Chapter 127 - 127 Acted Out of Character
127 Acted Out of Character
“Woah! A life for a life…” Zhao Chuchu raised her brows. “We can’t be going around and killing people, can we?”
Xie Heng did not expose how brutal Zhao Chuchu was. He replied, “Nothing will happen to you.”
“What if they found me out?” Zhao Chuchu retorted on purpose.
“Then you should get away from the scene and wait until I’m back.”
“Are you suggesting that you’ll do the dirty job?”
“Yes.”
Zhao Chuchu raised a corner of her lips and scrutinized Xie Heng.
“Hey, hey. Quit talking about taking life all the time. You’re an educated person.”
“An educated person? The quill pen in a learned person’s hand is the deadliest murder weapon. Stop thinking so highly of polymaths.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. But, Da Lang, you’ve changed.”
At first, he was a blind and frail scholar. But he somehow became crueler as of late.
Previously, he would only let them suffer a fate worse than death. Yet, he would not hesitate to end their lives now.
He was definitely acting out of character!
Xie Heng stared at Zhao Chuchu with a serious look. “Are you afraid?”
Zhao Chuchu smiled nonchalantly. “I’m not scared or anything. But, aren’t you worried that you might catch some other people’s attention by acting without reserve?”
I know what I’m doing.”
“Alright, as long as you get it. And have a safe trip, then. I’ll take good care of Junjun. No one shall harm him in any way.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Out of reflex, Zhao Chuchu clenched her fist and hit Xie Heng’s shoulder like she would with her teammates in her previous life.
On the other hand, he caught her fist unconsciously.
Zhao Chuchu was stunned by the happening.
Then, she turned to peer at her hand.
After looking in the direction of her gaze, Xie Heng immediately let go of her fist after regaining his senses.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Although Xie Heng apologized, his mind was filled with images of him catching Zhao Chuchu’s fist.
Zhao Chuchu could still feel the warmth of Xie Heng’s palm on her hand. For some reason, the rate of her heartbeat was a little different than usual.
“It’s getting late. You should depart now. Otherwise, you might not make it to the neighboring county on time.” Zhao Chuchu digressed, “Please wait outside for a while. I’ll go prepare some food supply for you.”
With that, Zhao Chuchu hurriedly closed the door.
She took a deep breath to regulate her heartbeat.
That was close!
Men who were too good-looking were like Homme Fatale. Even someone like her, who was used to seeing handsome guys, couldn’t help but get fidgety.
Outside of the room, Xie Heng had already calmed himself down. He lowered his head and stared at the palm that caught Zhao Chuchu’s fist earlier. He could still feel the sensation of the softness of her skin.
At that, Xie Heng closed his eyes. Zhao Chuchu’s appearance changed many things around him.
For instance, the fate of Zhao Zhizhi and his heart…
Zhao Chuchu came out of her room after a while and handed Xie Heng a square box. “Eat it during your journey.”
It was a box that Xie Heng never saw before.
He did not say a word but thanked her as he took it from her hand.
Xie Jun dragged Zhao Chuchu along and sent Xie Heng off to the village’s entrance.
“Brother, you have to come back faster.” Xie Jun was a little reluctant to see Xie Heng leave. After all, it was the first time he had to part with his brother after the passing of their parents. He couldn’t get used to it even though it was only a few days.
“You should listen to your sister-in-law and don’t misbehave, okay?” Xie Heng patted Xie Jun’s head and added, “Try your best to help her in any way you can. Also, don’t forget about your studies.”
“Okay.”
After instructing Xie Jun, Xie Heng turned to look at Zhao Chuchu. “There is a box filled with silver on top of the silver. Don’t hesitate to spend them.”
Following that, Xie Heng got into the carriage and departed from Lengshui Village before Zhao Chuchu uttered a word.
Xie Jun remained in the same spot and finally returned home after he could no longer see Xie Heng’s silhouette.
“Sister-in-law, is my brother angry or anything?”
“What makes you think so?”
“I’ve only said a few things the other day, and now he has gone from the house.”
“Don’t read into things too much. Now that your brother’s eyes have recovered, he will prepare for the next examination. Meeting up with his schoolmates is nothing out of the ordinary.” Zhao Chuchu pinched Xie Jun’s cheeks and commented, “Don’t be oversensitive. It’s not good for you and other people.”
“Understood.”
“Come, let’s go home.”
Zhao Chuchu took Xie Jun’s hand as they strolled back home.
Halfway through their journey, they stumbled upon Madam Yang, who tucked her tail between her legs and fled from the scene.
Zhao Chuchu was speechless at the sight of it.
There was no need to do that at all.
So long as they didn’t annoy her, she wouldn’t go around breaking other people’s legs.
“She seems to be afraid of you.” Xie Jun raised his head to look at Zhao Chuchu. “Could it be that she would stop harassing and bullying you anymore?”
“No doubt.”
“I’m glad to hear that. They were so terrible and fierce back then.”
“Are you scared of them?”
“I used to be afraid of them. But not anymore.”
…
Zhao Chuchu suddenly recalled that she promised the town medical hall’s owner to make some medicines for him to sell. Thus, she took out the medical herbs she had bought previously and began compounding them since she had nothing better to do.
Xie Jun was beside her at that time. So, Zhao Chuchu took the opportunity to teach him to recognize all those medical herbs. Moreover, she also explained to him the correct methods to handle common injuries and illnesses.
Needless to say, Xie Jun memorized everything she told him earnestly.
“Junjun, do you want to learn medical science from me?”
“Can I?”
“Of course, you can. As long as you’re willing to learn.”
“Alright, then. I’ll learn from you.”
Xie Jun agreed without any hesitation.
Zhao Chuchu raised a smile and remarked, “Medical science isn’t something simple. The learning path will be arduous. Are you afraid?”
“I’m not. I can work hard and endure hardships,” Xie Jun exclaimed sternly.
“Alright. In that case, you’ll be following me around to learn. I’ll prepare some beginner-level books for you after a few days.”
“Thank you so much. You are the best. Can you be my sister-in-law forever?”
Xie Jun stared at Zhao Chuchu with expectation. His eyes widened like that of a puppy.
Zhao Chuchu met his innocent gaze and patted his head with a smile. “That will depend on you. If you became a naughty boy and learned the ways of the corrupted adults, I would disown you as my brother-in-law.”
She had to answer in a roundabout way. After all, he was still a kid.
Xie Jun did not get the subtle meaning of her words. He thought she said she would disown him if he stopped being a decent human.
“Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I will not follow the bad examples.”
“Good boy.”
Just as they were in the middle of handling the medical herbs, Old Mrs. Chen’s loud voice could be heard coming from afar.
“Chuchu, are you home? Someone is looking for you.”
Upon hearing that, Zhao Chuchu opened the door and noticed a man standing beside Old Mrs. Chen.
“Thank goodness you’re home, Chuchu. This young man here told me he’s here to thank you. He seemed to be a decent man, so I brought him here.”
“It’s me, Doctor Zhao.”
The man immediately moved forward and greeted her. He was the husband of the woman with difficult labor who Zhao Chuchu had rescued previously.
He carried a chicken cage in his left hand, had some pork meat in his right, and a bundle of something slung over his shoulder.
“I thank you for what you’ve done that day. I would’ve lost my wife and daughter if it weren’t for you. We just returned home two days ago. These are the gifts from our family. Please accept them, Doctor Zhao,” the man said courteously.
Zhao Chuchu frowned a little when she noticed his tattered apparel that was full of patches. “You should save all these for your wife’s postpartum recovery. I do not need them.”
“Doctor Zhao, I…”
“I appreciate the thought. I’ll happily accept if you give me red-dyed eggs, but not the other things.”
Men were not good with words. His mind went blank after Zhao Chuchu expressed her thoughts. Just as he was at his wits’ end as to what to do, he turned to seek help from Old Mrs. Chen who he had just gotten acquainted a while ago.
Old Mrs. Chen got his distress signal, but she did not want to get involved with Zhao Chuchu’s matter.
“Um… Er…”
In a moment of desperation, the man put the chicken cage and pork meat on the ground and skedaddled from the scene.