No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 7

Wan Niang hadn’t expected that sending Yang Lulong to deliver a list would result in her returning with a bruised face.

Zhang Long had offered to escort Yang Lulong back, but she refused, returning alone. Her eyelid was swollen, the corner of her mouth was broken and bleeding, and her white gown was covered in dust and mud. She looked utterly disheveled.

“Who hit you?” Wan Niang asked, both angry and heartbroken at her pitiful appearance.

Yang Lulong simply shook her head, saying nothing, like a child who had made a mistake.

“Come sit down. I’ll get you some medicine,” Wan Niang stopped asking, took her hand, led her to a small stool, and helped her sit down. She then went into the house to get some bruise ointment.

Soon, Wan Niang returned with a basin of water. She wrung out a cloth, intending to clean Yang Lulong’s wounds, but Yang Lulong stopped her.

“I’ll do it myself,” Yang Lulong pressed down on Wan Niang’s hand and took the cloth from her.

Wan Niang allowed her to take the cloth. She watched her, her eyes full of heartache. She couldn’t do much to help now, only help her tidy her disheveled hair.

Yang Lulong kept her head down, slowly wiping her bleeding wounds with the cloth. Staring at her bruised and swollen reflection, her thoughts drifted back to her school days.

In high school, her deskmate was one of the few people who were kind to her, and Yang Lulong was very attached to her. Their relationship was quite good. Yang Lulong wanted to be close to her and cherished her. Unfortunately, one day after school, she was dragged into a corner by a few strangers, dropouts who loitered in the streets. They grabbed her and, without a word, beat her up.

Finally, they left her with a warning, “Stay away from her, you damn lesbian…”

Yang Lulong didn’t understand. She didn’t have romantic feelings for that girl; she just wanted a friend, someone she could talk to about things she liked, someone who could help her and be helped by her, someone she could confide in, someone who could make her feel less lonely.

After that, she never spoke to that girl again. After high school graduation, the girl didn’t get into university and got married the following year. Her husband was one of the people who had beaten Yang Lulong that day. The girl would never know why Yang Lulong had distanced herself…

“Are Qianyuan… all bad scumbags?” Yang Lulong asked out of the blue.

“Hmm?”

Yang Lulong suddenly asked this question, and Wan Niang already had a pretty good idea of who had done it. Could it be Zhang Long? He had always disliked Yang Lulong since she first arrived. Thinking of this, Wan Niang’s face turned cold. She hadn’t expected Zhang Long to actually resort to violence.

“…What happened with Wu Yu?” Wan Niang didn’t answer her, and Yang Lulong continued to ask.

At the mention of Wu Yu, Wan Niang’s heart tightened. How did Yang Lulong know about him?

Wu Yu could be said to be a thorn in the heart of the entire village.

“Wu Yu… wasn’t from the village initially. He came from out of town; no one knows where he was from. When we first saw him, his clothes were tattered, as if he was seeking refuge. When he first arrived, everyone treated him well. At that time, he was staying at Sister Fang’s house…”

Yang Lulong listened to the story, wondering why it sounded so familiar.

“There had never been any Qianyuan in the village; only Zhongyong and Kunze lived here, and everyone knew very little about Qianyuan. One day, an accident happened. Sister Fang entered her estrus period, and Wu Yu just… By the time everyone found out, it was too late. Wu Yu forcibly formed a bond with Sister Fang, and the villagers forced him to take responsibility and marry Sister Fang. He agreed. Everyone thought the matter would end there, but unexpectedly, on the day of the wedding, he somehow got poison and secretly put it in the wine Sister Fang drank. Sister Fang was poisoned, and he slipped away through the back window. At that time, everyone was at the wedding, and no one was moving around the village, so he managed to escape. By the time they realized something was wrong, Sister Fang was deeply poisoned. I struggled to save her life, but her legs were crippled, and she could never walk again. What’s more, Sister Fang became pregnant. At one point, she wanted to just leave, but fortunately, Xiao Wen stayed with her. Later, after Xiao Hua was born, Sister Fang completely gave up the idea of ending it all. As for Wu Yu, no one has seen him since. Xiao Wen and Zhang Long have also been to nearby towns asking about his whereabouts, but there’s still no news.”

Yang Lulong listened to her, feeling somewhat guilty for some reason. Xiao Wen and Zhang Long were also worried about Wan Niang. After what happened with Wu Yu, they were afraid Wan Niang would suffer the same fate as Sister Fang.

Initially, she didn’t understand the relationship between Qianyuan and Kunze, thinking they were like men and women, able to get along amicably. But she hadn’t expected that the differences between Qianyuan and Kunze were greater, and the relationship more tense. And she had so casually approached a Kunze.

“I’m sorry…” Yang Lulong didn’t know what to say besides apologizing. Should she tell Wan Niang that she wasn’t like Wu Yu? But words alone were unreliable; it would sound like she was just defending herself.

“It’s not your fault…” Wan Niang saw that she was mostly clean. She dipped her finger in ointment and began to apply it to her wound.

Warm fingertips, covered in cool ointment, gently massaged Yang Lulong’s wounds.

Taking advantage of Wan Niang’s attention being on her injuries, Yang Lulong dared to look up at her.

Before she returned, Wan Niang had been pounding herbs. The weather was a bit warm, and sweat still lingered at her temples. Her face was slightly flushed, and so was the tip of her nose.

She smelled that familiar jasmine scent. So this was Wan Niang’s scent. Li Cui’er’s was osmanthus, Sister Fang’s was sandalwood. Only this jasmine scent could make her feel so calm and secure.

••••

“I’m doomed… Wan Niang will definitely be mad at me…” Xiao Wen said with a tearful face.

The few of them sat in Sister Fang’s room. Sister Fang explained to Xiao Wen what had happened.

“You should be grateful Xiao Yang didn’t fight back. She’s a Qianyuan. If she really fought back, you probably wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed, you’d be stuck lying there…” Zhang Long said helplessly, then realizing something, “Ah… no offense to you, Sister Fang…” He thought about it again and felt something was still off. “Ah… no… I won’t say anything else…” Zhang Long was clumsy with words and simply shut up.

“You beat someone up like that, you should hurry and go apologize in person, and apologize to them on my behalf too.” Sister Fang looked at Xiao Wen and felt helpless. After all, it was because of her that this happened, but she couldn’t apologize in person.

“Aunt Xiao Wen, mean…” Xiao Hua, startled, nestled in her mother’s arms, pouting.

“Brother Zhang, come on.” Xiao Wen impatiently pulled Zhang Long along.

“This isn’t the way to Wan Niang’s house, is it?” Brother Zhang saw Xiao Wen pulling him into the forest, further and further away from Wan Niang’s house.

“We’re going to catch some wild rabbits and pheasants. I’d be too embarrassed to apologize empty-handed…”

Zhang Long was speechless. This was her mess, why was he being dragged into it…?