Chapter 31 Part 1

The only surviving streetlamp in the dilapidated parking lot flickered a few times before finally giving up the ghost and going out.

Lu Xihe had received the few hundred yuan Xu Zhinan transferred to him and came out to see if she was still there, only to see the scene below from the window at the end of the hallway.

Lu Xihe took the stairs two and three at a time, running straight down.

He couldn't see clearly from upstairs, just enough to fill him with rage, wanting to rush down and beat the hell out of that bastard Wei Jing. But unexpectedly, as soon as he got downstairs, he saw him lying on the ground, his face covered in blood.

When he looked at the two people standing beside him, he was even more stunned.

That big star from TV, Lin Qingye, and Xu Zhinan.

How did these two end up together???

"Uh," Lu Xihe looked at Xu Zhinan and asked, "are you okay?"

She had been badly frightened earlier. She looked at Lu Xihe for a moment before slowly nodding, her voice very soft, "I'm okay now."

Wei Jing propped himself up from the ground, blood sliding down his forehead. The hand he had used to cover the wound was also stained with blood, a shocking sight.

"Fuck you!" he spat, his voice still trembling with pain. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! It's none of your goddamn business!"

Perhaps seeing that Lu Xihe was here to break things up, he started cursing again, very nastily.

Lu Xihe had already been screwed over by him in business and disliked him just as much. He kicked him in his fleshy butt. "You just shut up for a second! I'll call an ambulance first! Don't fucking let someone die here."

A thick, oppressive hostility gathered between Lin Qingye's brows, weighing down on people.

Xu Zhinan squeezed his wrist, feeling the veins pop on his arm as he clenched his fist. Afraid he would go crazy again, she clutched his sleeve tightly.

Lin Qingye lowered his eyes to look at her. He remained expressionless, but his fist relaxed.

"What ambulance! I'm calling the police! The police! If I don't get your ass thrown in jail, my surname isn't Wei!"

Lin Qingye scoffed. "Fine."

He tossed the pipe into a nearby haystack, bent down to pick up the Buddhist scripture, wiped the bloodstain off it, and said calmly, "I'll be waiting for you."

"Go to the damn hospital first!" Lu Xihe was getting pissed off by these two as well. "If you don't go to the hospital, you'll see King Yama before you see the police!"

Soon, the ambulance Lu Xihe called arrived, and Wei Jing was taken away by the medical staff.

Only Xu Zhinan and Lin Qingye were left in the pitch-black parking lot.

Xu Zhinan looked back at Wei Jing being taken away, a delayed fear setting in. His collar was covered in blood; she didn't know if he would be okay.

Suddenly, a warm palm covered her eyes from behind.

It had a faint metallic smell—from the pipe earlier.

Lin Qingye's palm pressed against her eyes, and he pulled her back. The back of Xu Zhinan's head rested against his chest, and she smelled the faint scent of tobacco on him, along with a hint of blood.

"Don't look."

Her nose tingled for some reason, the tears likely forced out by the overwhelming scene before her.

A shimmering pool of water filled her eyes but didn't fall. The corners of her eyes were just a little red, and the tip of her nose turned red along with them, making her look timid.

Lin Qingye's Adam's apple bobbed. He quickly looked away, his gaze falling on the scripture. He handed it over. "It's dirty."

"It's fine." Xu Zhinan took back the scripture and sniffled. "Will he be okay?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he crouched down in front of her, kneeling on one knee, and leaned in to look at her leg.

Xu Zhinan subconsciously tried to back away, but he quickly grabbed her ankle and pulled it back.

She was wearing a pair of tight, washed-blue jeans today. Her legs were long and slender. While her butt wasn't particularly perky, her waist was very thin, a narrow circle that one could wrap a hand around, giving her excellent body proportions.

But she had just taken a fall. With cars coming and going, the ground was covered in coarse pebbles, and the fabric over her knee had been scraped open.

Lin Qingye raised his hand and wiped away the pebbles stuck to her knee. There were bloody marks on the skin underneath. He blew on it gently and looked up. "Does it hurt?"

Only then did Xu Zhinan realize she was injured. His question finally made her feel the pain.

She pursed her lips. "It's okay, I can walk."

Lin Qingye's brows furrowed. He stood up. "Let's go disinfect it first."

"The hospital, don't we need to go?"

"No need, let's find a pharmacy."

As he spoke, he directly lifted Xu Zhinan into his arms. She let out a soft cry and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck before being gently and carefully placed in the front passenger seat.

The night breeze blew in through the crack in the window, bringing some warmth and finally dispersing the smell of blood inside the car.

Xu Zhinan glanced at Lin Qingye beside her. His clothes were stained with blood—not his, but Wei Jing's.

It was the first time she had seen Lin Qingye in such a state of fury. The anger wasn't directly expressed on his face, but was a deep-seated indifference.

"Where are we going now?" Xu Zhinan asked.

"Take you to get your wound treated, then take you home?"

"Will things be okay with Wei Jing?" Xu Zhinan frowned slightly. "He'll probably call the police after his hospital check-up. Do we have to go to the station?"

Lin Qingye smiled carelessly. "It's 'I,' not 'we.'"

"Will this affect you? What if someone saw what happened and posts it online? Will people curse you out?"

"We'll see if it gets filmed."

"..."

There was nothing more to say. Xu Zhinan retracted her gaze and looked out the window.

The night breeze calmed her down again. Recalling the scene just now, if Lin Qingye hadn't arrived, if she hadn't been able to run away, she didn't know what might have happened.

At this thought, even the warm night breeze began to feel chilly against her skin. Xu Zhinan's fingertips trembled, only stopping after she clenched her fist tightly.

Lin Qingye parked the car in front of a pharmacy.

Xu Zhinan suddenly thought of something and grabbed his arm again just as he was opening the door. "Are you going in like that?"

"Hm?"

"If you go in like this, you'll be recognized, right? And you have blood on your clothes. The media might write all sorts of things."

"It'll only take a minute."

Xu Zhinan was still worried. She already felt bad enough about potentially dragging Lin Qingye to the police station, let alone putting him at the center of a public opinion storm.

Lin Qingye looked at her expression and smiled. "Then go to my apartment? There's a first-aid kit there too."

Xu Zhinan glanced at him, then lowered her eyes and shook her head.

Having already guessed her reaction, Lin Qingye's lips curved. Without another word, he simply grabbed the hat beside him and got out of the car.

Xu Zhinan couldn't stop him, so she could only press against the car window and watch. The pharmacy cashier was a woman who looked to be in her fifties. As Lin Qingye walked in, he rolled up his blood-stained sleeve to his elbow, hiding the stains, and pulled his hat down further.

He didn't ask where the cotton and rubbing alcohol were, walking straight to the back of the shelves. He found what he needed in half a minute and went to the counter to pay.

The middle-aged cashier was watching a recently popular period drama on the store's computer. It was at a crucial plot point. She didn't even raise her head, just gave him his change and sat back down to continue watching.

Xu Zhinan watched anxiously from the car and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The car door opened and closed again, and Lin Qingye was back in his seat.

"Hand," he said.

Xu Zhinan paused for a moment, so he simply grabbed her hand directly.

Her skin was already delicate and easily broken. Several scratches had opened up, with tiny beads of blood seeping out, now dried.

Lin Qingye frowned.

As if afraid she would pull her hand back, he kept a firm grip on her fingertips. With his other hand, he took the bottle of alcohol from the bag, unscrewed the cap with his teeth, spat it by his feet, and then dabbed a cotton swab in it.

The alcohol seeped into the broken skin.

Xu Zhinan bit her lip without making a sound, but she couldn't help but flinch.

Lin Qingye glanced up at her. The space in the car was small, lit by a single dim light that cast a shadow from the fringe of hair on the young man's forehead.

"Hurts?"

"It's okay." Her voice still trembled.

Lin Qingye was patient. He blew on her palm while gently dabbing it with alcohol to disinfect it, bringing a trace of coolness.

After disinfecting the wounds on her hand, Lin Qingye threw the dirty cotton swabs into the bag. "Leg."

She was unwilling to put her leg on his lap for him to disinfect. "I'll do it myself."

"You know how?"

"I do."

Lin Qingye didn't force her.

The young woman rolled up her jeans. A large red patch covered her left knee. She mimicked what Lin Qingye had just done, puffing out her cheeks and blowing on it.

A strand of fringe on her forehead curled up, looking fluffy.

Lin Qingye watched her, gradually becoming lost in thought.

After a moment, he asked, "Who was that guy just now?"

After Xu Zhinan finished disinfecting her knee, she packed everything up. "Someone from the tattoo contest. I didn't know him before."

Fortunately, it was a scare with no real danger. The heart that had been in Xu Zhinan's throat finally returned to its proper place.

Lin Qingye frowned, lost in thought, watching her roll her pant leg back down, her fair, beautiful leg once again covered by the fabric.

"Take you home now?"

"Wait a second, I need to make a call."

Xu Zhinan found Lu Xihe's business card again and dialed his number. He picked up quickly.

"Brother Lu, this is Xu Zhinan," she introduced herself.

Lin Qingye glanced at her from the side. He didn't start the car. Instead, he rolled the window halfway down and lit a cigarette.