No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 7

Wan Niang didn’t expect that in the time it took for Yang Lulong to deliver a list, she would come back with her face beaten up.

Zhang Long had offered to walk Yang Lulong back, but she had refused, so she returned alone. Her eyelid was swollen, the corner of her mouth was cut and bleeding, and her white robe was covered in dust and mud. She looked a mess.

“Who did this?” Wan Niang was both angry and heartbroken at her pitiful appearance.

Yang Lulong just lowered her head and shook it, not saying a word, like a child who had done something wrong.

“Come here and sit down. I’ll get you some medicine.” Wan Niang didn’t ask again. She reached out, took Yang Lulong’s hand, and led her to a small stool. She went inside to get some ointment for bruises.

A moment later, Wan Niang came back 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 on her hand and took the cloth from her.

Wan Niang let her take the cloth from her. She looked at her with heartbreak in her eyes. There was nothing she could do to help, so she just tidied Yang Lulong’s messy hair.

Yang Lulong kept her head down, using the cloth to dab at her bleeding wounds. Staring at her bruised and swollen reflection, her mind went back to her school days.

In high school, her deskmate was one of the few people who was nice to her, and Yang Lulong became very attached to her. Their relationship was good. Yang Lulong really wanted to be close to her and cherished her friendship. Unfortunately, one day after school, she was pulled into a corner by a few strangers—some high school dropouts. They grabbed her and beat her up without a word.

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

Yang Lulong didn’t understand. She wasn’t in love with that girl; she just wanted a friend—a good friend with whom she could talk about things she liked, who they could help each other, and who she could confide in and not feel so lonely anymore.

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

“Are Qian Yuan… all bad people?” Yang Lulong asked, out of the blue.

“Huh?”

Yang Lulong’s sudden question gave Wan Niang a good idea of who had done this. Was it Zhang Long? He had disliked her from the moment she arrived. The thought made Wan Niang’s face turn cold. She couldn’t believe Zhang Long would actually hit someone.

“…What’s the story with Wu Yu?” Yang Lulong continued, as Wan Niang hadn’t answered her.

The mention of Wu Yu made Wan Niang’s heart sink. How did Yang Lulong know about him?

Wu Yu was like a thorn in the side of the entire village.

“Wu Yu… wasn’t from the village. He came from another place, and no one knows where he’s from. When we first saw him, his clothes were torn and tattered, as if he were a refugee. When he first arrived, everyone treated him well. He was staying with Sister Fang’s family…”

Listening to the story, Yang Lulong felt it was strangely familiar.

“There had never been a Qian Yuan in our village before. Only Zhong Yong and Kun Ze lived here, and we knew very little about Qian Yuan. One day, an accident happened. Sister Fang went into her estrus period, and Wu Yu just… By the time everyone found out, it was too late. Wu Yu forcibly bonded with Sister Fang, and the villagers forced him to take responsibility and marry her. He agreed, and everyone thought that was the end of it. But on the day of the wedding, he somehow got ahold of some poison and secretly put it in the wine that Sister Fang drank. Sister Fang was poisoned, and he slipped away through the back window. Everyone was at the wedding, and no one was walking around the village, so he got away. By the time we found out something was wrong, Sister Fang was already deeply poisoned. I barely managed to save her life, but her legs were ruined, and she could never walk again. What was even more unexpected was that Sister Fang was pregnant. At one point, she wanted to just end it all, but thankfully Xiao Wen was there for her. After Xiao Hua was born, Sister Fang gave up on the idea of suicide. As for Wu Yu, no one has seen him since. Xiao Wen and Zhang Long have been asking for him in nearby towns, but there’s been no news.”

Listening to her story, Yang Lulong felt a sense of guilt for some reason. Xiao Wen and Zhang Long were also worried about Wan Niang. After what happened with Wu Yu, they were afraid that Wan Niang would suffer the same fate as Sister Fang.

At first, she didn’t understand the relationship between Qian Yuan and Kun Ze, thinking they were just like men and women who could get along. She hadn’t expected the gap between Qian Yuan and Kun Ze to be so large and the relationship so tense. And here she was, nonchalantly interacting with a Kun Ze.

“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 that would just be words, and it would sound like she was defending herself.

“This isn’t your fault…” Wan Niang saw that she was done cleaning up and dipped her fingers in the ointment, applying it to her wounds.

Warm fingertips applied the cool ointment gently to Yang Lulong’s wounds.

Taking advantage of Wan Niang’s focus on her wounds, Yang Lulong dared to look up at her.

Before she came back, Wan Niang was grinding herbs. It was a little hot, and beads of sweat were on her temples, her face was slightly flushed, and so was the tip of her nose.

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

“I’m done for… Wan Niang is going to be so mad at me…” Xiao Wen said with a tearful face.

They were all in Sister Fang’s room, and Sister Fang had explained to Xiao Wen what had happened.

“You should be grateful that Xiao Yang didn’t fight back. She’s a Qian Yuan. If she had, you wouldn’t be able to get up from the ground and would be stuck in bed…” Zhang Long said helplessly. Then he realized what he said. “Ah… no offense, Sister Fang…” He thought about it again and realized he had messed up. “Ah… no… I’ll stop talking now…” Zhang Long was clumsy with words and decided to just stay quiet.

“You beat her up like that. You should go apologize to her. Apologize to them for me, too.” Sister Fang felt helpless looking at Xiao Wen. After all, what happened was her fault, but she couldn’t apologize in person.

“Auntie Xiao Wen is mean…” Xiao Hua, who had been scared, pouted and nestled into her mother’s arms.

“Come on, Brother Zhang.” Xiao Wen grabbed Brother Zhang and pulled him along.

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

“We’re going to catch some wild rabbits and pheasants. I can’t apologize with empty hands…”

Brother Zhang was speechless. Why did she have to drag him into her mess…?