He Mei was sobbing alone in the silent woods, which was particularly eerie. She had no idea that danger was approaching her step by step.
Lai Wenye hid in the corner and watched the middle-aged man walk step by step toward He Mei.
He Mei kept her head down and cried, unaware that everyone else had left.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, they assumed it was Lai Wenye returning.
"Waaaaah... Could it be that you didn't want to see me anymore? Why did you come back? Waaaaah..."
He Mei spoke angrily, her voice trembling with tears.
But she didn't hear Lai Wenye reply for a long time.
She looked up and saw the middle-aged man, and instantly recoiled in fright: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The middle-aged man was also surprised; he had been desperately trying to escape into the woods, yet he had unexpectedly encountered a woman there.
When he first heard the crying, he thought he had misheard.
If it were someone else, they might have thought it was a ghost, but unfortunately, he just didn't believe in ghosts and gods.
He was right.
She is just a woman.
Is this a pleasant surprise?
"Hehe—you stinky woman, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? Are you on a date with your sweetheart?"
The middle-aged man looked at her for a few seconds and then said, "Could it be that your lover didn't come, so you're crying here? Hahaha, what's there to cry about? From now on, you'll be with me, and I guarantee you'll be happy."
As he spoke, he reached out to lift He Mei's chin, wanting to get a better look at her.
He Mei slapped his hand away: "Don't touch me, you men are all the same."
"Ha—none of you women are any good either," the man said menacingly.
Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, he immediately changed his tone, his voice becoming much softer: "Who hurt you? Tell me, and I'll avenge you."
"Can you really avenge me?"
"Are you kidding me?" The middle-aged man held the knife up to He Mei's face.
Startled by the sudden appearance of the broadsword, He Mei took a half step back. Just as she was about to say something, the middle-aged man turned around, saw the light in the distance, and grabbed her hand, leading her into the deep mountains: "Come with me first. There will be plenty of time to take revenge later."
He Mei followed the middle-aged man without hesitation.
Lai Wenye, who was in the corner, witnessed this scene.
His heart was pounding; he couldn't believe He Mei would actually leave with that man.
That man doesn't look like a good person at all.
But he couldn't care less about that now. Seeing them heading into the deep mountains, all he wanted was to get back to their educated youth settlement as soon as possible.
He had just emerged from the corner when he saw a group of people rushing in his direction.
Those people were also holding flashlights and shining them around.
He quickly shrank back inside.
What's going on tonight? Why are so many people coming to this wooded area?
"Quick, quick, there are still footprints here. Everyone hurry up, or it will be hard to catch him if he goes deep into the mountains."
The grove behind the educated youth settlement connects to a large mountain range. Usually, the people of Gujia Village spend most of their time in that grove or on other separate mountain peaks.
Few people dare to go to that deep mountain area behind the grove.
Those people quickened their pace and soon appeared in front of Lai Wenye.
Lai Wenye then realized that they were all wearing uniforms.
It's the police.
He was afraid of being discovered, so he hid in the bushes and didn't dare to move. But no matter how hard he hid, he couldn't escape the sharp-eyed police officers and was discovered.
"Hands up, come out! Or I'll shoot!"
gun?
Lai Wenye's deepest fear struck him to the core.
He raised his hand and emerged from the bushes: "Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'm a good man."
The police officers were somewhat annoyed when they realized this wasn't the person they were looking for: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm an educated youth sent to the countryside, and I'm here to use the toilet." Lai Wenye's mind raced, and he came up with this excuse for himself.
When Huang Tao heard that he was an educated youth sent to the countryside, he couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
Have you seen anyone walk by here?
"Yes, yes, they went that way," he said, pointing in the direction the middle-aged man and He Mei had left.
He was careful not to mention that the middle-aged man had also taken He Mei away.
After all, if he really told her, wouldn't his affair with He Mei be exposed?
Huang Tao immediately arranged for everyone to send Lai Wenye back and investigate the matter thoroughly.
He then led his men in the direction Lai Wenye had indicated.
The noise in the dark woke up many of the educated youth at the settlement, and the braver men came out to see what was going on.
Feng Aiguo and Zhang Xiaolan, as the heads of the educated youth settlement, also came out to check.
They saw Lai Wenye walking between two uniformed police officers. They assumed Lai Wenye had done something wrong and quickly went up to ask him what was going on.
Just then, Gu Xichen walked over and saw Lai Wenye and two police officers.
"What happened?" Feng Aiguo was the first to speak. He could return to the city tomorrow, and he didn't want any more trouble to happen along the way.
Do you know him?
Lai Wenye was still a little scared when he saw Gu Xichen, but seeing so many people around, he mustered up his courage: "Captain Feng, Deputy Captain Zhang, I just came out to use the restroom and ran into them..."
"Are you one of the educated youth from your area?"
"Yes," Feng Aiguo and Zhang Xiaolan said at the same time.
The two officers then released him. "Go back now. There's nothing else. Don't go out at night these days, and neither should you," one of the officers said, pushing Lai Wenye towards Feng Aiguo and the others.
"Officer, is something wrong?" Feng Aiguo asked.
“Some criminals have entered the mountains. Until we catch them, please stay home if possible.”
The police officer's words made Feng Aiguo and Zhang Xiaolan's hearts tighten.
"Go back quickly, go back quickly, don't delay our arrest. Tell the rest of you not to come out either."
“Okay,” Zhang Xiaolan and Feng Aiguo said in unison.
The two then turned around and went back.
Feng Aiguo wanted to bring Lai Wenye along, but found that Lai Wenye had already gone far away, at a speed that made it seem as if someone was chasing him.
Gu Xichen, however, seemed lost in thought as she watched Lai Wenye's retreating figure.
The two police officers recognized Gu Xichen. They looked at him and asked, "Comrade Gu Xichen, what brings you out here?"
"I couldn't sleep last night, so I came to check when I heard noises over here. What are you all doing here? Where's Huang Tao? Is he here too?"
The two men remembered his past as a soldier and said, "A criminal went into the deep mountains from here. Captain Huang led his men to chase after him."
As they spoke, they pointed in the direction of the grove of trees.
Considering that Gu Xichen was a local villager from Gujia Village and had served in the military, they decided to let him join the search.
Unfortunately, they were too late.
Deep in the mountains and forests, and with darkness falling, they ultimately failed to find the middle-aged man.
To protect the safety of the surrounding villagers, Huang Tao specially arranged for some people to guard the entrance and exit of the mountain.
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