Chapter 32

Chapter 32

A powerful masculine scent lunged at her as Xia Wanzhi’s hands were pinned down, leaving her unable to move. Terrified by the sudden restraint, she kicked her legs and struggled with all her might, resisting Zhou Yu’s approach.

“Why should someone else easily get what I couldn’t?” Zhou Yu demanded, his voice thick with rage. His eyes, full of predatory aggression, were locked onto Xia Wanzhi.

“It’s because I liked you too much that I followed your rhythm and took things slow with you.” Zhou Yu’s face grew darker as he lowered his voice, hissing with fury, “My only regret is not taking you sooner.”

Looking down at Xia Wanzhi, who was pinned to the bed with tears of terror in her eyes, a smile suddenly crept into Zhou Yu’s bloodshot gaze. He stroked her face and let out a sinister laugh. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not too late to take you now.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Xia Wanzhi’s wrists ached from his grip, but she seemed oblivious to the pain now. Her frantic struggle was replaced by a chilling calm. Her eyes turned icy as she spoke every word with deliberate weight: “Zhou Yu, don’t make me hate you.”

Zhou Yu’s sickly smile deepened. “Hate me, then. Go ahead. Hate is deeper than love. Since you don’t love me, then hate me for the rest of your life. It’s better than you cutting ties with me entirely.”

“Get out-!”

With her hair splayed messily to the side, the fear she had been suppressing finally exploded. Tears soaked her trembling lashes, and her chest heaved violently as she struggled with every ounce of strength she had. “Get off me…”

Biting down on her bloodless lips, Xia Wanzhi’s face turned pale from extreme panic. She wept, her body shaking, her mind consumed by a sense of total despair.

She had never been this afraid in her life.

As Xia Wanzhi struggled violently, several nail scratches appeared on Zhou Yu’s cheek. As her crying grew louder, Zhou Yu suddenly snapped out of it. The possessiveness in his eyes faded, replaced by shock when he met Xia Wanzhi’s gaze-a look of cold, piercing hatred that suggested she wanted to tear him to pieces. Gasping for air, he apologized frantically, “I’m sorry, Zhi Zhi, I’m sorry…”

In all the years he had liked Xia Wanzhi, he had always been cautious with her.

He had followed her pace, and even their hugs had been shy and innocent.

Precisely because he loved her, he had never engaged in any out-of-line or disrespectful physical contact.

But now, he had hurt her completely, like a beast.

*Slap!* The crisp sound of the strike rang in his ears. Xia Wanzhi’s eyes were brimming with tears, a strand of hair caught against her lips. She was trembling all over. The moment Zhou Yu’s grip loosened, she used the last of her strength to shove him away, scrambled up, and rushed out the door in a state of disarray.

Rain had begun to fall again at some point, heavier than the gray drizzle from that morning.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Xia Wanzhi wiped at them haphazardly as she ran out the gates of the Zhou Family estate, plunging headlong into the downpour.

She hadn’t gone far, but the sudden torrential rain made her lose her sense of direction.

All the vulnerability she had suppressed deep within her heart surfaced at once, turning into a flood of tears. The strength she had maintained for over two months shattered in this moment, dissolving into the rain.

She missed her father; she missed her mother.

She missed her home.

Xia Wanzhi felt as though she had fallen into total darkness. The world was vast, yet in no corner of it could she find a way back.

The more she cried, the deeper the ache in her heart became.

She even began to wonder if none of this would have happened if she hadn’t been so determined to stay in Beicheng.

Then, her life wouldn’t be this difficult.

Through the veil of rain, a black car rolled over the wet pavement and came to a stop directly in front of Xia Wanzhi, its turn signal blinking.

The engine stayed running as it sat there, wipers swinging back and forth. Xia Wanzhi looked toward it, her vision shifting between clarity and a blur.
The man in the driver’s seat stared at her through the window.

After a long moment, the car door pushed open, and the man’s long, elegant legs stepped out.

Xia Wanzhi wasn’t standing in a particularly good spot. Rainwater flooded over the man’s designer leather shoes, worth tens of thousands, but he simply stood there holding his umbrella, meeting Xia Wanzhi’s hollow, lifeless eyes.

Then, he strode toward her.

“Get in the car.” Standing with her in the middle of the puddles, the man’s deep voice carried less of its usual hostility.

Xia Wanzhi tilted her head back, her lips trembling. She stared at him for a long time before finally choking out a name: “Xie Qiyan.”

Xie Qiyan held the umbrella almost entirely over her. In response to her call, he lowered his gaze and gave a very soft, “Mm.”

“I want to go home,” Xia Wanzhi said, forcing the words out with great effort.

Her stubbornness, pride, and strength were all replaced by an overwhelming sense of vulnerability in this moment.

“Then let’s go home.” Xie Qiyan’s eyes were dark, his expression as calm and rippleless as a still lake.

Xia Wanzhi couldn’t process his current mood.

Still, she was surprised he would say such a thing to her.

She suddenly remembered the summer solstice when she was eight years old-the first time she had seen Xie Qiyan at the Xie Family estate.

He had been a mess, kneeling in the Xie Family courtyard during the peak of the afternoon sun. His skin was burnt red, and his lips were pale and cracked from dehydration.

He must have been kneeling there for a long time.

Back then, Xia Wanzhi didn’t know who he was; she simply felt pity for him. She had run back inside specifically to grab a bottle of fresh milk to give to him.

It was a bottle of premium fresh milk flown in from New Zealand-something Xia Wanzhi considered very precious.

Xie Qiyan had been very thin back then.

So thin that Xia Wanzhi had assumed he was a younger boy.

She had been willing to give him the very best she had.

But her heartfelt kindness was met with a violent shove from Xie Qiyan, shattering the bottle on the ground.

It wasn’t just the milk bottle that broke; her heart did, too.

“I don’t need your pity.” The young boy had looked up at her then, his eyes full of hostility and world-weariness.

It was from that day forward that Xia Wanzhi had the first person in her life she truly disliked.

It was also from that day that Xia Wanzhi, who had grown up surrounded by a thousand forms of affection, realized that not everyone would like her.

Years later, here she was standing in the rain, a complete mess, and the person extending a helping hand was Xie Qiyan.

He was holding an umbrella for her, telling her to get in the car.

Saying he would take her home.

As Xia Wanzhi was lost in her memories, Xie Qiyan stood with her. Thinking she meant to refuse, he broke the silence. “Yun Li was in a car accident. Jiang Baichuan hit her. They went to the hospital and asked me to come pick you up.”

Xia Wanzhi was snapped out of her reverie by his words. “What?”

“I said, I’m here to take you home,” Xie Qiyan said, looking down at her.

His deep voice resonated in her heart. Xia Wanzhi stared blankly into his eyes through the glasses he wore.

Jiang Baichuan had asked him for a favor.

He could have refused.

But he came.

“Thank you,” Xia Wanzhi said with difficulty. Whether it was from being in the rain for so long or because the panic in her heart hadn’t dissipated, her body trembled slightly, making her thin frame look even more fragile.

Xie Qiyan was an unpredictable man.

Xia Wanzhi didn’t understand him, but she clearly remembered the things he had said the last time she sat in his car. Consequently, she instinctively walked toward the passenger side.

Xie Qiyan opened the door for her, holding the umbrella to shield her from the rain. Only after she was inside and the door was closed did he walk around to the driver’s seat.

Xia Wanzhi glanced sideways and noticed that the clothes on his right shoulder were almost soaked through.

The umbrella had been tilted toward her.