Content warning: mentions of r***/sexual assault to a side character. Not vividly narrated, but please proceed with caution.
Li Tang did not distance himself from Bai Xiaoqi due to Hong Xiangfeng’s objection; on the contrary, when Bai Xiaoqi faced harassment while working in the restaurant, Li Tang promptly rushed to her aid after receiving a call from her. After that, the relationship between the two seemed to undergo certain developments. After some progress, he was no longer as polite as he was at the very beginning.
But if one would insist on asking Li Tang whether he likes Bai Xiaoqi or not, Li Tang could unlikely answer that.
As for Hong Minhang, ever since Li Tang caught him outside with that man, the two of them have never mentioned this matter again.
Occasionally, Li Tang would hear Hong Minhang making a phone call. If Hong Minhang’s tone sounded intimate, Li Tang couldn’t help but listen. He knew it wasn’t good; maybe he was being too sensitive, but he just couldn’t help paying attention to Hong Minhang’s affairs.
The next weekend, Bai Xiaoqi originally planned to change shifts in the evening and invite Li Tang to go out and have some fun with her. However, Hong Minhang’s car suddenly broke down. He then asked Li Tang to go with him to see someone off.
Li Tang asked Hong Minhang, “Who is it?”
Hong Minhang answered, “A friend.”
Li Tang hesitated. Later on, he still turned down Bai Xiaoqi’s appointment.
Bai Xiaoqi was very disappointed, saying, “Then I’ll just be on duty tonight. Remember to have dinner, ah.”
Li Tang responded, “Okay.”
Li Tang then drove Hong Minhang out. Hong Minhang asked him to go to a music academy in the city center first. The two of them waited at the entrance for a while and then saw the handsome man, who had appeared with Hong Minhang last time, come out of the school gate.
Hong Minhang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, reached out to press the horn.
The man looked over to their side. Hong Minhang waved to him. “Shu Ling, here.”
The young man named Shu Ling got into the car and sat down in the back seat.
Hong Minhang introduced him and Li Tang to each other, only saying that Shu Ling was his friend, and that Li Tang was his gege.
Shu Ling was planning to meet two of his high school classmates in a small county in the north of the city. He originally asked Hong Minhang to take him there, but Hong Minhang had a problem with his car and had to take Li Tang with him.
Shu Ling said, “I’m so sorry for troubling you, Brother Li.”
Li Tang smiled and said, “Why are you being so polite? You’re Minhang’s friend.”
Li Tang didn’t talk much along the way. He didn’t know how long Hong Minhang and Shu Ling had been chatting for. Both of them met each other when they were studying abroad. Shu Ling studied vocal music and was a few years older than Hong Minhang. He graduated with a master’s degree abroad. He then returned directly to China and became a teacher at a music academy.
But one couldn’t tell that just from his appearance alone. Shu Ling looked like a clean, elegant college student. He spoke in a soft tone, and his voice sounded like it was played by a soothing musical instrument.
After arriving at the destination, Shu Ling got out of the car and said goodbye to them.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Li Tang asked, “Do I need to wait for you to go back together?”
Vte Olcu rtbbx tlr tfjv. “Rb cffv. Zs oglfcv klii mbwf ab qlmx wf eq. Ktjcx sbe, Dgbatfg Ol.”
Ol Kjcu wjlcajlcfv tlr rwlif.
Qtfc Vte Olcu aegcfv jgbecv jcv ifoa, Ol Kjcu jrxfv Lbcu Zlctjcu, “Tbe’gf cba ublcu ab jmmbwqjcs tlw?”
Lbcu Zlctjcu rjlv klat j rwlif, “Qf vbc’a tjnf ab ralmx abufatfg ja jii alwfr jcv jii qijmfr.”
Li Tang heard his intentions and tacitly approved of his relationship with Shu Ling, so he turned the car around and drove back to the city without saying anything.
Before the car drove onto the highway, Li Tang subconsciously glanced behind him and saw a black car with a very familiar license plate.
Li Tang said to Hong Minhang, “Look at the car behind.”
Hong Minhang looked back after hearing this, then frowned and said, “It seemed like it had been following us since we got off the highway just now.”
Li Tang said, “No matter what, we have to be a little careful.”
Hong Xiangfeng had many enemies in the past, and Li Tang naturally offended numerous people too. Over the past two years, the Hong family’s business had expanded and was on the right track. Hong Xiangfeng had resolved many issues with money. In the past, while he was walking on the road, someone suddenly rushed out and stabbed him. Li Tang hadn’t experienced such a thing in a long time.
However, his natural acumen was still there. Li Tang would subconsciously take a second look at anyone who was close to him.
Hong Minhang didn’t seem too concerned.
After entering the highway, the car maintained a distance—neither too close nor too far. Later, Li Tang slowed down slightly and observed the black car overtaking him.
Li Tang thought he was just overthinking it when suddenly, he saw someone leaning out from the back seat of the car and throwing something towards Li Tang’s car.
The speed of the car on the highway was too fast, and even a small stone could cause an accident. Li Tang’s first reaction was to turn the steering wheel to avoid it while simultaneously stepping on the brakes. Although he reacted quickly enough, the car still had too much inertia. After hitting the right fence, the rear of the car flipped over the barrier and overturned on the slope outside the highway.
Fortunately, it was only a short slope, and there was farmland below.
A whistle came from the car in front, and it left without slowing down at all.
This happened too quickly. When Li Tang came to his senses, he felt his head being cradled in Hong Minhang’s arms. He didn’t seem to be injured because he was wearing a seat belt, but Hong Minhang’s back was pressed against the broken windshield.
“Minhang?” Li Tang was shocked. He then reached out to touch Hong Minhang’s face.
Hong Minhang gasped softly. “It’s okay.”
Soon, a car passed by the roadside and called the police.
Li Tang didn’t know how injured Hong Minhang was, so he didn’t dare to touch him casually. He had to wait for the police and ambulance to arrive, and then think of a way to rescue them two.
Li Tang had no injuries on his body, but Hong Minhang’s back was covered in blood, which looked quite frightening.
The ambulance took him to the nearest county hospital. In the ambulance, the doctor checked the wounds on his back. Although they looked terrible, they were all superficial wounds, not penetrating or damaging the internal organs.
Li Tang felt relieved.
As for the black car, it was later confirmed that it had a fake license plate, but at this time, Li Tang had no intention of pursuing this. He was only worried about Hong Minhang’s injuries.
After arriving at the hospital, Hong Minhang was sent to the emergency department for debridement and suturing. Because the wound was too deep, the doctor said he would have to stay in the hospital for two days of observation.
Hong Minhang was now lying on the hospital bed, his back wrapped in gauze.
Li Tang sat by the bed. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch Hong Minhang’s head.
Hong Minhang suddenly grabbed his hand and held it tightly.
Li Tang suddenly remembered, “Would you like me to contact Shu Ling for you?”
Hong Minhang said, “There’s no need to contact him.”
Li Tang asked softly, “Are you afraid that he’ll be worried?”
Hong Minhang shook his head. “Can you really not feel it? That he and I aren’t lovers?”
Li Tang looked at Hong Minhang quietly.
Hong Minhang smiled and said, “You should still remember that what I said to you in the hotel room on my father’s birthday five years ago has not changed to this day.”
“Minhang…” Li Tang said.
Hong Minhang said, “You don’t need to remind me of what you said back then. I’ve experienced a lot in the past few years, and my feelings have been clear to me for a long time. They cannot be easily erased with a few words. You can reject me again, and perhaps, over time, these feelings may gradually fade away. However, by that time, I should find another man I’ll love, instead of conforming to your expectations of marrying a woman and having children.”
Li Tang was silent, watching Hong Minhang hold his hand tightly.
Hong Minhang continued, “Do you love Bai Xiaoqi?”
Li Tang closed his eyes and asked, “What is love?”
Hong Minhang said, “You actually understand, but you’re just pretending not to. Just now in the car, when you touched my face, your hands were shaking.”
Li Tang took a deep breath and then said, “And then what? I shouldn’t be with you, and I shouldn’t let Gandie down. You’re his only son.”
Hong Minhang shook his head. “You won’t let him down, because no matter what your choice is, I am destined to go against his will.”
Li Tang said, “He is your father, can you bear it?”
Hong Minhang replied, “He is my father, but I am not his accessory.”
As soon as Hong Minhang finished speaking, before Li Tang could refute him, his cell phone suddenly rang. He removed his hand held by Hong Minhang and took out the phone to answer the call.
The call was from Bai Xiaoqi. As soon as Li Tang was connected, he heard the other party crying. Bai Xiaoqi cried so sadly that her voice became hoarse as she said, “Hong Xiangfeng raped me.”
Li Tang was immediately stunned, as if someone had shot him in the forehead. There was such a blast in his head that he couldn’t even say anything.
Bai Xiaoqi just cried and kept crying.
Li Tang stood up. When he spoke again, he found that his voice was slightly hoarse. He said, “What’s going on?”
Bai Xiaoqi choked and said, “I want to call the police.”
Li Tang didn’t know what to say at this time. He shouldn’t stop Bai Xiaoqi from calling the police, but he also shouldn’t encourage Bai Xiaoqi to call the police. He could only say, “Wait for me, I’ll go back immediately.”
Hong Minhang sat up forcefully. “What’s wrong?”
Li Tang looked at Hong Minhang. The wound on Hong Minhang’s back hadn’t healed yet. He shouldn’t leave Hong Minhang here alone, but he had to go back for Bai Xiaoqi’s matter.
Hong Minhang sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “Did your girlfriend call you? Do you want to go back?”
Li Tang didn’t know how to tell this to Hong Minhang. He could only say, “It’s something urgent, and I have to leave right now. I’ll call someone to come over and take you back once you’re fine.”
Hong Minhang said, “Is this the answer you’re giving me?”
Li Tang shook his head. “This is nothing. Minhang, take good care of yourself and don’t think too much. I… will leave first.”
After saying that, Li Tang called someone to come over and guard Hong Minhang while he went out to find a car to return to Chongfeng. In any case, he wanted to see Bai Xiaoqi first and find out what was going on.
Li Tang took a rental car back to Chongfeng. His car was taken to a repair shop, and he didn’t know whether it would still be scrapped or not.
Li Tang felt conflicted along the way. He hoped that this was not true, but he could not find a reason to convince himself that this was just a misunderstanding.
Bai Xiaoqi was at home. When Li Tang arrived, she was sitting on the sofa, looking a little haggard, but the situation was not as bad as Li Tang thought.
When she saw Li Tang, she couldn’t help but shed tears.
Li Tang hugged her and asked softly, “What’s going on?”
Bai Xiaoqi said that when she was at work today, a table full of people with Hong Xiangfeng were eating and drinking in the hotel. Later on, Hong Xiangfeng drank too much. Then she helped Hong Xiangfeng to the lounge prepared by the hotel. She was not the only one; Hong Xiangfeng’s subordinate was also supporting Hong Xiangfeng with her. After sending Hong Xiangfeng inside, the young man said he would go outside to buy some hangover medicine. Then she and Hong Xiangfeng were the only two people left in the room. She wanted to lift Hong Xiangfeng’s legs onto the bed. Who knew that Hong Xiangfeng was not drunk to death at all but took the opportunity to rape her.
Bai Xiaoqi wanted to call the police immediately but was wary of Hong Xiangfeng’s power, so she finally chose to call Li Tang.
Li Tang gently stroked Bai Xiaoqi’s head and said, “Xiaoqi, don’t call the police yet, okay? I will definitely figure this out and let Hong Xiangfeng give you justice.”
Bai Xiaoqi cried, “But by that time, there will be no evidence anymore. I’m scared…”
Li Tang said, “There are many ways to take revenge, and it doesn’t necessarily have to go through the police. Don’t worry and leave this matter to me.”
