He Felt Sorry for Her

Zhou Junjie's hand had only just reached out when Jiang Xia felt the clothes at her waist move. Reacting with lightning speed, she seized his hand and twisted it hard. Crack! Then Jiang Xia spun around and kicked him in the lower abdomen.

She hadn't held back in the slightest! Zhou Junjie's entire palm was twisted out of shape, and the pain in his lower body left him doubled over, unable to straighten up.

But that still wasn't enough!

Someone grabbed the clothes behind him, and then a fist came straight at his face! One punch sent him sprawling to the ground.

Then another punch, and another, landed heavily on his body.

Pan Daidi and her second daughter-in-law had been kicked down by Jiang Xia and couldn't get back up. Now they were so frightened that they sat frozen on the ground.

Zhou Chenglei's fists landed solidly on him.

Every blow struck bone, the pain penetrating to the marrow.

He was beaten into a curled-up heap on the ground, unable to crawl away, and the pain was so intense that he couldn't even make a sound.

Zhou Chenglei had returned together with Zhou Yongguo. Seeing him go berserk, Zhou Yongguo hurried over and grabbed him. "All right, that's enough! Enough!"

Zhou Chenglei was finally pulled away.

Only after he withdrew his hand did Pan Daidi come back to herself and scream, "They're beating people! Help! ..."

Her second daughter-in-law also shouted, "A soldier is beating people—is there any law left? Help!"

Still furious and far from appeased, Jiang Xia slapped each of them across the face. "You came to my home to beat me and forcefully rob me, two fat women ganging up on one person, and one of you even tried to molest me while I was distracted! What the hell gives you the right to talk about the law? This is called legitimate self-defense! Zhou Chenglei, I want to call the police!"

The matter eventually reached the Production Team. It happened to be the time when the system was undergoing reform, and at that point the Public Security Bureau had only one officer, while the Production Team's militia was still in place.

Pan Daidi's entire family of three was dragged away and subjected to criticism and education before the whole village.

They were also ordered to pay Jiang Xia twenty yuan in medical expenses and compensation for emotional distress.

The compensation for emotional distress had been Jiang Xia's suggestion.

She thought twenty yuan was too little, but the Production Team felt it was already plenty. Pan Daidi's family couldn't come up with any more.

Jiang Xia had torn out a large handful of hair from Pan Daidi and her second daughter-in-law, exposing their bloody scalps. Their faces were swollen, and the five-finger marks stood out clearly. As for the injuries from the punches and kicks on their bodies, no one knew yet—they wouldn't show until the next day, and no one could see them now.

Jiang Xia had twisted Zhou Junjie's hand until his palm hung limp and useless. His whole body was agonizingly painful, especially down below, where the pain was excruciating. He suspected he'd been crippled. After the criticism and education, he shouted for Zhou Junwen to take him to the Health Clinic.

By contrast, Jiang Xia's hair was merely as messy as a chicken's nest. Her scalp seemed unharmed, and she had no injuries on her body, only some wrinkles in her clothes.

Zhou Chenglei ignored everyone's eyes. He helped arrange her hair and checked whether her scalp was injured, then smoothed out the wrinkled places on her clothes before taking her hand. "Let's go home and see if you're hurt anywhere else. If you are, I'll go settle the score with them!"

The entire village: "..."

Hurt?

They had seen Jiang Xia looking perfectly fine, with only slightly disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes! Pan Daidi's family of three, on the other hand, looked absolutely miserable!

In truth, all that had happened to Jiang Xia was that a small handful of her hair had been pulled out. But she had so much hair that it wasn't noticeable at all. Only her scalp still hurt a little.

Zhou Chenglei took Jiang Xia away.

And after this battle, she became famous throughout the village!

Pan Daidi and her second daughter-in-law were both formidable fighters. In the past, whenever they fought with villagers, even the men couldn't beat Pan Daidi. She could be said to have defeated everyone in the village and remained undefeated. It was only after being criticized into submission during the special period that she had restrained herself.

Now she had reverted to her old ways, and someone ought to teach her a proper lesson.

But no one could have imagined that delicate-looking Jiang Xia would actually be able to beat two women who were strong and sturdy from years of farm work, with thick waists and broad builds.

The villagers still gathered together, chattering about it.

"Who would've thought she'd be so good at fighting despite looking so thin and small? One person took on three and didn't even lose!"

"With the size of Pan Daidi and her daughter-in-law, Jiang Xia was fighting five people by herself! And it wasn't merely that she didn't lose—the hands of Zhou Junjie and the scalps of Pan Daidi and her daughter-in-law all ended up with bald patches."

"Didn't you hear? Jiang Xia's father supposedly served in the military too. He probably taught her."

A woman who had once been taken advantage of by Zhou Junjie but had lacked evidence and couldn't bring herself to say anything finally couldn't hold back. "Zhou Junjie got exactly what he deserved! Who doesn't know what kind of person he is? I hate his eyes every time I see him. This is truly satisfying!"

"Pan Daidi's family finally kicked an iron plate this time!"

Another woman, whose family's field ridges had nearly been shaved flat by Pan Daidi, said, "Serves them right. None of that family are decent people. They're always trying to take advantage of others, and they've done plenty of stealing. They bullied Jiang Xia because she was alone at home, thinking everyone was afraid of her?"

"She'd gotten used to being vicious! As if you don't know! Which family in the village hasn't argued or fought with her?"

"Three people going to bully a young wife in her own home is just too vile..."

At the Zhou Family home, Zhou Chenglei pulled Jiang Xia back to the room and looked at her. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Jiang Xia shook her head. "No."

Zhou Chenglei was afraid she was hiding her injuries. He really wanted to check for himself, but he couldn't, so he could only worry helplessly. "If you're hurt, you have to say so. I'll have my mother put some medicine on you."

Jiang Xia rubbed her scalp. "Really, I'm not. My scalp just hurts a little. You saw it when you came back—I was the one holding them down and beating them."

Thinking of the scene he'd witnessed when he returned, Zhou Chenglei still felt shaken. In the end, he couldn't help pulling her into his arms. His large hand cupped the back of her head and gently rubbed her scalp. "Next time you run into something like this, run. There were too many of them. Don't fight them—it's not worth getting hurt. Come find me, or go next door and wait for me to come back. I'll beat them for you. If anything happened to you, I..."

His Adam's apple moved painfully up and down, but for a moment he couldn't make a sound.

When he had seen her hair and clothes in disarray, his mind had gone blank! Even though she had been the one holding them down and beating them, all he knew was that she had been bullied. His heart had ached beyond measure, and he had wanted nothing more than to kill the other person!

He couldn't imagine what he would do if something happened to her! What he might end up doing!

Caught completely off guard by the embrace, Jiang Xia froze.

Then she felt his body trembling slightly. She only came up to his chest, and her ear happened to rest against the place where his heart was. His heartbeat was racing.

He had been afraid. His heart had ached for her. That was what she sensed in that moment.

Jiang Xia couldn't help thinking of the typhoon night, when he had shielded her without hesitation from the tiles blown loose by the wind, even though the injury on his arm had not yet healed. She thought of how she'd fallen yesterday, and how he had seemed to sense it, turning around and carrying her away from the pile of reef stones without hesitation. She thought of when she'd first crossed over...

Zhou Chenglei had lived nearly thirty years. He had always been rational and had never lost control. He had always known what he wanted, so at this moment, he also understood his own feelings clearly. He held Jiang Xia for a while before finally finding his voice. His large hand continued gently rubbing her scalp. "Does it still hurt?"

Jiang Xia came back to herself. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Zhou Chenglei let go of her, placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked at her.

Jiang Xia raised her head to look at him.

Zhou Chenglei gazed into her beautiful eyes. His Adam's apple shifted slightly, and the hand gripping her shoulder tightened unconsciously. A little nervous, he said, "Jiang Xia, we..."