Killing Marriage [ABO] - Chapter 15
Chapter 15; A Righteous Act
“This is the first time we’re trying this weight. I’ll hold it here, you be careful.”
Zhang Qingyuan was shaking all over from exhaustion and had no strength to speak. His nod was barely perceptible. Several large drops of sweat rolled down his jaw and fell with a “plop.”
The fitness coach clicked his tongue. “What’s with you? Your shoulder isn’t even fully healed, and you’re already trying to train your legs. What set you off?”
What set him off? What else?
His own spouse, of course.
Zhang Qingyuan had never been so pathetic in his life. He was disarmed like a broken doll and thrown into a corner, the pain making his eyes water, and he couldn’t remember if he had actually cried.
It wasn’t about the ridiculous pride of being an Alpha or a “husband,” but about his dignity as a human being.
Truly weak, pathetic, helpless, and embarrassing.
Zhang Qingyuan used all his willpower to finish the last set of exercises. His legs gave out, and he rolled off the machine, so exhausted he could only lean against the wall, trembling. He was no different now from that evening when Ren Zhong had dislocated his arms—a complete wreck.
Even though several days had passed, the memory of that evening still made him shiver.
The moment Ren Zhong dropped him, the feeling of weightlessness made him think his life was over.
But the other man had climbed out of his wheelchair, helped him pop his limp arms back into place, called a taxi, and sent him off to the orthopedic department of a hospital for treatment.
Although Ren Zhong hadn’t said a word, the fact that Zhang Qingyuan was here, trembling after a leg workout, meant that Ren Zhong hadn’t planned on turning him and the entire KFM organization over to the state.
However, what puzzled Zhang Qingyuan the most was how Ren Zhong had figured them out.
—Did Ren Zhong genuinely forget his medical records and appointment card and return home because of that?
He couldn’t think too deeply about it. The investigative skills of someone who had received professional training were too sharp; he couldn’t lie in front of such a person again.
He climbed up, leaning against the wall, and began to slowly walk on the treadmill under the guidance of his coach, gradually adjusting his body.
The coach casually turned on the TV in front of the treadmill so Zhang Qingyuan could watch the news to pass the time.
“Here’s the latest news. This morning, a video of a man in a wheelchair intercepting a human trafficker and taking a woman in labor to the hospital has been uploaded online…”
The moment he saw the familiar electric wheelchair on the TV screen, Zhang Qingyuan fell off the treadmill.
…
The time rewound to that morning. Ren Zhong was in a rehabilitation center.
He was gritting his teeth, his cheeks slightly puffed out, as he struggled to hold onto the parallel bars, learning to walk again like an infant with the help of his braces. Every step was a struggle, and after just a few laps, he was sweating profusely.
After repeating several exercises, it was time for a rest. A staff member arranged for him to sit by a floor-to-ceiling window, where he could admire the scenery and charge his wheelchair.
In the warm sunlight and pleasant view, he was nestled in a comfortable chair, sipping a sports drink. Everything was peaceful until he saw a patient with a plaster cast on his arm strolling in the garden outside the window.
The sight of that man suddenly made Ren Zhong think of Zhang Qingyuan, whose arms had been dislocated.
It dawned on him: That guy is an incredibly smooth talker, isn’t he?
He had been caught, his arms dislocated. It was a foregone conclusion that he would be handed over to the state.
But with just a few words, Zhang Qingyuan had managed to turn a resolute soldier.
In the same situation, Ren Zhong admitted he wouldn’t have been able to turn the tables and get away.
Zhang Qingyuan had done what was seemingly impossible.
Ren Zhong couldn’t help but reflect.
Had he been fooled by Zhang Qingyuan?
The truth of Zhang Qingyuan’s personal story was unknown, but it had accurately hit Ren Zhong’s empathetic nerve. The sharpness of his words was a premeditated attempt to provoke him, to make his bl00d boil, and to get him to agree with Zhang Qingyuan’s methods in a “hot-headed” state.
Thinking about it, Zhang Qingyuan had controlled his emotional rhythm the whole time.
Was it a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them” for others, but for Ren Zhong, it was “if you can beat them, you still have to join them”?
He also considered how, in the days since they had their confrontation, Zhang Qingyuan had continued to maintain the facade of a devoted spouse. He seemed to hold no grudge, taking care of the house while nursing his shoulder injury, speaking to Ren Zhong in a gentle tone and with a warm smile.
Ren Zhong secretly clicked his tongue, thinking, To have such ability and to be so forbearing—this man is no ordinary person. He’s bound for great things.
After another round of training, it was time for a lunch break. Ren Zhong planned to use his wheelchair to find something to eat nearby.
Before Zhang Qingyuan’s injury, he would sometimes wake up early to pack a “loving wife’s bento” for Ren Zhong or personally deliver a freshly made warm lunch. If he was too busy, he would have a familiar private kitchen deliver a meal.
However, after his injury, Ren Zhong no longer had this luxury.
It seemed that Zhang Qingyuan wasn’t entirely “without a grudge.”
Even a “devoted spouse” holds a grudge.
On his way, Ren Zhong was used to the curious stares he received. He struggled a bit on a road with incomplete accessibility features, was turned away multiple times by steps and narrow paths, and finally found a fast-food restaurant he could enter.
Ren Zhong had just taken a couple of bites of fried chicken when he noticed an abnormality in a Beta “couple” who had just entered.
Even though it was the peak of a scorching summer, they were wearing thick, heavy clothing, and their faces were covered by hats and masks.
The Beta man’s expression was strange. After entering the store, he glanced around a few times, looked up to identify the location of the cameras, and then pulled his hat lower.
This was not the behavior of a normal customer.
And when Ren Zhong looked at the woman beside him, the man’s behavior seemed even stranger.
A heavily pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth must be extremely careful with her diet and have many restrictions. Why would her “husband” bring her to a cheap fast-food restaurant?
This fast-food chain focused on the low-end market. The management, taste, ingredients, and hygiene were questionable at best. It was good for nothing but its low price. Such a place was definitely not suitable for a pregnant woman.
It was too strange.
Ren Zhong carefully observed the woman, who was dressed like a villager. Her head, wrapped in a scarf, was almost buried in her chest, and her entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
It was the frequency of fear and pain.
Suddenly, Ren Zhong noticed that the woman was consciously and lightly stomping her foot, and her fingers, which were behind her back, were rhythmically twitching in sync.
Three shorts, three longs, three shorts.
A two-second pause.
Three shorts, three longs, three shorts.
It was the Morse code for SOS.
A masked “villager woman” wearing a floral padded jacket in the middle of summer, a “villager woman” who could use Morse code to call for help…
The operation began silently.
Ren Zhong went to the self-service ordering kiosk and ordered a cup of coffee with the special request for it to be “piping hot.”
After receiving his order, he held the tray with the coffee and waited patiently.
The man wouldn’t want his figure to be exposed to surveillance for too long; they would definitely leave soon.
As the two finished their food, paid, and walked towards the door, Ren Zhong started his electric wheelchair and blocked the entrance.
Beep beep!
The electric wheelchair made a warning sound.
Ren Zhong put on the harmless, gentle smile he remembered from Zhang Qingyuan to lower the man’s guard.
He said in the softest voice possible, “Excuse me, my electric wheelchair ran out of power. Could you do me a favor and ask the staff if there’s a place to charge it?”
The man was extremely impatient and looked at Ren Zhong on the wheelchair with contempt.
“Useless cripple, get out! … Ah!”
The scalding hot coffee, like a stream of milky brown liquid, splashed out of the open cup and onto the man’s face.
As the man screamed in pain, the electric wheelchair restarted and swiftly crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.
Ren Zhong maneuvered his wheelchair, leaned over, grabbed the man’s forearm and upper arm, and twisted them in different directions, using the momentum of the man’s fall.
CRACK!
The man’s elbow was instantly dislocated.
Ren Zhong’s wheelchair then moved to precisely press down on the man’s carotid sinus between his neck and collarbone. The weight was enough to cause him to faint or even die.
He picked up his pre-prepared phone, both to call the police and to announce to everyone in the fast-food restaurant.
“Hello, this is the caller. My name is Ren Zhong.”
Who would have thought that a disabled man in a wheelchair was a former border special forces soldier with combat skills?
He reported the incident, time, location, people, and the situation clearly and concisely, and asked the fast-food staff to help restrain the suspect. Only then did he use the wheelchair’s reverse gear to get off the man.
When he turned to look at the pregnant woman who had fallen to the ground in shock, he smelled a strong, metallic odor.
The pregnant woman’s water had broken.
There was a hospital nearby, a five-minute walk, or a two-minute ride in an electric wheelchair. It was faster than an ambulance.
Ren Zhong reached out his hand to the pregnant woman.