Free Web NovelChapter 1053: Chapter 29: A Cheap Crush—Am I Someone Intimate to You?
Leaving the housing block and getting into the car, Gu Yan used an incredulous tone to list Xiao Nanqing’s "crimes" related to his cleanliness obsession to Nie Xiaoxing.
Nie Xiaoxing listened quietly, without responding, but also not showing any signs of impatience.
Finally, Gu Yan said, "How can someone like him go to eat street food? Is his life perspective advancing a bit too quickly?"
Nie Xiaoxing’s brows twitched, looking at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan also glanced at her several times through the rearview mirror, and somehow fell silent while looking.
Nie Xiaoxing pursed her lips, slowly retracting her gaze, lowering her head to look at her fingers.
After one or two minutes, Gu Yan said, "Now you know what I do, right?"
Nie Xiaoxing did not reply.
"..." Gu Yan was a bit annoyed, furrowed his handsome brows and said, "Little Xing’er, you should understand that wanting to know something is no difficulty for me."
"Since that’s the case, why ask me?" Nie Xiaoxing said.
"I just want to hear you tell me about your past, rather than finding out myself." Gu Yan glanced at her.
Nie Xiaoxing lowered her neck, "What difference does it make?"
"Of course, there’s a difference!" Gu Yan glared at her, "You tell me, it proves you trust me, accept me. How is this the same as me finding out myself? Besides, I never use my profession to investigate those close to me, it’s the very least respect I can offer."
People... close to me?
Nie Xiaoxing slightly raised her head, looking towards Gu Yan, "You consider me a close person?"
A fleeting trace of discomfort crossed Gu Yan’s handsome face, "You’re my fiancée, in terms of closeness, you’re certainly the closest person to me. Naturally, I should show you more respect!"
Nie Xiaoxing pinched her fingertips, looked at Gu Yan for a moment and said, "You respect me? You have the nerve to say that."
Gu Yan pursed his lips and said softly, "Isn’t it just calling you ugly? What else did I say about you?"
"..." Nie Xiaoxing glared angrily at him.
Does this gentleman really not know the damage the word "ugly" can do to a woman?!
Indeed!
Gu Yan raised his chin slightly, refusing to admit that his words were disrespectful to Nie Xiaoxing.
That stubborn look of being righteous and unreformable made Nie Xiaoxing want to turn his face over and punch him hard!
"Hmph!"
Nie Xiaoxing snorted coldly, turning her head angrily to look out the car window.
Gu Yan glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his mouth twitched slightly, and his voice softened, "Rest assured, anything you say to me will absolutely not be disclosed to any third person. You can completely trust me."
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyebrows knitted tightly, her clear eyes showing indescribable pain and... fear.
Having not heard Nie Xiaoxing speak for a while, Gu Yan narrowed his eyes, stopping the car at the roadside, unbuckling the seatbelt, turning towards Nie Xiaoxing, "Little Xing’er..."
"Six years ago, when I was eighteen, I got into the best university in K City, studying French."
Nie Xiaoxing spoke at this moment, her voice tense, hoarse.
Gu Yan fell silent, looking at Nie Xiaoxing’s thin, painful face reflected in the car window.
"The first semester went smoothly and pleasantly. I met many friends, full of hopes and dreams. But I didn’t expect that all my happiness would end there. Returning home during winter break, the warm and harmonious place in my memory changed instantly. My parents looked like they aged ten years, the house was desolate, as if no one had lived there for years. Our once harmonious neighbors avoided us like the plague."
Nie Xiaoxing lowered her head, her nails constantly pinching her fingers, "I began to feel puzzled, curious, and asked my parents. But my parents evaded, unwilling to answer my questions directly. Until one night, more than ten men suddenly barged into our home wielding clubs, and without a word, started beating my father."
Nie Xiaoxing frowned deeply, "I had no idea who these people were. They came and went quickly, like a group of unreasonable thugs. After they left, my mother and I took my father to the hospital for bandaging. I remember the doctor shaking his head upon seeing my father, saying ’It’s you again.’ Only then did I realize that such misfortunes were not accidental. On the way home, I asked my mother again about what happened while I was away. My mother, seeing she couldn’t hide it from me, told me the truth."
Nie Xiaoxing bit down hard on her lower lip, pausing for a long moment, before continuing, "It turns out those people are from K City. There’s a man named Yan Shu in K City, known as a notorious underworld overlord. It’s widely rumored that he’s stopped dabbling in smuggling, drug trafficking, murder and robbery, planning to clean up his act. Do you believe someone like that?"
Nie Xiaoxing turned her head to look at Gu Yan, her eyes as red as fresh blood.
Gu Yan was silent for a moment, leaned closer, reached out to hold Nie Xiaoxing’s clenched hand, staring into her eyes, "I know this Yan Shu, he’s ruthless and merciless, uses every means possible. He’s the type who goes down a dark path without turning back. In recent years, he’s grown even more audacious, even daring to kill police officers! But Yan Shu’s movements are mysterious; those who’ve seen him are either his confidants or dead! Because Yan Shu never shows his face and is extremely cunning, the police still haven’t managed to capture him.
Nie Xiaoxing stared blankly at him, "I’ve seen him."
Gu Yan’s pupils contracted, "You’ve seen him?"
"..." Nie Xiaoxing stiffly tugged at her lips, "Back then, to Yan Shu, I was probably just a dead person."
Gu Yan stared intently at her.
Nie Xiaoxing’s shoulders trembled slightly, "He’s really terrifying."
"Little Xing’er..." Gu Yan embraced her.
Nie Xiaoxing closed her eyes, for the first time not resisting as she shrank into Gu Yan’s embrace, "Can you hold me a little tighter?"
Gu Yan caught his breath, decisively unbuckling her seatbelt and lifting her onto his lap, his arms pulling her tightly into a hug.
Nie Xiaoxing reached out to hold onto Gu Yan’s back, her icy face pressed against his neck, "Yan Shu has a secret experimentation site. It’s specifically for developing new types of drugs. To better observe the effects of these drugs, he captured many people, including me. Whenever there was a newly developed drug, he would select one or two of us for testing, injecting the drugs into our bodies to visually observe our reactions and the drug’s efficacy. Some drugs were too potent, or if the researchers made a slight mistake, the test subjects might not be able to withstand it and die on the spot."
"And those who died, they wouldn’t waste them either, they’d use the corpses to smuggle drugs out."
Gu Yan’s breath came in rough bursts, a previously unknown anger filled his chest.
The thought of the emaciated woman in his arms suffering such inhumane treatment made him rage to the point of... murder!
"They generally captured young people, claiming their endurance was stronger. So everyone there was under thirty-five. Qi Yun..."
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes ached as if thousands of fine needles were simultaneously piercing her eyeballs, tears flowed like beads from her eyes, her voice choked beyond relief, "Qi Yun and Lu Zhiquan, that’s when I met them. Qi Yun was three years older than me, twenty-one at the time. Lu Zhiquan was a year younger than Qi Yun and me, but because he was skinny and small, he looked even younger than me..."
Nie Xiaoxing’s throat closed up, she couldn’t speak, she was gasping for air.
"Little Xing’er, I’m here, I’m here." Gu Yan nervously held her tight, repeatedly kissing her icy forehead, his voice hoarse.
Nie Xiaoxing took a long time to catch her breath, closing her eyes to cry softly in Gu Yan’s arms, "Those people are not human at all, they’re beasts!"
Gu Yan’s eyes were burning fiercely.
"When I was first captured, I had no idea what I would go through. At that time, Qi Yun had already been captured for some time. The first two days were very calm. On the third day, a man with a black dragon tattoo on his bare chest suddenly appeared..."
Nie Xiaoxing stopped talking, suddenly pressing down her sobs, speaking with extreme hatred, "I’ll never forget that man’s face, even to my death!"
Gu Yan’s heart tightened, staring into Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes, his Adam’s apple sliding down, he spoke softly, "What did he do?"
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes were red, she looked steadily at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan’s heart sank, his whole face contorted slightly.
"Yunyun saved me." Nie Xiaoxing’s face slowly showed an indescribable sadness, "Those captured inside experienced unimaginable misery. Anything could happen there. Do you know? At that time, to protect myself, I smashed my head, my face covered in blood, but that man still wouldn’t let me go. Because I was new and hadn’t been experimented on yet, still young..."
"Don’t say anymore!"
Gu Yan painfully held Nie Xiaoxing’s pale face, speaking hoarsely.
Nie Xiaoxing looked at him, "Didn’t you want to hear me say what happened to me in the past? I’m telling you."
Gu Yan was already regretting, wishing he could stab himself!
Nie Xiaoxing looked at Gu Yan’s regretful face, "I’m not finished yet, I..."
Nie Xiaoxing’s voice suddenly stopped, because her lips were forcefully sealed by a pair of equally cold lips.
