Chapter 42 "With me here, I won't let you suffer any injustice."
The girl struggled and looked around for help, but no one paid her any attention.
She looked towards the front desk, and for some reason, there was no one there at that moment.
He Jinzhao stopped and thought for a moment, then walked over there.
This girl reminded him of Song Shiyi.
He couldn't bear to think about how helpless she would feel if she encountered this situation outside.
He couldn't ignore it.
However, before he could get close, the old woman suddenly let go of her hand. The girl, due to inertia, couldn't stop herself and was about to fall backward. No one around came forward to help.
In the midst of the chaos, the girl's face tilted slightly toward him, her skin as smooth as jade, delicate and petite, with a hint of red at the corners of her eyes.
It was none other than Song Shiyi, whom he had just been thinking about.
He Jinzhao's face instantly darkened.
—
Let's go back ten minutes.
As Song Shiyi finished using the restroom and was about to go back, a little boy bumped into her as she passed through the lobby, startling her.
The little boy was chubby and looked to weigh no less than her. When he bumped into her, Song Shiyi almost fell.
Once she regained her balance, she rushed to check on the little boy to see if he was alright. To her surprise, he sat down on the ground and started crying, pointing at her and saying that she had hurt him. He refused to get up.
Song Shiyi was stunned for a moment and before she could react, an old lady suddenly came up and pushed her, "Are you watching where you're going?"
"You're such a grown man, can't you watch where you're going?"
After saying that, she immediately squatted down to coax Song Shiyi, who stood there helplessly, looking aggrieved.
She was walking along just fine when the little boy bumped into her. She didn't even say that she was hurt, but instead, she was scolded without any explanation.
But the other person was just a child, and she was also at fault. You can't argue with a child over something so trivial.
Just as he was about to bow and apologize, the old lady suddenly lifted his pants, revealing his swollen knee, and exclaimed, "Oh dear, my good grandson, how did it get so bad? It's all swollen. Will it affect your walking in the future?"
Song Shiyi paused, a hint of doubt rising in her eyes. She hadn't seen the little boy bump his knee at all, so where did the injury come from?
Before she could think it through, the old lady carried him to the sofa in the living room, turned her head and pointed at Song Shiyi, and started cursing.
"Look how swollen it is. If something bad were to happen to it, could you bear the responsibility?"
"As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. He's so young. If something happens to his leg, how will he live in the future?"
"Such a young girl, yet her heart is so vicious!"
Song Shiyi waved his hands in front of his chest, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, but he couldn't utter a single word of explanation.
Seeing this, the old lady's smugness grew even stronger, and she persisted, "Can't speak now, can you?"
"You must give me a satisfactory solution!"
Song Shiyi opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a sound; she couldn't even communicate in the most basic way.
She wanted to type an explanation on her phone, but when she reached to her side, she realized she hadn't brought her bag. Her phone was still in her bag, so she could only clench her empty fist and give up.
She turned to go to the front desk to borrow paper and pen, but as soon as she took a step, the old lady behind her thought she was going to run away and suddenly grabbed her arm with her withered hand.
The force was far beyond what an elderly person should have; his knuckles almost dug into Song Shiyi's flesh, rendering her instantly immobile.
Song Shiyi struggled a few times, her arms aching and sore from being gripped so tightly, and tears welled up in her eyes.
People came and went, some glanced at the passersby with curiosity but didn't stop walking. No one was willing to ask a question, let alone offer a helping hand.
Her back was tense, and for the first time she truly tasted the feeling of helplessness and despair.
She could only pry open the old woman's fingers little by little with her fingertips, her body instinctively shrinking back.
But the next second, the old lady's hand loosened without warning.
Song Shiyi was caught off guard by this turn of events. Her eyes, which were glistening with tears, suddenly widened. Her body lurched backward due to inertia, and her heels slipped as she stumbled, unable to maintain her balance.
Just as she was about to fall onto the hard ground, she instinctively closed her eyes tightly, forgetting even to struggle, waiting only for the dull pain of the cold floor tiles hitting her bones.
Just at this critical moment, a hand steadily encircled her waist, pulling her into his embrace. Her cheek pressed against the man's firm, warm chest, and the familiar, crisp scent of cedar lingered around her nose.
I could hear a steady, powerful heartbeat in my ear, thump-thump, one beat after another.
Song Shiyi suddenly opened her eyes and met the gaze of the man holding her.
The moment their eyes met, her eyes were filled with surprise, which was quickly replaced by delight.
What's he doing here?
Before she could even feel happy for a second, she realized her current predicament. He had witnessed such an embarrassing scene, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed.
He Jinzhao looked at her red eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, and a storm was brewing in his eyes.
Are you alright?
Hearing his words of concern, Song Shiyi shook her head.
"Thank goodness you caught me."
He Jinzhao looked at her carefully for a few seconds. Seeing that her expression was normal, he breathed a sigh of relief, loosened his grip on her arm, and let go.
The old lady opposite sensed something was wrong when she saw that this person had an extraordinary demeanor.
She can easily manipulate a young girl, but this man doesn't seem like someone who can be easily fooled. If she stays any longer, who knows what might happen?
It's better to avoid trouble.
While the two were talking, she gave her grandson a wink, and the two of them, one old and one young, seized the opportunity to run away.
But they didn't expect that He Jinzhao's attention was always on the two of them.
How could Song Shiyi want to run away after suffering such injustice?
He grabbed the little boy by the collar and lifted him up in front of him as if he were carrying something. The little boy struggled desperately, but the handsome man in front of him was surprisingly strong.
Grandma doesn't talk to him every day.
Is being good-looking useless?
They were all embroidered pillows.
Let him eat more, grow strong, and no one will dare to bully him when he goes out.
Seeing that he couldn't break free, he pouted and started to wail.
"Let me go! You bad person!"
"You're in cahoots with her! She was the one who hit me, and you're just bullying me because you're older!"
He Jinzhao scoffed, his eyelids slightly lifted, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"You're so young and you're already learning bad habits. Who taught you to stage accidents for money?"
He casually put the person down, without the slightest bit of gentleness in his movements.
A pair of dark eyes inadvertently swept over the old woman with the mean face, who was arrogant and domineering, with not a trace of warmth in her eyes.
"Or is it that this child has never been properly disciplined since childhood?"
The old lady was somewhat intimidated by his imposing aura, but she still gritted her teeth and brought out the same excuse she had given him before.
"We didn't lie. This young girl really hurt my grandson's knee like that. I was just worried and my tone was a bit harsh..."
As she spoke, the old lady's voice grew softer and softer, her confidence waning.
Song Shiyi tightened her grip on He Jinzhao's arm, quickly shook her head at him, and anxiously tried to explain.
He Jin smiled reassuringly at her, his tone completely different from before.
"With me here, I won't let you suffer any injustice."
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