"Pah!" Yang Zhe stared intently at the money. "Are you unable to tell or unwilling to tell?" As he spoke, Yang Zhe picked up a stick from the ground and pretended to swing it at Fang Luo's head.
"He's with Fang Qiming!" Fang Luo was ultimately a coward. Even if his father was fierce with the stick, he wasn't afraid. Although the blows hurt, he wouldn't hit any vital spots. Yang Zhe, on the other hand, was reckless. If he got hit on the head with that stick, he'd probably be out of a job for the rest of his life.
"Hahaha!! We finally got it out of them!!" I couldn't help but jump up and laugh out loud, having been lying in ambush outside.
"Hey! Yuanyuan!" Qu Ling tried to stop me but couldn't catch up. I smugly strode into the hall, holding a kettle and pointing at Fang Luo and Yang Zhe, saying, "You two, why don't you surrender!" I acted like I was the FBI.
Yang Zhe stood there, stick in hand, looking at me and then at Fang Luo, completely bewildered.
"Are you from the Public Security Bureau?" Yang Zhe asked, waving his stick.
"No." I shook my head.
"Is that from the prosecutor's office?"
"No, that's not it!"
"What about the Industry and Commerce Bureau?"
"no."
"The tax bureau?" Yang Zhe was practically going crazy. "Little girl, where exactly were you sent from?"
"Oh, I'm the nanny for Grandpa Fang's family."
"Pfft—" Yang Zhe almost spat out blood. "Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson you little brat played for!"
Before I could even explain myself, he swung the big stick at my head.
"Yuanyuan!" Qu Ling cried out, blocking my way. Warm blood splattered onto my face, turning everything crimson before my eyes. Qu Ling slowly collapsed amidst the blood.
"Dean!!!" I roared, my eyes wide with fury, "Yang Zhe, I'll fight you to the death!"
I swung the water bottle forward, but before I could reach Yang Zhe, he stretched out his long stick, which was still stained with Qu Ling's blood, and this time he really swung it at my head.
The descriptions in martial arts novels about dizziness, limb convulsions, and foaming at the mouth are all lies. After being hit, everything goes black, you collapse with a thud, and lose consciousness.
***
When she woke up, it was still pitch black in front of her, and she could only smell a strong stench of blood.
My head was throbbing badly. I reached up and touched my forehead—wow! What a huge bump! Luckily, it hadn't broken, but it was terribly swollen. Since I wasn't bleeding, where was the smell of blood coming from?
Qu Ling!! His head is broken! It must be him! I reached out and groped around in the darkness, and after groping for a while, I suddenly touched a soft piece of fabric. I rushed over and cried out, "Qu Ling!"
Perhaps I pounced too quickly, and I accidentally landed on top of Qu Ling. Qu Ling groaned softly, and after a long while, she slowly said, "Yuanyuan?"
It's me! Are you alright?
"It's alright, but..." Qu Ling said, panting heavily in the darkness, "If you keep pressing down on my head, I'm going to die."
"Ah~~ I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I hurriedly rolled over and got off, but in my panic I stepped on Qu Ling again, and he groaned several more times.
"Yuanyuan, I have my phone in my shirt pocket. You can take it out to light up the room and see where we are now."
"Okay." I sat down and reached up to touch Qu Ling's upper body.
He touched and touched, up and down, left and right, but he still couldn't find the phone Qu Ling mentioned.
"Dean, are you sure you put your phone in your shirt pocket?"
Qu Ling didn't know what was wrong with her; she didn't speak and just lay on the ground breathing heavily.
"Did you put it in your pants pocket?" I asked as I reached down to feel around.
"Yuanyuan, stop!" Qu Ling, who had been unable to move, suddenly grabbed my hand with great force.
"What's wrong? I'm looking for my phone!" I pushed him away, bewildered, and continued groping downwards.
"You...you silly girl!" Qu Ling suddenly used all her strength to flip me over and hug me, pinning me down.
I was suddenly pulled down into his arms, and my heart skipped a beat; my face flushed.
"Dean...Dean...What's wrong?" I asked hesitantly.
"Don't move." Qu Ling just held me tightly, her cool face pressed against my burning cheek, making my mind go blank.
I don't know how much time passed, but my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness and I could see the outlines of objects. Only then did I realize that Qu Ling and I were locked in the basement where Fang Luo had been imprisoned.
Qu Ling was still holding me, his breathing gradually becoming softer. I didn't dare to move, but I reached out and gently touched the side of his head. Fortunately, a scab had formed on the surface of the wound, and the bleeding had stopped.
"Dean... does it hurt a lot?" I whispered in his ear.
"Hmm," Qu Ling responded listlessly. After a while, he whispered in my ear, "Yuanyuan, why did you come to see me alone?"
"I was so worried about you!" I hugged his neck, my breath filled with his scent, a faint fragrance of winter plum mixed with the smell of blood, so real it was heartbreaking.
"That day, I hurt you, didn't I..." Qu Ling's fingers lightly brushed against my earlobe, the tender touch lingering on her fingertips distinct.
As I recalled the heartbreak he caused me when we broke up, tears welled up in my eyes again. "How could you say goodbye to me? Anyone in the world can say that to me, but you can't!"
"I'm sorry," Qu Ling felt the tears falling on my face and hugged me tighter. "At that time, I was only thinking that I couldn't drag you down and couldn't let you get involved. Yuanyuan, you don't know how heartbroken I am. I finally got you, but I had to push you away. My heart is more painful than being fried in oil."
I sobbed, feeling both happy and sad.
"Yuanyuan, do you still want me?" Qu Ling's cold fingers stroked my face, gently wiping away my hot tears. "No matter what happens in the future, whether our future is bright or we are reduced to ashes, will you still be willing to stay with me?"
I nodded with tears in my eyes in the dim light.
Loving someone doesn't matter if their future is bright or if they are reduced to ashes. What matters is that I love them. Even if I know there's a raging fire ahead, as long as I'm holding their hand, I'll jump in without hesitation.