Chapter 135
This year, the winter in Luocheng came especially fast. It was obviously just the beginning of November, and snowflakes were already drifting outside. People who wore trench coats not long ago now had to wrap themselves up tightly, wishing that not an inch of skin was exposed.
Lin Mengyao rubbed her slightly frostbitten hands as she walked behind Li Lihua. Xu Ke, seeing Lin Mengyao looking like a little hamster frozen stiff, couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He grabbed her hand and stuck it into his own pocket, where their hands intertwined closely, and Xu Ke’s warm body heat gradually warmed Lin Mengyao’s stiff fingers.
“Mom, why did you choose today to go shopping when you could have gone any other day? It just snowed yesterday. It’s freezing. How about we go back and wait until the weather’s warmer to buy things?” Lin Mengyao asked with difficulty as her nearly frozen jaw moved.
“You also know that the temperature has been dropping greatly recently. I disliked last year’s clothes a long time ago. I have to buy a couple more warm pieces, or I’ll freeze to death. What should I do then?” Li Lihua said righteously. Her gaze swept over Lin Mengyao and landed sharply on Xu Ke.
“But you still have clothes, don’t you? Even if you don’t like them, you can make do for a while. You could even wait until the snow melts to buy something.” A snowflake that seemed to fall from nowhere landed on Lin Mengyao’s collar, making her shiver involuntarily. The ground outside was covered with a thin layer of snow, which sparkled in the sunlight, making it hard for Lin Mengyao to keep her eyes open.
“Those are last year’s clothes. They’re already out of fashion. Do you want me to go out dressed like that and be laughed at? You’ve all earned a lot this year, so what’s wrong with spending a bit of money for me to buy clothes? If you look like this when buying me just one piece of clothing, how is it possible for you to support me in the future?” Li Lihua cast a fierce glance at Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao, snorting coldly.
“Don’t overthink it, Mom. I’ll take care of you in the future,” Lin Mengyao said somewhat helplessly.
“Hmph, that’s more like it. I’ve been walking for so long; I’m tired. Let’s rest here for a while. Xu Ke, I see a bubble tea shop ahead. Go buy some hot bubble tea for me and Mengyao. It’s freezing enough to kill someone out here.” Li Lihua found a random spot on the square bench to sit, still mumbling about the cold weather.
Xu Ke looked at Li Lihua deeply for a moment, then carefully brushed the snow off the bench with the handkerchief in his pocket before letting Lin Mengyao sit down.
But sitting beside Lin Mengyao without receiving any special treatment, Li Lihua’s face turned sour instantly. “You’re still dawdling after I told you to buy bubble tea. Hurry up. I’m almost dying of thirst and cold. You have no insight whatsoever. How did our Mengyao marry someone like you?” Li Lihua said in a sharp tone.
“Mom, aren’t you cold? Say less. Be careful; the wind might enter your stomach, and then you’ll get diarrhea.” Lin Mengyao tugged at Xu Ke’s arm, speaking to Li Lihua with some helplessness.
Luckily, concerning her own health, Li Lihua managed to keep her mouth shut.
Even though Li Lihua quickly concealed the murderous look she gave him, Xu Ke still caught it. Considering the icy day and the fact that Li Lihua insisted on going out and bringing him along, Xu Ke understood everything clearly.
But considering that Li Lihua only looked at him like that and likely wouldn’t harm Lin Mengyao, who was indeed cold and needed something warm, Xu Ke patted Lin Mengyao’s hair and moved toward the bubble tea shop Li Lihua had pointed out.
As Xu Ke walked further away, a slight smile emerged on Li Lihua’s lips.
“Once you’re dead, all these worries will cease to exist.” Li Lihua whispered with intense maliciousness.
Li Lihua quietly stared at Xu Ke’s back, her gaze brimming with murderous intent, prompting Xu Ke to turn around. Their eyes met in the air, and the next second, Xu Ke ran toward Li Lihua and Lin Mengyao as if he had gone mad.
While Li Lihua was still in astonishment, a silver van suddenly appeared in the shopping plaza. Before she could react, it stopped before Li Lihua and Lin Mengyao. The door opened swiftly, and two pairs of large hands reached out toward them.
Li Lihua hadn’t regained her senses yet and remained motionless, but Lin Mengyao immediately realized the attackers’ intentions and instinctively began to fight back. She closed her eyes and swung her handbag with all her might at the men in black.
“Mom, run!” Lin Mengyao shouted loudly.
“Let go of me, let go of me! Mom, call the police, call the police!” Lin Mengyao yelled while flailing her arms to prevent the attackers from seizing her. Hearing her words, Li Lihua instinctively pulled out her phone but hesitated and didn’t make the call, remembering something previously. Noticing Li Lihua’s inaction, the man reaching for Lin Mengyao’s hand didn’t wait any longer.
Lin Mengyao didn’t expect someone to be behind her; her hand holding the bag was caught instantly, revealing a vulnerability in her tightly secured defense. Despite everything, Lin Mengyao opened her mouth and bit the man’s wrist fiercely.
The man’s wrist felt like iron, and Lin Mengyao struggled to inflict more harm. Just as she intended to apply more force, the large hand roughly grabbed her long hair and yanked her back. Unprepared, Lin Mengyao was pulled right off balance, shrieked involuntarily, and let go of the man’s hand, tears streaming down her face in an instant.
“Smack!” The man flexed his wrist, which bore the bite mark, then swung his hand and slapped Lin Mengyao across the face without a second thought. Her face went red and swollen almost immediately, and the eye on the slapped side swelled shut, leaving only a slit. Lin Mengyao wanted to speak, but she lost all sensation in half her face and couldn’t utter a word.
Yet the man didn’t spare her either. Watching Xu Ke’s rapidly approaching figure, he smiled tauntingly and punched Lin Mengyao in the stomach. The grip on her hand loosened, and with a “thud,” Lin Mengyao kneeled, clutching her belly. In the next instant, she vomited out the still undigested contents of her breakfast.
Looking at the mess on the ground, the man wrinkled his nose and stepped back, confident that his powerful punch meant Lin Mengyao had no chance to escape.
But he underestimated a person’s will to survive and Lin Mengyao’s endurance. Just as the man stepped back, Lin Mengyao stood up abruptly, bearing the pain, gritting her teeth, and rushing toward Li Lihua.
Watching Lin Mengyao running over and the men pursuing her, Li Lihua instinctively pushed her away, undermining Mengyao’s desperate effort to reach her.