"Uncle, uncle..." The car stopped to the side, waiting in line for inspection when a voice outside the car rang out, making the inside of the car very quiet. The man driving was the first to ask, "Who?"
A head popped up from a broken car window, startling the three people inside, "Could I catch a ride with you? I’m in a rush to get to the town ahead, but those nice cars in front won’t let me get in..."
"Go away, go away..." The man who had been bitten was the first to disagree, shooing him away like a little dog.
The young man who was leaning on the car window started rolling his eyes innocently, "The window obviously has been smashed since there’s still glass shards on the ground." The bitten man was taken aback, the larger pieces had already been kicked away by him, and the smaller ones were not easy to kick, so they were left, "There’s no key in the ignition... Why is that?"
The man driving had a gloomy look on his face and then waved his hand, saying to the two behind him, "Let him in." He obviously was afraid of the young man, scared he would make a scene and attract the police.
The bitten man’s face turned cold as he opened the door.
The young man was full of thanks: "Thank you, thank you. Hey, you guys are really nice. You can’t judge a book by its cover." The young man nonchalantly took a seat in the last row next to the bitten man, "At first glance, you all look fierce and menacing, I thought you were bad guys."
"Heh heh, little brother, what are you going for?" The man who hadn’t spoken yet smiled gently and asked softly.
The young man looked helpless, "Don’t mention it, my sister ran away from home. I’m going to ask around at our uncle’s house in the town ahead. It’s all because of two sweet potatoes, what can I say?" He put on an appearance of a good big brother, then asked in return, "Where are you big brothers going? Carrying so much luggage, are you going on a trip?"
The gentle and sturdy man (let’s call him Gentle Man) who hadn’t spoken replied, "Ah, we’re off to do business. Didn’t expect that business would be so tough, just came back from the south."
The young man nodded, seeing they were approaching the checkpoint, and nudged Luo Qianqian under the chair with his foot, "It’s been so long, and the blockade still hasn’t reached us to check... Huh? What’s this, it’s kind of soft."
Luo Qianqian was startled. The kick she received wasn’t strong, more like a hint rather than a test. Thinking of what the young man had said earlier, she quickly twisted under the seat to look at the young man, then her eyes widened in shock.
The young man’s mouth gaped open in surprise too, but Luo Qianqian could see reassurance in his eyes. The young man exclaimed, "Sister!!! How are you here? What on earth are you wearing? Where did you steal it from?"
This young man was none other than Li Zexi, the ’thief’ Luo Qianqian had met on the train.
Seeing him, Luo Qianqian understood that he had come for her. She quickly looked at Li Zexi with tears and plea, "Brother, wuwu, brother!!!" and she crawled out from under the seat, kneeling on the ground and crying.
The three strong men were utterly confused, not understanding what was happening at all.
"You’re saying she ran away from home just over some sweet potatoes? Where did these clothes on you come from?" Li Zexi snarled fiercely at Luo Qianqian, yet his hands nimbly pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears.
"Wuwu, I found these clothes. I fell into water, then I saw this car by the roadside. Just as I changed clothes, these three uncles got in the car, and I was too scared to come out..." Her speech hinted that she was unaware of the fact that the three men had broken into the car.
Li Zexi nodded, "Go ahead and make a fuss. Let’s see how you explain this to mom when you get home! But it’s a good thing I found you, so there’s no need to go to uncle’s house now." Then he smiled at the Gentle Man, "Brother, I’ve found my sister. I won’t trouble you further. I’ll take my sister and get off here."
The gentle man nodded with a smile, "That’s true, it saves the trouble of coming back. Go home and behave, no more fussing, alright?"
Li Zexi nodded, pulled Luo Qianqian up, and was just about to open the car door when he heard the driver yell, "They’re catching up!!!"
The biting man’s first reaction was to yank Luo Qianqian and Li Zexi back, glaring fiercely at the two, "Get back here, or I’ll kill you!" He was already holding a gun in his hand.
Luo Qianqian’s face turned pale; she had been so close to escaping.
Li Zexi, on the other hand, sat down without changing his expression, "Is it high-interest loans? I understand, my dad borrowed too, and with such people, you’ve got to take the back roads to shake them off, otherwise there are checks ahead and you’ll definitely get caught."
Luo Qianqian sat next to Li Zexi with her head down, not daring to speak, feeling the strokes he was drawing in her hand: wait, rescue, help.
Luo Qianqian squeezed Li Zexi’s hand back, indicating that she understood, and continued to keep her head down without speaking.
"Haha, birds of a feather," said the gentle man with a laugh.
Li Zexi shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face, "Don’t even mention it, after my dad paid off the high-interest loans, he went gambling again. I couldn’t stop him."
While Li Zexi was talking with the three men, Luo Qianqian’s legs were incessantly reaching under the seat for the gun she had hidden there.
However, her legs were too short to reach it.
Just then, the driver veered onto a small road, avoiding the check, leaving Qin Liang and the others unable to react in time. What Luo Qianqian had been desperately trying to reach became exposed due to the sudden turn. Luo Qianqian’s face instantly turned white, and the biting man also saw the exposed end of the weapon, angrily shouting to the driver, "This little bastard has a gun hidden!"
The moment the gun was revealed, Li Zexi’s face changed color as well. With this object, all the excuses and reasons he had spoken of didn’t exist.
Sure enough, the biting man grabbed Li Zexi’s neck with one hand, and Li Zexi’s face immediately turned crimson, his eyes bulging blood-red.
Luo Qianqian clenched her lower lip tight, her right hand sliding down as the dagger slipped out of her sleeve. She flung away the scabbard and plunged the dagger directly into the hand that was gripping Li Zexi’s neck. The sturdy man cried out in pain and let go of Li Zexi, but at that moment, his hand was also crimson red, stabbed so deeply by the furious Luo Qianqian that the bone was visible.
Li Zexi was startled by the sudden turn of events, gasping for air and coughing violently after being released, unable to do anything else. Watching Luo Qianqian stand in front of him with a dagger, like a hen protecting her chick, he couldn’t quite identify the feeling in his heart.
"Damn you, you little bitch!" The bitten brawny man, clutching his bleeding arm and unable to stop the blood, kicked Luo Qianqian hard without any hesitation. Seeing the dagger in Luo Qianqian’s hand, he kicked it away without a second thought! The dagger flew out through the windshield, leaving Luo Qianqian huddled next to Li Zexi, weaponless.
The gentle man tore his shirt without hesitation to bandage the bitten man, his amiable appearance somewhat cracked. He looked at Luo Qianqian as if he wished to be rid of her as soon as possible.