and was relatively familiar with her.
More importantly, she recognized the clothes.
Qi Le froze with the shoulder pole still raised.
“W-What? No way…”
The educated youths gathered around.
Qi Le cautiously used the shoulder pole to push aside the hair covering Song Xingui’s face.
Then they finally saw her clearly.
A swollen, bruised face that looked just like a pig’s head.
Everyone: “……”
Qi Le raised his bewildered eyes.
“Is this… Comrade Song?”
Xu Qian was also starting to doubt her own eyes.
“It ish me… Sob… I-I’ll report Luo Xi… Sob…”
Song Xingui had finally recovered enough from the pain to speak, though her words were badly slurred.
It hurt terribly.
Her face had to be horribly swollen by now. She could practically feel the enormous swelling on her cheeks herself.
Yuan Jiansi pushed through the crowd, shining his flashlight directly onto Song Xingui’s face.
“Xingui? Is that really you?”
Although the flashlight was painfully bright in her eyes, Song Xingui felt as though she had finally seen a loved one.
She struggled to her feet and threw herself into Yuan Jiansi’s arms.
“Wahhh… It’s me… I want to report Luo Xi… She hit me… Wahhh…”
Luo Xi looked utterly bewildered and completely innocent.
“Are you really Comrade Song? Wait, what were you doing standing here with your hair all over the place in the middle of the night?”
“And I called out to you. Why didn’t you answer? You even rushed toward me. I thought you were a thief, so I defended myself.”
“I didn’t! I didn’t attack you! Don’t make things up!”
Song Xingui raised her swollen, pig-like face and accused Luo Xi.
Luo Xi generously waved her hand.
“All right, all right. Whatever you say.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I might have hit you a little too hard. How about I buy you a bottle of red medicine tomorrow so you can put some on your injuries?”
Song Xingui was furious and pointed at Luo Xi.
“You! This isn’t over! Hurry, go report her to the police! Luo Xi deliberately beat me!”
Amid the commotion, Brigade Leader Guo Jiandang and Party Secretary Guo Ziqiang hurried over.
“What happened?”
Luo Xi sighed and put on an extremely reasonable expression.
“How about we have someone examine Comrade Song’s injuries first? We can discuss everything else later.”
Only then did everyone remember Song Xingui’s injuries.
They quickly agreed.
“Right, right. Let’s treat her injuries first.”
Yuan Jiansi also couldn’t worry about anything else at that moment.
He half-carried, half-supported Song Xingui back into the educated youth compound.
Under the dim kerosene lamp, Song Xingui’s injuries looked even worse.
She practically didn’t look human anymore.
Fortunately, after barefoot doctor Guo Dewang examined her carefully, he only diagnosed her with superficial injuries.
“Just some external injuries. Apply some red medicine, and she’ll be fine in a few days.”
Song Xingui naturally refused to accept that.
“Impossible! My whole body hurts terribly! I want to go to the county hospital for a proper examination!”
It was obvious that she didn’t trust Guo Dewang’s medical skills.
His expression immediately turned cold.
“Suit yourself.”
With that, he began packing up his medical kit and preparing to leave.
Yuan Jiansi hurriedly stopped him.
“Uncle Dewang, she’s just been spoiled and pampered. Don’t take what she said to heart. Do you have any medicine? Just give her something to put on her injuries first.”
It was pitch-dark outside, and he had no desire to drag everyone all the way to the county hospital in the middle of the night.
Although Song Xingui was dissatisfied, there was nothing she could do.
Even Yuan Jiansi, the person closest to her, wasn’t taking her side, and there was no one willing to accompany her to the county town.
She could only apply the medicine aggrievedly.
Unfortunately, it made her face look even uglier.
Only then did Guo Jiandang ask,
“So, what exactly happened?”