Chapter 20: The Appearance of Leng Qing Qiu
“…”
The lewd man walked up to Lu Zhiyin. He pinched Lu Zhiyin’s chin and closely observed her face, which was filled with fear.
A thought arose in his mind. He thought, since she was going to be sent to a brothel anyway, why shouldn’t he have his way with her first?
With this thought, the man straightened up and reached for his pants.
Before the man could make his next move, Leng Qing Qiu suddenly appeared behind him.
She injected a syringe into the man’s neck. The man’s body went limp and he was about to fall onto Lu Zhiyin.
However, before the man’s body could touch Lu Zhiyin, Leng Qing Qiu quickly kicked him aside.
With the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, the man’s body fell onto the damp ground of the alley, splashing bits of muddy water.
The cold, muddy water splashed onto Lu Zhiyin’s face, gradually calming her down.
The white-haired girl in a school uniform lay in the dark alley, quietly watching her childhood friend.
Leng Qing Qiu, dressed all in black, stood at the entrance of the alley, backlit, appearing rather cold.
Lu Zhiyin recalled that in her previous life, situations like a hero saving a damsel in distress sometimes appeared in certain TV dramas. However, the moment she thought of being used as bait by Leng Qing Qiu, she couldn’t empathize with the female leads in those dramas.
“Well done.”
Leng Qing Qiu casually praised Lu Zhiyin and walked up to her, pulling the cloth from Lu Zhiyin’s mouth.
“Cough… cough cough… huff… huff…”
Her breathing became smooth again, and Lu Zhiyin gasped for air. She said nothing but silently extended her bound hands, indicating for Leng Qing Qiu to untie her.
However, Leng Qing Qiu seemed to be in a teasing mood again. She helped Lu Zhiyin up, then took out two hundred-yuan bills from her pocket and waved them in front of Lu Zhiyin.
“I saved you, don’t you want to thank me, Zhiyin?”
Leng Qing Qiu looked at Lu Zhiyin with a smile on her face.
“…”
She knew very well that Leng Qing Qiu meant no harm. All she had to do was say thank you, and Leng Qing Qiu would untie her and give her the money.
But did she really want to thank this person in front of her? After all, it was because of her that she had fallen into this situation…
“Th-thank you…”
Lu Zhiyin lowered her head, avoiding Leng Qing Qiu’s gaze.
Although she had many complaints about Leng Qing Qiu in her heart, Lu Zhiyin was ultimately a coward. She didn’t have the courage to contradict Leng Qing Qiu.
Her dissatisfaction with Leng Qing Qiu could only be expressed through silent complaints in her heart.
Her eyes felt inexplicably sore again. Lu Zhiyin wiped her eyes with her forearm and brought her hands forward to Leng Qing Qiu.
“Can you untie me now…?”
Still keeping her head down, not daring to look at Leng Qing Qiu, Lu Zhiyin simply stated her need.
Leng Qing Qiu took Lu Zhiyin’s wrist, untied the cloth binding her hands, and then stuffed the two hundred-yuan bills into Lu Zhiyin’s school uniform pocket before placing Lu Zhiyin back into the wheelchair.
“…Well, now it’s time to figure out how to get this guy back.”
Ignoring her childhood friend’s emotions, Leng Qing Qiu stroked her chin, gazing intently at the unconscious man before her.
She turned her head and saw Lu Zhiyin, her eyes slightly red.
Was she about to cry again?
After a moment of surprise, Leng Qing Qiu touched Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder. She didn’t quite understand why her childhood friend looked like she was about to cry again.
Logically, shouldn’t she be happy after getting the money? Although using her as bait wasn’t very friendly, she wasn’t hurt, was she?
Not wanting to focus too much energy on Lu Zhiyin for now, Leng Qing Qiu looked at the brothel across the alley.
A scantily clad bunny girl was standing at the entrance, bending over and panting. After a moment, she went back inside.
“Zhiyin, you wait here for a moment. I’ll go get the car.”
She said this and walked out of the alley without regard for Lu Zhiyin’s reaction.
“…Wait… Wai…”
Watching Leng Qing Qiu’s retreating back, Lu Zhiyin reached out her hand, wanting to stop Leng Qing Qiu, but she couldn’t make Leng Qing Qiu pause for even a moment.
Well, after all, Leng Qing Qiu’s affection for her wasn’t very high, was it?
Lu Zhiyin was left alone in the quiet alley with the unconscious human trafficker beside her.
“…”
Silently watching Leng Qing Qiu disappear from her sight, Lu Zhiyin touched her back.
Her school uniform had been soaked by the accumulated water on the ground in the alley, and it was even stained with mud and sand.
She hadn’t noticed it before, but now the wetness was starting to spread, bringing with it a sense of chill.
Lu Zhiyin thought that she might need to take a bath and change her clothes after they got back.
Rubbing her eyes, she was still bothered by being used as bait, even though she knew that with her abilities, she was only fit to be bait.
Sitting in the wheelchair in the alley, Lu Zhiyin stared blankly at the brothel opposite.
After a while, she lowered her head again and hugged herself.
She dared not imagine what she would have endured if Leng Qing Qiu hadn’t arrived just then.
She had been a man before, so she naturally understood what the man trafficker’s actions before he fainted had meant.
She missed home very much. She wanted to return to the safe, law-abiding society of her previous life.
She didn’t want to be bullied, didn’t have to risk her life for a living, and certainly didn’t want to be snatched off the street by human traffickers in front of countless people.
Although she felt immense pain in her heart, Lu Zhiyin did not cry this time.
She remained silent, not wanting to make any noise. She didn’t want to attract another human trafficker to take her away again.
She thought that Leng Qing Qiu had probably been by her side the whole time during the previous incident, but this time, Leng Qing Qiu was truly not there.
After waiting anxiously in the alley for a long time, the sound of a car engine grew louder from outside the alley.
Before long, a van blocked the alley, also blocking the light from outside, making the alley even darker.
Leng Qing Qiu got out of the van, skillfully moved the man to the back seat, then picked up Lu Zhiyin and placed her in the passenger seat.
Back in the van, Lu Zhiyin felt a slight sense of security again. Although it was far from being as safe as home, it was at least much better than being in the alley.
After settling Lu Zhiyin, Leng Qing Qiu drove the van a short distance forward, got out again to put Lu Zhiyin’s wheelchair in the trunk, and finally completed all the tasks.
“Alright, that’s enough for tonight. Let’s go home.”
In a somewhat cheerful mood, Leng Qing Qiu said this, whether to herself or to Lu Zhiyin, Lu Zhiyin didn’t pay much attention to her words.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lu Zhiyin simply touched the still-warm hundred-yuan bills in her pocket.
