CM - 71

Zhou Shu-rong walked out of the community and approached them. She ignored the group and spoke directly to Shen Ting-wen: “Were you wrong?”

Shen Ting-wen nodded: “I was wrong.”

Zhou Shu-rong forgave him: “Let’s go home.”

The group, of course, wouldn’t let Shen Ting-wen leave. They blocked his way, and the leader said to him: “Long time no see, little beauty. Did you and this useless boyfriend of yours enjoy showing off at the gym last time?”

Zhou Shu-rong didn’t want to waste a single word on them. She felt it was a waste of time. “Stop talking nonsense. Tell me what you want.”

The leader said: “We’re not unreasonable people. We’ll just have your useless boyfriend kneel and kowtow to us a few times, and then we’ll call it even. After that, we won’t care if you get AIDS or not.”

This time there were more of them, some skinny, some fat. The skinny ones looked weak, and the fat ones were all soft. None of them looked very threatening.

But Zhou Shu-rong and Shen Ting-wen were only two people. They clearly couldn’t fight them head-on. This wasn’t a TV show where one person could take on ten.

Zhou Shu-rong said: “Don’t talk to me. Ask him directly.”

The leader turned and kicked Shen Ting-wen in the stomach. Shen Ting-wen immediately kicked him back, sending him sprawling. But he didn’t get off easy either. He was immediately pinned down by the group, who tried to force him to his knees.

Shen Ting-wen was willing to kneel, but he had one condition: “Let her go, and I’ll kneel for you.”

The leader laughed: “You’re so dramatic. What if I don’t want to let her go? Have you two slept together yet? Would it be too much for her to keep me company? Huh? You good-for-nothing.”

Shen Ting-wen was calm: “Either let her go, or you kill me and we all go to jail. You choose.”

The leader wouldn’t fall for it: “You kneel first, and I’ll let her go.”

The atmosphere instantly became tense. It seemed that if Shen Ting-wen didn’t kneel, he and Zhou Shu-rong wouldn’t be able to leave.

It was the middle of the night. You would occasionally see someone at the entrance of Zhou Shu-rong’s community, but they weren’t stupid. They had led the two of them into a secluded alley where no one could hear them. If they were to be beaten to death, no one would find them for three days.

Shen Ting-wen called out to Zhou Shu-rong: “Rongrong.”

Zhou Shu-rong answered: “Hmm.”

Shen Ting-wen reached out to her: “Come.”

Zhou Shu-rong walked closer.

Everyone held their breath, including the leader. It would be so amazing to make him kneel. It would wash away all the humiliation they had felt.

The moon was bright. In this area with no streetlights, you could see everything except for their expressions.

Shen Ting-wen knelt on one knee, extending his hand to Zhou Shu-rong. He was still smiling, seemingly unaware of their predicament: “My princess.”

Zhou Shu-rong suddenly felt a pang of pain.

The leader didn’t understand what Shen Ting-wen had said, but he knew he was being played. He came up and kicked him again, knocking him to the ground: “You son of a bitch! Are you fucking with me?”

Shen Ting-wen got up and started fighting them. Just like at the gym, he grabbed Zhou Shu-rong’s wrist and, in the chaos, threw her out of the fight and into the alleyway entrance. He then continued to fight with the group.

Zhou Shu-rong came out of the alley and immediately called the police. She was very anxious. The police arrived quickly, yelling: “What’s going on! Everybody get on the ground!”

The police moved fast, pinning everyone down. The men were grimacing, their faces looking red and cooked. They were breathing heavily, furious, absolutely furious.

Shen Ting-wen was a bit hurt, but he made sure they weren’t well off either, with none of them leaving with a good arm or leg.

Zhou Shu-rong watched as Shen Ting-wen slowly got up and wiped the blood from his mouth and nose. She felt so much pain. She walked towards him.

Shen Ting-wen saw her, gave a soft smile, and opened his arms.

When Zhou Shu-rong reached him, she kicked him, knocking him to the ground.

Shen Ting-wen wasn’t angry. He just sat on the ground, looking up at her and smiling: “What are you doing?”

Zhou Shu-rong pounced on him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him tightly. She started yelling: “Are you a fucking idiot, Shen Ting-wen! You can’t beat that many people! Why were you acting so tough? If you can’t beat them, why didn’t you run away? Who’s trying to kill who here!”

Shen Ting-wen held her waist and asked with a smile: “Are you worried about me?”

“Who the hell is worried about you! You brought this on yourself!”

Shen Ting-wen tried to stop her from hugging him: “Then let go.”

Zhou Shu-rong refused! She hugged him even tighter, her voice softening and becoming smaller: “I was worried...”

Shen Ting-wen burst out laughing. It was so worth it, this fight.

Zhou Shu-rong let go of him and touched the blood on his lip. She remembered how anxious he was when he couldn’t find her earlier today. In truth, there was no need for her to be this anxious about him getting into a fight. This just showed how much they cared for each other...

She understood Shen Ting-wen completely now and whispered: “I won’t silence my phone anymore.”

Shen Ting-wen understood that she was admitting her mistake. He cupped her face and gently kissed the area below her eyes: “Don’t let me lose you again.”

The police officer who arrived called out to them: “Let’s go. Are you waiting for an invitation?”

Zhou Shu-rong got off Shen Ting-wen and helped him to his feet.