Obsession
Zhou Lexing had no time to care about the outcome of the matter; he was focused solely on pedaling furiously. Zhou Lihua, sitting behind him, was so frightened that she clung tightly to the seat but dared not ask him to stop.
To be honest, Zhou Lexing was never home after he grew up. On the contrary, Zhou Shusheng often helped Zhou Lihua when he was working in the vegetable field. She already felt sorry for the child. Now that she saw him frightened and going crazy, she was anxious. She just regretted that Zhou Guosheng was not the type to join in the fun, which made them search for him everywhere.
"Ahead! Right next to that crooked tree!"
"squeak--!"
After a screech of brakes, Zhou Lexing jumped off his bicycle and rushed to knock on the door.
"Doctor! Doctor! Is anyone home?!"
Zhou Lihua also called out a few words from behind, and soon the door opened.
Zhou Guosheng seemed familiar with this situation, and while putting on his shirt, he asked, "What happened?!"
"My brother isn't feeling well, could you please come and take a look?"
In the dim light outside, Zhou Guosheng saw Zhou Lexing's anxious face, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, which he didn't even notice sliding over the not-yet-fully-healed scars.
Zhou Guosheng realized something was wrong: "Okay, I'll get ready, we'll leave right away!"
He turned around to get his medicine box, which he always kept on hand, and then pushed his bicycle out.
Zhou Lexing turned to Zhou Lihua and asked, "Auntie, can you ride a bicycle?"
Zhou Lihua, realizing Zhou Lexing's speed, immediately understood what he was planning to do. She nodded, stepped forward, said a few words to Dr. Zhou Guosheng, and took the bicycle from his hands.
Zhou Guosheng then turned around and sat in the back seat of Zhou Lexing's car.
Are you seated?
"Eh."
As soon as Zhou Guosheng finished speaking, he felt a gust of wind hit his face, and his body swayed, almost sliding off. Fortunately, he had followed Zhou Lihua's instructions and gripped the seat tightly beforehand, so he was not thrown off.
He watched the scenery rushing past on both sides and couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing feelings, thoughts, and reflections).
Young people are indeed different.
.
At Zhou Lexing's doorstep, the noisy crowd had not yet dispersed. Several relatives from Zhou Laozhuang knew the purpose of today's events. Seeing that not only was the matter not going to be resolved, but they might also be fined, they were all feeling uneasy.
They knew that even if Zhou Laozhuang, being so stingy, was fined, he would definitely turn around and find fault with them, constantly complaining about being poor and asking for money.
As they listened to Zhou Laozhuang's nonsensical wailing and his constant pointing at Zhou Lexing, the group exchanged glances.
"or……"
One of the men, who looked to be in his forties, tilted his head and gestured to the Zhou family's gate, which was currently unblocked.
The others, having received the hint, couldn't help but start to get restless as well.
"There's only one woman inside right now, and she has to take care of a mentally challenged guy. If we go in, we'll gag them. Anyway, if they investigate, we'll just say we only listen to Zhou Laozhuang, and let them go to Zhou Laozhuang for an explanation. We'll hide everything well; they can't possibly search us, can they?"
Previously, Zhou Yunxiang's strong hands blocked the door, giving her a chance to create a scene. With so many people, it would be difficult for them to break in. But now it's different. Without the door frame blocking them, one woman can't stop five grown men. As long as they cover their mouths, these people outside will be too busy arguing to know what's happening inside.
"That kid Zhou Lexing just went to call the doctor, he probably won't be back for a while..."
"Yes, otherwise this trip would have been a waste, right? Old Zhuang said there are small yellow croakers in this house, whoever finds them will become rich..."
At this point, the five grown men were tempted. While Zhou Laozhuang was wailing and attracting the attention of the others, one of them nodded towards the Zhou family gate again, and everyone immediately pressed themselves against the wall and quietly walked into the Zhou family gate.
The crowd, still watching Zhou Laozhuang's unreasonable behavior, didn't notice that a kind-hearted villager had taken over from the village chief who was trying to mediate, and stood up to argue with Zhou Laozhuang. The lively scene was only interrupted by Zhou Yuanxiang's loud shout from inside the house, and only then did they belatedly realize what had happened.
"What are you doing?! Is there no justice or law left?! You're not allowed in! You bunch of bandits and robbers!"
"ah--!"
Before Zhou Yuanxiang's shout had even faded, a scream pierced the night, like a sharpened needle stabbing straight into everyone's heart. Immediately, everyone disregarded Zhou Laozhuang and rushed towards the Zhou family's gate, eager to see what had happened.
"Ouch! Who was so blind as to step on me! Ah! My hand! My foot!"
Zhou Laozhuang, who was originally sitting on a straw mat, was trampled several times by the crowd that rushed over because he was blocking the entrance to the Zhou family's house. He almost fell down and couldn't get up.
Even the village chief, who was trying to smooth things over, was swayed by the crowd and only managed to avoid being taken away because his son held him back tightly. However, he was hit in the chest and back several times and immediately started coughing and panting, unable to even say anything to stop them.
Gu Jiansheng, who had been standing under a streetlamp not far away, heard the screams coming from the Zhou family's courtyard. His heart skipped a beat, and the voices that had been warning him not to interfere completely fell silent. He subconsciously took two quick steps forward, but then stopped abruptly in front of the crowd at the gate.
What good would it do to get in?
He couldn't do anything, and even his self-righteous attempts to help failed to achieve the desired effect.
Since breaking free from the shackles of fate, everything he has done has failed.
If he had successfully killed Li Jianshan a few days ago, none of this would have happened...
Gu Jiansheng stood blankly at the edge of the crowd, not feeling any pain even after being bumped several times by the people jostling around him. He was like a puppet on strings, staring blankly at a point in the void. After being bumped by someone in front of him again while walking backward, he staggered and fell backward.
But the expected pain did not occur.
Gu Jiansheng suddenly snapped back to reality from the feeling of weightlessness. When he looked up, he met a familiar face. The dim light enveloped the person's face, giving his resolute features a soft filter.
The scalding heat penetrated through the thin summer shirt and clung to Gu Jiansheng's back. His arms were tightly gripped, almost completely enveloped in this burning embrace, and his reason was forcibly suppressed.
Gu Jiansheng then noticed that the man's face was covered in sweat, and his slightly rapid breathing and heartbeat were transmitted through his chest, causing his own heartbeat to quicken involuntarily. Beads of sweat slid down the man's forehead to his chin, trembling as they dripped down, landing right on Gu Jiansheng's cheek.
"you……"
Gu Jiansheng was somewhat stunned.
"What happened?"
Zhou Lexing helped Gu Jiansheng to his feet, wiped the sweat from his brow, and pushed his way through the crowd, saying, "Make way! Don't block the entrance!"
He was so strong that he practically swept people aside, carving a path through them.
At this moment, screams came again from the Zhou family courtyard, sounding even more shrill than before. Zhou Lexing's expression immediately changed, and he rushed in without paying attention to the doctor behind him.
In the courtyard, Zhou Yuanxiang was being protected and pulled back by several villagers, preventing her from rushing into the chaos in the middle. Several other villagers were struggling with several middle-aged men in their thirties and forties, and the source of the chaos was Zhou Shusheng, who had been in a state of extreme fear earlier.
In the dim light, Zhou Lexing immediately saw that Zhou Shusheng was pressing down on someone, whose face was covered in blood as he suddenly lifted it up with the movement of the person below.
Zhou Lexing felt a buzzing in his brain, and he couldn't care less about reason. He immediately rushed forward and collided with a man who had broken free of the villagers' restraints and was kicking Zhou Shusheng. Without even giving the man a chance to catch his breath, he raised his hand and punched the man in the face three or four times. Each punch landed hard, and the man quickly fell into a semi-conscious state. His cheekbone was sunken in, making him look particularly gruesome.
If Zhou Lexing hadn't grabbed him by the collar, he probably would have collapsed and wouldn't have gotten up.
Zhou Lexing showed no mercy, kicking him hard in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing into the wall before collapsing limply to the ground.
One of the men being pulled by the villagers saw that his brother was lifeless and immediately roared. With a burst of strength from who knows where, he broke free from the men who were pulling his arms and rushed towards Zhou Lexing.
"snort!"
As Zhou Lexing bent down to check on Zhou Shusheng, his exposed back was kicked by the other party, almost causing him to fall to the ground. A muffled groan escaped from his lips and reached Zhou Shusheng's ears.
Zhou Shusheng raised his eyes, his gaze, which appeared exceptionally deep in his trance, fixed on Zhou Lexing's face, which was distorted by pain and hatred. Then he heard a shout from above, and when he looked up, he saw a man clenching his fist and smashing it towards Zhou Lexing.
Just as Zhou Lexing was about to turn and meet him, Zhou Shusheng, whose face was covered in blood, was faster than him. Like a calf, he crashed directly into the man's waist and abdomen, grabbed the man's waist and ran forward.
The man roared, his clenched fists landing repeatedly on Zhou Shusheng's back.
Zhou Lexing's eyes reddened, and he immediately chased after the other person. As the other person crashed into the courtyard wall, he grabbed the other person's wrist and twisted and pulled hard.
"ah--!"
The man screamed in agony as his right hand immediately became immobile.
He watched Zhou Lexing's bloodthirsty appearance against the backlight, and the fear that had been hidden by his impulse finally surfaced. But before he could beg for mercy, Zhou Lexing's fist came flying at him.
"ah--!"
The man screamed in agony, but quickly fell silent under the weight of the fists.
Zhou Lexing then hugged Zhou Shusheng, who was tightly embracing the man's waist and pulled him back.
"Shusheng! It's your brother! Your brother's here! It's alright, it's alright!"
Zhou Lexing roared and forcefully pulled the struggling Zhou Shusheng into his arms, looking down to examine his blood-stained face.
The villagers who had tried to break up the fight in the courtyard and the men who had broken into the Zhou family's house all flinched and moved back towards the gate when they saw the crazed Zhou Lexing. Even the men blocking the gate dared not go any further in.
When Gu Jiansheng and the doctor finally squeezed their way to the door, they saw Zhou Lexing kneeling on the ground.
His trembling, bleeding hands carefully gripped the chin of the person in his arms, and he looked down in the dim light.
Zhou Yuanxiang, her face streaked with tears, pushed away the people surrounding her and slowly walked towards her son.
The people around were stunned by the scene, and for a moment they were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Inside the house, as soon as Zhou Laosan entered, he took advantage of his companions drawing fire and slipped into the room first. He searched through all the cabinets, tables, and even the bed boards, but not only did he not find Xiao Huangyu, he was also so frightened by the screams outside that he didn't know where to hide. Only when he finally heard the outside quiet down did he cautiously peek out, clutching the money and notes he had found in his pocket, as well as the dried meat and canned food from the dresser.
Unexpectedly, the outside was packed with people, and the sudden noise at the window immediately attracted a lot of attention.
"It's a thief!"
Someone shouted this from the quiet crowd, and everyone immediately became as if they had been injected with chicken blood. Infected by the grief and resentment brought about by Zhou Shusheng's constant sobbing, they all surged with unprecedented enthusiasm and rushed towards Zhou Laosan, who had sneaked into the house first, and forcibly dragged him out of the window.
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