Chapter 12: Chapter 0012: Night Encounter with an Airport Girl
Ye Wudao felt immediately dejected, not bothering to turn back and search for the pesky old beggar. He just carried his rattan box and continued to wander aimlessly along the street, thinking that if worse came to worst, he would just find a random spot to crash for the night right there on the sidewalk.
Ye Wudao kept walking forward and without realizing it, arrived at the entrance of an old-style residential area. He didn't know how long the neighborhood had been there, but even the streetlights at the entrance were broken, and there were neither security guards nor property management to be seen.
Ye Wudao had only taken a few steps when a girl riding a bicycle suddenly burst out of the darkness. Presumably, because there were no streetlights and it was too dark, she didn't see him coming and ended up crashing right into Ye Wudao.
There was a loud crash.
Ye Wudao didn't have a scratch on him, he didn't even wobble, but the girl who had hit him was sent flying together with her bicycle, lying on the ground grunting and groaning for quite a while.
"Hey, can't you watch where you're walking? Didn't you see me riding my bike over here?"
The girl got up, searching the ground for some time before she finally found her glasses. Without putting them on, she lashed out at the guy who had sent her flying.
"Huh! Are you... 'Airport Girl'?" Ye Wudao immediately recognized her.
"Ye Wudao! So it's you, you bastard! Why did you crash into me?" Qin Xiaonan put on her black-framed glasses and recognized Ye Wudao, which only fueled her rage even more.
"Airport Girl, be reasonable! You were the one who rode your bike into me, not the other way around. I haven't even blamed you for it," Ye Wudao argued with a look of aggrieved innocence.
"Even if I did hit you, couldn't you have dodged?" Qin Xiaonan was feeling a bit less confident at first, but seeing that Ye Wudao didn't have a scratch on him, she spoke up boldly.
"Alright, alright, let's say it was my fault, I deserved it for standing still and letting you hit me. Are you okay, though?" Ye Wudao, remembering the old man's advice, knew better than to try to reason with a woman.
Qin Xiaonan snorted through her nose and struggled to her feet, intending to pick up her bicycle. But after taking just a step, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle and suddenly let out a cry, then her body stiffened and she fell backwards.
Quick as a flash, Ye Wudao reached out to steady her, preventing her from falling down and glanced at her foot, "Be careful! It looks like you've sprained your ankle."
Without Ye Wudao speaking, Qin Xiaonan was already fuming, but his words immediately sent her into a towering rage, "Let go of me, I don't need your sympathy."
Ye Wudao let go promptly, and Qin Xiaonan immediately lost her balance and 'crash', she fell right over, making intimate contact with the concrete floor.
"Ye Wudao, you did that on purpose, didn't you? I'm going to kill you, you jerk!" Qin Xiaonan lay sprawled on the ground, stars in her eyes, cursing furiously, nearly driven to insanity.
"I tell you, you women are really troublesome. It's not right when I help you, and it's not right when I don't help you. What exactly do you want me to do?" Ye Wudao complained.
This guy, who spent his days with the mountains and forests, had seen very few women, let alone understood their thoughts. Seeing Qin Xiaonan had twisted her ankle and was still moving recklessly, he had no choice but to speak, "You just twisted your foot. It's best not to move around, or else the injury will only get worse."
"Get lost! It's none of your business; there's no need for your fake concern." Qin Xiaonan was actually in so much pain that tears were streaming down her face. The thought of Ye Wudao, the main culprit, immediately made her blood boil with anger.
"Fine, fine, fine! If my concern is unwanted, I'll just go then, alright?" Ye Wudao hadn't found a place to stay for the night yet, and he couldn't be bothered to deal with this airport girl, so he really picked up his rattan box and walked on.
When Ye Wudao said he would leave, he truly didn't look back. Qin Xiaonan, sitting alone on the ground, saw that everything around her was pitch-black. Although this was the entrance to the neighborhood, there wasn't a single soul in sight, and now with her twisted ankle, she suddenly felt afraid. Seeing Ye Wudao was really not going to help her and was walking away, anger and annoyance erupted as she shouted at him, "Ye Wudao, you bastard, get back here!"
However, Ye Wudao's figure had already disappeared into the darkness. Qin Xiaonan felt a rush of despair. She had no choice but to drag her painful foot, limping along, and with every tiny step, the pain brought more tears to her eyes. Adding insult to injury, she had forgotten her phone at home, so calling for help was not an option.
"Ye Wudao, you dead bastard, you stinking bastard, bastard! Bastard! Bastard!" Qin Xiaonan vented all her anger on him, cursing Ye Wudao vehemently.
"Airport girl, what on earth do you want? One moment you tell me to get lost, and the next you're yelling for me to come back. If you keep on cursing me, I might actually leave for real."
A familiar voice suddenly came out of the darkness. Qin Xiaonan saw Ye Wudao, carrying his worn-out rattan box, emerging from the darkness towards her.
Qin Xiaonan abruptly swallowed the rest of her insults, fearful that he might really leave her behind. Ye Wudao came up to her, pulled her up from the ground with one hand, and then hoisted her onto his shoulder, frightening Qin Xiaonan into screaming.
"Ye Wudao, put me down, you... what are you going to do?"
"Nothing, you've twisted your ankle and can't walk, so of course, I'm taking you back," Ye Wudao declared righteously, as if there was nothing inappropriate about his actions.
"Put me down quickly." Qin Xiaonan, hoisted over Ye Wudao's shoulder like a piece of cargo, called out with a pale face in terror.
"If I put you down, I'm not helping you anymore."
The moment Ye Wudao opened his mouth, Qin Xiaonan immediately shut up, not daring to shout anymore. The guy was simply a bastard, without a shred of tender compassion. Qin Xiaonan was genuinely afraid he would leave her behind.
Ye Wudao carried his rattan box in one hand and Qin Xiaonan on his shoulder in the other, then with a kick, he picked up Qin Xiaonan's bicycle, wedging it in his armpit, and asked, "Airport girl, where do you live? I'll take you back."
Qin Xiaonan, hoisted over his shoulder and trying to suppress her nausea, dizzyingly recited an address. Fortunately, the address wasn't too far from where they were.
And so, Ye Wudao, with Qin Xiaonan on his shoulder and her bicycle clamped under his arm, box in hand, ambled confidently toward the direction she had indicated.
Luckily, at this time of night, the streets were nearly deserted. Otherwise, people might have thought that Qin Xiaonan was being kidnapped by this beggar.