After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 18.1

Fortunately, while she didn’t understand fans, she had extensive experience in “enduring a beating.” Being strangled and having her head repeatedly slammed against the wall, she was on the verge of losing consciousness. The intense pain made her want to curl up.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t curl up, couldn’t be afraid, and couldn’t let herself succumb to the perception of pain and fear. Only those who aren’t pained, aren’t hurting, and aren’t afraid can escape time and time again.

She used her willpower to sense her surroundings, mapping out the environment in her mind and planning an escape. After twenty days of labor, her body was exhausted. She couldn’t overpower her attacker, so she had to rely on technique.

First, stomp hard on the other person’s pinky toe. The pain will disrupt their rhythm and loosen their grip. Simultaneously, crouch down quickly to use the sudden drop in gravity to break free. The wall plaster is the best available tool, there should be a pile of it at the base. Grab a handful and throw it in their eyes to create a larger escape window.

Then, run. Explode with every bit of energy left. I’m good at that.

Home Inn was only a dozen steps away. The landlady would be at the front desk. If she reached the lobby, she’d be safe.

And one more critical point, the attacker had planned this and likely carried a weapon, even if she had forgotten to use it in her hysteria. Therefore, Ji Youyi couldn’t afford to alert her, the entire sequence had to be swift and smooth, giving the girl no time to remember or reach for a knife.

Ji Youyi thought it through clearly. But from beginning to end, she never considered “calling for help” as an option. The first human reaction to violence is avoidance, shouting “Help!” would only tell the attacker she intended to run. And for passersby, that phrase was often less effective than shouting “Fire!”

Besides, this extremist fan’s emotions were at their peak. Her insults were getting louder and louder. With such poor soundproofing in the rentals, it was impossible that no one heard. Yet no one pushed open a window to see what was happening. Or perhaps they did look, and then closed the window.

No one would come to save her. They never did. But it was fine, she had never needed them anyway.

Ji Youyi finally gathered her strength. She found the gap during a violent shake and was about to act when the weight on her body suddenly vanished. A cold wind carrying a floral scent rushed over her.

Ji Youyi leaned against the wall, gasping for air. When she looked up, she saw the fan had been flipped to the ground. A familiar figure was pinned over her. The figure’s left knee was down, pinning the fan’s legs; the right hand held both of the fan’s hands, and the left hand gripped the throat, pinning the neck against the wall.

The person on the ground was immobilized, eyes wide, mouth open but unable to make a sound, a sign of total suffocation.

The savior spoke, her voice deathly cold, hanging over the attacker like ice blades ready to pierce through: “Tell me, who were you going to choke to death?”

The hem of a black trench coat lay on the ground, stained with dust.

Ji Youyi was stunned, her mind momentarily blank. She didn’t have time to wonder why Meng Xingshu was there. She rushed forward to stop her. “You… watch your strength! Just restrain her, don’t hurt her!” Excessive defense can lead to prison!

She reached out with her left hand, only then realizing she was shaking. Her trembling hand grasped Meng Xingshu’s left hand, her four fingers trying to slip into the side of the palm while her thumb gently stroked the back of Meng Xingshu’s hand, as if comforting Meng Xingshu, or perhaps herself.

As their two cold hands touched, the transfer of body heat actually created a spark of warmth.

Meng Xingshu’s sanity returned slightly. She gradually loosened her left hand.

The person on the ground regained her breath and immediately started cursing again: “Ji Youyi, you orphan b*tch! You fake suicide to frame your male colleagues! You should die a thousand deaths!”

“Watch your mouth.” Meng Xingshu’s hand opened, gripping the fan’s jaw firmly. “If you insist on talking, I’ll have to dislocate your jaw.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Be good, let’s stay calm! Don’t be angry!” Ji Youyi swallowed hard, suppressing her shaking voice as she tried to comfort Meng Xingshu. “Thank you for standing up for me, but we’re not angry, okay? She’s not wrong about everything. I really don’t have family or an ancestral grave. Don’t be impulsive, don’t let her words get to you. Come, listen to me, we’ll cooperate, you hold her, I’ll call the police.”

Meng Xingshu turned her face slightly, her eyelids lowering. Ji Youyi finally heard her voice soften: “Ruohan has already called the police. She’s on her way.”

“That’s great. I’ll ask her.” Ji Youyi said in as positive a tone as she could. She checked WeChat and saw that Fang Ruohan had been calling her repeatedly. she answered and told her she was safe.

The police arrived quickly, reaching them before Fang Ruohan did. The hysterical fan was still cursing until her mouth was covered and she was taken into the police car. A kind-faced officer supported Ji Youyi as they walked out. “Do you need to rest?”

This is nothing. Ji Youyi shook her head and sweetly declined the thin blanket the officer offered. “I’m fine, thank you, Sister.”

She turned back and saw Meng Xingshu following her, head slightly bowed, lost in thought. Ever since Meng Xingshu appeared tonight, her behavior had been strange. Ji Youyi was actually worried about her state of mind.

She approached Meng Xingshu, flashing a brilliant smile. “The big star was my great savior today. I am especially, especially grateful to you.”

“You know, you were like a fairy, descending from the sky with the light of justice.” She gestured in a large circle. “But the fairy descended too quickly today and forgot her mask. What should we do? Mortals might covet your beauty now.”

Ji Youyi put her hands behind her back and tilted her head at Meng Xingshu with a smile.

Meng Xingshu didn’t answer. She just quietly looked up at her.

Their eyes met. Ji Youyi noticed that Meng Xingshu’s eyelids were red from blood congestion. Her dark gaze was deep and heavy. Standing in the black clothes in the middle of the night, she looked as if she might melt into the darkness at any moment.

Ji Youyi suppressed her surprise and continued trying to lighten the mood. “Aren’t you going to put it on? You might be photographed. If you end up in the social news, your agency will be furious. Wow! They’ll scold you to death!”

Meng Xingshu remained silent. Her gaze slowly moved down from Ji Youyi’s pale face, eventually landing on her neck. In the light of the police sirens, she could clearly see the red and purple marks, wounds, and blood on the fair skin, strangle marks made by human hands.

The storefront she had recently bought was nearby, but perhaps it was still too far. From receiving the call to sprinting there, it had taken three minutes. When she arrived, she saw Ji Youyi being choked, her head slammed against the wall, while she was too helpless to even struggle.

In that moment, all the latent violence in her blood surged forth. Meng Xingshu finally understood what Ji Youyi was thinking when she caught her swaying in the restaurant last time.

In her ears, a faint, childish voice seemed to wail. A young girl standing in an empty classroom, describing a scene to the person who arrived too late: “…She, she just grabbed her, pinned her against the wall, choked her, slapped her, kicked her, and kept hitting her head with a dictionary…”

Across eighteen long years, the faces in her memory had blurred, but that crying voice still came to her in dreams every day, telling the story over and over. And so, she had imagined it over and over.

Meng Xingshu’s throat moved. She parted her lips slightly, the scent of blood filled her mouth from where she had bitten her tongue. “…Yiyi.”

“Huh? I’m here.”

The murmur was too quiet to hear clearly, and the intimate form of the name made Ji Youyi doubt if she had heard correctly. Maybe she just made a sound of disgust? Disgusted that my metaphor was too oily? Well, that’s fair. I’m a director, not a screenwriter!

But she responded quickly and moved closer to Meng Xingshu, returning to the previous topic. “Anyway, I can’t just leave you hanging. Where’s your mask? I’ll help you get it. In your pocket?”

Meng Xingshu wore a large trench coat, its front open and its hem swaying in the breeze. Ji Youyi shamelessly reached out, patted the dust off the coat, and reached for the pocket.

Director Ji believed her “script” was perfect: A cold person like Meng Xingshu wouldn’t like being touched. Such an overstepping action would surely cause her to push Ji Youyi away. Pushing away was fine! At least it would be a reaction, better than the heavy, silent state she was in.

Ji Youyi looked up at Meng Xingshu, grinning as she slid both hands into the coat pockets. Sure enough, Meng Xingshu moved.

Meng Xingshu raised both hands. She needs both hands to push me away? Am I that annoying??

But then, those hands bypassed her body. One palm went to her shoulder and the other to her waist. Then, they tightened.

The faint fragrance suddenly became rich, accompanied by a burning body temperature and a beating heart. Ji Youyi’s senses were overwhelmed without any gap.

And she was captured by Meng Xingshu.

She was being hugged.