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墨書 Inktalez
My fear had reached its peak. With the determination and ferocity in Wang Xu's eyes, I slowly lost confidence in being able to leave unscathed. Perhaps Wang Xu noticed my terror, as a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, almost suffocating me.
I watched helplessly as Wang Xu raised the object in his hand. As his arm moved, the transparent glass bottle came closer and closer to me. I resignedly closed my eyes and instinctively raised my arm to shield my face, expecting a burning sensation or pain that never came. Cautiously, I opened my eyes to see that Wang Xu's arm was being pulled by another hand.
If it weren't for this action, I might have been disfigured by now, or perhaps the part of my body I was shielding would have been harmed.
That was close.
With a grateful heart, I followed the arm to see Lu Ming, his face darkened but not looking at me, staring intently at Wang Xu. Wang Xu's expression shifted slightly; perhaps he thought of something and raised his hand again to continue his interrupted action, only to be forcefully yanked back by Lu Ming, causing Wang Xu to fall backward.
The loud noise drew the attention and gasps of those around us. Wang Xu awkwardly collapsed onto the chair behind him, but the hand holding the transparent glass bottle remained motionless in its original position, gripped tightly by Lu Ming. If any liquid had spilled during Wang Xu's fall, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The police arrived shortly after. I assumed Lu Ming must have called them when he came over. Wang Xu struggled as he was taken away by the officers, and as he passed by me, I heard his cold laughter.
"Well done, Zhuang Jun. I really underestimated you; you certainly had a trick up your sleeve. But don't worry, fortunes change. There will come a time when you have no one to help you; we can talk then."
Wang Xu's words were cut off by a loud reprimand from the police. They roughly restrained him as he hunched over and was led away. I remained seated, still unable to fully process everything that had happened that day; it felt like a dream.
Later, Lu Ming told me that the liquid Wang Xu brought was sulfuric acid. If even a drop had touched my skin, it would have caused harm, but now everything was fine; he reassured me.
I nodded numbly. Sulfuric acid—my husband of three years who I once loved wanted to throw it at me on this day. It was too ironic. My mind was in chaos as the police called me over to give a statement for their investigation. My legs felt weak, and I had to rely on Lu Ming to help me up.
The shock was more severe than I had imagined. When I regained my composure, a police officer handed me a tissue to wipe the sweat from my forehead. I lifted my hand to dab at it a couple of times before putting it down; the tissue was already soaked through.
"Don't worry; everything is fine now. Just come with us to give your statement," the officer said with a reassuring smile. I nodded and replied with an okay.
I didn't expect this incident to also alarm my father. Perhaps someone in this precinct knew him and directly informed him. I was surprised when he arrived; how did he find out?
His expression was stern yet filled with concern as he walked over and hugged me tightly, patting my back while softly comforting me that everything would be alright and that it was all over now.
As I leaned against my father's embrace, an impulse to laugh suddenly struck me; at that moment, he seemed even more worried than I was. I really wanted to comfort him instead—it's okay; I'm fine now.
The police advised me to go to the hospital for a thorough check-up to see if there were any issues. They assured me that if anything came up, it would be attributed to Wang Xu, so I shouldn't worry. I shook my head and insisted that I was fine, truly nothing had happened, and thankfully, nothing did.
Both my dad and I tacitly chose not to tell my mom about this incident. We knew it wouldn't help and would only make her more anxious. However, on our way back, my mom still sensed something was off from our expressions and directly asked why I had come back with my dad, noticing our gloomy demeanor.
I really wanted to pretend that nothing had happened and tried hard to act like my usual self, but the shock made me zone out from time to time. I could only say that everything was fine and went to my dad's place after work.
That evening, as I passed by the doorway of their room, I heard my parents talking. They were likely discussing today's events. It was clear that my mom didn't believe that nothing had happened; her ignorance only fueled her worries.
"Just tell me what happened! Zhuang Jun can't possibly be fine; you must be hiding something from me!"
"You old woman just loves to worry unnecessarily. What could have happened? The marriage is over, she has a job now. What else could happen to Zhuang Jun? She seems fine; you're the one who's more troubled."
"More troubled? Look at our daughter now! This is all your fault! If you hadn't approved of her marrying Wang Xu back then, we wouldn't be in this situation! Look at Zhuang Jun; she's become a nervous wreck. What will she do in the future? How can she ever get married?"
"Zhuang Jun just got divorced not long ago, and you're already rushing her to remarry? I absolutely disagree. She needs at least two years to recover. After some time has passed, we can think about marriage again."
"Two years? But eventually, she will have to marry! We're both getting older; we need to ensure Zhuang Jun finds someone suitable soon. It's not easy for anyone to live together these days; this has been a lesson learned. Look at how our once happy family has turned into this."
Having overheard part of their conversation, I carefully made my way around their room and into the living room, grabbing a glass of water and sipping it slowly. I could hear my parents clearly discussing matters that I also needed to consider.
What about my own anxiety? What will happen in the future? Perhaps I could manage not getting married for a lifetime, but my parents would never accept that. They are getting older and have always prioritized family. If I truly chose not to marry again, they would definitely oppose it.
This is an unavoidable reality and a nightmare for me. Just thinking about it gives me a headache, and no matter how much I ponder it, I can't find a solution. So I decided to remind myself first to get better; everything else could wait.
At nine-thirty in the evening, Lu Ming called. I hesitated whether or not to answer but eventually picked up after four or five rings.
"Hello."
"Come downstairs now."
The call was dropped, and I looked at the time on my phone. Helplessly, I didn't change into my pajamas and went straight downstairs, where I immediately spotted Lu Ming's glaring car and him leaning against the car door.
"What’s going on?"
I had a rough idea it was about what happened in the afternoon. In any case, the person I sought out during that twist of fate was Lu Ming. Since he was the main culprit and understood the ins and outs of the situation very well, he knew that I was in danger at that moment. I wasn't sure if this counted as a helpless coincidence.
"Can't you protect yourself better?"
"What?"
Seeing the thin anger rising in Lu Ming's eyes, I didn't quite understand why he was so upset.
"If you know there’s a reason behind it, why would you go? Can't you think that his intentions might not be pure? You're not a three-year-old; can’t you use your brain before doing something? Do you even know what you're doing?"
After his lengthy persuasion, I felt almost dizzy from his words. Once he finished, I coldly replied, "This is ultimately my personal matter. I know I'm an adult, and clearly, this is something you don't understand. If I've chosen to do something, there must be my reasons."
"Your reasons? What reason do you have to choose to face such a dangerous person and put yourself in harm's way?"
I scoffed lightly. "You want to hear my reasons? Fine, I'll tell you. It's because I understand that if it weren't for external factors, my ex-husband and I wouldn't have ended up in this situation. I'm constantly thinking that if it weren't for that incident, we wouldn't be in such a predicament today. My anger and disgust towards him are diminishing; instead, I'm feeling more confused. So when he reached out to me, I went to meet him. Can you understand that?"
Lu Ming fell silent.
There are some dangers I can foresee, and of course, I also know Lu Ming's soft spot—like how excessive his actions towards me were. Surely he knows that too.
Gradually, Lu Ming's soft sigh broke the brief silence.
"I’ve handled what you hoped for. All I can do is remedy the loopholes; I don’t have the ability to go back and bypass them."
I really wanted to burst out laughing. "You, Lu Ming, certainly have that ability. You could have avoided what happened back then but chose to do it anyway. Now you want to come back as a good person to make up for your past mistakes; do you think I'll forgive you?"
"I won't." Lu Ming replied seriously, "I don't ask you to forgive me, and I have the option not to do so. So how I act is my business, and how you think is yours. No one has the right to interfere with each other's choices, right?"
"Of course, whatever you say goes. After all, people like you see black as black and white as white. Being capable is impressive. I see your purpose in coming over here is to reprimand me for your serious childish behavior. If you don't want to continue lecturing me, then I'll take my leave."
I turned to walk away, but Lu Ming stepped forward and grabbed my arm, scrutinizing me closely. I frowned at him and said, "Are you done yet?"
"I'm not here to scold you; I just want to make sure you're really okay."
"…"
"Are you sure? I have no visible injuries, so don't worry. But you know that some scars are invisible; they reside within my flesh and blood. Every time I think about them, they remind me of what happened and cause me pain, even more profound than sulfuric acid. So I won't say any words of thanks today; this is what you owe me."
I looked at Lu Ming with the same seriousness, telling him my thoughts word by word. This was something he owed me, but it couldn't be considered a repayment because the harm he caused me was an irreparable wound.
"Alright."
Lu Ming accepted my words openly.
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