Gu Susu picked up her bag. Under the streetlights, she finally saw clearly that it was Yang Sijie who had come to her aid. She worried if Yang Sijie would be in trouble dealing with so many people alone.
Yang Sijie, however, was not hesitant at all. His punches were swift and decisive, quickly knocking down the drunken troublemakers.
The drunk hooligans were all sobered up and tried to run away.
Yang Sijie was relentless. He powerfully pinned one man to the ground, straddled him, and continued to punch him fiercely on both sides.
The man's companions were terrified and fled. The man, his face covered in blood, couldn't even utter a sound of plea.
Gu Susu rushed forward and pulled Yang Sijie, who was in a rage, away. "Stop hitting him! Brother Sijie, stop! You'll kill him!"
Only then did Yang Sijie stop. He warned the man, "Dare to act drunk and disorderly again, and I'll beat you to death!"
Saying that, he snatched Gu Susu's phone from the man's hand, stood up, and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Gu Susu glanced at the man groaning in pain on the ground, wondering if she should call an ambulance.
Yang Sijie took her hand, preventing her from looking at the man again. "I'll take you back. These small-time hooligans won't die from a few beatings."
Gu Susu hummed in agreement and walked across the road with him. She asked, "Brother Sijie, why are you here?"
Yang Sijie tidied his clothes, flicked off the clinging dust, and smiled. "Who told you my girlfriend is busier than me and doesn't even have time for dates? I can only wait for you pitifully here. It's good enough just to see you."
Gu Susu couldn't help but smile too. "Things have just been a bit hectic lately, it's not as exaggerated as you say. Has your back injury completely healed? Did fighting just now reopen the wound?"
Yang Sijie's breath hitched, and his expression turned pained. "It feels like a spot on my back has split open. It hurts like a knife cut."
"Ah, then hurry up and come up with me so I can take a look." Gu Susu pulled him along, quickening their pace. "If it's serious, we'll have to bother Allen and call him over."
Back at her place, Gu Susu first asked Yang Sijie to sit still. She washed her hands and then carefully helped him take off his jacket and clothes. Looking at his back, covered in scars overlapping scars, there was no open wound, but it was still a shocking sight.
Unable to bear looking too much, she helped him put on his shirt and said, "It's fine, the scars on your back haven't split open."
Yang Sijie, however, held her hand and wouldn't let go. "Look carefully. But why does my back feel so painful?"
Gu Susu saw through his intentions and smiled faintly. "Brother Sijie, you're being naughty. It's getting late, you should go back and rest."
Yang Sijie, like a little boy, hugged her tightly, resting his head on her waist. "It's almost the same as not having a girlfriend. It's rare to see you, and you're rushing me to leave."
Gu Susu tried to break free. "Look at what you're saying. We only haven't seen each other for a few days. How about I promise to have lunch and dinner with you tomorrow?"
"Okay." Yang Sijie was still reluctant to let her go.
She had no choice and said, as if coaxing a child, "Then stay a bit longer, I'll go get you something to drink."
Only then did Yang Sijie release her and let her go to the kitchen.
Earlier that day, he had arrived at the entrance of her residential complex at her usual quitting time and waited in his car for her to return.
He knew that if he called or texted her to ask her out, she would definitely make excuses about work. It was better to wait for her outside her residence.
This was how he encountered the incident just now. Now, he felt fortunate that he had waited for her outside the complex tonight, otherwise, she would surely have been bullied by those drunkards.
While she was busy in the kitchen, Yang Sijie took a look around her apartment – the shoe cabinet, the bathroom, and the wardrobe... Fortunately, he didn't find any belongings of other men, which somewhat reassured him.
Gu Susu made two cups of homemade milk tea. They were warm and comforting. They drank the milk tea and chatted.
"Your milk tea making skills are excellent," Yang Sijie praised as he drank.
Gu Susu smiled at him. "Still not as good as your level."
"Has Sasha been giving you trouble again?" Yang Sijie asked with concern. "Were you delivering a gift to her today? They said at your company that you went to a client's place this afternoon to deliver a gown."
"No, ever since that time I delivered the gown to the church, she hasn't bothered me."
"That's good."
Gu Susu held her milk tea and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Sijie, what's the story behind those old scars on your back? Did something happen before? Who was so cruel to you?"
"I studied at a military academy abroad for two years," Yang Sijie recalled those unpleasant memories. "Discrimination was rampant there, and Chinese people were also targets of their discrimination."
Gu Susu felt indignant for him. "But no matter what, they shouldn't have hit people!"
"It was a form of punishment," Yang Sijie said with a faint smile. "If you made a mistake or violated the academy's rules, you would be tied up and whipped on the back. I often received such punishments there, it was like a regular meal, so it didn't matter."
"That's too terrifying. Such punishment is so inhumane," Gu Susu shivered, thinking about it. "How did you endure it?"
"I personally saw an Asian boy die during a whipping session." Yang Sijie took a sip of milk tea and smiled again. "But I was fine. I never yielded to their methods. Since I was often framed regardless of whether I actually broke any rules, I decided to do something that would violate the rules and cause a stir. I got expelled as I wished. Otherwise, if I had stayed in that military academy for four years, I probably wouldn't have survived."
Gu Susu heard him speak so casually, but she knew those experiences must have been terrifying, and her eyes welled up.
Yang Sijie held one of her hands and said, "Silly girl, that's nothing. If you hadn't asked, I would have almost forgotten. But looking at it now, if I hadn't trained there for two years, I wouldn't have this strong physique."
Gu Susu took a breath and smiled. "Alright, if you say it's a good thing, then it's a good thing. Brother Sijie, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could always be like this, like friends and family..."
Yang Sijie raised his hands and yawned, feigning sleep, not letting her continue. "I didn't expect you to come back so late. I'm so sleepy. I'll just make do with staying here tonight."
"You're not going back?" Gu Susu hadn't expected him to stay overnight at her place. She didn't have an extra room or an extra bed. How should she persuade him to leave?
Yang Sijie turned to look at the sofa and smiled. "I don't mind sleeping on the sofa."
"Ah." Gu Susu truly didn't understand him. He lived in such a large mansion but wanted to spend the night in her small apartment.