Chapter 65

"Soldier... Soldier."

"Hmm?" Xiao Bing came back to his senses.

Li Hong looked at Xiao Bing with concern. Just now, while Xiao Bing was kneading the dough, he suddenly spaced out. Li Hong said, "Why don't you go home and rest today... Are you too tired these past few days?"

"Oh, it's fine..." Xiao Bing glanced at the time and said with a smile, "Damn, I don't know what's wrong with me today, I always feel uneasy. Could it be because of my encounter with Julia this morning? Sigh, that poor woman."

Thinking that it was getting late, he decided to leave early so he could get home sooner. So he continued, "You guys keep working, I have something to take care of, so I'll go back first."

"Okay, go home and rest," Li Hong said with some worry. "If you're not feeling well, just rest at home, it's no problem."

"I understand." Xiao Bing wiped his hands, patted Li Hong's head, and walked out of the noodle shop with a smile.

Today, Xiao Bing left a bit early, about two hours earlier than usual. He thought about it and decided not to call Julia. Since her home wasn't too far from here, he walked directly toward the apartment where Julia lived.

This Julia, who works so hard every day to support the family, while her husband is out drinking and gambling. As a friend, how should I advise her? Divorce would be the best choice, but it seems Julia has some unresolved feelings and can't bear to leave that man. It looks like I need to counsel her more.

While Xiao Bing was lost in thought, he suddenly saw several men in black rush into a nearby alley. Out of curiosity, he stopped and looked into the alley. Zhang Gui came from the opposite side of the alley, holding a rose in his hand and humming a tune.

The black-clad men rushed to Zhang Gui and started slashing at him with knives. Zhang Gui opened his mouth wide, his eyes filled with disbelief as his body slowly slid to the ground. Xiao Bing roared and rushed toward Zhang Gui. The men, hearing the commotion, fled in panic.

Xiao Bing didn't have time to chase them; the most important thing now was whether Zhang Gui was dead or alive. Zhang Gui was covered in wounds, lying in a pool of blood, with the rose scattered in front of him, its petals stained red, a tragic beauty.

Xiao Bing squatted down, a look of sorrow in his eyes. Zhang Gui had been stabbed twice in the heart, and his carotid artery seemed to be severed. The blood wouldn't stop flowing. Xiao Bing shouted angrily, "Ambulance, ambulance!!!"

With a slap, a hand landed on Xiao Bing's knee. It was Zhang Gui's hand, and he still held a passbook. Xiao Bing stared at him, and saw Zhang Gui open his mouth, but as soon as he did, blood gushed out. Xiao Bing leaned in to listen and heard Zhang Gui say with great difficulty, "Give... give it to... Sakura... let her... live... a good... life... life..."

He didn't care if he lived or died; what mattered to him was how that woman was doing. What a deep obsession. Xiao Bing took the passbook from his hand. He had always hated this man, but now... watching him die right in front of him, Xiao Bing felt a strange sense of frustration.

Xiao Bing slowly reached out and closed his eyes. The alley was already surrounded by people. Xiao Bing picked up the rose from the ground and walked out step by step. The onlookers made way for him, looking at him with fear. They hadn't seen what happened, they didn't know who had killed the man, but no one dared to stop Xiao Bing.

Sakura... Sakura...

Xiao Bing thought of the streetwalker who was with Zhang Gui and immediately ran as fast as he could. Finally, he stopped at an old building. A middle-aged woman suddenly appeared, grabbing Xiao Bing's clothes and smiling, "Big brother, are you looking for a girl? We have beautiful girls, just..."

Xiao Bing grabbed the woman's collar and lifted her up, roaring, "Sakura, where is Sakura? If you don't tell me, I'll burn this place down!!"

The woman's eyes widened in fear, and she stammered, "Third floor... third floor..."

Xiao Bing let her go and rushed into the building, heading straight for the third floor.

When he reached the third floor, he shouted, "Sakura, Sakura!"

Several doors opened, and one of the women was the Sakura Xiao Bing had seen before. She was wearing a white nightgown and looked at Xiao Bing with confusion, "Who are you?"

Xiao Bing stepped forward, opened his mouth, and sighed, "Let's talk inside."

Sakura's eyes were filled with unease, not because of the blood on Xiao Bing's clothes, but a deep, inner unease. To resolve her unease, she nodded and invited Xiao Bing in, then closed the door.

It was a small one-bedroom apartment, messy and cluttered. Seeing Xiao Bing standing still in the room, Sakura smiled apologetically, "My place is a bit messy..."

"It's fine," Xiao Bing said with a hoarse voice, "Can I have a cigarette?"

"Sure... sure, no problem, I smoke too."

"Okay." Xiao Bing took out a lighter and clicked it a few times before finally lighting the cigarette, then took a deep drag.

Sakura sat down on the bed, looking at Xiao Bing. Once she felt he had calmed down, she asked cautiously, "You don't seem to be here for fun... Do you have something to talk to me about?"

Xiao Bing looked at Sakura, forcing himself to calm down, and asked, "Do you... do you know Zhang Gui?"

"Oh..." Sakura said, "Yes, I know him. What happened? Is there something wrong?"

"Um."

Xiao Bing handed the rose to Sakura. She took it and suddenly felt something sticky. When she looked down, she saw the rose was covered in blood. She screamed, and the rose petals fell to the ground.

Sakura looked at the ground, her eyes red, and asked, "Something happened to him, right?"

"Um." Xiao Bing's lips twitched, and he said with great difficulty, "He... he's dead."

Sakura's eyes suddenly became very frightening, not the kind of frightening that wants to kill, but the kind of frightening that comes from utter despair, a despair that has lost the will to live. Xiao Bing felt scared just looking at her. He quickly said, "I know you were friends, he..."

"He was my man, my man..."

"What?"

"I said, he was my man." Sakura asked, "How did he die?"

Xiao Bing briefly recounted what he had seen and then sighed, "Before he died, he gave me this passbook and told me to give it to you. He wanted you to live a good life."

Sakura took the passbook and opened it, seeing 200,000 yuan!

200,000 yuan, enough to buy her freedom, enough to let her live a happy life like a normal person.

Sakura cried, sobbing, "I'm free, but you're gone. What use is this freedom to me?"

She couldn't stop crying, and Xiao Bing felt a deep pain in his heart. Yezi was right; this woman had real feelings for Zhang Gui, and Zhang Gui, even in his last moments, thought of Sakura, showing how much he loved her.

Xiao Bing didn't know how to comfort her, perhaps she just needed to cry it out.

Finally, Sakura stopped crying, wiped her tears, and looked at Xiao Bing with a calm expression, which made Xiao Bing feel even more uncomfortable than when she was crying.

Xiao Bing sighed, "This passbook is clearly for you. I don't know how you two were together or how deep your feelings were, but his last wish was for you to live a good life."

"I know what you're going to say." Sakura pointed to a chair and asked, "Thank you for telling me all this. Do you want to hear our story?"

Xiao Bing sat down on the chair and looked at Sakura seriously.

"I was sold here by my father. He was a gambler and lost money, so he sold me for 200,000 yuan when I was just 18... Here, I've seen all kinds of men, fat and corrupt social parasites, thugs from the streets, and seemingly respectable white-collar workers. No matter how fancy or ugly they looked, they all made me feel the same word: disgusting!"

"Until I met him..."

"That day, I was walking on the street and encountered a few thugs, all of whom were former clients. They wanted to take advantage of me on the street."

"I knew I wasn't clean, I was a prostitute, but I was still a woman. We had a business transaction, and selling my body was my job, but on the street, it wasn't my working hours... So I fought back. That's when he appeared."

"He wasn't tall or strong, but he was small and thin. He protected me with his body, and that day, he was beaten up badly. In the end, he laughed and told me the thugs were gone, and it was all over."

"I'll never forget that day..." Sakura's eyes were filled with tenderness. When a woman talks about a man with such a look, it can only mean one thing: she has fallen in love with him...

"From that day on, we were together. He never looked down on me, and I never looked down on him. We didn't care what others thought; in our hearts, only the other person was perfect."

"He always wanted to earn money to buy my freedom. A few days ago, he excitedly told me he had a big job and would soon be able to save me, and then..."

Sakura's nose started to hurt, and Xiao Bing's nose started to hurt too.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom to wash my face." Sakura stood up, looking lost, and walked to the bathroom, locking the door. Soon, the sound of running water and Sakura's loud sobs could be heard.

Xiao Bing rested his arms on the table, pinched his eyebrows, and gently rubbed them, feeling a headache.

The water continued to run, and the sobs gradually stopped. Xiao Bing waited for a long time but heard no more sounds. Suddenly, he smelled the scent of blood and immediately stood up, rushed to the bathroom, and kicked the door open. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground with a thud.

Sakura lay on the ground, holding a sharp blade in her hand. Her throat was cut, and the floor was covered in blood. Her face was pale, and her eyes, wide open, had lost their luster. In her last moments, her face was filled with a smile.

Ah, why? Why?

Why did I have to see this?

Why did everything happen right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything?

Why couldn't I stop these tragedies from happening?

Tears streamed down Xiao Bing's face. In his heart, Zhang Gui was no longer the dirty, short man; he had become a towering figure, and Sakura was even more so.

At that moment, the door was kicked open, and a group of tall men with wooden sticks rushed in. The leader, a red-haired man, shouted at Xiao Bing, "Did you say you were going to burn this place down?"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!" Xiao Bing's eyes were wide with rage, filled with bloodshot veins. He roared and charged forward, "Die!!!"

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