"Hmph! Seeing the bottle he picked up finally opened before him, revealing a question mark, Huang He didn't know whether to be happy or not.
Huang He secretly glanced at Leng Zhiwen and found her staring blankly at the same question mark.
That was three years ago, when Leng Zhiwen was still in her third year of high school.
The Leng family was very poor back then. While taking care of the family, her mother also worked odd jobs to earn money.
Her eldest sister was attending university and working part-time at a nearby factory to support herself. Not only did she not ask for any living expenses, but she also subsidized the family with over a thousand yuan each month.
Her second sister was in her second year of university, facing the most demanding and busy coursework, yet she still worked to earn her living expenses.
Her fourth sister was about to take her high school entrance exams.
Her fifth sister was still in elementary school, and her youngest sister had just learned to speak.
And worst of all, her mother had been supporting the family alone for nearly three years. They had sold almost everything they could. She heard that several men had approached her mother, but their condition was that she couldn't bring her many children with her.
During those days, Leng Zhiwen lived in a world of extreme oppression, with no hope or future in sight. She could only channel all her emotions into a sword.
Every morning, Leng Zhiwen would wake up at five-thirty to practice her sword. She practiced during lunch breaks at school and after returning home in the evening. She had no interest in studying; she only loved practicing her sword. At that time, Leng Zhiwen truly embodied the state described in martial arts novels as being completely devoted to the sword.
Gradually, as Leng Zhiwen practiced her sword daily, she gained recognition at school. The city's martial arts team actively recruited her, and she was also invited to perform during events. This allowed Leng Zhiwen to earn a few hundred yuan, even up to a thousand yuan, each month.
Although it wasn't much, it was enough to barely supplement the household expenses.
She remembered one day after a performance. The changing room had a leaky roof, so the martial arts team coach told them to wear their costumes home and change there.
As Leng Zhiwen was on her way home, she happened to encounter a thief robbing a young girl of her bag. Leng Zhiwen, who had practiced martial arts and was eager to find an opportunity to act righteously, immediately gave chase.
Actually, it wasn't entirely wrong. With Leng Zhiwen's skills, the thief couldn't defeat her. Unfortunately, Leng Zhiwen had no experience in the martial world. Seeing that she was being pursued, the thief deliberately fled into a dark alley. Leng Zhiwen followed, but couldn't find him. She never expected him to circle around behind her and hit her on the back of the head with a brick.
However, Leng Zhiwen did not pass out. A normal person hit with a brick, unless it was aimed at a specific acupoint, would only experience intense pain, not unconsciousness. Those who pass out are usually seen in television dramas and martial arts novels.
But this tactic flustered Leng Zhiwen. Although she was skilled with a sword, she couldn't utilize her abilities in her panic. On the contrary, her opponent seemed to have found a pile of bricks and threw over a dozen at Leng Zhiwen. Leng Zhiwen couldn't withstand the onslaught.
Even more fatal was that Leng Zhiwen was wearing a rather revealing, sheer ancient costume at the time. The thief, taking advantage of her inability to move due to the intense pain, pressed himself onto Leng Zhiwen. That was until the back of his head was hit by a brick.
That's right, at the critical moment, someone else hit the thief on the back of his head with a brick. However, the thief also didn't pass out. He just angrily attacked the person who ambushed him. Leng Zhiwen seized the opportunity to break free from his restraint, found her sword that had fallen to the ground, and stabbed the thief in the arm.
The thief was not foolish. Knowing he couldn't get revenge, he quickly fled. Leng Zhiwen, covered in bruises and in pain, coupled with the shock she had just experienced, didn't have the courage to continue the pursuit. Instead, she ran to thank the person who had saved her.
It turned out to be a man, a returnee who had just completed his studies in Germany. He was accompanying his former classmates for dinner and was walking back instead of taking a taxi. That's when he encountered this incident and saved Leng Zhiwen.
The two walked out of the alley and back onto the street. It was already around 11:00 PM, and this street was not a busy one, which was why such a robbery had occurred. After coming out of the alley, they didn't encounter any other living people on the road.
Moreover, Wenzhou in 1998 was not very bright, and the streetlights were dim. Combined with Leng Zhiwen's makeup and ancient costume at the time, she couldn't be seen clearly.
As for the man, he was clean and tidy, so Leng Zhiwen could see him clearly. He was a very handsome man, which made Leng Zhiwen's heart flutter involuntarily.
But the next second, the man said something that made Leng Zhiwen extremely angry, "Beautiful lady, do you want to come to my place?"
This man, meeting her for the first time, actually invited a girl to his home. This man must be a pervert!
Leng Zhiwen detested such men. She felt all her initial good impressions disappear. She stomped hard on the man's foot and then rushed forward without looking back. As a result, she felt her foot fall through the air, and she plummeted heavily into a stinking, utterly dark place.
"Damn thieves!" Leng Zhiwen was on the verge of tears. The manhole cover on the road had been stolen, leaving a dark hole. In her anger and inability to see clearly, Leng Zhiwen stepped right into it and fell hard into the manhole.
Fortunately, a few seconds later, the man rushed to the edge of the hole and asked Leng Zhiwen if she was alright.
Leng Zhiwen did not answer and just kept crying.
She felt so wronged and pitiful, as if the whole world was bullying her. Especially on this day, she had encountered two thieves in succession: one had left her covered in injuries, and the other had caused her to fall into this stinking manhole, where staying for even a second felt like dying.
"Don't worry, I'll call the police to come and save you!" Seeing that the manhole was deep and he couldn't save her himself, and Leng Zhiwen was crying incessantly, the man said to himself and then ran off.
As soon as the man left, Leng Zhiwen cried even more mournfully. She felt completely abandoned by the world. She even considered not wanting to live anymore; it would be better to just die in the manhole.
After an unknown amount of time, the man ran back. However, Leng Zhiwen was no longer making any sound. She hadn't fainted, but she had lost the will to cry.
Even when she heard the man's voice, she had no desire to respond, acting as if she were already dead.
But who would have expected that this man would actually jump down himself, landing heavily in the manhole? However, he was unfortunate enough to land on his knees, so he couldn't stand up for a while.
"What are you doing?" Leng Zhiwen asked in panic and extreme confusion.
"It's great that you're okay! I thought you had fainted!" The man said, suppressing his pain and smiling. "But don't worry, I've already called the police. They'll be here to save us soon, and both of us will be fine!"
"But you didn't need to jump down! The water here isn't deep, and besides being smelly, there are no toxic gases. I won't die anytime soon, at most I'll just pass out. Why are you so foolish?" Leng Zhiwen said angrily, not sure who she was angry at.
"But I was worried about you!"
"Is it necessary to be so stupid for a stranger? *Sob sob sob*, I was wrong. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have ignored you because I was in a bad mood!" Leng Zhiwen couldn't control her tear ducts again and burst into loud sobs. She cried about being a jinx and regretted not responding or making a sound earlier, which wouldn't have caused him to jump down.
"Actually, even if you had responded, I would have jumped down!" the other person said.
"Why?" Leng Zhiwen was stunned for a moment and then retorted.
"Because when Uncle Police comes to rescue us, what if they only rescue you? How awkward would that be for you? And you might get scolded by your parents when you go home," the man said with a smile. "So I've already thought it through for you. I'll fall down with you, and then we'll be rescued together. That way, your suffering will be halved!"
"Just for this?" Leng Zhiwen was dumbfounded. She never expected there to be such a fool in the world. Wasn't this the kind of silly man only seen in TV dramas and novels?
"If you feel a little better, then please stop crying and don't call yourself stupid. The thing I can't stand the most in my life is seeing a girl like you cry!" the other person said. Leng Zhiwen truly lost the desire to cry.
Afterward, the two chatted a lot. The man said his name was Huang He, and his family was in the shoe business. Because his parents were in poor health, he ended his studies in Germany early, not even bothering with his degree certificates. He planned to return home to accompany his parents and continue his studies. He had already found a school, which was Wenzhou University!
Then Huang He asked about Leng Zhiwen's situation.
Leng Zhiwen said her surname was Leng, and she also mentioned her name, Leng Zhiwen, but her voice was a little faint, so faint that Leng Zhiwen herself could barely hear it.
Leng Zhiwen was also embarrassed to say she was a third-year high school student. She thought about the upcoming college entrance examination and how Wenzhou University didn't have very high admission scores. With a bit of effort, she should be able to get in. So, she said she was also a female student at Wenzhou University.
Leng Zhiwen had already imagined the scene of their future meeting as a junior student.
Afterward, they chatted a bit more about their families. Leng Zhiwen said her parents had passed away early and that she had six sisters. Leng Zhiwen even felt that the manhole was no longer stinky, and she wished she and Huang He could stay in this manhole forever.
Unfortunately, the police and fire department arrived."