Gu Zhan knocked three times before the door of the Qi family's residence opened, amidst the sound of a woman cursing.
Then, there was a scream of horror. "Ah… Qi Mianmian, w-why are you with Gu Zhan? Have the two of you gotten together?"
Hearing her shout, the three women in the Qi family's courtyard and a few passers-by all gathered around.
Qi Mianmian was stunned for a moment. She quickly recognized the thin, small nose, the small eyes, and the overly taciturn features. This young woman was her cheap cousin, Qi Moli.
Qi Mianmian pretended not to sense the malice in her words and, in accordance with her character's typical timidity and weakness, stammered, "Cousin, you've misunderstood. I'm not with him. Just now, my mom and Xue Ming pushed me off Luoying Bridge. He was the one who saved me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Zhan said mockingly, "I only rescued her because she said she would give me ten yuan as remuneration. However, it's fine if you insist that we're a couple. I'll be lucky to get a wife for nothing."
The passers-by had been gossiping about how Qi Mianmian, who was usually so timid, actually became a couple with the notorious Gu Zhan. When Gu Zhan finished speaking, everyone present suddenly understood.
The situation immediately changed.
"That's true. If Gu Zhan had done anything to Qi Mianmian, he would never have brought her back to the Qi family. He would have taken her back to that pathetic little house of his."
"Qi Mianmian's leg is indeed injured."
"Her clothes are neat and tidy. She doesn't look like she was taken advantage of."
"I've only heard of Gu Zhan doing that kind of thing to Qu Li. I never heard that he was a hooligan to others…"
Qu Li was Gu Zhan's stepmother.
The passers-by were discussing the situation enthusiastically, and Qi Mianmian was listening in with equal enthusiasm. Suddenly, a loud sound rang out. The slim and beautiful Qi Zhen, who was Qi Mianmian's second oldest sister, suddenly slapped Qi Moli hard and gave her a shove as well. "Bastard Qi Moli, Mianmian is injured. It's fine if you don't care about her at all, but how dare you slander her? I'll beat you to death!"
Qi Mianmian: "…"
Why did she hit Qi Moli just like that?
She searched her memory and found out that Qi Moli had snatched Qi Zhen's boyfriend from her not long ago…
So she was using this situation as a cover to vent her frustrations?
Well, that's what Qi Mianmian had guessed in the first place. To slap someone over such a small thing was unreasonable.
But she found it amusing.
Qi Moli was not someone who was willing to be taken advantage of. She reacted immediately, rushing towards Qi Zhen. The two of them got momentarily embroiled in a brawl.
What made Qi Mianmian speechless was that not a single family member, nor a single bystander, went up to stop the fight.
Her cheap older sister, Qi Tian, and her Third Aunt both acted as if they didn't see the two fighting. Instead, they helped her into the house, one on each arm.
When they were about to enter the house, Qi Mianmian looked back at Gu Zhan and gave him a sweet smile. She said gently, "Thank you, Gu Zhan."
She secretly made a decision in her heart. [Gu Zhan, based on how you defended my innocence just now, even if you're a bad person, I'll help you purge the poison. At most, when I find out that you're ridiculously evil, I'll retreat.]
Gu Zhan, who could hear her thoughts, was speechless.
He nodded lightly and pushed the cart away.
He looked calm on the outside, but only he knew how agitated he really was.
Not only because he knew that the current Qi Mianmian could detoxify the Night Loathing in him, which meant that he did not need to be short-lived, but also because she could actually sense his grievances.
Was this what it felt like to have a bosom friend?
Gu Zhan could not help but be glad that he had gone to the Stone Ink Mountain five days ago.
That day, he rescued Big Brother Zhang, the fire-elemental superpowered man from the depths of the Stone Ink Mountain. Big Brother Zhang had been bitten by a poisonous snake.
When Big Brother Zhang found out that he was suffering from Night Loathing, he shared half of the Mind-Reading Magical Fruit that he had painstakingly harvested with Gu Zhan. Big Brother Zhang told him, "This is a Mind-Reading Magical Fruit. If you eat an entire fruit, you will be able to hear everyone's thoughts. If you eat half of it, you will be able to hear the thoughts of special humans. You are currently poisoned. I hope that this half of the Magical Fruit can help you find a way to purge the poison."