The scenery on both sides retreated rapidly as the night wind howled in my ears.
My cheeks and ears were so cold they had gone numb.
“Stop running!”
“You can’t escape!”
The roars from behind were so close they sounded like they were right in my ear.
I ran wildly, seeing two men up ahead bending over, as if waiting for a fish to swim into their net.
There were people in front and behind; ‘I’m trapped this time for sure.’
There was no other way.
I came to a sudden stop.
Before the men chasing me could react, I turned and slammed my elbow into one of their faces.
I watched him clutch his face and collapse.
Immediately after, I kicked another man in the chest.
He backed away in pain, roaring, “Damn it! You idiot, do you have a death wish!?”
To my surprise, he immediately lunged forward again with his remaining two companions, firmly blocking the path ahead.
I couldn’t get away…
The two people from the intersection also ran up behind me and gave me a hard shove.
I stumbled toward the men, finding myself trapped in their midst once again, unable to escape even if I had wings.
‘This is going to be difficult.’
I hadn’t managed to get any information out of them, and now I was in danger myself.
“Talk! Do you live in that neighborhood!?”
The man questioned.
No matter what, I couldn’t let my guard down.
‘What kind of pain is coming?’
“I don’t know!”
“You don’t know!? Come with us!”
They seized me and led me toward the green belt by the roadside.
Beyond it was a small central park with fitness equipment.
At this late hour, with only a few landscape lights flickering inside, no one would be coming.
I had brought An Zhi here before. We sat on the bench on the other side of the greenery, watching other couples walk by.
Back then, my heart felt so sweet…
“Kid, you’ve got a damn stubborn mouth!”
The man shouted, swinging his fist into my chest.
I slammed backward against the rough, cold wall behind the public restroom.
“Still not talking!?”
“You dare to fight back? I’ll make sure you suffer!”
Above that lingering sweetness, pain spread through my body like a drumbeat.
I was pinned against the wall by the ferocious group, their fists falling like rain all over my body.
I tried to fight back, but there were too many of them; it was no use.
My bones creaked as if they were about to shatter.
My muscles contracted instinctively to avoid the blows, and a burning sensation radiated from my cheeks.
The freezing wind ducked into my collar, chilling me to the bone.
“Talk, damn it!”
“Let’s see how stubborn you can be!”
“Speak!”
I used all my strength to press the phone screen in my pocket, trying to feel my way to the emergency call to save myself.
The adrenaline began to fade, and I felt the piercing pain throughout my body, along with a warm trickle seeping from between my eyebrows.
Through a vision blurred by a layer of red, the man swung his fist again, about to strike.
This scene was just like when I was a kid…
The boys back then would swing their fists at me just like this…
Under the deepening red filter, I saw a figure stand in front of me.
I saw the terrifyingly pale back of her neck beneath her short black hair, her wide-spread arms, and her gorgeous, fiery red dress.
She seemed to be shouting things like, “I said only I can bully him! Go away!”
She stood in front of the boys like a fool.
‘Stupid, you’ll get hit! Run!’
I thought.
In the next moment, the boys would always retreat, leaving me on the verge of losing consciousness.
‘She was so lucky,’ I thought again.
But this time, the rapidly approaching fist passed right through her silhouette.
A heavy, sour sensation filled my nose, followed by a burst of intense pain.
The pain forced me to close my eyes.
‘Am I hoping for something?’
Was it because Su Xixia had appeared to stop the bullying so many times that I held this expectation of her?
In the past, I had chosen to ignore it on purpose.
But in reality, every time I was bullied, my heart always anticipated her appearance.
‘I only just realized it now.’
It turned out that on the path to pursuing my ideals, Su Xixia was the one who helped me avoid danger, time and time again…
‘Could this… also be the selfishness and greed she showed just to get close to me?’
Both my body and soul were being interrogated.
The pain gradually overwhelmed my consciousness, leaving me with a light, floating sensation.
“Boss, I think I hear police sirens.”
“The little brat called the cops!”
“Damn it, let’s go!”
‘Did the call go through?’
‘Damn, it hurts!’
‘It hurts… my whole body hurts. How much blood have I lost…?’
Compared to me, as long as An Zhi — as long as An Zhi was okay, that was enough.
I could vaguely hear sirens in my ears.
Perhaps because of that, I relaxed all at once and instantly lost consciousness.
—
When night fell, An Zhi pulled the curtains and looked at the night view outside the balcony.
A few teaching buildings at Sucheng University in the distance had already gone dark; only the more distant campus dormitories still flickered with light.
That was where she used to live.
Back then, she often sat by the window of her private dormitory just like this, staring blankly outside.
The difference was that now she had someone to wait for.
As long as she imagined the moment he would return, it felt like she could wait forever.
Dinner time had long since passed, yet he still wasn’t back.
Just how long would she have to wait?
‘He said he would come back.’
She whispered to herself, suppressing her worry.
‘I can’t go look for him… is there nothing I can do?’
She muttered, leaning over the table and looking away from the outside.
From her childhood until now, she had always been commanded and controlled by those around her.
Those voices constantly echoed in her head.
“An Zhi, you have to work hard, just like your father and mother.”
“Oh, little sister An, just leave your dirty clothes by the door. I’ll come call you when it’s time to eat.”
“When I was your age, I was already able to perform on stage.”
…
“Student An Zhi, you didn’t execute this step correctly. To reach a professional level, you can’t have mistakes in a dance of this difficulty.”
“What classes? You don’t need to go to other classes. Practice your dancing more. From now on, this dance studio is your classroom!”
“Winning city awards isn’t enough; the provincial competition is at the end of the year. You need to bring more glory to Sucheng University.”
…
“This is the livestream room the Company specially reserved for you. It’s spacious, isn’t it?”
“You must reach the target this month; otherwise, your hours will double next month. Sigh, it’s a Company regulation, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Stop saying you want to see him. You’re a popular Streamer now. Do you understand your position?”
…
An Zhi leaned on the table, thinking about how there was no one left to say these things in her ear.
She should have gained her freedom by now.
“But… why? What can I do? Practice dancing… should I dance?”
Dancing was the only thing she liked and knew how to do.
She could only dance; she could only ever dance.
When she was able to stop dancing and do other things, she would always end up idle like this, forcing herself to stand up without knowing what to do.
‘Brother Mingshan… told me to be good and stay home. I’ll just stay home,’ she said to comfort herself.
Thus, when the moon climbed to the center of the sky and the stars grew sparse, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door.
An Zhi jumped in fright.
She walked timidly to the door, covering her nose and mouth, not daring to make a sound.
“Sister-in-law!”
Hearing Xiao Ji’s voice, she finally felt relieved.
Through the peephole, she saw Xiao Ji’s messy red hair and his furrowed brows.
Xiao Qingling was standing beside him.
Why were the Xiao siblings knocking at this hour?
She was curious, then consumed by fear.
‘Is it because something happened to Mingshan!?’
“Something big happened! Sister-in-law, are you okay? If you’re there, say something!”
“I’m… I’m here!”
An Zhi opened the door and saw Xiao Ji let out a long sigh of relief.
Xiao Qingling stepped forward to hug her, saying things like, “It’s good that you’re okay.”
“Mingshan… where is he? Is he not here? Mingshan… where is Mingshan!?”
An Zhi trembled with anxiety.
“Uh…”
Xiao Ji scratched his head, not knowing how to put it.
“He’s fine,” Xiao Qingling said, tightening her embrace.
“He’s at the police station now. He should have regained consciousness.”
An Zhi took several seconds to process the meaning of those words before gasping sharply.
“I want to find Mingshan. Mingshan — which police station is he at? Take me there.”
“We were contacted by the police station not long ago. Xiao Ji took the call,” Xiao Qingling explained.
“Yeah! They went through Brother Mingshan’s contact list and called. Then they told us to come over… as for his condition…”
Xiao Ji looked at An Zhi like a child who had made a mistake, biting his lower lip, unable to continue.
“I want to go! I want to go!”
An Zhi cried out in distress, her heart aching with self-reproach.
“Listen to me. No matter what you see later, don’t act recklessly, okay? Mingshan desperately wanted us to relay that to you,” Xiao Qingling said, hugging her harder.
“Okay,” An Zhi nodded quickly.
She followed the siblings out of the house and to the police station behind the neighborhood.
When she looked through the glass doors of the station and saw Li Mingshan lying on a temporary bed in front of a bench, all the strength left her legs.
Supported by the siblings, she walked inside and couldn’t help but kneel by Li Mingshan’s bed.
“An Zhi, stay calm,” Xiao Qingling kept stroking her back.
She saw bandages wrapped around various parts of Li Mingshan’s exposed body, with bright red blood seeping through in some places.
Her entire body began to tremble as if pierced by 10,000 needles.
“Mingshan… Mingshan…”
She kept calling his name until she saw Li Mingshan slowly open his eyes and give her a forced smile.
“It’s all my fault… all my fault!”
She grabbed Li Mingshan’s blood-stained hand, desperately trying to transfer her warmth to him.
If only she had chosen to go back sooner, or if she hadn’t run away, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
No…
An Zhi leaned over his arm, biting her tongue until it hurt, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.
‘It’s not a matter of going back or not — ‘
‘It’s that I am a useless person who can’t do anything but dance.’