“It seems you’re not going to say it.”
“Fine, then I won’t ask!”
The woman gently patted Su Ling’s shoulder, her smile warm. Su Ling stared at her, his heart filled with confusion. This woman in front of him didn’t seem like a bad person, so why wouldn’t she let him speak? Su Ling couldn’t understand.
When the woman saw Su Ling lower his head, a dark glint flickered in her eyes. She then turned to look at the boy. Just then, a subordinate walked over with a document. She took it and casually flipped through it.
“Lin Feng. Tsk, that name doesn’t suit you very well.”
Lin Feng frowned, a mix of anger and unease churning inside him. He glanced at Su Ling, who sat slumped on the floor in silence. Gritting his teeth, he could only pray that this guy wouldn’t give Bai Ruo away. Everything else he could endure—whatever this woman did to him, he could take it.
The woman closed the document slowly, her fingertip tapping lightly on the characters “Lin Feng.” She looked up at the figure in the cage—trembling yet stubbornly refusing to bow—and her smile remained gentle, but there was no warmth in her eyes.
“Little cripple, you’re very weak. Do you know that?”
She gently stroked Su Ling’s hair, and under his bewildered gaze, the smile at the corner of her mouth grew more and more unrestrained. “But weak people have no ability to protect others. Today, I’ll teach you that lesson!”
She waved her hand behind her. Two men in black immediately stepped forward, roughly opened the iron cage where Lin Feng was held, and dragged him out without mercy. Lin Feng was pressed to the ground, his thin body struggling fiercely, fear and hatred swirling in his eyes, but he couldn’t muster any effective resistance.
Su Ling’s eyes went wide, his body stiff as he watched the scene. His heart felt as if an icy hand were squeezing it tightly, making it hard to breathe. He wanted to get up, to stop them, but with only one leg, he could barely stand. All that escaped his throat were fragmented, broken gasps—he couldn’t even form a complete plea.
The woman crouched down, slowly and deliberately tidying her long golden hair. Her gaze swept over Su Ling’s pale face, then fell back on Lin Feng. Her voice was as light as a feather, but every word cut like a knife. “You like to meddle, don’t you? You like to play the good person, right?”
She tilted her head slightly, her smile growing softer. “Then today, let you properly ‘see it through.’”
She raised her hand in a gesture.
The next moment, the dull thuds of beating echoed in the darkness. Lin Feng let out a muffled grunt, his body hitting the cold floor hard. His white fur was stained with dust and blood. His already sickly pale face instantly lost all color. He clenched his teeth, refusing to let out a single cry of pain. But his bloodshot eyes were fixed on Su Ling throughout, as if silently telling him—Don’t speak. Whatever you do, don’t speak.
Su Ling trembled violently, his nails digging deep into his palms. Tears rolled down uncontrollably. He wanted to close his eyes and not look, but his gaze seemed nailed to Lin Feng. Every dull thud felt like it was slamming straight into his own heart.
Was it because of him? All because of him…
Su Ling collapsed on the cold floor, trembling uncontrollably. Broken gasps stuck in his throat, only able to produce weak, hoarse whimpers. He watched helplessly as Lin Feng’s thin body was kicked down and dragged around by the men in black—his white fur matted with dust and dark bloodstains. That already sickly pale face was now completely bloodless, yet he still gritted his teeth, refusing to let out a single cry of pain.
Those bloodshot eyes remained locked on Su Ling from beginning to end—no hatred, no blame, only an unspoken warning repeated over and over: Don’t talk. Whatever you do, don’t give Bai Ruo away. Each dull thud of the beating was like a blunt knife repeatedly cutting into Su Ling’s already shattered heart.
I’m… sorry…
He subconsciously wanted to say those three words, but what use was sorry? It was all because of him. If he hadn’t gone to eat that steamed bun, none of this would have happened—he wouldn’t have hurt anyone.
“See? You can’t protect others. Don’t do such meaningless things, okay?”
“Now, tell me, who gave you the bun?”
Su Ling lifted his head, his eyes red and his cheeks streaked with tears. He bit his lip hard, trying to stand up from the ground. The woman frowned, but still reached out to help him up.
The moment Su Ling was on his feet, he threw himself without hesitation at the people beating Lin Feng, using his own body—even thinner than Lin Feng’s—to shield him. It happened so suddenly that the men hadn’t reacted in time, and several heavy punches landed on Su Ling!
“Mmh!”
A muffled grunt escaped him, but he still didn’t move away. He held on tightly. Lin Feng frowned, watching the person protecting him. When his eyes met Su Ling’s, his heart trembled. In those eyes, he saw only one thing: pain. Nothing else.
But why? Shouldn’t this guy have no sense of gratitude? If not for that, he wouldn’t have come out to stop things.
“Stop!”
The woman walked over slowly. She waved her hand and grabbed the little cripple who was lying on top of Lin Feng.
“I underestimated you. But so what? You protected them—do you think they’ll protect you?”
Su Ling bit his lip hard. He didn’t dare think about that question. He instinctively turned his head away.
“Let’s do a little experiment. Let’s bet whether he’ll come to save you!”
The woman beckoned. A few men in black came over, took out a rope, and tied it around Su Ling’s wrists. Then they threw the other end over an iron ring on the ceiling. With a hard pull, Su Ling was hoisted into the air.
His wrists were painfully strained. He tried to struggle, but the more he struggled, the more it hurt. He had no choice but to give up and look at the woman in fear. She smiled, casually took a whip from a subordinate, and, under Su Ling’s terrified gaze, brought it down hard!
Again and again. Sharp cracks filled the air.
Lin Feng’s pupils contracted, but he didn’t choose to save him. Instead, he looked away. He told himself in his heart that there was no real connection between them anyway. If not for Bai Ruo, he wouldn’t have bothered with this guy at all! Now that this was happening, he could count it as repayment for the half a bun Bai Ruo had given him. The rest had nothing to do with him.
Besides, kindness wasn’t needed at all, was it? Lin Feng remembered why he was here in the first place—it was because of his own kindness. Ha. There shouldn’t be any kindness at all.
That’s what he thought, but someone didn’t think so.
“Stop!”
A crisp, pleasant voice shattered the brutal scene.
“Th-that bun was given by me. Let him go!”
“No, shut up!”
The moment Lin Feng heard that voice, his mind went blank. Damn it. He had forgotten that Bai Ruo was a kind person.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.