Chapter 67 Like a wolf cub protecting its food
She didn't respond to Bai Linlin's comment about "cool," but merely gave a faint smile before her gaze passed over Bai Linlin and landed on Xie Yunce, who had been standing silently in the shadows.
Xie Yunze stood there, like a taut, poised stone statue.
He watched with his own eyes how Xu Zhili used an ordinary kitchen knife, how Wang Laizi's mother was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, and how the almost cruel calmness in Xu Zhili's eyes was.
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, not from fear, but from an almost burning excitement and... a deeper possessiveness.
Doesn't my older sister need protection?
No, he saw something deeper—a dangerous beauty that sent shivers down his spine.
He wanted to hide her away even more.
"Now, Wang Laizi should be able to keep quiet for a while."
Xu Zhili's voice rang out, like ice beads falling on a bluestone slab, crisp, cold, and devoid of any human warmth.
"Thank you for your hard work these past two days."
Her gaze fell on Xie Yunce, and her eyes held not just a simple distance, but a condescending scrutiny that seemed to penetrate his very being, as if assessing the value of an object or... its level of threat.
"It's so late, let's go back."
Every word she spoke was like a command, decisive and leaving no room for negotiation.
The night behind her was thick and dark, making her figure appear even thinner, yet like a narrow blade drawn from its sheath, radiating a cold glint that kept strangers at bay.
His "guardianship" over the past two days has been like a clumsy shadow trailing behind her, from her morning work to the field ridges, and then to the threshold of this educated youth compound.
How could she not know?
On her way home from work yesterday, she even deliberately turned into a quiet dead-end alley. When he followed her in, she suddenly turned around and blocked him in the shadows.
Why are you following me?
Her question then was as calm as it is now, yet it carried an invisible pressure that made Xie Yunze tense up instantly.
At this moment, Xie Yunze's heart felt as if it were being tightened by an invisible rope.
He met Xu Zhili's icy gaze, his voice clear and bright like that of a young man, yet unusually stubborn.
“Sister, the Wang family is a rotten vine that's rotten to the core. Once you're entangled, you can't get rid of them. You and An’an… I can't gamble with them.”
The "concern" in his words was burning hot, almost scorching the cold air, and it also contained an undeniable declaration—he was going to stay by her side, whether she needed him or not.
Xu Zhili tilted her head slightly, outlining the curve of her slender neck; this gesture carried an almost naive cruelty.
She looked at the boy before her, whose eyes burned like molten lava, as if she were looking at a wolf cub trying to protect a tiger.
interesting.
A faint, almost illusory, hint of amusement flickered across her icy eyes.
“I’ve been wading through this mud for so long,” her voice remained calm, yet it was like a poisoned needle, “What kind of snakes, insects, rats, and ants haven’t I seen? Wang Laizi?”
She gave a very light sneer, her contempt as sharp as a blade, as if Wang Laizi and his ilk were nothing more than ants she could crush at any moment.
“If you keep following me around, you'll make too much noise and easily scare away the mice hiding in the shadows, causing them to scatter and creating more trouble.”
Her concern wasn't that she couldn't handle it, but that Xie Yunze's impulsiveness might disrupt her already planned, more "thorough" solution, or attract unnecessary attention.
"elder sister!"
Xie Yunze took a large step forward urgently, closing the distance instantly to the point where they could almost feel each other's breath.
His scent, a blend of youthful masculinity, sweat, and fresh grass, was overwhelming and carried a strong presence.
"I know you're capable, but... but what if?"
His gaze was fixed on Xu Zhili, like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood, his eyes filled with undisguised anxiety and a kind of almost sacrificial sincerity.
"I know this place like the back of my hand! If any fool dares to sneak out from some nook or cranny and cause trouble, I... I can tear him apart in an instant!"
The word "tear" in his words carried the bloody, predatory air of a wild beast guarding its prey, and it was no exaggeration.
Xu Zhili fell silent.
The night breeze stirred a few stray hairs on her forehead and brushed against her pale, almost translucent cheeks.
She was used to walking alone on the edge of the abyss, and any attempt to approach with warmth or help was like an untimely light to her, dazzling and easily revealing her location.
Xie Yunze's burning, blood-stained persistence was like a boulder thrown into stagnant water.
A moment later, her thick eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, and a tiny crack appeared on the frozen lake surface.
"That's enough,"
Her voice remained cold, yet it seemed to bring a temporary pause to the standoff: "If you insist on standing here..."
She paused, her gaze like a cold probe piercing Xie Yunze's burning eyes: "Remember, those people like Wang Laizi aren't best at attacking head-on, but at hiding in the gutter, waiting for you to let your guard down, then using their dirtiest claws to strike from behind..."
She left her words unfinished, leaving a suggestive blank space, as if stating a fact, or perhaps setting the hunting rules for the eager little wolf—to "help," one had to do it her way, and be "quiet" enough.
Xie Yunze's eyes were instantly ignited, bursting forth with astonishing brilliance as if sparks had been thrown into a barren wasteland.
He nodded vigorously, a sharp canine tooth showing at the corner of his mouth. His smile was pure and radiant, yet it also carried the wild excitement of a hunter locking onto his target.
"Don't worry, sister!" His voice was filled with barely suppressed joy, like a mastiff that had received its master's approval. "I promise! Like a shadow, I will never cause you or An'an any trouble."
He instinctively straightened his back, as if he had received a mission of supreme glory.
Xu Zhili watched his sudden burst of joy and enthusiasm, which was almost burning brightly, and her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
The arc was fleeting, the coldness remained, yet it seemed to carry a hint of indescribable interest.
It's like scientists have discovered an interesting and unpredictable experimental sample.
Perhaps, keeping such a little wolf, who once sets its mind on something, and whose teeth seem quite sharp, by your side, watching it writhe and bite within the boundaries it has drawn, can add a little... twisted fun to these dull and dirty days?
As for that so-called "different color," in her eyes, it would probably only be a deeper dark red, or... the grayness of a prey's pupils dilating when it is dying.
Xie Yunze's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
These past two days, he's been like a loyal shadow: he waits outside her door before dawn to go to work together, always trailing behind her when they finish work, and after dinner, he stands unfailingly at the entrance of the educated youth compound, like a silent demon, using his sinister gaze to scare away any potential troublemakers, including several male educated youths who had tried to curry favor with him.
It's less about protection and more about enclosing land.
In his heart, his sister was like his own precious treasure.
That protective mentality is like a wolf cub guarding its food, not allowing anyone to covet or touch it.
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