Cherishing You As Always - Chapter 27

Maybe it was because I felt sorry for her. Maybe my heart had softened for a moment. That’s why I didn’t want to add more trouble to this woman’s life.

I clutched my arm tightly, trying to keep the wound hidden from her. I smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I get hurt all the time. This kind of injury is nothing to me.”

She bit her lip without saying a word and took out a plain white handkerchief from her bosom, handing it to me.

I stared blankly and forgot to take it. The two of us just stood there, saying nothing. Perhaps the pain got too intense  I broke the silence with a groan and sucked in a sharp breath. It really hurt.

She seemed like she wanted to help me, but as soon as she reached out her hand, she pulled it back. She hated physical contact, so the fact that she even got close was already quite something.

I, Song Lanlou, have always been the kind of person who makes others feel safe. That’s something I’ve always been proud of.

Enduring the pain, I took the handkerchief and turned around, throwing the bl00d-soaked cloth into the bushes. I ran a bit farther off to wash the wound clean before wrapping it up with the handkerchief.

Because my back was to her the whole time, I had no idea what was going on behind me.

When I turned around, I saw a man standing not far from her, staring at her with a sleazy look that immediately ignited a nameless fury in my chest. I was a bit of a distance away, but I could just barely make out their conversation.

“Master Qian, please show some respect,” she said sternly, stepping back. She didn’t notice that her foot hit a water bucket, spilling water all over her dress.

Her white uniform became slightly transparent as it soaked. Under the sunlight, her calves were exposed. The high-grade silk clung tightly to her skin with a strangely seductive allure.

She quickly pulled her clothes down to cover herself, a blush spreading across her face, and turned to flee. But the man behind her spoke again:

“Tch, what a little temptress. No wonder my buddy broke into your room at night. So? Interested in becoming my concubine?”

My anger blazed even hotter. This guy was a fellow student at the academy how could he talk like this? A break-in? Was that why she bought scissors? Was that why she was so terrified last night and mistook me for the intruder, stabbing me in panic? Just what the hell had she gone through?

Her words from last night echoed in my mind:

“Don’t come any closer. Stay away…”

“Please… please let me go. I don’t want this. I don’t want to be with you…”

Had someone actually tried to assault her?

I remembered when we first arrived at the academy  she was being ganged up on by a group. I had been the one to rush in back then.

One of the girls beating her had shouted:
“Slut! It’s all your fault. How dare you seduce my man? Now that he’s hurt, are you happy?”

Another had said:
“She’s weak? Are you blind? She’s a fox spirit, that’s what she is. Don’t help the wrong person. We’re doing this for those men’s own good.”

Could the man who got hurt have been the one who broke into her room?

My anger flared even more. All I could think was: “He deserved it.”

And those women too. Yin Yunchi didn’t seem like the kind to seduce anyone. Sure, some of her movements were unconsciously alluring  but that was never intentional. If anyone was to blame, it was these men.

I suppressed the fire in my chest and kept listening.

“Master Qian, I already said it please respect yourself. I, Yin Yunchi, am a woman of virtue. Why won’t you all leave me alone?”

The man laughed sleazily, running his fingers through his hair, eyes gleaming with a mocking glint. “A woman of virtue? You? No one even knows where you came from. What kind of decent woman ends up in a brothel?”

Brothel? What was her connection to a brothel? The more I listened, the more confused I became.

Her face grew colder, her voice firmer:
“Just because I don’t have a clear background doesn’t mean I’m not a woman of virtue. I told the headmaster when I entered the academy I only worked in the brothel to earn some money. Just because I was there doesn’t mean I’m filthy. Are you saying there’s no such thing as a clean person in a dirty place?”

Master Qian stepped closer. “Don’t kid yourself. No decent woman goes into that kind of place. A brothel is for men’s entertainment. If you’ve been there, it means you know how to entertain men. This academy is so dull what are us noble young masters supposed to do if we don’t have a brothel girl like you to entertain us?”

She backed away in fear, obviously terrified.

“I only did odd jobs at the brothel. I never learned how to ‘entertain’ anyone. You’ve all got the wrong idea. Please  just stop bothering me.”

She tried to run, but he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist. She screamed. In that instant, I finally understood why she hated being touched.

She cried out, just like last night:
“Let me go! Let go of me!”

The man didn’t care how much she struggled. He wouldn’t let go.

I took several swift steps forward, my voice cold as death: “Let her go.”

My sudden appearance startled him. He immediately released her. I pulled her into my arms  she didn’t resist, just sobbed into my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist and glared at the man.

“What the hell were you doing?”

He finally snapped out of it and shouted, “Song! What the hell are you doing here?”

I kicked over a nearby water bucket, splashing him from head to toe.

“You’re here  why can’t I be? I’m warning you  if you ever get near Yin Yunchi again, I’ll make sure your father buries you. Pass this message to the rest of your perverted little gang: if I ever see this kind of thing again, your family will be plenty busy during Qingming and Chongyang.”

Soaked like a drowned rat, his dignity was gone. Furious, he shouted, “Who the hell do you think you are? You’re just a woman. You should be at home getting married and raising kids.”

He lunged at Yin Yunchi again. She shrank back into my arms in fear. He failed to grab her, and I slapped him hard across the face.

I spat coldly, “Shameless bastard.”

Then I kicked another bucket, this one empty, and sent it flying at him. He dodged and started laughing, but I used that opening to grab Yin Yunchi and run.

We flew up the steps like the wind, two at a time. No one chased us.

Suddenly, she started laughing. A happy, carefree laugh.

I stopped midway up the mountain, staring at her flushed face. “What are you laughing at? You almost got… and you’re laughing?”

She’d let go of my hand, and it felt oddly uncomfortable. I leaned against a rock, panting heavily.

“Being with you,” I said, “is never peaceful, Miss Yin.”

She laughed for a bit longer, then finally spoke. “You’re a funny person.”

Funny? Me? Was this woman scared out of her mind?

I touched her forehead, then quickly pulled back, clicking my tongue. “No fever. What nonsense are you spouting?”

She leaned against the stairs across from me, facing me directly.

“You heard everything just now, didn’t you?”

I nodded dumbly, saying nothing in response.

Silence. Still silence. I turned my head, not wanting to see her expression.

“Do you think… I’m dirty?” she asked softly.

Without hesitation, I answered, “No.”