Lu Huaiyu dipped a cotton swab in iodine and gently pressed it over the cut on Ning Li’s hand.
This wound was not a big deal, but he leaned down and moved carefully as if it was the most important thing.
Ning Li raised her eyes and saw that his dark hair had fallen over his forehead, covering his eyebrows slightly.
The bridge of his nose was high and his thin lips were slightly pursed. She could not see any emotions on his face.
The room was quiet with only the sound of their intertwined breathing.
Ning Li felt that their distance was a bit close, but aside from this one chair, there was no other convenient place for him to sit.
He was dressing her wound, so it was inappropriate for her to move.
Thinking about the situation earlier, she did not really know how to face Lu Huaiyu at the moment.
After a while, she finally broke the silence.
“Second Brother, why did you and Brother Xiyue come over?”
‘Didn’t I tell him that I’d take the high-speed train back in the afternoon?’
They had come so quickly, which meant that they had probably arrived earlier.
“Cheng Xiyue was about to head back to Yunzhou after finishing his business. Your house was on the way, so we came over to see if you’d already left.”
Lu Huaiyu’s head was lowered and his voice was calm.
Ning Li let out a soft “oh”.
‘This is just too much of a coincidence…’
“I saw those people coming over earlier, but I didn’t know they were looking for you. I sent a message to you, but you didn’t reply.”
Ning Li took out her phone from her pocket and saw Lu Huaiyu’s message.
As soon as she had entered the building, she noticed that something was wrong and had not even bothered to look at her phone.
Lu Huaiyu paused for a moment before asking, “Why didn’t you call the police?”
He was asking about the people outside.
Ning Li’s eyes drooped slightly as she said, “It’s useless.”
These thugs had a lot of tactics. They came over to smash her door, throw paint, poured glue into the door locks to trap them inside, and harassed them endlessly.
It had occurred too many times until the police from the nearby police station knew all about them.
As long as those thugs did not cause harm that was too serious or substantial to them, the police would just do a mediation.
Moreover, Ning Haizhou was guilty of hitting and killing the other party’s brother.
When the police came to the door, they would often let this slide when they took that fact into account.
At most, the police would just detain those thugs for a few days and release them quickly.
Lu Huaiyu did not have to ask to guess the situation.
“So you just put up with it and suffered?”
His voice was flat.
Ning Li paused and said, “Actually, they don’t come very often now.”
Lu Huaiyu finished treating her wound, threw away the cotton swab, and looked up.
“Lili.”
He looked into her eyes.
“Your father made a mistake and he’s paid the price for it. You’re not at fault, so you shouldn’t have to suffer and endure these. Got it?”
The one who had been drunk driving was Ning Haizhou. He was indeed at fault, but what did this have to do with Ning Li?
She had only been seven years old back then.
If the other party were considered to have lost his family and suffered a great deal of pain and suffering, then what about Ning Li?
Ning Li had lost both her father and mother from that day on.
Were these ten years of loneliness and poverty not tormenting and painful enough for a child?
She had suffered through countless humiliations, accusations, and abuses.
She had been isolated and bullied.
Everyone had their own pain. Did it mean that her pain was not worth mentioning compared to others?
Ning Li looked at him woodenly.
“But…”
“No buts.”
Lu Huaiyu gently patted her head.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s no need for you to atone for anyone’s sins and suffer all this.”
‘You’re not wrong. You don’t have to atone for anyone’s sins. You shouldn’t have to suffer from this in the first place.’
No one had ever said these words to her before.
Everyone, including Grandma, had thought that it was just something that they should endure because they were a family and had an inseparable blood relation.
Thus, when these people had come to make trouble, they would always choose to hold back and give in.
Ning Li had thought about this when she was mocked, abused, poked, prodded, isolated, and ridiculed.
The shrill shouting and cursing, mixed with the sound of those people banging on the door would torment her while she could only hide in her room and cover her ears as she waited for this long ordeal to pass.
She remembered seeing her grandmother’s eyes that were red and swollen from crying, and her face filled with guilt. Thus, she had finally endured it all.
Now, someone was telling her so firmly and persistently that she was not at fault.
This person was none other than Lu Huaiyu.
Ning Li was silent for a long time. Her throat felt dry.
She had envisioned many thoughts and reactions that Lu Huaiyu would have after seeing the scene just now, but not this one.
Lu Huaiyu looked at her.
He had always had the impression that Ning Li had always been very independent and strong-willed, but only in this matter had she shown such great tolerance.
Perhaps after all these years, she had long been brainwashed and felt that she was also the guilty one.
Lu Huaiyu said, “They won’t bother you again in the future.”
Ning Li froze slightly.
“Second Brother, what do you mean by this?”
These people were thugs, yet they remained on their moral high ground to cause trouble with their hooligan tactics.
It was only by accident that Lu Huaiyu had encountered such an embarrassing scene. If these people started to pester him as well…
“Literally what I said.”
Lu Huaiyu leaned back. His eyes were back to his usual cool and nonchalant look.
With his background and means, there were surely ways to make those people keep their mouths shut.
Ning Li subconsciously held his hand tightly.
“Second Brother, still… Don’t do it…”
Those people were indeed unbearable and had repeatedly pushed her to the edge over the years, but at the end of the day, it had indeed been Ning Haizhou’s fault.
‘I…’
Lu Huaiyu lowered his eyes and looked at her hand that was clutching his own.
“Your father owes them, so there’s nothing wrong with spending his lifetime in jail paying for his mistakes, but this shouldn’t be your whole life.”
He suddenly moved closer and gently pinched her cheek with one hand as he raised his eyebrows slightly.
“If you still feel indebted to them and still want to endure this, go ahead. But, I, Lu Huaiyu, don’t owe them anything. If they hurt you, I will retaliate tenfold. How’s that?”
