Chapter 171: Volume 1, Chapter 171 – Study Well, Progress Every Day (15)

Li Wen Nian's peripheral vision swept over the few people following behind him, and he gave a slight tug at the corner of his mouth.

Through the icy cold silver-white mask, the blond-haired youth pinched her chin, gazing into those clear, cold peach-blossom eyes, filled with hatred as he locked eyes with her.

Li Wen Nian pinched her cheek with his fingers, not gently, his tone grim: "Do you want to live? If you want to live, then run."

Having said that, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside the car; the night was silent, dark clouds pressed down, wrapped in the rumbling thunder of an approaching storm.

Bolts of lightning flashed before his eyes, illuminating the silver-white mask of the blond-haired youth with its cold texture; Jiang Zhi's figure swayed unstably, her expression indifferent, she glanced at him once, then immediately turned and fled, lifting her skirt.

Li Wen Nian watched her silhouette disappear into the night, leaning against the car, he let out a low, pleased laugh.

After running for an unknown time, the torrential rain soaked her whole body; she no longer felt cold, her body numb and stiff. Jiang Zhi tore open the hem of her skirt and wrapped it up, her ill-fitting high heels long since discarded, her bare feet, like mutton-fat jade, stepped on the sandpaper-like ground, wearing several holes through which blood beads seeped.

She clutched her chest, breathing rapidly, her pale face slightly lifted; rain struck her cheek, causing a sharp pain.

Several figures appeared ahead and walked over.

They looked at her as if appraising goods, speaking in an incomprehensible language, the lecherous smiles on their faces filled with desire.

Leaving the casino, this district was chaotic and mixed; next door was still a slum, mostly people at the end of their ropes, mingling with the wealthy district, with no regulation whatsoever.

Jiang Zhi tried to avoid the crowds, hiding in a dark corner, but they still found her, and she stepped back.

One of the men slowly approached, seeming afraid to scare her, he raised a fake smile, lifted his hand, and spoke in broken Chinese: "Don't be afraid, we won't, hurt you."

Jiang Zhi gripped the sharp shard in her hand, pressing her body against the wall, she pursed her pale lips and said, "Get lost."

She pressed the shard against the side of her neck, her wrist trembling slightly, the fragile skin was cut, a line of blood spreading.

"Bang!"

The gunshot from a silenced pistol rang out; the bullet instantly pierced the man's forehead in front of her and embedded into the wall behind him, blood spurted out, mixing with the rain and splashing onto her cheek.

Jiang Zhi's figure swayed, her pupils contracted sharply, she stared fixedly at the man who had collapsed on the ground, shot dead on the spot.

Seeing this, his several companions scattered, fleeing east and west.

Jiang Zhi's vision went black, and her body began to fall downward.

Li Wen Nian, who had embraced her from behind, threw the gun in his hand to the subordinate beside him.

The subordinate said: "Boss, the operation has started over there."

Li Wen Nian's unfathomable eyes were gloomy and vicious, his smile not reaching his eyes, devoid of emotion: "Second Brother's proudest pair of gun-wielding hands—let's cripple them first."

The subordinate vanished from the spot.

The girl in his arms clutched his collar with her fingers, a red pattern like spreading vines crept along the corners of her eyes, washed away by the rain, the only vivid color on her pale face.

"Li, Wen Nian, is it really you?"

Li Wen Nian's face beneath the mask froze for a moment; for the first time in his life, he felt a surge of panic.

"No, it's not."

——He suddenly did not want… her to know his identity……

Jiang Zhi's lips curved slightly, she said reassuringly:

"Then, that's good."

Li Wen Nian stared at the smile on her face, his heart seemed to stop beating, everything around him seemed to fall into stagnation.

【Villain Li Wen Nian Favorability 36 points】

——

After sleeping for a full five days, Jiang Zhi woke up in the hospital, her eyes completely dark; likely she had injured her nerves, her vision temporarily lost.

She deliberately forgot everything that had happened at the casino; the police had come several times, and Jiang Mu and Xi Ye stayed by her side day and night, trembling with fear.

Jiang Zhi stayed in the hospital for a month, gradually growing accustomed to the darkness, she tentatively felt her way forward and touched Jiang Mu's palm.

"Xiao Zhi, Dad has found the world's most authoritative neurologist; he will surely cure your eyes, don't be afraid."

Jiang Zhi said calmly: "Mom, I want to go to school."

Jiang Mu's voice choked slightly as she held Jiang Zhi's fingers and gently squeezed them, saying: "Okay, tomorrow Mom will take you to school."

Jiang Zhi: "I can do it myself."

Jiang Mu wanted to say more, but Xi Ye beside her stopped her, shaking his head at her and silently saying: "Come out for a moment."

After the two left and returned, Jiang Mu's voice sounded as if she had just finished crying a great deal, and she also agreed to her proposal to go to school.

After leaving the hospital.

Jiang Mu told her, "You have two classmates who come to see you every day, very worried about you."

Jiang Zhi asked: "What are their names?"

Jiang Mu thought for a moment, "One is called Wu Wan; the other didn't give a name, but he's a very good-looking boy."

Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes, "Hmm."

Riding in the car to school, Jiang Mu led her to the classroom seat.

After Jiang Mu left, everyone's gazes involuntarily shifted onto her.

Jiang Zhi could not see; she could only rely on her fingers to feel around and take out her textbook.

"Xiao Zhi, are you… alright?" Wu Wan, the first to hear of her hospitalization, sat opposite her, raising his hand and waving it tentatively before her eyes.

Jiang Zhi shook her head: "I'm fine."

Wu Wan looked at her eyes with heartache; after hearing the class bell, he reluctantly left.

Meanwhile, her desk mate Li Wen Nian never showed up until afternoon dismissal; the seat beside her remained empty, with not a sound.

Jiang Zhi shouldered her backpack, and only after all her classmates had left did she feel her way out of the classroom.

The hallway was silent and still, only her footsteps remained.

Jiang Zhi walked along the edge of the wall step by step, descending the stairs gradually; she accidentally missed a step, her body unconsciously pitching forward.

A hand timely gripped her wrist, stabilizing her falling body.

Jiang Zhi gripped the railing beside her tightly, her voice trembling imperceptibly, "Thank you."

That person said nothing, following behind her.

After walking out of the teaching building and standing under the eaves, Jiang Zhi asked, "Who are you?"

Responding to her was Jiang Mu running over, "Xiao Zhi, who are you talking to?"

Jiang Zhi turned her head back, listened carefully, heard nothing, then turned and asked, "Mom, is anyone beside me?"

Jiang Mu peered around, shook her head, and said, "I didn't see any other classmates. What's wrong?"

Jiang Zhi gripped the blind cane in her hand and said, "It's nothing."

—

For several days afterward she constantly felt someone following her from behind; that person never spoke to her, but whenever she was in danger, he would appear immediately to defuse it.

Jiang Zhi's eyes gradually began to recover; her vision was blurry, like that of a highly myopic person, she could not see objects clearly but could sense light.

Not wanting her parents to regard her as disabled, Jiang Zhi bluntly told them they need not give her special care; she could manage each day normally on her own.

Xi Ye had dispatched five or six bodyguards to guard her nearby, fearing she might suffer another accident like the last one.