armor

"You're injured like this, why are you still going to the regiment?" Yang Zheng was extremely worried.

“Hmm,” Shen Anxia picked up another tissue to wipe her mouth and said firmly, “I’ve thought about it. I have to go to the group. If the other party didn’t leave any clues, then close contact is also a way to find clues. I want to resolve this matter before I return to Yi’an.”

Duan Lixing had sensed before that Shen Anxia was a gentle yet strong girl, but now he realized that he hadn't sensed her thoroughly enough.

How strong must one's mind be to face the pain one has just experienced? This is no ordinary pain. It is the pain of someone whose biggest worry since childhood has been whether or not they can do well in exams, yet they are able to face a life-or-death situation. It is the ability to have a clear direction even after overturning one's preconceived notions. It is quite a resilient character. Duan Lixing now understands a little why Lao San would go forward for her.

He intuitively felt that the reason why the third brother was so depressed and in pain in the morning but recovered completely in the evening was not because he had figured it out himself, but because this girl had given him spiritual strength.

Yang Zheng asked worriedly, "But your injury..."

"These injuries will actually help my resignation application get approved sooner." Shen Anxia planned to make good use of her injuries. After this incident, all she wanted was to return to Yi'an as soon as possible, and after thinking about it during the day, she had some ideas that she could only implement after returning to the group.

The group of men at the table looked at Shen Anxia and felt that this girl was not the same person as the third brother had described that morning, or rather, that this girl's self-healing ability was too strong.

Yang Zheng thought about Shen Anxia's words for a moment and agreed, "That's a good idea. That way, I'll pick you up and drop you off at get off work every day, and I can follow up on the case progress in my spare time."

Everyone: "..."

What about principles? Aren't you usually very principled?

After dinner, the group sat for a while longer to discuss the next steps, including the locations Yang Zheng would be following, the nature of the case, and the procedures and time required for the case to be transferred from the public security bureau to the procuratorate. Then they set off back to Yi'an.

Yang Zheng wanted to go downstairs to see them off, but Ding Fei said, "We don't need you to see us off. You can go back and take care of An Xia."

Yang Zheng didn't stand on ceremony. Ding Fei and the others strolled downstairs. Duan Lixing said with a smile, "Fourth brother, no need to see a psychologist."

Jiang Fanxing: "I think so too. I think An Xia is mentally healthy and very cheerful. Third Brother is making a mountain out of a molehill."

Ding Fei asked Duan Lixing, "Didn't you say that the third brother might also need it?"

"This guy was indeed a bit off this morning, but he's clearly improved since we got back this afternoon. I think Anxia played a role in that. I'm really surprised. Anxia is this guy's weakness and his armor in this life," Duan Lixing said with a smile.

Ding Fei also mocked Yang Zheng: "This guy is really unexpected. I always thought he was forced to date someone by my second aunt's husband, but I didn't expect that after my fourth brother casually introduced him, this guy actually became a couple."

Ding Fei and Duan Lixing kept referring to this guy as "this thing".

Xu Qingjing sighed, "It's not just a casual introduction. Third Brother has liked An Xia for so many years. If we had brought them together earlier, they might have gotten married sooner. On the way here, Fifth Brother and I were saying that if something really happened to An Xia, Third Brother might not be able to handle it."

"So many years?" Duan Lixing grasped a few extremely important words.

“That’s right! Second Brother!” Jiang Fanxing got excited when the topic came up. “Fourth Brother and I guessed that Third Brother had liked Shen Anxia for a long time, but he was too embarrassed to make a move because she was several years younger than him.”

"What's going on, Fourth Brother?" Ding Fei's eyes were full of gossip when he heard this, and he put his hand on the passenger door, which he had already opened.

Jiang Fanxing chimed in, "My fourth brother and I think that my third brother has long harbored ill intentions towards An Xia."

Xu Qingjing tugged at Jiang Fanxing: "Don't use idioms if you don't know how to use them." Then he explained to Ding Fei and Duan Lixing: "We guess that Third Brother knew An Xia before and secretly liked her. Before I got married, Third Brother and Fifth Brother stayed at my house during winter and summer vacations. They must have met by chance."

"Then why don't I remember ever seeing An Xia? I have absolutely no recollection of her." Jiang Fanxing racked her brains for a long time but couldn't recall anything.

"You were so busy playing back then, how could you possibly know any of my neighbors?" Xu Qingjing rolled her eyes and said irritably, "But Anxia is a homebody, she doesn't go out much except for tutoring classes."

"Don't interrupt Lao Wu," Duan Lixing steered the conversation back on track.

"Really?" Ding Fei exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't the third brother say anything? If he had, we would have had the fourth brother come to propose marriage long ago!"

Duan Lixing suddenly understood the reason. He said, "An Xia, you must have been young back then! And the third brother's personality is usually quite carefree, but when it comes to someone he cares about, he becomes a bit conservative."

Ding Fei's voice rose: "Wow, this is interesting. This guy... he's been hiding for so many years, and he's quite loyal. Okay, I was wondering about that before, but now it makes sense. Let's go back, and you two, Fourth Brother, don't let anything slip."

"Mm," the two replied.

Shen Anxia was looking through photos on Yang Zheng's phone. The photos showed Shen Anxia's wounds, which had visibly healed in just over ten hours. The redness and swelling on her ankle had also subsided. As she flipped through the photos, she kept thinking about what the assailant had said.

Some people in the group didn't want her to go on stage, even though Brother Da Jing mentioned that the other party didn't want to kill her or be raped by those thugs.

Shen Anxia is not socially anxious, but she is definitely not a socially awkward person either. She is neither distant nor close to the people in the group. She is gentle, friendly and polite to people and has not made enemies with anyone.

However, in recent months, because of the high popularity of her dance videos in Western restaurants, including the performance videos specially released by the troupe and some videos specially edited by fans, her popularity on the Internet has remained high. As a result, her status in the dance troupe has jumped from a newcomer who just joined the troupe to the second principal, and sometimes even on par with the principal, Bai Yan.

Of course, Bai Yan also gained some online fame because of this surge in popularity. However, she is naturally aloof and doesn't like to interact with people. But there's no denying that she is definitely the most talented and capable dancer in the troupe. Bai Yan and Shen Anxia, ​​one with the title of principal dancer and the other with a huge following, are neck and neck, bringing enormous commercial value to the Xin Feng Dance Troupe.

Friday's performance was her biggest commercial performance since joining the Xinfeng Dance Company, somewhat of a promotional event for the company. Radio stations, television stations, and newspapers were all present to support her. The biggest highlight of the performance was that the dancers had their own interviews, but due to time constraints, the time was allocated according to the dancers' status.

Apart from that, this performance was no different from any other commercial show.

Therefore, it is highly likely that it was due to an interview with the actor.

The interviews are divided by gender, and the total time allocated to male and female dancers is the same. Therefore, even if Shen Anxia does not participate, it will not affect the interviews with the male dancers.

And female dancers...

Shen Anxia had five minutes more time than Bai Yan, and ten minutes more than the other secondary principal dancers, while the other dancers had a group interview time.

This time allocation is very unfriendly to the principal and second principal dancers of a dance company.

This interview will increase the dancer's visibility, and if one of the dancers performs exceptionally well, it may even generate a new wave of traffic and open up new markets.

However, there will be no conflict with the extras. The reason why the extras are extras is because they are older, or their talent and strength are different from the chief and second chief actors. Even if Shen Anxia does not accept exclusive interviews, the media will not give the extras time to appear on camera alone, so it doesn't matter much.

Therefore, the person who doesn't want Shen Anxia to take the stage is either the chief or one of the other four chiefs.

Chief Judge Bai Yan, Secondary Chief Judge Shen Anxia, ​​Liu Qin, Fang Qiqi, Kou Ke, Chang Yun.

Alas, she had long known that the taller the tree, the more the wind would blow, but after the video went viral online, it spread like wildfire. In order to cooperate with Yang Zheng's plan and, of course, to return to Yi'an as soon as possible, she climbed step by step to her current position as the second-in-command. For a newcomer, this was far too fast and too conspicuous.

Who could it be?

Bai Yan, as the chief interviewee, had five minutes less than the second-in-command. Anyone would be unhappy about that. Meanwhile, Shen Anxia, ​​also a second-in-command, had ten minutes more than others, which was truly enviable.

If she were to withdraw from this interview, the chief and deputy chief would have significantly more time on average.

After Yang Zheng finished cleaning up the kitchen, he saw Chen Anxia lost in thought and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Shen Anxia snapped out of her reverie and said "Oh," then added, "I was thinking about how to explain the head injury to my mom, who's going to video call me today."

Zhao Ping knew that Shen Anxia had a performance last night and didn't have time to answer video calls, so he would definitely call her today.

Yang Zheng also remembered that he had specifically told Shen Ke before his business trip that he would only be there for two weeks. Now that he had decided not to go back, he would definitely have to ask him about it.

Having fabricated an explanation, Shen Anxia took the initiative to call Zhao Ping.

In the video, she and Yang Zheng were squeezed into one video, each only showing half of their face. From this angle, Zhao Ping could not see the injury on Shen Anxia's face.

While explaining that Yang Zheng still had work next week and would be staying in Xinfeng for another week, Shen Anxia also mentioned that she would be rehearsing at the troupe these past few nights and might not have time to video call Zhao Ping. She then emphasized that Yang Zheng would pick her up from get off work in the evenings to reassure Zhao Ping and Shen Ke.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Anxia realized that her back was soaked with sweat. After all, she rarely lied.

The wound was burning and stinging from the sweat, so she had to stretch out her pajamas to keep it from touching the wound.

Yang Zheng noticed Shen Anxia's movement and asked, "Does your wound hurt?"

Shen Anxia hummed in agreement and said, "It's probably because the sweat got into the wound. Do you want to call home and tell them that you won't be returning to Yi'an for the time being?"

“My parents never ask me anything. I’ve always been raised without a care in the world,” Yang Zheng said, taking over hydrogen peroxide and Yunnan Baiyao. “Turn around, take off your clothes, and let me check your wound.”

"..." Shen Anxia refused, "No need, it's fine, the sweat will go down in a bit."

Seeing that Shen Anxia looked somewhat uncomfortable, Yang Zheng's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery. He curled the corners of his lips and slowly asked, "Shen, An, Xia, weren't you quite bold during the day? You flirted with me, and now you're not going to take responsibility?"

Shen Anxia: "..."

Yang Zheng's reminder immediately reminded Shen Anxia of what had happened during the day, and the spot on her chest where he had touched her felt hot.

"Didn't you want to see male models? After the medicine is applied, I'll let you see as many as you want, okay?"

"I...don't want to watch anymore..." Shen Anxia murmured.

Yang Zheng chuckled and said, "Whether you want to see it or not, I have to take a look at the wound. If it's soaked over a large area, it could get infected. You can see for yourself how long the wound is."

Shen Anxia felt it was nothing serious and wanted to refuse again, but Yang Zheng saw what she meant and reminded her first, "You know, if it gets infected or festering, we'll have to go to the hospital for treatment. What if the doctor says we need stitches..."

Shen Anxia is most afraid of going to the hospital.

She didn't say anything more, steeled her resolve, slowly turned around, unbuttoned her pajamas, and revealed her back.

Yang Zheng had initially been amused by Shen Anxia and had developed some romantic thoughts, but when he saw the two extremely conspicuous wounds on her milky satin-like back, he forgot to think about anything else.

“The medicine powder is all soaked, Anxia. I need to disinfect it before applying the medicine.” Yang Zheng frowned.

"Then, Yang Zheng, could you get me some hot water and wipe my sweat while you're at it?"

"Okay." Yang Zheng got up to go to the bathroom to get hot water, and Shen Anxia called out loudly behind him, "Squeeze out some shower gel for me."

"good."

After fetching water, Shen Anxia simply wiped the sweat from her chest, leaving the rest of her exposed skin and back to Yang Zheng.

Yang Zheng wiped very carefully. Shen Anxia recalled how Yang Zheng did these things last night—it must have been early this morning. She felt heartache and self-blame. Her thoughts drifted, and she remembered the person who walked towards her against the light when she was almost in despair.

Yang Zheng said that he would go back to Yi'an and get married immediately.

It seems pretty good too.

She was more than willing to marry the man in front of her.

After changing the water several times and wiping Shen Anxia's back, Yang Zheng began to disinfect the wound.

Hydrogen peroxide is less painful than alcohol for disinfection, and Yang Zheng cleaned the wound and applied the medicine as usual.