The fierce punch was coming at him, and Ning Ge subconsciously wanted to dodge. He raised both arms, clenched his fists ready to fight back, but in a flash, he guessed something, his feet stumbled, and his hands scattered, as if he was about to fall, and just like that, his sternum was hammered by Qi Taiguoās fist, and with a cry of pain, he was smashed back onto the bivouac.
Bang!
The poor bivouac couldnāt withstand the force of his fall and immediately collapsed.
Ning Ge lay there clutching his chest wailing in pain.
Qi Taiguo retracted his fist, his eyebrows tightly furrowed. Had he really made a mistake?
Was this man truly harmless?
"Big brother, letās talk this out," Ning Ge said, eyes full of fear while looking at Qi Taiguo, yet in his mind, he thought this person was highly alert. With just one probing move, had he given himself away?
"Who are you really?" Qi Taiguo asked in a deep voice. "What is your purpose for coming here?"
"Iāve already told you, my name is Ning Ge, from Beijing, just here to travel and have some fun, no real purpose," Ning Ge shouted.
Cheng Su, who was outside, heard the noise from the fight and cried out, "Old Qi, are you okay? Should I call the police?"
"If you donāt come clean, Iām going to hand you over to the police," Cheng Suās words reminded Qi Taiguo.
"No," Ning Ge said hastily, then as if he were being coerced, said, "Iāll talk, Iāll talk, big brother you mustnāt call the police, I donāt want to be dragged back home."
"In fact, I escaped from a forced marriage at home." Ning Ge raised his hands, a face full of misery: "My family set up a blind date and engagement for me, I just didnāt want to abide by my familyās arrangement, you see how young I am, I havenāt had my fill of fun yet, how can I be tied down by a woman so early, isnāt that a lack of freedom? So I ran away. But I never expected that I would get robbed while coming here to enjoy myself!"
Seeing Qi Taiguoās face getting grimmer, Ning Ge continued, "I see that youāre strong, and judging by the manner you carry yourself, you must be military, right?"
Qi Taiguoās gaze sharpened.
"I donāt know which battalion youāre with or which company? You know about Lu Guangxue, the air force regiment commander stationed in the Capital, right? I know him too. If you donāt believe me, I can give you his phone number, you can ask him if he knows who I am? Then youāll know if Iām telling the truth, if I really come from Beijing, and if my name is really Ning Ge. But please donāt report me to the police; donāt let my family find out. Iām begging you!" Ning Ge pleaded with a pained expression.
Qi Taiguoās suspicions deepened yet his vigilance somewhat decreased because he did indeed know of Lu Guangxue. However, since they were in different military branches and his own rank was not high, he only knew and had seen Lu.
Could he really just be a prodigal son?
Qi Taiguo stretched out his hand, "Get up!"
Ning Ge grabbed his hand, still clutching his chest, "Big brother, you really donāt hold back, Iām afraid my ribs are broken."
"Itās a minor injury; canāt a man stand a little pain? You wonāt die." Qi Taiguo gave him a once-over.
"How can I, someone so weak, compare with you, big brother?" Ning Ge said with a forced smile. "Big brother, could you give me something to eat? Iām starving. I was so busy running for my life last night I didnāt eat."
Qi Taiguo snorted, opened the door, and Cheng Su was at the doorway, clutching a kitchen knife. Seeing him come out, she hastily asked, "Old Qi, is everything all right? Do you need help?"
The corner of Ning Geās mouth twitched.
This husband and wife were truly united against outsiders.
Qi Taiguo found it amusing as well and snatched the kitchen knife from her hands, "Itās fine, go get him something to eat."
With an "oh," Cheng Su glanced at Ning Ge and turned away.