Chapter 42: Melting
It needs to be stated: Ye Zhiyun could really fight, truly fight well. Several street punks were actually no match for her. Her movements were sharp and fierce, each strike aimed at vital points. After a few rounds, the previously arrogant punks were clutching their lower bodies, trembling, looking at Ye Zhiyun as if seeing a devil.
Ye Zhiyun clapped her hands, her eyes looking at them like trash. Towards this group who only knew how to harass innocent women and couldn’t do anything proper, she never showed a good face.
“You guys are unlucky today. I didn’t want to get rough, but who told you to randomly attack people? Didn’t you think about who she is to me? You dare touch her too? You must be tired of living.”
Her gaze was terrifying, sending chills down one’s spine just by looking. Looking into those eyes felt like being sucked into an abyss of hell, firmly imprisoned and unable to escape. This feeling was like being choked, suffocating.
This was the first time Yu Linna had seen such a terrifying Ye Zhiyun. She subconsciously leaned back against the wall, not daring to step forward.
Ye Zhiyun herself had said she practiced, but she didn’t expect her to be so capable, and so terrifying. Even when she was angry before, she wasn’t as scary as now.
But thinking that she did it to protect her, to protect this weak girl, Yu Linna still felt a little touched.
Suddenly, police sirens wailed. Several police uncles in uniform shouted loudly, holding batons as they rushed forward. They burst into the small alley, unilaterally ending the fight.
“Don’t move! Everyone put your hands on your head and squat down! You guys fighting, all of you come to the station!”
The police uncle roared loudly, taking a few steps forward to grab the punks lying on the ground. Seeing this, Ye Zhiyun stopped her darkened expression, calmly pulled Yu Linna’s hand, and squatted down against the wall with her. The rest would be decided by the police uncles.
After that, they were naturally invited to the station for tea. Although it was a fight, Yu Linna stood up and stated that she was the victim, that they had ill intentions towards her, which caused the conflict, and Ye Zhiyun acted purely out of righteousness. The police uncles looked at the punks and didn’t think they looked like good people, but upholding the principle of fairness, they didn’t want to make a hasty decision.
However, the punks who suffered losses demanded compensation for medical expenses, claiming they were injured. Their shameless attitude was evident. But they were originally street thugs, so doing this kind of thing was normal for them.
“Hmph.”
Ye Zhiyun stood coldly in the corner, silent. Towards this group of people, she really didn’t even have the mind to bother.
The group of punks demanded four thousand yuan in compensation, claiming they were injured and needed to go to a major hospital for examination. These people were clearly trying to extort money. But Yu Linna was scared silly; such a large sum made her panic. Where would she get so much money? She couldn’t afford it at all.
“I don’t have money…”
She shrank in the corner, her voice small, shoulders trembling. The police uncle felt a bit sorry seeing her like this, but they were just law enforcement officers. This incident was essentially a brawl. If settled privately, it would be easy to resolve. Otherwise, they could only be locked up.
The police uncles were just enforcing the law impartially.
“Those two bitches injured us! If they don’t compensate, how can it be fair to our injuries!”
These people were simply the dregs of society.
Ye Zhiyun remained indifferent to this.
But seeing Yu Linna shrinking in the corner, almost crying, her icy heart melted slightly. She sighed. She had been to her home before and knew this girl’s family was actually very poor. Let alone a thousand yuan, even taking out a hundred yuan was like cutting her flesh. How could she possibly afford so much money?
Clearly hated her, disliked her, yet helped her time and time again. Gradually, she herself became unlike herself. But seeing her like that, she really couldn’t leave her alone.
“I’ll pay this amount.”
Ye Zhiyun pushed Yu Linna back and stood forward herself. She was exactly the same as when she first burst into the alley, shielding Yu Linna’s small frame behind her, not letting her suffer any harm.
Yu Linna looked at this back, her heart inexplicably touched. What was this feeling? They had just argued not long ago, yet now it felt so reassuring.
Since Nangong Ying helped her three years ago, this was the first time someone had fought for her, and it was a girl. This feeling was very strange.
“Alright, since it’s settled privately, you can go through the procedures later.”
The police uncle made a record, preparing to handle the procedures.
“Please wait a moment. Since it’s settled privately, let’s also settle the public matter.”
Ye Zhiyun spoke unhurriedly, just before they were about to handle the procedures, slowly revealing what she was about to say.
“I will compensate for those people’s money. So, they just harassed my friend and even wanted to take her to an illegal place. Tell me, what crime is this? Should it be defined as… sexual harassment?”
The punks were initially stunned, then their faces slowly turned pale. As the expressions on the policemen’s faces changed, they completely lost their initial confidence.
Ye Zhiyun indeed knew how to talk and how to deal with these people. Next, she properly calculated the crimes of these guys, making them dare not utter a sound. But in the end, she didn’t pay any compensation and even demanded compensation for emotional distress from them. When the police still wanted to say something, she directly made a phone call, having the higher-ups at the police station call down directly, finally resolving the matter.
“Phew, that scared me to death. I thought I was done for. Luckily your connections are strong enough, otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”
Leaving the station, Yu Linna still felt lingering fear. Being chased, almost dragged to a bar and losing her innocence – experiencing this once was enough. Anyway, she would never go to that dai pai dong to eat again, no matter how cheap it was. As a girl, going to that kind of place was really too dangerous.
She hadn’t thought much of it before, but as she slowly grew up, she increasingly felt how unsafe she was as a female. In this society, just because you didn’t commit crimes didn’t mean heaven would treat you kindly. Sometimes, you really needed to have safety awareness.
“It’s good that you know. Look at you, running off to eat on that street alone. Do you know how chaotic that place is? If I hadn’t happened to pass by, you’d be crying right now. Really, you don’t know how to protect yourself at all! You’re a girl, you know? Have some safety awareness, okay!”
Ye Zhiyun had held back these words for a long time. As soon as she left the station, she couldn’t help but blurt them all out, spraying Yu Linna with criticism.
Yu Linna silently lowered her head, not daring to make a peep, not daring to speak in front of her. So humiliating. Previously, it was always Ye Zhiyun who couldn’t hold her head high in front of her, annoyed but unable to do anything. This time it was completely reversed; the one who couldn’t hold her head high became Yu Linna.
But Yu Linna also knew she was wrong. She, a girl, running off alone to eat in that kind of place, of course, she would easily be targeted. Especially someone like her with outstanding looks and signature blonde hair, how could she not be targeted?
“I, I was wrong…”
“Of course, you know you’re wrong! How dare you not know you’re wrong? Look at yourself, where are you not weak? You can’t run fast, you can’t fight them, yet you dare to act tough with a brick. Who do you think you are? As a girl, even if you want to eat there, at least bring someone with you, okay?”
“I… I was really wrong…”
“Hmph!”
After this ordeal, Ye Zhiyun’s anger had subsided considerably. Seeing Yu Linna bowing her head in front of her, not daring to make a sound, this unprecedented feeling was surprisingly wonderful. In the past, she was always the one being suppressed, the one being taken advantage of. Now Yu Linna was as docile as a little lamb in front of her.
However, she wasn’t as happy as she imagined. Although venting her anger felt good, it wasn’t as satisfying as she thought. She was just angry because Yu Linna didn’t cherish herself; that was the main point.
Actually, thinking about it, what relationship, what ambiguity did she have with her childhood sweetheart? She didn’t even care anymore. Because now she was angry about Yu Linna not taking care of herself. Think about it, if she hadn’t happened to come to Shenzhen, happened to encounter that blonde hair while shopping on the street, who knows where this Yu Linna would have been taken?
“Speaking of which, what are you doing here in Shenzhen? You don’t look like you’re here for tourism.”
After her anger subsided, she changed the topic, wanting to lighten the mood. For some reason, she seemed to no longer hold the previous resentment towards Yu Linna.
“Um, I’m here for a screen test. I passed Director Zhang’s audition, and I’m going to the ‘Storm Seal’ work location for the screen test.”
Screen test? At first, Ye Zhiyun was a little puzzled, then suddenly understood. Speaking of which, she seemed to have invested in this movie called ‘Storm Seal’. Although the amount invested wasn’t large, she knew the name of the movie project. So this girl named Yu Linna already had the ability to go for a screen test?
Although a bit surprised, she didn’t ask much more. After all, whatever Yu Linna did had nothing to do with her.
“Yu Linna.”
“What is it?”
Yu girl looked up, her face full of confusion. The two walked side by side on the street, the atmosphere never having been this harmonious before. They no longer unilaterally attacked each other, nor did they constantly clash. Instead, they talked peacefully and calmly, like normal friends. There were many pedestrians on the road, but they were the most special pair.
Her eyebrows were beautiful, as if they could speak. With a gentle blink, they tugged at the heartstrings.
“For your safety, I’ll find you a place to stay. I’ll give you a discount on the room rate. Otherwise, it’s too unsafe for you to be here alone.”
“No… no need, right?”
“Shut up. It’s settled. I’ll take you there now. The hotel over there is quite decent. It costs five hundred yuan a night. I’ll give you a discount, charge you two hundred yuan.”
“Can, can I find a place to stay myself…”
“No! I call the shots. You can only listen to me, understand?”
The domineering Ye Zhiyun left no room for negotiation. Yu Linna tried to refuse several times, but never succeeded. Ye Zhiyun was like that; once she decided on something, no one could sway her.
Unknowingly, they stopped arguing upon meeting.
Surrounding them was only the warmth after the quarrel. Although Ye Zhiyun was forceful, the gaze she directed at her seemed to hold an added tenderness. And Yu Linna was simply unaware of these things.
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