Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

Chen Ping did not dodge.

He raised his left hand and grabbed the bald man's fist, his fingers tightening like iron clamps.

The bald man's expression changed from fierce to astonishment, then to pain. His mouth opened, but before he could utter a sound, Chen Ping's right fist was already upon him.

He punched the bald man in the stomach.

With a "uh," the bald man bent over like a shrimp, clutching his stomach and kneeling on the ground, his mouth spewing sour liquid.

The long-haired man and the fat man exchanged a glance and rushed forward at the same time.

One kicks from the left, the other punches from the right.

Chen Ping dodged the kick from the left, grabbed the long-haired man's ankle with his right hand, and pulled him forward. The long-haired man split in two and let out a scream, clutching his crotch and rolling on the ground.

At the same time, Chen Ping parried the fat man's fist with his left hand, pushed forward, and slapped the fat man's chest with his palm.

The fat man, weighing two hundred pounds, stumbled back several steps and landed on his bottom, gasping for breath.

Huang Mao was dumbfounded, his mouth agape. He looked at the three people lying on the ground, then at Chen Ping, and his face turned pale.

"You...you motherfucker..."

Chen Ping took a step forward. Huang Mao instinctively took a step back, his heel hitting the motorcycle, almost falling over.

"Want to come again?" Chen Ping sneered.

The blond-haired man's lips trembled twice as he glanced back at the last motorcycle.

The person wearing the helmet was still leaning against the seat, looking at him from behind the helmet visor, motionless.

Huang Mao gritted his teeth, turned around and ran, abandoning his motorcycle.

The bald man and the long-haired man got up from the ground, one clutching his stomach and the other tugging at his legs, and staggered off.

The fat man got up from the ground, panting heavily. He glanced at Chen Ping, then turned and ran away, his fat jiggling.

The person on the last motorcycle slowly sat up straight, twisted the throttle, and the engine roared to life.

He glanced at Chen Ping, but his expression was obscured by the dark helmet visor.

Then he twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot off, chasing after those people.

The street quieted down. The light bulbs were still on, the moths were still circling around, and a dog barked a few times in the distance before falling silent.

Cui Ying stood behind Chen Ping, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands, her face full of tension.

She looked at the cigarette butts on the ground and the mess the bald man had spat out, then at Chen Ping, opened her mouth, and finally managed to speak after a long while.

"You...you can fight?"

"I practiced Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) for a few years in college." Chen Ping flexed his fingers; the punch he landed earlier had been a bit too hard, and his knuckles were a little sore.

"How many years have you trained?" Cui Ying's voice was still trembling slightly. "You haven't trained for a few years, you've..."

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the image from just now kept replaying in her mind.

One punch, one kick, one palm strike, and three people fell down.

Clean and efficient, without even breaking a sweat.

"Let's go, it's alright now," Chen Ping comforted Cui Ying.

Cui Ying nodded and followed beside him, her pace quickening considerably, almost jogging.

When I returned to the health center, Zhao Guosheng had already left, and the front yard was pitch black.

The two walked through the courtyard to the backyard. The moon had risen sometime earlier and was hanging on the top of the poplar tree, casting a thin layer of silver light on the ground.

When they arrived at the dormitory entrance, Cui Ying took out her key and tried to insert it into the lock twice.

"Would you... come in and sit for a while?" She turned to look at Chen Ping, her voice much softer than usual.

"OK."

The door opened, and Cui Ying pulled the light cord, turning on the bulb and filling the small room with a dim, yellow light.

Her room had the same layout as Chen Ping's, but it was much tidier.

The blankets on the bed were folded neatly, a laptop and a potted green plant were on the table, and several sticky notes with various numbers written on them were pasted on the wall.

A piece of floral fabric was hung on the window as a curtain, billowing in the wind.

"Have a seat." Cui Ying tidied up the things on the chair. "I'll get you some water."

Chen Ping sat down and saw that the potted green ivy on the table was growing quite well, with lush green leaves and several vines hanging down.

Cui Ying poured him a glass of water, then sat down on the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow, and remained silent for a long time.

"Were you scared?" Chen Ping asked.

"A little." Cui Ying nodded. "I've seen those thugs before. They're always hanging around on the streets. They've never bothered me before. I don't know what's gotten into them today."

"Don't go out alone at night anymore."

"Um."

She nodded, glanced at him, and said, "You saved me today, and I haven't thanked you yet."

"You're welcome. Anyone would have done the same," Chen Ping said with a smile.

No, it won't.

Cui Ying shook her head. "Dr. Wang is too old, Liu Wei is timid, and Wang Tao, with his physique, would just get beaten up anyway. Not to mention Dean Zhao, he avoids Liu Mazi like the plague."

Chen Ping laughed: "Then you're lucky to have run into me."

Cui Ying laughed, then fell silent, hugging her pillow and drawing circles on it with her fingers.

"You just asked me why I came here..." she suddenly began, "I said it was because my family had arranged a marriage for me, but I didn't finish."

Chen Ping didn't respond, waiting for her to speak.

"The other family is in the building materials business and has several companies in Tianhai City. My parents and his father are business partners, and the two families want to form a marriage alliance."

Cui Ying lowered her voice, "That man is eight years older than me. I heard he had a wife before, but they got divorced. I've never met him, but I've heard people say he has a bad temper and beats people when he's drunk."

"So you ran away?"

"Yeah. My parents don't agree. They say I'm being dramatic, that it's normal for men to have a temper. My mom even said, 'You'll eat well and dress well after you marry him, what more could you want?'" Cui Ying gave a bitter smile. "They don't know, I don't care about any of that at all."

"What do you care about?"

Cui Ying raised her head and looked at Chen Ping, her eyes brightening slightly.

"I care about myself. I don't want to marry a stranger, I don't want to live in constant fear, and I don't want to live my whole life on a path laid out for me by others."

"I know you might think I'm being dramatic, a girl who would rather give up a perfectly good life and come to this remote mountain village to suffer. But..."

A mist began to form in Cui Ying's eyes.

"Don't be pretentious," Chen Ping interrupted her.

Cui Ying looked up, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You have to live your own life, there's nothing to be dramatic about. You're better than many people, at least you dared to leave," Chen Ping comforted him.

Cui Ying looked at him, her lips twitched, and tears were about to flow.

"And you? What are your plans for the future? Will you stay here for the rest of your life?" Cui Ying asked.

"I don't know, I'll just stay here for now. Anyway, there's no point in going back." Chen Ping is very open-minded now.

"Your ex-wife..."

"It's in the past. Let's not talk about it anymore."

Cui Ying nodded and didn't ask any more questions.