Zhou Lexing
"...There's a phone downstairs. If you don't believe me, you can call back and ask." The man grinned, revealing a mouthful of black and yellow teeth. "Brother He has a bad temper. If you can't finish this business and get to Zhoujia Village tonight, you might not make it in time to see your brother one last time."
Zhou Lexing, who was out buying breakfast, didn't change his expression when he heard this. He raised his hand and splashed the steaming soy milk directly onto Lao Huang's face, followed by a clean and decisive kick.
"ah--!"
Caught off guard, Lao Huang was scalded on the face, followed by a sharp pain in his abdomen. He was briefly lifted off the ground, his back slamming against the moldy wall in the stairwell. He immediately lost the strength to yell and his body went limp. Fortunately, he remembered not to attract Gu Jiansheng's attention, so he suppressed his cries of pain, turning them into distorted, repressed groans of agony.
Zhou Lexing coldly looked at Lao Huang, who was lying on the ground, as if he were looking at a bug that could be crushed at any moment. But just as Lao Huang felt a chill down his spine and thought he was about to die here, Zhou Lexing actually turned around and went downstairs.
"Pah!" Old Huang managed to catch his breath, his facial muscles twitching slightly with anger and fear. "No matter how arrogant I am, I still have to work for Brother He... Damn it! That hurts like hell..."
.
Despite being hungover and exhausted from the journey, and with Zhou Lexing by his side, Gu Jiansheng slept soundly until dawn.
He stared blankly at the sunlight streaming through the window, then suddenly sat up, his gaze frantically scanning the unfamiliar little room.
“哢”.
The flimsy wooden door slowly opened inwards, and Gu Jiansheng immediately jumped off the bed. His wariness vanished as soon as he saw Zhou Lexing.
Where did you go?
Gu Jiansheng breathed a sigh of relief, and then saw Zhou Lexing raise his hand and place the breakfast on the small table in the guesthouse.
The table wobbled when he touched it, but thankfully it came to a stop.
"Have breakfast, then we'll go check out the warehouse together." Zhou Lexing used his hands as a comb, gently stroking Gu Jiansheng's hair and kissing him on the top of his head.
Gu Jiansheng nodded, quickly finished washing up, and returned to Zhou Lexing's side, taking the soy milk that Zhou Lexing handed him.
The soy milk was lukewarm and very sweet, but the aftertaste was somewhat bitter.
Gu Jiansheng frowned, wanting to put the soy milk down, but Zhou Lexing took it from him, touched the rim of the bowl with his lips as if to check the temperature. After confirming it wasn't too hot, he brought it to Gu Jiansheng's lips, and Gu Jiansheng subconsciously took the rim of the bowl into his mouth and slowly drank it.
Zhou Lexing watched him finish drinking, then suddenly reached out to protect Gu Jiansheng's back, and with his other hand, he reached under Gu's knees and pulled him onto his lap.
Gu Jiansheng stared at him blankly, and then, realizing that the distance between them had closed, his face flushed red: "You..."
Before Gu Jiansheng could finish speaking, Zhou Lexing pressed his head against his collarbone, gently stroking the back of his neck with one hand, followed by a sigh.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me one more time."
Gu Jiansheng's heart skipped a beat. Before he could say anything, he felt the hand protecting the back of his neck tighten. Then, a sharp pain shot through his neck, and everything went black. He lost consciousness.
.
"How is he?"
He Huai asked casually, then walked around the town's alleys and headed towards a secluded alley at the back.
Zhou Tian's face turned pale, and he remained expressionless upon hearing this, offering no response.
Seeing his expression, Qiu Ming clicked his tongue in displeasure.
What a piece of trash.
You get so scared over something so small.
"It's nothing, he just keeps wanting to go home."
He Huaizhi received a call from Lao Huang this morning and was in a great mood, so he didn't hold a grudge against Zhou Tian.
To avoid drawing too much attention, the people He Huaizhi brought have been moved to the town in batches and are now guarding Zhou Shusheng.
This was an old, dilapidated three-story building. The doors and windows on the first and second floors were broken and had not been repaired. Moss and weeds had grown all over it. He Huaizhi led his men straight to the third floor.
To prevent Zhou Shusheng, that idiot, from causing trouble, and because He Huaizhi still harbored the idea of recruiting Zhou Lexing, he did not mistreat him. He even had a room on the third floor prepared for Zhou Shusheng and the people guarding him. Therefore, when He Huaizhi opened the room on the third floor and found no one there, he was momentarily stunned.
Where are they?!
He Huai subconsciously turned around to look, only to see that Zhou Tian hadn't followed at all, but was still standing far away on the stairs, looking up at him with a pale face.
Qiu Ming sensed something was wrong and was about to turn around to grab him when suddenly the bed board in the room was lifted up, and two people jumped out. At the same time, the sound of dense footsteps downstairs was heard.
"You betrayed us?!"
Seeing Zhou Tian's guilty look, Qiu Ming immediately understood.
He Huaizhi's brow twitched.
He knew Zhou Tian well; he was just an ordinary farmer, but these men who suddenly jumped out were clearly skilled in martial arts. Even Zhou Lexing probably didn't have such connections. Where did Zhou Tian get these men from?!
Zhou Tian retreated with a pale face. Seeing about ten people rushing up behind him, he immediately squeezed behind them and disappeared into the stairwell.
"I thought some guy had the guts to cause trouble on my land, but it turns out to be just two pretty boys."
The group of people surrounded He Huaizhi and Qiu Mingtuan with dumplings on both sides, immediately making the small room feel crowded.
He Huaizhi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man in his forties, wearing a thick cotton-padded coat and looking rustic, stepping out from behind the crowd.
The man saw the ruthlessness in He Huaizhi's eyes, but still maintained his smiling expression: "I, Old Chen, have to thank you. If it weren't for you two causing trouble, Le Xing would really be an untouchable hedgehog."
Chen Libang was in a good mood.
When Zhou Lexing called him yesterday, he knew that the kid he had been unable to recruit for so long had finally fallen into his hands.
He initially wanted to recruit Zhou Lexing, but before he could even make a move, Zhou Lexing ran away. Hearing that his business was thriving, Chen Libang had no choice but to give up, though he couldn't deny that he regretted it.
However, it must be said that Zhou Lexing is now worth several times more than when he was penniless. With Zhou Lexing making connections, he has no worries about his business.
The anger and violence in He Huaizhi's heart almost made him lose his cold and stern face.
He thought about it again and realized that Zhou Lexing was the one who had caused the problem, but how did Zhou Lexing manage to do it?
Except for the part of the road where Zhou Tian led Zhou Shusheng away, he hadn't left Zhou Lexing's sight. Zhou Lexing should have already arrived at the address on the letter. How did they get connected?!
How could Zhou Lexing possibly know that his real means of control was Zhou Shusheng, not Gu Jiansheng?!
Chen Libang, however, had no intention of answering He Huaizhi's questions. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. Le Xing told me to take good care of you, especially you. I absolutely cannot hurt you, not even in my mind."
Chen Libang shook his head with a smile as he finished speaking.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding subordinates also let out a few ambiguous sneers.
Qiu Ming's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, while He Huaizhi's expression was strange: "That's what he said?"
Could it be that Zhou Lexing was also unsuccessful in his pursuit of him? Having experienced this kind of drama many times, He Huaizhi was more inclined to believe this explanation, and even the anger he felt at being outmaneuvered by Zhou Lexing was greatly reduced.
Seeing that He Huaizhi seemed to be wavering, Qiu Ming was furious. He glanced at the crowd and suddenly grabbed He Huaizhi, rushing towards the two people by the window.
As they saw them about to run away, the crowd instinctively tried to stop them.
Chen Libang, however, remained completely still, even having the leisure to strike a match and light a cigarette.
"Bang!"
The window behind the curtains had been sealed shut yesterday. Qiu Ming crashed directly into the window, which was sealed shut so tightly that he almost cried out in pain, and his vision blurred.
"Don't rush." Chen Libang sat down directly. "We'll wait here. You old friends will be able to reunite soon."
.
When Zhou Lexing arrived downstairs, the sun was already setting in the west. The bright red sunset dyed the horizon red, and the splashed red gave the dilapidated building a somewhat ferocious look.
He walked upstairs with a normal expression, as if he were keeping an appointment that was as mundane as possible.
"careful……"
The man who came downstairs to pick up Zhou Lexing saw Zhou Lexing walk to the second-floor corner and subconsciously reminded him.
There was a small missing piece of floorboard there, and it was at a bend in the road. It wouldn't necessarily fall, but it would be easy to trip. However, Zhou Lexing seemed to have anticipated this, and took a big step directly onto the upper step and continued to walk up.
"...?"
The man scratched his head, not thinking much of it, and turned back downstairs to keep watch.
"Le Xing, you've finally arrived." Chen Libang greeted him with a big smile.
To avoid any problems, he personally kept a close watch on things.
Zhou Lexing smiled at him and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Chen. Let's talk again later."
Zhou Lexing's words completely put Chen Libang's mind at ease.
Chen Libang laughed a few times, patted Zhou Lexing on the shoulder, and said tactfully, "Then I won't disturb you old friends catching up. My men are downstairs. Just let me know if you need anything."
Zhou Lexing nodded and didn't say anything more.
Chen Libang then led his men downstairs in a grand procession.
Inside the room, Qiu Ming and He Huaizhi were each bound hand and foot and placed on either side.
Although He Huai was seething with anger, he wasn't too worried about his own safety; he knew his fate very well.
If he really wanted to escape, even if the room was full of people, He Huaizhi wouldn't panic. However, Zhou Lexing's words made him overthink things.
Could it be that Zhou Lexing has been interested in him for a long time? If he leaves now, wouldn't he miss the chance for Zhou Lexing to surrender?
The thought of Zhou Lexing groveling before him with his current face made He Huaizhi feel a surge of anger coursing through his body, a mixture of excitement and rage that kept him sitting for the past hour or so.
Zhou Lexing reached out and closed the door.
He had no expression on his face and did not speak to the two people staring at him. Instead, he placed the bag in his hand at his feet.
He Huaizhi held back his words, as it seemed that whoever spoke first would be at a disadvantage in terms of momentum. However, when Zhou Lexing took that thing out of his bag, he couldn't care less about that empty momentum.
"Where did you get this?!" He Huaizhi's eyes widened as he saw Zhou Lexing approaching him with that thing, and his scalp tingled with fear. "Are you crazy?! Is this thing cleaned out? The gunpowder inside could blow this house up! Are you insane?!"
What Zhou Lexing brought over was a time bomb that He Huaizhi had gone to great lengths to obtain.
To ensure that Gu Jiansheng could be killed, He Huaizhi spared no expense. This thing looked unremarkable, but once it exploded, it could burn an entire factory to the ground.
Without saying a word, Zhou Lexing placed the thing directly on He Huaizhi's lap.
"!!!"
Regardless of the deterrent effect of the timed explosives, their weight alone almost made He Huaizhi cry out.
"Take it away! I order you to take it away!" He Huaizhi's voice was low and his eyes were unfriendly, but he couldn't shake Zhou Lexing's calm expression in the slightest.
Seeing that Zhou Lexing hadn't confessed his love to He Huaizhi as he had expected, but instead pulled out this powerful weapon, Qiu Ming was furious: "Do you want to die?! If this thing explodes, none of us will be able to escape!"
Zhou Lexing remained silent, even fiddling with the explosives for a while. Then, a red light appeared on the palm-sized panel on top.
Holy shit!
Holy crap!
He Huaizhi felt a chill run down his spine. Although he didn't believe he would die, having such a lethal thing on his body still made him uneasy. The possibility of burns alone made it hard for him to relax, not to mention that if this thing really worked, he was afraid he would be blown to bits!
Even if he is reborn, the pain of dying will be real!
"You son of a bitch! Let go of Brother He! Do you believe I'll kill your whole family?!" Qiu Ming screamed in terror, spewing vulgarities as he struggled to lunge at Zhou Lexing. But even with all his might, he couldn't break free from the restraints.
Zhou Lexing looked at the flashing red light, but he was not flustered at all. He even squatted down, his eyes level with the bomb, his arms casually resting on his knees, as if he was just waiting for the most peaceful ending.
This is insane!
He Huaizhi never expected that Gu Jiansheng would go mad, but Zhou Lexing was even mader than him!
But at this critical moment, He Huaizhi didn't dare to anger him at all. He could only try to calm his breathing and lower his voice to say as gently as possible, "Le Xing, are you unhappy?"
"It was wrong of me to use your brother to lure you back; I just wanted to see you."
Zhou Lexing remained unmoved.
"Are you angry because of Jian Sheng? If you don't want him to die, of course I can listen to you."
"Actually, you're the one I care about most. If you hadn't rejected me three years ago, I would definitely have taken you with me instead of choosing Gu Jiansheng. Believe me!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lexing suddenly chuckled.
Thinking he had hit Zhou Lexing's weak spot, He Huaizhi immediately pressed on: "I'm serious! I like you! If it weren't for Gu Jiansheng..."
Zhou Lexing finally raised his eyes and looked directly at He Huaizhi.
He Huaizhi stared into those deep eyes, and suddenly his heart sank, a chill ran down his spine, and a fear a hundred times stronger than the previous second surged into his heart.
At that moment, countless memories suddenly flooded into his mind.
The first time, he successfully killed Gu Jiansheng, but Zhou Lexing did not return to Zhoujia Village at all.
He heard his own voice, filled with anger: "Didn't I tell you to lead them to the station?! What the hell did you say?!"
Old Huang's voice on the other end of the phone sounded panicked.
“I told you! They were together the whole time. I waited until noon to say a few words to the guy surnamed Gu when he left! I said that his brother was with you, Brother He, and that he could call and ask if he didn't believe me. I told him to go see you as soon as possible. In the time it took to say those two sentences, the guy surnamed Gu came back. I thought something bad was going to happen, but he said he knew me and that I was his friend who could take care of him. He told me to have Zhou Lexing go to you. I thought there was a chance, so I agreed!”
“I saw that madman walk towards the station with my own eyes! But as soon as the explosion happened, I saw that Zhou Lexing didn’t leave at all! He rushed straight into the fire! I couldn’t stop him!”
The scene resets, and this time He Huaizhi does not receive news of Gu Jiansheng's death. He uses Zhou Shusheng to lure Zhou Lexing to his side, and Zhou Lexing surrenders without resistance.
He Huaizhi heard his own laughter and footsteps. He approached the bound Zhou Lexing step by step, but just as he saw Zhou Lexing's deep eyes, a cold glint suddenly flashed over.
"careful!"
Someone tackled him from the side, but he didn't feel the pain of the blade cutting his throat.
Amid the chaos, another group of people poured into the abandoned warehouse.
Amid the chaos, He Huaizhi turned his head and saw Gu Jiansheng hurriedly running towards Zhou Lexing.
In that instant, the anger in He Huaizhi's heart was suddenly tinged with a strange jealousy and hatred, which forced him to push away Qiu Ming who was pressing down on him, pull out the blood-stained knife, and rush towards Gu Jiansheng.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.
When the bright red blood stained Gu Jiansheng's clothes, He Huaizhi felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
Gu Jiansheng's eyes widened in disbelief. Then, He Huaizhi felt a sharp pain in his waist and abdomen. His vision shifted, and his upper body lost its support and crashed to the ground, but his legs remained standing.
Zhou Lexing stood behind him, coldly looking down at him. Blood beads gathered into a stream on the machete he had snatched from one of his subordinates, rolling down his hand.
"ah--!"
He Huaizhi let out a dying scream, scene after scene replaying, scene after scene dying, when he opened his eyes again, Zhou Lexing was right in front of him, those eyes still staring at him with that same coldness.
"You, you, you..."
He Huaizhi's body trembled uncontrollably, his jaw chattering, before he realized that his back was covered in cold sweat.
He killed Zhou Lexing once, and Zhou Lexing killed him countless times.
All the near-death pain seemed to spread throughout his body in that instant along with his surging blood.
At this moment, in He Huaizhi's eyes, Zhou Lexing's handsome face was no longer bait to lure him closer, but rather a sign of an endless abyss of death.
"Why, why..."
I am the chosen one of heaven, I am the one favored by fate, I am the lucky one reborn, why, why, why...
He Huaizhi had too many questions, but Zhou Lexing showed no intention of answering them.
Zhou Lexing glanced one last time at the normally functioning equipment, stood up, opened the door, and walked out.
"Wait! You bastard! Coward! If you have the guts, fight us head-on! What kind of nonsense is this?! If you dare kill us, our brothers will kill your whole family! Come back! Come back here!"
Qiu Ming was still shouting, but He Huaizhi could only stare in vain as Zhou Lexing's figure disappeared down the corridor.
"Beep beep beep—"
The device emitted a crisp beep.
He Huaizhi trembled more and more violently, the coldness and pain brought by death constantly churning in his brain, finally forcing all the emotions that had been suppressed in his chest to be squeezed out of his throat.
"Zhou Lexing—!"
"drop--."
Zhou Lexing stopped, glanced at his watch, and seeing that the second hand had passed the set time, he turned around again and walked upstairs.
The bomb didn't explode.
Qiu Ming's body went limp. With death looming before him once again, he no longer had the strength to even shout.
He Huaizhi was panting heavily, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Zhou Lexing who had reappeared. His face was icy cold, and at some point, it was covered in tears.
Zhou Lexing walked up to He Huaizhi again, glanced at the device that had turned off the lights, seemed unsurprised, reached out and picked it up again, and put it into his backpack.
"What exactly do you want to do..." Qiu Ming asked weakly, fearing that Zhou Lexing would pull out some powerful weapon from his backpack again, but Zhou Lexing simply zipped up his backpack.
This time, Zhou Le walked behind He Huaizhi.
He Huaizhi's hands were bound to the back of the chair. He clenched his teeth, but ultimately could not overcome his fear and cried out, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I won't hurt you again! That was just an accident! I didn't mean to kill you! I didn't mean to kill you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't kill me!"
He Huaizhi's voice was hoarse, no longer displaying the ease and confidence he had before.
The first and second times Zhou Lexing's torture could still ignite He Huaizhi's deep-seated anger and hatred, but the third, fourth, and fifth times...
The coldness of death had silently ripped away He Huaizhi's backbone.
The mere sight of Zhou Lexing's eyes was enough to overwhelm and devour He Huaizhi with a terrifying fear.
Qiu Ming looked at He Huaizhi in surprise, only to find that He Huaizhi had already broken down.
If He Huaizhi hadn't been tied to a chair, he probably would have collapsed to the ground.
"Don't you understand?" Zhou Lexing's voice was calm, devoid of any emotion, as if discussing the clear weather of the day. "If one of the three of us faces certain death, nothing will happen. But if two of us are in danger at once, we'll end up back where we started."
Fate had already arranged things perfectly for them.
"I won't kill you."
"ah--!"
As soon as Zhou Lexing finished speaking, He Huaizhi cried out in pain. His wrist was in excruciating pain, which made him struggle again. However, Zhou Lexing's hand on his shoulder was like an immovable mountain, leaving He Huaizhi only able to cry out and beg for mercy in vain. But the cold blade showed no mercy.
He Huaizhi didn't know how much time had passed; he only felt that every minute and every second here felt like an eternity.
Zhou Lexing shook the blood-stained folding knife, stood up, and glanced down at He Huaizhi.
He Huaizhi's head drooped, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and seeping into his eyes, but it could no longer make He Huaizhi feel pain. His wrists and ankles were covered in blood, the knife tip cutting through flesh as if it wanted to harvest his soul as well.
Zhou Lexing suddenly reached out and grabbed He Huaizhi's hair, making him raise his head.
He Huaizhi met those cold eyes, and a sob uncontrollably escaped his throat.
That indifferent gaze seemed to be assessing the value of his eyes. The folding knife was raised again, and He Huai opened his mouth in vain.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Do you think you can just barge into this place?!"
Downstairs, the people Chen Libang left behind shouted a few times.
Zhou Le paused, then put the knife away, turned around, picked up his backpack, and went downstairs, leaving the disheveled He Huaizhi behind.
Qiu Ming stared blankly at the whole thing, a chill running down his spine. At that moment, he realized something with crystal clarity.
Zhou Lexing is more terrifying than a bomb.
.
Zhou Lexing stepped downstairs. The setting sun outside had already sunk, leaving only the last glimmer of its afterglow lingering.
In the dim light, Zhou Lexing saw Gu Jiansheng, who was pale-faced, with several familiar faces beside him, confronting the men left behind by Chen Libang.
Seeing that the two sides were arguing endlessly, Zhou Lexing raised his voice and shouted.
"Jian Sheng, come here."
Chen Libang's men were taken aback when they heard Zhou Lexing's words. They then abandoned their arrogant attitude and readily made way for him.
Gu Jiansheng didn't know how long he had struggled in the nightmare, and even now, seeing Zhou Lexing's vague figure standing in the corridor, he was still somewhat dazed.
If Gu Jiansheng hadn't called ahead to have his men pick him up at the factory, he would probably still be unconscious in the guesthouse right now.
If Chen Libang's men hadn't been ordered to send someone to wait for him at the station, he probably would have already rushed off to Zhoujia Village to arrest people.
If it weren't for...
If it weren't for...
Gu Jiansheng walked toward that familiar figure in a daze.
He had not yet fully awakened from that deep dream.
In his dream, Gu Jiansheng repeatedly approaches Zhou Lexing, repeatedly misses him, and repeatedly learns of his and He Huaizhi's deaths.
That's terrifying.
He didn't want He Huaizhi to die; he only wanted Zhou Lexing to live.
Zhou Lexing reached out to Gu Jiansheng, pulled the seemingly lost Gu Jiansheng in front of him, and hugged him.
Gu Jiansheng immediately hugged Zhou Lexing back tightly, his hands gripping Zhou Lexing's waist and back until they turned white.
Gu Jiansheng smelled it again.
The lingering stench of blood perpetually permeates my dreams.
"Le Xing..." Gu Jiansheng began with difficulty, then collapsed, unable to support himself any longer.
His vision flipped and spun, the last rays of sunlight faded, and complete darkness enveloped him once more.
Finally, Gu Jiansheng only heard a helpless sigh in his ear.
"The medicine is only starting to work now..."
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