Seeing her red eyes and docile, soft appearance, Gu Beizheng’s heart, which had just hardened, softened with a pang of ache again.
He sighed silently. “Have you never considered that your political background is problematic? Even if something happened between us, how would I resolve your background check issues? Aren’t you afraid it would all be for nothing?”
Xu Zhouzhou glanced at him. “You… you’re an officer. If it really comes to that, you’ll figure something out yourself.”
Gu Beizheng was amused yet vexed by her aggrieved, roguish behavior. “So you really don’t care if I live or die, do you?”
“If I didn’t care about your life or death, I would have drugged you. I don’t believe you could have held back with that heavy a dose.” Xu Zhouzhou pursed her lips, and her tears started falling immediately.
“Why… why are you crying? You nearly killed me, yet you’re the one feeling aggrieved?” Gu Beizheng felt inexplicably agitated the moment he saw her tears.
Xu Zhouzhou glanced at him with red eyes, sniffled, and played her last small chip. “Even if nothing happened between us today, that day… that night, you kissed me too. Don’t you need to take responsibility for that?”
“You kissed me first. The crime of hooliganism applies to both men and women.” Gu Beizheng tossed the sentence at her indifferently.
“You…” She knew she couldn’t out-talk him. Xu Zhouzhou glared at him. This man was dead set on not helping her. Thinking of her tragic ending, she lowered her head in discouragement.
Watching her, Gu Beizheng took a deep breath. “I’ve already spoken to the Village Head. If you have any difficulties, you can go to him. If someone bullies you, seek the Village Head’s protection. You can also report it to the police.”
Xu Zhouzhou shook her head silently. “It’s useless. Lu Shijie won’t let me go. I’m going to die here.”
Gu Beizheng was surprised by the certainty in her tone. “How do you know something will definitely happen?”
Xu Zhouzhou looked up at him. She couldn’t very well tell him it was because of a dream, could she?
Seeing her silence, Gu Beizheng thought of Lu Shijie’s behavior at the station that day, and his heart sank as well.
After a moment of silence, he asked in a low, slow voice, “Xu Zhouzhou, I asked you that day: if it were another man, would you have used this method to beg him? You said no. Why?”
Xu Zhouzhou raised her head blankly, not understanding why he suddenly asked this.
Why? She asked herself the same thing.
“Because… because it’s you,” Xu Zhouzhou murmured, lifting her tear-filled eyes.
She saw the man’s figure stiffen slightly, then he lowered his eyes and said nothing.
After Gu Beizheng left, Xu Zhouzhou sat alone for a long time. Gu Beizheng was ultimately unwilling to help her; he had left without saying anything else.
She rubbed her face. Using despicable means to seduce a man just to get herself out of a predicament… Sigh, she was probably the most useless transmigrator ever. Forget it.
This path was a dead end. Men were unreliable; she had to save herself.
The next day, Xu Zhouzhou woke up before dawn. Gu Beizheng should have left by now. Their paths likely wouldn’t cross again.
She got through a day of classes safe and sound. Xu Zhouzhou planned to take the morning off tomorrow to go to the county town and ask about the policy for returning to the city, to see if there were any other opportunities to leave this place or find another way out.
After school that afternoon, Xiaotao went back to the dorm with her for tutoring.
Seeing Xiaotao looking depressed, Xu Zhouzhou asked, “What’s wrong? Unhappy?”
Xiaotao pouted and nodded. “Yeah, Uncle left. He left without even saying goodbye to me.”
Leaving in such a hurry? Was he afraid she would pester him again? Xu Zhouzhou pressed her lips together. “Maybe the unit had an urgent mission. After all, your uncle is a soldier, right?”
Xiaotao nodded. “Mhm.” Then she whispered to Xu Zhouzhou, “Teacher Xu, did you know? Auntie Zhao Ying wants to marry my uncle.”
Xu Zhouzhou: “…Is that so?”
Xiaotao nodded with certainty. “But my uncle doesn’t like her. He even told her not to waste her time and that he wouldn’t marry her.”
It won’t be Zhao Ying? Then the life paths of the male and female leads had completely changed. Xu Zhouzhou thought in a daze, Then what kind of story will Gu Beizheng have now?
Sorry, Gu Beizheng, for messing up your original destiny. I hope you can meet the female lead who truly belongs to you soon, and love and support each other for a lifetime.
After comforting Xiaotao and setting her to do her homework, Xu Zhouzhou sat aside to grade papers.
“Teacher Xu? Educated Youth Xu?”
Shouts and wolf-whistles came from outside.
Xu Zhouzhou’s heart tightened. She stood up and looked out; sure enough, it was Lu Shijie, accompanied by a few hooligans.
She got up intending to close the door, but they had already reached the entrance and kicked the door open.
“Yo, Teacher Xu is still working hard?” Lu Shijie looked at Xiaotao, who was hunched over the desk, with a sloppy, indifferent air. He reached out, picked up Xiaotao’s textbook, glanced at it, and tossed it back onto the desk.
Xiaotao shrank behind Xu Zhouzhou in fear.
Xu Zhouzhou said sternly, “Get out! Don’t cause trouble here.”
“Yo, Xu Zhouzhou, where’s your partner? Where’s that soldier? Why isn’t he guarding you?” Lu Shijie looked at Xu Zhouzhou with a lecherous expression.
Xu Zhouzhou glared at him in disgust. “None of your business. Get lost.”
Lu Shijie snickered. “Don’t think I don’t know—that soldier has already left. He was just playing around with you. All this time, he never once admitted you were his partner.”
Lu Shijie was right. All along, it had been her claiming it unilaterally, misleading others into thinking Gu Beizheng was her partner. In reality, Gu Beizheng had never admitted it from start to finish. Ding Lan had even been dispelling rumors in the village. Everyone probably knew by now about Xu Zhouzhou’s desire to “climb the high branch.” Now that Gu Beizheng was gone, in their eyes, she was even more worthless and lowly.
“Whether he leaves or not is none of your damn business. Get the hell out.” Xu Zhouzhou pulled Xiaotao back a step, took out the wooden stick hidden behind the door, and pointed it at Lu Shijie.
“Lu Shijie, I told you: if you mess with me again, the worst that can happen is a life for a life. I have no ties and nothing to lose with this cheap life of mine. Killing you would just be ridding the people of a pest.”
“Whoa, Brother Jie, this little broad is spicy enough,” the hooligans beside him jeered.
Lu Shijie looked at the stick in Xu Zhouzhou’s hand. “Xu Zhouzhou, I still remember the grudge from when you stabbed me. I said that once the soldier left, you’d fall into my hands sooner or later.
“I’m giving you two choices now: either marry me, and I’ll treat you real nice, or… I’ll find some people to treat you real nice.”
“Pick me, Brother Jie, pick me!”
The men beside him shouted with lecherous grins.
Xu Zhouzhou really couldn’t bear to let Xiaotao witness such a filthy, obscene scene.
“Lu Shijie, let’s discuss our business slowly between us. Let the child leave first.”
Xu Zhouzhou held Xiaotao’s hand tightly while staring at Lu Shijie. Lu Shijie also felt the child was in the way, so he stepped aside. “Go on.”
Xiaotao was trembling with fear, tears in her eyes, but she said stubbornly, “I won’t go, Teacher Xu. I’ll protect you.”
“It’s okay, Xiaotao. Go home first; if you’re late, your mom will worry.”
Xu Zhouzhou pushed Xiaotao out the door. Xiaotao looked back at her with every step, then turned and ran toward the village with all her might.
“So, let’s have a good talk now. Zhouzhou, you know in your heart you can’t leave this village. How about you stick with Big Brother? Big Brother will definitely take good care of you.”
Lu Shijie smirked wickedly and reached out to touch Xu Zhouzhou’s face.
T/n: You can support the original author here.