chapter5

  The police station was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, with several young men who looked like they had been caught up in the flow of things being interrogated. He Shuang glanced over and then quickly lowered her head again. She was led into a very small office by a woman and then left unattended. The lighting here was dim, the equipment simple, with only a few tables and chairs, giving off a cold and hard feeling. He Shuang swallowed nervously and sat still, not daring to move.

  Outside, she could still hear the muffled voices, but in her mind, she kept replaying the moment when Yuan Zhi fell to the ground, and that large patch of blood. Thinking about it made her feel like it was doomsday. He Shuang hummed with a sobbing tone, what if Yuan Zhi really died? She stared at her own hands, which had become those of a murderer.

  He Shuang spent the whole day in a daze, time slowly passing by. The light outside gradually dimmed, and no one came to talk to her. Someone came in and turned on the lights, then left again. She didn't know if she could leave or not, and if she couldn't, would she have to stay in this room for the rest of her life? Was this what they meant by being imprisoned?

  The door was opened again from outside, and this time the person who came in was familiar to He Sheng, Yan Bai.

  She stared blankly at Yan Bai for a few seconds, stood up from the chair, and stuttered: "Yuan Zhi... is he dead?"

  Yan Bai's face didn't look good, looking at the child who was intentionally left at the police station with a flustered expression, he shook his head, "No, just injured and needs to rest at home."

  He Sheng let out a sigh of relief, as long as he wasn't dead, everything was fine.

  Yan Bai took a few steps closer, looking at her seriously, "Why did you have to take action and hurt Yuan Zhi today?"

  "He tore up my test paper."

  "Is it just because of this?" Yan Bai's eyes widened slightly, and after seeing her nod, he slapped the table and said sternly: "Do you know who he is? Do you know that you have today all thanks to his father? Don't mention just this matter, even if it were a bigger matter, you would still have to endure it."

  He Shuang was startled by his sudden anger, and her neck shrunk back subconsciously as she took a step back. This stern Bai Yu was unfamiliar to her, thinking that he would always be in that lukewarm state, never expecting him to have such an agitated side.

  "But I'm not wrong." After a while, He Song lowered his head and said in a low voice: "It was him who went too far first."

  Yan Bai silently looked at her, his eyes heavy with understanding. He knew Yuan Zhi's temperament all too well and that the man wouldn't have acted out if he hadn't been pushed to it by He Song. But no matter how overboard Yuan Zhi had gone, He Song couldn't afford to show even a hint of resistance. As long as Yuan Zhi was still a member of the Yuan family and He Song needed their support to survive, things would have to be this way.

  "I'll say it again, no matter what Yuan Zhi does, you have to endure it. Unless your wings are strong enough for you to walk out the door and survive on your own in this society, then you have the right to resist." Yan Bai looked at the child's trembling body, unyielding: "If you still want to live in that house, then you must have the awareness of compromise. This is the first time I've made it clear to you, and also the last. A person's opportunities are not limitless; if you can't bear it, then make yourself stronger."

  The gentle Yan Bai used the most severe method to give He Sheng a dull blow, she didn't speak again, and silently followed Yan Bai back to their previous residence, the place where a bloody case had just occurred, almost making her think it was a police station.

  It was still Aunt Wu who opened the door for them, but this time when she came back, even Aunt Wu's gaze at her had changed. He Song looked at Aunt Wu's face with a cold expression and nodded his head to call out "Aunt Wu" before returning to his room.

  He Sheng hadn't eaten anything for a whole day and was woken up by hunger in the middle of the night. Without thinking about going to the kitchen to get something to eat, he directly ran to the bathroom, leaned against the sink, and used his hands to scoop water into his mouth to quench his hunger.

  After that day, He Song continued to study hard and helped Wu Ayi with household chores as usual. However, she spoke less often, and when Wu Ayi tried to talk to her, she would just smile and nod in response. Sometimes, she would only say a few words at a time, appearing even more reserved than before. Wu Ayi felt helpless, but after calming down, she thought that it wasn't He Song's fault. She had been working there for many years, taking care of Yuan Zhi for a long time, and naturally, her feelings for him ran deep. It was like he was her own child - even if he misbehaved, no one else had the right to scold him.

  Yan Bai naturally also discovered this, but he didn't say anything. Perhaps such a state could make her better suited to living here, after all. People should be cautious and prudent, especially those who don't live easily.

  Yuan Zhi didn't go to school after getting hurt and had to rest at home for a few more days. He Shouci came over several times every morning and evening, each time looking at He Song with an unkind gaze, as if he wanted to swallow her whole. He Song just lowered her head and pretended not to see him.

  This time, He Shou brought a girl over, tall and beautiful with loose hair and excellent temperament. It's likely that because of this beauty, He Shou finally couldn't be bothered to look at He Song even once, the two of them murmuring something as they went upstairs together.

  He Sheng quietly went from the living room to the kitchen to peel potatoes, and had only peeled a few when that pretty girl came over and asked: "Hey, do you have any fruit?"

  The sound was extremely pleasant to listen to, He Sheng raised his hand holding the potato and pointed at the refrigerator, "Inside."

  She walked over and opened it without a word, took a look, then turned to He Song, "Help me out, dragon fruit and apple, wash them clean and peel them, okay?" After saying that, she turned around and walked a few steps away, then stopped again, "Oh, right, remember to rinse them several times when washing."

  Then she really walked away without looking back, although it was an inquiry, but she didn't give He Sheng any room to refuse.

  He Shuang looked at the potatoes in her hand for a few seconds, turned them over and put them on the ground, got up to wash her hands, took out the fruit and washed it several times according to his instructions. Then she took out a fruit knife and peeled it, her movements still quite clumsy. She wasn't so particular about eating fruit before, and even rarely ate fruit at all. When she was hungry, she would run into the mountains with her only companion, Da Miao, to pick wild fruit and eat it. Not to mention peeling, they wouldn't even wash it, just wiping it on their clothes a few times before stuffing it into their mouths. The taste was also sweeter, much better than here.

  Now she is being forced by Wu Shu to learn it, saying it's hygienic.

  He Shuang cut the skin into small pieces and walked up with a plate, after Yuan Zhi was injured, she became more afraid of this person, he was like a glass edge, fragile and easy to hurt people.

  Yuan Zhi's room was in the opposite direction of He Sheng, she had never entered that person's room before. The door wasn't closed tightly and clear laughter could be heard from inside.

  He Sheng took a deep breath and knocked on the door, then walked in. The pleasant conversation that was originally going on suddenly stopped. The eyes of the three people were cast on her in different ways. He Sheng stared at the floor, but still felt a chill down her spine.

  She put the plate on the table and was about to walk out silently when someone called her back, "Wait a minute."

  The tone is lazy and seems to come from hell.

  Yuan Zhi's head was wrapped in gauze, his complexion much better than the past few days. However, due to excessive blood loss, he often felt dizzy and couldn't make large movements. His icy gaze pierced through He Song's frail back, his mouth curled into a hook as he spat out three words, "Bring it over."

  He Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, and then he walked back to the table, picked up the plate and walked to the bedside. The other two people, one leaning against the window with his hands around his chest, looking like he was enjoying the show, while the other sat on the edge of the bed, looking at He Sheng with a probing gaze.

  She stopped at the bedside table, her hand holding the plate whitening at the joints. Yuan Zhi didn't tell her what to do, and He Sheng wasn't sure if she could leave after putting it down. It was possible that she would be called back again, just like before, and this possibility was very high. She had a premonition that Yuan Zhi wouldn't let her off so easily.

  The room was very quiet, and several people seemed to be staring at her in unison, waiting for her reaction. After a long while, Yuan Zhi spoke up, with a tone full of sarcasm, "Are you going to make me get up myself?"

  He Sheng hastily raised his hand and stretched it forward, handing the plate to Yuan Zhi, with a humble and obedient expression.

  Yuan Zhi picked up an apple, his jade-like smooth and shiny fingers making the fruit look even more appealing. He held it for a moment, then put it to his mouth and took a bite. The next second, he spat it out along with his saliva, the pulp falling to the ground, but the sparkling juice landed on the corner of He Song's eye.

  The next second, he waved his hand and the plate that He Song was holding fell to the ground. The cut fruits scattered all over the floor. Nobody spoke. She put down her stiff hands, her eyes cast downward without any reaction.

  "How disgusting!" Yuan Zhi said with disdain, "Do you know what I'll do when faced with something I dislike?"

  He held up the small piece of apple in his hand in front of He Sheng, slowly curled up his five fingers, and gradually increased his strength, squeezing out the apple juice that dripped down from between his fingers.

  After a brief pause, he opened his mouth again and the deformed apple flesh fell out. He shook his wet hand, "It's dirty, or do you want to lick it clean?"

  He Sheng only glanced at him sideways, and that glance without any emotion made Yuan Zhi see a kind of nausea as if he had eaten spoiled rice. He smiled and raised his eyebrows provocatively, "What? Not convinced? Do you still have the ability to make another hole in my head?"

  "No." The voice seemed to be squeezed out of her, she said: "Are you sure you want me to lick?"

  Yuan Zhi was taken aback, his eyes scanning her tightly pursed lips, imagining the sensation of being licked by her tongue sent shivers down his spine.

  "I hate your dirtiness!" Yuan Zhi gritted his teeth and spat out a few words before getting up from the back of the bed and running to wash his hands.

  He Shouzi walked slowly to He Song's side, sneering: "You're really good at pretending, have you been brainwashed by Yan Bai? Humph, I'm most annoyed with hypocrites like you."

  After finishing, he pushed He Song again. He Song didn't even look at him and stumbled like a wooden puppet before bending down to pick up his things. At this time, Lü Sisi spoke up beside them: "What are you guys doing? Bullying people like this."

  "You know what." Heo Soo-ji walked beside her, glancing sideways at the back of Heo Sung's figure and said: "Yuan Zhi's brain is this guy's masterpiece. Don't look at how she seems pretty honest now, when she gets fierce you haven't seen it. There's a saying that goes, 'A biting dog doesn't bark.' This girl is the typical example."

  He Shuang put the last piece of fruit on the plate, endured and got up, walked out the door without looking back, this time no one looked at her again, there were still faint voices of conversation coming over, but the content could not be heard clearly.

  Throw the trash into the kitchen trash can, after washing the dishes, He Sheng returned to his own room, walked to the bathroom and leaned on the washbasin to start splashing water on his face. The speed was very fast, the sound of gurgling water continued uninterrupted, the hair in front of his forehead and the collar were all wet, but he didn't care, his slightly opened eyes were a blurry patch of heat.

  It took a long time to stop, then picked up the soap and started rubbing the corner of his eye that Yuan Zhi had drooled on, rinsing and washing several times until his skin was red and peeling before wiping it clean with a towel.

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