Chapter 31: Gou Dan Gets Scold

Bai An looked at Lu Jin’an, raising both her hands and saying, “Gou Dan made others grab me like this, then smeared dirt on my head and face.”

Bai An’s forehead was wounded, and her eyes and nose were reddened from crying. With this action, she appeared both pitiful and lovable.

Wan Qing, who rarely cursed at anyone, couldn’t help but mutter, “They’re so shameless.”

Bai An nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, exactly.”

Lu Jin’an placed the towel back into the basin and said to Wan Qing, “I’ll go out and buy some medicine for Bai An.”

Bai An looked at his retreating figure in confusion, quietly asking, “Isn’t there medicine at home?”

Wan Qing sighed, holding Bai An’s hand. She said earnestly, “Let’s not worry about him for now, Bai An. Tomorrow, Mom will go to school with you. Point out those people to me, and I’ll help you get revenge.”

Bai An had never really shared her grievances with others before, and it was the first time she felt a bit embarrassed.

“Mom, it’s okay, I fought back,” Bai An pointed to her head, “It looks bad, but it doesn’t actually hurt.”

“It doesn’t hurt?” Wan Qing looked at Bai An’s wound, and tears unknowingly fell again. “We’ve raised you like a treasure; who would dare to hurt you?”

“And that Gou Dan—how could he be so ruthless?”

Bai An threw herself into Wan Qing’s arms, wiping the tears from her mother’s face, and smiled, saying, “Don’t cry. I’m fine.”

Wan Qing gently had Bai An stand on the ground. Bai An looked confused, but then saw Wan Qing take out the medicine box. Wan Qing cautioned, “Be careful with the wound.”

Bai An smiled and squatted down in front of Wan Qing so she could treat her more easily.

Looking at Bai An’s face, Wan Qing sighed helplessly, “You…”

Meanwhile, Gou Dan, as usual, was walking along the village path, looking at the scenery. Everything seemed the same as always, but for some reason, he felt a strange unease in his heart.

“Why does it feel a bit cold?” Gou Dan shrugged his shoulders, and the image of Lu Jin’an and Lin Zhixia’s last figures lingered in his mind.

Gou Dan shook his head forcefully and spat on the side of the road, muttering, “What bad luck.”

“Really bad luck,” a voice seemed to come from a distance, ringing in Gou Dan’s ears.

His sixth sense told him not to turn around, but out of curiosity, he couldn’t resist and began to turn, wanting to see who the mysterious person was.

But before he could turn fully, a shadow fell from the sky, blocking his view. Before he could react, he was wrapped in a sack.

“Who is it!” Gou Dan’s nose was filled with a strong smell of urea. He didn’t need to guess to know what kind of bag this was. He angrily shouted, “If you have the guts, let me out and fight one-on-one!”

A vague voice came from above him, “Fight one-on-one? Do you even deserve that?”

The voice was completely unfamiliar to Gou Dan. As he was trying to recall where he had heard it before, he was suddenly hit by a stone on his body.

“Ah!” Gou Dan covered his face and growled, “Dare to hit me with a stone? You’re dead!”

In the surrounding dark, confined space, and with the occasional blows, Gou Dan’s heart began to crumble.

At first, Gou Dan kept swearing, but the stones kept coming, and the pain only increased.

With his face contorted in pain, Gou Dan’s nose was mixed with tears, his face a mess. He didn’t know where to beg for mercy, so he randomly shouted, “Stop, stop!”

Hearing his pleading, the person paused, lowered the stone in their hand, and quietly watched the twisted, rolling sack on the ground.

Gou Dan, seeing that the stones had stopped falling, quickly resumed his crying and shouted, “Please, don’t hit me anymore, waah, don’t hit me, it hurts too much!”

“Hurts?”

Gou Dan, dazed, heard a voice from outside. He sensed a more terrifying presence and quickly twisted his body, trying to escape.

“Ah!”

“Ahhh!”

This time, instead of being hit by stones, Gou Dan was subjected to even more violent punches and kicks.

Time passed, though Gou Dan couldn’t tell how long it had been. It felt like an eternity, long enough that he no longer had the strength to cry.

Gradually, the beating stopped. Gou Dan realized there was no one left outside. He endured the pain in his body and slowly crawled out of the sack.

Looking at the sunset and the empty, deserted path, his tense emotions finally loosened.

“Ahhh, Mom!”

Suddenly, a loud cry from Dazhuang startled the birds in the trees, making them flee in a hurry.

“Gou Dan, what happened to you?”

Lin Zhixia, seeing Gou Dan sitting on the ground with even more wounds than in the morning, couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, asking, “Who beat you like this?”

He was even faster than me.

At that moment, Gou Dan spotted someone who seemed gentle enough to talk to. He quickly stood up, running toward them, grabbing their arm, and choking on his words, saying, “I… I don’t know. I was just walking down the road, and someone threw a sack over me, then started beating me. I don’t know why.”

Lin Zhixia disdainfully pulled Gou Dan’s hand off and glanced at the urea-soaked bag on the ground, saying, “You still have the strength to talk. Why don’t you go find your mom?”

“Take me back,” Gou Dan grabbed Lin Zhixia’s arm again, ordering, “I told you, take me back.”

Lin Zhixia flashed a brief dark look but quickly regained his composure. He gently said to the trembling Gou Dan, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you back.”

So, Gou Dan followed Lin Zhixia as they slowly walked toward his home.

Gou Dan, looking at the hand that was holding his sleeve, turned to Lin Zhixia in confusion, “What’s wrong? I’m already home.”

Lin Zhixia let go of his hand, smiled, and said, “From now on, don’t go down that road. See, someone beat you today. You should use the western path next time.”

“Although you’ll pass through a small forest, at least no one will know you’re going that way.”

Gou Dan thought for a moment, felt that Lin Zhixia had a point, nodded, and ran toward his home.

Lin Zhixia carefully wiped his hand and watched Gou Dan’s retreating figure, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

You’d better take that path.

“Mom!” Inside the house, Gou Dan cried as he pointed to his wounds, showing them to his mother. “Someone beat me.”

“Who beat you, my Gou Dan?” Gou Dan’s mother looked at his wounds and cursed maliciously, “That bastard who beat you deserves to go to hell.”

Gou Dan, wiping his nose, pouted and nodded.