Chapter 36 I’m Going to Hit You

The moment He Wenqing let go of her wrist, Song Youyou grabbed the bag of books with both hands and smashed it hard against him.

Before He Wenqing could react, he was hit several times in a row — bam, bam, bam — the blows landing with stinging pain.

“Youyou, what are you doing?! Stop!” He Wenqing shouted as he raised his arm to shield himself.

“Stop? Why should I stop?! I’m hitting you on purpose — you bastards!” Song Youyou cursed as she hit him, her delicate face flushed red with anger, her hands showing no mercy.

In her past life, she had died falling down the stairs after being pushed by the deranged Song Baozhu. Besides Song Baozhu, the main culprit, He Wenqing was equally to blame. If he hadn’t constantly clung to her, how could Song Baozhu have gone mad with jealousy?

In this life, she had tried her best to keep her distance from both of them. Yet, somehow, they still wouldn’t leave her alone — always showing up to remind her of that nightmare.

“For pestering me like a curse! For you and Song Baozhu — both rotten people!” Song Youyou shouted as she kept hitting him.

She had severed ties with the Song family, carefully planned out her future just to avoid the tragedy from happening again, hoping to live her life peacefully this time. But these two were like persistent ghosts, constantly haunting her. She was truly enraged, and with every hit, her anger grew.

Violence might not solve the problem — but it sure felt satisfying. It gave her a way to release all the anxiety and unease she had bottled up since her rebirth.

“Enough!” He Wenqing, seeing she had no intention of stopping, gritted his teeth and moved to restrain her.

Though he was a technical soldier, he was still part of the army and trained regularly. Physically, he was much stronger than Song Youyou — and the gender difference only widened the gap.

Once he came to his senses, he stepped forward and easily grabbed one of her hands. Then, as she tried to elbow him, he caught her other hand, pinning her down.

Her skin was soft and smooth. The moment he held both her flailing hands, the anger He Wenqing had been harboring instantly dissipated.

He stared at her with dark, deep eyes, a faint smirk curling his lips. “Since when did you learn to hit people, huh? Like a little scratching—”

Smack!

Before he could finish his sentence, a solid punch landed squarely on the right side of his face.

Unlike Song Youyou’s flurry of weak hits, this punch was powerful and direct, knocking him off balance and onto the ground.

Ptooey!

Supporting himself with one hand, He Wenqing spat out a mouthful of bloodied saliva. The punch had loosened one of his molars.

Dazed, he shook his head to clear it, then looked up to see who had hit him.

“Gu Xiao!”

It was that bastard, Gu Xiao!

“You son of a bitch! Who the hell gave you the right to bully her?!”

After punching him down, Gu Xiao didn’t stop — he squatted beside him and landed another heavy punch.

His muscled arms were full of explosive power, and this time, He Wenqing felt half his face go completely numb.

Ptooey!

Another mouthful of bloodied saliva came out — and this time, a tooth fell with it.

“Gu Xiao, are you insane?! Which damn eye of yours saw me bullying her?! She was the one hitting me! I was just stopping her!”

“Heh. Then you should’ve just stood there and taken it like a man, you coward. You dare fight back against a woman?” Gu Xiao scoffed and, eyes burning red, raised his fist to hit again.

“I didn’t—! You son of a—!”

Fueled by rage, He Wenqing finally pushed himself up and began to fight back.

Soon, the two of them were exchanging blows — but Gu Xiao clearly had the upper hand.

He was not only a trained soldier, but also a natural-born fighter — the kind who had grown up as a rebellious brawler.

At first, Song Youyou had been surprised to see Gu Xiao appear and even felt a rush of satisfaction when he knocked He Wenqing down.

But as the beating dragged on and He Wenqing’s face turned black and blue, she began to panic, gasping softly.

She was afraid something serious might happen if the fight continued!

Just that one soft gasp was enough for Gu Xiao, who had been landing punches without pause, to stop instantly. He released He Wenqing and stood up.

“Don’t be scared. It’s over. Let’s go home.”

He didn’t even spare another look at He Wenqing, just took Song Youyou’s hand and gently asked her.

“What about him…?” Song Youyou glanced at He Wenqing, who was lying on the ground groaning in pain. In the end, she nodded and let Gu Xiao lead her away.

“Wait…” He Wenqing called out weakly, but neither of them turned around.

He lay there, watching as that burly brute Gu Xiao held her hand and walked off.

Even after they had walked far away, he could still see Gu Xiao’s tanned hand gripping her pale, porcelain-like arm — the contrast in their skin tones stark.

Dark brown against creamy white. Totally mismatched. Right?

And what were they going to do, alone, man and woman, heading home together?

As a man himself, He Wenqing knew all too well.

At that moment, his heart ached far more than his wounds.

—

Meanwhile, walking home, Song Youyou’s mind was filled with worry.

Would He Wenqing report Gu Xiao?

After all, Gu Xiao was a soldier — and she was afraid her actions might get him into trouble.

Gu Xiao, of course, had no idea that his girl was worrying about such trivial matters.

Seeing her walking silently with a concerned expression, he assumed she was worried about He Wenqing.

With a sulky tone, he muttered, “He won’t die. I avoided the lethal spots. You don’t have to worry about… him.”

As a soldier well-versed in combat, he knew exactly which parts of the body were the most vulnerable, how much force it took to knock someone out, seriously injure, or kill.

What he had done to He Wenqing was simply meant to inflict pain — targeting the most sensitive nerves.

But in his mind, no matter how much He Wenqing hurt physically, it wouldn’t compare to the pain he felt knowing his girl was worried about another man.

“That’s good. Then I won’t worry anymore,” Song Youyou finally let out a breath of relief.

Gu Xiao’s eyes dimmed even more.

“I was just afraid something might happen to him… that it might get you in trouble,” Song Youyou added as she patted her chest.

“?”

Gu Xiao, who had been looking down, suddenly froze.

“What?”

“What do you mean what?”

“What did you mean by that last sentence?”

He raised his head and stared at her intently, a faint light flickering in his eyes.