Three Trials

Zhou Lexing never imagined that his joy at finding Gu Jiansheng would end like this.

"What do you mean?" Zhou Lexing frowned, then touched his stubble. "I don't understand."

“You’ve been following me.” Gu Jiansheng stared intently at Zhou Lexing.

If it weren't for his face, Zhou Lexing's uneven stubble would have been a disaster.

But it was this face that made everything different, at least until today's events, Gu Jiansheng thought it was different.

“I will pretend I don’t know anything about what happened today,” Gu Jiansheng gestured to the unconscious, greasy man, “but if you dare to follow me again, this will be your fate.”

No matter how many times he is reborn, these men are like bloodsucking leeches, disregarding his wishes, constantly professing love, yet intending to devour his flesh and blood.

Stalking, spying, insults, threats...

Each and every one of those incidents was once Gu Jiansheng's nightmare, but now that he can control his own body, it's time for him to avenge all the humiliation.

If Zhou Lexing hadn't interfered, this man would have already been pushed off the cliff, using the last bit of his energy to feed the wolves and tigers in the mountains.

That's what I meant.

Even looking at this face that perfectly matched his tastes, Zhou Lexing felt a surge of anger.

"Why would I follow you?! If I wasn't afraid you'd go into the mountains and get yourself killed..."

Um?

etc.

Zhou Lexing realized his mistake as soon as he spoke.

He did follow Gu Jiansheng into the mountains. Does that mean Gu Jiansheng considered him to be stalking him?

Zhou Lexing was stunned. Moreover, when he met Gu Jiansheng's tongue, it seemed to have its own will and was completely out of his control. His usual ability to speak human language to human language and ghost language to ghost language was completely reset. This time, he was stuck and immediately went out of control.

Seeing Gu Jiansheng's expression grow increasingly gloomy, Zhou Lexing immediately realized that he was in a situation he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River, so he simply wiped his face and gave up.

"Fine, fine, you say I'm following you, then so be it." Zhou Lexing turned around, grabbed the greasy man's arms, and dragged him down the mountain for a distance.

It wasn't that he lacked the strength to carry someone, but asking him to carry a man who had flirted with him was something Zhou Lexing knew he wasn't a saint and couldn't do.

He also had his own wicked thoughts. Since he couldn't fight the person anymore, he figured that making a mess of things and going down the mountain would be a way to vent his anger, and it would even be a good deed.

If this unconscious fellow is left on the mountain and is accidentally carried off by wolves, then the responsibility will be difficult to explain.

"Hey, Gu Jiansheng, let's go! What are you spacing out for?"

Zhou Le walked a distance, then turned around and saw that Gu Jiansheng was still standing there. He immediately called out for help.

Gu Jiansheng had gone into the mountains to lure this greasy man who had been following him into a trap. Now that he saw Zhou Lexing taking the man away, he couldn't help but frown: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Lexing: "What? What are you doing?" He was doing a good deed.

But he knew he was tongue-tied when facing Gu Jiansheng, so he simply didn't say much to avoid giving himself away and evolving from a stalker into a vicious man.

"Hurry up and go, it's lunchtime, your mom is definitely waiting for you to eat."

Gu Jiansheng stared at Zhou Lexing for a while, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

Zhou Lexing wasn't nervous at all, and seeing that he kept staring at him, he felt much better.

"What? Your brother is handsome, isn't he!" Zhou Lexing grinned, revealing his bright white teeth. "Hurry up and come down the mountain with me. Once we're down, you can look at him however you like."

Gu Jiansheng's brow twitched, but he knew that he couldn't get things done today, and there was no point in staying in the mountains, so he walked behind silently, occasionally stepping on the unconscious, greasy man's foot.

Zhou Lexing, who was dragging along in front, noticed something, turned around, and worried that Gu Jiansheng might step on the greasy man and fall, so he picked him up.

"Come on, walk next to me, don't fall."

The two, each with their own thoughts, walked down the mountain.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Zhou Lexing simply tossed the greasy man under a tree and clapped his hands.

"Hey, let's go, I'll take you home."

Gu Jiansheng looked at the greasy man, then at him.

Zhou Lexing touched the short stubble on his head: "It's okay, he's still breathing. We're all grown men, he can do whatever he wants when he wakes up, it's none of my business."

Gu Jiansheng's eyes were filled with uncertain emotions, but in the end he turned and left without saying a word.

Zhou Lexing couldn't decipher the deeper meaning in Gu Jiansheng's glance, and took a step to follow him. When he saw Gu Jiansheng turn to look at him, he quickly raised his hands and said innocently, "I didn't follow you, I was just escorting you openly and legitimately."

Seeing that Gu Jiansheng still looked displeased, Zhou Lexing continued to explain, "My mom asked me to take good care of you and even asked me to take you out!"

He got permission from his parents.

"Hey, didn't you hear that at the clinic too? Our mom, uh, I mean your mom and my mom, they both hope we can spend more time together, cough, I mean, go out together more often, see more places..."

Throughout the journey, Zhou Lexing had never felt so clumsy with his words. He only made things worse by trying to explain, and in the end, he didn't even dare to look up at Gu Jiansheng's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Well, now that you're here, I should go home for dinner." Zhou Lexing said dejectedly, but he still had to say what needed to be said.

He reached out and stopped Gu Jiansheng, who was rushing in, and under the other's sharp glare, he forced himself to continue, "Those mountains are dangerous. If you need anything, just tell me. If you really have to go into the mountains, bring a few more people with you. Of course, if you take me with you, then it's definitely..."

"Bang!"

In response to Zhou Lexing, the door in front of him was slammed shut.

"Why."

Zhou Lexing hung his head dejectedly and dragged his feet home.

He thought he had fulfilled his mother's wishes, but he never expected to be faced with a three-way interrogation as soon as he got home.

The feather duster, meant to ward off evil spirits, was placed on the dining table. His mother and second brother looked at him coldly, and even Zhou Shusheng, who was usually a sweet and gentle boy, sat on a small stool like a quail, not daring to utter a sound.

What happened?

Zhou Lexing felt a rare moment of guilt.

Did that greasy guy wake up and run to his house to complain?

That shouldn't be the case. Even if his legs are long, there's no reason for him to be so fast, especially since that person's legs are so short, and he even got kicked by him.

“Tell me what you did!” Zhou Lanxiang grabbed a feather duster and tapped it on the edge of the table, making a startling clattering sound.

Zhou Lexing felt even more uneasy, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with anything: "No, I didn't do anything!"

He was even more wronged than Dou E!

"What did you go into the mountains for?" Zhou Lixing finally spoke up kindly when he saw that he didn't seem to be putting on airs.

It turned out that although Zhou Lixing couldn't leave Zhou Shusheng alone and chase after him, he still followed along Hutou Creek for a while and happened to see Zhou Lexing heading into the mountains.

“I told you, you’re not allowed to go into the mountains! You’re not allowed to go into the mountains! Why can’t you listen to any of my words! Do you have to make me so angry that you won’t feel at ease!” Zhou Yuanxiang still felt terrified and her hands and feet went cold whenever she recalled the scene of Zhou Lexing being carried home by the old hunter with his face covered in blood.

At that time, Zhou Lexing's breathing was weak, and everyone thought that he would not make it this time.

Zhou Yuanxiang never mentioned her fear and regret to anyone, but whenever she learned that Zhou Lexing had ignored her advice and gone into the mountains again, that deep-seated fear would resurface.

If Zhou Lixing hadn't stopped Zhou's mother, she would have already run into the mountains to catch someone.

Seeing that his mother's eyes were red, Zhou Lexing felt a little bad too. He immediately dared not make excuses and said half-truthfully, "I was doing a good deed."

"It wasn't just a coincidence. I was actually planning to go home and help Mom make lunch. Bro, what's with that look? Don't interrupt my train of thought."

Zhou Lixing choked.

My eyes can't speak!

But he didn't say anything in the end.

"Anyway, I hadn't gone far when I saw a suspicious guy. Who am I? With my sharp eyes, I knew at a glance that this person was up to no good. So I followed him. I originally wanted to stop him. If this guy went into the mountains to set off fires or something, wouldn't the village be in trouble? Now that the weather is hot, even if no one is in the mountains, it's easy for something to catch fire. I have to be careful."

"I didn't go into the mountains, I was just at the mountain pass. That guy was still angry when I stopped him and even tried to hit me, but I kicked him unconscious. He's probably still lying under a big tree at the foot of the mountain."

"Brother, if you don't believe me, I'll take you to see for yourself right now. I really didn't go into the mountains. If I had, do you think I'd be home by now?"

He didn't mention his encounter with Gu Jiansheng.

After all, he still doesn't know why Gu Jiansheng went into the mountains, which could lead to a lot of rumors. Moreover, Aunt Zhou and Aunt Lan are acquainted, so if they knew that Gu Jiansheng went into the mountains alone, they would be even more worried.

"You really didn't go into the mountains?" Zhou Lanxiang asked again, still not entirely convinced. Seeing Zhou Lexing nod heavily, she realized that what he said made sense.

There are many deep mountains near Zhoujia Village.

The mountain Zhou Lexing entered this morning is called Tiger Head Mountain because it is next to Tiger Head Creek. Although there may not be tigers, there are definitely jackals.

In previous years, the weather was too cold, and wolves might come down from the mountains. The children in the village grew up listening to stories of wolves that ate children.

But because the mountains are so big and deep, there are all sorts of strange things inside, and it's easy for people to get lost. Let alone in such a short time, how could one possibly make a round trip?

But as soon as that topic was moved on, Zhou Yunxiang noticed something else: "Who was that person? Did he hit you? Where did he hit you? Let Mom see him right away!"

"Don't worry, Mom. Don't you think about whose son I am? That person won't get away with it; he won't even get close to me."

"You're getting cocky, aren't you?!"

Although Zhou Lexing dodged the feather duster, he was still left with a slap mark because he was too agile.

During his afternoon nap, Zhou Lexing rubbed the bright red handprint on his arm, smelled the fragrance of wormwood, and muttered to his brother, "Brother, you're so heartless! How could you betray your brother like that?"

Zhou Lixing, who was sleeping next to him, didn't even open his eyes: "Well, it's a pity they can't fetch a good price. Nobody wants them for a single penny."

Zhou Lexing: "..." This is definitely his biological brother.