Where the Moon Sets, My Heart Finds Peace - Chapter 8
Soon, a clearing opened up ahead. A black SUV was parked right in the center. Standing outside by the rear window was a short, chubby guy about 165 centimeters tall. He was on his tiptoes, peering inside with a greasy, disgusting grin plastered across his face.
Muffled sounds of a struggle drifted from inside the car. They weren’t loud, but in the dead silence of the night, they cut through the air with terrifying clarity, making He Zianās ears ring with panic.
“Let go of me!”
It was Jiang Jingyueās voice. It trembled with tears, laced with an unmistakable, suffocating dread.
Hearing that voice shattered the last of He Zianās rationality.
A volatile mix of heartache, fury, and pure aggression surged into her chest, choking her so tightly she could barely breathe. It felt as though her heart was about to explode.
Nobody touches her. Nobody! her mind screamed in a frenzy.
Gripping the steel rebar tightly, He Zian lunged forward like a gust of wind.
The chubby guy caught the movement behind him, but the moment he turned around, the steel bar swung through the air and struck him squarely in the cheek with a heavy thud.
He Zian worked out regularly; she was in far better shape than him, and with her height advantage, the guy didn’t stand a chance. He staggered and crashed to the ground, so dizzy and disoriented that he couldn’t push himself back up.
He Zian yanked open the SUV’s back door. The scene inside made her blood boil. A man she faintly recognizedāLiu Yangāwas pinned squarely on top of Jiang Jingyue, one hand clamping her wrist down while the other tore at her clothes.
Jiang Jingyueās hair was a tangled mess, her face tear-stained and filled with terror. But the exact second the door flew open and she saw He Zian, her tightly wound nerves snapped. Her tears flowed even faster, but a sudden glint of hope sparked in her eyes, as if she were staring at her savior.
With eyes bloodshot from rage, He Zian grabbed Liu Yang and ripped him off Jiang Jingyue with enough force to nearly tear his arm out of its socket.
Caught off guard, Liu Yang froze for a fraction of a second. But as reality set in, fury took over, and he threw himself at He Zian. The two locked together, instantly twisting into a violent scuffle on the ground.
They were roughly the same height, but Liu Yang rarely exercised, and wrestling with Jiang Jingyue had already drained most of his energy. He Zian, backed by years of physical training, possessed far superior strength. It didn’t take long for her to pin him to the dirt, her fists raining down on his face to release the fury built up in her chest. She didn’t even notice the skin splitting across her knuckles, oozing blood.
Meanwhile, the chubby guy managed to scramble back to his feet. He bent down, scooped up the dropped steel bar, and crept toward He Zian’s exposed back with a vicious look in his eyes.
“He Zian, look out!” Jiang Jingyue shrieked, her voice trembling violently as she used every ounce of strength left in her lungs.
Because of his injured cheek, the chubby guyās reflexes were a second too slow.
Alerted by Jiang Jingyue’s scream, He Zian whipped her head around. Before he could close the distance, she drove her boot hard into his stomach. The guy groaned in pain, stumbling back a few steps before managing to steady himself.
Seizing the window of opportunity, He Zian grabbed Jiang Jingyueās hand, spun around, and bolted back through the tall weeds.
As they ran, she prayed desperately that the taxi driver hadn’t abandoned them. If he had driven off, she and Jiang Jingyue would be completely at the mercy of the night.
Fortunately, just a short distance away, the taxi’s headlights cut through the darkness. The driver was leaning against the car door smoking a cigarette, clearly forcing himself to waitāafter all, he simply couldn’t bring himself to walk away from the five hundred yuan.
The driver opened his mouth, ready to complain as he saw He Zian running toward him with a disheveled woman in tow. But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two shadowy figures stumbling out of the brush in hot pursuit. His chest tightened. Dropping the complaints, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Hurry! Faster! Don’t look back, just run!”
Pushing past their absolute physical limits, He Zian and Jiang Jingyue scrambled into the backseat a mere second before their pursuers could reach them.
The driver slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and the car roared forward. A loud CLANG echoed behind them as a steel bar struck the trunkāa chilling sound that left their hearts pounding in their throats.
He Zian squeezed Jiang Jingyueās hand tight. She could feel her shaking uncontrollably, her palm ice-cold against her own.
Looking down, He Zian realized Jiang Jingyueās clothes had been badly torn, leaving one shoulder completely bare and her skin marred by faint red scratches.
Since He Zian was only wearing a short-sleeved pajama set, she had no jacket to offer. Instead, she pulled Jiang Jingyue tightly against her chest, using her own body as a shield while whispering softly, “Don’t fear, it’s over. I’ve got you.”
Leaning into He Zian’s embrace, the sheer terror, humiliation, and helplessness Jiang Jingyue had suppressed all night finally erupted.
She didn’t sob aloud; instead, tears streamed silently down her face, scalding hot as they soaked through He Zianās pajamas and pressed against her skin, making He Zianās heart ache with profound sorrow.
The driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror. Seeing the tangled hair, the ruined clothing, and the sheer trauma written across both their faces, he pieced together exactly what had happened. He kept his mouth shut, driving in absolute silence while quietly pressing harder on the accelerator.
Once Jiang Jingyueās breathing began to steady, He Zian looked down at her, her voice gentle yet unwavering. “Let’s go to the police station, okay?”
The woman in her arms gave a frail, almost imperceptible nod, her voice too raspy to carry words.
He Zian looked up at the front seat. “Sir, please take us straight to the police station. Thank you.”
The driver nodded firmly. “You got it, kiddo!” he called back supportively.
At the station, He Zian first borrowed a clean button-down shirt from an officer so Jiang Jingyue could cover up her torn clothes.
Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Jiang Jingyue recount everything that had transpired from the moment her dinner party ended, reciting every detail flawlesslyāincluding Liu Yang’s license plate number, digit for digit.
The officers listened with grim expressions, immediately dispatching a team into the night to track down Liu Yang and his accomplice.
Standing to the side, the taxi driver couldn’t help but chime in angrily, “You really can’t judge a book by its cover. To think a university professor could be such a monster! Thank goodness you got there when you did, miss, or who knows what would’ve happened. They better throw the book at himāthat’s attempted rape!”
After offering a few comforting words, the police advised them to head home and rest, promising to touch base the moment they had an update. It was past midnight, and given what they had been through, they desperately needed sleep.
The driver insisted on taking them back to campus, flatly refusing to take a single dime for the return trip. He kept offering reassurances along the way: “Don’t you worry, girls. The police will track those bastards down in no time.”
Before leaving them, he warmly handed over his phone number with a supportive smile. “If you ever need me to testify in court, just give me a ring. I’ll be there in a heartbeat!”
During the ride back, He Zian finally checked her phone. Her dorm group chat was blowing up with messages from Bai Zhenzhen and the others, asking when sheād be back and mentioning that the dorm doors were already locked, though they could get the building manager to let her in.
Looking over at Jiang Jingyueāwhose face was still ghostly pale, her eyes retaining a lingering trace of horrorāHe Zian couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her alone. She shot a text back to the group chat, fabricating a story about an unexpected family emergency requiring her to head home for the night so they wouldn’t worry.
The two finally made it back to Jiang Jingyueās faculty apartment.
The moment the front door closed and the lights flicked on, Jiang Jingyue spun around and threw her arms around He Zian, squeezing her with an intensity that felt as if she wanted to melt right into her skin.
Burying her face in the crook of He Zian’s neck, her voice cracked with an emotional sob. “Zian… thank you…”
He Zian stood perfectly still, letting herself be held, gently patting the older woman’s back in a soothing rhythm.
As she did, Jiang Jingyueās eyes inadvertently drifted down to He Zianās bare feet. They were caked in dirt and dust, covered in jagged cuts from sharp pebbles that oozed faint traces of blood. It was a harrowing sightāHe Zian had lost her sandals before she had even cleared the campus gates.
Jiang Jingyue immediately knelt down, reaching out to examine her feet. He Zian instinctively flinched away as the movement jolted the raw cuts, her brows knitting together in pain.
“Don’t move, let me look,” Jiang Jingyue said, her voice heavy with heartache and a tone that brooked no argument.
Left with no choice, He Zian reluctantly eased her foot upward.
Jiang Jingyue stared at the lacerations on the soles of her feet, her eyes instantly brimming with fresh tears. She then took He Zianās hand, inspecting the raw scratches on the back of it that were still weeping blood. The sight sent a sharp pang through her chest. Tears welled up, leaving her speechless, entirely consumed by a wave of intense guilt and sorrow.
Seeing the look on her face, He Zian understood instantly. She knew Jiang Jingyue was naturally reserved, a woman who strictly maintained her personal boundaries. Right now, she had to be drowning in self-blame.
Yet, He Zian didn’t hold an ounce of resentment. Everything she did had been entirely of her own volitionāshe was the one who wanted to be near Jiang Jingyue, the one who wanted to protect her at all costs. Tonight was simply her following her heart, doing exactly what needed to be done.
He Zian forced a light, easygoing smile, her tone brimming with warmth. “Jiang Jingyue, I told you beforeāwhenever you need me, I will always show up.”
Jiang Jingyue lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper, yet deeply resonant. “Mhm.”
“Alright, let’s stop overthinking it,” He Zian said, gently running a hand through Jiang Jingyue’s hair, her voice shifting into a slightly playful, teasing cadence. “Go take a shower, wash off the night, and get some rest. Iāll wait for you in the living room. I can’t get back into my dorm tonight anyway, so you’re officially obligated to take me in.”
Jiang Jingyue looked up, meeting the deep pools of warmth and care in He Zian’s eyes. She nodded silently, gathered a change of clean clothes, and slipped into the bathroom.
Sitting down on the living room sofa, He Zian pulled out her phone and drafted a message to her advisor, Zhao Fanke, lying that a sudden family matter required her to take a leave of absence for the following day.
Jiang Jingyue had left her phone behind in Liu Yangās vehicle, meaning the police only had He Zianās number on file. If any updates came in tomorrow morning, she would be the first to know.
Inside the bathroom, cascades of warm water flowed down Jiang Jingyue’s hair, steam quickly filling the enclosed space, washing away the physical remnants of the nightās trauma and humiliation.
Growing up as the heiress to the Yunjing Construction Groupāwhich, while not a massive conglomerate, was a highly reputable name in the industryāeveryone around her, whether suitors or blind dates, had always treated her with utmost deference out of respect for her family background. No one had ever dared to lay a hand on her so disrespectfully.
Standing beneath the showerhead as the hot water beat down on her skin, her mind swirled with complex emotions. Yet, through it all, she didn’t regret coming to teach at this university for a single second.
The pressure her father, Jiang Peng, constantly exerted over her felt like an invisible set of shackles, leaving her suffocating. She had been desperate to escape his control, to chase the life she actually wanted, and to live on her own terms.
Putting that piece of trash Liu Yang aside, everything else about this university had brought her an immense sense of warmth and peace.
The serene, elegant campus grounds… and He Zian the girl who constantly, effortlessly stirred something deep within her heart, the one who had charged blindly into danger without a second thought, just to keep her safe.
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