"He ca back and didn’t say anything. As soon as he saw Qian, he started hitting her... I was just stunned. By the ti I snapped out of it, Qian had already been hit several tis. I just couldn’t hold him back. You have to co back, quickly!"
Li Liping spoke urgently, her voice choked with sobs. It was possible she had been hit too, but she didn’t say so.
Wang Jian listened to her without saying a word, a fire burning in his chest that he struggled to contain. He stayed silent until Li Liping finished, then softly said two words, "Wait for ."
Feeling that wasn’t enough, he added, "If you still can’t stop him and I’m not there yet, call the police. I’m at the train station. It’ll take at least half an hour to get back."
After saying this, Wang Jian hung up and headed straight for the ticket hall, shouting from a distance when he saw Li Shuang.
"Let’s go. We’re heading back now. No need to wait anymore."
"What happened?" Hearing this, Li Shuang ran over, one hand holding up the waistband of his new pants. They were a bit too large, and without a belt, he was afraid they’d fall down. "Did you find Xiang?"
Wang Jian frowned slightly and nodded, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he asked, "Where are your car keys? I’m driving back."
"Huh?"
Li Shuang paused, feeling sothing was off about Wang Jian. While Wang Jian was usually cold, he at least showed so expression. Now, his face was completely blank, and his glare was so fierce it was as if soone owed him money. Even Li Shuang felt a chill and handed over the keys without another word.
By the ti he ca to his senses, all he heard was Wang Jian’s "thanks" before seeing him run toward the parking lot without a backward glance. The sheer urgency of his pace made it seem like he wouldn’t have waited even if Li Shuang hadn’t been able to keep up.
Helpless, Li Shuang could only hold up his pants and run after him.
Wang Jian was faster, reaching the Cadillac SUV in no ti. Its bulky hood and body made it easy to spot. He started pressing the unlock button from afar, and the mont he reached the car, he jumped right in. Once in the driver’s seat, his first move was to jam the key in the ignition and start the engine.
His first instinct was to slam on the gas and go, but what little calm he had left made him glance back at Li Shuang, who was still running.
That look completely stunned Li Shuang. It clearly said he didn’t want to wait.
Son of a bitch, Li Shuang cursed inwardly. I wasn’t wrong. He pushed himself to run faster, summoning the passion of a hundred-ter dash. By the ti he collapsed into the passenger seat, gasping for air, all he received from Wang Jian was a look of disdain.
Li Shuang was utterly bewildered. It had been a long ti since he’d started running with a rough crowd that he’d felt so wronged. However, that feeling didn’t last long, quickly replaced by terror.
HISS...
"Slow down! Slow down, Wang Jian! I’m not in a hurry!"
Li Shuang clutched the seatbelt with one hand and the overhead handle with the other, his face a mask of panic. "Car! Car! There’s a car ahead!"
The sound of tires screeching against the pavent was piercingly clear as Wang Jian swerved continuously. Even with the car’s excellent soundproofing, the noise was impossible to ignore.
Having just been through a highway pile-up, Li Shuang’s heart couldn’t take another high-speed chase. The horrifying images from the earlier accident were still vivid in his mind, and he was terrified he’d suffer the sa fate in the next second. But he didn’t dare touch Wang Jian; at this speed, the slightest contact could cause a disaster.
Li Shuang glanced at the display behind the steering wheel. It read 103... and was still climbing.
Good God... I usually top out at 80.
Once they got on the highway, Li Shuang felt the car accelerate even more. By now, he didn’t want to speak anymore. If he had a choice, he never would have agreed to this trip. It would have been better to just let Wang Jian fend for himself.
They left the train station at five o’clock and reached the village entrance by five twenty-seven.
"That was fast..."
Shaken, Li Shuang finally regained his composure and managed to say, "Your driving skills are incredible."
But when he looked over at the driver’s seat, it was already empty. The keys were still in the ignition.
"What’s the big rush?"
Li Shuang was stunned. Thinking about Wang Xiang’s situation and seeing Wang Jian’s urgency, he quickly got out of the car and headed toward the Wang family’s house.
How could Wang Jian not be anxious after hearing that Wang Xiang was hitting Xu Qian? Especially since it wasn’t just Xu Qian; Li Liping might have been beaten as well.
How could my brother beco like this? Saying he was picking soone up this afternoon was clearly just an excuse to get out of the way. And getting rid of is one thing, but to co back and imdiately start beating people... He’s changed so much he’s like a stranger to .
The village roads weren’t very wide, so after getting out of the car, Wang Jian had no choice but to sprint ho. The path felt strangely deserted, with many of the neighbors’ hos empty. But the closer he got, the more people he saw gathered ahead.
It’s not surprising. They must have gone to watch the show. The commotion at ho must have already spread through the village. Wang Jian’s face remained expressionless.
Just as he’d expected, when he arrived, the doorway was surrounded by a chattering crowd. So held children to get a better look, while others stood on piles of bricks, craning their necks to see inside.
They’re treating this like a play... Wang Jian felt a surge of anger.
"Hey, it’s Xiao Jian! He’s back!"
"Xiao Jian, hurry inside! They’ve been fighting for a long ti!"
"Where have you been?"
"Why are you back so late?"
"Your brother and sister-in-law are arguing!"
The questions kept coming. The old neighbors bombarded him, but Wang Jian ignored them all, even the ones he was usually friendly with. Village neighbors were good people, but they were incredibly nosy. The only good thing was that, despite their chatter, they instinctively parted to let him through.
Wang Jian didn’t have ti for them and pushed through the crowd.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw that it was littered with shards of glass, stretching from inside the house all the way outside.
"Don’t co any closer! I... I..."
The voice from inside was Xu Qian’s.
Wang Jian pushed the door open and was imdiately shocked. Xu Qian’s face was streaked with tears, a vivid red handprint emblazoned on her cheek, and her nose was bleeding. Her clothes were torn, but she wasn’t defenseless. She was holding a kitchen knife, confronting the man standing in the living room.
His heart ached for her. Just looking at the scene, he could already imagine what she had just endured. He hadn’t seen Li Liping yet, not in the yard or outside.
His face cold, Wang Jian turned to the man. From his back, Wang Jian could see that Wang Xiang had gained a lot of weight, but he was still recognizable. Wang Xiang was the complete opposite of his brother. His face, which once resembled Wang Jian’s, was now bloated with fat. He wore only a tank top, his body fleshy and robust, but not in a healthy, muscular way—it was the bulk of being overweight.
"Bitch! You got the guts to kill ?"
"Go on, aim for right here!" Wang Xiang pointed at his own head, a mocking smile on his face that stood in stark contrast to Xu Qian’s terror. The few scratches on his arm seed to have no effect on him.
"Brother, how could you do this?" Wang Jian stepped forward, struggling to restrain his emotions. If the man before him weren’t his brother, he would have already thrown a punch. Instead, he forced himself to ask, "She’s your wife. How could you bring yourself to hit her?"
"Wife?" Wang Xiang glanced at Wang Jian and said slowly, "That’s right. I’d almost forgotten. Look over there..."
Wang Jian followed his brother’s finger. The door to the master bedroom was open, and the wall where their wedding photo should have been hanging was now bare.
"I ca back this ti because this bitch said she wanted a divorce," Wang Xiang sneered. "While I’m away, she’s fooling around with so other man. Now she dares to say sothing like that to ? Who else would I hit? If you don’t beat a woman, she’ll forget her place."
Has he gone mad?
The thought flashed through Wang Jian’s mind. This man, grinning sinisterly and ranting about beating won, is no longer the cheerful, good-natured man I once knew. "You beat her like this... Are you trying to kill her?"
"Kill her?" Wang Xiang’s eyes flickered. From his expression, it was clear he was actually considering it.
"Enough! Brother, cool down for a minute!"
He’s truly lost his mind!
A chill ran down Wang Jian’s spine as he t his brother’s gaze. He knew there was no reasoning with him and saw no point in talking any further. He quickly moved to stand between Wang Xiang and Xu Qian, separating them.
"Xu Qian!"
"Here... put the knife down."
It was the first ti Wang Jian had called Xu Qian by her na in front of others. It wasn’t a big deal, but the mont she heard it, her attention snapped to him, and the extre tension in her seed to ease.
She was only holding the knife to scare him; Xu Qian didn’t have the courage to actually harm Wang Xiang. But if she had been pushed to the absolute brink, she might have done it. If Wang Jian hadn’t shown up, she felt she might have already attacked. The very thought terrified her, so when Wang Jian spoke, she imdiately handed the knife to him.
Seeing this, Wang Jian breathed a sigh of relief. For her to have brought a knife from the kitchen, she must have been driven into a blind rage. Many cris happen in the heat of the mont, and I’m grateful I made it back in ti. Any later, and sothing irreversible might have happened.
Wang Jian set the knife aside and whispered, "It’s okay. You’re safe now. Let check your injuries."
As he examined her, another wave of fury washed over him. The blows had been too heavy. He could even feel a broken rib beneath her chest, where a footprint was clearly visible on her clothes.
When he touched the spot, Xu Qian sucked in a sharp breath of pain. But instead of crying out, she grabbed his hand and said anxiously, "Quick, go to the room! He slapped Liping, and she’s in there. She’s just lying on the floor! Please, make sure she’s alright. Don’t worry about , I’m fine..."
A broken rib, and she says she’s fine. Wordlessly, Wang Jian applied sudden, firm pressure with his hand, using a practiced technique to set the bone back into place. Xu Qian gasped several more tis from the pain.
Only after doing this did he go into the room. Just as Xu Qian had said, Li Liping was lying motionless on the floor. The first thing Wang Jian did was check her neck, both for a pulse and to assess for any injury.
"She’s alright. She just fainted. No serious harm."
As he spoke, he turned to explain the situation to Xu Qian, but what he saw instead was Wang Xiang reaching for the kitchen knife. Xu Qian’s gaze had been fixed on him, and she hadn’t noticed her husband’s movent at all.
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