“Grandpa has already noticed that something is wrong with you. I thought that if I told them what was happening, they might finally stop worrying.”
He paused, then continued, “If you tell them that you’re doing fine, they won’t believe you. They’ll only think you’re hiding the bad news and telling them only the good. Rather than making them guess, you might as well give them an answer.”
Xiao Mandong tucked her neck farther into her scarf and said nothing.
Now she felt that she had been making too much of it. They would find out sooner or later. Telling them before the Wang family arrived might actually be better for her.
Just then, Gu Jianghan suddenly slammed on the brakes. The car lurched violently.
Caught off guard, Xiao Mandong was thrown forward, and her forehead struck the windshield with a loud bang.
She let out a muffled groan and clutched her forehead, sucking in a breath from the pain.
Gu Jianghan hurriedly pulled on the handbrake and turned toward her. He raised his hand as if he wanted to touch her, but stopped halfway.
“Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine…” Xiao Mandong rubbed her forehead.
He didn’t move. His gaze lingered on the hand covering her forehead for several seconds. Then he opened the door and got out to check what had happened.
Xiao Mandong looked out after him. In the beam of the headlights, she saw a bicycle lying crookedly in the road, its cloth basket hanging from the handlebars. Its contents were scattered everywhere.
She tightened her scarf, pushed open the door, and got out. Gu Jianghan glanced back at her. The swelling and redness on her fair forehead were clearly visible, and he frowned, but said nothing.
He crouched down to examine the bicycle, then looked at the footprints on the ground. Rising to his feet, he said, “A bicycle is valuable. No one would just abandon it in the middle of the road. We need to take a look.”
He looked at her. “I’ll go alone. You wait in the car. It isn’t safe.”
Xiao Mandong nodded. “Let’s go together.”
Gu Jianghan pulled out the car keys, took a flashlight, locked the jeep, and followed the footprints with Xiao Mandong walking behind him.
The snow was falling heavily, and the footprints were almost completely covered. Xiao Mandong trudged after him, sinking deeply into the snow with every step.
Her foot slipped, and she staggered, nearly falling.
Gu Jianghan reached out and caught her by the arm. He waited until she had regained her balance before letting go.
“We have to hurry. Once the snow covers the footprints completely, it’ll be difficult to track them.”
He walked a few more steps, then stopped and looked back at her.
Snow had settled on her head and shoulders, and the tip of her nose was red from the cold.
He held out his hand. “Let me hold your hand.”
Xiao Mandong froze for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t hesitate for long before placing her hand in his.
The warmth of his palm spread through her entire body, making the cold feel far less biting.
After walking for a while longer, the footprints disappeared completely. Gu Jianghan stood still, listening intently.
“Help…!”
It was only a brief cry. They carefully moved in the direction of the voice.
“Help… sob…”
It was a woman’s voice, trembling with tears, but it vanished again.
Gu Jianghan quickened his pace, and Xiao Mandong followed close behind, her heart pounding.
At the entrance to an air-raid shelter, they found one of a girl’s shoes.
Then a voice came from inside the cave.
“Hold her legs down. Damn it, this little bitch is feisty.”
“Fuck, she bit my hand until it bled. Hurry up!”
Gu Jianghan charged inside. In the sweep of the flashlight, they saw a girl whose padded coat had been nearly torn to shreds. One man was pinning down her legs while another covered her mouth.
Gu Jianghan strode forward and kicked the man covering her mouth, sending him sprawling.
Xiao Mandong looked around. There were no weapons in sight, and she chose to stay back so she wouldn’t get in the way. Secretly, however, she had already taken a surgical scalpel from her space.
The air-raid shelter was filled with numerous small passageways. The two men scattered and ran through them, clearly very familiar with the place.
Worried that something might happen, Xiao Mandong quietly took some medicinal powder from her space and kept it ready just in case.
Gu Jianghan’s blows were hard and precise. In less than ten minutes, one of the men had dislocated his arm, while the other had been tied up with a belt.
Only then did Xiao Mandong walk over to the girl huddled in the corner. When she reached her, she finally got a clear look at her face.
It was Qian Yuxiu, Director Liu’s daughter.
“Yuxiu, why are you here?”
Qian Yuxiu burst into tears. “S-Sister Mandong…”
Though she was disheveled and had a few injuries on her face, Xiao Mandong could see that she had only been frightened and had not suffered any serious harm.
Xiao Mandong helped her put her clothes back on, then pulled her into her arms and patted her back.
“It’s all right now. It’s all right…”
“Can you walk?” Gu Jianghan asked Xiao Mandong after kicking the two men out of the cave.
Xiao Mandong lowered her head and looked at Qian Yuxiu. Qian Yuxiu nodded shakily.
“We’ll get down the mountain first.” After saying this, he turned and gave each of the men another kick. “Move!”
The two men staggered forward several steps from the force of the kicks.
Xiao Mandong supported Qian Yuxiu and followed close behind.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, Xiao Mandong was nearly frozen through. Gu Jianghan took a length of rope from the back seat, tied the two men up securely, and fastened the bicycle to the back of the car.
Xiao Mandong sat in the back seat while Qian Yuxiu took the passenger seat. Gu Jianghan hit the gas and sped straight toward the Public Security Bureau.
After turning the two men over to the authorities for the time being, Xiao Mandong suggested taking Qian Yuxiu home first.
In those days, if word got out that Qian Yuxiu had been dragged into a cave by hooligans, she would never be able to hold her head up again—even if nothing had actually happened to her.
Whether to press charges was something the Qian family and Sister Liu would have to decide for themselves.
Gu Jianghan said nothing. A few minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance to the residential compound.
The courtyard was completely dark. Qian Yuxiu’s whole body was trembling, and she was too frightened to go home.
“Sister Mandong, can you please not tell my mother?”
“Yuxiu, your family has to know about this.” Xiao Mandong had no intention of playing the kindhearted savior. If they kept it from Sister Liu now and she found out through someone else later, how would she face her?
Qian Yuxiu clutched Xiao Mandong’s hand tightly. Despite the freezing weather, her palm was slick with sweat.
They knocked on the door, and Sister Liu opened it. When she saw Qian Yuxiu, she looked confused. She glanced toward the bedroom, then back at her daughter.
“You good-for-nothing girl, when did you go out?”
Tears instantly streamed down Qian Yuxiu’s face. Only then did Sister Liu notice the injuries on her face and her torn padded coat. Her heart lurched.
Gu Jianghan did not enter the house. After Xiao Mandong went inside, she explained what had happened in just a few minutes. In short, no serious physical harm had been done, but Qian Yuxiu had certainly been terrified. What they chose to do about it was no longer her concern.
When Xiao Mandong stepped out of Sister Liu’s home, the door closed behind her. The light from inside was blocked, and the residential compound sank into darkness once more.
The two of them turned and walked side by side. Snow continued to fall, landing on their shoulders and hair. Their footsteps crunched through the snow.
He glanced sideways at her and suddenly asked, “Are you cold?”
Xiao Mandong felt his gaze on her, and it seemed as though her breath had caught in her chest. She didn’t look up, only tucked her neck farther into her scarf.
“I’m all right.”
The car soon reached the residential compound where she lived. Gu Jianghan walked her to the entrance of her home.
“We’re here?”
Xiao Mandong nodded. “This is my home… You’re welcome to come by sometime.”
After saying goodbye, she opened the door and went inside.
