The bus crawled its way to Fengxian.
Fengxian City was far less developed than Shangdu, though notably larger than Anqing County.
Xia Xiao Lan’s examination venue was at Fengxian No. 3 Middle School. The guesthouse arranged by the school was right next to it, just a few hundred meters’ walk away. Compared to other students, Xia Xiao Lan’s preparation conditions were excellent. Principal Sun had been generous, arranging good accommodations – a suite on the top floor of the guesthouse. With few occupants, the entire top floor was very quiet.
Li Dong Liang had already arranged an additional room next door.
Sun Tian was moved, thinking Xiao Lan’s relative must be here to support her during the exam. So it seemed Xiao Lan not only had terrible relatives but also caring ones.
Having two men around made Sun Tian feel more at ease.
Being simple-minded, when Xia Xiao Lan mentioned relatives, she didn’t question it, especially since Li Dong Liang and Ge Jian both spoke with out-of-town accents. What could Xia Xiao Lan say? Teacher Sun hadn’t been deceived and remained unharmed – surely good hearts were rewarded with good fortune!
They had departed in the afternoon, and by the time they reached Fengxian and checked in, it was nearly evening.
Xia Xiao Lan didn’t want to make any fuss. Knowing she had an exam tomorrow, wandering around the city would just be asking for trouble. Staying at the guesthouse was perfectly fine – she had no particular attachment to Fengxian, she could tour it anytime. Going out late at night would only cause problems.
After dinner, Xia Xiao Lan returned to her room for an early night.
Because of tomorrow’s exam, she didn’t study for too long, getting ready for bed at 9 PM. Half-asleep, she heard some commotion outside, like someone crying out in pain, but Xia Xiao Lan just turned over and went back to sleep.
What did she have to worry about?
Li Dong Liang and Ge Jian were in the next room. These two were reliable – they wouldn’t both be sound asleep; one would keep watch.
If anyone wanted to cause trouble, they’d have to get past Li Dong Liang and Ge Jian’s protection. These two would prioritize her safety, and since they hadn’t alerted her, Xia Xiao Lan had absolutely nothing to worry about.
While she slept soundly, next door Sun Tian was awakened by a gentle knock.
“Teacher Sun, could you come out for a moment?”
Sun Tian hadn’t been sleeping deeply and woke up immediately.
Someone was knocking?
This was a suite with an outer door, which Sun Tian remembered locking – how could someone get in? She put on her clothes and asked in a low voice:
“Who is it!”
“Teacher Sun, it’s me.”
Now Sun Tian recognized that peculiar accent – it was Xiao Lan’s relative.
Sun Tian carefully opened the door to find Li Dong Liang standing there, gesturing for her to avoid waking Xia Xiao Lan.
“Teacher Sun, please come with me.”
Li Dong Liang’s expression was serious, and Sun Tian instinctively followed his instructions. She was truly naive – being called out of her room by a man in the middle of the night, yet making no fuss. As Xia Xiao Lan had said, if kind people weren’t blessed with good luck, Sun Tian wouldn’t have survived safely until now.
Ge Jian stood in the hallway at the suite’s entrance. Seeing Li Dong Liang bringing Sun Tian out, he closed the suite door.
Throughout all this, they never disturbed Xia Xiao Lan’s rest.
Ge Jian remained guarding the door while Li Dong Liang led Sun Tian to the adjacent room. Upon entering, Sun Tian covered her mouth to stifle a cry. In the small living room of the neighboring suite lay someone bound hand and foot, gagged and unable to move, face bruised and swollen. Yet Sun Tian recognized him:
“Zhao Gang?!”
How could Zhao Gang be here, and why was he tied up?
Li Dong Liang sighed with relief:
“So you do know him, Teacher Sun?”
He and his junior brother had been guessing for ages, thinking he might be sent by the Fan family, though they’d wondered why they’d send such a coward for revenge.
Zhao Gang noticed Sun Tian’s arrival and made muffled sounds through his gag, presumably pleading for help.
Sun Tian was bewildered. “Yes, I know him, he’s a teacher at our school… but he should be in Anqing County right now.”
She had refused Zhao Gang’s offer to come and told Second Aunt about it, so how could he appear in Fengxian City? And not just anywhere, but at the guesthouse where she and Xia Xiao Lan were staying, now tied up. Though Sun Tian was innocent, she wasn’t stupid.
Zhao Gang must have done something terrible!
Li Dong Liang explained, “I heard a noise next door earlier, and found this man trying to pick your room’s lock with a wire. A man sneaking around trying to break into two young women’s rooms couldn’t be up to anything good, so we caught him. After roughing him up a bit, he claimed to be a teacher from Anqing No. 1 Middle School, saying he came to find his girlfriend. I wanted Teacher Sun to identify him!”
Sun Tian nearly fainted.
What was Zhao Gang planning to do, sneaking around at night?
How did he get to Fengxian, and how did he know their guesthouse room? With so many people in the guesthouse, how did Zhao Gang get in?
He said he came for her.
Late at night, sneaking into her room – Zhao Gang had ill intentions!
Though normally timid, Sun Tian was now furious.
“I’m not his girlfriend. He just wanted to follow us to Fengxian City – who knows what he was planning!”
Li Dong Liang chuckled – so this guy hadn’t told the truth, he deserved more beating.
“Teacher Sun, I know what to do now. You go back and rest! Oh, and let’s not tell Xiao Lan about this yet – she has her exam tomorrow.”
In front of Sun Tian, both Li Dong Liang and Ge Jian avoided calling her “Miss Xia,” as that would have seemed strange.
Sun Tian nodded vigorously. As Zhao Gang tried to crawl toward her feet, she gritted her teeth and ran. She couldn’t soften toward Zhao Gang – catching him was the right thing to do. Any issues could wait until after the preliminary exam. Back in her room, Sun Tian found clear signs of tampering on the door lock, leaving her speechless with anger. If Xiao Lan’s two relatives hadn’t been here tonight, what might Zhao Gang have done after breaking in?
Sun Tian never imagined he was this kind of person.
She blamed herself for not being brave enough, for being too timid, allowing Zhao Gang to take advantage.
If she had made her dislike of Zhao Gang clear to others earlier, he wouldn’t have “bullied” her like this.
What was Zhao Gang planning to do, picking locks in the middle of the night? The suite housed both her and Student Xiao Lan – perhaps his target wasn’t her room at all, but Xia Xiao Lan’s.
The thought made her sick to her stomach!
A role model as an educator?
He was nothing but a beast in human clothing.
The more she thought about it, the more likely this theory seemed. Why else would Zhao Gang be so insistent on coming to Fengxian City? First, he wanted to lead the group, then he used the excuse of accompanying her, and after being refused, he secretly followed them. Maybe his target was never her… but Student Xia Xiao Lan.
This person, what exactly was he planning to do?
If he had broken into Xia Xiao Lan’s room tonight, he wouldn’t just have destroyed a female student’s reputation, but her future as well!