Chapter 184 Dad's here, Zhizhi, don't be afraid
The cub resigned herself to her fate, closing her eyes and letting tears stream down her face. She could only shrink her small body as much as possible to receive the scalding heat that was rushing towards her.
But the urgent shout that rang in her ears made her heart clench.
Whoosh—!
The scalding broth spilled all over the floor, but Zhizhi did not feel the expected pain.
She could only hear a muffled groan from above her head, as if she was enduring immense pain.
Zhizhi slowly opened her eyes and found herself shrouded in shadow. She looked up blankly and met a pair of concerned, dark eyes.
"Zhizhi, are you alright?"
His black Zhongshan suit was so dark that it was impossible to tell which parts were darker and which were lighter. He used his back to shield the cub from the danger of the hot pot. Even though he was already burning from the high temperature, his strong arms still held firmly beside the cub, refusing to move an inch.
The face, which resembled Jiang Anchao's, was contorted with intense pain. Pale skin was marked with faint red marks from the burns, and even the thin, single eyelids were scalded with hot gravy.
"I'm fine." Xiao Zhizhi's heart skipped a beat. She opened her mouth, "Are you... are you alright?"
Her little head felt like it had been hit hard by a hammer, and she almost instantly realized that the person standing next to her at this moment was not her father, but Jiang Yan.
How did he end up here?
How could he stand in front of her?
Faced with immense danger, the little cub couldn't withstand the emotional impact, and tears streamed down its face.
She disregarded everything else and quickly reached out her small hand to support him.
"Go to the hospital! I'll call Daddy to take you to the hospital!"
Jiang Yan waved his hand, then struggled to sit on the steps, his magnetic voice revealing undisguised concern.
"Let Dad... let Uncle check if your hands or feet are burned? You were just pushed down, did you twist your wrist?"
Xu Xiuli shouted that people had arrived, and soon everyone noticed the commotion.
"Zhizhi!"
When Deng Qiu saw that the child had been bullied, she didn't bother to entertain Xiao Wu and ran straight over.
Xiao Wu also saw that his boss was injured. His eyes widened like saucers, and after realizing what had happened, he ran away faster than a disco ball.
"Who did this?! Holy crap!"
"Teacher Jiang, are you alright?"
"Are you looking for death?!"
Xiao Wu's three deadly questions frightened Wang Rui so much that he stood frozen in place.
His hands trembled uncontrollably. He had been so emotional just moments before, but now it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, and a chill ran from his feet up his whole body.
Wang Rui turned around and tried to run away.
Xiao Wu reacted quickly and grabbed him by the back of the neck.
"You bastard, you did it, didn't you?"
"No! It wasn't me!" Wang Rui instinctively shook his head, wanting to deny it.
Xu Xiuli pointed at him, her voice filled with undisguised resentment, "It's him! He overturned the pot of tea eggs, call the police and arrest him! This is murder for money!"
Faced with a ruthless person like Xiao Wu, Wang Rui trembled with fear.
"I didn't mean to! I never intended to hurt them! I... ...have mercy!"
Xiao Wu, unable to bear it any longer, raised his hand and punched him directly in the face.
"You fucking deserve to die!"
His punches landed squarely, leaving Wang Rui unable to retaliate.
Deng Qiu ran over to support her daughter, her voice filled with anxiety, "Zhizhi, where are you hurt? Are you burned?"
Upon seeing its mother approach, the usually strong little cub could no longer hold back its emotions, revealing its vulnerability and bursting into tears.
"Mother!"
"Zhizhi is so scared, Mommy! Zhizhi is really scared!"
In the moment when a violent danger brushed past them, the little cub was so frightened that its heart trembled violently, and it had no idea how to describe what had just happened.
She cried so loudly that she seemed to cry the entire night apart.
Such a commotion pained Deng Qiu and successfully attracted the attention of the troops preparing to leave the university.
Soon, a series of hurried footsteps could be heard.
Jiang Anchao was the first to run over, shouting, "What happened to my daughter? Who bullied her?!"
He froze on the spot as soon as he finished speaking and his gaze fell on the man in front of the steps.
Jiang Anchao's pupils contracted sharply; he felt like he was dreaming.
This is... ...Big Brother?
"you... ...!"
Jiang Yan realized his identity had been exposed. He forced himself to speak despite the pain, saying, "This old man tried to hit Zhizhi with a hot pot, but I stopped him. Check on the child first, don't worry about me."
Hearing him say that, Zhizhi quickly sniffed, "Yes! Yes! That's exactly what Uncle said! Quick, get some cold water!"
"Okay! Okay!" Xu Xiuli didn't care about anything else and hurriedly went into her inner room to get water.
She quickly took out a ladle of water and splashed it on Jiang Yan's back, where the scalding hot brine had just been blocked, and his skin was likely already burned.
As the icy water gradually soaked through his clothes, Xiao Wu stood anxiously to the side and helped him take off his coat.
"He can't be hurt! His health has always been poor, and now he has a new injury. How is your school managing things?"
It's no wonder Xiao Wu is so blaming him.
Jiang is the most elite and confidential talent in their research institute. They are extremely careful even with a small cut on their hand, for fear that something might happen to him.
I never imagined that just coming out for an inspection would result in such a serious injury.
Extensive burns on the back are a very serious condition!
Upon hearing Xiao Wu's words, Jiang Anchao could no longer control his explosive temper.
He grabbed Wang Rui by the collar, his eyes blazing with barely suppressed rage. "Are you tired of living and just looking for death?"
The principal stood to one side, anxiously watching the farce unfold.
He was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to advise or not.
While wiping away her tears, Zhizhi sobbed as she recounted what had just happened, "The boss lady has a serious illness and needs to earn money to buy medicine. I was just helping her pack up her stall when this old man came over, cursing and knocking her to the ground. We did nothing wrong. He said that since the boss lady has a terminal illness, she should stay home and wait to die, instead of coming out and making a fool of herself!"
"Why, why did he have to hurt the landlady like that? She was such a good person..."
The innocent words spoken by the little cub at this moment are heartbreaking.
As the remaining soldiers arrived, a crowd quickly gathered in front of the grocery store.
Several of us are men of strong character, and even we couldn't help but feel angry when we heard these words.
"The proprietress just heated up our milk and busied herself serving us tea eggs. She only makes a one-cent profit on the tea eggs, and that's to buy medicine. How can this old hag be so inhumane?"
"Commander Jiang, hand him over to me. I can't kill him!"
"This is outrageous! Zhizhi is just a little kid, and the landlady is sick! He's just taking it out on us because he's a man? Is he venting his anger here?"
Most of the men in the army are genuine people. Now that they understood the whole story, they rushed to surround Wang Rui without hesitation.
Everyone glared at him angrily.
Wang Rui was so scared that his legs were trembling, but even though he kept begging for mercy, no one stepped forward to stop him.
Jiang Anchao dragged him into a nearby alley like a dead dog, and everyone followed.
At first, his cries for help could still be heard at the entrance of the grocery store, and the principal was somewhat reluctant to go up and stop him.
Xiao Wu, however, stood in front of him with a smile, and reminded him in a nonchalant tone: "You want to go save someone? You should think it over carefully. Jiang Gong is so seriously injured. If it's not attributed to him, then it will be attributed to you, the principal. When the government sends people over and asks how Jiang Gong got injured, I will tell them everything."
"Your school still wants to cooperate then... ...keep dreaming."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com