"The Song Family Pavilion is by Xiang Mountain, and this is Weigang Town. Even though we cleared out all the monsters near the village committee, you still have to watch out for things coming over from Weigang Town."
He reached out and patted the burly Xue Fengâs bulging, muscular arm. "Iâm leaving this to you. We expect to be back in one to two days."
"Donât you worry, Captain. Weâll keep a tight watch on things here. We wonât let our guard down for a second."
Once the arrangements were finalized, Xue Feng had someone tell everyone on the six large buses to get off.
About three hundred people, lugging packages, dragging suitcases, and shouldering bags, huddled together in two or three rows. Unsure of what to do, they exchanged hesitant glances.
Suddenly, a woman burst out of the crowd, dashing toward Xie Ning and Song Youâai, who were standing by a sedan.
"Itâs you!" Upon seeing Xie Ning again, Shi Ailing looked furious enough to go berserk.
"You heartless woman! You left us to die!" Shi Ailing roared furiously at Xie Ning. "How dare you show your face here again?"
The womanâs sudden appearance startled Song Youâai, but she still reflexively moved to stand in front of her daughter. "Whoâwho are you?"
"Youâre asking me who I am? You heartless bitch! At the gas station, all you did was save your own skin, leaving us behind to die."
"Are you even human? Do you have a shred of humanity or morality left?" The woman stepped forward to shove Song Youâai, but Xie Ning grabbed her by the wrist and violently threw her back.
"Ah!" Shi Ailing stumbled backward several steps. Just as she was about to fall, a man rushed forward and caught her.
"Mr. Cheng, thank you. Iâm all right." Shi Ailing turned to thank him, the rims of her eyes turning red.
Cheng Zihao frowned, glancing at the mother-daughter pair of Song Youâai and Xie Ning. "Why did you have to get physical? Canât you talk things out?"
Xie Ning raised her hand. SLAP! A sharp slap landed on Shi Ailingâs dumbfounded face. "Yeah, I hit her. So what?"
Gu Chen, Zhai Ruobai, Lu Wei, and the other bystanders: ...
She hadnât actually hit her before, but as soon as the man said his piece, the young woman just went and slapped her.
Tears of indignation welled up in Shi Ailingâs eyes.
Cheng Zihao became quite annoyed at the sight. "Youâre being rather unreasonable, arenât you, miss?"
"Reason is for people who are willing to listen," Xie Ning replied icily. "Get lost, or Iâll hit you too. And donât think I wonât hit you just because youâre a man."
Gu Chen, Zhai Ruobai, Lu Wei, and the rest of the peanut gallery suddenly felt a sense of collective exasperation.
âThat sounds a bit strange,â they thought. âShouldnât it be "Donât think I wonât hit a woman"?â...
"This girl is clearly no ordinary personâa cut above the rest. I could tell the moment I saw her," Zhai Ruobai said with a chuckle. "Sheâs got character! Iâm a big fan of girls like her."
Gu Chen smacked him on the back of the head. "Go do what youâre supposed to do. Stop standing around enjoying the show all day. A young man like you shouldnât be so lazy and unambitious."
With that, he started walking toward Xie Ning.
Zhai Ruobai: ???
âDid my bro just roast me again?â
As Gu Chen walked over, an elderly man with graying hair at his temples also approached Cheng Zihao. "Zihao."
"Professor Li." Cheng Zihao quickly turned to explain. "Itâs Miss Shi whoâs been wronged. Iâm fine."
The moment Shi Ailing saw Gu Chen approaching, she burst into tears. "Captain Gu, Iâm so sorry to be causing trouble. I just wanted to ask this young lady for an explanation, but I never imagined she wouldnât even give me a chance to speak..."
And so, as he drew near, Gu Chen could only watch, wide-eyed, as Xie Ning slapped Shi Ailing across the face yet again.