The cloth strip hanging from the roof beam tightened around her neck. Her throat felt dry and painful, her breathing became increasingly stifled, and it felt like she would suffocate in the next second.
Her ears felt as if they were stuffed with old cotton. The clamor outside drifted near and far, lingering around her ears and making her heart palpitate with panic.
Chuntao could hear Zhou Zhijun's roars, the blustering shouts of the joint defense squad members, and the low murmurs of the villagers at the courtyard gate.
Those sounds tangled together like a pot of burnt dough drop soup, so noisy that it made her head swell.
Just as she was gradually losing consciousness and her toes were about to completely leave the stool, the wooden door of the east room was smashed open with a loud crash!
Aunt Zhou stumbled in. Seeing the scene hanging from the beam, she was frightened out of her wits.
She threw herself forward and desperately grabbed Chuntao's trouser leg, her voice cracking, Tao'er! Tao'er, don't do anything stupid!
Aunt Zhou abruptly turned her head and shouted out the door, Zhijun! Zhijun, hurry! Tao is trying to take her own life!
Her shout was like a clap of thunder, shocking the clamor in the courtyard into an abrupt halt.
Zhou Zhijun's pupils shrank fiercely. The next second, his tall figure shoved past the villagers crowded at the door.
Tao... Chuntao... He staggered forward, almost tripping and falling to the ground.
He tried hard to steady himself, reached out to wrap his arms around Chuntao's waist, and carefully lifted her down from the cloth strip.
Freeing one hand, he viciously tore down the cloth strip made from a torn bedsheet, crushing it into a crumpled ball in his palm.
Chuntao leaned limply against his chest. A purplish-red mark was bruised into her neck, her eyes were tightly shut, wet tear stains still hung at the corners of her eyes, and her breath was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Zhou Zhijun's heart felt as if it had been ruthlessly gripped by a large, icy hand; even breathing hurt, as if grinding against sand.
He looked down at Chuntao's pale little face, his voice urgent and hoarse, Chuntao! Chuntao, wake up!
While shouting, he carefully carried her to the bed in the inner room and laid her flat.
Zhou Zhijun had been a soldier, so he was highly proficient in basic first aid methods like clearing airways and CPR.
He couldn't care less about the villagers' gossip. He bent over and first unfastened the cloth buttons at Li Chuntao's collar, then reached out to check her breathing. When he felt that faint trace of breath, his tense heart relaxed just a little.
He supported the back of Chuntao's neck to gently straighten her head, pinched her nose with his thumb and index finger, and blew forcefully into her lips.
Aunt Zhou stood to the side, tightly gripping Chuntao's ice-cold hand. Her eyes were red as she kept murmuring, Tao'er, wake up...
The villagers had surrounded the east room so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through. Some leaned against the windows, peering inside through the holes in the paper panes.
Seeing Zhou Zhijun blowing air into Chuntao mouth-to-mouth, they began to whisper and gossip among themselves again.
Right at this moment, a stern male voice suddenly rang out, Make way! Everyone make way!
Hearing the voice, the villagers crowded around the door shivered in fright and turned their heads to look.
They saw three uniformed police officers pushing their way through, and the one leading them was none other than Deputy Chief Wang from the police station.
The crowd hurriedly backed away to both sides, clearing a narrow path.
Deputy Chief Wang's face was so gloomy it looked ready to drip water. He walked to the door of the east room's inner chamber, and upon seeing the scene inside, he also froze.
Just earlier, someone had rushed frantically to the police station to report that the joint defense squad was trying to arrest Zhou Zhijun and Li Chuntao.
Deputy Chief Wang had originally been preparing to head down to the villages for work. Hearing this, he immediately brought his men over.
He had heard about Zhou Zhijun's character from Wu Mingwei. He also knew about how Li Chuntao had bravely fought a thief last time and absolutely refused to accept a commendation from the commune afterward, which was enough to show that while this woman looked soft on the outside, she carried a strong backbone on the inside.
He had also heard about Chuntao's circumstances long ago; she was indeed a woman with a hard life.
How could two people like this cause any sort of public scandal?
Besides, they were both single. Even if they were involved, it would just be free love.
Deputy Chief Wang had taken his subordinates and pedaled their bicycles all the way to Wangjia Village, but he hadn't expected to still be a step too late, to the point where the people were driven to such extremes.
Zhou Zhijun couldn't care less about the commotion outside; he was solely focused on giving Chuntao artificial respiration.
He would blow a few breaths, then lean down to press on her chest. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, dripping onto Chuntao's thin cloth shirt.
His own clothes had long been soaked in sweat, sticking to his back, heavy and stifling.
At this moment, his eyes and heart were filled only with Chuntao. Chuntao, wake up, hurry and wake up...
Aunt Zhou stood by the bed, gripping Chuntao's ice-cold hand, crying until she was out of breath.
The gossiping in the courtyard had long ceased. The joint defense squad members squatted in the corners with their necks shrunk back, none of them daring to breathe too loudly.
The villagers had also retreated from the east room. Some clung to the doorframe to look inside, while others peeked through the holes in the windows, their eyes fixed intently on the two people in the room.
Deputy Chief Wang stood at the door of the inner room, his brows knitted into a tight knot, and shot a glance at the two police officers behind him.
The two officers immediately understood and turned to disperse the villagers crowding the doorway to watch the spectacle. However, the crowd only retreated into the courtyard, chattering and discussing among themselves; not a single person left.
Just as Zhou Zhijun's arms grew sore and painful and he was about to give out, Chuntao's chest suddenly heaved. She then exhaled a breath of stale air, accompanied by a faint cough.
Cough... cough cough...
Zhou Zhijun's movements halted abruptly. A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, and his voice trembled, Chuntao? Chuntao, wake up!
Chuntao's eyelashes fluttered. After a long while, her eyes slowly opened to a slit.
She couldn't see the person in front of her clearly, only making out a blurry silhouette.
The ligature mark on her neck burned with pain, and her throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking. She parted her lips, forcing a sliver of sound out of her throat, Water... water...
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou next to them stumbled toward the kitchen, saying, I'll go get some water!
Zhou Zhijun grabbed a pillow to prop Chuntao's head up higher. He took the water Aunt Zhou brought and fed it to her little by little with a spoon.
After drinking a few sips of water, her throat was no longer so dry. Chuntao's consciousness cleared up a bit, and her vision came into focus.
Looking at Zhou Zhijun's red-rimmed eyes, her tears rolled down like pearls from a broken string.
At this moment, Zhou Zhijun suddenly felt as though his entire being had come back to life.
Seeing that Chuntao had woken up, Deputy Chief Wang's tense face also relaxed.
He turned and stepped to the door of the east room, sweeping a glance over the courtyard. Those men from the joint defense squad were long gone.
He looked back and instructed the two police officers behind him, You two go back and investigate this matter thoroughly! Who made these false accusations and rumors, and who told the joint defense squad to come here and cause trouble?
The spectating villagers slowly shuffled back to the doorway, craning their necks to look inside.
In the crowd, Zhou Pandi gritted her teeth, silently cursing the men from the joint defense squad for being such useless cowards running away in fright the moment the police arrived!
But on second thought, Li Chuntao making such a scene only proved she had a guilty conscience.
Hmph, doing such shameless things, the truth would be exposed sooner or later!
After Chuntao finished the water and some color returned to her face, Zhou Zhijun finally turned around and invited Deputy Chief Wang to the main room, explaining everything that had happened today in full detail.
Rest assured, Deputy Chief Wang said after listening, heavily patting him on the shoulder. This matter will be investigated thoroughly, and we will give you justice.
