A beautiful summer night

A strong masculine presence pressed down on her, pinning Xia Wanzhi's hands down so she couldn't move. Startled by the sudden restraint, she kicked her legs and struggled desperately, resisting Zhou Yu's approach.

"Why should others get what I didn't get?" Zhou Yu said angrily, his aggressive eyes fixed on Xia Wanzhi.

"It's because I like you so much that I've been slowly getting to know you at your own pace." Zhou Yu's face grew increasingly grim, and he said angrily in a low voice, "My biggest regret is that I didn't take you."

Looking at Xia Wanzhi, who was pinned to the bed by him, her eyes filled with tears of terror, Zhou Yu's bloodshot eyes suddenly lit up with a smile. He stroked her face and chuckled sinisterly, "It's alright, it's not too late to have it now."

"You dare!" Xia Wanzhi's hand was gripped so tightly it hurt, but she seemed to feel no pain at the moment. Her fierce resistance had been replaced by calmness. A cold glint appeared in her eyes as she said, word by word, "Zhou Yu, don't make me hate you."

Zhou Yu's sickly smile deepened: "Hate, hate me then. Hate is more profound than love. Since you don't love me, then hate me for the rest of your life. It's better than cutting ties with me."

"roll--"

Xia Wanzhi's hair was disheveled at her side. Her inner fear erupted at this moment, tears welling in her eyes and wetting her trembling eyelashes. Her chest heaved violently as she struggled with all her might: "Get away from me..."

Biting her bloodless lips, Xia Wanzhi's face turned pale from excessive panic. She trembled as she cried, her mind filled with despair.

She had never been so scared before.

Xia Wanzhi struggled violently, leaving several scratches on Zhou Yu's cheek. As Xia Wanzhi's cries grew louder, Zhou Yu suddenly snapped back to reality. The possessiveness in his eyes faded, and when he met Xia Wanzhi's icy, hateful gaze, a gaze that seemed to want to tear him to pieces, he gasped for breath and apologized urgently, "I'm sorry, Wanzhi, I'm so sorry..."

Throughout the years he had liked Xia Wanzhi, he had always been extremely careful with her.

He gradually got to know her at her own pace, and even their hugs were so innocent and pure.

Because he loved her, he never made any inappropriate or disrespectful physical contact with her.

But now he has hurt her terribly, like a beast.

"Slap—" The crisp sound of a slap echoed in her ears. Xia Wanzhi's eyes filled with tears, a strand of hair between her lips. She trembled all over. After Zhou Yu loosened his grip, she used the last bit of strength to push him away, got up, and rushed out the door in a disheveled state.

The rain started again sometime earlier, and it was even heavier than the gloomy rain this morning.

Tears streamed down her face as Xia Wanzhi wiped them haphazardly before running out of the Zhou family's gate and plunging headfirst into the torrential rain.

She hadn't gone far when the sudden downpour made her lose her way.

All the vulnerability suppressed deep within my heart surfaced at once, turning into a torrent of tears. The strength I had built up over the past two months vanished in an instant, merging into the rain.

She misses her father and her mother.

I miss her home.

Xia Wanzhi felt as if she had fallen into darkness. The world was vast, but no matter where she went, there was no way back.

The more you cry, the deeper the pain in your heart becomes.

She even wondered if none of this would have happened if she hadn't decided to stay in Beicheng.

She won't have such a difficult time.

The rain was pouring down, and cars drove through the water. A black car with its turn signal on stopped directly in front of Xia Wanzhi.

The car was still running, just stopped. The windshield wipers were swaying back and forth, and Xia Wanzhi could see things in a blurry way, sometimes clear and sometimes hazy.

The man in the driver's seat looked at her through the window.

After a while, the car door was pushed open, and the man stepped out with his superior long legs.

Xia Wanzhi was standing in a less than ideal spot; the floodwaters had submerged the man's expensive leather shoes. He stood there, holding an umbrella, meeting Xia Wanzhi's empty, lifeless eyes.

Then, he strode toward her.

"Get in the car." Standing with her in the puddles, the man's deep voice sounded less harsh than usual.

Xia Wanzhi looked up, her lips moving, and stared at him for a long time before choking out, "Xie Qiyan."

Xie Qiyan tilted the umbrella almost entirely towards her. In response to her call, he lowered his eyes and softly replied, "Mm."

"I want to go home." Xia Wanzhi said this with great effort.

Her stubbornness, pride, and strength were all replaced by her inner vulnerability at this moment.

"Then let's go home." Xie Qiyan's eyes were dark, and his expression was calm and undisturbed.

Xia Wanzhi couldn't comprehend his current emotions.

I was still surprised that he would say that to me.

She suddenly remembered the summer solstice when she was eight years old, when she first met Xie Qiyan at the Xie family home.

He was a disheveled figure, kneeling in the Xie family's courtyard during the hottest part of the afternoon sun. His entire body was sunburned red, and his lips were pale and cracked from dehydration.

He must have been kneeling for a long time.

Xia Wanzhi didn't know who he was at the time, but she felt sorry for him and went back to get a bottle of fresh milk to give to him.

It was a bottle of premium fresh milk air-freighted from New Zealand, something Xia Wanzhi considered precious.

Xie Qiyan was very thin back then.

He was so thin that Xia Wanzhi thought he was a younger brother.

She was willing to give him the best of everything.

However, her good intentions were shattered by Xie Qiyan's harsh rejection.

It wasn't just the milk bottle that shattered, but also her heart.

"I don't need your pity." The little boy from back then looked at her with a pair of resentful and world-weary eyes.

From that day on, Xia Wanzhi had the first person she ever disliked.

From that day on, Xia Wanzhi, who had grown up surrounded by love and affection, realized that not everyone liked her.

Years later, she stood in the rain, disheveled and exhausted, and the person who offered her a helping hand was Xie Qiyan.

He held an umbrella over her and helped her into the car.

He said he would take her home.

Xia Wanzhi was lost in her memories. Xie Qiyan stood beside her, thinking she wanted to refuse, so he spoke up in silence: "Yunli was in a car accident, Jiang Baichuan hit her. They went to the hospital and asked me to pick you up."

Xia Wanzhi was pulled from her reverie by his words: "What?"

"I said, I've come to take you home." Xie Qiyan looked down at her.

A deep voice entered her heart, and Xia Wanzhi stared blankly into his eyes through the glasses he was wearing.

Jiang Baichuan asked him for help.

He can refuse.

But he came.

"Thank you." Xia Wanzhi said with difficulty. Whether it was because she had been soaked in the rain for a long time or because the panic in her heart had not dissipated, her body trembled slightly, and her thin body looked even more fragile.

Xie Qiyan is a man whose moods are unpredictable.

Xia Wanzhi didn't understand him, but she clearly remembered what he had said the last time she rode in his car, so she subconsciously walked to the passenger seat.

Xie Qiyan opened the door for her, held an umbrella and stood to the side to shield her from the rain, and only went around to the driver's seat after she got into the car and closed the door.

Xia Wanzhi glanced sideways and noticed that her clothes were almost completely soaked on her right shoulder.

The umbrella was tilted towards her.