Taking advantage of him getting close, Xu Zhouzhou delivered a knee strike straight to the man’s lower body. Lu Shijie let out a miserable howl, hunching over and covering his crotch as he hopped twice.
Panting, Xu Zhouzhou stumbled back a step. Raising the scissors, with red eyes and gritted teeth, she stabbed down ruthlessly. The scissors plunged into Lu Shijie’s shoulder, and with another scream, he dropped to his knees.
Xu Zhouzhou didn’t even spare him a glance. She turned around, dragging her agonizingly painful ankle, and walked toward the village step by step.
She hadn’t gone two steps when her scalp tightened; her hair was grabbed by a powerful force and yanked violently. She fell backward onto the ground.
Lu Shijie straddled her body, one hand choking her neck and the other raising the scissors, glaring down at Xu Zhouzhou with a twisted expression.
At this moment, he no longer wanted to screw her; he wanted to kill her.
Choked by his hand, Xu Zhouzhou could barely catch her breath. She was completely exhausted, unable to break free, and her vision began to lose focus.
Fine. A half-month transmigration tour—it counts as an extraordinary experience. I accept my fate.
She weakly closed her eyes. She didn’t feel the pain of being pierced by scissors; instead, she heard the sound of fists pounding into flesh and Lu Shijie’s miserable screams.
She opened her eyes to see a tall figure kicking Lu Shijie, who was on the ground, over and over again.
It was Gu Beizheng.
The moment she saw his figure, Xu Zhouzhou’s heart suddenly relaxed. The taut string inside her snapped abruptly, and her entire body involuntarily let down all defenses, becoming soft and weak.
Lu Shijie curled up his body and wailed, “You f*cking dare to hit me? Do you know who I am?”
Gu Beizheng grabbed Lu Shijie by the collar, lifting his entire body off the ground. “I don’t care who you are. If you dare to provoke her again, I will kill you.”
After speaking, he ruthlessly threw him aside.
Even though the night was dim, Lu Shijie had seen the surging, fierce killing intent in Gu Beizheng’s eyes just now. It wasn’t annoyance; it was the serious killing intent of someone who wanted to swallow him whole and skin him alive.
A chill ran down his spine. He swallowed hard, kicked his legs to scoot back two steps, then flipped over and scrambled away, rolling and crawling as he ran toward the village.
Gu Beizheng turned around and saw Xu Zhouzhou still sitting on the ground. He bent down to help her up. “Are you alright?”
Having narrowly escaped death, in this sultry midnight, Xu Zhouzhou felt as if a cold current was piercing through her entire body; every inch of her skin was trembling uncontrollably.
Gu Beizheng’s solid arm supported her steadily. Clearly feeling her slight yet continuous shivering, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.
“Can you walk?” he asked, softening his voice.
Xu Zhouzhou’s throat was tight; she couldn’t speak a word and only nodded slightly. But as soon as she lifted her foot, a piercing pain in her ankle made her draw a sharp breath of cold air, and she stumbled forward.
Gu Beizheng caught her. “Where are you hurt?”
“I twisted my ankle,” Xu Zhouzhou said in a dry voice.
Gu Beizheng glanced at her eyes, fell silent for a moment, then bent down and picked her up.
Xu Zhouzhou only felt her body suddenly go airborne. By the time she reacted, she was already in Gu Beizheng’s arms.
“I… I can walk by myself.”
Startled, Xu Zhouzhou gripped Gu Beizheng’s clothes with both hands.
“By the time you walk back, it will be dawn.” Gu Beizheng’s voice was deep as he carried her back without leaving room for argument.
To be precise, he was holding her like a platter.
Perhaps to avoid body contact, Gu Beizheng’s hands held Xu Zhouzhou’s lower back and legs flatly, his steps even and steady.
Xu Zhouzhou lifted her eyes to look at the man’s cold, stern face and tight jawline. She felt a bit like a roasted suckling pig placed on a tray during a worship ceremony—like she was about to be offered as a tribute at any moment.
Just like that, she was carried back to the Educated Youth Center and placed on the bed.
Gu Beizheng half-squatted down and lifted her pant leg to check her ankle. Under the dim tungsten light, the porcelain-white ankle was red and swollen.
With one hand supporting Xu Zhouzhou’s foot, he used the other to slowly trace down the bone from her ankle to check for any dislocation.
The man’s rough, large hand grasped her ankle and applied a little pressure.
“Ah.” Xu Zhouzhou let out a soft cry of pain, biting her lower lip tightly as tears swirled in her eyes.
Gu Beizheng released his hand, looked up at her, and said in a deep voice, “Don’t be afraid. The bone isn’t injured; it’s just a soft tissue contusion. I have injury medicine at home; I’ll go get it.”
After speaking, he stood up to leave.
Xu Zhouzhou’s heart tightened, and she reached out, grabbing the man’s trousers.
Gu Beizheng looked back in astonishment, only to meet a pair of watery, pleading eyes.
“Don’t go.”
Xu Zhouzhou looked at Gu Beizheng pitifully.
She was truly terrified. She had stabbed Lu Shijie—who knew if he would come back for revenge? He might even bring ten or eight men back with him.
If she had died just now, that would have been it. But she didn’t die, and right now, the fear of surviving felt more terrifying than death itself.
And Gu Beizheng was the only lifeline she could grasp right now.
The woman’s small, pale face was full of earnest pleading, her eyes misty. Gu Beizheng turned his head to glance at the overturned table and chairs and the fallen window in the room. With a little thought, he knew exactly what the woman was afraid of.
He looked down at the small hand gripping his trousers, the fingertips white from the tension, and said in a low voice, “Let go of me first.”
Xu Zhouzhou shook her head: “No.”
She tightly clutched the fabric of Gu Beizheng’s trousers near his hip. She knew she looked very undignified right now, but so what? If her reaction had been a bit faster earlier, she would have hugged his thigh directly.
Gu Beizheng sighed slightly: “I’m not leaving. Do you have any alcohol? I’ll help you treat your foot injury first.”
Seeing that he really had no intention of leaving, Xu Zhouzhou slowly relaxed.
“Alcohol? Oh, yes, in the kitchen.” It was half a bottle left over from the educated youths’ farewell dinner.
Gu Beizheng glanced at her and tugged at his trousers to free them. Xu Zhouzhou slowly released her grip. He stood up, walked to the kitchen, and found the half-bottle of liquor.
When he returned to the room, he saw Xu Zhouzhou sitting on the bed, craning her neck to look in his direction. Seeing him come over, the nervous look on her face finally relaxed, as if she was terrified he would run away.
Seeing Gu Beizheng return, Xu Zhouzhou’s heart, which had been in her throat, finally dropped back into place. She raised a hand and wiped her eyes.
All night, her face had been covered in sweat and tears, along with the blood and ink Lu Shijie had dripped on her. With that wipe, her entire small face became a colorful mess.
Gu Beizheng glanced at her face, which now looked like a painted mask, and secretly quirked the corner of his mouth. He turned around and went out to wring a towel for her.
“Wipe your face.”
“Oh.” Xu Zhouzhou took the towel and wiped her face.
Gu Beizheng poured the liquor into a bowl, took out a match, and lit it. Holding the bowl, he walked to the bedside and placed it on the side of the bed.
He took off Xu Zhouzhou’s shoes and socks, supported her foot, and placed it on his lap. He scooped his hand into the flaming liquor nearby, dipping it in the hot liquid, and began to rub it into her ankle.
The man’s strength was intense. Xu Zhouzhou’s leg trembled from the pain, and she kicked out straight toward the top of the man’s thigh.
“Ngh.” Gu Beizheng frowned and let out a muffled grunt. He grabbed Xu Zhouzhou’s foot and shifted his body backward.
“Sorry, it hurts a little…” That kick had landed on a rather soft place, and Xu Zhouzhou could probably guess where she had kicked.
However, if Gu Beizheng knew that this woman used the word “soft” to describe him, who knows if he would have flown into a rage and snapped her foot off right then and there.