Chapter 170: Walking Through the Night

Zhang Rui squatted on the ground, took off Xia Yu's socks, and put on an exaggerated expression as if he had caught the smell of shrimp paste. "Oof, stinky!"

"Hateful!"

Xia Yu wrinkled her nose and gave Zhang Rui a light tap. "Hurry up and massage. If you dare to slack off, don't blame me for being merciless underfoot."

"Alright! Alright! Whatever you say goes."

Zhang Rui grasped Xia Yu's fair, slender feet and began to knead them carefully. Only then did he notice two white blisters formed on the soles of her feet. "Look at you. Anyone can tell you've never walked such a long distance. Fortunately, they're not blood blisters; it shouldn't hurt too much."

"Ugh, so gross. No wonder walking felt so awful."

Xia Yu arched her back and took a look. It was the first time she had ever gotten blisters on the soles of her feet. In the past, she used to hear older generations talk about getting blisters every day from working in the fields when they were young, but she had never believed it. Now she knew. Back when she was in school, the most she ever did was jog four or five laps around the sports field without feeling tired. But now? She had actually walked continuously for five hours. Looking back, Xia Yu could hardly believe she had been capable of something so intense.

"It's fine. Just walk less these two days, wear a comfortable pair of flat shoes, and let them heal."

Zhang Rui massaged Xia Yu from her toes to her ankles and calves in an all-around manner. As an exceptional special operations soldier, massage and relaxation techniques were compulsory subjects for him. Furthermore, Zhang Rui performed the massage with great care, hitting almost every single acupoint on the feet. Xia Yu, who had been utterly exhausted just moments ago, felt her body and mind relax significantly within a short while.

"Alright, go lie down on the bed!"

Zhang Rui wiped Xia Yu's feet clean, carried the foot-washing water to the bathroom to dump it out, and closed the bedroom door upon returning.

Phew!

Once inside the room, Zhang Rui stood behind the door and reconsidered. What if his brash mother came back and pushed the door open, only to find Xia Yu and him lying on the bed together? How awkward would that be?

With that thought, Zhang Rui calmly locked the door from the inside.

Xia Yu didn't mind at all. Cradling Zhang Rui's pillow, she curled up beneath the covers.

Zhang Rui kicked off his slippers, crawled onto the bed as well, and sat beside Xia Yu. Unable to shake off the confusion lingering in his heart, he couldn't help asking, "Xia Yu, can you tell me what on earth is going on? This whole thing is scaring the hell out of me! Why on earth did you have to walk the entire night just to get to my place?"

Before long, buried deep inside Zhang Rui's blanket, Xia Yu began to cry again. Her tears fell onto the bedding, accompanied by soft sobs that completely threw Zhang Rui into a state of mental turmoil. Xia Yu turned slightly onto her side, causing the quilt to slip down, revealing her sexy, high-arched hip bones flowing seamlessly into a slender waist that could easily be spanned with a single hand, and the alluring wine-red silk stockings on her lower half.

"I was with Wang Bin yesterday. He took me to Happy Valley, and we spent the whole day riding the drop tower and the roller coaster. In the evening, he took me to an ecological park to eat game meat. Because I drank a little, we stayed overnight there. I don't know why—even though I didn't drink much, I got drunk very quickly, and my head felt extremely heavy. My consciousness was a bit hazy at the time; all I remember is Wang Bin saying that with the National Day holiday approaching, the hotels on the mountain were fully booked and there was only one room left, but it was a twin room with two beds. For some reason, I agreed to take that room."

Xia Yu recounted in a disjointed manner, her cheeks flushed. Because she was lying on her side, a considerable expanse of her creamy cleavage peeked out from the low-cut lace-trimmed top. That heaven-defying, towering allure made Zhang Rui's gaze drift over a few extra times despite his attempt to focus on the story.

"And then? That bastard definitely didn't harbor any good intentions."

Zhang Rui grew agitated. Hearing this, he immediately assumed that Wang Bin must have made physical advances toward Xia Yu!

Men were all cut from the same cloth; he knew best what ran through a man's mind. With a girl like Xia Yu sharing a hotel room with you, you wouldn't have any impure thoughts? That would only prove you weren't a complete man and couldn't get it up.

"In the beginning, he lay obediently on his own little bed and chatted with me for a bit. Later on, he went to the restroom, and when he came out, he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts! He stood in front of my bed and said with a pitiful expression that he wanted to... do... that with me, babbling on about how he liked me and would love me for the rest of his life! I refused, but he aggressively climbed up onto the bed anyway. However, I curled up tightly and protected myself well, so he didn't get the chance to make a move. In the end, I kicked him right off the bed! He didn't say anything more after that. It was already past midnight by then, so he went back to his own bed and fell asleep quickly. My head kept spinning, and gradually, I fell asleep too. Afterward..."

At this point, Xia Yu abruptly stopped speaking, leaving Zhang Rui feeling as agonizingly frustrated as someone on the verge of an orgasm who suddenly couldn't release. "Please don't leave me, okay?"

Xia Yu gazed steadfastly at the man before her, her eyes mixed with deep grievance and bitter pain, making it extremely difficult for a tough, iron-willed guy like Zhang Rui to handle. Not knowing what to express, he simply reached out an arm, pulled Xia Yu against his chest, and comforted her, "I won't leave! Don't worry."

"Later, around two in the morning, I suddenly felt something was off. Dazed and half-asleep, I opened my eyes and abruptly saw someone hunched over my body. Scared out of my wits, I jerked back and let out a piercing scream! Only then did I realize... that son of a bitch Wang Bin had already pulled down my silk stockings and nearly stripped off my panties..."

As Xia Yu spoke, she grabbed the front of Zhang Rui's shirt and clutched it fiercely. "I was terrified and kicked out wildly in every direction, landing a kick right on Wang Bin's face and knocking him over so hard his head smacked against the wooden bed frame. He got furious right then and there, his entire expression turning vicious. He yelled at me, shouting that if I didn't submit to him, he would ruin me and spill all my dad's dirty secrets!"

"Your dad? What secrets could he possibly have?"

Hearing this, Zhang Rui asked out of curiosity.

"Wang Bin pulled out his phone. It had audio recordings of him bribing my dad regarding the hospital's second-phase elevator project. On top of that, the young woman who had just been placed around my dad was actually sent by Wang Bin! Right now, the two of them are vacationing in Sanya, and she reports Xia Changhai's every single move to Wang Bin at any moment!"

As Xia Yu spoke, she gnashed her teeth in pure hatred—hatred for Wang Bin's cunning and disgusting nature, and hatred for Xia Changhai acting without any sense of dignity, playing the role of a lecherous, useless old fool.

"What the hell! Pulling a stunt like this! He was just trying to scare you. Wang Bin, his old man, and your dad have always been business partners, tied together in interests—what is there to be afraid of? He wouldn't dare report it! The only thing to worry about is that woman; she's the crucial pawn being used to ruin and control your dad!"

Zhang Rui hadn't expected Wang Bin to be so sinister. Looking gentle and scholarly on the surface, who would have thought his mind could be so wicked?

"When I saw those things, my mind went completely blank. While I was standing there in a daze, Wang Bin lunged at me. I struggled with all my might, drove my knee straight into his crotch, grabbed my clothes, and ran out. I didn't know the way at all, so I just ran outward along the dim streetlights of the ecological park. There were no cars out there in the middle of the night. I wanted to call you, but your phone was turned off. When I saw Wang Bin chasing after me in his car, I hid in a patch of woods by the roadside and only dared to come out and keep walking after he drove away."

"What? My phone was turned off?"

Only then did Zhang Rui remember that he had been drinking late into the night with Old Zhang and the other guys, causing his phone's battery to die and shut down automatically. After coming home and plugging it into the charger by his bedside table, Zhang Rui had simply gone to sleep. It wasn't until around six in the morning when he woke up needing to pee that he casually turned the phone back on. But because he was still half-asleep, he completely failed to notice the missed-call notification texts from the network provider, right up until Jiao Jiao's calls rang repeatedly past seven o'clock, finally waking him up properly.

And he had no idea that between two and four in the morning, Xia Yu had called him over fifty times, meeting with disappointment and despair again and again!

Miraculously, Xia Yu had persevered and walked all the way back.

No wonder that the moment she saw Zhang Rui, Xia Yu had marched up and bitten him.