Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

Zhou Jingchen and the boy sat in the small shop for a long time, the cigarette between their fingers burning and going out, their hands covered in ash. He finally pieced together the days Wenxi spent in Jinshi.

After fleeing Chizhou in a panic, the family wandered from place to place until they finally settled in this unfamiliar city in 2001.

To avoid the debt collectors, they could only cower at the very bottom of society, doing the hardest and most tiring jobs.

My mother rented a stall at the vegetable market to sell vegetables, while my father unloaded goods at a nearby freight station for a meager salary.

And what about Wenxi?

She was forced to drink by a drunk customer, and when she resisted, she was slapped several times; she was bullied by the restaurant owner, who berated her and kicked her out; she was falsely accused of stealing money at a clothing store, unable to defend herself, and was taken to the police station, where she spent several days and nights in a cold detention cell before being released; she worked in an electronics factory, where the high-speed machines burned her skin; she sold goods on the street in the dead of winter, and her nose bled from the cold...

Zhou Jingchen's lips were tightly pressed together, and his brows were furrowed, as if an awl was repeatedly stabbing his heart, leaving it bloody and painful... He was in so much pain that even breathing was painful.

He dared not think too deeply, dared not ponder those details.

How did that spoiled and willful little princess, who loved wearing pretty dresses and had never done any housework since childhood, manage to pull out her own thorns, forcibly put on a hard armor to withstand the storms of life, and face the wickedness and malice of people's hearts?

How did she endure those dark, sunless nights? How many nights did she spend alone, hugging her knees, silently shedding tears?

An indescribable heartache surged from the depths of Zhou Jingchen's heart, rushing to his throat and choking him so he couldn't utter a sound.

A stinging pain welled up in his eyes, his fist pressed against his lips, his teeth clenched tightly, and his shoulders trembled slightly uncontrollably. He seemed to be completely swallowed up by boundless despair and pain.

"Brother, are you alright?" the boy asked, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhou Jingchen wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded: "It's nothing."

On the day he left Jin City, Zhou Jingchen bought the boy a brand new pair of crutches, went home with him to visit his bedridden grandmother, left him some money and two large bags full of daily necessities, and exchanged contact information with the boy before leaving.

He patted the other person on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Contact me anytime if you need anything."

After doing all that, he turned and walked in another direction.

He first went to the restaurant where he had worked in Wenxi.

The shop owner and his wife were both there. When they saw him push the door open, they smiled and prepared to greet him.

Zhou Jingchen's face was grim, and his voice was calm: "A few years ago, wasn't there a girl named Wenxi who worked as a waitress here?"

The proprietress sized him up and down, then retorted in a shrill voice, "Who are you? Why are you asking that?"

The next second, the peace was completely shattered.

Zhou Jingchen suddenly grabbed a wooden stool next to him and smashed it hard against the freezer in the store!

The sharp, piercing sound of shattering glass filled the air, and the contents of the freezer scattered all over the floor.

He then swung the stool and swept it across the shelves, smashing the drinks and dishes. The store was instantly a mess.

His eyes were frighteningly bloodshot, and finally, he pulled a knife from his waist and, with a "snap," plunged it into the table next to the boss, tip pointing downwards!

The blade was submerged most of the way into the tabletop, making a buzzing sound.

The shop owner turned deathly pale, his trousers instantly soaked. His wife was even more terrified, collapsing to her knees with a thud, clasping her hands together and desperately begging for mercy: "Let's talk this out! Let's talk this out!"

After smashing up the restaurant, Zhou Jingchen drove to the clothing store. The boy had already identified the owner who had framed Wenxi for stealing money years ago.

This time, Zhou Jingchen didn't even bother to ask. He was like a caged beast that had completely lost control, unleashing all his pent-up violence. The shelves were overturned, the clothes were torn to shreds, the glass windows were smashed to pieces, and nothing in the store was spared.

The customer who forced the KTV to drink in Wenxi was someone who owned an internet cafe in the area. He came in aggressively, catching the other party completely off guard.

Because of his leg disability, Zhou Jingchen had been training his upper body strength since childhood. After his surgery, on the advice of his doctor, he took up more sports, including fencing and boxing, and he knows a little bit of everything.

He grabbed the man by the collar and shoved his head hard into the fish tank. The icy water made the man scream in agony, and he almost drowned on the spot.

The owners of several shops called the police one after another. Zhou Jingchen did not hide or flee, and was eventually taken back to the police station.

When Lin Xujie arrived to bail him out, he was handcuffed and huddled in a corner of the detention room, looking disheveled.

His handsome features were filled with dejection, as if all his strength had been drained away. Accompanying him was Xiao He, Zhou Jingchen's assistant who had been with him for two or three years.

Xiao He negotiated with the police and compensated the owners of several stores for their losses.

Lin Xujie used his family connections to exert pressure, and the local police had no choice but to intervene and mediate, ordering the shop owners not to pursue the matter further or make a fuss about it.

Those people grumbled and cursed, but ultimately dared not say another word and left the police station dejectedly.

As Lin Xujie drove, he caught a glimpse of the distraught man in the passenger seat and felt a surge of anger.

"Even if you have a few bucks, you can't squander them like this! I went through all that trouble to find clues for you, and it turns out I've just pushed you into a fire pit?"

"Luckily, I passed the civil service exam after graduation, and luckily my dad's name still works, otherwise who could get you out of there?"

Your mother works at the procuratorate near Shenzhen; no matter how far her influence extends, it can't reach Jinshi!

You were lucky this time. If you'd run into some truly formidable people, they could have killed you like crushing an ant.

Zhou Jingchen abruptly raised his hand to cover his face, his emotions, which had been suppressed for so long, finally collapsing completely. Hot tears streamed down his face, and he choked back sobs, his voice broken:

"Ah Jie, you don't know...you have no idea how much she's suffered...these people...these people all bullied her...I wish I could kill them..."

"Whenever I think about...the roads she's walked, the hardships she's endured, the grievances she's suffered...it feels like my heart is being torn apart...it hurts so much I feel like I'm dying..."

His eyes were red-rimmed, and he had a layer of stubble on his chin. His handsome face looked haggard, and he looked pained.

"She followed Aunt Xiang and Uncle Wen to a small town in Chizhou to escape debts. While she was working in a chemical plant, I was busy preparing for my trip abroad."

The day their home in Chizhou was smashed to pieces, and she was so scared that she curled up in the corner and cried, I was on the school's award stage, receiving applause and congratulations from everyone.

She traveled to Jinshi and was bullied in a nightclub, while I was wearing a brand new dress and attending my junior year entrance ceremony.

She was selling goods on the street in the winter, and her nose was bleeding from the cold, while I was on vacation on a beach in Hawaii with my family...

Zhou Jingchen had never cried like this in his life. Tears mixed with snot streamed down his cheeks and into his mouth, tasting salty and bitter. Even his speech became fragmented and incoherent.

"I can't forgive myself... Ah-Jie, I really can't take it anymore... I miss her so much... What will I do if she disappears for another seven or eight years...?"

Seeing him break down and cry, Lin Xujie swallowed back the reprimand that was on the tip of his tongue.

A bittersweet feeling suddenly welled up in my heart.