Chapter 1 Chapter 1 He has a hideous scar on his face
Tian Ge can't swim.
Almost as soon as he was pushed into the river, he choked on the water.
He struggled with all his might, but he could catch nothing but water and air.
As his body rose and fell, Tian Ge's head would occasionally emerge from the water.
Tian Ge opened his mouth wide to call for help.
"Ah, ah, ah." But he was born mute and could not speak.
Someone on the shore jumped into the river, splashing a huge amount of water.
Tian Ge was forced to drink too much water, and after choking on the water, he felt a strong sense of suffocation and gradually lost the strength to struggle.
He felt himself sinking slowly.
I can’t survive, Tian Ge thought in despair.
He was not even seventeen years old, and the dozen or so copper coins he had saved had not been spent yet. He had no way to show filial piety to his sick father.
Tian Ge felt very sad to see his father die young at such an old age. He didn't know how to explain to his mother who passed away young when he went to the underworld.
Suddenly he was brought to the surface.
Tian Ge coughed violently.
His survival instinct made him subconsciously cling to the thing wrapped around his chest, holding on with such force that he almost wanted to dig his nails into it.
Warm and soft touch.
Tian Ge realized belatedly that this was not a thing, but a person's arm.
It stretched across his chest, hugging him from behind and swimming.
Almost drowning, Tian Ge's heartbeat was abnormally fast, pounding violently.
The thin gray linen clothes of summer were already soaked.
Tian Ge raised his head and saw only a scar on the man's cheek.
It spreads vertically from the corner of the eye to the edge of the mouth.
What a hideous scar.
This man is a man.
Everything pointed to this, whether it was the exceptionally strong hand across his chest, or the hot, broad chest pressed against his back.
Tian Ge felt the rise and fall of the man's chest with his breathing, and seemed to be able to hear the heartbeat of the man beating on his back.
And he is an unmarried young man.
For unmarried boys and girls, the two words "qingbai" are more important than their lives.
But Tian Ge still hugged the arm tightly, keeping the hand pressed against his chest.
His heart was beating like a drum.
Tian Ge was afraid that the arm would disappear, and then the next second, he would be completely submerged by the river again.
Only when his feet finally touched the ground and his heart was at peace did Tian Ge let go.
He lay on the ground, coughing violently.
"Brother Tian, how could you be so careless and fall into the river? Cover yourself up quickly."
A woman came forward and put a dry coarse cloth on Tian Ge. Then she said in a shrill voice to the other side: "You men, stay away. Don't take advantage of the young man when he falls into the water. Still looking, still looking, you dirty bastards."
Tian Ge gathered the dry clothes tightly around her body.
He was thin and curled up with his legs hunched up, so he could use this outer coat to cover his wet and exposed body.
Survived the disaster.
Tian Ge finally stopped coughing and was about to look up to express his gratitude.
But when he saw clearly that the woman in front of him was Li Xiufen, he immediately started trembling with anger again.
Standing next to Li Xiufen was her idiot son, Wang Zhu.
Li Xiufen scolded the other man to get away, but called her son to her side and stared at him without blinking.
Tian Ge pulled off his clothes, threw them on the ground, and slowly stood up.
A mute cannot speak, but he or she will make gasping sounds when angry.
Tian Ge stood firm, stepped back, pointed his finger at Li Xiufen and then at Wang Zhu, his eyes red.
It was Wang Zhu who pushed him into the water.
It was this stupid guy who pushed him into the water.
Tian Ge was signing, unable to control the shaking of his hands.
"Wife, you will be my wife from now on." Wang Zhu stepped forward and said excitedly, "You must sleep with me and have children with me!"
Most of the onlookers were wives and husbands fishing and washing clothes by the river. When they heard the fool's words, they laughed and said, "Even a fool knows that he needs his wife to warm the kang."
"Wang Zhu, you bastard, she's not your wife."
"I have seen her entire body, and she is my wife!" Wang Zhu was anxious.
Tian Ge kept signing in sign language, feeling angry and anxious, but no one paid any attention to him.
-----It was he who pushed me into the water, it was he who pushed me into the water!
Li Xiufen stood in front of Tian Ge calmly.
She gently tugged at Wang Zhu's ear, her face showing embarrassment. "What did your mother teach you? You shameless bastard, what kind of dirty words are you saying? Hurry up and apologize to Tian Ge'er."
There were whispers among the onlookers.
"It's important to say that after this incident, it will be difficult for Tian Ge to get married. She is mute to begin with, and her body was seen naked in broad daylight."
"It's pitiful, but isn't there a family right in front of us? A fool is paired with a mute, so no one should look down on anyone else."
"Tian Ge has always been cautious, how could he fall into the water for no reason? I just saw his expression and gestures, it seemed like he was pushed into the river by Wang Zhu." Finally, a young man raised the question.
But she was immediately glared at by her mother-in-law and fell into silence.
The first bird to stick its head out gets shot. No one else said anything, but you saw it? You got yourself into trouble for no reason.
Tian Ge lowered his hands, clenched his fists, and glared at the mother and son in front of him.
It was a hot summer day, but he felt so cold that his spine shivered.
He watched Li Xiufen pick up the clothes on the ground and walk towards him.
Then, Li Xiufen put the clothes on his shoulders again and carefully tightened them for him.
Tian Ge didn't hide. His mind was filled with panic and anger, and he had to force himself to calm down.
"Tian Ge, don't worry. Since my son has seen your body, I, as a mother, will definitely not shirk my responsibility. You are all good children. Poor child, I will love you as my own."
Li Xiufen's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just right for everyone to hear.
Tian Ge looked at the fool Wang Zhu who was laughing foolishly.
They were all born with disabilities and were often gossiped about by the villagers.
Just yesterday, Tian Ge was picking wild berries on the mountain and was returning home when she met Wang Zhu on the way.
Wang Zhu was counting ants on the road. When he heard the noise, he looked up and smiled foolishly at Tian Ge.
Wang Zhu was greedy and asked him for the berries in the basket, and Tian Ge gave them to him.
Tian Ge has always been introverted, and always smiles when he meets villagers.
He was like the smoke rising from the chimney during cooking, appearing and disappearing quietly, never attracting any attention.
People laughed at him in front of him for not being able to speak, and people criticized him behind his back, saying that he was unfaithful to his relatives and that he was timid and had no future.
Some children even threw pebbles at him.
Tian Ge endured it all because he was a mute, was always sick, and always spent the family's money. He didn't want to cause trouble for his family anymore.
So everyone thought that this mute boy in the village was easy to bully.
Tian Ge closed his eyes and opened them again. He knew that his thin and wet clothes could not protect his body.
But he still controlled his trembling hands and pulled off the clothes that Li Xiufen had given him.
Then, he rolled the clothes into a ball and threw it hard at Li Xiufen's face.
Tian Ge angrily raised his little finger towards Li Xiufen.
Even someone who doesn't know a thing about sign language can tell that this is a contemptuous insult.
Angry, embarrassed, nervous, afraid, humiliated, Tian Ge could see his chest heaving in his peripheral vision.
He turned around and wanted to go to the river to pick up his bamboo basket and go home.
The atmosphere suddenly became strangely heavy.
Only the cicadas were still chirping noisily, the river was gurgling, and the hot wind was rustling the leaves.
Only there is no human voice.
Li Xiufen was shocked by Tian Ge's behavior for a moment. She didn't know whether to sit down and make a scene or go up and hold the man back.
Wang Zhu was the first to break the silence.
"You hit my mother! I will beat you to death!" Wang Zhu rushed towards Tian Ge.
Although Wang Zhu is a fool, he has the physique of a real man.
Not to mention fists, even with just a collision, Tian Ge's frail little body couldn't withstand it.
Tian Ge didn't react at all.
His ears were ringing, his heart was beating uncomfortably fast, and his temples were throbbing and swollen.
He just heard someone talking, and when he turned around, he saw Wang Zhu raising his fist and rushing towards him quickly.
"ah!"
After a scream, Wang Zhu fell into the water.
Qin Xiong stood by the river, watching Wang Zhu swim towards the shore with cold eyes.
A kick in the hip.
Wang Zhu started crying after swimming to the shore, holding his waist and hips, howling like a ghost, as if he had suffered a great injustice, and kept calling "Mom".
Things happened so fast that Tian Ge only saw a shadow flash before his eyes, and then Wang Zhu flew into the river.
Tian Ge stared at Qin Xiong in a daze.
The first thing I saw was the scar on the right side of Qin Xiong's face.
It turned out that the person who saved him just now was Qin Xiong.
This time he looked carefully. The scar did not extend from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth, but ran through the eye and started from the eyelid.
Qin Xiong is a hunter living in the northernmost part of the village. He is a foreigner who fled here a few years ago to escape famine.
The hunter family has basically no contact with the villagers and has a weak presence.
The villagers didn't think much of Qin Xiong's family. When they chatted with each other occasionally, they would call them savages and their words were full of sarcasm.
Tian Ge and Qin Xiong looked at each other.
Qin Xiong's clothes were also soaked.
Men can wear open-collared sleeveless jackets in the summer, but the fabric gets wet and it's almost as if they're not wearing anything.
When Tian Ge saw the knot and lush hair on Qin Xiong's chest, she felt as if she was pricked by a needle. She suddenly came to her senses and all the blood rushed to her face.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tian Ge saw Qin Xiong pulling at his clothes.
But that poor transparent fabric covered the left side, leaving the right side empty; covered the right side, leaving the left side empty.
Li Xiufen was hugging Wang Zhu and crying and cursing.
The hot wind blew and Tian Ge sneezed.
He crossed his arms over his chest to block out other people's prying eyes.
Qin Xiong turned and walked towards Li Xiufen.
A man who looks like a black bear, his figure alone is enough to scare people.
Not to mention that he is a hunter, he has been wielding a butcher knife and seeing real blood all year round.
Li Xiufen stopped cursing and protected Wang Zhu behind her like a hen protecting her chicks. Her voice trembled as she spoke, "You dare? If you dare to hurt my son, I will definitely sue you to the government and I will die with you!"
Qin Xiong ignored him and just picked up the clothes on the ground.
It was exactly the one that Li Xiufen had put on Tian Ge before.
Tian Ge looked at Qin Xiong who was gradually walking towards him.
Qin Xiong lowered his eyes, turned his head away and didn't look at him. From a distance, he handed him the clothes in his hand.
Tian Ge shook his head.
He felt disgusted when he looked at Li Xiufen's clothes.
No one would wear extra clothes in the hot summer. Li Xiufen was dressed neatly, so how could she have an extra piece of clothing?
Li Xiufen had planned to push him into the water and frame him by using the excuse that her body was seen naked.
"She deserves your dress. Someone has gone to call the village chief and your family. I saw Wang Zhu push you into the water. I can testify for you."
Qin Xiong's voice was very deep, probably because he didn't speak often and was hoarse, and his tone was indifferent.
It was this indifference that made Tian Ge, who was on edge, feel more at ease.
Tian Ge took the clothes and wrapped herself in it, enduring the discomfort.
Then, he reached out to Qin Xiong, pressed his chest, clenched his fist and pressed his thumb, his eyes blurred with tears.
-----Thank you, thank you so much.
Qin Xiong was right. He had done nothing wrong. It was Li Xiufen and Wang Zhu who owed him.
But if it weren't for Qin Xiong, he might have drowned in the river now.
Qin Xiong didn't say anything else. He turned his back and stood in front of Tian Ge, blocking all the gazes coming his way.
Tian Ge stared at the broad and solid figure in front of him in a daze.
He had met Qin Xiong more than once.
When washing clothes by the river, Tian Ge would avoid the crowd.
He went up the river, found a quiet place, and washed slowly.
Tian Ge was shocked when she first ran into Qin Xiong coming down the mountain carrying a basket on his back.
But before he could run away, Qin Xiong walked quickly past the mountain road in front of him and disappeared around the corner, as if he didn't see him at all.
But Tian Ge still ran away with the unwashed clothes.
Qin Xiong had a full beard and messy hair, and the neck of a dead pheasant was exposed in the basket on his back. He looked like the King of Hell who had come down from the mountains.
Tian Ge didn't know who this person was at that time.
When they met for the second time, Tian Ge was braver and endured his fear without running away.
Qin Xiong was still the same, not even glancing at him, and walked past as fast as the wind.
When they met for the third time, Tian Ge was much calmer.
They seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding and no one disturbed anyone else.
When she didn't see Qin Xiong passing by for a long time, Tian Ge would specifically look towards the deep mountains.
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