No. 18 Piercing the Veil of Pretense
“Wait!”
The sound of our bodies colliding echoed through the darkness.
“We don’t have to fight here. We can settle this when we get back…”
I tried to reason with her as I blocked her relentless attacks.
“Home? What home? What good is a home to me?”
Her attacks grew fiercer, forcing me to raise my leg to defend myself.
This wasn’t good. I had obviously triggered something in her. If this continued, we would be discovered by their reinforcements.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Me, wanting to be protected, wanting to hide behind someone. I’m so pathetic, right?”
Moonlight streamed through the open doorway, bathing the concrete floor in a silvery glow.
“It’s natural for a girl to want to be protected.”
I blocked another attack, glancing nervously at the door.
“Then why are you so calm? Answer me!”
Her kicks were becoming erratic, her breathing ragged.
“What are you so upset about?!”
Backed against the wall, with nowhere to retreat, I finally retaliated, delivering a swift kick to her stomach. I spun around, appearing behind her, and drove my knee into her back, pinning her against the wall. I pressed my foot against her bare thigh, exposed by her short denim shorts.
“Slap! Slap!”
I grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head, my gaze intense. “Listen, in this world, no one cares about your struggles, your pain, except your parents and the readers of a book. And readers are only interested in the main characters. Unfortunately, neither of us is the protagonist of any story. So, please, take care of yourself.”
I understood now.
Huang Yingdie had grown up surrounded by suffocating love and adoration. Her father was the mayor, she knew some martial arts, and she was beautiful. She was the darling of the school and the local gangs. Spoiled and pampered, she had never experienced true hardship.
Her recent string of defeats, coupled with her fear and helplessness in this situation, had probably shattered her sense of pride.
“What right do you have…”
“I am the right.”
I leaned closer, my voice low and steady. “Right now, I am the victor. Remember your place.”
She struggled, but I held her firm.
“Let me go!”
“If I weren’t Yi Yao, if I weren’t a girl your age, but one of those men on the street who lust after you, would you still speak to me like that?”
I deliberately brought my lips close to hers.
Damn it, if she didn’t snap out of it soon, I would have to leave her behind. If their reinforcements arrived, we would both be doomed.
“…”
After another futile struggle, she finally stopped resisting, her face flushed.
“Yi Yao.”
She turned her head away, her voice barely a whisper.
“What?”
“Let go.”
“Have you come to your senses?”
“Yes.”
I released her wrists.
She stretched, then snorted. “I just want to get out of this hellhole. We’ll settle our score later.”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say.”
As if I were her boyfriend.
I was starting to get used to her tsundere personality. I walked over to where we had been chained and picked up the bread. “Do you want some?”
“No, thanks. Who knows what they put in it. You eat it.”
“Fine. I’ll keep it for now.”
I stuffed the bread into my pocket and stepped out of the factory. The sight before me was daunting: a vast expanse of overgrown grass and dense forest.
“Which way do we go?”
Xiaodie cautiously approached me, her eyes scanning the undergrowth. “Are there snakes in the grass?”
“Even if there are, we have to go.”
I took a few steps forward, searching for a path, when the sound of approaching footsteps caught my attention.
Several figures were running towards us from the other side of the factory, illuminated by the moonlight.
So, they did have backup…
“Let’s go.”
I grabbed her hand and plunged into the tall grass.
“Do you… do you even know where you’re going?”
Her voice was shaky.
“No, but I know we need to get out of here.”
In this wilderness, under the cover of darkness, even if they knew the terrain, we were on equal footing.
As long as they didn’t have guns.
“Bang! Bang!”
Two gunshots pierced the night.
Something whizzed past my ear, and Xiaodie screamed.
I stopped and turned to her. “What’s wrong? Did they hit you?”
“I… I…”
She clutched my arm, her body trembling. She sank to the ground, her voice weak. “I’m fine.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
I was exasperated. I tried to pull her up, but she wouldn’t budge.
“Stop!”
The figures were less than 800 meters away.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Three more shots. One bullet hit a branch above Xiaodie’s head, sending it crashing down with a loud crack.
“Yi Yao… Go on without me…”
She hung her head, her hair a tangled mess.
She was trembling uncontrollably.
Her fear was palpable, transmitted through her slender arm.
“Don’t be stupid! Get up! We might not escape even if we run, but we’ll definitely die if we stay here!”
I raised my voice, hoping to shake her out of her fear.
“Yi Yao…” She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. “You… you’re not afraid?”
“I am! I’m more afraid than you are! But what good is fear?” I wanted to slap her. “Will your mother’s illness magically disappear if you’re afraid to see her? Will someone come and comfort you if you’re afraid to go home? Will they show us mercy if we cower here in fear?”
The figures were less than 500 meters away.
“You have to fight for your happiness, your dreams! Understand? Those who rely on others will always be weaklings! Where’s that fighting spirit you showed me earlier? You weren’t afraid of a black belt instructor, but you’re scared of a few ordinary men?”
“I…”
She stared at me, her eyes wide with surprise. Perhaps this was the first time she had seen me so assertive.
“Answer me! What is the spirit of Taekwondo?”
“Courtesy… integrity…”
“Louder!”
“Courtesy! Integrity! Perseverance! Self-control! Indomitable spirit!”
I pulled her up.
More bullets whizzed past us.
“Run!”
I grabbed her hand and we plunged into the dense forest.
“Don’t look down! Look ahead!”
I didn’t know what lay ahead, but I knew we had to keep moving.
If you didn’t work hard, you would starve. If you didn’t strive for better, you would be left behind.
This world owed us nothing.
After about thirty minutes of stumbling through the darkness, I stopped.
“I think… they’re not following us.”
The forest was eerily silent, sending a shiver down my spine. Something felt wrong.
But I couldn’t let Xiaodie see my fear.
If I showed weakness now, we were both doomed.
“Come on, this way.”
She followed me obediently.
Since they had taken our phones, I could only navigate by the moonlight.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, we needed to find a safe place to rest and regroup.
A small cave, perhaps.
“Get in.”
The cave was tiny, barely large enough for us to squeeze through the entrance. Those men wouldn’t have shot at us if they had orders to bring us back alive. Since they hadn’t pursued us, they must have given up.
I watched Xiaodie enter the cave, then gathered a large rock and some branches to camouflage the entrance.
The cave was pitch black.
“Xiaodie?”
“I’m here.”
“Meow…”
What was that?
I followed the sound and found a small kitten huddled beside Xiaodie.
“It’s okay. It won’t bite.”
Remembering my experience working at a pet store, I gently stroked the kitten’s face until it stopped meowing. I pulled out the bread I had taken from the factory.
“Do you want some?”
“I’m not hungry. Thank you.”
Still playing the tsundere even in this situation? We hadn’t eaten since lunch. Did she think I was stupid?
I put the kitten aside and opened the bread package.
“If you’re worried about it being poisoned, I’ll eat half. I’ll leave the other half here. You can eat it later if you get hungry.”
