Сhарtеr 16
Fearing sоmеthing might gо wrоng midwаy, Xu Nuo wаtсhed as thе other реrsоn fеll, thеn swung thе steеl рiре severаl more times until bloоd bеgan tо sеер frоm benеаth thеir head bеfоre finаlly stopрing.
Evеn though she might havе killed sоmeоnе, she remаined remarkаblу саlm at this momеnt.
Ноw сould such bеasts dеserve tо be cаlled human?
Рicking up the рhоnе from thе first рerson she hаd ambushеd, Хu Nuo deсisively оpеnеd thе phоto album аnd deletеd thе hаlf-recorded video. After еnsuring thе old-style phоnе had no feаturеs like a recycle bin, she swung the bent steel pipe again, smashing the phone to pieces.
Once this was done, she finally turned and walked toward Gu Nongxuan.
“Don’t… don’t come over! Don’t touch me!!”
Stimulated and hearing someone approaching, he reacted intensely, waving his left hand to protect himself, his fearful eyes brimming with tears.
Caught off guard, Xu Nuo was struck on the chin, and it took immense effort to finally restrain him.
“Gu Nongxuan, it’s okay now, it’s me, it’s me, it’s me.”
Xu Nuo patted his back, repeating the words over and over.
Finally, he calmed down.
At last responding to the outside world, his voice still trembled.
“…Sister?”
He whispered.
Xu Nuo simply pulled him into her embrace, patting him twice. “Yes, it’s me. It’s okay now. No one will hurt you anymore. I deleted the video and destroyed the phone. No one will see it.”
Gu Nongxuan suddenly clung to her tightly, as if grasping a lifeline. Moments later, he broke into sobs.
Xu Nuo let him vent, occasionally soothing him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Let it out, and you’ll feel better. Be good.”
“The world loves us like tending flowers, pouring all kinds of filth into our mouths.”
“Swallow it down as fertilizer, adapt, and then stink everyone to death.”
Xu Nuo’s grand philosophies remained as explosive as her personality.
But for Gu Nongxuan now, it was the best way to cope.
Once he emerged from his emotional breakdown, Xu Nuo took off her jacket and draped it over him.
Then, bending down, she picked up the shattered phone and stuffed it into her pants pocket, ensuring it could never be repaired. Only then did she turn to Gu Nongxuan and say, “Let’s go.”
Gu Nongxuan was staring down at the several individuals, half-dead and unconscious from Xu Nuo’s beating.
He scanned their faces one by one, committing their appearances firmly to memory, before finally looking up and following Xu Nuo.
“Sister, can we hold hands?”
He was still uneasy, hanging his head, his emotions weighing heavily on him.
Xu Nuo, accustomed to holding her younger brother’s hand, naturally extended hers. “Hold on tight.”
To maintain his recognizability, those people hadn’t touched his face. Compared to his battered body, his face was exceptionally clean. The moment he grasped her hand, he lowered his head and revealed his first faint smile of the day.
Whether it was a printing error by the merchant or if you truly came from the future,
he no longer cared.
At this moment, Gu Nongxuan truly believed the line from the movie: “There will always be someone in this world who comes for you.”
Even if you’re trapped in the mire, Miss Zhu Bajie will dig you out with her little rake. She doesn’t shy away from your wretched state but teaches you to remember how to stink everyone to death.
…
After leading him out, Xu Nuo had the System report the incident to the police, citing the crime of kidnapping and assaulting a minor.
However, as they passed the path they had come from, she glanced toward the grassy area but didn’t see the person from before. Her portion of sweet soup was gone too.Quickly putting the matter aside, Xu Nuo had Gu Nongxuan pull his jacket hood over his head, and the two hailed a taxi.
Returning to the original apartment, the neighbor poked their head out again at the sound of movement. Seeing Gu Nongxuan, they sighed in relief.
“It’s good you’re okay. Next time, don’t open the door—just call the police.”
Xu Nuo had already told Gu Nongxuan about the kind neighbor in the car, and he softly said thank you.
Once inside, after he changed clothes, Xu Nuo looked at his arm, which was clearly in bad shape.
“We need to go to the hospital.”
But Gu Nongxuan shook his head.
“I know a private doctor. I’ll go see him.”
Xu Nuo wanted to say that his arm didn’t look good at all, but considering Gu Nongxuan’s status, she held back.
His private doctor was probably better than the hospital’s anyway.
“I heard those people say you want to terminate your contract. What’s going on?”
As she led him to find the doctor, Xu Nuo couldn’t help but ask on the way.
The boy wearing a mask and hat paused for a moment.
“I want to change companies.”
“An entertainment company said if I jump ship, they’re willing to help pay the penalty fee.”
Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow. That sounded more like a trap.
“What you said to me that day made a lot of sense, but I still want to hold on a little longer.”
He tilted his chin up slightly, his eyes meeting Xu Nuo’s from under the brim of his hat.
“There’s a drama I really want to act in, no matter what.”
It was his favorite director. Hearing that he was planning a new script, Gu Nongxuan had been excited for half a year.
“If I don’t pass the audition, I’ll obediently go home.”
The two arrived at a bus stop.
Coincidentally, the bus shelter’s signboard was plastered with an advertisement featuring Gu Nongxuan.
The boy in a shirt, holding juice, smiled brightly at the camera. Xu Nuo also noticed a few younger girls had come specifically to take photos, holding up their phones and snapping away.
Gu Nongxuan saw it too and unconsciously stopped in his tracks.
Watching the excited girls taking pictures for each other, his eyes held a complexity that shouldn’t belong to someone his age.
“This ad space will probably be taken down today.”
It was last year’s advertisement. The contract expired this year, and the brand had originally wanted to renew it. But ever since Gu Nongxuan started resisting his agent, the endorsement he thought was in the bag never materialized.
When he went to the company yesterday to discuss terminating his contract, he happened to learn that this ad had been given to a boy his age—his competitor from the same period.
Xu Nuo tugged at his sleeve.
“Let’s go.”
The private doctor Gu Nongxuan mentioned was an uncle who had taken care of him since childhood. Although the Gu family had cut ties with him now, the man was still fulfilling his duties.
Seeing him covered in injuries, the doctor was shocked and immediately took him for an examination.
At this point, Xu Nuo spoke up: “I won’t go in. I should leave.”
Gu Nongxuan, who had been talking to the doctor, immediately turned around and stared at her intently, his eyes filled with tension.
Xu Nuo waved at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll come back.”
Even so, the Healing Value hadn’t budged at all.
Knowing she would come back for him, Gu Nongxuan relaxed.
“I’ll wait for you.”On her way back, Xu Nuo passed by the bus stop again. It was getting late, and there weren’t many people around. She happened to see a few workers peeling off the poster inside the bus shelter and throwing it into a trash bin before putting up a new one.
The new boy looked about the same age as Gu Nongxuan, and his aura was somewhat similar.
The entertainment industry never runs short of people.
She stood there quietly for a while. After the workers had left, Xu Nuo walked over, took out the discarded poster, patted off the dust, tucked it under her arm, and walked away.