Brother Bao walked over to a rosewood cabinet. After fiddling with it in front of the cabinet, the cabinet suddenly moved out by a meter, revealing a door!
Brother Bao knocked three times on the door. The door opened, and Lan Ya poked her head out. After seeing that it was us in the room, she beckoned them out.
I painstakingly moved my body over. Seeing that they were unharmed, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that when the clubhouse was renovated, a false wall was left behind, which could accommodate two or three people. It was usually used to store some valuables and took up a lot of space. This is from Dafeng Novel.
I watched the three of them come out with flushed faces and dishevelled hair. They were clearly scared out of their wits just now.
I asked them why they didn't bring their mobile phones. Lan Ya said they were afraid of their phones ringing inside and being heard from outside, so they left them behind.
Only Brother Bao and Lan Ya knew about this false wall. When the cabinet was pushed back into place, there was no way to tell that there was a mechanism behind it.
Perhaps seeing my disheveled state, Jing Lei came over to support me and helped me sit on a sofa in the corner. After examining my wounds, Brother Bao said, "Da Kui, take Li Hua to the hospital. Wu De was too brutal. Check if any bones are broken."
I said, "No need. Let our people bring some medicine to treat it. It's all superficial wounds; nothing inside is injured."
Lan Ya quickly arranged for someone to get the medicine box and asked Xiao Hong to prepare a bed for me. She took the medicine box to treat me.
She said, "Jing Lei, try to get him some clothes. These are all ruined. You can throw them away after you take them off."
I said, "There's a set of clothes here that will do. Don't go find any more for now."
Lan Ya said, "How can your clothes be worn outside? Hurry up, let Jing Lei figure it out. After the medicine is applied, you should rest. You can wear them tomorrow."
Brother Bao said, "If there's nothing serious, we'll have to go to the winery tomorrow. Qing Ge is coming to discuss the raw stones."
I nodded to Brother Bao. Jing Lei helped me walk out.
These past few days have been spent dealing with the Crown Prince. I haven't had time for the winery.
This Crown Prince is really a troublesome fellow. We can't kill him, and he's still a menace.
Xiao Hong prepared the room I slept in last night for me. She spread two layers of plastic sheeting on the bed to prevent the disinfectant from dripping everywhere.
Jing Lei, Xiao Hong, and Hong Hong helped me take off my clothes. Seeing me covered in wounds, Xiao Hong burst into tears on the spot.
I said, "Aren't I standing here fine? No crying. Miss Zhang, you can go back. Bring me some clothes tomorrow morning, and then we'll go to the winery together. After Lan Zong finishes treating my wounds, you can also go back to rest. Xiao Hong is enough here."
Lan Ya was busy preparing things and didn't speak. Jing Lei said softly, "It's the same to buy them tomorrow morning. How can you be alone here?"
I said, "Didn't I say Xiao Hong is here? What, is she not a person?"
Jing Lei's face darkened, and she didn't say anything. She probably guessed something about Xiao Hong and me. If I died for her and she couldn't guess anything, it would be strange.
Xiao Hong said, "I'm done. I'll go to work first. Call me if anything comes up."
Lan Ya said, "There are just the two of us here. Hurry up and help them sort out the things that were smashed."
Wu De's men smashed everything they saw on the second and third floors, damaging many items.
After Xiao Hong left, Lan Ya let Jing Lei strip off the last piece of cloth from me. She had me lie flat on the bed covered with plastic sheeting, took out a whole bottle of saline solution, and began to clean my wounds.
This hurt more than being beaten. I kicked my legs desperately, wishing I could roll over.
Jing Lei came over and held my feet down, preventing me from moving. Lan Ya, with a blank expression, used tweezers to hold large cotton pads soaked in alcohol and wiped me little by little. For the spots that couldn't be cleaned, she rinsed them with saline solution.
This was like torture. If I had known it would hurt so much, I might as well have taken a shower and gone straight to bed to let it heal on its own.
I knew that wouldn't work. If the wound got infected, I might lose my life.
So, this torment was still necessary.
Jing Lei held my feet down with all her might, not allowing me to twist even slightly. Although I knew it was for Lan Ya to treat my wounds properly, her grip was a bit excessive, as if she had a lot of pent-up anger.
I could only endure the immense pain and let them manipulate me.
After a while, the inflammation powder was finally applied. Some areas were bandaged and fixed with tape. Then Lan Ya began to pack the medicine box and said, "Jing Lei, why don't you go back? He can manage by himself here."
Jing Lei said, "I'm not leaving. That half of the bed is so big, I'll sleep here. You go busy yourself. I'll buy clothes early tomorrow morning."
Lan Ya hesitated before leaving. In fact, she also wanted to stay and accompany me, but since Jing Lei wasn't leaving, she didn't want to make their relationship too clear, so she left.
She didn't take the medicine box and instructed Jing Lei to deal with any bleeding temporarily.
Jing Lei responded, followed her to lock the door, and then undressed herself to take a shower.
When she came out, she brought a hot towel and gently wiped away the areas with scabs. She asked me, "Does it still hurt?"
I looked at her with emotion and said, "With you here, I can endure any pain. I'm fine. Tomorrow morning, I'll be as lively as a bull."
She said, "Next time, don't be so stubborn. Is it worth it for that moment of pride? She chose this profession; isn't providing service a natural thing? Look how much trouble you've caused just for her. Your father was captured by them, and you almost lost your life. Was it worth it?"
I closed my eyes. I didn't want to argue with her. She was different from me. She was born into a privileged family and received the best education. Her world was too far from ours. She would never understand the suffering of people living in the lowest strata of society. Natural thing, what is a natural thing? It's her choice to do it, and it's not wrong. If she doesn't want to, forcing her is illegal. How can it be a natural thing?
What's the point of telling her these things? Arguing? I can't even move, and I don't have the strength to argue.
Besides, what's the point of arguing? Our worldviews are completely different, so what result can arguing yield?
So I let her nag. Her hands were gentle, and she meticulously wiped my cheeks and forehead. After she finished, I felt much better.
Jing Lei gently covered me with a thin blanket, kissed me on the forehead, and then said, "Darling, go to sleep. There's a lot to do tomorrow morning."
I nodded and obediently closed my eyes. She walked to my other side in her robe and lay down next to me. She hooked my left hand with her right hand and gently traced my palm with her finger. It was a little ticklish, but very comfortable. I fell asleep shortly after.
That night, I slept soundly. However, I felt that Jing Lei tossed and turned all night.