Dazzling

Huang Mao was immersed in the excitement of falling in love, feeling so elated he was practically floating. He tugged at Xing Wu and asked, "Brother Wu, if I really end up with your cousin, we'll be family from then on, right?"

Xing Wu pulled out a tissue to wipe his grandmother's mouth and said casually, "Who the hell wants to be family with you."

Huang Mao responded with a silly grin.

When Xing Wu stood up to take the bowls to the kitchen, Qing Ye was sitting on a small wooden stool, eating her meal in small bites. Lately, she felt the dishes tasted a bit better, without that strange flavor. Although it still couldn't be considered particularly delicious, she could manage to eat it. She marveled at her own incredible adaptability and was equally amazed at this rundown place's ability to assimilate people. She was genuinely afraid she might grow accustomed to this slum life and just muddle through. Shaking her head quickly, she dismissed this terrifying thought.

Seeing Xing Wu come in to put away the bowls, she looked up and hurriedly asked him, "I didn't say anything to you last night after that, did I?"

Xing Wu set the bowl down, turned around, and leaned against the counter as he pulled out a lighter. The way he lowered his head to light it was undeniably cool.

Having already gone through his voice change, his voice was deep and magnetic as he said somewhat lazily, "You really don't remember?"

The midday sun slanted across him, giving off a roguish vibe. His meaningful look made Qing Ye even more uneasy. Her dark eyes wide, her voice rose a few pitches as she asked, "What did I say?"

Xing Wu took a drag of his cigarette and deliberately walked over to her, bending down slightly before lightly dropping the words, "You praised my perky butt. Too kind."

With that, Xing Wu left. Qing Ye sat frozen on the small stool, and within seconds, a cry of despair echoed from the kitchen.

Huang Mao, startled, quickly stood up to check, "What's wrong with Cousin?"

A slight smile tugged at Xing Wu's lips as he grabbed Huang Mao and said, "Come on, keep me company at the lumber shop."

"What for?" Before Huang Mao could finish asking, Xing Wu had already dragged him away, with Pang Hu following along.

...

As for commenting on a guy's butt, in her eighteen years of life, Qing Ye had never done such a thing—not even thought about it. She normally wouldn't pay attention to any guy's rear end. But she had actually stared at Xing Wu's there, not only stared but also commented, and not only commented but given it a five-star review?! And the other party actually replied with "Too kind"???

This incident was nothing short of worldview-shattering for Qing Ye. It directly led to her not even daring to go downstairs in the afternoon, afraid of running into Xing Wu if he suddenly returned.

Xing Wu did come back in the evening. Qing Ye heard the Little Angel's sound from upstairs and even peeked out the window to look down. She had no idea how Xing Wu seemed to have eyes on the top of his head—after locking the car, he actually glanced up, startling her so much she quickly crouched down.

However, after returning, Xing Wu never came upstairs. He stayed downstairs until dinner. Li Lanfang came up to call Qing Ye for dinner and casually asked if she was feeling unwell.

Seizing the opportunity, Qing Ye said she was indeed a bit under the weather and asked Li Lanfang to set aside some food in a bowl for her. She would come down to eat later if she felt like it.

As soon as Li Lanfang went downstairs, she glared at Xing Wu and scolded, "I told you guys to let Qing Ye drink less last night. Look at her—she's been listless all day. Don't let her drink anymore from now on. She's a delicate young lady, not like you bunch of little hooligans."Xing Wu teased with amusement, "You actually know how to use the phrase 'delicate noble body'—impressive."

Li Lanfang said confidently, "Well, I have watched Empresses in the Palace."

"..." Xing Wu pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out what connection there was between "delicate noble body" and Empresses in the Palace. Besides, was his mom watching the show to stage a palace drama among her mahjong friends? In their humble Zhazha Pavilion, where there wasn't even a decent building, what palace? A street brawl would be more like it.

After finishing her meal, Li Lanfang told Xing Wu to wash the dishes and then help her with her phone. Lately, her phone couldn't even take a photo, always prompting that the memory was full, and she had no idea how to fix it.

After handing the phone to Xing Wu, Li Lanfang went next door to play mahjong, reminding him that if he went out in the evening, he should check on Qing Ye upstairs before leaving to make sure she wasn't sick or anything.

Xing Wu washed the dishes, cleared the cache from various apps on Li Lanfang's phone, and then left without going upstairs at all. He knew perfectly well that if he went up to check on Qing Ye, even if she wasn't sick, she'd probably find a way to make him think she was.

Sure enough, as soon as Xing Wu left, Qing Ye came downstairs. She went to the kitchen looking for food and found they had left her quite a few dishes, including beef—a rare treat.

After eating, Qing Ye originally planned to do a practice test on her computer to digest her meal before coming back down to shower. But then it started raining outside. This was the first heavy rain since she arrived in Anzi County on her first day. The thunder and lightning outside were terrifying, and the downpour came without warning. Even the window in Xing Wu's room rattled loudly from the wind. The window seal wasn't very tight, and the wind kept slipping through, creating a faint, eerie sound like a ghost wailing. Qing Ye glanced at the pitch-black staircase outside, hugged her computer, and curled up, completely losing her focus on the test.

Fortunately, the heavy rain came and went quickly. Although it didn't stop completely, it came in waves. Seizing the moment when the rain lightened, Qing Ye grabbed her clothes and hurried downstairs to shower, afraid the rain might pick up again.

She dashed into the bathroom, turned on the dim light, laid out some tissues before placing her clothes, locked the door, and started undressing.

Ever since Xing Wu had installed the door lock, Qing Ye had felt much more at ease while showering. But tonight, she was a bit flustered. The wind outside was still strong, and occasional flashes of lightning lit up the sky. Even though the door was locked, the wind kept banging against it, making a "thump, thump, thump" sound as if someone were knocking. It kept Qing Ye on edge.

Just as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, she suddenly felt the door noises grow louder. Qing Ye froze for a moment, then quickly turned off the water, her entire body tensing as she listened for any movement outside.

At first, she thought she was just scaring herself—maybe the wind had picked up, making the door louder. She kept reassuring herself that the door was locked and nothing would happen. But the door began shaking more violently, as if someone were trying to break it down from the outside.

Qing Ye's heart suddenly started racing wildly. She crept step by step toward the door, and when she saw the trembling doorknob, she broke out in a cold sweat. It was clear that someone was tampering with the lock from the outside.Almost simultaneously, Qing Ye realized someone outside was trying to break down the door. Instantly terrified, her limbs trembling, she rushed to the wooden stool, grabbed her phone, and called Li Lanfang, thinking Li Lanfang was playing cards next door and could come quickly. However, the phone rang for a long time with no answer—Xing Wu had fixed Li Lanfang’s phone in the evening and casually left it inside the cash register. At that moment, Li Lanfang’s phone was locked in the cash register drawer, completely unheard.

The door began to thud loudly, the already flimsy wooden panel giving the illusion it could be pried open at any moment.

Qing Ye’s palms were sweaty as she frantically dialed Xing Wu’s voice call.

…

That evening, Da Hei and the others had long been gathered at Shunyi, waiting for Xing Wu to play Fight the Landlord. A group of guys, unable to sleep on a summer night, often hung out at Shunyi after dinner for no particular reason.

Xing Wu was lounging with his legs crossed, squinting at a hand full of bombs, relaxed and leaning back in his chair with an air of leisure, when his phone suddenly rang.

He ignored it for the first two rings until Quan Ya glanced at him. Only then did Xing Wu unhurriedly pull out his phone and see it was a WeChat voice call from Qing Ye.

Frowning slightly, he answered and held it to his ear, only to hear Qing Ye’s trembling, tearful voice: “Xing Wu, someone’s banging on the bathroom door. I’m inside—what do I do?”

“What?”

Everyone in the room saw Xing Wu suddenly throw down his cards and stand up. The room fell silent as all the men stared at him. Xing Wu strode out, phone in hand: “Are you dressed?”

“Not yet…”

“Don’t open the door. Get dressed and wait for me.”

With that, he locked his phone, yanked up the rolling shutter door, and rushed out. Quan Ya rarely saw Xing Wu so frantic—even when surrounded by a gang from Anzhi last year, he hadn’t panicked. Quan Ya hurried after him, shouting, “What’s wrong?”

Xing Wu had no time to answer. He dashed into the heavy rain, mounted the Little Angel, and sped off. Quan Ya barely had time to remind him about the rain before the Little Angel’s wheels splashed through puddles, quickly disappearing into the distance. Stunned, Quan Ya stood frozen, watching Xing Wu’s figure vanish into the downpour.

…

After hanging up, Qing Ye was drenched in sweat, fumbling nervously for her clothes. Her body trembled so violently she kept grabbing her clothes inside out.

Soon, the banging outside grew louder. Qing Ye’s mind went blank. She managed to call 110, but it took forever to connect. The operator asked for her address, but in her panic, Qing Ye couldn’t recall it and blurted out “Dazzle Island Barber Shop.”

After hanging up, she picked up the wooden stool holding her clothes, eyes fixed on the door, resolved to fight with the stool if the intruder broke in before Xing Wu returned.

Those few minutes felt like an eternity in hell. Qing Ye screamed hysterically, hoping someone would hear the commotion, but outside, heavy rain poured down, thunder and lightning drowning out her cries. In this old, dilapidated place, no one braved the rain to meddle, no one cared if she lived or died.

She no longer knew if the droplets streaming down her face were sweat or tears. Just as her nerves were about to snap, a sudden cry of pain echoed outside, followed by the door lock ceasing to shake—but the commotion beyond the door grew even louder.Qing Ye quickly grabbed the wooden stool and rushed to the door, listening to the commotion outside. After a few more agonized cries from a man, she heard Xing Wu's voice: "You got some fucking nerve? You dare lay a hand on my woman? I'll make sure you can't even crawl away today."

Her heart eased slightly, and she hurriedly unlocked the door. As the bathroom door swung open, what met Qing Ye's eyes was Xing Wu standing astride a man in the pouring rain, gripping the man's collar with one hand and half-lifting him from the ground where he'd been knocked down. His fists rained down blow after blow on the man's head. The torrential rain drenched him completely, yet the defined muscles of his arms were starkly visible from the sheer brute force. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes bloodthirsty, an aura of terror clinging to him.

This was the first time Qing Ye had witnessed Xing Wu in a fight—his fists swift and ruthless, violent and cruel, so cold it was as if all warmth had drained from him.

The man on the ground initially let out pained groans, but soon blood splattered, mixing with the rainwater into a gruesome sight.

Terrified, Qing Ye cried out, "Xing Wu!"

Her shout finally snapped the enraged Xing Wu back to his senses. He flung the man aside, delivered one last vicious kick to his head, and turned around.

There stood Qing Ye by the door, clad in a white nightgown, her slender arms still clutching the wooden stool. Her clear eyes were brimming with fearful tears, fixed helplessly and intently on Xing Wu.

In that instant, Xing Wu felt as if something invisible had slammed into his heart, pounding like thunder and drums.