No matter how shy he was, he would never push her away…
His arm was slashed by the blade, and a lot of blood flowed out.
Liang Huaixu did not even frown. He swiftly subdued the trafficker.
With a sharp clatter, the knife fell to the ground.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of nearby tourists. Some helped call the police, while others took photos.
When the child’s mother rushed over after hearing the noise, her face turned pale with fright. She anxiously checked the boy. “Baby, are you hurt anywhere?”
The child’s eyes were filled with tears. With a sobbing voice, he said, “I’m fine… wuwuwu… Mommy, it was this uncle and this sister who saved me.”
The woman finally let out a breath of relief. She went over to thank them. “Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know where my child would have been taken.”
Liang Huaixu felt that she looked somewhat familiar. “It’s nothing. As long as the child wasn’t taken away.”
Staff from the scenic area hurried over, and the security department took charge of restraining the trafficker.
Medical personnel came to bandage Liang Huaixu’s wound. After examining it, one of them said, “It’s fine. It didn’t hit a major artery. Bandaging it will be enough.”
Zhuang Fuyao frowned. “But he lost so much blood.”
The medical worker smiled. “It just looks scary.”
Zhuang Fuyao was still uneasy. Compared to her, Liang Huaixu was much calmer. He even reassured her in return. “It’s fine. It doesn’t really hurt that much. Rest for a couple of days and it’ll be fine. It’s not even as serious as the muscle strain last time.”
“But it’s your right hand again,” Zhuang Fuyao muttered unhappily. Every few minutes, she asked him again, “How do you feel?”
Each time, Liang Huaixu patiently replied, “I feel very good.”
The medical worker joked from the side, “You two really have a great relationship as husband and wife.”
Husband and wife?
The little boy widened his eyes curiously and whispered, “Is this sister uncle’s wife? I thought…”
Although he was whispering, a child’s volume was not so well controlled. Moreover, most of the onlookers nearby had already dispersed, and the surroundings were quite quiet, making the child’s voice stand out clearly. The boy’s mother quickly covered his mouth and smiled apologetically at Liang Huaixu.
Liang Huaixu frowned almost imperceptibly. For such a young child to call him uncle was not inappropriate, but compared with the child calling her sister, it suddenly felt far less pleasant.
Zhuang Fuyao was amused, and even her earlier tension dissipated by more than half.
After the police arrived, they followed them to the police station to give statements. The child’s father also rushed over. He was an elite-looking man in a suit and glasses, with his hair slicked back. After confirming that his child was unharmed, he completely dropped the elite façade and angrily cursed the trafficker’s ancestors for eighteen generations.
Watching that scene, Zhuang Fuyao said to Liang Huaixu, “Sure enough, when it comes to a child’s safety, what parent wouldn’t go crazy?”
Liang Huaixu now understood why he had felt a sense of familiarity earlier. He cast a complex, subtle glance at Zhuang Fuyao. “You don’t recognize him?”
As soon as the words fell, Deng Qifeng noticed them and exclaimed in surprise, “Teacher Zhuang, it’s actually you!”
It seemed they had run into an acquaintance. However, Zhuang Fuyao had no memory of the future and had no idea who the other party was.
After greeting Zhuang Fuyao, Deng Qifeng went over to shake hands with Liang Huaixu. “President Liang, what a coincidence. Just a few days ago, I was thinking of inviting the two of you to dinner.” He laughed at himself. “Who would have thought we’d meet at the police station?”
Deng Qifeng was the client behind Zhuang Fuyao’s art exhibition events, and their relationship was fairly close, so Liang Huaixu also knew him. They exchanged a few polite remarks.
Deng Qifeng said, “I heard from my wife that some kind-hearted people saw through the trafficker and rescued my child. I never imagined it would be you two. Today isn’t really appropriate, but after some time, I’ll pick a good bottle of wine and invite you both to dinner. You must honor me with your presence then.”
Liang Huaixu gave a slight nod.
Compared to the unfathomable head of Changting Group, Deng Qifeng was more familiar with Zhuang Fuyao. He turned to chat with her about some work-related matters.
Zhuang Fuyao did not have memories of that period of work. When the conversation touched on slightly more professional topics, she found herself struggling to keep up.
Liang Huaixu noticed her abnormality and frowned thoughtfully.
…
After finishing the statements, Zhuang Fuyao and Liang Huaixu left.
Zhuang Fuyao wanted to take him to the hospital to have his hand checked again, but Liang Huaixu suddenly became stubborn and refused, no matter what she said.
Zhuang Fuyao was still thinking that this man had probably become afraid of doctors as he got older. “Why? Wouldn’t checking it make you more at ease?”
After they left the police station, they crossed the street, and right there was the riverside. It was a popular spot for tourists to check in, and there were quite a few sightseeing cruise boats on the river at night.
Liang Huaixu looked at the river view beside him, his eyes somewhat dark and unreadable.
Zhuang Fuyao had miscarried at night. On that extremely helpless night, the light above the operating room was on. He could not help at all and could only sit anxiously in the silent corridor, waiting for fate’s verdict.
He truly felt that no matter how much worldly success a person achieved, in the face of natural laws and the birth, aging, illness, and death of loved ones, they were still powerless.
All his previous efforts had seemed like an illusion, and by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Not long after that, Zhuang Fuyao divorced him.
He sighed. “I don’t want to go to the hospital at this hour. If you’re really worried, I’ll have the family doctor come over later.”
“That works too.”
The Liang family’s household doctors were backed by top medical teams around the world. Zhuang Fuyao finally felt relieved.
The river breeze brushed against their faces. The air carried a damp, watery scent that seemed to have a magical effect of easing fatigue. It was very pleasant and comfortable.
Liang Huaixu asked her, “Are you in a hurry to go back?”
Zhuang Fuyao hesitated for two seconds, and Liang Huaixu said, “If you’re not in a hurry, let’s take a walk.”
“Okay.”
They walked along the riverside for a while, occasionally passing young couples cuddling on benches.
It made Zhuang Fuyao think of the past.
She had been deeply influenced by idol dramas and had always longed for that kind of free and romantic love. So when she and Liang Huaixu were dating, whenever the mood was right, they would kiss in scenic places, hug on the streets, and when they met, she would throw herself straight into his arms.
She did those things purely on impulse and never cared whether anyone was watching.
Liang Huaixu was different. As long as other people were around, his ears would easily turn red. But there was one thing. No matter how shy he was, he would never push her away. He would only shyly and reservedly accept her affection and return it with equal or even double the love.
“Although acting bravely for a just cause is a good thing, what happened today was still too reckless. The other party was a trafficker. When doing something illegal like that, they definitely have backup plans. Like the knife today, if there had been even a slight slip…”
One second, Zhuang Fuyao was still immersed in pink, bubbly memories, and the next second, he ruined the mood with this. She glared at the man beside her. “You’re so annoying. I did it already, and look, everything turned out fine… anyway.” Toward the end, she glanced at Liang Huaixu’s injured arm and suddenly felt a bit guilty.
She was not an unreasonable person. She huffed lightly. “Fine. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Where she did not notice, Liang Huaixu smiled silently, recalling something from high school.
This happened before he transferred to No. 1 High School in his second year of high school. At that time, he had not yet been brought back to the Liang family.
During the high school entrance exams, his grandmother suddenly fell ill. He took her to the hospital and missed one exam, and in the end, his score was only enough to get him into No. 8 High School.
Unlike No. 1 High School, which was full of top students, No. 8 High School was the other extreme. It ranked at the bottom among the general high schools in Jiang City, about on par with vocational schools. The students there were a mixed bunch, and many of them admired making connections in society.
Because of a shortage of teachers, the principal, Zhuang Shaoping, had to come down to teach classes himself. The class he taught happened to be Liang Huaixu’s.
Zhuang Fuyao often came to No. 8 High School to look for Zhuang Shaoping, and over time, she got to know Liang Huaixu, who was the class monitor.
At that time, there was a well-known school bully at No. 8 High School. Because he was angry that a girl he liked had written a love letter to Liang Huaixu, he gathered a group of thugs and blocked Liang Huaixu in an alley.
Zhuang Fuyao just happened to pass by and saw it.
With a lollipop in her mouth, she shouted over there, “Hey! Do you believe I’ll go tell my dad?”
Students like that were not necessarily afraid of the principal’s authority. It might even anger them and drag her into trouble.
But she was not afraid at all. Not only was she unafraid, she even had a kind of reckless arrogance.
Just like today.