A Brutal Beating

Fang He drove steadily. At some point, the car fell quiet, and even the normally noisy Wei Xingzhou stopped talking.

Ji Chuxing had fallen asleep at some point.

The girl breathed softly, her lips still pursed slightly in her sleep. Leaning to one side, her little head bobbed until it finally came to rest gently on Bo Yanchen's shoulder, and she slept without a trace of wariness.

Wei Xingzhou turned around and opened his mouth to speak to Bo Yanchen, only to receive a chilly look from Second Master Bo telling him to shut up before he could get a word out.

He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

He watched Bo Yanchen raise a hand and carefully adjust the young girl's sleeping position so she could rest more comfortably against his shoulder.

Ji Chuxing frowned unconsciously.

Bo Yanchen immediately patted the top of her head gently. "Be good and sleep."

With that, Ji Chuxing fell into an even deeper sleep.

In the end, Wei Xingzhou got out of the car moving like a puppet, and was left by the roadside halfway there.

The reason was that he might disturb Ji Chuxing's sleep.

After all, the young girl had stayed up late and even gotten into a fight that night. With her slight build, she had to be tired.

Wei Xingzhou's teeth itched with anger, but he didn't dare utter a word of complaint.

The next day, after another difficult struggle to get Ji Chuxing out of bed, Bo Yanchen finally sent her on her way.

Knowing he had things to attend to, Ji Chuxing got out of the car early and stopped at a drink shop to buy something.

Ji Chuxing slowly sipped from a carton of sweetened milk, listless and still looking half asleep.

Around a bend, in an alley.

Several young men around twenty years old were blocking a girl against a wall.

Malicious laughter rang out.

"Hey, tell me, how do you have the nerve to come to South City?"

"Your dad's dead. Why didn't you go die with him?"

"Hahaha, Brother Kuan, why waste your breath on her? Let the brothers teach her how to behave!"

Amid the malicious laughter came the girl's faint, desperate pleas.

Zhou Sixue hadn't expected to be cornered here today, trapped in a narrow alley by Brother Kuan.

It was partly her fault. She had taken this deserted alley to save time, only to run into Brother Kuan.

Trapped here, she could call to heaven and get no answer, cry to earth and receive no help.

Just then, a cool voice came from behind the group. "Move aside."

The men cornering Zhou Sixue were enjoying themselves, and the sudden sound of a girl's voice caught their interest.

They turned around and saw a pretty girl, and their eyes lit up.

"Well, well, here's another one. They say there are lots of beautiful girls around here, Brother Kuan, and they weren't lying."

They left Zhou Sixue alone and walked toward Ji Chuxing with malicious smiles.

With the way suddenly clear, Zhou Sixue immediately rushed forward and crashed into the blond young man heading toward Ji Chuxing. "Run! Don't come over here!"

"Fuck!" The blond young man cursed furiously after being rammed, then swung his fist at Zhou Sixue.

Bang!

The fist never landed on Zhou Sixue. The blond young man was sent flying with a kick.

A hand pulled Zhou Sixue back and flung her behind Ji Chuxing, safe and sound.

Zhou Sixue was stunned.

Was she really that formidable?

The scene fell silent for a moment. Then the men's faces grew even fiercer, and all of them, Brother Kuan included, lunged at Ji Chuxing.

"I'll fucking teach you to meddle!"

Zhou Sixue was too frightened to move.

"Ah-!"

"Bang-!"

The next second, agonized screams and the sounds of bodies slamming against the base of the wall rang out. Zhou Sixue instinctively opened her eyes to find everyone who had been bullying her lying on the ground.

Brother Kuan had been smashed straight into the wall by one of Ji Chuxing's punches and lay on the ground, unable to get up.

Only then did Zhou Sixue come to her senses. She rushed over, grabbed Ji Chuxing's arm, and swallowed fearfully. "Are... are you all right?"

As soon as she said it, she realized her clothes were torn, exposing a shoulder slashed by a sharp object. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her neck.

Ji Chuxing shook her head, took off her jacket, and tossed it to her.

It was late September, and the weather in South City had turned a little cool.

Zhou Sixue was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you, but I dragged you into this today. You helped me, and they'll definitely come after you next time."

Ji Chuxing's voice was indifferent. "Let them come."

Zhou Sixue didn't know what to say and looked at Ji Chuxing worriedly.

Ji Chuxing reminded her, "If we don't go now, we'll be late."

"Oh, right." Zhou Sixue came to her senses and hurriedly picked up her backpack from the ground, clutching it tightly to her chest.

Ji Chuxing didn't spare the people on the ground another glance. She yawned lazily; she really hadn't gotten enough sleep.

She turned and headed for the mouth of the alley. Just then, Brother Kuan, still lying on the ground, snatched up a brick and swung it at the back of Ji Chuxing's head.

"Watch out!"

Zhou Sixue's eyes flew wide, and she instinctively tried to push Ji Chuxing aside.

The next second, however, Ji Chuxing spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick. Brother Kuan fell to the ground again with a bang, and the brick crashed heavily onto his foot.

A squeal like a pig being slaughtered rang through the alley.

Zhou Sixue was utterly dumbstruck. This time she had seen Ji Chuxing's move clearly, and despite her fear, her eyes were full of admiration.

"God Ji! No wonder Sister Fei called you a great master. You really are that formidable!"

Ji Chuxing: "..."

She turned and walked away, with Zhou Sixue close behind. They walked a short distance without saying much, and in the quiet, Zhou Sixue felt a rare urge to confide in the person who had saved her.

"Actually, Brother Kuan isn't a good person. He comes after me because of a car accident. My dad's car crashed into his dad's car, and his dad died. He's never left me alone since."

It was the thing she was most afraid to tell anyone, but now she was willing to tell Ji Chuxing.

Her intuition told her that Ji Chuxing wouldn't despise him the way others did.

Ji Chuxing listened without a word.

She rarely felt strong emotions about many things.

Zhou Sixue fell silent too, lowering her head as she walked quietly beside Ji Chuxing. Perhaps... perhaps if God Ji had known the whole story, she wouldn't have helped her today.

But... she still felt awful. Her dad hadn't meant to do it. The accident had been a tragedy for both families, and if Zheng Kuan's dad hadn't been driving drunk, perhaps it wouldn't have been so serious.

Yet Zheng Kuan kept harassing and threatening her, and others called her a murderer's daughter.

Her mother had also been left in a helpless and awkward situation because of it.

Suddenly, a hand reached out in front of her.

Zhou Sixue was taken aback.

Ji Chuxing held a pale purple jelly between her fingers and looked at her with a calm expression.

Zhou Sixue took it in a daze and stood rooted to the spot, unable to recover for a long while.

All she heard was the girl's calm voice. "It wasn't your fault."

Zhou Sixue couldn't hold back. Tears spilled from her eyes as she clutched the jelly tightly in her palm.