8
Zhou Xiye is Gentle to the Point of Not Being Human
As soon as Zhou Xiye finished speaking, several loud thuds echoed from the restroom—the sound of flesh striking flesh.
Zhang Zhao instantly grew tense: “Boss, what should we do? We might not make it in time…”
Zhou Xiye pressed his lips together, his gaze fixed intently on the restroom door. Based on the sounds from within, he was taking a gamble…
The restroom door slid open. Jiang Zhizhi’s braided pigtail had come undone, strands of hair messily draped over her shoulders. A few drops of blood stained her fair, delicate face. Her shirt collar was torn open, revealing exquisite collarbones and a expanse of pale skin, with subtle curves threatening to emerge.
The injured wrist, its gauze soaked through with blood, looked somewhat disheveled. Yet her eyes blazed with a fierce, wolf-cub-like intensity.
Behind her, a man lay limp on the floor, eyes wide open, breathing faintly.
Zhou Xiye’s breath hitched: “Turn around!”
Moving swiftly, he unbuckled his military belt, swiftly removed his coat, and wrapped it around Jiang Zhizhi: “Are you hurt?”
Zhang Zhao and Wang Changkun promptly turned away, though inwardly astonished—Jiang Zhizhi had dealt with that man far too quickly!
Jiang Zhizhi felt a burning pain in her injured wrist, and the arm in the cast ached dully, likely strained during the struggle. She cursed her carelessness for letting that man drag her into the restroom.
During the scuffle, he had grabbed her collar, nearly tearing her clothes completely off!
Now, enveloped in Zhou Xiye’s coat, the crisp scent of cold pine in snow cleared her mind instantly. How could she explain to Zhou Xiye that she was Jiang Zhizhi? How could Jiang Zhizhi possibly fight like this!
Lowering her head, she stared at the sea of green fabric before her eyes and shook her head: “No.”
Suddenly remembering, she looked up at Zhou Xiye: “Where’s my bag?”
That contained all her belongings, including her Letter of Introduction for travel!
Zhou Xiye: “…”
Even at a time like this, this girl was still worried about her handbag: “It’s not lost. It’s right here.”
Relieved, Jiang Zhizhi let out a soft sigh and flashed Zhou Xiye a bright smile, revealing a cute little canine tooth: “Thank you.”
That radiant smile, eyes sparkling with light, struck straight into Zhou Xiye’s heart.
Zhou Xiye felt his throat tighten and averted his gaze: “You were very brave.”
The train conductor approached: “It’s confirmed—it’s these two. I thought they were just two men, but they’re actually a married couple. They looked refined, but they’ve taken multiple lives.”
Jiang Zhizhi exclaimed in surprise: “What about the child and the two elderly women?”
The conductor shook his head in disbelief: “I can hardly believe it—the child was stolen by them. The two elderly women were just kindly taking the child out for a stroll, but they boarded the train across the platform. We’ve already contacted the station.”
Jiang Zhizhi: “…”
The traffickers she had suspected turned out to be just confused elderly women, while the couple she thought harmless were actually murderers?
The conductor summoned several railway police to take the couple away for detention, planning to hand them over to the authorities at the next station.
Due to Jiang Zhizhi’s merit in capturing the criminals and her injuries, she was specially assigned to the premium carriage at the front—a sleeper compartment reserved for senior officials. The carriage accommodated only two people and included a small restroom.
While it couldn’t compare to later soft sleeper standards, in Jiang Zhizhi’s eyes, it was already exceptionally comfortable.
Never expected that getting into a fight would lead to such good treatment. Feeling somewhat happy, she couldn’t suppress the upward curve of her lips, smiling with crescent-shaped eyes.
For some reason, Zhou Xiye found his mood lifting as he watched Jiang Zhizhi’s joyful expression. He helped carry her bag into the compartment: “Change your clothes first. I noticed your hand is injured—I’ll come back later to help you change the dressing.”
Jiang Zhizhi was surprised. Had Zhou Xiye been observing her so carefully? She nodded readily in agreement. With only one usable hand, she was indeed quite inconvenienced.
After Zhou Xiye closed the compartment door, Jiang Zhizhi struggled to change out of her clothes and into a light yellow shirt. Noticing the dried blood on her wrist, she thought it probably wasn’t serious but still unwrapped the bandage to check.
Whether it was due to poor stitching technique or the original owner’s multiple forceful cuts, the wound appeared rather long and gruesome.
While Jiang Zhizhi was still pondering how to remove the scar in the future, the compartment door knocked.
Assuming it was Zhou Xiye, she called out for him to enter.
Upon entering, Zhou Xiye immediately saw the large wound on Jiang Zhizhi’s right wrist, now covered with a scab. Without asking further questions, he inquired: “How’s your arm? Is it fractured? Are you feeling unwell? If so, we can get off at the next stop and go to the hospital.”
Jiang Zhizhi shook her head: “No need. I don’t feel anything now—it should be fine.”
Zhou Xiye sat beside Jiang Zhizhi, holding a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao and a roll of bandages: “Let me apply the medicine. The edges of your wound are slightly red, as if about to become inflamed. If not careful, it could easily get infected and fester.”
With her arm in a cast, Jiang Zhizhi could only bend it partially, allowing Zhou Xiye to administer the medicine.
Unconsciously, they ended up very close to each other.
Jiang Zhizhi could see Zhou Xiye’s rather long eyelashes casting attractive shadows under his eyes and noticed his high, straight nose bridge. They say men with high nose bridges are also… capable in that aspect?
???!!!
Jiang Zhizhi was startled by her own sudden indecent thoughts. She hadn’t even solved basic survival needs, yet she dared to entertain such irrelevant ideas!
Indeed, beauty leads people astray.
Zhou Xiye, afraid of hurting Jiang Zhizhi, carefully sprinkled the Yunnan Baiyao and gently wrapped the bandage around her wrist layer by layer.
While bandaging, he looked up and saw Jiang Zhizhi’s flushed face, yet her eyes were as clear and bright as the sky after rain.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
Blushing, Jiang Zhizhi shook her head: “No, it doesn’t hurt.”
Thinking she was in pain but too embarrassed to say so, Zhou Xiye said: “Bear with it a little. I’ll be gentle—it’ll be over soon.”
Jiang Zhizhi hummed in response, her eyes darting around, not daring to look at Zhou Xiye’s face again—it was too mesmerizing.
Outside, Zhang Zhao and Wang Changkun were eavesdropping by the door, exchanging shocked and incredulous looks. Had their boss been possessed by something? How could he be so gentle?
Hearing movement inside, the two hurried back to the adjacent compartment. When Zhou Xiye arrived, Zhang Zhao teased while stroking Wang Changkun’s arm: “Does it hurt a lot? Bear with it a little. I’ll be gentle—it’ll be over soon…”
But Wang Changkun didn’t dare move, having already seen their boss’s darkened expression.
Zhou Xiye coldly stared at Zhang Zhao: “After we return, you’ll tend to the pigs. I think you’re quite suited for it.”
Zhang Zhao exclaimed: “Boss, what did I even do? You can’t be this cruel!”
Zhou Xiye ignored him and sat down directly, his mind preoccupied with the wounds on Jiang Zhizhi’s wrists. They were clearly the result of self-harm—what could have driven her to attempt suicide?
Seeing Zhou Xiye remain silent, Wang Changkun cautiously asked, “Boss, what’s that girl’s name? You were right—her skills are truly more impressive than mine and Zhang Zhao’s…”
Later, he had also examined the injuries on the man and concluded they were precise, accurate, and ruthless! Naturally, he grew increasingly curious about Jiang Zhizhi’s identity.